Meet Karlton T. Clay | Victory Productions Network, Filmmaker & Content Creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Karlton T. Clay and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Karlton T., do you have a favorite quote or affirmation?
My favorite quote that I wholeheartedly believe in and I constantly tell myself and others is “GROW AS YOU GO.” It derives from my favorite passage of scripture Phillippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” A lot of times we discourage ourselves from following our dreams or pursuing our passions because we are not “deemed experts” in a particular field or we feel like we don’t know what we’re doing. However, life is about progression. Sometimes, even we don’t know all the ins and outs, we have to step out in faith no matter what it looks like or no matter who supports you or not. As you continue to go through life and follow your heart, you will grow and develop the skills you need to continue to be successful. I say continue to be because I believe that you’re already successful once you make the decision to step away from fear and step out in faith.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Victory Productions truly began as a vision from God. As I mentioned before, I was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 16 in 2002. Through my battle, I kept hearing the word “victory”. The name stuck and resonated with me, and that’s the name that God gave me to begin my journey in telling stories and creating characters that not only entertain but also socially (and sometimes spiritually) educate through the arts.

It definitely has not been an easy road. You have this big dream, and you expect people – especially those closest to you – to latch on. However, that may not be the case. Sometimes, you have snakes who are disguised as “people who want to support you” waiting in the garden to poison what you are giving birth to. That’s why you have to be careful who you share your vision with. Everyone is not expected to take this journey with you. I had to learn the hard way. I would get so excited when people on top of people would come to me or inbox me expressing their want and desire to work with me and be a part of what I was doing. However, at the time, I didn’t realize I gave some of those snakes access to infiltrate the vision. So there has been some hurt and disappointment along the way.

The biggest disappointment was when I lost my YouTube page. I had been building it for years, and our episodes were starting to do some real numbers: 500K-1M views. Sadly, I found out that some actors who decided to step away for whatever reason had been flagging my page putting eyes on it to get it deleted/terminated. It really hurt me at the time that people that I’ve poured into decided to betray me and do something so evil and cruel. However, I had to remember I had people in my corner who was still watching me and pushing me to get out of that dark place and decide what was next.

At the end of the day, I am a survivor. God had to remind me of that. If I can beat cancer, I can surely beat anything and anyone who comes my way. “No weapon formed against me shall prosper.” So after the YouTube debacle, I was able to find another host and now we have our own website and we are organically growing again. Also, Victory Productions now is in partnership with a distributor, Maverick Movies, and we now have 6 feature films that are streaming on several major platforms including Tubi, Sony Crackle, Amazon Prime, Fandango NOW, and Vudu.

The lesson for me was that the evil that is done against you is truly a set-up for you to rise above and become greater than what you once were. When you bury a seed, it grows and becomes something greater. When a caterpillar goes into its cocoon, it evolves into something greater. When Jesus died and buried, He rose and became something greater. It’s all about how you look at things and your mindset.

So that’s how I have to look at things when it comes to my business and my art. I have to allow the bad things and bad people to push me into becoming something greater while embracing the good things and good people to propel me into my greatness.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Of course, I am all about the arts, so I would set up some time to visit the Augusta Mini Theatre – which is the first and oldest arts school in the city of Augusta, founded by Tyrone Butler and operated by him and his wife Judith Simon-Butler. And even though I have a love for the arts, I have a bigger love for food. I am a true foodie. I would travel to Chef’s House on Walton Way for some good, home-cooked soul food and some wonderful southern hospitality to match and then we would venture on to West Augusta to Big T’s Seafood Restaurant for some delicious fish and shrimp and grits that would have you coming back for more!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to first give a shout-out to my Heavenly Father and to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit that resides within me. Without Him, I would not be here today. For those who do not know, I am a cancer survivor. I had leukemia at the age of 16 in 2002. So my faith is deeply rooted in the things I’ve experienced during that time.

I also want to give a shout-out to my parents, Kenneth and Sonya Clay. They are truly the definition of parents who support and believe in their children no matter how old you are. They are indeed my rock especially when days and times get hard. I get my work ethic and my “can’t stop, won’t stop” attitude from my father and my mother pushed us at an early age to do what God created us to do and to follow our passions. Having parents like them definitely keeps me going. I also want to shout out my siblings for always pushing me and fanning my flames; my aunts Carlyn and Barbara who are always willing to give their love and support not only figuratively but literally when it comes to needing financial help at times; and of course I have to shout out my babies – my nephew and niece that are already here and the ones that are soon to come!

Last but certainly not least, I have to give a shout-out to the Victory Productions family. It all started off with doing plays at my church, and then, it grew into my college friends supporting me and taking the time out of their busy schedule to be a part of my first webseries, College Daze. And now, we have expanded to where we are today, and we are continuing to grow on this journey. I am truly grateful and appreciative for all the time and talent that has been poured in. Thank you to those who continue to take this ride with me.

So I just want to say thank you to and give a shout-out to everyone who has positively influenced and impacted my life! As I say all the time, without you, there is no me!

Website: thevpntv.com

Instagram: KARLTONTCLAY

Twitter: KARLTONTCLAY

Facebook: facebook.com/vpnetworkpresents

Image Credits
Shots with Slim Quincy Kelly Maverick Movies