We had the good fortune of connecting with Kevin M.J. Murphy and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kevin M.J., what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I’d say my decision to pursue a kind of freedom I’ve seen others enjoy, but never found the keys to as a hardworking, educated employee was the genesis of my business journey. Spending my life working for someone else, building their dreams, legacies and empires even as I was conscripted to answer to their whims and rules never felt like freedom to me. Mostly, because it isn’t. Working for others never optimized my gifts and talents, and frankly, I got tired of trying to chart a path to my dreams by journeying as little more than a human asset, through the workforce. Later for that.

What should our readers know about your business?
My businesses, KDS Entertainment and Blerd Station are, for me, more than just business entities. They are extensions of my most profound needs to both exercise the particular talents God has given me and a means by which to create real, meaingful opportunities for Black and POC creatives in the realms of entertainment. All, while empowering our people.

As a writer, I was blessed to make my way and hone my craft to the degree that I was employable as a freelance speculative fiction writer while working on indepent projects. I discovered the power of strategic partnerships with Deon Nuckols, one of the nation’s finest concept artists, It’s the principles of strategic partnership, a “Give, Give” strategy that, along with much prayer and faith, has led to our current successes.

It certainly hasn’t been easy. We’ve had to learn the kind of work ethic it takes to compete at the highest, regardless of how talented you are. Having a kind of grit that won’t let you peacefully surrender when it gets tough, and it always does get tough at some point, is one of the great secrets of all success stories, including ours.

I want the world to know that there are more versions of our characters and stories than the ones they’ve been fed through traditional media. I want my company to show us as leads in fantastical stories and settings, as heroes and not just sidekicks. I want the world to see black and poc people at the CENTER of action, horror, superhero, fantasy and science fiction worlds as entertaining and engaging as Game Of Thrones, Walking Dead and the MCU.

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?
Easton. I’d start by taking them to the incredible town center on our north side (I now live in the area) full of shops, a town center, movie theaters, restaurants, bars and more. It’s a whole vibe, especially during the holidays or Thursday nights for open air jazz in the summer.

If they were to make it on the first Saturday of the month, it would have to be Gallery Hop. The primere downtown corridor is the Columbus Short North and it is lined with shops of all sorts, particularly art gallaries, tea shops, restaurants, crafts and such that during Gallery Hop remain open past their regular hours. Street performers and vendors all line up and the foot traffic walking up and down High St. is dense.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I have so many mentors that deserve to be recognized for their influence on me and in my life. Kevin Mowrer gave me my first professional writing job and I use the techniques he showed to me at the Hasbro Fantasy Factory, to this day. Carin Greenberg & Steven Barnes, two incredible writers and authors that shared the secrets of their craft with me without gatekeeping or witholding the secret sauce that makes the difference between a pro and a hobbist. But, more than any other, Dr. D. A. Reeves and his mentorship and training of me, as a troubled, bullied, black nerd of an overweight kid trying to find himself in a hostile, poverty strewn environment, made the most difference in my life.

Website: https://www.blerdstation.com/ and https://www.kdsetv.com/

Instagram: @kdsentertainment

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-murphy-vsm/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552047334162

Image Credits
James L. Gilmore. M. Nicole Smith.

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