We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Brandon Collins. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Brandon below.
Hi Brandon, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
Definitely from my grandfather aka Papa. He worked for decades in a Detroit factory for General Motors and was incredibly disciplined and dedicated to his job in the factory. He always made it a priority to show up a few minutes early to allow for any potential hiccups in his commute to work. He also never turned down an opportunity to learn a new skill. My papa would always smile when he told me the story of how he learned to work the forklift at work. He recalled how hesitant his co-workers were to take on a new task but he quickly jumped at the chance because his point of view was, “What’s the worst thing that can happen? I learn to do this new thing and never do it again?”
Because of my Papa’s influence, fostering a growth mindset is something that I prioritize in anything I work on. To be honest, it’s the easiest part of the job for me because it quickly establishes that you take things seriously but are always open to new ideas. It gives people the space to feel a part of the process, which is the kind of engagement you want when you are creating big, bold things that you want to have impact.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am a screenwriter and podcaster, but am most widely known as the producer and host of the critically acclaimed “Drunk Black History” live show and podcast. As a lifelong educator (my first paid teaching experience was in high school teaching sex ed to middle schoolers), being able to blend my love of history with Black culture and using my show to highlight the lost voices of Black historical events and pioneers is an incredibly gratifying thing. We’re currently on pause for our 2025 tour but are resuming in a few weeks with planned shows in Boston, Detroit, New York, and New Orleans!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Three qualities that have been most impactful for my career are resiliency, having a sense of humor, and learning to let go of what I can’t control. I’ve experienced a lot of challenges and set-backs throughout my personal and professional life that would have broken me if I didn’t have the drive and growth mind to keep pushing through and learn from those dark moments. From being stuck on a glacier in Alaska, to living in a motel throughout my Senior year in high school, to having my participation in a revered studio writer’s program abruptly ended because of the writer’s strike–I’ve learned to handle extreme feelings of stress and anxiety in a productive, healthy way. Being able to look back on these experiences and laugh at them or appreciative how twisted they were has made me appreciate the unpredictability of life more. As someone who constantly needs to be in control due to past trauma, learning how to reflect and let go has been a huge improvement for my physical and mental health.
Being a creative requires you to deal with a lot of failure, rejection, and ghosting. By investing a lot of hours in therapy and professional development on the three qualities I mentioned, I have been able to navigate the ups and downs of entertainment industry by pushing forward, adapting quickly, and constantly improving my work. Realizing that you can’t control how others interpret your work once it is out for the public to engage with or that there is no clear timeline on when you will finally “make it”, is an incredibly freeing feeling and something I would encourage folks early into their careers to really embrace.
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
My biggest growth area over the past year has been handling my feelings of imposter syndrome. My archnemesis imposter syndrome will appear randomly but most frequently when I’m in a room full of “important” industry people. I ‘d often find myself questioning whether or not I deserved to be there. This can at times give me an excuse to disengage and just sink myself into a charcuterie board.
Being an only child of a single mother has made me very comfortable with being alone and blending into the background when I’m overwhelmed or uncomfortable. However, because of the work I do, I have focused this past year on being more outgoing in large social settings in order to raise awareness about the work that I’m doing and promote the things I am passionate about. It is a battle every day to stop feeling inadequate but I’ve found that this allows me to make a daily affirmation: I deserve to take space and my voice matters.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.frodoblackins.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frodo_blackins/
- Twitter: https://x.com/americancollins
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@drunkblackhistory
Image Credits
Mindy Tucker (first photo), Adrian Bacolo (2nd photo), JT Anderson (additional photos)
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