Today we’d like to introduce you to Better Known As Wade.
Hi Wade, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started as a creative entrepreneur at a very young age, trying to create t-shirt brands, making music in my grandparents garage, watching short films all day, deciding that I wanted to make them as well, and taking in all the skills that my family members had with what looked like little effort to me. I was raised around silversmiths, mechanics, engineers, artists, singers, rappers, tattoo artists, motorcyclists, and leaders that led me to do the background work to build on my interests and spirituality. My grandmother’s second husband, Michel Wesley Smith (lived 1945-2013), taught me the fundamentals of being a creative by emphasizing the spiritual aspects and desired outcomes and how to be intentional towards them. I was born in 2000, so with him passing away in 2013, I was devastated but mentally prepared for who I am today. Eventually my grandmother and I were taking vocal lessons together with military musician Howard Overton, buying pro music equipment, and creating art almost every day throughout my high school experience, all the while I was attending NCSU Upward Bound, a pre-college program for low-income-family students. In that program, I honed my leadership skills by participating, using my personal background to eventually serve 3 out of 4 years in the student executive council, 2x as Bunn High School Area Rep, once as Mr. Upward Bound. Our counselor, Maurice Mathis, enabled us as a whole to reach for the stars and by 2017, I was attending one of the first cycles of the Harvard University Summer Business Academy, multiple leadership development programs at NCSU, and pushing myself to figure what exactly it was that I wanted to do in life. I don’t recall the professor’s name at Harvard, but he told me about “Ikigai”, which is how you figure out what you should be offering the world to monetize, and everything except the monetizing part was what I was familiar with because in my legacy, passion was always emphasized over monetary value. By the time my senior year in high school came around I assumed that I didn’t want to go to college (after applying to 64 colleges for a school competition, being accepted to about half, including Howard University, Morehouse, NCCU, and Clark Atlanta) because I knew what I wanted to do with my life, become a music artist or photographer, and I deferred my enrollment to my top choice, Howard University. Howard was my first choice after realizing NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts was not realistic. After my year-long deferral, I attended Howard University in 2019, the year that led into COVID, & I was tested as a narcoleptic semi-adult & student with his mind made up about his career path. I was in the School of Business at HU, and further more, groups of about 10-15 students in SOB were sponsored by corporations that sent actual reps and staff to give us assignments and pipeline careers. My group sponsor was Reebok, which I was happy with because everyone had “lame” sponsors to me. Before Reebok released the commercial for the Zig Kinetica, my group was tasked with a marketing plan for that shoe, in which we suggested a female rapper (Meg The Stallion), but they ended up using Cardi B. We all felt like that meant we could have an actual influence on the marketing aspect of large-scale brands, and with that, I binged on creating my own business. My friend, Micheala, who is the sister of an executive of a huge Ghanaian marketing brand responsible for managing the Afrobeat artist, Moliy, bought me a heat press that I hadn’t got the chance to use while in school, but it was an addition to equipment that I acquired over time. She and I had also volunteered as production assistants at the CNBC Women’s Memorial Halftime Report in Arlington, VA on November 8th, and joined the Howard University Film Organization (COVID halted the full duration of participation in this club). The special guest for the film org was Stephen Barrett II, a locations manager who was also my mentor following us meeting in one of my classes in my second semester. The day after I met him in early 2020, he hired me to work on a commercial set with players from the Washington Wizards NBA team & an Asian media company as a production assistant where I built scaffolds, helped assemble and manage lighting setups, and communication between sets. Those experiences helped me gain hands-on experience in the film industry, in which I was able to learn specifics of things as far as the psychology behind productions. I had also visited locations for more films with Steph, including a penthouse owned by an elderly woman in Logan Circle, a renovated historic trolley track-turned-venue, better known as Dupont Underground, and more. He was trying to empower me to carry the torch for having a hand in the events and productions in the DC area. Ironically, his sister is Autumn Joi, a recent Raleigh, NC radio host, so he tried to help get an apprenticeship with her when I came back to the area at some point, but she rejected me because when she asked what I wanted to do, I did not include anything about being her assistant and did include my own personal goals. That was a rude awakening for me, but that was when I started hosting and helping out with different events all throughout NC and DC and navigating the COVID restrictions. I’ve been doing so ever since, and transitioned into being an artist, content creator, videographer, and photographer from there. Now, I am respected as a local creator and cameraman, but my ultimate secret is that I only learned how to do most of that stuff from wanting to be an artist and having no one to shoot my videos, produce my beats, and engineer my songs. I am what I like to call a one-stop shop for most things creative, so my late best friend, Mustafa “Stafa Banks” Jones and I started a business. DiamondCore Collective.
DiamondCore Collective is an adult lifestyle multimedia brand & collective (@DiamondCoreCollectiveLLC on Instagram).
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My struggles were mainly of my narcolepsy, not being able to maintain a job or my studies in the eyes of a authoritative figure, the pressures of being a young “, heterosexual male of color, a college dropout, and a self-starter. I personally feel like the world is against my specific demographic because of American propaganda, as I am a person that recognizes the global psychology & influences of media. All of this contributed to mental health issues growing up.
We’ve been impressed with DiamondCore Collective, LLC, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
DiamondCore Collective is an adult lifestyle multimedia brand that specializes in capturing and curating special entertainment & creative experiences for 21+ adults. We offer event curation & coverage, lifestyle videography & photography, group trips, branding & marketing, and a membership in which you can receive regular content usage rights from our events, experiences, and collaborations.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
Do not let others deter you from following your own dreams & making the best decisions for yourself.
Pricing:
- DiamondCore Collective Membership is $49.99
- Photography Sessions are starting at $250
- Videography Sessions are starting at $750
- Event Coverage starting at $1,500
- Sponsor DiamondCore Collective with just $1,200
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://Instagram.com/dreamwalka.wade
