Exploring Life & Business with Johnathon Davis of Black Men Vent Too

Today we’d like to introduce you to Johnathon Davis.

Hi Johnathon, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Since the start of our podcast, we have received this question from many people as to how we got started. In all reality, our story began in the driveway of my parent’s home; just a casual conversation that we were having among myself, my parents, and my little brother. As a family, we were just conversing about everyday life, catching up on each other’s most recent life events, and just truly enjoying each other’s company at the time.

However, our talk took a shift in momentum as we started voicing the concern of men and how black men are filled with pain. My dad and I furthered the conversation by emphasizing how important it is to let men vent and get things off their chest. Black men literally fill up our prisons, and we are always the headliners of “black on black” crimes on local news stations. Black men, and just our culture in general, have been oppressed, treated unfairly, and judged for 400 years or more. Throughout this time, there have been many that have felt like we don’t have a voice as a culture.

Then when we’re presented with a platform to voice our deepest issues as black men, we are judged by the society around us. Again, black men are filling up prisons in my opinion because they just don’t have an outlet. Since there is no outlet, we, unfortunately, lash out and make irrational decisions that put us within the statistic that society continues to define us by. So much a black man deals with on a daily, but where do we run to? Who can we trust to tell of our pains, insecurities, and issues WITHOUT immediate judgment?

With that in mind, “Black Men Vent Too” was born. Today, we have truly been blessed with the opportunity to be a podcast based in Nashville that allows black men to vent freely without judgment. We began our podcast with the first episode being published on August 8th, 2021. From there, we decided that we would format our podcast and each episode by season. Each season represents an issue that black men deal with, and our guests decided to rotate between the young and old age groups for each episode to provide our listeners with versatility. For example, the first episode was titled “BMI: Depression In A Black Man.”

The BMI stands for “body mass index” which is the term used to measure the mass and height of a person. We put a twist in the title of each episode by relating that definition to issues that black men face. Your body mass index consists of information and data about your whole body. Depression is something that can also take place as your “body mass index” if you aren’t able to vent. From the first episode on, we have used this format in hopes of providing our audience with insight from young and old on various topics each month. September’s season dealt with “grief,” and those episodes were titled “BMI: Grief In A Black Man,” which turned out to be a great season as well.

As we continue to move forward, our biggest objective is to serve black men by providing a platform that allows them to vent freely. We stand strong on our statement: “We Are A Nashville Based Podcast That Focuses On Open And Opinionated Conversations About Black Men Issues”

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I believe that anything you do in life will come with its own cons, negatives, and speed bumps. However, being persistent, having a determined spirit, and the willing to serve others will give you that added push towards the greater good. For our podcast, things started off rough in a way because we had a hard time just getting it off the ground. We were concerned about equipment, didn’t really know what podcast platform to use, and had difficulty even finding someone to be a part of our first episode.

Like most, we knew we wanted to start a podcast, we just didn’t know how to get it off the ground. Scheduling was another small struggle along the way because we (my dad and I) have to adjust our own life schedule to meet the convenience of our guests that come on the show. As time surpassed, our purpose of service grew with each episode and we realized that we had to make sure we were flexible with our guests because our ultimate goal is to serve them.

Once we found the days we wanted to publish episodes and figured out the days we wanted to record for each episode, everything else smoothed itself out for the benefit of not just us as a podcast, but our guests and the audience that listens to our week in and week out.

As you know, we’re big fans of Black Men Vent Too. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
My dad, Leon Davis, Jr., and I are the hosts of the Nashville-based podcast called “Black Men Vent Too.”

We both feel we are separated from the rest because of the opportunity we’re providing for black men. An opportunity to use their voice as a way to free their mind, open their heart, and ultimately get things off their chest without being judged. Famous rapper Jay-Z has a voice, basketball star Lebron James has a voice, and filmmaker and producer Tyler Perry have a voice that can be heard all across the world. But what sets us apart from others, is that we reach out to the typical 40-hour workweek black man, or the one you may see passing through an aisle at Walmart.

It is this black man that may be going through so much on the inside but will continue to work and purchase his items in Walmart without anyone knowing that mentally he is dying and in need of an outlet. We specialize in reaching out to these everyday black men who don’t have a voice and have made ourselves known to be the only podcast in Nashville that provides a platform for venting by black men with no restrictions.

Since the birth of our podcast, we truly have grown in ways unimaginable especially with us just being two months in the industry of podcasting. As a brand, one thing we are proud of is how we have gained so much traction not only just in Nashville, Tennessee but throughout the nation. Our podcast has even been heard internationally, reaching countries like Puerto Rico, Germany, France, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom. Another major achievement we’ve been grateful for is being recognized by an Atlanta-based magazine called “The Heat Seekers” as their Podcast of the Month. They granted us an interview and it was published in their September issue which again, in just two months’ time, is a huge leap in the right direction.

We’ve been able to truly enjoy how the podcast has grown over the course of time, and activities are continuing our pursuit to be even better for our guests as well as our audience… one episode at a time.

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Some will say I was a golden child, then others will probably say I was a gnat always flying my way around stuff I had no business being in. Then there will be those that oppose both statements, and I am one of the opposing ones. My life I like to tell people truly has been a movie. Growing up, I was the typical boy doing typical boy things. I grew up loving sports, particularly basketball, football, and baseball as I played all three throughout my elementary and middle school years. I am a true extrovert, I love to talk and meet new people, and growing up I just enjoyed being the life of the party.

Life is too short, and I think for the most part growing up, I lived life as best as I could to be able to reflect on the memories and experiences today. This is not to say mistakes weren’t made growing up, but it’s to say that I truly have no regrets. I grew up in a loving home, with a loving family, so my personality displays just that from adolescence to adulthood. Sports such as basketball and bowling are both what I still do today as an outlet whenever I may need it most.

I didn’t have everything I wanted as a child growing up, but I surely had everything I needed to be where I am at today. And for that, I am grateful.

Contact Info:

• Email: blackmenvent2@yahoo.com
• Website: https://anchor.fm/blackmenvent2