Today we’d like to introduce you to Dennis Upkins.
Hi Dennis, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
“Not everyone will like me. But there will be those who will accept me just for what I am. I will develop myself to such a point of excellence, intelligence and brilliance that I can see through any problem and deal with any crisis. I will become such a master of my own abilities and career that there will be a place for me. People of all races will need me and not be able to do without me.”
—Mr. Spock/Leonard Nimoy
#PersonalMantra
I guess the best possible summary is that mine is the story of someone seeking to discover his purpose and find his way. In the journey of striving to be the best possible version of myself, I learned to be my own superhero and to utilize storytelling–be it my writing and/or my visual art–to enlighten, entertain and empower others.
If I succeed at doing all three simultaneously, GOLDEN!!!!!
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?
My journey has certainly been wrought with trials and tragedies:
Those challenges range from dealing with harassment and discrimination from racist and homophobic employers to dealing the unfortunate passing of some of my nearest and dearest. In those darkest moments, you sometimes have to remind yourself that you’re all you’ve got and failure is not an option.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m proud to say that I am a published author, a freelance investigative journalist, a digital artist, a social media content creator, and an equal rights activist. I like to think that I have a very unique voice and perspective that resonates through my work and whenever I create it is often with the intent to advocate for society’s most vulnerable communities.
To paraphrase one of my personal heroines, Nina Simone: “An artist’s duty, as far as I’m concerned, is to reflect the times.”
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
Some of the best lessons I’ve learned have come from more than a few quotes:
“Be their hero, [Denny]. Be their angel, be their monument, be anything they need you to be… or be none of it. You don’t owe this world a thing. You never did.” -Batman v Superman
“A King cannot be like an ordinary person. Must not behave or have feelings like an ordinary person. A King must be prepared to do the most terrible things. Things against all conscience if he wants to survive.” -Vikings
“The final score can’t be rigged. I don’t care how many players you grease, that last shot always comes up a question mark. But here’s the thing — you never know when you’re taking it. It could be when you’re duking it out with the Legion of Doom, or just crossing the street deciding where to have brunch. So you just treat it all like it was up to you — the world in the balance — ’cause you never know when it is.” -Charles Gunn
“I believe that magic is art, and that art, whether that be music, writing, sculpture, or any other form, is literally magic. Art is, like magic, the science of manipulating symbols, words or images, to achieve changes in consciousness… Indeed to cast a spell is simply to spell, to manipulate words, to change peoples consciousness, and this is why I believe that an artist or writer is the closest thing in the contemporary world to a shaman.” -Alan Moore
“True power is not about dominating the weak. True power is inspiring the strong to your will.” -Robert Herjavec
“The pen is mightier than the sword and sometimes even the cape.” -Supergirl the series
“A god(dess) born to rule. True, witchling. But the key to what I was and am and shall ever strive to be is knowledge and mastery of self. My strength, my will, my soul, forever, my own.”
—Storm
“Compromise where you can. And where you can’t, don’t. Even if everyone is telling you that something wrong is something right, even if the whole world is telling you to move. It is your duty to plant yourself like a tree, look them in the eye and say, no. You move.” -Margaret Carter
“Sometimes it’s the people no one imagines anything of who do the things that no one can imagine.” -Alan Turing
Contact Info:
- Website: https://dennisupkins.wordpress.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denny.upkins/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dennisrupkins
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DennyUpkins
