Q & A With Podcaster Sharp One
The second you talk to podcaster and host, Sharp One, you instantly realize he cares. He has a gift with words and discovering the truth that not many people have. I had the pleasure of speaking with Sharp about his podcasting journey, his past and current projects, and what’s important in life.
1) One of your podcasts, The Sharp Tank, is very popular. If someone where to ask you what the Sharp Tank is about, what would you say? And why did you decide to call it, “The Sharp Tank"?
I am a type of person that likes to dig and dive deep. To really sit there and touch where a person has been, where they are today, and where they are going. Sometimes we really have to dig deep and get in depth with people. Not everyone is always comfortable talking about their personal things or things that they don’t talk to other people about. Let along get on a podcast or any type or social and put it out there. It might be a little uneasy, but with that there is a truth. If you can bring that truth to life, you can see it actually helps you along in the long run, because you address it and you can get past it. A lot of people bury that stuff inside of them instead of letting it out. The Sharp Tank is a place where we can dig deep and we can find a greater us.
Sometimes I might not come with the best approach...but some people need to hear it the way they need to hear it. Whether that is nice or firm. I notice people take things more seriously when you say it more firm. They need to hear it like that to have a breakthrough. I don’t like to just waste my time and talk for nothing.
2) You talk about a lot of different topics in your interviews. You spoke to Rory Douglas about financial literally. Spanky Hayes and his celebrity life. Tucky Blunt and the hemp industry. How do you decide on these topics and how do you find the next person to interview?
To me, I like to dig. And it’s the way you ask people the question. Making them feel comfortable. I like to get to know people. Spanky Hayes. Me and him, we don’t sit down and talk every day. So to sit down and ask him, “What’s going on? How do you feel”? No one ever asks someone how they feel and where they are going. Everyone always has an opinion of someone when you are in the spotlight.
And Rory Douglas, I heard the man talk about some financial gain one day on a platform and he was really trying to give some real knowledge to help people get into better financial situations. And people were not really listening. So I really wanted to give him a voice and have him come sit down with me and dig deep. I am interested in things like that. I like things that can make the world keep moving forward. There’s a future. I am not trying to send people backwards.
3) Are there specific platforms where you like to watch or read the news?
To be honest, it just comes to me. I see it. I feel it. I go after it. I am not just looking for everybody. If it is a certain story that pulls, I want to share it. That is my work. I want to share it with people.
4) Do you have a favorite person or episode that you have interviewed from any of your podcasts?
The ones that I feel that are my favorites are the ones that are the least watched. It’s because people like drama. They want to watch drama and see people getting into it. None of it is scripted. If someone is pissing me off, I am going to let them know and let them know quick. I like to sit down and get a real good fucking understanding of someone. The ones that were my favorites are episodes like the Rory Douglas ones. Not many people are going to watch it, because nobody really wants to learn anything. Sitting down with Sling Johnson about how he woke up every morning picking up cans before he got somewhere. They want to see the drama. The problem. That is what people cling to today. Drama and mess. And I am not always for that.
Tucky Blunt was also a very interesting interview because he was one of the first black men to own a cannabis dispensary. Just listening to his story about how he was getting robbed and screwed over by his business partners and people he trusted, and still not having a hatred for what has happened to him. For someone to still stick through that and move on, I commend him.
5) How did you get into the podcasting industry? Were you always in the entertainment industry working on other mediums?
I started because I first did a segment on Soft White Underbelly with Mark Laita. It did extremely well. And it pulled me back to do another one. I was skeptical at first, but overall I am happy it happened, because it pushed me into a different light. I started doing the ones with him, and then I started doing something on my Instagram. I just opened up my IG one day and people started following it. I started doing something called Church on a Sunday. They wanted to hear me speak, so I said ok well we are going to talk about some positive shit.
Church on a Sunday is where I bring in people from all over the world. I got people from Europe, Saudi Arabia, and places we have probably never even thought about going. It brings all these different walks of life together. It doesn’t matter your race or if you have money or not. We all just gather together on a Sunday. I started out with maybe 70 people watching, and now it's like 700 or 800. I used to do it faithfully every Sunday, but now I do it when I can. It is hard to spread yourself thin. You can go to my Youtube channel and Instagram and all of them are saved on there and I post all of them.
I have people that will just chime in and start talking to me about their problems. I once had someone who started talking to me about how he wanted to commit suicide until he started listening to my stuff, and that's what kind of helped him get through. So I am like dam, this is a greater purpose getting put on me. I am supposed to embrace it. I am supposed to feel. I am not supposed to run for it. So that’s what I did. I started Church on a Sunday.
6) When you are doing interviews, I know a lot of it is on the spot. But how much research do you actually do before as well?
I most definitely do as much research as I can. I want to be interested and hold conversations with them. I don’t want to just get through time. That is not what real podcasting is about. It is supposed to be raw, live, and talking about real conversations. I feel that way, and a lot of podcasters need to also take that in consideration. You have to do it because you love it, not just because you want to make money. If you are going to truly make it in this industry, it is you and you alone that has to push the narratives and issues to make it possible. I just like to talk about things that the people that I interview don’t really get a chance to talk about. Was this always for you? When was the struggle? Tell these people the struggles that it takes. What they have to go through.
7) And what have your struggles been? What have you gone through?
A whole dam lot. I lost a lot and gained a lot. Went thought many roller coasters. Got knocked off the high horse and had to get on the mule. Got off the mule and got back on the horse. You have to be able to do that and know you have a better purpose and fuck what anyone else thinks! That is what I am going to tell your blog. It doesn’t matter! Don’t let people knock you off your pivot because it doesn’t matter. Everyone will always have something to say. Just be real and authentic. That’s why I got into podcasting. It might not be the fanciest or most grand conversations we are having. But if someone has to tear up a little bit, let them. And I am the person that can bring it out. You show me yours I will show you mine. That way we can resonate together and you won’t feel like you are alone.
8) Do you have any projects coming up next that you can share with us?
I got some cool stuff going on, and I am about to start traveling to the US and talking to people about their stories and get out of the backyard and do more. Just going and being able to interact with different people. Hearing different stories and struggles. I have some cool stuff going on soon that will raise some awareness. We might look different or talk different, but we are all the same. That is what matters. Is that we can connect. I am not afraid and I want to show them that they don’t have to be either. And if we talk about it and attack it, you will feel ten times better about being you. I promise.
9) If you have one piece of advice you can leave us with, what would it be?
Do what makes you happy. Be safe! But do what makes you happy. Do the things that you love. Don’t just get into the shit because it makes you a couple bucks just to get by. Really go for it. Don’t let nobody tell you you can’t make no moves. That should put a fire under your ass to want to get up and make it even harder. Let that feed your fuel that you need to keep you moving. People care so much about what the next person thinks of them that you don’t worry about what you think of yourself. Worry about what you think about you.
Thank you, Sharp, for talking with me today. Follow Sharp’s social channels and podcasts here!
Photography by Amanda Durham.
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTtPVWiYEMS5N_loXF2qBdg
