Phoenix West

New York, New York, United States

Profile Campaigns

An LGBT Entrepreneur with Heart

I have always been a storyteller.  For as long as I can remember.  And, I always knew that I wanted to do something in Entertainment.  The last part I got honestly.  I grew up around it.  My mother was a singer and my father, her manager.  I had two uncles who were rappers and a grandmother who wrote gospel songs (and film scripts) in her spare time.  Plus, I grew up in Michigan - home to Barry Gordy's Motown.  Where stories of the company's success and Gordy's entrepreneurship were constant topics of discussion.   As an only child, I would spend most of my free time creating: writing novels, short stories, creating cable companies (no lie) and creating music video countdowns (could never seem to agree with MTV).  After a brief love affair with public speaking in elementary and middle school, I was bitten by the acting bug in high school.  This led me to study theater (along with psychology) at Yale University.  After Yale, I went to New York City and had a string of beginner's luck.  In the space of about a month, I had a play that I had written produced Off-Off Broadway, got an agent on my first mailing, landed a soap opera role and half a dozen theatrical roles.  I was on fire.  Or, so I thought.  Because in the matter days, everything dried up.     Adamant about being the next Laurence Olivier, I moved to Hollywood and experienced much of the same.  Not one to give up easily, I decided to venture out on my own and create my own production company.  Teaming up with my mentor, John Orland, that production company that was intended only as a vehicle for me to act soon became a full-fledged studio/network.   Initially aimed at a General Audience, I set about learning everything that I could to effectively run the company.  I learned the ins and outs of Production, I learned Marketing, I learned Sales, I learned Finance, I learned Operations, I learned Web Development, I learned everything I could that was – in any way – related to running a production company/studio/network on the internet and probably purchased every single book in the Business section at Barnes and Noble between the years 2008 and 2012 – at least once.   After a shift in focus to the Millennial Audience, the company was fortunate enough to get a bunch of men and women involved who had years and years of experience in every important field.  People who were once “Heads of” at everything from Marvel Comics to Sony Pictures to the Discovery Channel.  We were chugging along, investors were interested in what we were doing and because of well-connected mentors, we found ourselves handing business plans out to some of the most innovative  (and influential) companies in the world.   But, this past Spring was a turning point for me.  When I heard that Logo - America's only  real network geared towards programming for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender individuals - decided to shift focus away from our community, I was devastated.  Literally, hurt.  I had wrestled back and forth with the idea myself.  I'd always wanted to create an LGBT-based network, but had always reasoned it wasn't necessary because Logo was there.   But, now with Logo shifting focus, there was this void.  And, I began to feel personally responsible.  I knew I wasn't but I felt (and still feel) that way.  I had been fortunate enough to work with (and learn from) some of the greatest individuals in entertainment today; gaining all of this knowledge to successful run a network.  Why wouldn't I use it for the good of my community?  A community that has been plagued with bullying/teen suicides, the gay marriage debate and just the general "acceptance" of mainstream culture.  At such a crucial time in our history, I felt there needed to be a safe haven where we could go to laugh, to celebrate and to learn about ourselves.  If Logo wasn't going to do, GuavaWorld would.   Of course, that was easier said than done because I had a staff of people working for me and tons of other people interested.  We had sent out all of these business plan and were taking meetings.  What would happen to all of that?  So, being the overly-dramatic person that I am, I went a "spiritual" journey.  It was just to Los Angeles, but it gave me time to really think.  My head wanted me to go in one direction.  My heart another.  But, in the end, I had to go with my heart.   Making gay television will be the toughest thing that I've ever done in my life.  The road blocks are huge and plentiful.  And, the decisions hard.     I know that in order to create a network that really can inspire, entertain and educate the community, we will have to forego the traditional advertiser-generated revenue model and go with a subscription-based one.  I know that in order to keep that subscription cost down for the user, we will have to be in a perpetual state of fundraising for the next 3-5 years.  But, I also know that creating a network where gay people can see positive, reality-based images of themselves coupled with aspirational depictions - where they can feel safe to be 100% themselves - will be the greatest and most rewarding contribution I could ever be a part of making to the world.   For me, the goal has never been to get straight/mainstream society to accept us (that will come).  But, rather, the goal is to make sure we accept and love ourselves.  After all of the homophobia, after all of the fear, we can still look in the mirror and be proud of what we see.  And, that is something that I will fight for everyday of my life.

About Me

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