Today we’d like to introduce you to Steven VanDyke.
Steven, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My work career started as a print model at the age of nine years old. I did a lot of work for local and national department stores like J.C. Penny’s, Rich’s and Gayfers. There was a time when I was the hottest young black male model in the city of Atlanta. I worked pretty steadily until about age thirteen at which time I started wearing a men’s small in clothing, this pushed me out of the model industry at that time because retailers preferred to use a real “small man” to advertise their clothing rather than a ‘big boy.”
My business career started going into my senior year at Jackson State University. On August 16, 1994, I started an entertainment company called VanDyke Entertainment. I believe in building relationships and it was through a friendship with my high school political science teacher that I received assistance with incorporating my company. We set up the company for artist management, promotion, production, and publishing and also to become a label. Over the years, I did event management/concert promotion, artist management consulting and many years later, I used the company to publish my books along with releasing music through our digital label.
In 2012, my life was changed physically, emotionally and spiritually while being instrumentally led by my pastor at that time, Dr. Joseph L. Williams of Salem Bible Church. His health & wellness process called “The Journey” got me healthier physically, assisted with my anxiety emotionally, and guided/grew me spiritually. It was after going through that process, assisting on the backside of its structure & development, and helping lead others in the process that God woke me up in the early morning hours of August 7, 2012, with three words that has forever changed my life. Those words were Fight…Win…Survive! It was at that time I received the vision which led me to create a niche market that I have called encouragement merchandising and we’ve become a ministry outreach.
Fight…Win…Survive has sold hundreds of t-shirts and through our wristbands, our ministry outreach, has connected with thousands of people all over the world. I have written four books – “Words of Wisdom, Points of Power and Biblical Empowerment,” “My Thanksgiving Journal,” “The Prayer Book,” and “The Power of You (published under VanDyke Entertainment) and through my VanDyke Entertainment label released an EP titled “The Power of Prayer” and a single titled “United We Stand” which was inspired by Michael Brown’s death in Ferguson, MO that was written and performed by a local up and coming artist named Young Ent.
On July 8, 2018, my life was shaken by the massive stroke suffered by my 41-year-old sister Kimberly. It was out of that experience that a new mobile app called 911 Alert was conceived. My sister’s stroke happened in front of my mother which got her immediate medical attention, but my overall concern came not from that experience, but from a “what if” situation. I thought about “what if” my sister’s stroke happened when she was at home alone with her eight-year-old daughter. “What if” she was on her way to AT&T Mobility where she worked as an Associate Director overseeing the design of training material. “What if” she was driving down the street or was in a store and just didn’t feel well. “What if” she called 911 in any of those situations or circumstances, how would her family have known?
It was those “what if’s” that led me to create the mobile app “911 Alert” which notifies up to ten pre-selected emergency contacts when 911 is dialed from a caller’s cell phone. The beauty of the app is that the text is sent immediately when the 911 call is made. So, while the caller is telling 911 what is going on and what their need is, up to ten emergency contacts will be notified that the call was made, the location the call was made from, and a GPS link that allows the phone’s navigation system to route the contact to the caller. For easy communication amongst the emergency contacts, that initial text is sent as a group text message so everyone can communicate about the 911 call and get and receive important and relevant information at the same time. Lastly, the app will track the caller’s phone once a 911 call is made that allows their emergency contacts the opportunity to see where the phone is going or has gone.
To bring the app to the market, we are using crowdfunding and selling lifetime subscriptions to help build our subscriber base. Our crowdfund will be done through Indiegogo and through their partnership with Arrow Electronics, we have been certified by Arrow for our software design.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
My road has been everything but smooth. It has been many hills and valleys, more valleys than hills. I have failed way more than I have succeeded with the things I have done. I tried to create an online music platform called the “Independent Artist Promotion Network” that cost me a lot of money and time. I also attempted to create a website called My-Family-Connection where families could come together and keep track of each other through a directory, lists birthdays, anniversaries and other events and dates and would keep track of a family’s history.
Coming out of college, I tried to design a student housing complex (I called it “College Park” a tribute to the city where I grew up) that provided not just housing but a variety of amenities that you would find in what is now mixed developments way before those things were created or developed. After college, I also wanted to attack the underage drinking environment with an organization called the “Alcohol Awareness Coalition.” My goal was simple, get all of the alcohol manufacturers and distributors to be a member of the coalition that would educate college students about underage drinking. I called that program A.C.E. (Alcohol Counseling and Education). Within the coalition, there would have been a designated driver program where students would be the “gatekeepers” for their friends and others if they witnessed or was informed of excessive drinking and would assist in helping those individuals get home safely.
All of these struggles got me down but never kept me down. I am a dreamer and I will continue to dream. My only drawback in life is not having the connections to those individuals or companies that I can present my dreams to.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
My business is Fight…Win…Survive, a ministry outreach and encouragement merchandiser. Every day on social media, we have one goal and that goal is to positively touch at least one person’s life through our posts. Our specialty is wristbands, we have touched over 10,000 people with our wristbands in seven years of existence. That is what I am most proud of. The proudest moment is when I am going through pictures and I see someone in a picture wearing one or hearing someone contact me and tell me that they saw someone somewhere wearing the wristband and they strike up a conversation about us.
I am excited about the 911 Alert app that is upcoming under the Fight…Win…Survive umbrella. It’s a phone app that will immediately text up to ten emergency contacts instantly when 911 is called from a cell phone. Emergencies are not planned and are inconvenient, but knowing that you have family or friends who will know about a 911 call provides a sense of safety and security. This app is going to help so many people.
What sets Fight…Win…Survive apart from others is our diversity. We have wristbands, t-shirts (various styles and designs), books, embroidered clothing and accessories, a strong social media following and last but not least, a mobile phone app that is going to revolutionize how people feel when they or family and/or friends call 911.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was actually shy to a large degree. People today won’t believe that because I am very friendly and outgoing now. Growing up I played little league sports football, basketball, and baseball. My dream was to play Major League Baseball in high school, I know of two pro teams that was looking at me but an arm injury took me out of and away from the game. I loved music as a child and in my teenage years, wanted to be a rapper. That’s what led me start my company VanDyke Entertainment. I was a business major in college so I wanted to have my own business. I loved video games and playing outside. I was the kid that pulled all of the kids on the street together to play Wiffle ball in my parent’s driveway. It didn’t matter if you were male or female, you were going to play. I think my insistence of my sister playing Wiffle ball helped spark her fire for the sport which allowed her to invest thousands of dollars into my nephew in playing baseball. It worked; he went to Grambling State University on a baseball scholarship.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.FightWinSurvive.com and www.911Alert.app
- Phone: 678-861-IWIN (4946)
- Email: info@fightwinsurvive.com and info@911alert.app
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