Today we’d like to introduce you to Benny Wonka.
Benny, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
When I was 15, I picked up the neglected family VHS video camera for the first time and started making films. They were all terrible, but I made about 200 of them in the backyard with my brother and various friends, and my passion was ignited forever.
I’m an artist. We all are. I focus primarily on films. My work has been shown on adult swim, BET, ESPN, Netflix, and pretty much every other major network. I make films for the city of Atlanta, the Hawks and the Falcons, and worked 4 years on the well-known series Love and Hip-Hop. My favorite work, the only stuff that people care about, is the YouTube channel I do with my son, Maximus Thor. Ok, I guess people care a bit about my other work too. Over and over I’ve been asked if Love and Hip-Hop is scripted or not. I guess like any good bit of performance art. There’s a plan when the season starts. But as Mike Tyson so eloquently put it, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”
In 2011 my son Maximus laid something decisive on me. He was standing shirtless by his dresser getting ready and said, “Dad, I wanna do a YouTube channel.” He looked back at me, as only a six year old with big plans can, and a creative explosion took place in my mind. “It’s his YouTube channel,” my subconscious said to me. I had been planning on making a YouTube channel to show people what I felt I could actually do rather than whatever popular wave TV executives are riding.
I got my friends and family involved with the project, including my deeply talented friend James R. Few, who voices Maximus with an authentic ATL vibe. We all learned a ton about Minecraft and its creepy villain Herobrine, known unaffectionately to the six year old crowd as “Him.” Our props were at first mostly made from the recycling bin and thrift shops, and we shied away from the typical YouTube format of talking into the camera, doing tutorials, etc. and I made sure to keep Maximus Thor (yes, that’s his real name on his birth certificate,) involved in the creative process.
My friends passed them around to each other and loved it. I felt really good about it what we had made and was thrilled to have a piece of art that I wasn’t ashamed to show people. That was the big win. Then one night in November 2012, Maximus Thor got posted on Reddit. EXPLOSION. I woke to text messages. I kept refreshing our YouTube page, trying to process the wildly ascending numbers.
Next thing we knew, we were regularly being featured on BuzzFeed and had articles written about us on CNET, Huffington Post and other A list blogs and content aggregators. Maximus even ended up on the cover of Creative Loafing in their 20 People to Watch issue. The rest has been hard work to deliver the content that people love from us- lots of humor, energy, swearing, non-sequiturs and love for the city and culture of Atlanta. Our two most popular pieces are “Dream” and “Live,” both of which have messages dripping with hope. I’d summarize them, but I’d so much rather that you check out my son’s YouTube channel for yourself. He means everything to me.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It’s important to me that I be totally transparent here – I make many films about mental health and suicide prevention because for a very long time, I wanted to end my own life. My outlook was focused on myself, and that fed into my problems with drugs and alcohol. This reality came with consequences that devastated me, like broken relationships, lost opportunities, ambulance rides, panic attacks and deep resentments toward other people. I could make that list even longer and sadder but you get the idea. My road to recovery was long, and it started by reaching out for help and being vulnerable enough to accept it. Once I realized I didn’t have to fight alone in the dark, I started making changes and acquiring tools, a favorite of which is: “In seeking happiness for others, you will find it yourself.”
First Family of the Internet – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Both in my self-driven work and commercially, my best and most rewarding projects have been about topics like meditation and other tools for mental health, suicide prevention, social justice and non-profits doing powerful work in the same vein. What might set me apart is the way I bring humor into what has often been seen as dry, sad material. Just because I’m making a film about homelessness or navigating the Capitol building with a disability, doesn’t mean I can’t make it fun. Laughter is the ultimate tool for mindfulness and it can oftentimes help people open up to hard topics. I’m most proud of any film I’ve made that inspired someone to make a change.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success is inspiring others to be their best selves.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.youtube.com/user/JoinTeamOverlord
- Phone: 770-378-0555
- Email: maximusthormorgan@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maximusthor/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaximusThor1
Image Credit:
Photos: Benny Wonka & Taylor Graves
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