No one is going to have a love for your brand than you. There’s no other person that can direct your company like you can. No one can motivate others to see your vision other than you. If you don’t have a love for your dream enough to be the biggest ambassador for it, don’t start the business.
As part of my series about “individuals and organizations making an important social impact”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Darrion Nimrod.
Darrion Nimrod is founder of Outsiders Movement and Outsiders Social Club Foundation. Darrion assists young adults by giving them a safe place to network and even speak on issues including mental health, lifestyle issues and business.
Darrion created a “feed the homeless initiative” in Austin, Texas where he received many food and clothes donations and partnered with a couple organizations to assist over 200 homeless individuals.
Currently with OSC, he looks to host networking events that will host many start up entrepreneurs, influencers and creatives. Doing so will build this safe place for them to network, enjoy great dining experience and grow the potential for the young adults for years to come.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Millennials and Gen Zs have a tough time adjusting when their life is in transition. Transition is described when there is an instant change in lifestyle. Whether it’s graduating high school to college, college to adulthood, or even adjusting to the lifestyle of Covid-19; The generation above us struggles to adjust. I believe that when adversity or change comes, most people aren’t taught how to process the change which could lead to mental health and or identity issues. Outsiders and OSC is that safe place to not only welcome them in that season, but to progress them upward.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company or organization?
One thing about starting out as an entrepreneur, there will be many moments where you will have to be resourceful. You will not always have the perfect outcome as you envisioned. It’s how you deal with it and adjust that will separate you from many. We were invited to speak at a convention in Pittsburgh, PA. I and a colleague were asked to speak to 300 people ranging from 12–22 years old. My young adults (they were all 16+) that were working with me felt empowered to contribute and wanted to travel with me. We gathered a couple parent volunteers and we drove from Kansas City, MO to Pittsburgh. It was supposed to be a 12 hour drive. There was a HUGE snow storm in Indianapolis that we didn’t forecast. This 12 hour drive turned out to be a 20 hour drive. We power through it, alternating drivers to give everyone a chance to sleep. We were able to build a culture during this drive where I was able to find out my youth’s dreams and aspirations in great detail. I found out one of the teens wanted to go to college for filmmaking. When we got to Pittsburgh, we rented a New Sony Camera for her to film the conference and work with the conference film staff to get some experience with them. We ended up finishing the convention and many teens saw my group of teens being ambassadors for Outsiders and were flooded with gratitude and shared how impactful our brand and message was. That’s how I knew we were doing something great.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I wouldn’t say it was a “mistake”. Outsiders started out as a radio show when I was 17 years old. Much like the mission now, it was designated to be that safe place. We had lofty expectations for the show as we had aspirations to compete with “The Breakfast Club”. Without proper training, we were doing shows that might have only had all of our closest friends and family listening. We were contacting every PR team of our favorite celebrities, public speakers, artists. The main question was how many listeners did we have? We had no more than 20. After being denied countless times, we ended up getting an internship with someone who was doing ESPN radio at the time. Taught us how to properly have a podcast with the goal to be picked up on a major radio station. Fast forward 2 years later, we were on a radio station that featured 80,000 listeners monthly. We were able to interview our favorite artists, public speakers and celebrities. Lesson was that a vision goes nowhere without proper plans or action. Nor is the final product going to be “instant”. It will take time, it will lead to disappointment. What we do after the disappointment will track our progress.
Can you describe how you or your organization is making a significant social impact?
While we aren’t a massive organization that has impacted hundreds of thousands of individuals, through our speaking engagements and community outreach we’ve impacted many people. And it’s not about the number of people. I care about one individual. The person like me was 16 years old and found it hard to connect to my peers. 16 years old and wanted to be an entrepreneur, didn’t know where and how to start. That’s why I do it.
Can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted or helped by your cause?
When we were Outsiders Radio, there were teens on the show pouring their heart out week by week. One teen confessed that she was feeling signs of depression and didn’t know her purpose in life. Says her mom doesn’t see the signs and doesn’t care to see how she feels. Her mom was ironically listening that day. Her mom came into the station in tears. She’s a single mother that works 2 jobs to keep food on the table. She missed the signs due to her working. She had no idea her daughter was feeling that way but this show made her daughter feel comfortable to voice it without any judgment. Hence the whole purpose of the mission.
How do you define “Leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?
Leadership is someone directing a group of people. The way one motivates others, how they hold themselves and others accountable and how they lead by example.
Understanding this at 18 was definitely my biggest roadblock. I was a kid trying to lead kids. I didn’t have any leadership experience. I just focused on the end goal. I used to get frustrated when deadlines weren’t met. I burned a lot of bridges back then due to not understanding what is an effective coaching style. What will truly motivate young adults. It didn’t take until I was able to get some managerial experience for me to truly understand and implement it into my business.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
Entrepreneurship is a marathon, not a sprint. You won’t have all the answers, you don’t have it all figured out. Take the time to reflect each day on the wins and opportunities and make a game plan to get 100% better everyday.
Positive connections can be just as important as bottom line profit. How you interact with people that you collaborate with, you never know how important these interactions will be in the future. Once you build a community of people who can be ambassadors for your brand due to your personal connection with them, you can actually grow.
It’s okay to start over and reboot. I’ve had multiple reboots. The first idea doesn’t always stick. The world constantly changes. We started out in radio, now we live in an era that podcasts and digital media rules. You have to adapt to what the consumer needs. There’s no shame in a restart.
No one is going to have a love for your brand than you. There’s no other person that can direct your company like you can. No one can motivate others to see your vision other than you. If you don’t have a love for your dream enough to be the biggest ambassador for it, don’t start the business.
Lastly, keep being curious with your personal growth. It will only help you with your professional growth.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
An afterschool program for young people who struggle with mental health and give them a safeplace to understand, embrace, and grow with others who have a similar journey. Help them understand that they aren’t the only ones on this journey.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Of course, here’s an impactful life lesson quote by Maya Angelou:
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
This quote underscores the value of learning, growth, and self-improvement. It acknowledges that we all start with a certain level of knowledge and understanding, but as we gain new insights and perspectives, it’s essential to apply them to our actions and decisions. It encourages a continuous cycle of learning, evolving, and striving to become a better version of ourselves.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
Inky Johnson, he’s someone I look up to as he’s dealt with adversity and instead of letting life deter him from his purpose, he’s adapted and has impacted millions of people.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Outsiders Movement’s website is OutsidersMovement.com. It can outline our mission, purpose along with our publications and videos. Also can donate to OSC on the site.
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
Social Impact Heroes: Why & How Deejay ‘Darrion’ Nimrod Is Helping To Change Our World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.