Fonzworth Bentley: The Year of the Gentleman

When
targeting an entertainment personality to grace the cover of a
magazine, the process, for the most part, is straightforward. Once
you’re able to overcome the red tape rolled out by publicists, managers
and agents, you finally get to roll up your sleeves and delve into the
nuts and bolts of it all — the who, what, when, where and why of the
story. Oftentimes, the things that are important to a magazine don’t
exactly line up with what an artist or celebrity wants to discuss. In
fact, there have been times when rolling out has wanted to
discuss meaningful topics aimed at empowering our community, only to be
met with resistance and an insistence to only discuss an album or a new
movie.

Thankfully,
our feature with fashion trendsetter and TV personality Fonzworth
Bentley had no such impediments, and the outcome was perhaps more
meaningful than either party could have imagined. From the beginning of
our time together, our laser-like focus was to create a partnership
that in the end would generate more than just an increase in his
national recognition. No, this journey was aimed at both enlightening
and uplifting the people who mean the most to us … the urban community.

Let’s take a closer look at our journey together.

The Who:
Fonzworth Bentley, born Derek Watkins in Atlanta, is a difficult man to
get a bead on — at least that’s the way society has made it appear.
Groomed in his formative years to become a man of distinction, this
genteel television, music and literary dynamo has always been
surrounded by an aura of mystery. “Who is this guy working with Diddy,”
people wondered. Moreover, “Why is he always flawlessly dressed in
suits, ties and suspenders while everyone else is rocking the latest
Sean John gear?” Over time, those questions and the false assumptions
that followed began to define how society viewed him. “He must be lame
or searching for attention,” became the retort for those in need of
something to feed their inner curiosities.

Those who know Bentley intimately, however, have a far different
perception. The private Bentley came to the forefront after authoring
an etiquette book, and hosting the wildly popular MTV show “From G’s to
Gents.” At that point the world began to really understand the makeup
of this man.

The What:

The
shoot was scheduled to take place in a quaint nook arranged at one of
Atlanta’s most popular studios, Studio 501. By the time all the parties
had assembled though, the focus had become less about the location and
more about the message to be conveyed — simply put, the “what” of it
all.

“Can I talk to you for a second?” Bentley
requested. “I was really hoping that you and I could have a talk
beforehand about what we will be discussing. What did you have in mind?”

When it was explained that we wanted to focus on his impact on young
men, Bentley was visibly relieved. “Well that’s perfect, because that’s
exactly where I’m at right now,” he offered. “I just want to encourage
our young men to press forward and be all that they can be. I think
that people perform at the expectation level that they are given, and
it’s time to raise that expectation.”

The when:
Like many things in life, events occur precisely when they are meant to
take place. The same could be said for the evolution of Bentley’s
career. After experiencing maximum exposure during his Bad Boy days as
Diddy’s assistant and stylist, there were numerous opportunities to
capitalize on the goodwill created from that time in the spotlight.
Bentley had a specific idea about how to make the most of his good
fortune. His first step in a detailed plan to impact lives was to pen
an etiquette book, Advance Your Swagger: How to Use Manners, Confidence and Style to Get Ahead.

“When I wrote the etiquette book, they came to me and wanted me to
write a book about myself,” he confides. “I wasn’t interested in that.
But people would always come up to me and ask, ‘How were you able to
move from Atlanta to New York without knowing anyone? How were you able
to survive? How did you meet people?’ I could attribute all of that to
three simple things — manners, confidence and style. So I wanted to
make an etiquette book, because I think it’s the little things that
hold so many of us back. My whole mind-set was that if I mentored 10
kids, then that was not good enough. But if I wrote a book, then I
could possibly touch hundreds of thousands of lives. Now with this
television show, we were able to touch 60 million people last year —
and [that] was without any big promotion behind us. So not only did we
survive … we won. Integrity is winning. I think that’s one of the
exciting things about this time. This whole idea of change is a very
real thing. As a result, young folks are now becoming aspirational.”

The where:

“Where” Bentley’s life journey will ultimately take him continues to be
uncovered daily. And while industry experts try to convince him that
the only path to success is through mimicking what’s already popular,
that option has never been very appealing to him — especially when it
comes to his music. Bentley, an ambitious and highly talented rap
artist, believes that his success will ultimately be born through
authenticity. “I’ve always been successful by just being me,” he
explains. “But a lot of times, my colleagues will tell me that I have
to say stuff in my rhymes that ‘white T-shirt’ dudes can get with. But
I’m like ‘No, white T-shirt dudes respect me when I’m doing me 1,000
percent.’ At the end of the day, everyone respects a hustler — period.”

The why:
As we
concluded the interview, and the final pictures and on-camera questions
were completed, Bentley seemed to percolate with an unbridled optimism
about the future. It wasn’t displayed or articulated in a way that
could ever be perceived as arrogant, though. Instead, his demeanor
hinted at a man who had endured the vicissitudes of life, only to
discover the real “why” of his journey.

“If
I can’t give God the glory while doing this, then what is it worth? I
have experienced some real difficult times. There was a point when the
[Bad Boy] checks stopped coming, and my parents came to me and
suggested that I [might] need to consider giving up my place in L.A.
That’s when I learned how to truly worship God, and [I] just kept the
faith. In the end, He has still never let me down,” Bentley affirms.

That faith continues to be rewarded in grand fashion. But even the most
devoutly spiritual being might occasionally have moments when doubt
creeps in, as evidenced by the nerves that ate away at him during the
first season of “From G’s to Gents.”

“I was extremely stressed out during that first season,” he reveals. “I
was in prayer a lot. Because if it didn’t work, think about all of
those millions of people out there who would be like ‘I don’t need that
stuff in my life.’ Thank God it worked,” Bentley says.
Thank God indeed.