Our People
Jason Richardson and J1 Studios – The trailblazer of Philadelphia Geek Culture
by Bryan Carter
J1 Studios
BC: What do you do outside of J1 Studios?
JR: Outside of J1 Studios, I am a graphic designer and one of the five hosts of the award-winning live radio show Black Tribbles.
Essentially, what brought forth the idea of creating J1 Studios?
JR: I always created things as a kid. I developed games, comics, and my little radio dramas as a child. I just saw an opportunity to make it my profession.
BC: As an introduction to J1 Studios, what could someone expect to find on your website or while attending one of your events?
JR: Variety. We provide so many things on the site that it can be overwhelming. The events obviously show that we are a crew that’s really trying to give something that we (as fans) would want. A by-fans, for-fans ideal.
BC: How would you describe geek culture to someone who’s unfamiliar with the term?
JR: It’s anything they’re passionate about, but it deals with entertainment, comics, science fiction, video games, board games, and novels (mainly fiction). Anyone can be a geek. Jocks are geeks about their favorite sports teams, and comic book readers are geeks about the titles they read.
BC: I’m familiar with the term “geek,” but does geek culture truly exist?
JR: I want people to see that black geek culture exists. That’s the thing people don’t know about. People do not know black geeks are a real thing.
BC: But what’s the difference between black geek culture and regular geek culture?
JR: Black geek culture needs the exposure so that it becomes a part of regular geek culture. If you pay attention to the media, you would think that black folk don’t exist in the scene. I can tell you that friends and family members have at one point introduced “black geeks” as “the whitest black people” they know. You lose your identity as a black person when you step outside of the stereotypical black roles that culture has made for us.
BC: Is it safe to assume your goal is to expose black geek culture while also expanding on geek culture as a whole?
JR: Indeed. At some point I want it to all be under one roof, comfortably. I want it to all just be called geek culture. The first step is for all ethnic geek cultures (not just black) to be recognized without animosity. This goes for women as well.
BC: Who are some of the major names in Philadelphia’s geek culture?
JR: Obviously, major names in Philly’s geek culture are the Black Tribbles (Len Webb, Kennedy Allen, Randy Green, and Erik Darden). There’s Cipher Prime’s Will Stallwood, comic book artist J.G. Jones, Damien Warsavage, and Eric Small. There are more but these are the ones I can think of at the moment.
BC: J1 Studios and Black Tribbles won two awards at this year’s Geekadelphia Awards. How did it feel receiving those awards?
JR: I was so happy to see Black Tribbles up on screen for Streaming Media Project of the Year. Being on stage with my Tribble crew was amazing! All those people looking at us and listening to what we had to say was phenomenal! As the winner of the 2014 Geek Of The Year award, I was blown away. All the press generated due to the awards still baffles me. I’m like: “You care to know who I am?” It all felt like the hard work was finally paying off.
BC: I recall one of our conversations in which we discussed J1-Con. Kindly fill everyone in on the details of this event.
JR: On September 14th, from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m., we are going to be holding our annual anime convention, located at 3801 Market Street, First District Plaza, 3rd Floor. Expect to meet various YouTube celebs, like the famous anime voice actor Vic Mignogna (the voice of Edward Elric on Full Metal Alchemist, Broly on DragonBall Z, Tamaki on Ouran High School, Nagato on Naruto, and more!) We’ll have vendors where you can buy anime DVDs, games, plush dolls, and action figures. The added touch is the video game and card game tournaments. Prices to enter the convention range from $10.00 – $30.00.
BC: Who has inspired you? What was it about them?
JR: A homeless man named Eugene who used the money he saved to buy me an art set. He told me that one day I would be a great artist. Don’t get me wrong: I had my mom, cousins (like David Mitchell), even friends (like Kevin Siter) who inspired me to move forward. My main concern has always been creating worlds and information for everyone to enjoy.
BC: What obstacles have you faced since starting out with your brand?
JR: Keeping those friends who want to get into the industry as badly as you do. Friendships end, especially if you happen to advance farther than your friends do. You start to see the truth behind your friendship. Usually, people you were close with in the past become estranged, and those you never expected to help you are the ones spending their last dime in support of you. Those are the friends you need to respect. In the past, due to family situations, I ended up on the street. That’s an obstacle that I never want to deal with ever again.
BC: What future projects are you working on?
JR: I can’t get into too many details, but I will be bringing back my card game that I developed back in 2003.
BC: A card game? Details please.
JR: Best way I can describe it, without giving anything away, is that it’s the essence of a fighting game. It’s a 1-on-1 fighting game through cards. I pick a character, you pick a character, and we battle until someone is KO’d, or there’s a “time over.” It will make use of all the characters from the J1 Studios properties.
BC: What advice would you give to other people trying to do what you are doing?
JR: Know that there are way more sacrifices in the beginning to get where you are going, and it’s never instant success. As quick as you grow is as quick as you burn out. Create that slow, solid foundation first. Get as much advice from as many people as you can. Study the people who made it. Learn how they made it. Don’t just think you are going to start where they are now, or you will be heartbroken with your outcome. Support others because there will be a point when you will need them to support you.
To learn more about J1 Studios and their yearly anime convention visit www.j1studios.com and www.j1con.com.
For details on their upcoming J1 Music Fest click here
Photography by K/D/Morris
Lonyo Holmes is the 59 year old business owner of Q&A Wholesale Smoke Shop, the only African American owned smoke shop in the city, located at 2749 Kensington Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19134, the heart of the Kensington epidemic. Along side his wife Tiesha Chandler, they celebrated 8 years in October 2022, while defending his turf from would-be thieves, and illegal solicitors. Combined with the setback of having his store robbed during the pandemic and failing to secure all but a PPA loan for his business, he’s felt everything. To this day he’s struggles to pay rent due to the economic side effects of an unchecked drug epidemic that deters those interested in learning more about this unique community space.
“During the pandemic one of my folks hit my phone and told me “yo, someone broke into your store. They broke in through the window”. So, me and my wife Tiesha go check it out… Man, they hit my displays, shelves, they cleaned me out. They left me with over 20,000 dollars in losses.”
Long before 2022, Lonyo opened his store to build and promote events by community members. So far he’s held shows around spoken word, and hip-hop, while hosting givebacks to the community, meet and greets and more. “Everyday I’m fighting for my livelihood. If I don’t open this shop, I don’t eat.”
Despite the challenges, the fight to survive lives on. These days Mr. Holmes spends his time selling food outside to keep the rent paid. “I started selling more food and water ice because that’s the only reason people were coming to my store. I gotta do something if no one is coming here to even buy a lighter”.
One of Philadelphia’s local celebrities, DJ Dior, found inspiration at Q&A, using it as space to provide food for the homeless and a give back with donations provided by Unapologetically Imperfect and The YMCA (North Philly Branch).
Mr Holmes continues to innovate his space, despite his environmental challenges. This past yr he’s added a stage, speakers and more for those blooming artist, both visual and musical. “This area is still a great space. The sound is good, the people are good and spirits here are good as well.“
Bryan Carter: What kind of work do you do in the community?
Lonyo Holmes: We feed the community as much as possible, primarily Friday and Saturday with our nonprofit Samaritans of Service. If we see someone in dire need, we’re here to help.
BC: What are you doing, or considering to rebuild your business?
LH: We are considering a way back – come to our establishment, get ya hair cut (Mr. Holmes is a certified barber), get your ID, or gently used clothes to get employed so folks can get on their feet. We also work with Take Back Philly and Momma Love Soulfood with a Twist where we give out large platters of food. DJ Dior was instrumental in meeting Alicia Joyner, CEO of Take Back Philly. Start between 4:30 and 5:30pm for an hr or until the food is gone. The donations we receive from The Rock Ministries and Richards and Friends United in the Community allows us to bless the rest of the ppl in line. We also deliver to different clothing outlets around the Aramingo area, and to orgs who share our donations with their audience.
BC: How can others get involved?
LH: I’ll tell you how to help our people and our city… Show up. We’re out here every Friday, 11am to 2pm unloading trucks, packing cars, delivers etc. and any help from you would be greatly appreciated.
If you would like to support Mr. Holmes and his community work, check out his event space, and more? Please visit 2749 Kensington Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19134 or call (267) 584-8354.
Go to school. Get a good education. Get a good job and open a bank account. Does this sound familiar? Most of us heard this from our parents. Most of us have been indoctrinated to believe that this formula would lead us to our dream life. How has that worked out? I refer to this as a covert poverty mindset. Our parents taught us this because that’s all they knew. If we don’t learn something different then we will most likely teach this to our children, and that covert poverty mindset will linger in our communities for at least another generation. Now, more than ever, we need effective and relevant financial literacy education.
- Establish an emergency fund: You should have 3-6 months of your financial obligations saved up for the purpose of protecting against unforeseen events. Studies show that more than half of American families have less than $1000 in savings and therefore struggle to survive the occurrence of even a minor financial emergency. (CNBC.com, “Here’s How Much Money Americans Have in Their Savings Accounts,” September 13, 2017)
- Get proper income protection: The industry refers to it as life insurance. I prefer the term income protection because many people believe that insurance will repair or replace the item that is insured. However, life insurance can not and will not replace a life. It will replace income. Many families lost loved ones due to COVID-19 and since many of those lost were not properly covered, their families had to endure an additional hardship trying to finance the cost of final services for their loved one.
- The last concept that I work to teach families is, “Pay yourself first.” By that I mean prioritize and put money away for retirement. Learning concepts like the “high cost of waiting” and the “time value of money” help create the necessary urgency around investing. True financial freedom occurs when your investment income matches or exceeds that of your earned income. 75% of Americans admit to wishing that they had started planning for retirement earlier than they did. (2016 Wells Fargo Retirement Study)
When I work with families, I use these concepts, along with some others: like the rule of 72 and dollar cost averaging, to help them. I’ve found that many people because of the lack of information are unable to take advantage of, and benefit from the knowledge of the rules of the money game. It doesn’t matter what game you play, if you do not know the rules you are a lot less likely to win. Therefore educating families about the strategies to win, positions them in a much better place to do so. I believe the solution to better finances starts with education. The next step is to develop a plan and lastly to get a coach to help you implement and stick to the plan.
There are financial coaches, like myself, who are actively looking for individuals and families that want to succeed at the money game. Actively looking for people who are willing to open their minds to trying something that may be different. In this regard, financial health is very similar to physical health. When you need to assess or verify that your physical health is in order, you go see a doctor or health care professional for a checkup. They may ask you to change your diet or prescribe some medication to help remedy or enhance your condition. When your finances are in need of a check up, you need to go see a financial professional. They may ask you to change some of your spending habits or put you on a plan that will help or remedy your financial situation. As a parent I feel very strongly that you have to model for your children the importance of appropriate financial planning and to start creating positive financial habits at an early age. Sean Covey says in his book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, “First you make your habits, then your habits make you.” When children and young adults begin to incorporate the strategies mentioned above, they maximize the time value of their money and more importantly create habits that become lifestyle.
Asante Sana,
Marc L. Wilson
Fresh Prince of Finance
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