Today we’d like to introduce you to D’Narius Lewis.
D’Narius, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My name is D’Narius Lewis. I was born in a small town in West Memphis, Arkansas. I’m the younger brother of two sisters, son of a single-parent black mother, an uncle, an entrepreneur, and a life coach. I was not raised in a household where everything was spoon-fed and handed to me, but my mother always made sure we had food to eat and clothes to wear. In no way were we rich; we indeed lived a paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle. I didn’t have many positive African American male role models in my life, and I certainly didn’t always see eye to eye with my mother, but what I can say is she really always did, and does, have my best interest in mind. Before the age of eighteen, I had been suspended from school over ten times from the ages of eight to fifteen. I allowed my anger and my environment, at times, to decide my fate. I used to hang around the so-called “cool kids,” but really, they were the ones that I would get in trouble with because I was willing to be a follower and not a leader. Deep down, I knew I was making poor choices, but I was lost. The turning point in my life was when I met Bill Soderholm, my high school wrestling coach, who had a lot of faith in me. Through this sport he taught me to understand what responsibility looked like, showed me what life tools a grown man needed to maneuver in order to lead a successful life, encouraged me to see myself in my best light, and taught me to always stay accountable. Although I barely graduated high school with a GPA of 1.7, I took all of my life lesson experiences with me, and I decided college would be my next step.
I encourage you, world changer, to always acknowledge your life, stay humble, remember where you came from, and understand that you do not have to be a product of your environment or a result of what others expect of you. Never let another man create your world for he will always create it too small.
What turned my life and decision-making process around was when I started to recognize that the world views you the way you view yourself. As I started to see myself in a positive light, so did others.
In college, I raised my GPA to 3.5, met friends who didn’t grow up with similar backgrounds as my own, traveled to three different colleges, experienced many different cultures, lifestyles, relationships, some good and some bad, and ultimately decided to live for me. After three transfers, a lot of student loan debt, and an overflow of life experiences, I decided to put a pause on college — one day, I woke up and just knew it was no longer for me. I was sitting in the same math class I had to take for the third time due to my lack of transfer credits, and as the teacher was talking, I was adding up the “real world” math. I started to add up the time wasted sitting in class, the borrowed dollars wasted on classes and books, and time spent following aspirations society had pressured upon the post-high school student culture.
I dropped it all, gave it all up, and decided this is it! That was when I made the choice to become a full-time entrepreneur. I became a business owner for myself. Not only was I the CEO of my own company, but I decided to become the CEO of my life. No matter how hard the struggle and sacrifice, I knew I had and would make it, no matter what.
From 2016-2022 I spent these years rebuilding my life. At the age of 23, I had to file chapter 7 bankruptcy after spending years failing my way forward trying to make life work. All while becoming an activist standing up against oppressive systems while advocating and helping raise the minimum wage in St. Paul, Minnesota, alongside The 15 Now Campaign to $15 an hr. I had the chance to interview multiple influential political figures and introduce the Philando Castile family at the opening of The Philando Castile exhibit at Minneapolis Institute of Art. I sat on the multicultural advisory committee of the Brooklyn Center Police Department for 6 years, building relationships with police officers, which gave me the idea to create my own film.
I created a documentary and political movement called #PoseWithACop to help change the narrative between policing and community. All while doing my best to start a business in which I successfully did during covid alongside my business partner Ekeze Enubuzor. We created our company Optimum Outreach in which the company logo stands for “Two Black Men Putting Their Heads Together For Collective Change.”
With us deciding to do more and give back we did so by doing numerous homeless survival kit drives, food donation drives, and we gave out $50,000 worth of Men suits to people in need in St. Paul, Minnesota.
In 2022 I got tired of the political climate of Minneapolis and moved to Los Angeles in April of 2022. Since arriving in LA, life has turned around a complete 360; as soon as I arrived, I began networking and building genuine relationships. I began meeting the change-makers in the city and built some genuine relationships. I hosted a free Intro To Defi workshop biweekly in Korea town at Crypto Friday’s helping people new to crypto create daily passive income in the crypto space. After having success in this field in August of 2022, I was able to retire at the age of 29 years and fully focus on community givebacks and creating a lifestyle where I can empower others through my testimony and knowledge.
With all these years of experience, it led down the road to start my own nonprofit, which is “The D’Narius Lewis Foundation ”. Our mission is to support people bringing their vision to life. That’s why our first project to support is Mr. Peep World; an NFT/ Nonprofit focused on creating computer labs in low-income villages, starting with a small village outside of Mexico City.
During the summer of 2023, I’ll be traveling & going on tour with the musical artist I manage The LoveOfPharaoh. We have an upcoming tour called Escape The Matrix Tour. It’s a musical experience dedicated to providing people with positive sounds & vibes.
While aiming to encourage people to break free from their current confinements and become authentically themselves.
As I spend these next few years developing my philanthropy arm to my lifelong empire. I plan to use all these cultural experiences to my advantage to tackle & dismantle the establishment when I run for President of The United States in 2028.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I’ve been homeless, broke, and survived the summer of 2013 with only $1.78 in my pocket. Even when I was at my lowest, I kept the bigger picture of life within my imagination at all times. I met a mentor around this time, and she asked me two questions. Question one: “If money was never an option, what would you truly do with your life?” And the second question was: “Will the work and activities you are participating in today lead you to the dream lifestyle you want and deserve?” I ask you to answer the same two questions for yourself, world changer. Here is a list of four action steps you can take to help guide you into a powerful self-leading life.
1) Evaluate and write out your current financial situation.
2) Analyze and write out what changes you would like to see happen in your finances, personal life, and work life.
3) Evaluate and write out action steps you believe it will take in order to achieve the changes you wish to see.
4) Take Action!
Actions always speaks louder than words. You can do anything you put your mind to; you just have to believe you can! The only way you will fail is if you stop trying. Believe you can achieve, achieve what you believe, be you, and always stay humble.
When I run for President of The United States in 2028, I hope my story of my younger years inspires you to take action to discover who you are destined to be.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next, you can tell us a bit more about your business.
Mr. Peep World is an NFT & Non-Profit All in One Based Underneath The D’Narius Lewis Foundation. We aim to empower transparency behind Non-Profit Fundraising utilizing blockchain technology. Our mission at Mr. Peep World is to create computer labs in low-income villages, starting with a small village outside of Mexico City. Developing this space will give these families a chance to participate in this new wave of technology. As our community grows, we will have educational workshops while providing IRL/online meet-ups. As entrepreneurship and life can weigh us down, we will have an onsite clinic to assist in providing mental health solutions to families in need.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
Los Angeles is the greatest city in the world. Don’t believe me? Just ask anyone who lives here. There are so many reasons to love Los Angeles, but the one that stands out most is the cultural variety. I’ve traveled to many places in the world, and there’s nothing like the culture in LA! From Chinatown, Little Ethiopia, and Little Tokyo to Venice Beach, Santa Monica, and Hollywood, it’s a melting pot of delicious food and interesting people. The only thing I don’t like is seeing all of these homeless people roaming around with no help from the city.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mrpeepworld.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dnariuslewis/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DLewisWWL
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/DnariusLewis
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtGPPPAeAfwuqe5rBlpFQTg
- Escape The Matrix Tour: https://www.indiegogo.com/
projects/loveofpharaoh-s- first-tour#/
Image Credits
Glyniss Forsberg Photography
