Dropped Down to Earth to Create Joy
Serendipity is the best word to describe my first meeting with Marlon. I was hosting a shoot in my home for a sizzle reel to promote a TV show. His girlfriend was working on the shoot while Marlon hung out on my front porch. At the same time, I was contemplating photographing my rings. I was thinking about what hands can do that is interesting. The first thing that sprung to mind was touching the brim of a hat. I thought I might have to buy one. Just then, I looked out at the front porch and there was Marlon, hat on head and dressed in style, ready for his close-up.
All I knew about him at that point was that he had a great face and was willing to model. I have since learned what an interesting, kind, and well-rounded person he is.
Marlon grew up in Massachusetts in a conservative Christian family. His father drove a truck and his mother was a school teacher. His parents kept a tight lid on him, censoring what he watched and what he read. Harry Potter, for example, was out of the question. But inside him, a creative spark dwelled, being kept alive by his mother's sense of humor. But the "black sheep" within was not yet ready to burst into flame.
In high school, Marlon was on the football team, his life-long ambition up to that point was to play in the NFL. In college at Worcester State University he took a left turn when he found himself involved in the visual performing arts department. After two years of studying, as he was already experiencing success in that field, he determined that he need school to continue. He dropped out.
He still needed a regular income. A friend of his hooked him up with a job as an ABA (applied behavior analysis) therapist, working with autistic and asperger children.. Although initially he took the job only as a way to earn money, he found that he was actually well suited to it. The job involved teaching life skills, learning ways of coping, and dealing with anxiety and depression. He natural compassion as well as his experience in dealing with the same darkness within himself, made him uniquely qualified. He found the job so rewarding that he kept it for three years--much longer than he had originally intended.
When he left that field he continued his work in visual performing art as a creator, story teller and character actor. His work as an ABA therapist taught him how to connect with an audience struggling with inner demons. He describes his genre as "Vintage Dark Fantasy." His aim was and is to lead people to accept themselves, warts and all. To get his message across, his work employs humor and heartfelt content. He admires Jack Black, Johnny Depp and Jim Carey as all three are able to "make you feel." His sense of play when dealing with serious issues has contributed to his success in social media, advertising, and acting. He creates on-line advertising for HBO, Clocks & Colors, and AMC Plus. His fan base boasts over a million followers who find inspiration in his postings when dealing with anxiety, depression, and other psychic ills. Rather than trying to describe his videos and their unique style, I suggest you check them out. He can be seen on Instagram, YouTube, and Tiktok, to name a few.
His personal dress style reflects his inner self. It could be categorized as "Vintage Whacky." Top hats and pork pie hats, suspenders and stripy pants lend humor. He feels naked when un-bejeweled. His fingers, his neck his wrists and his ears never go unadorned. To quote him, "Jewelry makes me feel more like me."
There is so much more that's interesting about Marlon, but I'll stop now. Should you wish to know more about him--his guilty pleasures, his pet peeves, what he loves, what he hates, what he loves to hate, and a whole lot more--let me know and I will be happy to oblige.
Find him at @marlonwebb.