Jay Wooten shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Jay, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What is a normal day like for you right now?
5:30 wake ups to walk my dog and to do morning exercises to stay loose, 7am I leave for the office. I work until 4pm, the rest of the day I’m free to brainstorm the next concept, TV/Radio show. The day ends with an early rest time at 10pm
Rinse and repeat
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Ok sure, Hello everyone. My name is Jay Wooten and I’m the Owner of Who Got Next Entertainment, On Air Broadcastor for WBPU-LP Power 96.3FM St.Petersburg, FL, host and creator of Who Got Next now known as Who Got Next Radio on the Independent Artist Music Platform Indie 101.5 which is a Royalty Paying Internet Radio Station monitored by Digital Radio Tracker.
Who Got Next Entertainment LLC is a Audio/Visual Media company that creates, distributes, and acquires content to share on TV, Radio and Internet platforms.
We support the Independent Artist Music community as well as spotlighting local and small businesses the make impacts in their communities for opportunity.
We started out as just an Open Mic every Tuesday night from 8pm-2am in 2010, to now evolve into what we do currently.
This all started because where I was from,(South NJ)there was no opportunity for beginning artist to gain exposure or just to express or display their art. Who Got Next Open Mic gave every artist from every genre of music the opportunity to display their craft and network with other artist.
Opportunity is the key to elevating the next generation, so its been my mission since 2010 to build the platform, for all Independent Artist to be able to use.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
June 22, 2014 I lost my father. Yeah, Eugene John Wayman Wooten. This is emotional just talking about this but I can get through it. My father was a diabetic and had to go through 3 hour dialysis treatments 3 times a week at the age of 76, he was on the donors list for a kidney transplant so he wouldn’t have to live the rest of his life going to dialysis treatments. Unfortunately the surgery didn’t go as planned and at his end the VA flew me out to Pittsburgh Memorial Hospital to spend his last moments with him. His quality of life would have been extremely difficult if we tried to keep him alive, my mother and I didnt think my father would want to live that way. So we decided to peacefully let him go, I stayed with my father while the procedure began. He was unresponsive and all I could do was hold him, speak to him with the hopes he could hear and feel my presence. As the nurse kept coming in to raise the dosage of morphine, I decided to play Miles Davis “My Kind of Blue” his favorite album from Miles, they knew each other in my father’s younger days. As the album ended, I literally saw him take his last breath. And just that quick he was gone. I will never forget that moment, it changed me not just on a emotional level but mentally. I began to see and believe that “TIME” is a gift. Every second, every minute, every hour, every day, every week, every month, every year is a gift. And until June 22 2014 I took “TIME” for granted, I was ungrateful and felt I had access to “TIME” when ever I wanted to use it. That’s the day I realized how I was thinking and behaving was wrong, every moment matters it’s all a gift to be grateful for, start living and stop existing, be present and stop missing your moments your memories. Time is a gift everyday that you wake up its almost like an unwritten law but you have to go out and do something. Use it or lose it, so moving forward that’s what I’ve been consistently focused on how to get better at appreciating every moment, and every opportunity. Nothing is promised.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
Awww man. That’s crazy. Uh, you know what I would say? I would say to the young Jay Woo, going back to 2010- hey man, listen bro you dont need anyone to help you. You are all you need, you think you need help, your insecurities will bring the problems and obstacles in your journey that you are concerned with. Just do it yourself, continue to build the idea in your image with no distractions or influences and be solid in your beliefs. You are all that you need. Stay focused on your kids because they are young and missing moments in their life from running the streets will have an impact on their lives as they grow up. Keep your circle very small and trust no one.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Is the public version of you the real you?
No, not even close.
The TV, Radio, or Social media version you see is a amped up version of who I think the camera, or microphone needs me to be.
I could never be Jay Woo in real life he is on a level I don’t desire to be on. He’s loud, he’s always outside, every event, flashy, petty, makes controversial statements etc.
I (Brian) prefer to be quiet, in the cut, out of the way but doing something out of the ordinary. Travel, hobbies etc. Brian doesn’t need to show you where I went as I’m there or go live, Brian is just living and creating moments and memories for myself.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What will you regret not doing?
I don’t know, that’s a loaded question as I’m still in motion so I don’t know what tomorrow would bring.
If I had to say anything I would say I would regret “Not Trying”. I truly believe you can’t say something won’t work or isn’t the right way unless you try it.
Now obviously certain things you know from the door, this isn’t a good option.
I’m speaking in the context of you’re involved with or interacting with someone or something either way, and based on what people would say, think, how it would look, all of that isn’t a concern to me. It all boils down to how it works for me and whatever I’m invested in. If this is something positive or an effective way to handle things, than its a yes for me even if its a unconventional/uncommon way for me. To discard something because it didn’t come in the packaging you want or expected is immature and you miss opportunities that can elevate you by being shallow or short sighted.
My way of thinking is, “Now” is always short lived but “Later” is always on the approach and always longer lived aka the last laugh.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Indie1015.com
- Instagram: @legacy_jaywoo
- Twitter: @jayiswooten
- Facebook: Legacy Jay Wooten
- Youtube: https://Youtube.com/WhoGotNextRadio
Image Credits
Who Got Next Entertainment LLC
