Today we’d like to introduce you to Derryl Williams.
Hi Derryl, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Ok, let’s see I started promoting in college as part of a promo team named Dream Entertainment. We had some of the biggest parties in the city at the time doing over 1,000 people at every event. Back in the day that was unheard of. No performing artist, no TV stars just a group of trendsetters that we’re able to fill ballrooms purely based off how much fun the events were. Unfortunately, when it was time to graduate from college, I decided I need to leave the parties alone and get a job.
I worked as a collections manager at Americredit Financial Services and then moved to Drive Time Financial and it was the worst decision in my life. I hated it; Corporate America was not for me so I started DJing at a strip club named Peep N Toms. Honestly, I wasn’t a good DJ but I had relationships back then that helped me get music before all the other DJs so they gave me a shot. I wasn’t there long before my longtime friend DJ Whodie took my job and I moved to DJing at a swinger’s club called the Playpen in Arlington. Again, my DJ skills were not my strong point but I was a good promoter so I was able to keep that job for about a year until they closed down.
I then started a career in radio where I was presented with the Republican Congressional Committees’ National Leadership Award for my creation of the syndicated radio show the Holy Hip Hop Hour. The Christian Rap Syndicated show was ahead of its time and aired in twelve cities over five states. Although I was a good host and interviewer, I was not a good salesperson for radio ads and didn’t get the right team behind me so the show ended after just two years on the air.
After that, I joined an old college buddy named Steven Lewis and we started an event production company called Cold Frunt Productions. Cold Frunt managed over ninety models throughout the state of Texas providing urban marketing services for companies like Coors Light, Seagram’s Gin, Home Depot, Metro PCS, USA Networks, and others and since we were making all these models money as models, they were more than eager to promote our events with us.
With what was easily the sexiest and largest promo team in Dallas, Cold Frunt Productions went on to produce events with artists like Chris Brown, Diddy, Lil Wayne, Ginuwine, Trina, Rick Ross, Tyrese, Ying Yang Twins, Paul Wall, Mike Jones, and many others. We were able to use our marketing and production experience to eventually become the marketing managers for Beamers Night Club.
Beamers soon became one of the most successful nightclubs in Dallas under our two-year tenure. It was probably one of the most important two years of my life. I learned a lot about what a good club owner acts like just by watching the moves of the owner Dario Ferdows. Although we are not on the best of terms now, I owe a large piece of my success to that man.
After Beamers, I bought my first club in Richardson called Verandah Bar and Grill, it was a nice small bar and there was a lot I had to figure out about operations of a nightclub. We had a lot of really good events there and overall, it was a successful venture. Unfortunately, I signed a bad deal with the property owner and when the Superbowl came to Dallas, they wanted their building back because they thought they would make a lot of money during that weekend.
I went back to Beamers but at this time it was under new ownership and was called Park Avenue. I had less to do with the day-to-day operations there but still continued to learn from the General Manager, CJ, I was eventually approached by Onyx to become a promoter. At first, I didn’t want to promote at a strip club because my clientele was not the strip club crowd. At that time gentlemen’s clubs were not as accepted by everyone as they are today but I accepted the challenge and began my journey of learning the strip club industry.
in 2017 I brought the King of Diamonds franchise to Dallas. My time at KOD was probably the most fun that I ever had as an owner. We used my relationships with artists to create a different strip club experience with events with artists like Cardi B, Tank, and Plies and we became one of the big boys when it came to major afterparties in the city. I left my business partners at KOD because we had some differences in opinions and although we are still really good friends, I wanted to try it my way.
It took a year before I found my own building and I was intent on finding a venue that was big enough for me to continue using my connections with promoters and artists to throw some of the biggest events in the city. Pentagon Dallas is that venue. I’ve got a new partner and I am using everything that I learned in my journey to create a unique venue capable of hosting some of the largest urban club events in Dallas.
Additionally, I am a writer working on a new TV project “Bounty” which Is a crime drama series that follows the lives of a group of bounty hunters who may be the best in the business, they just don’t know it yet. I am also working on my own Television network called The Urban Comedy Channel which will showcase some of the funniest urban comedians in the country. I am a Case Manager at the Law Offices of Glenn D Tucker and handle a large number of personal injury and entertainment claims.
After graduating Law School, I joined went into business with the owner of a Texas-based record label (L.O.U.D Music (Live Out Ur Dreams) which does management and/or serves as the label for artists like Bobby Valentino, Z Ro, Fat Pimp, The Art of Ratchet and others and I created the sports division L.O.U.D Sports. Currently, LOUD Sports represents almost twenty athletes all over the world including Canada, Mexico, and Germany.
Lastly, I have an undergraduate degree from Texas Christian University and a master’s in Legal Studies from Pepperdine University.
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 wouldn’t say that it was a smooth road. as I mentioned in the previous question, I had a lot of learning to do. Learning not to mix business and personal relationships is still hard for me because I have always created a family atmosphere for the people that work with me. It’s really hard for me to get rid of people because the people I work with are like family to me. Sometimes I hold on to people for too long and it is sometimes detrimental to my bottom line.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We are the only black-owned strip club in Dallas. We are also one of the largest facilitating some of the largest urban events in the city.
We are trendsetters in the nightlife industry and some of the hottest entertainers in the country love partying with us when they come to Dallas.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
If you want to get started in the nightclub industry in Dallas, I would say that the number one thing to do is research the law. the hardest thing about clubs is the amount of laws that govern them. You can use a lot of money by simply not knowing all of the laws governing the nightlife industry.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @ihearddwill
