4 minute read
Jessica Bowden, Teens Now Talk
Jessica Bowden
TEENS NOW TALK, TNT MAGAZINE
By Feleshia Chandler Photography by Adams Photography
Mother and entrepreneur Jessica Bowden started the magazine Teens Now Talk with the goal of giving youth a voice and space to be seen and heard. Little did she know, the magazine would flourish and she would become a trailblazer for youth, especially Black youth in Nova Scotia. “The whole concept started back in 2002,” said Bowden. “I went to a seminar as a guest speaker to talk to some of the youth at Cole Harbour High. There were 1000-plus students there.” Bowden said through that seminar she discovered that the youth at Cole Harbour High School had a lot to say but they just weren’t being listened to. “I wrote down all the things they were saying and came back about two weeks later to another open assembly.” Bowden said the students had originally suggested they write a book, but when she returned to the school she told them, a book wasn’t going to work. She was met with boos from the young crowd but she didn’t mind because she knew how they felt. “Once again, another adult let them down, right?” Bowden let them all boo. She allowed them to let out how they felt, but then she told the students at Cole Harbour that day that she wanted to make a magazine and she wanted them and other young people to write it. “So, who’s trying to stand up and help me with this magazine?” she asked them. “We had about 200 students stand up and even to this day we have about five that are still with us.” Bowden says the name came from a student during that first seminar who stood up and said, “We should call it TNT because our words are the bomb,” and Bowden decided to turn that into the name Teens Now Talk. Teens Now Talk or TNT was born. Bowden says before having the magazine published she knew little about the publishing industry but knew she had to make it work. “Not a publisher by trade, I didn’t know how to go through the editing process but here I am years later doing what I didn’t know how to do.” Since the magazine’s inception, Bowden says TNT has had thousands of youth come
For more about TNT Magazine, go to www.tntmagazine.com
through its doors, featuring 300 youth each issue who submit anything from written columns to poetry, to photography to journalism. “The magazine has warped into a quarterly publication,” said Bowden. “We have 40,000 readers per quarter and 150,000 per year.” In addition to having the magazine in multiple schools across Nova Scotia, she has also been able to connect hundreds of youth through TNT with business owners and people in their fields of interest. Bowden says she wanted the youth to not only be the heart of the magazine but also learn the skills to help them with their own projects so when they are hired at the magazine, they receive varying mentorship. “They learn photography, videography, and interviewing. They’ve spoken with CEOs. They’ve been put in situations where they’ve never dreamed they’d be. They help with our website, they help with our social media.” Bowden says the magazine not only allows young people to voice their concerns and insights but also serves as a piece of history people can look back on. “The magazine is a living document. As the [political] climate changes we deal with topics that are [current].” Bowden says the magazine has also led to other opportunities, such as being able to start a pop-up store called UbU4U in Sunnyside mall which sells “Teens Now Talk Apparel” which consists of clothing with uplifting messages as well as Black Lives Matter merchandise. The store itself focuses on empowering and employing youth. Bowden herself has worn many hats before becoming CEO of TNT, including being a stylist, a hairdresser, entrepreneur, and has been the recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal presented by Canada’s Governor General. She says when it comes to starting TNT it was a collaborative project so it made overcoming challenges when starting out much easier. However, she did face some challenges along the way. “The challenging part of it was getting funding,” said Bowden. “The challenge I had was having people believe that youth can actually achieve [things like TNT].” Bowden has transformed her life despite the challenges she faced having a child at 17 and wants to give youth “bragging rights” so that they too can feel empowered by their own accomplishments. “I hope people will take advantage of the knowledge, take advantage of the opportunities they see happening here now,” said Bowden. “ Although TNT was forced to close during the pandemic, Bowden says things are up and running again. Bowden has recently helped launch several businesses through her mentorship program called Levelup Academy, including Hollydrops (specializing in jewelry and accessories) as well as Rezin and Things (specializing in resin pendants). She is currently working on the UbU4U store and her Levelup mentorship program. “The power we have now, we’re getting ready to move it to another level,” said Bowden.
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