Vincent Martell

It seems like such a simple concept at first, but when you break down how difficult it can be to build and sustain healthy, mutually beneficial communal spaces, the conversation starts to get muddy.

Vincent Martell lives in the mud and has dedicated his life to purifying it into fresh water.

Vincent is the founder of VAM production studios, a one-stop shop production house for both original and branded content. To call it a hometown production company is almost bewildering since VAM has done work for the likes of Apple and Red Bull, and music videos for artists like JunglePussy, drag queen Shea Coulee, Jamila Woods and Chance the Rapper. Vincent is in the process of building an empire, and at the center of it all, is his foundation: a community of queer, black and brown people.

Some people radiate an energy that captures you. They make you desire more and wonder how you ever made it through life without knowing them. Vincent is one of those people. I was enamored instantly; his words and cadence are so full of life that I felt like a kid in kindergarten listening to their teacher tell a story. This is a long way of saying: Vincent is no average person.

Born in Toledo, Ohio, but spending most of his formative years there and Chicago, he is a true Midwesterner. He lives for his work and works to provide for those he loves the most. His experience being mostly raised by his mother and other women in his family has crafted a lot of the way he loves, works and creates community. He explains, “As a gay, black man, the first experience of being loved was from Black women. That is something that I hold very close to me. I want to pay homage to them… They shaped the man that I am today”.

He frequently goes back to a study abroad trip he took to Barcelona, a trip that was so fundamental into molding his style and love for the arts. “I wasn’t out yet, my family kind of scraped together the funds to send me abroad to study. That’s my introduction to this underground art scene of amazing queer womxn and femmes. I think as a gay black person, experiencing that environment, feeling free, and being free to create whatever I wanted kind of sparked the idea that maybe I can take this back home to Chicago and do something big with it.”

Vincent is passionate about everything he does. From the way he views fashion, to his relationships and the state of the film industry. A lot of people say that they are invested in cultivating marginalized voices and bringing them to the forefront, but Vincent is one of the few people actually making shit happen.

Chicago is a complicated lover, a place that can reach down and bring out joy, friendship, and a lifestyle adapted to your liking. But, at the same time, Chicago can bring forth feelings of fear, racism and hatred. It was intentional for Vincent to stay and build his brand there. As someone who has moved away from the city, I wanted to understand why he stayed.. He speaks about Chicago as if it were an old friend, coming to terms with the balance of its good and ugly sides.

He said, “One thing I’ve learned through my self-care is that I have to look at Chicago on a micro level, so I only try to focus on my community, and what’s going on within that community...VAM is built by a community. It’s pushed and promoted by the community. This isn’t very present in other metropolitan cities. There is this mentality that is so powerful in Chicago, where you can reach out to whoever and collaborate on a much deeper level than some cities … There’s this kind of Midwest, blue-collar mentality here in Chicago that I just love. I feel so incredibly safe here. As a gay filmmaker, it is important for me to have that kind of support. Especially doing and creating the sort of content I’m creating. I think at this point, I just want to continue to feel safe. Chicago does that in such a beautiful and rich way.”

Inspired by the works of Gasper Noé and Claire Denis, his directorial style is gritty and honest, never shying away from bringing that darkness to light, while still having heart and hopefulness weaved through it. His most recent project which he co-wrote with two other gay men of color – KB Woodson and Zak Payne, is the web series DAMAGED GOODS. The series brings his talents to the forefront, presenting a messy yet earnest depiction of four young creatives of color, just trying to figure their shit out in the art scene of Chicago. Vincent speaks of the trials and joys of bringing it to light.

“I didn’t think creating a narrative would be easy, specifically a web series. But to be in it, in the thick of it, you really get a taste of how daunting it can be. [The show] is less about tragedy and focuses on how these characters lean on one another as a chosen family. I was tired of seeing us in tragic circumstances time after time in mainstream media. So, in DG, you have these beautiful moments of community where they go to Queen nightclub. They go to an underground DIY event and smoke a blunt together. And they drink tea together in the morning. All these really cool and intimate moments that make up the series and show a different perspective. These characters are so incredibly messy. They are so fucked up. I wanted to show how nuanced we can be. It’s a messy series about messy characters of color who are hustling, but also showing love to one another.”

Physical space is important, but mental and emotional space is crucial to cultivating the community and visions in Vincent’s mind. VAM is that vision. It is the culmination of an artists’ wildest dreams. Creatives of different mindsets, backgrounds, and capabilities coming together to reimagine our world. It was something that Vincent was extremely adamant and intentional about setting up. His voice lights up when I ask about why he wanted VAM to be able to do any and everything.

“I think it was so incredibly important for us to prove that we could do all of the work. It’s so easy for [people like] us to get pigeonholed and put into a box. To only do one sort of thing. And you hear that in Hollywood all the time specifically for black filmmakers. So, in the fabric of VAM I wanted to make sure we can do whatever we want to do and not be afraid to go there! I think there is so much power in being able to create whatever you want to create. And as a POC running a business, that is so important for me. I want to make sure that my team feels as if they can do anything. That is shown in our portfolio of work.”

He continues, “It’s a collective. It’s a production crew. It’s an inclusive team filled with filmmakers like Sam Bailey and Fatimah Asghar. And great cinematographers like Hannah Welever who shot BROWN GIRLS. Jordan Phelps, my partner, is also on the VAM team as well. So, not only are we pushing the narrative forward, but we are doing it in a way that is community-oriented. That is something I feel very very close to. Creating with intention shows, and when there is so much love behind the camera I always feel as though that translates. One thing I wanted to do was give my people quality. In a way that they haven’t received it before. I also come from the school of Sam Bailey, so I gotta make that bitch proud.”

Freedom is another thing that Vincent is passionate about. Freedom of expression, of self and creativity. He strives to provide that for his community through his work. To him, that is what being an artist is all about: allowing space for those that often don’t get to speak for themselves. To show that freedom is possible and to be truly liberated is to love oneself.

“I think right now, in my life, liberation is me being comfortable with ME. As crazy as it sounds, you don’t really know liberation until you know yourself. And I am just now getting to a place where I fully feel comfortable being me, my voice and what I have to give to the world. And that has been so liberating… I think it’s important to take risks and continue to explore because there are so many people in my family and in my life, specifically black men, who didn’t get the opportunity to just go for their dream due to societal pressures and societal bullshit. When I wake up, even when I am so incredibly depressed and stressed, I think about all the black people in my life who didn’t get the chance to chase their dreams and go for it and take risks. That is all my work is about. Speaking to my community and doing it in an unapologetic way that is also freeing for me. That can be a beautiful moment of self-care.”

For VAM, he sees nothing less than world domination, planning to take it global and covering everything from network television to feature films.

“All we need to do is get in the door, and once we do, we always prove that we can do the work, and that we can do it well. We just need the opportunity to do it. Which should not be tough. The industry has molded itself to not be accessible to us. To own my own production company at 28, for a black gay man, is revolutionary within itself. And for us to be as successful as we are, so early on, is a testament to what happens when you give us access. Period!”

Vincent is doing important work. Whether it be through VAM or his own personal mission, he is on the ground floor, his hands covered in mud as he works to make the world the place it deserves to be. And he has no complaints, it is simply what must be done. Period.

interviewed by CHARIA ROSE

photographed by LAWRENCE AGYEI

styled by ONYX PREYE ENGOBOR