I was born in Fort Lauderdale on April 16, 1975. I lived in Florida until my mom and dad separated just before I started middle school. At that time we moved to Douglasville, Georgia and I stayed there through highschool. Go Tigers!
Like most people, highschool sucked. I found my place working at our local theme park in it's souvenir boutiques. I was a retail king! Well, at least that's what I thought at 18.
My vanity drove me into working into cosmetics. I started with Body Shop and then went on to work for Bare Escentuals. All the while wishing I was recording music. After quite a few years with Bare Escentuals, I left the company to work on my own brands and to finally begin recording.
At the beginning of 2006, I created a men's clothing and accessory line called Otter Fashion. Focusing on vibrant colors and fun, sassy statements for the gay community. My customers became such a driving force for the brand that we eventually created an online community for Otters from all around the world, the Otter Pack.
During this time I began to record my first songs. What an amazing experience that was. I released the EP "Johnny Be Happy" at the end of 2006. It featured two original songs with remixes and a cover of Siouxsie and the Banshees Peek-A-Boo.
Somewhere in the midst of doing both projects I opened the Sanctuary Skin Care Studio with a friend of mine. Focusing on personalized skin care treatments that could fit into anyone's busy schedule. While we were only open a short while, it rekindled my interest in aesthetics and began me on the path of developing my own line of skin care preparations.
In 2007 I began work on a new album, "Brighter Day". This project contained more original material and showcased my love of electronica-based R&B or atleast that's what I call it. I have always loved soul in R&B, but at the same time I am such a fan of the complex instrumentation of electronica. It was so nice to create a full range of my thoughts and feelings from that time in my life.
I was overjoyed to make my first music video for one of the tracks from the Brighter Day album, "Brighter Day - Mello Dope Remix". The video debuted on MTV's Logo St. Patrick's Day 2008 and was sandwiched in between Madonna and Janet Jackson - excatly where I have always wanted to be.
In December of 2007 I launched my men's grooming line, Jock Soap. It started as a simple glycerin soap that smelled great without animal ingredients. After guys got a hold of it, the requests poured in for more products and I was very happy to honor their requests. I now have a full collection of products to satisfy every man's grooming needs.
I stay busy working on my brands, but I still make time to create music.
Well that's it for now.
Josh
