Kendrell Bowman can easily be described as a man who consistently creates his own way without a need to be given permission from anybody. Born in Charleston, SC, Kendrell moved to New York City when he was 18 years old and made the city his home after graduating from the American Musical & Dramatic Academy. His innate creativity caused him to flourish as a theatrical director, producer and co-creator of highly received off-Broadway shows such as “Mighty Real: A Fabulous Sylvester Musical”, “An Evening with Phyllis Hyman” & “A Soulful Christmas”.
In 2010, he opened his own styling company, I AM KENDRELL, and he has worked with many artists in his career such as Kanye West, K. Michelle, Dawn Richard & Lauriana Mae. He also wrote and published his first book “How to Produce a Show from Your Couch” which is currently available at Barnes & Noble and on Amazon. He later founded the production company AnthonyKen LLC, along with Anthony Wayne.
As you can see, Kendrell has a strong track record for being his own boss. I knew before going into our interview that this man knows how to get shit done, no matter the obstacle or challenge.
“A lot of people in our industry wait for people to give them jobs, they wait for people to call them, I don’t wait for nobody to do anything for me, I make things happen myself. And I am not saying this out of ego or being whatever,” he said.
Kendrell is currently the executive producer and co-host of The Happy Hour talk show, which features a diverse group of five gay professional men that discuss a wide range of topics such as politics, dating, relationships, and pop culture.
“Even when I met all the guys here I told them that this show was over year and a half in the making. I told them look, I am very black and white, you guys I don’t have a lot of money for this right now, but I am going to make this happen, just stick with me.”
And they all did just that. His co-host Patrick Riley even said, “And let me just say this, I have produced on high and I have been produced on high, but Kendrell is an amazing producer.”
When I asked what inspired him to create the show he began sharing how being in Atlanta and having brunch with his friends who all came from very different lifestyles would discuss a variety of different things without any judgement of the other opinions. He took a step back after witnessing this type of dialogue and said, “You know what, this would be a great idea for a show.”
But what was most important to him was putting forth positive representation of gay men in mainstream media.
“There [are] no shows on television that represents gay professional men because I got tired of always seeing on television the stereotypical gay male or a flamboyant guy. I think people are going to be shocked because it’s not the stereotypical of five gay guys sitting around talking and laughing and using a lot of gay lingo. No, no, no, these are five professionals, and even though they are professionals they have a lot of personality and a lot of wit, but we are speaking about what people on The View and CNN are speaking about, but we also have it with a twist where we bring LGBTQIA people on and speak about and bring some of those issues to the forefront as well.”
I admire Kendrell’s purpose to change the narrative about gay men and bring forth unity among everyone within the LGBT community. I could sense from the fire in his eyes that he possessed integrity to not only himself and his co-hosts but to the viewers who would be watching The Happy Hour. So, I had to ask, what is one thing he hoped viewers would take away from the show.
“I want people to walk away from the show and learn things not only about the LGBT community but also learn some things about themselves. I want them to think, think differently. Because one of the things for me after each episode, I learned something new.”
The Happy Hour Talk show's first episode airs on Monday, April 8th on Facebook and YouTube. Be sure to follow The Happy Hour Talk Show on all platforms and don’t forget to show Kendrell’s IG page some love as well.