My Millionaire Mentor Was Unorthodox

T-Pain — yes, the guy who sings I’m In Love With A Stripper — that’s my guy. He wasn’t just my role model, he was actually my boss! I used to be a professional backup dancer for T-Pain back in my prime dancing days. I toured with him for a couple years after landing a spot at an open call audition. He is still someone I pull inspiration from to this day.

Some people talk about the word manifestation. While I do believe in manifestation, I don’t think what I’m about to share has to do anything with it. Part of my success may have been sheer dumb luck. Other parts may have been because of the few weird incidents that helped me become a professional dancer.

Before I jump into the first of these incidents, I want to give some context to what I was like in high school. I was not dancing then but I had always wanted to try it. I got bullied often which made me too afraid to learn something new. Soon, I fell victim to the box that others put me in. That being said, I somehow mustered up the confidence senior year to perform at the talent show. My friend, Ian, and I made our own version of Buy U A Drank by changing the lyrics to Imma Graduate. We went on to perform that song for the whole high school.