The Bro's Code Interview: Fonzworth Bentley
As you all are no doubt already aware, MTV’s upcoming “From G’s to Gents” has quickly become a huge fan favorite here at The Bro’s Code. And as I am always striving to bring you the big names in the world of Pop Culture today, I was able to pull some strings over at MTV and get the King of Gents himself, Mr. Fonzworth Bentley on the phone for some Q&A. Mr. Bentley was kind enough to talk about his upcoming reality show, drop some fashion knowledge on us, and even give us the low down on whose style reigns supreme between Sean Combs and Kanye West. Read this.
The Bro’s Code: Tell me about the genesis of the project how did you get hooked up with Jamie Foxx and Chris Abrego Productions?
Fonzworth Bentley: Well I’ve known Jamie Foxx since 2002, and funny enough he’s always wanted to do something together. Essentially what happened is Jamie pitched the show, and Chris has been extremely successful in the reality world, so they took it to the production company, and then I got the call. I had written a book that came out last fall and so I had already been on message for this topic for some time now. I wanted to make sure that this was going to be something real and not just throwing some guys into some situations and make it a fish out of water. That’s not what I was interested in. I don’t care how much money they threw at me.
TBC: I’ve heard that you’ve turned down other reality show offers that you’ve been approached to do before. What was it about this show that made you decide “this is for me”?
FB: To not even be funny, I’ve turned down probably three reality shows a week for the past three years. I’m not even overstating it. This is something I’ve been passionate about. It’s why I put out the etiquette book. Once I saw that they really wanted to show some folks making some real transformations, and that they were serious about that, that was the selling point for me.
TBC: So how much direct input and influence did you have on the show?
FB: Jamie said to me, “this is your show. For these guys, you are their mentor and they’re going to be looking up to you.” So that meant a lot to me. For me this was an opportunity to have some A-listers come in and make a difference and to show everyone how before your very eyes these guys would have a transformation. There are some people out there that are not completely ignorant to etiquette, but maybe they don’t know all there is to know. They see these guys up there and maybe they think that they know someone or have a friend or cousin or themselves are going through a similar situation in life, and this can help them to want to make that change. I told them that I wanted to edit this in such a way that someone can actually sit there to watch this with a pen and paper and take notes and hopefully learn something.
TBC: Aside from the prize money (100K goes to the ultimate “Gent”) why do you think the guys that took part in this show were willing to make this change in their lives?
FB: They all came in with different reasons, you know. One of them came in and he was homeless. The stakes were really high for him. There was one gentleman who had to start working at the age of 12 just to take care of his Mom, and his brothers and sisters as well. He wanted to go to school but never got the opportunity. He had never in his life left Miami. He hasn’t even been to Disney World. You know what I mean?
TBC: Wow.
FB: Also, a lot of the gentlemen had kids. They wanted the experience so they could become better fathers. Some of them were being deadbeats, and we provided them with an atmosphere where they could be really honest and meet those challenges head on and become better men. So all of them had different reasons.
TBC: So then when you get right down to it, whose job is it to teach etiquette? Where does someone without a strong parental presence go to learn about it?
FB: That’s essentially what it’s all about. I have a couple of answers. First of all, people should definitely check out my book. I think even for people that know a lot of this stuff, it’s important for them to pick it up. Because you know a lot of this is what is going on in America. There are a lot of people out there with goals, but they don’t know how to go out and achieve them. And I think when you go down the street and you see that guy with his pants low and you see that guy who uses profanity, instead of turning your nose up at him, it may be an opportunity for you to go and drop a gem on him. The funny thing that youre going to find is that most people want to learn. Most people want to learn and that’s what I found with these guys. And so I think the onus is on all of us. I know we live in a time when a lot of people are afraid, but you know back in the day the village would raise the child and we have to get back to that ownership of each person taking a part in it. We really need to get back to that.
TBC: Some of the previous shows that Chris Abrego has done (Flavor of Love, I Love New York, The Surreal Life) don’t get me wrong are great entertainment, but they are hardly serious studies into the social attitudes of men and women in the world today. How do you keep ”From G’s to Gents” from sinking to that kind of a level?
FB: Essentially I believe that’s why Jamie and Chris chose me. They know that I’m serious about this and that this is something that I’m committed to. It wasn’t like I was some guy looking for a tv show just for the sake of it. This is something I’ve been doing all along. I’ve spoken at colleges, anywhere from Harvard to the Wharton School of Business and tons of others for the past 8 or 9 months. This is something I’m committed to, and by me stepping into those shoes and being that mentor but still having that street credibility, this is something that they really understood. And we’re living in a time when other guys have done it. Jay-Z has done it, 50 Cent has done it, Sean Combs has done it, Russell Simmons has done it. And the first step is that you have to find someone that really truly wants to make a change. He has to want to be a gentleman. And as far as the casting, that’s what they did, they chose folks that not only had edges, not only had interesting backgrounds, but folks that honestly wanted to make a change.
TBC: What is it about your background that attracted you to this project? Were you a “G” that transformed yourself into a Gent somewhere along the way?
FB: Not much “G” here. I was born and raised and blessed to have two loving parents, who in turn each were blessed to have been raised by their parents. They took care of both my brother and myself. This is just something that I have been blessed to have, and have been given, and have been wanting to teach others not only for their business but for their life. Just like it was taught to me.
TBC: Do you think this is a potential franchise? Might we be seeing a “From G’s to Gents 2”?
FB: Yes because theres a lot of things we weren’t able to get done, you know what I mean? How to travel. That’s a really significant thing. I would love to take some guys from the streets and go international and have them interact with different cultures. I think that would be a very interesting dynamic and that is a very real thing. To be quite frank, those folks coming out of high school, or coming out of college, you’re not just competing with the people coming out of your class, you’re competing with an international marketplace and you have to be prepared for that. You have to be able to adapt and able to have dialogue on a higher level. And so I definitely think we have more that we can do with the show. It would be great to be able to take the reality show and get into that.
TBC: Anything else you didn’t get to cover?
FB: I’d love to take it to where we can get into politics. A chance to deal with being worldly and knowing what’s going on around you. But you know that’s why we want to be able to educate folks so they can watch this and learn. A lot of folks don’t know what’s going on out there and this is some very real stuff. You know a lot of these guys with aspirations, if they see you there and know you have a website and that youre a journalist and they have the desire to do that, theyre going to run up to you to introduce themselves instead of taking the time to stand there and listen to the conversation that’s being had. My thing is that by being worldly, they can get to talking politics, they can talk about global warming, they can talk about the things that affect us all, they can get into the conversation and get on message. And then once they’ve done that they can talk about internships and opportunities and more specifics about who you are.
TBC: Okay, on to the really serious side of this interview. Some quickshot questions for you. First, your real name is Derek Watkins. How did you come about to becoming Fonzworth Bentley?
FB: Hey, on any new job, you’re going to get a nickname. It just is what it is. And because I’m in hip-hop culture, most of the people have nicknames. And they run with them.
TBC: Okay but where did yours originate from?
FB: Well there’s a film with Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby and the name Biggie Smalls came out of there. And my name did as well. We’ll just leave it at that.
(The film he’s referring to is the 1975 release Let’s Do It Again. Maybe a future Bro’s Code movie review?)
TBC: Who in your opinion is the most stylish Superhero?
FB: Does James Bond qualify? Can we sneak him in there? You know I’m all about the clothes and stuff. Can I sneak him in there?
TBC: Okay, I’ll let you get away with that. They’re actually making a James Bond graphic novel and so technically that’s a comic book and I’ll let you get away with that.
FB: Alright so I got it on a technicality. Alright.
TBC: Next question. It’s really hot today and I’m planning on wearing shorts. Should I go plaid or should I go solid?
FB: Well you know I would definitely go plaid, I like to use the term “madras”. I just like that. I actually had on plaid shorts all weekend and it bled on into the week and you know a lot of folks did for this recent holiday. Now is a good time to work those plaid shorts but don’t go putting on a plaid shirt with it.
TBC: No no.
FB: Don’t do that. Put a solid in there. Find a solid that works good with your skin tone and keep it simple. Put on a white shirt. It reflects the suns rays.
TBC: What do you say to someone you see that’s wearing socks with sandals?
FB: You know I think that I’m hoping that they’re not bi-polar. It could just be that someone is insecure about their feet. But let me just tell you like this, if everyone is saying to you “nice gators” and you have on flip-flops, it means you need a pedicure.
TBC: Sports Jerseys, yes or no?
FB: At the pool, I like college jerseys. But if you’re wearing one to go out at night, please, keep it in the gym.
TBC: Bowtie or neck tie?
FB: It depends on your mood bro. But if youre going to wear a clip-on, you should be dragged out into the streets by it.
TBC: Whats your opinion of “casual Fridays”?
FB: This whole idea of casual Fridays just drives me crazy. And here’s how I’m going to deal with it. I’m going to quote John Ford. You ready? This is a long one.
TBC: Absolutely. Hit me.
FB: “In today’s business casual time we pine for a man who instinctively knows that dockers are insidious brainwashing tools and that looking together even when youre falling apart is a form of grace. And that a suit is still the sexiest thing around.” Run that.
TBC: I will run that, no question. Okay, what food chain has the most fashionable employee uniforms
FB: That’s a good one. Ummm…
TBC: How about Hot Dog on a Stick? I don’t know if you’ve seen them, but those are some good uniforms right there.
FB: Yeah they need the fashion police over there at Hot Dog on a Stick. I mean it looks like a Six Flags ride. The most fashionable? You know what, I like the shirts and ties they wear at Gramercy Tavern. Danny Meyer, this is a guy with class, and you know they switched up what they’re doing over there. And I like what they’re doing over there. If you haven’t been you need to get in.
TBC: Okay now, strictly pertaining to style, Sean Combs or Kanye West?
FB: Oh now why would you do that? That’s dirty. But you know I’ve got to go with ‘Ye though. I’ve got to go with ‘Ye.
TBC: I’ll make sure I get a copy of this to Sean then. Okay, next, Aeropostale or Abercrombie?
FB: I’m gonna go with Abercrombie but be careful walking down by their 5th avenue store because they will go crazy on you with the fragrances. They will blast you. Even when you’re out on the street they will blast it.
TBC: Christina Aguilera or Gwen Stefani?
FB: I’m going to go with Gwen.
TBC: Really? I think that’s a bit of an upset.
FB: Well I like the whimsical thing that she’s doing. Christina is really classy. But Gwen makes her own clothes. That gives the edge to her.
TBC: Okay, Calvin Klein or Tommy Hilfiger?
FB: Calvin Klein or Tommy? (long pause) I may have to give you a “no comment”. It’s just too difficult to decide. It’s a draw. There it is. A draw.
TBC: Indiana Jones or Han Solo?
FB: Well which Indiana Jones? “Temple of Doom” days or “now” days?
TBC: No not the last movie. That film never happened. Go with the old Indiana Jones.
FB: You know I want to say Han Solo, but there’s a cowboy in all of us. There really is. And the reason I’m going to go with Indiana Jones is because he rocks a Fedora. I really really respect that.
TBC: Kobe or LeBron?
FB: (incredulous) Well LeBron! That’s an easy one.
TBC: Okay, last question, and perhaps the most important question of all. What is the one item of clothing no man should be without?
FB: A navy blazer. Period. Point blank.
(All of a sudden we both hear some laughter and applause in the background, and after accusing each other of being the ones to have the lack of etiquette for such a disturbance, we discover that the culprit is the offices of MTV who are celebrating the engagement of one of their employees.)
TBC: Okay, bonus question. So long as we’re on the subject, what’s your take on engagement rings? How small is too small and how big is too big?
FB: You know what? I’m going to stay out of that.
TBC: Well that’s just good etiquette.
From G’s to Gents premieres July 15th on MTV. Check your local listings for times.
