ML Hollers @ Fonzworth Bentley, Interview.

Fonzworth Bentley is known for a lot of things including being a butler, a recording artist, and an umbrella line owner. Not the least of these things is his hosting his own MTV show From G’s to Gents which has just started it’s 2nd season. We talked to Mr. Bentley a few weeks back (on his Birthday none the less) and he spoke on his whole experience with the show up to this point. Also being a former Ralph Lauren employee, we get his take on who is the best collector in his opinion (hint: it’s an ML friend).  We only began to scratch the surface, so expect a Pt.2 where you find out more about, Mr. Bentley the person, coming soon.

Metal Lungies: With it being your Birthday, what do you have lined up to celebrate?

Fonzworth Bentley: I usually have a bit of the birthday screws first thing in the morning, my girlfriend understands that, so…. What she does is she kind of helps out and plans accordingly. A good friend of mine has a restaurant, actually we were colleagues back in the restaurant business back when I worked from 1998 through 2001, it’s called Braeburn, it’s downtown. Really really nice restaurant, [the] menu’s exciting.  So about 25, maybe 30 folks total are gonna go down there and have a really good dinner. But other than that, I think it’s pretty cool that my birthday starts off Fashion Week.

ML: So you are going to have a nice big gourmet cake?

FB: Yeah, now the cake, I’m a red velvet fan. Any form of red velvet. My woman’s surprising me, so I don’t know. I heard the other day, [someone told me] about a red velvet cheesecake and I’ve never had that.

ML: Let’s get into some questions about the show- How do you feel season 1 of the show turned out?

FB: Season 1 of the show was a tremendous success, because first of all my goal going in was to get the gentlemen on the show to feel that it was more important for them to learn these lessons than it was for them to win the money. Ultimately, when it boiled down to those final guys, they really got it and they understood what these different tools mean and how they can help them to move forward and reach those dreams and aspirations they have. It was real transformational for them. One of the the things I didn’t know, but I found out after moving around, that it was transformational for the audience from the other side of the coin. So many people who came to me and said “Hey, now I see folks with the pants below their behind, with grills in their month, and instead of judging this individual, I see there is a real person with real dreams and aspirations who probably didn’t grown up with the same type of nourishment and community that I did, and you don’t know what you don’t know”, and that’s actually OK. But it’s about you understanding that and you wanting to fundamentally move forward to be a better you. These people are now saying when they see folks like that instead of judging the individual they think “Hey, let me drop a gem on them, let me say something or speak something into their lives”, so that’s a huge win. Obviously the ratings are fantastic , it’s in 30 countries right now. So those are the really big wins for me, and that’s what’s really exciting.

ML: You said it’s in 30 countries, do they have versions where they dub you voice over?

FB: Oh yeah, you ought to hear it, it’s kinda funny.

ML: What’s your favorite dubbing?

FB: I need to get clips and put some on my website, to see how they dubbed me. It’s so funny, for the Super Bowl I met this gentlemen [that was] from Pakistan, and he was like “Your show’s in Pakistan”,  and I was like what does that sound like? And he was like “Yo, it’s so funny the way they have you sounding”. But, how incredible is that?

ML: Looking back on season 1 is there anything you wanted to change, or was it perfect the way it turned out?

FB: Ultimately, I definitely think it turned out the way I wanted and even better. It was unfortunate when one of the young men, who definitely had trouble and ended up deciding to leave and when he came back, letting his anger and those instincts to get the best of him, and he swung & hit the guy.  I lobbied for the network not to air that, and the reason is because I think that this violence really sensationalizes and people go “Whoa, he got knocked out!, you see this??”. Because we have those moments like Columbine and Virginia Tech, the way some of that press gets out, it really sensationalizes and gives these kids and some folks to think that’s cool.

ML: You didn’t want it to be a distraction either…

FB:  I think it’s a distraction, but ultimately, when the young man who was punched, got in the same area and didn’t hit back, and just said we’re gonna squash this right here, I don’t care what my hood thinks. That really was a testament to exactly how transformed a lot these young men are and have been.

ML: Now on the last episode you brought everyone back, do you still keep in touch with everyone? Do they hit you up on the daily for advice?

FB: Man, they definitely hit me up, not everyday but I do keep in touch with a lot of them. It’s funny, I think, the show is just over for you guys, the show is not over for me in a lot of respects, I talked to D-Boy 3 weeks ago, I talked to Kesan 3 weeks ago. I talked to Creepa all the time, I talk to Shotta often because he’s in Los Angeles. The way they continue to gain access with me, is they have to continue to work on being a gentlemen. The thing last year with the consistency and the commitment, in order to say in touch you gotta be doing some work.

ML: Have there been any major developments with the guys from the last season? Did Shotta ever open up his own spot?

FB: Well no, we actually got him [employed] at that really cool place, The Shave in Beverly Hills, and it’s really an exciting place for him. You know- Michael Jordan, Bruce Willis, the top of the top go there, and he has to do 5,000 hours before he can actually be considered a barber.

ML: Wow, that’s a lot.

FB: Yeah, it’s a lot of work, but I think it’s good. He even told me when we brought him with Creepa this season, “You know what? In retrospect Mr. Bentley, it’s better that I didn’t win the money, because of the way I move and [from] my point of view, it’s better that I had to work for it” “If I would have just gotten [the money], I my have slipped back. I felt really good, because ultimately I have to make the final decision, and the executive producers Jamie [Foxx], Chris [Abrego] and the network, have really trusted me with that. This season I am in the producers chair, so I have added that to my repertoire. I’m really committed to this idea and this point of view.

ML: With the 2nd season starting up, what was your favorite single moment of the 2nd season?

FB: Yeah, we ended up doing this lesson where we gave the guys an opportunity to put on a play for some middle school & high school kids. [So we had] you name it as far as outfits for them to put on and costumes. They had to structure and do a play as [one of] 2 teams, one based on gang violence and one on anti-drug message. One of the things that we see in this generation is A) The sense of entitlement and B) This almost selfishness and I gotta get mine and I don’t care how it effects anybody else. So for them give back and to really understand the idea of philanthropy, and how much you receive in giving, that was the greatest moment. I always pull the last couple guys and kind of ask, which lesson proves to be the most impactful for you? They mentioned 3 of them and that was one of them, you’ll definitely see that. That will be a fun episode for everybody, because it touched on so many different things emotionally, a humor perspective, and real problems perspective that are plaguing our people.

ML: You mentioned people coming up to you to talk about the show, do you have a favorite story of someone coming up to you to share their story on how the show has changed their lives?

FB: I do, on MTV.com we have an IM where [viewers] can have a dialogue with not only myself but the guys on the show.  I got this IM from this lady who just said that she has a son that’s doing 6 years in prison and she has a nephew that’s doing 4, and she said that everyone in the family had given up on them, and she knew in her heart that she didn’t need to give up on them, and she was about to. She said because of the show, she wasn’t going to. She just went on and on,  and said Thank You for doing this, because I knew I wasn’t wrong, I was right, and you just confirmed it. Those are the things that you don’t even know are happening. It’s really really inspiring.

ML: Is there any question you wish people would stop asking you about the show?

FB: Maybe like.. one of the guys on the show last year turned out to be an actor. [So I’m asked] why did you have him on? But, the reality is he has problems too.  I think what we are seeing is a couple seasons down the road I think we’ll get to the point where we’ll do a celebrity G’s to Gents. I actually have had a very reputable producer that you know, without naming names, who reached to me. Like “man, I really need to change not only my look but I also don’t know how to talk to people, and deal with people. I go into these big corporations and they pay for my records and I give them hits, but I really want them to take me seriously as a business man. I may want to move into the executive trajectory, with some of these record companies but they don’t take me serious”. I’m actually mentoring him, he got my book so I started mentoring him. Because reality TV and we understand the culture of it, so we are always skeptical of things. There are a lot of people who need this information and these tools. Just because they were on a show or in a film, that doesn’t discount that they got some problems.

ML: You worked at the Polo Store – The Mansion, right?

FB: Yeah, and [as a] wine blender.

ML: Did you enjoy working there? How was that experience?

FB: Man, you gotta understand, coming from Atlanta, Georgia and being so inspired no just by fashion, but Ralph Lauren in general. To be working in the flagship store where you’re folding and you’re merchandising, your client and relationship follow up has to be on the top of the level or you don’t even get in there.  It was just amazing to be in New York, where fashion lives. It was interesting too, because you got to understand there weren’t a lot of folks that looked like me that worked in The Mansion. A lot of time, there would be something that would happen, that I kind of questioned. Ultimately, all of things shaped me to be a better [person] to dealing with folks that come from different persuasions effectively.

ML: Now, while you worked there was there a single piece that was your favorite and stick out in your mind?

FB: You know I do, it’s funny you ask that because I was really angry when I went to do some shopping for this season of the show, and I didn’t see this thing there. This is like a staple for the Ralph Lauren shop, the freaking flag sweater. I’m like America has never been hotter! America is like the coolest country, nation period right now. I was trying to snatch a flag sweater to rock on the show. You’ll see little things that I did fashion wise on the show. I really went presidential this time with some of the looks. Even like I wore a navy suit, a red stripe tie, a flag on my lapel, I made sure there was a flag in the chapter room. I really want people to understand and think presidential, to see it as something they can attain, but also to throw some fashion tips to my man Barack. But the flag sweater, man, and I don’t know what Ralph is thinking. I was there 4 years when the man made the speech, and I knew what was happening. Somebody in design needs to get fired.

ML: Maybe someone will read this and they’ll bring it back real quick.

FB: You kidding me? Real quick they gonna bring it back!

ML: You worked there for quite a while so it’s safe to say you are an expert on Ralph Lauren Polo. Who has the best collection?

FB: This gentlemen by the name of 88-Keys..

ML: We know 88-Keys!

FB: This is a guy, who literally goes in and he finds a lifestyle, because you know Ralph does lifestyles, he’ll get everything. Sometimes I won’t agree with the shoes for a particular lifestyle, like that ain’t it or they may go with the lifestyle but I just don’t like them. He don’t care, he gets all of the pieces, the hat, the t-shirt, the socks, the pants, the trousers, the belt, the footwear. He goes all the way in.

ML: So, 88-Keys over Just Blaze?

FB: I gotta say, I don’t know Just well to really to comment on that, so I gotta get it on that and go see [his collection]. But you know, my first nick name in the industry, given by a roommate was Polo Man. Because I went from working in the Polo Sport shop to the Polo Menswear shop, so I was the only person in Atlanta in the Polo suites. I was first in Ralph Lauren Purple label, so we don’t really need to get in to all that. I get the whole ‘Lo Heads, but where ya Black Label at? Be easy, I worked in the shop, I got recruited to The Mansion. I’m trumping all y’all.

ML: 88 just started a blog, and even his kids are only in Polo.

FB: He actually put on there, where I talked about the history of the lapel.

ML: I know you gotta run how about we link up later for a Pt. 2 later?

FB: That sounds good, I like that.

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From G’s To Gents airs Tuesday at 10pm ET/PT on MTV.