Interview completed by MooDylan

Antonio (Nio) Samar Thomas is an aspiring singer/songwriter from Philadelphia who has performed at several local events and released a CD earlier this year, with several new songs. As an out performer who also works as a personal trainer and a dancer, he has a fresh perspective on achieving success as a young same gender loving artist. Today, October 7th happens to be Nio’s birthday, so this interview is BGMLC’s small gift to help expose him to a larger audience.

Introduction

Faith-filled, fit (training), funny, phonic, fantastic, fabulous, fortunate . . . these are just a few facets of Antonio Samar Thomas, a man of multiple identities and occupations. I recently had a chance to shadow ‘Nio,’ as his fans call him, on several outings as a fitness trainer/aerobics teacher and a musical performer. Keeping up with such a layered individual is more than a notion, but exhilarating and illuminating it was. What follows is what I was able to distill into a single conversation over the two days I was along for the ride.

The interview begins with Antonio and me getting the reader up to speed on his background at the storied Franklin Learning Center, at the prestigious University of The Arts, his love-hate relationship with the art of Dance, and dalliances on the wrong side of the tracks. In discussing music more indepth, Thomas recounts his entrée via dance and an old flame, his ever-evolving live show, the technical trials and tribulations of music making, his varied musical influences, etc. On the issues of health, he revels in his longtime passion for working out, his philosophy on health and his close, mutually reaffirming relationships with clients. When it comes to community he has clear ideas on the challenges to community wellbeing like the lack of awareness around physical and psychological health in intersecting communities of color and LGBT identity, the need for role models thereof, opportunities in these communities. We close the interview with a reflection on Nio’s plans for the near future and “The 10’s” - rapidfire succession of quirky questions about favorite swear words, first words when entering the Pearly Gates and a host of other personality tweeks! There is also a video of Nio performing at the Kwanzaa celebration 2007.

It’s my hope that the reader gets a sense [like I did in the club, at the museum, and at the gym] of Antonio ‘Nio’ Samar Thomas the person, the performer, the personal trainer . . . the personality!

GENERAL ACQUAINTANCES

Moo: What should people know about you?

Nio: Where should I start? I mean, definitely, if there was one word I would use to describe me, it would be ‘artist.’ I was born and raised here in Philly, my background is in performing arts. Here, recently, I discovered a new love for fitness and I’ve actually been working on my dream, which is recording music, and performing and writing. So, yeah, I am very blessed, doing what I love, having fun and living my dream.

Moo: Tell me a little more about your background?

Nio: Let’s see, I pretty much lived all over the city of Philadelphia - always danced, never really took it seriously ‘til about high school. Franklin Learning Center, I was a dance major there. Stopped dancing! Started dancing! Stopped dancing again! Kinda got mixed up in the wrong crowd, eventually became an exotic dancer, that’s when I rediscovered my love for performing. So what I looked at as a negative experience turned out to be a positive experience - and usually there’s always something positive for every negative. And yeah, after that, I ended up going back to school to pursue dance.

I went back to UArts at age . . . ? At an older age. Hahaha! . . . UArts was another experience that seemed like it was negative at first. It was a really difficult time for me. It wasn’t easy getting back into dance with kids much younger than me. Dancers can be evil! So yeah, I had to put myself out there a little and just dealt with being humiliated for a while and it toughened me up and I got better and graduated and did dance classes and ended up recording music. It was a very difficult time at UArts and there were many times I wanted to quit and I really did almost quit but I just persevered and I am so glad I did. It’s always dark before the dawn and I’m definitely grateful, because I learned a lot.

Moo: Who are some of your influences and role models?

Nio: Madonna. Oh my god she is like . . . I mean besides Madonna there’s my mother. I don’t know which one you want me to talk about first . . . My mother would kill me if she heard me talk about Madonna first; but my mother is very strong, she’s my role model . . . a fighter, she always maintained, I mean, she always handled her business, was always there for me and my other siblings . . . There for me when I am good, there for me when I am bad . . . Yeah . . . Unconditional, UNDCONDITIONAL! Just beautiful inside and out. She’ll be happy when I’m rich and famous because she’s gonna get her reward, her payback. Besides her, there’s Madonna and I could talk about both of them forever.

Moo: Why Madonna?

Nio: Madonna . . . I mean, it’s funny. I’ve heard her husband describe her as a manifester and I’ve heard her say she just put one foot in front of the other and she wanted what she wanted and she just went for it and she got it and that’s pretty much how she’s conducted herself throughout her career and that’s VERY inspiring because she’s not the greatest singer or dancer but . . . hahaha!

Moo: What about you coming out, what was that like?

Nio: Pretty easy, because for me, once my mother knew, I didn’t give a damn what anybody else thought! She was always like ‘Nobody better not ever mess with you!’ So once she knew, I was just like ‘Screw everybody else,’ . . . Yep, just that simple ‘This is me, this is who I am,’ . . .I never had any issues with knowing what I wanted. Only thing I questioned was would it be good for my career, to be out, but at this point, I feel like there’s a void in the industry that needs to be filled.

Moo: Any hard-fought struggles that have really taught you about yourself?

Nio: Oh! Well, yeah, I am very open about my sexuality and that I am a recovering substance-user. I was an exotic dancer and I was heavy into club-drugs, the club-scene. Looking back [on] it, you know like I say, there’s always dark before the dawn, it made me who I am today. You know for someone to overcome such obstacles teaches me that there’s nothing that I can’t handle with God on my side and the right people around me. And you know, if I can do it then anyone can do it. Drugs are . . . [sigh] if anybody is listening, JUST DON’T DO THEM!

MUSIC

Moo: How did you get into music?

Nio: I was a dance major at UArts and it’s a requirement if you’re a dance major, that you take an elective. You either take voice or acting. Naturally, I took voice ‘cause I always wanted to be a singer, though I never really thought I could. Turns out I could hold a note. Well, my last semester, the only ‘A’ I got were in voice. So the laws of attraction being what there are, attracted me to a now ex boyfriend who was a producer . . . a special someone who was into music and he did my stuff for me and it came out great and he was impressed. So we did more stuff and so it’s taking off.

Moo: For people who haven’t seen a live show, how would you describe it?

Nio: My live show? My current live show!? ‘Cause this is the low-budget version, but give me some money, baby, and it’s on! Just energetic, just a good time, I mean, I don’t really know . . . It’s me and my dancers, they’re there backing me up and holding me down! I appreciate people being as supportive as they are because this is like the very, very, very beginning stages of my career and I have been really trying to focus on my voice and letting my dancers hold me down but, either way, you’ll get a good show. . . If they like it now, just wait ‘til I get some money. When I can add the costumes and the set and it’s gonna be crazy.

Moo: What aspect of making music excites you the most right now?

Nio: The most enjoyable part for me is when it’s finished and how good it sounds when it comes out because it’s not easy. All my life I’ve been like ‘This is what I want to do,’ but you don’t really realize how hard it is . . . when you hear people say ‘it’s really hard work,’ it is really hard work, you gotta do it over and over again. So it’s really rewarding to hear the finished product.

Moo: What aspect of making music gets you the most discouraged?

Nio: When it’s not coming out right and you have to do it over and over and over and over and over. I mean, I’m not like Whitney Houston or Beyonce or someone who can go in and nail it on the first try. So it’s frustrating especially when you’re working with people who are very direct and straightforward and you sound like crap and you’re drinking water and it’s still rough, hahaha!

Moo: Lately what musical periods or styles do you find yourself most drawn to as a listener?

Nio: The 80’s! I love the 80’s! 70’s, 80’s. Anything new Wave, Techno, Tribal, House.

Moo: Name a band or musician, past or present, who you flat-out LOVE and think more people should be listening to.

Nio: Ah, Depeche Mode! I’m loving Depeche Mode. They’ve been out since the 80’s and I don’t know where I’ve been. I got into them recently. I’m loving their old stuff, their new stuff. Ahh, of course Madonna, George Michael, Prince . . . they’re like Pop Gods. I don’t think the stars come out like that any more, the closest thing we have to that these days is Beyonce. I like Disco, real serious about Disco, anything Euro; Sugar Babes, Kylie Minogue, of course Janet, Britney, Beyonce, Ciara . . . I like cheese-Pop, anything Dance. I’m kinda against vocal powerhouses. If you can sing, I probably don’t really care for you. Stuff like the Spice Girls. Madonna is THE Idol for me!

Moo: What are your two favorite Madonna tracks?

Nio: It would have to be Madonna ‘Hung Up’ ‘cause . . You know, my friends say ‘You say that you like her new music better, but you can’t really mean that!’ I’m like, no, she just gets better every time she comes out. So I have to say ‘Hung Up’ . . . umm . . . God, this is a hard decision, American Life, which is her least -selling album but my favorite album by her.

Moo: What about old Madonna?

Nio: I like very simple music. A lot of the 80s stuff is very simple, it has like three sounds, but you can just groove to it. Probably Burning Up. I had to pick something from the 1^st album.

Moo: What are you up to right now, music-wise?

Nio: I have quite a few songs I am working on and at this point I am doing everything on my own. So if there’s anybody out there who wants to make millions on a star, hit me up, hahaha! But you know, God’s been blessing me with . . . everything I’ve been asking for, I’ve been getting. I guess that’s the reward for being clean and becoming a better person. Yeah, so Karma is real, so I’ve been getting gigs and it’s been holding me back from recording. But I have quite a few songs that are really good. If anyone likes the first two on my page, then the new stuff I can’t wait to get it out.

HEALTH

Moo: Can you tell me about your other occupation . . . the one that keeps you on-point physically for those demanding live performances?

Nio: Yeah, health and fitness, I’ve always had a passion for working out. I always tell people that when I started working out, my whole life changed. So if anyone needs a motivator, get in shape and your life will change; even if for superficial reasons like attention. Oh by the way your health is important too,haha. After school, I ended up teaching at the gym; my dance aerobics classes which I love. I mean, we have an amazing time! I started working in the gym and people would ask me ‘Are you a trainer? Are you a trainer? I didn’t think I would be able to do something like that although I wanted to. . . I thought about anatomy and I was like there’s no way I could do it. But I ended up being offered a chance to become certified. . . I took the test and I passed and I liked it because it was pretty flexible hours and I was working in a restaurant before. You make up your own hours, you’re kinda your own boss, you’re helping people.

I work right now at a gym, SIS Fitness, up Logan - give a shout out to Melanie and everybody up there - and most of my clients are older black women who are just getting into health and fitness. It’s very rewarding, especially when you see your clients get results they thought they never could. And now I am studying for another certification which is even better and I am very proud because it’s sticking, so sometimes when you step beyond the fear you see what you’re really capable of and I love it. I love it. Definitely a great job to have in the interim until my big break, and its interesting, your body, it just goes to show how God is real because who could create this stuff that goes on inside of us?

Moo: Good Transition for my next question. Do you have a driving philosophy as it relates to health and the work you do in that vein?

Nio: It’s never too late to get in shape . . . never, never. Start slow and don’t overdo it and you can do it, you can have your health back. It’s a process just like anything, don’t overdo it. Everybody work out, especially in our community . . . with stress, poverty . . . soulfood! As good as it is . .. I think BET had a show ‘50 Most Horrible Things That Could Ever Happen To Black People’ and I think soulfood was one of them . . . As good as it is. Drug and alcohol abuse . . . as long as you’re alive you can turn around.

COMMUNITY

Moo: That’s a perfect transition, you could do this interview yourself. I was going to ask you, ‘What do you consider to be your community, physically [where] and socially [who]?’

Nio: I’m actually Mixed. My mother is Black, my father is Hispanic. So the Black- and Hispanic community, the gay community. We just don’t take our health very seriously. In our community when you look at the options of food, they’re just giving us anything, we’re eating anything . . . We can be very closed-minded to different things. But it’s getting better, what bothers me is . . . Though I am Mixed, I really do talk a lot more about being Black. The Black community’s women are way ahead of us. They’re taking care of our families, taking care of the men. You know we have got to get it together. Black women are really getting into their health and we Black men are not taking it serious and it is that serious!

Moo: Being engaged in and concerned about our shared identities/communities, what does that mean to you?

Nio: On a very personal level as far as my family, I try to be a role-model for my younger brother and sister, though they aren’t as receptive as I would like them to be. But it’s kinda my job for one of the gyms I work at, SIS is predominantly black. It’s still giving back even though it’s my job and I get paid for it. There are a lot of other places I could work and get more money, but I’ve made a commitment to the women there, who I love. Part of me getting a better certification was so I could better serve my clients and give them more information.

My goal and objective as a fitness coach is to get my clients to become independent of me and some of them do, so I give back that way. I’m not just studying to make more money, but to better serve. I teach my classes there and really try to go above and beyond what’s expected and it’s working because the women are getting results and they bring more people and it’s a chain reaction. It’s turning out to be a really good thing . . . We just need more men involved. And I would really like to get a little more involved in the black gay community because I feel like we definitely need it. When I was younger, (like I’m a hundred years old…haha) I was lost and just wild and crazy and I see it happening all over again. I mean, the younger black gay community needs role models and that’s something I would like to get into.

Moo: You mentioned a lack of role models, what do you see as some of the community’s greatest challenges?

Nio: I guess that’s it; really just having more role-models for the gay community. There needs to be more for them to do. I can’t think of anything else.

Moo: Now the other side of that coin is opportunities, any you see that people should be taking advantage of?

Nio: I don’t know, I just think the sky is the limit if we just really learn how to support each other. That’s one thing our community needs to do more of as a whole and I mean us as black people. We don’t support each other like a lot of other races do and that definitely shows in the black gay community also. If we just support each other, there’s so much we can do. We need to stand up, we need to team up and not allow people to tell us what we can and can’t do. There could be a gay black male singer that’s successful if he had the support he needed. If we supported each other, we could have anything. We need to start having our own stuff but it goes deeper. That’s easy to say but when you look at some of the things that are going on in our community, it’s a lot deeper. It goes back to the way people were raised or what they’re going through. It’s just so much. As far as right now, we have a lot of opportunity. There’s Logo and there’s Here! And we’re starting to have our own magazines. I think now is a great time for us. I hope to be able to open up some more doors for people to come up behind me.

Moo: What issues are you passionate about these days?

Nio: Work, I’m so blessed, really so blessed. I am passionate about being better, about my music. I’m meeting people who are enthusiastic about it. I love my day-job. I’m learning so much. I have mentors, I am meeting people. And then my dance classes . . . that’s not work at all. That’s really not work at all. We just have a party, I mean you saw it today. They’re really into it. I’m so excited about life sometimes I can’t sleep and it gets overwhelming, but I am in a good space right now. I’m passionate about life and all these opportunities. You can have anything you want.

Moo: Which ones have you been able to get involved on? Any organizations you work with or would like to in the near future?

Nio: BGMLC, they’ve been very supportive. First of all, I love the name ‘Black Gay Men’s Leadership Council’, that’s what we need. I really would like to get more involved with that organization. I’m really so busy right now that I really haven’t been able to look more into what they do in particular, but I know that they had something recently where they honored Michael Hinson which is awesome. People like that NEED to be honored . . . , you know, THAT’S a role-model right there! There’s somebody to look up to right there! I see’em all the time and I really wish I could have been a part of that, but . . . So that’s one organization, but overall I talk a lot about my community, but really our community is humanity. Like, anything that I could be involved in where you help somebody, I would like to. That’s why I love Madonna right now because she’s all ‘Heal the world!’ Hahaha. But man, I feel her, we need it! We need it and when you support you get support . . . Karma!

CLOSING

Moo: Was there anything that I missed that you might like community members to know that wasn’t asked about?

Nio: I am looking for a manager (smiles). I mean I think I pretty much covered it. If you’ve heard anything I touched on or if there’s anything I could help out with, just let me know. I’m available. I don’t ever plan on being unapproachable. Be humble or be humiliated. So I think that pretty much covered everything. Of course I will think of something after we part ways. Hahahaha!

Moo: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Nio: Rich!. . . And happy, I mean and I say that feeling no shame or guilt and that’s one thing I want to let everybody know. Anybody, we can really have anything we want in life. When I look at my life now, anything that I’ve ever wanted or asked for, I have. It might not be on the level that I want it, but I have it. You know, and it can only get better from here. This is just a taste of what can come. So anybody . . Just do it! Just do it and get it over with. You’ll be happy that you did.

Moo: I’ll borrow the last trick from James Lipman’s ‘Actor’s Studio.’ It’s called ‘The 10′ and you just answer in rapid-fire. Don’t think too much or it will destroy the mystique of the exercise, ok?

Nio: Ok.

Moo: What is your favorite word?

Nio: Love

Moo: What is your least favorite word?

Work

Moo: What turns you on?

Nio: Men!

Moo: What turns you off?

Nio: Women! Sike! . . .What turns me off? What turns me off? Hate.

Moo: What sound or noise do you love?

Nio: Sex!

Moo: What sound or noise do you hate?

Nio: Kids!

Moo: What is your favorite curse word?

Nio: F*ck!

Moo: What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

Nio: Hmmm, personal training.

Moo: What profession would you not like to do?

Nio: Anything where I have to lift stuff.

Moo: If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

Nio: You did a good job!

For more on Nio visit his Myspace page.