Today we’d like to introduce you to Sirdarius Rashod Benton.
It’s an honor to speak with you today. Why don’t you give us some details about you and your story. How did you get to where you are today?
I such a pleasure to speak with you as well. I am Sirdarius Rashod but I simply go by Sirdarius Rashod as my stage and social media name. I was born and raised in Atlanta, GA. I am a United States Veteran and former cop for the state of Georgia.
My story is pretty simple, I grew up loving music and dancing. Michael Jackson was my favorite artist, so watching him dance blew my mind away. I started acting at the age of 12 in my first play ever, “King of Glory”. A play about the birth and life of Christ which showed annually every year during December.
From there I started modeling and acting and was signed to J Pervis Talent Agency. I also worked on several web series. One in particular was called “One Lonely Guy” where I had the lead role. Just this year I was seen on NBC’s “Dancing With Myself” episode 4, where I battled it out with some amazing social media Influencers/Dancers.
I got to where I am today by not giving up on my dream. By networking and having a strong presence on social media. I never saw myself becoming this big in the social media world, I really just be having fun and wanting to spread joy and positivity across all nations.
I’m sure your success has not come easily. What challenges have you had to overcome along the way?
Some of the challenges I faced while becoming successful were long nights. Time away from family and friends and I even got fired from my job due to my impact on my community.
I am know as being the dancing cop, where I first started going viral with my dance videos in my uniform as a police officer and then later as a Sheriff’s Deputy. It wasn’t until last January 2021 when I started to encounter challenges like never before. Before then I had no issues about my videos because it was helping to bridge the gap between the community and law enforcement, but as soon as a new sheriff took office, the very first black sheriff at that, I started to become a target.
I was put under investigation because he stated that I was giving the Sheriff’s Department a bad name and that I was getting so many complaints from the community, the community I served for the past 4 years before he entered office. But I didn’t stop or continue what I was doing because it still brought joy to others. Due to jealousy and envy, he decided to fire me.
Once a good, high powerful friend of mine caught wind of it, the Sheriff decided to bring me back but it wasn’t the same. So I decide to take a leap of faith and resign from law enforcement all together. Since then I have been soaring high and doing better than I was.
Let’s talk about the work you do. What do you specialize in and why should someone work with you over the competition?
I am an actor and digital creator. I create content to brighten up people’s day with laughs, smiles, a little dancing here and there and with encouraging words to uplift and inspire those who need that extra push. I believe in spreading positivity constantly because you never know what someone is going through and with the few years we just encountered, we need more love, joy, peace and positivity.
I just recently started getting into motivational speaking. I feel that I have a powerful voice and with some of the things I been through, I feel that sharing my testimony of what I have been through and what it took to get out of it is a key.
What sets me apart from other creators is the fact that I love to engage with my followers. I love seeing them like and share and comment and I try to comment back on every single comment, whether it’s with words or emojis, I try to keep that bond and relationship with each and every one of them.
I don’t want people to think that I am better than them or a high status of them, I try to keep it open and fun so that interacting with me isn’t impossible to do. At the end of the day people want to feel valued, to feel seened, and to know that taking time out of their lives isn’t being over looked.
What’s your best piece of advice for readers who desire to find success in their life?
If you desire to find success the main thing you to focus on is not giving up. Even when things seem like it’s taking forever, that your not making any progress, and your making mistake after mistake, don’t ever GIVE UP!
Look at your mistakes, your mishaps, your failures as learning lessons. These experience should help you grow. It may seem like they are hurting you but once you learn from them, you’ll be able to move on with the knowledge and understanding of what not to do.
As long as long as you believe you can do, as long as you see you doing it, then it can be done and you will achieve success. Don’t get on what other people’s success looks like. You can be successful in many things, like graduation from school, buying your first home, raising your kids, or being a great partner.
My formula to beocming successful is simple: Manifest, Pray, Believe, & Work. Manifest what you want in your life. Pray about what you want in your life. Believe that what you want and prayed about will happen, and work towards that which you want! Just know that success is whatever you make it to be!
Speaking of success, what does the word mean to you?
Success to me is accomplishing something that you didn’t think you could or struggled to accomplish. It can be great or small. If you struggled with addiction and overcome it, to me you are a successful person. If you beat cancer, you are a successful person. If you bought your first home, celebrate because that is a level of success. Taking a leap of faith and thriving off that is considered being successful. Living a life that you want, doing what you love to do, and having peace and happiness are all levels of success.
Like I said before success is exactly whatever you make it!
What’s next for you?
Next for me is working on my craft as an actor and a motivational speaker. For some reason I can’t shake the feeling of being on stage and on screen becoming and portraying someone else. Challenging myself to become different characters and bringing them to life. I also can’t shake the fact of speaking life into people. Especially men who are dealing with so many things that have affected. Things from their past that they don’t discuss, trauma that still haunts and hurts them till this day. I want to be able to help those in need and to uplift, encourage and inspire those.
I have accomplished being able to reach the masses across social media, I was able to be on national tv doing one of the things I love to do, and I am now traveling the world meeting and networking with so many people.
Finally, how can people connect with you if they want to learn more?
If people want to check out my content, they can see all my content on Tiktok, Facebook and Instagram platforms @iam.sirdariusrashod. If someone wants to reach out to me for any speaking enagagements, collaberations, or work I can be reached via email at: sirdariusrashod@gmail.com
