When you think of red carpets, celebrity parties, brand deals and high end night life only one name comes to mind, Johnny Donovan. He is the mastermind behind the scenes of your favorite Hollywood and high end brand deal events. His creative eye, attention to detail and passion for talent has not only built him an empire, but also a collection of talented individuals who have been honored to collaborate with him through the years.
Donovan began his career in the early 2000’s after moving to New York City with big dreams to become the next big thing on TV. Little did he know this career move would change his life forever.
“Man, I aged out of Foster Care at 21 and Grew up on Long Island Moved to New York City in Pursue of Being on TV, Its funny to say but I always wanted to be in front of the camera and always wanted to give the world my personality for people to experience.
In early 2003 I actually won a contest back in the day on MTV.com which lead me into the MTV studios, where i experienced my first piece of this all. It luckily happened where I just ended up working around it and behind the scenes in 2007 till today.”
Over time he discovered he had a unique ability to spot talent. That ability helped grow his rolodex of high profile clients. Donovan began to work with celebrity talent, building not only a gold star reputation in the industry but also long lasting friendships.
“It Found Me I didn’t go to find it, Like they say it’s who you know and how you pursue your connections which makes you who you are! The Talent I’ve worked with I’ve been blessed to get close with, Ive even seen some get married ,have kids and surpass the 15 minutes of Fame. I get close with a lot of Talent after the shows and just have deep long friendships, sometimes it’ll be years but they’ll reconnect me and say man you’re still at it!!”
With very early start to a career that now has spanned almost two decades, Donovan has become a powerhouse in the entertainment industry. Coming from humble begins has allowed him to connect with people from all walks of life. That ability has served him well especially when he had his start in the world better known as “Entertainment Nightlife”.
“My first experience in Nightlife was in the Hamptons in the Early 2000’s where I waited and was a vip door host at some of the biggest nightclubs where they booked Kim Kardashian and Diddy held his annual white party. I’d say from 16 to 19 I was actively involved in booking Talent and at the hottest clubs in NYC. As far as events in 2012 I had the opportunity with VH1 to present The “Big Ang” Show premiere in Times Square after being fired from the Wienstien Company and the executive producer to present the premiere with about 200 people so that was my first actual event which put me on to the “Events World”
Being the man behind the scenes hasn’t always been easy, and with those struggles comes a lot of growth. Donovan not only recognizes that journey, but uses it as his driving force to project himself forward. Overtime those struggles allowed him to really connect with his clients, as well as take in once in a lifetime experiences.
“The 2016 BET Awards with Eva Marcille, She opened up my eyes to experiencing a different culture and really mentoring me to be a better version of who i am and have become in this business. I’ve also experienced going to The Video Music Awards and Movie Awards which every year I’ve went Im still just in Shock.
As his career expands, Donovan never forgot his beginnings developing a yearly holiday event.
“Well I grew up in that group Home, which I present it to every year for the past 6 years. As a young kid i always said i would share my wealth of blessings to kids who face the same experiences i faced growing up! so here I am, I can’t believe its been almost 6 years! Every year i say it gets bigger and I do it so last minute, sometimes I tell my self during the summer, I don’t even know if I’m going to do it and I always end up doing it. The kids talk about it for Months! and reach out to me through out the year.”
Much like the rest of us these past two years have proven to be a struggle. With the entertainment industry shutting down due to the covid pandemic. Along with that struggle, Donovan also hit another life changing experience in which he shares with us.
“Recently I got diagnosed diabetes ! With work and events and the fast paced schedule I live , I was just starting to loose my vision and one day at dinner with a client I decided to go visit my doctor and ended up in The ER for 2 days or so and prescribed about 4-5 different medications which you have to fully be responsible and stay on top off everyday to level and control out your A1C and balance out your diabetes, its all a learning process but over all it’s made me out to be more of on aware person”
Donovan’s recent struggles with diabetes hasn’t stopped him from tackle and accomplishing his goals. Achievement you could say is character trait he is born with. Towards the end of our time with Donovan he left us with his own words of wisdom from experiences in the industry.
Be your authentic self, Speak up to what you stand for ! and Network your ass off! As Kim Kardashian recently said ! People need to get out and work ! I stand by her on that and feel this generation doesn’t want to work! and I agree with her because so many things have changed with this new generation of celebrity and Influencer.
Johnny Donovan continue es to work in the industry signing new clients including digital social media stars everyday. It’s that drive that inspires and draws his incredible clients to work with him. You Johnny Donovan is a superstar in his own right, one talent that taken over this industry.