Game Changers: The Conscious Culture Men With Vision 2020 Edition | Page 18

MASTERING THE ART OF A
NO-SLEEP
LIFESTYLE
Interview by Lydia Pierre
Photography by Dontez Akins
Devon "Sleepy" Green moved to Atlanta in 2004 with $1,500 dollars
and a car full of clothes in 2004 with no job and a dream. He figured
"Worst case scenario, I can go back home". All the while knowing
that he was not going back home.
Home was Philadelphia. The City of Brotherly Love. Anyone who
knows anything about Philly, knows it is not for the faint of heart. If
you do a google search of North Philly, in particular, you will find
multiple news reports about gun violence and shootouts. Sleepy
grew up in North Philly and had it rough. "Both of my parents were
on drugs growing up, so I was pretty much raising myself through
middle school and high school and I used to use that as a crutch".
He was determined to change the dynamics and create a better
situation for himself. Which he did. But it was not easy.
His move to Atlanta was the beginning of it all. Coming from Philly
and hearing about Atlanta, it seemed like the place to be.
Atlanta had a thriving music industry and was considered to be a
capital of hip-hop including crunk. Home to artists like Ciara, TLC,
Usher and Outkast, the party scene was crazy. "I worked multiple
jobs, I worked two jobs at one time. Working low end jobs and just
go out partying." But then Sleepy had an aha moment. He saw a
business opportunity and seized it. "After a conversation with a
friend, I decided instead of just going out partying, why don’t I
become a party promoter and promote my own parties. So, then I
started throwing my own parties and still working my two jobs."
There’s no denying Atlanta has one of the greatest nightlife scenes.
However, Party promoting in Atlanta is not as easy as it sounds.
It’s about having a strong network of people and a personality
that naturally draws people to you. Not to mention there are quite
a bit of promoters. But Sleepy was different.
"I had the party promoting happening for years, then I started to
realize from a business standpoint, that I could do so much more.
I was working on my MBA st Georgia State University and had a
corporate job in sales and marketing. I started thinking that with
my skillset in marketing, if I could apply some of these principles
to the promotion game, I can really maximize my events". And
that is exactly what he did. As a result, he was able to start
making more money than the average promoter because he was
able to maximize all aspects of the event.
His nickname was Sleepy from when he was a kid and his
football coach used to call him Sleepy or Sleep because he
always looked tired. The nickname stuck but the meaning didn't.
In fact, he rebelled against it. "When I got older, the No Sleep
lifestyle became about not being tired and to chase my dreams.
So, I kind of flipped it into no sleep and that became the kind of
lifestyle I wanted to live when I moved to Atlanta chasing my
dreams."
The motto became a lifestyle. No Sleep Lifestyle. “The No
Sleep Lifestyle brand is about chasing your dreams. It’s not so
much about not getting sleep", he states. "It’s about being
conscious and wanting to improve so that even when you are
sleeping, you are thinking about your next move. Now you may
not sleep as much in the process but it’s really about having that
ambition, motivation and the drive and choosing it over sleep".
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