Brad Harrison
People who pay attention to the West End and the urban core have a new source for news — UrbanMaxx.com and its sole reporter, Brad Harrison.
Since his first post in May, Harrison has offered in-depth coverage of minority-owned businesses as well as artists of color.
A recent University of Louisville graduate with a degree in communications, Harrison conceived UrbanMaxx while he was still in college.
“A lot of the mainstream media (portrays) African-Americans in a negative light,” he says. “I’m not arguing that (those stories are) not news, but I decided when I got out of school that I wanted to write positive articles about the urban community.”
Recent UrbanMaxx stories have focused on barbershop owners, personal trainers, comedians and bakers.
Harrison is upbeat and has high hopes for the future, but that wasn’t always the case.
“I grew up in urban communities, in pretty impoverished areas, in a single-parent home,” he explains. “I got caught up in the street and gang life at an early age.”
It took a stint in prison for Harrison to realize he wanted to change.
“I got to prison and realized this is not what I want to do with my life. I vowed when I was released that I would never return there again.”
Harrison enrolled in college, starting at Jefferson Community and Technical College and then transferring to U of L.
Screenshot from a recent story on UrbanMaxx.com
Many children who come from impoverished neighborhoods are easily enticed by the street life, says Harrison, who wants these kids to see positive role models and successful black business owners. He also is concerned by the glorification of crime and violence that he sees in the entertainment industry, especially in popular hip-hop and rap music.
“I’m not trying to ban anybody else’s expression, but at the same time, there needs to be some balance out there,” says Harrison. “If (kids) are going to get all these negative influences, they need to get some positive influences as well.”
Harrison’s plan is to use the blog as a stepping stone to a printed publication.
“I wanna do something like what the LEO offers to Louisville, but in the urban community.”
He plans to place the printed UrbanMaxx in beauty shops, barbershops and nail salons. He’s hoping he can build a fan base with the blog, so that when he approaches advertisers, they may already be familiar with his work.
With plans to launch the paper version this fall, Harrison wouldn’t mind a business partner, but says he can launch without one.
“I have a projected launch date of October. So I’m hoping everything goes smooth with that,” he says. “Looking for a few sponsors, a few partners. But if not, I think I can still do October.”
For further developments and in-depth positive reporting on Louisville’s urban community, check out urbanmaxx.com. Harrison can be reached at urbanmaxx1@gmail.com.
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