In the Press
Local Renaissance man charts his own unique path
Darius Dotch is a Louisiana native who has made his mark in Minnesota in more ways than one. An actor, recording artist, fitness instructor and podcaster, Dotch is a Renaissance man paving a unique path for himself and creating an inspiring way of life for others.
As an actor, Dotch has starred on many stages including the History Theatre in St. Paul and Penumbra Theatre. Following his recent debut at the Guthrie Theater as an understudy in Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun,” Dotch will be starring in the Guthrie Theater’s upcoming production of “Sweat.”
In 2021, Dotch was also featured in the film “39 Seconds”—a story by local filmmaker Paul Irmiter—and in 2020 he was the sole actor in one of ESPN’s Final Four commercials.
“We shot it here in the Twin Cities, in the same studio where Prince recorded a lot of his music,” Dotch recalled. “The room was called ‘The Quietest Place on Earth,’ and that’s literally what it is—the quietest place on earth.
“It feels like when you speak, that you’re not talking loud enough. You feel like you need to yell, and it feels like your sound is being sucked away from you in this room,” he said.
As quarantine threatened to stifle the sound of so many artists, Dotch persevered and found a way to leverage a season that may have seemed crippling for others. He continued to pursue his songwriting as well as fitness from home.
In 2021, he even released a new single entitled “Soul Food,” a beautiful celebration of his Southern roots and the essence of soul in the Black community.
“Everybody at that point was going through their own mental thing, whether it was negative or positive. If you were depressed, had anxiety, whatever it was, we were all going through something at some point during the pandemic,” he shared.
During that time Dotch was also learning more about himself and what it meant to maintain mindfulness. He became inspired to start a podcast to share his personal life lessons with fitness clients and others who might be on a similar journey.
“It’s not an easy thing to go after a goal or to go after a dream,” Dotch said, “because if it was, it wouldn’t be a goal and it wouldn’t be a dream.”
Now, as opportunities for Dotch continue to pour in, it is not without reciprocation. As an artist and fitness instructor in the Twin Cities community, he has become a role model for people young and old, and even this is with intention.
“Something that my mama told me a long time ago—I was less than 12 when she told me that my name meant ‘help from God.’ Then the older I got, the more I started to pay attention to how things happen in my life. I realized that it was kind of manifesting itself.”
As a full-time multi-talented entrepreneur juggling multiple expeditions between the arts, fitness and podcasting, Dotch has also made himself a generous conduit of wisdom—an open ear to peers, clients, family and friends, and an example to people pursuing dreams.
“Your path is your own path. Don’t try and be what someone else wants you to be,” he said. “Don’t compare yourself to other people’s path because yours is unique to you. And if you come across a setback, or you make a mistake, or you have failure, just know that it was meant to be.
“We all fail. We all have setbacks. But the last thing you should do is to stop.”
Darius Dotch’s “Mastering the Mindset” podcast can be heard at: masteringthemindsetdariusdotch.buzzsprout.com
Darius Dotch Music: linktr.ee/DariusDotch
Darius Dotch upcoming performance, Guthrie Theatre’s “Sweat” www.guthrietheater.org/shows-and-tickets/2021-2022-season/sweat