Following His Heart

The decision was hard.
Life-altering ones invariably are. It was carefully considered, though, thoroughly researched, and thoughtfully brought to fruition. Still, it was hard. Very hard. But right. Absolutely right.
 
While he was a student at Collegiate, Johnny White distinguished himself on both the track and cross country course. An 18-season runner, he grew from a JV athlete as a 7th grader to the youngest guy on the varsity the next year to a multi-season captain and All-Prep League and All-VISAA performer in the fall, winter, and spring.
 
Combining talent, work ethic, dedication, and resolve, the 2020 graduate earned personal bests of 4:31.48 in the 1600, 9:47.18 in the 3200, 1:59 in the 800 (a split on the 4x800 relay that won the 2019 state title), and 16:15 over a 5K cross country course. He was a major player on the 2019 cross country team that placed second in both the league and state meets and the winter track squad that won the 2020 state championship.
 
He went on to Virginia Commonwealth University where he continued to improve, recording marks of 1:58.43 in the open 800, 4:05.60 in the 1500, 4:28.89 in the mile, 9:01.12 in the 3000, and 15:30.97 in the 5000.
 
Over the seven-and-a-half years that he laced up his spikes and donned shorts and singlet, he savored the process, the challenges, the team experience, and the opportunity to express himself as a competitive athlete.
 
“Running,” he said one day recently, “was such a huge part of my life. VCU was great, but Collegiate track and cross country was the highlight of everything running. I couldn’t have asked for anything more.”
 
The verb was – past tense – is not by accident.
 
At the semester break, Johnny left VCU to pursue another passion: music.
 
Long before he became a runner, you see, he had immersed himself in music, and while he enjoyed both creative outlets immensely, the voices spoke loudly to him to take a leap of faith and become the very best practitioner of his craft that he could be.
 
“After freshman year (at VCU), I really started to question everything,” he explained. “The way the world is today really had an impact on this decision. I wasn’t experiencing track and music to their full capacity because we missed out on a lot of meets and performances. I decided to give it one more semester to see if things turned around. As the semester went on, I kept feeling in my gut that I needed to do something different.”
 
Over Thanksgiving break – actually, November 27, his 20th birthday – after much thought, reflection, and conversation with his always-supportive family, he made the decision to follow his heart.
 
It was a decision 15 years in the making, actually.
 
Music has always been part of his family’s culture, and at five years old, Johnny began taking banjo lessons from Doug Cherrington, a local musician who encouraged him, mentored him, introduced him to bluegrass.
 
As time passed and his skills improved, he found joy in performing whenever the opportunity arose.
 
For a couple of years, he took the stage in the Scott Street Banjo Competition at the Richmond Folk Festival at Brown’s Island, an event which occurred the afternoon of the Milestat Cross Country Invitational at Pole Green Park and necessitated quite a juggling act which Johnny managed with aplomb.
 
His sister Emma, a 2011 Collegiate alumna, is a country and pop song writer and singer who moved to Nashville at 18, and when the family traveled to visit her, Johnny found the ambiance much to his liking.
 
“That’s where I was first introduced to the Station Inn,” he said. “It’s a famous music venue where every Saturday night or Sunday night, there’s a big bluegrass jam. Whoever wants to join in, joins in. Whenever we went to Nashville, I’d go there at least once and jam with all these older guys. That was always a highlight when I was young.”
 
From time to time, when Emma returned to Richmond to perform, Johnny joined her on state.
 
“I always loved doing that,” he said. “I’d take my banjo up there. It would always get the crowd going because I was this little kid with a banjo that was bigger than me.”
 
When Johnny was 10, he began taking classical guitar lessons at Collegiate from David Robinson, whom he also considers a mentor. He continued during his time at VCU, which he attended as a music performance major and the recipient of the prestigious Jesus Silva Merit Scholarship.
 
“VCU, specifically John Patykula, the head of the guitar program, gave me great opportunities,” Johnny said. “I was doing two things I really loved, running and playing music, but I still felt like I wasn’t really fulfilled. Every time I saw a picture or video of one of my idols in the music industry performing, my heart was telling me that’s what I needed to be working toward full time. I knew I could work towards my goals much more efficiently if I structure my own time.”  
 
Those goals are?
 
“When I was even six years old,” he replied, “my goal was to play at the Grand Ole Opry. I never really talked about it because I was involved with a lot of other things. This past couple of years, I’ve been thinking, that’s the goal: to stand on that same circle as all these people I’ve looked up to and perform. Really, the goal is to play music full time and make a living doing it. That’s what I love to do.”
 
Do you see parallels between your running and music? I wondered.
 
“Running and music really go hand in hand,” he replied. “When I’m getting ready for a race, there’s a rush of adrenaline. The only way to get rid of that is to run my race. The same happens when I’m about to play a show. I get butterflies in my stomach.  When the gun goes off, when I play that first note, the butterflies go away. I’m doing what I’ve trained to do and learned to do. It’s the same feeling. One’s music. One’s running.
 
What about playing before a live audience gives you pleasure? I asked.
        
“Performing is what I love to do,” he said. “I have my own twists on every song I play, especially with the guitar aspect of it. I do a lot of unique things with my loop pedal so I can create different tracks live. I’ll record the chords. I’ll press the loop pedal. Then I’ll solo over it. Add some bass, add banjo. Music has so much power over our emotions. What motivates me is being able to share what I’m feeling with others.”
 
While he’s always been comfortable performing the banjo and guitar, he’s recently added vocals to his repertoire.
 
“Singing was always something I wanted to do, but I didn’t really start until about a year ago,” he said. “I was always timid with singing, but I’ve overcome that and really enjoy it now. It adds a whole new level of what I can do live.”
 
Johnny’s base of operations is North Myrtle Beach, SC, where his parents have relocated. He plans to stick around through the summer honing his prodigious skills, refining his presentation, writing songs, and playing gigs, then see what opportunities arise elsewhere.
 
He’s off to a promising start. The first two of four weekly three-hour country and bluegrass gigs at Cooper’s Tavern just down the road in Little River, SC, have been well received and led to a host of invitations to perform in the months ahead.
 
That said, he has no illusions that the long road ahead will be easy.
 
“There’re a lot of talented people out there who never get their chance,” he said, “but I believe if you put in the work, put yourself in the right places around the right people, if the talent’s there, this day and age you can become successful. A lot is due to social media. I won’t necessarily have to be discovered by somebody in a bar. You can market yourself much better now than you could years ago.”
 
As is his style, the arena notwithstanding. he’s looking only forward, humbly but assuredly, with his eyes on the prize.
 
“Somebody could say that I gave up great opportunities at VCU,” he said, “but if you really look at what I’ve done the past 15 years, I’ve been prepared to make this move. Collegiate gave me an amazing foundation. I knew that if I left college, I’d have a strong base to be able to accomplish what I set out to do.

"Deep down, I know I can be successful. I’m not really considering an alternative. I’m just trying to get my foot in the door. I was nervous when I pulled the plug. I’m still nervous, but I know I’m going to make the best of everything no matter what comes my way.”
 
 
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