ST. LANDRY PARISH — Michael Collins, also known by his stage name Big Myke, is an Opelousas-based poet and performing artist whose journey into the arts is shaped by personal hardships. As Big Myke reflects on his life, he credits his passion for supporting local artists as a driving force behind his success. "Creating opportunities for others, that drives me, that’s why I say I have a passion for local artists," he explains.
During one of the most challenging times in his life, Big Myke turned to poetry as a way to cope. "I was going through the toughest patch of my life. Within a year and a half, my dad passed, I was going through a divorce, and I lost my job of seven years," he recalls. Instead of turning to negative outlets, he found poetry to be a powerful escape. "It was like my release, my ventilation."
Big Myke was very selective with who he’d share his poetry with in the early stages,"I would let only people that were close to me read it and the more they’d read it, they were like people need to hear this people need to hear this," he says. Eventually, a fateful open mic performance led to a turning point in his career. "What ended up happening is I lost a bet to do an open mic and at that open mic I got a standing ovation." This moment of recognition marked the beginning of his public journey as a poet and performer.
It was during one of these open mic events that Big Myke met his best friend and artistic partner, Chris, a comedian and playwright. Their bond quickly grew, and Big Myke refers to Chris as his "little brother." Chris, who played a pivotal role in expanding Big Myke’s artistic horizons, introduced him to different elements of the performing arts. Chris also inspired him to pursue acting and was a motivating force that pushed him to start his own business, Poets Life Entertainment, a company focused on promoting local talent.
However, as Big Myke’s career began to take off, his journey took an unexpected turn.
I had just started my company, Poets Life entertainment for promotions so I was gonna be his promoter, and that’s when he took ill and he passed away in april of 2020...Keep pushing is what he lived by and now I live by that, so much to where I got a tattoo of it in his memory" Big Myke says.
In addition to his personal grief, Big Myke was left with an unfinished project that Chris had been working on—a play titled Reflections. Big Myke took it upon himself to finish the play, adding new content "I updated it and put a whole back end on it," he explains. Reflections tackles themes such as teen bullying, and Big Myke now feels a responsibility to continue Chris’s work, especially through his youth outreach program, Project Poetry.
"I’m working with a lot of students now so I wanna continue to work with them and watch them grow cause this play is drawing me to a lot of students," he says. “Through Project Poetry We introduce them to the arts and we teach them about trauma, what it is, how to identify it and coping skills. And using the arts like poetry or dance or maybe just creative writing as a way to ventilate," he explains.
Reflections, which features youth from his outreach program, is aimed at addressing the challenges faced by teenagers today. Big Myke explains. The play is not just a reflection of the struggles teenagers face but also an opportunity for them to express their experiences through the arts, which is what Big Myke does day by day.
"I’ve found my true calling, if it’s in your heart keep pushing, just keep pushing and eventually it’s gonna come through for ya," he says
