‘This opportunity means a great deal’

Jamaican football freestyler John Manradge, who will play a lead football role in a new series titled ‘Bob Marley Hope Road’ that is slated to kick off in Las Vegas next summer, said it’s an opportunity that will allow him to advance his dreams.

Bob Marley Hope Road is a series meant to show the various aspects of the famed reggae singer’s life, and will incorporate a variety of shows that will include live singing.

Manradge’s role will be to highlight Bob Marley’s unquenchable love for the sport of football, and he sees it as an opportunity to establish himself internationally.

“As a football freestyler from Jamaica this opportunity means a great deal to me, as it will also inspire others to pursue their dreams, maybe as a freestyle footballer or as any other professional.

“I will be there to give it my all as a freestyle footballer from Jamaica and I think I can become a part of a big project that they are working on,” he said.

“I will learn a lot from other people over there, socialise with more people and it will be just a great experience for me as a Jamaican freestyle footballer.”

Saqlain Wildman, Manradge’s agent and executive chairman of LAX Global Talent in Miami, is also a Casting Associate for the show. He explained that it is a live TV show, where people can come in and live the Bob Marley experience, and that John will lead the cast showcasing Bob’s love for football.

“Unlike the (Bob Marley) movie, it’s like a walk through. So you go into a museum but it’s live. Once you enter the building there will be people showing you the different sections. You have different showtimes, when they sing Bob’s songs. You will have different segments, for example, the part where John will be, which is the football aspect, with the freestyle happening on the bus top.

“He will be the person leading that display, not just the love Bob had for football, but the beauty of football as well. He will be there doing his freestyles on the bus top that Bob used to drive in on tour,” Wildman explained.

“Then you have the other side where the lead singers will be singing. So it’s a walk through of Bob Marley’s life, a total Bob Marley experience. It’s like walking through Trench Town, walking through his life,” he stated.

The series will be in Las Vegas for an entire year, three to five days a week.

“So for the entire year in Las Vegas this show will be happening,” Wildman declared.

The series, which is a product of the Marley family, is expected to be a massive hit, and for Madradge his biggest break to date.

“We are looking for the series to have an extraordinary impact because it is unlike anything before. It’s like a movie and a museum. It’s a real life experience, so it’s very entertaining,” Wildman said.

“As for John, this is Vegas and he is the biggest name in Jamaica when it comes to freestyle. So now we are putting him on another stage, and it shows that other freestylers can make it into Las Vegas, who knows maybe eventually Hollywood. But for John this is a huge step, one of the biggest in his career.

“His skills are so precise and very complex. As a matter of fact we have searched and he is the only one who can do the things he can do. He is truly a one-of-a-kind talent for a one-of-a-kind show.

“He will be the person leading the display, not just the love Bob had for football, but the beauty of football as well,” he said.

The 21-year-old Manradge is currently the face of Double Seven energy drink’s promotional campaign in Jamaica, where his gravity-defying tricks and dazzling social media content shared with his vast following not only elevated the drink’s visibility but also embodied its promise of unleashing extraordinary potential.

“John’s ability to transform a product into a lifestyle is equally impactful in John’s role in ‘Wisynco/Kelloggs Tony the Tiger Challenge Give-aways’. As the centrepiece of this initiative he brought life to the event connecting with fans and lighting excitement for the brand,” added Wildman.

livingston.scott@gleanerjm.com