STLMade Conversations: Young Dip & Tatum Polk

What’s your name and your role with 314 Day? 

Dip:
My name is Terrell “Dip” Evans. Everybody knows me as Young Dip, the founder/creator of 314 Day. I wear a lot of hats, but TV and radio is what I was known for in the past.

Coming up with 314 Day was the answer to the question, what am I gonna leave behind? I knew exactly the legacy that I wanted to leave.

Polk:
Tatum Polk, I’m director of operations for the 314 Day Foundation.

What sparked the idea of 314 Day?

Dip:
It was back when I used to plan out my events monthly. I had just gotten on the radio. I was talking to a couple of my mentors and they was like, “What are you gonna move behind?” So I was planning out March, and I remembered that Presidents Day that had just happened, and I was like, “Dang, presidents. They got their own day.” And I was studying in the back of my head trying to figure out, “what can I come up with?” 

And one thing I was always inspired by was when “Country Grammar” came out, when we won the World Series, when we won the Super Bowl — the feelings that happened after in St. Louis. I felt the morale and the spirit of the city, of everybody being together. So I was like, “I want to create that feeling of unity as much as possible.”

So I was just playing with some of the dates in March, and I was like, oh, 314, March 14, that’s dope. I started to jot it down and I called my brother Tatum Polk and ran it by him. And he was like, “Yo, this is dope. I think you should run with it.” So he helped me get it going as far and jumped right behind it.

We launched the party that year, 2006, and the rest is history.

A lot of people don’t believe me if I told them that I knew it was going to be where it is now. And what we’ll be doing next year, and afterwards? The sky’s the limit.

Polk:
The idea was sparked from LOVE, the love of the city that made us.  With so much rich history, we believed it needed it to be celebrated and recognized.

What’s your history in St. Louis?

Dip:
I was born and raised in St. Louis, but it’s a crazy story. I was one of the kids that was in a foster home, six other kids and me. My family was from the west side, but I stayed a little bit everywhere. I kind of floated around. And I went to Beaumont High School.

I tell people all day, I don’t know where Dip came from. I was ambitious, but I was also the kid that was a fly on the wall, picked on, bullied, all that. So when high school started and I started doing more things with different radio stations, my path took a completely different turn.

It wasn’t easy at all, but I think it taught me and it built some things as far as my foundation that I was definitely gonna need now. Hopefully, I can be that motivation for the younger generation who’s going through the same situation. Whatever you’re going through, you can still achieve your goals. You can do it.

Polk:
Born and raised in North City. Although I am well-traveled, I have always felt like St. Louis was an amazing place. I made a commitment to stay and be a part of the present and the future of this area.

Tell us what you envision for 314 Day’s growth.

Dip:
My ultimate vision was to create a platform where no matter what it is that you are doing, if you need help, it’ll be an organization where we will help you do this, or we can help fund this.

It’s gonna be one of the most important pieces of all this, because at the end of the day, a lot of people still just thought 314 Day was a party and it was, but it’s always been community. That’s been the goal.

Polk:
I see Saint Louis coming together on one accord, changing the narrative on how our city is viewed. I would love to see everyone celebrating with their own St. Louis traditions.  St. Louis is a unique melting pot of cultures, we would love to see how everyone views the city.

What do you hope for 314 Day in the future?

Dip:
I would love to see other cities or states worldwide pick up their area code and just adopt the same: unite the city, showcase the culture and just have pride in the city and in its communities.

So we have a whole weekend of events this year. The goal is hopefully keep it going and this will just be the lifestyle of St. Louis. It’ll be the culture. We’re pushing each other forward, supporting each other, supporting our youth, supporting people who are less fortunate and giving back.

It’s just all about trying to keep pushing the culture forward. It’s time. We just have to step outside that box and not be afraid.

Polk:
I would love to create more interactive ways for us to learn the history of our city, so many great things and great people have come from this area that I believe should be recognized.

Photos by Michael Thomas. This story has been condensed and edited for clarity by Lauren Harms Milford.