Ybor past drives mission

Glen Clark returned to his roots in March to reach out to local youth and families, and to atone for his past transgressions.

The 1976 Brandon High graduate, who now lives in South Carolina, was accompanied on his hometown visit by his wife, Linda, the couple's eight children, and dozens of bands from across the country.

Clark, 52, organized Real Fest 2010, a free music festival held March 26-28 at the Winthrop Pole Barn on Bloomingdale Avenue.

The Christian-inspired, multi-genre music festival featured acts that ranged from country, folk rock and alternative to techno, electronica and rap. The diverse lineup, which drew hundreds of fans, also included hip-hop, hardcore, gospel and indie groups.

Clark organized the event through Jesus Village, a nationwide ministry network he founded in 1999. The group sponsors free Christian music, film and art festivals across the country.

He was excited to bring the free festival to Brandon for the first time.

Rain and cold weather kept the crowds thin, but Clark said the event was an overall success. He's already planning an encore show next year at the same venue.

Admission to the festival was free. Donations of nonperishable foods were collected at the gate and later distributed to local food pantries. Dinner was served at no charge to all who attended the last two nights of the concert.

"It's to encourage young people to do something positive and good in their communities, instead of the bad things I did," he said.

Past regrets

Clark's remorse stems from a decade-long stint as a venue and concert promoter in Ybor City in the 1980s. He regrets the part he played in the push for wet zoning and the development of night clubs in the historic Cuban community.

He said his work as a promoter and lobbyist for nightclub owners and real estate developers helped spawn a death metal band invasion in 1980s Ybor that led to rampant crime, violence and drug abuse.

"We started out trying to create venues on Seventh Avenue where young people could come to listen to original music, like Bourbon Street, except cool for kids," he said.

The effort initially was a commercial success, he said, but the social ramifications were far from cool, and remnants still remain.

"One night at the Ritz Theatre, I listened to this band on stage screaming about Satan and just kind of looked around," he said. "There were all these kids that were really messed up, and I realized we were feeding them sex, drugs, and rock and roll."

He still recalls a riot he witnessed one night in an area where the Centro Ybor parking garage stands today.

"Someone was swinging a machete around, and there were skin heads literally kicking people's heads in," he said. "This was not just about music anymore. It had become an evil thing."

Clark had personal demons to deal with too.

"I was addicted to cocaine and alcohol," he said. "Everything had just spun out of control."

Birth and rebirth

The arrival in 1988 of Glen and Linda Clark's second child, a son, set their world spinning.

Beau Clark was born with Crouzon's syndrome, a genetic disorder characterized by the premature fusion of cranial bones. The disorder prevents the skull from growing normally and affects the shape of the head and face.

The child's deformities were severe and the prognosis bleak, Clark said. Doctors urged him to forego treatment and let the boy die.

He said he prayed to God, "'I know I've messed up my life in so many ways. Keep him alive and I'll do whatever you say.'"

Clark set about reprioritizing his life and disentangling himself from the club scene in Ybor. While battling his own addictions, he ministered to drug addicts in rehab and homeless people across the country.

Meanwhile, his infant son endured a series of surgeries at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital in Tampa.

Surgeons peeled the skin from the boy's face to remove parts of his skull. They took skin grafts from his legs to create ear canals, and ribs to form cheekbones. Synthetic materials were used to shape part of his forehead.

"It was just very ... intense," he said.

Music to their ears

Today, Beau, 22, one of Glen and Linda Clark's eight children, travels the country with his parents and siblings as a member of Glen Clark and the Family, a folk rock/Christian band that performs at Real Fest concerts.

Until Beau's deformed ear canals were reconstructed at about age 11, he depended on a bone conduction hearing aid to perceive sound. The device bypasses the ear canal and transmits sounds to the inner ear by vibration through the skull.

"They said he would be a vegetable, but by the time he was 13 he taught himself to play the keyboard, learned all my songs and taught them to his little sister," Clark said. "Beau built the band that plays behind me today."

Man on a mission

Clark hopes his story will inspire young people to stay clean, focus on the future and help lift their communities - and each other - up.

He would eventually like to stage Real Fest at a venue in Ybor City.

"I decided years ago that I can't just run from my past. I have to go back to Ybor."