Darnell is the co-founder of The Miss Gay Fingerlakes (MGFL) Pageant - a competition that provides an opportunity for members of the LGBTQIQ community to serve as a symbol of excellence. The competition itself has a variety of components by which the contestants are judged and scored. Love, Ambition, Knowledge, Excellence, and Solidarity are the guiding principles of the MGFL Pageantry System.

His passion for pageantry of all kinds is the inspiration behind I Heart Pageantry, a brand dedicated to the affirmation of the beauty for all humans who compete and engage in pageants across the country.

Darnell is a native of Syracuse, New York and lived in the Finger Lakes region for five years. During his time in Geneva, Darnell worked at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and served as a board member for the Family Counseling Services of the Finger Lakes, Inc.  Full-time, Darnell is the Vice President for Business Development for a collegiate storage and moving company, Dorm Room Movers.  Darnell is also a Soldier in the United States Army National Guard. Darnell has had the pleasure of competing in pageants across the Central and Western New York regions, and Canada.