Transcript
Speaker: You speak on something that's very important to me, you know, the power of diversity and being vulnerable, right?
Speaker: I'm a true believer in that.
Speaker: The things that, you know, make us different or make us stronger and you should always be learning from other folks.
Speaker: What are some of the lessons you have on the power of diversity and, you know, being in Hollywood, you know, in that subculture, what are some of the challenges you face, you know, as a Black male in that role?
Speaker: Honestly, the challenges are only challenges based on your perception, right?
Speaker: And your thoughts about life and who you are.
Speaker: So I think the benefits of diversity is perspective.
Speaker: I grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, where predominantly black, you know, environments, you would play ball, you sell drugs.
Speaker: There's only two options.
Speaker: Basketball was a vehicle to get me through life, to get me through college.
Speaker: And eventually, you know, that had to change.
Speaker: I didn't go, I wanted to go pro in ball.
Speaker: That didn't work, so I had to learn how to go pro in life.
Speaker: Yes, I'm black, I'm African American, but I never looked at it like, you know, these people don't like me.
Speaker: I don't like them.
Speaker: It was more of, you know what it is, I'll give you guys a story.
Speaker: When I first got to LA, 2010, there's a guy from Baltimore named Frank Crosby.
Speaker: He is Martin Lawrence professional barber for years.
Speaker: And he grew up with my mom when I was young.
Speaker: He said, man, I remember you was a kid.
Speaker: And he told me something I'll never forget.
Speaker: He said, listen, I was 22 years old.
Speaker: He said, look, you're a good looking brother.
Speaker: You got a good head on your shoulder.
Speaker: One thing I don't want you to do is get caught up in black Hollywood.
Speaker: I'm like, what is he talking about?
Speaker: He's like, just know this, before you're black, you're a human being.
Speaker: So when you go outside your place or your apartment or where you stay, just go out with those intentions, that you're a human being before you're anything.
Speaker: At the time, like I grew up with predominantly black people, so I never really faced any racism or challenges.
Speaker: So it kind of always stuck with me that, you know, I'm a universal human being.
Speaker: Yes, I'm black and, you know, I come from African-American descent and things, but that doesn't make me different, doesn't make me better.
Speaker: It just makes me me.
Speaker: And I think every thing that we put on ourselves, everything like
Speaker: attachment from oh i'm a fitness trainer i'm a tv personality i'm a motivator like those things are good that's not who i am at a core level right so i try to tell people you're not what you do what you do is not who you are so over the years i've done so much self you know healing work on myself and trying to understand who am i and what am i here to do so when i'm talking to young brothers coming up and trying to be where i want to go trying to be better i always say
Speaker: don't put yourself in a box and i think anybody that's they say oh i'm a black man i'm a white man i'm an asian i'm hispanic it's like that's understandable that's great but you put yourself in a small box when you go out you only see yourself as that and you're a human being before anything and i think me having that perception and thoughts allow me to see the world different and like i said from the beginning
Speaker: It's all about perspective because you don't know what you don't know, you know?
Speaker: So if I don't know something, I can't be aware of it.
Speaker: So I always try to go with an open mind.
Speaker: Yes, I know what's going on out there in the world, but if people just change the way they look at things, the things they look at change.
Speaker: And I'm not a person to give my power over to a person's thoughts, opinions, or beliefs about me because they don't live my life.
Speaker: I don't live their life.
Speaker: I gotta be me for me.
Speaker: and I want to help the world change.
Speaker: So I'm all about changing the narrative for Black young men and women and, you know, people of color because it's more than just being different.
Speaker: It's about who are we?
Speaker: My spiritual healer said, we focus on so much consuming something that's negative and bad that it stops us from creating something that's good and that's solutions.
