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Speaker 1: M from grandmothers who whispered in their baby girl in

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Speaker 1: two fathers on dimly lit street corners, instructing young soldiers

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Speaker 1: to always keep their eyes open. You be queen, you

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Speaker 1: were fired. You will pass through centuries on the hands

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Speaker 1: of your daughters. They called you wisdom. Proverbs on the

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Speaker 1: backs of diamond eyed school children who growing into hymnals

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Speaker 1: recited by amethyst holding urban philosophers who recited neighborhood commandments

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Speaker 1: out of the windows of restored Alchemedo chariots. To keep

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Speaker 1: the warmth of their blood, be wise, be smart, being black,

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Speaker 1: Opal Brown courts bloodstone and prayer. Be every form of

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Speaker 1: jim se King told, scribe, scribe, told son, son, told wife,

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Speaker 1: wife told her daughter, and daughter told the ass is.

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Speaker 1: And the ancestors told me that you would come to

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Speaker 1: give wisdom thousands. They said you would come Dropping Dropping Gym. Hey,

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Speaker 1: welcome back to the Dropping Gym's podcast. I'm Debbie Brown

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Speaker 1: and on today's episode, we are exploring mental health, but

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Speaker 1: specifically mental health resources. Have a wonderful gas joining us

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Speaker 1: today someone that has been making a lot of moves,

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Speaker 1: especially for accessibility and the democratization of mental health. That

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Speaker 1: is a word that's been thrown out a lot lately,

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Speaker 1: democratizing wellness, democratizing well mental health. But what that really

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Speaker 1: means is making sure that people have high level access

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Speaker 1: to get their needs met regardless of who you are,

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Speaker 1: your socio economic background, or your cultural background. So today's show,

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Speaker 1: I have a special guest, Ryan Mundy, who is a

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Speaker 1: native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and is the founder and CEO

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Speaker 1: of Alchemy, which is a mental health platform that offers

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Speaker 1: skills based video therapy sessions and mindfulness practices that are

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Speaker 1: designed for the culture. Previously, Ryan played eight seasons in

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Speaker 1: the National Football League with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the

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Speaker 1: New York Giants and the Chicago Bears. In two thousand nine,

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Speaker 1: Ryan was a member of the Super Bowl forty three

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Speaker 1: championship Pittsburgh Steelers. Ryan serves on the Alzheimer's Association National

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Speaker 1: Board of Directors. He is the nfl PA Players Investment

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Speaker 1: Advisory Committee, Athlete Advisory Board Member, an advisory council member

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Speaker 1: for the Illinois Growth and Innovation Fund, a founding member

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Speaker 1: of the Lift City Works Advisory Council in Chicago, and

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Speaker 1: founding board member of Chicago Blend. Ryan graduated from the

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Speaker 1: University of Michigan with a degree in liberal Arts. Additionally,

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Speaker 1: Ryan holds a master's in Sports management from West Virginia

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Speaker 1: University and an m b a from the University of Miami.

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Speaker 1: Frank currently resides in Chicago with his wife and his

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Speaker 1: two daughters. Welcome to the show, Ryan Mundy, thank you

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Speaker 1: for being here. Hey, thank you so much for having me.

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Speaker 1: I'm excited to chat so Ran. We had a chance

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Speaker 1: to connect during the pandemic. I feel like I connected

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Speaker 1: with so many amazing souls. I don't know if you

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Speaker 1: felt that way too. During the pandemic. It was just

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Speaker 1: like like minded people were really magnetized to each other.

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Speaker 1: It felt like, yeah, and we have I think countless

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Speaker 1: mutual friends, like you know. I'm I've realized that I

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Speaker 1: just need to get out the way and let life

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Speaker 1: happen because just the natural nous and and how like

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Speaker 1: people are connected. The world is very small. Uh. And

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Speaker 1: I always have I have a saying like good people

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Speaker 1: always find a way to connect, and that's never been

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Speaker 1: an issue for me, Like finding the right people at

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Speaker 1: the right time. It's it's kind of like an of mine. Um.

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Speaker 1: And so yeah, just kind of get out the way

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Speaker 1: and let things happen as they shouldn't realize that I

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Speaker 1: am where I am for a reason. Yeah. Yeah, And

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Speaker 1: I remember when we first connected, we had like such

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Speaker 1: an expansive conversation on zoom. Then I had a chance

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Speaker 1: to connect with you in person at the Mental Wealth

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Speaker 1: Expo from Charlemagne the God in New York, and you

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Speaker 1: know the thing that was really So this is what

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Speaker 1: I believe. First, I believe this is the era of

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Speaker 1: the divine masculine. I believe it's also the era of

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Speaker 1: the divine feminine. But I think that for men there

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Speaker 1: is this like emotional renaissance happening that has never happened before.

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Speaker 1: This like for for masses of men. Right, we're not

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Speaker 1: a monolith, but there there's this permission, this freedom. I

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Speaker 1: feel like that's been really powerfully emerging for men, this

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Speaker 1: idea of really being able to care for self, to

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Speaker 1: invest in mental health, to be something other than to

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Speaker 1: see oneself as something other than a provider um. And

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Speaker 1: would you agree with that one thousand percent? I would

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Speaker 1: agree with that. I am living, breathing uh testimony to that,

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Speaker 1: you know, particularly from my background, uh and experience where

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Speaker 1: I'm coming from like this hyper masculine environment of sport,

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Speaker 1: specifically football. I played football for twenty four years, right,

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Speaker 1: and that's a that's a long time to do anything.

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Speaker 1: But particularly in that environment, you know, you start to

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Speaker 1: uh develop some habits, some characteristics, a belief system around,

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Speaker 1: like you know, how you should be showing up in spaces,

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Speaker 1: and then on top of that, like people have an

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Speaker 1: expectation of how you should show up in those spaces

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Speaker 1: to right, As you continue to climb the ladder uh

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Speaker 1: and achieve like higher levels of success, you know, it

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Speaker 1: starts to like these stereotypes and stigmas and perceptions, uh

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Speaker 1: start to inflate you a little bit, um, right, and

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Speaker 1: so you're buying into what it means to be a

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Speaker 1: football player, uh, and more specifically in our context, you're

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Speaker 1: buying in what it means to be a man, and

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Speaker 1: quite frankly personally, like I just got tired of it.

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Speaker 1: I'm like, look, you know, like, yes, you know, I've

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Speaker 1: been blessed and fortunate to achieve some levels of success

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Speaker 1: and sport, playing in the NFL, so on and so forth,

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Speaker 1: but my life is not perfect, right, and I don't

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Speaker 1: want to have to act I don't want to have

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Speaker 1: to walk around like carrying this baggage and saying that

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Speaker 1: like you know, I am I'm smiling on the outside,

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Speaker 1: but literally on the inside, like I'm hurting on a

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Speaker 1: daily basis, just because I feel like I have to

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Speaker 1: quote man up or project something out that's not reflective

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Speaker 1: of how I'm actually feeling inside. Wow, Okay, let's sit

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Speaker 1: there for a second, because there is so much, so

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Speaker 1: much important material there. You know, when you speak to

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Speaker 1: playing football one for twenty four years, Like what I've

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Speaker 1: noticed about the athlete experience is, you know, it feels

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Speaker 1: like for some, for some, not all, but quite a

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Speaker 1: lot when you are connected or when you were seeing

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Speaker 1: as having this talent, this really this talent that needs

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Speaker 1: to be nurtured, this talent that could also provide like

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Speaker 1: freedom to the community, freedom to your family, also just

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Speaker 1: something powerful and exciting to believe in. It feels like

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Speaker 1: everyone in a family structure and a community rallies behind,

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Speaker 1: building that proverbial muscle right like rallies behind and really

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Speaker 1: can powerfully show up like making sure you have your gear,

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Speaker 1: making sure you can be a part of whatever you know.

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Speaker 1: Um competitions are available also like the endurance like practice

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Speaker 1: making sure those needs are met. But it does feel

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Speaker 1: like for many men that are athletes, there is almost

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Speaker 1: this space where every other facet is not necessarily given

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Speaker 1: as much investment or intention, specifically the emotional life specifically

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Speaker 1: um as it relates to a sense of identity outside

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Speaker 1: of this very physical sport. How do you relate to that? Yeah,

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Speaker 1: there's a lot to impact there um when thousand percent

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Speaker 1: and you know, the the analogy is around like building muscle. Right,

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Speaker 1: So as an athlete, you're you're you're taught to build

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Speaker 1: up that physical body. Uh. And by building up that

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Speaker 1: physical body, you know, your your legs, your arms, so

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Speaker 1: on and so forth. There is a side of you

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Speaker 1: that is mentally developed to right, Like, let's not kid

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Speaker 1: ourselves and say that, you know, to play football, like,

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Speaker 1: you know, you have to have a certain disposition about

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Speaker 1: yourself mentally kind of have to be in a in

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Speaker 1: a space where you can exercise discipline, grant focus, commitment

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Speaker 1: to subject yourselves physically uh to you know, uncomfortable situations

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Speaker 1: over an extended period of time. So there is like

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Speaker 1: a development and you know, you learn to deal with

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Speaker 1: adversity and and failure so on, and so forth. But also, uh,

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Speaker 1: you know, there there can be like the hyper extension

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Speaker 1: of that, like those muscles can I guess we overdeveloped

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Speaker 1: and in other areas of your life they're underdeveloped right

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Speaker 1: around like asking for help, being emotionally vulnerable, uh, being

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Speaker 1: comfortable with showing signs of like weakness and vulnerability. Like

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Speaker 1: those were areas of my life where I didn't know

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Speaker 1: how to do or how to function. Um And and

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Speaker 1: it didn't really hit me until I was thirty one

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Speaker 1: years old and I had to look myself in the

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Speaker 1: mirror and say, well, geez, Ryan, who are you when

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Speaker 1: you're not playing football and you're not running into somebody,

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Speaker 1: you're not tackling somebody? Like what does life look like

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Speaker 1: for you? Who are you when you're not doing that?

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Speaker 1: Because um, it can be all consuming, right, and your

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Speaker 1: schedules laid out for you, uh start to finish. You

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Speaker 1: know exactly what you're doing Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

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Speaker 1: and Saturday and Sunday. So it's like this very regimented

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Speaker 1: thing where like you kind of uh you know, you

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Speaker 1: get developed and you get on the program. Men in

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Speaker 1: that program is very short lived, right, But the reality

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Speaker 1: is that during that time, like you're over developing certain

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Speaker 1: areas of your life and not providing enough attention to

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Speaker 1: others or life of your life specifically emotionally. Um, and

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Speaker 1: so like that's where you know, we see and I

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Speaker 1: firmly believe around like a lot of the cautionary tales

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Speaker 1: that we see around like athletes specifically in transition, around

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Speaker 1: like bankruptcy, around like pervorce and other you know, like

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Speaker 1: grim statistics. That's that's a mental health thing, that's a

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Speaker 1: mental well meaning and really figuring out how to feel

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Speaker 1: that whole and how to feel that void in your life. Wow.

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Speaker 1: I mean there was so much said there that we

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Speaker 1: said all across the board. Yeah, So when you get

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Speaker 1: to that piece, because I think especially for men listening,

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Speaker 1: I think whether whether you are on an athletic path

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Speaker 1: or not, there for many men in an adulthood coming

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Speaker 1: into like um, some of the different I guess pillars

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Speaker 1: of manhood as they begin to to show themselves, can

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Speaker 1: find that they are in front of the mirror in

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Speaker 1: very much the same way asking that question. Like it's

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Speaker 1: really the society building around I think all males, this

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Speaker 1: idea that you're worth is found in providing your worth

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Speaker 1: is found in quote unquote masculinity or in perceived strength.

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Speaker 1: And then at a certain point, when you're actually living

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Speaker 1: your life, you start to really carefully look at what

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Speaker 1: is me and what is like forced beliefs placed on me?

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Speaker 1: What is the real me? And what is the conditioning

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Speaker 1: that I have? And so I think a lot of

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Speaker 1: people maybe having that experience where they look in the

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Speaker 1: mirror and say, Okay, but who am I really outside

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Speaker 1: of what I do for others, outside of how I

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Speaker 1: may show up in the world, like as a man,

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Speaker 1: what do I feel and how do I want to

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Speaker 1: feel it? How do you begin to unpacked that journey

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Speaker 1: when you've had that reckoning with self? Yeah, for me, um,

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Speaker 1: my journey started you know, probably at at at the

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Speaker 1: bottom where it's like, you know, um, this whole concept

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Speaker 1: of like reinventing myself. And I was literally like thrust

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Speaker 1: and force into that journey. Um so speaking about my experience,

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Speaker 1: like I could no longer play football, so I had

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Speaker 1: to figure something out right, And that was like a

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Speaker 1: very scary place for me to like be forced and

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Speaker 1: thrust into an uncomfortable situation of like taking that journey

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Speaker 1: in word for really like the first time probably in

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Speaker 1: a long time and maybe ever in my life because again,

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Speaker 1: like football was just such a big, big part of that.

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Speaker 1: And again you talk about like the conditioning of such,

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Speaker 1: like you know, we can get conditioned around like things

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Speaker 1: that are short term, right, like famous fleeting, a career

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Speaker 1: is fleeting. It's not really who you are. You really

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Speaker 1: have to take that inward journey to figure out who

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Speaker 1: the real self is. And I'll be it. I thought

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Speaker 1: I was doing that, you know, by just kind of

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Speaker 1: like fancying myself as like preparing for a life after uh,

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Speaker 1: you know, like through educational opportunities and other like endeavors

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Speaker 1: outside of football. It's a lot different when the rubber

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Speaker 1: meets the road and you actually can't rely on that anymore, right,

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Speaker 1: putting it into real practice, it's extremely difficult, and so

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Speaker 1: like for the first time in my life at the

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Speaker 1: age of how it was a thirty one, I had

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Speaker 1: to look myself in the mirror and just honestly get

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Speaker 1: comfortable with being uncomfortable and taking that journey inward and

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Speaker 1: saying like all right, man, like I don't know who

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Speaker 1: I am, Um, what am I going to do with

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Speaker 1: the rest of my life. How am I going to

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Speaker 1: when we talk about provider, how am I going to

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Speaker 1: provide for my family? Right? Like the way that I

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Speaker 1: made money, I can no longer do that anymore, So

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Speaker 1: like what does that even look like? And then the

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Speaker 1: the depression room of missing something that I had done

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Speaker 1: for twenty four years in total, that's a big void

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Speaker 1: to feel. You know, my whole world was built around football.

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Speaker 1: I went to school for free because as a football

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Speaker 1: like you know, I earned a living because of football,

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Speaker 1: house cars, like every My whole ecosystem was built around that.

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Speaker 1: Not only me, but we talk about like the impact

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Speaker 1: that it has for like communities and family. My family,

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Speaker 1: you know, it's been all across the country watching me

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Speaker 1: play and had some amazing it lifelong memories as well.

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Speaker 1: So like when you kind of put it into context,

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Speaker 1: it's really really heavy and you feel like a lot

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Speaker 1: of pressure to immediately jump into what's next and have

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Speaker 1: that same level of success. But the reality is, you

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Speaker 1: gotta break yourself down. You gotta get to that nitty gritty,

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Speaker 1: You gotta take that journey in where you gotta look

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Speaker 1: in the mirror. Uh, you gotta be willing to put

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Speaker 1: in the work day in and day out, because just

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Speaker 1: you know, I had to remind myself like just like

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Speaker 1: it making it to the NFL was not an overnight success. Uh,

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Speaker 1: this whole new chapter in my life is not like

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Speaker 1: an overnight type proposition. It is about continuous growth and

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Speaker 1: realizing that even when I do figure something out, there's

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Speaker 1: always going to be like a new opportunity for me

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Speaker 1: to grow and develop and just like honestly keep progressing

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Speaker 1: and learning more about myself because you know, they say,

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Speaker 1: like learning, you should never stop learning, right that starts

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Speaker 1: with self. Never stop learning about yourself. And so that's

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Speaker 1: what I really try to embrace on this new path

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Speaker 1: moving forward and encourage a lot of men out there

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Speaker 1: to really evaluate like who you are and take that

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Speaker 1: journey in where you know, and it doesn't have to

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Speaker 1: be uh, you don't have to build roman a day.

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Speaker 1: We'll just take one step at a time. What would

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Speaker 1: like for men listening right now that are really relating

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Speaker 1: to what you're saying, um or for partners of any

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Speaker 1: men that could really benefit from this, what would you

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Speaker 1: say are maybe three ways to begin that road inward

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Speaker 1: as a man? Yeah, I would say, you know, just

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Speaker 1: kind of taking a step back and that asking yourself

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Speaker 1: like taking taking stock and saying, like where am I

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Speaker 1: right now? Where am I right now? And you know,

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Speaker 1: evaluating where you are right now, and how do you

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Speaker 1: feel about where you are right now? Like what types

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Speaker 1: of feelings emerge? Are you happy, are you disappointed? Whatever?

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Speaker 1: It is like really taking inventory and stock of where

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Speaker 1: you are right now and then using that that inventory

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Speaker 1: or assessment to reflect back on how you got to

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Speaker 1: this point right and really understanding like, okay, what got

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Speaker 1: me in this situation? What got me into this position?

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Speaker 1: And then also the last part is like having the

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Speaker 1: belief in understanding that our future is in front of us,

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Speaker 1: so we have the ability to shape our future on

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Speaker 1: a daily basis, and our present is based off of

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Speaker 1: our past decisions, and so like we're always in like

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Speaker 1: this continuous cycle of like creating our future in real time.

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Speaker 1: And so by assessing where you are currently and then

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Speaker 1: taking stock of where you've been and how you got

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Speaker 1: to this point, you are now better informed to cast

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Speaker 1: a better future for yourself. And so you know, that's

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Speaker 1: been my process throughout this whole journey. By by no

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Speaker 1: means is it perfect, but it is definitely helpful. Again,

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Speaker 1: on this whole learning journey that that is life dropping too.

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Speaker 1: So tell me Ryan about alchemy. Yes, how did you

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Speaker 1: go from that moment in the mirror where you were

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Speaker 1: really taking stock of your life, finding the ways to

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Speaker 1: unburden yourself but also to nourish and grow and expand

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Speaker 1: your mental health and your internal world. You created an

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Speaker 1: entire company that's a digital health platform in service to

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Speaker 1: providing mental health for people. How did that happen? Yes,

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Speaker 1: it's quite the journey, let me say that. So, So,

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Speaker 1: after I retired from the NFL after eight seasons in UH,

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Speaker 1: I had two paths. UH there was a personal path

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Speaker 1: and a professional path, and so double clicking on a

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Speaker 1: professional path, um, I immediately, you know, was like aggressively

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Speaker 1: trying to figure out what was next for my life.

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Speaker 1: And I talked a little bit about like those grim

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Speaker 1: statistics around like bankruptcy, divorced, substance abuse, so on and

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Speaker 1: so forth. I was determined not to be that person,

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Speaker 1: and my way of not being that person was through education,

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Speaker 1: and so I took advantage of a lot of educational opportunities,

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Speaker 1: got my NBA while I was an active athlete, and

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Speaker 1: was ready to put that into practice. And dive into

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Speaker 1: business asapp Yeah, you know, I'm a well educated brother.

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Speaker 1: I was, um, but yeah, that was definite. Yeah, that

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Speaker 1: was just my way of kind of like, you know,

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Speaker 1: de risking the situation because I had seen it time.

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Speaker 1: It was like a cycle and it still is a

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Speaker 1: very vicious cycle, like you know, uh, for both male

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Speaker 1: and female athletes after that transition at the sport. It

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Speaker 1: is true. Man, it's rough, right, And so my way

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Speaker 1: of de risking that situation was to say, hey, like,

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Speaker 1: let me educate myself about the world outside of sports, uh,

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Speaker 1: and make sure that I'm prepared. And so I dove

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Speaker 1: into venture capital and startups. Was primarily on the investment

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Speaker 1: side for about two years, and then got off of

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Speaker 1: that train and started one company in the eco friendly

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Speaker 1: category called Swizzle. Did really well with that, but it

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Speaker 1: was my opportunity to figure out like true entrepreneurship and

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Speaker 1: fit sitting the founder seat. Long story short, we sold

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Speaker 1: that business about a year ago as I prepared to

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Speaker 1: scale up Alchemy because hobbeit, I love the environment and straws,

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Speaker 1: I wanted to dive a little bit deeper into something

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Speaker 1: that I was a little bit more passionate about and

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Speaker 1: kind of fit me directionally and where I wanted to

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Speaker 1: work on long term. And so that's you know, that's

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Speaker 1: the professional path for me to alchemy. Now the personal

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Speaker 1: path is where it really matters, right Like during this

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Speaker 1: transition time of transition, as I mentioned, I was dealing

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Speaker 1: with anxiety from trying to figure life out, how am

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Speaker 1: I going to make money? Take care of myself? So

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Speaker 1: and so for depression the whole night identity issues. And

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Speaker 1: when I went into the marketplace to quote see a therapist,

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Speaker 1: had a very bad experience. Um. You know, I got

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Speaker 1: in front of providers, uh, and in professionals who weren't

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Speaker 1: seeing me as Ryan Mundy, the husband, the black man,

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Speaker 1: and the father, which is honestly where I needed the

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Speaker 1: most support because now those areas of my life needed elevated. Uh.

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Speaker 1: They were still looking at me and talking to me

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Speaker 1: about Ryan Mondy the athlete, you know how much money

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Speaker 1: I can make in you know, my position, and ask

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Speaker 1: me about this. It was like, well, like what is

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Speaker 1: that right here? Um? And and I went through about

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Speaker 1: four or five different people before I found that that

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Speaker 1: therapeutic alliance uh and that cultural confidency component kind of

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Speaker 1: messed together ultimately help me on my healing journey. And also,

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Speaker 1: I'm so glad you said that piece if we could

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Speaker 1: stay reversed, because sometimes it is really this dance that

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Speaker 1: you do to find the right person. And something I

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Speaker 1: can never stress enough on this show or when I speak,

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Speaker 1: is that you know, not everything is created equal the

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Speaker 1: therapy community. Just like every other field of profession, there

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Speaker 1: is excellent, there is mediocre or okay, and there is bad.

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Speaker 1: You know, like a lot of people are great at

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Speaker 1: study and they can get a degree in psychology, it

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Speaker 1: doesn't mean that necessarily that is the person for you,

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Speaker 1: or that you know they may have a certain set

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Speaker 1: of skills necessary to unlock you or take you on

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Speaker 1: this journey. And so it is easy to sometimes get

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Speaker 1: a little a little frustrated or a little bit let down,

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Speaker 1: where if you've created this appointment the therapist. I remember

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Speaker 1: once I had went to see a therapist and she

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Speaker 1: seemed great on paper. I get there and she forgot

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Speaker 1: we had an appointment, and then she showed up like

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Speaker 1: thirty five minutes late and then talked about herself the

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Speaker 1: entire appointment. I was like, well, that's not a thing.

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Speaker 1: But you know, I say that only to say I'm

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Speaker 1: glad you brought that piece up, because we should also

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Speaker 1: be in choice, like we are choosing to you know,

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Speaker 1: we're not just at the mercy of the first person

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Speaker 1: we happened to call. Listen to your gut, like it

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Speaker 1: does this feel like it could be a nurturing and

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Speaker 1: supportive relationship. So thank you for that. Yeah, it's really important.

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Speaker 1: And thank you for for pausitive, because that is something

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Speaker 1: that I tell people all the time time, Like, you know,

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Speaker 1: all providers are not created equally, and there is definitely

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Speaker 1: a smultrum. And so for us to even muster up

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Speaker 1: the courts to even start that process to find somebody,

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Speaker 1: and if you get in front of somebody and you

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Speaker 1: have an experience like mine or you have an experienced

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Speaker 1: like yours, it can be honestly deflating, like, oh man,

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Speaker 1: it doesn't work, it's for me, so on and so forth. Um,

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Speaker 1: this is why I knew I shouldn't apprompted. Yeah, you know,

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Speaker 1: like I should to try this, like it creates a

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Speaker 1: very bad expence, yea, the whole nine. And thankfully you know,

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Speaker 1: I didn't adopt that attitude, but it does speak to

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Speaker 1: like a greater issue within the health care system, you know,

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Speaker 1: just around like availability of like confident professionals because again

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Speaker 1: there's there's a spectrum in so like it leads to this, uh,

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Speaker 1: this adverse selection within the category because all the quote

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Speaker 1: good therapists are fully booked up, don't have any availability.

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Speaker 1: And then so now you're left with you know the

403
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Speaker 1: middle of the road or the end of the spectrum,

404
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Speaker 1: the lower on the defectrum to kind of work through

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Speaker 1: some like really complicated and serious issues. So it's it's

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Speaker 1: pretty wonky, but that's a greater like health care system thing.

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Speaker 1: But it is also like you know, one of the

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Speaker 1: strong value props that we have at Alchemy. Um. But yeah,

409
00:23:23,640 --> 00:23:26,119
Speaker 1: back to the to the journey and so like I

410
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Speaker 1: was like all right, like you know, it took me

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Speaker 1: a while to find my provider. And then also during

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Speaker 1: this time, like my family was going through a laundry

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Speaker 1: list of chronic disease and illness, uh type two diabetes, amputation,

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Speaker 1: cardiovascular disease. My grandfather passed away from all Zeimer's and dementia,

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Speaker 1: blood clots, stroke, heart attack, you name it. It was

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Speaker 1: all kind of happening at once, and so here was

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Speaker 1: my thought. I was like, you know, I'm going through

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Speaker 1: what I'm going through. Um, and again, you know, I've

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Speaker 1: been blessed and fortunate to have resources, and I'm still

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Speaker 1: having issues. Uh, So imagine what's going on on like

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Speaker 1: the south and west side of Detroit, the north side

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Speaker 1: of Pittsburgh, east side of the you know, the east

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Speaker 1: side of Detroit. Like what is happening in these communities

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Speaker 1: who really really need to help in the cultural competency.

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Speaker 1: There's a huge access barrier. And then also too with

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Speaker 1: you know, my family's physical conditions. Um, you know, they

427
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Speaker 1: were going what they were going through as well. And

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Speaker 1: I just asked one simple question, like who's principally focused

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Speaker 1: on the trajectory of black health? Like I'm going through

430
00:24:30,359 --> 00:24:33,680
Speaker 1: what I'm I was going to through what they're going through. Again. Professionally,

431
00:24:33,720 --> 00:24:36,520
Speaker 1: I was in the startup ecosystem seeing ideas come to

432
00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:38,960
Speaker 1: life and get funded, uh and go out there and

433
00:24:39,040 --> 00:24:41,120
Speaker 1: change the world. But I didn't see anybody doing this.

434
00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:45,399
Speaker 1: And I was like, well, this is problematic. We are

435
00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:49,440
Speaker 1: the most influential community globally and we are also i

436
00:24:49,480 --> 00:24:52,800
Speaker 1: mean one of the most at risk and sickest communities globally.

437
00:24:53,240 --> 00:24:56,560
Speaker 1: There's a huge imbalance there and so with that in mind,

438
00:24:57,040 --> 00:25:00,119
Speaker 1: you know, I started Alchemy with the mission U and

439
00:25:00,160 --> 00:25:02,280
Speaker 1: goal to become the universal health care provider for the

440
00:25:02,320 --> 00:25:05,120
Speaker 1: Black community. And we are rooting that mission in mental health.

441
00:25:06,359 --> 00:25:12,879
Speaker 1: Wow wow wow wow. Thank you, thank you, thanks, thank you,

442
00:25:12,960 --> 00:25:15,240
Speaker 1: thank you for doing the work. Um, and that's what

443
00:25:15,320 --> 00:25:17,000
Speaker 1: I know, Like if there's a ton of people out

444
00:25:17,040 --> 00:25:20,320
Speaker 1: here doing some amazing work, so we are all in

445
00:25:20,359 --> 00:25:24,520
Speaker 1: this together. So tell me how does Alchemy work? How

446
00:25:24,520 --> 00:25:27,000
Speaker 1: would someone connect with Alchemy and be able to get

447
00:25:27,040 --> 00:25:29,639
Speaker 1: their needs met? Yeah, So kind of going back to

448
00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:32,600
Speaker 1: this whole notion around access. You know, I thought long

449
00:25:32,680 --> 00:25:35,560
Speaker 1: and hard around like all right, we're gonna start, you know,

450
00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:39,120
Speaker 1: our company focusing on mental health, but exactly what does

451
00:25:39,160 --> 00:25:41,520
Speaker 1: that look like? And we've talked a little bit around

452
00:25:41,560 --> 00:25:44,679
Speaker 1: like the access bears as relates to actually getting in

453
00:25:44,720 --> 00:25:48,440
Speaker 1: front of a professional. Uh, finding a professional is really

454
00:25:48,440 --> 00:25:50,240
Speaker 1: really difficult. But then on top of that, if you

455
00:25:50,320 --> 00:25:53,000
Speaker 1: find somebody, it's really expensive to kind of get in

456
00:25:53,040 --> 00:25:56,680
Speaker 1: person therapy. You know, on average it's gonna cost over

457
00:25:56,720 --> 00:25:59,679
Speaker 1: a hundred bucks. Uh. That's inaccessible for a lot of

458
00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:03,440
Speaker 1: it workans and particularly compounded for our community. Uh, there's

459
00:26:03,480 --> 00:26:06,560
Speaker 1: geographic constraints. You know, you're you may not have a

460
00:26:06,560 --> 00:26:09,959
Speaker 1: competent provider in your area. There's time constraints. We all

461
00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:12,159
Speaker 1: got life going on. So we like when we we

462
00:26:12,200 --> 00:26:14,600
Speaker 1: put all these access bearers into a bucket, it makes

463
00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:17,040
Speaker 1: it really really hard for people UH to get the

464
00:26:17,040 --> 00:26:19,720
Speaker 1: help that they need. And so with all this in mind,

465
00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:22,000
Speaker 1: I was like, all right, how do we democratize access?

466
00:26:23,280 --> 00:26:25,680
Speaker 1: You know, we create content around it, because the reality

467
00:26:25,760 --> 00:26:29,320
Speaker 1: is this is how the the care spectrum currently shows up.

468
00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:32,960
Speaker 1: It's like, you know, I'm dealing with stigmas personally, and

469
00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:35,520
Speaker 1: then you know, I may talk to my friends and

470
00:26:35,560 --> 00:26:37,760
Speaker 1: then I'm going to Instagram to find some like comfort

471
00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:39,800
Speaker 1: from you know, some memes, so on and so forth.

472
00:26:39,840 --> 00:26:42,080
Speaker 1: But after that, the next step on the road is

473
00:26:42,119 --> 00:26:45,840
Speaker 1: like go see a therapist. That's a big in in

474
00:26:45,880 --> 00:26:48,320
Speaker 1: a lot of times. You know, therapy seems like the

475
00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:50,879
Speaker 1: starting point and the endpoint. It's like, well how is

476
00:26:50,920 --> 00:26:54,840
Speaker 1: that possible? Um? And so like I thought around, like,

477
00:26:55,000 --> 00:26:56,720
Speaker 1: all right, how do we kind of create like a

478
00:26:56,800 --> 00:27:00,119
Speaker 1: more palatable on ramp UH to provide our key we

479
00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:03,320
Speaker 1: need to take agency over their own health and wealthy.

480
00:27:03,760 --> 00:27:07,520
Speaker 1: So basically, you know, we create a live stream and

481
00:27:07,560 --> 00:27:11,159
Speaker 1: on demand video therapy sessions led by black practitioners and

482
00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:15,800
Speaker 1: respected experts and wellness UH talking about you know, topics

483
00:27:15,840 --> 00:27:18,480
Speaker 1: that are specific to our community, you know, such as

484
00:27:18,520 --> 00:27:23,119
Speaker 1: like intergenerational trauma, systemic racism, microaggressions in the workplace, so

485
00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:26,040
Speaker 1: on and so forth. We're really able to like double

486
00:27:26,119 --> 00:27:29,199
Speaker 1: click and tap on too, like mental health through the

487
00:27:29,240 --> 00:27:32,080
Speaker 1: Black experience through our lives stream and video therapy sessions.

488
00:27:32,280 --> 00:27:34,520
Speaker 1: And then we also which are called labs by the way,

489
00:27:34,600 --> 00:27:36,600
Speaker 1: and then we also have like an audio first product

490
00:27:37,200 --> 00:27:40,920
Speaker 1: which we call ways UM, which include like guided meditations,

491
00:27:41,320 --> 00:27:46,719
Speaker 1: sound bath exercises, body scans, the whole nine, but like

492
00:27:46,760 --> 00:27:50,399
Speaker 1: in an audio format. And so again, thinking about just

493
00:27:50,560 --> 00:27:54,679
Speaker 1: like how we consume content, thinking about how you know

494
00:27:54,720 --> 00:27:58,480
Speaker 1: the world is functioning currently, content UH seemed to be

495
00:27:58,520 --> 00:28:02,080
Speaker 1: the right starting point for us UH to democratize access

496
00:28:02,520 --> 00:28:05,560
Speaker 1: and empower our community. And we make this all available

497
00:28:06,280 --> 00:28:09,560
Speaker 1: on our mobile app, which will be launching the second

498
00:28:09,560 --> 00:28:13,639
Speaker 1: week of January. So really excited about that. Wow, that

499
00:28:13,840 --> 00:28:17,440
Speaker 1: is so powerful. That is so powerful. I have had

500
00:28:17,480 --> 00:28:19,560
Speaker 1: the chance to see some of your content from someone

501
00:28:19,600 --> 00:28:21,840
Speaker 1: who I love and have had on this show, Dr

502
00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:26,600
Speaker 1: Mary o'blckay got out to Dr Mariel such an amazing

503
00:28:26,720 --> 00:28:32,040
Speaker 1: woman and such a powerful, powerful, powerful therapist, healer, guide

504
00:28:32,240 --> 00:28:35,560
Speaker 1: so many things. Um, and I love the way that

505
00:28:35,600 --> 00:28:40,040
Speaker 1: she really shares healing and shares her wisdom and depth

506
00:28:40,040 --> 00:28:42,800
Speaker 1: of knowledge. So I've loved seeing the stuff that you

507
00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:46,480
Speaker 1: guys have collaborated on and done together. Yeah, it's um

508
00:28:46,520 --> 00:28:50,480
Speaker 1: you know, it's like literally the representation around like democratizing access,

509
00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:53,680
Speaker 1: Like how would you gain that type of access to

510
00:28:54,040 --> 00:28:57,160
Speaker 1: like a professional like Dr Mario. You can't get on

511
00:28:57,160 --> 00:28:59,600
Speaker 1: her schedule like for in person, but like how can

512
00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:04,040
Speaker 1: we take her knowledge, take her experience and bring healing

513
00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:07,920
Speaker 1: to the culture. And so that's what we're about. So

514
00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:10,640
Speaker 1: tell me, as you've been on this journey of mental health,

515
00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:17,160
Speaker 1: what have you noticed as some of the really tangible

516
00:29:17,200 --> 00:29:20,360
Speaker 1: new ways of being that you've created for yourself? Like

517
00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:23,720
Speaker 1: what have you really seen actively as like a benefit

518
00:29:23,880 --> 00:29:30,200
Speaker 1: or a nourishment in your life? For me personally, it's

519
00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:39,600
Speaker 1: just myself the freedom to be me. Yeah, yeah, you

520
00:29:39,680 --> 00:29:45,440
Speaker 1: can double click on that. Yeah, yeah, I could definitely

521
00:29:45,440 --> 00:29:49,600
Speaker 1: double click on that. Um. You know, like again kind

522
00:29:49,600 --> 00:29:51,400
Speaker 1: of being in the world that I was in for

523
00:29:51,440 --> 00:29:54,280
Speaker 1: a long time, like you feel like you have to

524
00:29:54,360 --> 00:29:57,240
Speaker 1: kind of fit a certain mold or fit a certain profile,

525
00:29:57,520 --> 00:30:02,920
Speaker 1: say the right things, so on and so forth. Um,

526
00:30:02,960 --> 00:30:04,560
Speaker 1: I don't want to do that anymore. I just want

527
00:30:04,560 --> 00:30:07,600
Speaker 1: to be me. Sometimes there's like some conflict from things

528
00:30:07,640 --> 00:30:11,080
Speaker 1: I want to say or things that I want to do. Um. Well,

529
00:30:11,120 --> 00:30:13,600
Speaker 1: previously things I want to say and things I want

530
00:30:13,640 --> 00:30:15,440
Speaker 1: to do, and like you know, what was best for

531
00:30:15,480 --> 00:30:17,880
Speaker 1: the team or what what X, Y and Z things

532
00:30:17,920 --> 00:30:21,600
Speaker 1: about those things anymore? Right, Um, that would be the

533
00:30:21,640 --> 00:30:25,640
Speaker 1: most important development for me. Is just like, man, I'm

534
00:30:25,680 --> 00:30:28,200
Speaker 1: just tired and I don't want to have to act

535
00:30:28,280 --> 00:30:31,760
Speaker 1: like I have to be a certain way because people

536
00:30:31,760 --> 00:30:35,560
Speaker 1: think I should be a certain way. I'm being me

537
00:30:35,920 --> 00:30:40,040
Speaker 1: every day all day. Uh. And that has been very

538
00:30:40,120 --> 00:30:44,280
Speaker 1: free and empowering. I love that so much. The way

539
00:30:44,280 --> 00:30:46,880
Speaker 1: that I relate to that, uh and that has been

540
00:30:46,920 --> 00:30:52,960
Speaker 1: one of my favorite, most powerful take on for myself

541
00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:55,400
Speaker 1: and my journey too. It's like the way that I

542
00:30:55,440 --> 00:30:56,960
Speaker 1: relate to that, I always say like I don't want

543
00:30:56,960 --> 00:30:59,840
Speaker 1: to perform. I don't want to perform for anyone, and

544
00:30:59,880 --> 00:31:02,320
Speaker 1: I don't want to be anyone else's audience, you know,

545
00:31:02,600 --> 00:31:06,200
Speaker 1: Like I don't want to get wrangled into fitting anyone

546
00:31:06,240 --> 00:31:10,080
Speaker 1: else's belief system or comfort level about how I should

547
00:31:10,080 --> 00:31:12,160
Speaker 1: be received, or how I should behave, or how I

548
00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:14,360
Speaker 1: should think. And then I also don't want to be

549
00:31:14,400 --> 00:31:17,720
Speaker 1: held hostage to playing a role in someone else's performance.

550
00:31:18,680 --> 00:31:21,920
Speaker 1: Just being your most authentic self, how do I feel

551
00:31:21,920 --> 00:31:24,720
Speaker 1: in this moment? That is my top priority? And I

552
00:31:24,760 --> 00:31:27,800
Speaker 1: think that kind of you know, we're we're explaining it

553
00:31:27,880 --> 00:31:30,200
Speaker 1: as being able to be our authentic selves and not

554
00:31:30,280 --> 00:31:33,120
Speaker 1: being performance. And I think it's also what the root

555
00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:35,400
Speaker 1: of you know, the idea of being self sovereign is

556
00:31:35,440 --> 00:31:39,320
Speaker 1: the idea of being your own ruler, having full ownership

557
00:31:39,360 --> 00:31:42,480
Speaker 1: and command of yourself. Um, but also will doing that

558
00:31:42,640 --> 00:31:45,560
Speaker 1: with a grace and with a kindness, but being fully

559
00:31:45,640 --> 00:31:48,880
Speaker 1: you because you deserve to be. Yeah, that's what I

560
00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:52,760
Speaker 1: lean into. And I think, you know, I really resonate

561
00:31:52,800 --> 00:31:56,240
Speaker 1: with like fullness and kindness too, right because just because

562
00:31:56,280 --> 00:31:58,840
Speaker 1: you know, you start to take agency over yourself and

563
00:31:58,840 --> 00:32:00,400
Speaker 1: how you're feeling, does not mean you need to be

564
00:32:00,440 --> 00:32:03,520
Speaker 1: an asshole to everybody, Uh, you know, and I think

565
00:32:03,560 --> 00:32:08,480
Speaker 1: some sometimes we don't don't. Yeah, you need some examples

566
00:32:08,520 --> 00:32:11,200
Speaker 1: of some over indexing on I'm gonna be me. I

567
00:32:11,240 --> 00:32:14,800
Speaker 1: got it. Um yeah, Like I'm comfortable in my own

568
00:32:14,800 --> 00:32:18,160
Speaker 1: skin now, right, and I feel good about like who

569
00:32:18,280 --> 00:32:22,480
Speaker 1: Ryan Mundy is as a man and a human being

570
00:32:22,640 --> 00:32:25,200
Speaker 1: and how he shows up in the world and and

571
00:32:25,400 --> 00:32:28,120
Speaker 1: just kind of living my truth right like you know,

572
00:32:28,800 --> 00:32:30,960
Speaker 1: even like in discussions like this, and we talked about

573
00:32:30,960 --> 00:32:33,360
Speaker 1: it a little bit before we got started, Like you know,

574
00:32:33,720 --> 00:32:35,880
Speaker 1: a lot of prep work is not necessary for me

575
00:32:36,080 --> 00:32:37,680
Speaker 1: to do things like this because I just get up

576
00:32:37,680 --> 00:32:39,560
Speaker 1: there and tell my truth and I'm okay with that.

577
00:32:39,600 --> 00:32:43,240
Speaker 1: Like I just live and speak on my experience. Um.

578
00:32:43,360 --> 00:32:45,240
Speaker 1: And for that, you know, I don't have to I

579
00:32:45,280 --> 00:32:46,959
Speaker 1: don't have to worry about it. I say the right

580
00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:49,440
Speaker 1: thing or so on and so forth, because me and

581
00:32:49,480 --> 00:32:52,640
Speaker 1: I've sleep very good at night knowing that. M M.

582
00:32:53,520 --> 00:32:57,000
Speaker 1: How have you seen a positive influence or any shiftings

583
00:32:57,000 --> 00:32:59,000
Speaker 1: and maybe the way that your parent or you relate

584
00:32:59,040 --> 00:33:07,280
Speaker 1: to your partner. That's a lot. But I think from

585
00:33:07,360 --> 00:33:11,320
Speaker 1: how my parent you know, it's definitely been an evolution. Um.

586
00:33:11,360 --> 00:33:14,240
Speaker 1: I love my parents dearly and with every fiber in

587
00:33:14,320 --> 00:33:16,560
Speaker 1: my bone. But what I do know is it's like

588
00:33:16,640 --> 00:33:19,520
Speaker 1: just parenting in general, Like nothing is perfect, right, there

589
00:33:19,560 --> 00:33:23,280
Speaker 1: are good experiences there are bad experiences, so always kind

590
00:33:23,280 --> 00:33:27,120
Speaker 1: of keeping that in context as well. UM has definitely

591
00:33:27,120 --> 00:33:31,960
Speaker 1: shaped my parenting. But after you know, I went through this,

592
00:33:32,200 --> 00:33:34,960
Speaker 1: I guess kind of awakening if you will. UM, you know,

593
00:33:35,080 --> 00:33:37,840
Speaker 1: just started to be a lot more mindful about what

594
00:33:37,960 --> 00:33:40,760
Speaker 1: I'm saying to my children, how I'm interacting with my children,

595
00:33:40,800 --> 00:33:43,560
Speaker 1: the time that I'm spending with my children, particularly because

596
00:33:43,560 --> 00:33:46,400
Speaker 1: i have two girls. Uh you know, it's like I'm around,

597
00:33:46,400 --> 00:33:49,320
Speaker 1: I'm raising two black women essentially, right, and so being

598
00:33:49,400 --> 00:33:52,600
Speaker 1: very mindful and cognizant of how I show up as

599
00:33:52,600 --> 00:33:55,360
Speaker 1: a black man in the household is really really important,

600
00:33:55,480 --> 00:33:58,440
Speaker 1: right because I'm literally setting the example in the context

601
00:33:58,960 --> 00:34:02,680
Speaker 1: for like what you know with black men in the world,

602
00:34:02,680 --> 00:34:04,600
Speaker 1: like and how they see and view black men. And

603
00:34:04,640 --> 00:34:07,479
Speaker 1: that's personally very important to me because I think a

604
00:34:07,480 --> 00:34:10,000
Speaker 1: lot of times black men as a whole, you know,

605
00:34:10,280 --> 00:34:12,600
Speaker 1: we don't always have we don't always have like the

606
00:34:12,640 --> 00:34:16,680
Speaker 1: best representation or the best you know, UM, like stereotypes

607
00:34:16,680 --> 00:34:20,120
Speaker 1: out there about us, and so like taking out with

608
00:34:20,239 --> 00:34:22,839
Speaker 1: full force. But as it relates to my wife, you know,

609
00:34:22,960 --> 00:34:25,600
Speaker 1: I think UM in that regard as well, you know,

610
00:34:25,680 --> 00:34:27,839
Speaker 1: just trying to be more open, trying to communicate better,

611
00:34:28,239 --> 00:34:30,000
Speaker 1: and again we talked about it like, look, this is

612
00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:32,759
Speaker 1: what I'm thinking and this is how I'm feeling. I

613
00:34:32,800 --> 00:34:35,960
Speaker 1: have to do a better job of like actually articulating that, Um.

614
00:34:36,440 --> 00:34:38,960
Speaker 1: But the notion of just like kind of being open

615
00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:42,680
Speaker 1: about how I'm feeling and what I'm thinking has definitely,

616
00:34:42,880 --> 00:34:45,120
Speaker 1: you know, shown through, And I think it's beneficial for

617
00:34:45,200 --> 00:35:05,640
Speaker 1: us both dropping to when we think about creating our

618
00:35:05,680 --> 00:35:08,560
Speaker 1: family structures, when we think about ways that we may

619
00:35:08,600 --> 00:35:12,000
Speaker 1: want to show up differently in our households. You know,

620
00:35:12,080 --> 00:35:14,200
Speaker 1: this is new for so many of us. So many

621
00:35:14,239 --> 00:35:16,759
Speaker 1: of the words that we're even using in this interview

622
00:35:16,880 --> 00:35:20,799
Speaker 1: are its new language for us as a society, but

623
00:35:20,920 --> 00:35:24,399
Speaker 1: especially within our inner personal relationships, and so so much

624
00:35:24,440 --> 00:35:28,080
Speaker 1: of it does take practice and reinforcement, you know, Ryan,

625
00:35:28,160 --> 00:35:34,839
Speaker 1: I think for many of us, um, real true awakening

626
00:35:35,000 --> 00:35:37,319
Speaker 1: has happened on this planet in a way that it

627
00:35:37,360 --> 00:35:41,440
Speaker 1: hasn't before. And I think that there is this this

628
00:35:41,840 --> 00:35:47,160
Speaker 1: emphasis energetically on generational healing and ancestral healing, and I

629
00:35:47,160 --> 00:35:49,440
Speaker 1: think there's so much energy available to us in this

630
00:35:49,600 --> 00:35:52,560
Speaker 1: moment to do it, and to do it with acceleration

631
00:35:52,719 --> 00:35:55,359
Speaker 1: and with grace and with ease and so it's just

632
00:35:55,880 --> 00:35:58,359
Speaker 1: it's it's so beautiful because I feel like we're all

633
00:35:58,360 --> 00:36:01,319
Speaker 1: practicing with each other things that have never been known

634
00:36:01,360 --> 00:36:04,719
Speaker 1: to us as humans in this way before you know,

635
00:36:04,880 --> 00:36:11,440
Speaker 1: we are empathy. There's this mass movement of empathy happening

636
00:36:11,480 --> 00:36:15,160
Speaker 1: in this world. This this movement of communication of language,

637
00:36:15,280 --> 00:36:20,080
Speaker 1: and especially for black and brown households, this hasn't been

638
00:36:20,120 --> 00:36:23,200
Speaker 1: allowed like this. Where has there even been the time

639
00:36:23,360 --> 00:36:27,280
Speaker 1: to add more language to our experiences, time to nurture yourself,

640
00:36:27,320 --> 00:36:31,759
Speaker 1: to care, time to really lean into as active parents, like, oh,

641
00:36:31,840 --> 00:36:34,840
Speaker 1: what is our one on one relationship look like? Is

642
00:36:34,880 --> 00:36:38,279
Speaker 1: their opportunity for it to feel even better, you know,

643
00:36:38,360 --> 00:36:41,759
Speaker 1: even more nourishing, even more supportive. So it's like, I

644
00:36:41,800 --> 00:36:43,960
Speaker 1: just I want to I say that for all of

645
00:36:44,040 --> 00:36:47,799
Speaker 1: us really, um, but it's like we're all kind of

646
00:36:47,840 --> 00:36:50,680
Speaker 1: doing this for the first time anyway. I mean, the

647
00:36:50,760 --> 00:36:54,640
Speaker 1: reality is, you know, we're all figuring it out, Like

648
00:36:55,320 --> 00:36:57,600
Speaker 1: we are figuring things out in real time, not only

649
00:36:57,680 --> 00:37:00,719
Speaker 1: as it relates to just like our total health and

650
00:37:00,760 --> 00:37:03,719
Speaker 1: well being, um, just life in general. You know, we

651
00:37:03,760 --> 00:37:07,319
Speaker 1: talked about like being a parent, it's my first time

652
00:37:07,400 --> 00:37:09,160
Speaker 1: raising the nine year old or a ten year old like,

653
00:37:09,200 --> 00:37:12,520
Speaker 1: so they're development, Like I'm always learning and growing and

654
00:37:12,560 --> 00:37:16,120
Speaker 1: figuring it. Yeah, this is my first time being in

655
00:37:16,160 --> 00:37:18,560
Speaker 1: a tenure marriage. Like I need to learn. I need

656
00:37:18,560 --> 00:37:23,759
Speaker 1: to We're always figuring it out. Um. And so like

657
00:37:23,840 --> 00:37:27,440
Speaker 1: I definitely lean into that, UM as much as I

658
00:37:27,480 --> 00:37:29,719
Speaker 1: possibly can. But you said something that struck me and

659
00:37:29,719 --> 00:37:33,080
Speaker 1: I thought was really interesting, just kind of with this awakening,

660
00:37:33,160 --> 00:37:36,520
Speaker 1: if you will, um, and then understanding like how fast

661
00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:40,480
Speaker 1: things seem to be moving around us, like technology development,

662
00:37:40,600 --> 00:37:43,959
Speaker 1: so on and so forth. Sometimes you know, we can

663
00:37:44,800 --> 00:37:47,120
Speaker 1: get down the path of thinking that like the healing

664
00:37:47,280 --> 00:37:49,719
Speaker 1: or the work is going to happen overnight, and it

665
00:37:49,880 --> 00:37:52,799
Speaker 1: is not. It is a journey, um. And we didn't

666
00:37:52,800 --> 00:37:55,640
Speaker 1: get to this point overnight, and we're not gonna turn

667
00:37:55,800 --> 00:37:57,759
Speaker 1: you know, we could face it, we could face a

668
00:37:57,760 --> 00:38:00,759
Speaker 1: new direction, but we still have to take their appropriate

669
00:38:00,800 --> 00:38:04,799
Speaker 1: steps to get to a different destination. And so you know,

670
00:38:04,840 --> 00:38:07,279
Speaker 1: I just always remind folks that it is not an

671
00:38:07,280 --> 00:38:11,040
Speaker 1: overnight type thing. Um. We could change our direction any

672
00:38:11,160 --> 00:38:13,080
Speaker 1: time that we want, but in order to get to

673
00:38:13,120 --> 00:38:15,720
Speaker 1: a new place in that destination, we have to continue

674
00:38:15,719 --> 00:38:17,600
Speaker 1: to put one foot in front of the next on

675
00:38:17,640 --> 00:38:20,960
Speaker 1: a daily basis. Yeah, And and that's the thank you

676
00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:23,200
Speaker 1: for saying that, because that really is the thing about

677
00:38:23,239 --> 00:38:25,480
Speaker 1: the journey like one and never ends, Like as long

678
00:38:25,520 --> 00:38:27,600
Speaker 1: as you're alive, you will be on a journey. There

679
00:38:27,640 --> 00:38:30,960
Speaker 1: will be an evolution of source available to us in

680
00:38:31,040 --> 00:38:35,360
Speaker 1: each moment. But I think, especially when we and especially

681
00:38:35,440 --> 00:38:37,600
Speaker 1: as we as people of color, when we think of

682
00:38:37,719 --> 00:38:41,480
Speaker 1: healing for ourselves, something we really it could really behoove

683
00:38:41,560 --> 00:38:43,400
Speaker 1: us to keep at the front of our mind is

684
00:38:43,440 --> 00:38:51,080
Speaker 1: the fact that biologically, neurologically, we are re building new

685
00:38:51,120 --> 00:38:56,040
Speaker 1: neurological pathways in our brains as we are healing. And

686
00:38:56,080 --> 00:39:00,000
Speaker 1: so that's why sometimes we encounter what we are perceiveing

687
00:39:00,040 --> 00:39:04,799
Speaker 1: bean as um maybe sliding back or maybe you know, oh,

688
00:39:04,960 --> 00:39:07,920
Speaker 1: I thought I'd moved past acting like that or going

689
00:39:07,960 --> 00:39:10,239
Speaker 1: off like that, or I thought I thought I'd moved

690
00:39:10,239 --> 00:39:13,480
Speaker 1: past that and healed that already. Right right, Ryan just

691
00:39:13,600 --> 00:39:19,520
Speaker 1: raised his hand and it's like, yes, you did, and

692
00:39:19,640 --> 00:39:24,040
Speaker 1: you created room for now another layer of that same piece,

693
00:39:24,160 --> 00:39:27,720
Speaker 1: another perspective to that same piece, to deepen in the healing,

694
00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:32,359
Speaker 1: to come into mastery, but also the perceived sliding back.

695
00:39:32,440 --> 00:39:34,839
Speaker 1: And I really want to stress this because this is

696
00:39:34,920 --> 00:39:39,080
Speaker 1: probably the hardest part of the journey is staying on it.

697
00:39:41,400 --> 00:39:44,520
Speaker 1: The pieces. When it feels like you're sliding back, it's

698
00:39:44,600 --> 00:39:48,160
Speaker 1: just those grooves. They're actually formed in our brains. Are

699
00:39:48,280 --> 00:39:53,880
Speaker 1: thought patterns create real physical grooves in our brains. That

700
00:39:54,320 --> 00:39:56,440
Speaker 1: the way that we feel, the way that we emote,

701
00:39:56,480 --> 00:39:59,640
Speaker 1: the way that we relate, it flows in that groove

702
00:39:59,760 --> 00:40:02,760
Speaker 1: like river, and the water sometimes keeps finding it because

703
00:40:02,760 --> 00:40:06,120
Speaker 1: it's used to it. But as we heal, we're building

704
00:40:06,280 --> 00:40:11,160
Speaker 1: different grooves that are paved with gold. I want to say,

705
00:40:11,320 --> 00:40:13,520
Speaker 1: with different groups that are you know, they're paved with

706
00:40:14,080 --> 00:40:20,520
Speaker 1: the more serving language. UM, with the removal of limiting beliefs,

707
00:40:20,680 --> 00:40:24,239
Speaker 1: the removal of trauma. And that takes time. It took

708
00:40:24,280 --> 00:40:27,120
Speaker 1: you your whole life up until this moment to create

709
00:40:27,160 --> 00:40:30,960
Speaker 1: those little canyons in your brain, those grooves, those pathways,

710
00:40:31,040 --> 00:40:34,719
Speaker 1: and so it does take repetitive action and time, but

711
00:40:34,760 --> 00:40:38,319
Speaker 1: also a gentleness to build in your whole new system.

712
00:40:38,360 --> 00:40:41,960
Speaker 1: And it will come. It always comes. It will come.

713
00:40:42,440 --> 00:40:46,080
Speaker 1: We just have to stay in practice. Yeah, No, I

714
00:40:46,120 --> 00:40:49,040
Speaker 1: love that. UM. I had to actually write that down

715
00:40:49,080 --> 00:40:51,279
Speaker 1: because I was very profound. The hardest part of the

716
00:40:51,560 --> 00:40:53,680
Speaker 1: of the journey is staying in it, and that is

717
00:40:53,960 --> 00:40:56,840
Speaker 1: one thousand percent true. So thank you so much for

718
00:40:56,880 --> 00:41:00,279
Speaker 1: sharing that, because really, like when I think about my

719
00:41:00,480 --> 00:41:04,720
Speaker 1: entire life, um, the hardest part has just been making

720
00:41:04,760 --> 00:41:07,479
Speaker 1: sure that you don't give up right when times get hard,

721
00:41:07,560 --> 00:41:12,439
Speaker 1: when difficulty, um shows up, when adversity shows up, like

722
00:41:12,640 --> 00:41:17,000
Speaker 1: staying the course is always the hardest part um and

723
00:41:17,360 --> 00:41:19,759
Speaker 1: something that you know when we talk about like the

724
00:41:19,880 --> 00:41:22,799
Speaker 1: transition and kind of pulling because it wasn't all bad,

725
00:41:22,920 --> 00:41:26,000
Speaker 1: right like the the NFL. Uh. It taught me a

726
00:41:26,080 --> 00:41:29,200
Speaker 1: lot of things and it taught me around most importantly

727
00:41:29,239 --> 00:41:34,520
Speaker 1: around like resilience, uh to kinda again be comfortable and

728
00:41:34,640 --> 00:41:38,960
Speaker 1: uncomfortable situations and knowing how to you know, not immediately

729
00:41:39,040 --> 00:41:42,520
Speaker 1: jets it after things get difficult, um, but kind of

730
00:41:42,560 --> 00:41:45,360
Speaker 1: with that too. Is always this thing around like just

731
00:41:45,480 --> 00:41:49,239
Speaker 1: performance and thinking that everything has to be here, you know,

732
00:41:49,320 --> 00:41:52,239
Speaker 1: at the top every time. Uh. So definitely learning to

733
00:41:52,239 --> 00:41:55,080
Speaker 1: be a lot more gracious with myself along the way,

734
00:41:55,719 --> 00:41:59,320
Speaker 1: uh and understanding that again it is it's a marathon.

735
00:42:00,520 --> 00:42:06,480
Speaker 1: Mm hm m words admit that it is. Ryan, Thank

736
00:42:06,520 --> 00:42:10,400
Speaker 1: you so so so so much. Before I let you

737
00:42:10,440 --> 00:42:12,359
Speaker 1: go from the show, I would love if you could

738
00:42:12,400 --> 00:42:16,480
Speaker 1: share just a glimpse of what your personal self care

739
00:42:16,520 --> 00:42:19,799
Speaker 1: practice looks like or spiritual practice. What are some of

740
00:42:19,800 --> 00:42:26,840
Speaker 1: the things you do just for yourself? Yeah, let do

741
00:42:26,880 --> 00:42:29,880
Speaker 1: I start, uh? And I will really say that I

742
00:42:29,960 --> 00:42:33,640
Speaker 1: need to always remind myself to consistently stay on that track. Right.

743
00:42:33,680 --> 00:42:36,400
Speaker 1: So I don't want people to think that just because

744
00:42:36,440 --> 00:42:39,480
Speaker 1: you know, I started this wellness company, everything is perfect. No,

745
00:42:39,840 --> 00:42:42,719
Speaker 1: we all have our struggles, right, and so I just

746
00:42:42,800 --> 00:42:46,239
Speaker 1: want to add that discrip. I mean it's the same thing, right,

747
00:42:46,280 --> 00:42:48,319
Speaker 1: Like you know, people thought, you know, everything is great

748
00:42:48,320 --> 00:42:51,200
Speaker 1: because you're an athlete, not always a case. Right now

749
00:42:51,239 --> 00:42:53,120
Speaker 1: you're run this mental health company, Like, I still deal

750
00:42:53,160 --> 00:42:55,279
Speaker 1: with a bunch of stuff too, right, and so but

751
00:42:55,360 --> 00:42:59,879
Speaker 1: how I maintain myself, Um, you know, definitely physical exercise.

752
00:43:00,200 --> 00:43:02,200
Speaker 1: That's what my whole life has been built on, right,

753
00:43:02,239 --> 00:43:03,640
Speaker 1: So I still try to pake before I go to

754
00:43:03,680 --> 00:43:07,000
Speaker 1: the gym regularly. I have my peloton uh in which

755
00:43:07,000 --> 00:43:10,040
Speaker 1: I ride and tried to get on at least four

756
00:43:10,160 --> 00:43:13,640
Speaker 1: or five times throughout the week. So anything like physically related,

757
00:43:14,280 --> 00:43:16,080
Speaker 1: I definitely try to make sure that I work in

758
00:43:16,880 --> 00:43:19,560
Speaker 1: because my bones physically, I'm just getting older and then

759
00:43:19,560 --> 00:43:21,840
Speaker 1: wear and tear that you know. Twenty four years of

760
00:43:21,840 --> 00:43:23,879
Speaker 1: football is taking on my body. I'm starting to feel

761
00:43:23,920 --> 00:43:27,080
Speaker 1: a little bit right, um, So definitely making sure that

762
00:43:27,080 --> 00:43:29,480
Speaker 1: I take care of myself physically. But then also you know,

763
00:43:29,520 --> 00:43:32,520
Speaker 1: I have a few meditation apps on my phone, uh

764
00:43:32,560 --> 00:43:36,600
Speaker 1: primarily Alchemy, which I'm using, but you know some other

765
00:43:36,719 --> 00:43:39,760
Speaker 1: like apps that I've had before I started the company

766
00:43:39,800 --> 00:43:43,560
Speaker 1: that I still kind of refer back to. UM But yeah, meditation,

767
00:43:43,640 --> 00:43:49,239
Speaker 1: mindfulness practices. I'm really starting to um incorporate yoga a

768
00:43:49,320 --> 00:43:53,000
Speaker 1: little bit more. My body has always been designed or

769
00:43:53,000 --> 00:43:56,239
Speaker 1: in in condition to do like the extreme workout like

770
00:43:56,400 --> 00:43:59,520
Speaker 1: squat amount of weight, you know, bitch pressed this amount

771
00:43:59,520 --> 00:44:02,040
Speaker 1: of weight, as I mentioned, Like, I don't necessarily need

772
00:44:02,120 --> 00:44:04,680
Speaker 1: to do that anymore. I just need to feel good

773
00:44:04,840 --> 00:44:06,960
Speaker 1: and also making sure that there's a strong mind and

774
00:44:07,040 --> 00:44:11,839
Speaker 1: body connection still there. And so so far yoga has

775
00:44:11,880 --> 00:44:14,920
Speaker 1: been a really interesting way for me to to maintain

776
00:44:14,920 --> 00:44:18,440
Speaker 1: that practice. And then the last piece, Um, I try

777
00:44:18,480 --> 00:44:21,200
Speaker 1: to spend as much time as I can outside like

778
00:44:21,360 --> 00:44:24,920
Speaker 1: that just gives me enjoy, you know, like sunny days,

779
00:44:25,520 --> 00:44:28,239
Speaker 1: rolling the window down, you know, having some wind hit

780
00:44:28,280 --> 00:44:31,120
Speaker 1: my face like that for me is a form of

781
00:44:31,160 --> 00:44:34,719
Speaker 1: self care where I could just kind of decompress, get

782
00:44:34,719 --> 00:44:36,880
Speaker 1: away from the world, you know, not be dad, not

783
00:44:36,960 --> 00:44:39,560
Speaker 1: be husband, not be CEO. Just kind of just like

784
00:44:40,680 --> 00:44:43,560
Speaker 1: I'm here and I'm relaxing for a sec Um that

785
00:44:43,800 --> 00:44:46,239
Speaker 1: above all, I think is most important for me right now.

786
00:44:48,000 --> 00:44:53,320
Speaker 1: So beautiful, So relate to that. Like if I every

787
00:44:53,480 --> 00:44:56,200
Speaker 1: chance I get every time that I can, I'm like,

788
00:44:56,320 --> 00:44:58,640
Speaker 1: let me feel sun on my skin, and that is

789
00:44:58,680 --> 00:45:02,680
Speaker 1: how I feel my BA I needed one thousand percent,

790
00:45:03,000 --> 00:45:05,960
Speaker 1: and particularly as I get older. Um, you know, and

791
00:45:06,000 --> 00:45:08,960
Speaker 1: I've been very fortunate to even in privilege and make

792
00:45:09,000 --> 00:45:11,719
Speaker 1: the statement, but like cool weather's a choice sometimes and

793
00:45:13,000 --> 00:45:17,239
Speaker 1: you know I I choose even though I'm based in Chicago. Um,

794
00:45:17,280 --> 00:45:20,480
Speaker 1: you know, just still realizing that, uh, it's not always

795
00:45:20,520 --> 00:45:22,200
Speaker 1: sunny and warm here, so I need to kind of

796
00:45:22,400 --> 00:45:24,839
Speaker 1: a purse for me to make sure that I'm I'm

797
00:45:24,880 --> 00:45:28,920
Speaker 1: feeling good mentally and physically. Yo. It's so funny everyone,

798
00:45:29,000 --> 00:45:36,879
Speaker 1: because as Ryan and I got on our YEAH system today, Um,

799
00:45:36,960 --> 00:45:38,960
Speaker 1: the first thing we were talking about is I was like, oh,

800
00:45:38,960 --> 00:45:41,080
Speaker 1: how's it going, and he was like, you know what's good.

801
00:45:41,080 --> 00:45:43,920
Speaker 1: It's it's actually fifty degrees in Chicago. So like I'm

802
00:45:43,960 --> 00:45:47,200
Speaker 1: feeling great and I'm feeling thankful. Yeah, and it's sunny out, like,

803
00:45:47,280 --> 00:45:49,080
Speaker 1: sign me up every day the week, give me some

804
00:45:49,239 --> 00:45:52,360
Speaker 1: sunshine and I'll be good to go. And then my

805
00:45:52,480 --> 00:45:56,600
Speaker 1: response was like, interesting because today in Los Angeles it's

806
00:45:56,600 --> 00:45:58,880
Speaker 1: fifty degrees and I almost kept my son home from

807
00:45:58,920 --> 00:46:00,799
Speaker 1: school because I thought it was too cold to be

808
00:46:00,920 --> 00:46:10,920
Speaker 1: helpside perceptible relative. I know, right, whatever works for you,

809
00:46:10,920 --> 00:46:13,840
Speaker 1: you know you gotta go for it, same thing, whatever

810
00:46:13,880 --> 00:46:18,920
Speaker 1: you need to get what you need. Yeah, yes, yes, Ryan,

811
00:46:19,080 --> 00:46:22,960
Speaker 1: thank you so much. I highly highly recommend that everyone

812
00:46:23,080 --> 00:46:25,799
Speaker 1: check out the amazing work that Ryan Mundy is doing

813
00:46:25,880 --> 00:46:29,319
Speaker 1: and please check out Alchemy. They are on Instagram, you

814
00:46:29,320 --> 00:46:32,040
Speaker 1: can get the app on your phone. They have already

815
00:46:32,120 --> 00:46:35,520
Speaker 1: raised four point six million dollars to bring mental health

816
00:46:35,560 --> 00:46:39,280
Speaker 1: resources to the black community. There are videos there that

817
00:46:39,280 --> 00:46:42,080
Speaker 1: that you can learn from, there are meditations you can

818
00:46:42,080 --> 00:46:44,360
Speaker 1: be guided in, and there is a way to connect

819
00:46:44,440 --> 00:46:47,840
Speaker 1: you to someone that can help serve your needs in

820
00:46:47,920 --> 00:46:51,279
Speaker 1: this moment in your area on the app. Ryan, thank

821
00:46:51,320 --> 00:46:53,359
Speaker 1: you so much, Thank you so much to be really

822
00:46:53,360 --> 00:46:57,319
Speaker 1: excited about the opportunity that we have ahead, and thank

823
00:46:57,360 --> 00:47:00,800
Speaker 1: you so much for the work that you do as well. Grateful,

824
00:47:03,000 --> 00:47:05,520
Speaker 1: big thank you to Ryan Munday for joining the show

825
00:47:05,719 --> 00:47:08,319
Speaker 1: and a huge thank you for answering your life's call,

826
00:47:08,840 --> 00:47:13,480
Speaker 1: your mission work and bringing such powerful, powerful tools and

827
00:47:13,560 --> 00:47:18,640
Speaker 1: work into the world into fruition. Highly recommend that you

828
00:47:18,680 --> 00:47:22,520
Speaker 1: connect with Ryan. You can join his instagram at Ryan Mundy,

829
00:47:22,520 --> 00:47:25,440
Speaker 1: where you can check out Alchemy. Go to the instagram

830
00:47:25,480 --> 00:47:30,080
Speaker 1: at Alchemy and please go to Alchemy health dot com

831
00:47:30,120 --> 00:47:32,960
Speaker 1: for more info and the app will be available depending

832
00:47:32,960 --> 00:47:35,319
Speaker 1: on when you hear this episode at the top of

833
00:47:35,480 --> 00:47:39,359
Speaker 1: January twenty two, So for us right now that it's

834
00:47:39,400 --> 00:47:43,080
Speaker 1: just a few weeks away, highly recommend. All right, everyone,

835
00:47:43,440 --> 00:47:48,120
Speaker 1: big love, catch me next week, no mistay. Hey find

836
00:47:48,160 --> 00:47:52,000
Speaker 1: me on social Let's connect at Debbie Brown. That's Twitter

837
00:47:52,080 --> 00:47:56,200
Speaker 1: and Instagram, or go to my website Debbie Brown dot com.

838
00:47:56,239 --> 00:47:58,799
Speaker 1: And if you're listening to the show on Apple Podcasts,

839
00:47:58,960 --> 00:48:05,200
Speaker 1: please please please don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe

840
00:48:06,040 --> 00:48:09,200
Speaker 1: and send this episode to a friend. Dropping Jams is

841
00:48:09,239 --> 00:48:12,000
Speaker 1: the production of I Heart Radio and The Black Effect Network.

842
00:48:12,400 --> 00:48:15,719
Speaker 1: It's produced by Jack Queas and me Debbie Brown. For

843
00:48:15,800 --> 00:48:18,480
Speaker 1: more podcasts from My Heart Radio, visit the I heart

844
00:48:18,560 --> 00:48:22,080
Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your

845
00:48:22,120 --> 00:48:22,840
Speaker 1: favorite shows.