When I said I was trash at first I ain’t lying 🤣 but we all gotta start somewhere!
#americanninjawarriortraining #americanninjawarrior #anw #anw14 #nerdcoreninja #creativemindframe #fitness
I had the honor to be inducted to the 2024 Wabash College Athletics Hall of Fame on the same track I spent thousands of hours pouring blood, sweat and tears into refining my craft as a hurdler.
My acceptance speech final sentences:
“I will commit to you all a continued dedication to leading from a position of servitude and unblocking for those who may need a hurdle removed.
This may be an athletics Hall of Fame, but let’s continue becoming the best versions of ourselves and use that success to make the world a better place and create a global Hall of Fame.”
I rewrote this acceptance speech 3-4 times. It originally started as a kind of funny speech - while authentically on brand for me I struggled with it.
Even the night before the ceremony I was reorganizing, re-writing and changing elements wondering “will this even resonate and have the impact I want it to?” And I won’t ignore the fact that I was a beast on the track. When it was time for conference meets or the NCAA national championships - I had a balance starting off smiling during warm ups and turned into terminator the moment the officiator said “runners take your marks” at the line.
The milestones are easy to list off.
Chapel talk. Track practice. A few hurdles (yes, I ran them). The Malcolm X Institute Brother to Brother Q&A. Celebrating Coach Morgan’s birthday.
That list doesn’t convey how fulfilled I am leaving campus!
What hit home was the young men who didn’t just want to get better, they wanted to figure out how to better serve the people around them.
Jordan Olarewaju and I spent an hour on his vision, mission and strategy as incoming Chairman of the MXI. He’s never asked me “how do I lead?” It’s always been “how do I become my best so I’m helping my brothers and build something that outlasts us?”
Jerrion Rose and I went deep on the shifting landscape around music, art and experiences. The questions he was asking weren’t about opportunity. They were about making something meaningful for PEOPLE.
All day Saturday I got to do what my teachers, coaches and alumni did for me. Help refocus young men who are figuring things out at the track meet.
Reminding you again, you WILL NOT remember 95% of your times from early season meets I promise you. (Continued in comments)
Our vacation style has definitely evolved in our 11+ years of traveling together. 6 person yoga class with my favorite @onepeloton instructor @denis__morton (co favorite with Adrian) - museums and lots of walking with my favorite person @ashlee.aouad 🥰
Ashlee coerced me into Yoga a year or two ago because I was so rigid. She tried a few of the instructors on the Peloton app to find someone who I would like - When we had Dennis a couple of times I was like “I don’t know why but I like his energy” and he’s been my instructor since then.
Before class he asked what we wanted to talk about and I replied “what music do you like to study to?” Which took us down the rabbit hole of classical music, composition and the beauty of humans coming together to create art and symphonies.
Now I know exactly why I liked his energy and am glad we got to share that moment (and we continued the chat after class) together 🙏🏾
2014 went on a really long date (6 or 7 hours long) hitting the most random places with Ashlee because I didn’t want the date to end.
Exactly 11 years later… we CRUSHED that record with an 11 hour date because, full sends why not?
My favorite person to everything with and nothing with any day ❤️
Stepping into my new role as the Director of Transformation & Operational Excellence for Klarity. We are going to Transform Transformation as we know it. Webinar 🔗 in profile - 31st grade gonna be lit 🔥 #operationalexcellence #businesstransformation
I met Doug Funnie when I went to watch my first nerdcore show to meet Raheem Jarbo and Kyle Murdock in 2012.
We haven’t made a song together since 2013 or 2014 but he’s floated the idea for a few different things over the years.
He was on the first album I did and so when I decided to do the 90s album I was like… it’s gotta happen so he drove his butt an hour to come over and drop some of the most 🔥🔥 bars I’ve ever heard.
Y’all know Tommy Oliver was my favorite ranger (RIP) and what I liked about him is the story behind his ascension both on the screen and off the screen.
I definitely miss the overt but not so overt lessons the Power Rangers snuck into the show and Tommy was basically a story about everyone having their own demons and troubles but still being redeemable.
JDF showed up in more seasons than any ranger and if you ever met him at a convention you’ll know how much he loved what the show did for him and the fans. He somehow remembered fans he met at cons 12 months prior (it literally happened to me 😅) which is contrary to the “don’t meet your heroes” comments we always hear.
So Doug and I decided to rep his character growth with the following song and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out - link is in my profile and lyric video on YouTube.
Huge shoutout to Toph Lawrence for taking it to the next level with his super human drumming ❤️
Wabash’s mission: Educate men to think critically, act responsibly, lead effectively, and live humanely.
When our voices, hearts, and gifts, combine, the College we love so well will stand unequaled. $625,000 is up for grabs as a challenge to the Wabash Nation to make 5,000+ gifts on our 2025 Day of Giving.
I’m personally putting my own money up along with several XC & Track alumni. When (not if) we reach 150 gifts of any amount, we will add over $6,000 to the day of giving total!
Part of our orientation week involves a day of community service. I can’t think of any student run clubs I was in or ran that didn’t balance giving back to not only the Wabash community but the city at large.
The tradition continues on with the day of giving. We all benefited thanks to the alumni who donated time, effort and money to ensure we had the facilities we needed, the scholarships and opportunities to develop outside of campus (study abroad, business immersion trips).
The absence of worry may be intangible but it is a critical element enabling Wabash students to focus on broader, more long term thinking and become responsible members of their communities.
Traditions are what we do so enjoy our annual day of giving video with my @wabashcollege brothers @wesdoug84@grantklembara & @ljkleiman !
#SingThyPraises #WabashAlwaysFights #WAF
