EOTP 006 | Interview with Dion Walcott - Empathize Others: The Podcast

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Hello folks.
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Welcome once again to Empathize Others: The Podcast.
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So we know that there's some really popular things out there with the youth sneakers, uh, music, uh, fashion, photography, social media, but that's not often the way they can get to those paths through our traditional school system.
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And so today we're going to talk to someone who is that bridge to make sure that our kids.
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Are are engaged and able to make these opportunities and think about not just being a consumer of these goods, but helping to produce them and get into the industry.
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So we're going to talk to a community person, a change agent.
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But more than that, it's about his own journey, the risks that he took, the learning and opening to learning that happened to him, that he uses in his everyday brilliance.
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So today we're going to talk to the Vice President of Yellow Brick Partnerships, Dion Walcott.
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Community, is, is central to what we do here.
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We talk about how people engage with community, why they engage with community great conversation.
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We're going to have today with, with someone that I, again go back a long way with, but he's really engaged community in, in bridging.
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This is today.
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We're talking about a guy that bridges things.
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And so, uh, we're going to welcome to the podcast today.
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Dion Walcott.
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Uh, who's the vice president, uh, of, uh, partnerships with Yellowbrick.
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And, you know, he's also a baller.
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He's also a community guy.
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Um, he's also a Black Tournament, uh, alumnus, you know, and so Dion, we welcome you to the show and I'm so looking forward to picking your brain.
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No, no Augy man, like you said, you reached out, you know, I don't think we probably didn't even speak for probably a decade, but I know we're talking about community, but that's how important community is.
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Cause like once you have that connection, always a connection to reach back and try to do good work.
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So I appreciate you having me on your podcast and anything I can do to share some words of wisdom as you call it, try to bridge the gap more than happy to do that.
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Well, that's perfect Dion because you know, one of the things we pushed from the beginning of the podcast was people that are listening.
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We want them to learn more about you.
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Of course.
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And I always want to highlight more.
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So these, these community change agents, but then another thing is to get people to start to think about, gee, that's doable.
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I could do that too.
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You know?
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Um, uh, that's not something that, um, is, you know, what Dion's doing is not, so we want to make it less big, and make it more small.
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And I, and I know you can appreciate you see that.
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So what, let's start out with this, cause we always kind of go in like a chronological way so that, you know, people get to know you as well.
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But when we talk about community and I'll kind of lead you with questions through where you are, but your original community.
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So think about where you grew up and talk a little bit about that.
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And then if you could talk about too Dion when you started to get a sense that you were a part of a community.
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Yeah.
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I mean, for me, I grew up, I grew up in Toronto and the neighborhood called Parkdale.
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Uh, you know, it was a, you know, underserved community, um, you know, not a lot of resources at our disposal.
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But, you know, that's, that's the whole thing about it.
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Like when you don't have certain things, you really have to lean on community.
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And that's what we built.
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We built a community of people who will look out for each other, you know, you need to need a village to raise a family and, and kind of move forward.
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And so, uh, from a very young age, you know, I was very involved in the community in terms of like playing sports.
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Um, and, and sports kind of guided me throughout my whole life.
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Um, and then I didn't grow up with a father.
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So for me, you know, I had a lot of different, um, role models that are within the community that I had to take different things from.
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Right.
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So like, you know, a lot of people frown upon people that may be doing, you know, things that aren't necessarily right.
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And the community, you know, there's drug dealers, there's basketball players.
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There's people who work nine to five jobs.
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For me as a young person.
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Um, what I was really good at is I was, I learned to take a little bit from each person, instead of looking at what the actions they were doing.
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I looked at the principles that they carried, right.
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And which principles that I thought was really, really good for me.
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And then that's what I kind of put inside of myself.
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And I used the community to build myself up versus like letting the community lead me astray or leave me right or wrong.
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I think every person, every community has its principles.
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I grew up in a community that had some very strong principles.
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Um, I guess brought me here today.
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So yeah,
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it's deep brother, because I think about, you know, w who we rub elbows with.
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Right.
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And, and I know from when I was young and growing up, I rubbed elbows with people that were good friends and partners who were, lets say, on the wrong side of the law, but I really, that didn't bother me.
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Right.
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Because that was every, you know, everyone wants that golden ring and in capitalism, everyone wants to make money.
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And so the way people pay their money was not so much my concern growing up.
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I knew what was good for me.
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And it's funny how you said you picked the things that you needed.
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Right because you, obviously, even from the time I met you, I could tell you at a maturity and you had a vision and you, you tried to do things the right way.
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Cause you know, I'm a little bit older than you.
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And when I first met you get to that, but you, you had this maturity and now I can see the seeds of it was you were able to be in a tough area, but take the things in the wisdom that, that you needed.
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So I'm now going to bring you to where we kind of connect.
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So, Shawn Parker.
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Basketball player from Nova Scotia.
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Actually I went to St.
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Francis Xavier university, but the first African Nova Scotian to go to St.
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Francis St.
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Francis Xavier university was Shawn Parker, and played on the junior national team, fantastic basketball player, but more than that community guy, so he moves to Toronto.
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He ends up running some programs, downtown Toronto, and in a beautiful link.
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He says, Hey, I'm Scotian.
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And there's a basketball tournament, Victoria Day weekend in Nova Scotia, which guys want to come down and ball.
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And so he would put together a team that was a combination of the guys from your run in Toronto and us Scotians, and I met you there.
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So talk about first the community that Shawn was building at the Y and then we got to get to the Tournament.
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Yeah.
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I mean, shout out to Shawn, you know, he's an amazing human, um, you know, he took and a lot of people don't understand how that really came to be at the Y like Shawn was in Toronto and he's just playing basketball as a basketball player who wants to get a run and because of how powerful he is as a human being, like, you know, like he demanded a lot of attention on the court.
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And then it got to the point where like, you know, he went from playing to wanting to give back and help people upgrade their skills.
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And he would just do that out of the kindness of his heart.
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So it wasn't like he was working at the Y at the time.
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It was just like, I I'm hooping and I'm busting you little guy's ass, but you know what?
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I could teach you guys how to do some stuff too.
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And you just take that out of the kindness of his heart.
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And then it became such a thing that like, you know what, like the people at the Y were like, we got all kinds of kids showing up.
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For you to train them and you don't work here.
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So it started from like, you know, him just volunteering his time to them, recognizing that, Hey, you know what, uh, this guy could really build community for us using basketball as that vehicle.
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One thing led to another, you know, they gave him a full-time job and I could literally, cause I, I lived through the whole process with him.
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Um, that basketball program wasn't doing anything at the time.
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No one used to come to the Y.
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Shawn literally built that program from the, from the bottom up, you know, a lot of people from all over the City to come there on Saturday, on Thursdays to, for the best run in the City.
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And he did that from like, not only basketball, but from like caring for the young people that were coming to his gym and providing them an outlet and even just giving them some game about life that had nothing to do about basketball.
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Um, for me, when I was at a pivotal point where I was.
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I wasn't really interested in school anymore because like I finished, I wasn't sure for wanting to go to university, I was pretty good with basketball, but I was kind of like, it's not really taking me anywhere.
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So the Y was a safe haven for me at the time.
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And then me and Shawn really just connected.
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And then that's when he started to talk to me about like 'You ever hear about the Black Tournament?' And I was like, nah, I never heard about that s**t.
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And then he was like, well, he didn't, he didn't, he didn't even really tell me like the whole.
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Like the whole background on it.
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He was just like, 'You know, you should come play with me one time, you know, mean just come check it out.' And I was like, all right, cool.
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I'll, I'll go with you.
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I trust you.
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And he's like, 'Well, we got to start training for it.
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Cause it ain't no joke.
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Right?' So I was like, all right, cool.
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Whatever in my head, I'm like, I'm just training for another tournament, but like you go play in the summer.
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Right.
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But then like he started getting serious about it.
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Like, Hey, every, every twice a week we got to get into gym and we did that for about, probably about four months..
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And then I, I could honestly Augy, tell you the honest truth.
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Like I jumped on that plane and I didn't even know what to expect because it was just me and Shawn.
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Right?
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Like, remember Shawn, Shawn, what?
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Um, um, you know, Shawn got about 10, 12 years on me at the time.
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So I'm jumping on a plane with my mentor to go play in a tournament.
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And all we do is play at the local Y so like now I'm out there in, in Halifax, by myself and the only other connection I got is Shawn.
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So, you know, um, I, remember the first time we all met up and I was like the youngest kid on the team and I was calling man, this, this totally kind of crazy.
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Cause it started on, I think a Wednesday and I had never started.
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Yeah.
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You know, you play from Wednesday straight all the way through.
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Right?
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And like you guys were Men.
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Right.
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So like, I think that's important because like, I was a young person, Shawn was my mentor, but like I had a different connection with him.
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And then to throw a young kid, I think I was 17 at the time into a pool of men who knew what the f**k they were doing all the time.
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Uh, it was intimidating just to play with you guys.
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Right.
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Um, but then you guys were already rocking and rolling.
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Then I was the Toronto Kid.
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And then once I started getting my confidence and we started playing and then, you know, sport breaks all the barriers.
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Right.
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Um, and then, then it just became like, you know, kind of like a brotherhood.
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Um, you know, and I remember, I think we lost.
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No, it wasn't that year, wasn't the year we won.
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It was the first year that came down.
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We lost at St.
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Patrick's Alexandra.
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When we lost against North Preston, I can remember like it was yesterday.
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And, uh, I think at the time, this is a funny story because Shawn always laughs about it is, uh, we finished a game.
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We were all tired and Stevie D says,'So, Dion,what you're drinking?
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And I was so young at the time.
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I was like, oh, I think I'm gonna have some juice.
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No.
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He's like, oh, you want juice?
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So we'll get 10 beers and one box of juice for Dion.
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And I'll never forget that because I was like, that's how young I was at the time.
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But the cool part about that was like, I had a cool experience because I was around men who understood how to handle themselves in pressure situations from sport.
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But then even off the court, they showed me an example of like, this is how you carry yourself.
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And, you know, I don't take that for granted, because for me that was like you said earlier, was the seed to start a lot of different things from, cause I ended up going to Halifax to go to school and you know, I have a very fond place of Halifax because Halifax is kind of like helped me build the man I am today.
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That was the, the crazy side.
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I smile so much Dion.
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And to hear your side of that story, because of what I will say is that the energy that Shawn Parker was bringing to that Scotian energy is a collective energy, right?
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Like we all kind of rolled like that.
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So, you know, when you came into our thing, it was a young guy, but we never made you feel small.
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We never made you feel.
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And I remember as a tournament got, got on.
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You know, and for those people that don't know this, this tournament had, you know, different levels, A level B level C level, there was hundreds of players.
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Uh, it was like a homecoming, car show, fashion show, food truck show.
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And so there was a lot going on.
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So now when I see how you came from your perspective, we just invited you in.
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You know, it was a community vibe.
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Um, but really if it was negative.
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It could have been negative for you to come all the way from Toronto because certain teams were coming with 12 guys, strong coming really trust in Shawn.
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But Shawn was bringing you to Wade Smith, myself, Mark Parker, Stevie.
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Yeah an amazing squad.
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But we were going to take care of you, right.
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We weren't going to make you feel small.
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And then as it turned.
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I think what was interesting because like what, like you said, you, you have your perspective as like men who are going to mentor this young kid.
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And then there's the kid's perspective of like, Hey, I'm getting on a plane.
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Like you got to also, remember I grew up in Parkdale, that's a hood.
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So like for me to leave my hood and get on a plane to go play basketball without any of my friends that that's, that's like taking a fish out of water.
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Yeah, right.
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So like in my Shawn's cool, like, yo we'll do the coop, but Shawn's home.
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I'm not home.
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You know what I mean?
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So like my hood instincts automatically kick in.
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Right.
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So it was just like, well, hold on a second, like, um, two hour flight away from like my neighborhood.
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And my only resource I have is Shawn Parker.
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And I gave him all the trust.
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You know what I mean?
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But like, I remember the flip side of that.
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I remember.
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Coming back to Toronto.
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And when I came home, all my homeys were hanging out in front of my building and they were all like,'Yo, how was that tournament, man?
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Like everyone was excited.
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Right?
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So like then I kind of told them to whole experience.
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And, but what we didn't realize at the time was like the work you guys did with me to give me the confidence to play well for me to go home, to show the story with everybody else.
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That was actually the bridge, as we were talking about earlier, that started a lot of people from like the community wanting to go to Halifax because after that Shawn started bringing teams from Toronto, right?
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Cause I know, I think there was two years where like, well actually I think there was one year where I played in the next year I played with y'all again and we won, but then these teams started coming from Toronto.
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The real, um, pipeline to start that that kind of journey for other teams was because of you guys and the work that you guys did with me.
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And then it kinda just spiraled into like Halifax is, has the best Tournament in Canada.
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And you've seen a whole bunch of other teams.
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Shawn started bringing teams.
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Other players started building their own teams, et cetera, et cetera.
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You know, we don't even, we don't even look at the work we do, sometimes you just do it, you know, and then I take my hat off to y'all because you guys made sure I had a positive experience.
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I came back home and showed that positive experience with everybody else.
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And then it trickled into like hundreds of people having that same experience over a long period of time.
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But you're hitting on something so beautifully essential Dion because you know, I, when you came in, were playing and even from Shawn and D they're just being themselves, I'm being myself, Wade's being himself.
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And, but yet you felt comfortable and it was outside your realm.
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And what it, what it goes to show you is that that is community work.
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Is it not, you know, if you're being positive and you're supporting people and helping them.
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Go beyond their, stretch, beyond their comfort zone.
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Right?
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Then it becomes exponential because they can think about, you know, now Shawn works with a group called 902 Man Up, which is helping the black youth in, in inner city Halifax.
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So he's being exponential again, but we're gonna get to what are doing now, which is exponential.
00:16:54.445 --> 00:16:56.845
I'm also doing stuff Wade did stuff.
00:16:57.504 --> 00:17:02.705
There are so many ways that if you're a community person, it goes way beyond yourself and.
00:17:03.514 --> 00:17:30.865
Like circle back to what he said about growing up in Parkdale, where oftentimes the irony of growing up and what people may call, you know, housing, or, you know, the concrete jungle, et cetera, is you're forced to be community because when you have that big old house and you have your big lawn and, and, and, and fence around, and it's just your family and you may decide yes or no, whether you want to deal with other people, when you grow up in the hood,.
00:17:31.410 --> 00:17:39.660
You have no choice, but to do with other people, forced upon you, but there's a beauty to that because you're forced to work with people.
00:17:39.750 --> 00:17:41.069
So this is the other thing that's great.
00:17:41.400 --> 00:17:44.430
Is things happen that you didn't expect to happen.
00:17:44.430 --> 00:17:49.230
So while you were playing in bawling out with us, the coach from Dalhousie was watching you play.
00:17:49.589 --> 00:17:52.559
So the local university coaches used to come to that tournament.
00:17:54.464 --> 00:17:56.505
Just talk to that transition.
00:17:56.505 --> 00:17:57.285
Cause it's cool.
00:17:57.434 --> 00:18:00.855
I love the story you're telling me because you're balling with Shawn in Toronto.
00:18:01.154 --> 00:18:03.164
You don't know what your future is in basketball.
00:18:03.345 --> 00:18:07.035
You go to this tournament, not expecting anything like, yeah, Shawn, I trust you.
00:18:07.035 --> 00:18:07.394
Let's go.
00:18:07.994 --> 00:18:08.315
Literally.
00:18:08.315 --> 00:18:09.974
Did you know that you were being watched?
00:18:10.095 --> 00:18:14.775
So now talk about what is the next phase for you as far as getting to Dalhousie University?
00:18:16.265 --> 00:18:22.204
So like I came home and uh, you know, Shawn, you know, there was a few coaches that were interested and Shawn was like.
00:18:22.829 --> 00:18:23.910
'So, what is your plan?
00:18:23.910 --> 00:18:25.019
Like, what do you want to do?
00:18:25.200 --> 00:18:28.410
You're going to be interested in going to school or like, are you going to go work?
00:18:28.950 --> 00:18:30.900
Cause that's kind of where the path was going.
00:18:30.900 --> 00:18:32.940
Like, man, I'm just hanging out, let me just go to work.
00:18:33.599 --> 00:18:38.279
And he was like, you know, you have opportunity to really maybe go to school and like get education.
00:18:38.369 --> 00:18:38.700
Right.
00:18:39.210 --> 00:18:42.630
And at that time I was kind of like, 'Man, I don't know, you know?
00:18:42.630 --> 00:18:46.759
Cause like you're hanging out with your friends and your priorities are messed up.
00:18:47.325 --> 00:18:51.555
And then, you know, Tim, Tim McGarrigle, you know, have a lot of respect for him.
00:18:52.035 --> 00:18:56.224
Um, he had actually came to Toronto at a, at a run at the Y.
00:18:56.744 --> 00:18:58.154
And I was super out of shape.
00:18:58.934 --> 00:19:05.234
And he was like, you know, if you thought about, you know, going, going to school and maybe comes to come to Dalhousie to go to school?
00:19:05.325 --> 00:19:11.744
And I think it was like in September that he came and I thought it was like 15, 20 pounds overweight.
00:19:12.525 --> 00:19:17.115
And he was just like, 'You know, you put on a little bit of weight since the tournament, I could see you've been hanging out.
00:19:17.565 --> 00:19:28.079
Um, but like, even though you put on the weight you still killing people out here, so, you know, Think about, you know, you take your talent and anything, just use it to get an education.
00:19:28.890 --> 00:19:39.359
And I was like, you know, I was looking around of like, you know, my homeys and the people I'm hanging around with and what I was doing, then I was like, you know what, maybe I will take the risk again.
00:19:39.450 --> 00:19:39.779
Right.
00:19:39.779 --> 00:19:48.240
Cause it really was a risk for me, like going with Shawn, but now it was like a risk again, you know, trusting a coach that I don't really know.
00:19:48.960 --> 00:19:53.910
To go into a city that I don't really know with nobody from my area going with me again.
00:19:54.539 --> 00:20:00.349
Um, and then I started getting real serious about it, and I actually left at Christmas time to go to Dalhousie.
00:20:00.960 --> 00:20:01.259
Right.
00:20:01.349 --> 00:20:03.690
And I got to, got to red shirt with the team.
00:20:04.019 --> 00:20:06.690
So I got to get a little bit more accustomed to how things would work.
00:20:06.690 --> 00:20:09.539
And then I was started my first year in September.
00:20:10.079 --> 00:20:21.240
Um, and real cool part was, uh, you know, I remember going to the airport and, uh, Shawn dropped me off because Shawn was pretty much my father figure for my whole high school career.
00:20:21.750 --> 00:20:31.960
And he pretty much said to me, like,'This is, I've done my part now, you know, like the only time you could call me as if it's life or death, the rest of you got to figure it out on your own.
00:20:33.029 --> 00:20:33.289
Right.
00:20:33.289 --> 00:20:37.970
And I was, I remember I was mad confused, cause I was like, 'what kind of sendoff is that, man?
00:20:41.390 --> 00:20:43.309
You're on your own now that see you later.
00:20:43.400 --> 00:20:50.019
And it was like, 'Alright, cool.' And I remember taking a flight and landing in Dalhousie in Halifax.
00:20:50.119 --> 00:20:51.750
And then, you know, I think I stayed up Ms.
00:20:51.750 --> 00:20:58.319
Parkers, God Rest Her Soul for, for probably three or four months at Rebecca Parker's house.
00:20:58.829 --> 00:21:16.454
And just be again out of like, people don't understand it because you know, like a lot of players too, you come from a particular community that you're safe with and that you know, where everything is and in the dead of winter, You know, like I got to figure out how to get to school.
00:21:16.755 --> 00:21:19.335
Like nevermind, like basketball, you know what I'm saying?
00:21:19.335 --> 00:21:20.775
I don't know where Dalhousie is.
00:21:21.464 --> 00:21:21.674
Right.
00:21:21.674 --> 00:21:24.194
Like I got off a plane, someone drove me to Ms.
00:21:24.194 --> 00:21:26.565
Parker's house and then tomorrow I'm supposed to be in the gym.
00:21:26.565 --> 00:21:27.825
I don't even know where the gym at.
00:21:28.694 --> 00:21:28.934
Right.
00:21:28.934 --> 00:21:36.134
So like, you know, say like in my mind, I'm like, I got all kinds of stuff I got to figure out that has nothing to do with why I'm here.
00:21:36.855 --> 00:21:41.265
And I think a lot of people don't understand that because like, that's cool if you lived on campus.
00:21:42.284 --> 00:21:50.585
Cause you could figure that out, but like I'm living, you know, I'm living, I'm living in Miss Parker's house, which is cross town in the hood.
00:21:51.115 --> 00:21:52.875
I gotta figure out how to get from here.
00:21:52.875 --> 00:21:58.815
And then, you know, like, because of how I grew up, like I'm walking to Dalhousie every day.
00:21:59.085 --> 00:22:07.875
So I'm also walking across like seeing different things, like seeing the transition from what 'Hold on now.
00:22:07.875 --> 00:22:10.904
Like there's a lot of black people when I left the house.
00:22:11.730 --> 00:22:14.730
Then I crossed the Commons and I'll see no black people no more.
00:22:14.730 --> 00:22:15.299
Hold on a sec.
00:22:15.329 --> 00:22:26.279
Like all of those things you're processing and the conversations I'm having on one side of the city versus the other side that when you go to the gym and remember I'm from Toronto.
00:22:26.279 --> 00:22:29.849
So I have a different perspective as it is, right?
00:22:29.970 --> 00:22:38.388
Cause like the way our communities, it's not necessarily, you know, um, it's, there's not a, a white line down the middle of the city.
00:22:39.255 --> 00:22:42.015
Here's what here looks like here is what here looks like.
00:22:42.494 --> 00:22:49.964
So for me, I'm used to, like, even though we grew up in a hood, it looks very different and the community is built very different.
00:22:50.474 --> 00:22:56.204
So all these little tiny things, I don't even, I don't even know if like the coaches understand that.
00:22:57.194 --> 00:22:57.494
Right.
00:22:57.494 --> 00:23:12.674
Cause like, you know, for me to walk from Miss Parker's house to Dalhousie gym and back for two months, Like the things I got a process is crazy and I'm, and I'm calling my man in Toronto.
00:23:12.674 --> 00:23:13.875
Like, yo, listen, bro.
00:23:13.875 --> 00:23:17.025
Like I went up to like, I I'll never forget this.
00:23:17.295 --> 00:23:24.825
I walked across the street and a car stopped and I was like,'Yo, someone about to get shot.
00:23:25.184 --> 00:23:28.724
Cause like in my neighborhood, if a car stops five cars down from you.
00:23:28.724 --> 00:23:29.865
And there's no one in front.
00:23:30.224 --> 00:23:31.025
That's a signal.
00:23:31.025 --> 00:23:31.855
That's a problem.
00:23:32.855 --> 00:23:36.634
In my mind, I'm like, hold on a second.
00:23:36.634 --> 00:23:38.255
Like, that's a dangerous sign.
00:23:38.255 --> 00:23:39.224
I got to keep pushing it.
00:23:40.085 --> 00:23:45.244
Then the person opened their window and told me to cross the street, like a nice gesture.
00:23:46.325 --> 00:23:50.464
And I remember I called home that night, like, yo, my boy Rock.
00:23:50.494 --> 00:23:55.414
I was like, 'Rock, you won't believe what happened to me today meant like five cars down the street.
00:23:55.684 --> 00:23:58.265
Someone stopped and told me to cross the street, yo.
00:23:58.625 --> 00:24:00.095
And he was like, 'What?
00:24:01.614 --> 00:24:02.034
What do you mean?
00:24:02.034 --> 00:24:09.084
Like, and everything's all like, he was dumbfounded because in our neighborhood, like ain't no one, like, you know, there's no nice.
00:24:09.744 --> 00:24:10.344
You know what I'm saying?
00:24:10.344 --> 00:24:14.394
Like, if you crossing the street, you taking the risk, right.
00:24:14.394 --> 00:24:20.604
Like you're not taking the crosswalk, then you're at risk because someone's trying to get somewhere they ain't, they ain't stopping in the car for you.
00:24:21.954 --> 00:24:25.224
So then that became part of my DNA.
00:24:25.253 --> 00:24:26.094
Like you're like, okay.
00:24:26.094 --> 00:24:29.224
Like, okay, like people are genuinely nice here.
00:24:30.305 --> 00:24:30.565
Right.
00:24:30.565 --> 00:24:36.644
Like, I remember thinking to myself like, wow, like I grew up in a neighborhood like that doesn't happen.
00:24:37.605 --> 00:24:39.015
Like that will never happen.
00:24:39.315 --> 00:24:42.865
You know, it was like, Nope, no one will ever stop their car for you to cross the road ever.
00:24:43.444 --> 00:24:45.994
That's a culture shock thing or a culture shift.
00:24:46.355 --> 00:24:51.335
And it's interesting that from the time you dipped your toe in Scotia, there was a.
00:24:52.140 --> 00:25:06.599
There was, and I know a lot of Americans will talk about this too, whether they're black or white around, especially Black Americans around coming here as athletes, mostly that's my connection and being less intense and less.
00:25:06.630 --> 00:25:10.769
And there's something true because we have to agree that Scotia is more rural.
00:25:11.314 --> 00:25:15.845
And more old school than Montreal and Toronto than Calgary et cetera.
00:25:16.174 --> 00:25:17.284
But there's a beauty to that.
00:25:17.554 --> 00:25:18.974
And I own my Scotian-ness.
00:25:18.994 --> 00:25:20.585
I know I got a little bit of country in me.
00:25:20.585 --> 00:25:27.273
I got a little bit, but there's a, there's a humanity that exists because we're not a big metropolis.
00:25:27.544 --> 00:25:29.253
So, so that's in your learnings.
00:25:29.404 --> 00:25:32.984
So now as you go to DAL, And you're and you're playing ball.
00:25:32.984 --> 00:25:38.503
I really want to shift so that we can get into, because there's so many connections around you're growing.
00:25:38.894 --> 00:25:40.575
What do you see as your role?
00:25:40.575 --> 00:25:41.835
Like, I can be good to people.
00:25:41.865 --> 00:25:43.694
I can, I don't need a be.
00:25:44.295 --> 00:25:44.714
Yeah.
00:25:44.835 --> 00:25:53.773
So as you're doing that, you get into sociology at DAL.
00:25:49.575 --> 00:25:58.244
Um, school becomes, it seems important than you ever probably thought it would be things around.
00:26:00.419 --> 00:26:00.869
No, that's good.
00:26:01.559 --> 00:26:02.759
What things shifted for you?
00:26:02.759 --> 00:26:05.519
Because if we go back in a story, you weren't even sure.
00:26:05.519 --> 00:26:09.359
If you wanted to go to school, now, you DAL, you're learning on your way.
00:26:09.359 --> 00:26:13.819
You're learning so many things, but there's something that has to be happening in the classroom too.
00:26:14.809 --> 00:26:21.980
You know what, you know, I'll say this, like, I wouldn't say necessarily what's happening in the classroom and I'll say this a thousand times over.
00:26:21.980 --> 00:26:26.240
Cause like, you know, um, um, I'm cool with like going to school.
00:26:27.240 --> 00:26:36.180
What was really impressive to me more so was like learning to learn the environment of learning is what I got hungry for, right?
00:26:36.180 --> 00:26:37.950
It wasn't necessarily the classroom.
00:26:38.009 --> 00:26:41.460
I was like, hold up, like, you've can take that crossing the street story.
00:26:41.490 --> 00:26:42.259
It was like, hold on.
00:26:42.299 --> 00:26:44.519
Like there's a whole other world out here.
00:26:45.269 --> 00:26:45.569
Right?
00:26:45.569 --> 00:26:45.819
Cool.
00:26:45.880 --> 00:26:49.140
I'm in a, I'm in an environment, that's teaching me how to learn.
00:26:49.829 --> 00:26:50.130
Okay.
00:26:50.130 --> 00:26:51.119
What else can I learn?
00:26:52.035 --> 00:26:55.664
And that's when I started getting hungry, because it was more like, hold on.
00:26:55.664 --> 00:26:59.355
I got access to like people that I'm never going to probably be able to meet.
00:26:59.355 --> 00:27:00.305
If I was in Toronto.
00:27:00.704 --> 00:27:00.974
Right.
00:27:00.974 --> 00:27:05.595
Like, I got a person who wants to teach me so I could ask them questions and they have to answer me.
00:27:05.954 --> 00:27:07.214
That's a whole different ball game.
00:27:07.305 --> 00:27:07.575
Right.
00:27:07.575 --> 00:27:07.994
So it wasn't
00:27:10.325 --> 00:27:12.634
around learning is an open concept.
00:27:12.634 --> 00:27:12.934
Right.
00:27:12.994 --> 00:27:14.164
You've got to open yourself.
00:27:14.315 --> 00:27:15.575
So if you're in Parkdale.
00:27:15.844 --> 00:27:17.404
It's dangerous to open yourself.
00:27:17.523 --> 00:27:17.855
Right?
00:27:18.214 --> 00:27:22.564
It's better to, to be, you got to keep yourself tight in order to survive.
00:27:23.074 --> 00:27:31.865
So you're, it's interesting that you say that there's something that happened to you, even your community, your vision of what's learning and what is community started to open.
00:27:32.284 --> 00:27:35.284
And I'm glad that it isn't just about classroom cause we're going to get there.
00:27:35.464 --> 00:27:39.154
Cause when we know, when we talk about Yellowbrick, it's not about the classroom necessarily, right?
00:27:39.544 --> 00:27:40.263
Learning goes on.
00:27:41.640 --> 00:27:45.599
And that's what I want to try to get.
00:27:45.690 --> 00:27:49.559
What are some of the changes in your thinking now around what you think your future is going?
00:27:50.990 --> 00:28:06.079
I mean, the changes in my thinking is really like, you know, and I know we're going to go into this deeper is like, I have way more, two things that I pretty much had my head on every day is it gave me access and it gave me awareness to like things that I never actually knew existed.
00:28:06.799 --> 00:28:07.069
Right.
00:28:07.130 --> 00:28:08.809
So like now I'm in the class.
00:28:09.525 --> 00:28:17.384
With, you know, a guy that's saying to me, you know, all I gotta do was graduate and, um, I'll never have to work another day in my life, in my head.
00:28:17.384 --> 00:28:19.184
I'm like 'Word?
00:28:19.184 --> 00:28:21.974
Like I've never heard that in my life.
00:28:22.365 --> 00:28:25.335
What all you gotta do is get a piece of paper and you're good for life?
00:28:25.934 --> 00:28:34.154
Like that type of access, to be able to even understand that exists, that opens my brain to other possibilities.
00:28:34.154 --> 00:28:34.575
Right.
00:28:35.055 --> 00:28:36.825
Um, and then the awareness of it is.
00:28:37.815 --> 00:28:38.144
Wow.
00:28:38.144 --> 00:28:40.694
Like this environment right here.
00:28:41.295 --> 00:28:49.244
Um, there's so much learning, just being here that, and you know, this is not a shot at anybody.
00:28:49.335 --> 00:28:52.184
It's like the environment I grew up in.
00:28:52.214 --> 00:29:02.474
There's a ceiling, you know, because of people are trying to survive, you know, a part, a part of survival in the hood is like, you know, food and shelter.
00:29:03.450 --> 00:29:07.650
You can't dream about breaking through a ceiling, if you don't got food and shelter.
00:29:08.220 --> 00:29:11.640
So like your food and shelter is going to be the ceiling.
00:29:11.640 --> 00:29:17.130
So like, if I'm making sure my family can eat and they got a roof over their head, and sometimes we have a good time.
00:29:17.430 --> 00:29:18.390
That's the ceiling.
00:29:19.109 --> 00:29:20.789
Well, how are you going to break through that ceiling?
00:29:20.789 --> 00:29:30.210
If that's what you're trying to get through every day, then you remove me from survival to put me in a situation of trying to thrive.
00:29:31.305 --> 00:29:37.605
All of a sudden that ceiling looks completely different, you know, like, wow.
00:29:37.605 --> 00:29:38.253
Okay, cool.
00:29:38.535 --> 00:29:54.974
I mean, even if I don't get this piece of paper, like when I go back home, the guy that used to say 'You can't do that, I can say to him Yes you can, and that's, that's, that's the beginning of it all.
00:29:54.974 --> 00:29:58.305
And you know, I, I literally that's the work that I do every day.
00:29:59.159 --> 00:30:01.319
How do we provide access and awareness?
00:30:01.769 --> 00:30:06.599
That's super important to me, to our communities, because it's not talent.
00:30:07.199 --> 00:30:08.219
We have the talent.
00:30:08.878 --> 00:30:09.209
Right.
00:30:09.209 --> 00:30:12.419
But sometimes the talent doesn't have the opportunity.
00:30:12.869 --> 00:30:17.459
So like you said earlier, like, you know, the bridge, how do we start to build bridges?
00:30:18.494 --> 00:30:26.355
For the talent to get the opportunity, you know, and the bridge comes with a lot of different things, you know, like different barriers that we need to remove.
00:30:26.355 --> 00:30:28.424
And, you know, I lived through that at Dalhousie.
00:30:29.355 --> 00:30:32.765
I remember, I, I didn't even know what an email was when I went to DAL.
00:30:33.644 --> 00:30:34.065
Right.
00:30:34.065 --> 00:30:36.704
And like, yeah.
00:30:36.765 --> 00:30:38.865
And I mean, university, you understand what I'm saying?
00:30:38.865 --> 00:30:40.035
Like I'm in university.
00:30:40.394 --> 00:30:43.125
And one of my classmates taught me what an email was.
00:30:44.325 --> 00:30:52.724
And I remember thinking to myself, like, If I don't know what an email is, imagine what my homie's back home don't know.
00:30:54.015 --> 00:30:57.525
Cause like I just learned that I'm in university.
00:30:57.525 --> 00:31:06.734
Like they don't care about email back home, but like, think about how that connected tissue changed a lot of other things for me personally.
00:31:06.734 --> 00:31:09.795
So, um, you've been
00:31:09.795 --> 00:31:10.184
crazy.
00:31:11.144 --> 00:31:17.734
One of the things I love about this conversation, Dion is I've known you for a long time and I was on the outside watching you do this great work.
00:31:17.734 --> 00:31:24.904
That was, that was given access and opportunity to, to kids and to do things that they really wanted to do.
00:31:24.904 --> 00:31:25.234
Right.
00:31:25.474 --> 00:31:31.874
And so we want to get to, as you go home, Cause I do want to get to the concept of Yellowbrick.
00:31:32.154 --> 00:31:41.025
And if you could talk a little bit about, and I know we're skipping over some of the things that you don't got back to Toronto around, you know, kids and kicks and things like that.
00:31:42.704 --> 00:31:49.605
But talk a little bit about the concept of Yellowbrick, because there's some things that you already spoke to and what a car.
00:31:49.634 --> 00:31:53.204
I love this conversation, brother, because you're giving me how you got there.
00:31:53.355 --> 00:31:55.964
I didn't even know how you got there and I'm seeing how you got there.
00:31:56.204 --> 00:31:56.444
So.
00:31:57.375 --> 00:31:58.424
Urban kids.
00:31:58.980 --> 00:32:03.779
Who might have limited senses of what their opportunities are and what they can do.
00:32:04.410 --> 00:32:09.839
And yet, you know, from the way you blossomed that, there's way more beyond your own scope.
00:32:09.869 --> 00:32:14.190
If you have a couple of people in your life that are able to open up your thinking.
00:32:14.299 --> 00:32:15.039
So you got that.
00:32:15.400 --> 00:32:19.869
So now you're becoming a bridge person because you come with this, this, and I loved it.
00:32:19.869 --> 00:32:24.970
It's more of a community thing because many times in this podcast you said, and I thought about my fellas.
00:32:25.180 --> 00:32:29.529
I thought about my, like, if I don't know, then that's a community think, right?
00:32:29.769 --> 00:32:39.164
So then when you get home, You're now starting to see that because we know that urban culture is sexy and attractive and it's appropriated and stolen.
00:32:39.164 --> 00:32:47.924
And all of that, we know that we got the type of swagger that people want to sell and use for commercials and use for sneakers and use for gear.
00:32:48.855 --> 00:32:57.855
So now it seems to me, is that you realize that you need to take that and make our kids or urban kids realize that those industries could.
00:32:58.845 --> 00:32:59.894
They could be a part of them.
00:32:59.924 --> 00:33:02.115
So, so talk a bit about Yellowbrick and that
00:33:03.305 --> 00:33:05.765
yeah, that's exactly.
00:33:05.765 --> 00:33:07.325
You just hit the nail on the head.
00:33:07.325 --> 00:33:18.634
It's like after years of doing all creative stuff with community, like, you know, I, I did a lot of work within the sneaker industry and using sneakers as an engagement tool work with a lot of different artists.
00:33:18.785 --> 00:33:26.974
But what I realized after being in a sneaker industry or I should call it like contemporary culture industry, is that, you know, there's a lot.
00:33:27.809 --> 00:33:32.640
Uh, some brands who, who love us as consumers.
00:33:32.789 --> 00:33:33.089
Right?
00:33:33.089 --> 00:33:43.900
So if I take the sneaker industry, for example, every brand loves, you know, a black dollar as a consumer, because like you just said, we drive culture, right?
00:33:43.950 --> 00:33:48.150
We're the drivers of culture, but that's from a consumer side.
00:33:48.559 --> 00:33:55.920
When you start getting into the building, what you realize is that, you know, the same messages that they used for you to spend your money.
00:33:56.744 --> 00:34:01.305
Or could be the same messages they use to show you different career opportunities.
00:34:02.025 --> 00:34:07.335
So what I got real interested in was like, hold on a second, like, I'm doing all this work and it's fun.
00:34:07.904 --> 00:34:12.224
But every time I go into meetings, I'm not seeing anybody that looks like me.
00:34:12.885 --> 00:34:13.304
Right.
00:34:13.724 --> 00:34:23.744
Um, and not, not necessarily even at a high level, just at, just on a normal level where like the only time I'm seeing you is on an ad or like, you know, as they call it.
00:34:24.480 --> 00:34:25.829
You know the assets.
00:34:25.889 --> 00:34:30.300
So like an asset is a young black kid.
00:34:30.329 --> 00:34:37.500
They called us an asset because like, without the young black kid, you can't draw, you're not gonna make no money.
00:34:38.429 --> 00:34:38.820
Right.
00:34:38.820 --> 00:34:50.940
So like what Yellowbrick, you know, has done, you know, created as an EdTech platform where it gives you, I call it a little bit more of a sexier guidance counselor course, where.
00:34:52.005 --> 00:34:56.445
You always heard about sneakers, but you only hear about sneakers from the consumer side.
00:34:56.894 --> 00:35:13.545
So what Yellowbrick now is doing is like, here's a course that gives you an opportunity to actually explore what the sneaker industry looks like, because there may be other jobs inside of that industry that you'll be attracted to, that you didn't even know existed.
00:35:14.355 --> 00:35:14.594
Right.
00:35:14.594 --> 00:35:16.724
So it gives you access and awareness again.
00:35:17.878 --> 00:35:28.378
Through these courses to understand, okay, well, listen, you know what, like I really like sneakers or I really like streetwear music, film, photography, all of these things.
00:35:28.710 --> 00:35:41.219
We usually see the checkered line, which is like the product at the end, but no one's ever seen under the line where it's like, you know, there's a, there's a product manager, but you're, you're managing all the product.
00:35:41.219 --> 00:35:43.469
That's a really good job, right?
00:35:43.469 --> 00:35:46.278
Like there's, there's a location scout.
00:35:47.108 --> 00:35:47.398
Right.
00:35:47.398 --> 00:35:49.289
Like for photography, right?
00:35:49.289 --> 00:35:59.639
Like, and that job is like for someone who loves to travel and like these things really align with like people and to what they actually enjoy doing, you know what I'm saying?
00:35:59.639 --> 00:36:06.989
Like, there's a social media manager, there's a kid right now in the hood, I guarantee you who has, you know, 20,000 followers.
00:36:07.019 --> 00:36:10.980
And he doesn't even know if he or she doesn't even know that, like that's an actual job.
00:36:15.675 --> 00:36:16.215
Yeah, that's true.
00:36:16.364 --> 00:36:25.925
Again, influencers like your strategy on how you get people to like you, people are getting paid thousands of dollars in a boardroom to do what you're thinking about naturally.
00:36:27.514 --> 00:36:36.215
I do a moment because we, you and I talked about this when I first phoned you in wanted to invite you to the podcast like me being in education.
00:36:36.605 --> 00:36:42.695
We know that in 2021, some of the linear ways that we've done education does not fit for people.
00:36:42.875 --> 00:36:44.315
And university would be an example.
00:36:44.494 --> 00:36:46.335
Not everyone needs to spend 20 grand.
00:36:46.969 --> 00:36:50.119
Or over four years to get a bachelor of science and bachelor of arts.
00:36:50.300 --> 00:36:59.360
So one of the great thing about Yellowbrick too, is, and I want to bring this to the podcast listeners is that once you do the curriculum, there are internships attached to it, right?
00:36:59.449 --> 00:37:03.139
Which means that you have a chance to skip the spending of money.
00:37:03.380 --> 00:37:11.449
And these companies have made a, a link to say, Hey, you have someone that you trust that, Dion you're connected to them.
00:37:11.509 --> 00:37:12.650
They they've done the program.
00:37:13.204 --> 00:37:15.965
We know that they are, that they have the skills.
00:37:16.204 --> 00:37:29.065
So let's just skip the whole university thing and get them in a low level job at Adidas, a low-level job at Nike, or, you know, and so a music industry job, a fashion industry job.
00:37:29.394 --> 00:37:33.715
And so there's something brilliant about that because of the golden ring is to get a good job.
00:37:34.304 --> 00:37:41.568
Then it doesn't have to happen like graduated from grade 12, go to university for four years, get a master's degree, come out and be unemployed.
00:37:41.989 --> 00:37:44.000
You know, like that's a lot of money.
00:37:44.000 --> 00:37:45.710
So I talk about that too.
00:37:46.599 --> 00:37:52.690
I think that, you know, I, I would, I would correct you in that, you know, not saying, get rid of university.
00:37:52.690 --> 00:37:57.338
I think what we want to do is challenge corporations to now be alternative education.
00:37:58.028 --> 00:37:58.329
So.
00:37:59.340 --> 00:38:02.159
Cause, cause I'm not saying education is not important.
00:38:02.159 --> 00:38:07.159
I think that a lot of times, no, no.
00:38:07.170 --> 00:38:09.210
Cause I know that people want as all university.
00:38:09.239 --> 00:38:09.570
No, no, no.
00:38:09.599 --> 00:38:11.759
That's not what, I don't think that's what either of us are saying.
00:38:11.759 --> 00:38:24.420
I think that corporations need to realize that like the people you have in your building can also be educators and help people who may not want to go in through the system of education.
00:38:24.840 --> 00:38:27.090
They might've go through the system of corporations.
00:38:27.989 --> 00:38:40.349
And that's actually a good route because corporations now get rid of all of the filters that universities mess your brain up with and they can teach you how to work at Adidas.
00:38:43.724 --> 00:38:43.875
That
00:38:43.885 --> 00:38:48.644
there's already corporations that train people in like McDonald's university or whatever.
00:38:48.875 --> 00:38:50.184
Right, right, right.
00:38:50.284 --> 00:38:56.375
So I think, you know, right now we're doing a program with Reebok where there's 50 students, they get a scholarship.
00:38:56.525 --> 00:38:57.965
It's an eight week program.
00:38:58.324 --> 00:39:00.784
They get to meet people from Reebok every weekend.
00:39:00.844 --> 00:39:03.034
And they're working on a product in the background.
00:39:03.034 --> 00:39:06.215
That's going to eventually be made and sold through a store.
00:39:06.815 --> 00:39:08.335
For me, it's less about.
00:39:09.150 --> 00:39:13.079
Don't go to university and more about like, here's some options.
00:39:13.079 --> 00:39:18.570
If university is one of them, here's two or three other ways to get educated.
00:39:19.019 --> 00:39:19.469
Right.
00:39:19.800 --> 00:39:22.829
And you know, out of those 5o, one may say, you know what?
00:39:22.829 --> 00:39:24.300
Nah, man, I want to go to university.
00:39:24.300 --> 00:39:29.130
But now when I go to university, I know what exactly I'm going to university for.
00:39:30.150 --> 00:39:30.599
Right.
00:39:30.809 --> 00:39:32.010
I think that's the difference.
00:39:33.269 --> 00:39:39.480
Everyone goes to university because we've been conditioned to say, like, go to university, that's the next natural step.
00:39:39.510 --> 00:39:44.429
You go there and you take, you know, arts and it's like, okay, what is that going to really do for you though?
00:39:45.599 --> 00:39:46.079
Right?
00:39:46.409 --> 00:39:50.429
You're just, yeah, you're just following the system.
00:39:50.460 --> 00:40:02.489
So like what's important to me is like, let's give our young people options of like, not saying university not important, but if you're going to go to the university or college route, know what you go in there to do.
00:40:02.548 --> 00:40:12.269
And if that's not you, then you know what, maybe I could help you get into a job directly and they could teach you how to be a location scout, the way they want you to.
00:40:13.079 --> 00:40:13.360
Right?
00:40:13.380 --> 00:40:14.969
And you're going to work your way up that way.
00:40:14.969 --> 00:40:18.570
So, you know, you have a different path and I think that's the most important part.
00:40:18.989 --> 00:40:24.719
You know, that's what Yellowbrick is providing that, that entry point to the access and awareness.
00:40:26.320 --> 00:40:27.300
I've listened brother.
00:40:27.300 --> 00:40:29.579
I think I applaud you in the story.
00:40:29.909 --> 00:40:36.840
You have me so full with energy and gratitude around knowing your journey because, and I'm glad that we captured it on a podcast.
00:40:36.840 --> 00:40:40.500
So many, many other people can hear about it because it, it speaks to growth.
00:40:40.500 --> 00:40:41.670
It speaks to learning.
00:40:41.969 --> 00:40:44.159
It speaks to being dedicated to the community.
00:40:45.364 --> 00:40:55.324
You know, as you said, you had a lot of people that filled in as your father figure Shawn being one of them, but you can still make it and you can still make a difference no matter what your circumstances are.
00:40:55.565 --> 00:41:03.485
And you're an example of that and you and I have a lot of work to do together, you know, going forward because we are linked that way.
00:41:03.784 --> 00:41:04.204
But, um,
00:41:06.625 --> 00:41:11.335
one point I'd love to just, you know, I know you work at the board, we've talked about education.
00:41:11.364 --> 00:41:13.195
I think that it is super important.
00:41:13.920 --> 00:41:22.769
Start getting programs like the Yellowbricks in some of these, um, you know, formative years, because like that's where all the work is going to get done.
00:41:23.460 --> 00:41:23.759
Right?
00:41:23.759 --> 00:41:30.150
Like a lot of times right now, you know, our program that we're doing, Reebok's 17 to 21, which is amazing.
00:41:30.210 --> 00:41:30.659
Right.
00:41:31.139 --> 00:41:41.548
But you're thinking about, you know, someone who's in grade seven grade, eight grade nine, if they're getting fed that information, then like you're now talking about.
00:41:42.358 --> 00:41:49.438
Changing how your whole community looks like versus like, you know, the last lap, right.
00:41:49.438 --> 00:41:50.769
Where it's like, now I have no choice.
00:41:50.789 --> 00:42:02.398
So like, that's why, you know, you may have had a good conversation about like, how do we start thinking about getting programs like Yellowbrick or alternative education programs in, into like schools?
00:42:02.878 --> 00:42:03.480
I think that's.
00:42:05.340 --> 00:42:06.989
Early, early for sure.
00:42:08.599 --> 00:42:11.510
You're preaching to the converted and it helps community.
00:42:11.699 --> 00:42:13.070
It helps all kinds of communities.
00:42:13.369 --> 00:42:24.139
So I want to thank you again for such a beautiful talk and you sharing your journey because as you share your journey, um, there is going to be someone to pick something out from it that motivates them.
00:42:24.650 --> 00:42:28.820
And make some want to go forward and give and, and, and grow and be open.
00:42:29.028 --> 00:42:34.820
And also what I want to say to people is, you know, the Dion Walcott story, there's a lot about taking risks, too, right?
00:42:35.179 --> 00:42:43.039
Taking risks to come to the black tournament, taking risks, to come to Dalhousie, taking risks, to go into an industry that was not a hot button.
00:42:43.579 --> 00:42:46.969
Like it was an industry that you almost had to create and be a part of.
00:42:46.969 --> 00:42:49.039
So I love that part of your journey.
00:42:49.250 --> 00:42:50.690
I want to thank you so much, brother.
00:42:50.750 --> 00:42:52.730
Um, what a great conversation and.
00:42:53.403 --> 00:42:54.574
We're going to have to have you back.
00:42:54.574 --> 00:42:56.045
Cause, cause we have other things that,
00:42:58.855 --> 00:43:03.744
and we got some work to do and you know, um, Halifax has a real place in my heart.
00:43:03.744 --> 00:43:06.474
And I'd love to see if we can make something happen.
00:43:06.625 --> 00:43:13.074
You know, some of the stuff that we talked about, but uh, like I said, man, it's all about awareness and access and happy to be on the podcast.
00:43:13.074 --> 00:43:18.835
And hopefully people picked up a couple of gems and it helps them do whatever they need to try to get done to move forward.
00:43:19.914 --> 00:43:20.844
Of course stay blessed.
00:43:21.885 --> 00:43:22.454
You too, man.
00:43:22.545 --> 00:43:23.264
Thanks for having me.