Creative Roots Podcast
Creative Roots Podcast is where stories begin. Every week, host Tae sits down with artists, entrepreneurs, and makers of all kinds to explore the journey before the spotlight—when the vision was still raw, and the hustle was rooted in passion, not popularity.
We go beneath the surface—talking consistency, growth, setbacks, and the real creative process. Whether you’re an early-stage creative or someone finding your way back to your roots, this podcast is here to inspire, reflect, and remind you why you started in the first place.
🌱 New episodes drop every Thursday.
Creative Roots Podcast
Impeded Words to Written Conversations - Quintin | Ep. 61
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This episode is all about family, memories, and meaningful conversation.
Shamar takes the lead as he sits down with his cousin, Quintin, host of TEA with Q, for a conversation filled with laughter, reflection, and appreciation.
Together, they revisit cherished memories of their grandmother and the role she played in shaping their lives. Quintin shares how her encouragement helped him overcome a speech impediment, while both cousins reflect on the values, lessons, and love that have carried through their family over the years.
The conversation also highlights the importance of giving people their flowers while they're here, as Shamar and Quintin exchange genuine words of appreciation and respect for one another's journeys.
Of course, they also dive into Quintin's podcast, TEA with Q, discussing the inspiration behind the platform and the conversations that continue to connect him with his audience.
This episode is heartfelt, uplifting, and a reminder of how powerful family, support, and shared experiences can be.
Another insightful episode is in the books.
Recorded exclusively at Charlotte Podcast Studio
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Tae-@taewiththeedits
Shamar-@alanluxstudios
As I've grown older, Shamar, I have learned to lean into the chaotic way my mind works, but in a creative way.
SPEAKER_01I was told, Shamar, the work is beautiful. Okay, we get that, but we want to see you.
SPEAKER_00People are invested in you. I was never afraid to share my writing, and I noticed that in my sharing, I got better because one thing I was always open to truth in the air, let it speak. T with Q. Yeah. Yeah. I got, yeah, I got them. I got them made. Okay. People were getting them.
SPEAKER_01I love that. I love that. Yes, I need one. I got you. Cool. So you ready?
SPEAKER_00You feel good? Just tell me. Am I looking at you? Am I good? Are we? Yeah, you're looking at me, I can see you.
SPEAKER_01I can hear you just fine. Um, I'm gonna try my best to look right here in a teleprompter, but I keep looking over there because it's easier for me to see you, but I'm gonna try to force myself to be right here. Um, and that's really that's what I'm gonna try to do.
SPEAKER_00I'm gonna try to look at you when I'm talking, but naturally I'm gonna look at the screen, but I'm gonna keep looking this way. Okay.
SPEAKER_01Hey, what's going on, good people? It is Shamar, and we are back with Creative Roots Podcast. I want to thank y'all for tuning in. And first, I want to give a shout out to Alan Love Studios. I would like to thank us. I would like to give a shout out to Charlotte Podcast Studio. I would like to thank us. And finally, a special shout out to Artbox Charlotte. I would like to thank us. And listen, people, know your eyes are not deceiving you. Y'all are seeing Shamar Tay's trusty sidekick on camera. And I'm gonna tell you why. So for those that know and follow, Tay, when he's comfortable and familiar with a guest, what he does is kicks off his shoes and he sits crisscross applesauce. When I'm comfortable and familiar with a guest, I get on camera. You know what I mean? Y'all know I'm normally behind it, but yes, I have somebody here that I am comfortable with, I'm familiar with. And I actually love this guy too. He is my cousin. His name is Quentin Childs Sapporo. I said that right, right. You say that right. That's a hyphenated, you know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_00So it sounds like child support, but it's child Sapporo. It does.
SPEAKER_01It does. So, so, yes, it's Quentin Child Sapporo. Um, this is my cousin. He's my baby cousin. He's coming uh to us all the way from Chicago, so he is uh recording virtually. And listen, the set is the same, guys, but you know the mood is a little different here, the lighting is different, and the reason why is because this was what that conversation is gonna be. My cousin is uh a writer. Let's be very clear. I have to say up front that he is an avid lover of Tina Turner and all of her music and her life. Um, he also is an educator, and he is the host of a podcast, and that podcast is T with Q. So, you know, this guy, even when he tells a general story about his day, you know, his day at work, it he narrates it so well, and it just feels like you're reading a novel. And I know this conversation is probably gonna lend to that. So I was like, what better way than to get set the setup and get the environment ready for this good story he's gonna tell? And plus, oh yes, I have my tea is ready to hear this. So, Quentin, I want to welcome you to the show. Thanks for coming in and having a conversation with me, man.
SPEAKER_00You know what? Listen, I want to say this to everyone. First of all, I I can't thank you enough, Shamar, for allowing me to be a part of this show today. I am always just elated when I'm around you in life or in work. You know, funny story is when I graduated college, I was working with Shamar when we were at the bank. So we've always seemed to somehow find our way to each other. Yes, it is. So just to have me on this show is just um I'm I'm I'm very just grateful for that. And and I'm glad to, you know, just be a part of this. And I can't wait to get dive into the conversation. I do want to say he led off with a very strong introductory, and it was very humbling to hear you talk so nicely about me. I hope when the cameras aren't running, he'll do the same, you know.
SPEAKER_01Hey, listen, I'm gonna I'm gonna invoice you for that intro later.
SPEAKER_00Hey, I got you, I got you. Hey, I'd rather go on the show and you introduce me anytime you want.
SPEAKER_01No, seriously, thank you. Thank you. No, absolutely, absolutely. And uh well, well deserved, you know, and I it's so much more that could be put into that. And I just want the audience, go ahead and get in the comments now. Y'all heard how he just spoke in that brief moment right there, how poetic it was. And, you know, I just man, I just love how you talk. You listen, if if I ever write me a book, which you still owe us one, by the way, but if I ever write one, you're gonna definitely be uh the narrator of that audio book. So yeah. I definitely I got you.
SPEAKER_00And listen, there's so much I can say about you and your creative journey and what you do. I I stand astounded at just watching your path. I know you just celebrated 10 years because I saw it come up on social media the other day. Yes, yes, yes. So it is inspiring to see what you are doing and just uh how many lives that you're touching, but also the creativeness that you are also bringing. So thank you.
SPEAKER_01Quintin, excuse me, Quentin. If you don't turn that phone off, listen, I don't know.
SPEAKER_00You saw me down here mess with my watch. He's gonna take that out of home.
SPEAKER_01Yo, I got and listen, in the words of Tay, we don't edit nothing. So turn that phone off.
SPEAKER_00I'm turning off. Y'all know I know better than that. You know, my job. There we go. It's off.
SPEAKER_01Okay. Good deal. So y'all just saw how we just loved on each other. And I think, you know, uh us as brothers need to do that more often, but that was very genuine. And uh I meant it from the bottom of my heart, and I know he has because he has shared that multiple times and stuff. So I thank you uh for saying that too. Um, but I want to jump on in uh this is creative roots, you know, and we just like to talk to other creatives and figure out uh their journey, just discuss that, and then just starting it out. I want to know what got you on your creative journey.
SPEAKER_00You know, for such a long time, I will tell you, I've always had a creative mind. Um I wish that I could shut my mind off, and that is the truth. You know, it being men's mental health awareness month, I I actually have leaned into the chaos of the way I think. And I know that sounds crazy, or maybe like, what is he talking about to some people? But as I've grown older, Shamar, I have learned to lean into the chaotic way my mind works, but in a creative way. So what that means to me is there's sometimes where I have a thought, I have an idea, and I can't get it out quick enough. You know, some people journal, some people record it with their voice. You know, there's so many avenues and paths now. But, you know, there was a venue where I would write and I would write and and and I would journal and I would I would get it out. And I started writing back when I was in college. You know, I took some creative writing courses, and that was just something I was very passionate about, still passionate about to this day. But I'm sad to say I have not started that great American novel. However, however, um I really found a passion in telling a story. And as you said earlier, I've learned how to tell a story, but I'll tell it in a different way now. Now I'm late to the game, I will say I'm 43 years old, and there have been people who have been on the podcast journey for a long time, but I've always listened to podcasts. I do like, you know, docu series, crime, you know, all kind of stuff. But I thought to myself one day, I said, what if I started the podcast journey for myself? What if I started telling a story, but telling it from the framework of what I feel, what I think, my perspectives, being creative, but in a different way. I will say this too. And y'all know I'm I'm gonna keep it real. You know, just even watching Shamar's setup, this is like, I feel like a country bumpkin. I'm sitting here in this chair and I don't have nothing behind me, but but looking at your setup, but here's the thing when I started the podcast journey, I got in my little, what I call my office. I have some plants in here, some books, a little sunroom. And I just sat behind my desk one day, and and I'll tell you, and guys, I do refer to him as cousin. That's my endearment towards him, but cousin, I sat behind my desk and I just started talking. I started talking and I started telling a story. And the more I began to tell the story, I started, I started owning that story. It was uninhibited. I wasn't afraid to tell it. Um, and I felt that that creativity, it came through in a different way. It wasn't just about writing anymore, it became an amalgamist of a story that became verbal, that became something that that was relatable. And guess what? Nobody was in here with me. I'm telling this story, but nobody's around me listening. But but the more I told it, I felt like somebody would want to hear it. Somebody would want to take this recording or this taping and and it turn into something different. And that's how I started this capturing of my creativity. But I've always been creative in a sense to where I've I've held it close. I've shared it with people like you, my family, you know. Um, I've shared it with some close friends of mine. But, you know, to be creative and and to share it all, um, that was a part of the journey that that I did not share so much, if you will.
SPEAKER_01Right. Okay. Listen, you you said uh a couple of things in there that I wanted to uh touch on. First thing you said was you're late to the party with podcasting, I don't believe that to be true. You know, everyone, even on the journey, even outside of podcasting, just being a creative or finding your purpose and things like that, you're never late. You know, we could talk about some of the um actors and actresses that didn't start until they were in their 50s, you know, whereas business owners that didn't start until later, so it was right on time for you. It was right at the right time. Second thing is that yes, there is a difference between, you know, your set and ours. You just said I'm in the game 10 years. I've been in this podcasting game three years. So yeah, that shows evolution. You should have seen when we first started three years ago. And what we like to say, because we have it on a t-shirt, it's a record button, dissimilar to the one that's on your camera. And the reason why the record is on the front and our logo is on the back is we strongly encourage our guests, just hit the record button. And that's what you did. You got in your office, you had something to say, you hit the record button and you captured that audio. And listen, in the beginning, most of it's gonna be trash anyway, because you don't know what you're doing, you know, but it grows. You have to get that trash out of the way first so that you can get to, you know, something good, you know, so that you can get your reps in and, you know, feel your way. So, but I I I like hearing that. And you you as y'all see, you know, here again, we have a writer over here. He tried to take me through the whole story and try answering some of my other questions, but we're gonna get to those too. Oh but we're gonna back up a little bit uh with the you said writing in college. Uh that's when you started writing. You know, what was it? Can you tell me again? What was it that you were writing? What you got inspired to write?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So when I was taking a creative writing course, I'll never forget his name was Dr. Shelby Stevenson. And, you know, he took us through different ways of writing. But what I really appreciated about that course was he let you find your own way and your own craft. So that course was not about teaching you how to write, teaching you um the syntax, the sentence structure, and you know, diction, which words to use, but it was about here's a thought, how do you create that framework and what do you do with it? Okay. Um, and I remember really taking that formula. And so there were there were times where I would feel something or I would think something, and I just went with it. Now I will say, let me just kind of back up a little bit. Around that time, I was reading books um by the late great Elon Harris, and he just he inspired me in so many ways. I I am openly gay, and I I am a same-gender loving man, and I'm in a wonderful relationship with my husband Spencer Child Sapporo. Um, and and I'll tell you, there was a time where I wouldn't been able to say that freely and openly. Um, and reading Elaine Harris just motivated me, inspired me to look within. And I read his memoir, What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? And when I read that, I said, I want to try my hand at a memoir. And before we graduated, we we went through our last seminar, and in Dr. Shelby's class, we had to write a memoir, or we had to write a segment of it. And I'll never forget mine was titled, um, it was titled, um, oh my God. It was titled, uh oh, I'm sorry. Let the healing begin. That's what it was. I knew it was something. Uh, but but I remember I was writing that that memoir, and and and and there was a lot of pain, a lot of pain I was sharing in that memoir. Um, some things that I wasn't uh happy about in my own life, or just kind of like self-discovery. I was in a lot of that phase. But I remember this one line where it said, we were all in a dark room and we all felt the same pain, but I looked up and I heard someone say, Let the healing begin. And I remember when I wrote that line, something freed me, cousin. I I found not only my creativity that I could write something like that, but I also found my voice. I found that there is healing, there is something that that can uh usurp pain, but you have to find it. And I found it through writing. And then it just began to morph into other ways of expressing my creativity.
SPEAKER_01Right. I love that. I love hearing that. And then I I remember that, you know, you were inspired by uh Elon Harris's memoir. Um, I want to ask, do you were you there when Elon Harris came to Pembroke? Yes, yes. He came and I, because I read um his books as well, and I had the uh honor of picking him up from the airport, not the airport, his hotel, bringing him to campus. Um I I didn't want to fan out or anything, so I didn't disturb him as dry as I was driving. But just being in the presence, I thought that was dope. So yeah. Um, so what I what I heard was, you know, I don't want to say journaling, but technically, you know, it was therapeutic. That's really what I want to go to. So writing was therapeutic for you. And I have seen you evolve from, you know, someone who and I'm trying to choose my words. I don't know if it's fitting because I don't know what you were doing, but I saw you evolve into this person that can happily, openly and happily say who you are and who you love, you know, and I think that's a beautiful theme because years ago that wouldn't have been the case. So I love that. I love that. So going through your creative journey has helped you get to this point and be able to stand in who you are.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. You you see things differently when you get into that creative mode. Um, it's almost like you're operating in a sphere. And when I say a sphere, it's you know how most people they describe this bubble that they might be in or that they're living in. I don't see it as a bubble, I see it as a place that I go where you do find your strength, but you also find a way to put things in words. You find a way to put a feeling to a word or a phrase and you can explore it. So I think it is very important to not only be um your creative self, but you bring your creativity to the true essence of who you are, whether it's good or bad in that moment. And I think that was the freeing part for me.
SPEAKER_01So, so that that you were able to find your voice. So maybe, you know, you couldn't say it with your words or out loud, but you were able to creatively write it and you freed yourself. Oh, I like that. Now, also, now I'm gonna add this in there because it was one of your episodes, the first episode of yours that I heard, you know, you were talking about uh growing up that you had a speech impediment. You stuttered. And, you know, it was our great-grandmother that helped you through that. Do you think that possibly the speech impediment and you know what mother, that's what uh folks, that's what we call our great grandmother. We affectionately call her mother. Do you think that mother having you write things down, did that also contribute to you finding your voice or finding writing as a tool to find your voice?
SPEAKER_00That is a great question. I think that having a speech impediment and not being able to say what I wanted to say, what mother did was, and you're absolutely right, because in the episode I talked a lot about how she loved to read the Bible, but there was one particular um, there was one particular uh book that she loved to read and it was Psalms, it was the first chapter of Psalms. And what I love so much about that particular scripture is it's very poetic because it talks about trees and rivers and being still and calming. And so when you ask me that, when I write down those verses or I wrote the words, I not only wrote them down, but I envisioned being like a tree planted by the rivers of still water. So in my chaotic brain, I'm thinking of this river, and I'm thinking of me as a tree personified, being still. I remember having those thoughts with mother. So, yes, that absolutely it helped me, but it also trained me in a way to think of myself as what I am seeing or what I am reading.
SPEAKER_01Ooh, I like that. Okay, yeah, yeah. Now that sounded good. I felt that. You know, so uh so moving it forward a bit, so that was back, you know, well, I guess when did you develop that, or as you were going through your therapy and trying to get past your speech epidemic? That was early years, right?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so I I stuttered all the way up until uh my tenth grade year in high school.
SPEAKER_01Okay, okay. So, you know, and maybe you weren't aware of it then and you found out after the fact that, you know, going through that and mother giving you those tools and things that that attributed to you finding your voice and then getting in college, tell me the professor again, I forgot his name. Dr. Shelby Stevenson. Dr. uh Stevenson, you know, uh gave you uh some tools as well and stuff. So that that sounds like you know, you had support. You know, now that you you find your voice, you find this tool, you like to write and stuff. What kind of support did you have along the way um in that process of the writing and even leading us up to where we are today?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so I I I found support in other writers. Um I would like to call them novice writers. You know, we we all kind of started together. We kind of created our own cohort, um, if you will, at the university that I attend at University of North Carolina, Pembroke. Um Go Braves. Yes, yes. But we stayed in touch, but but what what I also did then, you know, um there was My Space and there was well, we're dating ourselves, right? Right. But but you would hold on, you're dating yourself. I didn't say it. We would write we would we we would write poetry. We would we would share, you know, some of the things that we write, excerpts or clips. Um, I will also tell you the one thing that I used to always love doing, I love to write, and I would send it to a friend and I would just say, Hey, can you look at this? Can you read this? Um, I was never afraid to share my writing, and I noticed that in my sharing, I got better because one thing, I was always open to feedback. Okay, you know, and the thing about creativity, I will say for me, um, it is about checking your ego because when you're showing someone something that you've produced, the first thing you want to hear, and I'm just gonna be honest with you is, oh my God, that is good. That was and you're like, Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you. Yes. But the first thing that that they would say to me was, Well, I might have thought about this one differently, or I might have maybe write it this way, or my word choice might be different. And you know, the first thing you're thinking is. What the who you give it back? You know, but but you you want to be able to understand that perspective. So it's good to ask, well, tell me more about how you read it that way, or how did it make you feel? Now it is something that's coming from you, and when we're talking about creativity, that's yours, that's subjective. But if you're sharing it, if you're sharing it, you should be open to that feedback, and it helps you become better at your craft, but it doesn't take away the creativity, and I had to learn that.
SPEAKER_01You know, I did too. Um and because immediately when you said that, I I thought about when I first started in photography. And if I sent the photos to the client and I didn't get it immediately, oh my God, I love them. Like, wait a minute, what's wrong with right? Hello, you know. Um, and then even if someone said, you know, uh, hey, they wanted uh edit, can you do this? It wasn't anything taken away from me. And then I had somebody actually rebook a shoe. They was like, uh-uh, I didn't like that one. And they rebooked and it came back in. So I asked myself, you know, what can I do? You know, what was it? And it wasn't even me at all. It was them. They didn't like what they saw, they didn't like that outfit that they had on and stuff. So, but even in that, you can find some constructive criticism that is going to assist you. So I had to get past the immediate of, I need to hear you say this is awesome, so I can go on about my life. Exactly. Exactly. And then one thing that my mom taught me that was a very important lesson that I carry to this day, and I tell others as they're coming into the game is your opinion of your work is nobody's business. You know, because we're our hardest critics, right? And so I might have been like, that wasn't one of my best photo shoots. But then the client's like, oh my God, I love it. These are the great, this is exactly what we wanted, this and that. So your opinion is not for anybody to know, it's not their business. And to your point, when we one, I think that God gives us our gift to share with the world. It's not for us, it's for the world. So we have to share it. We have to get it out there, but to your point, when we get it out there, anything can come back, you know. And yes, we're artists and we're sensitive about our stuff and all, but yeah, that comes with it once you share it with the world.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you know, I'm glad you said that because I will tell you as I write, as I put anything out, as I produce an episode on a podcast, the first thing that I do before I start writing or before I start even speaking doing a recorded episode, I always take a deep breath, Shamar, and I think about what is it that I want to put out to the masses? What is it that I want to say and do, and inevitably how will it help? How will it even benefit? You know? And so um when I think about that, I don't I don't, you know, hit publish after I finish the podcast and say, okay, okay, okay. No, but what I do is when I get that first message back, or I receive something in my direct message box that says, Wow, or that was beautiful, that is what inspires me.
SPEAKER_01Got it. Yes, listen, and and to that, I'm gonna add back on to because you said that you know, you have in your mind what message you want to get out as well, you know, and one thing to the whole sharing, sharing to the world, is that we aren't in control of what somebody receives either, you know. Um, I know that there's uh photography projects that I've done, and I'm like, this is what I want the viewer to gain from it. I know that you've written pieces and you wanted them to get this from it, or you've done a pod and you wanted them to get this from it, but they could have gotten something completely different, but it was impactful for them. Just like I couldn't even tell you the episode with um the speech impediment and you talking about mother. I can't even tell you what your message was. What I got from it though was nostalgia. I got me sitting there reminiscing on mother, and you know, your I'm hearing your story of how she, you know, uh handled you, but it had me reminiscing on how we interacted and the things that she did for me, you know. So yeah, we may have an intention in whatever it is that we're creating, but we have no clue how somebody's gonna receive it, interpret it, or how it impacts them.
SPEAKER_00I think that is a very good point. And um, something that I that I appreciate, I mean, just saying I appreciate about something that I do is yeah, I I didn't want to come off that way, but I I like how when I did start this journey of T with Q, you know, um kind of morphing my writing into more of a verbal way of telling a story or interacting with people via podcast, you know, I didn't want to lock myself in into whatever the messaging was or whatever I'm sharing. And I had to think long and hard about that. So when I said T, you know, the T stands for topics, engagement, and activation. So for me, it's about when I am sharing, and then when I put it out there, I'm very clear about how do you engage around this topic. You know, and I've even said if this topic does nothing for you, that's fine because guess what? That's engagement. And you can let me know that I don't have perspective on this, Quentin, or I don't think of it that way. That's engagement. And then the activation piece, which I really have found to be interesting, is, you know, I've had messages from people that say, you know what, I didn't have perspective on that, but now I do. And this is how I want to somehow make this applicable for me. And I think that sharing that creative mind or that flow and then seeing how people work with it to me has been everything.
SPEAKER_01Love that, love that. And uh uh for the for the ones in the back, I'm gonna re- uh run back the acronym. You said topics, engagement, and activism or activation. I'm sorry, activation. Yeah, I like that right. That's who you are, Custody. You got me, you got me. I like that though. I like that. So that I mean that leaves room for it to get away.
SPEAKER_00It doesn't box me in.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yes, yeah.
SPEAKER_00I can talk about whatever I want. Right.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. And so how how is that? Because like, you know, because that frees you up to your point to talk about whatever you want. And I I think, you know, and I don't know, you know, if you um have any favorite playwrights or anybody like that, but uh, the one that I can think of right now, Tyler Perry, that was the first one to pop in my head. That man, he writes most of all the stuff, his projects and everything. And it's like all these characters, because it it and to me, it seems like writers, they go all over the place because they got so much going on. Just like what would you call in the earlier chaos or my chaotic mind and stuff? My chaotic mind, yeah. So that allows you having this no restrictions that allows you to go into multiple different areas and stuff.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, no restrictions. Pretty smart. Is that not who we are? I mean, I hate to kind of start this kind of conversation or lean more into it, but you you know, you can always stop me. But I just when I think about it, there's always been so much inside of me, so much that I've wanted to get out. And hey, you kind of started off speaking of the speech impediment that can be indicative of of what it was or or or something. I don't I don't have that anymore. But what if there still is this notion of I gotta get it out? I gotta get it out, right? I gotta process it, I gotta process it. So when I'm thinking of something, and you know what? Sometimes it's what I see. It's it's it's it's what I feel, and I have to figure out what does this mean to me. And sometimes, I'll be honest with you, Shamar, it might not mean a thing to me, but I need to talk through it. Yeah. And and I'm finding that you're absolutely right. Through this creativity, through this, through this pathway of being creative, you become this person or or or this voice, and you get to process it, and you process it in such a different way. I think sometimes if you take away the word creativity, it becomes synonymous to different, you know. So there's a different way for me to talk about something. People people might write something, but you being creative, you're gonna be different in how you write it, you know, and then how you share it. So that's just how I feel it in my bones. I get that.
SPEAKER_01And and listen, I think that that is every creative out there. You you have it in you and you gotta get it out. That I've I've heard too many times musicians say that they just had something in their head and they just had to get it out, you know. And for me, it's the same thing. If I see something visually, because I like to think that I see the world differently than most, you know, and if it's just something, I have to go capture it or I have to create a project around it, you know. And, you know, this ain't about me, so I ain't gonna stay too long. But seven publications, and each one of them I did because I was just, you know, it was just on me. It was just on me. I have to capture this series, and it was about capturing things that I enjoy, you know, and what I wanted to see in print. I'm a person that has tattoos, and I not too many people of color are in these tattoo magazines. Well, I'm gonna create my own tattoo magazine with all people of color, you know what I mean? So you have to get it out one way or another, and however it lands is however it lands, you know. But you are going to have it on you until you release it. Yes, yes, good stuff. I love that. I love that. So now with uh speeding uh forward, no, not speeding, we've been talking, and I love the what we've been talking about, but you know, moving get on with it. Move this thing forward. I'm like, oh my goodness, okay. But no, with the podcast, you know, um, so this is mainly your thoughts. Now I haven't run across that. Have you had anybody on your show, or what's kind of like the framework is really just you?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so I have had uh um, I have had a guest. Um his name is Dr. uh Michael Dreis, and he did a phenomenal uh episode. It was more about change, you know. Um, he's this doctor, and just dealing with uh ego, dealing with um how life evolves and how he walked away from a decade of working in the ER and saying, you know what, I want to go and do something different. But was it the title that would have kept him doctor? Or was it something in his in his view that showed him that he wanted to change? So so I have had guests, but just kind of talking about that. Um I normally host our own show on my own accord, but I have begun to have guests. Uh, this is Pride Month and also Men's Health Awareness Month. So I do have some exciting guests coming on this month to talk and to share their stories and and and why they're proud. So um more to come on that one. But I have begun to invite people. So I've I've been exploring that, but it's still, you know, in that framework of topics, engagement, activation. So these people who come on, even with the doctor, he represented a topic, and that topic was leaning into change. What is change? Right. You know, how do you view it? Uh, so that was a very exciting one.
SPEAKER_01While we're here, can you go ahead and tell uh our viewers uh where they can find T with Q?
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. I am on Apple and Spotify, and it's T with Q. T-E-A with Q.
SPEAKER_01And that is topics engagement and activation. Yes. Okay. Good stuff. And you and and you also have uh uh IG and a Facebook page for T with Q. Yes, I do, and the the handle is T with Q. Okay. Across the board.
SPEAKER_00So that's I kept it all simple because I didn't want to forget what it was myself.
SPEAKER_01Because you are a man of a certain age, remember? You just dated yourself with my space. And I still look good, still look good. You too. Y'all, that's a uh waiting to excel reference. He's been saying it for years.
SPEAKER_00You know, let me say that too. You do know me, and you know the things that have inspired me. But but if we're talking about creativity here, I have been inspired by writers like Elon Harris, Terry McMillan, and then movies that we've grown up watching. That is creativity to me, that is the epitome of it. And so when you say, you know, Tina Turner, yes, I am a Tina Turner junkie through and through. But I think of that creativity. I think of these people who who live there like Tina Turner said it best. She said, when I go on stage, I become a different person. That is Tina. She says, but when I'm not on stage, I'm Anime Bullock. Absolutely. I'm quiet. She says she didn't even like to listen to music in her house. She would just be still and quiet, you know. And and I think that that's a lot of me as well. You know, a lot of people think me to be an extrovert, but when I don't have to be, I am a very quiet person. I like to be in my house on my own. And guess what? I don't like to go places. People don't know that about me, but I'm okay with that. But but when it comes to, and I love how you put it, when I start thinking about things in my chaotic brain, beautiful chaotic brain, yes, because I've I've learned to accept that, I do still away and I think about what is it that I need to say or what is it that I need to process. And that's when I, sort of speak, I get on stage. And then I become this, this, this person who I share something beautiful, but at one point in time, I didn't think it was beautiful. I thought it was ugly, I thought it was broken, I thought it was scrambled. You know, if you want to talk about, you know, an impediment. It wasn't just a speech impediment, but it was a it was a love impediment. I didn't know how to love. I didn't know how to bring forth whatever was in me. But now that I can do that, I'm very grateful for my creativity or my different. Yes. You know, so that's where I am.
SPEAKER_01Okay, okay. And I I I love to see it, you know. I remember uh when you were moving, relocating from Charlotte, and I was like, I think this is best for you because you're gonna become a man, you know, and you know, to see you on that journey. I, you know, I wasn't there all the years, you know, in it, you know, close with you like we did in uh college and things like that, but to just to see the evolution throughout the years and you you become a beautiful man, you know, and that in and of itself is the journey. That is a part of the creative journey, that is the part of the different in everything, you know, and everything that we go through, it contributes to that. And I'm finding, I'm hearing the healing, I'm hearing the change, and even you're talking about it on your your pod, you know, and I and I just love to see it. That's it. Long or short of it. Now, the thing is with the you made the comment earlier of I'm late in the game or late to the party with the pod, you know, I'm not harping on that piece, but I'm just bringing that back up because there are other viewers that think that, and they're not, they're not doing anything. You know, they're not, they're they're overthinking it. I call it analysis paralysis, right? So they're wanting it to be perfect. I don't have the right mic, I don't have the right whatever, you know. Uh, long or short of it, I would like for you to give, you know, a gem, drop a seed, if you will, to the next generation or that creative, that person that has a voice that they want to get out there, but they're holding back from doing it because they're 43, 44. What what would you uh plant in them?
SPEAKER_00I would say trust yourself. And when I say trust yourself, the reason why we go into a state of paralysis is because maybe we've messed up. Maybe we've done things that have caused us to feel that if I put my hand towards this, it'll fail. Or if I open my mouth and I begin to say some words, maybe I've messed up with my words before. So I think people live in that not only paralysis, but sometimes people just have PTSD cousin, you know. They they find themselves in this cyclical way of failing, and maybe it's not failing, they have to think about it differently. And when you think about things differently, that's when you start trusting that I can do this and I can do this on my own accord. So I say that to say, I would tell somebody, trust yourself when you begin to put your creative mind to work, trust that when you hit record, trust that when you pick up that pen and begin to write, what is coming out of you is going to be exactly what you need to share. It's gonna be exactly what is for someone else. I've always been a proponent of now. I do believe what we go through is what we go through, you know. It is personal, it happens. Did you know what I've learned? You're right on this healing journey. Everything that I have gone through, even if it was self-inflicted, somehow has been able to be impactful and good for someone else. I had to, when I'm bringing it home, trust myself to tell the honest story, to not hold back, to not be afraid that I would fail or that I would mess up. But I had to trust myself to tell the story. So whenever I hit record, I'm trusting myself. I might not get it right the first time, I might not be perfect at it, but I'm gonna share something and it's gonna impact me, and hopefully it might impact someone else. But you have to trust yourself. So that's what I would say to someone. I love that. I love that, man.
SPEAKER_01Oh, this has been a great conversation, you know. Uh at first I was like, uh-oh. Uh, when you started off and I asked that first question, you start answering all myself. Like, wait a minute, wait a minute, I gotta jump in here. You know, these writers, these people that like to talk.
SPEAKER_00I I do, you know, I have I've learned to like, I I do listen to not respond. I will tell you that I listen and I don't respond, but but but yeah I'll tell you, when you start talking about something that that you're just passionate about and that you love, and and and then when you're in good company, you know, and and just like I said, I'm you know, not to throw it back on you, but you know, just sitting here and watching you, King, you know, and just seeing how you have just stood in a monument of just greatness, you know, it's it's so inspiring. And, you know, when you talk about the healing journey or what would you give to someone else, this is essentially what you're doing. You know, you're planting that seed, creative roots. You know, there's there's so many things that grow from us. And and just as a black man, I have learned that it doesn't all die. You know, sometimes it just has to be re-cared for. Um, and that's where I am in in my creativity. Sometimes you have to care for something differently with your words or how you think about something. You know, um, the last thing I'll say on this is when I'm doing a podcast and I'm thinking about a particular topic, Shamar, I'm thinking about a different way to talk about it rather than the same way that people have heard it before. And I think that's where the creativity or the different comes from.
SPEAKER_01So good stuff, good stuff. Now, uh, one thing for me to throw at you, you know, you you like I said, you're gonna um narrate my audiobook, and I love that. And you know, podding started with the audio size, so I love that. But I want you to also consider, you know, video soon, real, real soon. Listen. And hold on, I got, I got, I got more. I got more. Okay, okay. And with that, I'm gonna say when you come back home, when you get back here to Charlotte, you are going to come to Charlotte Podcast Studio, and that will be. Your your introduction into the video side. Okay.
SPEAKER_00Okay. You know, I don't have a rebut to that. Um, and I have said this because I gosh, I can't even tell you how many people have written in via email, uh, a direct message on Facebook, T Waq, or Instagram, and all of that. You know, they're like, we want to see you. Can you do a video? And you know what I tell them? I want you just to listen. Just just listen. But but I am also understanding that you know, there are people who are visual. I don't know why they want to see me, you know. But hold on.
SPEAKER_01It's very important. That's a lesson I had to learn. When I first started photography, I was just posting the work. You know, on my IG page, it had nothing to do with me, and it was just the uh images that I shot. And I was told, Shamar, the work is beautiful. Okay, we get that, but we want to see you. People are invested in you. They wanted to see me do the work, they wanted to see my personality. And when I finally got past that and started showing myself behind the scenes and talking to the people and stuff, that created more, not necessarily more engagement, but it created more bookings, more opportunities. Oh, I've watched you because now they can put a face to it. You know what I'm saying? And even with what you do in the pod world, you know, the message is clean. The message is great. You know, they can get it. But once they, especially people, the uh as your audience grows, they want to see you give it that message. You know what I mean? And that is how they connect with you. And what we've learned is that set people need seven hours in front of you to feel comfortable enough to bite, if you will. Bite meaning if whatever you're selling, if you're selling something, right? So, you know, seven hours, you know, I'm saying seven, seventy, excuse me. So you get that, yes, we can hear your voice, and yes, we know it, but then if they can visually put the face to the voice and everything, that'll help them connect more, that'll get them more familiar and buy more into it.
SPEAKER_00So just I'm open to it. I'm open to it. I am and and and I receive that feedback. We talked about feedback earlier, so yes.
SPEAKER_01Cool, cool. Well, listen, listen, I want you to uh tell them one more time where they can find T with Q.
SPEAKER_00You can find me on Apple and Spotify, and that is T with Q, T-E-A with Q. And Instagram and Facebook. And all across the board, T with Q. All across the board, I made it simple.
SPEAKER_01Listen, listen, cousin, I love you. I appreciate this conversation, and I thank you just for coming on here and just chopping it up with me and uh the people that uh follow us.
SPEAKER_00I want to say I equally appreciate you even taking the time to one, uh, share this space with me, asking me questions that are relevant to what I'm doing in my inaugural phase on my uh pod journey. But I want to say thank you to you, and I appreciate you, and thank you so much for just celebrating someone else. But what you do is so instrumental, and thank you for what you're doing for our community.
SPEAKER_01Oh, absolutely, absolutely. And hey everyone, I want to appreciate y'all for tuning in to another episode of Creative Roots podcast, where C songs become visions grown, and we'll catch you in the next one. Now, I want y'all to get in the comments to tell Tay I can run this show. All right, till the next time. Peace. Peace, thank you.