Beauty in the Beast Podcast

What happens when the man everyone depends on has no one checking on him? Greg Kirkland has spent his life serving others. As a pastor, choir director, entrepreneur, filmmaker, husband, and father, he's dedicated himself to lifting people up. But behind every title is a man wrestling with the same question many men quietly carry: When does someone take care of me? In one of the most vulnerable...

Tony Ray is living proof that the strongest men aren't the ones who hide their emotions. They're the ones courageous enough to face them." For most of his life... Tony believed anger was strength. Growing up in Miami taught him that kindness was dangerous. Vulnerability was weakness. Survival meant staying guarded. So he did what so many men learn to do. He buried his grief. He buried...

There are moments in life that split your story into before and after. For Dr. Rasheed Abiola, that moment came with four words: "Your father is dead." His father wasn't just any father. Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (M.K.O.) Abiola was the man widely recognized as the winner of Nigeria's historic 1993 presidential election. Before he could take office, democracy was stripped away, his...

Everyone talks about finding themselves in their twenties. Winston Warrior found himself in his fifties. After decades of chasing achievement through corporate success, music, academia, and influence, life forced him to confront a painful question: Who are you when the titles disappear? The answer led him into one of the most unexpected chapters of his life. As a member of the Silver Fox Squad, Wi...

"I already didn't feel wanted. I didn't feel the love, ...I was never accepted. Where was I getting the acceptance at? You know what I mean? Was everywhere outside of the house.” - Ron Rimko Ron grew up as one of the only white kids in his school and neighborhood, feeling more comfortable in Black spaces than in his own home. In this episode of Beauty in the Beast, he opens up about be...

“You cannot control your emotions. You have to control the reaction to the emotion.” – Kevin Bentley Kevin Bentley returns to Beauty in the Beast for a deeper, more revealing conversation about masculinity, fatherhood, emotional suppression, and what growth actually requires of men. In this episode, Kevin reflects on the pressure Black men carry to appear confident while quietly battling fear, sel...

Even through the turmoil, I want them to look back and say, Dad did everything he needed to do." Hershey DJ Hershey joins  Beauty in the Beast  for one of the most honest and revealing conversations on identity, fatherhood, heartbreak, and healing. From growing up under strict structure, to being baptized as a Jehovah’s Witness at 13, to discovering his gift for DJing, Hershey walks us through...

"I didn’t know what I needed. I would’ve made a story up… then cried in the dark."- Deider Landry Landry’s story is the truth behind the mask many men wear. Raised without a father, trained by sports to bury emotion, pushed into adulthood by competition and survival — he became the provider, the protector, the strong one. But somewhere in the process, he lost himself. In this powerful conv...

I’m my primary caretaker.” - K.D. Bowe There are moments in a man’s life when the mirror stops being glass and becomes a witness. K.D. Bowe walked into this conversation carrying years of survival on his shoulders - the saint and the savage living in the same body, both of them shaped by a world that never asked whether he was ready. He speaks about faith not as doctrine, but as a battlefield wher...

“He didn’t follow me… and that saved his life.” That’s how Al Tariq Miller begins the story no parent is ever prepared to tell. His youngest son - six years old - watched a cartoon on YouTube Kids. A cartoon that taught him how to hang himself. Minutes later, Al Tariq walked past his son’s room… and the child who always ran after him didn’t move. He checked on him anyway. And found his son hanging...

“Men are forged off pain. You’ve never heard a success story without somebody saying, ‘I’ve been in a valley.’” Stevie Baggs This conversation with Stevie Baggs Jr. will shake you awake. You’ll feel every word. From his days as a professional athlete to his rebirth as a spiritual leader, Stevie breaks open the myth that success is about fame, money, or applause. It’s not. It’s about knowing who yo...

"You can’t expect people to see you if you’re always hiding.” Michael Turner What happens when a licensed Black male therapist breaks down in therapy himself—and redefines what strength means for men? Episode Summary: In this transformative episode of Beauty & the Beast, we sit down with Michael Turner—licensed therapist, trauma specialist, and one of the few nationally board-certified Bla...

“No one should be under the amount of pressure that I put myself on. The world doesn't pressure me, right? Corporate America is not pressure. I put the pressure on me. And I'm going to apply pressure every day, not only to myself, but to those around me.” _Kevin Bentley This episode will shake you if you’ve ever pushed yourself past exhaustion just to feel “enough.” Kevin Bentley was the 1...

"They told me I was special. But what they really meant was: token special." Episode Summary: From the outside,  Zuri Standback  looked like he had it all-opportunity, intellect, and talent. But what people didn’t see was the loneliness of being the only Black kid in his school, the isolation of being gaslighted for his “uniqueness,” and the pressure of carrying the weight of representatio...

"In order to live that double life, you’re not only not being honest with others-you’re not being honest with yourself.” - Monte Fowler Monte Fowler’s story begins with absence-the absence of his father, who passed away when Monte was still young. Without the man who should have guided him through life, Monte built his own “board of men” to shepherd him. But that absence left a wound: a fear t...

"Being the only one in the room teaches you something: if you let your ‘otherness’ define you, it will always limit you.”_Phillip Nutsugah Episode Summary: In this deeply personal and eye-opening episode of  Beauty & the Beast , we sit down with  Philip , a Ghanaian-born executive, mentor, and father, whose life journey spans continents, corporate boardrooms, and quiet moments of self-refl...

“It’s not just the story of what I’ve accomplished or what I didn’t accomplish… it’s who I was created to be.” -Victor Hogan, II In this soul-stirring episode of Beauty & the Beast, we sit down with Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Victor Hogan, whose emotional journey from artistic childhood dreams to devastating loss — and eventual rebirth — is nothing short of cinematic. Victor opens up about g...

In this deeply moving episode of Beauty & the Beast, wealth advisor and father Jonathan Parris opens up about the emotional and psychological journey behind his professional and personal success. From losing his father to cancer at just ten years old to growing up in a community marked by both tight-knit values and systemic adversity, Jonathan shares how early loss shaped his emotional compass...

In this raw and soul-stirring episode of  Beauty & the Beast , Kyle and Malik sit down with Lars Minns—an executive leader and father who shares a profound journey of emotional unlearning, self-examination, and legacy-building. Raised in the structured traditions of the Bahamas, Lars explores how cultural expectations shaped his identity—and not always for the better. What does it  really  mea...

“The majority of Black men are not evolving-they are just readjusting to trauma. But if we reconnect to community, we can finally heal.” Dr. Torre Prothro-Wiley This isn’t just another conversation about Black masculinity - it’s a masterclass in emotional liberation. For the first time on Beauty & the Beast, a woman joins the couch: Dr. Torre Prothro-Wiley, a licensed therapist with decades of...

He was 10 when his father died. That trauma should’ve broken him — instead, it became his fuel. In this powerful episode of Beauty in the Beast, Shawn Cole opens up about losing his father as a child, navigating manhood without a manual, and becoming a high-level corporate executive against all odds. What you’ll hear isn’t just inspiration — it’s instruction. From grief to growth, from fear to lea...

“I didn’t fail — I just stopped pretending I was okay chasing something that no longer fed me.” - Cedric Castille Cedric had it all lined up: -All-American athlete turned rap artist -Touring with Juvenile -Walking with purpose, passion and profit The music. The money. The moment. He had it. But somewhere between the studio sessions and the 4AM drives back to work, it fell apart. What happens when...

“We’re taught how to lead. We’re taught how to work. We’re taught how to provide. But we’re not taught how to be emotionally present.” —  Michael Holt Michael Holt had the perfect résumé — Harvard MBA, Wall Street success, thriving family, and a circle of powerful Black leaders in his corner. But behind closed doors, he was emotionally isolated, silently struggling to live up to a legacy that tau...

"It took me 5 years to try therapy. A year to actually show up. But when I did… everything changed." Beauty and the Beast is back with a powerful, emotional, and deeply honest conversation with guest Doug Kelly — a high-powered corporate executive, devoted father, and proud Jamaican-American with a story that breaks the mold. In this raw and revealing episode, Doug opens up for the very fi...

“I wore the mask so well, I almost forgot who I really was.” Kyle Vaughn grew up in the heart of Carol City, Miami — a neighborhood that taught him how to survive, adapt, and succeed. But in this powerful episode, we go deeper than the accolades and corporate promotions to unpack what it really cost to keep up the act. From narrowly escaping street violence to climbing the corporate ladder with a...