Detoxicity: By Men, About Men, For Everyone

Eddie Moses is a music industry executive based in New York City. In this episode, Eddie dives back into his Detroit childhood and discusses growing up gay and biracial. Eddie also discusses his journey from musician to music businessman, brings up code switching for the first time on a Detox podcast, role models and mentorship, and much much more. We also find out what "organizational communicati...

This episode was supposed to be an interview with Chris Calabrese, who is studying at Montclair State University in New Jersey in the hopes of becoming a therapist. What it became turned out to be way more of a dialogue between Chris and I, in which I reveal much more about myself than I have in previous episodes. Since the show really isn't about me, I felt like it made more sense to release this...

Andrew Grossman is a writer and a lawyer, originally from Kentucky but now based, like many of my guests, in NYC. Andrew is also a part of the reason Detoxicity exists, as he is a co-creator of the Facebook group Detoxifying Masculinity NYC . This group, like this podcast, aims to amplify the conversation around being better men and ridding ourselves of the toxicity often imposed on us by social c...

Bryan Carter is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, activist and educator originally from Illinois, now based in New York City. In this episode, Bryan shares his life experience, which includes growing up in the Baptist church, with a family of well-known religious educators and leaders. He also grew up with a keen interest in music, which led him to Juilliard School of Music and to eventually purs...

Eric Durkin is a director, producer and video editor based in New York City. In this episode, Eric discusses his bipolar diagnosis and the manic episodes that led to his diagnosis. Eric also talks about the trouble with "toxic positivity", being a "beta male" in a society that seems to promote "alpha male" characteristics, and the film he's working on in which he and his twin brother travel out We...

Ralph Jaccodine has 4 decades of working in the music business working with artists as diverse as Bruce Springsteen, Rush, Kiss to Livingston Taylor, Martin Sexton and Ellis Paul. He started promoting concerts in Allentown, Pa. and at the University of Notre Dame. Then after a career in commercial real estate, he started an indie record label and artist management company. He is the founder of the...

Hey! Remember Episode 18 , in which I interviewed musician and label co-owner Matt Block?  We talked a little bit about his parents; specifically his father, who is a psychiatrist. That conversation led to Episode 23, in which I interview Daniel Block, dad to three kids, including Matt and his brother Jacob (who designed the Detoxpod logo). Dr. Block has been in private practice since 1993, and ha...

Neil Taffe is an actor, singer, voice over artist and massage therapist based in Los Angeles. He starred for years in the touring production of Smokey Joe’s Cafe alongside Grammy winner Gladys Knight. Neil is also someone I’ve known since I was a pre-teen; we grew up together in Brooklyn. In this episode, Neil goes in deep on his journey, from his early days in the UK to struggling as one of four...

As I was reviewing my inventory of episodes, I knew that last week’s episode, with author and educator Kevin Patterson, had to run back to back with this episode, if only for the fact that I met this show’s guest, Ryan Bentham , and Kevin through the same channels. Much like Kevin, Ryan is a sex and relationship educator. As ‘The Prof”, Ryan along with his wife Ginger, is a co-host of two podcasts...

My guest for this episode is Kevin Patterson. Kevin is an educator based in Philadelphia. He runs the blog Poly Role Models and has authored the book Love’s Not Color Blind: Race & Representation in Polyamorous and Other Alternative Communities. Additionally, Kevin has co-authored two volumes so far in the superhero series For Hire . with Alana Phelan.   In this interview; Kevin and I talk about p...

Rickardo Shuzzr came to my attention via an article in Billboard magazine listing 40 LGBTQ power players in music. What drew me was the fact that Shuzzr (who tends to go by his last name professionally) works primarily within the confines of reggae music, a genre that has not always been kind to queer people. By existing openly in the highly visible space of public relations,, he is a pioneer and...

Matt Block is a co-owner of the entertainment  and management company la reserve (whose roster includes Bryan Carter, Alexander Claffy, Benny Benack III and more) and also is the senior manager of in-house labels for the music collaboration platform Splice.   In this episode, Matt discusses being a workaholic and attempting to find a proper work/life balance. We also discuss having a strong bond w...

Chris Bullard is the founder of Sound Mind Live , a non-profit organization that aims to amplify the conversation around mental health via music. In this episode, Chris and Mike Joseph discuss the timeline of events that led to his founding this organization. He talks about his time as a touring musician, his history of manic episodes and eventual bipolar diagnosis, being an emo kid, and the stigm...

Brian Collazo ( known professionally as BSKi ) is a singer and songwriter based in New York City. In this episode of #detoxpod, Brian talks to Mike Joseph about life as a professional musician. He explores his "Nuyorican" heritage and explains why he wants his brand new daughter to grow up knowing her heritage. You'll also hear great stories about career near-misses, some inside baseball about the...

Sammy Pisano is a young professional and owner/founder of Breakfast in Bed Media. This episode finds Sammy discussing his transitory upbringing as a "military brat" and his exposure to different cultures, culminating in teenage years spent in rural/suburban North Carolina. Sammy has plenty to say about the racism he experienced in his younger years, and the less overt racism he experiences in corp...

Christopher Cruz is a technology professional, a designer/visual artist, and a musician/label owner. During this chat, Christopher takes us through his journey from East to West Coast, from being raised by his parents to think freely to his experiences with racism as a touring musician. Along the way, he shares his thoughts about pursuing your passion professionally, work/life balance, and how his...

Dave "Deee" Bellevue is a vocalist for the "alternative/hip-hop" group Oxymorrons . As a musician, Dave has toured and/or performed alongside the likes of Gym Class Heroes, Bruno Mars and Fishbone. In this episode of Detox, Dave discusses bending genres and making music that is sometimes thought of as atypical for Black people to make. He also discusses his work as a mental health advocate and act...

Blake Caliguiri is an NYC-based IT professional, photography, and musician. His work can be found here . In this episode of Detoxicity, the key word is "evolution". Blake discusses being allowed to grow and change as a person, from a little kid obsessed with the cowboy mythology to a hardcore music-obsessed teenager to getting married at a young age and being forced to confront some of the behavio...

Samuel Shin is an emotional and spiritual coach based in the San Francisco bay area. His practice specializes in men's work, and in his work, he tries to bring together Eastern and Western therapeutic philosophies. Samuel discusses these philosophies during this episode, and also discusses how he came to specialize in men's work and the steps he took towards healing himself. 

David Lawson is a comedian, producer and storyteller based in New York City. In this episode of Detoxicity, David talks about being a class clown and how he's always had the urge to perform. He also talks about keeping a positive attitude and not being weighed down by negativity or cynicism. These are all parts of a pretty wide ranging discussion that detours into the WNBA, anger management, the h...

Dylan Thomas is a co-creator and co-host of Life on the Swingset , a podcast that tackles sexual education and communication, with the focus on polyamory, open relationships and swinging. He is also an unrepentant geek, a husband and dad, and someone who’s greatly invested in his personal growth and the growth of others. As a former Swingset co-host, I was intrigued to chat with Dylan about how he...

Peter Andre is a writer, a producer/musician (as Zipped Lips) , and an author who wrote THE book on masculinity...well, he wrote *a* book on masculinity , which is part of what gets discussed in this episode. In just a few short years since that book was published, Peter's opinions of what constitutes "manliness" have changed, as has society's. That change, with young people leading the way, is an...

This episode's guest is licensed counselor Taylor Houchens . Taylor is based in North Carolina, and works primarily with teenage and adult men, helping chart a course towards healthy masculinity. He specializes in topics like self-esteem, work/life balance, working through childhood trauma, and improving relationships. These issues form the basis of our conversation. We also talk about learning fr...

Naji Grampus is a music industry executive and media personality. Currently, he hosts the interview series "Cigar Talk" on rapradar.com . Hip-hop music and culture has a major role in Naji's sense of identity and that is one of the focal points of discussion in this interview. Naji also discusses the importance of networking, gives props to the mentors he has had in his rise up the ladder, and sha...

Mike Rosen is a storyteller, a poet, and a musician. He joins Mike Joseph on this episode of Detoxicity to discuss a variety of topics, but most of the focus of the conversation centers around what Mike sees as an addiction to sex and porn. He talks about how childhood bullying led to insecurity, and how that insecurity and a lack of education about sexuality led him to internet porn as a teenager...