Self-improvement, wealth-building, health & fitness, the drug-free bodybuilding lifestyle, ministering to the needs of others. I love black people and am passionate about doing what needs to be done to heal, strengthen and advance our people and communities. Yes, I am what is still known in some circles as a "race man." (Brother IS gonna work it out!) I also pursue natural bodybuilding (drug free, no steroids) as a hobby (it's my version of golf) and have even participated in a few local bodybuilding competitions. I am an active alum of Rutgers University, a co-founder of the Rutgers African American Alumni Alliance , a 2005 inductee into the RAAA African American Alumni Hall of Fame and a 2007 inductee into the Loyal Sons and Daughters of Rutgers. I am also a 1996 inductee into the Long Branch High School Distinguished Alumni Academic Hall of Fame. I also love to help and encourage others, particularly young people, to succeed, and spend a lot of time as an advisor, cheerleader, confidant and key contact for more than 30 mentees (and counting).
I'd like to meet:
View my page on FOLIO: mediaPRO
Fellow journalists, authors, publishers, those interested in learning and practicing wealth-building principles (including readers and subscribers of Black Enterprise), all the small business owners out there, and of course, YOU.
Music:
The singer I love most in all the world is Topaza, and it's not just because she happens to be my lovely wife! But don't take my word for it: Check out Topaza on my friends list and hear for yourself! I also love classic R&B (Chi-Lites, Stylistics, Blue Magic, The Whispers, The Main Ingredient, Tavares, The Dells, The O'Jays, The Dramatics, Skip Mahoney and the Casuals, etc.), Funk, Soul, Rap/Hip Hop and anything by Luther Vandross, Barry White, Will Downing, Isaac Hayes, Willie Hutch and James Brown. I also enjoy contemporary gospel music from the likes of Donnie McClurkin, Yolanda Adams, Kirk Franklin, Mary Mary, etc.
Movies:
The Five Heartbeats (my all-time favorite!), Forrest Gump, Boomerang, Coming to America, Trading Places, Shaft (Richard Roundtree), Shaft (Samuel L. Jackson), Baby Boy, Four Brothers, The Incredibles, The Hulk, X-Men 1-3, Spiderman 1-2, Justice League: Starcrossed, Antwone Fisher, The Iron Giant, Gattica, Die Hard 1-3, Payback, The Firm, Ray, Diary of A Mad Black Woman
Television:
Law & Order (original, C.I. and S.V.U.), Columbo, The NFL Network, Our World with Black Enterprise, The Black Enterprise Report, Without A Trace, Cold Case Files, CSI, CSI Miami, Monk, Psych, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, The Apprentice, Singletary Says, In Living Color (the only place you can see fresh, live performances of hip-hop legends), Sharp Talk with Al Sharpton, Black film classics on TV One (including Superfly, Mack Truck Turner and Three the Hard Way)
Books:
I own thousands of comic books (mostly Marvel). I love murder/detective mysteries, especially those by black authors with black protagonists. I also like books about self-improvement/motivation, personal finance and wealth building, but I'll read just about anything that catches my eye. Besides the Holy Bible, other favorite books include "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston; "The 48 Laws of Power" by Robert Greene and Joost Elffers; "How to Succeed in Business Without Being White" by Earl G. Graves; "The Millionaire Next Door" by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko; "Think And Grow Rich, A Black Choice" by Napoleon Hill and Dennis Kimbro; "Rage of a Privileged Class" by Ellis Cose; "Don..t Know Much About History," by Kenneth C. Davis; "More Than Sex: Reinventing The Black Male Image" by George Edmond Smith, M.D., M.Ed.; "Take A Lesson: Today..s Black Achievers on How They Made It & What They Learned Along the Way" by Caroline V. Clarke; "Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ" by Daniel Goleman; "Banking On Our Future: A Program for Teaching You and Your Kids About Money" by John Bryant and Michael Levin; and "Whatever Happened to Daddy..s Little Girl?: The Impact of Fatherlessness on Black Women" by Jonetta Rose Barras.
Heroes:
My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; Virginia Edmond (my Mom); Athlete, Actor, Singer and Activist Paul Robeson (1898-1976), Black Enterprise Founder and Chairman Earl G. Graves Sr. ; financier extraordinaire, TLC Beatrice Founder and Chairman Reginald F. Lewis (1942-1993); NFL All-Pro and Carolina Panthers Linebackers Coach Sam Mills (Long Branch High School Class of 1977; 1959-2005); Donna Ware (my third grade teacher at Gregory School in Long Branch); Yohnnie Shambourger (www.yohnnex.com; my bodybuilding role model and one of the greatest natural bodybuilders of all time)
