When life throws you curveballs, it's the stories of resilience and recovery that reaffirm our shared humanity—a theme encapsulated by Hamilton Newton (aka DJ H Vidal), an entertainer whose laughter and struggles resonate deeply. Embark on a voyage with us as we uncover Hamilton's multifaceted life, from a troubled youth in Reading, fraught with the pain of his mother's addiction and an absent father, to his remarkable transformation. The raw emotion of his past is tempered with milestones of success, showcasing a man who has weathered the storm with an undying spirit.
Stepping into the light from the shadows of a prison cell, Hamilton's saga continues as he confronts the consequences of his actions and embarks on a mission to reshape his destiny. His voiceover artistry narrates not just commercial scripts, but the story of his life—a narrative of transformation and the pursuit of authenticity. Through a twist of fate at the Hope Rescue Mission, we witness a life reassembled, a path redirected, and the unwavering resolve to leave a legacy of change. Join us for an episode that's far from just another tale—it's an intimate exploration of the human condition through the eyes of someone who's lived it in full color.
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Welcome to The Brad Weisman Show (formerly known as Real Estate and YOU), where we dive into the world of real estate, real life, and everything in between with your host, Brad Weisman! 🎙️ Join us for candid conversations, laughter, and a fresh take on the real world. Get ready to explore the ups and downs of life with a side of humor. From property to personality, we've got it all covered. Tune in, laugh along, and let's get real! 🏡🌟 #TheBradWeismanShow #RealEstateRealLife #realestateandyou
Credits - The music for my podcast was written and performed by Jeff Miller.
When life throws you curveballs, it's the stories of resilience and recovery that reaffirm our shared humanity—a theme encapsulated by Hamilton Newton (aka DJ H Vidal), an entertainer whose laughter and struggles resonate deeply. Embark on a voyage with us as we uncover Hamilton's multifaceted life, from a troubled youth in Reading, fraught with the pain of his mother's addiction and an absent father, to his remarkable transformation. The raw emotion of his past is tempered with milestones of success, showcasing a man who has weathered the storm with an undying spirit.
Stepping into the light from the shadows of a prison cell, Hamilton's saga continues as he confronts the consequences of his actions and embarks on a mission to reshape his destiny. His voiceover artistry narrates not just commercial scripts, but the story of his life—a narrative of transformation and the pursuit of authenticity. Through a twist of fate at the Hope Rescue Mission, we witness a life reassembled, a path redirected, and the unwavering resolve to leave a legacy of change. Join us for an episode that's far from just another tale—it's an intimate exploration of the human condition through the eyes of someone who's lived it in full color.
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Welcome to The Brad Weisman Show (formerly known as Real Estate and YOU), where we dive into the world of real estate, real life, and everything in between with your host, Brad Weisman! 🎙️ Join us for candid conversations, laughter, and a fresh take on the real world. Get ready to explore the ups and downs of life with a side of humor. From property to personality, we've got it all covered. Tune in, laugh along, and let's get real! 🏡🌟 #TheBradWeismanShow #RealEstateRealLife #realestateandyou
Credits - The music for my podcast was written and performed by Jeff Miller.
From real estate to real life and everything in between, the Brad Wiseman show and now your host, brad Wiseman. All right, we are back in the studio. Thanks so much for coming back to watch the show. We really appreciate that. I have a guy that I haven't seen in a very long time that is in the studio here with me. He does a lot of different things. He's a DJ, he's a voiceover, he does weddings, he does radio stuff. I mean, he's all over the place and I've known him for probably I'm going to say 30 years and he can tell me if I'm wrong or not. But we have Hamilton Newton in the studio here. I feel kind of intimidating when I'm on a microphone near you. I have no need to feel intimidated, yeah, because I mean you're just, you are the microphone guy.
Speaker 2:One of them.
Speaker 1:One of them you really are, you know. I started really digging into your what you're doing now and I was blown away. I've known you for a really long time. We've met each other, I think through Scotty man. Yes, pretty sure, back in the day. Shout out to Scotty man. Yeah, I think we all worked in the mall at one point. You worked at Orange Julius. Yes, I did work at Orange Julius. Okay, we got to cut that out of the show. No, just kidding. No, but I did. I worked at Orange Julius and then also worked with Scotty at Chest King. Do you remember Chest King? I worked there too, you did too. You folded sweaters. Yes, I did there was. The most frustrating thing in the world was when somebody came in to try on a sweater and they'd just throw it on the floor or throw it on the counter and you had to go back and refold them, put them back in. Oh my God, those are the days. It was man. Yeah, orange Julius was good too, it was. That was a good drink, so thanks for coming in today.
Speaker 2:Man, thanks for having me, and I'm just super, super proud of you, man. Oh, thank you Everything that you've accomplished over the years. You know, I drive by and I see you on the billboards. I'm like man, that's my guy right there you know what I mean, oh, that's funny. It's just so beautiful to watch, man, and see how you have evolved over the years, man. So you've inspired me in many ways, not even knowing so, and congratulations to you and all your success. Thank you, man.
Speaker 1:I appreciate that Gosh should be saying that back to you for sure, because I'll tell you. I know you've been through a lot of things in your life. I have, and I've seen that you know, whether it was on social media or hearing it from Scott. You're hearing from different people. You know I want to get into your career and what you're doing now, because you're doing a lot of cool stuff. But let's, let's go back a little bit and talk about how you got to where you are right now, because you're doing some amazing things. Let's talk about the challenges you know, just to show people that you know. When people see people that are successful, they always think that their life was always that. You know what I mean. They always look and they go okay, this was their life. How do they get you know? They must have always been like this. They had a silver spoon in their mouth or they've been guided in the right way their whole life. Let's, let's talk about that. Where did you start?
Speaker 2:Well, so it all started with. You know I was born in Reading in the sixth ward, third in Walnut. I was raised by my grandmother. I have three brothers, from my mother and me and my brothers. We all have different fathers. My mother was a heroin addict while she was carrying me, so my childhood trauma started while I was in the womb of my mother, according to my therapist, which we revealed, you know, through the therapy that I've taken over the years, and you know, once I was here and born and my brothers were born and I was old enough to just kind of figure out what was going on, my me and my brothers we all have different fathers, yeah. So, with that being said, my brothers knew their dad. I never knew my dad. So there was always this void inside of me, not knowing who I was, where I came from or even why I was here. Yeah, and I'm being honest to me. Later on, you know, I kind of came to find out. You know, at the time, my mother. You know she was into drugs and you know living that life and all that stuff like that, and I understand. You know what I share about my mother. I love my mother to life, but it's part of my story and I and I shared and she would want me to share. Yeah, is she still around? She is not, okay. So my mother was a heroin addict and she was dating a woman at the time and what happened was her and this woman got into a disagreement, if you will. So my mother ended up hooking up with this woman's brother, and that's my father.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow.
Speaker 2:So that's you know. I'm the product of a scorned jump off, if you will. You know I can laugh about it. Wow, it is what it is, and so I grew up. I grew up angry you know, with. I grew up with this, this young boy with mommy issues. Yeah, young man Angry at your mother, yes, yeah, you know. And and my father because he left you know. So yeah, that's how the early trauma started. And then, as I grew older, my mother was in and out of jail and out of prison. She then got an apartment, 1492 Perky, perky, oman Avenue to be exact. Why do I remember that address? Because those were some of the darkest times in my life. I was locked in an attic for days at a time with my brothers watching fat Albert, sometimes not eating, not bathing, not taking a bath, watching people sticking needles in their arms, watching two women sleeping together, two men sleeping together. I smoked my first joint when I was eight years old. Then my mom's former friends put a joint in my mouth and that's when I first tried reefer.
Speaker 1:As they call it back in the day.
Speaker 2:So those were some of the darkest times in my life. And then my mother had gotten locked up again. She went to Muncie State Correctional Institution, the state prison, and then my grandmother then made the decision that let me put these boys in Milton Hershey. So then we went to Milton Hershey school, which is supposed to be a really good school, very good school, yeah, it's a phenomenal school, yeah. And during that time I always was the guy that always wanted to stay busy because I did not want to face what was really going on inside of me. I did not want to look in the mirror. I always stayed busy. I got involved in everything. I ran track, I played football, I tried out for the swim team and they say black people can't swim.
Speaker 1:I know you, I was going to say that, but it's better coming from you.
Speaker 2:I can swim, I can swim.
Speaker 1:You can, that's really good. Four strokes oh my goodness, that's such a farce. You tell them, you tell them.
Speaker 2:Good for you, man.
Speaker 1:So this is all to stay away from looking in the mirror, to really looking at where you're from or what your life is, what's going on in your life. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And not having that relationship with my mother or father, not getting those visits, those I'm proud to use, those hugs, not showing up to football games and track meets and all that stuff like that, all the while my brothers have a relationship with their fathers. Not understanding why I looked the way I look, why I walked the way I walk, why my head was bigger than my brother's head. That's a problem.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean, yeah.
Speaker 2:Like you know, and they would always pick on me, man, you've got a big head. I'm like oh yeah, I know that it is what it is. Did you ever see your dad or meet your dad? I'm going to get to that, yeah, so I leave Milton Hershey. All the while. While I'm in Milton Hershey, I started getting involved in hip hop culture. There's different elements of hip hop culture. There's MCing, which is rapping, b-boying, djing, graffiti and break dancing. So I started off as a break dancer. Okay, I think you know, I think I remember seeing you do that, oh yeah, absolutely Right. And then I started to get into rapping and beatboxing. And then I came home from Milton Hershey. I begged my grandmother to take me out of Milton Hershey because I said I had enough, I'm done.
Speaker 1:Over it.
Speaker 2:Yeah right, take me out. I want to go to regular school and get back with some of my older friends and plus, my mom was coming home from prison soon, so I wanted to be home and I wanted to know my mom. Sure, get out of Milton Hershey. My mom comes home. She takes me to Philly, to Fairmount Park. Jazzy Jeff is DJing. Oh wow, and that's when my life changed.
Speaker 1:Yeah, jazzy, jeff, and.
Speaker 2:I felt like he was DJing for me. I said that is what I want to do Interesting. And my grandmother brought me how old were you there? I was 15. So 15, you had the realization that you wanted to do what you're doing. I wanted to do what I wanted Interesting.
Speaker 1:I wanted a piece of it, so my grandmother took me to Radio Shack.
Speaker 2:You remember Radio.
Speaker 1:Shack, yeah, radio Shack. You've got questions, we've got answers.
Speaker 2:Do you remember that You've got?
Speaker 1:questions. We've got answers, that's it.
Speaker 2:She took me there, got me two belt driven turntables, a stereo mixer that's what it said on it Stereo mixer, unbelievable. No crossfader. All up and downs. I self taught myself how to DJ. I had four records. That's crazy. Two copies of Run DMC, raising Hell, new Editions, a Little Bit of Love and LL Cool Jays Radio. Those are the four records that I started with. That's crazy. I taught myself how to DJ. I would listen, I would go to under 21 clubs like Showbiz Pizza.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh, yes, showbiz yes. You remember that Is it over Fistree Highway? Yes, showbiz.
Speaker 2:Pizza, oh my God.
Speaker 1:Those are the days, yeah man.
Speaker 2:So you know a little Showbiz Pizza. I would watch the DJ where other people would try to get their dance on with the girls. I was going to watch and listen to the DJ and I would study. There was no social media Instagram, none of that so I would show up and study the DJ how to do it.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I would listen to tapes. I would listen to radio shows.
Speaker 1:Tapes. By the way, if you're listening to this show and you're younger, a tape would have been a cassette tape, maybe, correct. Yeah, not A-track, we're not that old. Oh, wow, I do remember A-track, don't get me wrong. Okay, but the cassette tape was something we used to listen to. Yeah, so you would listen to those things, did you?
Speaker 2:make mix tapes, of course, yeah, and that's how it started. I started making mix tapes. I started having house parties while my grandmother went to work, because my grandmother worked second shift at MedEd. She was very convenient, yes. So I would get off of school and they'd be like yo, we going over to H's crib, you know and we would go down the street. It was a bar called the rendezvous. We'd holler at an old head, give him, you know, five, ten dollars. He'd get us a couple of forties of old English old 45. Run them forties up to the In a paper bag. In a paper bag, yes, in a paper bag, of course. Run them up to the attic and I would spin records and a couple of guys would get on the mic and girls would come over and you know, we'd party and conduct business. So we thought yes. And you know, and everybody would be going crib, it would be clean. By the time my grandma got off of work, we'd be in bed and it was good, good for you.
Speaker 1:You transitioned over very quickly.
Speaker 2:That's amazing, that's where the drinking started. That's where it started and that's when I started to realize people really like me when I have these headphones on and I'm spinning these records. Yes, so it was at that moment I started to say you know what? This is what I want to do, Like I'm not happy unless I'm doing this.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And this Because when I'm doing this, I do this better. All right, you thought so, so I thought so. You thought it's giving me an edge and my confidence is better and I don't have to think about mom, I don't have to think about my father, I don't have to think about any of that stuff, you know. So that just kept getting. I started progressively getting worse. Okay, so my mother comes home from prison. I start getting to know my mother and she completely changed her life. She got saved. There was a prison ministry that took the word of God into the prison, called Freedom Gate.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And my mother got saved in prison. She came home, she got a job. Wow, she became the member of a church. She sang in the choir. Wow, she was the woman that I prayed for and hoped for. I said, oh my goodness, I finally have my mom.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And I'm just now getting to know my mom at the age of 15, 16. Wow, no-transcript. All the while I'm still DJing running track in high school, you know, yeah, getting along with the ladies. And Then the bomb was dropped on me that my mother was HIV positive. Oh no, if you remember, I told you she was. She used heroin. Yes, so Bad needle back then. There was no they, they weren't. There was no help or medication. Yeah, for the hood, yeah you will yeah you know, those who had the money in the upper echelon and the resources. Yeah, magic Johnson. Yeah, because magic Johnson and my mom found out they had age right around the same time. Wow, isn't that something. Just putting that out, yeah, and that's something, okay. So once that happened, once we found out, the virus progressed very quickly. Yeah, it's like I. I woke up one day and half of her was gone. Oh boy, I was like what happened? Yeah, she looked like a completely dead in a matter of 24 hours, not 24 hours after I found out. Yeah, yeah, but you know, we were just kind of rocking with it, whatever. And then one day we woke up and it was like oh, wow, yeah, it's getting real. And it just went really Wow quickly, yeah. And when my mother passed away, brad, it was at that moment when I became very angry.
Speaker 1:Hmm.
Speaker 2:I became. I went into a dark place and my belief of God and any higher power went out the window. Yeah, I looked up and I said who are you? How dare you? My mother changed her life. Yeah she gave her life to you and you're gonna take her from me. Yeah, amazing, and. It hurt man, yeah, yeah it hurt and and sometimes it still hurts, yeah, you know, but um, it was at that moment I became angry and I didn't care, and this is right around when I met you. Oh, really, yes, wow, yes, that's crazy. When I met you, I was around 17 18 years old. Yeah, that's about right and I became a dad at 17, had my first child. It's okay. My daughter, jasmine, was born and my mother was here. Oh, wow, when, jack.
Speaker 1:So yeah, there's pictures with my daughter and Jack and my mom and my daughter looks exactly like my mom.
Speaker 2:When people see my daughter, they're like yeah, she looks just like your mom, wow.
Speaker 1:So that was when we met, when you were going through all that, yes, wow.
Speaker 2:Yeah, my mother had. My mother had passed away. When I met when I met Scotty man and I met you yeah, my mother was On her way out and Scotty remembers. Scotty. Scotty met my mother. Oh my mother, he's got him at my grandmother, and that's when so then, so that the drinking then start picking up more, absolutely yeah, the drinking, the, the womanizing, it was all about me. I didn't want Nobody to know who I was. I didn't want nobody to know what I was really feeling.
Speaker 1:Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2:And as far as women were concerned, I didn't can. It was all about what I can get from you, what I take from you, and that is it. Well, I didn't care, even though I had a daughter.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. I'm not thinking that she's gonna be a woman like that someday. You know, whatever be in that situation. Yeah, didn't care. Yeah, so where, where was? When was rock bottom?
Speaker 2:Oh Well, there was a couple times there were a few times the I don't want to say there were a few times, because there's only there was only one rock bottom. But leading up to that I've had DUIs After DUI, after DUI. You'll see my mug shots on arrest comm. If you guys want to pull that up and flash it, feel free to do so now.
Speaker 1:we're not gonna use that one. You sent better pictures than that, okay, well, you know I like to share the struggle because I agree.
Speaker 2:You know I agree because they think that you know. I just woke up one day and I became the successful voiceover artist and DJ Yep, without knowing the pain that I had to go through yeah, to get to where I'm at, but I had several DUIs. You know, I've went to rehab In Florida. I got a radio job in Tampa, florida. I got a radio job in Charleston, south Carolina, and I attempted suicide. Oh my god.
Speaker 1:So all those things now, all those jobs you talk about, the DJ jobs, did you, did you move on from those because of alcohol or did you, did you lose those jobs because of alcohol?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yes, yes, so the job in South Carolina. That station flipped formats so that had nothing to do with me. Okay, and then I went to another station in the market. Somebody from Florida heard me, reached out to his frat brother at the other station. Said who's this? H Vidal guy, connected, connected the dots, called me up, said hey, can you send me aircheck, aka a demo? I Sent him to demo. Drove down to Tampa after DJing a club in South Carolina till three o'clock in the morning, drunk, oh. Drove to Tampa for after the club drunk, drove right to the station. Program director put me on the air that night. Oh he was gonna put me on the air the next day, but he's like no, I'm gonna put you on tonight, you down. I could have put my diva hat on and said well, I'm supposed to check into my hotel room and audition right, right, right I feel like oh sure, let's do it now.
Speaker 1:I said, let's go, oh boy.
Speaker 2:Let's go so. Every radio station has what's known as a positioning statement, and on the wall was the logo of the Radio station and their positioning statement, which was 95, 7 to beat Tampa Bay's number one station for hip-hop and R&B. Okay, cool. So radio 101, you always say that positioner before you crack the mic. At some point, when you crack the mic, that positioner has to be said, right, so I stared at it, I stared at it, I stared at it, I memorized it, got it, went in the bathroom, looked in the mirror Tampa Bay's number one station for hip-hop and R&B 95, 7 to beat. It's your boy DJ's for that. What up? It's 95, 7 to beat Tampa Bay's number one station hip-hop and R&B. Geez.
Speaker 1:So I would memorize it memorized so by the time.
Speaker 2:I got on that mic, nailed it, I put callers on, had to learn the board, which I stumbled a few times. Yeah, I had an intern show me how to run the board. Yep, which that same intern turned out to be one of the number one radio personalities in New York. I caught up with her a couple years ago on face, on social media out of here. Yeah, she's chilling with like Janet Jackson. I'm like, look at this, oh my gosh. So. So all of you guys out there right now, if you have an intern that's working with you, be nice to your intern, because you know, intern the janitor, the, the just be nice. So true, so true. So yeah, I ended up getting that job Cool, and then I stayed there for about two years, moved my wife and my kids down there at the time and um Was just running a muck man, yeah, drinking, still drinking out all night, not coming home, going to strip clubs you, strip clubs everywhere in Tampa. Yeah, wow, and I ended up losing my job because the station got tired. I was a liability. I wasn't an asset, absolutely. So they fired me a Week later. My wife at the time said listen, you got to make decision. It's either the lifestyle or or a family. Yeah, and me being the a-hole that I was, I was like, well, if it wasn't for this lifestyle, you wouldn't be driving that brand new truck and you wouldn't have this, this townhouse with the spiral staircase and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, and the kids wouldn't be going to private school and just going on and on and on and, on, and on and on and she was like send me back to Reading, because I didn't even want to leave. Send me back, wow. So I packed her and my kids up, had a daughter just born at the time she was three months and you packed them up and sent them back to ready. She wanted to go. Oh, and I begged her. I said just stay, I'll move out, I'll pay the rent, just don't take my kids from me. This is how selfish I was.
Speaker 1:Yeah, wow, just selfish and self-centered man, yeah, and what changed all that like how do you get to, how?
Speaker 2:did that change? So how it changed was, let me just say this that was one of the worst days of my life the look on my oldest son's face while they're driving away, while I was driving away and I dropped him off at Tampa International, like he was nine at the time oh my god and I remember the look he gave me to this day. Wow, just just gut wrenching. Yeah, I could, that'd be tough, I don't know if I could do that. And then I went home to an empty house and then from there I lost my job, I had no family. And then I got a phone call from Bubba Sparks. You remember Bubba Sparks? No, he has a song called booty booty, booty, booty rocking everywhere. Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I know that so he calls me and he you know, because radio you meet a lot of people. Yeah, yeah, he's a H4L. I need a DJ. I heard you lost your job. You want to go on the road with me? Absolutely, oh boy, this doesn't sound good. So on the road, so we. So now I'm on tour with Bubba Sparks and I'm collecting unemployment and I'm DJing cuz I'm making more money than I was making at the radio station. Yeah, I am.
Speaker 1:I'm coming home to an empty house, okay this is not a recipe that you want right now good, nothing, right?
Speaker 2:Oh, and it was at that moment when I started to arm with Bubba Sparks. That's when I tried cocaine for the first time. Oh, and that is when my life forever changed. Yeah, because I always said to myself I will never do any hard drugs, because I watched my mother do hard drugs. In my mind, hard drugs was anything in a powder form Yep, yep, that's hard drugs. Yep, heroin, absolutely Crack. Yep, cocaine, you know I drink, I'll smoke a little weed, might pop a pill here and there. Right, that's as far as it went. Yep, but I always told myself, if I ever did any hard drugs, I knew for a fact I was going to be jacked up. Yeah, and when I took that, when I took that first little bump, as they called it, yep, that was it. It was just a natural progression. So I sat out my six month non-compete with the radio station. There was another radio station, tampa Bay's Party Station. Oh, I'll 94-1. Their competition.
Speaker 1:Party station. Party station. Just what you needed. Oh gosh, a lot of bump in there.
Speaker 2:Well, there was also a Mexican co-host named Paco and his oh yeah, his cocaine was in abundance. Oh, I knew this going in, oh geez, I got a phone call from the program director, orlando Davis. Big shout out to Orlando and he said HVDAL, you want a job? You're non-compete's up, come on over HVDAL. And the Nut House was the name of the show. Oh my gosh. That is funny.
Speaker 1:That's funny. Just what you needed. Yes, yeah, you needed the Nut House.
Speaker 2:Yes, more money, less work. Cocaine. Right there, as I needed it, oh my gosh, I met a new girl. She was younger than me, colombian, beautiful woman, you know, geez. And the cocaine use just got worse, all the way to the point where I went to this club one night and I was with the woman at the time and she was pregnant. I got her pregnant.
Speaker 1:OK.
Speaker 2:At this time, it was no secret that I was using this cocaine and I was just out of control. Wow, it was Father's Day weekend. Now, this is the third year that I hadn't seen my kids. So the guilt, the shame. Third year, third year. So the guilt, the shame, the remorse. Three Christmases, three birthdays, three Father's days I haven't seen my kids, any of them. Ok, wow.
Speaker 1:Talk about your selfish is right Selfish and just just just running from everything.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, just don't want to deal with it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, mind you, I'm still married too.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, that's really, that's crazy. And I'm still married legally, ok, wow, and Scotty was talking to me around this time, because this is right around when Scotty was getting married and he invited me to his wedding and I didn't show up and Scotty didn't. We didn't speak for the longest time because at that time I was heavily in my addiction. Oh yeah, you know.
Speaker 1:So was it cocaine more than alcohol or alcohol more than cocaine Doesn't matter, but I mean it was, or is it one of those things where you're drinking all night and then, and then you have.
Speaker 2:It started as alcohol more than cocaine, and then at the end it was cocaine, main course, alcohol appetizer, wow, ok. So I went from 20 bag a week to a half ounce. Oh my God, oh my gosh, jeez. You're lucky, you're alive. I almost died several times. So I went to this club, I DJ'd, I promised my lady at the time I'm not going to drink because it was Father's Day weekend and we had plans. We were going to go to the beach with her family and you know, our new baby that she was carrying. And I'm going to behave, yeah, I'm not going to drink, I promise. What do you think happened? You drank, I drank. Not only did I drink, but I texted my guy Bring me one. He brought me one, he brought me two. I DJ'd, killed it, left the club, went to the after-hours club. Oh no, because there's lots of those in Tampa. Yep, it's called the Groovy Mule this place. Ok.
Speaker 1:It's a good name, good name.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Sounds fun.
Speaker 2:Yes, it was Groovy, yeah, and I'm in there doing my thing. It's like 5.30 in the morning, sun's starting to come up. Bouncer runs up hey, you're a woman's here. She runs up on me House code on Slippers pregnant, smacks me in the face, takes my phone. And it was at that moment. I didn't want to live anymore.
Speaker 1:It was like man.
Speaker 2:I blew it. I blew it. I got in my van. I popped two Xanax after being on cocaine. If you know anything about cocaine and Xanax Not good, it's lethal. Not a good combination. I didn't care, I wanted to die. I fell asleep at the wheel. I hit a telephone pole. Airbag came out, cops came and by the grace of God, I didn't get tested, breathalyzed. Oh wow, I couldn't let me go Holy and I had drugs on me, oh my gosh. So I walked home, yep, threw all my stuff in a bag, had another cell phone at home, called up a young lady who I used to party with, if you will. She lived in Bradenton, which was across the bridge yeah, I never braided into this she came pick me up, loaded up on some drugs. Oh my god, my job was to kill myself while I was with her. I didn't call the radio station, I just disappeared. Yeah, nobody knew where I was. Wow, wanted to die. My mom's gone. I never met my father, I haven't seen my kids in three years and I just blew Probably one of the best relationships at at the time that I thought in my life and I'm probably not gonna see my daughter, I'm a, I'm a straight f up. Yeah, I just wanted to die. And then what happened was the young lady called my girl at the time and said yo, you need to come get him. Right come get him like he's. He's wilding out. She came and got me knocked on the door, took me back to the house. She's like yo, you got to get some help. Here's the phone number call this rehab. I called the rehab. They did an assessment over the phone. It was on a Friday and it was like when are you looking to go? When are you looking to come in? I said I need to come now. It's like ah, sadly we don't do intakes on Fridays. Oh geez, you gotta be kidding me.
Speaker 1:I said so what? What kind of a recovery place says that? What isn't that the day you would need it? I?
Speaker 2:begged them. They said look, we know you're probably going to use. I said you're damn right, I'm gonna use oh my gosh this is if you use, just make sure you don't do any opioids, because you have to detox from that before you come in. This place had rules.
Speaker 1:Rules before you even get in there. What the heck.
Speaker 2:That's crazy. So obviously you know, I got the cocaine and I did some opioids. I did the exact opposite and I went in, took my urine. It was like you got to come back in three days until that's all out of your system, came back in three days. I did 30 days at turning point in Tampa. And that's when Everything, that's when the foundation of recovery started, started for me. Yeah, that's when the spirituality came in. That's when the forgiveness for my mother and my father started happening, because there were several spiritual awakening yeah stories that happened while I was in rehab. Sure, that really brought it to light. And not only that, but I got to sit down With a therapist and just peel back that onion and just yeah, unpack, unpack, unpack. And I got to be around people that were just like me. Mm-hmm, I was like, wow, misery likes company interesting. So I'm yeah, I'm not unique. Like I'm not unique, I. I sat in rooms and listened to other men and women who came up, just like I did, yeah. I had the same feelings and saw through the same lenses, just like I did, yeah, and it was a game changer for me, you know now.
Speaker 1:Is that so? Did you go back after that? Did you relapse? So for some reason, I'm thinking that you did so.
Speaker 2:Yes, I did so. I finished the program. I left there, put on all kinds of weight, because that's what happens when you go to rehab, mm-hmm. And when I got out of rehab and I got back with the young lady I was with, our daughter was born, everything was cool, but the radio stuff was gone. It was off the table. I had to get a regular job.
Speaker 1:Well, because you can't be around those people anymore right, couldn't DJ.
Speaker 2:That was not good for my early recovery, right? So I had to be Hamilton. I can't be. H would down anymore. Right, I had to be Hamilton. The woman I was with didn't fall in love with Hamilton. She fell in love with each of them. Yeah, got it. So we went our separate ways. I bought a round-trip ticket to come home in 2009, got a, had a Thanksgiving Eve gig at the chill lounge, which is now known as that's when.
Speaker 1:I saw you. Yes, that's the last time I saw you. Yes, because when you were there at chill lounge, you were outside, you had quit drinking and had been through all that. I was sober. Yes, you were sober at that time.
Speaker 2:I was sober. I was about I was about a year and a half sober.
Speaker 1:We had that conversation outside. Yes, that's the last time I saw you. Yes, sir.
Speaker 2:So. So I brought a round-trip ticket, came home, saw everybody reunited with my kids, saw my daughter, saw my ex well, she was still my wife at the time, yeah. And then, um, dj'd. And then the following day, my wife at the time was like, hey, you know, daughter has doctor's appointment you want to come along with? I said, absolutely, I would love to go. So I went to her house in West Reading, went inside, walked out of the house holding my daughter's hand Up, pulls a Pennsylvania State Constable Hmm. Pulls out his badge Hamilton Newton. Yes, we've been looking for you. Oh boy.
Speaker 1:Oh no.
Speaker 2:Oh boy, what do you mean? You've been looking for me. So before I moved to Charleston, south Carolina, I owned a record store next to the ugly oyster.
Speaker 1:Oh okay, yes, yes, yes.
Speaker 2:Call H Vidal's Beach Street. Records and tapes yeah, the records. Tapes, cds yeah, that's the oils. I was that guy.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:Yeah, okay, couldn't tell me nothing, right, because it was my store this is. You know, I'm doing my thing, right, right, and I operated my DJ business out of there. So I had two vehicles and I would always park them there and I was getting parking ticket every single day. No, every single day. And as cocky and as arrogant as I was, I thought I was mr Untouchable. I would take them off and rip them in their face and throw them at him. Oh boy, I didn't care, those, come back by the way, I didn't care man. So the Constable pulls up. It's like a judge Xavier's wants to see you we know Tom. I know just. I know Tom too. I know Tom, and He'll never forget me.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I know, jerry, I know all the things that, because I needed that, I'm not that. That that's what's a lot. There's a lot of trouble. I got a phone calling you Welch 30s I had and I had to rush through the traffic, through the traffic and the eight 騙. You know, I heard you've been doing your thing. You've been on the radio in Florida, south Carolina, even heard you were on television. It was tort like he knew everything. He said you're gonna give us $5,000 cash today or you're gonna sit in jail. Oh wow, every single day, until every single parking ticket is paid off. I've been in Reading ever since.
Speaker 1:Oh, do you think they're gonna? That's pretty funny. I didn't see that coming actually.
Speaker 2:I've been here ever since.
Speaker 1:Do you think that the ticket that you have to go back is still good, or is that?
Speaker 2:that's done. Is that good? It's a wrap.
Speaker 1:That's done. That's done. It's a wrap. You know what's really interesting? At the time you were in that building. I owned the building that Xavier's has. Wow, I owned that. Yeah, there was a nine unit building with Xavier's on the first floor and I owned it while you were there. That's crazy. Yeah, I sold it after that, but yeah, that's really so. You have not left Reading since. Haven't left since. Did you pay your parking tickets?
Speaker 2:I sat in jail till they were paid off. Did you really? I sure did. I was in Birks County prison for seven months. What year was that? How do you pay them when you're in prison? 2009,. It's $10 a day. $10 a day $10 a day.
Speaker 1:Holy mackerel Wow.
Speaker 2:That sucks. I sat in there for seven months, yep, so parking tickets are for real when they tell you not to it's not a game.
Speaker 1:It's not a game, man, it's not a game.
Speaker 2:So yeah. So then I got out, got out of there, came home, tried to rekindle things with my wife at the time. That didn't work out. I ended up meeting somebody else, stayed with her for a couple years that didn't work out Started drinking again, got another DUI while I was with this other young lady, lived at the Y for about three months, went to court, did five days in jail, did the whole thing with that. And then after that relationship ended actually right before that relationship started, because I'm getting ahead of myself when I got out of prison from the parking tickets, I wanna say four months after I got out of prison, I found my father. Oh my gosh, wow. I found him on Facebook. Wow, I always knew my father's name. Yeah, yeah, I always knew what he looked like. I had a picture of him.
Speaker 1:Oh wait, I know who he is it Bobby?
Speaker 2:No, bobby Newton was my grandfather. That's your grandfather. Everybody thinks he's my dad.
Speaker 1:No, okay, that's what I always thought he was. I always thought he was your dad. I always thought he was your dad.
Speaker 2:It's your grandfather. Bobby was my grandfather Got it. Bobby Newton and Shirley Newton had Bonnie Newton which was my mom.
Speaker 1:Okay, got it, got it.
Speaker 2:So yeah, he was my grandpa. He always called me son, yeah, yeah, yeah, you know, cause he wanted to look young for the lady.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I get that. Yeah, I get that. So you meet your dad, did you meet him? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, how'd that go Good?
Speaker 2:It went very well because at that time I had forgiven him, I had forgiven my mom, got you, I had forgiven myself. So there was forgiveness in my heart and you know my higher power, who I choose to call God, said okay, you're ready now. Yeah, you're ready. Here's your dad.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:And to this day, we have a phenomenal relationship. I have other brothers and sisters and I have a wonderful stepmother that I get to call mom, and you know my dad lives in Atlanta now and Wow, that's cool. Yeah, that's really cool. And I finally figured out where I got the big ass head from.
Speaker 1:From your dad, from my father, from your father. It's all full circle right, there isn't it. Now you can tell your brothers shut up, it's from my dad. Yeah, well, they met too, so they're like ah there it is, there's the big head. I didn't really notice your head was that big. It's big, is it really? You have a big cranium. Yeah, yeah, okay, that's right.
Speaker 2:Well, that genius has to fit somewhere.
Speaker 1:Good to him. There you go, Hugo. Hugo, he's good for that stuff. I'll tell you.
Speaker 2:I love it. So after I met my dad, I got with this other female. That didn't work out after three years. If you remember, I told you I grew up a young man with mommy issues.
Speaker 1:Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2:Always looking for somebody to take care of me. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So that's when I met wife number two. Okay, wife number two. I won't tell you what her name was, but you probably know her. I knew who it was. Okay, very good, yes, I knew who it was. She's in the same field as you. Yes, yes, and that is when my life changed forever, cause I went into this situation knowing that you know, this is not healthy, but I didn't care, because I just thought about me and how this person could take care of me and what I could get out of it. Oh, there you are Back again to that, back again to that, yeah, so, after knowing her for about three months, we made this conscientious decision to get married on my birthday, april 12th of 2014. Okay, leading up to that point and after that, constant arguments, constant fights, lots of drinking, accusing and all kinds of stuff, and then, in September September 27th of 2014, that my brother is when the rock bottom hit Hamilton. The rock, rock bottom. That was the rock bottom. To preface it, her and I got into an Icon Tina situation, if you will. Yes, and I'm not going to sit here and say who was right and who was wrong. All I can talk about is the part that I played in it. Sure, and the part that I played in it was I should have left and I should not have participated in any of it. I should have left, but I didn't. Yep, and the cops came and arrested me the next day. She went to the hospital and they arrested me and said you're being charged with felony one aggravated assault. I was facing up to 20 years Oof. Okay, I've had DUI and parking tickets, whatever, but you talking felony one aggravated assault, this is something completely different. So it was all over the internet, which I'm sure you've seen it was, it was, it was, it was horrible. And everybody that I, everybody that was in my corner turned their back on me. They were like we're done with you, bro. Oh, wow, we don't care what the story was, we don't care. All we know is that you're in jail for this. Yeah, we're done. And for a while I was kicking and screaming and I'm like, but I didn't do anything, but I didn't do anything, but I didn't do anything. And then the message of Alcoholics Anonymous was brought into the, to the, to the prison, just like the word of God message was brought into the prison when my mother was in prison. Yeah, okay, and that's when it hit me, that's when it really hit me that Hamilton is the problem. For the first time in my life, I was able to look myself in the mirror and say you're the problem. Yeah, wow, you're the problem. You're the reason why you're here. So, whatever you're gonna do from this moment on, if you're gonna change one thing, that one thing you got to change is everything, and that's what I did. So I started freeing myself while I was in prison. I got myself a mentor and I was going to all the AA meetings while I was in prison and I just kept myself involved and I was reading and, before you know it, it was time for court and I owned all my stuff. I said listen, I have a problem, I have a problem. And I talked about my alcoholism and my drug use and I talked about me and I said if I promise you that I will get the help that I need, please give me another chance. I didn't try to fight it Cause initially when I went in there, I'm taking this to trial.
Speaker 1:I didn't.
Speaker 2:No yeah, no, yeah. So they dropped it to the lesser charge, which is simple assault misdemeanor, and from there I went to Camp Joy, which is right in Leesport, owned by the YMCA, and I stayed at Camp Joy for about seven months.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:Seven months and I didn't DJ. I didn't do any personal trainings at the time. As a personal trainer, too, I had to find a regular job.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And nobody would hire me, Brad.
Speaker 1:No, of course.
Speaker 2:Nobody would hire me because I was over qualified Cause all I've ever done was radio and spin records and worked at Chest King. At Chest King.
Speaker 1:That's right. That should have been on a. That's a good thing. The Chest King on your resume, I mean, come on.
Speaker 2:So. So my sponsor at the time told me your job is your recovery. Right now, your job is to stay clean and work on yourself. So I got a sponsor. I used a sponsor, I worked the steps. I got mentors. I went to church, I went to meetings, I went to therapy. I went to group therapy, one-on-one counseling. I did everything they told me I was supposed to do, cause I made that promise to God. I said I will do whatever it takes and I became obsessed with change Because I got sick and tired of feeling like why, what's wrong with me? I see all these other individuals. They're married, they're successful, they're great husbands, they're great fathers, they're productive members of society. What's wrong with me? What's wrong with me is I had nobody to show me and I had a spiritual malady inside of me that was taking over that I needed to arrest and keep there. I couldn't get a job. So then I finally went to Autospot of why Missing?
Speaker 1:Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:Cause? You know, Irv Brestler was.
Speaker 1:That's my man. He's a good guy, good man, irv Good man, and his kids too.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes. So I used to play basketball. Yeah, brad and Brandon Play basketball with Brad. We were buddies. Yeah, that was like my go-to, like if I needed a job I would just go there. And I just said you know what, I'm just gonna go. And I was 41 at the time, brad, wow, 725 an hour. It was February. Oh my gosh. And I'm washing cars at Autospot of why Missing? Wow, I just wanted a job, I didn't care.
Speaker 1:Okay, Well, it didn't matter At that point. To me, your health and your sobriety and not being in jail, I think once you're in jail for that long too, the sense of freedom is a payment enough. I mean, I would think just being free would be enough for me at that point.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know.
Speaker 1:And free of the alcohol and the drugs and all the addictions and things. It's just, I can't imagine that. But that's where you came from, that's where you know yeah.
Speaker 2:And I just wanted to become fully self-supporting.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And just start being able to take care of myself. I didn't care what that looked like all the while while I was working on myself from the inside.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Okay. And then I got a phone call from my pastor at the time. He said hey, man, let's go meet for brunch. We went to the hitching post.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and we met for brunch.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and he said hey, man, you still looking for a job? I said yeah, I am actually. He said you ever hear of the Hope Rescue Mission? I said yeah, and I was embarrassed because I've heard of it. It's right in my neighborhood that.
Speaker 1:I grew up. It's off the 6th Street or something Sixth and Greenwich.
Speaker 2:But I never went in there. Never went in. Okay, it's a good place, he said well, they're looking. He said are you good with computers? I said yeah, and he said well, they're looking for a truck dispatcher for their thrift store.
Speaker 1:Oh cool.
Speaker 2:Here's the gentleman's number Robert Turkey. Give him a call. Give him a call, that's it. Told me to come in for an interview. Went there, took a bus there from Camp Joy into Leesport, walked down 6th Street in the snow, see, because when you want it, you want it.
Speaker 1:You'll do whatever it takes.
Speaker 2:And leading up to that point, brad, I didn't know what I was gonna do with my life. I was like, I'm 41 years old. I can't DJ right now. I can't. Like what am I gonna do? Like, where's my life headed at this point? All I've ever done was spin records and got behind the microphone. I've never done anything else. What am I gonna do, brad? I walked up those 19 steps and I opened the door and I saw all those brothers in there and I looked around and I said, oh my God, I got goosebumps. This is where I'm supposed to be doing. This is where I belong. I need to be here. I need to be here sharing my story and my testimony, helping them and me helping them is gonna help me at the same time. So I sat down with the directors and they showed me around and then they called me back and said well, you're overqualified. I was like, oh man. So I went back to Autospiago. A week later I get a call from the associate director at the time, frank Grill. He says Hamilton, we've thought about it and we've got the perfect job for you. It doesn't pay much. I said I don't care about the pay.
Speaker 1:I just wanna do it. I just wanna do it. You wanna feel worthy of something you know.
Speaker 2:So they offered me the job as front desk person and what that person does was does the intakes of all the men that comes in, opens up chapel, shares a message, just doing exactly what I hoped I would be able to do, and I was like I'll take it. He was like, well, second shift, I know you have a family. I was like, well, not really, but I'll take it. You know I'm trying to build that back. All the while I'm still with her, we're trying to work it out now. Oh wow, yeah, oh yeah.
Speaker 1:Oh wow, oh yeah, I was like, oh yeah.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah, we tried to work it out, Okay, and I was like you know what, maybe it was me Wow, that didn't last long, yeah, okay, that didn't last long.
Speaker 1:Which I'm not gonna go into that yeah.
Speaker 2:I'm just glad it didn't, yeah, and I'm just glad I was in sound mind and had enough sense and I was at a place in my recovery and had the right people around me that could get me away from that. So, yeah, I ended up getting that job. From there I moved up the ranks and I had an interest in becoming a certified recovery coach. Cool, certified through the state of Pennsylvania. Hope Rescue Mission said we'll pay for it. Oh, great, I took all the classes, I took the tests. So do you still do that? I don't actively, okay, but I can at any time. Yeah, right, right, because I'm still certified, still active. So I started doing that and then I went from an hourly position to a salaried position. I became a case manager and then went from case manager to director of case management of the Hope Rescue Mission Awesome. And then I stayed there for about three years and then I made a lateral move to Easy Does it Incorporated. I worked there for about two years and then it was at that point God said I think it's time for you to Be a.
Speaker 1:DJ again.
Speaker 2:I think you're ready. I think you're ready to do what you were put on this earth.
Speaker 1:Which amazes me. So was that hard getting back into it? Yes, like without this, without no no. No, cause, that was so distant.
Speaker 2:See, here's the thing. I've tried easier, softer, gentler ways. When I went to rehab for the first time, which was June 25th 2008. That's the first time I went to rehab, it was like, oh well, maybe if I just sip a little something and I don't sniff, I'll be all right, but eventually it would just open that door again. Yep, I had to get to a place where I had to say under no circumstances. Hamilton Vidal Newton is not wired to drink, like a diabetic is not wired to eat a 12 pack of donuts. Because when I drink, my mind and my body responds in a negative way. Right, does that make sense? Yeah, it totally makes sense absolutely, and I had to be okay with that. So, the longest time I struggled with that, especially when I met my father, cause when I met my father, I was sober.
Speaker 1:And I was like wait a minute.
Speaker 2:I wanna have a beer with my pop. Oh wow, you know.
Speaker 1:Dad's a Abundant abundant.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know, dad's an Eagles fan, I'm a Cowboys fan, right, sorry about that, don't do it, don't do it, don't do it, Brad. So I wanna have a beer with my dad. I was like are you sure? Are you sure? Yeah, yeah, yeah, had that drink with him. We had a great time. Flew back to Pennsylvania, got my third DUI two weeks after.
Speaker 1:Oh my God, yeah, you just can't do it, can't do it.
Speaker 2:It's not for me. So when I started DJing again, I was already sold out on the fact that I cannot drink and was okay with it, is it?
Speaker 1:it's funny too. Do you find that doing the DJ thing now and doing the voiceovers and all the things that you're doing now, which is really amazing, and getting through all that the fact that you're alive is amazing too? Do you enjoy it differently than you did before? Oh, my God, yes, you know what I mean. Like before you had chemicals and you had drinking and I drank. But is it different? For you it is.
Speaker 2:It's better, yeah it's better Because I'm genuinely Because you're present. I'm present and I'm genuinely connecting with the people, especially when I do weddings. Oh yeah, which is my sweet thing, you get to watch them all get hammered.
Speaker 1:Yes, making jerks out of themselves and stuff like that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's probably funny and it doesn't bother me. It doesn't bother me, but out here. So it's crazy, brad. I could be laying in bed watching TV by myself and all of a sudden say I could drink a beer right now. Get out of here.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's weird. Yeah To me, it is. Yeah To me it would be. I would think if I was going out with my friends drinking, that's when I would be like, oh man, I gotta have a drink and there could be I'm with Jonesen.
Speaker 2:There could be nothing wrong. Life could be good. Just you just want to. I could see a beer commercial and be like man. I could go for one of those right now. And second, I say that I pick up the phone and call somebody. Do you really? Oh, yeah, I'll listen. Sponsor, whoever, yeah. So hey, I just want to let you know this is what I said.
Speaker 1:Wow, even in your head absolutely Wow, that's cool, that's very cool, absolutely Amazing, amazing. So you know I I am just blown away. This is definitely the longest podcast we have ever done and it's okay because I think we can keep going and I wanted there's a buck other things I want to go through. Let's do it. I want to say can congrats for getting through all that and and for where you are today, and I hope your sobriety stays where it is.
Speaker 2:It ain't going nowhere, I hope. How many days is it?
Speaker 1:Yeah, do you know how many days? Yeah, years.
Speaker 2:Like yeah, sorry, go ahead.
Speaker 1:Hugo, you almost got your ass beat, I think.
Speaker 2:I haven't had a drink, drug pill or fix in September 27 2014.
Speaker 1:So I just sell it that was that 27th day that. That was that that night.
Speaker 2:Yes, that was the bad. So September 27th of 2024 will be 10 years Wow.
Speaker 1:Okay, good job, dude, that's awesome. Yeah, man. So job, good job. And you know it's amazing. It's now and I'm just gonna have to go right to this. I want to. I want to kind of segue to this now that you you heard all that stuff about what he has done and I'm going to just quick, quickly play a little bit of what he's doing now. Yes, that's him, not that, that's Anita Baker. So that's what you're doing now, among other things. Yes, which is pretty amazing, that you've, you've gotten through all that. The voiceover thing is new, newer. Yes, right, yes, how long you've been doing that.
Speaker 2:So I've been cutting commercials. While the cool thing about radio is is that when you're a radio personality, yeah, you naturally have to voice commercials, gotcha. So when you come in there'll be Scripts in your mailbox like, hey, I need this cut by such and such a day. Yep, and that's when it started for me. So I would start reading scripts and I would listen to other commercials on on their different inflections and deliveries and things of that nature. And I just started getting better at it and better at it, not thinking maybe I could do voiceover. I just figured, you know I'm, I'm just a commercial Voice guy. And yeah, for the radio station, for the radio station. And then People started hitting me up like, hey, can you cut this spot for me? Can you voice this commercial? Yeah, and you voice this commercial. And then my wife, candice, bought me a microphone for Christmas. It was like, well, why don't you? Why don't you dive into this? You know, why don't you? Why don't you give it a shot? So she brought me a, bought me a microphone and I started cutting, you know commercials. I got a PV board this long before the roadcaster. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah got a little PV board and you know, through some fan and power on that bad boy and had the little you know Foamed up, class it and no way, and you know that's how it started.
Speaker 1:That's how now you're doing it. You're doing it for a lot of different people you don't for like different stations. I mean, I saw all kinds of voiceover stuff that you're doing. Listen to it and you're very good at it, thank you. Yeah, and it's the diverse, like how diverse you can be with your voice and how you can sound like you know One person here, one person there. I mean you're just really good at it, thank you, and I and I consider myself kind of a critic with that stuff and you're really good at it. I appreciate you. So let's talk about some other things here. Let's go through so you're back into DJing and all that stuff, the voiceovers you had done beatboxing. At one point you had said right, Can you still? do that. Let's hear it oh.
Speaker 2:You know you want to do it, you know everybody.
Speaker 1:Let's just hear it. That's great, that was great, that was awesome. I had to get you to do that because I was like, when I saw that on there, I think are you kidding me? Yeah, it's been a minute. Yeah, it's me. And also I have one here that you did tour dates with Dave Chappelle. Yes, that's pretty cool. Yes, what's he?
Speaker 2:like. So it's super cool guy man. Yeah, cool guy. So Dave Chappelle. When he first launched the Chappelle show this was back in 2003 I was in Charleston, South Carolina, working the radio station at the time and the operations manager said to me hey, dave Chappelle is in town and he's looking for somebody to DJ and open up the show. He's doing a stand-up act at the I forgot the name of the place in Charleston at the time and he was like you're the perfect guy for it. Amazing, and I didn't get paid for it. I didn't care. No, I wouldn't either. Well, yeah, I DJ'd For Dave Chappelle. That's unbelievable. This is when he was promoting the Chappelle show and I went in the back and the big Chappelle show bus was in the back and he came out on a skateboard with a what a blunt in his mouth, you know, hung out for a little bit and you know I smoked a little weed with him and that is now, was it man?
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's cool, yeah, that's very yeah that was an amazing experience. Yeah, I bet, I bet. Where are you going now? Like, what do you see as your future? I mean, you had that whole, you know interesting past and and you made it through a lot of difficulty, a lot of challenges. Like, what do you see for your future? Like, when you look ahead, what do you?
Speaker 2:see, I just I see me leaving a legacy for my family and my children and Just being the best version of Myself every single year, just continuing to evolve. I don't have an expiration date on anything or An end goal. What I do is I set goals and then, whatever that goal is, I lock in on that process and I become obsessed with that process. Nine times out of ten I'll I'll exceed that goal and then I'll set another one right Very cool, and then continue from there Very cool.
Speaker 1:Well, I want to say I appreciate you coming on today, definitely the longest show, but I'll tell you what definitely worth being the longest show, because that was just great. I mean, I'm just blown away from like what you've been through. You've been a friend for many years, even though we don't see each other, but we we correspond on Facebook in different places. Oh, can you do one thing for me? Yes, since you're a voiceover guy and I didn't know this, can you do like something for the show, for this show here? Yeah, sure.
Speaker 2:Let's give it a shot. Go ahead the Brad Wiseman show From real estate to real life and everything in between, and now your host, brad Wiseman.
Speaker 1:I love it. We might have to replace it. We might hire you. Now I think I'm gonna hire you to do that. Let's do it. Let's do that, cuz I can say it's somebody local, let me great somebody, you know, I'm not local, I'm not local but you're somebody I know. All right, buddy, great talking to you. Thanks for sharing another. It was tough at times, but thanks for sharing. All right, that's it. Thanks for being here Thursdays at 7 pm. Watch us on Facebook, youtube, instagram, everywhere you can find us. We're there 7 pm On Thursdays. All right, thanks a lot.