Messy Thoughts

MESSY THOUGHTS 48. From college football to the ballroom scene to building some of Austin's most exciting Black nightlife experiences, Marcus Dalton knows how to bring the party! 🥂🎉 On Episode 48 of Messy Thoughts, BJ and LeBron sit down with event producer, entrepreneur, and founder of The Brunch Club & Co., Marcus Darling, to talk about creating spaces for Black and queer communities, the business behind nightlife, and what it really takes to throw an unforgettable event. Marcus shares his journey from playing college football at SMU to finding community in the ballroom scene, launching The Brunch Club & Co., and eventually bringing his talents to Austin, Texas. We get into why representation matters in nightlife, the importance of good music and great DJs, and how Marcus turned his passion for hosting into a thriving career. Of course, it wouldn't be Messy Thoughts without a little chaos! 😂 We're also talking club etiquette, confronting shade in person versus online, themed parties, Houston nightlife, reality TV encounters, hilarious AI-generated photos, and Marcus's vision for the ultimate dream brunch.

💬 LET'S TALK: What makes a truly great party? Is it the music, the people, the venue, or the drinks? Tell us in the comments! 🎙️ MESSY THOUGHTS — EPISODE 48 Hosted by BJ & LeBron Special Guest: Marcus Darling Produced by: Keller Davis Follow Marcus and his events: The Brunch Club & Co. Nothing To Do In Austin I Love R&B

FOLLOW: @themarcusdarling @bhinoooooo @nothingtodoinaustin @azureatx @ilov3rnb_ @thebrunchclubco

❤️ LIKE this video, SUBSCRIBE to our channel, and SHARE with someone who loves a good party! Follow Messy Thoughts on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube for more conversations, clips, and all the mess. Where the thoughts are messy, and the conversations are always entertaining.

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MESSY THOUGHTS 47. 👻 IT'S OUR SPOOKY EPISODE. 👻 BJ and LeBron dim the lights, pull out a Ouija board, and try to contact a legend. (It did not go how we planned.) From there, Messy Thoughts Episode 45 turns into a full-on group therapy session about fear: what scares us, what doesn't, and what we refuse to invite into our homes. Do spirits exist? Are your loved ones visiting you as butterflies and tails-up pennies, or is it over when it's over? We get into Day of the Dead, purgatory, and why one of us wants to be buried like a full-on pharaoh. Then we hit the rapid-fire round: broke vs. stuck, aging vs. irrelevance, failing publicly vs. never trying. Plus why rejection hurts so much and why you should still shoot your shot at the bar. There's also a deep, very real fear of whales. There's a "let's go to Olive Garden" that turned into a haunted house ambush with people in pig masks. And we explain why storm drains are a hard no (thanks, Pennywise). We talk about how fear is learned, a viral Austin neighborhood parking fight, why the fear of flying makes no sense (except on that Boise flight), and finally our dream funerals. One of them involves Beyoncé, strobe lights, and a body on strings. Messy, spooky, and a little unhinged. Happy Halloween from the Messy Thoughts family. 🎃 🎧 New episodes every week 👍 Like, comment & subscribe, and tell us your biggest fear in the comments! 📲 Follow Messy Thoughts: TikTok / Instagram / YouTube: @messythoughtspod 🌐 messythoughts.com 📩 Business & bookings: [email protected]

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MESSY THOUGHTS 46. BJ and LeBron are NOT holding back. This week's episode starts chaotic (Charli XCX concert cocaine theories, anyone?) and escalates into a full-on civics lesson that nobody asked for but everybody needed. BJ's got a burn scar on his booty, LeBron is coaching high school boys volleyball and loving every second of it, and somehow the two of them end up breaking down the entire U.S. government — Electoral College, Supreme Court, term limits, midterms, and why your vote actually matters — while being absolutely hilarious the entire time.

From waxing appointments to the Pledge of Allegiance to Luscious Massacre meeting grandma, this episode has it all. Then they get serious: a frank, funny, and genuinely informative conversation about voting, the two-party system, Congressional term limits, and why midterm elections affect your life way more than presidential ones. Plus: a "Project 2028" manifesto you did not see coming.

Pull up a seat. This is Messy Thoughts.

🎙️ Find us everywhere: messythoughts.com 📸 Instagram: @messythoughtspod🎵 TikTok: @messythoughtspod ▶️ YouTube: @messythoughtspod 📧 Contact: [email protected]

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MESSY THOUGHTS 45. Sunglasses on, identity stolen, and trauma unpacked — welcome back to Messy Thoughts! 🏈🏐🎾 This week BJ and LeBron are talking about THE GAME. Were you a sports kid, or were you the kid on the soccer field picking flowers while your dad lost his mind on the sidelines? (Guess which one LeBron was.) From forced football seasons to bond with Dad, to BJ getting cut from hurdles in record time and finding his calling as a thrower, to the volleyball team he couldn't join because it was "for the girls," the hosts relive every awkward, sweaty, rule-less moment of growing up queer in sports. Then the real debate: what's the gayest sport? (Cheer says hi. 📣) Plus an Austin gay sports league story that ends in an own goal, why sore losers are the worst, and a very real conversation about homophobia in men's sports, the WNBA pay gap, and how women in tennis get picked apart for things the men never hear about. Fresh off the US Open, BJ has thoughts: justice for Naomi Osaka's Allen Iverson tribute fit, love for Taylor Townsend building her own brand, and a message for everyone who tried to discredit Ben Shelton's win over Alcaraz. And before we go: Raven-Symoné says That's So Raven wasn't a black show. The hosts… respectfully disagree. And they have receipts (RIP to every recast TV mom). Tell us in the comments 👇 What sport did you play growing up — and what's the GAYEST sport?

🎧 Listen everywhere you get podcasts 📱 Follow @messythoughtspod on TikTok, Instagram & YouTube 🌐 messythoughts.com 📩 Business inquiries: [email protected] Messy Thoughts is where the thoughts are messy and the conversations are real. New episodes every week.

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MESSY THOUGHTS 44. Messy Thoughts is back with one of the most honest, hilarious, and healing conversations we've ever had on this podcast. BJ and LeBron sit down with content creator and trauma recovery advocate Christie Hoffman (@christie.heals) — and y'all, she did NOT hold back. Christie shares her raw, unfiltered story: surviving a physically abusive marriage, losing her brother to suicide, going no-contact with her family, and finding herself on the other side of all of it — thriving, 300K followers deep, and finally living in her truth. We get into DARVO (the manipulation tactic that will literally change how you see every difficult relationship in your life), the role psychedelics played in her healing, why Joe Dispenza's meditations had her crying in a room visualizing a TEDx stage, what it really means to "choose your hard," and why if you're a black sheep, you might actually be the GOAT of your bloodline. This episode is for anyone who's ever felt gaslit by someone they loved, stayed too long in something that wasn't serving them, or needed permission to blow up their life and start over. Also — we talk about astrology, single mom dating escapades, the gay community needing to sit down for a second, and what Christie may or may not have discovered about her own sexuality. New here? Subscribe and come back every episode for the kind of conversations you wish you could have with your best friends.

📌 Find Christie: Instagram & TikTok: @christie.heals

📌 Resources mentioned:

DARVO Cheat Sheet: Christie created this to help people recognize whether they may be experiencing manipulation in any relationship in their lives. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QCVDOOPvPkaCUYsVOU_0aHCUT9TWQeEE/view?usp=sharing

Joe Dispenza Meditations: These are two of Christie's favorites. She used them to help bridge the gap between her old life and the life she was trying to create. They helped her hold on, heal, and begin imagining a different reality for myself.

Tuning into new potentials: https://drjoedispenza.com/product-details/Tuning%20In%20To%20New%20Potentials

Morning / Evening meditations (shorter meditations for every day): https://drjoedispenza.com/product-details/Tuning%20In%20To%20New%20Potentials

The RECLAIM Method: Christie created it specifically to help people who feel trapped, confused, or in crisis recognize manipulation, reclaim their voice, and decide what comes next. https://go.christiehoffman.com/c/cg2Z4775_M

Following Cyrus Veyssi: https://www.instagram.com/cyrusveyssi/

🎙️ Messy Thoughts — where the thoughts are messy and the bottoms are healed. www.messythoughts.com Hosted by BJ Burgess and LeBron Huggins, Produced by Keller Davis.

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MESSY THOUGHTS 43. BJ, LeBron and Keller are in their feelings — and their family memories — for episode 43. What starts as a chaotic pre-show debate about running downtown Austin, ketchup packets, and In-N-Out fries somehow becomes a full deep dive into Pink's Black era, Kandi Burruss's songwriting empire, Real Housewives drama, and the case for Keke Palmer getting a podcast booking ASAP. Then things get real. BJ breaks down what it was like growing up as one of six kids in a big, loud, blended, beautiful Alabama family — and why that kind of family richness is getting harder to afford in America. LeBron shares what it meant to grow up with twins as siblings. Keller reflects on distance, communication, and what gets lost when you don't call enough. They debate what to actually unlearn from the way they were raised — the colorism jokes that don't translate outside the family, the emotional regulation nobody taught them, and the words that were just "normal" until they weren't. Plus: If someone handed you $7 million right now, how much would your siblings get? BJ's answer will make you gasp. LeBron's will make you laugh. And yes — "We're a family here" at your job orientation? They have thoughts. 🎙️ Hosted by BJ Burgess & LeBron Huggins | Produced by Keller Davis 📲 Follow us: @messythoughts on Instagram, TikTok & YouTube 📧 [email protected] | 🌐 messythoughts.com #MessyThoughts #Podcast #AustinPodcast #FamilyTalk #BlackPodcast #PopCulture #RealHousewives #KikiPalmer #GrowingUp #FamilyDrama

MESSY THOUGHTS 42. BJ, LeBron, and a special appearance from Keller are back — and this one went everywhere. It starts with BJ's niceness finally running out on a stranger who had way too many opinions, then somehow spirals into bad Airbnb experiences, the most chaotic decisions that actually worked out, the most overrated things in existence (food trucks, run clubs, and one very specific music genre), and a deep Shrek shirt appreciation moment courtesy of Keller. Then things get real. The crew sits down with a topic that hits home for all three of them: change. How do you actually deal with it when it comes for your relationships, your body, your career, your community? When is resistance grief and when is it wisdom? They get into celebrity deaths disrupting their peace, Peter Pan syndrome in Austin's gay community, and what it looks like to stop trying to fit into spaces that were never built for you — and just go be somewhere you're actually wanted. Plus: Does BJ know who Ella Langley is? Keller and LeBron need answers. Drop your thoughts in the comments and find us on all socials. 🎙️ 📲 TikTok | Instagram | YouTube → @messythoughtspod 🌐 messythoughts.com #messythoughts #blackpodcast #austinpodcast #gaypodcast #peterpansyndrome #airbnb #talkshow #podcastlife #selfimprovement #queerpodcast #changeyoucanbelievein #overrated

MESSY THOUGHTS 41. This week BJ and LeBron are going full Messy Bowl — no regular agenda, just topics pulled straight from the bowl and a 10-minute clock. What could go wrong? Everything. In the best way. They kick things off venting about the absolute disrespect of apartment AC going out in the middle of summer, the art of negotiating thermostat settings with your parents, and why car maintenance should be illegal. BJ is 2,000 miles overdue for an oil change and has zero shame. Then the bowl takes over: Tequila vs. Vodka — BJ and LeBron debate which one deserves to be erased from existence forever. Spoiler: neither of them is going quietly. Wedding crashing, tiramisu cake, and Kyle at the Iron Bear all make appearances. Should there be a partner rating app? — Turns out, it already exists. And LeBron has a profile. With glowing reviews. BJ reads one live on air. This is journalism. Nostalgia is killing new art — Are millennials so obsessed with reboots and sequels that we've forgotten how to make something original? Toy Story 5, Coming to America 2, Avatar, The Incredibles... BJ and LeBron call it all out. Euphoria Season 3 — LeBron watched it. BJ didn't. That did not stop the conversation. Full spoilers, full opinions, full devastation. They break down what went wrong, what they wish had happened, and why they both wish they'd left it at Season 2. Drop your Messy Bowl topics in our comments or link in bio — your question might get pulled next time. 🎙️ New episodes every week. Like, subscribe, and share so we can keep the thoughts messy. 📲 Follow us: TikTok | Instagram | YouTube → @messythoughts 🌐 messythoughts.com 📩 [email protected] #MessyThoughts #PopCulture #PodcastLife #TalkShow #AustinPodcast #BlackPodcast #GayPodcast #BlackAndGay

MESSY THOUGHTS 40. BJ and LeBron are NOT holding back. This week's episode kicks off with a genuinely philosophical detour — what if everyone you've ever met is just you in a different timeline? From there it's full send into: would you ever shapeshift into another race or body if you could (Mystique discourse is real), what it means to actually date as yourself instead of your PR rep, and the Whoopi Goldberg book that honestly snatched a wig. Oh, and friendships. The real kind. The ones where you can call out of nowhere and time just resets. The ones where someone hurt your feelings and you actually said something about it. The ones that get smaller as you get older — and why that's not always a bad thing. Plus: BJ's bold non-negotiables in both romance and friendship (yes, one of them involves eating something), LeBron's reincarnation preferences laid bare, and the very honest question of what are you even bringing to the table? Drop your five things you look for in a relationship in the comments — we actually want to know. 👇 New episodes of Messy Thoughts every week. Subscribe and come be messy with us. 🌐 messythoughts.com 📧 [email protected] 📲 @messythoughts on TikTok, Instagram & YouTube #MessyThoughts #GayPodcast #RelationshipAdvice #LGBTQ #BlackPodcast #PopCulture #FriendshipGoals

MESSY THOUGHTS EPISODE 39. What does it actually mean to be a hater — and is it always a bad thing? BJ and LeBron crack open some Trip melon cucumber drinks and get into it. They break down the real definition of a hater, why they think hating is honestly kind of built into us, and where the line is between healthy jealousy and straight-up toxic behavior. They call out the covert haters in your friend group, the ones sliding into your Instagram stories every day but never saying a word to your face. Then they take it to celebrity land — breaking down La Roche's judging style on Project Runway, Tamar Braxton's messy era, and a full Nicki Minaj deep dive on how insecurity can turn a legend into a hater.

LeBron runs BJ through a round of "Friend or Foe" — three real-life scenarios to figure out if your people are actually your people. And the Messy Bowl makes its return with a spicy first-date question that they immediately decide deserves its own whole episode. Pull up.

🔗 Find us everywhere: messythoughts.com 📧 Submit to the Messy Bowl: [email protected] 📲 @messythoughts on TikTok, Instagram & YouTube

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