"No one else can see you if you don't see yourself."

Pritesh Shah is an actor, director, writer, producer, and comedian. But that's not why I wanted him on Mind, Body, Legacy. I wanted him here because every time we talk, I leave the conversation looking at myself a little differently. So I started this one by stripping the titles away and asking him the only question that matters: when you take all of that off, who are you?

What follows is an open-hearted and honest conversation that will make you think. Pritesh opens up about the kid who used his words as a weapon because he didn't know he was fighting self-worth wounds, the apologies he sent years later, and the fifteen years of inner work it took to get to a place of stillness. We get into the difference between emotions and feelings, why most of what we react to has nothing to do with right now, and how to stop repeating the cycles our fathers handed us.

We go there on money, too. Why not all money is good money, why "expensive" is never just about your bank account, and what it looks like when the people who have it all end up crying on your couch. I share what it was like growing up around a father who is the king of "what's next," and why celebrating the small victories with my wife and kids is the whole point, not a distraction from it. Pritesh talks about being raised to believe 98% wasn't good enough, and what it took to reprogram himself to know he's worthy just sitting still.

And then we get to the hard part. The two years that broke him down. The relationship he stayed in because he couldn't stand not being chosen. The moment a line from a TV show made him take accountability for all of it. Why he looks in the mirror for twenty seconds every morning and every night, and what the man in the glass tells him. He closes it out with a poem that I guarantee will resonate.

This one's for the man chasing validation and calling it ambition. For the guy who's been told his whole life that he's only worth what he can provide. For anyone who has ever looked in the mirror and had a hard time holding their own gaze. If that's you, sit with this one.

Raw, reflective, and full of truth. This is Part 1 with my brother Pritesh Shah.

In this episode:

• (00:08) Who is Pritesh when you strip the titles away, and why identity is just the character you play

• (01:59) The class clown with a sharp tongue: insecurity, abandonment wounds, and the apologies sent years later

• (03:51) Meditation, prayer, stillness, and the difference between thinking gratitude and feeling it

• (07:04) Emotions versus feelings, and breaking the cycles passed down from our fathers

• (19:40) Not all money is good money, and why "expensive" was never just about the bank account

• (33:16) "Why'd you miss the two percent?" and learning to celebrate the small victories

• (43:44) From chasing validation to knowing you're worthy without being useful

• (46:19) Not wanting to be un-chosen: the TV line that forced real accountability

• (54:26) I'm the Problem: the film, the toughest two years of his life, and coming out the other side

• (1:01:30) Legacy, what he would tell younger Pritesh, and The Man in the Glass

If this episode moved you, share it with someone who needs to hear it. Then, go look in the mirror. You're good enough.

Connect with Pritesh Shah:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepriteshshah/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thepriteshshah/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pritesh-shah-3a976810

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4110026/

Connect with Andre: 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnsonboywonder81/

Four counts in. Six counts hold. Eight counts out. That's it. That's the whole practice.

Why it works:

• Slows your heart rate and signals your nervous system to stand down
• Cuts through stress and anxiety in the moment, not an hour later
• Sharpens focus and clears the mental fog before big decisions
• Helps you fall asleep when your mind won't stop running
• Builds emotional control so you respond instead of react

Military operators, first responders, and elite athletes lean on this before high-pressure moments. You can use it in the parking lot before a hard meeting, in the kitchen after a long day, or lying in bed at 2 a.m.

Your challenge this week: four rounds, twice a day, for seven days. Morning and night. That's under five minutes a day.

You don't need an app, a cushion, or a quiet room. You need four counts and the willingness to start. Your calm is contagious : the people around you feel it. Give them something worth catching.

Music by Eric Jones: https://www.instagram.com/_e_jones__?stkn=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

"Life is not designed for us to go at it alone." 

For years, people have pulled me aside, at the shop, after a conversation, or in passing, and told me there was something about the way I show up that made them feel safe enough to be vulnerable. This platform is what happens when I finally stop keeping that gift one-on-one and put it out into the world.

To kick things off, I sat down with my guy Avan Hardwell, who flips the script and interviews me for this inaugural episode. Because before I can hold space for anyone else's story, it felt right to lay mine on the table first.

We get into it. Why I built Mind, Body, and Legacy, and who it's really for: the everyday man, the entrepreneur, the guy who's never had the language for what he's carrying. We talk about growing up believing silence was strength, and what it cost me to keep performing "I'm good" long after I wasn't. I open up about situational depression and anxiety I couldn't name for years, the mask I got exhausted wearing, and the moment my own kids were the ones who noticed something was off before I ever said a word.

We go there on therapy, and you’ll hear why I finally sat down with someone, what it gave me that isolation never could, and why I now consider it wise counsel, the same way you'd lean on a spouse, a friend, or an advisor. We talk meditation, breath work, and the daily practices, like prayer, gratitude, and stillness, that rebuilt me from the inside out. And we talk about faith, fatherhood, and what it actually means to walk in purpose instead of just talking about it.

This one's for the guy suffering in silence because nobody ever gave him the words. For the young brother who thinks asking for help is weakness. For the man who's tired of being everybody's peace and has none left for himself. If that's you, or someone you love, this conversation is for you.

In this episode:

• (00:41) Why I started Mind Body Legacy and who it's built to serve

• (02:14) Faith, purpose, and walking in what God called me to do

• (04:41) Growing up with no language for mental health, self-care, or therapy

• (11:43) The mask: performing "fine" while suffering in silence

• (16:08) Situational depression, anxiety, and finally putting words to what I felt

• (23:19) The moment my kids noticed before I said anything

• (25:17) Why isolation almost broke me, and why healing can't happen alone

• (29:43) Meditation, breath work, and building a daily practice of stillness

• (34:06) Therapy as wise counsel, not weakness

If this episode moved you, share it with someone who needs to hear it. You don't have to carry it alone.

Connect with Avan:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/westwriter/

Connect with Andre: 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnsonboywonder81/

It's official. The Mind Body Legacy podcast is here.

Andre Johnson has been cooking this one for a while — building it quietly, praying on it, waiting for the right season. That season is now. In this first conversation, Andre sits down with Avan and does the exact thing this show is built to ask of everybody else: he tells the truth first. New episodes start September 10. Subscribe wherever you do podcasts.

Andre opens up about the years he spent smiling through anxiety and situational depression before he had words for either one. The man everybody counted on to bring the light to the room was sitting in his car an extra 45 minutes before walking in the house. Pouring a glass of wine alone, convinced he could think his way out of it. Presenting as Superman for his kids while his own cup ran empty.

"How you felt the morning you're preparing to go to a funeral." That's how he describes those days.

This one goes there. What it costs to be the strong one. Why his kids clocked it before he did. Kendrick, Jay, and a generation of men finally putting language to something their fathers never named. What therapy actually gave him. Why prayer, box breathing, and walking meditation became non-negotiable. And the exhaustion of manufacturing joy in the driveway so you have some to hand out at the door.

His message to any man listening who recognizes himself in this: "Tell somebody. Don't think that you can defeat this in isolation. It's not designed that way."

Mind, Body & Legacy is a weekly mental health podcast for men who carry everything and say nothing — fathers, sons, husbands, founders, athletes — and for the people who love them. Real conversations about anxiety, depression, purpose, faith, fatherhood, sobriety, therapy, and building a legacy your kids inherit on purpose.

Episode one lands September 10. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube so it hits your feed the day it drops.

If this sounds like somebody you know, send it to him.