Real Talk with Benny T

Alright guys, I’ve got a banger for you this week 🥳

My guest today is Josh Sewell (@sewellsidee). Josh is a doctoral student at NYU specializing in higher education and he’s somebody that I’ve got a lot of love and respect for. After reconnecting recently and following along with the things he frequently shares on his Instagram stories with respect to topics such as self-love, self-discovery, healing, personal journeys, and mental health, I was very happy when he agreed to slide through the studio and hop on the mics.

This is a deep conversation that flows from start to finish, beginning with Josh sharing what it was like getting into his program at NYU and what he hopes to do post-graduation (22:13), then running it all the way back to childhood as he describes where and how he grew up and how those experiences prepared him for life (25:51).

We transition into both of us sharing our experiences growing up with absentee fathers (32:09), how that affected us, and how we each chose to fill that void, which then leads to Josh describing his tumultuous relationship with basketball and his burning desire to use it as his vehicle to a new life (40:25).

After that (48:49), he describes some of the challenges he faced when he began detaching from this identity of being known as “the basketball guy” and what ultimately fueled his exodus to New York.

Later in the episode, we share some thoughts on parenthood and revisit paternal relationships, then circle back to coping mechanisms and discuss our relationships with food (1:26:13).

Saving the best for last (1:37:11), Josh wraps up our conversation sharing some of his life true-isms, final thoughts, and the realest talk everyone needs to hear.

Huge thank you to Josh for his time and his vulnerability to sit down and keep it real with me from start to finish. No lie, this is one of my favorite episodes that I’ve ever done and I really hope you enjoyed listening to it half as much as we enjoyed playing it for you, because we had a ball.

If you vibed with it, please let us know by dropping a quick rating and a review on Apple Podcasts, or on the Facebook page for the show, @realtalkwbennyt. And share it! Share it to your followers, friends, family, or anyone who you think this would resonate with or that needs to hear it.

Be well, my friends, and I’ll talk to ya next week ✌🏼

Ohhh! Two in one day?? Watch out world, the kid’s flowing.

This is a shorter episode, but I wanted to share some thoughts and themes from a recent hike I went on with some friends.

It’s funny… Whenever I feel the most connected spiritually and mentally is when I can get out into nature and walk around shit that’s bigger than me. Redwood trees, massive boulders, caves, bodies of water… whatever it is, wandering around and measuring up amongst these things always helps me put into perspective how small and insignificant we really are, as well as how trivial are our problems and petty frustrations.

Nature is where I truly feel at peace and it’s where I go to tap into my flow. I love journeying out into the wild and walking around with my thoughts and just seeing what bubbles up to the surface. The deeper I go, the deeper I get.

So here’s a handful of reflections and true-isms that I wanted to expand upon and explore, and also share with you.

Isn’t it amazing what we’ll share with a complete stranger?

It’s like this thing with people we think we’re never gonna see again… we’ll tell that person anything!

Things we wouldn’t even share with our closest friends and family. I should know…

As a former journalist turned Uber driver, I talk to people all day long and you wouldn’t believe the things they share with me.

Real people, real stories, REAL 👏🏼 TALK 👏🏼

Hey, how ya doin? I’m Ben Tompkins and this show, Real Talk with me, Benny T! is all about the people I meet driving for Uber.

Do you remember that old HBO show Taxi-Cab confessions? It’s basically that meets Dr. Phil.

I ride around all day long and I gas my people up and I do it because I never want anybody to feel as shitty or as alone or as abandoned as I have at different points of my life.

New episodes drop on Wednesdays everywhere podcasts are available…

Check out the videos I’m doing with my riders on TikTok @bennytomp18, or, the show page is on Facebook and Instagram @realtalkwbennyt

And by the way… Send me your best Uber stories! I know you’ve got ‘em, so send them to me and I would love to get those featured on the show and get that segment rolling.

Buckle up and come along with me, baby 💯

Congratulations to my grandparents who just celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary!

My brother and two of my cousins and I all went down to visit our grandparents in Florida and spent four days hanging out with them and spending quality time together, so this episode is a recap of that plus some of their thoughts on the keys to a successful marriage and what's contributed to the longevity of their relationship.

I also spend some time towards the beginning with a quick car update, as well as previewing the upcoming guests that are coming up in the near future. Enjoy!

Today’s guest is Jade Stanton (@jadementalhealthcoach), a mental health coach and mental health WARRIOR who not only has dedicated her life to managing her own experiences with borderline personality disorder (BPD), but also to helping others with their struggles, too.

In this episode, Jade and I define and discuss what BPD is, where it comes from and how it develops, what some of the common symptoms are and how they manifest themselves, what an episode can feel like, why handling criticism or feedback can be so difficult for someone with BPD, what’s worked for her own recovery in terms of medications and talk therapy, plus some great resources for anyone wanting to learn more.

We start to dive into BPD and its relationship with Bipolar Disorder towards the end, but since we were getting short on time, Jade has agreed to come back for a second-parter so we can continue our conversation and I’m already looking forward to it.

Please check out her website https://www.jadestanton.com if you’d like to learn more about her story or the coaching services she offers, and be sure to follow along on her Facebook page, as well @jadementalhealthcoach 😌

Went out last night with the boys, something I haven't done in a very long time, and woke up this morning wanting to recap the night.

Now, usually the way these things go is I've got a couch or a living room full of dudes to sit with the morning after and recap all of the night's funny little moments, which is always my favorite part of the entire process, tbh.

But since I didn't have that, I just felt like popping down to the studio so I could still enjoy a little post-mortem session on a successful boys night out.

“I was born and raised in Clarksdale, Mississippi. 10/22/45. I came to Louisville in search of a teaching job when I graduated from Alcorn State University. I never was a great sports hero, but I was like every other kid… I was on the baseball team and I thought I was gonna be the next Jackie Robinson.

And growing up in Mississippi without running water, without electricity, and all the other comforts of life, I want everybody to know that we loved our life at home with our parents. We loved life every day.” – James Sims.

Today’s guest is James Sims, a guy I love talking to so much when I see him in the gym that I just had to get him in the studio.

I was initially interested in speaking with him because he told me he was the first black teacher in Oldham County, and as much as I’ve watched Oldham County change since I was born (1992), I was very curious to get his perspective on watching it evolve over the last 50 years.

He didn’t agree right away. It took a few conversations in our gym to get him to warm up to it, but I stayed at him because of his natural storytelling ability and because I knew he was sitting on a treasure trove of experience and real talk. And after many follow-up discussions, I proudly present to you the finished product.

James begins (10:24) recounting his childhood and growing up in Mississippi without running water or electricity, and during a time where you couldn’t confront a white person if you were black.

He shares how he learned to navigate those waters, his relation to the man who led the first slave revolt, being arrested for participating in a sit-in and why spending two those two weeks in jail was one of the greatest things that’s ever happened to him (25:42). 19:45).

After James served in Army and then used the GI Bill to finish his college education, he shares the story of leaving Mississippi to become the first black teacher in Oldham County (42:48).

After doing that for a bit, James recounts going to work on the railroads (59:59), paying his dues for 6 months with a pick axe and eventually graduating from the engineer’s program and driving trains for 14 years, then later going back to teaching classes and eventually meeting his wife, Dianne.

Later (1:27:09), he shares his one of his favorite stories from childhood about getting caught behind the school shooting dice with the Beasley boys.

The interview wraps up (1:25:50) with the one big thing that he wishes he could share with everyone, and it’s some real talk.

James was an awesome guest, I think you guys can hear how much fun I’m having with him, I hope you enjoy listening to him as much as I did.

THE VILLE IS BACK THE REAL IS BACK LMAOOO AYEEEE

I lead things off today with some great news about the car (2:06), followed by a thank you for your patience (11:54), and finally the best analogy I can come up with to help someone understand bipolar (19:04).

Then, it’s story time. I’ve got three stories for you today, which include:

Owner vs. 8-5 Mentality (28:05): a man with an interesting source of wealth shares some great perspective on one of the truest things he’s learned about business and people throughout his 47-year career.

Saved by the Son (37:42): I was ~this close~ to convincing someone’s mom to update her drop off location and get an impromptu tattoo before ending her night out, but much to the dismay of her friend and I, her phone rang. It was fate.

Drivers of Our Life (55:59): wisdom comes from many places. Most recently, it came in the form of an elderly Asian woman in my backseat spitting facts about us as human beings and the power we each have over our own lives.

Be well, my friends, and please, subscribe, rate, and review!

Credit statement: Intro music is Outside by Ikson. Outro music is As It Sets by Ikson. Check out his other tracks here ➡️ https://www.iksonmusic.com

Up and down we go, where it stops, nobody knows.

Hello, my friends. You'll have to excuse me as I'm terribly sorry not to have an episode ready to go for you today, and also for what feels like a slight dip in the last month 📉

I think I've been so consumed and concerned with so many different things lately, all of which necessary for the show and its growth, but I'm feeling like I've drifted away a bit from the storytelling and the people 😔

That's why when I return from this trip, I'm locking in for the next 3 weeks and I'm getting back to the basics: real stories, real people, real talk. I'm gonna spend the next 3 weeks in Louisville, focused totally on the riders and the intersections in which we find themselves in. That's my word, word, like thesaurus 💯

By the way... I wanna hear your Uber Stories! Send me your best for a chance to be featured on the show, as well as your life advice submissions. And if you want them to remain anonymous, drop that in your note and I'll happily respect it ☺️

Credit statement: Intro music is Outside by Ikson. Outro music is As It Sets by Ikson. Check out his other tracks here ➡️ https://www.iksonmusic.com