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00:03What up, though, Detroit?
00:04We are back for another episode of Detroit Culture Shifters.
00:08And these young men have been a part of my social media journey so far.
00:12If you haven't been catching up with me, I've been getting into running.
00:14It's kind of crazy.
00:16I never thought I'd be here, but here we are.
00:19But when you think of running, you might think of the miles, the marathons, and the finishing time.
00:23But in Detroit, these two men have turned running into something much bigger.
00:27What started as a couple of runners with an idea has grown into a movement,
00:31connecting thousands of people through wellness, community, networking, and most importantly, the D.
00:36So give it up for our two Detroit Culture Shifters, Joe Robinson and Lance Woods.
00:42Welcome to Detroit Culture Shifters.
00:44Thanks for that intro.
00:45That was amazing.
00:46I'm super excited.
00:46That was a good intro.
00:47Thank you so much.
00:48That was a really good one.
00:49I literally just wanted to say thank you for first because this year has been a very, it was a
00:58start to like a turbulent year at the beginning.
01:00And I wanted to figure out a way to get back into challenging myself, doing something that like I didn't
01:06think I would ever be able to do.
01:07In high school, I was a track runner, but like I didn't really take it seriously.
01:11I did sprints.
01:12I did long jump.
01:13It was cute.
01:14But now with the help of We Run 313, I've been able to like really get back into it.
01:21I'm doing a 10K in September.
01:24Dope, dope, dope.
01:24Which one?
01:25The Detroit's women's run that's happening.
01:28Belial?
01:29Yeah.
01:29Okay.
01:30Sweet.
01:30That's a big one.
01:31And I finally got to run four and a half miles, no breaks.
01:35Okay.
01:35So like I've had some people, a part of the We Run 313 community that's been helping me.
01:41So without you guys, I wouldn't have had those people to help me out.
01:45So I just wanted to start off by saying thank you.
01:47Oh, that's amazing.
01:49Shout out to you for doing the work.
01:51Yeah, I was about to say that.
01:53We didn't run the miles for you.
01:55You running the miles.
01:56Hey, but the inspiration.
01:57The accountability.
01:58Yeah.
01:58The accountability, the inspiration to see other people doing it and making it fun too.
02:03Because when you think of running, you think of, oh my God, I have to really do that.
02:07That's so long.
02:08Like how much is a mile?
02:09Oh my God.
02:10But the fact that you created a space where people feel like, no, this is exciting.
02:14Like I want to come to Run Club today.
02:16Let's do this.
02:17You guys have created something so cool and so many people have told me about it.
02:21So I'm super excited to have you on the show today.
02:23So let's bring it back.
02:25I want to ask a question real quick.
02:26Yeah, absolutely.
02:27So you said that you asked, like, could we like nominate someone?
02:32Yes, we're going to do that at the end.
02:34Wait, so who nominated us?
02:36So I can tell you that.
02:37Is that a secret?
02:38I don't have it off the top of my head right now, but I can tell you for sure.
02:41I was thinking about that.
02:42I'm like, I know we're supposed to, you know, hand the baton.
02:45Yes.
02:45I'm like, who handed us the baton?
02:46I got you.
02:47I promise.
02:47I got you.
02:47I wrote it down downstairs, so I'll grab it after.
02:50I watched some of your interviews too.
02:52They're dope.
02:53I appreciate it.
02:54But you guys started in 2019, correct?
02:57Yes.
02:57That's right.
02:57Beautiful.
02:58So you guys were both running on opposite sides of the city.
03:01What created this collaboration?
03:04Like, what made you guys think, let's start a run club?
03:06Like, what was the inspiration behind it all?
03:09It was a lot of different inspirations.
03:12Like, it wasn't like one singular thing.
03:16I mean, there's one thing that we agreed on, but it was a lot of different inspirations, right?
03:22So it's layered, and maybe we've never talked about it like this before, but like you said,
03:28I was on the East, he was on the West doing different things.
03:31Long story short, someone who knew us both said, hey, y'all should know each other, so on and so
03:36forth.
03:37That's how we came together, but the run club inspiration came from several things.
03:42The first thing was it was just making us feel better, right?
03:48Right.
03:49Like, that's the main thing, physically and mentally, and then Lance, he could speak more about it,
03:55but he had an experience in D.C. with a run club out there, and I, unknowingly, to what he
04:02was doing,
04:03had an experience with a run club in Los Angeles.
04:05Oh, wow.
04:06Early 2019.
04:07So I think the inspiration was coming from a lot of different places, and then we've always been galvanizing people,
04:15whether it had been in community, him being in community work, or me being in the entertainment business.
04:20Makes sense.
04:21What about you, Lance?
04:22Yeah, yeah, yeah.
04:22So to speak to his experience, well, he was talking about my experience in D.C.
04:27One of the OG run clubs, Dixie Runner Collective, I went out there to run a Cherry Blossom, connected with
04:32them,
04:33seeing all these black people running together, and I'm like, this is dope.
04:37I had started running with Joe in February because a mutual friend saw what we were doing on the opposite
04:43sides of town,
04:43and then when I had that experience, I'm like, yo, we got to start this in Detroit.
04:48And at that time, it wasn't many black people running in the city,
04:51and I didn't know any other black person running as far as the distance covering, like, half marathon and marathon.
05:00We would get together and run 10 miles from West 7 Mile to East 7 Mile, you know what I
05:05mean?
05:06And just on a random Saturday or Sunday.
05:09And it was in those moments that I knew that this would be somebody that I wanted to start a
05:16run club with
05:16because there wasn't nobody else running.
05:20And once, like I said, once I had that experience there,
05:24I knew how important it was to do something like that in Detroit,
05:29to make physical activity like a norm.
05:33Right.
05:34You know, because that wasn't happening.
05:36So now to see 600-something black people out on a Tuesday is crazy
05:41because that just never existed.
05:44I can't wait to come to Two Mile Tuesday.
05:46I was supposed to come this past Tuesday, but I got caught up at work.
05:49But I'm going to be at that next one for sure.
05:51It didn't even used to look like that.
05:52Like, our normal Two Mile Tuesdays back in, like, 2019 would be, like, 150, maybe 200 people.
05:59And it's just grown tremendously because, I mean, there's a running boom that's happening throughout the nation.
06:08We've been privileged to be able to go all around the country and around the world running
06:13through various sponsorships or just taking it amongst ourselves and just going.
06:19Because we really are in the running industry.
06:23Like, we didn't just start a run club and then we're just running locally.
06:28Like, we've been all over the country.
06:32You know, we're deeply connected with a lot of black-led run clubs.
06:36A lot of the work that we do, it trembles throughout the nation and the world.
06:41We've been all over.
06:42I ran all six world major marathons.
06:45I'm actually running Sydney Marathon next weekend.
06:49My friend is also, too.
06:50Yeah.
06:51Because he wants to do all of the world marathons, too.
06:53I'm like, that's incredible.
06:55Yeah.
06:55So we've been everywhere.
06:56We've represented Detroit, the 313, everywhere we go.
07:02Everybody around the nation knows who we are, what we do.
07:05And it's been an over seven-year journey of, like, real boots on the ground running through
07:12the streets in every city, you know.
07:14So that's how the brand has grown.
07:16And it has inspired other people to start run clubs everywhere.
07:21So when other run clubs may have some traction and then they find out that that's going on
07:27and they, like, you don't know about what's happening in Detroit.
07:30And if they don't know, other run clubs make our run space aware.
07:35So now it's just a tremendous amount of people that's coming out because of the work we do.
07:41I mean, it's crazy.
07:43I can imagine, I mean, coming from just a simple, like, hey, we're just meeting up because
07:48we love running to creating a community that's not only here but worldwide at this point.
07:53Like, I can only imagine how your brains are like, what is happening?
07:58Like, this is a lot of people who are coming to us being inspired or they're running because
08:04they've joined us.
08:05So let's break it down a little bit simpler for people who probably haven't even, like,
08:09stepped foot into what a run club is or has been on the page to see what you guys do.
08:14What is a run club and why is yours different than the other run clubs that they have probably
08:19been privy to?
08:21A run club is a group of people that's just coming together.
08:27Our run club is where we connect like-minded individuals through running to build a healthier,
08:33happier community.
08:34So that's what we do at our run club.
08:36A run club, again, is people coming together just because they want to run, right?
08:42Um, and that's, that's really all it is.
08:45It's no different from a car club, right?
08:49Some people in car clubs, I've been seeing, uh, like people in bike clubs, they come together
08:54under the foundation of liking that one thing or they want to learn more about it.
09:00So they join this thing, right?
09:01Right.
09:02Um, what I would say is different about We Run 313.
09:07We, and I said this on Instagram the other day, I was being kind of, um, kind of, I was
09:14being kind of rough around the edges a little bit, but I was like, yo, cause somebody sent
09:19me like, oh man, let's check this out.
09:21Somebody doing Two Mile Tuesday and we see Two Mile Tuesday, people doing it everywhere.
09:26And before We Run 313, I didn't see Two Mile Tuesday, right?
09:31And I'm not saying that to throw shade at anybody, but you said what's different.
09:35What's different about us is that we started the Two Mile Tuesday method, which is like one
09:41mile out, take a break, everybody finished, so nobody gets left behind, and then you do
09:48one mile back.
09:49Now, if other people have been doing that, I just haven't seen it.
09:53Not to take anything away from anybody, but when I go to run with other run clubs, that
09:58is the difference.
10:00They, other run clubs that I've seen, and I, like he said, I've run everywhere.
10:06I've run in the Middle East, I've run in Africa, I've run in Europe, I've run in, uh, uh, uh,
10:14Istanbul, I've run everywhere, right?
10:16Um, and not to mention in the United States.
10:18Most of the run clubs I see, they just say, all right, we're a run club, we're about to
10:24do one mile, I mean, uh, three miles.
10:26And that's it.
10:27And then they just take off.
10:28Take off.
10:29And then, if you get left behind, you just get left behind.
10:33So, we were the first ones that I saw put, really putting the training wheels on it for
10:40people that might, may not, not run, or people that used to run and want to get back into
10:44it, or people who don't believe that they can run.
10:48Because if I go to a 5k, and I get left behind, then you just reinforce my belief.
10:53Right.
10:54That I can't do it.
10:55Right.
10:56You know what I'm saying?
10:56So, I think that's the difference in terms of, like, what we do.
11:01Now, we are seeing a lot of people do that method now, right?
11:07Um, but, originally, that was the thing that was setting us apart.
11:13It was people coming to Two Mile Tuesday feeling like they couldn't do it, and then our, how
11:20we do things, disproving what they felt about themselves, and then they start to feel happy
11:25about it.
11:25And to, just to add to that, um, that speaks to the, we are an inclusive run club for runners
11:30of all levels, all ages, all paces.
11:32Like, we really mean that.
11:33Um, so, yes, that is taking it down to the very beginner, you know, runner, where they
11:42may not think that they can run the two miles, and we broke it down, right?
11:46Um, so, it's, it's much of a challenge for those that think that they can't do it, um, but
11:52they're going to get out there and do it, and then start believing that they can once
11:55they do it.
11:56So, to add to it, there's also elite runners in our space, too.
12:01Mm-hmm.
12:01So, you can get there for Two Mile Tuesday and run a sub-six-minute mile, 530, 520.
12:08There's people out there that's going to hit the gas.
12:10For, you know, some people that's running sub-five-minute miles.
12:13They're all there.
12:15Um, we are actually those runners, too, right?
12:18So, but we didn't start off as that.
12:20And, um, people have seen our journey, um, when it comes to running.
12:25People have seen us really take the half marathon, from the 5K, really the one mile, all the way
12:31up to the marathon.
12:31And Joe has ran ultra marathon now.
12:34But they've seen our journey of the one mile all the way up to ultra and how serious we've
12:42taken it to go from a hobby jogger to sub-three-hour marathoners.
12:48Everybody don't have run club leaders that run sub-three-hour marathons, um, while also
12:55maintaining space for the person that believes, that doesn't believe that they can run two
13:00miles.
13:01So, we have a wide range of experiences that we're able to share.
13:06And we also give that to run club as well, where we provide shoes to the run club.
13:12You know, we've given over, what, about seven, eight thousand pairs to the running community.
13:18Um, we've partnered with various brands and organizations to be able to do that.
13:24Um, I don't know anybody that's been able to give over eight thousand pairs to their running
13:30club.
13:31Um, I don't know nobody that's done that.
13:34So, there's a lot of things that we've been able to do, um, because we're really from the
13:39city of Detroit.
13:39He's from the east side.
13:40I'm from the west side.
13:41And we understand how important it is for the education to remain active in this space.
13:51Because we didn't start off with the best running gear.
13:54We didn't have the brands.
13:55We didn't have any of that.
13:56We didn't even have a good pair of running shoes when we first started.
13:59But, so, we've been through the injuries and all of that.
14:03So, we try to cut down every single possible barrier that it is to the running space and
14:09provide that to the community.
14:11Really, for free.
14:12And that's what really drew me to you guys personally was the fact that I heard about
14:17the fact that it's not just showing up and you run and then you go home.
14:21Like, you guys have created an active community where, like, it feels like you can meet people.
14:27You feel like you can make friends.
14:29And the fact that if I didn't have shoes, now I know that y'all have given away shoes.
14:34So, the fact that you guys have created a space where, like you said, from beginner
14:37to the most elite, you can feel like you belong somewhere.
14:41And I think that that is a testament to you both, not only your mind, but your heart and
14:46to this.
14:46Like, this isn't a game for you guys.
14:48Like, this is something that you guys personally do and you're wanting other people to feel
14:53whatever that feeling is that you have cultivated for yourself.
14:56You, our guys are creating that.
14:58And I think that's what has led you guys to be so successful and why all the other run
15:03clubs are kind of looking at y'all being like, what are they doing?
15:06You know, the blueprint.
15:07Because it's hard to create a community and actually sustain it and have people keep coming
15:12and then have them talk about it so they bring more people.
15:15So, I think it's a testament to what you guys have done and the people that you've cultivated.
15:19So, with this learning journey, you're obviously breaking barriers for other people.
15:24What have you learned about yourselves throughout this process?
15:26Like, is there anything that you've been shocked about yourself where it's like, whoa, I didn't
15:30even know I was good at doing that or I didn't realize that I could be a good facilitator
15:34or something that someone has brought up to you where it was like, whoa, hold on now.
15:38Y'all just made me learn something about myself and why I started this club.
15:42Was there anything like that?
15:45Yeah, I'll say two quick things real quick.
15:48The first thing is I didn't know I could be an athlete and I don't know why I felt like
15:55that.
15:55I mean, I didn't, my cousin was an athlete.
15:57I grew up in the house with my cousin.
15:59He was like a basketball star and I played basketball because like he forced me to, but
16:04I never was into it.
16:05You know what I'm saying?
16:06I played football on the block because that's what all the little boys was doing.
16:10I was foot racing up and down a block because that's what all the kids was doing.
16:14But I never was like, oh, I'm an athlete, right?
16:17I honestly didn't consider myself an athlete until other people started saying it, right?
16:24Like that was crazy.
16:25I'm like, athlete?
16:27What are y'all talking about?
16:28And then I'm like, well, you know, you did run 16 marathons and you did run 35 half marathons.
16:34You did win a few of them too, right?
16:36And you run a 5K in 16 minutes.
16:38You might be an athlete.
16:40So that's one thing.
16:42I never looked at myself as an athlete until other people started saying it, right?
16:46The second thing is like my business acumen and ability to sell products, right?
16:59Now, this is something I always thought about myself, but the time I spent in the mute,
17:04because I used to sell shoes.
17:06A lot of people don't know that, but it's in the book.
17:07I tell my story how in college I was, I used to, like before StockX and all of that,
17:13I was selling, buying, selling, and trading shoes, right?
17:16So I was doing that when I was 18, 19 years old.
17:19And, but I spent some time in the music business and it made me feel like I wasn't good because
17:27of the people that I was around.
17:29Like I couldn't, I couldn't be as successful as I wanted.
17:33I couldn't get my ideas out because the people that I was around was always pushing back on
17:39my ideas to sell and do things.
17:41And so when, when we started the Run Club, and again, just, just give people context.
17:46We didn't start the Run Club to sell anything, right?
17:49That, that's not why we got into it.
17:51The people demanded that of us.
17:53They wanted shirts that they can represent.
17:55They wanted to represent us and then they wanted them in other colors.
17:58Then they sweated that one out.
18:00So they needed to.
18:01So we just kind of had to keep doing it.
18:03You know what I'm saying?
18:04But through that process, through that journey, I realized that I was right.
18:12Like I was trying to tell, they're going to, some of them might be mad at me for this
18:16when I hear this.
18:17I was trying to tell them about how to sell things like shirts and different things this
18:21way years ago, years ago.
18:26And I got so much pushback.
18:28It made me feel like, well, maybe I'm wrong about how to sell shirts.
18:31You know what I'm saying?
18:31So that's, that's one thing that stood out for me.
18:33I never said that before on air before.
18:35We love an exclusive.
18:37I'm never going to be mad about that.
18:39We love an exclusive.
18:40What about you?
18:42I think the run club like reaffirmed a lot of things for me.
18:46My background is in youth development.
18:48Well, community development, specifically youth development, but it's more community
18:52development at large.
18:53A lot of the things that I've taken in the classroom like comes forth in the run club.
18:59And then also I have a background in business, concentrated in supply chain management.
19:02So I understand corporate.
19:05I've been in corporate America for a while.
19:07Didn't really like it much.
19:09That's why I got out of corporate.
19:11But a lot of that corporate structure is infused in what we do.
19:15I'm big on like systems, processes, procedures, all of that.
19:19So it just kind of reinforces the things that I know about myself.
19:23I'm heavy, heavy, heavy on belief.
19:25I believe that I can do anything I put my mind to.
19:28So when I first put my mind to running a sub three hour marathon, I did it.
19:33First try.
19:34Ran a 249.48 in Glass City.
19:37As long as I believe it, then I'm going to put the work in that it takes to get there.
19:42Then I started believing that I could run sub 245.
19:45Ran a 244.47 in Berlin.
19:49So yeah, after that, I really didn't care much because I felt like I was just doing it
19:54just to be doing it.
19:56And my biggest goal is to really bring more people into the sport.
20:03So I kind of like took two years off of running.
20:05I actually ran a marathon this year in Seville, Spain.
20:10Didn't really care about the time.
20:11I ran a 314 after taking two years off.
20:15No big deal.
20:16Yeah, but I mean, I didn't really get into it for that.
20:21It was more like I was just proving to myself what I can do when I say I can do
20:27something.
20:27So I think the run club showed me that, yeah, you really can do what you put your mind to.
20:36But I have a long history and a long track record of doing everything I said I was going
20:41to do in my life.
20:43So it kind of just furthered that for me.
20:47And that's essentially why I started.
20:49I was like, I've been telling myself I can't do this for years.
20:51Now I'm going to tell myself I can't.
20:54Yeah, it's really a mindset shift.
20:56Literally just a mindset.
20:57And it's so fulfilling to then get to those moments where it's like, oh, okay, well, I
21:03just cleared that mile.
21:04Oh, I just cleared that 4.5.
21:06Y'all ain't ready for me.
21:07Oh, my God.
21:09Exactly.
21:09That's the best feeling in the world, honestly.
21:11Literally, I'll go on my group chat being like, y'all don't know what I did today.
21:14Here's the screenshot from Strava.
21:16Facts.
21:16What's up?
21:17The proof is in the pudding, babe.
21:19You know what's crazy, though?
21:20You're talking about group chats and friends.
21:22I don't know.
21:23But most of the time, you're going to be your only running friend, though.
21:27Like, no shade to your friends or your group chat.
21:29But you're going to have to get some friends that run in order for you to take it to the
21:34next level.
21:35She was the reason why I started running.
21:38My sister, Alex, she's been running for a minute.
21:41She's about to do a 10 mile for the Army run in Virginia.
21:45And she's been the one being like, girl, you need to do this.
21:47Like, you're going to feel so free.
21:48It's going to be so mind clearing.
21:50Like, you're going to really be able to, like, really do this.
21:53And I'm like, nah, girl.
21:54And it's just you versus you.
21:55Correct.
21:56So then you, let's say she does that 10 mile or you step up and do a 10 mile or
22:02then after
22:03you do it, you're going to say, that wasn't so bad.
22:06I can get better at that.
22:08So you're going to try to, like, get faster and see how you can beat your former self.
22:12And those are, like, milestones of improvement.
22:15Exactly.
22:15Right.
22:16And then you take those things and you make them applicable to other areas of your life.
22:20And then you become a better person in general.
22:23Exactly.
22:24Yeah.
22:24That's all it was for me is just constant confirmation or affirming my abilities and whatever it is
22:35that I set my mind to do.
22:36I love that.
22:37And I love that you guys have formulated a community that also feels that way, too.
22:41And I'm glad that you brought up your community background because I think another thing that
22:45really struck me about your group specifically is the fact that you guys are so community
22:50conscious because you guys have done things for, like, Amon Aubrey during the entire 2020
22:57situation.
22:58And you guys are very heavily involved in what goes on in the city as well.
23:03For sure.
23:03Is that because of you guys' love for community engagement?
23:07Or did you guys just feel like, like, why did you guys feel like you needed that to be
23:11a part of the Run Club?
23:12Like, making sure that the community was also engaged as well.
23:17You talking about specifically for that situation?
23:19Not just specifically, but just in general.
23:21You guys have always been very, like, community resourced as well.
23:26Well, you gotta be.
23:27Like, if you in your town, like, where you from, you know what I'm saying?
23:31Like, you gotta hold that to the highest degree.
23:34And a lot of people don't think that way.
23:35So that's why I was super impressed.
23:37Yeah, you got people that say a lot of things, you know.
23:42Like, they talk a lot of stuff about where they from or I hate where I'm from or I hate
23:46this town and things like that.
23:48I don't understand them kind of people.
23:49You know what I'm saying?
23:50Nah, unless they went through something, a traumatic thing in their town or something
23:55like that.
23:56But, like, I could never say that about the city of Detroit.
23:58You know what I mean?
23:59The city of Detroit is the reason for the way I talk.
24:03How could I talk bad about the city?
24:04It's in my accent.
24:05Everything I, like, the way I walk, the way I talk.
24:08You know what I'm saying?
24:09Like, everybody know me from being from the city of Detroit.
24:13How could I not get resources or do things and give back to the city?
24:19What I'm going to do, go across 8 Mile and do something or, like, go across 696 and do
24:24something for Oakland County?
24:26Like, no, we in Detroit.
24:27We doing it for the city.
24:28Like, these are my neighbors.
24:30These are, man, look, I'll tell you this.
24:33When we do, like, the shoe giveaway or something like that or even just 2 Mile Tuesday, right?
24:38Just even 2 Mile Tuesday.
24:40I go to my kids' school because they go DPS, right?
24:43And the teachers be like, yeah, I was at 2 Mile Tuesday.
24:46I be feeling bad.
24:47I'm like, dang, I ain't see you because there was so many people.
24:49But I had parents at my kids' school say, hey, I came to your shoe giveaway last year.
24:54I still got these.
24:55Look, I'm wearing them right now.
24:56You know what I'm saying?
24:57And I love that.
24:59You know what I'm saying?
25:00Especially, like, we in the city.
25:01My kids, they're at DPS.
25:03The parents is there.
25:04We doing it for the city of Detroit.
25:06Like, there's no better thing to do than do it for where you from and your neighbors that's surrounding you.
25:13Yeah, for me, it's deeply personal.
25:16You know, born and raised on the west side.
25:19I'm educated through DPS, seeing it all, been through it all.
25:25But I wouldn't even be who I am if it wasn't for people giving back to me.
25:29So, I mean, I got a lot of scholarship money to be able to go to school.
25:34Graduated from Tennessee State University, HBCU.
25:37With Detroit being 87% black city, that number probably declining now.
25:42But, I mean, we black.
25:44Like Joe was saying, like, it's in the fabric of who we are.
25:47So how can't you or why wouldn't you give back to your city?
25:52Like, we can complain about some of the turbulence we have in Detroit.
25:58But, like, you do know that you have power to shift things if you just insert yourself and get out
26:04and get active.
26:05Now, do we have all the answers?
26:07No.
26:08But you can find out what you're good at and insert yourself into your community and make a difference.
26:14All you got to do is affect the life of one person starting with yourself.
26:18And then you can invoke change.
26:20Like, yes, we got all of these people running.
26:24But what if we didn't start running for ourselves first, then come together, and then create something that creates space
26:31for other people?
26:32We're not scientists.
26:34We didn't come up with something that's, like, crazy.
26:37I mean, we're creating this space.
26:40But at the same time, it's like we just believe that we wanted people to live healthier lives in the
26:47city of Detroit.
26:48One of the things I hated to see is that Detroit is one of the unhealthiest and unhappiest cities in
26:55America.
26:56Like, that really boils my blood because there's so much that goes into that, right?
27:02You talk about systemic oppression and just years on years of our city going through so much.
27:12But it's just two people from the east side and west side coming together, creating space for us to do
27:18something that wasn't readily available for us.
27:24You know, you talk about safe spaces to run.
27:26We got to run in the streets or sidewalks and potholes and stuff like that.
27:30But now they're creating bike lanes and now they're creating greenways through the neighborhoods and stuff like that.
27:35We didn't grow up seeing that.
27:36Right.
27:38I mean, we'd be on a track because that's the safest space.
27:40Not me, particularly, because I didn't run track or do any of that in high school.
27:44But those that participate in the sport, they were on track.
27:48That's what you know.
27:49But they weren't, like, running in the streets or having a riverfront to run down.
27:53But now those spaces are available and we've created space for black people to see themselves in the sport.
27:59So there's no telling what can happen for a young person that takes this sport seriously because they see many
28:05black people in that space.
28:07And you can really make a career out of it.
28:09And even if you don't make a career out of it, you can still get something personally from it.
28:14You know, just going out your door and getting a run in it, it curves so much.
28:18Yeah.
28:19From your health to mental health, so many things.
28:22It's a beautiful benefit.
28:23I mean, I wholeheartedly agree.
28:26I typically do my runs before noon and it feels like everything else in the day.
28:31Like, I could literally sit on myself on the couch for the rest of the day and I feel like
28:35I've accomplished everything under the sun.
28:37Because I did that two miles, okay?
28:39The run definitely makes the rest of your day easier.
28:42Exactly.
28:43It prepares you for something.
28:45It unlocks something.
28:46I don't know how else to explain it.
28:48You just have to do it and feel it and understand it.
28:50I explain it.
28:51That's called serotonin.
28:53So we got dopamine hits through food and sex or entertainment, things that keep us jumpy.
29:02Instagram.
29:03Instagram, for sure, for sure.
29:05So, but serotonin is that happy chemical, that real long-lasting happiness that it don't, serotonin don't hit you instantly.
29:16It's a slow build effect that it's that thing that you look for at the end, delayed gratification.
29:24It's like when you plant a seed, you don't get the tree today, but you know you can rest well
29:29and know that the tree is growing.
29:32So, that's that.
29:33Are you clocking that?
29:35Come on now.
29:36We're going to have to write that down.
29:37Put it on the shirt.
29:38Yeah.
29:38But yeah, that's what it is, though.
29:40Like, you know, like marathon training is really difficult.
29:43And I'm going to let you get to your question, but I just wanted to say you didn't know what
29:46it was.
29:47No, I appreciate it.
29:48Educate me because there's other people who needed to know, too.
29:50And serotonin, actually, I know they say it's not like a cure for this, but it can heal depression.
29:58And when I, in the beginning where I kind of fast-tracked it where you said, like, what was the
30:03thing?
30:04And I'm like, oh, it made us feel better mentally and physically.
30:07The mental part was that the serotonin we was getting from doing something that we didn't think that we could
30:13do,
30:13and it was gratifying, and it became long-lasting happiness, right?
30:18So that's what you're feeling.
30:20That's the happy chemical.
30:21You know what I'm saying?
30:22Like, eating something healthy, it don't always taste good, but you can rest knowing that your body and its function
30:30is working properly
30:31because you did the right thing earlier, you know what I'm saying, versus eating that double cheeseburger,
30:35and you're like, oh, that was so good, but you're going to be feeling bad later.
30:39Well, me and serotonin are locked in.
30:41Like, oh, I'm just saying.
30:44But I know that you guys have a book you mentioned there.
30:46It's available now.
30:47Go buy it.
30:48Yeah.
30:49What made you guys do that?
30:50Like, was the community being like, we need to figure out how you guys started this?
30:54Like, what was the vibe?
30:56It was literally that.
30:57So Tracy Catherine, she's the Senior Marketing Director at Wayne State University Press.
31:03She came up with the idea.
31:05She's been running with us since 2021.
31:08By 23, she said, what do you guys think about creating a book out of what you've been able to
31:17build?
31:17We're like, a book?
31:19Of course.
31:20Let's do it.
31:21Like, so we went through the whole process.
31:22It took us four years to, you know, do all of the whole, it's a whole journey when it comes
31:29to, like, the book writing process and creating that draft and all of these things.
31:35But we had, our book, it consists of 42 contributors, myself and Joe included, so 40 others.
31:41And we solicited stories of people in the run club that wanted to tell their story, how they came to
31:47the run club, how they've been impacted positively by the run club.
31:51And there's a lot of stories that are shared where they're talking about mental health, where they came to the
31:58run club in a bad space and they had this community and they were able to get deeply connected to
32:04the community in ways that they haven't before.
32:07And it helped them overcome that.
32:09There's stories of weight loss, people losing over 100 pounds from staying consistent with the run club.
32:17Now, they don't just show up for two mile Tuesday and pocket 10K Thursday.
32:20They've taken it to the next level of, like, participating in races with us across the country, moving up to
32:26half marathons, some running marathons, et cetera, et cetera.
32:30But there's a ton of stories in there, stories of elderly people coming to the run club and starting running
32:37at, like, 58, 59 years old.
32:39And now they're in their 60s and they live an active lifestyle and they've been able to meet people that
32:45are their same age range where they thought that they couldn't meet friends that late in their life.
32:51So, wide range of stories that people can connect to, stories connect us as humans.
32:59Right.
32:59And the run club has been a way to break down these barriers that exist between us as humans, whether
33:06it's socioeconomic status or your ethnicity or simply the way that you were born and raised.
33:18It shatters that and brings us together.
33:20And I think that's what keeps it together.
33:24Right.
33:26So, yeah, that's what the book is talking about.
33:28It tells the origin stories of We Run 3, Run 3, how it came to be.
33:31It tells my personal story, Joe's personal story, the story of Detroit, some of the challenges we've experienced in Detroit
33:40as citizens.
33:43And, yeah, it's a unique story.
33:44I mean, I love the book.
33:46It gives you running tips, different places to go in Detroit to run.
33:52It's all in there.
33:53It's like it's everything.
33:54It's literally a runner's guide.
33:54Yeah, it's a runner's guide for sure.
33:55And I loved that you brought up the fact that there are stories from other people in it.
33:59And I think that's what really got me excited about the book, too, because I'm an avid reader.
34:03But, you know, just hearing about someone's journey, you have to really like the person in order to listen to
34:10their story to be very real.
34:12But the fact that you also included other people's journeys as well so that someone could be like, wow, I
34:17see myself in this story.
34:19Now they're like, OK, well, if they can do it, I can do it, too.
34:22Like you guys have created that book that's a lot different than where a lot of people would have thought
34:27it would have been just, you know, your story.
34:29And that's it.
34:30Like, just a moment for you to, you know, hype yourself up and that's it.
34:33But again, it's just the through line throughout this entire conversation was what can we do for others?
34:39How can we empower other people?
34:41And even with the book, you guys are doing that, too.
34:43And it's so many photos in there.
34:44The photos really give you that visual.
34:47Like it's deeper than just reading the text.
34:49You know, sometimes people get bored with text.
34:51But the photos is just so vibrant.
34:55It really captures the community.
34:56We should have brought some books in.
34:58We got some in the car.
34:59You can always come back.
35:00Yeah, yeah.
35:00We got some in the car.
35:01We'll have to get you one.
35:03Yeah.
35:05So before we get to the end of the episode where I ask about the Detroit Culture Shifters,
35:10I want to know with everything that's been happening in the past, what, nine years since you've created this?
35:15Seven.
35:15Seven.
35:16I'm already putting more years on it.
35:18That's OK.
35:18We'll get there.
35:19You in the future.
35:20Speaking of the future, though, what is the evolution?
35:23Like, let's manifest.
35:24I love manifesting on this show.
35:26You don't have to say anything that's in the works right now unless you want to, because, again, I love
35:30an excuse.
35:31But what is the evolution?
35:32Where do you want this to go?
35:34Like, take me further.
35:35Is it more programming?
35:36Is it more youth involvement?
35:38Is it taking this outside of the country more?
35:41Like, what is the evolution for We Run 313?
35:44And how can the city back you?
35:47I'll go.
35:48I'll go first.
35:50Well, yeah, we got this question yesterday.
35:53We did an event, a book event yesterday, too.
35:58I would like to see.
36:00We got, like, some similar goals and stuff.
36:03But given that we come from, like, different backgrounds and stuff, we still got some different future goals that, honestly,
36:11we both still agree on.
36:12But it's just our process, how we process the ideas might be a little different.
36:18I would like to see Two Mile Tuesday.
36:21I would like to see Two Mile Tuesday.
36:45I've been saying this for a long time.
36:46I would like to see the city of Detroit and their districts, their neighborhoods.
36:51Detroit got so many neighborhoods, right?
36:54So many.
36:55You got Bagley, Blackstone.
36:58I can name them all day.
37:00Sherwood University District.
37:01All these neighborhoods.
37:02And those are just where I live, right?
37:06But I would like to see the city of Detroit in these neighborhoods and maybe even the rec centers.
37:11Like, they going outside and everybody know it's Two Mile Tuesday in the city of Detroit.
37:18You know what I'm saying?
37:19Like, that would be beautiful because, and I said this yesterday, when I went to Boston to support Lance for
37:26the Boston Marathon one time, I was like, dang, this is a running city.
37:32Everybody, every corner, everywhere you look, people was outside jogging, jogging, jogging, jogging, right?
37:38I think Detroit can be that, can be like that.
37:41You know what I mean?
37:42So that's what I would like to see, like, way, like, in the future.
37:46We got a bunch of small goals ahead of us.
37:48Like, of course, we got running the 313 5K.
37:52We would like to see that turn into we run the 313 10K.
37:56We run the 313 half marathon and marathon, right?
38:00We want to see that grow and expand.
38:02So that's just a few things that I could touch on.
38:06Love that.
38:07I would love the city.
38:08Like, at 6 o'clock, everybody, you just go outside in the city and everyone's running?
38:12That would be dope.
38:14That would be sweet, yeah.
38:14That would be dope.
38:15One of the things we've talked about a lot in the past is having a space that we call home.
38:22We've run out of bars.
38:23We've run out of food shops.
38:26But we've never run out of our own space.
38:31Our run club has grown tremendously.
38:33So parking be a big issue.
38:37It's crazy.
38:38So I don't know what kind of space we can get that can, like, house everyone.
38:43But, I mean, we have to figure that out as we go.
38:45But I believe one day we'll have our own space where it's, like, it'll have access to treadmills and recovery
38:54items and, like, lockers to put people's stuff away.
38:58Or smoothies and different things that we can give to the community or sell to the community that they want.
39:07Because a lot of the places that we patronize, I mean, they get all of that foot traffic.
39:12They get that.
39:13We don't.
39:15So we created this space, and I want to see other ways that we can benefit from that, while also
39:23just having more things available to the running community that they can use, like recovery boots and different things that
39:33can keep you active.
39:36That's what I envision happening one of these days.
39:41And then also just traveling more, taking the run club to see other places and spaces.
39:47Like, each year we try to go to at least one other city and do, like, a half marathon there.
39:53Like, this year we're taking the run club to Dallas.
39:55We're running the BMW Dallas half.
39:58And then outside of that, Joe and I, we're going to Nairobi, Kenya.
40:04And we're doing, like, a mission trip where we're taking the books, giving the books away.
40:09We're going to host, like, 5K or 10K out there with Africans, Kenyans.
40:16So that's going to be pretty amazing.
40:18We're doing that where we run, yeah, we run Foundation.
40:22We run Rewise Foundation.
40:24Y'all need to open this up to people because, hold on, I like chocolate and I love it.
40:28We're just helping people all go.
40:29Yeah, we try to do our thing in terms of expanding our footprint beyond Detroit.
40:35Because, like, yeah, we born and raised in the city.
40:40The run club is headquartered here.
40:42But we started getting a lot of traction outside of Detroit before Detroit started buying into what we were doing.
40:49That's how it be sometimes.
40:50I mean, we've been on NBC Today Show with Al Roker.
40:53Like, those type of media coverage, national coverage, really made Detroit look at what we're doing in our own backyard.
41:03Not to say that Detroit hasn't putting us on platforms.
41:06Right, right.
41:06We've been everywhere locally.
41:09But I think when you start making noise outside your city, people start turning to the people that's making the
41:15noise in their city.
41:16And then it all comes together.
41:20So we need a headquarters.
41:22Yeah, yeah, yeah.
41:22Anyone knows a building.
41:24All of that.
41:25Yeah.
41:25Hit us up.
41:26Hit us up.
41:26Go ahead and sign up for the 5K for next year.
41:29Go ahead and sign up for that mission trip.
41:32You heard all the things they're looking for.
41:34Help them out, friends.
41:35Okay, thank you.
41:36And now that we're at the end, we always pay it forward to the next person.
41:39That was the reason why I created this.
41:41Since I am not a native of Detroit, I wanted to not only learn the city, but learn it through
41:46your eyes.
41:47And I love meeting new people and hearing what they have cultivated within the city.
41:51So who should be the next Detroit culture shifter?
41:53Someone who's moving the city forward that may not get the recognition that they justly deserve.
41:58Can we do one apiece?
42:00Absolutely.
42:01I got to give it to my boy Arthur Johnson, Wise Guys Chess Club.
42:06Yeah, that's a good one.
42:08He's a phenomenal brother.
42:10My son participates in his chess.
42:12He taught my son how to play chess.
42:14Come on now.
42:14Because I never learned.
42:16My mom bought me chess sets and things like that, but I was on a PlayStation.
42:20You know what I'm saying?
42:21I never had somebody sit me down and actually teach me how to play chess as a little boy.
42:26And that's something that I wanted to change in my son.
42:30And so when Arthur, who I know Arthur for music, you know what I'm saying?
42:34When I was coming up in music, he was friends with some of the producers and artists I was working
42:42with.
42:42So I would always see him.
42:43He used to go by Suge back then.
42:45I don't know if you want people to know that.
42:47But yeah, so I used to see him all the time.
42:52I'm talking 10, 15 years ago.
42:53And to see his transformation and to see where he's at in life on top of what he's been through.
42:59Like, he's definitely a Detroit culture shifter for sure.
43:04I got to give it to my brother, Brian George, Sergeant George, DPD.
43:11I mean, he does a lot in the community.
43:13His primary focus is the community.
43:15Like, he's a police officer, but that is a platform for him to further the work that he do.
43:21I actually got inspired by the work that he does, was doing back in, like, 2011, 2012 to move back
43:31to Detroit because he was doing so much great work.
43:33And this is before he became a police officer, but now he works with Pal, got a lot of kids,
43:40created this Kulu with Cops.
43:42I mean, he creates that barrier between residents and police officers to, like, make it about community so that we
43:51can police the communities better by involving the kids in what the police does.
43:57So, I mean, he definitely needs to be able to, like, tell more about that, to get more kids involved
44:02in what he's doing.
44:05I mean, they got the basketball, they got soccer, they got every sport that you can think of, football, baseball,
44:11all of that.
44:13But they just do so many community givebacks and everything.
44:17So he can get on here and talk more about that.
44:19I mean, he's been shifting Detroit culture for a long time.
44:24You're talking 15-plus years of community development work, and he can speak more about it.
44:30Well, Sarge and Arthur, you'll be hearing from me.
44:33Thank you so much.
44:34But I just want to say thank you guys for being here.
44:37Thank you for what you have created.
44:39You have created a community of people who not only see themselves as powerful, strong human beings, but you've also
44:47created a space where they can think bigger and dream bigger.
44:50I don't know if you realized what you were going to do and how you were going to change lives
44:55in 2019, but I cannot wait to see what is going to happen when you hit that 10-year, because
45:00I've already apparently jumped there.
45:03But I can't wait to see what comes and what innovations you create and what we can help you with.
45:09You guys are always welcome here, and you always, of course, are Detroit Culture Shifters.
45:14Thank you so much.
45:16We appreciate it.
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