"Fight The Good Fight!" w/ Joshuah Hernandez

Joshuah Hernandez is currently scheduled for a boxing match on Saturday April 13th, 2024 at the Dome in Rosemont, IL. He has been boxing since the age of 5 years old. His dad was a professional boxer as well. Like many of us, his childhood had some rough patches along the way. Some of those things shaped him and molded him into the young man he is today. As a teenager he also finds success as a rapper alongside a really good friend of his. But success at such a young age brings division between the friends and it all comes to a sudden end. He is determined to do what ever it takes to get himself and his family ahead. Vowing to "never be broke and never to be alone." He gets himself through college by working and being focused on the goal of attaining his degree that he says he feels like he loses himself along the way. On the route to and from school he passes a building that he feels drawn to, like he knows he needs to step into this place. Without anyone inviting him, he decides to step foot into this building. Little did he know that this would change the trajectory of his entire life. Tune in to hear how he is now learning how to truly fight the good fight for your life.

https://linktr.ee/itsfreedomchicago
www.youtube.com/@itsfreedomchicago
www.decoloresbeautybar.glossgenius.com

Transcript

Omar: 0:16

Hello, everyone. Welcome to another episode of Wrong to Strong Chicago. I'm your host. My name is Omar Calvillo and tonight I have a guest. His name is Joshua Hernandez. Uh, I met this brother through, through our church. He actually leads, uh, the youth ministry at our church. Uh, and I know, uh, he, he's been like a huge blessing to the youth, specifically to my son. I don't know. I think I shared this with you before, but, uh, My son went to a youth retreat and, uh, you were there. I think you were leading, you know, one of the leaders there. And, uh, he came back excited. I know you like, uh, minister to him. I don't know if you prayed for him or something, but, uh, he definitely came back, like, uh, hyped up. So I just want to thank you for that brother. Amen.

Joshuah: 0:55

No problem. Praise God.

Omar: 0:57

Amen. You know what would be, uh, I know we're going to get into your whole story, but how long have you, have you been doing this for, uh, the, the, with the youth that working with

Joshuah: 1:03

the youth, uh, at Cicero, uh, going, it's about a year and a half. I joined back, um, fall retreat after the, the fall retreat for the one youth. That's when I really, when I started. So it's about a little over a year. Okay.

Omar: 1:20

So eventually we're going to get into what, what led you there, you know, like to want to work with the youth and all that. Yeah. All right. Oh, but yeah, you know that there's, there's a lot that this brother's into, you know, uh, we're going to get into it. Uh, he does some boxing, he does a little bit of music. Uh, so you, you guys want to hear some of that music, you guys got to stay tuned in, you know, towards the end, you know, God willing, we will probably get there, but, uh, well, we're going to go to the beginning, uh, brother, if you, if you want to tell us, you know, what part of Chicago you grew up in, maybe if you could name the neighborhood and, uh, if you could paint a picture of how that neighborhood was like when you were growing up, maybe like when you were young,

Joshuah: 1:53

yeah, uh, I grew up while lived in my grandma's house. So with my parents for like three, three years, four years by, by Sandoval High School where Hernandez, uh, middle school is now. Uh, and then my father bought a house in the Midway Airport area. Um, and we moved in there and I went to Nathan Hale. So I grew up in majority of my life was

Omar: 2:23

in Midway. The Midway area. Okay. Now, how was that like an area like when you were younger, like, like as far as like the neighborhood, like for you growing up?

Joshuah: 2:32

Yeah, I mean, uh, it's funny because when we first moved in, Our neighbors had the police watching our house. So we moved in, you know, Latinos moving in, uh, it was a lot of retired cops and firemen in the Midway area. Um, but I remember my father noticing, you know, the police officers watching our house. And one day he, I actually walked up to the car and knocked, knocked on the window. I was like, yeah, I live here. You know? And eventually they left, you know, they just left us alone. Cause, um, um, They just, we weren't, you know, causing no trouble. Right, right, right.

Omar: 3:10

It just looked, looked

Joshuah: 3:11

suspicious, I guess. Yeah, yeah, so it was me, my mom, uh, my, my pops, and then You know, eventually my other two brothers came and we grew up in that house until I was, uh, and so I started high school, probably started to move

Omar: 3:27

around. Okay. So now how are things at home? Like, like growing up was mom and dad in the picture, like as far as your, your family.

Joshuah: 3:34

Yeah. You know, my, my mom, that's a somewhat sensitive topic. Okay. No, no, yeah. I mean,

Omar: 3:42

you guys share as little or as

Joshuah: 3:43

much as you want with my mom and dad. I love them both. We, you know, we had our struggles like every, every family does. But, uh, what brought us through is that the love we have for one another, and because of Christ, because of my relationship with Christ and things like that, um, everything is forgiven. Yeah. And moved past, and I love my parents and, and that's all on that topic. Okay. No, no, that's fine. Yeah,

Omar: 4:13

yeah, yeah. Like, uh, I, I know you mentioned, uh, through Christ and know all that like is forgiven. Yeah. But this is like later on in life, right? That, that this happened.

Joshuah: 4:20

Okay. Okay. Yeah. I think that as a, as a kid. You know, you don't understand what's going on in your environment or your surroundings. Then you get older and then things start to make sense. Then you go through this, this wave of emotions and then you have a choice and the choice is either to forgive or to let, let it soak in that unforgiveness. And when you soak in the unforgiveness, the only person you're harming is yourself. So for, for me, it was very important to forgive and. To, to just strengthen that relationship with, with both of my parents. And I think that, you know, we're better now than we've ever been. So

Omar: 5:03

now, um, without getting into that, like, uh, I know you mentioned the unforgiveness. So, uh, would you say when you were younger, maybe teenager did that, I mean, those emotions, well, how did you express them back then? Was it anger, frustration?

Joshuah: 5:16

Well, I would resort to, um, being to myself a lot. I didn't, I didn't really hang out with a lot of friends or, or things like that. I, I mostly, spent a lot of time alone. And, And like with cousins or, you know, when I could with brothers, but that's why I got into doing so much stuff. Okay. Right. Because I was always alone. So I was a curious young kid. I started writing music when I was in third or fourth grade, my mom would find raps that I would hide under my stereo box. And, um, you know, boxing is something I've been doing since, since I was, you know, five, six years old. But I was just, I was. More so, uh, curious in those things because I was more quiet, reserved. Right. Because of the environment.

Omar: 6:10

Gotcha. And even like that sport of boxing is like an individual. Yeah. It's not a team sport, so like if you're already finding yourself like okay with being alone.

Joshuah: 6:20

Yeah, I think um, and I didn't play, I played one year of baseball, one year of uh, basketball in high school. And I ran track and cross country. For three, four years, and that's an individual. So, so naturally, I, I gravitated towards the individual stuff. And it, you know, it's not out of arrogance or out of pride or selfishness or anything. It was more so, that's what I, what, what I've always known. Is to figure things out and be more reserved.

Omar: 6:58

Gotcha. Yeah. No, no. I know you mentioned like in the, uh, like by yourself, you've been able to be okay now. Did you have siblings growing

Joshuah: 7:03

up? Brothers? Yeah. So I have two younger brothers, Giovanni and Justin. Then I also have Swift, who's my older, older brother, which he's my cousin, but that's my older brother. And we don't, it don't get any closer than that. That's gotcha. That's my guy, man. Um, Yeah, I can't, I could sit here and brag about him all day, but that's

Omar: 7:27

my big brother. Okay. No, yeah, yeah. No, no, no. Uh, staying on that topic. Is he somebody that influenced you? Somebody that, that you looked up to as like you were growing up? Like,

Joshuah: 7:36

of course. Um, I would always go to him for advice. There was many times my music, the music I listened to, um, is heavily influenced by him. Heavily influenced by other cousins that were making like reggaeton at the time. Um, so yeah, I think as a kid, you kind of want to be like the people you surround yourself with, you know, and When I, when I wasn't alone, I would surround myself with them. So when I was with them, eventually you're like, ah, I want to do what he's doing. Right.

Omar: 8:12

Right now. Hey, how old are you right now? I'm 28, 20. What, what, what

Joshuah: 8:16

year were you born? Oh,

Omar: 8:17

95, 95. Okay, man, man, 95, 95. I was in high school already, man. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's another reason I reached out to you, man. Cause I had no, but old people on here, man. I had another, I had a guy, he was on here. We're the same age. I'm 45 years old. You know? Okay. So he's on here, he's like, man, yeah, I'm trying to reach the youth and they, and they call me old head. I'm like, man, oh, we're old heads now?. Like you said it, right, right. But, uh, yeah, like, man, you know, I got to have somebody young, you know, but, uh, yeah, definitely get into your story. And, uh, just to see how it was like growing up, like for your generation as well. Yeah. So, okay, you said you're young. So when you're writing these raps, like what year is that? Like around 2000?

Joshuah: 8:55

Like, man, uh, probably 2003. My first, my first album that I asked for for Christmas was 50 Cent. So my, my father bought it for me to clean, to clean. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I was listening to 50, listening to Eminem, listening to, um, tribe called quest to big L I was more of a New York hip hop gravitated towards the East coast And yeah, that music was, was, uh, it's still, uh, such a strong love and passion of mine. Gotcha.

Omar: 9:33

So that, that, that's what it was in the beginning. You know, with me, this is going to tell you how old I am. It was run DMC, man. They, I remember it was, uh, back in the, I had to be mid eighties, late eighties. Yeah. And I went, I don't know if you ever heard of the store, Montgomery wards, it was an old store. Uh, they had a big barrel full of tapes back then, cassette tapes. Yeah. And I grabbed it, and I seen them, they had their Adidas jumpsuits, they had their gold chains, the Kangos. And just by looking at it, I'm like, man, these guys look cool. I grabbed it, bought it, and man, that was, uh, Run DMC, Tougher Than Leather was the album. And man, from there I've been hooked, like, uh, and I rap, you know, so like, uh, I remember back then, it wasn't that popular. Yeah, back in the eighties, they used to like make fun out of me. Oh man, you want to be black? You know, cause I was the only guy I'll be going to school with. Uh, Oh, you remember public enemy? Yeah. I had my public enemy t shirt and

Joshuah: 10:22

yeah, you know, so I was all like that style is coming back. Yeah.

Omar: 10:26

But, uh, back then it wasn't popular, especially, I don't know why, like in Pilsen, it wasn't until like Cypress Hill came out, like in the early nineties. where the people started like drawing into hip hop. So, but, uh, so, okay. So you're, you're growing up, you're, you're writing music now. What, what, uh, I guess I know you, you love the music, but what were you expressing in the beginning? Were your songs about back then? You

Joshuah: 10:48

know, like, I guess, uh, just like childish rhymes, a lot of, you know, Bragging. Okay. Self, self centered. Um, why, yeah, just centered around that. Sometimes I would make songs up for fun. My dad, my dad has videos of me on, uh, cassette tape of me singing and playing, and playing the guitar. Okay. Like, I didn't know what I was doing, but I would just strum the guitar, walk around in my pamper and, and I would, and I would sing. Gotcha. To him. Uh, my father, my father's, uh, plays guitar every Christmas, my family would, they used to when my great grandpa was alive, sing Puerto Rican Christmas carols. And that being around that, you know, it just sparks that flavor of like, man, this is such a beautiful thing to create something from nothing. Yeah. To be able to design. And however you want. So I, you know, I played the saxophone in middle school, but for some reason, I've always just been called to just write. Gotcha. I love to write.

Omar: 12:00

All right. Nice. Nice. Okay. So I know you mentioned you started like in third grade. Now take us through like, you're going into your teenage years. How does life look for you? Like, going into those years, you know?

Joshuah: 12:11

Yeah, so, growing up, um, going into 7th, 8th grade, um, already started, you know, knucklehead behaviors with girls and things like that, so. Lost my virginity at a young age. 7th grade. Summer of 7th grade. Um, started writing music. Started to go over my best friend's house to make music. We would record off a garage band mic and we'd just put like some foam. In his closet and we would record and it was cool. And eventually going into high school that grew up, grew into a group called we are LOFA, right? L O F A. It was a acronym at the time in San for legit official fly always. Um, and we just started to create music and drop music videos. And, uh, and it, it got pretty popular, right? We, we surpassed over a million views on our YouTube. We had tons of subscribers, but it just wasn't the right time because dealing with all that caused friction in our friendship and we were young. Like, how old were you at this time? Probably 14, 15. I'll tell you what we, we, um, You know who Rhymefest is? So, Rhymefest Sounds familiar, yeah, but Rhymefest wrote Jesus Walks for Kanye West. Oh, no way. Okay. So, put it this, how young and immature we were. We were on a live interview on 92. 3. We released a single on the radio stations in Chicago. Rhymefest was there. He was very impressed with our music. Pulled My best friend and I to the side offered us a spot on his mixtape. Very prominent figure in the hip hop community. And we didn't send him a song because we just, we were just so in La La Land, you know, caught up in the pride and, and things like that. Um, and from there, the animosity between best friends, between brothers just kind of grew. And eventually it blew up and we decided to delete everything and go our separate ways.

Omar: 14:29

Oh, no way. They deleted the channel and everything. Yeah, man. What would you say was like the root or like the main cause that, um, like when you look back,

Joshuah: 14:39

I think it was the inability of having a mentor, of having someone to guide us on the correct path and how to, Handle those, how to handle that popularity. So success and spotlight, right? Because we were 14, 15 years old, getting paid$500 to show up to a party for an hour. And you know, you do a party or two or three on a weekend, you're making$1500 2 grand. And then on top of that, we were making YouTube money, which back then it was a lot easier to make YouTube money. So then, like, we had money in our pockets at a young age and it, it caused friction, you know. Or when, like, he would drop a song and get more positive reviews or I would drop a song and get more positive reviews, it would cause friction. And we, we just kind of lost, due to, you know, being immature in our youth, we lost the vision and the sight of why we started doing the music in the first place. And, and the group fell apart. But, you know, now being so many years removed for you're so, so grateful because I don't know where I would be if, if it did like go mainstream, I probably would have, you know, I would like to think I wouldn't, but I probably would have messed up my life. Yeah. Well,

Omar: 16:03

I got you. Especially, you know, now let me ask you this, even back then with that 1500 in your pocket, 14, 15 years old. What we doing with

Joshuah: 16:10

that money, you know, uh, we would, uh, we would use it to, to promote ourselves to buy merchandise, to make more money. Um, a lot of late night runs to 7 Eleven, you know, to get, um, like snacks and stuff and, and just, there was times where I gave money to my parents. Um, so, so did he. But very, like, not responsible. Yeah. Yeah. No saving, right? No. Nothing, you know? Gotcha. We just spent it while we got it. Gotcha.

Omar: 16:45

Okay. So, okay. That, that, that breaks up and, uh, the, you know, the, the, the group. Yeah. Where does your life head from there?

Joshuah: 16:52

Like, what, what, so, so I went and I started my own channel and started to drop music, but then. It became different because this is something I'm doing with my best friend. And now all of a sudden it's so low. I'm back to my trauma. I'm back to my childhood of being alone again, and I'm doing something in music that is not fun to me anymore because I'm alone and I've been alone all my life. I felt right. So I'm trying to make this music and eventually I just got tired of it. And I stopped and I went back to boxing. So my first amateur fight, I was seven years old. I was always on and off. Oh, no way.

Omar: 17:40

From seven years old? Yeah. Because I know you started at

Joshuah: 17:43

five, right? Yeah. My father took me to the gym at five years old. My father was a professional boxer. Oh, no way. So that's why I got into it. And then at seven years old, I had my first amateur fight. I won at Curie. And then I was always on and off, you know, always in and out the gym, only in there when my dad was in there. So it wasn't like something super serious until I decided to step away from music my junior year, sophomore year. And then I went back to train, boxing, and I started to Gained some momentum after a couple fights and in my junior year of high school. I won the Power gloves, which is a tournament that takes place in Little Village And then I won the Golden Gloves on the way and I won best boxer of the the tournament in 2014 and then I went to Nationals in Vegas Yeah, so so I started to have some success right outside of music and I didn't really feel alone anymore you know cuz Because it was like, oh, okay. I struggled with that as a kid I'm making music in this very fragile years of my life it's going through puberty and so right of getting all this attention because of my music and then You know, losing the love for it. And it's like, Oh, what's next? Where am I going to get that high from now? Where, where am I going to get that attention that those followers, those likes and stuff, and so, you know, the boxing was providing that and it, uh, I lost, but boxing is a very unforgiving sport, right? Because you get punched in the face. You can't, you can't treat it. You can't treat it 50%. I got you. Uh, either you're in or you're in, you're out. Right. Someone told me, um, boxing's like a jealous woman. Right. If you don't give it all your attention Right. It's gonna break up with you and break your heart and I've your face on. Yeah. And break your face. And I've had a couple of those moments and not now, like I'm in, I'm in a place in my life now where I have this foundation that's built on Christ where I'm able to. Know my identity in him and I'm able to pursue boxing and I'm able to drop music and Nothing is attached. I don't care what comes of that because I know who I am in the father And that's what's the most important thing to me now.

Omar: 20:19

Gotcha. Okay, so Well, I want to get to there, but tell us right before That change happens. You come into Christ and finding your identity and knowing how to, how did life look like? Let's say maybe those last

Joshuah: 20:32

couple of years before that. So life, life looked like, you know, fighting, winning, going out, partying, getting drunk, sleeping around. Even when I was in a relationship, being a knucklehead, you know, cheating. It's funny cause I wasn't, I didn't dibble and dabble in the drugs. Okay. Right. But, you know, I was drinking, I was in the clubs at 16, 17 years old. So I'll be in the clubs cause my family were, was in charge of, of some of the nightclubs. So I would just go to where they were in charge and they would let me in. Right. So I was around that older crowd, older women. You know, dibbled and dabbled in all that stuff. Um, so, so that's how my life looked then. But I, but I always knew that my main focus was to never be broke and not to be alone. Right. So step one was. Alright, how can I make money and that was, you know, going to college and making sure I have a guaranteed job. Um, and the other thing of not being alone was that that's where I was trying to figure it out. Right. So, so that's when, when, like I was telling you before, I had all this stuff happening in my personal life where it was like, you know, moving a lot, financial, uh, traumas and struggles, um, you know, abuse. I had, Um, death in the family, you know, um, foreclosures, evictions, like moving around, um, and just trying to find this sense of stability again. Um, and it, it, it all started like, I remember my grandpa got diagnosed with cancer, you know, and my grandma got diagnosed with cancer and they both passed away. And that was my dad's dad and my mom's mom. So our house got hit. By this wave of depression and to this day, I feel like we're, we're barely, we're finally recovering from that. How many years ago? Man, it's like eight, nine years. So, so it was like, and you feel you're, they're barely like, like, yeah, like coming, coming back from that. Um, it, it was a hard time, a hard season, you know, burying all these people, but not only that, watching them take their last breath from my aunt to my grandma, cousin to grandpa to watch them take their last breath. And you're just, you just look at them and, and you see this, this body that used to love you and, and care about you. And all of a sudden they're just gone. And then you feel their hands and it's, it's an empty vessel. And it's just like, They don't move and they don't talk and they're just cold and, and you're like, what, what, what's the point of all this, you know, what's the point of, of life. So that started, started the curiosity in, in a God. Gotcha.

Omar: 23:48

Now, now at this point, what was your, I guess, um, perspective on life or like, let's say a God, like, I guess. Prior to you, like watching your family members

Joshuah: 24:01

pass away. Yeah. I thought, well, my great, like, and one of the songs on the tape is like, I first met the Lord through my abuela, right? So my abuela is my great grandma. And every time I would go over her house, she would, she spoke a lot of Spanish. Um, she would sign the cross, pray for me and, and. She buried two, two or three of her kids and her husband and she just had so much strength and I just remembered her Her praying all the time praying the Rosary Catholic. Okay, right so that that is what stood in my head and so when I felt lost and I didn't know where to turn to I Remembered my wella and I'm like man if she can have so much strength pursuing Pursuing whatever this person is Let me try it. So, so I, and then in high school, during the same time that I'm thinking of my grandma, I have, uh, an advisor, a mentor at the time who introduced me to the Dao De Jing, which is like Chinese scripture, literature, and I'm reading that, uh, then I started to get into philosophers, took some philosophy classes in college. And just really started to broaden my horizon of what we are as, as people, you know? So, um, I did tons of research on all the, uh, all the religions because I wanted to just know about them before deciding like which one called me, but it was always Jesus. Oh yeah. Okay.

Omar: 25:49

Even in the midst of you

Joshuah: 25:50

searching. Always, there's always Jesus. Gotcha. Come home. Come home. You know?

Omar: 25:56

Right, right. Okay. So, you say your family, man, suffered all this loss back to back. Uh, where do you, your life, uh, head from there? Like, after experiencing this for

Joshuah: 26:07

you, like, personally. So we, we, um, unfortunately because of that situation, you know, we lost the house, had to move, but, um, that a lot of anger, a lot of unresolved emotions, a lot of confusion for me. Um, and my life looked a lot, just numb, just going through the motions. What's next? And I, I tell you, I can't remember college. I was like four years, just like there and gone. I didn't do any programs. You know, after school, I was so locked in and focused, I was like, all I wanted to do was get my degree. I didn't really treat college like I was a student there. Okay. I didn't go to no parties. The only friends I had was people I talked to in class. And that was it. And I was just Go to school, come, come back, just grind, grind, grind, grind. Cause my main focus is like what I told you in the beginning was not to be broke and not to be alone. Right. So it was like, I can't be broke. I got to figure this out. Got to, at that time I was trying to be a savior, trying to play a savior, trying to play God for like, and finances for my family, for people around me. And when you do that and put all that pressure on yourself, you lose yourself. Okay. So to put it short. That season looked a lot like me losing myself and not knowing who I was even more because on top of all that stuff, I turned to women, you know, and then, um, repeating cycles of what I saw growing up, you know, and that just created this slippery slope.

Omar: 27:54

Yeah. So, so you were all like, just focused on the goal and that's, that was like your life. You were just driven. To, to accomplish that. No, no, let me ask you, what were you going

Joshuah: 28:03

to school for? Um, so I went to school for physical education. I'm a PE teacher. I teach pre K to eighth grade on little village. Um, I'm always loved sports. Sports was, you know, a calling. I didn't know what to do in college. Again, I'm the first in my immediate family to be a college graduate. So I was in there. Uncharted territories. I had, I put myself through college. Oh, no way.

Omar: 28:32

You didn't get no scholarship. No, I

Joshuah: 28:33

did. I did get scholarships, but I say I put myself because I earned those scholarships, but then I also had a job since I was 15 busing tables and I used that money to pay for my books and things like that. So I had to, I was so focused that that, that was the only thing where it was like, I was so goal oriented on. On not being broke and graduating and get, and getting a job where everything else just kind of dissolved. And at the same time, I'm boxing and I'm making money from my fights and, and, and I'm pursuing, I'm pursuing this career, but one foot in one foot out because I'm also, I'm also a bus boy, part time manager on the weekend. And I'm also a college student. And then I'm fighting these grown men and I'm 19, 20 years old and I lose a fight and, and then my whole world comes crashing down. So it's just a lot going on. Yeah.

Omar: 29:37

You know, can I ask you about that? Like you said, we just won't fight. Like your world comes crashing down. Like, How, how does that, I guess, like, I guess it's mental, right? Like, uh, do you put so much, like, into it that you feel like a loss? Like, it's like a devastation or how do you receive it, I

Joshuah: 29:54

guess? I think, I think back then, it's cool to think about, because back then I'm so different now. Oh, right. Back then, It was my identity. Again, it always goes back to those two things, right? Not to be broke, not to be alone. Boxing gave me a sense of purpose and an identity. And when I lost, I felt like I wasn't living up to that. So when I looked at myself in the mirror and I, and I lost, the way that I lost was even worse. You know, I got stopped. In the, in the first round, I, I, you know, lost myself even more. And then, but I, I would go to fight the same guy I lost to. I fought him again in a rematch and I beat him. But, it was good, but like nothing was really solved. You know what I'm saying? Like I really didn't do the inner work. So I kept on this journey of Of, uh, pursuing something that was just gonna hurt me in the long run. Gotcha. So,

Omar: 30:57

what, what, what do you think you finally, uh, found yourself like, uh,

Joshuah: 31:01

or? I think, so, well, I know, um, eventually, you know, what's done in the dark will come to light. Right? So all my, my, wrongdoings and misbehaviors while I was in a relationship all came to light. And my partner at the time had left, had, had broken up with me. And then again, I'm back being alone. Right. So I'm like, okay, I'm trying to think. About what's, what's this, uh, what's, why did I do this to myself, right? So, I, I, again, went back to the depression, but also more Searching is like, okay, I got, I got to get out of this funk. I got to figure something out, you know? Um, and then I, like I was telling you before I was called to, to new life midway. Okay. Yeah.

Omar: 31:59

Now do you want to tell us how that happened? And, um, so, so at this point you're, you're, you're not going to a church, right?

Joshuah: 32:04

You're no, no, no, no. So. So, yeah, I was Catholic, but never really in the church. Practicing never really going or, um, so going to DePaul in the mornings, I would always pass on the Pulaski. Okay. I would see this building and I would see people always in there. And when I hit my rock bottom, I felt called to go to this church. Now,

Omar: 32:28

let me ask you about that call. What, how would you explain this to somebody that's listening? Like what was going on or what were you feeling? You know, it's a thought.

Joshuah: 32:36

And an uncom, it's like an uncomfortable feeling that nags you and pokes at you and doesn't leave you alone. And you're like, man, why, why am I, why do I need to go there? And you keep putting it off, but it never leaves you. So you

Omar: 32:51

feel like almost pulled in that direction. And this is without nobody inviting you there, right? No, you just like, see the building and you feel like I got to go in there for some reason. Okay.

Joshuah: 33:00

And again, Catholic growing up. So I walked in. And I remember seeing everybody dance and like sing. I'm like, what is, like, at first it was dope because I love music. Okay, right, right. So I, I liked it. I wasn't judging. It was just different. So I, you know, I sit down, you know, and then. I turn and see my godfather joins me. I was like, Oh, that's cool. And I was just on the phone with him. Uh, and he actually showed up. He showed up for, for this. That was little did I know would be like a big event in my life. Right. And the pat, the service was about the book of Joshua from the book of Joshua. My name is Joshua. It's about overcoming your battles. And I was going through a battle. And I felt the spirit move in, in my life that day. And that day I went up to the altar again, my life to Christ.

Omar: 33:56

Amen. Well, what would you say, like began to happen in that moment? Like, oh

Joshuah: 34:02

man, it's, um, it's, it's, uh, breaking down of pride, breaking down of all the, the tension of like walking around your entire life with your fist clenched, When you release and, and admit that you need a savior, that you need him, it's just like, that's how I felt, you know, it's like when you're holding something so, so tight and you just release and you feel that relief, that's how I felt that day.

Omar: 34:37

So actually accepting a savior instead of like you mentioned earlier. Trying to be the savior, right? Like is it almost like a weight came off too? Like there's got to be a lot of pressure man to yeah, like you mentioned be a savior not only for yourself But you were thinking about your family too, right? Like

Joshuah: 34:55

yeah. Yeah, but 100 percent because the the way now you have a choice right when you when you give your life to Christ That's just the beginning, you know, you're saved, but it's just the beginning, you have to learn his character, learn who he is as a person, so you can build that relationship with him, and then through that relationship is what leads you to change, but my error was, I didn't get discipled. I didn't have a mentor. I just got baptized and kind of forgotten about. So, whenever I hit, um, a dark season, I went back to my old ways. And at that time, I was still trying to be Superman. Still trying to be the provider. Still trying to do all those things. For, for people in my life and it just kept, it was like a boat sinking and I was like and when you give your life to Christ in your mind and you don't know how to be obedient in your walk, you start to get angry at God. Why is nothing changing? Why am I feeling the same way? Why am I going through the same emotions? Uh, feeling frustrated, angry, anxious, depressed, right? And it was just like, I kept sinking. And I was so, so angry with everything and everyone in my circumstances. And what made me even more angry was that they would look at me and tell me that I'm crazy. That I was the one that I had the problem and that drove me insane. No, who, who, who, who was it? Who's they just like my family, people that, that I was surrounded with at that time, like, Oh, then I'm tripping or I'm bugging out. It was like. They couldn't see from my perspective in my shoes, so I went what I Continued to stumble for three years. Okay, there's three years, right? Right of being a Christian follower of Christ Yes, I had seasons where where I went back to you know womanizing Um, I had seasons where for the first time I did drugs, you know, I did psychedelics. Okay. And this is after, uh, after saying a prayer after my life to Christ too. After

Omar: 37:23

I gave my life

Joshuah: 37:23

to Christ. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right. And I went and I did all these things because I was still searching. Yeah.'cause I still felt alone, but I wasn't obedient and I wasn't following, I wasn't living life the way God called me to live it. So doing that, it's. You, you say you follow, you follow Christ with you confess, but it has to be followed some action steps, you know, and I just didn't have those action steps. Gotcha.

Omar: 37:55

So, okay. So you stumbled for three years. Yeah. What, what, what do you feel brought about a change

Joshuah: 38:01

that. So, two, two major events. First major event. Um, My first couple of weeks into being a member at New Life Midway. I met my now wife, Janessa. I met her at, at service and her and I talked, she actually knew my brother. She was like, Hey, how's Gio doing? I was like, Gio's doing well. Cause you're a younger brother. My younger brother. Yeah. And we, we, uh, just kind of hit it off, started talking, started dating and. Eventually, a couple years went by and I proposed and we were engaged and I did not know how to lead. I did not know what it was to be a man of God, right? Again, I felt like I was a, I had a lot of immaturities. And I wasn't a grown man responsibilities with, um, an immature mind. So, so we ended up breaking up and dissolving the engagement. And then it was just like, okay, I give up. I give up. You know, um, before the second thing. That, that caused this new rock bottom was I went to, um, I took a fight on a couple days notice cause I was in such bad debt that I needed the money and they called me, offered me a big purse in the UK to fly out to fight, to fight this guy. So I took the fight, I got there Wednesday, and I fought Saturday, and the jet lag was just really bad. But not only that, it was more the nerves that I like. Man, um, Monday I'm watching the Cubs game, Sunday night I'm watching the Cubs game, Wednesday I'm on DAZN in Eddie Hearn's backyard about to fight in the, in the Colmain event. Wow. And I'm just like. Now, are

Omar: 40:18

you flying out there by

Joshuah: 40:19

yourself? Me and my dad and Janessa. Okay. Flew out there. So, you know, I, I just couldn't get, I couldn't get the fear out of me that, that day. I was in such a fearful state. That I let myself down. I beat myself. I walked into the ring like a deer in headlights and And I don't even remember nothing. I don't remember, all I remember is, um, falling in the locker room because there was water on the floor. And after that, everything's blank. You know, because I was so nervous, you know. And, so I, I go, I lose in a round to a guy who's a world champion now. When I come, come back home, and then my, And then, then, I know I went out of order, but, but then I come home and then I get engaged, right? And then the engagement ends. So now I'm sitting there like, man, I don't want a box anymore. I'm not making music. I don't have a wife or, or a fiancé. I don't have anything, you know. All I had at the time was the house I bought. With the, with money from a previous fight. And I'm sitting in there and, and I'm just like, something has to change Now. Are you in this house by yourself? This, yeah. It, it, so it's a three flat. Okay. I had moved my family inside. Gotcha, okay. To help. Yeah. But they're on different floors. Yeah. But I'm in the second floor and I'm just sitting there. I'm just like. Something has to change and I started to go back to church at Midway and eventually, I found myself in a Bible study on Wednesdays met my mentor Eddie and he mentored me for a year and I was finally comfortable with being by myself During this time and pursuing God and being in his word and getting to know who he is and why he loves me and replacing the lies in my mind with his truth meditating on scriptures and Understanding how much he loves me how much he cares about me and he wants me to be free Not kept not held captive by the thoughts of the enemy. So I remember I just let everything go I didn't need to make music anymore. I didn't need to box. I didn't need to be in a relationship. And I looked at myself and I was just happy, you know? Uh, I didn't need anyone or anything or any validation from anybody. I was just like, man, I felt like I made it to this, this. Peace and bliss in life where I was like, okay, what's next? What's next Lord? All I need is you like no matter where I go from this point on it's gonna be you but with you and My family doesn't understand it Friends don't understand it but little by little when you walk with this character and they see Christ in you They start to gravitate towards you, right? So I've had my best friend get saved the same one I made music. Oh, no way. So he came to Christ. I have, I have family members starting to ask me for like Bible study or advice about the Bible. You know, God is, God starts to poke at different people's hearts and the best thing of all was I got back with my, with Janessa. We got re engaged and we got married last year in July and it was proof to me of what God does in your life when you surrender and be obedient. To the way he's called us to live. Right.

Omar: 44:39

Right. Now, for sure. Yeah. Now, what, what, what, what would you say changed? Um, I know you said you drew closer to God. He, you said you were fulfilled in them, satisfied. Just man, just having you Lord. How, how did that translate into your re, uh, relationship? Like what changed in you that you brought to the relationship that made it different, I guess that

Joshuah: 44:59

than before, you know, it was, we're all just vessels of our childhood. And if you never address your childhood and the issues and the traumas that you face as a child, you will never grow. So we have some grown men in their 40s and 50s and older that can't grow because they never went back to that kid. You know, we have to remember that we're God's child. And unfortunately, as a child, we couldn't control the things that were done to us. You know, and I had to readdress those things and when I readdress those things, the Lord put them all on the table. It's like, okay, you have an issue with your, with your pride. You have an issue with lust. You have an issue with, um, with your tongue, right? With how you speak to people. And then he uses your partner to bring those things out of you. And, and they're even highlighted even more. So now it's like, man, okay, this is a continuing issue in my relationship because of me and you learn to take responsibility for those things. And then you're like, okay, Lord, then you learn, then you get to a point where you're just, You ask yourself, why am I doing this, this way, right? So like, one thing was, for me, growing up, it was just straight forward, straight up, just say how you feel. Okay. You know, blunt? No,

Omar: 46:38

no filter. No, no, no care for how it's gonna affect the person that's gonna listen. No. To your

Joshuah: 46:42

words. That's just, that's just how I was raised. That's how I grew up. And I would, I would, uh, just say how I felt. Yeah. And for some people, they're not used to that. No. No. Right. You know, like my, my parents and my, my family, they're used to that. But, you know, my wife wasn't No. She wasn't. And when I, when I acted out of pocket or I started saying those things like that, then she, I would speak, I was speaking death over our relationship. And she, she, God used her to teach me not to do that. Right? So. I'm not perfect. It's still something that, that I work on, but it's something that I'm more mindful about. Something that I try to be more aware of now. That's one thing that changed. Right. Um, another thing that changed was like, realizing that a relationship is It take, it takes two, you know, like I, I work, you know, my wife owns a business, uh, shout out to"DeColores" Beauty Bar. Oh, no, yeah,

Omar: 47:52

yeah, yeah. Hey, go ahead. Hey, where, where, where, where's it at? What, what is that

Joshuah: 47:55

business about? It's on Archer, I think it's 5674 Archer Avenue. Um, it's right across the street from the Wendy's and the Chase, right next to the city's office, city of Chicago office. Laramie, ain't it? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Or an Archer. So, her business, she provide, it's everything. It's a one stop shop, beauty bar. It's everything. Nails, lashes, we'll put a link

Omar: 48:19

on

Joshuah: 48:19

there on the podcast. So, so everything. Um, man, I forgot where I was at with that, with that shout out. No,

Omar: 48:27

you were, you were talking about the things that change. I know.

Joshuah: 48:30

Yeah. Yeah. So, it was, it was a continuing, continuing thing. Cause then the Lord grows some things in your life, like being more patient or I wasn't raised with learning how to use tools. I didn't know how to be a handyman, but I got married and my wife bought me a drill. I was like, you're going to learn today. Right. So there was a season in my life where we got married and in my building where we're going to move to the basement and I gutted it out by myself. And I learned how to build it back up and I learned how to, and I learned how to stop the water from coming in from outside and, and just learning how, how to fix and hang things and use different tools. And to the point where she opened her shop just in February and I did, and I hung up everything. I did all the work in there. No way. From,

Omar: 49:28

from, from not, from growing up, not knowing how to do this.

Joshuah: 49:31

Yeah. To the Lord saying, trust me. Use YouTube and, and, and learn your

Omar: 49:38

way. You know what's crazy? You know what I think about, like in the Old Testament, you know, when God called people, it said that he, he sent his spirit. They had the, the Holy Spirit enabled him to do certain things in the, in, in building, building stuff, man, like, so I believe God even supernaturally, like, empowers people to, to do stuff they didn't even know how to do. You know, I'll tell

Joshuah: 49:58

you what, when I went to this, when I went to the basement and I knew I had. A couple months to fix this basement so my wife and I can move in there. Um, after our wedding I was alone. And again, two things, right? Can't be broke, can't be alone. But because I know Christ now, I looked at that basement and I said, Can't can't do nothing to me. It's not that you can't stop me. Yeah, you know, you can't stop me The thoughts of a fear of failure. You can't stop me so I I grabbed my little my little tools started knocking down walls and And we got we got the job done. So Things like that, you know, like the Lord, the Lord changes your life in that way. And the last thing I would, I would say from it's a proverb, like, be careful where you think your life is shaped by your thoughts, right? That's the biggest change because I was my biggest enemy because when you spend a lot of time alone You're constantly beating yourself up constantly in your mind, right? Yeah all the time fat daydreaming fast of Fascinating about different things and different scenarios and would have should have could have like reply So all I did as a kid, that's why I think I could write such good music because I I My life has always been a story in my mind, you know, um, so being, being at that point and just being, being able to do that stuff just led to this huge amount of breakthrough for me.

Omar: 51:49

Man, you know, I want to go back to the, to, to the marriage and, and your wife revealing certain things to you. Yeah. How long have you been married?

Joshuah: 51:59

Not even a year yet. That's

Omar: 52:02

that, that's honestly amazing, man. For, for all that to be, to be able to, to, like you said, like realize what's wrong with me. Cause a lot of times it's easy to point the finger. Yeah. Like you, if it weren't for you acting like that, I wouldn't be acting like this, you know, it's almost like. Like putting the blame on our spouse for why we react the way we react. Right. But, uh, I love what you said that you put your stuff on the table, man. Like, no, this is what was going on with me, you know, like individually, like inside, and I think it's important for men to, to know that man,

Joshuah: 52:35

like to, yeah. Cause you can't, you know, I can't control my wife, all I can do is lead, and learning how to lead was learning that I can't just say it, I have to do it, I have to be active, right? If, if I want the house to look a certain way, I have to help, I just can't say, hey, this needs to get done. No, you, you have to lead and you have to do, do, do these things. Because then eventually they see you, and then they're like, A woman just wants to be with her man, you know, that, that they, they want to be nurtured and love and, and tended to by their man. So when they see their man doing things in their head, they just want, they gravitate towards that, you know, and I learned that. I learned that because, you know, one day, a couple of times I'm doing dishes or cleaning. You know, the kitchen and then who, who's right there beside me, my wife, you know, and when I start the dishes, she's not there. But by the time I'm on the third or fourth dish, she's right next to me. And we're doing it as a team, right? Because I chose to lead in that aspect. So I know, I know like we're new, still young in our marriage, not young in our faith though. Okay. I'm not on, I'm not on, uh, milk. I'm, I'm on the big meat. How would you explain that? Because the spirit, spiritual milk is what you need when you're a baby in the faith. You know, and you're constantly slipping up and you don't truly understand. But I feel like my relationship with God is so divine, like he's so divine. And I understand his character that I spend time with him daily. I, I pray throughout the day. I meditate in the word every morning, um, repeat scriptures in my head. Like there are certain scenarios that happen that I can't control. And the first thing that comes to my mind is. Be Christ like like this morning. I'm leaving Dunkin Donuts and a lady hits me It's hits my car and my whole front of my car is like just totaled but my first reaction is Right and for lack of a better terms like to get gangster because that's how I was raised. Okay, right. That's how My first reaction is like but then So, I had to take a deep breath, pull over, get out of my car, go to, go to the lady. First thing I tell her is like, are you okay? You know, are you okay? Um, do you need me to call anybody for you? How can I help you? I'm sorry that this happened. Um, what do you need me to do? Because I was okay. She was freaking out. Right. So instances like that, right. That, that, that, that shows the growth of like not being on that milk anymore. And you start to see the fruit grow in your life and you start to see your calling into different, um, Different, um, scenarios where the Lord wants you to be. And then what I, what I get fascinated even more is like when the Lord calls you to something and you go to pursue it, the enemy comes from like all angles and tries to prevent it. So when I feel the attacks of the enemy, I know I'm going in the right direction.

Omar: 56:37

Right. Definitely. Yeah. That's, that's what I tell people. When the enemy's not coming at you, You're probably not doing what God's calling you to do, you know, but you, you know, what, uh, in, in what ways do you feel the enemy comes at you? Like what are some of, cause usually he'll come at us in a certain

Joshuah: 56:52

area or all the time finances all the time because I'm growing in my faith with trust in the Lord with my finances. I know that the guy that the Lord will provide, but, um, I still feel a little insecure in that area. Because of, of trauma. Gotcha. Childhood trauma,

Omar: 57:13

you know, you said like foreclosures and things like that. And the history I got of,

Joshuah: 57:18

of my, you know, not without getting into too much detail Right. But yeah, dealing with that stuff from growing up and, and it was hard. It was hard. Yeah. It, it was very hard, you know. Um, and the beginning of my walk to be like, where were you at, God, where were you at when this was unfolding? Sometimes that season wasn't for you. I was just, I was just a part of someone else's season. You know, God could have been teaching someone something, how to trust him more. And I was just a child, part of someone else's story, you know, um, and, But yeah, that the enemy definitely attacks me, uh, with finances and with self doubt and, and thinking that, uh, I'm less than and, uh, and alone, right? Um, so in, in those instances, the way I combat that is just by staying grounded in my word and meditating on verses, you know, so a man, what a man thinketh, so is he, right? So if I sit here and I think About the truth, then I'm gonna, the, the, the way I think about his man is like, the way you think affects how you feel and the way you feel affects how you act. Yeah. So if I can control my thoughts, then I can control my emotions.

Omar: 58:55

I think the way they put this from the mind to the heart, like into action, right?

Joshuah: 58:58

And then, and my emotions lead me to act a certain way. And the Lord is all, the Lord is controlling all of that. When I choose to surrender to him and pick up my cross daily.

Omar: 59:14

Amen. Amen. You know, I know you mentioned, uh, you read, uh, you read the Bible daily. That's you got to do it. No, no. On TikTok. I seen you like recently. You've been doing like every day. Like

Joshuah: 59:24

yeah. Verse of the day. Yeah. So, so I started, um, for my music, right. I, I released, uh, Project called care package. I'm in February last month And it's out on all streaming platforms and it is like my return to music But it's like a rebirth because now it's a Christian rap where I was more making secular music back in the day. So Let me ask

Omar: 59:53

you what I know you say you, you gave that up, you gave up like boxing, you gave up the music. Yeah. What, I guess, pushed you or how did you know it was time to get back into music this time

Joshuah: 1:00:05

around? Through fasting. Through fasting.

Omar: 1:00:10

How does a fasting look for people that a lot of people probably hear the word. How does fasting look or for you?

Joshuah: 1:00:16

Like, well, what exactly do you do? So for me, um, last year after the three week fast, That we had at, at for life, right? I fasted every week for about six months, uh, twice Friday, a couple of times a week. So, so you did the three

Omar: 1:00:41

weeks and then,

Joshuah: 1:00:42

and I kept going and you fasted

Omar: 1:00:44

six more months. Although the whole week or just on Friday, just, just

Joshuah: 1:00:48

a couple of days. Okay. Gotcha. So, so you did the three weeks and then the following weeks and then the following weeks, I would do like Thursday, Friday. Gotcha. Okay. And through that fast, I, the way it looked for me was like, you know, not eating anything, just drinking water on Friday, all day Friday, but I would be in my word, read my word, pray to God. Um, and then they say like when you're hungry, you're more, you're more like likely to blow up and lessen control of your emotions. Hangry. Yeah, right. And I'm working with kids. Right at the middle school. Yeah, so I'm working with kids and and Just starting to like, okay God, I need to lean on you. I need you. I need you. I need you on this And this, if I'm going to fast and, you know, deal with the kids and all their emotions and whining, I need to find a way to depend on you to not react in anger because the kids in that community that, you know, that's what they know. I don't want to be, um, I don't want to be like a mirror of what they're feeling at home, right? So I'm like, I want to be different. So I felt the Lord grow in me and make me more patient. And then, and then. That knock started to come, where it was like, okay, the door for music started to open up. And the Lord was truthfully telling me, like, I want you to make music for me now. And then, after the UK fight, that call for boxing was, was to like, okay, I want you to go to this gym this time and train with these people. And I don't care how anyone else feels. I want you to listen to me, Josh. That's how I felt. Listen to me. Who cares about everyone else's emotions? Be obedient to me and I shall make your path straight. So I went and I did exactly what he told me to do. And it's not like the, the, the mount, I haven't reached the mountaintop or a peak or anything yet, but it doesn't matter because I'm, I'm, you're on the path. I'm on the following them. I'm on the path. Right? So now look, I'm fighting April 13th, Rosemont. I have a project out, music, and for the first time in my life, my two things that I love have met. For the first time. I've never done both at the same time. And for the first time, they've met, and they've intertwined, and that's how, that's how, Um, when you're obedient, the Lord, the Lord speaks to you because he knows you'll listen. So making music, boxing, and then all of a sudden I get this feeling like this and it's not enough. I can't, I don't want to be, I don't want to keep, you know, just making up songs, um, with no meaning behind them. It's, I want my music to take time and meaning, but how am I going to engage my followers? And the Lord, the Lord was just like, you're in your word, you're in your word every morning, you know, so go through, read the scriptures, pick a scripture that sticks out to you, break it down to, to your followers and man, dude, when I tell you that the Lord is working and I, and I feel like I found my ministry. It's insane because the messages I get from people all over America messaging me I know you probably get the same right about like being suicidal Heavy stuff heavy heavy heavy stuff friends that come up to me in the gym or that text me like man Dude, your verse of the day really helped me Has been really inspiring me. I don't care if I get 10 views. It's not about the viewership. It's about being obedient and doing that and seeing the fruit develop in other people's lives where I have people that follow me that are not believers. And, and that's so cool to me, you know,

Omar: 1:05:26

definitely, you know, what could, could you share what's the, the, um, the platform or,

Joshuah: 1:05:30

yeah, so on Instagram, uh, Instagram and YouTube, Instagram, I don't know how long Tik TOK will be around for, but, but those three things it's, it's Freedom Chicago. So I T S. F-R-E-E-D-O-M Chicago. So it's Freedom Chicago on everything. So even all my music streaming platforms is under the same thing. Nice.

Omar: 1:05:53

Nice. Yeah. Now you know what, uh, you feel ready to do some music right now, man? Yeah, we could do All right. Yeah, I know. I had told them, man, I, I've never had nobody on here, you know, like, do any rap. So I had, uh, I sent you a text earlier. Like, man, I, I would love for you to do that right now. So. We're going to try to connect are you just tell me how, how, how loud do you

Joshuah: 1:06:11

want it? I've been a dominant. Right there? Yeah. Alright. It's Freedom Chicago on all streaming platforms. Yeah. Yeah. I've been a diamond in the dirt for a while. Covered by the pressure, I've been trying to hold it down. Now waiting for my time to come around. I've been working. Stuck up in a place where I got my mind hurting. I've been overthinking. Stuck up in the city. Everybody winning, I just been peeping Thinking when it's my time, when I make my climb Will I get my shine when it's gon be fine Working on my mental, gotta get it to align Praying for the good, gotta open up the blinds Let me see into the future when I'm stepping to my prime Know the hard times worth it cause it build you when you rise You know the spirit gon grow when you go through phases So you gotta keep faith when you hit them changes Here for a purpose, it'll all be worth it Gotta let your light shine through all times we workin You know the spirit gon grow when you You know the spirit gon grow when you You know the spirit gon grow when you go through phases So embrace them changes Cause I can't be selfish, it's bigger than me Had to humble myself, had to turn a new leaf Had to learn to take my time when you lay in the seat He been diggin the roots and it's embedded in me Lookin back at all the days when I didn't believe Movin mountains, I was thinkin it's a soldier in me I was takin all the credit like I got it for free But he came to pay the price so I'm joinin the team Layin back on the mattress, givin him my passions Doin for your good is my only satisfaction And it's all about the action livin life while it passes So blessed No stress, gotta give it all to you, lift the weight off my chest, man, it's all progress. I've been dying in my flesh, had to cut up all the nonsense. You know the spirit gon grow when you go through phases, so you gotta keep faith when you hit them changes. Here for a purpose, it all be worth it, gotta let your light shine through all times you working. You know the spirit gon grow when you, you know the spirit gon grow when you, you know the spirit gon grow when you go through phases, so embrace them changes.

Omar: 1:08:21

Hey man, man, thanks for that brother. No problem. Yeah, what, what's the, uh, name

Joshuah: 1:08:25

of this song right here? So this song is called, uh, Phases, and it's the first song on the project, and it's basically a calling for the hard times, because it's in through those times that you change, because the spirit grows in you. Right? So the spirit gonna grow when you go through phases. So embrace some changes, right? If you know you're walking in obedience and in obedience and you know, you know, you're, you're, you have a repentant heart and you're, you're pursuing the father. It's not a guarantee that everything's going to be perfect all the time. So when times are tough, It's more to be like, okay, this is just a phase in my life right now. And I'm going to walk through it with my head held high. And I know that whatever comes of this is just going to make me better and lead me to a better place and being more like Christ. So that's what the

Omar: 1:09:18

song is about. Amen. Amen, brother. Now that that's, that's deep, man. Yeah. I mean, you say you're 28 years old, right? Yeah. I mean, but your level of maturity man is like beyond your years, I would say, man, and that, that's something that a lot of people need to hear, man.'cause a lot of people come to to Christ and they think, man, Jesus, man, I'm gonna come to him and everything's gonna be okay. He's gonna turn, you know, my life around. He's gonna restore my marriage, or whatever it is. The the reason that drew him there. And when things don't work out for them, they just walk away almost like, what would you say to somebody that, man, maybe feels disappointed at God, you know, like, man, you haven't fixed whatever

Joshuah: 1:09:57

it is. Yeah, I was there. I was there. I felt disappointed. Um, but the motivating factor is when you're in community, when you're around other believers and you see his movement in their lives, you know, that. Yeah. It's real, and you know that, that can happen for you too. And God does not call us to walk in this life alone. He calls us to walk as a church, in a community. And what the issue is, is that when people go through these challenges, they separate themselves. And they're no longer attached to the body of Christ. And I feel like being in the body of Christ shows you, that like, if I just stick this through, my time will come too. you You know, and you hear stories from other believers and other brothers and they, and you realize, you, you realize like, man, okay, I can get there too. You just have to put in the work. And the biggest thing, man, I would say is like, put your pride and selfishness to the side. And, and. Admit that you need help and that you need the guidance because we for when I'm weak I made strong right through the Lord. Yeah, God makes us strong we can walk around as tough as we want to but It's not going to get us anywhere, you know?

Omar: 1:11:37

Yeah, I think for men that's to ask for help, to admit weakness in any area. That's like an unheard of, you know, but that's where they're going to find breakthrough. I know you mentioned embracing a community. How, how easy or hard was that for you being that you were like, okay, by being with yourself, you

Joshuah: 1:11:59

know? I don't, I don't like nobody. I'm just frustrated. Oh yeah, yeah.

Omar: 1:12:04

Go

Joshuah: 1:12:04

ahead. Talk about it, man. I didn't like, I didn't like nobody. I didn't have a judgmental heart. I just didn't like anybody. Um, I was cool with people, you know, from a distance, the first couple of years, years at church. You know, I remember when, when my wife and I were in our dating phase, wanting to get a mentor couple. I was like, nah, nah, nah, we're not doing that.

Omar: 1:12:35

Did eventually, did you do it or not? Of course.

Joshuah: 1:12:37

Okay, okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, and, but it's funny because the first time we did it, it didn't work out. We got a mentor couple and it's just like, not because of the mentor, they were amazing. The mentor couple are amazing and we love them. We just weren't ready, but we just weren't like, I wasn't used to it. Or like, uh, going to events, hanging out with people. You know, my wife and I are like on the ends of the spectrum, you know, because I'm over here, I'm cool with just chilling and more of an introvert. But I like to talk to people, you know, sometimes her, her, she, she gets energized through being, uh, extroverted by talking and being in community. So I feel like the Lord brought us together, um, for me to teach her, like, Hey, you have all these friends, but no deep relationships, you know, like that, that's a recipe for disaster when you're going through a season and you're not going to have no one to lean on because you're just friends with a bunch of random people, right? With me, it was like, well, when she was like, when you go through a hard season, you just have yourself, right? Yeah. Yeah. So, so that was my issue. And through, through our relationship, we, we taught each other how to be better in, in the community. Yeah. You know, when I remember when, when our engagement, and that was one of my prayers. Uh, to the Lord to bring in a group of brothers that I can grow with my walk. And he brought me, I hosted a Bible study at my house, which I've never done anything like that. I had three brothers come out, um, who've been in the faith way longer than me. So I'm learning a lot from them. Um, and now two years later, since that meeting, I've Now we have our own Bible group with like 15, 16 guys deep. And we meet twice a month. So you see like how the Lord works and like that little, that little click of guys. Now it's like, they come out to my fights. They come out to another brother's fights, another brother in the group who fights. We just show, show support for one another. And, and that happens through community. We have a group chat where we pray for each other, pray for one another. That's something that I never had. Right. In my, in my life. So

Omar: 1:15:26

do you feel this is key? Like, as far as I know, you're, you're growing in your faith. You're doing all these things for God. Do you feel that community has had a big

Joshuah: 1:15:34

impact? Oh man, for sure. For sure. When like, so, okay, I'm fighting in April, right? April 13th, right? I'm going to have a lot of people from church be there and it's cool to have that love and that support. And it means so much to me, uh, to have them there. But not only that, when I'm going through a tough season, knowing that I have people I can call, I have brothers that I can. Bond with them or hang out. I, I have, I could have guys nights out where, where they're not gonna push me to do, to get drunk or do stupid things. It's like, we're all like minded, you know? And I think that's, that's so important.

Omar: 1:16:19

And you know what? So speaking of the fight, if somebody wants to go see it,

Joshuah: 1:16:23

where can you get tickets, where's the venue at? Um, you can hit me up on, um, so my name is Joshua Hernandez. You can just message me on any social media platform. Um, I have tickets that I'm selling. They're 50 for general admission tickets. Uh, this located in Rosemont, Illinois at, at the dome in Rosemont. That's April 13th doors open. And I think six 37. Seven o'clock. So it's a cool cool thing to do. Uh, it's a Saturday night, you know, to get out with the guys, watch them boxing. No, no,

Omar: 1:16:58

no, for sure, man. That's good. Uh, anything else that you want to share that maybe we didn't get a chance to touch on? Maybe a word or something you wanted to share with those that are listening. Um, something that's placed on your heart recently

Joshuah: 1:17:10

or? Man. Okay. I'm not trying to offend nobody, but this is something that's been on my heart. I. This is interesting. I'm a physical education teacher and I'm in charge of teaching health in schools. Um, if you are a parent, and especially a believer, a parent of a believer, really pay attention to what they're teaching your kids in health in our schools. Because it's not what you think it is. It's no longer brushing your teeth, what to eat, sugar, it's nothing. Thank you. It's literally weeks and weeks and weeks of LGBTQ stuff, you know. So as a teacher, as an instructor, I look at all of these things and I understand the love and the acceptance, but when it's becoming 8 to 9 weeks of teaching the same thing and I only have 10 weeks of health, I think that becomes problematic. Because when am I supposed to teach these kids, you know, who I have a lot of Venezuelans. When am I supposed to teach them how to take care of themselves? Some of them don't even have parents. When to apply deodorant, washing your clothes, talking about, you know, um, relationships, the effects of drugs, the effects of alcohol, um, the effects of peer pressure, if the effects of just all those things. It's like it's completely dissolved and and it's gone and it's been replaced by this new, this new curriculum that, that, you know, CPS has designed. So I just think that as, as parents, um, you know, not knocking anyone for their opinion or their beliefs, like teach his own, but just pay attention to what your kid is being taught in school.

Omar: 1:19:24

Now, for a parent, how can they do that by looking at the curriculum by, uh, well, yeah,

Joshuah: 1:19:28

they, they send, so they'll send, um, before health starts, they're supposed to send a sheet home with the kid to, for their parents to sign, you could sign it for your kid to get removed from those classes. Um, but I will say the sheets are very vague. Yeah,

Omar: 1:19:52

they won't be in detail to what they're actually

Joshuah: 1:19:55

going to be teaching. Yeah. So it's, it's very vague. So when you know that health is being taught, you know, don't be afraid to have that conversation with your kid. Like, what'd you, what'd you learn in health today? Or where do you know, did you have PE today? Well, what did you learn, you know, um, Cause yeah, it's, it's worse than what you

Omar: 1:20:18

think. Oh, no way. Now, at what ages are, are they already like teaching these kids this? What, what ages are they? Pre

Joshuah: 1:20:24

K, pre k to eighth grade. And yeah, it takes away your, your breath a little bit. Because it's like, I mean, I understand. I love, like, I have friends in the LGBTQ community that I love. My, you know, my barber, my engineer and my music. I love them. Yeah. But it's just like. For me, it's like let kids be kids. Yeah, and they don't need to know what's going on in your bedroom Yeah, because the curriculum is teaching. It's very it's teaching them what's going on in the bedroom and it's like for what? Yeah,

Omar: 1:20:59

at that young age what basically could corrupt in their mind. Yeah.

Joshuah: 1:21:03

So that that's something that that's how my heart Um, I just wanted to share, okay, no, yeah,

Omar: 1:21:09

yeah, for sure, man. And you know what? Usually I ask our guests to close us out in a prayer, man. And maybe your prayer could be late and even to that area, whatever God places in your heart, brother, you know, go ahead and all

Joshuah: 1:21:20

right. Um, Thank you, Father God, for, for tonight, Lord, uh, thank you for having me here on the Wrong to Strong podcast, Lord. I'm very grateful for the conversations with my brother Omar here. I'm grateful that I can just look back at my life and see how far that you brought me, God. And I just pray that some aspect of my story can touch the hearts of any listener that can inspire change and true repentance and true, uh, turnaround from the past. from the life that we used to live, Father, that they can start to bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit, that they can feel, um, your presence in their lives, God, and they can know that following you as not, uh, never was and never will be a mistake, that you can just place your hands on them, uh, and, and, uh, renounce all the feelings of depression and anxiety and frustrations and fears and, uh, Feeling like they're less than and and worthless father. I just pray that this podcast becomes a platform for people to continue to listen in and find Christ and find the strength in Christ and to learn to just walk in obedience and share the love of the of the Holy Spirit father. I also want to pray over our youth. Um, I want to pray over, over any infiltration from movies to, to video games, to, um, our surroundings to teachers, to, to parents that could even, um, install negative thoughts in children. Lord, my heart is always with the kids. I love kids. I've dedicated. Big part of my career and part of my life to kids father because that is some place that you've called me to work in Lord and I just pray that you protect them God that you protect them and and allow them to find Find you on their own and and allow them to be around parents that show them The righteous way Lord and we thank you and we love you and we pray this in your mighty name

Omar: 1:23:29

Amen. Amen. Amen. Thanks, brother. Thanks for being on here. You know what? Before we close out, can you share those social media links? Yeah. Yeah. And anything else, you know, like where people

Joshuah: 1:23:38

can find you again. So, so you can go to my music page. It's Freedom Chicago. I T S F R E E D O M. Chicago, um, on, on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, um, and from there, you'll be able to find my boxing page and everything else, because I have two separate pages, so. But, I'd rather go to the music pages, Freedom Chicago, and follow along with my verse of the day. that I do, um, almost daily. Some days I miss it. Yeah. But, um, yeah, that's where they can find me. All right.

Omar: 1:24:18

And once again, plug your wife's business, man.

Joshuah: 1:24:20

Before we wrap up. Yes. Um, on Archer, uh, 5674 South Archer Avenue, DeColores Beauty Bar. Um, one stop shop for all your beauty needs. So I'll be sure to reach out, book your appointment, and, um, lovely, God fearing people, um, a lot of craziness goes on in this shop too, but, you know, yeah, fun, loving people that are gonna take care of you and make sure you have a good time, so. So, uh, be sure to book your appointments with them. Amen.

Omar: 1:24:53

Amen. Thanks brother. And with that, we're going to get ready to wrap up. I want to thank my guests for being on here tonight. Matthew 4, 16 reads the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned alongside my brother Joshuah Hernandez. I'm Omar Calvillo. We are wrong to strong.