April 16, 2025 • 68 mins
Join Savannah Burks, the resilient host of "Lupus Has No Face," in an inspiring episode featuring the incredible Trina Nicole. This week, we delve into the transformative power of yoga for individuals battling lupus and fibromyalgia. Trina, a passionate advocate and yoga instructor, shares her journey and expert insights on adapting yoga practices to manage chronic pain and improve overall well-being. Discover practical tips, gentle flows, and mindful techniques that can help you find strength, flexibility, and peace amidst your health challenges. Whether you're a seasoned yogi or a beginner, this episode offers invaluable support and encouragement for navigating life with chronic illness. Please tune in to empower your mind and body with us.
Thank you for tuning in to "Lupus Has No Face," a podcast dedicated to sharing real stories and insights on living with Lupus and other invisible illnesses. Join your host, Savannah Burks, as she explores the struggles and triumphs of individuals navigating their health journeys, all while juggling life's many challenges. Don't miss an episode! Subscribe, listen, and share on all major podcast platforms. For more content and updates, follow us on social media and join the conversation.
Thank you for tuning in to "Lupus Has No Face," a podcast dedicated to sharing real stories and insights on living with Lupus and other invisible illnesses. Join your host, Savannah Burks, as she explores the struggles and triumphs of individuals navigating their health journeys, all while juggling life's many challenges. Don't miss an episode! Subscribe, listen, and share on all major podcast platforms. For more content and updates, follow us on social media and join the conversation.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
M m.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
M h.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
R asweeded.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
Thrty her Street us.
Speaker 4 (00:22):
M m.
Speaker 5 (00:30):
M m.
Speaker 4 (00:39):
M m.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
M m mm hmmm.
Speaker 4 (01:22):
Hello you guys, thank you for tuning in to another
wonderful episode of Lucas Has No Face with your hosts
Savannah and our special guys Beats Up Lupas or Beatloopers. Okay,
we are here to talk about the rhythm through resilience,
fighting Lucas to music.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
All right, I apologies you guys.
Speaker 4 (01:45):
So we got our special guests in the building.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Hello, how you doing? Can you hear me?
Speaker 3 (01:53):
I'm good? How you doing?
Speaker 4 (01:54):
I'm good, I'm good, I'm good. Thank you so much
for joining me. I know you have a busy schedule
because you be all over the world just doing your
thing with them drums. Okay, we definitely go get into
that a little bit later. But jumping in, jumping right in,
(02:16):
let's let the people know just you, you without the loop?
Is you without the band?
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Who are you?
Speaker 3 (02:25):
Okay?
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Well, my name is Dion Langley originally born in Portsmouth, Virginia.
They keep it simple with with me. I'm a loving father.
I'm a father first. I love my kids. I think
me being a father really it really keeps me, keeps
me going. Outside of that, of course, I love I
(02:49):
love playing drums and I love basketball. I love to
be that guy that that that loves to go out
to eat like I can eat.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
I'm real, I'm real, real green.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
A lot of people may not know that about me,
but I'm real greedy. So so that's something like people
probably may not know. But just outside of you know,
the whole loops thing. Like, I'm a real quiet, laid back,
laid back person, but I'm a very caring person too.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
So I feel like a lot of the things that
I that I do or the things.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
That that I've accomplished, it just has a bigger purpose
outside of just me.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
So I love to give back in such a way
that can probably help someone.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
But other than that, like I said, I'm you know,
I'm a real laid back, laid back person, real, real,
real greedy, love to eat.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
But that's just that's just who I am. That's just
who I am.
Speaker 4 (03:42):
Well, giving us laid back, so I can believe that
you're so, so let's dive right into it, right. So,
I have a couple of questions that I want to
ask you about your music and Lucas how do it
like correlate with each other? How did you how did
that all come together? So can you share a bit
(04:05):
of your personal journey what loop is and how is
has shaped your life in music?
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Okay, yes, while I was diagnosed back in twenty ten,
twenty ten, when I was diagnosed, I really it really
changed my life because I, again, I was just a
real happy, laid back person. I loved playing basketball. I
was in the sports and just very very active. So
when I got diagnosed, it took a different toll. My
(04:36):
life took a different route. I had to find myself
slowing down and can't do the things like I really
wanted to do physically, especially playing basketball and things.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
Of that nature.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
The funny thing was, I've always played drums since I
was a kid, about five or six years old, So
I always found that love for drums, and I got
that love for music early in life. About twenty twelve,
you know, it's really took a turn for the worst.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
And that was between twenty ten and twenty twelve.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
That was probably the hardest time frame for me because
I was still trying to figure it out. I was
still trying to understand why I have loop is You
know at like that was probably the hardest time for
me because I just secluded myself from like the world.
The only people that I was really close to was
my kids, my intermediate family.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
I didn't even tell a lot of people that I
had lucas. That was just the crazy part.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
You know, if it was a situation, if I can interject,
if I can interject just a little bit, So from
two thousand and ten, right from two thousand and ten
to twenty and twelve, why did it get worse? Like
what was the difference when you first god diaosed? Like
what did that look like versus twenty and twelve when
you were trying to figure it out?
Speaker 3 (05:59):
Well, when I first got diagnosed, it was worse then.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
I think that that whole timeframe for me was because
I still didn't accept it yet. I never really accepted it,
so mentally, going through that process, I'm still denying it.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
You know. The whole time, I'm just denying the whole
thing that I have loopis.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
So I'm just trying to play it off, like I say,
not even accepting the fact that I that I do
have it.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
So it made me physically.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
Worse because my mind didn't match what my body was
actually dealing with because I was going in a whole
different direction. And understand this. People say, you know you
beat Lopis the way you need to beat Lupis. You
know it's that's my saying. But I you know, I.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
Learned to beat Lupis mentally more so than physically.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
That's why I'm able to do what I do the
way I do now, because I learned to beat Lupi's mentally. Physically,
It's nothing we can do about Lupis because Lupis does
what it wants whenever it wants to. It's not like
Lupis gonna send us a text message and be like, yo,
you gonna You're gonna feel shit tomorrow. You know, you
know what I'm saying, Like right, so, Lupis creeps up
on it. So at the end of the day, we
(07:06):
have to be mentally strong to be able to accept
whatever comes with it. Now we all know when you know,
when that does happen, I know, I gotta lay down
the rest. I know, I gotta just take the next
couple of days, chill, don't do anything. But mentally, I'm
telling myself, hey, I had a bad day with Lupis today,
but tomorrow, guess what I'm gonna be right back being
(07:29):
don So I think at the end of the day,
when I say hashtag beat lupas is because I'm beating
loopis mentally, because physically you can't.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
I can't control what lupis does. You know?
Speaker 1 (07:38):
So in the first timeframe where I had that struggle period,
it was because mentally I wasn't I wasn't strong.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Gotcha.
Speaker 4 (07:49):
It's so funny that you say that, because it does
all start in the mindset, right, Like we can do
whatever we can do, all of the things living well
with lupus is. Living well with lupus is really a thing.
But if it's gonna do what it's gonna do, it's
gonna do what it's gonna do, right, it's gonna run
its course. In so it makes sense when you say, like,
you know, we can't control it other than in our mind.
(08:14):
But a lot of things that we can do to
learn to live well, you know with lupez with the
proper tools and things of that nature, But you do
definitely have to be mind strong, and I think that's
what a lot of the things, all of the things
really in life comes with your mindset. First, you said that,
(08:34):
So twenty ten versus twenty twelve, twenty twelve, you accepted
it right and just doing all of the things.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
So when you accepted it, you started doing better. Is
that fair to.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
Say that's it?
Speaker 1 (08:46):
That's that's you, You nailing it, because twenty twelve was
when I came out of that. That's that stage of denial,
and I had to figure out a way. This is
something that the doctors told me that I have for
the rest of my life. So I can't live the
rest of my life the way I was living from
twenty ten to twenty twelve. That was the worst period
for me. So in order for me to just change
(09:06):
that mindset and be where I'm at now, being able
to be able to handle lupis whatever comes with it,
I had to change my whole mindset. So twenty twelve,
I MA, I made that change. When I tell you
I cried, people don't know how much I cried. I prayed.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
I mean it was it was just so many things.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
But like I say, God is my number one, so
I know that I'm here today because of Him.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
It's not even Dion ain't got none to do with it.
It ain't got nothing to do with.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
How strong I am mentally strong whatever God has got
me through this, and I'm so grateful for that. Always.
Speaker 4 (09:38):
Man, hats off to you, because that don't understand when
they say about the faith, right, the faith very strong.
When you have nothing else to lean on, when you
have nothing and no one, the one you can go
have faith, and when that faith shows you the works,
it's like, man, you want to praise God, talk about
(09:58):
him all the time because without him, it's like really
have been able to do That's it.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
That's it.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
And and and I understand understand this when you when
you're in that hospital room and you in that bed,
and you stayed in the hospital for so long, and
when all your visitors going and you land in their
bed by yourself, when I tell you you really think
about a lot of things in your life, and that's
that's probably that quiet time and that one on one
(10:26):
time that that I needed with with God myself, because
a lot of times he'll put you in situations and say, listen,
I gotta I gotta get you more focused on me.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
So I need I need to sit you down, you moving,
you moving too much.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
So a lot of times things like that happen for
a reason, and I just had to understand that.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
I had you.
Speaker 4 (10:47):
That is so beautiful because people do not understand that, right,
And I don't think I would have ever understand that
unless I was diagnosed.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Who knows, No one knows, right.
Speaker 4 (10:56):
But I say the same thing because it's like it
could be worse, you know what I'm saying. I could
not be doing all of the things I can be
here advocating and living my life while living well with
lucas is spreading and letting people know like lupas can
be very beautiful and it's very manageable.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
If you do all.
Speaker 4 (11:13):
The things right. So that is that is so I
love it. I absolutely love it. We're on first name basis.
I'm I'm about to call you d Let's do it.
Taking off the hats, okay, we're taking out the hats okay.
(11:35):
So yeah, how did you discover be a powerful too
in your fight against loupees?
Speaker 3 (11:49):
It was it was funny how how this whole process happened.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
Like I said, I always play drums as a as
a child, So I always had that love for just
drumming and music. At the time when I got diagnosed
and when I started my diagnosis and starting dealing with loops.
I was still playing drums and still you know, still
touring and and still living that drum profession, living that
(12:18):
you know, the drum life. And when I had got
sick and I had got hospitalized for my loopis that
was the longest period that I was that I was
hospitalized for probably about probably about four or five months.
It really took me down. So I probably didn't play
for almost six or seven months drumming. So when I
finally got back to where the doctor said, you know,
(12:40):
I can probably you know, play and just be myself again.
But the funny thing about it, I had a doctor
tell me that I'd never be able to play drums again.
That's now that's the that's the crazy life. Yeah, that's
the crazy part. That's that's what I'm saying. That's why
I say God is so amazing because when I got diagnosed,
a room full of doctors in there, I only know
(13:02):
what I'm getting diagnosed on and don't even know what
lupens is. So they're telling me these things, and the
whole while it's like I can't do this, I can't
do that. You got to stop doing this, you got
to stop doing that. So I had a doctor told me, yo,
I don't think you'll be able to play drums for
more that right there hurt. So I'm getting back to
the point now to where I'm physically being myself. And
(13:26):
I had a gentleman called me and he said, hey,
he said, I want you to go on tour with
me my band, and I said really, he said yeah.
So to me, that was a great opportunity because I
had to get back in just a swing of being
a musician and just being being a drummer. So I
accepted the offer. This was around coach to twenty thirteen,
(13:50):
and I said, wow, I say, I gotta I'm about
to get back on his road touring and you know,
just doing what I do. I needed that self motivation
for myself to help get me through these shows because
I just wasn't sure how it would be, not just
physically but mentally to be able to deal with getting
(14:11):
back into this drum thing. So at the time, that's
when all the hashtag started coming out a little bit.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
So I just told myself, man, I'm gonna just.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
Put a just put a T shirt and just put
hashtag beat Loopers on it.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
And I decided to do that because I feel like.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
This it really relates to me because with me being
a drummer, I beat drums, so my goal is to
beat loopis. So I was just like, man, yo, like
that's the perfect saying for me, right, So I said,
I put hashtag beat lopis. I just put it on
a T shirt. So every time I would play, I
would just have a different color hashtag beat loopers shirt
(14:49):
on and a lot of people were like, man, that's
that's the nice shirt. That's a nice shirt. And I
was like, okay, thank you. But this was this is
when I knew God had a different purpose for me.
We was in Ohio. I did a show in Ohio
and uh it was time for the little you know,
the little drum solo. So you know, they put me
(15:10):
on the bitch screen. So I'm doing my little solo,
but all you can see is my hashtag.
Speaker 3 (15:14):
Beat Lupa's T shirt on.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
So after the show, you know, we get dressed, were
about to go to the to the next city and
one of the security guys they came knock on the
door and they was like, hey, Den, somebody out here
they want to see you. And I'm like Yo, I'm
in Ohio. I don't know nobody out here, like.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
You know, who want to see me? Yeah, I'm like, yeah,
I'm like, I don't nobody, no money or nothing doing.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
I'm like, what's going on? You know? So so I
walked out there, and of course, me being in the
position I'm in, I have to be available to my
fans if anybody want to take pictures autographs, so you know,
I couldn't say no. So I walked out there and
when I when I walked out, I looked up. Of
course I didn't notice him, but it was a it
(15:59):
was a mother a father and they had their son
with him, and the mom was just standing there just
balling in tears, and I'm just like wow. I was like, dang, well,
I ain't think the show was that bad, you know
what I'm saying, Like, I didn't know what the deal was.
But her husband was like he was like, he was like, sir,
he was like, you know, my wife is emotional because
(16:19):
you don't know how much.
Speaker 3 (16:20):
That you bless her tonight. And I was like, what
you mean?
Speaker 1 (16:23):
So he started telling me that their son that finally
came to the show tonight. He was depressed. He was
in depression. Move they say he finally came out his
room tonight. They tried to get him out of his
room for the past two months.
Speaker 3 (16:41):
His son used to be a star athlete in high school.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
He was about to graduate high school and go to
college to play football, and when he took his physical,
he found out he was diagnosed with lupis. So they
took the scholarship, this and that the third so he
from that moment he just went really went in the
downhill fhon And when they saw me playing drums and
(17:08):
saw the tee shirt, she was like, wow, I didn't know. Well,
first of all, they thought someone in my family had lupas,
because you all know, people don't know that males get loopis,
like that are only like ten percent of males lucis, right,
So they first asked, you know, I saw your shirt
(17:28):
that someone in your family had lupas, and I was like, no,
I do. And when they found out, she just, I mean,
she just gave me the biggest hug ever. And when
they started telling me their story about their son and
just for me to encourage him that night and really
let him know, I was like, listen, just because you
have loopers It don't mean you can't do the things
(17:49):
that you want to do. It's just a limitation on it.
You understand what I'm saying. Like I can still play drums,
but it's like I gotta kind of be careful how
I play. I can't do no three before our shows,
no more going hard all day. I got to bounce
out how I get it through these shows.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
But that right there, that moment when I had a
chance to talk with them, right and I had to
talk with them, explain to him. I educated him on it.
I took pictures, signed autographs, and it made it made
them feel so much, so much better that night, and
he left there with a sense.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
Of confidence and the sense that he can make it.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
And that night when we got on the plane to
go to the next show, I knew that that was
my purpose. Like I knew it was a bigger purpose
for me doing music versus me just out here trying
to be the best drummer in the world.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
Quote unquote, you know what I'm saying. So so God.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
Put me in this position and in this place for
a reason. So that's how hashtag beat looke. And then
I just started putting it on every shirt, and then
you know, I just started coming up with different logo
goals and different ideas. Now I got my little pail company.
So it's just but took off right there. And I
knew that God had a you know, he had to
(19:01):
make it.
Speaker 4 (19:03):
Take that little out of it because I've been to
a couple of your shows.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
Okay, a little about it. Take a little out of here.
Speaker 3 (19:17):
Yeah, I'm trying.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
No.
Speaker 4 (19:19):
And that is so touching because it's like, what would
I say to you. You don't look like you have lupis,
you know what I'm saying, Like so many people that's
living well with people, you don't look like you you
have Just like what do lubis is supposed to look like?
You know, you understand, and and you know that's that's disconnecting.
The bridge is not connecting with the doctors and the
(19:40):
successful warriors, because if that was so, they would know
a lot of warriors would know that you can live
life to the fullest and all of your potentials within
limitations if you do all of the things right. And
apparently something's not being connected between the physicians and the
one that are being successful living with this invisible illness.
(20:03):
Because people wouldn't have that stigma so much on it,
you understand what I'm saying. So that was so moving
that you just gave them that hope because they looked
at you and you probably made that boy, you know, just.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
Reborn.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
He's actually yeah, he's actually doing he's doing he's doing
well now.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
And I you know, you reach out and we talk
from like the time and I check up on him.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
But that that moment that night really changed my life
how I how I looked at looked at my role
and what God had for like me moving forward. So
I knew it won't just about the drums, you know
what I'm saying, It won't just about that. So and
even if you come to one of my shows now
you know, yeah, the music is good. We do it,
we do musically.
Speaker 3 (20:49):
But at the end of the.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
Day, I'm telling the story and and and I'm giving hope,
and I'm giving you the process. I'm giving you my
life musically, you know what I'm saying. So, and hopefully
that can courage someone.
Speaker 4 (21:02):
It most definitely will curage a lot of people. But
people what people don't understand is like how you look
so healthier and and just all put together that did
not come overnight.
Speaker 2 (21:14):
You know what I'm saying. Things just don't happen overnight,
and it's hard, you know, it's hard.
Speaker 4 (21:19):
It's such thing we want to, you know, not do
all these things sometimes because we know we are limiting
ourselves even though other people don't know that we limiting ourselves.
And sometimes we do get rebellious, you know what I'm saying,
But then we gotta pick back up, like, Okay, I
have my two days of being rebellious. Let me get
back to it, because this ain't it. You know, it
is hard, but it's very doable.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
It's very.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
Like after after after a show, I'll be honest with you,
I'm done, Like, let's talk about that.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
I'm computing.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
So what does it take for you to to prepare
to go on tour?
Speaker 4 (22:02):
Right to be on tour? And what does it look
like when you're done after a show? Like, let let's
let's let the people know, like, how did that look
even though it looked extort to them?
Speaker 2 (22:17):
What are you dealing with?
Speaker 1 (22:18):
Okay? For me, it's a lot of a lot of rest,
a lot of people doing like outside of me being
on stage or being in the in the public eye.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
It's a lot of rest like on tour, and my
band to tell you, on tour, I.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
Probably miss breakfast every day, especially like after a show
because I'm yeah, like I'm like my body like for real.
So you know, if they if it's a nine thirty
or ten o'clock or ten a m type thing, don't
even worry about it.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
Like Dion, you won't see Dion, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
But they all know that I'm resting, and they already
know that I have loop is so probably the whole
two I think I made breakfast like twice and that
was you know what I'm saying. But I know how
to recover, and I think that whole recovery time is
just important. Now we'll we'll have to go and get
up the next morning and go to the next show.
So on next travel, gu's what I'm doing. I'm sleeping.
(23:18):
I'm wrestling, so like yeah, so like you hit the stage,
you know, you rest, recover, get up the next day travel.
So the whole travel time that's probably can be from
anywhere from three to six hours.
Speaker 3 (23:32):
I'm resting that whole time.
Speaker 1 (23:34):
So then when I get to the next show, boom,
even in the dressing room or before the show starts,
I'm somewhere just laying down, relaxing. But because I exert
so much energy, like for me to do what a
normal drummer does right now, I have to exert probably
three times the energy just to be a normal drummer,
you see what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (23:55):
So that's that's just how it affects my body.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
But after a show, though, like I am, I am
dead beat to like the world, you know, And I
tell you all the time, if you hit me up
at nine eight, eight o'clock in the morning, You're not
gonna hear from me. It's just that's just not me,
you know what I'm saying. But but I'm grateful to
have the job in the career I have because I
make I make my own schedule, so it's like I'm
not forced to get up every day at that early
(24:20):
hour because my body just don't work like that. And
you already know when when you when when you know,
lupis can hit you when you feel like you want
to get up and move and it just won't.
Speaker 3 (24:29):
Let you move.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
So so yeah, so I'm fortunate to have the job
that I that I do have, So I'm not putt
in that position every day to be like you gotta
be you got.
Speaker 3 (24:37):
To be at work every day at nine o'clock. That
just won't work for me.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
So, you know, so God, like I say, God, God,
God really had it planned out for me the way
he needed it because he knew this is what I needed.
But that's the tour life is. You know, I got it.
I got it right to a lot of people don't
under like that's that. That was major for me because
I'm so I'm so greedy. So it's not that I
(25:03):
couldn't eat. Yeah, right, it's not. It's not that I
couldn't eat. I just had to tone down, you know
what I'm saying, versus me eating like the fried chicken
wings like I used to love. Everybody loved chicken wings,
but I was just grilling or do like baked, you
know what I'm saying. Right, So I ate a lot
of salmon, broccoli, fruit. I love fruit. So again it's
(25:25):
just a matter of me eating right too. At the
same time, you get your one day of cheating. I
know I ain't, I can't, I ain't perfect with it,
but I if I do have that cheat day, then
the rest of that week. Then guess what I'm I'm
I'm eating the way I need you, you know. So
I think it's about balance. So people got to understand
when it comes to loop is it ain't that you
can't enjoy good meals. You just gotta have balance with it.
(25:46):
So that's all.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
That's all discipline from a balance.
Speaker 4 (25:51):
And then you know, you just got to change your
your palate, your taste palate, because are very good like
they are, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
Cooking now, man, Listen, I got into a lot of
vegan foods that's actually really really good and and and
and for someone that's greedy like me that love to
eat like you know, it's like it actually it's actually good.
Speaker 3 (26:18):
So it's just it's just a matter of balance. Man.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
Again, just like you said earlier, you know, yes we
have loopers, but we still normal people. You understand what
I'm saying, Like I'm gonna I love Chinese food. You
know what I'm saying. I love Listen, I love me
some Chinese food. You cannot tell me about no good
Chinese food. I love Chinese food all day. I just
can't sit there and go at it like I used to.
Speaker 3 (26:41):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
Still of getting a super super extra large, I just
get a small, you know what I'm saying. So it's
just about balance.
Speaker 4 (26:46):
That's all I have to because once you start living
well with loops, your body's gonna tell you, like, man,
that was enough. It's going to tell you. Once you
learn your triggers, your body is going to automatically speak
to you. But until you do the work, you gonna
be in for a long ride. You know what I'm saying. Yeah,
(27:07):
what moments haven't inspired you the most in your journey
of resilience through music?
Speaker 1 (27:16):
Just just being able to inspire people a lot of times.
Speaker 3 (27:23):
My career.
Speaker 1 (27:25):
And what I've and what I've dealt with, it's a
lot of ups and downs, ups and downs, a lot
of broken promises. So in the music world, you know,
you got to really create your own lane. I think.
Speaker 3 (27:41):
At some stage I was I was.
Speaker 1 (27:45):
I guess mentally I felt like I did everything I
could do to get to the next level or to
be that person that gets above or get or get ahead.
But it's really no to do that. You can't no
one can do that for you. I feel like, you know,
you got to create your own lane. And I feel
(28:06):
like with me and what I have done, especially with
my beat Loopers and combining you know, my Loopers' advocate
work to my music, I've just created a different lane
for me. So for me to be able to like
do that and just real and just be real with
just like the audience, the people and just man, I
(28:27):
love seeing the people face like after a show and
just seeing them just be encouraged, you know, and just
be excited. Because certain people come they may not be
dealing with Loopers, but they may be dealing with something
else in their life and just watching one of my shows,
I just gave them strength to just try to move forward,
to try to do better in life. So I think
(28:50):
again it's not about the music, but I think it's
more to my music and it has a Hitten message
behind it. So for me to get that feedback, I mean,
that's that's my uh, that's my go to right there.
I love it.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
I love it too.
Speaker 4 (29:04):
Let me ask you something, so, like before you was
diagnosed with alpits, right, okay, how was your life then?
Not not per se like the things that you were doing,
like so what you had your hand into right, what
you are were studying and putting all your time and
effort into you know, trying to build a life for yourself.
(29:25):
Was that taken off as this is taken off so fastly.
Speaker 3 (29:34):
I could say yes and no.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
Before I before I became, you know, a full time drummer,
I used to be a banker at Wells Fargo and
I love I love numbers.
Speaker 3 (29:48):
I was pretty good at it.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
I mean I started advancing well, so I loved it
because I also love the fact I used to love
to dress up and put the shirt in town, the
nice little suits.
Speaker 3 (29:58):
And I'm you know, I'm a I'm a people for too.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
So so I feel like, you know, I can have
a conversation with an individual and and and just make
you know, just just make that connection, you know. So
I was really loving that that line of work, and
that's what I thought my whole life would just be banking.
Speaker 3 (30:18):
But again, God God had a different path for me.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
And where I'm at now, I love it. But my
music career took off great because, like I said, the
opportunity I had back in twenty twelve, twenty thirteen, I
wasn't even expecting that, And so just to get that
that fast and then you started rolling and then it's like, Man,
(30:44):
I came off that first tour, I was like, man,
you know what, I'm not working for nobody else again.
Like I'm like, like, I gotta, I gotta, I gotta
make this dag on drumk thing work because now it
don't feel like work to me because I love playing
drums anyways. So now I'm in a position to where
I'm doing something that I love. You see what I'm saying,
(31:05):
So to make that my business and to make that
my my.
Speaker 3 (31:08):
Way of living.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
Man, that's stress free, and then that helps with my
loopers because loops you don't need stress.
Speaker 3 (31:14):
So think about it.
Speaker 1 (31:15):
Everything that I'm doing that has that's attached to me
is stress free. So I'm always in a happy place.
So you know, and like I said, you are know
how bad stress can be when you have lupis or
with any illness, and stress could kill you. So think
about with me and what I do and how and
(31:35):
how my day to day works. I'm doing something I
always love. I always love doing, so health wise it
helps you know.
Speaker 4 (31:46):
It's so funny that you said, and I asked you
that question because before I got into the nonprofit organization
field or even the podcasting field. My law was just healthcare,
nursing and being the highest nurse you can be, or
probably going for the nurse practitioner, things of that nature.
All of those things, right, But it's really a calling
(32:09):
because when people used to say, like, oh, it's this
guy's call, I used to be looking at them like
they just talking, you.
Speaker 5 (32:15):
Know what I mean, Like I got it. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (32:19):
So I used to be like, like peop would just
be boy, they just be some things, right. And so
when face came into mind, I'm a person that needs
to see my money. I need to I need to
count every penny when it's gonna come ifecting all of
those things. So for me to get in one of
the hardest business, to have a nonprofit, that was nothing
(32:42):
I wanted to do, but it never left my thought process.
And I totally understand what a calling is now because
I had that experience myself and.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
Just dealing with you know, my warriors and the business.
It's so the word amazing is not even the word
I can't even put.
Speaker 4 (33:01):
It's so liberating to have helped people and still to
this day people reach out to me and all I'm
doing is share my story and telling them the things
that works for me as a warrior, and of course
I educate myself and things of that nature, so I
can speak on the medicine and things of that nature
and bring it back to the business. But it's just
so liberating when people just like, you know, what you
(33:23):
told me help Then you know, they call on my
phone and I help them not to commit suicide and
things like that.
Speaker 2 (33:30):
But all of that stuff does weigh on me.
Speaker 4 (33:32):
But at the end of the day, I do be like,
you know what, thank you God, because you put glam
Girl in in a position to where I can help
the warriors to still be themselves and not be so
in a box per se, right, And so that's just
so liberating. So I definitely get what you're saying. I
(33:53):
definitely understand what you're saying. And that feeling is unmatched
with anything, and it all it makes you want to
take you.
Speaker 1 (34:09):
Yeah, yeah, you definitely can't beat that feeling. I get
a I get a lot of emails, text messages, in boxes, whatever,
And when someone reach out to me and and they
say that listening to my song or you know, listening
to me speak, or they hear me speak somewhere, and
(34:32):
when it really when it really helps someone else, Like
like like, that's the joy that I get out of it.
Hashtag b loopers is bigger than just Dion, you know
what I'm saying, Like hashtag be loopers is way bigger
than just me.
Speaker 3 (34:47):
So be out here rocking my gear every day. Me
out here. No, I'm I'm sending a message.
Speaker 1 (34:56):
You understand what I'm saying, and and and yeah, you
know what, people I get it all the time. They'd
be like, man to someone in your family have loops.
They don't even know that it's me, yes that I'm
sending when they see my shirts or whatever I'm drawing,
I'm drawing attention that so we can have that conversation
(35:16):
because you never know who may need the help. So
I feel like, you know what I'm doing. Yeah, I
ain't no big time organization and all that stuff.
Speaker 3 (35:24):
I get it. I ain't got no one hundred members
and all that stuff.
Speaker 1 (35:27):
But I'm making an impact in my own weight and
I'm doing it different.
Speaker 3 (35:32):
Sometimes you can't be like everybody else.
Speaker 1 (35:34):
That's what I love being different because at the end
of the day, I'm I'm I'm running my own course.
Speaker 3 (35:39):
I'm running my own my own path, you know what
I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (35:42):
So at the end of the day, this, this is
what this this, this is what I do. If if
if I had the money and the funding, like most
of these organizations, man, we'll have we will have a
Looper's billboard. We will have a Looper's billboard. You understand
what I'm saying. We we it's it's it's so much
as a as a as a community that that that
(36:04):
I know that we can do when it comes to loops.
Speaker 3 (36:07):
But I ain't.
Speaker 1 (36:08):
I ain't in that position. That's that's a whole bunch
of politics. I ain't got time for that. So I
advocate my way I do it. I do it the
way I do it, And that's that's what it Yeah,
that's what it is. It's all, it's all, it's all.
It's all politics. A lot of times with these organizations,
it's people standing behind the scenes, the ones that's really
advocating and the ones that's really out there pushing the brand.
(36:28):
You know, they just don't take notice of it. So
I think at the end of the day, you know,
the different podcasts and the things that you're doing and
the way that you're reaching the community. A lot of
these organizations, they don't reach the community like that. And
that's and that's sad to say, but that's just reality,
that's all. That's not so what you're doing. What you're
(36:49):
doing matters, trust me.
Speaker 2 (36:51):
Yeah, yeah, don't here, No.
Speaker 1 (36:58):
I'm just it's just reality. Though, it's it's it's just
it's it's just reality. Think about this though, thank you.
Just really really think about this. How many Loopers foundations
we have just in America period, the different organizations.
Speaker 5 (37:14):
Yeah, hey right, I ain't never went.
Speaker 1 (37:18):
Nowhere to seeing a Looper's billboard nowhere. I ain't seen
nothing nothing.
Speaker 4 (37:25):
And when it comes to things like that, publicly keep it,
you know, cute because you know, you don't never want
to get banned or anything like that.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
But when I was in Washington, d C.
Speaker 4 (37:38):
Not DC, but when I was in Washington at the
Capitol last year and I spoke at the summit, the
things that I asked, no body acts that they wasn't
going to ask that they wasn't going to say that.
Speaker 2 (37:52):
And when I tell.
Speaker 4 (37:53):
You the collapse, the applause that was going on as
I spoke, like it was that film was unmatched.
Speaker 2 (38:02):
I'm talking about them.
Speaker 4 (38:03):
Applause went on and on and on and on and on,
And I'm speaking from having a business and I'm speaking
from a warrior standpoint because a lot of those organizations
that have those life changing sons are not doing the
things that I am doing on my platform. I know,
(38:23):
I'm I know I'm being watched and I love it,
so that time will come when it's supposed to come.
But I definitely understand what you're saying, like at that
capacity that they have, that it should be more. And
I asked that while I was there, like wow, how
come and you know, uh, the Self Care Act when
(38:45):
it came to Timmy Bowen, we were on a project
for the Warriors, like or any autoimmune disease. I was
asking them, can they put something in place to where
it's like a stipend for six months because the longest
we could be down is like six months right before
we get back being our ready sales. And I told them,
(39:06):
like most people are like doctors that have these high
paying job, nurses and things of that nature, and the
state benefits is not going to cover our dog, it's
not going to cover our house, it's not going to
cover all of the things that we had it in
our life. So when I pitched that with the Self
Care Act, you it's very interested in that. So those
are the things that I'm going to continue to work
through and pay with the organizations.
Speaker 3 (39:31):
That's it, that's it, keep doing that. I'm proud of you.
Speaker 1 (39:34):
And like I said, already already told you, I've been
following you for a while and I've seen the great
work that you've been doing, so I definitely support you.
And that's that's why most podcasts with you tonight because
like I said, I definitely appreciate the work that you
that you're doing, so I love it.
Speaker 3 (39:51):
Keep it up.
Speaker 2 (39:53):
Thank you so much. So let's talk about it.
Speaker 4 (39:54):
Why did you choose to come on Lupis has on
Face podcast versus other podcast?
Speaker 2 (40:01):
Is? What made you okay and open to the invitation?
Speaker 1 (40:09):
It's certain I ain't we ain't gonna drop, I ain't
gonna name drop, or ain't gonna put nobody out there
like that. But honestly, a lot of these podcasts they
don't want you to be real. I feel like they
want you to they want you to say what the
what the what the public.
Speaker 3 (40:29):
Want to hear, but they don't. They don't want you
to say what we need what what needs to be heard.
And again that's.
Speaker 1 (40:38):
Just the whole political chain, the whole political game that
that Dionne not willing to play.
Speaker 3 (40:43):
And a lot of and a lot of these organizations
know that. Now.
Speaker 1 (40:48):
It's a few that I that I've dealt with that's
that's when they when they for really about loop as
they are.
Speaker 3 (40:57):
And I've dealt with a few that that for real.
Speaker 1 (41:00):
But me mainly, I really don't do a lot of
it now because I think a lot of people just
want to build their own personal platform, okay, and they
try to turn it into a competition.
Speaker 3 (41:13):
And the funny thing about it is their organization.
Speaker 1 (41:17):
Not even ten minutes away from each other, you know,
and they trying to compete when I'm like, no, y'all
should come together and make a powerful, a powerful impact.
But I think even though even I mean, you see
it all the time, even on social media now you know,
it's about who got the stronger platform, who got this,
and who got that. But we trying to compete against
(41:40):
each other, and when we need to be spreading the
word to the people that don't know about lupis.
Speaker 3 (41:45):
So I think when I really realized that and just
understood that.
Speaker 1 (41:49):
I'm like, man, why am I keep jumping on everybody
else's platform talking to each other.
Speaker 3 (41:56):
We already know we got lupis, We already know what
we are dealing with.
Speaker 1 (42:00):
So we we sit here trying to compete with each
other when we need to be telling the ones that
don't know, the ones that when when I'm out at
the grocery store and they come up to me and
they ask questions about my my you know, whatever shirt
I may have onn those are the people that we
need to reach. Therefore, when we go to those meetings
on When you have those meetings like that, now you
got a public.
Speaker 3 (42:21):
You know, some type of public stays with you because you've.
Speaker 1 (42:24):
Been out there doing the work and you've been we
got to put it out to the actual public. That's all.
So for me, like I said, I do it, I
do it different. I probably I ain't. Look, I ain't
been invited to a Loopers platform in a while. But
at the end of the day, I'm one of the
major guys that you see on social media advocating every
day with my bro Emmitt Henderson.
Speaker 3 (42:46):
We got the Loopers Dream Team page. So these are these.
Speaker 1 (42:49):
Arensistent things that that you see for years.
Speaker 3 (42:57):
You know.
Speaker 1 (42:57):
It's not like we just started this. We've been doing
this for you years, you know. But at the end
of the day, it's just they got their way of
doing it. Like I say, that's that's well above my head.
I don't even try to think about it.
Speaker 3 (43:08):
No more.
Speaker 1 (43:09):
Like I said, I do it. I do it don way,
you know, I do it in my way. Yeah for real. Look,
they don't like me, that's cool. I hey, that's that's cool.
I'm still doing what I'm called to do without a
bunch of politics, without a bunch of red tape, and
I'm still getting a message across and I'm.
Speaker 3 (43:26):
Still helping people.
Speaker 1 (43:27):
And look, the funny thing about this is I get
people to reach out to me asking for for money
if they need help. Okay, and I wish I had to,
like like I said, I wish I had to, you know,
the funding to help these people that need help with
their bills. But these same people that's connected to an organization,
a big, major organization, they telling them, no, that don't
(43:49):
that don't make sense to me. But yeah, they want
you to send on their money to the all that
that don't make sense sing you know.
Speaker 3 (43:58):
And that.
Speaker 1 (43:59):
But but that's what's going on. You see what I'm saying,
that's what's going on. But right, but when we had
those conversations and we say that, everybody get in their
feelings about it. But at the end of the day,
that's what's really going on. Because I think, is this
if it's right, if they are giving money to your
organization and they'll allow you member or whatever membership fees
(44:19):
they got going on, and all this stuff. Every time
you ask for a donation, you giving them money and
they get in one little buying and you can't help
them with they with one feel that just don't make
sense to me. That just don't make sense to me.
Speaker 3 (44:32):
But again, don't don't nobody want to hear that.
Speaker 1 (44:35):
Don't nobody want to hear that?
Speaker 2 (44:36):
So like I want to hear it.
Speaker 4 (44:39):
That's that's one reason why I show what people show
in or donate to a little face. You know, you
see the things that's being done in the community or
the turkey drives or whatever, or people will you know
inbox or email and I'll keep their name private, but
I'll put it out there because this is what it
(45:00):
is for and that money that they have. If I
had it, oh my god, it'd be so much, it'd
be so much more. But the time has not came yet.
Speaker 2 (45:09):
And that's fine. But places like that, they don't last long,
you know what I'm saying. And they have millions of.
Speaker 4 (45:16):
Dollars each year to do things for the words and
it's not being done. And that is one of the
things that I brought up in the Capitol, Like, you know,
so I really understand what you're saying. Even the resources
you give them something for them to give back.
Speaker 2 (45:34):
You shouldn't be like that. It shouldn't be like that.
You should be able to tell people.
Speaker 4 (45:38):
You know, I have people they'll go back and rewatch
the show and they'd be like, oh, you want Blissa,
how was this? And I'll let them know, like for me,
it's wonderful, But do your research. Talk to your doctors
about it, and I'll tell them, like all of your
doctors have to be in communication with each other so
they can make the right plan for you. All of
your doctors have to talk to each other. And a
(46:00):
lot of people that just that's a long piece of information.
A lot of people didn't even know that. You know,
you got to be able to tell them how would
you go about it, what to do and why?
Speaker 3 (46:11):
So that's it. You want it? You want it? So again,
if you notice, I just I just stay in my
own loan.
Speaker 1 (46:22):
I just do what I do, and I just let
it be because it's it's it's so many people out
here suffering from from loop is struggling trying to figure
this thing out, and we're sitting here playing this little
this little politics came about it because they're not writing
checks to your organization.
Speaker 3 (46:40):
I just I just disagree with that. I do.
Speaker 4 (46:43):
I totally disagree with that. I disagree with a lot
of the things. But again, you know, it's a lot
of businesses out here that have never made a commercial,
that have never made a billboard, and they reached so
many people. So I say that to you, like you
don't have to have a bill pore. You are reaching
so many people that you don't even know that you're reaching.
(47:05):
Like I promise you when it's time for that to
com it to be time for that to come. But
until then, you know, we're gonna keep doing what we're doing,
and who we reach is who we reach. It when
they reach back out, that's that's what it is. I
love you, how I mean the loops community and raising
(47:28):
awareness for the disease.
Speaker 1 (47:36):
I think, honestly, the only thing that that we can
do is I'm gonna just keep keep being consistent, keep advocating,
keep keep pushing the word. You know, y'all don't know me.
I mean people know me by now. I have a
different beat Loopy shirt on every single day my board,
(47:59):
your beat Lopers, Like for real, I get like it's
funny like, but the only thing that we can do,
you know, especially me from the standpoint and the position
I'm in, is just to keep advocating, to keep pushing
the word. I feel like at the end of the day,
especially the area I'm in, they don't publicize loopers a lot,
(48:21):
so I really gotta I really got to push hard,
and you know, keep keep doing what we're doing, like
the podcast, you have the things that you're doing. We
gotta keep pushing it. The funny thing about this is
watch watch when May hit? Okay, watch how hype everybody
a whole month of May? Like I'm getting tagged and
(48:45):
post people name see you know people. I'm like, yo, Like,
the whole month of May is just ridiculous. But then
as soon as June first hit, that energy just goes away.
Speaker 2 (48:57):
Why it should be around.
Speaker 1 (49:01):
What I'm saying, Consistency is key, and I think the
problem is we're not consistent.
Speaker 3 (49:07):
Watch how hype, Watch how hype may be. Matter of fact,
I ain't gonna be to good on my dag on
timeline they may because it's gonna be so much stuff
going on. I'm like, d I ain't even know.
Speaker 1 (49:16):
You had Lupis hold on you tagging me? I ain't,
like for real, like like that's that's that's how crazy.
Maybe as soon as June first come, everybody Looper is
just in remission until next May.
Speaker 5 (49:32):
That's what.
Speaker 1 (49:36):
Everybody Loper is going remission on June on June first
until next May, and then it flairs, it flaies back
up in May.
Speaker 2 (49:45):
Listen, I totally understand what you said.
Speaker 4 (49:47):
That's why that's why I do something every quarter, like
I do something every quarter. The month of May, I'll
go hard because it's Lupi's awareness. Every quarter you're seeing
Lupis has no face doing something because we can't just
learn everything and want.
Speaker 1 (50:03):
You right, but you but you consistent throughout the whole
year though, Man the month to May, I be getting
people hitting me up like I ain't even hold on.
I'm like, man, yo, matter of fact, may I think
I'm gonna just.
Speaker 3 (50:19):
Go offline this ship. I'm just gonna go off this.
Speaker 1 (50:23):
Yeah, I'm gonna just let everybody else do their thing,
cause may be crazy and may boy as soon as
June first come remission kick in, I'm like, bro, all right,
we're good now. Now let's get back to the little regularly,
regularly scheduled show. It's crazy, but that's just that's just
how it is, though.
Speaker 4 (50:40):
But you're right, like, you know, I never really paid
attention to that. I never really paid attention. But when
people reach out to me, they like, you know, you
are the first and the man was and I'm like, really,
you know what I mean, like really, and they was like,
did someone else you know? And I'll tell them, like
you know, I'll give them depending on where they're at,
but like no, I tell people they can call me whenever,
even though the goal is to be behind the scenes
(51:04):
and how people do that for me, because that does
take a lot on me, But I'm okay with that.
If I'm helping whoever, Like I get calls to go
to the hospital. We hours in the morning, you know
what I mean, Like just random people that's been following me,
and they be like, she's in critical condition and this
and that, and somebody told me about you, and I'll go,
I'll go and give my energy and do whatever it
(51:25):
is that I do. And then I hear months later
like she's doing so well and that really worked and
things of that nature.
Speaker 2 (51:32):
Like so I'm who else other than me to have
of it.
Speaker 4 (51:37):
God ain't restricted me from anything, so I'm okay with it.
He uses me, and so I am fine with it,
cause so many people are literally coming too and watching
those emails and those texts, like I'm just like, I'm
only doing what I was doing. I'm only teaching you
(51:58):
what I was or what I learned, and you know
how I'm gonna move in.
Speaker 2 (52:03):
So I absolutely love it.
Speaker 3 (52:06):
That's it.
Speaker 2 (52:10):
Advice for no U for us.
Speaker 4 (52:13):
For aspirting musicals facing their own health challenges, what advice
would you give them about pursuing their passion while managing
their condition?
Speaker 1 (52:27):
I would say, never ever give up. I feel like
every every road you travel.
Speaker 3 (52:36):
Is not going to be easy. I really gotta.
Speaker 1 (52:45):
I really think about this, it says the Bible says
one Peter five and ten. It says God does our purpose.
So whatever pain you're going through, whatever pain that you're
(53:07):
dealing with, is a purpose behind that pain.
Speaker 5 (53:11):
Mhmm.
Speaker 1 (53:12):
To get to the finish line, you got to go
through something. At some point, you have to go through something.
A lot of people want to get to the finish line,
but they don't want to go through. So what I
had to learn when it come to this loopis I
know that it's a purpose for all the pain that
I deal with when it comes to loopis so anyone
that's that's in this moment trying to get to where
(53:36):
they're trying to get just in life, musically, whatever whatever
you got going on in life, you gotta understand is
you know, you got to go through that situation to
get to that finishing point. And if you don't want
to go through that, then that's that's that's your reason
actual will give up. But if you want, if you're
willing to go through and sacrifice to go through it,
your goal gonna be it where you're like where you
(53:57):
need to be in the end.
Speaker 3 (53:59):
So that specs the advice that I would give anybody.
Speaker 4 (54:02):
You know, that is so powerful and it's so true,
I tell my friends and I speak it all the
time because you know, it's certain periods in your life
where you go through something you really recognize, like what's
going on. Like last year was my period where I
understood weapons formed against me when I prosper so to me,
I actually lived and understood what that meant. Like successful,
(54:24):
being successful is hard, and being successful is going to
come with all of the things and He is going
to put you through in order for you to be
able to maintain what you're going through, so you can
maintain at the level of success that you are asking
him for it, right, So what all of the things
that was coming to me in twenty twenty four, It
(54:46):
could have out, It could have broke me, It could
have just ended everything, right, but guess what right? Yeah,
And at that very moment, I'm like, being successful is hard.
Been successful is gonna come with so many things that
you can't explain, so many things that you don't want
to be bothered with. You continue to stay faithful and
keep moving and don't let it break you, like you're
going to reach the potential with abundance and more.
Speaker 2 (55:11):
So, last year was.
Speaker 4 (55:12):
Really like our breakthrough of everything, and like you said,
like you, consistency is the key. You keep working, You
keep working, and you keep working, and I promise you
it's going to definitely pay off. Like as far as
like let's just just the singers and rappers and things
like that when we when they first come to TV, right,
(55:33):
that's not They've been working five ten years behind the
scene and now they just taking off being working. Yeah,
people don't understand. You have to put in the work.
You have to put in the work, and you gotta
be consistent if you want to get anything out of it,
because one day you're gonna keep you gonna be working
your tail off, and opportunities are just gonna be flooding
(55:53):
your door. And that comes with being little well with you.
You gotta talk about it. You gotta breathe it, you
know what I mean. And if you talk about it,
you can't breathe it. And those are the wrong people
to be around because your company, which who you keep
the tears where you're going.
Speaker 2 (56:12):
So you got and.
Speaker 4 (56:14):
You're trying to become something or you're trying to make
a life a changing lifestyle, you gotta be with some
people that's already doing it.
Speaker 1 (56:25):
So that's that's your your your immediate circle, your immediate circle, Like, yeah,
your immediate circle is so important, and I didn't realize
how jacked up my immediate circle was at one point
in my life, especially when I was dealing with Luke,
Like I didn't even realize that. And then I'm wondering
why my health is so bad, Like my circle just
(56:49):
won't it won't, it just won't. Sweet, you just want there,
So you got to change those things. So I'm glad
that you that you mentioned that, because that's that's very important.
That's very important. That's very important.
Speaker 2 (57:04):
It is you gotta be around who you inspire to be.
Speaker 4 (57:07):
Like, that's just how it works, you know, in what
ways as music as a form of therapy in your
life while navigating loopees.
Speaker 1 (57:26):
Wow, music music saved me. I believe music. Music saved me.
Oh there's no way I be.
Speaker 3 (57:39):
It's no way I would be probably sitting here on
this podcast with you if music didn't didn't shape me.
It didn't, you know, music molded me.
Speaker 1 (57:49):
Music was my.
Speaker 3 (57:50):
Safe place.
Speaker 1 (57:53):
When I was dealing with so many things and trying
to figure out Loupees and again, you know, being around
the wrong crast, being around the wrong people.
Speaker 3 (58:02):
Drums was always my safe place.
Speaker 1 (58:05):
And I feel like whenever I'm behind the drum set,
no matter what I got going on in life, whether
good or bad, it all it all goes away right there.
Like when I sit down on that seat, I feel
like I'm in a I'm in a bubble, I'm in
I'm in a shell. And that's and and and that's
the greatest feeling ever. Like that's the best feeling ever.
(58:26):
Sometimes I be like, man, you know, the show over with.
I gotta I gotta get back to reality now, because
the world comes at you so hard sometimes.
Speaker 3 (58:34):
So drums is definitely my safe place. Music. Music saved me.
Speaker 1 (58:41):
And again I'm just I'm just so grateful that that
God just allowed me and put me in that put
me in that space, and just put me in that position.
But music is therapy for me because that's how I
deal with Lucis. There's no way I can deal with
Lupis if I didn't have that therapy of music to
take that away. So, and I don't know if you
remember me Leshawn Garrolla, like she's a great friend of mine,
(59:05):
me and her doing Looper's work together. When I tell
you now, she for real. So anything she do, any
type of vent or something she got going on, I'm
gonna rock with her all day because she for real.
But we actually have a medicine and music series that
we did and it talks about the benefits of medication
and music and she's the expert on the medical side
(59:27):
and I was the expert on the music field. So
it worked.
Speaker 3 (59:30):
I mean, it worked out so good.
Speaker 1 (59:32):
And that was again so music really helps, especially me
with my day to day with loopers. So but everybody
got to have some type of outlet. So it may
not be MU music for everybody. Well for me, that's
just what it is.
Speaker 4 (59:47):
No, for sure, shout out to Lashan Grow that's my storer.
So yes, she's the doctor now, so I'm so super
proud of her. So it definitely makes sense to have
an expert and drums and music and an expert with
the medication because she dangs sure know what she's talking about,
what she's talk telling me.
Speaker 1 (01:00:11):
But but but let me yeah, but but let me
but let me say this though, she is for real.
That's what that's that's what I got to make sure.
I let let I let know she is. She is
for real, and it's not about self. It's about community
and she gives back and and that's that's that's what
I'm talking about. So she awesome, awesome people, awesome she is.
Speaker 4 (01:00:35):
She spoke last year for my fourth loop Is information
and she came down last year. So yeah, she definitely,
she's definitely the truth when it comes to this sloop
is thing. So my hat's off to her. I always her,
I look up to her.
Speaker 3 (01:00:51):
What love.
Speaker 4 (01:00:53):
Yes, sure, for sure she she's gonna be graduating so
May or April. I got a look, but I'm sure okay, Yeah, yeah,
I'm gonna drive down there. Yeah, so I'll be down
there too, Okay.
Speaker 1 (01:01:12):
But.
Speaker 2 (01:01:15):
Which is?
Speaker 3 (01:01:23):
Oh no, So what do you have?
Speaker 2 (01:01:27):
What all do you have coming up? Where can the
people find you?
Speaker 4 (01:01:31):
I'm gonna have my producer Tom, please drop those hashtags
in a chat?
Speaker 2 (01:01:36):
What all you got going on? How can the people
find you? Where can they follow you?
Speaker 1 (01:01:42):
Okay, you can follow me at Dion Langley on Facebook.
I actually have a hashtag beat Loopers group. It's hashtag
beat Loopers on Facebook. I got a YouTube page, uh,
drum for Loopus, that's drum the number four loopis. I
(01:02:05):
got Instagram drum for Loops Instagram beat, lupis Aparo. Uh.
Speaker 3 (01:02:12):
Email is drum for Loopus at gmail dot com.
Speaker 1 (01:02:16):
Again it's drum the number four, then lupus at gmail
dot com.
Speaker 3 (01:02:22):
What if I got the Loopers dream team page? Uh wow?
What else? What else?
Speaker 1 (01:02:27):
Uh?
Speaker 2 (01:02:30):
Uh?
Speaker 1 (01:02:30):
Oh yeah. Musically it's ah DP Media Group Deon Langley
featuring BKS Band. I have a lot going on musically.
I'm about to release an album. We just did our
live recording in February. Yes, so I'm about to about
to release the album. So I'm excited about that. Follow
(01:02:54):
Our YouTube page is DP Media Group twenty two so
uh it got YouTube videos up there. Let's see Google
type in Dion Langley loopis. Just type my name and
you'll see probably loopis stuff and music videos. So it's
pretty much easy to find me. But I'm just excited
(01:03:14):
about this year. I got a lot of things coming
up musically. Oh yeah, I'm also excited to I got
let everybody know, I won twenty twenty five Bear Music
Awards Smooth Jazz Artists of the Year, So I'm excited
about that.
Speaker 5 (01:03:28):
Yes, yes, ye, yeah, yes, wow, Yes, I'm so.
Speaker 1 (01:03:38):
Excited about that.
Speaker 3 (01:03:40):
I gotta I gotta I got a couple of things.
Speaker 1 (01:03:42):
Going on that's that's gonna really hit big.
Speaker 5 (01:03:46):
I just can't say now, but go back so I
can share.
Speaker 1 (01:03:53):
I let you know I got I got you back.
Trust me, you alreright with me. But but again, be
be looking out for Dion Lane featuring BKS Band. Trust me,
we are we are, we on the move, We on
the move.
Speaker 5 (01:04:05):
Trust me we're doing a thing.
Speaker 1 (01:04:07):
Y'all.
Speaker 5 (01:04:09):
Thank you, you welcome.
Speaker 4 (01:04:13):
I appreciate it so much for having you coming on
this platform letting people know, like man do have.
Speaker 2 (01:04:18):
Loopez Man go through, but it is a way to
get through living.
Speaker 4 (01:04:23):
Well with Loopez right, And I love how you are
tapping into it musically. People have to find their niche
of how they want to start living well because the
first thing is to accept it, right, Because I heard
you say from twenty ten to twenty twelve, excuse me,
you were doing bad because you haven't accepted. And the
first thing is accepting what you have so you can
(01:04:45):
let go of all of the things and started learning
to live well with Lupees because you can live up
to one hundred years old with lucas. It is not
a death sentis and to see a vibrant young man
with his hands and all all of the things. That's
like so much inspiration to so many people that you
(01:05:05):
can they can't do it. It's a long journey. It
would definitely be a journey every day, but it is
very very very feasible. So I thank you for coming
on the platform, letting them see you, letting them hear you,
and just giving them just all of the inspiration that
they need. We are definitely gonna have to have you
(01:05:29):
come back on here again.
Speaker 1 (01:05:37):
Really really, I gotta, I gotta, I gotta come in
in the studio next time, like we definitely needed that.
Speaker 3 (01:05:42):
Gonna talk about that. I got, I gotta come in. Yes,
I would love that. I would.
Speaker 1 (01:05:46):
I would do that for you. I got you.
Speaker 2 (01:05:48):
Let me know when you're in Milwaukee. Okay, we can
definitely have to.
Speaker 4 (01:05:53):
I'll make I'll make any day work for you, you know,
because you especially, so I know the record. If you
pop in town and I can get you, we can
make any day work.
Speaker 1 (01:06:04):
So you know, hopefully, hopefully, yes, hopefully be cares being
to be in Milwaukee soon. Okay, we're working on it.
We're working on it.
Speaker 2 (01:06:14):
Right because I'm coming.
Speaker 3 (01:06:22):
Got you.
Speaker 5 (01:06:23):
I am coming.
Speaker 4 (01:06:25):
So before we close out, what would would you give
people to take away from anything?
Speaker 2 (01:06:31):
What would be your your takeaway words or to give
people a takeaway.
Speaker 3 (01:06:37):
To me? You gotta trust God. It's just no other
way I can.
Speaker 1 (01:06:42):
I can sit here and say everything that probably makes sense,
but the only way I know how and the only
thing that got me through, I had to trust God
because I used to put my trust in man, I
really I really did, and I wasn't. I wasn't there
where I needed to be. But when I started trusting God,
my life turned around and things started happening for me.
So that's that's just being real. I'm like, I'm not
(01:07:08):
I'm not perfect, so I'm not telling you Dionna is perfect,
but all my life is easy. But I've seen the
difference in my life once I put God first and
where he needed to be. So that's just that's just
what it is.
Speaker 2 (01:07:19):
Period.
Speaker 4 (01:07:21):
I felt all of that. I felt all in I
to atally understand what you're saying. So you guys, y'all
got all of his hashtags. You guys know how to
reach out a lot of men do not like reaching
out to women when they have lupis because they haven't
accepted it right. So Dion is a very educated, open
(01:07:41):
loving guy that you can.
Speaker 2 (01:07:42):
Reach out to to.
Speaker 4 (01:07:45):
Pour out anything that he can pour back into you.
So thank you for tuning in. We are here every
Wednesday at six thirty on all platforms. If you missed
the live, you can definitely replay, replay it, so until
then next time, See you later.
Speaker 3 (01:08:01):
D
M m.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
M h.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
R asweeded.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
Thrty her Street us.
Speaker 4 (00:22):
M m.
Speaker 5 (00:30):
M m.
Speaker 4 (00:39):
M m.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
M m mm hmmm.
Speaker 4 (01:22):
Hello you guys, thank you for tuning in to another
wonderful episode of Lucas Has No Face with your hosts
Savannah and our special guys Beats Up Lupas or Beatloopers. Okay,
we are here to talk about the rhythm through resilience,
fighting Lucas to music.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
All right, I apologies you guys.
Speaker 4 (01:45):
So we got our special guests in the building.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Hello, how you doing? Can you hear me?
Speaker 3 (01:53):
I'm good? How you doing?
Speaker 4 (01:54):
I'm good, I'm good, I'm good. Thank you so much
for joining me. I know you have a busy schedule
because you be all over the world just doing your
thing with them drums. Okay, we definitely go get into
that a little bit later. But jumping in, jumping right in,
(02:16):
let's let the people know just you, you without the loop?
Is you without the band?
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Who are you?
Speaker 3 (02:25):
Okay?
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Well, my name is Dion Langley originally born in Portsmouth, Virginia.
They keep it simple with with me. I'm a loving father.
I'm a father first. I love my kids. I think
me being a father really it really keeps me, keeps
me going. Outside of that, of course, I love I
(02:49):
love playing drums and I love basketball. I love to
be that guy that that that loves to go out
to eat like I can eat.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
I'm real, I'm real, real green.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
A lot of people may not know that about me,
but I'm real greedy. So so that's something like people
probably may not know. But just outside of you know,
the whole loops thing. Like, I'm a real quiet, laid back,
laid back person, but I'm a very caring person too.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
So I feel like a lot of the things that
I that I do or the things.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
That that I've accomplished, it just has a bigger purpose
outside of just me.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
So I love to give back in such a way
that can probably help someone.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
But other than that, like I said, I'm you know,
I'm a real laid back, laid back person, real, real,
real greedy, love to eat.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
But that's just that's just who I am. That's just
who I am.
Speaker 4 (03:42):
Well, giving us laid back, so I can believe that
you're so, so let's dive right into it, right. So,
I have a couple of questions that I want to
ask you about your music and Lucas how do it
like correlate with each other? How did you how did
that all come together? So can you share a bit
(04:05):
of your personal journey what loop is and how is
has shaped your life in music?
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Okay, yes, while I was diagnosed back in twenty ten,
twenty ten, when I was diagnosed, I really it really
changed my life because I, again, I was just a
real happy, laid back person. I loved playing basketball. I
was in the sports and just very very active. So
when I got diagnosed, it took a different toll. My
(04:36):
life took a different route. I had to find myself
slowing down and can't do the things like I really
wanted to do physically, especially playing basketball and things.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
Of that nature.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
The funny thing was, I've always played drums since I
was a kid, about five or six years old, So
I always found that love for drums, and I got
that love for music early in life. About twenty twelve,
you know, it's really took a turn for the worst.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
And that was between twenty ten and twenty twelve.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
That was probably the hardest time frame for me because
I was still trying to figure it out. I was
still trying to understand why I have loop is You
know at like that was probably the hardest time for
me because I just secluded myself from like the world.
The only people that I was really close to was
my kids, my intermediate family.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
I didn't even tell a lot of people that I
had lucas. That was just the crazy part.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
You know, if it was a situation, if I can interject,
if I can interject just a little bit, So from
two thousand and ten, right from two thousand and ten
to twenty and twelve, why did it get worse? Like
what was the difference when you first god diaosed? Like
what did that look like versus twenty and twelve when
you were trying to figure it out?
Speaker 3 (05:59):
Well, when I first got diagnosed, it was worse then.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
I think that that whole timeframe for me was because
I still didn't accept it yet. I never really accepted it,
so mentally, going through that process, I'm still denying it.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
You know. The whole time, I'm just denying the whole
thing that I have loopis.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
So I'm just trying to play it off, like I say,
not even accepting the fact that I that I do
have it.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
So it made me physically.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
Worse because my mind didn't match what my body was
actually dealing with because I was going in a whole
different direction. And understand this. People say, you know you
beat Lopis the way you need to beat Lupis. You
know it's that's my saying. But I you know, I.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
Learned to beat Lupis mentally more so than physically.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
That's why I'm able to do what I do the
way I do now, because I learned to beat Lupi's mentally. Physically,
It's nothing we can do about Lupis because Lupis does
what it wants whenever it wants to. It's not like
Lupis gonna send us a text message and be like, yo,
you gonna You're gonna feel shit tomorrow. You know, you
know what I'm saying, Like right, so, Lupis creeps up
on it. So at the end of the day, we
(07:06):
have to be mentally strong to be able to accept
whatever comes with it. Now we all know when you know,
when that does happen, I know, I gotta lay down
the rest. I know, I gotta just take the next
couple of days, chill, don't do anything. But mentally, I'm
telling myself, hey, I had a bad day with Lupis today,
but tomorrow, guess what I'm gonna be right back being
(07:29):
don So I think at the end of the day,
when I say hashtag beat lupas is because I'm beating
loopis mentally, because physically you can't.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
I can't control what lupis does. You know?
Speaker 1 (07:38):
So in the first timeframe where I had that struggle period,
it was because mentally I wasn't I wasn't strong.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Gotcha.
Speaker 4 (07:49):
It's so funny that you say that, because it does
all start in the mindset, right, Like we can do
whatever we can do, all of the things living well
with lupus is. Living well with lupus is really a thing.
But if it's gonna do what it's gonna do, it's
gonna do what it's gonna do, right, it's gonna run
its course. In so it makes sense when you say, like,
you know, we can't control it other than in our mind.
(08:14):
But a lot of things that we can do to
learn to live well, you know with lupez with the
proper tools and things of that nature, But you do
definitely have to be mind strong, and I think that's
what a lot of the things, all of the things
really in life comes with your mindset. First, you said that,
(08:34):
So twenty ten versus twenty twelve, twenty twelve, you accepted
it right and just doing all of the things.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
So when you accepted it, you started doing better. Is
that fair to.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
Say that's it?
Speaker 1 (08:46):
That's that's you, You nailing it, because twenty twelve was
when I came out of that. That's that stage of denial,
and I had to figure out a way. This is
something that the doctors told me that I have for
the rest of my life. So I can't live the
rest of my life the way I was living from
twenty ten to twenty twelve. That was the worst period
for me. So in order for me to just change
(09:06):
that mindset and be where I'm at now, being able
to be able to handle lupis whatever comes with it,
I had to change my whole mindset. So twenty twelve,
I MA, I made that change. When I tell you
I cried, people don't know how much I cried. I prayed.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
I mean it was it was just so many things.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
But like I say, God is my number one, so
I know that I'm here today because of Him.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
It's not even Dion ain't got none to do with it.
It ain't got nothing to do with.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
How strong I am mentally strong whatever God has got
me through this, and I'm so grateful for that. Always.
Speaker 4 (09:38):
Man, hats off to you, because that don't understand when
they say about the faith, right, the faith very strong.
When you have nothing else to lean on, when you
have nothing and no one, the one you can go
have faith, and when that faith shows you the works,
it's like, man, you want to praise God, talk about
(09:58):
him all the time because without him, it's like really
have been able to do That's it.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
That's it.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
And and and I understand understand this when you when
you're in that hospital room and you in that bed,
and you stayed in the hospital for so long, and
when all your visitors going and you land in their
bed by yourself, when I tell you you really think
about a lot of things in your life, and that's
that's probably that quiet time and that one on one
(10:26):
time that that I needed with with God myself, because
a lot of times he'll put you in situations and say, listen,
I gotta I gotta get you more focused on me.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
So I need I need to sit you down, you moving,
you moving too much.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
So a lot of times things like that happen for
a reason, and I just had to understand that.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
I had you.
Speaker 4 (10:47):
That is so beautiful because people do not understand that, right,
And I don't think I would have ever understand that
unless I was diagnosed.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Who knows, No one knows, right.
Speaker 4 (10:56):
But I say the same thing because it's like it
could be worse, you know what I'm saying. I could
not be doing all of the things I can be
here advocating and living my life while living well with
lucas is spreading and letting people know like lupas can
be very beautiful and it's very manageable.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
If you do all.
Speaker 4 (11:13):
The things right. So that is that is so I
love it. I absolutely love it. We're on first name basis.
I'm I'm about to call you d Let's do it.
Taking off the hats, okay, we're taking out the hats okay.
(11:35):
So yeah, how did you discover be a powerful too
in your fight against loupees?
Speaker 3 (11:49):
It was it was funny how how this whole process happened.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
Like I said, I always play drums as a as
a child, So I always had that love for just
drumming and music. At the time when I got diagnosed
and when I started my diagnosis and starting dealing with loops.
I was still playing drums and still you know, still
touring and and still living that drum profession, living that
(12:18):
you know, the drum life. And when I had got
sick and I had got hospitalized for my loopis that
was the longest period that I was that I was
hospitalized for probably about probably about four or five months.
It really took me down. So I probably didn't play
for almost six or seven months drumming. So when I
finally got back to where the doctor said, you know,
(12:40):
I can probably you know, play and just be myself again.
But the funny thing about it, I had a doctor
tell me that I'd never be able to play drums again.
That's now that's the that's the crazy life. Yeah, that's
the crazy part. That's that's what I'm saying. That's why
I say God is so amazing because when I got diagnosed,
a room full of doctors in there, I only know
(13:02):
what I'm getting diagnosed on and don't even know what
lupens is. So they're telling me these things, and the
whole while it's like I can't do this, I can't
do that. You got to stop doing this, you got
to stop doing that. So I had a doctor told me, yo,
I don't think you'll be able to play drums for
more that right there hurt. So I'm getting back to
the point now to where I'm physically being myself. And
(13:26):
I had a gentleman called me and he said, hey,
he said, I want you to go on tour with
me my band, and I said really, he said yeah.
So to me, that was a great opportunity because I
had to get back in just a swing of being
a musician and just being being a drummer. So I
accepted the offer. This was around coach to twenty thirteen,
(13:50):
and I said, wow, I say, I gotta I'm about
to get back on his road touring and you know,
just doing what I do. I needed that self motivation
for myself to help get me through these shows because
I just wasn't sure how it would be, not just
physically but mentally to be able to deal with getting
(14:11):
back into this drum thing. So at the time, that's
when all the hashtag started coming out a little bit.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
So I just told myself, man, I'm gonna just.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
Put a just put a T shirt and just put
hashtag beat Loopers on it.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
And I decided to do that because I feel like.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
This it really relates to me because with me being
a drummer, I beat drums, so my goal is to
beat loopis. So I was just like, man, yo, like
that's the perfect saying for me, right, So I said,
I put hashtag beat lopis. I just put it on
a T shirt. So every time I would play, I
would just have a different color hashtag beat loopers shirt
(14:49):
on and a lot of people were like, man, that's
that's the nice shirt. That's a nice shirt. And I
was like, okay, thank you. But this was this is
when I knew God had a different purpose for me.
We was in Ohio. I did a show in Ohio
and uh it was time for the little you know,
the little drum solo. So you know, they put me
(15:10):
on the bitch screen. So I'm doing my little solo,
but all you can see is my hashtag.
Speaker 3 (15:14):
Beat Lupa's T shirt on.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
So after the show, you know, we get dressed, were
about to go to the to the next city and
one of the security guys they came knock on the
door and they was like, hey, Den, somebody out here
they want to see you. And I'm like Yo, I'm
in Ohio. I don't know nobody out here, like.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
You know, who want to see me? Yeah, I'm like, yeah,
I'm like, I don't nobody, no money or nothing doing.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
I'm like, what's going on? You know? So so I
walked out there, and of course, me being in the
position I'm in, I have to be available to my
fans if anybody want to take pictures autographs, so you know,
I couldn't say no. So I walked out there and
when I when I walked out, I looked up. Of
course I didn't notice him, but it was a it
(15:59):
was a mother a father and they had their son
with him, and the mom was just standing there just
balling in tears, and I'm just like wow. I was like, dang, well,
I ain't think the show was that bad, you know
what I'm saying, Like, I didn't know what the deal was.
But her husband was like he was like, he was like, sir,
he was like, you know, my wife is emotional because
(16:19):
you don't know how much.
Speaker 3 (16:20):
That you bless her tonight. And I was like, what
you mean?
Speaker 1 (16:23):
So he started telling me that their son that finally
came to the show tonight. He was depressed. He was
in depression. Move they say he finally came out his
room tonight. They tried to get him out of his
room for the past two months.
Speaker 3 (16:41):
His son used to be a star athlete in high school.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
He was about to graduate high school and go to
college to play football, and when he took his physical,
he found out he was diagnosed with lupis. So they
took the scholarship, this and that the third so he
from that moment he just went really went in the
downhill fhon And when they saw me playing drums and
(17:08):
saw the tee shirt, she was like, wow, I didn't know. Well,
first of all, they thought someone in my family had lupas,
because you all know, people don't know that males get loopis,
like that are only like ten percent of males lucis, right,
So they first asked, you know, I saw your shirt
(17:28):
that someone in your family had lupas, and I was like, no,
I do. And when they found out, she just, I mean,
she just gave me the biggest hug ever. And when
they started telling me their story about their son and
just for me to encourage him that night and really
let him know, I was like, listen, just because you
have loopers It don't mean you can't do the things
(17:49):
that you want to do. It's just a limitation on it.
You understand what I'm saying. Like I can still play drums,
but it's like I gotta kind of be careful how
I play. I can't do no three before our shows,
no more going hard all day. I got to bounce
out how I get it through these shows.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
But that right there, that moment when I had a
chance to talk with them, right and I had to
talk with them, explain to him. I educated him on it.
I took pictures, signed autographs, and it made it made
them feel so much, so much better that night, and
he left there with a sense.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
Of confidence and the sense that he can make it.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
And that night when we got on the plane to
go to the next show, I knew that that was
my purpose. Like I knew it was a bigger purpose
for me doing music versus me just out here trying
to be the best drummer in the world.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
Quote unquote, you know what I'm saying. So so God.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
Put me in this position and in this place for
a reason. So that's how hashtag beat looke. And then
I just started putting it on every shirt, and then
you know, I just started coming up with different logo
goals and different ideas. Now I got my little pail company.
So it's just but took off right there. And I
knew that God had a you know, he had to
(19:01):
make it.
Speaker 4 (19:03):
Take that little out of it because I've been to
a couple of your shows.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
Okay, a little about it. Take a little out of here.
Speaker 3 (19:17):
Yeah, I'm trying.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
No.
Speaker 4 (19:19):
And that is so touching because it's like, what would
I say to you. You don't look like you have lupis,
you know what I'm saying, Like so many people that's
living well with people, you don't look like you you
have Just like what do lubis is supposed to look like?
You know, you understand, and and you know that's that's disconnecting.
The bridge is not connecting with the doctors and the
(19:40):
successful warriors, because if that was so, they would know
a lot of warriors would know that you can live
life to the fullest and all of your potentials within
limitations if you do all of the things right. And
apparently something's not being connected between the physicians and the
one that are being successful living with this invisible illness.
(20:03):
Because people wouldn't have that stigma so much on it,
you understand what I'm saying. So that was so moving
that you just gave them that hope because they looked
at you and you probably made that boy, you know, just.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
Reborn.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
He's actually yeah, he's actually doing he's doing he's doing
well now.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
And I you know, you reach out and we talk
from like the time and I check up on him.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
But that that moment that night really changed my life
how I how I looked at looked at my role
and what God had for like me moving forward. So
I knew it won't just about the drums, you know
what I'm saying, It won't just about that. So and
even if you come to one of my shows now
you know, yeah, the music is good. We do it,
we do musically.
Speaker 3 (20:49):
But at the end of the.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
Day, I'm telling the story and and and I'm giving hope,
and I'm giving you the process. I'm giving you my
life musically, you know what I'm saying. So, and hopefully
that can courage someone.
Speaker 4 (21:02):
It most definitely will curage a lot of people. But
people what people don't understand is like how you look
so healthier and and just all put together that did
not come overnight.
Speaker 2 (21:14):
You know what I'm saying. Things just don't happen overnight,
and it's hard, you know, it's hard.
Speaker 4 (21:19):
It's such thing we want to, you know, not do
all these things sometimes because we know we are limiting
ourselves even though other people don't know that we limiting ourselves.
And sometimes we do get rebellious, you know what I'm saying,
But then we gotta pick back up, like, Okay, I
have my two days of being rebellious. Let me get
back to it, because this ain't it. You know, it
is hard, but it's very doable.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
It's very.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
Like after after after a show, I'll be honest with you,
I'm done, Like, let's talk about that.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
I'm computing.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
So what does it take for you to to prepare
to go on tour?
Speaker 4 (22:02):
Right to be on tour? And what does it look
like when you're done after a show? Like, let let's
let's let the people know, like, how did that look
even though it looked extort to them?
Speaker 2 (22:17):
What are you dealing with?
Speaker 1 (22:18):
Okay? For me, it's a lot of a lot of rest,
a lot of people doing like outside of me being
on stage or being in the in the public eye.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
It's a lot of rest like on tour, and my
band to tell you, on tour, I.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
Probably miss breakfast every day, especially like after a show
because I'm yeah, like I'm like my body like for real.
So you know, if they if it's a nine thirty
or ten o'clock or ten a m type thing, don't
even worry about it.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
Like Dion, you won't see Dion, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
But they all know that I'm resting, and they already
know that I have loop is so probably the whole
two I think I made breakfast like twice and that
was you know what I'm saying. But I know how
to recover, and I think that whole recovery time is
just important. Now we'll we'll have to go and get
up the next morning and go to the next show.
So on next travel, gu's what I'm doing. I'm sleeping.
(23:18):
I'm wrestling, so like yeah, so like you hit the stage,
you know, you rest, recover, get up the next day travel.
So the whole travel time that's probably can be from
anywhere from three to six hours.
Speaker 3 (23:32):
I'm resting that whole time.
Speaker 1 (23:34):
So then when I get to the next show, boom,
even in the dressing room or before the show starts,
I'm somewhere just laying down, relaxing. But because I exert
so much energy, like for me to do what a
normal drummer does right now, I have to exert probably
three times the energy just to be a normal drummer,
you see what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (23:55):
So that's that's just how it affects my body.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
But after a show, though, like I am, I am
dead beat to like the world, you know, And I
tell you all the time, if you hit me up
at nine eight, eight o'clock in the morning, You're not
gonna hear from me. It's just that's just not me,
you know what I'm saying. But but I'm grateful to
have the job in the career I have because I
make I make my own schedule, so it's like I'm
not forced to get up every day at that early
(24:20):
hour because my body just don't work like that. And
you already know when when you when when you know,
lupis can hit you when you feel like you want
to get up and move and it just won't.
Speaker 3 (24:29):
Let you move.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
So so yeah, so I'm fortunate to have the job
that I that I do have, So I'm not putt
in that position every day to be like you gotta
be you got.
Speaker 3 (24:37):
To be at work every day at nine o'clock. That
just won't work for me.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
So, you know, so God, like I say, God, God,
God really had it planned out for me the way
he needed it because he knew this is what I needed.
But that's the tour life is. You know, I got it.
I got it right to a lot of people don't
under like that's that. That was major for me because
I'm so I'm so greedy. So it's not that I
(25:03):
couldn't eat. Yeah, right, it's not. It's not that I
couldn't eat. I just had to tone down, you know
what I'm saying, versus me eating like the fried chicken
wings like I used to love. Everybody loved chicken wings,
but I was just grilling or do like baked, you
know what I'm saying. Right, So I ate a lot
of salmon, broccoli, fruit. I love fruit. So again it's
(25:25):
just a matter of me eating right too. At the
same time, you get your one day of cheating. I
know I ain't, I can't, I ain't perfect with it,
but I if I do have that cheat day, then
the rest of that week. Then guess what I'm I'm
I'm eating the way I need you, you know. So
I think it's about balance. So people got to understand
when it comes to loop is it ain't that you
can't enjoy good meals. You just gotta have balance with it.
(25:46):
So that's all.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
That's all discipline from a balance.
Speaker 4 (25:51):
And then you know, you just got to change your
your palate, your taste palate, because are very good like
they are, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
Cooking now, man, Listen, I got into a lot of
vegan foods that's actually really really good and and and
and for someone that's greedy like me that love to
eat like you know, it's like it actually it's actually good.
Speaker 3 (26:18):
So it's just it's just a matter of balance. Man.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
Again, just like you said earlier, you know, yes we
have loopers, but we still normal people. You understand what
I'm saying, Like I'm gonna I love Chinese food. You
know what I'm saying. I love Listen, I love me
some Chinese food. You cannot tell me about no good
Chinese food. I love Chinese food all day. I just
can't sit there and go at it like I used to.
Speaker 3 (26:41):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
Still of getting a super super extra large, I just
get a small, you know what I'm saying. So it's
just about balance.
Speaker 4 (26:46):
That's all I have to because once you start living
well with loops, your body's gonna tell you, like, man,
that was enough. It's going to tell you. Once you
learn your triggers, your body is going to automatically speak
to you. But until you do the work, you gonna
be in for a long ride. You know what I'm saying. Yeah,
(27:07):
what moments haven't inspired you the most in your journey
of resilience through music?
Speaker 1 (27:16):
Just just being able to inspire people a lot of times.
Speaker 3 (27:23):
My career.
Speaker 1 (27:25):
And what I've and what I've dealt with, it's a
lot of ups and downs, ups and downs, a lot
of broken promises. So in the music world, you know,
you got to really create your own lane. I think.
Speaker 3 (27:41):
At some stage I was I was.
Speaker 1 (27:45):
I guess mentally I felt like I did everything I
could do to get to the next level or to
be that person that gets above or get or get ahead.
But it's really no to do that. You can't no
one can do that for you. I feel like, you know,
you got to create your own lane. And I feel
(28:06):
like with me and what I have done, especially with
my beat Loopers and combining you know, my Loopers' advocate
work to my music, I've just created a different lane
for me. So for me to be able to like
do that and just real and just be real with
just like the audience, the people and just man, I
(28:27):
love seeing the people face like after a show and
just seeing them just be encouraged, you know, and just
be excited. Because certain people come they may not be
dealing with Loopers, but they may be dealing with something
else in their life and just watching one of my shows,
I just gave them strength to just try to move forward,
to try to do better in life. So I think
(28:50):
again it's not about the music, but I think it's
more to my music and it has a Hitten message
behind it. So for me to get that feedback, I mean,
that's that's my uh, that's my go to right there.
I love it.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
I love it too.
Speaker 4 (29:04):
Let me ask you something, so, like before you was
diagnosed with alpits, right, okay, how was your life then?
Not not per se like the things that you were doing,
like so what you had your hand into right, what
you are were studying and putting all your time and
effort into you know, trying to build a life for yourself.
(29:25):
Was that taken off as this is taken off so fastly.
Speaker 3 (29:34):
I could say yes and no.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
Before I before I became, you know, a full time drummer,
I used to be a banker at Wells Fargo and
I love I love numbers.
Speaker 3 (29:48):
I was pretty good at it.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
I mean I started advancing well, so I loved it
because I also love the fact I used to love
to dress up and put the shirt in town, the
nice little suits.
Speaker 3 (29:58):
And I'm you know, I'm a I'm a people for too.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
So so I feel like, you know, I can have
a conversation with an individual and and and just make
you know, just just make that connection, you know. So
I was really loving that that line of work, and
that's what I thought my whole life would just be banking.
Speaker 3 (30:18):
But again, God God had a different path for me.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
And where I'm at now, I love it. But my
music career took off great because, like I said, the
opportunity I had back in twenty twelve, twenty thirteen, I
wasn't even expecting that, And so just to get that
that fast and then you started rolling and then it's like, Man,
(30:44):
I came off that first tour, I was like, man,
you know what, I'm not working for nobody else again.
Like I'm like, like, I gotta, I gotta, I gotta
make this dag on drumk thing work because now it
don't feel like work to me because I love playing
drums anyways. So now I'm in a position to where
I'm doing something that I love. You see what I'm saying,
(31:05):
So to make that my business and to make that
my my.
Speaker 3 (31:08):
Way of living.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
Man, that's stress free, and then that helps with my
loopers because loops you don't need stress.
Speaker 3 (31:14):
So think about it.
Speaker 1 (31:15):
Everything that I'm doing that has that's attached to me
is stress free. So I'm always in a happy place.
So you know, and like I said, you are know
how bad stress can be when you have lupis or
with any illness, and stress could kill you. So think
about with me and what I do and how and
(31:35):
how my day to day works. I'm doing something I
always love. I always love doing, so health wise it
helps you know.
Speaker 4 (31:46):
It's so funny that you said, and I asked you
that question because before I got into the nonprofit organization
field or even the podcasting field. My law was just healthcare,
nursing and being the highest nurse you can be, or
probably going for the nurse practitioner, things of that nature.
All of those things, right, But it's really a calling
(32:09):
because when people used to say, like, oh, it's this
guy's call, I used to be looking at them like
they just talking, you.
Speaker 5 (32:15):
Know what I mean, Like I got it. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (32:19):
So I used to be like, like peop would just
be boy, they just be some things, right. And so
when face came into mind, I'm a person that needs
to see my money. I need to I need to
count every penny when it's gonna come ifecting all of
those things. So for me to get in one of
the hardest business, to have a nonprofit, that was nothing
(32:42):
I wanted to do, but it never left my thought process.
And I totally understand what a calling is now because
I had that experience myself and.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
Just dealing with you know, my warriors and the business.
It's so the word amazing is not even the word
I can't even put.
Speaker 4 (33:01):
It's so liberating to have helped people and still to
this day people reach out to me and all I'm
doing is share my story and telling them the things
that works for me as a warrior, and of course
I educate myself and things of that nature, so I
can speak on the medicine and things of that nature
and bring it back to the business. But it's just
so liberating when people just like, you know, what you
(33:23):
told me help Then you know, they call on my
phone and I help them not to commit suicide and
things like that.
Speaker 2 (33:30):
But all of that stuff does weigh on me.
Speaker 4 (33:32):
But at the end of the day, I do be like,
you know what, thank you God, because you put glam
Girl in in a position to where I can help
the warriors to still be themselves and not be so
in a box per se, right, And so that's just
so liberating. So I definitely get what you're saying. I
(33:53):
definitely understand what you're saying. And that feeling is unmatched
with anything, and it all it makes you want to
take you.
Speaker 1 (34:09):
Yeah, yeah, you definitely can't beat that feeling. I get
a I get a lot of emails, text messages, in boxes, whatever,
And when someone reach out to me and and they
say that listening to my song or you know, listening
to me speak, or they hear me speak somewhere, and
(34:32):
when it really when it really helps someone else, Like
like like, that's the joy that I get out of it.
Hashtag b loopers is bigger than just Dion, you know
what I'm saying, Like hashtag be loopers is way bigger
than just me.
Speaker 3 (34:47):
So be out here rocking my gear every day. Me
out here. No, I'm I'm sending a message.
Speaker 1 (34:56):
You understand what I'm saying, and and and yeah, you
know what, people I get it all the time. They'd
be like, man to someone in your family have loops.
They don't even know that it's me, yes that I'm
sending when they see my shirts or whatever I'm drawing,
I'm drawing attention that so we can have that conversation
(35:16):
because you never know who may need the help. So
I feel like, you know what I'm doing. Yeah, I
ain't no big time organization and all that stuff.
Speaker 3 (35:24):
I get it. I ain't got no one hundred members
and all that stuff.
Speaker 1 (35:27):
But I'm making an impact in my own weight and
I'm doing it different.
Speaker 3 (35:32):
Sometimes you can't be like everybody else.
Speaker 1 (35:34):
That's what I love being different because at the end
of the day, I'm I'm I'm running my own course.
Speaker 3 (35:39):
I'm running my own my own path, you know what
I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (35:42):
So at the end of the day, this, this is
what this this, this is what I do. If if
if I had the money and the funding, like most
of these organizations, man, we'll have we will have a
Looper's billboard. We will have a Looper's billboard. You understand
what I'm saying. We we it's it's it's so much
as a as a as a community that that that
(36:04):
I know that we can do when it comes to loops.
Speaker 3 (36:07):
But I ain't.
Speaker 1 (36:08):
I ain't in that position. That's that's a whole bunch
of politics. I ain't got time for that. So I
advocate my way I do it. I do it the
way I do it, And that's that's what it Yeah,
that's what it is. It's all, it's all, it's all.
It's all politics. A lot of times with these organizations,
it's people standing behind the scenes, the ones that's really
advocating and the ones that's really out there pushing the brand.
(36:28):
You know, they just don't take notice of it. So
I think at the end of the day, you know,
the different podcasts and the things that you're doing and
the way that you're reaching the community. A lot of
these organizations, they don't reach the community like that. And
that's and that's sad to say, but that's just reality,
that's all. That's not so what you're doing. What you're
(36:49):
doing matters, trust me.
Speaker 2 (36:51):
Yeah, yeah, don't here, No.
Speaker 1 (36:58):
I'm just it's just reality. Though, it's it's it's just
it's it's just reality. Think about this though, thank you.
Just really really think about this. How many Loopers foundations
we have just in America period, the different organizations.
Speaker 5 (37:14):
Yeah, hey right, I ain't never went.
Speaker 1 (37:18):
Nowhere to seeing a Looper's billboard nowhere. I ain't seen
nothing nothing.
Speaker 4 (37:25):
And when it comes to things like that, publicly keep it,
you know, cute because you know, you don't never want
to get banned or anything like that.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
But when I was in Washington, d C.
Speaker 4 (37:38):
Not DC, but when I was in Washington at the
Capitol last year and I spoke at the summit, the
things that I asked, no body acts that they wasn't
going to ask that they wasn't going to say that.
Speaker 2 (37:52):
And when I tell.
Speaker 4 (37:53):
You the collapse, the applause that was going on as
I spoke, like it was that film was unmatched.
Speaker 2 (38:02):
I'm talking about them.
Speaker 4 (38:03):
Applause went on and on and on and on and on,
And I'm speaking from having a business and I'm speaking
from a warrior standpoint because a lot of those organizations
that have those life changing sons are not doing the
things that I am doing on my platform. I know,
(38:23):
I'm I know I'm being watched and I love it,
so that time will come when it's supposed to come.
But I definitely understand what you're saying, like at that
capacity that they have, that it should be more. And
I asked that while I was there, like wow, how
come and you know, uh, the Self Care Act when
(38:45):
it came to Timmy Bowen, we were on a project
for the Warriors, like or any autoimmune disease. I was
asking them, can they put something in place to where
it's like a stipend for six months because the longest
we could be down is like six months right before
we get back being our ready sales. And I told them,
(39:06):
like most people are like doctors that have these high
paying job, nurses and things of that nature, and the
state benefits is not going to cover our dog, it's
not going to cover our house, it's not going to
cover all of the things that we had it in
our life. So when I pitched that with the Self
Care Act, you it's very interested in that. So those
are the things that I'm going to continue to work
through and pay with the organizations.
Speaker 3 (39:31):
That's it, that's it, keep doing that. I'm proud of you.
Speaker 1 (39:34):
And like I said, already already told you, I've been
following you for a while and I've seen the great
work that you've been doing, so I definitely support you.
And that's that's why most podcasts with you tonight because
like I said, I definitely appreciate the work that you
that you're doing, so I love it.
Speaker 3 (39:51):
Keep it up.
Speaker 2 (39:53):
Thank you so much. So let's talk about it.
Speaker 4 (39:54):
Why did you choose to come on Lupis has on
Face podcast versus other podcast?
Speaker 2 (40:01):
Is? What made you okay and open to the invitation?
Speaker 1 (40:09):
It's certain I ain't we ain't gonna drop, I ain't
gonna name drop, or ain't gonna put nobody out there
like that. But honestly, a lot of these podcasts they
don't want you to be real. I feel like they
want you to they want you to say what the
what the what the public.
Speaker 3 (40:29):
Want to hear, but they don't. They don't want you
to say what we need what what needs to be heard.
And again that's.
Speaker 1 (40:38):
Just the whole political chain, the whole political game that
that Dionne not willing to play.
Speaker 3 (40:43):
And a lot of and a lot of these organizations
know that. Now.
Speaker 1 (40:48):
It's a few that I that I've dealt with that's
that's when they when they for really about loop as
they are.
Speaker 3 (40:57):
And I've dealt with a few that that for real.
Speaker 1 (41:00):
But me mainly, I really don't do a lot of
it now because I think a lot of people just
want to build their own personal platform, okay, and they
try to turn it into a competition.
Speaker 3 (41:13):
And the funny thing about it is their organization.
Speaker 1 (41:17):
Not even ten minutes away from each other, you know,
and they trying to compete when I'm like, no, y'all
should come together and make a powerful, a powerful impact.
But I think even though even I mean, you see
it all the time, even on social media now you know,
it's about who got the stronger platform, who got this,
and who got that. But we trying to compete against
(41:40):
each other, and when we need to be spreading the
word to the people that don't know about lupis.
Speaker 3 (41:45):
So I think when I really realized that and just
understood that.
Speaker 1 (41:49):
I'm like, man, why am I keep jumping on everybody
else's platform talking to each other.
Speaker 3 (41:56):
We already know we got lupis, We already know what
we are dealing with.
Speaker 1 (42:00):
So we we sit here trying to compete with each
other when we need to be telling the ones that
don't know, the ones that when when I'm out at
the grocery store and they come up to me and
they ask questions about my my you know, whatever shirt
I may have onn those are the people that we
need to reach. Therefore, when we go to those meetings
on When you have those meetings like that, now you
got a public.
Speaker 3 (42:21):
You know, some type of public stays with you because you've.
Speaker 1 (42:24):
Been out there doing the work and you've been we
got to put it out to the actual public. That's all.
So for me, like I said, I do it, I
do it different. I probably I ain't. Look, I ain't
been invited to a Loopers platform in a while. But
at the end of the day, I'm one of the
major guys that you see on social media advocating every
day with my bro Emmitt Henderson.
Speaker 3 (42:46):
We got the Loopers Dream Team page. So these are these.
Speaker 1 (42:49):
Arensistent things that that you see for years.
Speaker 3 (42:57):
You know.
Speaker 1 (42:57):
It's not like we just started this. We've been doing
this for you years, you know. But at the end
of the day, it's just they got their way of
doing it. Like I say, that's that's well above my head.
I don't even try to think about it.
Speaker 3 (43:08):
No more.
Speaker 1 (43:09):
Like I said, I do it. I do it don way,
you know, I do it in my way. Yeah for real. Look,
they don't like me, that's cool. I hey, that's that's cool.
I'm still doing what I'm called to do without a
bunch of politics, without a bunch of red tape, and
I'm still getting a message across and I'm.
Speaker 3 (43:26):
Still helping people.
Speaker 1 (43:27):
And look, the funny thing about this is I get
people to reach out to me asking for for money
if they need help. Okay, and I wish I had to,
like like I said, I wish I had to, you know,
the funding to help these people that need help with
their bills. But these same people that's connected to an organization,
a big, major organization, they telling them, no, that don't
(43:49):
that don't make sense to me. But yeah, they want
you to send on their money to the all that
that don't make sense sing you know.
Speaker 3 (43:58):
And that.
Speaker 1 (43:59):
But but that's what's going on. You see what I'm saying,
that's what's going on. But right, but when we had
those conversations and we say that, everybody get in their
feelings about it. But at the end of the day,
that's what's really going on. Because I think, is this
if it's right, if they are giving money to your
organization and they'll allow you member or whatever membership fees
(44:19):
they got going on, and all this stuff. Every time
you ask for a donation, you giving them money and
they get in one little buying and you can't help
them with they with one feel that just don't make
sense to me. That just don't make sense to me.
Speaker 3 (44:32):
But again, don't don't nobody want to hear that.
Speaker 1 (44:35):
Don't nobody want to hear that?
Speaker 2 (44:36):
So like I want to hear it.
Speaker 4 (44:39):
That's that's one reason why I show what people show
in or donate to a little face. You know, you
see the things that's being done in the community or
the turkey drives or whatever, or people will you know
inbox or email and I'll keep their name private, but
I'll put it out there because this is what it
(45:00):
is for and that money that they have. If I
had it, oh my god, it'd be so much, it'd
be so much more. But the time has not came yet.
Speaker 2 (45:09):
And that's fine. But places like that, they don't last long,
you know what I'm saying. And they have millions of.
Speaker 4 (45:16):
Dollars each year to do things for the words and
it's not being done. And that is one of the
things that I brought up in the Capitol, Like, you know,
so I really understand what you're saying. Even the resources
you give them something for them to give back.
Speaker 2 (45:34):
You shouldn't be like that. It shouldn't be like that.
You should be able to tell people.
Speaker 4 (45:38):
You know, I have people they'll go back and rewatch
the show and they'd be like, oh, you want Blissa,
how was this? And I'll let them know, like for me,
it's wonderful, But do your research. Talk to your doctors
about it, and I'll tell them, like all of your
doctors have to be in communication with each other so
they can make the right plan for you. All of
your doctors have to talk to each other. And a
(46:00):
lot of people that just that's a long piece of information.
A lot of people didn't even know that. You know,
you got to be able to tell them how would
you go about it, what to do and why?
Speaker 3 (46:11):
So that's it. You want it? You want it? So again,
if you notice, I just I just stay in my
own loan.
Speaker 1 (46:22):
I just do what I do, and I just let
it be because it's it's it's so many people out
here suffering from from loop is struggling trying to figure
this thing out, and we're sitting here playing this little
this little politics came about it because they're not writing
checks to your organization.
Speaker 3 (46:40):
I just I just disagree with that. I do.
Speaker 4 (46:43):
I totally disagree with that. I disagree with a lot
of the things. But again, you know, it's a lot
of businesses out here that have never made a commercial,
that have never made a billboard, and they reached so
many people. So I say that to you, like you
don't have to have a bill pore. You are reaching
so many people that you don't even know that you're reaching.
(47:05):
Like I promise you when it's time for that to
com it to be time for that to come. But
until then, you know, we're gonna keep doing what we're doing,
and who we reach is who we reach. It when
they reach back out, that's that's what it is. I
love you, how I mean the loops community and raising
(47:28):
awareness for the disease.
Speaker 1 (47:36):
I think, honestly, the only thing that that we can
do is I'm gonna just keep keep being consistent, keep advocating,
keep keep pushing the word. You know, y'all don't know me.
I mean people know me by now. I have a
different beat Loopy shirt on every single day my board,
(47:59):
your beat Lopers, Like for real, I get like it's
funny like, but the only thing that we can do,
you know, especially me from the standpoint and the position
I'm in, is just to keep advocating, to keep pushing
the word. I feel like at the end of the day,
especially the area I'm in, they don't publicize loopers a lot,
(48:21):
so I really gotta I really got to push hard,
and you know, keep keep doing what we're doing, like
the podcast, you have the things that you're doing. We
gotta keep pushing it. The funny thing about this is
watch watch when May hit? Okay, watch how hype everybody
a whole month of May? Like I'm getting tagged and
(48:45):
post people name see you know people. I'm like, yo, Like,
the whole month of May is just ridiculous. But then
as soon as June first hit, that energy just goes away.
Speaker 2 (48:57):
Why it should be around.
Speaker 1 (49:01):
What I'm saying, Consistency is key, and I think the
problem is we're not consistent.
Speaker 3 (49:07):
Watch how hype, Watch how hype may be. Matter of fact,
I ain't gonna be to good on my dag on
timeline they may because it's gonna be so much stuff
going on. I'm like, d I ain't even know.
Speaker 1 (49:16):
You had Lupis hold on you tagging me? I ain't,
like for real, like like that's that's that's how crazy.
Maybe as soon as June first come, everybody Looper is
just in remission until next May.
Speaker 5 (49:32):
That's what.
Speaker 1 (49:36):
Everybody Loper is going remission on June on June first
until next May, and then it flairs, it flaies back
up in May.
Speaker 2 (49:45):
Listen, I totally understand what you said.
Speaker 4 (49:47):
That's why that's why I do something every quarter, like
I do something every quarter. The month of May, I'll
go hard because it's Lupi's awareness. Every quarter you're seeing
Lupis has no face doing something because we can't just
learn everything and want.
Speaker 1 (50:03):
You right, but you but you consistent throughout the whole
year though, Man the month to May, I be getting
people hitting me up like I ain't even hold on.
I'm like, man, yo, matter of fact, may I think
I'm gonna just.
Speaker 3 (50:19):
Go offline this ship. I'm just gonna go off this.
Speaker 1 (50:23):
Yeah, I'm gonna just let everybody else do their thing,
cause may be crazy and may boy as soon as
June first come remission kick in, I'm like, bro, all right,
we're good now. Now let's get back to the little regularly,
regularly scheduled show. It's crazy, but that's just that's just
how it is, though.
Speaker 4 (50:40):
But you're right, like, you know, I never really paid
attention to that. I never really paid attention. But when
people reach out to me, they like, you know, you
are the first and the man was and I'm like, really,
you know what I mean, like really, and they was like,
did someone else you know? And I'll tell them, like
you know, I'll give them depending on where they're at,
but like no, I tell people they can call me whenever,
even though the goal is to be behind the scenes
(51:04):
and how people do that for me, because that does
take a lot on me, But I'm okay with that.
If I'm helping whoever, Like I get calls to go
to the hospital. We hours in the morning, you know
what I mean, Like just random people that's been following me,
and they be like, she's in critical condition and this
and that, and somebody told me about you, and I'll go,
I'll go and give my energy and do whatever it
(51:25):
is that I do. And then I hear months later
like she's doing so well and that really worked and
things of that nature.
Speaker 2 (51:32):
Like so I'm who else other than me to have
of it.
Speaker 4 (51:37):
God ain't restricted me from anything, so I'm okay with it.
He uses me, and so I am fine with it,
cause so many people are literally coming too and watching
those emails and those texts, like I'm just like, I'm
only doing what I was doing. I'm only teaching you
(51:58):
what I was or what I learned, and you know
how I'm gonna move in.
Speaker 2 (52:03):
So I absolutely love it.
Speaker 3 (52:06):
That's it.
Speaker 2 (52:10):
Advice for no U for us.
Speaker 4 (52:13):
For aspirting musicals facing their own health challenges, what advice
would you give them about pursuing their passion while managing
their condition?
Speaker 1 (52:27):
I would say, never ever give up. I feel like
every every road you travel.
Speaker 3 (52:36):
Is not going to be easy. I really gotta.
Speaker 1 (52:45):
I really think about this, it says the Bible says
one Peter five and ten. It says God does our purpose.
So whatever pain you're going through, whatever pain that you're
(53:07):
dealing with, is a purpose behind that pain.
Speaker 5 (53:11):
Mhmm.
Speaker 1 (53:12):
To get to the finish line, you got to go
through something. At some point, you have to go through something.
A lot of people want to get to the finish line,
but they don't want to go through. So what I
had to learn when it come to this loopis I
know that it's a purpose for all the pain that
I deal with when it comes to loopis so anyone
that's that's in this moment trying to get to where
(53:36):
they're trying to get just in life, musically, whatever whatever
you got going on in life, you gotta understand is
you know, you got to go through that situation to
get to that finishing point. And if you don't want
to go through that, then that's that's that's your reason
actual will give up. But if you want, if you're
willing to go through and sacrifice to go through it,
your goal gonna be it where you're like where you
(53:57):
need to be in the end.
Speaker 3 (53:59):
So that specs the advice that I would give anybody.
Speaker 4 (54:02):
You know, that is so powerful and it's so true,
I tell my friends and I speak it all the
time because you know, it's certain periods in your life
where you go through something you really recognize, like what's
going on. Like last year was my period where I
understood weapons formed against me when I prosper so to me,
I actually lived and understood what that meant. Like successful,
(54:24):
being successful is hard, and being successful is going to
come with all of the things and He is going
to put you through in order for you to be
able to maintain what you're going through, so you can
maintain at the level of success that you are asking
him for it, right, So what all of the things
that was coming to me in twenty twenty four, It
(54:46):
could have out, It could have broke me, It could
have just ended everything, right, but guess what right? Yeah,
And at that very moment, I'm like, being successful is hard.
Been successful is gonna come with so many things that
you can't explain, so many things that you don't want
to be bothered with. You continue to stay faithful and
keep moving and don't let it break you, like you're
going to reach the potential with abundance and more.
Speaker 2 (55:11):
So, last year was.
Speaker 4 (55:12):
Really like our breakthrough of everything, and like you said,
like you, consistency is the key. You keep working, You
keep working, and you keep working, and I promise you
it's going to definitely pay off. Like as far as
like let's just just the singers and rappers and things
like that when we when they first come to TV, right,
(55:33):
that's not They've been working five ten years behind the
scene and now they just taking off being working. Yeah,
people don't understand. You have to put in the work.
You have to put in the work, and you gotta
be consistent if you want to get anything out of it,
because one day you're gonna keep you gonna be working
your tail off, and opportunities are just gonna be flooding
(55:53):
your door. And that comes with being little well with you.
You gotta talk about it. You gotta breathe it, you
know what I mean. And if you talk about it,
you can't breathe it. And those are the wrong people
to be around because your company, which who you keep
the tears where you're going.
Speaker 2 (56:12):
So you got and.
Speaker 4 (56:14):
You're trying to become something or you're trying to make
a life a changing lifestyle, you gotta be with some
people that's already doing it.
Speaker 1 (56:25):
So that's that's your your your immediate circle, your immediate circle, Like, yeah,
your immediate circle is so important, and I didn't realize
how jacked up my immediate circle was at one point
in my life, especially when I was dealing with Luke,
Like I didn't even realize that. And then I'm wondering
why my health is so bad, Like my circle just
(56:49):
won't it won't, it just won't. Sweet, you just want there,
So you got to change those things. So I'm glad
that you that you mentioned that, because that's that's very important.
That's very important. That's very important.
Speaker 2 (57:04):
It is you gotta be around who you inspire to be.
Speaker 4 (57:07):
Like, that's just how it works, you know, in what
ways as music as a form of therapy in your
life while navigating loopees.
Speaker 1 (57:26):
Wow, music music saved me. I believe music. Music saved me.
Oh there's no way I be.
Speaker 3 (57:39):
It's no way I would be probably sitting here on
this podcast with you if music didn't didn't shape me.
It didn't, you know, music molded me.
Speaker 1 (57:49):
Music was my.
Speaker 3 (57:50):
Safe place.
Speaker 1 (57:53):
When I was dealing with so many things and trying
to figure out Loupees and again, you know, being around
the wrong crast, being around the wrong people.
Speaker 3 (58:02):
Drums was always my safe place.
Speaker 1 (58:05):
And I feel like whenever I'm behind the drum set,
no matter what I got going on in life, whether
good or bad, it all it all goes away right there.
Like when I sit down on that seat, I feel
like I'm in a I'm in a bubble, I'm in
I'm in a shell. And that's and and and that's
the greatest feeling ever. Like that's the best feeling ever.
(58:26):
Sometimes I be like, man, you know, the show over with.
I gotta I gotta get back to reality now, because
the world comes at you so hard sometimes.
Speaker 3 (58:34):
So drums is definitely my safe place. Music. Music saved me.
Speaker 1 (58:41):
And again I'm just I'm just so grateful that that
God just allowed me and put me in that put
me in that space, and just put me in that position.
But music is therapy for me because that's how I
deal with Lucis. There's no way I can deal with
Lupis if I didn't have that therapy of music to
take that away. So, and I don't know if you
remember me Leshawn Garrolla, like she's a great friend of mine,
(59:05):
me and her doing Looper's work together. When I tell
you now, she for real. So anything she do, any
type of vent or something she got going on, I'm
gonna rock with her all day because she for real.
But we actually have a medicine and music series that
we did and it talks about the benefits of medication
and music and she's the expert on the medical side
(59:27):
and I was the expert on the music field. So
it worked.
Speaker 3 (59:30):
I mean, it worked out so good.
Speaker 1 (59:32):
And that was again so music really helps, especially me
with my day to day with loopers. So but everybody
got to have some type of outlet. So it may
not be MU music for everybody. Well for me, that's
just what it is.
Speaker 4 (59:47):
No, for sure, shout out to Lashan Grow that's my storer.
So yes, she's the doctor now, so I'm so super
proud of her. So it definitely makes sense to have
an expert and drums and music and an expert with
the medication because she dangs sure know what she's talking about,
what she's talk telling me.
Speaker 1 (01:00:11):
But but but let me yeah, but but let me
but let me say this though, she is for real.
That's what that's that's what I got to make sure.
I let let I let know she is. She is
for real, and it's not about self. It's about community
and she gives back and and that's that's that's what
I'm talking about. So she awesome, awesome people, awesome she is.
Speaker 4 (01:00:35):
She spoke last year for my fourth loop Is information
and she came down last year. So yeah, she definitely,
she's definitely the truth when it comes to this sloop
is thing. So my hat's off to her. I always her,
I look up to her.
Speaker 3 (01:00:51):
What love.
Speaker 4 (01:00:53):
Yes, sure, for sure she she's gonna be graduating so
May or April. I got a look, but I'm sure okay, Yeah, yeah,
I'm gonna drive down there. Yeah, so I'll be down
there too, Okay.
Speaker 1 (01:01:12):
But.
Speaker 2 (01:01:15):
Which is?
Speaker 3 (01:01:23):
Oh no, So what do you have?
Speaker 2 (01:01:27):
What all do you have coming up? Where can the
people find you?
Speaker 4 (01:01:31):
I'm gonna have my producer Tom, please drop those hashtags
in a chat?
Speaker 2 (01:01:36):
What all you got going on? How can the people
find you? Where can they follow you?
Speaker 1 (01:01:42):
Okay, you can follow me at Dion Langley on Facebook.
I actually have a hashtag beat Loopers group. It's hashtag
beat Loopers on Facebook. I got a YouTube page, uh,
drum for Loopus, that's drum the number four loopis. I
(01:02:05):
got Instagram drum for Loops Instagram beat, lupis Aparo. Uh.
Speaker 3 (01:02:12):
Email is drum for Loopus at gmail dot com.
Speaker 1 (01:02:16):
Again it's drum the number four, then lupus at gmail
dot com.
Speaker 3 (01:02:22):
What if I got the Loopers dream team page? Uh wow?
What else? What else?
Speaker 1 (01:02:27):
Uh?
Speaker 2 (01:02:30):
Uh?
Speaker 1 (01:02:30):
Oh yeah. Musically it's ah DP Media Group Deon Langley
featuring BKS Band. I have a lot going on musically.
I'm about to release an album. We just did our
live recording in February. Yes, so I'm about to about
to release the album. So I'm excited about that. Follow
(01:02:54):
Our YouTube page is DP Media Group twenty two so
uh it got YouTube videos up there. Let's see Google
type in Dion Langley loopis. Just type my name and
you'll see probably loopis stuff and music videos. So it's
pretty much easy to find me. But I'm just excited
(01:03:14):
about this year. I got a lot of things coming
up musically. Oh yeah, I'm also excited to I got
let everybody know, I won twenty twenty five Bear Music
Awards Smooth Jazz Artists of the Year, So I'm excited
about that.
Speaker 5 (01:03:28):
Yes, yes, ye, yeah, yes, wow, Yes, I'm so.
Speaker 1 (01:03:38):
Excited about that.
Speaker 3 (01:03:40):
I gotta I gotta I got a couple of things.
Speaker 1 (01:03:42):
Going on that's that's gonna really hit big.
Speaker 5 (01:03:46):
I just can't say now, but go back so I
can share.
Speaker 1 (01:03:53):
I let you know I got I got you back.
Trust me, you alreright with me. But but again, be
be looking out for Dion Lane featuring BKS Band. Trust me,
we are we are, we on the move, We on
the move.
Speaker 5 (01:04:05):
Trust me we're doing a thing.
Speaker 1 (01:04:07):
Y'all.
Speaker 5 (01:04:09):
Thank you, you welcome.
Speaker 4 (01:04:13):
I appreciate it so much for having you coming on
this platform letting people know, like man do have.
Speaker 2 (01:04:18):
Loopez Man go through, but it is a way to
get through living.
Speaker 4 (01:04:23):
Well with Loopez right, And I love how you are
tapping into it musically. People have to find their niche
of how they want to start living well because the
first thing is to accept it, right, Because I heard
you say from twenty ten to twenty twelve, excuse me,
you were doing bad because you haven't accepted. And the
first thing is accepting what you have so you can
(01:04:45):
let go of all of the things and started learning
to live well with Lupees because you can live up
to one hundred years old with lucas. It is not
a death sentis and to see a vibrant young man
with his hands and all all of the things. That's
like so much inspiration to so many people that you
(01:05:05):
can they can't do it. It's a long journey. It
would definitely be a journey every day, but it is
very very very feasible. So I thank you for coming
on the platform, letting them see you, letting them hear you,
and just giving them just all of the inspiration that
they need. We are definitely gonna have to have you
(01:05:29):
come back on here again.
Speaker 1 (01:05:37):
Really really, I gotta, I gotta, I gotta come in
in the studio next time, like we definitely needed that.
Speaker 3 (01:05:42):
Gonna talk about that. I got, I gotta come in. Yes,
I would love that. I would.
Speaker 1 (01:05:46):
I would do that for you. I got you.
Speaker 2 (01:05:48):
Let me know when you're in Milwaukee. Okay, we can
definitely have to.
Speaker 4 (01:05:53):
I'll make I'll make any day work for you, you know,
because you especially, so I know the record. If you
pop in town and I can get you, we can
make any day work.
Speaker 1 (01:06:04):
So you know, hopefully, hopefully, yes, hopefully be cares being
to be in Milwaukee soon. Okay, we're working on it.
We're working on it.
Speaker 2 (01:06:14):
Right because I'm coming.
Speaker 3 (01:06:22):
Got you.
Speaker 5 (01:06:23):
I am coming.
Speaker 4 (01:06:25):
So before we close out, what would would you give
people to take away from anything?
Speaker 2 (01:06:31):
What would be your your takeaway words or to give
people a takeaway.
Speaker 3 (01:06:37):
To me? You gotta trust God. It's just no other
way I can.
Speaker 1 (01:06:42):
I can sit here and say everything that probably makes sense,
but the only way I know how and the only
thing that got me through, I had to trust God
because I used to put my trust in man, I
really I really did, and I wasn't. I wasn't there
where I needed to be. But when I started trusting God,
my life turned around and things started happening for me.
So that's that's just being real. I'm like, I'm not
(01:07:08):
I'm not perfect, so I'm not telling you Dionna is perfect,
but all my life is easy. But I've seen the
difference in my life once I put God first and
where he needed to be. So that's just that's just
what it is.
Speaker 2 (01:07:19):
Period.
Speaker 4 (01:07:21):
I felt all of that. I felt all in I
to atally understand what you're saying. So you guys, y'all
got all of his hashtags. You guys know how to
reach out a lot of men do not like reaching
out to women when they have lupis because they haven't
accepted it right. So Dion is a very educated, open
(01:07:41):
loving guy that you can.
Speaker 2 (01:07:42):
Reach out to to.
Speaker 4 (01:07:45):
Pour out anything that he can pour back into you.
So thank you for tuning in. We are here every
Wednesday at six thirty on all platforms. If you missed
the live, you can definitely replay, replay it, so until
then next time, See you later.
Speaker 3 (01:08:01):
D
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