The Power of Exposure: How Novelty, Environment, & Mentorship Can Transform Your Destiny - With Dante Young

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33:19Shawn Stevenson:DrinkLMNT.com forward slash model. And now, back to the show. This got me thinking, we're going to stay in the Fast and Furious comparison. But, like, Dom was really like a mentor for a lot of those guys. but in particular with Brian. So again, that succession or that growth, the ability to perform, to figure things out, to deal with obstacles, that mentorship can be, no, I think it's priceless, really. So I would imagine along this path to where you are now, you had some mentors along the way and people who were teaching you the ropes, like how do you handle certain situations? because listening to you and learning from you from afar and just kind of spending time in your world, you know, listening to your interviews and just watching some of your stuff.

34:13Shawn Stevenson:It's like, I never realized that cycling is a contact sport at some point, you know what I'm saying? Like, so can you talk about the role, like who were mentors for you, who, you know, kind of maybe took you under their wing and like taught you about how to do this stuff? Yeah. So like when I started to transition from the fixed gear to the road cycling era, which a lot of the most people, if you think of cycling, you think about, you know, a 10 speed bicycle, brakes, gears, the whole nine. And when I transferred over, I'm looking for people to look like me. So and I discovered a handful of people.

34:55One was Rassan Bahati, who was basically like our black Lance Armstrong. And he's still around today doing a lot in the community. Sharon Smith. And then there was these three brothers and they were the Williams brothers. It was Justin Williams, CJ Williams and Corey Williams, oldest to youngest. and Justin and Corey were like two of the best in the country and they had these cool YouTube videos of them racing they had these huge GoPros in their head this is back when GoPro footage was just like not what it is today so it's super shaky um you get sick watching a YouTube video but like I was hyped to see one I'm getting I'm seeing a perspective in the racing that I like to do but from a person that i can relate to as i got him i have to like be around these guys and so the cool thing about cycling is like you can't go to the basketball course and expect to see lebron james or you know uh josh hart or whatever like shooting around i'm like yo can i play a game but i can go riding on a group ride on a saturday and i can run into justin williams and Corey Williams and be like, hey man, like I've seen videos, love what you guys do.

36:11Like, I love to kind of like, you know, learn from you guys. And they were doing things in the community to do that. They were hosting events and races to help, you know, you know, people that look like them come to the sport because when they were racing at the higher of their careers, it's just a bunch of white people and they're going through things that It's making them almost jaded from the sport. And so at the time, there was this team being started called the concept teams, like a development team per se. And Justin was one of the founders of that program. And I remember my friend Alonzo was like, Hey, man, you should probably you should come hop on board with this.

36:56It could be good for you. You can learn a lot. And when I did that, Justin and I became really close and Corey and I became really close and CJ. and pretty much all three of them as a whole taught me so much, you know, especially when it came to the fundamentals of criteria and racing, which is what I do now. And, you know, whether it's keeping your bike clean 24 seven, whether it's understanding how to navigate through a group of people, understanding when to, you know, lean into the contact or to avoid the contacts, you know, all these little things. And then being able to have these like big brothers at the same time in a group, in an area where I can't, cause it's like, I can't relate to anyone here, but I can now relate to people here and then also do the thing as well.

37:48So like, I think that really helped me lean into wanting to be bike racers because I had that support. And still to this day, you know, like when the races I have this weekend, like I will, they'll be in Boise racing with me or racing against me as an essentially. Um, but I, we still talk about racing and they're still giving me game and I still, you know, you know, or ask questions and whatnot. And which is nice. Cause now I take that same initiative to pass down to people like, Hey, like, here's how you can be better. Um, which is also like a really cool, um, thing to be able to do for the future.

38:28Shawn Stevenson:For sure. It's like, it's like a higher need that we have. It's like to contribute, you know, especially if you get your basic needs met, then you just feel compelled to do that. And it's, it's fulfillment, you know, and this is one of the things too, that really stood out for me, you know, researching you and, you know, our introduction is just like the example that you're setting, but also like being proactive at like helping other kids to be able to get into this universe. And it's so powerful because this universe literally can take you, not just, we're not talking about out of the country, out of the city, all this stuff, but like just those 20 miles that you were riding out of your environment and just being in these entire, what would seem like new worlds and that exposure and how all of that that really creates this like patchwork quilt of experiences and insights.

39:22Shawn Stevenson:And just like, really, it's one of the things that our ancestors were well versed with, which is to explore, right? And to test our bounds, especially for kids, you know? But today we are tethered. Everybody's tethered to their device. They're not outside playing. They're not getting, they're getting extra superficial exposure to these things. And it's creating even more distance because what the data is indicating is that it can give you a false sense of experience. It's so much different. I could tell you this from my, like, it's so much different to be in the space, to actually be there. And I didn't have that exposure either.

40:05Like when I was a kid, it was before MTV Cribs,

40:09Shawn Stevenson:all that I'm talking, you know, two decades before that, it was Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous with Robin Leash, right? And it's this British guy and he's talking about caviar and, you know, the limousines and all this stuff. And it just like, it was so unreal to me and fake. Like this is not even real. But with being able to like get outside my environment, to get those exposures, to have people who mentor, me and um you know these imprints really helps to elevate everybody as a community you know and so i want to ask you about where it's taking you you know because again we have gotten some insight into the beginnings of it but you mentioned is it is it cretin what is it crit racing criterium Criterion racing.

41:30which usually consists of anything between 60 to 150 miles. And a crit race is usually a mile and under in length, and it's a circuit. So let's say this building that we're in right now, if we were to race on the street around this building, there'd be barriers, you know, set up, there'd be a hundred people registered, and we would race around this building for between an hour to an hour and 30 minutes, we would average anywhere between 28 and 32 miles per hour for that full duration. And we can reach speeds up to close to like 45 miles per hour. To give it a visual, I would imagine Formula One or MotoGP if in any way in Formula One in the sense, like everyone's racing into the corner.

42:23you know um you take the corners with precision you know everything's very calculated it's a set amount of laps first person across the line first wins the race um and for bike racing it's a really cool dynamic because we're in your city for a day and then we go to the next city so like these races are all over the country i'll race in la i'll race in new york oklahoma Wisconsin, Chicago, Georgia, Colorado, like Texas, like they're everywhere. And the big ones are in places that you probably wouldn't even think about, like what the biggest criterion race in the countries in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which is dope for me as well, being black and going to someone that has a lot of history and then wanting to excel even more because of that history.

43:18But we race front of 20 or 30 000 people and you get some of the best criterion races from all the world germany the uk um new zealand australia um and then the best in the country and winning a race there pretty much is like set you up like it's like as solidifies you as one of the best um and And so we do that everywhere. And I've even done some, you know, in Italy. I've done some in Spain. I've done some in London as well. So, like, it's a really cool dynamic as well for a spectator because normally they have vendors, they have beer gardens. It's like it'll be on, you know, a strip right here where the bars and maybe, like, the restaurants are also still open.

44:10So you can be inside eating and watching the race, or you can go get some food and come outside. They'll have intermissions where they'll have kids racing, or like you can bring the kids and they can have like be able to ride the course and enjoy and so forth. So like it's a pretty special kind of race that everyone can grasp. And everyone that I've brought to a race, whether they know what's going on or not, has always loved it. They've never been like, oh, it's boring or oh, it's this. It's that like everyone loves it. And then the more you understand it, the more they're actually intrigued by it.

44:45And they're like, okay, good. But I understand what's happening. I get it. When's the next one? Which is, you know, why I'm always trying to like advocate for it and also try to, you know, bring more notoriety to it because it is a sport or it is a discipline that a lot of people can really rally behind.

45:06Shawn Stevenson:Amazing. So I want to ask you about this because you mentioned that you're creative earlier and you obviously are in so many different ways. But even in the domain of cycling itself, it's very creative endeavor that we might not think about because you think, again, it's point A to point B or a race. And when I heard you talk about this, it made me realize just like how all athletic endeavors really are complete creative. unless somebody is just very robotic in their head, like, you know, learning how to do dance steps kind of thing. It's literally, it's so much about reaction. It's so much about, you know, dealing with the moment, the microsecond and constantly making adaptations and being creative.

45:54Shawn Stevenson:Talk about that relationship with creativity and athletics. Yeah, it's actually very true because there's a common misconception with criterion racing that it is just like, the stronger you are, the better you are kind of thing. But in reality, it is a sport of skill and creativity as a sense. So like the more you can focus on the fundamentals of criteria and racing, whether that is being hyper aware of your surrounding, understanding the flow and then and how momentum works, understanding, you know, how to shift your way, how to engage in contact, how to read, erase, all these different things in a fraction of a second to the point where like, I feel like, like that's all Raven sometimes where I can like see something happening before it's going to happen.

46:46And these two are going to crash into this corner. I'm going to go over here because like, I don't want to be any part of that. And I go around it and there's a huge crash, you know? Um, but there's also a sense of calmness into it. And I think because my mind is always normally working very quickly that when I am racing everything slows down it's like driving on a freeway and everybody's driving 80 so it looks like everyone's going real slow in reality we're all going pretty fast and it allows me to really pay very close attention to detail to things but then when I make a mistake I can also go back in my mind to that moment and like what did I do wrong and how can I fix that?

47:33It's going to happen again. Maybe not tomorrow, but it might happen in a month. And then I'll overanalyze what I did and how I can fix it. And then when I do that, I'm able to, when it happens again, like, oh, I've been in a situation before. So like, this is what I got to do. And maybe that fix fixes it and I get through it, or it only fixes part of it. And I got to go back and do it again. But in the same breath, like that has also allowed me to be able to apply that same uh mentality to pretty much anything because i'm like if i can suffer through literally an hour of pain or some of the races i've done it been again six six and a half hours of pain and get through this and like and figure it out then i can literally figure anything out that comes my way yeah one of the reasons that we marvel

48:28Shawn Stevenson:at athletes is that expression of creativity, you know? But I don't think we think about it. We're just like, you know, just watching greatness, but it's such a creative endeavor. And it's like this combination, because also with sport too, especially professional sports, we put so much on the strategy. And that's why fans really get mad at coaches a lot too. Just like, I don't even know what to do, you know? but the strategy piece, but within that, the ability to,

49:05Shawn Stevenson:I think wisdom is a part of it too, which is like seeing things from multiple perspectives. If there's a tactical way to look at it. And like you just said, that's such a great analogy with the Dassault Raven, and just being able to see these patterns, pattern recognition and reactivity, and all of this stuff is happening just like at this incredible pace. And so, you know, this is a reason why I think it's so valuable, no matter what age people are at, to engage in some kind of sport, you know? It's funny because I do it and I do it to a pretty high level, I get it. So when I watch basketball, football, soccer, where I understand what they're going through.

49:55And I understand that it's more than just putting the ball in the net, or it's more than just touchdown. Like, I know that there's so much more. And I usually like to go down these little like rabbit holes of like understanding the like, you know, the really what goes, the 1 % of it, you know, like, where it's like with football, like understanding, you know, the rotation of the ball or understanding that if we are in a dome or in an open you know field like how the air can change the length or the dirt or the how far the ball can be thrown or the turf you know stuff like that or like basketball like playing in denver versus playing in la like that has a huge impact on your release because the air is thinner and also your air you're you know being able to breathe, like all these little things that, you know, or like the impact on how you move.

50:50So because I like understand all these little things and I'm watching NBA finals game seven, and I'm seeing everything happening. And obviously I have moments where I'm like, oh, like this guy, like he doesn't know what he's doing, but I, but I also take a moment to be like, it's game seven, you're a hundred games in, you know, there you have, there's so many pieces that you're focused on like this guy's you know closing out here this guy's doing that whatever like i gotta shoot maybe i'm a little tired maybe like you make a last minute uh uh decision while mid shot like all these little things that you're focused on i get how hard it is and i i agree i feel like people should play sports because you don't even need to play it at an at a elite level to understand that it's much more than put the ball in the hoop, score the goal, get the touchdown, like, you know, which you want it to be that simple.

51:46But then in reality, you realize that there's so much more to go into. And then you have like, okay, I get it out of respect. Prime example, Formula One, they think it's just driving a car. I can take 10 minutes off my eta like i know i can drive a formula one car but then like they put people in these cars with them and they realize that these guys are actual athletes they're pulling five six g's of force into a turn which no one even knows what five six g's feels like you pull a quarter of a g when you take off into a plane so like you know and then being able to make in a decision at a fraction of a second at 200 miles per hour and then to train that like i i get that you know i know i can't do it but i definitely have a respect for it i think because you know being in sports

52:36Shawn Stevenson:yeah obviously there's like an emergence of you know people playing pickleball and you know also i think life finds a way you know we've been so separate and like uh disconnected and again people being tethered to their devices, you know, and AI is here big time now. So with life finding a way, and of course there's infinite options in this infinite universe, but my, my wisdom is saying and pointing to, we're going to kind of swing to more connection. Like it's going to be even more valuable and AI can either automate everything and you don't do shit. You just get more into the matrix or is going to free up time to be more human than you've ever been.

53:24Shawn Stevenson:Right. And so connecting, playing, competing, and those kinds of things, like it's embedded in our, in our DNA. Like this is even how, you know, kids even learn is through play. And the crazy thing is like, we never stopped learning. Right. And so like utilizing play is so valuable. And some of the most intelligent um their incredible health span you know their cognition these are i know people in their 70s and 80s who regularly play like ultimate frisbee or like they're finding something for that because they found out along the way like it just makes life better yeah and i think i know that i'm always going to want to do something like i can't ever let really sit still.

54:14So like, I know that I'm either always going to ride a bike or I'm going to do something that is active and also stimulating my mind. You know, um, like I been, I literally just started like swinging a golf club. Cause I'm just like, I know how hard it is from an outside perspective. And when I first took a swing and I was like, okay, this is really hard, but that makes me want to lean more into it because I know there's so much more that goes into it. You know, I picked up running again, something that's very hard and it's these small little things that if you tweak, it can make you so much more better, which is also like huge in the cycling.

54:58You know, if I'm running, if I change, if I don't land on my heel, but laying like this, like my strides better, I can run a little bit further. If I rotate the golf club like this versus being like this and like, you know, keep stay square, like that makes it your swing 10 times better. And it's still letting my mind, but also like the fact that I am, I'm outside, I'm in nature, I feel the breeze in my head, I'm sweating, like all these things, like there is a value in being just active and outside. And I'm like, you know, as we were talking about earlier, like I try to tell my nieces and nephews, like, just go do something.

55:37Like, like, I don't mind you if you don't, you're on your phone. Great. But go be on your phone, like, and walk down the street. And I guarantee you at some point, you're going to put your phone down. Cause you're going to be like, oh, like, I didn't know there's a chicken spot right here. Like, let me pop inside this chicken spot real quick. Or like, maybe you run into an old friend. Now y 'all are talking and you guys go get a coffee, you know? So like being outside, I've the forces is going to force, will force us to like kind of just like be in the moment, which I really hope we don't ever lose because it's like an important quality.

56:09Shawn Stevenson:Yeah. I just, I was actually about to bring up golf because last night I was having dinner with some people and then they got, the subject of golf came up and then they just kind of got like a little higher up in their chairs about the subject, you know? And then you see a lot of athletes that, you know, have found success in other sports transitioning like lebron is heavy into golf now you know i just saw the video he's making fun of kevin hart like he found a little golf club or whatever and all of these guys are like you know finding this competition and physical expression and being outside and being amongst your your friends and your colleagues and you know there's so many different iterations of what that can look like yeah but the most important thing and what i'm getting from you too is just getting outside your door yeah and like i think golf is pretty unique because like i've i see everyone does it and i I think it's, if I can like think about it, like as an athlete, you want to do something that is challenging, but different, but isn't going to be so strenuous on the body, you know, in a sense, like, you know, swinging a golf club and rotating, you know, extra hard or whatever, like you may become a little sore, but you're not going to like, it's like going skateboarding with your friends or whatever the case may be.

57:22And it's also as an elite athlete where every minor little detail is important and you are up here in your craft, when you start golf, you come all the way down the ground level. So now you're humbled because you're not good at it. And you're trying to find these little half a percent, 1 % of things that's going to make you a little bit better because that's how you operate in your craft. So you're taking the fundamentals of how you've learned into a different sport that you can now learn something new at. And at the same time, like you can hang with your boys who also understand you know or maybe you have a friend that doesn't play basketball but he's better than you and you're a competitor so now you're trying to like beat beat this guy so i i i get it you know what i'm saying and like that's why from now like now i'm looking at golf clubs and i'm left-handed so i gotta find left-handed golf clubs and that's a whole other thing you know and then just trying to like learn these little things that i can do where i can go for a long bike ride, you know, on Saturday.

58:25And afterwards, maybe I need to go to a range and just like hit some balls and then decompress for a little bit and just learn and then do it all over again.

58:33Shawn Stevenson:Yeah. It's a really interesting time right now, especially just kind of like what's swirling around you and your life here in L.A. Like we got World Cup going right now. You know, we got the All-Star Game just happened. We got the Olympics coming up here. as well in your backyard. So talk about what's going on with you as far as eyeing the Olympics. You know, like it's, it's, when I first heard about it, it was definitely something that has been on my mind of trying to obtain. Like it's so much harder as an American to make the Olympics and especially in cycling. You know, we have a lot of guys that compete in the Tour de France and like a lot of those guys, especially on the road are pretty much solidified for olympic selections and but then we also have um again we talk about how many just so many disciplines we have indoor track cycling which is like it's like an indoor wooden track that's banked at like 45 degrees it's about 200 to sometimes 400 meters in length and it's uh race on the same kind of bikes i started racing on but these bikes cost like 20 30 000 um and because it's indoor and it's a controlled environment they race at speeds they can average speeds of like 35 miles per hour and they're hitting speeds of like 47 miles per hour sometimes like it's pretty insane so if i were to like i've like i would love to like compete in the olympics and i would love to like go down this this this journey you know it's only going to happen once or a handful of times they can get that opportunity And there's something that I was like exploring, which kind of like was starting to come toward a little bit more of a dead end.

1:00:24But it's also like I have like I have such a different perspective on like what really is bringing me value in my life through sport. And, you know, I feel like where I'm at, like people are trying to excel their sport, be the absolute best that they can possibly be, you know. And I think for a while I was like that, like I want to be the best criterion racer. I want to do the Tour de France. I want to be an Olympian. I want to be this. but I feel like what really is important to me is like the value that I can add to others in a sense of maybe creating a path or an avenue that can allow others to either achieve that or and then some you know or you know instilling some knowledge into people that again couldn't create again a path and then some like what brings me full fulfillment is isn't being the absolute best bike race in the world which is like weird to say because i am a competitor and i still want to i do want to win and like i do enjoy winning but what brings me if not equal or more joy is being able to educate and and inspire people to just like enjoy what they're doing you know I'm saying so like I meet people I was at a practice race last night in El Dorado Park and this kid was asking me hey man like I'm a category five which is like a beginner category um it's from five to one which is how we rank it and he's like how can i be a better sprinter like how what would you be your tips or like well how much should i do today in this race and i like light up like all right so boom like try this like focus on this you know like you're a beginner try a new thing like i'm just giving him all this free game and he's hyped on it and then as he leaves i'm sitting in my car getting dressed i'm like i'm in such a good mood now because like that is either going to help this kid or it's going to go on one or not the other but like the chances of it helping him and like maybe he does better today but then he goes back the next day and maybe that game i gave him he gets somebody else and he creates this like domino effect like that brings me so much joy and i know people that are going to be competing in the olympics um and gunning for the Olympics in the road race and track and field and velodrome stuff.

1:03:04And like at the end of the day, like I'm just hyped that we have it back in our backyard because the track that I started racing on is an outdoor track and actually here in Encino. And it's not that far from here. And it was in the 84 Olympics. That was the track that they raced on. So like to even just be able to be in the city and be alive and be able to be like, I was at the Olympics in, you know, 2028, you know, when it's 2060 and talk about that experience is like, to me, that that's, you know, and then be able to watch the competition and see like my friends and stuff competing and stuff like that.

1:03:48But like, to me that has the utmost value to me right now. Yeah, yeah.

1:03:54Shawn Stevenson:And also, you know, for me too, even hearing your story and your perspective on this, it's the striving, you know, it's having that thing and just continue to qualify yourself because you never know really where it's gonna land you. Yeah. Where I see value in like richness and wealth in life is like very different from i feel like you know we talked about people like on their phones and are feeling this false sense of like you know reality and what's you know what it means to be wealthy and rich and fulfilled whether that's the cars and the girls and the money and the whatever and begins uh instant gratification like you can be a tiktok star tomorrow morning and all that stuff and it's like i find that like i get to travel i get to meet new people i have met some people i never thought i'd met me in my life like i've my family's healthy like i'm healthy you know and i i get to do what i do every day as a job and you know my bills are paid i get to you know, buy shirts from Zara, you know, like to me, like that's genuinely like all that I need, you know?

1:05:13And I also try to like, let people know that like this other stuff is not real, you know, like, yes. You know, if we all had a billion dollars, like, yeah, of course we're probably going to go spend some money and whatever, but like, I've made a decent amount of money and and I've been in the cars and I've had the designer stuff and it's like, it's really not, it's not that big of a deal. Like it's all very material. And I think because again, where I grew up and is having fun with what you got and the places I've been to, whether you just make do with what you have, and I understand this is, you don't know any better than what they have like in Africa and stuff, which is a whole nother topic.

1:05:58but like, you know, you really find that you don't need much and being outside and being in the moment and reality of what's, what's real. Like, like if you can do what you love to do every single day, like if you love this podcast and it just brings you joy, like to me, you're richer than anyone that has a million dollars and lives in the hills and drives a Ferrari. And like, that's kind of like how I operate and like how I see everything I think because of that like I feel like I'm so much more happy I'm much happier than the people my peers sometimes because they're stressed that they don't have a billion dollars yet and I'm like I don't have a million dollars either but I'm I'm great like life is life is good you know and I don't lose sight of what's right here in front of you you know like because you life goes on real quick and you're and be like, oh, I didn't realize that my niece was walking.

1:07:00I didn't realize that, you know, like I missed out on family this time over here or that like I had this over here and then you can't get that stuff back. Yeah.

1:07:09Shawn Stevenson:Two wheels can take you far physically, obviously, but also clearly it could take you far mentally and emotionally, spiritually even. So, man, I'm sure one wheel could too. Shout out to the unicycle riders. I've seen some of those, some people that be doing the unicycle stuff and I see in him, he's be like, you're doing that. I'm not gonna do it, hats off to you. But yeah, it's so mental, cycling is so mental. And I've gone through some prime example, like a buddy of mine, Ry Benjamin, he's a track and field last cycle, won two Olympic gold medals, fall in love with cycling. And I took him on this bike ride and it happened to start raining i ride in the rain and it was a big group we're all like it's fine we'll ride in the rain and it was probably a two maybe three hour bike ride he shows up we go for a ride we're riding up the hollywood hills and he is going through it like he's kind of bonking which means like he ran out of food he's going through it he that's very steep climbs I'm pushing him I'm giving him food all these little things and he told me like bro I was going through it like mentally it's one of the hardest things I've ever done um and he's like you're just sitting there like you're just chilling you're not even phased by you're offering me food you're giving me this give me that and you're just like this is another day and he's like it changed it really like he needed that you know that like humbling that like bring back to ground zero and that mental restability of like, you know, to go the extra mile, you know, to get there, you know, cause he's up here in his craft, you know, and when he, that was before the Olympics.

1:08:58And, um, but I think it was earlier that year. And he goes on that year to win every 400 meter event, 400 meter hurdle event that he entered and then won his, uh, Olympic gold medals in the 400 meter and like not to say that it was all because of me but just like under like understanding that yeah cycling is like i've done races and i've cried on the bike i've gone through just such you know mental just i'm in so much pain i want to stop but some reason your legs are still kind of just going through it and i genuinely feel like it's made me so much more mentally strength uh stronger in every sense of my life.

1:09:41Like nothing can be harder and more painful than what I've endured on the bike at this time. And I kind of just deal with them. All right, this is it. Like cars broke down, you know, like this sponsorship fell through or like this is going on. It's all right. Like we'll figure it out. Like it's not that bad. Like, you know, and I don't think I don't think I would really again have that without those two wheels.

1:10:08Shawn Stevenson:Amazing, man. Well, you've helped so many people yourself and the inspiration, the exposure. How can we help you? What can we do to support you, follow you? Let us know. I mean, honestly, that's actually a really, that's a really good question. It's funny, cause I don't ever really think about that. I think about how I can help everybody else. And that's a great question. I don't know, man. Like I, my goal in life right now is, you know, I'm still traveling and racing. I'm focused on creating really cool content projects through my partners that I have, that it can be a way of telling stories through my craft and then allow myself to still be, you know, creative, whether that's through, um, co-activations that I can do with the community, any community per se.

1:11:11Um, but also just be able to like travel all over and be able to, to, to show people that like cycling is, it's fun. You know, like you don't need to be a professional cyclist. You don't need to ride up these mountains that I do, but like just ride a bicycle. Like we've all ridden bikes as a kid. I remember riding a BMX bike and putting cans and taping it to the back. And so that's in the spokes and it sounds like a motorcycle and making neighbors real mad. I'm doing this eight o 'clock at night, you know, just like being outside and then being able to also like tie in more things that makes cycling more appealing, like fashion.

1:11:50Something I'm passionate about, like looking nice and and and tying it into the sport of riding a bicycle, you know, and athleisure, like there's so many things, um, that I try to just incorporate into cycling because I generally think cycling is one of the coolest sports that is somehow underrated and yet everybody does it. Um, but I just want to spread the love and joy of riding a bicycle with anybody that I can and everybody. So if, you know, if we can amplify that and can be able to get to connect to more people to ride a bicycle um you know that would be really cool and i think in the future like i really want to like just be able to have like a day you know back in the day we had ghost go skateboard day which is still around but just have like a day where it's just like you know we can have a huge cookout huge party and like everyone can just bring their bikes and we can you know have a cool like maybe escorted ride that is around the city with hundreds, if not thousands of people just like riding bikes and connecting.

1:13:00There's no hierarchy. There's no, I'm better than you. We're not trying to race each other. We're just here to ride bikes, have fun, you know, let the kids be around, you know, bring your grandpa and grandma and put them on two wheels. It's been years and just, just connect. And if I can do that, then I'm, Hey, I'm, I'm a happy camper, man. I'm, I'm good. I love it. I love it. So where can we follow your journey? Like you got Instagram? I'm on Instagram. It's a Dante Young underscore underscore. Um, I have YouTube that I'm trying to like work out as well and, um, and bring more content towards.

1:13:38Um, and those are my two main, uh, platforms and like, you know, where people can find me all over. So like, if I'm, I usually let people know if I'm going to be in their city. Cause like I'm at a race, like just come up, talk to me like I'm the kind of person that just loves to connect in any any way. I'm a big coffee head, so I'm always looking for the dope coffee spots in every city that I'm at. I'm heading to Boise this next week or this weekend and then I race Manhattan Beach and then I might be heading to France in two weeks for the last week of the Tour de France as well. So like, you know, I try to let people know and that way I can just stay in the loop and hopefully

1:14:17Shawn Stevenson:meet people in real time you know yeah that's what's all about man and then because it's like i love social media but i'm also about like just real connections in their social real social where like you walk into a coffee shop and you you you meet you interact and you exchange information and or you just have a moment in time and connection and then that might just make your day and you you know that way you can go do something else and whatnot so like i'm always like if you see me in the road or you see me riding my bike or posted a coffee shop or wherever i am at just you know say what's up like we can have a little chat talk about life talk about bikes or how good a coffee is and then go on about going about our day awesome i want some coffee now hey brother you i got a list let me know what city you are if it's west side if it's in downtown if it's in pasadena i know all the coffee shops for sure for sure well i appreciate you man we'll put the socials and the show notes for everybody check out the one and only dante young everybody appreciate y 'all peace yes sir thank you so much for tuning into this episode today i hope that you really enjoyed this you know for me it was very cinematic and i was able to kind of go along with dante on some of these adventures and i cannot again overstate the value of exposure and this is something that we can all be proactive in because no matter where we are in our lives right now, we can still be an inspiration and provide some exposure and insights for others.

1:15:56Shawn Stevenson:And just recently, actually this week, a couple of days ago, I was on a call with a friend of mine who's a friend of the Model Health Show as well, the amazing Jamal King. And he's also known as the nine to five millionaire, all right? He accumulated his success and his wealth while being a full-time Chicago City police officer. And while his coworkers might have taken their time, quote, in the hole where they're just watching YouTube videos on their break or eating donuts. He said it, not me. he was studying real estate and he was going and looking at properties and just thinking outside of the bounds of what he was accustomed to.

1:16:46Shawn Stevenson:And through that process, he figured some things out and was able to change the trajectory of his entire family. And just this past week, after our call, he was getting ready because he was having 60 high school kids over to his house for a barbecue because he promised them that them getting a certain GPA and them getting everything in alignment for their degrees and college aspirations, he would have them over to his house for that exposure to see what it looks like to be in an environment like the one that he's built. And so again, there's some way that we can all, that's an extreme example, but there's some way that we can all provide exposure because it could be a kid like me.

1:17:36Shawn Stevenson:That exposure from my eighth grade English teacher, which my best friend actually, he lived in the good neighborhood that we were bused out to from the city. And right outside of his backyard, there was a fence. And on the other side of the fence was Ms. Blackmore's house. Never seen a teacher outside of school. And just the interest that she took in me, that stayed with me. and that was definitely one of the puzzle pieces to me becoming an author. And I've got so many little stories like that, those little micro exposures that literally just changed the course of my life. And I wouldn't be who I am today without Mrs.

1:18:18Shawn Stevenson:Blackmore, without my grandmother, without my Auntie Janet, obviously without my mom and my stepfather and my siblings, of course. but you know these individuals were bright lights in my life you know in particular you know my auntie janet my grandmother and mrs blackmore you know so you never know who you're impacting and that led to this receptiveness to when i met my wife and my mother-in-law who thank goodness thank goodness i've been acclimated to these powerful women being in my life and you know She came along at a time when I had aspirations of changing the world and she saw greatness in me and she supported that.

1:19:04Shawn Stevenson:So again, you never know who you're impacting with your exposure and making them feel welcome, making them feel seen. So let's do that for someone today. Let's do that for our children. Let's do this for our community and for these kids who need it more than ever. So definitely check out, follow Dante, follow his journey, support him, support his work, support his creativity, support his competition. And because that's just gonna elevate the sport, it's gonna elevate the exposure for the sport and the interests in kids that come from similar circumstances, just to see what's possible. And let us not negate the value of getting on those two wheels and getting outside of our usual environment.

1:19:49Shawn Stevenson:it. It just takes those two wheels. I appreciate you so much for tuning in today. We got some epic masterclasses and world leading experts coming your way very, very soon. So make sure to stay tuned. Take care. Have an amazing day and I'll talk with you soon.