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Training the Next Generation (with Nahshon Nicks) | ReForge 004 · The ReForge Podcast

• 0:00
  Nahshon Nicks: exposure broadens perspective.
• 0:01
  Nahshon Nicks: I'm gonna say that again because, until you've actually seen it, you, you really don't know what's is out there.
• 0:07
  Nahshon Nicks: And, thanks to Chang Robotics.
• 0:10
  Nahshon Nicks: Our, our young people were able to actually see, robots in action.
• 0:15
  Nahshon Nicks: I mean, I mean, you could see the eyes lighten up and, and, really being, exposed to cobots coworking robots like this is.
• 0:26
  Nahshon Nicks: Like mind blowing that, that there are even more opportunities that are going to be coming available as they continue to immerse themselves into technology, and automation.
• 0:38
  Nahshon Nicks: So, shout out to chain robotics on, on hosting our field trips to be able to, to broaden their perspective.
• 0:49
  Welcome to the Reforge Podcast.
• 0:51
  I'm Matthew Chang, and we're here to explore all things AI automation and the American worker proving that the American reindustrialization is possible.
• 1:01
  Pivotal pressing.
• 1:03
  Thanks for joining us today.
• 1:05
  Let's get into the episode.
• 1:08
  Colin Russ: Alrighty.
• 1:08
  Colin Russ: Welcome back everyone to episode four of the Reforge Podcast.
• 1:13
  Colin Russ: We have a very special guest this week one and only Dr.
• 1:17
  Colin Russ: Nahshon Nicks.
• 1:18
  Colin Russ: He is a transformational leader, author, founder and president of Fresh World Ministries, operating as Team Nitro, MMA Seal team, where he equips youth through mentoring, martial arts and leadership development.
• 1:34
  Colin Russ: He is a passionate advocate for community empowerment.
• 1:37
  Colin Russ: He's committed to building leaders and character while strengthening America's future one young leader at a time.
• 1:43
  Colin Russ: And through speaking, coaching and strategic partnerships, Dr.
• 1:47
  Colin Russ: Nicks inspires individuals and organizations to shift from trying to train fostering ex excellence, discipline and purpose driven impact.
• 1:57
  Colin Russ: Welcome, Dr.
• 1:58
  Colin Russ: Nahshon.
• 1:59
  Colin Russ: Nicks.
• 1:59
  Colin Russ: How are you doing today?
• 2:01
  Nahshon Nicks: Doing well, doing well, Colin.
• 2:03
  Nahshon Nicks: Thank you for this opportunity.
• 2:05
  Colin Russ: Great to have you here.
• 2:06
  Colin Russ: I know, uh, Matt was, uh, hyping you up with, uh, obviously some, some incredible accomplishments you've had and just reading that intro, I mean, there's a lot on your plate, but I'm sure I missed a ton.
• 2:19
  Colin Russ: So go ahead and give us a little bit, um, you know, what did I miss?
• 2:23
  Colin Russ: What
• 2:23
  Matthew Chang: Let, lemme jump in before the, the pastor here starts preaching.
• 2:27
  Matthew Chang: Dr.
• 2:27
  Matthew Chang: Nicks is the American worker.
• 2:29
  Matthew Chang: So this podcast is automation, ai, the American worker, the American workers here with us.
• 2:34
  Matthew Chang: This is the guy that does the work, but he is also equipping the youth with those job skills, uh, to get out there and be part of these communities we're trying to build with manufacturing.
• 2:43
  Matthew Chang: Colin.
• 2:45
  Matthew Chang: Hey.
• 2:45
  Colin Russ: mean, Matt and and Nahshon, before we get into too much, one of the things Matt and I have hit on a few times now is.
• 2:53
  Colin Russ: Community is, you know, that's the bedrock of, you know, success.
• 2:57
  Colin Russ: That's what success is built upon, but it comes down to the people and you go further than that, obviously, it comes down to the kids.
• 3:03
  Colin Russ: And so you're doing a ton there.
• 3:05
  Colin Russ: Tell, tell us a bit more about, you know, you, your background, what, what you're doing.
• 3:09
  Nahshon Nicks: Yes, uh, uh, my, uh, guiding principles are always around faith, family.
• 3:16
  Nahshon Nicks: Country and community.
• 3:18
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, uh, I put God at the center of everything that I do, uh, to see how we can continue to empower our local community as well as our city, state, and nation.
• 3:30
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, and the way that I like to look at it is, is that it takes God to raise a village.
• 3:35
  Nahshon Nicks: And then it takes a village to raise a child.
• 3:37
  Nahshon Nicks: And we all have significant roles that we play, uh, in their overall development.
• 3:43
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, SEAL is after the Navy seals, which stands for Sea, air and Land, but our SEAL stands for Social, emotional and Academic Leadership.
• 3:53
  Nahshon Nicks: And what we do is we provide wraparound services because you never know, um.
• 4:00
  Nahshon Nicks: When you're going to be the center of influence and, uh, uh, uh, I call Matt, my brother.
• 4:06
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, he's six five and I'm five six.
• 4:12
  Nahshon Nicks: But at any given moment, either one of us could be the center of a attention, and if you haven't been properly trained or coached prepared and disciplined, you won't be able to seize the moment.
• 4:28
  Nahshon Nicks: When it's there.
• 4:29
  Nahshon Nicks: And, um, and with these skills that we're providing for our local youth, uh, is, is basically building executive functional skills, which translates into workforce development, being able to solve problems.
• 4:42
  Nahshon Nicks: I.
• 4:44
  Colin Russ: I mean, I, I, I love that.
• 4:46
  Colin Russ: I, it's, I'm a huge advocate for the type of work that you're doing.
• 4:50
  Colin Russ: So I, I love hearing all this.
• 4:51
  Colin Russ: I mean, in, in previous ventures on my end, one of the things that I express to people was I want what we're doing to inspire kids.
• 5:00
  Colin Russ: I want them to see something and think, wow, that's really cool.
• 5:04
  Colin Russ: In addition to that.
• 5:05
  Colin Russ: And I think where it really gets to what you're talking about is they have the skills and the confidence to go pur pursue those things.
• 5:13
  Colin Russ: 'cause it's great that we, you know, do so, do things, say things, tell kids whatever, but at the end of the day, it's building that confidence.
• 5:21
  Colin Russ: And that's something that's lacking a lot of communities is having institutions and organizations that really help prepare kids to take that next step.
• 5:29
  Colin Russ: So.
• 5:32
  Colin Russ: There's a lot obviously there that you're doing.
• 5:34
  Colin Russ: Um, you know, can you talk us, you know, may maybe take us through a bit more about some of these programs, what, what that looks like, um, at, at a little bit closer level for these kids, you know, how, how are you helping them and, and kind of shape shaping them for the future.
• 5:48
  Nahshon Nicks: Okay.
• 5:49
  Nahshon Nicks: And, uh, I'm not going to dwell too long and I am not soliciting sympathy.
• 5:55
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, my objective is just to share a quick story about my upbringing to see how we can provide support.
• 6:03
  Nahshon Nicks: To where we can be proactive instead of reactive.
• 6:08
  Nahshon Nicks: We can prefix instead of suffix.
• 6:10
  Nahshon Nicks: Meaning if we get it right at the beginning, we don't have to clean it up at the end.
• 6:14
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, you're, you're, you're looking at, uh, a basic, uh, urban youth, uh, whose biological father was incarcerated in prison, uh, whose mother struggled with substance abuse, uh, who passed in 2020 from Fentanyl.
• 6:28
  Nahshon Nicks: And, and I'm saying this again, I'm not asking for sympathy.
• 6:31
  Nahshon Nicks: I'm asking for support because I don't want any child.
• 6:36
  Nahshon Nicks: To have, to have the type of experience that I had.
• 6:39
  Nahshon Nicks: And I thank God for great teachers who had the patience, the wherewithal, uh, the understanding.
• 6:46
  Nahshon Nicks: I thank God for great mentors.
• 6:49
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, uh, and then employers who made investments, uh, educators, uh, who said, you know what?
• 6:56
  Nahshon Nicks: You're pretty smart.
• 6:57
  Nahshon Nicks: Maybe you should try this and try that.
• 6:59
  Nahshon Nicks: Coaches.
• 7:00
  Nahshon Nicks: Um, uh, uh, once again, I, I don't have the biggest frame.
• 7:04
  Nahshon Nicks: I wasn't the fastest football player.
• 7:06
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, I wasn't the fastest track runner.
• 7:08
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, I was just somebody with some grit and some fight, and, uh, and, and, um, and I was
• 7:13
  Matthew Chang: Colin, Colin, lemme, lemme interrupt.
• 7:15
  Matthew Chang: A good doctor
• 7:16
  Nahshon Nicks: go ahead.
• 7:17
  Colin Russ: feel like you might be downplaying some of this a
• 7:19
  Matthew Chang: This guy's undefeated in the cage.
• 7:22
  Colin Russ: Yeah, I, I, I had a feeling there might be a little, uh, humble pie going on here.
• 7:27
  Matthew Chang: I, I watched him bring a guy's arm to where he was gonna bit it backwards and then the guy tapped out, this guy's un don't listen to that.
• 7:36
  Nahshon Nicks: And, and, and basically being able to take that, that energy, those skill sets and those competencies, uh, and being able to empower the current and future generations.
• 7:48
  Nahshon Nicks: And, uh, and, and I'm all in because you don't know exactly which modality is gonna work, uh, but exposure broadens perspective.
• 7:58
  Nahshon Nicks: And, and, uh, working with innovators like yourself, Colin, and, and, and Matthew.
• 8:04
  Nahshon Nicks: It, it, it helps broaden my horizons as well as present opportunities for advancement for all of us.
• 8:11
  Nahshon Nicks: And, and my philosophy is if it works for the least of these, it'll work for all of them.
• 8:17
  Nahshon Nicks: I really believe that.
• 8:19
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, and we're in the best city in the United States of America, right here in Jacksonville, Florida, AKA doo fall.
• 8:27
  Nahshon Nicks: So, I mean, I'm, I'm, I'm really excited about what the future holds.
• 8:31
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, uh, I do believe, uh, that there's, there is some retraining, there is some upskilling, but it it, if we're not bridging that gap, uh, with a talent pool.
• 8:45
  Nahshon Nicks: That may be underutilized and in and inactive.
• 8:49
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, shame on us.
• 8:51
  Nahshon Nicks: I mean, we, I, I really would love for us to stay proactive, uh, uh, building that pipeline and that feeder system, uh, for advancement right here on the first coast.
• 9:03
  Matthew Chang: Hey, Colin, and, and can I show every, show everybody what it looks like.
• 9:08
  Matthew Chang: Do you guys mind?
• 9:09
  Nahshon Nicks: Please.
• 9:10
  Matthew Chang: This is Nahshon's website for after school program.
• 9:13
  Matthew Chang: It looks like the news.
• 9:38
  Matthew Chang: So that's what it looks like, deshaun puts the hard work in with kids at the worst possible time, which is after school.
• 9:46
  Matthew Chang: He runs the after school program, what is it, five days a week?
• 9:49
  Nahshon Nicks: Five days a week.
• 9:51
  Matthew Chang: Yeah, five days a week.
• 9:52
  Matthew Chang: And if anybody's worked with students, the toughest time to get'em is after school.
• 9:56
  Matthew Chang: 'cause they're already kind of burned out.
• 9:57
  Matthew Chang: Right?
• 9:57
  Matthew Chang: It's been a long day already.
• 9:59
  Matthew Chang: And you gotta keep their focus.
• 10:00
  Matthew Chang: And then he puts'em through martial arts training and leadership training until dinner time.
• 10:06
  Colin Russ: I mean, I, I, I, I'm impressed, you know, the five days a week thing, you know, alone.
• 10:11
  Colin Russ: But, you know, I, I'm a big fan of the martial arts stuff, you know, for kids.
• 10:15
  Colin Russ: My youngest daughter a couple years ago started doing, uh, karate and TaeKwonDo and just from, you know, she's very shy, timid, you know, the confidence.
• 10:27
  Colin Russ: It helped bring out in, you know, this little girl.
• 10:30
  Colin Russ: I mean, I was just immediately blown away.
• 10:33
  Colin Russ: Um, one of the things though that I, I have to ask about is, you know, how does this translate into helping you develop leaders, not just an activity for kids after school, but, you know, clearly you are helping to develop that, that strength, confidence, and, you know, leadership within these kids.
• 10:55
  Colin Russ: How, how does that work?
• 10:56
  Colin Russ: What's that
• 10:56
  Matthew Chang: Yeah.
• 10:56
  Matthew Chang: De Sean, can you, can you just hit on over the past couple years, some of the youth that have gone through your program that might not have even had a career outlook before they enrolled in Team Nitro?
• 11:06
  Matthew Chang: What it looked like for them in terms of jobs, placement, and advanced skills in this economy?
• 11:12
  Nahshon Nicks: Yes, I want to use, uh, a avatar name, uh, and, and just say Kendall.
• 11:18
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, uh, Kendall, inner city youth, getting wayward, starting to get into trouble.
• 11:23
  Nahshon Nicks: His father found a gun in his room and, uh, his father asked me, can you.
• 11:30
  Nahshon Nicks: Please work with my son.
• 11:33
  Nahshon Nicks: And, um, and, uh, I said, so bring him to me.
• 11:38
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, and this was like a one off session.
• 11:41
  Nahshon Nicks: And in that process, uh, I got him on the mat.
• 11:45
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, I did rough him up a little bit.
• 11:47
  Nahshon Nicks: I, and he ran out the studio.
• 11:50
  Nahshon Nicks: He threw up and he came back and he said, you know what, Dr.
• 11:54
  Nahshon Nicks: Nicks, that's just what I needed.
• 11:57
  Nahshon Nicks: Lo and behold, uh, years of working and mentoring him, his father called me and said, we need you here tomorrow.
• 12:05
  Nahshon Nicks: Dr.
• 12:05
  Nahshon Nicks: Nicks, he is being commissioned in the United States Marines,
• 12:12
  Colin Russ: Wow.
• 12:12
  Nahshon Nicks: we just wanna say thank you and no problem.
• 12:17
  Nahshon Nicks: I will be there.
• 12:18
  Nahshon Nicks: And, and, uh, and, uh, we've had three young men that have gone through our program that are serving, uh, in the United States Marines.
• 12:26
  Nahshon Nicks: And I'm so proud of each and every one of them.
• 12:29
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, not saying that everyone is gonna go into the military, but martial and martial arts means military and tapping into their, uh, we call it the three Cs, confidence.
• 12:42
  Nahshon Nicks: Competence and community.
• 12:45
  Nahshon Nicks: Um, and you can switch community with companionship because, uh, you gotta be able to have something that you can share in to know that, hey, I'm a part of something bigger than myself.
• 12:56
  Nahshon Nicks: And, uh, what I love about the mat, the mat is one place that you cannot wear a mask.
• 13:03
  Nahshon Nicks: You can't, you can bring your ego, but once you get whipped, you, you, that mask is gone.
• 13:08
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, uh, I mean, everything begins and ends with respect.
• 13:12
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, these are foundations, uh, affirmations without discipline, dreams are destroyed with discipline, dreams are developed.
• 13:21
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, with that, uh, I believe in you.
• 13:24
  Nahshon Nicks: God believes in you.
• 13:26
  Nahshon Nicks: Your community believes in you.
• 13:29
  Nahshon Nicks: And knowing that you have all those components with you.
• 13:33
  Nahshon Nicks: And we're also providing the tutoring, the mentoring, the guest speakers, the field trips.
• 13:40
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, so you have a whole support system even when it comes to social and emotional learning.
• 13:45
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, we just brought on a new expert in that area because, I mean, we need you to bring your best version of yourself, uh, to the classroom, which a.
• 13:56
  Nahshon Nicks: Impacts bringing your best version of yourself to the workplace.
• 14:01
  Nahshon Nicks: And, um, uh, we have students in college.
• 14:04
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, we have students, uh, that are working in, in our various fields, uh, from job corps, uh, community college and traditional universities.
• 14:14
  Nahshon Nicks: So I'm so happy, uh, to just play a, a, a small role in, in their journey and their path.
• 14:21
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, uh.
• 14:23
  Matthew Chang: Didn't you?
• 14:23
  Matthew Chang: Didn't you get a couple of your graduates and some of your bright young people into places like the Merchant Marines?
• 14:29
  Nahshon Nicks: Yes.
• 14:29
  Nahshon Nicks: Yes.
• 14:30
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, matter of fact, not, not only that, uh, by, by, by strategic partners and, and relationships.
• 14:38
  Nahshon Nicks: I mean, I had one young man, uh.
• 14:41
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, he is like, uh, look, Dr.
• 14:43
  Nahshon Nicks: Nixon, it's gonna take me about three months to become a merchant Marine.
• 14:46
  Nahshon Nicks: I said, why three months?
• 14:47
  Nahshon Nicks: He said, because I work at Burger King.
• 14:50
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, based on how much I make, it's gonna take me three months to be able to save$1,500.
• 14:56
  Nahshon Nicks: And I said, I just need a commitment.
• 14:59
  Nahshon Nicks: If I, if we help you raise this money, will you start and finish this process?
• 15:05
  Nahshon Nicks: Every single certificate that he got, that young man took a picture.
• 15:10
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, with Pride.
• 15:11
  Nahshon Nicks: I just completed, uh, my OSHA training.
• 15:13
  Nahshon Nicks: I just complete, uh, completed, uh, this training.
• 15:15
  Nahshon Nicks: I just completed this training and.
• 15:18
  Nahshon Nicks: Yeah.
• 15:18
  Nahshon Nicks: So sometimes you do need people to remind you of, uh, different things that, that, that we have done to help, uh, uh, our young people, uh, get into different avenues such as, uh, the Merchant Marines as well.
• 15:34
  Nahshon Nicks: And, and, uh, and, and that young man is doing very well as also, and he's able to send some money back home to his mom while he is out there on those ships making big money.
• 15:42
  Matthew Chang: Yeah, well that's what me and Colin need.
• 15:44
  Matthew Chang: We need those ships bringing the materials we need to the factories so we can make stuff in the USA.
• 15:49
  Matthew Chang: That's incredibly important.
• 15:51
  Matthew Chang: And, and little details like that matter because we're global shipping is highlighted right now, right?
• 15:56
  Matthew Chang: That's like top of mind for everybody.
• 15:58
  Matthew Chang: Um, and it's, and it's not without risk, right?
• 16:02
  Matthew Chang: So you gotta be somewhat brave to get out there and do that.
• 16:05
  Matthew Chang: Uh, just, just to pull the, the thread back on that a little bit.
• 16:09
  Matthew Chang: You mentioned field trips.
• 16:10
  Matthew Chang: You've been good enough to have me as a guest speaker.
• 16:13
  Matthew Chang: What, what are some of the technologies your students have gotten access to that coming from their background they may have never known about except for through you.
• 16:21
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, exposure broadens perspective.
• 16:23
  Nahshon Nicks: I'm gonna say that again because, uh, you un until you've actually seen it, you, you really don't know what's is out there.
• 16:31
  Nahshon Nicks: And, uh, and uh, thanks to Chang Robotics.
• 16:34
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, our, our young people were able to actually see, uh, robots in action.
• 16:40
  Nahshon Nicks: Like, this wasn't online.
• 16:42
  Nahshon Nicks: This wasn't a, a, a a, you know, a video.
• 16:45
  Nahshon Nicks: They were able to see it, the technology, the coordinated path, the safety precautions.
• 16:51
  Nahshon Nicks: I mean, I mean, you could see the eyes lighten up and, and, and, and, uh, really being, uh, exposed to cobots coworking robots like this is.
• 17:04
  Nahshon Nicks: Like mind blowing that, that as, uh, they're, uh, progressing through, uh, whatever coding program or STEM program.
• 17:15
  Nahshon Nicks: On the high school level or, uh, the junior high level, that there are even more opportunities that are going to be coming available as they continue to immerse themselves into technology, uh, and automation.
• 17:29
  Nahshon Nicks: So, uh, uh, shout out to chain robotics on, uh, on hosting our field trips to be able to, to broaden their perspective.
• 17:36
  Matthew Chang: Well, we do.
• 17:37
  Matthew Chang: We do part of it, but I think you've been to more places, right?
• 17:40
  Matthew Chang: These students are going to universities, to the engineering campuses, and they're going all over the place, right?
• 17:45
  Colin Russ: I mean, I think that that is just such a, a huge opportunity and so important that, uh, unfortunately is missing in so many, um, parts of quote unquote traditional education kind of pathways is just that, uh, like you said, the exposure broadening horizons.
• 18:01
  Colin Russ: I mean, that's.
• 18:02
  Colin Russ: Huge.
• 18:02
  Colin Russ: When you, when you show kids the art of the possible, if you'll to imagine what they could do or just a dream it, it's powerful.
• 18:11
  Colin Russ: And so it, I mean, what you are doing is incredible, incredible work.
• 18:17
  Colin Russ: So thank you for that.
• 18:19
  Colin Russ: You know, I, I have to ask though, you know, what, kind of taking a step back a, a bit, I guess what.
• 18:27
  Colin Russ: Led you to that moment realizing, Hey, these kids need me.
• 18:31
  Colin Russ: This is my calling.
• 18:32
  Colin Russ: This is, I am supposed to help.
• 18:35
  Colin Russ: You know, navigate, help, help this next generation of kids find purpose and, and navigate the uncertainty and craziness out there.
• 18:45
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, some, somebody believed in me, uh, and um, uh, I'm.
• 18:51
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, tone of pen.
• 18:52
  Nahshon Nicks: My fifth grade teacher I couldn't read in fifth grade.
• 18:55
  Nahshon Nicks: And if you know anything about, uh, uh, literacy to prison, uh, those numbers are astronomical, uh, pertaining to the literacy level of, of those that can't read, that are incarcerated and, uh, that can't read that are incarcerated.
• 19:10
  Nahshon Nicks: And, uh.
• 19:11
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, and uh, her favorite saying was, where there is a will, there's a way.
• 19:15
  Nahshon Nicks: And she tutored me every day after school and reading, uh, until I was able to read on a sixth grade level, uh, which launched me into education and then education into leadership management education, leadership management into ministry, and then ministry.
• 19:32
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, building out the SEAL curriculum case studies, and then understanding that.
• 19:38
  Nahshon Nicks: You don't necessarily have to come from an adverse background to benefit from this program.
• 19:43
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, you can come from a two parent, a well established home, but what you're getting is still going to help bring out the best in you.
• 19:53
  Nahshon Nicks: And, um, and, and I can.
• 19:55
  Nahshon Nicks: I'm one of those people that have been very blessed and fortunate to be able to, uh, serve over 20 schools, uh, here in Duval County.
• 20:04
  Nahshon Nicks: I've been able to, uh, secure, uh, city funding, uh, to help service over hundreds of youth, uh, throughout our city.
• 20:13
  Nahshon Nicks: And, um, and as we continue to grow and expand, uh, our.
• 20:18
  Nahshon Nicks: Vision is to literally strengthen America's future one young leader at a time.
• 20:24
  Nahshon Nicks: So, uh, this is something for the world communities.
• 20:27
  Nahshon Nicks: This is something for the urban communities and, and, and, and, uh, but it, there's power in partnership.
• 20:35
  Nahshon Nicks: So it's, it's not a one man show, I'm just one man, uh, with a vision.
• 20:40
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, and, uh, and it's a big vision.
• 20:42
  Nahshon Nicks: And, and, and I wake up fired up about it every day.
• 20:46
  Matthew Chang: Well, Colin, lemme, you know, n Nau is one of those guys.
• 20:50
  Matthew Chang: He's so humble.
• 20:50
  Matthew Chang: He needs like his own hype man.
• 20:52
  Matthew Chang: And I'm happy to do that on call.
• 20:55
  Matthew Chang: So, you know, NAU, you went in fifth grade, you couldn't read and you were on that track to be a statistic, right?
• 21:02
  Matthew Chang: And you were in a neighborhood where it would've been easy, easy to fall in with the wrong crowd.
• 21:06
  Matthew Chang: You had a, you had a singular person that you remember that invested in you significant time.
• 21:10
  Matthew Chang: You community you are today.
• 21:13
  Matthew Chang: By the time you college, where'd go to college?
• 21:16
  Nahshon Nicks: I graduated from Edward Waters, uh, university here in Jacksonville, Florida.
• 21:22
  Matthew Chang: Tell waters.
• 21:23
  Nahshon Nicks: Edward Waters is the first historically black college university in the state of Florida.
• 21:28
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, uh, uh, contextually, uh, civil war ended in 1865.
• 21:32
  Nahshon Nicks: Edward Waters was established 1866.
• 21:35
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, and I was, uh, very blessed and fortunate again to, uh, to secure a degree in education, uh, from Elwood Waters.
• 21:44
  Matthew Chang: your student body role at Edward Waters?
• 21:47
  Nahshon Nicks: uh, roughly about a thousand students.
• 21:50
  Nahshon Nicks: About a
• 21:51
  Matthew Chang: No.
• 21:51
  Matthew Chang: What was your student body role?
• 21:52
  Matthew Chang: Didn't you have a role for the
• 21:54
  Nahshon Nicks: Oh yeah.
• 21:54
  Nahshon Nicks: I, I was, uh, senior class president, senior class president.
• 21:58
  Nahshon Nicks: Um, uh,
• 21:59
  Matthew Chang: and, and drs, how many PhDs do you have today?
• 22:05
  Matthew Chang: How many black belts do you have?
• 22:07
  Nahshon Nicks: Three.
• 22:10
  Matthew Chang: So, Colin, this, the,
• 22:11
  Colin Russ: it.
• 22:12
  Matthew Chang: the
• 22:12
  Colin Russ: need to go find something productive to do today.
• 22:14
  Colin Russ: 'cause I'm
• 22:14
  Matthew Chang: yeah.
• 22:15
  Matthew Chang: Right.
• 22:15
  Colin Russ: inadequate.
• 22:16
  Colin Russ: I'm gonna, I don't even know where to start.
• 22:18
  Matthew Chang: Here's, here's me, Colin, that flew around a lot building factories.
• 22:22
  Matthew Chang: So, so what, what, you know, one of the reasons that our company loves, uh, Dr.
• 22:28
  Matthew Chang: Nicks and why we wanted to have him on the Reforge Pod.
• 22:32
  Matthew Chang: Even though he's not building factories, he's, in my view, he's building the talent that's gonna fill our factories to run this advanced technology, the lights out next industries facilities to do automated manufacturing.
• 22:45
  Matthew Chang: The, uh, the high-end facilities that we're building.
• 22:47
  Matthew Chang: Heck, we need, we always need more interns and new hires of the company.
• 22:51
  Matthew Chang: And this is where, in my opinion, where the talent comes from is the places you aren't looking for.
• 22:56
  Matthew Chang: It is some of the highest talent.
• 22:57
  Matthew Chang: And I, I think Dr.
• 22:58
  Matthew Chang: Nicks, I hope it's not offensive for me to say that, you know, we in fifth grade, nobody thought you'd turn into what you are today, but now everybody in the city that you live in knows your name.
• 23:10
  Matthew Chang: Um.
• 23:11
  Matthew Chang: Can you touch on civil service?
• 23:12
  Matthew Chang: Colin and I have picked that back over the last two episodes.
• 23:15
  Matthew Chang: We've both done our stint in civil service.
• 23:18
  Matthew Chang: Uh, Colin's in it right now.
• 23:19
  Matthew Chang: Uh, as you know, I went in-house in the city of Jacksonville for a few years to launch their autonomous bus program.
• 23:24
  Matthew Chang: Um, what are some of the things you've done in in civil service, most importantly, um, democratic elections.
• 23:32
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, I've actually, uh, ran for public office, uh, on a platform around strengthening small businesses as well as workforce development, uh, the supply chain in order to, uh, meet a global demand.
• 23:48
  Nahshon Nicks: I believe that you have to work within your local community.
• 23:52
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, uh, uh, although we did not cross the finish line in, in a, a win in securing a seat, we were still able to secure close to 30,000 votes, uh, which means that I was able to speak on behalf of at least, uh, 30,000 citizens within, uh, the city of Jacksonville.
• 24:11
  Nahshon Nicks: To be able to communicate how we can make this, the, the, the, the bold new city of the south and, and something that we all can be proud of.
• 24:22
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, right here in the river city.
• 24:24
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, we got a lot of wonderful land assets.
• 24:27
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, my biggest thing was, is that if you come into Jacksonville from New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, I don't want you using Jacksonville to pull over to get gas.
• 24:37
  Nahshon Nicks: On your way to Orlando, Miami, or Tampa, like this is a destination city.
• 24:42
  Nahshon Nicks: It's a regional hub for the United States military.
• 24:45
  Nahshon Nicks: I believe it's the third largest, uh, military base in the nation.
• 24:49
  Nahshon Nicks: And, and our goal is to see how we can actually be a regional hub, uh, for distribution.
• 24:55
  Nahshon Nicks: We are a port city.
• 24:57
  Nahshon Nicks: We're, we're in a foreign trade zone.
• 25:00
  Nahshon Nicks: Um, uh, there's opportunity zones and I like to say it like this.
• 25:04
  Nahshon Nicks: All we gotta do is be like the jaguars and let's get into the end zone and score some touchdowns.
• 25:10
  Nahshon Nicks: And, uh, so.
• 25:12
  Colin Russ: I mean, I, it, it's, I, I'm loving everything you're saying.
• 25:15
  Colin Russ: I mean, I, I'm in Erie, much, much smaller town.
• 25:19
  Colin Russ: I do love Jacksonville and the time I've spent there, so I will, I will, you know, give you guys credit for that one.
• 25:24
  Colin Russ: Um, but you know, I, I, I am a hundred percent with you.
• 25:27
  Colin Russ: It's that you have to build local.
• 25:29
  Colin Russ: To build up, you know, more broadly I think you get lots of strong local communities, you get a stronger nation, you get so much strength.
• 25:37
  Colin Russ: But a lot of that, you know, at the end of the day, in my opinion, comes from you have to really be able to build that, you know, the population of the youth who are motivated and, and want to do things.
• 25:48
  Colin Russ: I live in a community where kids don't see a lot of opportunity here, so they feel like they have to leave to go elsewhere.
• 25:57
  Colin Russ: You, you know, telling us kind of your background, your story, you're one of those people who decided, no, I'm going to drive the change forward.
• 26:05
  Colin Russ: I'm going to be that change.
• 26:06
  Colin Russ: I'm going to help others, you know, build upon that momentum.
• 26:10
  Colin Russ: And in manufacturing, unfortunately, there's a lot of.
• 26:17
  Colin Russ: A lot of noise out there, but some of that being, oh, kids don't wanna work, they don't wanna do these things.
• 26:23
  Colin Russ: Clearly the success you've had in helping a, a number, uh, of these kids find kind of a path and purpose, you know, contradicts that narrative.
• 26:32
  Colin Russ: And so it, it seems like there's a lack of guidance.
• 26:38
  Colin Russ: Or a lack of people doing the type of thing that you're doing to provide that gap, that path and purpose.
• 26:43
  Colin Russ: So that's a long-winded kind of route to get to my question.
• 26:49
  Colin Russ: What would you say to people who kind of argue kids, the next generation doesn't wanna work, these kids don't want to do anything?
• 26:56
  Colin Russ: I mean, you're your proof.
• 26:57
  Colin Russ: You've shown that that's not the case.
• 27:00
  Nahshon Nicks: And, and, uh, and I, I, like, I heard how you said about the, uh, the, the purpose and the path and, uh, I like to use, uh, imprint blueprint footprint, and, uh.
• 27:11
  Nahshon Nicks: It's really unlocking that potential.
• 27:14
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, I did not come up with this, but, uh, uh, a guy by the name of Bishop James Gelsey would say, you can count the seeds in an apple, but you can't count the apples in a seed.
• 27:25
  Nahshon Nicks: So as that seed is planted, it's gonna sprout
• 27:28
  Colin Russ: Yeah, that's good.
• 27:29
  Nahshon Nicks: And, uh, and unfortunately we have a, a culture.
• 27:34
  Nahshon Nicks: That is centered around zero sum meaning in order for Colin to win, Deshaun has to lose in order for Matthew to, to, to, to win.
• 27:42
  Nahshon Nicks: Colin has to lose.
• 27:43
  Nahshon Nicks: Like, that's, that's not real life.
• 27:46
  Nahshon Nicks: Like we, we gotta get past, we gotta get, we gotta get to a non-zero sum.
• 27:50
  Nahshon Nicks: And, and, and, and basically if, if I have already maxed out.
• 27:56
  Nahshon Nicks: Then maybe I should be reaching out or reaching back.
• 28:00
  Nahshon Nicks: And, um, and, and, and that's, I I really feel like when you haven't fulfilled your purpose and your personal potential, uh, you, you begin to stagnate everybody.
• 28:11
  Nahshon Nicks: And, um, and, uh, and I know that.
• 28:14
  Nahshon Nicks: Time is not slowing down for anyone.
• 28:16
  Nahshon Nicks: And, and our youth are going to be our emerging leaders, whether we like it or not, but people can only perform to the level that they've been prepared.
• 28:27
  Nahshon Nicks: And I want my daughter prepared.
• 28:30
  Nahshon Nicks: I, I'm a girl dad.
• 28:31
  Nahshon Nicks: I want all of my daughters prepared.
• 28:33
  Nahshon Nicks: And, uh, uh, we, we don't know, uh, uh, exactly how to, uh, uh, uh, forecast the future per se, but.
• 28:43
  Nahshon Nicks: Preparation is one key indicator, and I believe that it, it's a talent pool that's in there, and some of our young people have some very witty ideas, and I, I'm not gonna knock the sports, I'm not gonna knock entertainment and I'm not gonna knock YouTubers.
• 28:59
  Nahshon Nicks: But there are also some very cool engineers and there are also some real cool tech people, uh, that are out there, uh, uh, figuring out how we can prolong longevity to reduce risk and injuries, uh, to be able to sustain humans for the long haul and, and they can actually live a fulfilling life.
• 29:23
  Nahshon Nicks: Um, and I believe that there's power in partnership.
• 29:25
  Nahshon Nicks: And not to go too deep down that rabbit hole, but there's a public sector, there's also a private sector sector.
• 29:31
  Nahshon Nicks: There's a nonprofit sector, and there are organizations just like Team Nitro that's out there.
• 29:38
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, but thank you with Reforge to, for giving me an opportunity, uh, to be able to be on your platform.
• 29:45
  Nahshon Nicks: But that's another thing is that.
• 29:47
  Nahshon Nicks: Sometimes people don't know that there are local organizations doing great work.
• 29:53
  Nahshon Nicks: They just don't always have the platforms to get their message out.
• 29:57
  Nahshon Nicks: If, if that makes sense.
• 29:58
  Nahshon Nicks: So, so you got some key, you got some key stakeholders out there.
• 30:02
  Nahshon Nicks: And, um, and, uh, and, and you gotta forgive me because, uh, uh, I, I know, I know I would not be where I am, had God given up on me and I refuse to give up on my assignment.
• 30:16
  Nahshon Nicks: You know, so, uh uh,
• 30:17
  Matthew Chang: Hey, Nhan, as we get ready to close out here, I got a quick story for you and I'm curious if this, if this resonates, I'm gonna mention a school by name that you'll know and, and the audience may not, before I started this company that I'm in.
• 30:32
  Matthew Chang: I was just working, you know, for a large engineering company.
• 30:36
  Matthew Chang: I was asked to be the high school robotic, or excuse me, the middle school robotics coach of Matthew Gilbert.
• 30:43
  Matthew Chang: You, you know where Matthew Gilbert is?
• 30:45
  Matthew Chang: Matthew Gilbert.
• 30:45
  Matthew Chang: For those it is near the Jaguar Stadium, it would be considered an inner city school.
• 30:50
  Matthew Chang: So we got a very challenging time slot.
• 30:53
  Matthew Chang: I think we had to show up at about three 30.
• 30:55
  Matthew Chang: We had the afterschool kids for robotics in the Lego League and, and a lot of the audience, uh, may be familiar with Lego League.
• 31:01
  Matthew Chang: So we were coaching Lego robotics in middle school.
• 31:06
  Matthew Chang: We had our enrollment for our program.
• 31:08
  Matthew Chang: It was fully booked, so we, we were at capacity, I think it was 20 students, um, a hundred percent African American, zero, no, no diversity.
• 31:18
  Matthew Chang: It was a hundred percent African American in our group.
• 31:20
  Matthew Chang: Our job was to get this, uh, student group competitive so we could compete in all the regional competitions.
• 31:27
  Matthew Chang: Um, so we would go to these competitions, they'd be on Saturdays, um, maybe Friday afternoons around town.
• 31:34
  Matthew Chang: And when we competed, every other team except for the Matthew Gilbert team had more parents than students.
• 31:41
  Nahshon Nicks: Mm.
• 31:42
  Matthew Chang: Our, our team, everywhere we went had zero parents.
• 31:46
  Matthew Chang: Only the coaches like myself and some of my colleagues that were volunteering at the regionals, we ended up placing at the 50% line.
• 31:56
  Matthew Chang: So right in the middle of the pack.
• 31:58
  Matthew Chang: We did not win.
• 31:59
  Matthew Chang: We were not close to the bottom.
• 32:01
  Matthew Chang: We were perfectly at 50% of all the schools.
• 32:04
  Matthew Chang: The students that we had were, were really discouraged.
• 32:08
  Matthew Chang: They were like, man, we wanted the gold medal, or we wanted the trophy.
• 32:11
  Matthew Chang: Or they saw these school, these, uh, teams that, I mean, had more parents than students representing the team.
• 32:17
  Matthew Chang: We had no parents, not one all season.
• 32:19
  Matthew Chang: Um, I felt like getting them to middle of the pack and beating 50% of these other schools was a tremendous win.
• 32:27
  Matthew Chang: Given that we had one semester to do this work in and get these students prepared, and I did my best to impart that view on the students.
• 32:35
  Matthew Chang: They're still students.
• 32:36
  Matthew Chang: They wanted a first place trophy.
• 32:38
  Matthew Chang: But what's your view on how just a little bit of attention can take a, you know, probably a, an overall neglected student group and propel them to where they're better than 50% of the cohort.
• 32:51
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, I, I'm, I'm gonna tell you, um, being seen, heard, and valued is presence is power.
• 33:00
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, presence is power.
• 33:02
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, and just knowing that, uh, individuals like yourself, Matt, uh, will come out east and, uh.
• 33:11
  Nahshon Nicks: And bring that subject matter expertise and the spirit of excellence.
• 33:17
  Nahshon Nicks: Um, those are the things that really move the needle forward.
• 33:22
  Nahshon Nicks: Um, uh, um, and then, like I said, with that particular case, they call it seti, socially economically disadvantaged individuals.
• 33:30
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, because like I said, you, you tell the parents, well, you need to show up.
• 33:33
  Nahshon Nicks: Well, if you're working a entry level job, you can't just show up because.
• 33:39
  Nahshon Nicks: Those particular jobs don't provide those opportunities and flexibilities to be able to go to your children's event and activities.
• 33:47
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, and um, so the presence is power.
• 33:52
  Nahshon Nicks: And I'm gonna say this, if you can't, if you're listening and, and you're viewing this and you're not able to get there in person, get behind organizations that are and let them be able to, uh, become sustainable in.
• 34:08
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, in, in their service, in the spirit of excellence, uh, uh, not in the spirit of average.
• 34:16
  Nahshon Nicks: Average is the enemy to advancement.
• 34:18
  Nahshon Nicks: We, we want that spirit of excellence to where we can keep, uh, showing love and support.
• 34:24
  Nahshon Nicks: And, um, and, and, and like I said, when our youth wins, our future wins.
• 34:28
  Nahshon Nicks: So, uh, I, I, I do agree that, uh, with that type of presence, there is power and.
• 34:37
  Nahshon Nicks: And I do believe that we do need to hold our community, stakeholders, nonprofits, uh, and community elders, uh, accountable.
• 34:46
  Nahshon Nicks: And, and uh, and like I said, when I go to graduations, basketball games, my kids don't play basketball.
• 34:51
  Nahshon Nicks: But I'm gonna be there in the cheering section, cheering yours, uhhuh.
• 34:55
  Nahshon Nicks: So, like I said, it, there has to
• 34:58
  Colin Russ: so one more time.
• 35:00
  Colin Russ: Oh, absolutely.
• 35:01
  Colin Russ: So, uh, we're, we're starting to get to the end of the episode one more time.
• 35:04
  Colin Russ: Um, you know, give us the rundown on where, you know, organization, where we can, where we can find out more about Team Nitro, MMA, um, about what you're doing, how people can find you, all that good stuff.
• 35:18
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, thank you again, uh, for this opportunity.
• 35:21
  Nahshon Nicks: Colin and Matt, uh, thank you for your view and the listening audience for staying tapped in and tuned in.
• 35:27
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, team nitro ma.com, team nitro ma.com.
• 35:36
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, you can follow me on all, uh, social media outlets pertaining to X LinkedIn.
• 35:43
  Nahshon Nicks: Uh, Facebook, Instagram, uh, and we have a robust after school and summer program, and we're looking to continue to expand our footprint and impact to strengthen America's future one young leader at a time.
• 36:02
  Colin Russ: I, I love it.
• 36:03
  Colin Russ: So that's again, team nitro mma.com on all the socials X, LinkedIn, all that good stuff.
• 36:11
  Colin Russ: That is where they're going to find you.
• 36:13
  Colin Russ: That's a.
• 36:14
  Colin Russ: Awesome Nahshon.
• 36:17
  Colin Russ: Thank you so much.
• 36:18
  Colin Russ: This is really just, you know, uh, you're, you are doing incredibly important work.
• 36:23
  Colin Russ: There is no question about it, so please, please, please keep it up.
• 36:26
  Colin Russ: Please don't stop.
• 36:27
  Colin Russ: Uh, stop fighting this battle.
• 36:31
  Colin Russ: Alrighty, so as we come to the end of another episode of the Reforge Podcast.
• 36:37
  Colin Russ: You can find us at the the reforge podcast.com.
• 36:42
  Colin Russ: You can find us on X at the Reforge pod or on all socials at the Reforge Pod, um, I'm Colin.
• 36:50
  Colin Russ: You can find me on X at that, Colin.
• 36:53
  Colin Russ: And we've got Matt Chang,
• 36:56
  Matthew Chang: Yep, my, my handle's right here in my name.
• 36:59
  Matthew Chang: Um, so we'll see you there.
• 37:01
  Matthew Chang: Catch me on LinkedIn.
• 37:02
  Matthew Chang: Catch us on our website@changrobotics.ai or uh, catch us on uh, LinkedIn.
• 37:08
  Matthew Chang: Thanks,
• 37:09
  Colin Russ: Thanks everyone.
• 37:10
  Colin Russ: Thanks again, Nahshon.
• 37:16
  Thanks for tuning in to the Reforge Podcast.
• 37:19
  Make sure to like, subscribe and follow us on all of our social media at the Reforge Pod.
• 37:25
  We'll see you next time.