Life lessons
At the top of each episode, Ladi Bounce delivers the tagline reinforcing the couple’s dedication to continue “bringing the art of conversation, self-love, self-care, mental healthcare protection, life lessons, love lessons and everything in between.” Sample episode, “She Selfish,” featured guest Ashley Browning, who was introduced as an “author, educator, entrepreneur, life coach and soul sister serving her community.”
Other recent episodes were dedicated to “Radical Self-Care” and “Vegan Foodies.” Recent guests include Jazmon Stewart of iThrive, youth mentor and motivational speaker Brian McComb, and Michelle Person, an author of children’s books, coach, educator and mother. The lessons are geared toward African American listeners but apply to a broader audience.
“I’d like everybody to take the time to realize how important self-care is in your everyday life,” Picket Fence said. “With everything going on, that’s very important, even if it’s five or 10 minutes a day. We get drained so we want people to take notice. Be mindful of your surroundings and the things you’re watching and reading. You have to realize you have to step away from it sometime and really get back into yourself.”
Unique skillsets
Picket Fence is known to many as a rapper, but he also has a certification in natural healthcare. By day, Ladi Bounce is an intervention specialist at a local high school where she teaches special needs students. Like her husband, she is also involved in music. She does a monthly DJ set, Fenom Friday with Ladi Bounce, at the Barrel House on Third Street in Dayton from 8 p.m. to midnight on the third Friday of each month. She’ll be spinning next on Friday, Feb. 18.
“It’s important to know how fragile your mind really is and how important it is to take care of it,” Ladi Bounce said. “Be intentional with how you protect your mental health. Self-care is a huge piece of it but it’s also protecting that fragile line we have. We’re all one crisis away from a psychotic break. I don’t think people realize that.
“When we see people who suffer and deal with mental health crises, we tend to point the finger,” she continued. “We can be really judgmental and not realize that could very easily be you if you don’t protect your mental health.”
After nearly three years and 140 episodes, Ladi Bounce and Picket Fence haven’t run out of subjects to discuss each week.
“We have hundreds of books now on different topics,” he said. “We’re still constantly buying books and we’re also always reaching out to get guests that are experts in separate fields, whether it be in health, psychology, psychiatry or maybe even art because that’s a real great way to self-care. Things like coloring can be self-care because it takes your mind away from the everyday grind.”
Self-love
The podcast cohosts have been married for 22 years and have two children. They also share a background in broadcasting and a passion for promoting healthy living through the weekly podcast and daily self-care assignments on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and TikTok.
“We get a lot of comments from people when we post our daily self-care assignments on our Facebook page and our other platforms,” Ladi Bounce said. “They say, ‘Thank you, I needed this,’ or, ‘This is a great idea, I’m going to try this.’ When we think about self-care, we always think about bubble baths, champagne and getting your nails done but self-care is so much deeper. The people usually go, ‘I didn’t think about this’ or ‘That’s a new idea.’
“There are so many levels and layers to self-care beyond manicures and the other stuff,” she added. “There’s your mental healthcare and your physical and financial self-care and they’re all equally important.”
Episode 140, “Negative Mind,” will be posted this week. The show is available in video format on YouTube and Facebook but it’s also available as streaming audio on platforms like Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Anchor. More info: www.facebook.com/flywithusla.
Contact this contributing writer at 937-287-6139 or e-mail at donthrasher100@gmail.com.
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