Swan Dive
Now in its 5th year, with over 100 episodes, Swan Dive features inspiring people who had the clarity and courage to pivot in life and chase their dreams. Hosts and life-long friends, Ron Rothberg and Stu Sheldon, both made massive swan dives from successful careers in media and finance to the unknowns of content creation and fine art. Through failures and successes, both eventually found the soul satisfaction of becoming "who they wanted to be when they grew up." Their joyful wisdom graces each conversation with guests that include: legendary musical artists, National Geographic photographers, social justice warriors, clergy, journalists ... even Africa's first black, female brain surgeon. Each guest opens up about their unique emotional journey, their fear of the unknown, the grind of starting a new path and, hopefully, the world's embrace on the road to their most authentic selves. Vulnerability, laughter and inspiration abound. Hopefully, you'll find comfort and kinship in your own big pivot, whether you've made it yet or not. Share your Swan Dive story with us and we may feature you. Find us @stuart_sheldon and ronrothberg@comcast.net.
Swan Dive
Khalil Osiris - Prisoner No More - Criminal to Counselor
As a chid, Khalil Osiris's most treasured gift was the Encyclopedia Britannica set he kept at the end of his bed and read cover to cover. Education was the highest priority in the home of this self-described "happy-go-lucky" country boy. So, it's not surprising that, at age 13, when the local chapter of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense opened in his rural community, Khalil and his intellectually curious friends checked it out. Khalil reflects, “There are things in our lives that resonate so deeply with us that we can be dramatically impacted by it to such an extent that our view of the world changes.” The more he learned as a teenager, the angrier he became. Angry at the system, angry at his teachers for singling him out as special (token), angry at his parents for complying and angry at white people who were unwilling to acknowledge anything at all was even wrong. At 17, feeling entirely justified, Khalil robbed a pharmacy and was sent to prison. He left 20 years later. But this soft-spoken, erudite gentleman would not be defined by prior choices. While incarcerated, Khalil received his Bachelors and Masters from Boston University. Upon his release he founded the Reflecting Freedom Network, dedicated to helping soon-to-be released prisoners find work and employers find qualified employees. His reentry program, Psychology of Incarceration, has been used in over 70 prisons across America. Khalil moved to South Africa, where he was selected to host the popular TV show, Each One, Teach One, which won the 2016 South African Film and Television Award (SAFTA) for Best Factual Educational Program. In 2020, he partnered with Nelson Mandelas's eldest daughter on the groundbreaking, ongoing documentary project, Truth & Reconciliation Conversations, which builds on Mandela’s vision of celebrating those taking action to better their communities via brutally honest conversations about racial justice (link above to share your own personal racism story). Khalil speaks publicly on a range of urgent social and racial justice issues, including Democracy and Restorative Justice, Hiring Returning Citizens and the Psychology of Incarceration.
Have a Swan Dive to share? Text us!
We are always looking for Swan Dive Stories to share so hit us up, send an e mail to Ron: Ron@artbikesjax.com or Stu: Stuart@stuartsheldon.com