E12. The Beauty of Anger - with Mike Sagun, Certified Professional Men's Coach & EVRYMAN Facilitator

Ever Forward Club’s Ashanti Branch is joined by Mike Sagun, a former Oaklander, a Certified Professional Men’s Coach, and an EVRYMAN Facilitator. (1:20) Ashanti’s introduction (3:50) Mike shares his background, as a business owner, men’s coach, and Bay Area native. (6:00) After an early break in the production, Ashanti and Mike ruminate on the responsibilities of a leader. (10:53) Mike and Ashanti discuss how they met in Oakland and Joshua Tree, and open up a general discussion on how masks function in our society and play a role in the social media era. (18:15) Mike goes into more detail about the men’s spaces he leads and the unmasking that goes on, before Ashanti relates this to his own work with youth in the Ever Forward Club. (25:35) The men begin to share their masks. The front of Mike’s mask prompts conversation about his experiences as a theater performer, and what it’s like to “perform” while holding in genuine trauma from real life. (28:13) Ashanti shares the front of his mask, and the men discuss the idea that the front of the mask is a coping mechanism that is subconsciously dealing with the true feelings behind the mask. (35:40) Mike shares the back of his mask, and how at a young age he was trained to hide anger and embarrassment. (39:30) Ashanti shares the back of his mask, and how navigating different expectations between home and in the outside world led to struggles with how to properly express his anger. It also prompts a discussion about self-worth, and the habit of comparing his work and organization with others around him. (45:40) The men further their discussion about anger, and how their relationship with anger has matured over time, now understanding it as a “guardian of boundaries.” (48:55) Ashanti shares how, at a young age, his anger was taken over by rage, an expression of his frustrations behind the mask. (51:22) Mike pushes the audience to try taking off their masks, and gradually raise the bar for themselves over time. He then shares how you can get in touch with him. --- Connect with Mike: Website: www.mikesagun.com Instagram: @mike.sagun Facebook: Mike Sagun Coaching, LLC --- Create your own mask anonymously at www.100kmasks.com If you are interested in being on the Face to Face podcast, email us at [email protected] --- Connect with Ashanti Branch: Instagram:    https://www.instagram.com/branchspeaks/ Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/BranchSpeaks Twitter:   https://twitter.com/BranchSpeaks LinkedIn:    www.linkedin.com/in/ashantibranch