In this inspiring episode, Ismail sits down with Daiyan Heard, a young college wrestler and skilled barber, to talk about life, discipline, and purpose. From the mat to the barbershop, Daiyan shares his personal journey—navigating the challenges of today’s world, staying focused through adversity, and finding balance between passion and responsibility. This conversation dives deep into what it means to grow up in modern times, overcome struggle, and stay grounded while chasing your dreams.

Tune in for real talk, motivation, and wisdom from the next generation.

•Support from older mentors or adults is not just “nice to have”—it often makes a measurable difference in school performance, life choices, and long-term success.
•Intergenerational relationships (older generation guiding youth) help fill in gaps for those who may lack consistent support at home or in school.
•Regular, consistent relationships are more powerful: one-off advice helps, but ongoing mentoring gives stronger results.
•Beyond academics, the older generation helps shape identity, resilience, and moral grounding—all critical given the pressures youth face today.

From these stats, you can draw connections that help illuminate your interview with Daiyan:
•Having at least one trusted adult—coach, mentor, someone older—is important. In SC, most youth do have someone they can rely on, but “having someone who knows you well” doesn’t always mean that person is active or capable of guiding through adversity.
•In sports (like wrestling), youth benefit greatly from social recognition, structure, discipline, and community. Given Daiyan’s dual life as both athlete and barber, that structure and mentorship from both coaches and master barbers can amplify positive outcomes.
•Vocational mentorship (like in barbering) isn’t as well documented in peer-reviewed studies as sports mentoring, but organizations like the American Barber Association do engage youth apprenticeship and certification programs which implies formal support and structured paths.
•When youth don’t perceive support (for instance, in sports that are less popular in their community), they may feel isolated. Daiyan’s perspectives on struggle and discipline could be richer by speaking to whether wrestling is embraced in his community, whether his barber craft is encouraged, etc.