What happens when you lose a job with one minute's notice — and use that moment to build something entirely new?

In part two of our conversation with Dr. Emmett Gill, founder of Athlete Talks and pioneer in sports social work, we go deep on the entrepreneurial grind of building a mental health app from the ground up during Covid, the brutal reality that only 15–20% of athletes who need mental health services actually seek them, and how Dr. Gill is thinking about reaching the other 80%.

We also get into the seismic shifts reshaping college athletics — rev share, NIL, conference realignment, the shrinking of non-revenue sports — and what student athletes need to understand right now to position themselves for what's coming. Dr. Gill doesn't hold back on the hard truths: which sports he believes won't survive, why the dream of Black athletes returning to HBCUs may have passed, and why youth sports is where the real opportunity lies for the next generation of sports professionals.

Plus, Dr. Gill shares his plans for growing Athlete Talks in 2026, his push to trademark the credential "Sports SW," and why relationships — not just hustle — are the foundation of sustainable entrepreneurship.
This one is layered. Tune in.

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Can capitalism be a tool for collective black liberation? In this powerful episode of Entrepreneurial Appetite, host Langston Clark and special guest host Lloyd Kuykendoll (founder of Black Cabinet Education) sit down with Dr. Rachel Laryea, author of "Black Capitalists: A Blueprint for What's Possible," to explore one of the most urgent questions facing black communities today.

Dr. Laryea, a former Goldman Sachs professional turned entrepreneur and thought leader, challenges us to rethink our relationship with capitalism. Drawing on Pan-African principles and her Ghanaian immigrant mother's hustle, she reveals how we can strategically engage with economic systems—not from a place of oppression, but from a position of power and collective uplift.
This conversation goes deep into the distinction between being a black participant in capitalism versus being a true "black capitalist"—someone who repositions themselves within the economic system to achieve social good. Learn about innovative tools like Esusu's rent-to-credit reporting that's unlocking millions in capital access, traditional sou-sou money pooling practices, and the power of organized economic boycotts.

Dr. Laryea shares hard-earned wisdom from Wall Street, addresses the "tax" of being black in corporate America, and explains why she wrote a book with such a polarizing title. From discussing the dangers of individualism and crabs-in-a-barrel mentality to exploring what it means to "lift as we climb," this episode offers a blueprint for economic empowerment rooted in community, not competition.
Whether you're an entrepreneur, investor, or simply seeking to understand how to build black wealth without compromising black values, this conversation delivers actionable insights for our in-between moment—the space between where we are and where we're trying to go.

Featured Guest: Dr. Rachel Laryea, Author of "Black Capitalists: A Blueprint for What's Possible"
Special Guest Host: Lloyd Kuykendoll, Founder of Black Cabinet Education

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In this powerful first episode of a two-part conversation, we sit down with Dr. Emmett Gill, founder of Athlete Talk and Director of Mental Health and Wellness at the University of Houston. Dr. Gill shares his remarkable journey from being a walk-on baseball player at UNC Charlotte who graduated third from last in his high school class to becoming one of the leading voices in sports social work and athlete mental health.

Discover how a coach's ultimatum transformed Dr. Gill from a struggling student into an honor roll scholar-athlete, and how that experience shaped his life's mission to support the mental wellness of student athletes. Dr. Gill opens up about his academic journey—from earning his Master's in Social Work at Howard University with support from the Bill and Camille Cosby Fellowship, to navigating PhD programs at Penn and University of Maryland, to pioneering the field of sports social work when skeptics questioned its legitimacy.

This episode explores critical topics including:

• The evolution of sports social work and why it's essential for today's student athletes
• Mental health challenges facing college athletes across all sports—not just football and basketball
• How Dr. Gill created the Athlete Talk app during COVID to reach the 80% of athletes who don't seek traditional mental health services
• The connection between mental health and winning championships (UH football went from picked last to 10-3)
• Why only 15-20% of athletes who need mental health services actually seek them
• The future of college athletics, NIL, revenue sharing, and transfer portal impacts
• Why non-revenue sports may face elimination and what that means for student athletes

Dr. Gill doesn't hold back on the state of college athletics, offering provocative insights about private equity in sports, the death of the HBCU athlete pipeline, and why he's trademarking "Sports SW" to protect the integrity of sports social work practice.

Whether you're a student athlete, coach, athletic administrator, sports entrepreneur, or mental health professional, this conversation provides essential insights into the intersection of sports, mental wellness, and the rapidly changing landscape of college athletics.

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🍗 From corporate cubicle to food truck empire—all without a single loan!

Daryl Smith Sr., co-founder of Wing-It and Spit-It, joins Entrepreneurial Appetite to share the unfiltered truth about building a successful mobile food business. Alongside host Langston Clark and special guest host Jeff May Jr. (SAAACAM CAO), Daryl reveals:

✓ How to bootstrap a food truck with zero debt
✓ The biggest mistakes new food truck owners make
✓ Why his book "The Food Truck Game" is changing the industry
✓ Real talk about pricing, operations, and profitability
✓ Partnership secrets with his wife and co-founder Wendi
✓ When (and when NOT) to expand to brick-and-mortar

This isn't your typical "follow your dreams" story—it's a masterclass in strategic entrepreneurship, community building, and sustainable business growth in the competitive food industry.

Perfect for aspiring entrepreneurs, small business owners, and anyone hungry for real business wisdom.

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In this extraordinary bonus episode from the African Americans in Sport Podclass, Dr. Langston Clark sits down with Dorian Hairston—poet, educator, former University of Kentucky baseball player, and author of "Pretend the Ball is Named Jim Crow: The Story of Josh Gibson"—for a conversation that bridges sports history, poetry, and the humanization of Black athletic excellence.

Josh Gibson was a Negro League baseball legend credited with hitting over 800 home runs in his career. He died in January 1947, just months before Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball's color barrier in April of the same year. But Gibson's story is more than statistics—it's about a 19-year-old who lost his wife during childbirth, a man who faced Jim Crow at every turn, and an athlete whose greatness was confined by systemic racism.

Dorian's book tells this story through poetry, not traditional biography. Using persona poems written from the perspectives of Josh Gibson, his wife Helen, his son Josh Gibson Jr., teammates like Hooks Tinker, and even time-traveling observers, Harrison creates what he calls "historical fiction"—using real historical figures and events to explore empathy, humanity, and the messy complexity of history.

In this conversation, Dorian shares his journey from being a student-athlete who earned All-SEC Academic honors while playing baseball at Kentucky, to becoming an English major mentored by Kentucky's first Black Poet Laureate, Frank X Walker, to joining the Affrilachian Poets collective dedicated to "making the invisible visible" in Appalachian storytelling. He discusses the power of complex identity, the importance of preparing for life after sports, and why poetry is the best medium for humanizing historical figures who are often reduced to one-dimensional narratives.

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"What does it matter how present and future races will judge me? I have done my duty. I know my worth. That is enough for me." Jean-Jacques Dessalines's defiant words open this Black History Month episode of Entrepreneurial Appetite—a conversation about the revolutionary leader history tried to erase. Dr. Julia Gaffield, whose discovery of Haiti's Declaration of Independence made international headlines, joins us with special guest host Lloyd Kuykendoll to discuss why Dessalines deserves to be remembered as more than a warrior who secured Haiti's independence. This is the first English-language biography of the man who led the only successful slave revolution in history, and Dr. Gaffield reveals a figure of surprising complexity—loyal, witty, strategic, and deeply human. We explore why historians have overlooked him, what his story teaches us about the full arc of the Haitian Revolution, and why Haiti's Declaration of Independence—which imagined white skin as paper and blood as ink—needs to be read alongside America's founding document. Lloyd brings the passion of a veteran and self-taught historian who knows this work matters, creating moments of genuine emotion and insight. This conversation honors the rigorous work of Black scholars and their allies who are reclaiming our history, one archive at a time. During Black History Month and beyond, this is the scholarship that builds community, promotes intellectualism, and ensures our stories are told right.

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Jenna Smith takes us on a captivating journey from locker room to boardroom, revealing how her experiences as the "only girl on the team" shaped her path to founding Tandemount Sports Group. With remarkable clarity, she articulates the untapped potential at the intersection of beauty brands and women's sports, particularly for Black women athletes seeking authentic expression.

The conversation explores how strategic brand alignments are closing the NIL gap between men's and women's sports. Smith's insights on Gen Z athletes' natural content creation abilities demonstrate why beauty and lifestyle brands have unique opportunities to partner with women athletes who are essentially "walking markets" during competition.

We dive deep into emerging sports technology focused on critical women's sports challenges. From revolutionary injury prevention tools addressing the epidemic of ACL tears to biometric tracking systems accounting for menstrual cycles, Smith identifies where technology meets human performance in ways specifically benefiting women athletes.

What makes this discussion particularly compelling is Smith's personal testimony of risk-taking. Her applications to prestigious universities despite self-doubt, her entry into venture capital without traditional backgrounds, and her international career moves all exemplify her powerful message: "The belief in myself will always be bigger than the belief anybody else has for me."

Smith's vision extends beyond marketing to creating equitable opportunities for women athletes through advisory roles and equity positions with sports tech companies. She's working to ensure women athletes leverage their influence into long-term business opportunities and ownership stakes.

For anyone navigating entrepreneurship, sports business, or seeking authentic representation, Smith's parting wisdom resonates deeply: "Don't be afraid to fail... You are 99% of the time equipped with the tools to do it. You just may not have the support system to push you." Her story illuminates why taking risks, building community, and believing in yourself creates pathways where traditional roadmaps don't exist.

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In this throwback episode of Entrepreneurial Appetite, host Langston Clark revisits his powerful conversation with Sho Nakpodia, founder of Dream Week San Antonio and Dream Voice. Discover how San Antonio became home to the largest Martin Luther King Day celebration in the country and how one Nigerian-born social entrepreneur transformed a single march into a 16-day summit of civil and civic engagement.

Sho shares his journey from Lagos, Nigeria, through London and New York, to establishing roots in San Antonio, where he founded the Mighty Group advertising agency and later created Dream Week - a community-curated platform featuring hundreds of events focused on diversity, tolerance, equality, and social justice. Learn about the philosophy behind making Dream Week accessible to all voices, the importance of African American genius in leading social movements, and how San Antonio's unique DNA makes it the perfect incubator for peaceful dialogue across differences.

This replay is essential listening as we prepare for Dream Week 2026 (January 9-31). Topics include social entrepreneurship, community building, cultural identity, navigating tier-two cities, local versus national impact, and creating platforms for marginalized voices

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