The Gentleman’s Standard

Cecil Burrowes & Yor-El Francis
  • 4.7 (3)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Weekly

The Gentlemen’s Standard is a podcast for men committed to elevating how they show up—in life, work, and every room they enter. Hosted by Cecil B. Burrowes and Yor-El Francis, it delivers practical insight on discipline, grooming, presence, and personal brand. No hype—just standards built through consistency and intention. In a world that judges fast, how you show up matters. Set the standard.

Episodes

  1. Aug 12

    The Gentlemen's Standard S2 Episode 2 | The Cut

    William Wilson — "The Clothier" — didn't come up through fashion school, internships, or retail. He came up through the Navy, a custom luxury-home framing business, and a NASCAR pit crew, where he became the first full-time Black pit crew member to win a championship in the sport's history. Every stop taught him the same lesson: discipline, trust, and reading a room before you speak.On this episode, Cecil and Yor-El sit down with Will to unpack the difference between selling a suit, making a suit, and being someone's clothier — and why he sees himself as a partner in your life, not a vendor of your clothes. Cecil brings the boardroom lens on personal brand and credibility; Yor-El brings the director's eye for how appearance shapes perception before a single word is spoken. Together, they get into what it actually means to dress toward the success you want — not just the life you have.

  2. Aug 5

    The Gentlemen's Standard Season 2 Ep. 1 | The power of relationships

    On this episode of The Gentleman's Standard, Cecil and Yor-El sit down with relationship coach, author, entrepreneur, and corporate executive Elam King for a conversation that goes past surface-level relationship advice.Elam opens up about the moment his own divorce nearly ended his coaching career — and the mentors who told him to stay in the work instead of walking away. From there, the conversation moves through the mentorship "cheat code" that shaped his path, why spiritual and personal foundation has to come before any relationship standard, and the hiring philosophy he uses to separate people who present well from people who actually deliver.Cecil brings the corporate lens — standards that hold under pressure, in the boardroom and at home. Yor-El brings the director's eye — presentation versus authenticity, and what happens when someone is performing a version of themselves that isn't real yet.If you're building — or rebuilding — your own standard for relationships, this one's for you.

  3. Jul 29

    The Gentlemen's Standard Episode 12 | The Return

    Season One ends with "The Return" — the episode built to answer everything Episode 4 ("The Drift") set up.Cecil brings the corporate lens: the setback is nearly universal, and the return — not the fall — is the variable that separates the men who rebuild on a standard from the ones rebuilding on a hot streak.Yor-El brings the film & TV lens: the hero's return is the oldest structure in storytelling, but the only version audiences believe is the one where he comes home carrying the cost, not erased by it.The whole episode turns on one distinction: resilience gets you back to baseline. Growth gets you somewhere new. This is the finale — the drift, answered.

  4. Jul 22

    The Gentlemen's Standard Episode 11 | The Climb

    Nobody warns you that the higher you climb, the fewer people you can be honest with. They sell you the view. They don't mention the altitude.This week, Cecil and Yor-El take on the climb — title, money, status — and the ladder a lot of men have been climbing without ever asking whose wall it's leaning against. Cecil breaks down why the middle of the climb breaks more men than the top does, and what the corner office actually costs. Yor-El takes apart the montage myth — the ten years of unpaid grind that never make it to screen — and makes the case that the most interesting careers aren't a straight climb at all.The standard isn't "stop climbing." It's climb on purpose. Know whose scoreboard you're keeping, and know what the climb is costing you before the bill comes due.Standards aren't followed. They're set.

  5. Jul 16

    The Gentlemen's Standard Episode 10 | The Mask

    THE MASK | Episode 10 | The Gentleman's StandardYou've got a work voice. A boardroom voice. A "with the boys" voice. That's not the problem — that's range. The problem is when there's no room left where the mask comes off. This week Cecil (30 years in banking and finance) and Yor-El Francis (20+ years directing film and TV) break down where the mask helps, where it costs you, and the one-room rule that keeps you from disappearing into the role.Watch/Listen:▶ YouTube🎧 Apple Podcasts🎧 SpotifyTell us: How many versions of you are running right now — and which one is actually you? Where's your one room with the mask off?Subscribe if this is a conversation you want every Wednesday — we just crossed 750 and we're pushing toward 1,000 before Episode 11: The Climb.#TheGentlemansStandard #TheMask #StandardsAreSet [remaining hashtags below the fold] #Authenticity #MensMentalHealth #Leadership #Podcast

  6. Jul 11

    The Gentlemen's Standard Episode 9 | The Silence

    We were taught that a strong man is a quiet man. Handle it. Don't burden anybody. This episode is about what that quiet actually costs — and the one channel worth building before you ever need it. Stated plainly, no sensationalism.The Gentleman's Standard — where standards aren't followed, they're set. New episodes every Wednesday. Subscribe and turn on notifications so you never miss one.CHAPTERS0:00 Cold open — quiet as strength vs. quiet as weight2:00 Intro & the thesis (this one is heavier, on purpose)3:30 The body count — what the silence costs, plainly10:00 Reading "I'm fine" — the performance men have rehearsed16:00 The tools men won't pick up23:00 The resource: 988 — how and when to use it25:00 Speaking as discipline — build the channel while it's calm31:00 The confidant — the one sentence that turns the story36:00 Audience prompts & CTA39:30 Close(Timestamps approximate — confirm against final cut.)LISTEN / WATCH▶ YouTube🎧 Apple Podcasts🎧 SpotifyIF YOU NEED SUPPORT988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — call or text 988 (U.S.). There's nothing in the standard that says you carry it alone. (Pin this in the comments.)JOIN THE CONVERSATIONWho's the one person you tell the truth to — and if the answer is "no one," what's step one? Drop it in the comments.FOLLOW THE SHOW#TheGentlemansStandard #MensMentalHealth #TheSilence #MensHealth #EmotionalHealth #Fatherhood #Brotherhood #Podcast #988 #RestrictiveEmotionality

  7. Jul 2

    The Gentlemen's Standard Episode 8 | Connection

    THE GENTLEMAN’S STANDARD — Episode 8: The ConnectionStandards aren’t followed. They’re set. You can be respected, capable, and surrounded — and still have no one to call. In this episode, Cecil and Yor-El Francis draw the line between networking and connection: why a full contact list, a busy calendar, and a room full of people who respect you are not the same as one man who knows the unedited version of you and stays. Connection isn’t found by accident — it’s built on purpose, the same way you’d protect anything you actually value. Cecil brings the corporate lens from 30 years in banking and finance. Yor-El brings the entertainment lens from 20+ years directing film and television. Together they get into the friendship recession, the single-point-of-failure trap of routing everything through one person, and why depth — not headcount — is the real measure of a man’s connections. The standard: build the few that hold.

  8. Jun 24

    The Gentlemen's Standard Episode 7 | Legacy

    You can have a great career and leave no legacy. The difference is whether you built anything that didn't need you to survive.Episode 7 of The Gentleman's Standard — LEGACY. The cornerstone of Season One.Cecil B. Burrowes (30 years in banking and finance) and Yor-El Francis (film and television director, 20+ years) draw a hard line between attention and legacy — what people give you while you're in the room versus what remains after you've left it. Cecil brings the corporate lens: the frameworks, cultures, and careers he built that outlived his tenure. Yor-El brings the entertainment lens: what a director leaves behind when the set is struck — the work, and the people who grew because of how it was led.They get specific about mentorship as the most measurable legacy a professional can build, why the attention economy has a generation of men "building on sand," and the one question this whole season has been pointing toward: what are you building right now that doesn't need you to survive?Attention fades. Legacy remains.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━▶ Subscribe on YouTube and hit the bell so you don't miss an episodeNew episodes every Wednesday.Standards aren't followed. They're set.#Legacy #Mentorship #Leadership #MensDevelopment #TheGentlemansStandard #CareerDevelopment #AttentionEconomy #PersonalGrowth #Discipline #Integrity

  9. Jun 10

    The Gentlemen's Standard Ep. 5 | The Weight

    Behind every man people call strong, there's usually a weight nobody saw him carrying.Episode 5 of The Gentleman's Standard goes beneath the title and the salary — to what it actually feels like to be the person everyone depends on, and to carry that without anywhere to set it down. Cecil B. Burrowes brings 30 years of organizational weight from banking — regulatory pressure, decisions about people's careers, holding teams steady when the answers weren't clear. Yor-El Francis brings the director's chair: responsible for every person and every outcome on a film or TV set, performing confidence while the camera rolls. Two different rooms, the same weight.This one goes to places men don't usually say out loud — why we carry it in silence, what that silence costs, and the question almost no one asks directly: who do you actually call when it gets too heavy to manage alone?CHAPTERS0:00 – The weight nobody saw him carrying0:45 – Welcome to The Gentleman's Standard2:00 – Weight is not weakness4:30 – What men actually carry11:00 – Why managers burn out first13:00 – Carrying it in silence19:00 – The support gap nobody designed for21:00 – The weight on a film set27:00 – Who do you actually call?33:00 – Watching a man break38:00 – When trust in leadership collapses40:00 – Preparing others before they carry it45:00 – What I'm carrying right now47:00 – Close + next episode: ComposureWe get into the data too — manager burnout running well ahead of the people they manage, how many men say they have no close friends, and how far trust in leaders has fallen.LISTEN / SUBSCRIBE🎧 Apple Podcasts🎧 Spotify▶️ Subscribe on YouTube so you don't miss Episode 6 — ComposureNew episodes every Wednesday.If this one hit, do two things: leave a rating, and send it to one man who's been carrying something in silence. That's how it reaches the people it's for.Standards aren't followed. They're set.—The Gentleman's Standard is a podcast for men of character — coaching insight on holding a standard in the corporate and entertainment worlds. Hosted by Cecil B. Burrowes (30 years in banking) and Yor-El Francis (film and TV director and producer).#TheGentlemansStandard #TheWeight #MensPodcast #Leadership #MensMentalHealth #ExecutivePresence #Directing #SelfMastery #Mentorship

  10. May 20

    The Gentlemen's Standard Ep. 3 | The "Inner Standard"

    In a world obsessed with appearance, status, and performance, many men quietly lose alignment with themselves. Episode 3 of The Gentlemen’s Standard explores discipline, integrity, emotional resilience, and the unseen habits that shape a man’s life long before success ever appears publicly. Because the true standard is never built in front of an audience—it’s built alone.

  11. May 7

    Command & Presence | The Gentlemen’s Standard Ep. 2

    What happens after you walk into the room matters more than what you say once you’re in it.In Episode 2 of The Gentlemen’s Standard, Cecil B. Burrowes and Yor-El Francis break down Command & Presence—the overlooked discipline that shapes how you’re perceived in professional and social environments.This episode covers:How a man should enter a roomThe power of saying lessEye contact, posture, and stillnessListening as a strategic advantageWhy loud men are often misunderstoodLeading conversations without dominating themRespecting others without shrinking yourselfPresence isn’t about being the loudest voice—it’s about being the most composed, aware, and intentional.Your talent may get you in the room.Your presence determines what happens next.📌 New episodes weekly📌 Follow, subscribe, and set your standard#GentlemensStandard #CommandPresence #ExecutivePresence #Leadership #MensDevelopment

  12. May 2

    The Gentleman’s Standard Ep. 1: Grooming Towards Greatness

    Most men think grooming is optional. It’s not—it’s a signal. In Episode 1 of The Gentleman’s Standard, Cecil Burrowes and Yor-El Francis challenge the idea that presence is superficial and break down why how you show up is tied to discipline, respect, and opportunity. From missed impressions to unspoken judgments, this conversation forces a hard truth: you’re being evaluated before you ever speak. Standards aren’t inherited or bought—they’re set. The question is…what standard are you choosing?

  • 12 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

4.7
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

The Gentlemen’s Standard is a podcast for men committed to elevating how they show up—in life, work, and every room they enter. Hosted by Cecil B. Burrowes and Yor-El Francis, it delivers practical insight on discipline, grooming, presence, and personal brand. No hype—just standards built through consistency and intention. In a world that judges fast, how you show up matters. Set the standard.

Information

  • Creator
    Cecil Burrowes & Yor-El Francis
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    12
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Cecil Burrowes & Yor-El Francis
  • Show Website
    The Gentleman’s Standard