E13. The Conqueror Narrative - with Chris Ategeka, Entrepreneur, Engineer, and Founder of UCOT

Ever Forward Club’s Ashanti Branch is joined by Chris Ategeka, an entrepreneur, engineer, curator of TEDx Oakland, and the Founder/CEO of UCOT (Unintended Consequences of Technology).

(1:25) Ashanti’s Introduction.

(4:07) Chris introduces himself - an entrepreneur, engineer, father, and Ugandan. Chris and Ashanti share how they met and have gotten to know each other.

(6:00) Chris and Ashanti make their masks together, and share thoughts throughout the process.

(11:55) Chris shares the front of his mask - funny, resilient, and hard-working - before Ashanti shares the front of his mask - funny, serious, and hard working.

(15:00) Chris shares the back of his mask - failure, anxiety, and vulnerability. He reflects on how the function of vulnerability, to him, is tied to history, social class, and privilege - especially as someone who came from homelessness and poverty.

(17:42) Ashanti shares the back of his mask - fear (not enough), sadness, and childhood trauma. It prompts him to reflect on how comparing himself to others gives him the feelings of not being enough, and how being prideful and bragging about his accomplishments was conditioned out of him at a young age.

(20:30) The men continue to discuss how class and privilege play a huge role in someone’s comfort with vulnerability. They talk about the turning point, when embarrassment becomes a badge of honor, in our “culture of conquering.” They talk about how, as public speakers, the audience’s class and comfort dictate what they share while on the stage.

(30:00) Ashanti shares how he was battling Covid-19 when he was a guest on Chris’s podcast. It leads to a discussion on why, even with those we are close to, we still hold back our vulnerability.

(36:45) Chris breaks down how everything in life comes down to safety and security. Ashanti relates this back to his work and his own childhood - how he, and now the young men he works with, sought safety and security, feared judgment and consequences, and did not yet know how to communicate the discomfort behind this search.

(44:00) Chris shares his thoughts on how to encourage more people to make a mask and be vulnerable. He also gives a brief history of a similar platform to the Million Mask Movement, called PostSecret.

(47:45) Chris shares his final thoughts for young listeners, and then the men wrap up.

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Connect with Chris Ategeka:

Instagram: instagram.com/chrisategeka

Twitter: twitter.com/chrisategeka

Website and podcast: www.christopherategeka.com

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Create your own mask anonymously at www.100kmasks.com

If you are interested in being on the Face to Face podcast, email us at everforwardclub@gmail.com

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Connect with Ashanti Branch:

Instagram:    instagram.com/branchspeaks

Facebook:  facebook.com/BranchSpeaks

Twitter: twitter.com/BranchSpeaks

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ashantibranch

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Send in a voice message:

https://anchor.fm/branch-speaks/message

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