Episode #146: Surviving A Fatal Car Accident, Life On A Feeding Tube & Choosing Your Own Name, With Ethan Poetic, Author + Public Speaker + Mentor

INTRODUCTION:

Ethan A. Poetics is the author of The Inspirational Story of Ethan A. Poetic: Chronicles of Adversities, Education, Sports, Relationships & Resiliency.

Ethan was raised in a single parent household with 4 siblings. Drawn from his personal experiences including an estranged relationship with his biological father, poverty, learning support classes, and Government Assistant Programs, Ethan now works to help others. 

Through being around his coaches, neighbors & significant people, Ethan found inspiration around him. Ethan was a former 3 Sport Student Athlete his freshman year until life took a different course.

After graduation from J.P. McCaskey High School, Ethan worked odd jobs, and met Jordan S. Steffy, CEO & Founder of Attollo. Under Jordan’s advice & guidance, Ethan was convinced to pursue higher education.

Ethan graduated from Harrisburg Area Community College with an Associates Degree and from Millersville University with a Bachelor’s degree.

He received two Pennsylvania Common Wealth Citations from Senator Scott Martin & House of Representative Mike Sturla. Lancaster City Council & Mayor, Danene Sorace, also adopted a Proclamation Declaration resolution for recognizing Ethan’s miraculous recovery as a walking, living miracle.

INCLUDED IN THIS EPISODE (But not limited to):

·      Surviving A Fatal Car Accident

·      Life On A Feeding Tube

·      Choosing Your Own Name

·      Choosing Not To Play The Victim

·      Check Your Perspective 

·      Can You Be Happy Without Your Options?

·      Healing Parental Wounds

·      Breaking The Cycle

CONNECT WITH ETHAN POETIC:

 Website: https://ethanspeaks.com

Books On Amazon: https://shorturl.at/qzCV5

IG: https://www.instagram.com/ethanpoetic23/

YouTube: https://shorturl.at/jnpyD

SnapChat: https://www.snapchat.com/add/ethanpoetic23

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EthanPoetic23

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethanvaughn1/

TikTok: https://shorturl.at/CRU17

X: https://twitter.com/ethanv23

CONNECT WITH DE’VANNON SERÁPHINO:

Website: https://www.SexDrugsAndJesus.com

Website: https://www.DownUnderApparel.com   

TikTok: https://shorturl.at/nqyJ4

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3daTqCM

Facebook: https://shorturl.at/gqrAV

Instagram: https://shorturl.at/gwAP1

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devannon

Transcript

Episode #146: Surviving A Fatal Car Accident, Life On A Feeding Tube & Choosing Your Own Name, With Ethan Poetic, Author + Public Speaker + Mentor

Ethan A. Poetic

 [00:00:00]

De'Vannon Seráphino: there is a fascinating book called The Inspirational Story of Ethan A. Poetic, Chronicles of Adversities, Education, Sports, Relationships, and Resiliency. I had the honor of sitting down with Ethan to hear his story of learning to live again after a fatal car accident and the power that comes along with changing our name.

De'Vannon Seráphino: This is some of what he had to say. 

Ethan A. Poetic: And here I am on a feeding tube, skinny down to the bone.

Ethan A. Poetic: I can't eat or drink or the consequences is pneumonia. You want to get better or get worse? And then I'm looking around like I'm missing out on life. Birthday parties, traveling, I'm just sitting in my living room, sitting in the room and life is passing by while I recover. My original last name used to be Vaughn, but I changed it because Vaughn belongs to the German slave [00:01:00]masters, who while my ancestors in Cambridge, Maryland on my mom's side of the family.

Ethan A. Poetic: And I realized since my legacy was becoming great, it was just best to change my last name and have something I can own outright. That when I do get recognized, I could say this is my last name. I could say this belongs to me, belongs to my purpose, my kids, my talents. And it got legally approved by the county courthouse summer of 2021.

De'Vannon Seráphino: Let's talk about overcoming some of life's greatest adversities. 

De'Vannon Seráphino: Hello, all of my beautiful, beautiful people out there, and welcome back to yet another installment of the Sex, Drugs, and Jesus podcast. My name is Davanon Terafino. I am your host. I have with me the talented, the strong willed, the resilient, Ethan Poetic. How are you doing 

Ethan A. Poetic: today? I'm doing pretty good. What an honor to be on your show.

De'Vannon Seráphino: Yeah, thank you so much, y'all. Ethan has been so awesome. Damn patient with me over the last year. We've been trying to set this up, but y'all who've been [00:02:00] following me now, I've been going through some changes, y'all. And he, and Ethan has been patient. I kept having to reschedule and everything. He wasn't tripping, just going with the flow and everything like that.

De'Vannon Seráphino: And so I, so I commend you for your patience and being flexible. And I really, really appreciate that. And are, are your pronouns, he, him, or is there something else that I just assumed that I shouldn't have? Okay, wonderful. So I'm gonna read a little bit of your, background and then let you kind of like say what you want to say about, you know, what motivates you, y'all.

De'Vannon Seráphino: Ethan is, he's an author, he's a speaker, mental health advocate, mentor, a life coach, survived a very, very tragic accident at least 12 years ago. And he's going to talk about how he alchemized and converted it. Thank you. The, the things that he's been through, the accident, his upbringing, into helping others.

De'Vannon Seráphino: So, Ethan was raised in a single [00:03:00] parent household with four siblings. Drawn from his personal experiences, including in a strange relationship with his biological father, poverty, learning support classes, and government assistance programs, Ethan now works to help others. Ethan graduated from Harrisburg area.

De'Vannon Seráphino: Community College with an associate's associate's degree from Millersville University with a bachelor's degree. He received the two Pennsylvania Commonwealth citations from Senator Scott Martin and House of Representative Mike Sterla, Lancaster City Council, and Mayor Daneen Soros also adopted a proclamation declaration resolution for recognizing Ethan's miraculous recovery as a walking, living miracle.

De'Vannon Seráphino: What was that recovery from? Well, it's, it's like a rude awakening. 

Ethan A. Poetic: Basically, it's just, it's like a 99 percent chance of death versus 1 percent chance of life from a near fatal [00:04:00] car accident where the guy who was driving the car ran into an 18 wheeler. Can you imagine the police getting phone calls, using tape, directing traffic three miles backed up each way?

Ethan A. Poetic: Can you imagine the ambulance coming in the scene? With the stretcher, then there's also the neck brace, checking people's pulses, then the fire department gotta cut the car in half, not half a sandwich, cut a car in half, with the jaws of life. Can you imagine just me being helpless by people I don't even know that are helping me because they took an oath, whether it be medical, fire, police.

Ethan A. Poetic: Can you imagine all the people that surround the area just watching everything take place? Well, their life is put on hold because of a near fatal car accident, and the [00:05:00] recovery was a long journey of emergency surgery, rehab, and being on a feeding tube for several months.

Ethan A. Poetic: How did this 

De'Vannon Seráphino: accident happen? Was somebody asleep at the wheel? Was the 18 wheeler driver drunk? Did your car go underneath it? Like what, what went wrong? 

Ethan A. Poetic: Based on what I researched, based on the television interview that I saw, based on the television, like, footage, and also the interview footage, it's just, the guy ran into an 18 wheeler, head on, just, pow.

Ethan A. Poetic: And it was just something I didn't see coming, because before that accident happened, I remember passing a Hess gas station, the Rockville outlets. And next thing you know, I wake up in the ICU and I got two, I got, I got IVs in my, both my [00:06:00] veins and my arms. I lost all this weight. Nobody's telling me what happened.

Ethan A. Poetic: And at first I thought I was the only person involved. Turns out other people got hurt along the way. Fortunately I lost a cousin who was a toddler. Then the guy who drove the car, he died on impact. And a couple of other family members had some injuries. And they didn't have, they didn't face that mathematical equation like me.

De'Vannon Seráphino: Wait, so, so you're saying that somebody was driving, were you driving or were y'all in the car with someone else? Or was this somebody completely unrelated that caused the whole chain reaction? He 

Ethan A. Poetic: was the guy driving the car. Who is he? And that was my aunt's fiancee at this time. Okay, so is he? Yeah, they were supposed to get married later that year.

Ethan A. Poetic: And when he hit that 18, well it just, life changed for a lot of [00:07:00] people.

De'Vannon Seráphino: Well, I'm sorry that you went through that and that it happened, you know, in the way that it did.

De'Vannon Seráphino: How can I say this? I haven't been through enough,

De'Vannon Seráphino: I guess we could say cataclysmic changes in my life. Like, it used to, like, shock me, but then it got to a point. Where I understand how quickly things can change and how ephemeral, you know, how temporary, whatever reality, physical reality is, as I understand it is, is it can change in a moment.

De'Vannon Seráphino: Everything is subject to change. So do you feel like that, due to this experience and other experiences, you have like, now, now if something happens and it shifts everything, do you adjust quicker? Does it, has it given you more like resilience in that way? Or do you still [00:08:00]struggle with sudden changes when they happen?

Ethan A. Poetic: It depends on what's going on. Like, for example, if there's like a conflict going on, like, for example, when I used to work inside the schools, certain kids, I already know what to say, I already know what to do, certain protocols to do. Okay. And work with the other adults who resolve it. Now, it comes to argument, you know, some people just, you know, want to be right about something or further listen to a point which they experience a breakthrough.

Ethan A. Poetic: There's certain situations where I did become a resilient because, you know, what don't kill you make you stronger. You can look at the 50 cent also known as Curtis Jackson situation where he had several bullets inside of him and he didn't die. His struggle was long until recovery. He became a multi millionaire.

Ethan A. Poetic: You can look at the Homeless [00:09:00] to Harvard story where this person was homeless, but she was still smart enough to get accepted into Harvard, which is one of the top Ivy League schools in America. Which has a low acceptance rates. Then you can also look at the story of Michael or the homeless. No, no not that one.

Ethan A. Poetic: It's called the blind side where he grew up in poverty most of his life until this family took him in, helped him get into this private school and showed him a new way of life. And eventually he went to Ole Miss, graduated from college, got drafted by the Baltimore Ravens. And he also became a multimillionaire.

Ethan A. Poetic: You know, you know part of the reason I mentioned the street because some of those things can relate to me in a way of They had their experiences of going through this stuff going through the the fire going through This trembling time period but I realized when you outlast it [00:10:00] you overcome it And you know, not everyone's willing to overcome it.

Ethan A. Poetic: Some people want to be a victim for attention Some people want to start a pity party. Some people turn to drugs and alcoholism when the truth is is not for us to carry It's meant for us to unpack and un release.

Ethan A. Poetic: Okay. 

De'Vannon Seráphino: So then let me follow you with that. You're, you're, you're correct. Some people do fall into like playing the victim and everything like that, which provides like a false sense of security and it's all rooted in fear and it's not healing and never goes anywhere. What was your road to recovery besides the physical therapy imagining that you would have had like on a, on a mentally speaking and emotionally speaking, how did you, how Avoid becoming a victim.

De'Vannon Seráphino: Was it therapy? Was it, alternative medicines? Or like, how, how did you do that? 

Ethan A. Poetic: Combination [00:11:00] of being on over 20 prayer lists. Before, before I even woke up, people coming in to visit me in the hospital, rehab, my home. I didn't go to therapy until later on in life. And then there's also just not giving up to that.

Ethan A. Poetic: I I'm, I'm experiencing something that I never experienced. I experienced poverty. I experienced abandonment, but this is a whole nother level of experience. We got to go through it to get through it. And sometimes it's as cool. I remember it gets worse before it gets better. And here I am on a feeding tube, skinny down to the bone.

Ethan A. Poetic: I can't eat or drink or the consequences is pneumonia. You want to get better or get worse? And then I'm looking around like I'm missing out on life. Birthday [00:12:00] parties, traveling, I'm just sitting in my living room, sitting in the room and life is passing by while I recover. And, you know, it, it, it helped to have some support from people, but eventually, you know, I did become able to eat it again.

Ethan A. Poetic: I did get the feeding to remove for me. But again, Things got worse before it got better. And I talk about that in my autobiography. 

De'Vannon Seráphino: The name of his book I sent you is The Inspirational Story of Ethan A. Poetic, Chronicles of Adversities, Education, Sports, Relationships, and Family. Resiliency. That is the name of his book.

De'Vannon Seráphino: It's on Amazon. That link will go in the show notes. I wanted to ask you your last name, poetic. Is that like your original last name? Did you change your last name to that? Talk to me about 

Ethan A. Poetic: that. My original last name used to [00:13:00] be Vaughn, but I changed it because Vaughn belongs to the German slave masters, who while my ancestors in Cambridge, Maryland on my mom's side of the family.

Ethan A. Poetic: And I realized since my legacy was becoming great, it was just best to change my last name and have something I can own outright. That when I do get recognized, I could say this is my last name. I could say this belongs to me, belongs to my purpose, my kids, my talents. And it got legally approved by the county courthouse summer of 2021.

De'Vannon Seráphino: How old were you when this accident happened? Early twenties. And you know, he's, I think he told me you were 35 or 36 before we came on 36 now, 36. So so let me echo a couple of things here. I'm loving what you're what you're giving us right now. So, I also legally changed my last name last year to Serafino because of all the catastrophic things that I went through, and I realized [00:14:00] that I was in this like, cycle, this, like, this narcissistic cycle and everything, which started with my biological dad, and then a whole lot of other changes that I had to make, and that whole other person that I used to be was over.

De'Vannon Seráphino: Names carry power. I don't blame you for changing your name. You know, I didn't want to be affiliated with the energy that, that my previous last name held, I wanted a whole new path. And and so then I took on the name, Sarah Fiona, and there's like a whole story to that. So it's me and my two cats that have that last name.

De'Vannon Seráphino: I'm the first of my kind and I did, I fouled it in court and everything like that. And so I'm with you on that period, you know, period, you don't like it, change it. And so, and there's so much power and not feeling like. trapped in a name you were born in or a legacy that that's trying to be assigned to you or You know, or any kind of like form of oppression.

De'Vannon Seráphino: So when people get married and things like that, y'all consider if you really want to [00:15:00] take on the last name of that person's research, that family line, see what's going on, you know, cause you don't necessarily have to do it. But if you accept that last name, you are accepting the energy. That comes along with it, so be careful.

De'Vannon Seráphino: I think it's beautiful if two people say get married, or three people, however many they want it to be, and just come up with their own whole other name, you know, and just divide, decide on their, a whole new path for themselves. They don't have to take on either name, just do your own thing and be free and be done with it.

De'Vannon Seráphino: And so, well, but what's your opinion on, on, I mean, on that, which I just said, like, like in terms of the power of last names? A 

Ethan A. Poetic: last name is a legacy, whether for the greater good or for the worse. And, you know, sometimes we come around saying this is our last name, when sometimes we don't understand these Americanized last [00:16:00] names.

Ethan A. Poetic: Are you, most of them are European based. Now, when it comes to the Native American Indians, they have their original last names. Does their last names means a certain thing that goes in the family Prior to the oppression they went through You can also look at those who have spanish last names italian last names It goes back to something some of it goes back to slavery.

Ethan A. Poetic: Some of it goes back to adoption some of it goes back to just Being born with it. It's more than just a name. It's just what is it that you want to be remembered by whether it's an obituary Or your headstone.

Ethan A. Poetic: Mm hmm, mm 

De'Vannon Seráphino: hmm, mm hmm. All right, amen to that, brother. I wanted to touch on the pneumonia that you mentioned, and then I want to ask you about the experience of being on feeding tubes. I just wanted to, [00:17:00] to talk about that. When I was here, were you at risk of getting pneumonia, or did you get 

Ethan A. Poetic: pneumonia? I was at risk of getting pneumonia, but I decided to eat or drink anything.

Ethan A. Poetic: Okay. 

De'Vannon Seráphino: So what I, what is this? Today is Monday, February the 12th in the year 2024. I moved up here to New York back in October. I say moved, it was like a rushed thing kind of done. And I was, it was my, my New York initiation has been like quite intense. I got pneumonia in October and I had to be hospitalized for it.

De'Vannon Seráphino: I don't know my immune system like on the on paper was fine. I have a history of HIV and hepatitis B, but all my viral loads were non detectable and low and everything in my body. I think God wanted to slow me down because I was moving very, very fast making all these changes. And then I think my body just.

De'Vannon Seráphino: [00:18:00] Just couldn't just, it just needed to like just stop for a moment, but it was, it like freaked me out that my body could not heal like that. You know, I was not in the hospital, but for like three days, but still I had to be connected to IVs to help my body to fight the infection because it couldn't do it on its own.

De'Vannon Seráphino: And so, and so it like, like, like, like my friends up here is like, okay, like I'm the new. New guy in town, you know, the queer kid with HIV and now I'm in the hospital with pneumonia, you know, they're like, what the fuck is going on, you know, and so, when you were in there on the feeding tubes, can you speak to that from like, a mental and emotional aspect because you were in the car, able to feed yourself, you know, and now you're in a hospital bed, you cannot get up to move about as you wish and please.

De'Vannon Seráphino: Did it feel, did it make you feel [00:19:00] helpless? Did it, did it, or did you find it easy to depend on other people? Like, where were you at? I'm like on an emotional spectrum. If 

Ethan A. Poetic: I I'm looking around, like I always ability to just get up and go now is just more than a time period of, I need help just to get up out of the bed.

Ethan A. Poetic: And then there's also, you know, being on that feeding tube, it was just keeping me alive where I had this two sits. Connected to my stomach and the machine goes zoom, zoom, zoom, zoom stops every 30 seconds to a minute. Zoom, zoom, zoom, zoom. That's, and then, you know, some people didn't realize I was on a feeding tube until I started talking about it publicly.

Ethan A. Poetic: You know, on some of these podcasts mentioned in my book, some people just thought I was in a car accident [00:20:00] and it got longer with recovery. You know, It got to the point where my mouth was so watery. I had to have a pill, I had to have a towel underneath my mouth. That's how, that's how, that's how it was.

Ethan A. Poetic: My mouth was just so watery because I was so used to consuming foods and beverages. I couldn't even do that for several months. I couldn't even go to the grocery stores. It's just, I see all that food and I'm like, is someone teasing me here or what? And I'm looking around like I don't need to be in here.

Ethan A. Poetic: I need to go back in that car. It's just too much for me And then there's also the situation which is it's a humbling experience, but it's more humbling than Someone being in a prison in a hole for several months when you're in a hole you can still move around Someone's gonna give you some food might not be good quality unless you got money for commissary [00:21:00] in my situation Don't even put money on my commissary.

Ethan A. Poetic: I can't, I can't even consume it if I wanted to, or else there's consequences. And that takes mental fortitude and understanding that, you know, every day I get to decide one day at a time, one hour at a time, do I want to grab that apple or banana, or do I want to look away and put that food away or to put my mind on something else?

Ethan A. Poetic: What consequences? Like the, if I were to take that bite and try to swallow it, It's gonna be the start of pneumonia, and then it's time for me to call the, call the ambulance. And, you know, it just, it just wasn't worth, you know, putting other people more worried about me what they are than they are. And, you know, when I finally got that feeding tube, you know, it started with soft foods, medium soft, and hard foods, and then people started taking me out to eat.

Ethan A. Poetic: [00:22:00] I saw beautiful waitresses, but I never saw the bill. 

De'Vannon Seráphino: Oh, naturally. Naturally. Naturally. Naturally. Can you explain to me, though, how If you would have eaten something, it would have given you pneumonia. I thought it was that if you didn't eat at first, you would have gotten pneumonia. So how, which, how does that go?

De'Vannon Seráphino: Well, it's just 

Ethan A. Poetic: my larynx was paralyzed right here because they put that tube, the breathing tube down my throat. It was down there for so long. Mind you, they were trying to save my life. And I remember like it was yesterday, I get sent to this room and then I notice I'm in the surgery room. It's cold.

Ethan A. Poetic: It said count backwards from 99 to 100 and boom, I'm asleep. I wake up. I'm in the room. I mean, I look around and I ask, can I get water? So the woman takes this popsicle stick that [00:23:00] has a sponge on it, swirls it in the water cup and tell me to open my mouth. One drop. That's it. Where's the rest of it? No more.

Ethan A. Poetic: I felt like I was being teased. And it was just, I couldn't believe it.

De'Vannon Seráphino: You talk about perspective as they say in as they say in John Wick, one of my favorite movie series of all time perspective is everything, you know and I've been locked up, you know, I've been in jail. So I understand what it's like to suddenly, and I've been homeless. You know, before, so I understand what it's like to suddenly not have the options that you used to have before, when you're around people, if you're ever out about in public, and perhaps you hear [00:24:00] somebody complaining or being ungrateful, because they clearly have a lack of perspective, because really, we have nothing to complain about.

De'Vannon Seráphino: It's all about perspective. Does it? Rub you the wrong way, or do you have some sort of like internal reaction? I know we don't compare ourselves to other people, but we've been through what we've been through. And so we understand that we have a lot to be thankful for, and we know how bad things can get.

De'Vannon Seráphino: So whenever you hear somebody complaining and just like, what goes through your head, I wonder? 

Ethan A. Poetic: I mean, everyone has a opportunity to vent how they feel, but it's usually something much bigger going on to me on the surface. It's kind of what's going on inside internally. You know, I don't get into people's business all like that.

Ethan A. Poetic: It's just, I don't want too many people in my business that I got things going on. So I like to, you know, keep a boundary or certain things. I just know, you know, when it [00:25:00] comes to health, health is wealth. And, you know, everyone's going through something, but I realize the things that we go through in life in general have already been overcame before because earth is at least 2000 years old and we go inside the library.

Ethan A. Poetic: We'll see some of the things that we experienced and now someone already experienced a breakthrough or someone did not experience a breakthrough. So that's a difference between mental wellness versus mental health. Illness and what we reveal is what we heal and what we hold on to sometimes for too long starts to cripple us And i'm not trying to be god the judge in the jury.

Ethan A. Poetic: That's just not my place when I was working with the kids, you know certain kids complain about certain things I listen to what they say [00:26:00] And I might say a few words and then they get it For example, somebody might be struggling to read a book and then there was a time where a teacher You So Ethan wrote a book, the kid asked how many, he said over 200, the kid was like 200 and the teacher showed him the book, that was a different perspective and inspiration.

Ethan A. Poetic: And then there's times where a girl might be crying about missing her parents and give that person reassurance that their parents are going to come pick them up right after school or from the after school program. Or it could be a coworker who might be, you know, pregnant and going through the mood swings.

Ethan A. Poetic: You know, everything, every perspective [00:27:00] is different. There's some things I can relate to, and there's some things I cannot relate to. The only thing I can do is listen.

De'Vannon Seráphino: Sometimes that's all people seem to need. So I just want to be clear before we switch gears into like your poetry workshops and speaking more specifically about the services that you offer and talk about your fabulous website. You were in the hospital for seven 

Ethan A. Poetic: months. I was in the hospital for at least a month.

Ethan A. Poetic: Okay. 

De'Vannon Seráphino: Okay. That's what I wanted to get clear on. So hospital rehab, one to two months in feeding tubes for seven to eight months, and then you begin to gradually work your way back into like a regular meals. This story reminds me about something that's super close to me and I hope and pray to Jesus that one day I have an opportunity to help [00:28:00] teenagers Transcribed In particular, like in young adults who are hospital ridden, I volunteered temporarily with with this teenager when I was in, when I was in the Air Force in Redlands, California at the Loma Linda Hospital.

De'Vannon Seráphino: And he was this teenage kid who who had a cancer. That had compromised his immune system to the point that he had to stay in his room, you know, in the hospital. He was not on a feeding tube or anything like that, but he could not go any further than that door. Or he would just, I guess, crumble to pieces or whatever the case may be.

De'Vannon Seráphino: And so I went in and like played video games and stuff with him. Like you were saying earlier, you know, you look at a kid like that, this young, healthy Latino male, you know, could be at prom, could be out dating, could be playing soccer, football, basketball, golf, rugby, lacrosse, whatever, but instead his house is this hospital room.

De'Vannon Seráphino: And so my heart really goes out [00:29:00] to people who, unlike say, like me, when I went to jail for doing shit, you know, that I had no business doing, you know, you're in an accident, that's no fault of your own. This kid has cancer, that's no fault of his own. And yet there are such severe restrictions. So I'm hearing you when you say that it reminded me of my experience with that kid.

De'Vannon Seráphino: And I hope one day that I'm able to do something, you know, for people who are in hospitals like you were, that just. You know, that have those restrictions on them. So, so I gave an overview of the things that you do like being an author and a speaker to mental health advocate. What would you like to say, you know, yourself about, you know, the services you provide before I start to pick at it?

Ethan A. Poetic: I'm a keynote speaker. I speak at colleges, public schools, private schools, charters, academies, and it's also corporate world [00:30:00] conferences, panel discussions, mentoring. Oh, it's your workshops. And of course I sell my book hard, soft ebook book, and it's also in a new release audio version and everything's available on all major platforms.

Ethan A. Poetic: Just with the date for the audio book for certain platforms is still on pre sale order. You know, it's, it's spoken by me. I gave it my all. I own everything outright. I have the copyright letters. I like to thank all the people behind the scenes. And the best is yet to come. 

De'Vannon Seráphino: I know that's right. I, it is such a strong feeling of accomplishment, man.

De'Vannon Seráphino: When you write that first book, I did my own audio book too. It's like, you feel like Superman or some, some damn superhero standing on top of a building in New York [00:31:00]City or something like that, just overlooking the whole world. That's how I felt, you know, to, to, to get that done. And so, You do like poetry Workshops.

De'Vannon Seráphino: I, I've talked to like a lot of different like coaches and people who do speaking and things like that. Your variety is intriguing to me. Cause you're doing classrooms, college campuses different conferences, even chambers of commerce. 

Ethan A. Poetic: That's, it's. Well, I haven't got into the chamber of commerce yet.

Ethan A. Poetic: I know, I know the CEOs in the area where I live at, like between central Pennsylvania and down in South. Eastern Pennsylvania and also Philadelphia. I know the CEOs and those who are involved. I haven't become a member. I just know a lot of members that are in the Chamber of Commerce. I know plenty of people have been recognized by them.

Ethan A. Poetic: And you know, it's, it's great to, you know, shaking [00:32:00] hands with people that are involved with that. 

De'Vannon Seráphino: Can you tell me, give me, give me an example of like a client that you work with or somebody you mentored like their before and after? 

Ethan A. Poetic: I usually get contacted through my website and they'll send me an email and they'll get like a, a brief summary of what they're looking for.

Ethan A. Poetic: And I just look over everything to see if it's aligned and set up a 15 minute consultation to my calendar and just listen. And then eventually, you know, set up a timeline on how long do you want to do this for? Can you afford this? And do you have cash at Belmont, PayPal, Zelle, or AblePay as a security deposit reserve for that time period?

Ethan A. Poetic: Cause, cause when it comes to that, like, which is [00:33:00] more like sports coaching, I can give you the information. I can give you the blueprint, but you have to do the work. And that's the, that's the game changer right there is that we all got work to do. Even I got still got more work to do. Like for example, when I was in college, my work that I had to work on was, getting better at math.

Ethan A. Poetic: And I, and I got help from the tutors, the private tutor and the college professor. And I just made sure it's, you know, going both ways, not just about, you know, one sided, then when it comes to a client, they might want to know how can, how did you over, they want to know from my experience, how, how did I overcome having a strange relationship with my father?

Ethan A. Poetic: And I told him it's a journey, you know, some of us got a hole in our heart. Like, why is this person not here? Why this person didn't celebrate my [00:34:00] birthday. When I got older and start having conversations with people, they start giving me pieces to the puzzle and things start making sense. I start reading books.

Ethan A. Poetic: I started hearing words of affirmation, and I realized in order for certain parents to have a good relationship with their children, it's best that both parents are willing to go parent together, whether they're living together, cohabitating together, or living, you know, living in different households. In my situation, it's a matter of just understanding the honest truth, or the uncomfortable truth.

Ethan A. Poetic: What I experienced is the same thing my dad experienced with his own dad. So that's the cycle. Eventually, when it, you know, when all that stuff's in my lap, I get to decide, with the help of other people growing up, whether I want to repeat this cycle or break [00:35:00] this cycle. And that does include, you know, boundaries.

Ethan A. Poetic: Like, for example, I spoke to him maybe last year for the first time in several years. We were at this courthouse, This judge had an interest in buying my book. I was getting ready to write a judge the note. If I would have left sooner, like by two or three minutes, we would have missed each other. But I saw him, he saw me.

Ethan A. Poetic: We had a conversation and he did not like how things were talked about him in my book. Well, it's the honest truth because when you don't make the right decisions in life or clean up your past, things come back to haunt you and it becomes a nightmare. And even in your nightmare, you can still overcome things.

Ethan A. Poetic: It's not like it's Freddy Krueger. Versus somebody else, Freddy. It's just more being humble to say, [00:36:00] you know, I I'm speaking from somebody else's perspective. They don't have that conversation with their own biological dad, where they said, Hey, I'm sorry for what I did. I like to make amends, but this is the people that are going to hold me accountable moving forward.

Ethan A. Poetic: Because some people think, and I'm just saying this from other people's perspective sorry, can take away abandonment. That doesn't work like that. It takes work. conversations, phone calls. You can look at Ray Lewis's situation. His dad wasn't there for him, but eventually had a talk and they eventually experienced a breakthrough in their relationship to where they're like friends.

Ethan A. Poetic: And I say all that as just an example of some of the tools and resources I can tell my clients on how to overcome these daddy issues, mother issues, because these issues has a opposition to them. It's [00:37:00] kind of like happiness, Versus depression. They both work together as balance. You're not too high.

Ethan A. Poetic: You're not too low. You're in between, but eventually we have to decide what do we want to do with our mental health? What

De'Vannon Seráphino: we're going to do is shield it and protect it from anything and anyone that might threaten it. I'm very, very proud of you for standing up. For yourself like that, and yet for being flexible enough to give your dad that space to act right. If he wanted to. I hear you. When you said , you said what? You said, you know, in your, in your book, and it was what It was , because it's the truth.

De'Vannon Seráphino: I spilled some teeth, you know, you know, on my own dad, you know, in my book as well. Oh well. You know, you know, if he didn't want it written, he shouldn't have been slinging his dick all over town and cheating and everything like that. And, you know, being abusive and things like that. [00:38:00] I'm going to give him one more chance and this year, at some point in a couple of months, to hopefully to have a conversation my own dad and own up to the things he did.

De'Vannon Seráphino: The last time I tried to mention he was still very narcissistic and defensive. We're going to go one more, one more again, just one more. And if he don't act right, then I'm taking back my house keys and I'm going to be banished from my from my life and from my property because he's my dad. I'm going to give him one more chance.

De'Vannon Seráphino: All the other narcissists got immediately cut off and ex, you know, and then exorcised out of my life. So, so good on you for, you know, for trying. We can, but try, but we can't make people tell the truth or own up to their own stuff, but we can try though. So, so, so your clients are coming to you asking for help with the same sort of issues that you went through.

De'Vannon Seráphino: That's what you're guiding and coaching people through the sports, yeah, but then personally in their interpersonal relationships, like what are some of the problems people reach out to you for?[00:39:00]

Ethan A. Poetic: It varies. I'll just, I just, I don't want to go too deep. I just want to say things are just different. Every, every client has something different they want to speak on. But I'll just move forward when it comes to the sports. Hey, I can relate to the kids because I'm a former student athlete with football, basketball, track and field, and wrestling.

Ethan A. Poetic: Things have evolved to where my relationships have evolved with my coaches that train me and coach me. And we're filling in the voids for me during certain time periods when I could have been doing something else. And they use my story. and inspiration and everything I achieved more as a blueprint to tell the student athletes like, hey, this is the type of relationship I want with you in the future because bigger than the Xs and Os, scoring a thousand points, scoring a thousand yards, or holding up some trophy or medal, let's become the best versions of ourselves by becoming a productive member of society.

De'Vannon Seráphino: Right. Absolutely. Amen. And concur. [00:40:00] So last thing, can you talk to me about those, your poetry workshops? Are those online? Do you do those in person? How often do they happen? 

Ethan A. Poetic: I haven't done it while I do that in person. Like for example, I did one when I first did one was at Lakeshore country day. My friend was in middle school at the time.

Ethan A. Poetic: The teacher wanted to bring in a poetry and spoken word artists. I passed the interview and when it was time for me to speak, I was fully engaged with the students and allowing them to speak their own truth. You know, they came from wealth because even those who got money. Face problems like piggy small said, the more money you get, the more problems you get, but it also means the more solutions you need to get.

Ethan A. Poetic: And you know, people, the difference is some people can pay their bills on time. Some people struggle to pay their bills. As far as the portrait works up again, it's more about bringing up the creative side with people, allowing them to have a [00:41:00] voice, speak their own narratives. That way they can take full control because everyone speaks different, their communication, whether this be in Braille, sign language, by doing, by listening, or by speaking, it's just a matter of just adapting to a person, to how they are.

Ethan A. Poetic: You can look at a barber's school or bar academy. Those instructors had to accommodate to those people who speak like that in general,

Ethan A. Poetic: because it can't be it because it can't be a one size for all. You got to be willing to adapt. 

De'Vannon Seráphino: Yep, adapt, be flexible, learn how to code switch, and yet maintain your authenticity at the same time. Okay, very, very good. That just about wraps us up. Ethan, I appreciate your transparency today. I'm gonna go ahead and let you say, just whatever last word of inspiration you would like to.

De'Vannon Seráphino: I'm gonna ask you our dad jokes and then I'll, we'll close [00:42:00] out with that. So anything you'd like to say? 

Ethan A. Poetic: Don't invest more than you can afford to lose. What is in your relationships? A job that you're unhappy with,

Ethan A. Poetic: but moving forward, you know, just, I don't post on social media for the clouds to likes. I only did it because, or continue to do is just inspire people. It's just, it's just a situation where life had his way of pushing me outside of my comfort because I wanted to go off in the sunset. Here I am at this job.

Ethan A. Poetic: I can work. I got this bus pass. I'm back. I'm on my, you know, was in college, but you know, when people start bringing up the car accident, like for example, I would go to work after school, after the college, you know, class was over. And as parents or guardians or those who play, you know, different roles in children's life, they want to research who's working with [00:43:00] their child, whether it's in the classroom, sports, anything.

Ethan A. Poetic: And what would happen sometimes they'll pull out their stuff and like, this is you from the car accident. I said, yes. And they were like, wow, you're here working. I didn't understand at the time they felt inspired. What they didn't know about me at the time was I felt vulnerable. Just don't bring it up.

Ethan A. Poetic: And eventually my boss told me I'm an inspiration. I got to learn to deal with it. And that's part of the reason why, you know, I help out certain people with inspiring. That's the basis of my business of allowing people to turn adversities into their advantage, because you can look at Anybody's life in general, you get to see the fruits of their labor.

Ethan A. Poetic: But moving forward I'm a keynote speaker. I'm available to speak at your [00:44:00]venues as long as you fill out the intake form. And the key thing I want to emphasize is that I value my services and my products. I put my own resources into this. I put my all into this. I'm a reputable brand in business. And I'll continue to go into my third year and it's a business legally.

Ethan A. Poetic: But moving forward, as well, like, you know, that when you have me speak at your engagement, that, that arena or venue is going to come out better than how they came in when I speak, I'm not going to guarantee you. I'm going to show you. And you know, once you fill out the intake form for your event, I look over everything, I just want to let you know ahead of time, I do require a security deposit just to reserve that day.

Ethan A. Poetic: And I do require a legally bonding contract cause it's business. And I just don't [00:45:00] want no one getting caught up in here saying, I'm moving forward my social media on LinkedIn, Facebook, and my YouTube channel is Ethan poetic. Then on Tik TOK, Snapchat. Instagram I am Ethan Poetic 23. Twitter I am Ethan V 23.

Ethan A. Poetic: Then my website to book me for your speaking engagements or buy the books for me directly. I'll send it to your mailing address of P. O. Box. You just gotta pin me electronically. My website is called ethanspeaks. com and best is yet to come. 

De'Vannon Seráphino: Yeah, his website, ethanspeaks. com, beautiful, got the kids in the kids classroom and everything.

De'Vannon Seráphino: I thought that was so like heartwarming. It's super colorful and fun at ethanspeaks. com. All of his contact information will go in the showy notes as it always does. So thank you for that outro and for that confidence y'all. And when Ethan speaks at your event, he's going to speak. [00:46:00] If you don't tell it.

De'Vannon Seráphino: Thank you very, very much for the, for that confidence. I really, really connected with that. I appreciate a confident man. So dad joke number one, how do, how do ghosts stay in shape? 

Ethan A. Poetic: How do ghosts stay in shape? I don't know, eat a marshmallow? 

De'Vannon Seráphino: I could see that for Casper. The, or that huge ghost from bus. Bus Ghostbuster.

De'Vannon Seráphino: No, they, they exercise. Oh, I didn't know . That's a play on the word exorcism. 

Ethan A. Poetic: I was gonna say maybe they learn from Casper the ghost . 

De'Vannon Seráphino: Right? That, that joke. Number two, what do rabbits need after getting caught in the rain?

De'Vannon Seráphino: I don't know. A hair dryer. HARE. 

Ethan A. Poetic: a hair dryer. I didn't see that coming. 

De'Vannon Seráphino: Yep, and then the [00:47:00] third one is, and the final one is what kind of shoes does a lazy person wear?

De'Vannon Seráphino: I don't know, Crocs? You know what? I'll give you that one because that's pretty, that's pretty much true. You know, the answer that I got here in today's Dad Jokes came from HenryandDavid. com, HenryandDavid. com. But they said loafers. But we'll, we'll go with crocs too because that, that, that's pretty much the same damn thing.

De'Vannon Seráphino: So yeah, you got one. And hallelujah, tabernacle, and praise. All right, Ethan. Thank you so much for coming on the Sex, Drugs, and Jesus podcast today. I look forward to editing and releasing this show. You have yourself a great evening. 

Ethan A. Poetic: You too, man. I look forward to being back on the show in the future. If you're interested in purchasing my book, you can send me an email or text.

Ethan A. Poetic: Other than that, man, I look forward to sharing this once everything gets edited. 

De'Vannon Seráphino: All right. Absolutely. Thank you [00:48:00] so much, Ethan.

De'Vannon Seráphino: Thank you all so much for joining us today and for taking some time to invest into yourself and into the lives of your loved ones, please visit us at sex drugs and jesus. com and check out our resource page, our spiritual service offerings, my blog, my books, and other writings that God has partnered with me to create.

De'Vannon Seráphino: Find us on any social media platform, stay strong, my people, and just remember that everything is going to be all right. [00:49:00]