Pressie Forever & 2,023 downloads!

The signs, the words, the messages, the synchronicities have been at an all‑time high. Today marks 8 years since my brother passed away, which still feels absolutely insane to say out loud. And on this exact day, I realized I’ve officially surpassed 2,000 downloads on the pod.

Two thousand downloads of This Is Where I Landed with Shayla.
I am SOOOOO PROUD OF MYSELF.

Eight years is a long time to miss someone. But today was a good day. From the moment I woke up, the energy felt different, lighter than it has in a long time, and for that, I’m thankful.

All the work I’ve put in, the hours of therapy, prayer, grieving, mourning, have slowly transformed into peace and healing. It took so much intentionality to get here. THIS IS WHERE I LANDED!! So many hard days. And everything shifted when my therapist told me, “Grief never becomes easier, it just gets less intense.”

Since then, I’ve been learning how to soften the intensity, and wow, I’m proud of myself for that.

To realize on this day that I had 2,023 downloads, the year my dad passed, felt like a sign from both of them. A little whisper from the other side saying, “We’re with you. We see you. Everything is going to be just fine. Don’t worry.”

“Fear not, for I am with you.” - God

This Is Where I Landed with Shayla
I’m in my bold, soft, God‑led becoming era — and I hope this episode reminded you that you’re allowed to take up space too. Step into your power, step into your softness, and choose the version of you that feels aligned, peaceful, and undeniable.

I want to hear from you, email me landedpod@gmail.com

Let’s connect on IG, TikTok and FB: @landedpod

Remember, you are that guy, you are that girl, you are whomever you choose to be. Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:08

Hello, hello. This is where I landed with Shayla, and I'm so happy to have you here. If this is your first time landing with me, well, hello, hi, welcome to the family. Welcome to, you know, the little club, the little community that we are building over here at the landed pod. I'm Shayla. Yes, it is me. Hi, welcome. I hope that you come back again. I hope that something lands with you here. Um, and yeah, if you are a return lander and have been rocking with your girl for a hot little minute, as always, hello babe. I have I have exciting news to share, and I am honestly a little bit shocked. Um, I've been looking and I've been tracking. You guys know I do enjoy the analytics, and on Saturday, uh we had 1902 downloads on the pod all time. Today I was on the phone and I decided to check. Um 2023. Downloads on the pod. We have surpassed 2000 downloads.

SPEAKER_00 1:29

I am overwhelmed. I am so overwhelmed with emotion. I cannot even lie to you.

SPEAKER_01 1:40

Um, today is March 26, 2026. Eight years ago today, my older brother, Pressy, uh, he passed away. And uh I was there with him on March 25th. Uh, I flew to Houston, Texas, which is where he was, um, and I did not see him until March 26th. I was there with my my dad, my cousin, my sister, a close friend of two close friends um of my brother and my uncle, and we were all there rooting, hoping, praying that he would be able to make it through. And unfortunately, um, he succumbed to his uh his injuries um and he passed away. And that was eight years ago, and um, if you are new here, my brother did tragically pass away. Uh tragically pass away. Um, unfortunately, his death was considered as a uh homicide and murder, um, which ultimately he passed away due to injuries from a gunshot wound to the head about a year and a half prior. That year and a half uh before he passed away showed me how much strength and courage and prayer and willpower someone can have to get them through the toughest time in their life, and watching my brother uh, you know, be diagnosed with epilepsy due to that and really struggle with uh life, you know. I think it's it was really interesting for me after he passed away and talking to people and also just sharing a lot of his journey with people that close people to him too that didn't realize or know how much that he was struggling. And uh, you know, my brother and I we became extremely close after um, you know, the gunshot wound and him recovering, and he relied on me in a lot of ways, and one of the most special ways that he relied on me and that showed me how much he loved me and cared for me and trusted me is um you know, due to the gunshot wound um and the epilepsy, he had he really struggled with his memory, and Press was always very sharp, super smart since a child. Um, he was gifted, truthfully, he was he was gifted, and uh he was struggling with his memory, and so when he had important things coming up, or if he had ideas for his brand or you know, music, he would call me. He would call me, and I had a book, a notebook that I would use specifically for him that I would write down, whatever it is that he was calling me about, or he would call me and I would go over it with him, right? Like what I had recently written down, and um he struggled with his balance. My brother was a BMX writer, um known for it all over Harlem. Um, you know, and he ended up creating his own brand and genre of music, BTM, bike trap music, and he also was the first, okay, the first BMX biker to have a shoe deal with Supra. And unfortunately, you know, that did not come to fruition until after he passed away. But I remember just how proud my family was of him because he did a lot of things that we didn't even know. We didn't even know about. And when we had met with his managers after his passing, and you know, they let us know what he was, you know, um in the in the midst of, right? Like literally working on these things. Um, you know, thank God for Justin and Compton and their belief in my brother and wanting to continue his legacy that we were able to continue the uh the deal and release the sneaker, um, as well as two shirts that went along with it. Um, and it was super um in collaboration with ASAP Press, which was my brother's um like stage name. And it's so interesting how a legacy can continue on even after life. And my brother's legacy continues through me 100% has been for the last eight years. I rep my brother like nobody's business. I am my brother's keeper. I'm literally sitting wearing his merch right now. I have on a BTM shirt today. Um, I'm always wearing BTM because his legacy will always continue to carry on through me. And, you know, when I saw that I surpassed 2,000 downloads on the pod, I started this pod on August 23rd of 2025. I was able to hit the milestone of a thousand downloads on Thanksgiving while I was in New York, surrounded by family. My first return home for a holiday since moving to Vegas five years ago. How special was that for me? And today, eight years celebrating my brother's life. Um, you know, it's even it's even interesting for me to say that, right? Celebrating his life. And I woke up this morning at peace. And I woke up this morning feeling good. I woke up and the window was open, I could see the sky, the sky was beautiful, and I felt good, and I feel good. And you know, I was on the phone when I realized that I had surpassed 2,000 downloads. I'm like, wait, oh, hold on, hold on, because just Saturday I had 1900 downloads, 1902. And you know, the pod is growing. I would definitely say the pod is growing, um, which is beautiful, right? Like when I started this podcast, it was and still very much is a place for me to be able to reflect and see my growth and also areas of opportunity. And if you haven't already, you can go back and listen to uh a friend's IV featuring Tay, where we kind of talk about, you know, going through a difficult time and witnessing someone do the work in their growth. And this morning today showed me just how far I have come and also the work that I have consistently put in over the last eight years dealing with trauma. You know, I've shared on this pod, I have been diagnosed with PTSD, which is post-traumatic stress disorder. Um, my brother passed away and uh, you know, lead the situation leading up to him passing away was extremely traumatic. My dad, um, who passed away August, uh April 11th, 2023, extremely traumatic. And what made me so emotional was not that I surpassed 2,000 downloads because that was inevitable, right? Like obviously I didn't know when it was going to happen, um, but it was going to happen. There, you on the opposite side of the audio are listening, right? Like, that's clear. At one some point in time, I was going to surpass the number. What got me is realizing today that I surpassed, and then seeing that the download is 2023. And I've talked about synchronicity before and intuition and being connected, and really through my relationship with God, helps me to be connected to them in a way that is so real. And to, you know, for it to be the anniversary of, you know, my brother passing away, which used to be so sad, and it is still sad, you know, like I wish I wish nothing more, you know, to have my brother and my dad here with me. Um, but I know, I know that they are with me. And for all-time downloads, as of when I, you know, like literally right now, I'm looking at it, 2023, is nothing more than them both collaborating and coming together as the you know, dynamic father-son duo for them to say, like, hey, like we're here, but also in a way, I think too, like sitting here right now talking to you on the opposite side of the audio, it's like they are together, and that just makes me really happy. And my grandma, my nana used to always tell me to be absent with the body is to be present with the Lord, and I also believe that you know one day I will see them again because I know that I will, and we will all be together again, and I'll see my nana, and I'll see my brother, and I'll see my dad, and I'll see my uncle Robert, who I never got to meet, and I'll see family and friend, right? Like the goal is to get to heaven. My goal is to get to heaven because I want to see them again, and it's just such a beautiful reminder that they are never too far, but also I am so fucking proud of myself. I am so proud of myself because when I started this podcast in August, I was so depleted, and it was so difficult for me. Uh it was so difficult for me. Really, since 2023. I was healing, I was on the journey, you know, when my brother passed away, his court case ended. I felt like I could start to, I could grieve because it was finally all over, right? Like it's very difficult to grieve when there are still things lingering. And it was like, okay, like I'm almost there. The court case is almost over. It was looking really good. Um, you know, like my family hopeful, praying in the court. I'm flying from Vegas to New York, all of the things. Sitting in a courtroom, listening to heinous, terrible information, seeing the two people that, you know, ultimately took the life of my brother, seeing them every day, going to court in the court for eight hours of the day, like that was so miserable, so miserable. And going through that, and the trauma of it all really was a lot. But I was starting to get to a point where I could heal, where I was healing, you know, where it was becoming lighter. Because remember, it never gets easier. Grief never gets easier, and that is something that when I first started therapy, my therapist told me. She said, it never gets easier, it just becomes less intense. And that was after my dad passed away, and that was so helpful for me because I'm like, when is it gonna get easier? And it never it's still to this day, it's not easy. It is not easy, but it has become less intense, and that's because I have tried my best to create opportunity and environments and add tools to my toolbox to help it all feel and be less intense, and that is why I'm so proud of myself. You know, it's like I was going through all of that, and then before, so sick, right? Because that's life. You you cannot um you cannot plan. Like, and there's like this thing where it says like when you plan, like God laughs at you and it's like, ha, yeah, he was cackling. Like, I would say God is a comedian, and I love him, clearly. Love God, love you don't love God, what's wrong with you? That Eric Campbell, Erica Campbell song. I love God. I love God, love him down. Like, couldn't wouldn't be here without him, couldn't do it without him. And then my dad passed away. Before we could even end the court case, before he could see justice, and that wrecked me. It wrecked me because I knew how important justice was for him. I it wrecked me because I knew that that is what was holding him daily, that is what was keeping him going, was knowing that he was going to get justice for press. And then ultimately, my family had to seek justice for him, for my dad. And we did not receive justice, and that broke me. That is what broke me. Him passing away, yes, terrible. Like the manor, terrible, all of it, terrible, going through the court experience and someone walking away with breaking the law, taking a life, and then it just being so carelessly handled by the district attorney of New York, of Manhattan specifically, D.A. Bragg, okay, because I've called him out before, and every chance that I get, I will call out the district attorney of Manhattan, excluding Megan Hass and uh John Vega, because they did the best that they could. They were both assistant ADA, and um, you know, they did exactly what they were supposed to do. It was those that were above them that mishandled the case and ultimately allowed a man that was guilty to walk away with time served and a plead, uh, a case of guilty, like a guilty plea. And you can go back, I have shared this um criminal justice reform. I believe it's three parts that I uh No Justice, No Peace, I believe is what it's called. And you can go back and listen to that. And it's all there. And I called them out, and I will call them out again. Season one, episode 27, 28, and 29. No justice, no peace. That was season that was episode 27. Uh, no justice, no peace, part two, criminal justice reform. Justice is in quotes, obviously. Um, and no justice, no peace, part three, the conclusion. I have shared so much on this podcast, and that is what makes me so proud, is that I have been vulnerable about my grief, my trauma, my well, not my, because we don't claim that, right? Because when words have power and when we attach things to ourselves is when it does become ours. It's not my trauma, it's not my grief. These are things that I have experienced. I have experienced grief, I have experienced trauma, I have experienced depression, I have experienced anxiety, I have experienced all of those things, and I will experience those things. This is life, it there's ebbs and flows. However, I have learned through experiencing all of that how to use my better judgment, how to use my resources, how to, you know, trust God and know that He would and did and will bring me out of those situations. And I'm so thankful that I decided to start this podcast at the time that I did. You know, I always talk about God's timing is the best timing. And when I started this, you can go back. You can go back and listen to season one, episode one. It's actually the trailer for the pod. Um, the landing isn't always soft. And you can go back and listen to really any episode in season one, and I would say half of season two, but I season two is the growth, and season three is really the growth, and I'm so proud of myself for giving myself the opportunity to not only grow, but to intentionally heal. When you take the time to put the work into yourself, there's no way that you will not receive a good outcome. What has this been the most difficult? What uh August, September, October, November, December, January, February, March? Six to seven most difficult months? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think this has really been the most difficult part of my life. Even explaining, right? Like knowing all of those things that I've been through. No, I've been through some shit. Okay. And we don't, we haven't even really, I mean, I've told you just a little piece. But this has been very difficult because I live on the opposite side of the country from my family. All of my family's on the East Coast. I live on the West Coast. Dealing with all of this singularly at times has really been difficult. And I think it sometimes is a lot easier when you are surrounded by your family to be that support because you're all experiencing the same thing. And I felt at times that I was experiencing this all by myself. And it was because I isolated myself and made myself feel more alone than I was. And I'm so thankful for where I am now. And like I said on the episode with Tay, I'm I'm not 100% healed. I don't think that I personally, I don't know. Maybe one day I'll say, maybe one day I will come on here. And I'm like, I'm 100%. I don't know. I don't know if you can ever be 100% healed from something like that because you're always experiencing something. You're always feeling something. But what I do know is that I don't feel like that anymore. I don't feel like so heavy. I don't feel so sad. I don't feel so weighted. I don't feel so guilty. I don't feel so all of the things that I was feeling before. And I know that it is because I have opened myself to community, to sharing with my friends and my family how I'm feeling, how I'm truly feeling, and allowing people to be there for me. Therapy, consistently going to therapy, praying, seeking prayer, seeking guidance. Uh, you know, walking has is, I mean, I cannot tell you guys. Once I started walking, that was that was transformative. Listening to sermons, you know, getting posity. I was listening to motivational speeches in the morning. Um, you know, just to get me through because it was very difficult at times. And, you know, this is these are things that I started doing, you know, within the last half of a year. But before then, when I was really going through it, you know, after the passing of my brother, I was doing similar things. And I just needed to remember and remind myself, you know, God has done it before and He will do it again. And I am so, again, I cannot say how I I'm so proud of myself. Sitting in this closet today, I am like, I'm I'm unrecognizable to the woman that I was seven, six months ago. And I'm so thankful for that. I'm so thankful that I never gave up on myself, and it's because I saw, I saw someone who was struggling, I saw someone who was having a hard time, who wasn't there themselves, but no one could tell that. No one could ever tell that press was going through what press was going through. No one ever knew. No one knew, no one knew except for us. Nobody knew. I thank God for that. But I saw someone who pushed through difficult times, and you know, ultimately, you know, my brother did pass away, but I saw him still thriving and I saw him still choosing to live and to go after his dreams. And it took me a little minute, but it was like I had to tap into that. I had to tap into what he had been showing me for a time. Like, oh, come on, Shayla. Ooh, Jesus. I had to tap into what he showed me. You know, I had to tap into that energy of strength that he had, even with my dad. You know, there were so many times that he and I would talk and he would tell me how he was feeling and what he was going through and how sad he was and how depressed he was. And nobody knew. That was the happiest, jolliest man and he missed his son, missed him with his whole being. But nobody would know. Nobody would know. And while that is, you know, the strength that you have, I do believe that it is important for people to know. It is important for people to know that you are not okay, and it is also important for you to recognize and say that you are not okay. And I did that starting this podcast. This podcast was me saying to myself that you are not okay, girl. And so we're going to work through it together, and you're going to bring other people along for the journey and along for the ride. And hopefully, in what you are doing for yourself, other people can do for themselves. And I thank God for that. And I really hope that you on the opposite side of the audio, whatever that it is that you are going through, that you have been going through, I hope that you know, self-reflection is really important. Taking that time to look inwardly, where what what how am I? What am I feeling? Journaling. Ugh, go listen to if Moesha had a podcast. Journaling. Journaling really saved me. Because I could be honest and I could get all of those thoughts that I had in my head that were just sitting in there and just weighing on me. I used to tell you guys, I would wake up every day anxious. Before my eyes could even open, the anxiety was just and the sadness and the all of the things was just swimming in my body. And that's when I started. Literally, I kept the journal in my bed. I would wake up in the morning and turn my light on. And I would either journal first or I would read a devotional. But it was really me turning over and starting to journal to get the thoughts out because I was so consumed by all of the things that I was feeling because it was heavy. And I'm no longer consumed by those things. Those things don't consume me. Do they come and go, right? The waves, yes. And am I I'm always going to be a work in progress. I'm always going to be healing. I'm always going to be growing. I'm always going to be learning myself. And this season of my life, this chapter of my life, whatever, has taught me so much about myself. Excuse me. And it has given me a new level of love for myself, respect for myself, um, and gratitude for myself. And it also helps me to hold myself to a high regard because I know what I have gone through and all the steps that I have taken to get here in this moment, and how far I'm going to continue to grow through my healing and my growing and my faith and all of those things that nothing or no one can know. Absolutely not. Like it's real strict around here. Friends, family, um, romantic, like in dating, it's very strict. If you have access to me in this season of my life, shout out to you. Shout out to you. I love that for you. Because the access has been revoked, denied. No. I know what I've been through, and I know who was there to support me. I know, I know, you know, like all of that is important, and all of that helps you to move forward, and it also gives you a different respect for the people that are in your life. Period. I'm just so proud of myself. Truthfully, I am. And I am thankful always for you on the opposite side of this audio for being a part of this journey with me. My return landers, I thank you. I appreciate you for listening, for growing with me, for being a part of the healing journey, for reaching out to me, um, for supporting me. This was something that I've wanted to start a podcast. I've said this before, I've wanted to start a podcast for so long, and I just never did it. And it really was because I just was not in a place that I felt comfortable. And it's so so interesting that at the most uncomfortable season of my life is when I was ready. But I know that that is also God using me, and I pray all the time work in me so that you can work through me. And wow, wow, wow, has he exceeded what I could have imagined? Sharing my journey has not been easy, obviously, because I'm very transparent, I'm very vulnerable, and I'm very honest. But I know that through all of that, it is a blessing to someone. Someone is learning something, someone is growing in something, someone is healing something within themselves. And wow, does that make me proud? It makes me so proud to know that I have given of myself in such a way that has impacted somebody's life. And I don't even know most of you, and I love that, and that is what this is where I landed with Shayla has always been about, and that is what this will continue to be a healing, a learning, a growing experience for me and for you, because we are in this together. You are not alone, you are not alone, and I am not alone. And once I learned that, everything changed. I don't know if you've ever read the podcast description, but I'm going to read it to you. It says, I'm Shayla, and this podcast isn't a soft reintroduction anymore. It's me walking boldly into the woman I'm becoming. This is where I am I unpack what I look. Let's just run that whole thing back. I'm Shayla, and this podcast isn't a soft reintroduction anymore. It's me walking boldly into the woman I'm becoming. This is where I unpack what it really looks like to figure out life as a 30-year-old woman. My taste, my boundaries, my walk with God, my evolution, and the glow-up that comes with choosing myself on purpose. It's where I turn my healing into art, my lessons into laughter, and my becoming into something honest, intentionally, intentional, and beautifully mine. Each episode blends raw, soulful storytelling, spiritual grounding, aesthetic strategy, and emotional truth. I taught God, growth, glow-ups, crash outs, clarity, healing from trauma, boundaries, and the wild, gorgeous reality of becoming a woman who finally knows her voice and uses it. No filter, no fluff, just 100% real. If you're rebuilding your life with intention, alignment, and a whole lot of audacity, welcome home. This is your landing space. And wow. Wow. That's basically what I just said. Everything that I just said for the past 30 minutes is that. That even in the midst of all of the things, they're they're there. And they're telling me it's okay. Keep going. We have your back. 32 countries and territory, territories, 186 cities. Insane. Insane. United States, Singapore, Japan, Spain, Germany, South Korea, Brazil, France, Israel, Pakistan, Canada, South Africa, the Virgin Islands, Italy, the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Netherlands, Slovenia, Algeria, Ukraine, Nepal, Australia, Nigeria, Sweden, Chile, Vietnam, Las Vegas, Nevada, Henderson, Nevada, The Bronx, New York, Philly, Dallas, Texas, Ashburn, Virginia, Mohegan Lake, New York, Washington, Washington, D.C., Tucson, Arizona, Los Angeles, California, Long Beach, California, Phoenix, Arizona, Chicago, Illinois, Tampa, Florida, Baltimore, Maryland, Tulsa, Oklahoma, Silver Spring, Maryland, Middleton, Middletown, Delaware, Houston, Texas, Charleston, South Carolina, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Portland, Oregon, Buffalo, New York, Denver, Colorado, Omaha, Nebraska, like nothing but God. Nothing but God. Maine, Poland, Maine. Nothing but God. Nothing but God. Nothing but God. Kansas City. I am so thankful for you on the opposite side of this audio. And I'm just so thankful that today of all the days I realized, because I had already hit it clearly, but I realized that I hit over 2,000 downloads. And I'm so proud of myself. And this is just the beginning. This podcast has not even existed for a year yet. August will make a year. And I'm so excited to see what God can do from now until then. Like I said, I will be celebrating at one point an accomplishment of this pod on a yacht somewhere with my friends. And I believe and I have faith and I know that God did not bring me this far just to bring me this far. It's only up from here. And I have my angels that are rooting for me and that are advocating for me and whispering next to God, hey, you know, this and that and that. Like I already know. I know because I'm living in the legacy of two people. I am, well, through more than two people, three people. I have the favor of God all over my life. I am Louise, being prayerful and hopeful and having that relationship with God the way that my grandma did. I have the, you know, the boldness and the creativity of my brother. And I have the heart and the light and the all of the things, all of the things of all of them, they're all inside of me, and I carry that each and every day. Each and every day. I'm so proud of myself. Y'all don't even understand. I'm going out with my friends tonight. Uh, they obviously, you know, it's I'm celebrating life. And this was before, so now I have extra reason to celebrate tonight. And I'm going to, we're going to this um RB sunset rooftop thing. Y'all know I love the sunset. Y'all know I love RB, and I'm just so excited to just go out with my friends. And now I have another reason to celebrate. And I just hope that you on the opposite side of this audio, whether you are listening on Friday or any day, I hope that you are having the best day, the best evening, the best night, the best whatever it is. I hope that you are well. I hope that you are taking care of yourself. I hope that you are growing, that you are learning, that you are praying, that you are believing, knowing that weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning, babe. We are making progress every day. I am making progress to create the life that I want to live for myself. And I hope that you are doing the same. Believe, know, trust, ask again, again, again, again, again, until God does what you need Him to do. Crying out, praying, Heal me. Please heal my broken heart. Take away the trauma, take away the grief, take away the pain. Take it all, take it, take it all. It's too heavy for me. Bring back my joy. Give me my spark. I'm so thankful. I'm so thankful. And I'm thankful for you on the opposite side of this audio. We did it! Over 2,000 downloads. I could not have done it without you. To my brother, I love you. I know that you are always with me, that you're always guiding over me, that you're always protecting me, that you're always pushing me, that you're always doing all of the things that you were doing while you were here. Always remember that while they may not physically be here, there are spirits and angels, and they are always around you. You just have to believe that and know that. And they will always give you signs and synchronicities and all the beautiful things. And I just want you to know that I love you so much that I am so thankful for you. And yeah. Ah, we're doing the damn thing. BTM forever, Pressy forever. As always, you are that guy, you are that girl, you are whomever you choose to be, and I love you so much.