An Army of Normal Folks - Orrin “Checkmate” Hudson: Teaching 100,000 Kids Chess (Pt 1)

Episode Date: July 2, 2024

And his goal is 1 million kids. But none of this would’ve happened if a high school teacher didn’t make the effort to teach Orrin chess and show him a better path than his gang life.Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You gotta get in the game, I'm Orrin C. Hudson, it's time for a change, make the right moves in this game called life, think before you move and always be nice, and when the game get tough and times get rough, never give up, cause we're more than enough, practice every day, the correct way, always better your best before you play, we gotta get in the game, get in the game, say it, and they say get in the game, get in the game, get your head in the game, head in the game, say it, head in the game, get in the game, get your head in the game, head in the game said, head in the game, head in the game, stay in the game, stay in the game said, stay in the game, stay in the game, get on top of your game, top of your game, top of your game, what game, what game, the game or life, the game or life.

Chess is more than a game, it's a test you can pass, pay attention and learn from mistakes in the past, everybody's a winner when you know the truth, it's all about learning and you're living proof, dropping a demo on today's youth winner when you know the truth. It's all about learning and you're living proof. Dropping a demo on today's youth. I'm just like you, there's nothing we can't do. Be willing to make mistakes and times you get better. Do whatever it takes, back down never. Get in the game and don't be afraid.

We all create an equal black and white shades, whichever way you made. We all breathe the same, we all need the same. So please get in the game. Yay! That's something right there now. Welcome to an army of normal folks. I'm Bill Courtney. I'm a normal guy. I'm a husband, a father, an entrepreneur, and I've been a football coach in inner city Memphis. And that last part, it somehow led to an Oscar for the film about our team.

It's called Undefeated. I believe our country's problems will never be solved by a bunch of fancy people in nice suits using big words that nobody ever understands on CNN and Fox, but rather by an army of normal folks, us, just you and me deciding, hey, you know what? Maybe I can help. That's what Orrin Checkmate Hudson, the voice we just heard, has done. But he might not be in the rapping game or any other game if it weren't for his teacher who taught him chess and showed him a better way than his gang. Orrin became the first African American to defeat the Alabama state champion in chess

and has since taught chess to over 100,000 kids. I cannot wait for you to meet Oren right after these brief messages from our generous sponsors. I'm Andrea Gunning, host of the all new podcast, There and Gone. It's a real life story of two people who left a crowded Philadelphia bar, walked to their truck and vanished. Nobody hears anything. Nobody sees anything.

Did they run away? Was it an accident or were they murdered? A truck and two people just don't disappear. The FBI called it murder for hire. It was definitely murder for hire for Danielle, not for Richard. He's your son. And in your eyes, he's innocent. But in my eyes, he's just some guy my sister was with. In this series, I dig into my own investigation to find answers for the families and get justice for Richard and Danielle.

Listen to There and Gone South Street on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. your podcasts. We all know what that music means. Is somebody getting coronated? No, it's time for the Olympics in Paris. The opening ceremony for the 2024 Paris Games is coming on July 26.

Who are these athletes? When are the games they're playing? You may be looking for the sports experts to answer those questions, but we're not that. Well, what are we? We're two guys. I'm Matt Rogers. And I'm Bowen Yang.

And we're doing an Olympics podcast? Uh, yeah. We're hosting the Two Guys Five Rings podcast. You get the two guys, us, to start every podcast, then the five rings come after. Watch every moment of the 2024 Paris Olympics beginning July 26th on NBC and Peacock. And for the first time, you can stream the 2024 Paris Games

on the iHeartRadio app. And listen to Two Guys Five Rings on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello. From Wondermedia Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan, host of Womanica, a daily podcast that introduces you to the fascinating lives of women history has forgotten. This month, we're bringing you the stories of athletes. There's the Italian race car driver who courted danger and became the first woman to compete in Formula One.

The sprinter who set a world record and protested racism and discrimination in the U.S. and around the world in the 1960s. The diver who was barred from swimming clubs due to her race and went on to become the first Asian American woman to win an Olympic medal. She won gold twice. The Mountaineer, known in the Chinese press as the tallest woman in the world.

And the ancient Greek charioteer who exploited a loophole to become the first-ever woman to compete at the Olympic Games. Listen to Wamanica on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Orrin Hudson. How are you, man? Best day of my life. I get to hang out with you. Somebody's in a movie coaching kids.

You know, you got me. I'm all in. I knew you had me when I seen you coaching those kids. You know, it was down and you came back. You my type of guy beating the odds. I love people who can help people beat the odds. Orin, if this thing you do now doesn't work out, maybe you should be a publicist because you just you just threw me out

there and I appreciate that Orrin, but, um, you are the man and I, I cannot wait when, well, first of all, shout out to a listener of ours named Bill Maddox. Do you know who Bill Maddox is? I love Bill Maddox and you need to try to recruit him to be a part of your team because he is not only is he a good person, he's a great communicator. He can write stuff that will make people. It's better to send him to Hawaii than to go for yourself because when he write about it, you can feel the water flapping on your

feet. Well, Bill Maddox, who I don't know, we at the end of every episode, as all of our regular listeners will know, you know, we invite people to tell us about extraordinary people in their community that we don't know about doing extraordinary things. And Bill Maddox wrote us about you. We are getting inundated with these, and that does not mean we want them to stop. Alex will peel through all of them.

But Bill wrote and told me about this guy named Orrin Checkmate Hudson. I don't know if you've ever heard of it, but I've heard of it. I've heard of it. I've heard of it. I've heard of it. I've heard of it. I've heard of it. I've heard of it. I've heard of it. I've heard of it. I've heard of it. I've heard of it.

I've heard of it. I've heard of it. I've heard of it. I've heard of it. I've heard of it. I've heard of it. I've heard of it. I've heard of it.

I've heard of it. I've heard of it. I've heard of it. I've heard of it. I've heard of it. I've heard of it. I've heard of it. I've heard of it.

I've heard of it. I've heard of it. I've heard of it. I've heard of it. I've heard of it. I've heard of it. figure this one out is and get him here or is because chess had a significant impact on my life as a kid. Wow. And this is about you, but I'm going to share this to give people perspective as to how vested I am in your story. Most people will not most people a lot of people know this but my dad left home when I was four. Mom was married divorced five times and the only mentors I had in my life were my coaches and my freshman year, I was playing football and I hurt my shoulder and that kind of killed fall for me.

There was no way I was going to play. And yeah, I was just kind of getting ready for basketball season, frankly. And my favorite teacher was my math teacher and his name was Dale Flickinger. I want you to imagine a guy with Coke bottle glasses, but big, like six to two 50 with Coke bottle glasses and kind of curlish hair and a math teacher. You think you know what you're looking at? Well, as I got to know him more, I found out he was a drummer in a rock band. He played the piano in his church.

He started at center for his high school football team in Monat, North Dakota, and they lost one game in four years. And he was a master in chess. And he started a chess team and chess club at the school. And he said, man, you don't have anything to do this fall. Why don't you join the chess club and hang out and we'll teach you chess and I'm like, just for geeks. I'm a I'm a football, basketball, baseball guy playing no chess. What is that? All my friends are going to think I'm crazy. And little by little he drew me in. And my freshman

year, I ended up winning the state championship for the novice division. And by my senior year, all of the guys and girls that were on the team went to the nationals in Philadelphia and our school team placed third. What I was exposed to as a result of chess was analytical thinking, creativity, patience, not being impulsive and going with your first reaction. It taught me to be analytical. It grew my mind. And then socially it had an effect on me

because I'm from Memphis and everybody I was playing chess with were white private school kids and a few Asians. And when I went to the national championship, there were these teams from New York, all these black kids from inner city schools, and they were thumping folks. And I'm talking about, they were so much better than we were.

And it also opened my mind. Chess played a really big role in my most formative years. And I will still, I haven't played USCF Chess, is it still USCF? I haven't played USCF Chess since, oh my gosh, I mean probably 1988, 1989, but I will still on occasion, if I got a $20 bill in my pocket in a minute, will stop by in the New York Park

or on the sidewalks in New Orleans and put the 20 down there and play a five-minute speed game. And I win more than I lose, and I still love it. And when I'm bored to death on a Delta flight, I'll play the computer chess. I haven't studied openings or middle games or closings in two decades. I'm I'm I'm not good, but you know, I got to where I could play a little bit and it was so important to me. It became a really big part of my life.

So I want to say that to you before we start your story, because I want you to know I feel you. I appreciate you. And I feel what you're doing. And I feel what you've done with the kids, with the football and how you didn't give up and how you showed up at people houses. That's just really remarkable.

That shows that you have a passion to make a difference and we are kindred souls and that I believe in what you believe in and helping the young people and helping the least to us in the loss. I love that, but we got to get to why you're doing it, where you came from and how you're doing it. So we're going to start at the beginning. One other thing, chess made me a far better football coach, the analytics, the, the, the, the pattern recognition. Yeah, the absolutely pattern recognition,

the looking at a situation that you didn't expect and having to analyze it quickly and figure out the next move. There's a big difference in chess and football, though, because when you tell a chess piece to move someone, you tell your rook to move up a file or you tell your knight to take its move. It's gonna do it. It's gonna do it. In football, they gonna do what they want to do. You may tell them to make the right. They do what they want to do. They do what they want to

do. So, you know, in that regard, chess is a lot more static than football, but it's still made me. All right. Orin. So that's a background long window background. And I shouldn't talk so much about myself, but I really want you to know why I was so excited to see you. So you grew up in the Birmingham area. Tell me about your childhood.

Well, you know, my mom had 13 children. I'm number seven, so I was a middle child. And I remember us staying in the housing projects in Birmingham, and it was like sardines. You ever seen sardines in a can? I have seen sardines in a can. When you got a three-bedroom, when you got 13 children, there's five people in a room.

So my brother woke up in a nightmare and hit me a couple times. It was that many people in the bed, but I never forget that. But yeah, it was a packed house and I was in and out of foster homes because the state of Alabama took, we had two, mama and mama had two children. And so they took four or five of us

and put us in foster care. So I was in foster care in Selma, Alabama, and went through a phase where it really was a blessing because when I went to foster care, I had white foster parents and I went to a predominantly mostly white school. And it really kind of gave me a different outlook and perspective versus the hood.

I was from the hood in Birmingham Avenue housing projects. And when I went to Salmo and had, gave me a different perspective and was able to see things in a different way. And then I later got out of foster care, went back home and I was in a gang. I was following the follower. I was with these kids and they would say, do this.

I would do it. They said, do this and I would do it. And James Edge, a white teacher in an all black high school, which was Hayes High School, pulled me to the side and said, listen, you following the follower. I'm gonna teach you how to think independently and how to think for yourself. I said, well, how you gonna do that?

He said, I'm gonna teach you chess. I said, no, no, no, I'm a checker guru. He said, checkers you're using half of the board. He said, chess you're using every single square on the board. He said, checkess, you're using every single square on the board. He said, checkers is all men. He said, Chess, the female is the most powerful piece on the board. I said to him, let's get on with the classes.

Not only did he play the female card on me, but he played the female card from the bottom of a deck. And I was hooked like a book. I have a bull. I have a question. I think I remember reading that checkers is solved and in big time checkers tournaments when you sit down to the board, they actually have predetermined the first five moves

for each side because a really great checkers player will know after the first move, who's going to win. Have you ever heard that? Never heard that, but I do know that check checkers you're using half of the board. And so it's not as in every piece moves the same. Every piece was saying, and life is not every piece of the same. Everybody is complicated.

And there's sometimes to get to your goals. It's not a straight line. And so that's what I teach young people. I teach people sometimes you got to go up over into the left because everything all your goals is not going to be a straight line. It's not going to be cutting dry. You have a lot of cool little sayings. You just dropped the first one on. Do it again. What was it? What did you just say? Pattern recognition. Oh, you had a euphemism you just used. You said, um, what'd he say? Everything is not the same. You got different, you got different, you know,

everything moves a different, you got to go up and over and to the left and that your success is not a straight line that you have to, you gotta, you gotta be flexible with your, with your goals and you gotta be willing to think it through. Impulsivity will take you out. Don't do the first thing that pops in your head. Which is you using the game of chess to teach life lessons. Teaching young people life lessons, how to wake up winning.

How do you wake up winning? You make sure the moves you make add value to others because what you do comes back multiplied to you. And you got the pause, you got the ponder, you got the pivot, you got the pray, proceed, and then you prosper. But if you do the first thing that pops in your head, your first crack can be a whack and you can't take it back. So think before you act. Okay.

That thing you just did that pause pivot do that again. Pause, ponder, pivot, pray, proceed, prosper six magic words. Why? And then you did the other one right behind it. Don't do the first thing that pops in your head. Your first crack could be a whack and you can't take it back. So think before you act. I think that stuff that you just did right there, that's what I'm saying. What would you call those? A calluliquy?

What would you call that Alex? Or an or anism. Yeah, I was on, I was CBS News. Atlanta came out into the story on me and it was, Oh my God, this is amazing. So she went back to the studio and said, this dude made my job easy. So they came, they got about eight times and did it.

And they kept doing it, because I was making their job easy because I love what I do. And teaching the children makes my heart sing. And I teach the children as though my life depends on them because I owe my life to James edge. Cause if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't even be alive because I was making some bad moves.

So we're going to go back to chronologically to get to what we're talking about now. But it's funny. I don't know if you know, the guy that wrote Rudolph the red nose reindeer was a chess player. Don't remember his name, but he did a lot of those things that you just did as sayings. And one of my favorite was, watch your step, but don't step on your watch.

And he did a lot of those kinds of sayings and you've got a ton of them. So spoiler alert, Orin's gonna drop a whole lot of old fashioned wisdom on you in the form of jingles and phrases and I don't know. It's it's hilarious. All right. So the your teacher, the white teacher, you said that was in your school. His name James Edge. Okay. Somehow he decided to pick you. Well, I asked him about that. He said he got in trouble when he was my age. Someone helped him

and he was paying it forward. And so I thank God for James Edge because he took me to the side, took me over to UAB, introduced me to players that were much stronger than me, and I were afraid to go there at first. And he said, listen, he said, when you go here, yeah, they're going to beat you up, but you'll get better. And so he taught me the value of failure. And he told me that failure was information that you succeed by learning and to make it okay to fail. So when I went over to UAB and played those guys, it really, I remember playing Stuart Rachel.

He was on 60 Minutes. He's very good. He's probably the best chess player in Alabama. I remember playing Stuart Rachel and he gave me his queen on purpose and I was so happy but he beat me, he was a setup, he trapped me. So I learned early in life that, wow, man, people will set you up, you know, everything that's free is not free. And he gave me this bait, which was his queen, but he did it as a way of checkmating me. So Stuart Rachel was on 60 Minutes. He's an international master.

He's a professor at University of Alabama now. And so I was able to beat Stuart Rachel's father, but not Stuart Rachel. No kidding. No, Rachel. Are USCF ratings still a thing? Yeah, yeah, it's alive and well, and you have to be a member,

and then you have to play in tournaments. I played in the World Open, and I played in different tournaments, but my focus is not about tournaments. My focus is what can I do to teach young people to make their next move the best move? Why? Because the moves you make determine the path you take.

A lot of our young people are being incarcerated, so I'm doing everything I can to stop the acceleration of crime and violence and reduce the school to prison pipeline because they're going from school to prison. Okay. So there's so much here to unpack, but what was your dad? My dad was there, but not there. My daddy had three jobs. And so my dad, it but not there. My daddy had three jobs. And so my daddy was never home.

Now, my daddy was a janitor in three different, three companies. So my daddy was never home because he had three jobs. So he was working. Yeah. My daddy was never there. But my daddy, in fairness to my dad, he was there for me, but he was as best he could, because when he was there, he was asleep,

and he had three jobs. Okay, well, I get that you guys didn't have much money with a dad working three jobs and a mom with- My mom never worked. 13 kids. Yeah, 13. How do you worked. 13 kids. Yeah. How do you work with 13 kids? Yes, she can't work.

Yeah. So. But it doesn't feel like you would be a guy that would join a gang. Why did you join a gang? It wouldn't, it was, I'm gonna be honest with you. It was mostly stealing food and tires. Food and tires? Yeah. We would, not tires, but the inner tubes, truck inner tubes, we would steal those and

sell them for 50 cents and we would steal food from Greg's Cookies. So that was, it wasn't really a gang like doing nothing bad, it was mostly survival. It was like food and making money. So I was a business owner where I steal tires and sell them for 50 cents. And I look back at my life, the guy who, the white guy who was selling the inner tubes too, he was giving the 50 cents for everyone.

We'd steal them out of the trucks. He was getting over on us because those inner tubes were more than 50 cents. I look back at it now and I, oh, he was getting over on us. And now a few messages from our generous sponsors. But first, I'm excited to announce that we're hosting a live interview in Memphis

on Saturday, July 20th. And I'd love for you to join us. It's with Russell Butler, better known as the Dancing UPS Man. Russell once was close to committing suicide, and he'll share his powerful redemption story, which led to his dance ministry that accidentally has gone viral. This guy's got 1.5 million followers on TikTok and a million on Instagram.

You will love meeting him. And I'd love meeting you too. You can learn more and RSVP at dancingupsman.eventbright.com. Once again, dancingupsman.eventbright, spelled E-V-E-N-T-B-R-I-T-E.com. Dancing UPSman.eventbright.com. We'll be right back. I'm Andrea Gunning, host of the all-new podcast, There and Gone. It's a real-life story of two people who left a crowded Philadelphia bar, walked to their truck and vanished.

Nobody hears anything. Nobody sees anything. Did they run away? Was it an accident or were they murdered? A truck and two people just don't disappear. The FBI called it murder for hire. It was definitely murder for hire for Danielle, not for Richard. He's your son, and in your eyes he's innocent,

but in my eyes he's just some guy my sister was with. In this series, I dig into my own investigation to find answers for the families and get justice for Richard and Danielle. Listen to There and Gone South Street on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Do do do do do do do.

We all know what that music means. Is somebody getting coronated? No, it's time for the Olympics in Paris. The opening ceremony for the 2024 Paris Games is coming on July 26th. Who are these athletes? When are the games they're playing? We may be looking for the sports experts to answer those questions, but we're not that. Well, what are we?

We're two guys. I'm Matt Rogers. And I'm Bowen Yang. And we're doing an Olympics podcast? Uh, yeah. We're hosting the Two Guys Five Rings podcast. You get the two guys, us, to start every podcast, then the five rings come after.

Watch every moment of the 2024 Paris Olympics beginning July 26th on NBC and Peacock. And for the first time, you can stream the 2024 Paris games on the iHeartRadio app. And listen to Two Guys, Five Rings on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello. radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, from Wondermedia Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan, host of Womanica, a daily podcast that introduces you to the fascinating lives of women history has forgotten. This month, we're bringing you the stories of athletes.

There's the Italian race car driver who courted danger and became the first woman to compete in Formula One. The sprinter who set a world record and protested racism and discrimination in the US and around the world in the 1960s. The diver who was barred from swimming clubs due to her race and went on to become the first Asian-American woman to win an Olympic medal. She won gold twice.

The mountaineer known in the Chinese press as the tallest woman in the world. And the ancient Greek charioteer who exploited a loophole to become the first-ever woman to compete at the Olympic Games. Listen to Wamanica on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So you start playing chess in high school. Yeah. James Ed Poole, Mrs. I and taught me chess and he started a chess club. So I started learning chess there. But James realized that I was following the follower

and I was one of the younger guys in the gang and they would just say, do this, let's do this, let's do these, let's do this. And I was basically following the follower. So he intervened and taught me chess, taught teaching me to think for myself. And so that put a spirit in me to make sure what I'm doing is a product of my own conclusion and don't just be a follower

All right. So do you go to college? No college. I Rode in college but had a job opportunity That I couldn't turn down and so I left college and went to take the job And what's the job? I was offered a and went to take the job. And I was offered a assistant manager for Kenny Shoe Corporation. And I was making good money at the time. Back then it was good money and I took it.

So I walked away from college to that because money was tough in the family. So I just, I did that. And then later I went into the Air Force and from the air force, I went into the state trooper. And then from state trooper, I started be someone. I mean, it started, no, no, I'm sorry. From state trooper, I went into Hudson auto sales, which was a car business. And then went from car business to be someone. Okay. State trooper, how long?

Seven years. You were, you were such a, Okay. State trooper, how long? Seven years. You were such a... There's a dichotomy to you that's interesting in that people that are incredibly good at chess, as you are, you wouldn't expect them to also in their professional life be a state trooper or in the Air Force. It's usually professors and academics and really really really

highly educated folks. You're clearly really smart, but your walk doesn't really parallel a chess master. Well let's be clear about how that dichotomy worked in your life. Well let's be clear. I tell my students all the time I'm in pre-k and what that means is I'm still learning and I tell my students all the time that I've lost more chess games Than anyone alive and I brag about it because failure is your friend failures information failure tells you what to do next And so I'm while I'm not that good. I've beat a lot of famous people in chess because I

Stop I failed right not to interrupt you, but no I failed a lot. Yeah, failing, learning from failure leads to success. I get it. But when you beat a lot of really good players, you are good at chess. I mean, don't undersell this, because that's, I mean, didn't you beat the Georgia State Champion? Yeah, yeah, but here's the deal.

His name is Stephen Muhammad. But anyway, yeah, I have. You just glossed right over that. Yeah, I have, here's the deal. His name is Stephen. But anyway, yeah, I have you just glossed right over Yeah, I have but at the same time I tell my students that I'm in pre-k because really really in fairness. I'm a work in progress and I have my moments. I beat one of the top Russian grandmasters in the world Why because his name is Rashid Ziafanoff. And the reason I, and at this time, Yeah, at this time he had won more tournaments

in the United States than anyone. You can Google it to come up. But the only reason I would beat him is that I saw an opportunity where I sacrificed a rook for a pawn, which is a game of five, a game of five for one. And people have opportunities all the time, but the purpose of your life is to seize that moment,

right then, right there, because that moment will go away and that one opportunity will no longer be there. So I took advantage of an opportunity. He took the rook and game over. He can't take it. So sometimes when people do something, you can't hit back because if you hit back, the referee gonna call a foul on you.

So I teach my children, don't celebrate until the referee's in his car. And if the referee car. Don't celebrate until the referee's in the car. And if the referee car doesn't start, keep your helmet on until the wrecker get there. Do not, you know, we don't, we don't, we up 20 points, we not gonna celebrate.

You know, and the Antifac was up 20 points, we not gonna celebrate. And the Antifacans was up 28 points against the Patriots and they lost the game. If I was a coach, no way, because we don't celebrate, we gonna play like we're a million points. Always play like you're a million points behind. That way you won't get complacent, you won't celebrate,

and you'll keep your foot on the pedal. And that's life. That's life. You know, that's why I tell my students I'm in pre-K. Never underestimate your opponent. If I'm in pre-K, I'm never gonna underestimate you. I'm gonna play like I'm in pre-K, and I'm gonna take advantage of every opportunity,

and I'm gonna manage my resources. Chess is not about chess. Chess is about managing resources. The opposite of wealth is not poor. The opposite of wealth is mismanagement of resources. Poor is just a reflection of how you manage your resources. You have everything you need to win the game. You have your mind, you have your ability,

you have your talents and you have time, but you have to manage your resources properly. To have and not to manage properly is not to have. Whatever you mismanage, you will lose. When I first heard about you, I thought we were gonna talk about your efforts teaching chess to kids to help them get smarter and find a different thing

to do in their life that was positive. What I'm starting to gather real quickly is, really it's not about chess. It's not about, it real quickly is, really it's not about chess. It's not about, it's less about chess. It's more about character. They call me the full X guy. What that means is I'm gonna give you four times more value than you give me.

When you guys invited me to come here, I'm gonna do something for the community on me. You know, and I went over to the Peer Academy. Why? Because I'm gonna always give you way more than you give me. That's my brand. And that's what I teach children. I teach children that you can have anything you want

if you add more value to the next person. Because if you constantly making the path, constantly making the path and then walk away, when you get ready to make a withdrawal, your request will never be denied because you gave way more than you asked for. How long were you a state trooper? Seven years.

Did you enjoy that? I loved it. It had the blue light, the badge, the bulletproof vest, but everybody I stopped, I treated them like the most important person in the world. Here's why. What you sincerely desire for others will happen for you.

People don't understand that. People don't understand that when you stop that person, that person is you. You're a Georgia State Trooper. I was an Alabama State Trooper. Alabama State Trooper. All right, right now, I've got my four kids in the car and Lisa, and they are four, five, six, and seven.

And we're going from Memphis down to Gulf Shores, Alabama to the beach for the week. All right? I want you to imagine that because I've done that and about two hours in, I'm ready to jump out the car window from the kids. Are we there yet? Throwing stuff, I gotta pee,

and I'm just, I've had enough already. Right. And so I passed through Birmingham where all that construction was, you know, and now I'm headed down toward, uh, what's the name of that town? The way you cut over to Gulf shores. I'm, I'm headed down. Uh, I'm about to go through Foley. Okay. All right. And because kids are driving me crazy, it's a 65 and I'm doing 84. Okay.

And you light me up. 19 over, okay. Yeah, and you light me up. How do you approach me? Well, first problem. When you come to the car. I'm not gonna let the kids know I'm a righty. I'm not gonna let them know.

I say, I wanna talk to you about something and it's not that bad. So now the kids think it's cool. Do you really say that? Yeah, yeah, because I don't want- I've never heard that. Well, you are me, so I'm gonna treat you like you're me. So I'm not gonna let them know

I'm gonna write you a ticket, okay? Because I want them to feel respected by you. So I say, it's not that bad. I just wanna talk to you a quick second. And so now they think, oh, it's cool. So now when you go back to the kids, you can tell them whatever you want. I'm not gonna let them see anything.

I'm not gonna let them see you give. So now I painted the picture to them that everything's cool. They just want to talk to you for a brief second about something. And so now they don't know what I'm gonna do. And what I tried to do is some kind of way I tried to make you win.

I mean, I may write you the ticket or whatever, but at the end of the day, you're gonna feel good about how I handled it because I handled it with dignity, respect, and honor. And I gave you to benefit of the doubt. Let me give you an example that happened. I gave this guy some mercy on the ticket. He was going like 100 and I think I put 80, 88 on it.

He was going 100. He was going 100 and I put like, cause if he goes at the judge, want to see him, she want me to his car. So I bumped it down so that it didn't have to tow his car and I ain't want, cause you were me. So I said, listen, I'm going to save you about $2,000 on this transaction.

I could put a hundred, but I'm not going to do it. I'm going to treat you like you're me. I'm going to put 88, let you mail this fine in. Oh man, thank you. He said, wow. He said, what's your name? I said, I'm Hutton. He said, is your daddy, Jerome Hutton?

I said, yes. He said, wow, we about to fire him for drinking on the job. I'm gonna rip his paperwork up. He ripped my daddy's paperwork up because I put out good and good comes back. And that's what people need to learn. The good. That really happened.

That really happened. The good you do comes back to you. So between me and you, I never seen my daddy drink and I really don't believe it. I believe my daddy was set up by somebody giving him a beer and he don't eat, my daddy don't drink, but somebody must've set him up. He worked at a golf club and some,

probably one of the golfers gave him a beer and he drunk it and he, and they caught him drinking it and they fired him. But, but I never know my dad had a drink. So anyway, the bottom line is the guy had my daddy's paperwork on it as they was going to fire my daddy. They did, he ripped it up or whatever. My daddy retired, got his retirement check and everything because I, a good deed is never lost.

Now my daddy had a third grade education and my daddy taught me that a good deed is never lost. And that played out in his life and in my life and it benefited him and me both. Did you ever pull over somebody belligerent and difficult that? Yeah, yeah. I've pulled over this guy that I knew that was belligerent. I wrote him a

Warning ticket he took the warning because it wasn't that bad He took the warning ticket and threw it out the winner on the ground I took it back and wrote him a real ticket. So he learned the hard way Yeah, I gave you a warning ticket. Are you gonna throw it on the ground in front of me now? I'm a right. I'm gonna change it to a real ticket. He now you now you're gonna pay it so yeah he was belligerent but he learned the hard way so even as a trooper you were still trying to find ways to serve well when I worked at Kenny's shoes I was trained that the customer is always right well when I went to state trooper school they told me the customer's always wrong

otherwise you got no business stopping them. But so in my blood, I've always tried to make sure that the customer was always right. And I always tried to treat people better than I wanted to be treated. And I guarantee you there are some people out there that I stopped and go, that dude gave me mercy. Because that's really what it's all about.

We all are one, we're connected. One, you know, we all are connected. And I cannot be without to be into you or what you ought to be. So we're interconnected. Oh, I want to go off topic so bad and talk about police reform with you. We'll be right back. I'm Andrea Gunning, host of the all new podcast, There and Gone. It's a real life story of two people who left a crowded Philadelphia bar, walked to their

truck and vanished. Nobody hears anything. Nobody sees anything. Did they run away? Was it an accident or were they murdered? A truck and two people just don't disappear. The FBI called it murder for hire. It was definitely murder for hire for Danielle, not for Richard.

He's your son and in your eyes he's innocent, but in my eyes he's just some guy my sister was with. In this series, I dig into my own investigation to find answers for the families and get justice for Richard and Danielle. Listen to There and Gone South Street on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We all know what that music means. Is somebody getting coronated?

No, it's time for the Olympics in Paris. The opening ceremony for the 2024 Paris Games is coming on July 26th. Who are these athletes? When are the games they're playing? You may be looking for the sports experts to answer those questions, but we're not that. Well, what are we? We're two guys.

I'm Matt Rogers. And I'm Bowen Yang. And we're doing an Olympics podcast? Uh, yeah. We're hosting the Two Guys Five Rings podcast. You get the two guys, us, to start every podcast, then the five rings come after. Watch every moment of the 2024 Paris Olympics

beginning July 26th on NBC and Peacock. And for the first time, you can stream the 2024 Paris Games on the iHeartRadio app. And listen to Two Guys Five Rings on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello. From Wonder Media Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan, host of Womanica, a daily podcast that introduces you to the fascinating lives of women history has forgotten.

This month, we're bringing you the stories of athletes. There's the Italian race car driver who courted danger and became the first woman to compete in Formula One. The sprinter who set a world record and protested racism and discrimination in the US and around the world in the 1960s. The diver who was barred from swimming clubs due to her race and went on to become

the first Asian American woman to win an Olympic medal. She won gold twice. The Mountaineer, known in the Chinese press as the tallest woman in the world. And the ancient Greek charioteer, who exploited a loophole to become the first ever woman to compete at the Olympic Games. Listen to Wamanica on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. From your perspective growing up, from your perspective as a black trooper in Alabama, and from your perspective of what you do today and the kids that you serve, which we will get to, there's a real hot topic that we all are dealing with right now, which is police reform and bail reform and DAs out there that won't prosecute certain crimes, but that's leading to more and more petty theft.

In many of our countries, we're having retailers like Target and Walgreens shut down because they're literally having their profits stolen. People are brazen enough to just walk in the door and take stuff and walk out. So I completely get on the one side there should not be any segment of our population that fears law enforcement. Law enforcement is paid for by the tax dollars that we earn. And they are there to protect and serve us, not to abuse us. But on the other side, we can't get so soft on crime that then we lose a civil society.

And I'll be honest with you, I'm really torn on it. From your perspective of your service, where you come from, being a black trooper in Alabama, what do you think about the situation we're in nationally as we continue to struggle with this thing? I think it goes back to home training and just always make sure you're giving more than you take. I was in a store in Vegas and a customer stole some stuff

and I'm standing in the office and then I talk and we both see him. He said, I'm not gonna do anything or, because if I arrest this guy, he gonna be back, he gonna be out on the street and he'd be back in here the next day stealing. And I'm like, wow, he actually let the person steal

the stuff and go. And because he said it wasn't worth it. So we got to figure out. If he arrested him, he gonna be back. The courts aren't even gonna keep him. So why waste my time? Why waste my time? He gonna be back.

See, that's a problem. Shouldn't that guy serve 30 days or something? Yeah, there's a big disconnect and there's a big problem. I think we gotta go, I think it starts in the family and I think we need to, we need a father and a mother in the home. We gotta teach these children how to respect authority and how to don't abuse the system.

And I think we need police reform, we need sensitivity training for the officers where officer can say, listen, let's do the right thing. I don't wanna shoot and kill nobody who's on arm. I'm not doing that cause it's me. I wanna make sure this address, I'm going to this house, is right, check check triple check never assume

Question everything inspect what you can expect control what you can control and impact everything else I think we got to figure out a way to Educate the community and if someone steals some dig it's got to be a consequence for it That is such common sense. Why is that so hard? It's just people don't get it. And a lot of people don't understand. I was telling Alex a day that a lot of the children,

I was glad to help those children at Pure Academy because I'm teaching these children that don't do the first thing that pops in your head. Usually your first thought is inferior. And we got gotta think it through and we gotta make sure that we're giving, not taking. And I tell them all the time that sometimes you have to set what you're gonna do

and then do the total opposite because the opposite is probably the real answer. A gambit. It's a gambit. When I gave up, I was telling some of my students at the pre-academy, I said, I sacrificed two queens in one game I've sacrificed my course first queen. I promoted got another I took my pawn out for ya

I sacrifice both queens you can Google this is on it's on YouTube I sacrifice two queens to win the game and sometimes in life. You got the gamut You got to give up you got a gear you got a gear to get and Oftentimes you got to give up your your most precious possession to win the game. I learned this from Magic Johnson. Magic Johnson was playing for the Los Angeles Lakers and Kareem Abdul-Jabal got hurt and went out. And the whole team was holding their head down.

They were depressed. And Magic Johnson said to them, there's no need to fear, Magic is here. They said, shut up, rookie, you don't know what you're talking about. But he said, listen, there's no defeat, Magic is here. They go, you shut up rookie. You don't know what you talking about. But he said, listen, no, there's no defeat. Magic is here. He scored 42 points, had 15 rebounds and 10 ascents. He did it, but they didn't believe him because he was a rookie.

And they said, so sometimes when you sacrifice your most precious possession, you still can win. All right. So why did you leave law enforcement? I left law enforcement because I had Hudson Auto Sales. And when I had Hudson Auto Sales, it was a business, it was car business or a body shop and I sold cars. And I was making a lot of money.

So it was an income deal where I was losing money as a trooper. So I took my, I switched gears and did the Hudson Allsales. And then later seven people were shot on a robbery in Queens, New York. And that was a turning point in my life for me to say, you know what, bad things continue to happen when concerned people fail to make boss moves. I made a boss move and started be someone to teach young people to put brains

before bullets. All right, so we got to concentrate on that because that is the transition to what you're doing now. You're in Atlanta or Birmingham. I was in Birmingham when this happened. So Hudson Auto Sales was in Birmingham. Yes, sir. All right. Why? Because seven people were shot in Queens. It was a dude running a car company in Birmingham connected. It was on the news. And it was on the news.

And it was the turning point in my life because I was like, wow. Actually, May 24, 2000. It was May 24, 2000. And when I saw that on the news, it struck a chord with me. And I said, bad things continue to happen when people like you and I feel to take action.

So I took action and started to be someone to kind of do what I can to stop the acceleration of crime and violence and reduce the school to prison pipeline, cause our kids are just making bad decisions. And I later found out that the guy said he, he was real slow and he was basically doing what the guy told him to do when he robbed the place. So we got to teach children how to think for themselves and how to make sure that what they're doing is a product of their own conclusion and don't just follow the follower.

So you literally shut down your business and started a nonprofit. I really shut down my business, start a program called be someone. It's kind of do everything I can to teach our children that bad things happen when you do bad things. 30,000 foot view, what is Be Someone? Be Someone is a youth development program dedicated to teaching children that your moves matter and that the moves you make determine the path you take

and that you have everything you need to be successful. You just gotta make sure you use them properly and make sure you do no harm. Just be a good human being. Be all God created you to be and never settle for less than you can be. So, tell me the first time you walked in to a school or a community center, tell me that thing that you did first for Be Someone,

where you went into a bunch of inner city kids and started talking chess. I got to believe folks looked at you kind of crazy. Yes, they did. And I realized that. So what I did was I created a rap song to counter. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. You've got to be kidding me. Yeah, because my friend at times said they ain't listen to Orin.

I said, she said, you got to do something. So I created a rap song to meet them where they are before I can get them to go where I want them to go. Say that. What you just said. You got to meet that. That's nowhere in your bio. That is exact. Orin, that is what I say. You gotta meet. That's nowhere in your bio, but that is exact, that is what I say.

Say it again. You gotta meet people where they are in order to get them to go where you want them to go. So they rapping, so I can rap better than you. Coach, you can rap? Yeah. I don't know how to rap, but I came up, I had to, you gotta meet them where they are.

I mean, if they've been arrested, you gotta get arrested for something, you gotta meet people where they are. I mean, if they've been arrested, you gotta get arrested for something, you gotta meet people where they are. Hey, you've been arrested? Okay, I've been arrested. So I met them where they are. Be someone, you gotta get in the game. I'm Orrin C. Hudson, it's time for a change.

Make the right moves in this game called life. Think before you move and always be nice. And when the game get tough and times get rough, never give up, because we're more than enough. Practice every day, duck, correct weight, always better your best before you play. We gotta get in the game, get in the game get tough and times get rough. Never give up because we're more than enough. Practice every day, the correct way, always better your best before you play. We gotta get in the game, get in the game, say it. And they say get in the game, get in the game.

Get your head in the game, head in the game, say it. Head in the game, head in the game. Stay in the game, stay in the game, say it. Stay in the game, stay in the game. Get on top of your game, top of your game. Top of your game, what game, what game? The game of life, the game of life. Chess is more than a game, it's a test you can pass.

Pay attention and learn from mistakes in the past. Everybody's gonna wonder when you know the truth, it's all about learning and you're living proof. Dropping a demo on today's youth. I'm just like you, there's nothing we can't do. Be willing to make mistakes and times you get better. Do whatever it takes, back down never. Get to make mistakes and times you get better. Do whatever it takes. Back down, never.

Get in the game and don't be afraid. We all create an equal black and white shades, whichever way you made. We all breathe the same. We all need the same. So please get in the game. Yay! What do you think, Cassius?

That's something right there now. See, that's why I guess I never won a state championship. I never could rap to my players. That's awesome. So you will introduce yourself to a room of kids that way. And by the time you're through with that, they're looking at you like, all right. Yeah. And I put a thousand dollars challenge on the table. They beat me to get a thousand dollars. So they're trying to win a thousand dollars and they the table. They beat me and they get a thousand dollars. So they trying to win a thousand dollars and they can't beat it. They can't do it.

They're trying. I'm coming back in the morning, I'm gonna get that thousand dollars. I said, but see, I said, look, I'm in pre-K. So when I leave here, I'm going back to my laboratory and I'm gonna study. Cause if I don't, you'll beat me tomorrow. So I got to pretend that I'm in pre-K,

school is never out for the pro, and I gotta always be on top of my game. Every day I gotta get a little bit better. Every day I gotta get a little bit better. Why? Because if I don't, you're gonna get the thousand dollars tomorrow. And that concludes part one of my conversation with Warren Hudson.

And you don't want to miss part two that's now available to listen to. Guys together, we can change this country. But it really does start with you. I'll see you in part two. We all know what that music means. It's time for the Olympics in Paris. I'm Matt Rogers and I'm Bowen Yang. And we're doing an Olympics podcast? Uh, yeah. We're hosting the Two Guys, Five Rings podcast. Watch every moment of the 2024 Paris Olympics beginning July 26th on NBC and Peacock. And for the first time, you can stream the 2024 Paris games on the iHeartRadio app. And listen to Two Guys, Five Rings on

the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Andrea Gunning, host of the all new podcast There and Gone. It's a real life story of two people who left a crowded Philadelphia bar, walked to their truck and vanished. A truck and two people just don't disappear. The FBI called it murder for hire. But which victim was the intended target and why? Listen to There and Gone South Street on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever

you get your podcasts. Last season, millions tuned into the Betrayal podcast to hear a shocking story of deception. I'm Andrea Gunning, and now we're sharing an all new story of Betrayal. Justin Rutherford. Doctor, father, family man. It was the perfect cover to hide behind. Detective Weaver said, I'm sure you know why we're here. I was like, what in the world is going on?

Listen to Betrayal on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.