An Army of Normal Folks - Yuri Williams: The Superhero Doing 50 State Tours (Pt 1)

Episode Date: July 23, 2024

After losing his mom to cancer, Yuri was depressed and strangely enough found hope when he created an Instagram account. Posts from Army members Officer Tommy Norman and Rodney Smith lifted his spirits, and he even badgered Rodney to join one of his 50 state tours. Next thing you know these guys have gone on 5 Christmas tours together, with Yuri dressed up as a superhero bringing presents to kids with illnesses or disabilities.  Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's several kids that have passed away since the five tours that we've done. And, you know, I carry those kids with me every visit because, you know, without them, their energy, I'm not able to continue doing what I do. Welcome to an army of normal folks. I'm Bill Courtney. I'm a normal guy. I'm a husband, I'm a father, I'm an entrepreneur, and I've been a football coach in inner city Memphis. And that last part somehow

It led to an Oscar for the film about our team. It's called undefeated Guys, I believe our country's problems will never be solved by a bunch of fancy people in nice suits talking big words that nobody understands on CNN and Fox but rather By an army of normal folks, us, you and me, just saying, you know what, maybe I can help. That's what Uri Williams, the voice we just heard, has done. These five tours that he mentioned have been with a fellow army member, Rodney Smith Jr.,

as they go to all 50 states every Christmas, bringing presents and joy to kids that are sick while they're dressed up as, get this, superheroes and elves. I swear it's true. I can't wait for you to meet Yuri and hear all about this right after our brief messages from our generous sponsors. Hey guys, I'm Andrea Gunning, host of There and Gone South Street. In this series, we follow the case of Richard Patrone and Daniel Imbo, two

people who went missing in Philadelphia nearly two decades ago and have never been found Unlike most cases there is not a single piece of physical evidence connected to this crime But the FBI knows there was foul play I'm excited to share that you can now get access to all new episodes there and gone South Street 100% ad free and one week early with an iHeart True Crime Plus subscription, available exclusively on Apple podcasts. So don't wait.

Head to Apple podcasts, search for iHeart True Crime Plus and subscribe today. 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 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 i, Paramore, Shaboosie, The Black Crows, Thomas Rhett, Victoria Monet, and more. Get tickets to our 2024 iHeartRadio Music Festival, presented by Capital One right now, before they sell out at aexs.com. ["AXS"]

at AXS.com. Yuri Williams, welcome to Memphis, bro. Thank you for having him. Yuri Williams, everybody, is the founder of a future superhero and friends, which we'll get to. He has been literally around the country doing what he does and it's actually awesome, but it's hilarious and it's inspiring and heartwarming. His travels have had him meet people young and old and sick and famous and we're gonna get into all that because it's really really cool. The other thing about your story is it connects a lot of

army of normal folks dots from Tommy Norman, Officer Tommy Norman to Rodney who we're gonna talk about so it's kind of like old home week when you sit down over here bro. So first of all tell me about where you from, where you grew up. From South searcher, Los Angeles, uh, born and raised for 47 years now. 47 years. Well, all right. So that means that you were born in like 74 or so. Is that right?

Six, 76. Pretty good math right in there. Oh, you're a Bistinio baby, 76. What was South Central LA like growing up? Yeah. At those days. Yeah, I mean, that's the gang banger. That was colors.

That was all of it, right? Yeah, colors, everything, crack epidemic, just violence every day. Like, you know, I'll be home in the house after school and, you know, get ready to go to sleep and it just sounds like you and I wreck, you know, just gunfire everywhere. You know, my mom was a probation officer and we live next door to people that gentleman that abuse his wife, they use drugs and you know, everybody else in that building was you know good people but outside of that building

It was pretty rough outside in the streets of LA you say that building I'm imagining apartment complex Wow You know, I'm 55. So I'm just a few years older than you. But you're in my quote growing up was kind of the same generation and time. And on the one hand, you had the yuppies and you had the 80s and you had really the 80s, the late 80s were the very beginning of what is now rap and hip hop. And you got your OG guys that all came out of LA, but you also had your, you know, we were still listening to some of the old bands that still, these 70, 80 year old guys are still touring. And you know, the 80s were an interesting time where we'd gotten through the pains of the Civil Rights

Movement and were moving on as a country. The Soviet Union had fallen. The economy was getting a little better. The country was getting in a better place. And despite it all, we had all our social ills, but I just don't understand why people would stay in South Central LA when the world was kind of progressing and that area was digressing. Why South Central a why stay?

Why be there? I mean it builds you up, you know Growing up in that environment is you know, my mom stayed on me all the time, you know There was times when you know, I was in sixth grade Friend of mine try to you know, make me join the gang and he told my mom like I'm gonna put your son on the hood And my mom what gang what color? Blood because I lived in BPS hood which is the black piece on 20s. Is that that's blood area? I don't know Yeah, I mean it's blood where I was standing at but right next door was Harlem Crips

And then you go down the street you had the 40s you have your Hispanic gangs You have the West Boulevard Crips. Was even safe to walk different corners? No, no. I remember once my mom stopped letting me walk to school because I witnessed someone getting shot. Ever since that day, she would pick me up and drop me off from school and that type

of high school. I never walked to school. She took me from home to school every day because that's how dangerous it was. You know, they had a shooting at a summer school, first day of summer school of high school. That should tell you how dangerous the neighborhood is. Why stay? Your mom had a job.

Y'all weren't on, you weren't in the projects and on food stamps. Your mom was working and. You weren't on the projects and on food stamps. Your mom was working and trying to raise you right. She came from Mansfield, Louisiana, $500. Dream to be on American Bandstand. Are you kidding? That's why your mom, so you're people from Louisiana. Yeah, Louisiana, Mansfield, Streetport, Louisiana,

and I got some family in Texas, but her mom Sent her to California for a better life because you know, Mansfield is kind of slow. Not a lot of opportunities Yeah, no, so she went to California with that $500 and her dream. She never got on the show, but she Was became a probation officer, you know, and I went to never forget going to work with her at juvenile hall when she couldn't find a babysitter because she didn't trust a lot of people, you know, so I'll never forget I went to work with her and the parents would bring toys in, you're not supposed to bring any contraband and for you know,

kids because they can use it for contraband, whatever. So I got like at least 20 toys that day that you know I got to take home. And every week I used to tell her like you know can I go you know I want to go back to work with you. So this one particular day went back there got some more toys but this time for some reason I fell in love with a Spider-Man toy you know because he would do this and I, you know, I would always be doing this to people and then years come later, you know, you know, this means love, you know, and that stuck with me ever since that day. And I will

never forget on that day, there was a kid banging in the hallway, big Samoan kid like six-five, three hundred. He's banging on the door. The lights are in this hallway. The lights are out. And my mom is probably like 5'2". She don't take no mess. You know, nobody would mess with her. She would run up on a 6'8' guy. That's how tough she was, you know.

So she hit the lights, so I'm hit the lights, and she walks down the hallway, told them, pop the door, and I'm looking at the hallway, looking at her, like, just make sure she okay. You know, you probably think that she's about to get mashed on. That's what I was thinking. Door pops open, you know, she's short. This guy's like this tall and I'm looking and I'm like, and I'm like, he's

going to hit my mom, you know, and he just started crying and she started yelling at him, you know, talking to him and out of respect, you know, he said, okay, I'm gonna stop banging and you know, he closed the door and sat down and I'm like, see, that's when I saw impact and she was making a difference and then that's how I followed in her footsteps. I read that you grew up in a time when other families and other parents in your building, if you started messing up, they'd get on you too. And it was like a community.

Certainly there were some bad people like theirs and everything, but by and large, there was a community of people that helped raise each other's kids and nobody let anybody's kids get out of shape. That's what I built myself on coming from that error. We don't have that now. That has been installed in me since day one, seeing if I did something wrong, I know I'm

going to get in trouble. I call them my family and my mom's gonna tear me up even more. I mean, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know,

I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, if he didn't, I probably wouldn't be here talking to you today. Well, the interesting part of it is to me, it feels like at a young age, you got a real

sense of service and community because of the neighborhood you grew up in. Despite the metaphor is, despite all the troubles that was central LA, south central LA, there was a community people serving and trying to raise kids and do good for the people in their community even when they didn't have a lot of means. Right. I mean it's a lot of good people in that community but it's a lot of people that will bring you down too if you let them. So you're a big dude, man. Did you play basketball or football or anything?

My first love was baseball. Really? Yeah. And then it was basketball and track. And then I just after I think I played college basketball one year and I saw how the coach was just letting the senior guys play and this and that. And I was like, I'm wasting my time here. So I stopped playing sports and I just tried to find my purpose other ways, you know, through education and whatever. And then, you know, I ended up

working in corrections. I've been doing that for 20 plus years. And like I said, I followed my mom footsteps because she was making an impact and I feel that I've made an impact as well. my footsteps because she was making an impact and I feel that I have made an impact as well. So, you get through life as in South Central LA, which in and of itself is an achievement, not to get balled up in all the gangs and stuff. And I mean, you got a five foot two mama who sounds like she'd whooped your ass,

if you'd have gotten involved in something you weren't supposed to be anyway. You're right, you got a five foot two mama who sounds like she'd whooped your, you'd have gotten involved. So you weren't supposed to be anyway. Right. And you saw her actually have an impact as a probation officer. And that's what you found your way to. And then your mom passes. That was like the hardest day of my life. She called me at work to tell me she had cancer for eight years.

She hid it for eight years. You know, she hid it. Yeah. That's a wow. She is a tough one. She didn't, you know, she didn't want me to worry, you know, and I told her why the heck would you call me at work and tell me something like that, you know, and I had to leave work and, you know, just deal with that.

And, you know, the years go by and I'll never forget her last day, she was still fighting, you know, she would get out of the bed and go use the restroom instead of trying to use the bedpan. And I'll never forget June 2nd, 4.45 p.m., you know? My daughter was crying, like heavily crying. 445 PM came, my mom left, daughter went straight to sleep. And I'm like, she just soothed herself through my daughter and took off, you know?

So clearly your mom had a massive impact on everything that is the essence of you. Oh yes. Tough, service, love, what you did for a living. And after she passed, I've read that you went through a really tough depression over it. I mean, she was your world. Yeah. Five years was hell, Bill. Like, uh...

Five years, long time to grieve, bro. And then just hide it, you know. Like, me and you be talking like this and then I'll go home and just be falling for no reason, you know. And one day, I'm sitting there in the bed and I just wake up and I'm like, I can't keep living like this, you know. It just feels like I was having like an out- out of body experience from laying in the bed so long. You feel like you're floating out of your body.

It's just weird and, you know, hard to explain, but that's the feeling that I was having all the time, just laying in the bed and feeling depressed and having to fake for people how my feelings were, you know. And I'll never forget my coworkers gave me 300 plus hours just to start over and get myself back together. You know, I took those days off And I'll never forget my coworkers gave me 300 plus hours just to start over and get myself back together. You know, I took those days off and I'll never forget and I appreciate them for that, you know?

So that day that I got back, I get in the car, I usually call her every morning like 5.45 before I go in at six and the phone's just ringing, ringing, ringing. And it goes to her voicemail. You know, she's not here anymore and I just couldn't hold it in. I'm just bawling like it's raining, you know. And I called a job. I said, give me like an hour to get myself together.

So for some strange reason, I don't know why, I picked my phone up and I created an Instagram account. Why did you do that? I've read that. You all messed up. Your mama's gone, you can say, well, I think I'm gonna create an Instagram account. Yeah.

That's crazy. It's a little crazy, man. And I don't know if that's a sign from somebody or to do that, but I did it. And I'm glad I did because I probably wouldn't be here with you today. So I make this Instagram account scrolling through there trying to maneuver it and learn how to use it and officer Tommy Norman pops up on the explorer page. It was a picture of him sitting with those kids on the porch you know so I clicked on it

you know he's an officer it's the same thing that I do, but he's out in the streets and scrolling through the pages, I'm listening and laughing and then I started following him. So I'm following him, following him. And then I said, all right, let me go back to the Explorer page. And Hip Hop Trooper, he's from, he lives out here in Tennessee. Hip Hop Trooper. Yeah, and he dresses up as a Red Storm trooper. He lives out here in Tennessee. Hip-hop trooper.

Yeah, and he dresses up as a Red Storm trooper. And I love Star Wars as you can see. And he has a radio. It's like a hip-hop trooper. He has a radio, but he transforms it and takes the Star Wars into his universe with the radio, right? So I'm looking through there. I'm like, this is dope, Adidas red outfit and the red helmet. And I'm like, this is dope. So I start following him. Weeks go by, you know, I'm learning the Instagram

and I see Officer Norman, Ronnie's going to, Officer Norman, it's the North Little Rock to Tummoa. So I'm like, let me check this guy and see what he's doing. So he's traveling all 50 states, you know, more and longer free. You know, the guy, great guy, loved the guy. Talk to him like every other day. I said, once you get to California, I want to meet you for lunch.

He was acting out weird, like I'm a serial killer. I'm a killer. I'll never forget that, you know, and I don't blame him because that's how I am. You know, I'll park out here. I back in. I don't like my back to the door. You grew up South Central. It's in your brother.

So I said, Ronnie, man, you know, just meet me at this place. He's like, all right, man. All right. So we met for lunch and I told him, I said, look, man, I love what you're doing. I love what you're normally doing. I, I've been depressed for about five years, you know, talking about my mom. And I said, I wanna go on this 50 state tour with you, man,

just to see, you know, if it'll help me out. And the next year, I mean, I bugged him from that day until like December of beginning of the year, January. He's like, all right, man, we're gonna get ready to go on this tour or whatever. I was like, okay. Get on the tour, just seeing all the mountains and all that stuff, dude, it just cleared my depression,

like that, you know? And I haven't been depressed like that since that day. And now a few messages from our generous sponsors. But first, as you guys know, the world we live in, it ain't perfect. But it doesn't get better on its own either. That's where the work of activists come in. Whether it's veteran or disability advocacy, there are people all around the world striving to make our world a better place.

That's where the podcast, All About Change comes in. I was recently interviewed on there and their host, Jay Ruderman, talks with activists about how they do what they do and what inspires them to keep going. Because activism really is all about change. I hope you'll listen to all about change wherever you get your podcast. We'll be right back. Hey guys, I'm Adrey Gunning, host of There and Gone South Street. In this series, we

follow the case of Richard Patrón and Daniel Imbo, two people who went missing in Philadelphia nearly two decades ago and have never been found. Unlike most cases, there is not a single piece of physical evidence connected to this crime, but the FBI knows there was foul play. I'm excited to share that you can now get access to all new episodes of There and Gone South Street, 100% ad free and one week early with an I Heart True Crime Plus subscription,

available exclusively on Apple podcasts. So don't wait, head to Apple podcasts, search for I Heart True Crime Plus and subscribe today. Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan, host of Womanica, and subscribe today. 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 presented by Capital One. Coming back to Las Vegas. September 20th and 21st, streaming live only on Hulu. Don't miss. Big Sean, Camila Cabello, Doja Cat, Gwen Stefani, Hozier, Keith Urban, New Kids on the Block, Paramore, Shaboosie, The Black Crows, Thomas Rhett, Victoria Monet.

And more. Get tickets to our 2024 iHeartRadio Music Festival, presented by Capital One right now before they sell out at AXS.com. So that's, first of all, it's crazy. Yeah, but you found your redemption and your cure to your depression and your sense of hopelessness and loss in Instagram, basically. But let's connect some dots here because this is what's amazing.

Tommy Norm was the second person I ever interviewed on this podcast. North Little Rocks, only three hours from here, right? And for all our listeners, please go back if you haven't listened to the Tommy Norman interview. I think Alex, it would have been our second or third release, right? Tommy Norman was the very first Army of Normal Folks guest and I was a terrible interviewer. So when you listen to that, everybody listened to me. You go back, listen to it. Just give me a break. All right. I was just learning what I was doing. Tommy carried it though. Well, thank you. But Tommy carried it. But what Tommy is, he's a cop. He's a cop in North Little Rock, but his goal is to get invited into somebody's front yard,

then get invited on their porch, and then get invited in their house to sit down at the table because what you've got into a person's house, they trust you and you become family. And he walks his beat and he goes to, he patrols the worst areas of North Little Rock and he is revered. And he is revered because he simply builds relationships and shows compassion to kids and families who by and large have been disenfranchised for one reason or another. And he is considered the Michael Jordan of community policing. And just has a heart as big as the world. I find it fascinating that your first day on Instagram,

just trying to find some answers for why you're sad, you've land on him. Which ironically, when people find out what you do, Tommy is a superhero. Then you find Rodney Smith. Now, Rodney Smith was another guest. And Yuri, we interviewed Tommy and Rodney long before we ever heard of your crazy self

doing what you do. So just to, so everybody listening, this is not some fabricated thing. It is truly the remarkable power of sharing what normal folks can do to build a community that is good for our society. It is, this is quintessentially the army of normal folks stuff. And I don't mean the podcast.

I mean in reality. And so Rodney, a guy of his car one day and cut grass for an old man and then decided that old man liked it so much and he started cutting grass everywhere. Now this dude has fire truck lawnmowers and all kinds of crazy stuff and he cuts grass all over the country and he's gone on 50 state tours cutting grass for people for free that people can't handle it. 17 times. What's that? 17 times. 17 times across country and so what you're saying is you found him on Instagram and when he was cruising through California that's when you sat down and said, man, I need to go tour with you. But what you gonna do, cut grass?

No, I was actually the first tour I was Spider-Man. Yeah. I know it sounds crazy, Bill, but. You realize Spider-Man about five, 10, but 55, right? I've seen him on cartoons and TV. You six, four, 250 or something, right? I've seen him on cartoons and TV. You 6'4, 250 or something, right? You the big, okay, 220, I don't know how big you are, but you big man.

You're the biggest Spider-Man there ever was. You like Spider, you like Garantula Man or something. So you decide, you're gonna hook up a Rodney, dress as Spider-Man, and when he's cutting grass, what you gonna do? So you decide you're gonna hook up a Rodney, dress as Spider-Man, and when he's cutting grass, what you gonna do? Stand in the video. Hey, what's up? I did do one line and I'm like, it's too hot.

Not dressed as Spider-Man. I got the video. I got the video for you if you don't believe it. I got video. You cut somebody's grass, dressed as Spider-Man, and six four. What were cars doing when they, did you cause a wreck? Somebody did blow their horn.

I bet they did. I would've. Yeah. All right, so you could, he said, Rodney. One line. One yard. He said, Rodney, I can't, it's too hot. It's too hot, yeah.

Yeah, I'm wearing all this polyester head to toe, I can't breathe. So what'd you decide to do? I think the first tour was a houseless community. So we visited every houses community or you know, found somebody on the street and asked them what would they want? You know, we went back to Walmart or whatever store and got them whatever they needed.

And then I told them, you know, why are you doing the lines? I'll go and visit hospital or a child at home that can't, you know, has a disability or special needs or something like that. Dressed as Spider-Man. Yeah. So y'all would, you caught up with him at Dure and you just started hopping states with him,

dressed as Spider-Man, on your own, not sponsored, just out of your own, visiting children's hospitals dressed as Spider-Man just to. And so earlier, you said that what really helped you get over the depression was seeing mountains and the world and everything else. Was that really it? Or was it seeing the smiles on the faces of the kids you were putting on? I think you're right.

It might be the smiles because there's several kids that have passed away since the five tours that we've done. And I carry those kids with me every visit because without them, their energy, I'm not able to continue doing what I do. From the first kid that I met, Diego Anzures, who passed away, to the kids that I met yesterday at the hospital, I remember these kids' faces

and the reaction on their faces is just like I was when I was a kid, when I used to get toys. So this is my way of paying back humanity for my time here on earth. Because as many times in South Central LA, I've been on that hot police car for no reason. You know, I was robbed at gunpoint once, gun to my head and I'm still here.

You know, I remember somebody telling me, you're not gonna make it to 18. And a lot of my friends didn't make it to 18 and I'm still here. I remember somebody telling me, you're not going to make it to 18. And a lot of my friends didn't make it to 18 and I'm still here. So this is my debt that I'm paying to still be here on earth, paying back humanity. Being on that hot police car when you didn't do anything, you mean being pulled over and frisked just walking down the street? Yeah. I mean, we used to hang out on Crenshaw young kids, just, you don't know, you hang out there to get girls or, you know, hang out with your

friends and for the police to just come and harass us, you know, during that time, eighties, nineties, it was real bad with LAPD where my dad is a cop with ex cop, you know, and I used to say, is this how my dad is doing other people? But I know he wasn't like that, but I give every officer, I don't treat everybody the same, you know, so if you're a police officer and you come correct, then okay, you come correct. The next guy might not come correct, you know, so I give everybody opportunity to be 100. And you know, a lot of the times, nine times out of 10, they just proved me wrong. So there's a lot of folks in the world that grew up or you grew up that really have a

societal anger. And I want to say chip on their shoulder, but that almost makes it. That's wrong of me to say because a chip on your shoulder is kind of indicative that, you know, you got the problem where, you know, when you can't even hang out in your neighborhood without getting harassed by police, you deserve to have a chip on your shoulder in my opinion, right? Right. You deserve to have a chip on your shoulder in my opinion, right? So I guess what I'm trying to understand is where does this desire to serve our society in the least advantaged among us come from when you came from where you came from, because candidly, the vast majority of people

that come from where you came from don't have that sense of social responsibility to humanity. I think it's, like I said, my mom pushed me all the time, kept me centered at all times, you know, and a lot of people don't have that backing like I had, you know, and that's why I do what I do because I know a lot of people have gone through what I've gone through and I can relate to them like the kids that I work with, you know, the gangsters, I want to be gangsters and I tell these kids you don't have to be

that you're not that you know, like you're better than that. I know you you have seen your grades and what you can do, but they need to hear that and they need to see that. You know, so when I'm on the news or whatever, I always go back and show them like, this could be you. And these kids, some of these kids come to me like, hey, when I get out and get off probation, I'm gonna help somebody. And that's when I know that I'm making an impact

on some kid that I've told years ago and they come back and say, I wanna do this. You know, that's when I know that I've made an impact on some kid that I've told years ago and they come back and say, I want to do this. You know, that's when I know that I've made an impact on them. We'll be right back. Hey guys, I'm Adreah Gunning, host of There and Gone South Street. In this series, we follow the case of Richard Patrone and Daniel Imbo, two people who went missing in Philadelphia

nearly two decades ago and have never been found. Unlike most cases, there is not a single piece of physical evidence connected to this crime. But the FBI knows there was foul play. I'm excited to share that you can now get access to all new episodes of There and Gone South Street 100% ad free and one week early with an iHeartTrueCrimePlus subscription, available exclusively on Apple podcasts. So don't wait. Head to Apple podcasts, search for iHeartTrueCrimePlus and subscribe today. 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 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. Our iHeartRadio music festival preceded by Capital One. Coming back to Las Vegas. September 20th and 21st streaming live only on Hulu. Big Sean, Camila Cabello, Doja Cat, Gwen Stefani, Hozier, Keith Urban, New Kids on the Block, Paramore, Shaboosie, The Black Crows, Thomas Rhett, Victoria Monet, and more. Get tickets to our 2024 iHeartRadio Music Festival, presented by Capital One right now,

before they sell out at AXS.com. before they sell out at AXS.com. You said Diego on Zuras, my first kid that I visit. Where where was I? It was actually in Long Beach. This is when I first got that suit. Where did you find a Spider-Man six four foot six foot four Spider-Man suit? Online you can just Google. And I think about it, I have to get the best screen accurate thing that's from my mom. She always

told me, you make sure you get the best thing. And when you come out the house, you represent me. So I make sure I get the highest quality product that I can find and that's Spider-Man was just like the movie product, you know? All right. So tell us about the first family you're active with was Diego. And so what was, what was Diego's, why Diego, why did you go visit him? They were actually having like a 5k walk in Long Beach for children

with a, when was cancer walk. So, Diego had cancer. Yeah, so, DIPG, which is a form of brain cancer and your life expectancy is, I want to say, 10 to 13 years old, you won't get past that age, you know. God, that's sad. Yeah, yeah. So, I'm going to tell you about this suit. I put the suit on, it's hot, it's like 100 degrees California.

It's not like you guys, humidity and all that stuff. I could deal with that, but this is a different kind of heat. This is a different, people don't realize what this is. This is real hot. Just sweating for no reason. Yeah. But I put this suit on, elastic suit, whatever, and the lenses, I didn't know you need to put dish washing soap

so they won't fog up. So while I'm talking, they're fogging up. So I'm walking. This is a 5K walk, okay? So I'm walking and I'm talking and it just fogs up and I can't see. So I tell my friend, I'm like, you're gonna have to tell me where the kids are

because I can't see. She's like, you wanna go home or whatever? I'm like, no, this is why I came out here for the kids. You know, I know they need to see this. So here I am walking around like a bad or blind. I can't see. And I'm just, you know, kids walking up to me. So she's like, the kids on the right side, grab them on the right side.

And I go like this for the picture, you know? So he's on the left side. I grabbed him on this side. I use this hand for this. So walking around and we finally get to Diego. He's in a wheelchair and his family's like at the end of the walk. And some reason the fog goes away out of the lenses

and I could see him. So I reached my hand out and I could see that smile on his face and his family said he loves Spider-Man and we'll talk to his family. And I said, you know what, is your birthday and his birthday is actually coming up in like the next month so I said I'm gonna have Spider-Man come to house for your birthday so I got his family's information showed up at the house of Spider-Man that for his birthday you know the kids are going

crazy and whatever you know and that, I want some tickets to a Marvel show at a Staples Center. So I took his family to see that. I took him to dinner for his birthday and his family. We bought the movie theater out for a Spider-Man was coming out that month. So I bought the movie theater out for families with disabilities, special needs, and those battling life-threatening illnesses. You bought the whole movie theater out for kids

with special, all kinds of sick kids, special needs and all that. Yeah, and this is before I started a nonprofit. So this is coming from my- You just doing it. Yeah, just from my pocket because I can't even explain how the vibes and energy, just the excitement and just seeing these kids' faces.

Every time I wanna to do something. So we buy this theater out, all the kids are in there, it's packed, dress up as Spider-Man, Diego smile, and everybody's having a good time, and I'm just in there. I just start crying sitting in that chair because I just feel the energy from all these kids, all the stuff that they're going through and all that. And I'm like, man, here I am complaining about

Jordans I didn't get in a contest while these kids are battling, you know, these life threatening illnesses taking these pills every day, and all this stuff. And I'm like, this is what I need to be doing is helping these kids. Before that it started, I took that suit out to the Althus community in Skid Row. And Skid Row is like, yo, whoa, whoa I took that suit out to the Althus community in Skid Row. And Skid Row is like, whoa, whoa, whoa, you went to, you went, you went as a six foot four Spider-Man to Skid Row.

You gotta keep saying that six foot four Spider-Man. I just imagine your big ass walking around in a Spider-Man outfit in Skid Row. They must have thought you were high. They said, Oh, here's another one. So I go out there with this, with the suit on a buddy, buddy's poly project, he serves us the houses community. I didn't know anything about Skid Row at that time. Again, I went to Instagram

and was looking up positive people, typed in homeless, Paulie's Project comes up. I said, hey man, I wanna come out with you and service the houseless community. So he didn't know I was gonna come in Spider-Man. So it threw him off guard too, you know? And, but I'm gonna tell you, I'm gonna explain this to you,

Bill. This is my psychological thinking. This is a distraction, you know, because you're gonna see it and you're gonna be like, what the heck is going on? And you're gonna laugh or you're gonna smile or you're gonna frown one of the probably gonna laugh. Yeah. Yes. So all of it. Yeah. So we get down there. We serve it to the people. Are here is spider-man spider-man spider-man And then I'm like, yeah this sounds good, bro Yes, they love it like I've built relationships with several people and they stood this day

They've got housing or whatever and they call me they still call me spider-man. They won't call me Yuri or anything else so the following week I Go like regular clothes like this. And the people get out of here and go home, get where it's Spider-Man. So they loved it. You know, it brings you back to your childhood. And that's what I tell people. Your childhood is probably the better time of your life.

You know, you don't have bills or stressed out. And, you know, you're playing with your toys and you're eating and you go to sleep, watch cartoons. That's it, you know? Better days. Yeah. So oddly, it's co-therapy. Yes, yes.

It feels, all of these kids are getting, and people are getting so much out of you showing up like this, but you're starting to feel good about life again too. You're healing. Lennon Hall Yeah, the energy from them is helping me. Chris Bounds Okay, so I get it. So at this time, you got inspired by Tommy Norman, you got inspired by Rodney, you get inspired by kids big smiles, you spent your own money and you have a heart for the most disadvantaged,

which I think is wonderful. But really, you're just kind of doing this. I mean, to feel good and to help people feel better and to have some feeling that you're serving, which I gotta believe is kind of part of the implant of the way you grew up. All right. But you you're really not a thing. You're just you're in a Spider-Man suit at this point. How does it change? No years go by.

The funny thing is I was I started at work and I asked people I wanted to get these costumes and become a superhero. You know, some people were laughing and I didn't believe it and this and that, but there was a restaurant right next to our job. So I went to him and I said, hey, can you help me fundraise so I can get some more costumes? New York guy, no problem. So every meal that somebody purchased, he would take $5 off and, um, you know, help me get the costume.

Now these really, where was this? Uh, it's called Bellas, but he's, uh, he's deceased, uh, Joe Long Beach. No, it's an Orange County right next to my job. And Joe rest in peace. So it was one of the first people to actually, uh, support me and help me, you know, get, and I'm lying, Bill. The first customer I got was Kylo Ren from Star Wars. He helped me get that.

That was the first customer. The second one was Spider-Man. And this guy just out of the, did you know him? Oh yeah. Did you eat at his restaurant? I've ate at his restaurant like every day, you know? And there's been times that I order something and I forget to come pick it up. He would call me at home and like, you forgot you didn't pay for your food today.

New Yorkers, you know how they are. So I love Joe and I would go back the next day and pay for it and whatever. But he was one of the actually first people to support this movement and I'm very thankful for him for doing that. So did you have a sense at this point that you wanted to start a thing? Not really, you know, I was just still in that depression and trying to find myself I feel you know, and I think once that spider-man thing kicked in we went to Diego I met Diego's family and then, you know, taking him all those places and buying that theater out. And it was just like a pre-planned thing that turned into something bigger, like, you know,

going on these 50 state tours. I would never thought that I would do that. But I remember, Bill, this incident that happened, my job kid committed suicide. He hung himself. Well, parolee, you were responsible for? Yeah, yeah, but it wasn't my unit, it was next door. And I was the first person to go in there, and I remember seeing him,

because I was talking to him earlier that day, and he was going through some stuff. You know, I'm not going to talk about his personal business or whatever, but that kind of messed me up, that seeing him like that, you know, but I've seen, you know, my friends get shot or, you know, one of my good friends got his leg shot off and I witnessed that. And that it really didn't

those, you know, seeing your friends or whatever, that didn't hurt me as much as seeing a kid in that situation like that, you know. So then we could do, you know, we can revive them, whatever what we could do, you know, we couldn't revive them, whatever. The job made, you know, made me take a little leave just for to free my mind, you know? And I went to therapy and I'll never forget this assignment. They asked, what's one thing you want to do while you're here on earth? And for some strange reason, I said I wanna visit 50 states and hug one person in each state.

Now this is sorta God truth. That's what I wrote on that paper. And to go full circle and, you know, to meet Rodney and Norman and then do that 50 state tour, like, it was just like, it was already written, you know? And it's just crazy that I look back and I think about some of the stuff that happened before and how it just progressed till now.

And I'm like, it seemed like this was already written already for me, you know? That is crazy. Yeah, yeah. And that concludes part one of my conversation with Uri Williams. And you do not want to miss part two that's now available. Together guys, we can change the country. It will start with you. I'll see you in part two. and I'm gonna be back. I'm gonna be back. I'm gonna be back.

I'm gonna be back. I'm gonna be back. I'm gonna be back. I'm gonna be back. I'm gonna be back. I'm gonna be back. I'm gonna be back. I'm gonna be back.

I'm gonna be back. I'm gonna be back. I'm gonna be back. You can do a leap of Gwen Stefani, Halsey, Hozier, Keith Urban, New Kids on the Block, Paramore, Shaboosie, The Black Crows, Thomas Red, Victoria Monet and more. Buy tickets now at AXS.com. 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.

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. Who doesn't love a sports story? The rivalries, the feats of strength and stamina. But these tales go beyond the podium. There's the teen table tennis champ, the ice skater who earned a medal and a medical degree, and the sprinter fighting for Aboriginal rights. Listen to Wamanica on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.