Re-Air: Kel Mitchell: No Mistakes, Just Lessons

Mayim Bialik's Breakdown

Mayim Bialik

Comedy, Health & Fitness, Mental Health

4.8 • 5.9K Ratings

🗓️ 12 September 2025

⏱️ 80 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In honor of National Suicide Prevention Month, we are revisiting our episode with Kel Mitchell. Kel Mitchell (All That, Kenan & Kel, Good Burger, author of Blessed Mode: 90 Days to Level Up Your Faith) joins us to discuss his early career as a 90’s Nickelodeon star and the major life events that shaped him into a youth pastor and the man of faith he is today. He details his class clown and theatre beginnings, finding his comedy partner in Kenan Thompson, and the impact of the diversity shown on All That. Kel draws comparisons between his childhood in the southside of Chicago where he lost loved ones to gun and gang violence and the trauma young celebrities face in Hollywood. He discusses getting married at an early age and dealing with anxiety stemming from confusion over whether people loved him for his comedy characters or his true self. Kel opens up about his suicide attempt, how his faith led him to pursue a path toward mental wellness, and his journey to becoming a youth pastor. Mayim and Kel consider the mental health impact of living in communities touched by violence and intergenerational trauma. Follow us on Substack for Exclusive Bonus Content: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bialikbreakdown.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BialikBreakdown.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube.com/mayimbialik⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, I'm I'm Bialik. I'm Jonathan Cohen. And welcome to our breakdown. It is National
0:09.7	Suicide Prevention Month this September. And in order to honor this month, we want to revisit our
0:16.5	episode with a comedian and beloved 90s Nickelodeon star Kel Mitchell. You probably know him from
0:22.7	shows like All That or Keenan and Kell or the movie Good Burger. We were really, really blown
0:29.5	away. Kel opened up on our podcast about something very, very intimate. His suicide attempt a few
0:35.5	years ago and his journey from that time in his life
0:39.1	and how faith has guided him on a path towards mental wellness and his decision to become a
0:45.3	youth pastor.
0:46.3	We really, really love this conversation.
0:48.4	We think it's so special.
0:49.7	And we hope that people will resonate with some of the insights that he draws on.
0:54.3	And it's just a really beautiful episode.
0:56.3	And we're so grateful we get to bring it to you.
0:58.5	Before we do that, we want to remind you to follow us on Substack.
1:02.0	Jonathan, tell the folks what they'll find over on Substack.
1:04.3	It's a growing community of breakers, people listening to this podcast and reflecting on the ideas.
1:13.3	We also share exclusive content there that you can't get anywhere else. Check out Miami-Bi-Alex breakdown on Substack. And now we hope
1:19.1	you enjoy taking a look back at our episode with Cal Mitchell. Break it down. Welcome to
1:25.2	Miami-Bi-Alex Breakdown. It's so nice to meet you. It's so nice to meet you.
1:29.4	It's so nice to meet you.
1:30.6	How are you?
1:31.4	It's a pleasure.
	...

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