Selema Maskela: Being 'The Only' in the Spaces You Love, Using Your Platform, and Living in the Bonus
The Ready State Podcast
Kelly Starrett & Juliet Starrett
4.9 • 623 Ratings
🗓️ 21 July 2021
⏱️ 66 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Selema Masekela is a beloved commentator, journalist, host, and Emmy nominated producer best known for his work across VICE, E!, ESPN/ABC, Nat Geo, Red Bull Media House and beyond. A relentlessly curious narrator of the human experience, he thrives as a Black man who has historically been ‘the only’ in the spaces of action sports and entertainment. The son of South African jazz legend and activist Hugh Masekela, Selema‘s roots are as South African as they are New York City and San Diego.
Music and water being the most influential parts of his life at the age of 16 he first felt 'at home' on a surfboard; at 8 you’d find him sitting at Birdland in late night jazz sessions with his father and Miles Davis. It’s this unique life experience which paved the way for him not only becoming the face of ESPN’s X-Games but also a musician himself, recording under the alias 'Alekesam' (Masekela backwards).
His recently launched podcast, What Shapes Us?, explores he and his guests human experiences; who they are, what drives and gives them joy. Its mission is to highlight people and places through a mold breaking lens and redefine culture. He is the co-founder of Stoked Mentoring, an organization dedicated to mentoring at risk youth through action sports and the host of Hyundai’s series The Un-Adventurers on Tastemade Network. In 2020, Selema was also welcomed onto the Board of Directors for Burton Snowboards as a general advisor.
Selema joins us to talk what it's like to be the only person of color in the spaces you love, using whatever is in your toolbox to help break the cycle of racism, and how middle age is pretty sweet.
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This episode of The Ready State Podcast is sponsored by Paleovalley Essential C Complex. Created to be the most powerful, completely natural and organic source of vitamin C on the planet, Essential C Complex is one of the only supplements the Starretts take every single day. Because nothing’s funny about scurvy. For more info and 15% off, click thereadystate.com/essentialC
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This episode of The Ready State Podcast is sponsored by Kion Aminos. Available as powder or tablets, these aminos are 100 percent plant based with no artificial ingredients. Essential amino acids are the building blocks for all muscle and tissue but your body can only absorb about 50% from food which is why Kelly takes them everyday. For more info and 20% off your first purchase, click thereadystate.com/aminos
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey everyone, I'm Dr. Kelly Starrett. |
| 0:06.8 | And I'm Juliette. |
| 0:08.3 | And you're listening to The Ready State Podcast. |
| 0:16.5 | This episode of the Ready State podcast is brought to you by Paleo Valley Essential C Complex. |
| 0:22.4 | Let me just establish how I feel about vitamins, right? |
| 0:26.0 | Like, A, not all vitamins are the same. |
| 0:28.2 | Food-based, high quality is the game always. |
| 0:31.2 | Bioavailability is super important. |
| 0:32.7 | But really, I want people to appreciate it. |
| 0:34.9 | My take from my friends, we should be getting whole foods whenever we can. |
| 0:39.9 | But I have to be honest, it's tough to be hitting some of these things and sort of maxing out |
| 0:44.3 | on the levels of vitamins and minerals sometimes just because, you know, you can't do it. |
| 0:49.3 | And I will say, generally speaking, we don't take a ton of supplements in the Starat household. |
| 0:53.3 | We really focus on ones that we think have high quality ingredients and will actually make a difference for us. And one of the things that all four starettes take every single day is essential C complex. Yeah, it's a no brainer, especially since, look, you know I'm recovering from this little surgery ahead. Just a little, just a little one, a knee replacement. Connective tissue health is the thing. The fascia is the thing. And if you're not having, like, front loading the vitamin C, you're missing out on having connective tissue, like the possibility of rad connective tissue. You could be eating all the protein, but not getting enough vitamin C, |
| 1:28.4 | that means you're not, you don't have the building blocks. Well, you don't have the building blocks to do what you need to do. The other thing I love about this product is most vitamin C supplements are nothing more than escorbic acid, comes from GMO and other highly processed items. It's not even a food. Paleo Valley Essential C is made with all organic superfoods, |
| 1:45.8 | so I know if I'm going to take the time to take it, I'm getting processed items. It's not even a food. Paleo Valley Essential C is made with all organic superfoods. |
| 1:45.9 | So I know if I'm going to take the time to take it, I'm getting a really good product. |
| 1:49.2 | Yeah. It's easy. Look at it as like insurance. I mean, yes, you could have all the power fruits in the |
| 1:55.4 | world or you can hit the essential C. I've been on the paleo valley. It's part of my rehab plan. |
| 2:00.5 | If you want to try out this awesome product, go to the readystate.com |
| 2:05.2 | slash essential C, the letter C, and use the code ready state for 15% off. |
| 2:10.8 | This episode of the ReadyState podcast is brought to you by Keon Aminos. |
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