There are moments in life that split your story into before and after.

For Dr. Rasheed Abiola, that moment came with four words:

"Your father is dead."

His father wasn't just any father.

Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (M.K.O.) Abiola was the man widely recognized as the winner of Nigeria's historic 1993 presidential election. Before he could take office, democracy was stripped away, his victory was denied, and his family was thrust into exile. Years later, Rasheed would learn that his father had died while imprisoned.

How do you carry a name the world recognizes while trying to discover who you are?

In this deeply personal episode of **Beauty in the Beast**, Dr. Rasheed Abiola shares the untold story behind the headlines. He opens up about grief, identity, family, resilience, and the quiet burden of living in the shadow of an extraordinary legacy.

Today, Rasheed is a nationally respected spine surgeon, husband, father, and leader. But long before the titles, there was a son trying to make sense of unimaginable loss.

Together we explore:

• Growing up as the son of M.K.O. Abiola

• Losing his father after Nigeria's democratic crisis

• Living with grief while building a life of purpose

• The responsibility of carrying a historic family name

• Becoming one of the nation's leading spine surgeons

• Why family became the center of everything he does

• The lessons every parent hopes to leave behind

This isn't a story about politics.

It's a story about a son.

A son who refused to let tragedy define him.

A son who transformed loss into purpose

And a reminder that while a legacy can be taken from you, your character never can.

Beauty in the Beast creates a space where Black men share the stories behind the strength. Through honest conversations about identity, healing, relationships, fatherhood, and resilience, we reveal the humanity that too often goes unseen.

If this conversation moved you, subscribe and join us as we continue breaking the myths surrounding Black men, one story at a time.

#BeautyInTheBeast #RasheedAbiola #Nigeria #BlackExcellence #OrthopedicSurgery #SpineSurgeon #FamilyLegacy #Leadership #Resilience #Purpose #Identity #BlackMenHealing #AfricanExcellence #Brotherhood #PersonalGrowth #nigeria #africa #history #viral #snowboarding #orthopedics

Everyone talks about finding themselves in their twenties.

Winston Warrior found himself in his fifties.

After decades of chasing achievement through corporate success, music, academia, and influence, life forced him to confront a painful question:

Who are you when the titles disappear?

The answer led him into one of the most unexpected chapters of his life.

As a member of the Silver Fox Squad, Winston has become part of a movement redefining what aging, masculinity, and confidence look like for Black men.

This isn't a story about getting older.

It's a story about finally becoming yourself.

CHAPTERS

00:00 "What Defines You When Success Disappears?"

03:41 The Childhood That Built Winston Warrior

08:15 The Pressure to Achieve

14:03 Chasing Success & Recognition

20:58 Becoming a Leader at the University of Miami

28:26 The Birth of The Dope Professor

34:55 When Everything Started Falling Apart

39:48 "People Stopped Returning My Calls"

43:15 The Fall From Grace

47:34 The Identity Crisis No One Saw

52:48 How the Silver Fox Squad Changed Everything

58:10 Why Most Men Get Aging Wrong

01:02:03 "My Best Years Didn't Happen at 35"

01:05:40 The Legacy Every Man Should Leave Behind

#BeautyInTheBeast #WinstonWarrior #SilverFoxSquad #BlackMenHealing #MensGrowth #BlackExcellence #PersonalDevelopment #PurposeDriven #MensMentalHealth #EmotionalIntelligence #Reinvention #AgingWithPurpose #Brotherhood #SelfMastery #Confidence #MasculinityRedefined #TheDopeProfessor #UniversityOfMiami #Leadership #LifeAfter50

"I already didn't feel wanted. I didn't feel the love, ...I was never accepted. Where was I getting the acceptance at? You know what I mean? Was everywhere outside of the house.” - Ron Rimko

Ron grew up as one of the only white kids in his school and neighborhood, feeling more comfortable in Black spaces than in his own home. In this episode of Beauty in the Beast, he opens up about being dropped off at his dad’s house for a “month-long vacation” that secretly became 13 years, the depression that followed, and what it meant to be the “piece of salt in a pepper shaker” in metro Atlanta.

Ron talks about growing up with a military father who didn’t talk about emotions, losing daily contact with his mother, and having to “mentally and emotionally raise” himself. He shares how he found warmth and protection in the homes of his Black friends and their single mothers, why he felt more accepted in those spaces than with his own family, and how he learned to wear a mask around white folks just to avoid being judged.

We get into his move to small-town Ohio, the shock of Oxy-infested neighborhoods, dealing weed to try to pay for college, catching charges, and the moment in jail when his grandmother’s disappointment and a sergeant’s blunt, “You don’t fit the mold here,” forced him to choose a different life. From there, Ron walks us through basketball as his escape, the barbershop as his sanctuary, and how cutting hair for Black men showed him the weight they carry every day.

Finally, we ask Ron directly: What do you think about Black men being seen as the beast in this world? His answer is honest, emotional, and unapologetically clear: it’s unfair, unbalanced, and Black men have it a lot harder than most people admit.

If you care about race, belonging, cross-cultural friendship, addiction, masculinity, abandonment, mother wounds, and barbershop truth, this conversation is for you.

#beautyinthebeast #blackmeninamerica #barbershoptalk #whiteskinblackspaces #motherwound #maskedmasculinity #oxycrisis #addictionrecovery #blackmenhealing #emotionalintelligenceformen