VOA – CONNECT
EPISODE # 214
AIR DATE: 02 18 2022
TRANSCRIPT

OPEN ((VO/NAT/SOT))
((Banner))
The Road to the Top
((SOT))
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
The walk to the ring, I call it the walk of death because my anxiety would take over so bad that most of the time, I would throw up before a fight.
((Animation Transition))
((Banner))
A Baker’s Flourish
((SOT))
((Shimi Aaron
Chef))
I think it started with aesthetics. You know, I was very fascinated with the aesthetics of it and the way it looked and I thought, “Oh, my God. I can dress it up. I can make it look like this. I can make it look like that.” And I think unconsciously I did something that made it more contemporary.
((Animation Transition))
((Banner))
Making it as a Musician
((SOT))
((Brent Morgan, Musician))
The stereotypical dream for a musician is you move to Nashville. You walk into a label. You sit in the lobby. You sing your amazing song. They're like, “We want to sign you.” And they pull you up. It's just not true. Moving to Nashville just triples your cost of living and you play in the bars downtown for tips only.
((Open Animation))

BLOCK A

((PKG)) FEMALE BOXER
((TRT: 08:14))
((Topic Banner: The Champion))
((Reporter: Faiza Elmasry))
((Camera/Editor: Mike Burke))
((Map: Leesburg, Virginia))
((Main character: 1 female))

((Sub Characters: 2 male; 1 female))

((NATS))
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
My name is Tori “Sho Nuff” Nelson. I’m first a child of God. ((Courtesy: Tori Nelson))
I’m a mother of two children,
((NATS: Tori Nelson))
a 13-time world champion in five different weight classes.
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
I always tell people I didn't choose boxing. Boxing chose me. But I mean, I guess it was a calling for me because I had no idea to first to become a world champion, but then to become a world champion 13 times. That’s crazy.
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
I was a single mother.
((Courtesy: Tori Nelson))
I was driving school bus and I was working at IHop [restaurant].
((NATS))
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
I started boxing at like age 29.
((NATS))
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
Most people started like in their teens but I started very late. But that's to let you know, it's never too late to do anything you want to do.
((NATS))
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
I went to the gym just to train because I had gained weight from my children.
((Courtesy: Tori Nelson))
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
And I went there and just wanted to get the weight off. That's why I met my coach because he owned the gym at the time. And I asked him if I wanted to come here to just lose weight. He was like, “Yeah. That’s the best workout. You’re going to lose weight all over and everything.” So, I was like, “Okay.”
((Courtesy: Tori Nelson))
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
And so he said, “What do you want out of it? If you compete, what would you want out of it?” And I was like, “I want to be a world champion.” And he was like, “Okay, wait a minute now. Like you’re moving too fast.” But mind you, I was a big girl
((Courtesy: Tori Nelson))
and boxing just, I mean, it helped me so much. It changed my life, like my attitude, my eating, for my health. It was the best for everything.
((NATS: Announcer))
((Courtesy: Tori Nelson))
Excited crowd here at the Turning Stone Resort. And here comes Tori Nelson.
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
The walk to the ring, I call it the walk of death because my anxiety would take over so bad, that most of the time I would throw up before a fight.
((Courtesy: Tori Nelson))
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
So, when they said, “Nelson on deck”, that's when you know you're next. I would get sick to the point where my coach was like, I had to throw up one time, he was like, “Just swallow it T. We got to go.” And I'm like okay.
((Courtesy: Tori Nelson))
Mike Tyson said it very clear, “Everybody has a plan until you get hit in the face that first time.” That first punch is your wake up, “Oh, this is for real.” So, once I get hit the first time, I'm like, “Okay, it's down now. Let's get it.” Like I'm smiling. I'm happy because I'm like, I'm up now and it’s fight time.
((NATS))
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
We can still be moms. We can still carry our houses and be the person that we would be. But I mean, we’re women and we can still come and do the same sport that the men do.
((NATS: Tori Nelson))
That’s like mashed potatoes. Huh.
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
When it comes to training, I like to laugh, like keep it, like keep it fun.
((NATS: Tori Nelson and Kalvin))
That’s how we count when breathe.
I want you to do how it’s supposed to be done.
You good.
Sounds like he’s stomping [cock]roaches.
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
Because if you get so serious, you wear yourself down. One girl, she threw me off. We were in the pocket and she said, in the middle of the fight, “Your hair smells good.” Yes, that's what goes on in a fight. People think that we hate each other. Now, in some situations, it is bad blood between people. But
((Courtesy: Tori Nelson))
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
I'm telling you, when you’re in that pocket, people are talking and we’re talking to each other.
((NATS: Coach))
You’re trying to chop with those punches. Extend your arms.
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
My favorite of all times is my coach and I. Craig Fladager was my coach.
((Courtesy: Tori Nelson))
My coach and I traveling. I think I stopped boxing at 43. I had a training camp at the time that my grandma was sick and then during training camp, she passed. It took a lot. It took so much out of me. And so, that was it. My kids was like, “Mom, like this is it. Like this is the time.” And I said, “Okay.” And so, I dedicated my last fight to my grandmother. Sorry.
((NATS))
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
My daughter is 23 and my son is 26. Poor babies. They didn't have a childhood, I would say, to go outside in the evenings. When we got home in the evenings, they had to be ready to go for a ride to D.C. and to go to the gym. And by God's grace, you know, it’s good people, because once I got to the gym, like the trainer or the owner of the gym, his wife would help with the kids’ homework or other fighters would help my kids do their homework while I was training.
((Simon Barnes
Daughter))
When my friends first meet my mom, first it’s, “She's so young. She's so pretty. Like that’s your mom? I thought that was your older sister.” And then we don't, like introduce her as a boxer. So, when later down the road, when they find out that she is a boxer, they're like, “Your mom is so cool.”
((ABQ
Son))
Almost every morning, I just wake up with praying she don't get hurt like
((Courtesy: Tori Nelson))
in most of our fights. But by the end, it's really a blessful thing that she’s achieving her accomplishments.
((Simon Barnes
Daughter))
I would like to say to her, “Congratulations on all your accomplishments with many more to come. Just because you're retired doesn't mean the grind stops. The accomplishments and the flowers keep coming.” I hope she gets all her flowers while she can.
((NATS: Tori Nelson))
Harder. Let’s get it. One. Slip. Three. Four. Ah, oh!
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
Now, I personal train.
((NATS))
I love working with children, especially the younger females. Boxing really builds your confidence. It will make you feel like you’re King Kong. Most girls that I’ve trained feel like they can’t even throw a punch. They can't at the beginning. But once we finish, their confidence soars through the roof.
((NATS))
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
When I'm not doing speaking engagements or I'm not working out at the gym myself or I'm not doing personal training, I’m here at Lowe’s [Home Improvement store].
((NATS: Tori Nelson & Customer))
Did you find everything okay?
I did.
Good.
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
I get to meet different customers. Every day, I get to talk to different people. They come. All my employees are wonderful. I have the best boss. It’s really a fun place to be.
((NATS: Tori Nelson))
Have a blessed day.
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
When I first started, the employees, the people did not know who I was. They didn't realize that I was a boxing champion. But now, all the employees and the customers know that I'm a World Boxing Champion. Oh, they love it. Now as a retired boxer, I keep training for my figure.
((NATS))
My exercise mate is Calvin Mends. And he's a beast, you know. He's a big guy.
((NATS: Calvin Mends))
Here we go. Come on.
((Calvin Mends
Owner, Ultimate Fitness Boxing))
It's fun, man. Training with Tori is very interesting.
((NATS: Tori Nelson))
I ain’t going nowhere. I’m in here. Let’s get in.
((Calvin Mends
Owner, Ultimate Fitness Boxing))
She pushes me to really dig in and get the best out of it. That way she can get her work as well, you know what I mean? So, she makes me better. I’m making her better.
((NATS))
((Calvin Mends
Owner, Ultimate Fitness Boxing))
I started boxing when I was 22. So, I was relatively new to it. You know, in boxing years it’s very new. Since she's been a game for so long, she's always had my back. She told me what to do, what not to do, what kind of people to hang around, what kind of people to avoid.
((Tori Nelson
Boxer, 13-time World Champion))
You think about it, boxing is like life. You fight. You have to fight to get through life sometimes. I can't say boxing is my everything because God is my everything. But I love boxing and I will always love it.
((NATS))


TEASE ((VO/NAT))
Coming up
((Banner))
Sweeter Things
((SOT))
((Shimi Aaron
Chef))
The 90s were difficult times to grow in Israel as a gay kid, when you are being bullied and you’re being beaten up. My dad didn’t think that, you know, having a gay kid in the house is the right thing. So, I was asked to leave the house.

BREAK ONE
BUMP IN ((ANIM))

BLOCK B


((PKG)) BAKING BABKA
((TRT: 04:00))
((Topic Banner: Baking Babka))
((Reporter/Camera: Genia Dulot))
((Map: Los Angeles, California))
((Main character: 1 male))
((MUSIC/NATS))
((NATS: Shimi Aaron and participants))
Hi, guys. Good morning, afternoon, wherever you are in the world. Hi. How are you, guys?
((Shimi Aaron
Chef))
Today, I am going teach you how to make my babka, which is very different than the original babka that they do make in other places.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Shimi Aaron
Chef))
Babka was invented in the 19th century in Eastern Europe by Jewish women who had leftovers of their challah bread
and decided to stuff it with fruits and cinnamon. And there was no chocolate back then. It was very expensive. They just used fruits that they cooked and added to the babka, to the challah bread and just baked it. And this is how the whole thing started. I feel that the original babka doesn’t have balance. You take a bite and it’s too heavy for me.
((Shimi Aaron
Chef))
And with this one, I am warning you, you are going be able to eat all of it today. So, don’t. Just don’t do that.
((Shimi Aaron
Chef))
I think it started with aesthetics. You know, I was very fascinated with the aesthetics of it and the way it looked. And I thought, “Oh, my God. I can dress it up. I can make it look like this. I can make it look like that”, you know. And I think the reason it became so successful is because I was able to take something that was so old fashioned, you know and you look at it and it looks like a grandma’s house, which is the meaning of babka, you know, it’s a grandma.
((Shimi Aaron
Chef))
And I think unconsciously, I did something that made it more contemporary. I am going to go over the ingredients that we have for the ganache. So, we have 250 grams of dark chocolate. I use 72%. We have 150 grams of butter, 40 grams of cocoa powder and 50 grams of sugar powder.
((Shimi Aaron
Chef))
The 90s were difficult times to grow in Israel as a gay kid, when you are being bullied and you’re being beaten up. My dad didn’t think that, you know, having a gay kid in the house is the right thing.
((Shimi Aaron
Chef))
So, I was asked to leave the house when I was 17. Despite of going through everything that I went through, I was still the one who made everybody laugh. I was singing for everyone. I was performing for everyone. I was cooking for everyone. And since then, you just move around and you realize that this is the best thing that ever happened to you.
((Shimi Aaron
Chef))
The guts that I have to do the things that I do today, I wouldn’t have the same guts to like, move to Los Angeles in the middle of pandemic and try to turn what I do into a career, if I wouldn’t be going through the things that I went through as a child.
((Shimi Aaron
Chef))
It needs to be happy. The colors, they make me happy. And I know if something that I look at makes me happy, it would probably make someone else happy. It’s really, really important to do it with love.
((MUSIC/NATS))
Okay, guys. So, this is how you want it to look like.
So, you want it to be on the dough, to be golden.
((Shimi Aaron
Chef))
I was fascinated by the braiding and, you know, the yeast, the balance between the sweet and the dough. And then the candied oranges and the scents of the roses.
((Shimi Aaron
Chef))
And suddenly, it became like a painting or a song, you know, when you write a song and you put one note, and another note, and another note, and then you have like a song. And this is how I feel about the babka. It’s like writing a song.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Shimi Aaron
Chef))
Just make sure to use a serrated knife when you slice it and slice it like bread. You don’t want to press it because it is going to ruin the texture inside and it’s not going look as beautiful. So, just slice it nicely.
Wow, it looks so beautiful. Rachel, thank you.
((MUSIC/NATS))


TEASE ((VO/NAT))
Coming up
((Banner))
For Love of Music
((SOT))
((Brent Morgan, Musician))
I used to play the bar scene. I used to play gigs all the time.
((MUSIC/Singing))
♪ Afraid my paper skin has started wearing thin.
♪ It isn't fair I care too much.
((Brent Morgan, Musician))
And then I realized I could play in my shorts at home on a live stream and make, you know, five times as much money and have way more fun interacting with way more people. You have to build a fan base online and they will push you to success with your music.

BREAK TWO
BUMP IN ((ANIM))


BLOCK C

((PKG)) MAKING A LIVING: BRENT MORGAN
((TRT: 07:27))
((Topic Banner: Making a Living: Brent Morgan))
((Reporter/Producer/Editor: Ailin Li))
((Camera: Phil Woodall))
((Map: Huntsville, Alabama))
((Main character: 1 male))
((MUSIC/Singing))
♪ All because I care too much.
((Brent Morgan, Musician))
The stereotypical dream for a musician is you move to Nashville. You walk into a label. You sit in the lobby. You sing your amazing song. They're like, “We want to sign you.” And they pull you up, kind of like Taylor Swift did, where
((Courtesy: AP))
they would go to every single label every week with her dad.
((Brent Morgan, Musician))
It's just not true. Moving to Nashville just triples your cost of living and you play in the bars downtown for tips only.
I used to play the bar scene. I used to play gigs all the time.
((MUSIC/Singing))
♪ Afraid my paper skin has started wearing thin.
♪ It isn't fair I care too much.
((Brent Morgan, Musician))
And then I realized I could play in my shorts at home on a live stream and make, you know, five times as much money and have way more fun interacting with way more people.
((Courtesy: NBCUniversal))
You have to build a fan base online and they will push you to success with your music.
((Brent Morgan, Musician))
Hey, my name is Brent Morgan. I’m 33 years old and I write and produce music for a living. And this is my ordinary life.
So, this is my studio. I have two different portions as you can see. Right here is where I do my live streaming every single day. As you can see, I’ve got my SM7 mic rigged up. I’ve got my Sony camera. I’m here most of my time every single day. I sit in this chair probably like four to five hours a day at least. And then if you come over here, this is where I do all of my writing and recording.
((Brent Morgan, Musician))
I got an interest in music when I was in 11th grade. My whole life before that was focused on sports. I had scholarships lined up for baseball. But I also joined a band with my friends. I started realizing that I could sing and I could play by ear.
So, I started teaching myself piano and guitar and just performing for some friends here and there. And then I got really interested and I went to college for music and started giving lessons.
((Brent Morgan, Musician))
I started realizing my life was surrounded by music. So, I really wanted to pursue it. I even remember when I was about to propose to my wife, I had to go talk to her parents and say, I'm going to do music for a living. And it was terrifying.
((Courtesy: AP))
Luckily, I had just won $100,000 from Petco [pet store], the week before I asked that question. So, it kind of gave me some leverage.
((Courtesy: Petco))
((MUSIC/Singing))
♪ Waking up in the morning to my two best friends
♪ A little nudge to get me out of the bed
((Brent Morgan, Musician))
I entered this contest and wrote a jingle for them about rescue animals and I won $100,000. It was $50,000 for me and $50,000 for the shelter that I rescued my dog from. That's when I started realizing like this is how you monetize it. I got to where I was writing probably four to five jingles a week.
((Courtesy: Dial Seven Car Service))
((MUSIC/Singing))
♪ Got a place to be but you ain't got time and a beat down cab ain't a suitable ride
♪ Need to step it on up, gotta put your foot down for the best ride in town
((Brent Morgan, Musician))
The tricky part is to fit an extremely catchy melody and all of the talking points that the company wants you to talk about in 15 to 30 seconds.
((NATS: Brent Morgan))
A window into everything America.
American stories.
American life.
Plus One. Plus One.
Alright. I got it.
((MUSIC/NATS))
♪ A window into everything America.
American stories.
American life.
That’s Plus One.
((Brent Morgan, Musician))
So, when I was in the thick of writing all these jingles, I was getting very, very weird requests for jingles; companies that want a jingle for their funeral home or want a jingle for their porta potties [portable toilet] that were going to be used at festivals. I had one for, it was a horse rehabilitation clinic. And I was like there is no way I could write you a jingle. And why do you need to advertise this in a jingle form? It was great money. I was very excited.
((Courtesy: AL.com))
There was a lot of news publications about it.
((Courtesy: Smart Stop))
But eventually, I started realizing I was losing the ability to write longer songs which is my passion.
((Brent Morgan, Musician))
And so I just stopped. I completely stopped writing jingles for almost two years. And I started trying to focus writing songs again. And luckily, they started taking off for me and for other artists that I was writing for.
((MUSIC/Singing))
((Courtesy: Brent Morgan))
♪ She's a heartbreak away from a horrible place.
((Brent Morgan, Musician))
There's so many different ways to make money and to make a living using music, mine being: YouTube streams, Spotify, Apple music streams and all of the different streaming, you know, sites. I also livestream my music to my fans on a daily basis on an app called YouNow. You can make $10,000 to $15,000 a month if you stick to it and you stream daily.
((Brent Morgan, Musician))
I've actually incorporated my jingle writing into my live streaming. So, say, Dave tipped me something that's worth $100 dollars, a gift. That's a huge gift. I might write a jingle about Dave, on the spot.
((MUSIC/Singing))
♪ Well, I'd like to say, "Thank you to Christine."
♪ Dropping that love on the brentobean
((Brent Morgan, Musician))
That just causes everybody else to want their own jingle, so they also support me.
Some people just support me because they’re really enjoying seeing behind the scenes of the songs that I'm making. I got the opportunity to go to China. I got to perform on this stage.
((Courtesy: Tencent))
I've never seen a bigger stage in my life. I want to go back to Beijing or any part of China as soon as I can.
((Brent Morgan, Musician))
It really opened my eyes that the world is so different the further you go. The Voice [TV talent program] approached me on Instagram after seeing some of my successes on there.
((Courtesy: NBCUniversal))
((MUSIC/Singing))
♪ Can't keep my hands to myself
♪ No. Think I'll dust'em off, put'em back up on the shelf
((Brent Morgan, Musician))
Being there for an entire month to work on a minute and a half of one song that you're going to sing on TV was so overwhelming.
((Brent Morgan, Musician))
If anything, it just made me a better musician because that’s all I thought about
((Courtesy: NBCUniversal))
for an entire 30 days was that one song and how to make it better.
((Brent Morgan, Musician))
About a week into my stay at The Voice, I started noticing my voice was not recovering at all. It was very weird. It was swelling. My throat was swelling up.
((Courtesy: Orange Beard Films))
When I got back home, I started going to doctors and nobody could figure out. They would look in my throat and not see anything. My voice goes away every day at five o'clock. I can't sing. I had to cancel all gigs that I was doing. I couldn't go back to The Voice. It was two years of me going from doctor to doctor. It scared me. I didn't know if I was going to have a future and doing what I love. I ended up finding out it was a thing called Muscle Tension Dysphonia, which, to make it short, is basically where your brain stops telling your vocal cords to relax. So, if I get hit in my shoulder, my vocal cords close up because it's messed up. I've been doing treatment now and doing allergy shots and different things and my voice is improving literally weekly.
((Courtesy: Orange Beard Films))
((Brent Morgan, Musician))
So, I live in Madison, Alabama. My whole family lives here. My mom, my dad, my sisters. We are all within five minutes of each other.
I met my wife in high school. She was on the high school soccer team. She was like the star. I joined the soccer team which I’d never played soccer because I wanted to meet her. And it worked. I ended up getting to know her. We started dating. And now, we’ve been married ever since.
((Brent Morgan, Musician))
So, living in Alabama kind of frees up space for me financially. The house we live in now, it has five bedrooms and five bathrooms. To get something like that anywhere else in the world, like LA [Los Angeles] or New York, would be astronomically expensive. But it’s affordable here in Alabama and it gave me room to have a nice backyard for my dogs, to have room for a studio. And I own. So, I’m not renting. I actually can, you know, pay this off and it’s mine.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Brent Morgan, Musician))
Starting this road to recovery, it changed my perspective completely and now I'm even more grateful for music and I do it even more than I was before I had the issue.
((Brent Morgan, Musician))
You might end up seeing me on the show again because they're wanting to do this Road to Redemption
((Courtesy: NBCUniversal))
and I'm just waiting till I feel confident enough to go back.


CLOSING BUMPER ((ANIM))
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NEXT WEEK ((VO/NAT/SOT))
((Banner))
In coming weeks…
Black History Education
((NATS))
((SOT))
((Banner))
In coming weeks…
Dreamer’s Art
((SOT))
((Yehimi Cambrón))
I'm an artist because I don't really know how else to exist. I think being an artist is what I'm meant to be doing. I think it's just the skill that I have to offer to the world. I think it's going to take generations to see the change that we're fighting for today. Honestly, sometimes I feel like I'm fighting for my very survival and my ability to stay and continue being a part of my community. Just because I'm a D.A.C.A. recipient doesn't mean that I stop fighting for people who didn't get to apply for D.A.C.A. but qualified. I think I have my work cut out for me and I don't see myself not creating work like this. As long as there are inequities and injustice, I will have a role to play with my artwork or that my artwork will have a role to play.
((MUSIC/NATS))

CLOSING BUMPER ((ANIM))
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BREAK THREE
BUMP IN ((ANIM))



SHOW ENDS