Watch Parties, Weight Rooms, And Why Your Coach Might Be Playing A Mental Health Podcast | Ep 362

Watch Parties, Weight Rooms, And Why Your Coach Might Be Playing A Mental Health Podcast | Ep 362

If you’ve ever wondered whether your single voice can shift anything, this conversation is your nudge to speak up and bring others with you. Justin opens the door to a global community spanning ninety countries and hundreds of cities, then zooms into the everyday actions that create real change: casting a vote, hosting a watch party, cueing an episode in a weight room, or giving someone space to be heard.

We explore why participation matters even when outcomes disappoint, and how disagreement doesn’t cancel dignity. The show’s catalog has surged past 360 episodes across pop culture, crime and punishment, and daily life, all threaded by a commitment to mental health. You’ll hear the story of a personal low point that became a turning point—trusting a care team, trusting God, and choosing not to go it alone—and why that choice can be a blueprint for anyone facing a hard season. Along the way, Justin shares how campuses are gathering for listening sessions, how coaches are piping episodes into practices and bus rides, and how small rituals of reflection can power big wins on the field and off.

At the heart of it all is a bold vision: help three billion people find steadier ground by amplifying voices, building community, and making support normal. Start simple—pick an episode that fits your moment, invite a friend, and let the conversation do its work. If someone near you seems unheard, become their bridge until they can carry their own message.

Be part of the movement: subscribe, share this episode with one person who needs it, and leave a quick review telling us how you’re using your voice today. Your light helps others shine—ready to pass it on?

Chapter Markers

0:00 Welcome And Global Community

1:45 Voting As A Form Of Voice

5:35 Evolving Goals And Big Ambitions

7:51 360+ Episodes And Growing

9:34 Campus Watch And Listening Parties

13:20 Mental Health Journey And Support

16:15 Parties, Coaches, And Team Engagement

19:32 Being A Light And Many Ways To Speak

23:05 Invitations, Outreach, And Closing Thanks

#WatchParties #MentalHealthMatters #CoachingTips #FitnessMindset #TeamBuildingActivities #WeightRoomWisdom #AthleteWellness #PodcastRecommendations #SportsPsychology #HealthyMindset #MentalHealthAwareness #TrainingTogether #PhysicalAndMentalHealth #CoachesCorner #TeamCohesion #justiceforsurvivors #justice4survivors #VoicesforVoices #VoicesforVoicesPodcast #JustinAlanHayes #JustinHayes #help3billion #TikTok #Instagram #truth #Jesusaire #VoiceForChange #HealingTogether #VoicesForVoices362

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome And Global Community
• 1:45 Voting As A Form Of Voice
• 5:35 Evolving Goals And Big Ambitions
• 7:51 360+ Episodes And Growing
• 9:34 Campus Watch And Listening Parties
• 13:20 Mental Health Journey And Support
• 16:15 Parties, Coaches, And Team Engagement
• 19:32 Being A Light And Many Ways To Speak
• 23:05 Invitations, Outreach, And Closing Thanks

Transcript

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: 0:02

Hey everyone, it's Justin here, Voices for Voices. Thank you so much for joining us on this episode of the show. Whether you're watching or listening, whether you're near, whether you're far, uh, ninety countries of just about 900 cities worldwide. Um, out of that 90, uh, are countries, states, provinces, territories, and we are just thrilled beyond our wildest dreams to have you with us. So thank you for coming to us wanting to uh be a part of this movement called Voices for Voices. It's not without you. Uh we wouldn't be able to keep this show going. We have no reason to continue if it was not for you. So if you could do so and keep smashing that subscribe button and keep giving us those thumbs up, follow, like, uh, share, comment, uh, all those things uh are free to do, and they really help us to uh continue to get closer and closer to helping uh the lofty goal of three billion people uh or more. Uh, we're going for more, uh, but to help at least three billion people over the course of my lifetime and beyond. And we just thank you for coming to us whichever way that you uh that you prefer, whether you like to watch, whether you like to listen. Uh you don't need a fancy app. All you need is to go to www.voicesforvoices.org/ podcasts. That's voices for voices.org forward slash podcast, and one more time, www.dot voices for, which is spelled out F-O-R voices dot or g forward slash podcast. So where do we begin? Tonight was another uh example of having individuals in our country in the United States be able to express their voice in uh a different way, and that is voting. And so voting is important. Anytime that we're able to share our voice, is it's important that if we're able to do that, if we're able to have somebody help us do that, it's very helpful. Uh, whether the results turn out to be what we want or what we don't want, uh never give up, never never think that our votes don't count, they don't matter. Uh we just gotta keep keep sharing our voice. That's that's the best best way of going about it. And so when there are elections that happen we we request that you partake in as many of those elections as possible. And again, we all have differing of opinions on different issues. Thank you. So regardless of if we agree, we're not gonna agree on every every topic of every candidate. But what we can do is we can voice our opinion through uh through voting. And so tonight was one of those nights. Uh, I guess at the time of this filming, it was technically yesterday. Um regardless, if you had that opportunity to vote, if you're able to exercise that that ability to vote, have your voice heard. It's much the the same as we we do here on voices for voices, is to share our voices as much as we can through as many different uh individuals, guests, organizations, uh, sponsors, donors, uh, whether you're you're watching or whether you're listening, no matter how you're coming and uh being a part of this voices for voices movement, this grassroots effort of helping people, one person at a time, and working towards helping three billion people. That's with a B billion to help at least three billion people over the course of my lifetime and beyond. And it's one of those one of those dreams that I have uh you know earlier in life. My I don't think my dreams were any anywhere aligned with where where I'm at now, and that's okay. So at different points of our lives, uh we have different maybe different goals, different different reasons for those goals, and that's okay. We can we can only be ourselves at um a particular moment in time, and so the goals and aspirations that I and Voices for Voices has is at this very moment and in time, not 20 years ago, not 30 years ago, but as we come together in this episode. And in case you didn't know, we have over 360 episodes in our um in our catalog. So we know that you can find at least another episode or five or ten or thirty or forty or fifty that uh may be of interest to you and those that you are watching and listening uh with. We've heard this before, but it it must come in cycles. Uh and that is that we're we're hearing that uh individuals, especially on uh campus, campuses, uh at universities, at colleges, uh, and others, and they're having uh you know watch parties, listening parties, uh, voices for voices, and that's that's that's very uh it's very humbling to think that a group of people uh are getting together to watch an episode or two or three, or listen to an episode two or three or more, uh, just much as if you have uh you have uh your favorite high school, college, university, or super bowl watch party, or bowl parties uh for college. Uh and so yeah, we we encourage that uh that why not why not get a get a group of your your friends, your dormates, your uh sorority sisters, your for uh fraternity brothers, uh those on live on the same street, same call to sex, same dorm, same apartment. Um if you're living in a house on campus, everybody in the house, you know, get together, grab a uh since there may be um individuals that are not quite the age of 21, uh grab your your favorite non-alcoholic beverage. Uh not saying you can, but we uh we are uh not gonna condone underage drinking, let alone underage or any drinking and driving whatsoever. We're not gonna do that. Uh so that's that's why we're we're we're sharing that right right now. Uh as far as grabbing a beverage, you know ordering a couple pizzas, uh get together and put it up on the big screen. It's probably the best way to do it. You can watch again. There's there's so many episodes that we've been blessed to be able to have, and we're over 360. We touch across, you know, pop culture, uh crime and punishment, uh all underpinning is uh is mental health, and and although we don't always refer to the words mental health in every single episode, I myself have mental illnesses that I am um battling each and every day coming up on the eighth anniversary of when I really had the lowest point in my life, uh, but was also one of the best points of my life. I finally took control of my my life and from a mental side and and to have uh individuals on my mental health team and stop trying to do everything on my own uh to put that trust in God, uh, put that trust here on earth on on those uh with those with those professionals. Um and so I'm not saying you're like I am or anybody who knows like I am. I'm I'm just sharing my experiences, and if those are similar to you, then we have something in common. If not, we still probably have some things in common. Uh, this might not be that or those right right about now. Uh but yeah, I definitely wanted to throw in those watch parties, rose listening parties, uh, because those are a thing, they are happening. It's one of those things where, you know, if I turn the calendar, excuse me, I turn the calendar back a couple years, it's one of those things where you you think like oh that'd be that'd be neat if if if that would happen, that would be occurring. And I don't know, maybe it was like six or eight months ago, we were hearing a lot of the same uh a lot of the same feedback that there were uh watch parties and listening parties for the voices for voices TV show and podcast. And now more than ever, we have you know, we we looked at we went from having just a year ago 150 episodes in our catalog to now we have over 360 episodes, so we have over 200 episodes more than where we were this time last year, so that doesn't blow your mind. It definitely has blown mine when I looked at it because you know we can we can be down in the weeds we're working on things and like oh we never gonna get there, we're gonna get there, and then come up and we look at the numbers and go, holy cow, wow. Look at these numbers, these are just incredible, and so it makes sense to have a watch party, to have a listening party, start it on episode one if you want, and every weekend or whatever cadence y'all can get together. Maybe you didn't even know about the voices for voices TV film podcast. And now because you you attended a watch or a listening party, now you decide, oh let me see if there's uh let me see what episodes that relate to me. Let me check those out. And then you're able to pay it forward because then you're able to take some of the uh some of the things that we have in common and some things that we don't have in common. Uh that's the cool goal is nobody here is perfect on earth. Uh so it's all about helping others. That's that's what it comes down to. Uh so yeah, we'll just we'll just end on on that topic. Um you know, the watch and listening parties. If you're having one, we just want to give a big shout out to everybody that's having a watch party for voices for voices, a listening party for voices for voices. Uh we're you're just so um so grateful to have you with us and and to have this play uh uh you know and on a on a on a campus. Um maybe this is playing in the uh in the weight room while where you're getting pumped up, where you're lifting weights, before playoff games, before bowl games, before for before regular games, practices. Uh we invite coaches, uh, administrators, presidents, vice presidents, have us have us piped into uh your your you know your your athletic uh practices. Um what what better way than to practice and and also be enriched at the same time uh with uh with some of the knowledge and some of some of the events that I've been through and our guests have been through. Uh it's uh you know, we we none of us are getting out of here alive. I wish we were, but we're not. And so why not maximize that that that time that we have together? And uh so yeah, again even even been hearing uh little whispers, but these aren't little whispers. Uh that at some halftime or at you know an intermission uh where a show of ours is is being piped in to the stadiums uh speakers. Uh and then on you're talking about the you know, basketball, you know, that has the screen on the uh on the um, you know, whether it's basketball or volleyball and the intermission that there's highlights and parts of episodes that are being played there as well. Uh, and so it's just it's wild, it's wild to think that. Uh but that just means that we're doing we're doing the best we can. And we're all connected as one humanity. So thank you to everybody that's making that happen. Uh let's continue to let's continue to make that happen. And let's see if maybe at uh at the next Super Bowl, maybe that turn turning point, USA, uh Super Bowl show. Maybe part of our show is uh one of our shows. I mean, at that point, we're talking we're gonna have over 400 episodes at that point, uh, because we're we're over three 360 now. Uh and I'm just looking out just the next day, and we have we're having at least at the minimum two more shows just in the next day. So we're definitely by the time that the Super Bowl comes comes around here. I don't know if it's the end of January or early February, it really just depends on how the calendar falls. Uh but yeah, we're we're just I don't know. Uh it takes a lot for me to be uh I'll say breathless, but we uh I have not a lot of words to say. So if you can smash that subscribe button, give us a thumbs up, like, follow, share, have those watch parties, have those listening parties. If you're a coach, pipe in an episode or two during during practice or during during weight lifting, uh, to you know to continue enriching your student athletes. You're having a group over and you're watching over uh or watching a game, have everybody over an hour or so early, and you know, because most of our episodes are now you know around 30 to 40 minutes or so, you know, pre pre-select an episode and put that up on the big screen before the big game plays. That that'd be incredible. The that you are doing that. Uh, we do know that is happening, and helping three billion people or more over the course of my lifetime and beyond, uh, we we can use all the all the help that um we we can. Uh so thank you for that. Uh it's just uh and gives me chills and goosebumps to think that's happening. Uh we want to just be a voice where we're just we're bouncing ideas off, we're sharing information. Uh nobody's better than the other person. Uh we're we're we're just human beings and we are sharing, we're talking, we're coming together. There's more that brings us together than divides us. And we started this show by talking about you know being a point in in time where uh well, like I said yesterday, given the time that we're filming, uh, was a uh a voting day, it wasn't a presidential voting, uh, election day, but there were still you know a lot of local races that uh they were up for grabs, and uh that's one way you can share your voice uh among uh among so many others. And I'm I'm just hoping that we're we're a light, you know. Uh you know, this little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, and all of us can be that little light of mine. Just like we have Guns N' Roses says uh sweet child of mine, and we say this little light of mine, and each one of us has a light, the shine. Each one of us has a voice, some we can hear, some we can see with art, some we have with sign language interpretation, some we can hear or see with music, uh with lyrics, uh through uh through books or pamphlets. Uh there's so many ways we can share our our voice. Those are just just a few of them. Uh so have those have those watch parts, have those voices for voices, TV show and podcast, watch parties, listening parties, coaches, let's get those episodes piped in through uh through practice, weightlifting. Uh then always reach out if you wanna if you want to be a guest on the show. Uh I'd love to come out and uh just chat with with the team, uh, with the the student body, um, and and just continue to be a positive, you know, positive person, talking about positive things in such a divisive world. So again, smash that subscribe button, thumbs up, like, follow, share, uh, celebrate all the voices, and each one of us, we all have a voice. If somebody feels like they don't have a voice, reach out and keep reaching out and reach out. And if you're somebody that is realizing and noticing somebody isn't having a voice, uh, make sure you're doing all that you can do to give them the opportunity so that they can have a voice. So we'll catch you on the next watch party, we'll catch you on the next listening party, and uh we will see you very, very soon. This is Justin with Voices and Voices, Justin with Voices for Voices, and we'll see you next time. Have a great day.