by Tenesha Green | WeINSPIRE Reporter

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jeremy Herte, a native of Flossmoor, Illinois was on social media and took notice of the topics of conversation inundating platforms between 2014-2016. Consistently in the spotlight were Michael Brown, Black Lives Matter, femininity and masculinity, with particular attention being placed on black masculinity. 

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, “In the African American community, many people misunderstand what a mental health condition is and don’t talk about this topic. This lack of knowledge leads many to believe that a mental health condition is a personal weakness or some sort of punishment from God.”

When Herte began discussing these topics with people in his life, he quickly realized how his own understandings of masculinity and manhood began to deepen. Inspired by his own experiences, Herte began to foster a desire to create a platform where men, black men specifically, could have conversations that might deepen their individual and collective understandings of masculinity.

“I wanted to create a platform to talk about mental health, masculinity, and relationships deeper,” Herte said.

In June of 2018, Herte and a close friend Kyr Mack, officially launched the podcast Let’s Talk Bruh. The podcasts run from 30 minutes to two hours long depending on episode and topic; they can be found on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify.

“The first goal of the podcast was to be as personal and vulnerable as possible,” he said. “A lot of this [the topics] is definitely coming from a personal place. Some even come from a friend or social media.”

Other people are starting to notice the need to discuss what black men navigate with on a daily basis and want to address it. But with all the podcasts out in the world, what makes Let’s Talk Bruh so special?

“I always wanted to have a platform where we could talk about mental health and masculinity but not bring it from an academic or intellectual perspective,” Herte said. “We bring it from a more conversational level. I think that’s what sets my podcast apart.”

Herte tries to be as transparent in his journey of manhood, masculinity, and mental health as possible with his listeners. He believes that manhood and masculinity are parts of an ongoing journey that is never complete. 

“I don’t think you see too many podcasts that will provide the mental health or the empathetic point of view [and] also the accountability point of view,” he said. “That points out that yes, black men have privilege. Yes, black men perpetuate misogyny, and homophobia. We need to hold ourselves accountable for that. I think that this dual nature is what sets us apart as a podcast.”

All of the podcast episodes originate from a place or experience of Herte’s life, and there are some that resonate with him a little bit more than others. For example, the episode: Why Black Men’s Growth Sometimes Comes At The Expense of Black Women, hit Herte with great depth .

“That was a real personal one,” he said. “It really opened my eyes to things. Also, the feedback I got on that one was needed in terms of different blindspots I’ve had.”

A set of episodes that also hit home for Herte was the mental health series. It covered anxiety, depression, and self care. This series helped him reexamen what anxiety meant to him and how to better practice self care in his own life.

Let’s Talk Bruh has helped Herte, and he hopes other men encountering it will feel the same way. He urges them to listen to one episode and begin or continue to engage in self reflection afterwards. 

“I try to urge my listen[er]s who are black men to think more critically about masculinity,” Herte said. “Why is it that we do the things that we do as a man? Why is it that men have to be the protector or feel they can’t open up?  I want men to reflect and think ‘this is what society deems to be masculine but does this version of masculinity even work for myself? I want men to push for a healthier version of themselves.”