Urban X.nyc Blog and Urban X Podcast founder and co-host Malcom X. Bowser believes it is time to start highlighting and championing shining examples from one’s community. It is why he wrote Urban Xcellence: Unveiling Extraordinary Stories by Everyday People (January 21, 2020). Initially, Bowser conducted interviews with his peers to provide a platform and gain inspiration. Learning about their journeys helped him navigate his own life such as figuring out how to best manage being a full-time student with a full-time job and running a business. He found himself more empowered by their stories rather than the ones of the rich and famous.
“…Reading a bunch of motivational books and watching videos, and things like that, from these people that I totally admire, at a certain point it’s just like, alright, I know what I’m supposed to do, I know what you guys are telling me to do, but at the same time it still feels like a disconnect somewhere,” the debut author tells So Booking Cool.
But then I would hangout with my friends–I have a group of friends who are all driven, doing their own things as well and we all come across the same challenges. It felt so refreshing talking to them to know that I’m not crazy; I know this is not as simple as just being disciplined…yeah, it is, but there are those cliché words we hear all the time when we listen to those people.”
The Urban X Podcast is hosted by Bowser and his father Black Dot, who is a historian, writer, author, lecturer and emcee. The podcast, currently in its second season, has over 40,000 subscribers who tune in faithfully for the father/son old-school meets new-school’s in depth analysis’ on everything from current events to community. Speaking of community, we asked Bowser for his advice regarding those who aspire to write a book that celebrates the journey and successes of the non-famous.
“When it comes to trying to highlight people in your community, you just have to keep your ear to the streets for lack of a better term,” Bowser says. “There’s a lot of people that are in our lives that you might not know are doing some incredible things, and that’s up to you to set what your standard is for what’s amazing to you.”
Check out the interview to learn more about Urban Xcellence including how he shaped the different subjects and chapters in the book; why Letters to a Young Brother by Hill Harper has resonated with Bowser; why he doesn’t believe that people don’t have enough time for reading; how his background in journalism and degree in history has applied to his podcast and book; his desire to have the full author experience; his reading tastes and style; his upcoming book launch; his blog and more! For more information visit Bowser’s official website.