S3E3: Become a Supreme Soul with Raul Navalta

In today’s episode we sit down and chat with a long time friend and world renowned entertainer Raul “RJ Kool” Navalta.  We kick off the episode and unintentionally make RJ tear up and he shares stories from his successful career as an in-line skater.   We dive deep into RJ’s childhood where he talks about growing up as a Filipino in midwest, Missouri. He shares his struggles with trying to find his ethnic identity, living life constantly on the defense, and we tie it into the current climate of social injustice. RJ shares his code of conduct for living as a human being and we reminisce on our time together when he was last in San Diego. RJ shares his life-changing experience of competing in an internationally acclaimed dance competition and debunks a myth about Supreme Soul’s portrayal on the show. We talk about RJ’s life after America’s Best Dance Crew and are joined by a special furry guest.  Throughout the episode, RJ gives many shoutouts to friends, colleagues, and acquaintances; further substantiating that RJ is truly a “supreme soul”.  We wrap the episode with a fun round of Rapid Fire, he shares his opinion on what's good in the dance community and he encourages us to try okra and bitter melon.

In this episode, we explore: 

00:28  Introduction
02:09  “You’re making me tear up”
03:55   A career as an in-line skater 
11:24  A “brown kid” in Missouri
17:18  The Four Agreements; a code of conduct for humans
21:28  “Kuya” RJ
25:27  MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew
34:00  The origins of “Supreme Soul”
37:37  Special guest “Jo-jo”
39:00  Life after ABDC
42:25   Maintaining the athleticism during COVID
44:16  Surviving a zombie apocalypse
46:36   RJ’s current projects
57:21  Goals for 2021
1:09:48  Rapid Fire 
1:16:30  What’s next for RJ?
1:18:49  What’s good in the dance community?
1:24:40  Closing remarks

This episode’s guest:
Follow RJ on Instagram
The Four Agreements book, as recommended by RJ

Special thanks to: 
-Jane Banares for creating our Co-Lab Podcast artwork 

Music by Sam Stan - Das Boo - https://thmatc.co/?l=997FC418
Music by SkeetOnTheBeat - Late Night - https://thmatc.co/?l=E76B5749 

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