Up next in 10
Tommy McElroy & Renée Moncada-McElroy on Music, Boxing & Legacy | SWAY'S UNIVERSE
Jul 9, 2026
Tommy McElroy and Renée Moncada-McElroy join Sway In The Morning for an inspiring conversation about legacy, family, music, and boxing.
Legendary producer and songwriter Tommy McElroy reflects on meeting Denzil Foster and building one of the most influential production teams in R&B history. As one-half of the iconic duo Foster & McElroy, Tommy helped create timeless hits for En Vogue, Club Nouveau, Tony! Toni! Toné!, Regina Belle, Alexander O’Neal, Swing Out Sister, and many more. He also discusses the impact of their music, the countless artists who have sampled their work, and his newest role—training his son, Thomas McElroy Jr., as a professional boxer.
Award-winning filmmaker Renée Moncada-McElroy shares the vision behind her documentary series, Sons of the Sweet Science, which follows young fighters in Oakland while exploring the emotional, personal, and poetic side of boxing. Through powerful storytelling and a carefully curated soundtrack, she captures what it truly means to fight both inside and outside the ring.
This is a conversation about building lasting legacies, mentoring the next generation, and finding purpose through art and sport.
In this interview:
* Tommy McElroy’s journey to forming Foster & McElroy
* Creating the sound behind En Vogue and R&B classics
* Producing music that continues to influence today’s artists
* Why Tommy is now dedicated to training his son as a professional boxer
* Renée Moncada-McElroy on creating Sons of the Sweet Science
* The emotional connection between storytelling, music, and boxing
* Legacy, family, and passing the torch
Subscribe Here! http://bit.ly/SubscribeSU
Watch the Best of Sway In The Morning! http://bit.ly/BestOfSITM
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
And the Sons of the Sweet Science is a
0:02
docu series set in Oakland, California.
0:04
Give that a round of applause in itself.
0:06
Anytime we putting the spotlight on the
0:08
town in a positive way, that's what
0:10
we're going to perpetuate. And we got
0:12
two extremely talented, vital people uh
0:16
to entertainment, to creativity, uh to
0:19
energy around Northern California. Uh
0:22
one who's been on this show before when
0:24
she came by with Big Freda and they were
0:26
celebrating the Queen of Bounce. Uh
0:29
she's a producer of the Grammy
0:30
award-winning short film In the Pines.
0:33
Uh she's the director of Life is
0:35
documenting Oakland Culture and Legacy.
0:37
She's worked with the discovery channel
0:39
National Geographic which is one of my
0:41
favorites. TLC, HBO Max, Amazon Prime,
0:44
Infused, just to name a few. An
0:46
award-winning filmmaker and producer, a
0:49
mom, and just an extraordinary person.
0:52
Give it up for the one and only Renee
0:53
Mata. She's up in here, man. Come on.
0:55
[applause] What up, Rene?
0:57
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
0:59
>> Yes.
1:00
>> It's amazing. Happy to be here. Good
1:02
energy.
1:03
>> You're in a seat now. [laughter]
1:06
>> Uh and and and sitting next to you, u
1:09
your partner and your husband.
1:11
>> Um who is an amazing outstanding
1:15
guru of a sorts coming out of Northern
1:17
California. To me, he and his partner U
1:21
Denny Foster uh from Foster and Mech
1:23
Elroy are the genesis in many ways to a
1:26
lot of um new age R&B music and a lot of
1:29
hit records that have come out of
1:31
hip-hop music based on music that they
1:33
orchestrated and produced. Um what can I
1:36
say? He's a Grammy Awardw winning
1:38
singer, songwriter, producer. I say
1:41
singer, I'm not sure if he sings, but
1:42
I'm sure he does. I know there's
1:44
reference tracks somewhere.
1:45
>> Every morning.
1:46
>> Every morning he does. Okay.
1:48
>> Loud. Okay. Um, he's the force uh
1:50
creative force behind Invoke. Need I say
1:53
more? That alone deserves a round of
1:56
applause. Um, Tony Tony Tony. Need I say
1:59
more? Raphael Sadi, Club Nuvo, the
2:03
co-riter and producer of Why You Treat
2:05
Me So Bad?
2:08
>> Come on, man. He's featured in the Sons
2:10
of the Sweet Science as the father and
2:12
trainer of a nationally ranked boxer,
2:14
Thomas Mai Mccelroy. I want to welcome
2:17
him to the show. Ladies and standing up
2:19
for this man right here, man. You never
2:21
see him speaking. Tom Tommy McElroy is
2:24
in the building. Northern California.
2:26
You better stand up and scream out loud,
2:28
man. This brother is here.
2:29
>> Thank you for having [applause] me,
2:30
Slay. Thank you for having me,
2:32
>> man. Bro, we go so far back,
2:35
>> man. Thank you for being here. You don't
2:36
talk. [laughter]
2:38
>> I try to do I I I don't try to talk. I
2:41
don't like people to see me coming. So,
2:43
>> Okay. [laughter]
2:44
That's how we That's how we do it when I
2:46
was growing up.
2:47
>> Man, grew up in East Oakland.
2:48
>> East Oakland, baby. That's I'm I'm to
2:51
the soil for real. 10 toes down in
2:53
Oakland.
2:54
>> Yeah.
2:54
>> Yes, sir.
2:55
>> Rene, where did you grow up?
2:56
>> I grew up in San Francisco.
2:58
>> Okay.
2:58
>> Nine toes down, not to Oakland.
3:00
[laughter]
3:01
>> Mission district. Oh, the mission
3:02
district. In the mission district.
3:04
>> The mission. I used to work over at the
3:06
UPS on 16th in Mission.
3:07
>> The mission. Yep. I used to live on in
3:10
Valencia. Yeah. You was on. You weren't
3:12
pedaling drugs or nothing, were you?
3:15
>> No.
3:15
>> Okay. [laughter]
3:17
>> No, but I saw them around.
3:19
>> You saw them around, right?
3:20
>> Definitely.
3:21
>> Um U. Well, congratulations on this
3:23
project, Sons of Sweet Science.
3:25
>> Um Tommy, man,
3:28
>> you and Denzel got to come back and
3:30
allow us to have a full conversation
3:32
about the production duel. Is that
3:34
possible
3:35
>> for you? Yes.
3:36
>> For East Oakland? Yes. We don't do a lot
3:38
of interviews. We're both running around
3:40
being family oriented and everything
3:43
else that we do. But for sure, for sure.
3:45
Yeah, of course. I'll come out the gym
3:47
and and come come kick it with you.
3:49
>> Okay, man. I appreciate that. I might
3:50
even go in the gym to do it, you know?
3:52
Hey, you know,
3:53
>> we're welcome.
3:54
>> How did you and and and and Denzel get
3:57
together, man? How did y'all first meet?
3:58
How did y'all form the production team?
4:00
Cuz to me, that's the genesis of all of
4:03
this, even Sons of the Sweet Science.
4:05
>> Yeah. Yeah. To a degree. Denny
4:07
>> was a friend of my friend uh Mario Lee
4:11
who I knew from high school at St.
4:12
Mary's High School in Berkeley.
4:14
>> My parents shipped me over there. They
4:16
didn't want me to go to school in
4:17
Oakland because they knew what I would
4:18
have got into.
4:19
>> So Mario always was telling me about
4:22
this dude Denny who was good in music
4:25
who I should hook up with. So after we
4:27
graduated, my boy Mario hooked me and
4:30
Denny up. And Denny is such a gregarious
4:32
dude and just talking and he's the
4:34
opposite of me. He just took to me and
4:37
took me under his wing and and said,
4:40
"Hey man, we can go produce all these
4:41
people. We can do this." I was just in
4:43
LA and he's all around. And he swooped
4:46
me up
4:47
>> and we started producing. He knew I was
4:48
a good keyboard player, piano player,
4:50
classical music. And soon as I got in
4:54
that energy and we put our wonder twin
4:56
powers together,
4:58
>> we started taking off little by little.
5:00
Eventually found ourselves in the studio
5:03
with Jay King.
5:04
>> Jay King. Get Jay King around J King.
5:08
>> And we
5:10
ended up doing the rumors record. That
5:12
was like 1985, 1986. Seemed like ancient
5:16
ancient times.
5:17
>> All these rumors.
5:18
>> Yeah. With Mike Marshall and Timex Co
5:21
Social Club. And that became, I believe,
5:24
one of the biggestselling independent
5:26
records if not of that year of the last
5:30
10 years at that time. And that kicked
5:32
off our career. And we we've always had
5:35
an independent mindset from the
5:37
beginning
5:38
>> wanting to do our own thing, not be
5:40
really signed to anybody and have our
5:43
own production company. We started our
5:44
own production company, Two Tough Enough
5:46
Productions. It just kept going,
5:48
>> creating our own groups, signing
5:50
production companies independently with
5:52
other record companies.
5:55
>> And you know, we had a we had a
5:56
beautiful run. Yeah.
5:58
>> And um you know, I'm still in the
6:01
business today cuz I manage my own uh
6:03
publishing. I own all my own publishing.
6:05
>> You own all that publishing from back
6:07
then?
6:07
>> All my own publishing.
6:08
>> Oh my gosh. Oh, man.
6:11
>> Come on.
6:11
>> Yeah, man. Most OGs don't own their
6:13
publishing.
6:13
>> No, I was up on that. You know, Oakland
6:15
is a hustle. Yeah. The hustle.
6:18
>> So, I asked all the right questions. I
6:20
knew about intellectual property coming
6:22
in and I was like, "Oh, intellectual
6:24
property is just like real property.
6:26
It's just like real estate. I can if I
6:28
own this, it might keep making money
6:30
forever just like a house.
6:32
>> Mhm.
6:32
>> And uh that's what I did. And I'm able
6:34
to leverage and and manage my
6:36
publishing. I got over like 300 songs
6:38
because there's samples of samples of
6:40
samples.
6:41
>> So I got I keep that keeps me busy and
6:44
uh I'm very happy that I met Denny and
6:46
he he got me on my journey on you know
6:49
this production musical journey.
6:51
>> So you know it's all it's a beautiful
6:53
thing. I'm very blessed. I'm a very
6:55
blessed guy cuz my life does not didn't
6:57
have to be like this.
6:58
>> Man, man, I'm I'm so happy to hear this
7:01
because most stories we hear, you know,
7:03
because of the way the music business is
7:05
designed, it's not an artist friendly uh
7:08
industry. And so, nine times out of 10,
7:11
we hear the story is unfavorable what
7:14
people's experiences have been. and it
7:16
in lands where you know that we see a
7:20
lot of our heroes in places and spaces
7:22
we don't want to see them in. You know,
7:24
they didn't get a chance to benefit
7:26
>> off their own creations.
7:28
>> Yeah. Yeah. And I'm very fortunate that
7:31
I came up in an era that uh built me up,
7:36
didn't break me down. I got put into
7:38
martial arts schools early in my
7:40
lifetime [clears throat]
7:41
and
7:42
>> learned to respect women because I was
7:44
getting kicked in the stomach by women
7:46
at the martial arts school [laughter]
7:48
and went to boxing and Muay Thai and all
7:50
and learned different cultures and the
7:52
value of self-respect and and uh
7:55
>> discipline and you know just mastering
7:59
your mind early. So I got all that early
8:01
>> in my life. So when I got to the music
8:03
industry, I could recognize a real from
8:05
the fake and be like, I'm not gonna be
8:08
like that guy. I'mma be like that guy.
8:10
>> Yeah.
8:11
>> So, you know, it's it's the the town
8:14
raised me and luckily I was raised in
8:16
boxing gym and combat gym. So, I was
8:18
already armored up
8:20
>> when I got out into the world. So, I
8:22
knew what time it was. It was going to
8:24
be some some hurdles for me to get over.
8:26
And especially in the music industry, I
8:27
was like, man, these cats, man, we was
8:30
on the street, you know, I'd be like,
8:31
you know, [laughter]
8:34
a lot of nerds in high positions,
8:36
>> man. You know, so so it's all good. I'm
8:38
just very blessed. I have
8:41
>> a very beautiful wife.
8:43
>> Yes, indeed. who's working on a very
8:45
beautiful film
8:47
>> that tells a story of part of that and
8:49
how how guys like me get brought up in
8:51
the gyms and on the street
8:53
>> and turn their life around and benefit
8:55
from being in the gym and being a part
8:57
of something bigger than than what they
8:59
thought they could be.
9:00
>> Yeah, this is an amazing docu series.
9:03
Sons of the sweet science is art is
9:06
living art. the way uh you guys have um
9:11
presented boxing um and the different
9:13
layers that come with boxing. It's not
9:15
just punching or getting punched or
9:17
avoiding punches. It's much more to it
9:19
and I want to get into that um
9:22
momentarily, but I I want to ask what
9:24
what came first, Club Nuvo or Timex
9:26
Social Club?
9:28
>> I know Timex Social Club is is was the
9:31
first that was the first time Denny Jay
9:33
and I were in studio together.
9:35
>> Okay. And they were a group. Timex
9:37
Social Club is a group from Berkeley,
9:38
California. Berkeley High School. They
9:40
performed that song Rumors
9:42
>> at the Berkeley High School talent show
9:44
and won the talent show with it.
9:46
>> Jay heard the song through one of the
9:49
members brothers. I can't remember his
9:51
name right now. I'm sorry,
9:52
>> but he said, "This is a hit record. I
9:55
need you and Denny to come in and work
9:57
on it with me." So Club New Vo came
10:00
after that record. It grew out of Timex
10:04
Social Club. Timex Social Club couldn't
10:06
get the deal together with Jay. Jay
10:08
said, "Okay, well, I'll just take these
10:10
guys that did the record, Tommy and
10:11
Denny, and form another another group."
10:13
Club Novo came out of that. We had an
10:15
idea to do a song just like Rumors. Call
10:17
it Jealousy.
10:18
>> That's marketing promotion. We were
10:20
thinking already
10:21
>> Jealousy.
10:22
>> Yes. And and that song blew up. Benny
10:24
Medida signed us to Warner Brothers
10:27
Records and we just kept going from
10:29
there. Eventually, we left Club Nuvo and
10:32
started our own production company and
10:34
uh went on to do Invogue, Tony, Tony,
10:37
Tony, Regina Bell,
10:40
>> Swing Out Sister, a lot of a lot of
10:41
different acts. So, I can't even
10:43
remember them all. Sometimes sometimes I
10:45
hear a record say, "Did we do that?" Oh,
10:46
damn.
10:48
>> Wow.
10:48
>> I'll look at the check and say, "Oh,
10:50
yeah, we statement."
10:52
>> Yeah, we did that record.
10:53
[clears throat]
10:53
>> Yeah. Yeah. Let me let me cash this rock
10:54
quick.
10:55
>> Um, the Loonies. I got five on.
10:57
>> I got five. My boy Chris Hicks.
10:59
>> Chris Hicks.
11:00
>> Chris [laughter] Hick.
11:01
>> What up to Chris Hicks with the green
11:03
Mercedes. Uh Rene the green Mercedes.
11:07
And Chris,
11:08
>> oh my god. With the peanut butter top.
11:09
>> With the peanut butter top.
11:11
>> The song they sampled was
11:14
>> Why you treat me
11:14
>> Why You Treat Me So Bad
11:16
>> from Club Novo.
11:16
>> From Club Novo. Um
11:21
Jay-Z done sample music from you too.
11:23
>> Every Puffy.
11:24
>> P. Who else?
11:25
>> Uh Jordan Peele. Yeah. Jennifer Lopez.
11:30
Uh, it's got groups all over the world
11:33
that have sampled that song. Yeah.
11:35
>> In Puerto Rico.
11:37
>> I still get got jeezy, I think.
11:38
>> Yeah. Jeez. Yeah.
11:39
>> Yeah. I get I sign off on stuff at least
11:42
two to three times a week on various
11:44
songs that I've done. But why you treat
11:46
me so bad was a song that what it was?
11:50
Either it was one of the kids from the
11:52
group, Yuck Mouth, I think.
11:53
>> Yep. Yep. Yuck Mouth. Y
11:55
>> he found the record and he brought that
11:57
idea to Tone Capone who is another Bay
12:00
Area
12:00
>> Tone Capone man who doesn't get enough
12:02
respect.
12:03
>> Yes.
12:04
>> And Tone did that track.
12:06
>> Uhhuh.
12:07
>> And after they did it, why he treat me
12:10
like after they did
12:12
>> five on it, Chris Hicks sent it to me. I
12:14
went to high school with Chris. Chris
12:15
always had the perm and was hollering
12:18
that. Yeah. Yeah.
12:18
>> Yeah. Pimping don't stop, baby. He was
12:20
always a player like that. He was always
12:23
a player. [laughter]
12:24
>> I was always a music square and kind of
12:26
an undercover tough guy.
12:29
>> Um, but Chris called me and said, "Yeah,
12:31
we got this song. We we took your song
12:33
and did this with it, Pony. Yeah, let me
12:35
let you hear it right quick." So, he
12:36
played it for me. I was like, "Damn,
12:38
that sound hell. I wish I would have did
12:40
it like that, you know." And yeah, soon
12:43
as it dropped, Tone Capone got called me
12:46
too. He said, "You know, I hope we got
12:48
your blessing."
12:49
>> I said, "Hell yeah, that sound good,
12:51
man. That's I'm thinking in my head, oh,
12:53
he going to give us another 20 years on
12:55
this song and he gave us another 40
12:58
years on the song. So,
13:00
>> I'm just like I said, I'm blessed, very
13:02
fortunate.
13:05
>> From Timex Social Club, Rumors, Club
13:08
Novo, Why You Treat Me So Bad to the
13:11
Loonies, I got five on it. It's a it's a
13:14
beautiful, beautiful legacy for me to be
13:16
involved with and all the other songs,
13:18
too. So [snorts] when you hear this
13:20
song,
13:21
>> know that it came from him and his
13:24
partner. This song couldn't have been
13:26
made without what Club Nuvo did.
13:28
>> Club Nuvo and Timex Social and
13:30
>> Timex Social Club related to actually
13:32
that song is um comes from a song called
13:35
Thinking About You
13:36
>> that Timex Social Club.
13:38
>> Thinking about you girl.
13:40
>> Yeah. So the evolution of that song we
13:42
wrote the music for uh why you treat me
13:45
so bad for thinking about you. Uh-huh.
13:47
>> That track was supposed to go on that,
13:48
but since we didn't get a chance to work
13:50
anymore with Time Exo Club, it went to
13:52
Club Nuvo and became Why You Treat Me So
13:54
Bad? Then from
13:56
>> there,
13:57
>> there it went on to become.
13:59
>> Now you know where it came from.
14:01
>> Oh yeah.
14:02
>> So let me tell you something about that
14:03
track.
14:04
>> Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
14:07
>> So you hear them big drums and
14:08
everything how it's going.
14:10
>> Sing shout over that.
14:12
>> Shoutout
14:13
it all out.
14:15
These are the [singing] things I could
14:18
do without. Come on. Tears for fears.
14:22
>> Yeah, that's we were big Tears for Fears
14:24
fans in New Wave.
14:26
>> So So that was the inspiration. Yeah.
14:30
>> That was the inspiration for that sound,
14:32
that song.
14:34
>> We said we want to do one like this.
14:36
>> All right.
14:37
>> You know, and so people don't know that
14:38
when when you're a producer, an artist,
14:41
>> you you're pulling from everything in
14:42
the air around you. So we were big Tears
14:44
for Fears fans and that was everybody
14:47
listened to everything at that time in
14:49
music.
14:50
>> So that's where we got the inspiration
14:51
for the for the production and the sound
14:53
of that that why you treat me so bad
14:55
from Tears of Fear Shout. If you listen
14:58
to it, you once I tell you, you'll hear
15:00
it every time. But if you don't know,
15:02
you you won't hear it.
15:04
>> Okay, I'm [clears throat] in this.
15:05
[laughter]
15:07
>> I'm sorry, Rene.
15:08
>> I hope they don't I hope they don't
15:10
call.
15:10
>> I don't You know what? I enjoy I enjoy
15:14
>> hope cheers don't call me for the world
15:16
you might you enjoy hearing him talk.
15:19
>> No I I love Tommy's an amazing producer
15:22
and musician in the morning we have a
15:25
piano in our house and sometimes he'll
15:27
just get on and play. He's so expressive
15:30
through his hands and the emotion that
15:32
comes through. So it just makes me love
15:34
him even more when I see him doing what
15:36
he does and him being here. I'm more
15:39
happy about that than the film. Yeah, I
15:42
really am. So I I could just talk, let
15:44
him talk, like it's just his nature. And
15:47
when people are doing what they love,
15:49
then they're lovable, you know?
15:51
>> Yeah.
15:51
>> So it just makes me love him more to see
15:54
him back in his element. So thank you
15:56
for that. I don't Yeah.
15:57
>> Okay. All right. I just, you know, you
16:00
know, I'm just looking at the clock. I
16:02
only got so much time with Tom.
16:03
>> You can get to the rest when me and
16:04
Denny come.
16:05
>> I'll do that. I'll do that. I'mma save
16:07
the rest.
16:07
>> Yeah. Just
16:08
>> I'mma save the Tony's in Vogue. I'mma
16:10
save the soundtracks, everything.
16:13
>> MC Light,
16:14
>> I'mma save Mop.
16:15
>> There you go. [laughter]
16:17
>> Dr. Funk,
16:18
>> Dr. Funk, you know, I'm I'mma save all
16:20
of that. I just want you to know um um
16:24
that you and and and Denny um I want to
16:28
say thank you, you know, because for me
16:32
uh growing up in the Bay, I was adjacent
16:35
to all of this,
16:36
>> you know, and when I was in high school,
16:39
I performed the Tears for Tears for Fear
16:41
song at at our prep rally. So I
16:44
[laughter]
16:44
>> So I knew where the drums,
16:46
>> right? I the drums I didn't know that
16:48
was the motivation but I understood
16:50
>> you know that that licking those drums
16:52
and that sound
16:53
>> that sound right but
16:55
>> you should you two should know um that
16:58
you have been a tremendous inspiration
17:01
and amazing representation of our region
17:04
Northern California the music industry
17:07
but more important beyond the industry
17:09
you motivated a lot of people I grew up
17:11
on 23rd A man IPS the twamps and had I
17:15
not seen seen y'all do it. Had I not
17:17
seen Short do it, had I not seen, you
17:19
know, Hammer do it, I I don't know if I
17:22
would have had it in my mind. Me and
17:23
King Tech had our own little independent
17:25
label running through City Hall. You
17:26
know, you remember I used to we used to
17:28
see each other then by the time we came
17:30
to radio came. Yeah. We were really in
17:32
our second life.
17:34
>> Mhm.
17:34
>> But we were so young people thought it
17:36
was that's where it all began. But
17:39
>> I hold you all dear to my heart and it
17:42
it's grounding when I see Raphael
17:44
sitting outside. is still
17:46
>> sipping tea.
17:46
>> Sipping tea. [laughter]
17:48
>> Such a big fan of his. Like it's it's
17:50
just hard to be a friend of his cuz I'm
17:52
such a big fan of his and I and I shown
17:54
that respect. But Tommy McElroy, Renee
17:56
Mata is here and we're talking about the
17:59
new series that they doing. It's on
18:01
YouTube. Sons of the sweet science. And
18:04
I didn't know what to expect. Nemani
18:06
Gwap's brother
18:08
>> was like, "You got to get them on the
18:09
show." And I was like,
18:11
>> "No problem, but what is this?" and he
18:13
told me it was built, it was a a docu
18:16
series around the impact
18:19
um of boxing.
18:21
>> Who came up with this concept and and
18:24
what is it about boxing that you wanted
18:27
people to know? Mhm. Well, Sons of the
18:29
Sweet Science is a family film, a family
18:32
series, and it features some of the top
18:35
boxers in the country, nationally ranked
18:38
um amateur and professional boxers, and
18:42
they're straight up out of Oakland. Um
18:44
it focuses on fatherhood. It focuses on
18:47
mentorship and like coming of age, but
18:50
also the metaphysics of boxing. This the
18:52
sweet science as they say. I just, you
18:54
know, watching my my husband, watching
18:56
Tommy and my son and how he learned so
19:02
many life lessons through boxing. Boxing
19:04
was the ring was just a metaphor for
19:06
life for him. My son had a lot of
19:09
problems in school.
19:10
>> Like what?
19:11
>> Uh just bouncing around, not moving, not
19:14
listening.
19:15
>> You know, they, you know, gave certain
19:17
labels they throw out there, ADD, ADHD.
19:19
And we kept getting calls about that.
19:22
And you know, they even suggested at one
19:24
point he should take medication and I
19:26
was just like, "No, you're not doing
19:28
that." You know, um I just felt like it
19:30
was just a violation of his spirit for
19:33
him to be sitting down. And so Tommy got
19:35
him. Same same thing with him. He was
19:37
him.
19:38
>> Yeah.
19:38
>> You know, people [laughter]
19:40
>> bopping around, just moving, zipping,
19:43
whining, twisting, and so fighting. He
19:46
didn't fight, but Tommy did. Tommy Tommy
19:48
>> He got in a few little scraps. I just
19:50
didn't tell you about it. Oh, okay.
19:52
[laughter] See, I didn't know any of
19:53
that. Gotta get the pizza home. You know
19:56
what I mean? I didn't know any of that,
19:58
but he, you know, I just got the idea,
20:01
but looking at the relationship between
20:02
my my husband and my son.
20:05
>> Okay. How, how did you feel? In what
20:07
ways are you hoping that this resonate
20:10
with other people like with families out
20:12
there that might be trying to create a
20:14
bond with their kids? And how does, you
20:16
know, martial arts or boxing help
20:19
strengthen that bond? What do you hope
20:20
people walk walk away with
20:21
>> walk away with? Well, just the
20:22
understanding of the art of the sport,
20:25
you know, it's it's a combat sport, but
20:27
there's so it's also a very much a
20:29
mental sport.
20:30
>> Yeah.
20:31
>> And um I think people just see boxing as
20:34
people and they're swinging and getting
20:35
beat up and uh excuse [clears throat]
20:38
me. Um it's a it's an art form and it
20:43
requires a lot of discipline, a lot of
20:45
focus, dedication. uh just it's a a a
20:50
lonely and very much a solo sport. But
20:54
for a boxer like some of the great
20:56
boxers that we see now, they all started
20:58
off where these boxers are now.
21:01
>> And so I just want people to have an
21:03
appreciation for the sport. And I also
21:05
think Oakland needs something positive
21:09
out of the city and boxing has always
21:12
been there. And so I want to show that,
21:14
you know, there are people in Oakland
21:16
who are really putting back into their
21:19
community in this way. Oakland is I
21:21
always say boxing rings are like social
21:22
service agencies. So I just want people
21:25
to know how important the sport is in
21:27
community and for young people mentally,
21:29
physically. You know, you have kids on
21:31
their phones, they have anxiety now and
21:34
just depression. And it's because
21:36
there's just energy trapped in the body
21:38
that is not getting out. And um I want
21:43
people to understand how energy works,
21:45
especially for young people. They're not
21:46
supposed to be sitting down in the
21:48
classroom all day.
21:49
>> It's just not. They want to be out
21:51
exploring the world and moving their
21:53
bodies.
21:54
>> Even grown people, we need to move our
21:56
bodies. And so boxing is just that
21:59
sport. It's beautiful. It's an art form.
22:01
And uh I just love it.
22:03
>> Wow. That's beautiful.
22:04
>> Hey Tommy, um how young were you when
22:06
you got into the sport of boxing?
22:08
You know, I've been in martial arts and
22:10
combat sports since I was eight. So, I
22:13
started off in in taekwond do and
22:15
wrestling. And then went [clears throat]
22:17
to kajuk kimbo, which is a multi multi
22:20
martial art from Hawaii, Filipino art.
22:24
And uh from there I went into Muay and I
22:26
was fighting in all of I was wrestling,
22:28
wrestling, headbutting people and
22:30
cheating and wrestling, pinching people.
22:34
>> So, I've been in since I was eight years
22:36
old all the way up. I competed till I
22:37
was like 41. So I stopped at Muay Thai
22:40
and boxing and boxing has been my
22:43
emphasis for the last probably 15 years.
22:45
So it's the last martial art I studied
22:47
was boxing.
22:48
>> You you didn't play basketball,
22:49
football, none of that.
22:49
>> I played football. I played back in that
22:51
Jack Tatum area. I was trying to
22:53
paralyze [snorts] people and all that
22:54
kind of [ __ ] [laughter]
22:54
>> Oakland Dynamites.
22:56
>> Oakland Dynamites. Yeah, I did. I did.
22:59
>> Yo,
23:00
>> I was everybody in Oakland. That's what
23:02
the Oakland Dynamite Oakland Dynamite. I
23:04
played football. I I was okay in
23:06
basketball, but I like to fight. Um my
23:10
uh Instagram is my son named it, but
23:12
it's called Mac will fight you cuz he
23:16
knew he I used to always tell him how I
23:18
used to get into with people and and
23:19
throw the first punch before they get
23:21
me. So, I've been a fighter since I was
23:24
a kid. It just got put in the right uh
23:27
framework and got the energy got
23:30
funneled in the right direction. And so
23:31
I took my independence and
23:33
entrepreneurship and with that fighting
23:35
spirit, even when I was in music, I was
23:37
quiet, but behind closed doors, Denny
23:40
and I would always get business taken
23:41
care of, staying up late if we had to,
23:44
running over whatever we needed to run
23:46
over, getting where we need to be
23:48
because of the fighting spirit that was
23:49
instilled in me and and developed
23:52
through martial arts and boxing. I
23:54
always thought that most boxers and
23:55
fighters like that, they get into that
23:57
sport because they were like uh
23:58
>> they wasn't they were team players, but
24:00
they used to take the loss more harder
24:02
than the rest of the team. So that's
24:04
what you made you get into that sport
24:05
that you wanted to do it by yourself
24:06
instead of with a bunch of guys. So if
24:08
you took the loss, it was your fault.
24:09
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Basically, I just like
24:11
fighting.
24:12
>> No, he [laughter] just like he liked to
24:14
fight.
24:14
>> No rhyme or reason.
24:15
>> And not just not just not just uh Oh,
24:18
even when he when you got a little
24:19
older. Yeah, I I done got into it a
24:22
little little here and there behind
24:23
Renee. Some dudes might have said
24:24
something. I might have yanked.
24:26
>> He pulled the dude's shirt up and locked
24:28
him. [laughter] There's two dudes on the
24:29
on the court in at city center playing
24:32
basketball. They was talking mess. And I
24:34
I guess I walked by and Tommy grabbed
24:37
both of them and pulled their shirt ups
24:39
over their faces over their necks and
24:41
twisted the shirt and they were both
24:43
stuck in their shirt and choked them
24:44
with their own shirts.
24:46
>> You know, I've been trained by I'm I'm
24:47
I'm deep in combat sports. [laughter]
24:49
I've been trained I've been trained by
24:52
I've been trained by military Navy Seal
24:54
guys and I'm you know just
24:56
>> it's crazy people think he's quite not
24:59
with me never but but that's what made
25:02
me attracted to I was like he can fight
25:04
too okay yeah that's my man
25:05
>> but who who who actually walks you and
25:08
say hey you know what Tommy I think you
25:09
should go boxing or something like that
25:10
>> my brother
25:11
>> my brother told he he he saw me sparring
25:14
>> and I had a lot of mentors coming up
25:16
Bill Owens from Costco's martial arts in
25:18
Oakland
25:19
Doug Jones from uh uh Doug Jones martial
25:23
arts
25:24
>> and Costos and I had um there's guys at
25:27
jiujitsu and judo schools out in the Bay
25:29
Area. Uh
25:31
>> just different people and but my brother
25:33
saw me sparring and my brother older
25:34
brother Daryl Maroy and he said you
25:37
remind me of Bernard Hopkins. I was like
25:39
what? And he said I was like who's
25:40
Bernard Hopkins? Oh it's dude he got out
25:42
of prison. He was he's nice man. He be
25:45
fighting dirty. Ain't nothing nothing
25:47
flashy. And I said, "Oh, really? I just
25:49
seen Roy Jones. He's like the kung fu
25:51
master." Yeah.
25:52
>> He said, "No, Bernard Hopkins is a dude
25:54
you need to watch." And then once I
25:56
started watching Bernard Hopkins,
25:58
>> I was like, "Oh, that's boxing. Boxing
26:02
is a whole different thing, you know."
26:05
And I I just studied the dude and he
26:08
became like a a muse for me in my stuff
26:11
that I was doing. I was like, I'mma be
26:13
like Bernard Hopkins. And I never do
26:15
that. I never ride no dude like that.
26:17
But Hopkins was a real dude. You know
26:20
what I'm saying? So my brother put me on
26:22
to that and he took me to King's Gym in
26:25
Oakland and from there my boxing journey
26:28
began. And and what happened henceforth
26:32
after that got married, started having
26:34
kids. My wife saw me in the gym all the
26:36
time coming to my fights, seeing me cut
26:39
weight. Then after we had Tommy, she saw
26:42
Tommy going through the same thing. We'd
26:44
be at the gym all the time and one day
26:45
she just showed up with a camera. I'm in
26:48
here too. I'm filming. [laughter]
26:50
What y'all doing in here? You always at
26:52
the gym. You always at Let me see what's
26:55
going [laughter]
26:58
She stayed in there for about eight,
27:00
nine years filming us and just saw the
27:02
world of boxing.
27:03
>> Yeah. and came up with this concept for
27:07
uh Fight Dads which was originally a
27:10
reality show but that grew into now Sons
27:12
of the Sweet Science which is a broader
27:14
concept which involves the community. It
27:17
involves these different journeys that
27:19
she sees these kids going through when
27:21
we go to the national tournaments. All
27:22
the different dads and how they relate
27:25
to their sons and how they're using
27:27
boxing to to help their sons deal with
27:30
what's going on in the world. because we
27:31
did all this and my son was coming
27:33
through COVID. He was coming through uh
27:35
>> George Floyd.
27:36
>> Yeah. George Floyd and all the different
27:38
protests that was going on. So, as a
27:40
young black man,
27:42
>> she was able to see what he was going
27:44
through
27:45
>> from a mom's perspective and chronicle
27:47
that through the film
27:49
>> and how boxing related to that and how
27:51
we we dealt with it together,
27:54
>> you know, as a family. But boxing and
27:57
combat sports have always been there and
27:58
she's able to chronic chronicle that in
28:00
film. David Lopez and his dad, Chris
28:03
Lightning Lopez, Cyrus Deon and his dad.
28:07
>> Uh Pat uh Lynon Lock and Lai and Kyle
28:11
Lock and Lai.
28:12
>> She's got Amari. Uh
28:14
>> she's got Amari.
28:15
>> Amari Jones in there.
28:16
>> Trying to get Amari on the show.
28:17
>> He'll be in there. Just just call
28:19
Cordell at Lion's Den.
28:21
>> Okay.
28:21
>> He'll hook it up. But she's got all the
28:23
guys. Andre, you know, is obviously an
28:27
icon from Oakland in boxing. Andre Andre
28:30
Ward, guys. Andre Ward guy. [laughter]
28:32
>> Olympic champion.
28:34
>> Yeah. Olympic champion. The guy and and
28:36
one of the most cerebral boxers
28:39
>> to come out of boxing in in you know a
28:42
long long time. So you know we have a
28:45
lot of things to showcase in our boxing
28:48
community in Oakland.
28:49
>> Yes.
28:49
>> You know I've lived like three or four
28:51
different lives. So, I'm I've been a,
28:53
you know, a musician. I've been, you
28:55
know, my priority is being a good
28:57
husband and good father. And I've been a
28:59
fighter, you know,
29:01
>> and uh now I'm executive producer of a
29:05
very nice
29:07
>> docu series called Sons of the Sweet
29:09
Science. There you go. Shout out to Bill
29:11
Haney, too.
29:11
>> Bill Haney.
29:12
>> Hy Bill Haney.
29:13
>> He was in the music business, too, for a
29:14
minute.
29:15
>> Bill Haney.
29:16
>> Yeah. He was trying to promote some
29:17
records, little independent records out
29:19
there.
29:19
>> Haney Promotions,
29:20
>> I believe. So yeah, I remember hearing
29:22
his name, you know, on the street and in
29:25
music when I was when I was doing my
29:27
thing, too. So, you know, and that's one
29:28
thing about Oakland, I got to say, and
29:30
with Renee, myself, Bill Haney,
29:33
>> you, some of the other people, we have
29:34
an entrepreneurial ste spirit coming out
29:37
of Oakland. We like doing things our
29:38
way, you know,
29:40
>> and and being independent and having our
29:42
own [ __ ] I mean, our own stuff,
29:45
>> you know, we like having our own stuff
29:47
and running our own our own show.
29:50
>> Yeah. We like to boss up.
29:51
>> We boss up.
29:52
>> So, Bill, you know, some of these other
29:55
people, Andre,
29:57
>> you know, Renee, Rene's a boss, too. And
29:59
when when when she wanted to do this, I
30:01
was like, "This is a great idea.
30:03
>> You know, I'm behind it. Of course, I'm
30:05
in it." But and she, you know, was like,
30:08
"Hey, I want to do this. This is what
30:10
I'm doing. I want to do it on you and
30:12
little Tommy, you know. Well, what do
30:14
you think?" I was like, "Hell yeah,
30:15
let's go."
30:16
>> Well, you you've done an excellent job.
30:19
like uh when you first start watching
30:21
it, it was like, "Oh, this feels epic."
30:24
>> You know what I mean? This is this is
30:26
movie theater worthy. Yes. You know, and
30:30
>> the way you presented the contrast how
30:32
people have a narrow uh kind of
30:35
unilateral thought or perception about
30:37
boxing. Um you brought the beauty out of
30:40
it. The thing that I would appeal to me
30:42
most is watching you train your son,
30:45
watching other fathers. I'm a father.
30:47
train the son and is especially in
30:50
environments like Oakland which exist
30:51
all over the country. How have you seen
30:55
boxing like really if you could give me
30:57
an example of how boxing that's really
30:59
turned somebody's life around did a
31:02
total 180 and just put them in a way
31:04
better environment mentally in a better
31:07
space in their life.
31:08
>> Yeah, I got the perfect story for that
31:10
and it involves it involves Andre Ward.
31:13
M
31:14
>> um going to these national tournaments,
31:16
I get to see a lot of fathers and sons,
31:18
a lot of stories. And coming up, I've
31:20
heard a lot of stories, but I remember
31:22
uh somebody wanted me to go spar.
31:25
I was boxing in the gym. Somebody saw me
31:27
boxing. I was about 40 years old. I was
31:30
hanging with some young guys and they
31:32
said, "Hey, I want you to come spar with
31:33
this dude, blah, blah, blah. He's
31:34
getting ready for this fight." Blah blah
31:35
blah. I said, "All right, man. What's
31:38
you know, what's what's his name?" His
31:39
name is Andre. Yeah, Andre. Okay,
31:42
whatever. I'll probably come through.
31:43
Let me see what's happening. And then uh
31:47
I was somewhere else with some other
31:48
guys just on the corner or whatever.
31:50
Some dudes I knew. And then I was like,
31:53
"Yeah, man." They were like, "How's your
31:54
boxing going?" I said, "I'm boxing. I'm
31:56
still boxing. I'm still doing Muay Thai.
31:58
I got these guys. I'm supposed to go
31:59
spar with this dude, Andre." They said,
32:01
"These are some block dudes."
32:03
>> Yeah.
32:03
>> Said, "Andre?
32:05
That's my dude." I said, "What's his
32:07
name?" Said, "Andre Ward, man, that's
32:10
dude." I said, "You know, Andre, these
32:12
block dudes,
32:14
>> they're out there working."
32:15
>> So, you know, yeah, Andre be out with
32:17
out here with us sometimes. I was like,
32:19
"What?" So, I did a little investigation
32:22
with some other people, found out
32:24
Andre's dad had passed, and Andre hadn't
32:26
been boxing, dropped out of the gym,
32:30
and had just got back in the gym
32:34
and was preparing to probably go to the
32:36
Olympics.
32:38
And I was like, "Wow, this dude was on
32:40
the street."
32:41
>> Yeah,
32:41
>> this dude was on the street with these
32:43
dudes. And now boxing has got him back
32:46
focused.
32:48
>> His coach, Virtual Hunter.
32:49
>> Wow, man. Round of applause,
32:52
man. Come on.
32:53
>> Has got him back focused
32:55
>> in the gym, has taken him back into the
32:57
boxing community
32:59
>> and turned him around. He's getting
33:00
ready to go to the Olympics.
33:02
>> Long story short, I didn't go spar with
33:03
that brother cuz I would have got my ass
33:04
whooped.
33:05
>> Uhhuh.
33:05
>> So, I didn't go. [laughter] He didn't
33:07
go.
33:08
>> I didn't go.
33:10
>> So, I didn't go. But next thing you
33:12
know, he was winning the gold medal.
33:14
>> Uhhuh.
33:15
>> He came out, started his pro career
33:17
after that. Got signed uh with Jay
33:19
Prince. Shout out to Jay Prince.
33:22
>> Uh and went on to be one of the most
33:24
legendary boxers ever.
33:26
>> Ever.
33:26
>> Yeah. Ever.
33:27
>> One of the greatest ever.
33:28
>> Greatest ever.
33:29
>> Not mentioned enough.
33:30
>> And he could have not been nothing. He
33:33
could have been out in the street.
33:35
>> He could have been shot. He could have
33:36
been whatever in jail, but a a turn and
33:39
a decision to go back to boxing led him
33:42
back to a beautiful life, married, kids,
33:45
>> uh, you know, he's a godly man,
33:47
spirited,
33:48
>> spirited.
33:48
>> So, that's that's one of the best
33:50
stories and examples you could look at
33:52
it. How bossy can turn you in a in a in
33:55
another direction. His dad gave him
33:58
boxing at a young age. his dad was a
34:00
boxer
34:00
>> and started training him, took him to
34:02
Virgil. Then Virgil became his
34:04
godfather,
34:05
>> another father figure,
34:07
>> and kept him on the on the right path.
34:10
Even when he was messing up, he brought
34:11
him back and and put him where he needed
34:13
to be
34:14
>> and uh stuck to the plan. And that's
34:17
probably the best best example I could
34:20
give. And for me, too, boxing and and
34:22
martial arts kept me and my mentality,
34:25
right?
34:25
>> Kept you straight, right?
34:26
>> Yeah. I have a lot of cousins that are
34:28
dead and in jail. I have friends that
34:31
have done federal time. Some very close
34:33
people to me. At one time my phone was
34:35
tapped because of my association with
34:38
people.
34:38
>> Wow.
34:39
>> So, you know,
34:40
>> that's a great story, man. Thank you for
34:42
sharing this, man. Uh, we got Tommy
34:45
McElroy is here. Uh, Renee Mata, and
34:48
we're talking about Sons of the Sweet
34:50
Science Citizens. This is a great series
34:52
to watch on YouTube over the weekend.
34:55
Um, Trace, I'm gonna let you jump in.
34:57
>> Yes, sir. Congratulations, Tommy.
34:59
Congratulations, Renee. Rene, I have a
35:02
question for you specifically because I
35:04
would love to tap more into um the
35:07
mother's perspective because I have a
35:09
hunch that there are a good number of
35:12
mothers who have children who perhaps
35:13
want to be future sons of the sweet
35:15
science. But the moms may have this
35:18
apprehension, right? They don't want to
35:21
see their babies bloodied up. Maybe they
35:24
feel like it's almost contradictory to
35:28
have a son in boxing while trying to
35:30
raise him to be a sensitive man with a
35:33
high EQ. What would you say to them to
35:36
kind of ease that tension or discomfort?
35:40
>> Well, first of all, my heart my heart
35:42
beats into my throat when I watch my son
35:45
fighting. So, that's just not going to
35:47
go away. Second, I'm feel more
35:51
comfortable with him in the ring than in
35:52
the street. I feel he's safer in the
35:55
ring than he is on the street.
35:57
>> And I also know because of boxing, his
36:01
awareness, his respect for his body, um,
36:04
not putting drugs or alcohol in it, um,
36:07
is there.
36:08
>> There's community. So, the advantages of
36:12
boxing outweigh not boxing
36:15
>> for girls and boys. There's a lot of
36:17
girl boxers out there, too. So,
36:19
daughters, too. Um, I think it's a great
36:22
sport for uh self-confidence, mental
36:26
awareness. So, I would encourage them
36:29
even for moms getting in there and
36:31
hitting that bag once or twice. It's a
36:34
nice feeling, you know. U So, I think
36:37
any Mhm.
36:39
>> Yes.
36:40
>> So, you can handle seeing your son get
36:42
punched in the face?
36:43
>> No, I cannot. Okay. I I will I walk out
36:45
as he's gotten when he was younger, it
36:47
was cute, you know, I would be like,
36:48
"All right, get him." you know, now he's
36:51
got the man strength and he's 19.
36:54
>> I sometimes do walk out. But filming I
36:57
my I cannot stop my heart from beating.
37:00
>> Yeah.
37:01
>> Just filming it.
37:02
>> Just filming it. My heart is like in my
37:04
throat.
37:04
>> It's just
37:05
>> Yeah.
37:06
>> Wow.
37:07
>> Yeah.
37:08
>> Boxing [clears throat] is one of the
37:08
hardest sports in the world inside the
37:10
ring
37:11
>> and outside. It takes a different
37:13
mentality.
37:14
>> You got to have nerves to steal. you
37:16
kind of have ultimate confidence
37:19
>> and and believe in yourself. That's why
37:21
when you get in there as a young man and
37:23
and learn how to box, it raises your
37:26
your uh your animal spirit to a new
37:29
level of intellect. So where you know
37:31
when to use it and when not to use it.
37:33
You know, you're a part of a fraternity
37:35
now that if you go out there in the
37:38
street and start doing stupid stuff,
37:40
your brother's going to look down at
37:41
you, upon you, and you're not going to
37:44
live up to the standards that we're
37:45
building in the gym as a brotherhood.
37:47
And that's one of the advantages of
37:49
sending your kid to a gym. [snorts] Now,
37:51
he's a part of this fraternity, not a a
37:54
part of that fraternity.
37:55
>> So, you got it teaches you, you know,
37:58
life skills in the gym that are going to
38:01
carry on in the rest of your life. in
38:03
dealing with other people in other
38:04
situations.
38:06
>> Man, do I could talk to you all day. Um,
38:09
unfortunately, this show ends in about
38:10
two minutes, but I want to say
38:13
congratulations to both of you. Your
38:15
contribution um to art, you know,
38:18
entertainment, music, film, um, family,
38:22
u, Northern California as a whole, you
38:24
guys are royalty as far as I'm
38:26
concerned. This project is excellent.
38:29
Absolutely. Sons of the Sweet Science
38:31
and I'm going to keep pushing it
38:33
>> um for people to keep watching it.
38:35
Right. Yeah, man. And when you do part
38:37
two, let me know if you need a nar,
38:40
>> you know, a voice or something, you
38:41
know. What What was the gym that used to
38:43
be off of 23rd and um in um East 14th?
38:46
>> Kings.
38:46
>> That was that Kings.
38:47
>> Kings. That's the gym I walked in. HB,
38:50
you I told this story cuz I had an
38:52
option to go into boxing. I could have
38:54
went into boxing or track, right? We we
38:56
started with track.
38:57
>> Ran the quarter.
38:58
>> Yeah. Yeah. You know for me, you know.
39:00
Yeah. People in Oakland know my history
39:02
on track. They know it for us. You know,
39:04
they [laughter]
39:05
they seen my victories. Uh
39:08
>> but I went in Kings once cuz Kings right
39:11
next to Kings it was a they used to have
39:12
a arcade. This is when the arcades was
39:14
big and I and I went in Kings once and I
39:17
was fast. So I thought, man, I kind of
39:20
want to train. And I remember this
39:22
trainer put me in a ring with this
39:23
little short Mexican dude, right? And he
39:26
was like, "Man, well, show me what you
39:28
got." And so I'm doing my little street
39:31
[ __ ] you know, thinking I got hands.
39:33
[laughter]
39:34
Man, before I even thought about
39:35
throwing a punch, that dude dotted me up
39:37
at least three times and caught me on
39:39
the bridge of my nose.
39:41
>> Man, I took THE GLOVES OFF. [laughter]
39:44
>> I BECAME a track star.
39:46
>> Started running right from the jam
39:48
straight to the
39:49
>> straight to the track, man. [laughter]
39:50
Tommy, I was not for that pain,
39:52
>> man.
39:52
>> But even people who are 50 and over
39:55
>> Yeah. can get in the gym and box.
39:57
>> Yeah, of course. Of course. If you got
39:59
it in, you
40:01
>> you know, go in there and get it in and
40:03
and you see I I always train. I've been
40:07
I probably will never stop stop
40:08
training. People tease me all the time
40:10
because at the end of my workout, I do
40:11
cartwheels and [ __ ]
40:14
>> Back flips.
40:14
>> Yeah. And I'm like, this connects me
40:16
with my youth,
40:18
>> you know, in a way. So, I'm always do
40:20
this. I'm always train and I'm always
40:22
work out. I love the gym. That's my safe
40:25
space in the studio. So, people can get
40:28
in there and enjoy themselves and and
40:30
and be healthy. You know, watch the
40:33
film. They'll show you, you know, the
40:36
lifestyle and people going through the
40:38
ups and downs of boxing and and family
40:41
support. You know, when you get in the
40:43
gym and you're going through that stuff,
40:44
sometimes you got to talk to people
40:46
about, damn, I had a hard workout today
40:47
or I tried to do this.
40:49
>> Didn't work out too well for me, you And
40:51
it it chronicles this film chronicles
40:53
the the wins but it also chronicles the
40:56
losses that these kids go through and
40:58
how they deal with that.
41:00
>> So it's you know that culture teaches
41:03
you so much like I said it gives you a
41:05
lot of loves gives you a lot of
41:06
discipline gives you a lot of you know
41:10
focus.
41:11
>> Yeah.
41:11
>> You know and a beautiful perspective on
41:13
how to deal with life.
41:15
>> Yeah.
41:15
>> The sport is beautiful too. something
41:17
very sexy and uh mysterious about the
41:20
sport too when you watch the film the
41:22
choreography and the movement is
41:25
something about it that just kind of
41:26
draws you in visually. Uh so I'm I was
41:30
happy to capture all of that the
41:32
choreography of the sport.
41:34
>> Yeah.
41:35
>> Um so
41:36
>> you did an excellent job.
41:37
>> Very much so. I I want to thank Renee
41:39
for actually grabbing the camera going
41:41
to the gym.
41:41
>> Yeah. and capturing it, you know,
41:43
because um
41:44
>> the man always, you know, and
41:46
celebrating the fathers too, just to
41:47
showing that these fathers and the black
41:49
and these mentors
41:50
>> fathers, black fathers need to more
41:52
recognition.
41:53
>> And I think highlighting that is a great
41:55
I think that's the main thing that
41:57
that's the main black fathers don't get
41:59
enough credit. You always hear about
42:00
them not showing up or child support
42:03
always seems to be in the same sentence
42:04
with black fathers and there are a lot
42:06
of black fathers out there who are very
42:08
present in their son and daughter's
42:10
lives. My husband is one of them. And
42:12
even within the sport, it just doesn't
42:15
get enough recognition. So that was one
42:17
of my goals to show how hands-on these
42:19
fathers are. They really love their
42:20
children.
42:21
>> And shouts out to Mr. Vu, men like that,
42:24
that's mentors that's stepping into
42:25
those roles, that's stepping into those
42:27
roles of fathers that have made past or
42:29
might be in the penitentiary, anything,
42:31
and teaching that these young men to be
42:32
men. So to be a man, you have to know a
42:34
man to be a man. And these are the men
42:36
that we know. So I think
42:37
>> I can't do that. As a woman, I know
42:39
there's certain things I cannot teach my
42:41
son and I will step back and let him and
42:43
then as a mom, I will give both of them
42:46
a soft place to land, right? So, the
42:49
film really shows that. I'm just I'm
42:51
very proud of the work. Thank you.
42:52
>> Yeah. Matter of fact, for Father's Day,
42:54
why don't y'all sit around and and watch
42:56
this film?
42:57
>> Yes.
42:57
>> Cuz fathers don't get anything.
42:58
>> No. [laughter]
43:00
>> Father's Day. It's true. We try.
43:03
>> Father speak of chicken. Tell them.
43:05
[laughter] Yeah. Pizza and chicken.
43:08
>> No more mugs. No more mugs. [laughter]
43:11
>> No.
43:13
>> Socks.
43:15
>> Starbucks card.
43:16
>> Man, I got enough socks. [laughter]
43:20
>> Give me some money.
43:23
>> Like I'll be giving y'all. [laughter]
43:25
>> My daughters. My daughters.
43:27
>> Oh my god. I don't Yeah.
43:28
>> Your daughters what they
43:30
>> I need some more money. I need
43:32
[laughter]
43:32
>> Damn. They be coming with [ __ ] stacks.
43:35
Not even like a few dollars here and
43:37
there bands. Like it's like
43:38
>> they want bands.
43:40
>> I love being a father though.
43:42
>> That's my That's my my reason right now.
43:46
>> Yeah. Being a father. I love that man.
43:48
Tommy McElroy, Renee Anata, we
43:50
appreciate you. Thank you for joining us
43:52
on this show. We'll get the Foster
43:54
McElroy thing down the line. But
43:58
>> uh Sons of Sweet Science streaming now
44:01
on YouTube
44:02
>> and they can follow our Instagram page,
44:04
which is Fight Dads.
44:05
>> Fight Dads Dads. Yes,
44:08
>> Fighters Dads. I need every dad tuning
44:11
in right now to follow them
44:13
>> on YouTube. Fight_dads.
44:15
Uh every every person tuning in, this
44:18
this is royalty right here, you guys.
44:20
Thank you for coming through. We
44:21
appreciate you.
#Arts & Entertainment