Ed Gough (Dr. Vibe) – Leading with love

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

“I started the Dr Vibe show with a dream and a laptop! It was started on my dining room table.”

“What a gwan Simone Jennifah Esquire?”

I burst out laughing because I knew exactly what type of interview this was going to be. Our Classic Man feature this week dominates the Internet when it comes to hosting intellectual, entertaining dialogue around the topics of race and gender.

His experience with people sets him apart from the average podcaster. You know you are sitting with a man of great intellect when you sit across from him, and it is one of the reasons why he was the winner of the Best International Blog in 2012, at the Black Weblog Awards, and a three-year finalist in the Best Podcast Series. “Don’t go to the internet Simone. Go to the source,” he told me. So that is exactly what I did. I went to the source. I would like to present to you, someone who needs no introduction (but I am doing it anyways), Ed Gough, better known as Dr Vibe.

“I am blessed, highly-favoured, a magnet for miracles, a solution for someone’s problem, and STILL BLACK!”

Born to Jamaican parents in Oshawa, Ontario, Dr Vibe grew up in a loving two-parent home. His parents love story is one for the books. When they left Jamaica to pursue their post-graduate education, his parents were boyfriend and girlfriend. His dad was a Cornwall College All Boys School graduate and went to study at Howard University in Washington. Mom went to school in England, and then moved to Oshawa.

The story goes like this; his father took a bus from Washington D.C. to Niagara Falls. He then took a bus from Niagara Falls to Oshawa. His love and dedication was so strong, that when he was done school, he decided he would move to Oshawa to be with the woman who would become his wife. Not long after followed the young Ed Gough.

“I don’t remember much about Oshawa. I remember living in downtown on Palmerston Ave, then we moved to Belgravia (Little Jamaica), and then to Scarborough. My parents had the same group of friends from when they were in Jamaica. They really believed in community, so our families were always within a 30-minute drive from each other. It was a true testimony of community. This was a huge learning lesson for me.”

Schooling was a different experience for Ed. It would be especially if your father is a teacher. “My teacher was a teacher for 38 years. Having a father as an educator, I felt more like a student then a son. When I graduated from Junior High School. I received the proficiency award. I came off stage, and the first thing he said was, “You are going to University.”

There were only four African students in his high school. Ed does mention that he did not have to deal with any racism during this time. He had become adept at developing good relationships. Just as dad wanted, Ed went to the University of Toronto Scarborough College, and he completed a one-year course in Public Relations and Market at Humber College.

The first job Ed had was working at a restaurant, and he recalls the experience as being an essential one. “It enhanced my ability to deal with different people. I have a lot of stories coming out of my time, but what I really learned how to do is deal with different personalities.”

He also shared a traumatic experience that occurred when he worked at an athletic store. “I have never spoken of this before, but I wanted to share it with you. When I was managing this athletic store, three African youths broke into the store, and myself, and three other customers were held in a hostage situation. For one and a half, to two hours, I was held at gunpoint. What hurt me about this situation was that three African men wanted to hurt me. They wanted to take my life from me, and in some way, when I had to testify against them, I had to take something away from them as well. It was a situation that brought me a lot of pain.”

One of Ed’s first corporate jobs was at Adidas Canada. In his initial interview, four white men interviewed him. He must have wowed them, because he became the second African employee hired at their head office.

He was also the first African person hired as a marketing representative at  Universal Records. “I was one of the key people to bring the Roots to Toronto. I produced a music compilation with Universal artists: Jodeci, Aaron Hall, Guy, Mary J. Soul 4 Real, and Monifa. I was responsible for the: look, layout, I picked songs, called licensing companies, the whole thing. The compilation sold over 10,000 records. That may not seem like much now, but it was a lot in 1996.” He was involved in the music industry for a while, but he did not want to be a performer. “I wanted to be a decision maker. I wanted people to know that black men could be decision makers.”

He moved through the corporate world for a while, and then he landed his position as program coordinator at Young and Potential Fathers. All the while, there was another aspect of his life that was moving him to act.

“When I was in University, I did college radio, and I loved it. After I graduated, I visited Birks Bookstore (black-owned Bookstore) and as I was perusing, I saw a book (Black Men, Obsolete, Single, Dangerous? The Afrikan American family in Transition,1990). It was nice reading something I could relate to, especially after being inundated with European literature during my academic studies. I read the whole book in one night. After I completed it, I was thoughtful. I said to myself; one day, somehow, somewhere, I am going to create a safe space for black men to speak their heart and minds.”

*Fun Fact* At a Christmas party during his time at Universal, he was jamming to the music, and a man named Steward Smith came up to him and said “You have the vibe man. You are Dr Vibe.”

Initially the Dr Vibe show started as the Vibe and Vegas Show. His co-host at the time Vegas was part of the original show idea. Life happened, and he moved on to do other things. The show then transitioned it to what we know it as today, the Dr Vibe show.

I was curious as to what his first show was, and he had to dig into his mental roll-a-deck. “My first episode was about Michael Vic and the dogs, and that was on October 23^rd, 2009.” He chuckles as he reflects. “Dalton Higgins, Mitzie Hunter. Oh wow! I forgot that I dialogued with Mitzie. Lilly Johnson (Founding member of the Sickle Cell Association of Ontario), Dwayne Morgan. All archived conversations. It is incredible when you begin to look back.”

“One of my most memorable interviews was with a woman named Kenya Williams. On one of my shows, she bared her soul and shared her story of sexual assault at the hand of family member. This was a turning point for me. It was then that I realized that my show was taking on a deeper meaning.”

Dr Vibe really enjoys having fun. People sometimes see him as a serious person. “I was a black man working in the corporate world. You had to be tough. Behind it all I am a fun-loving guy. I accept people where they are. When you speak with Dr Vibe, I am not judging you.”

If you have not had an opportunity, check out Dr Vibe across his many platforms: iTunes, Twitter, Facebook, Stitcher Radio, Google Play Music, iHeart Radio, YouTube.