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Classic Man

Jamal S. Lewis, Ph.D. Bringing about metamorphic change from seed to fruit

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Photo Credit: UC Medical Biomedical Engineering

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

I was energized when the management team approved my idea of a feature section in the newspaper called Classic Man. I had observed how our African Caribbean/Canadian/American men were being showcased mainstream. They had pigeonholed them into certain roles that to me did not display the greatness of our culture.

As soon as I read the short write up on this week’s feature, it reminded me of why this feature is so important. I was introduced to Jamal S. Lewis Ph.D. (Associate Professor Department of Biomedical Engineering at University of California, Davis), by one of our readers in the community. He epitomizes everything that is classic, not just because of his radiant smile, but because of what he brings to the table.

He specializes in biomaterials engineering for immuno‐therapy and tissue/cellular engineering applications. In his Ph.D. and postdoctoral study, he developed an immune cell targeting micro-particle vaccine for auto‐immune disease therapy. As an assistant professor in the biomedical engineering department, his lab (https://www.ucdavislewislab.com/) focuses on the development of biomaterial systems that can manipulate the immune system. His unique cross-disciplinary research program in immunology and biomaterials has brought together the laboratories across the campus to enhance their research goals. Under his leadership, Professor Lewis and his team aim to design the next generation of immune therapeutics for applications in immune-related diseases.

What makes Professor Lewis excel, is his ability to translate his research to clinical settings. His research efforts have led to the basis of multiple patents, the formation of a company (OneVax, LLC) and principal investigator ship on several Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants.

One of Professor Lewis’s favourite pastimes is gardening, and what an allegory that is. For him, there is something very rewarding about bringing about that metamorphic change from seed to fruit. It supports his life work, which is to mold the growth of his mentees. As a mentor, he enjoys seeing the growth in his mentees as they learn and progress in their academic and professional careers.

Black professors, students, and staff often feel marginalized in academia, but Professor Lewis has proven that you can navigate through the methodically placed barriers, and provide the next generation of Black scientists and engineers with a “Vision of the possible.”

It wanted to dig deeper into the life of a man who was obviously a genius, to see how his life had been structured. We set up a call, and just like I thought, genius!

“I was born in Guyana,” Professor Lewis begins, “And, I lived there until I was eleven years old.  Many of those years were spent in Georgetown Guyana, where I watched my parents lay the groundwork for my future. At that time, my dad was an agricultural engineer, and my mom was a scientist (IEST). My mom has a PhD, and my dad has a Masters, both of them are well educated.

As a kid growing up, I was very playful. If you wanted me to do something, let me know that I could go play. I was a natural athlete and enjoyed playing cricket, badminton, soccer, and table tennis.

Just before my 12th birthday, we moved to Jamaica. I lived my formative years in Jamaica, and actually attended a prestigious boys school. I finished high school at the age of sixteen years old, and at that point, I was more interested in playing cricket. I wanted to make the West Indies team. I was pretty good at sciences and math, so my parents had other plans for me. They decided that I would go off to school with my sister.”

He realized that he had a knack for math and science. It was around this time that Professor Lewis was witness to some significant scientific breakthroughs: Dolly the first ever cloned sheep, and Dr Tony (Anthony Atala) one of the most celebrated research surgeons, who grew an ear on the back of a mouse. This really excited him, and he began to think, “Maybe I can do well in the science field.” His parents supported him 100%.

“I started to change my focus to more so academics, and ended up in biometric engineering.”

He went to HCBU, and this was a positive thing for him. It allowed him to transition into the U.S. environment, and get used to the racial climate. The environment was focused on making sure that Black students excelled in their career paths.

Things were not always easy, and he admits to facing some challenges. “There were people who made it clear to me that I shouldn’t be there.”

He received his Ph.D. degree in 2012, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship learning alongside Dr. Benjamin Keselowsky in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at University of Florida. In 2015 Dr. Jamal Lewis joined the Biomedical Engineering Department at UC Davis as an Assistant Professor.

“I ended up doing my PhD at the University of Florida, it is where things really blossomed for me. I started my company there.”

Professor Lewis turned his focus to Immune Engineering, which allowed him to work on developing new therapies and new vaccines for diseases, specifically Regulatory Vaccine – Treatment and cure for Type 1 Diabetes. “It did well with mice, so we thought we could translate that to humans.” This is how OneVax, LLC was born.”

Since then Professor Lewis received the 2017  National Institutes of Health of Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) for New and Early Stage, as well as being named the 2019 Regenerative Medicine Workshop Young Investigator Faculty Award recipient at UC Davis.

Professor Lewis ended our discussion with some well-stated wisdom.

“Any Black person who is remotely successful, is going to be in situations where they are the only one. You have to embrace that. When you are younger, it can be intimidating, but I believe that you have to face that intimidation. You are there for a reason, you are probably over-qualified than most of the people in there.

We are capable of doing everything, and anything other ethnic groups can do. Our media does not communicate that message. They don’t get to see Black people outside what is portrayed on television.

There is going to be added pressure to demonstrate that you are there for a reason. Confidence is key. Remain calm and show people that you have the goods.

I think for young Black researchers, the formula is pretty straightforward. First figure out if science and engineering is your passion. Once you’re past that step, then you have to commit to science and be disciplined. I would also strongly recommend young scientists to find a mentor (or mentors) who is interested in their success. They should also avidly read current/popular science publications and if possible, join a research laboratory.

The STEM field is the most challenging career choice but a little organization and self-discipline goes a long way in ensuring your success.”

We, as humans are guaranteed certain things in life: stressors, taxes, bills and death are the first thoughts that pop to mind. It is not uncommon that many people find a hard time dealing with these daily life stressors, and at times will find themselves losing control over their lives. Simone Jennifer Smith’s great passion is using the gifts that have been given to her, to help educate her clients on how to live meaningful lives. The Hear to Help Team consists of powerfully motivated individuals, who like Simone, see that there is a need in this world; a need for real connection. As the founder and Director of Hear 2 Help, Simone leads a team that goes out into the community day to day, servicing families with their educational, legal and mental health needs.Her dedication shows in her Toronto Caribbean newspaper articles, and in her role as a host on the TCN TV Network.

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Classic Man

Coopz – Manifesting the life of his dreams one photo at a time

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BY SELINA MCCALLUM

In the fall of 2022, extremely talented photographer, Bradley Fenton, also known as Coopz, told his brother Brandon that before the end of the year he was going to go on tour with an artist to take photos. The opportunity wasn’t being offered yet, but he was speaking it into existence.

Coopz is a Toronto-based photographer who grew up in Mississauga. He’s shot at music festivals in the states and in Toronto for a few years. Some of the trailblazing international artists he has photos of are: Coi Leray, Burna Boy, A Boogie with a Hoodie, and Shenseea. He has also taken photos of local trailblazers including DJ Rosegold, WondaGurl, Pressa, and Savannah Re. One of the first photos on his Instagram is of the infamous producer, DJ Khaled, which he took in Miami in 2017.

Coopz recalls when he was asked to go on tour in America with Toronto superstars, Leila Dey and Jessie Reyez for the month of November.

“I got invited to shoot the celebrity basketball game that happened in Toronto in October last year. I was doing all the headshots for all the local celebrities that were invited. I saw Leila Dey’s manager. He came up to me, and said he wanted to talk to me after. I was wondering what was going on. And he’s like, yeah, Leila is about to go on tour, and we want you to come with us and be our photographer and videographer.”

The Mississauga photographer couldn’t believe it.

“Same day I called my brother. I’m like, yo! You’ll never believe what just happened. I just got asked to go on tour. So, I was really excited. I was wandering around. It was unbelievable.”

The Mississauga native has been taking photos since he was in grade nine. He also has a sharp business and creative mind.

“I went to a Catholic school; we had civvies day, days where you get to dress up in your actual clothes. I brought a point and shoot camera to school, and I started taking photos with everyone. They loved them and wanted to post on their Facebook — back then there was no Instagram.

For Christmas that year, my parents bought me my first DSLR camera, and ever since then I’ve been shooting with that Canon T3.  I started taking photos every single day for people and started charging them $10. So, I was doing that in grade nine: shooting, making money, and already making a name for myself back in high school.”

Once Coopz was older, he started to do a lot of club photography, which is what helped him master how to use a flash. However, he didn’t want to be seen as just the club photographer.

“I wanted to get out of being a club photographer, because I felt like that hindered me a lot. When people see you as a photographer, in my opinion, I feel like they only want to book you for club stuff. I obviously wanted to branch out and do more things: personal photography and flying, traveling to different cities to shoot people.”

To overcome this, he decided to rebrand himself.

“I started going and shooting more celebrities in LA and Miami, and being like their personal photographer and eventually I started making a name for myself. I started doing hosting’s, so people will come out and party with me. It wouldn’t be me taking photos in the club, it would be me networking and bringing people with me to the club and doing different events. I just built up my own brand and my own name, where it just holds a different type of weight.”

Coopz name definitely holds a different type of weight as he has travelled across America with the incredibly talented and beautiful R&B singer Leila Dey from Toronto, who was opening up for headliner and superstar from Toronto, Jessie Reyez. It is never a dull moment while on tour as the photographer is always working.

“You don’t have to worry about anything else. You have to worry about making sure Leila looks good. With the photos, get her constant photos, constant videos. You just know what your job is. It’s just constant non-stop. It’s just capturing the moments at the right time.”

Coopz also mentioned that being on tour with Jessie’s team felt like being on the road with one big family.

This year, the talented photographer has jumped into real estate and is being mentored by his brother.

“I just got my first property. That is what I’m going to be doing with my brother. He is going to be helping me buy and sell properties. I’m the youngest of four brothers, and all my brothers are heavily business minded people. I always have someone to look up to and ask questions to keep me learning.”

When he’s not learning something new, he’s manifesting the next huge tour he’ll go on. Some of the artists he’d love to go on tour with are Jack Harlow, Kehlani, Lil Baby, Chris Brown, GloRilla, 50 Cent or Ice Spice.

“I love the touring experience, so I’m itching to go back again,” said Coopz.

Coopz also wanted to thank a good friend of his who has helped him for a long time.

“Shout out to DJ Rosegold because she has been helping me for a while, and always bringing me out and connecting me with people too.”

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Classic Man

Michael “Mobbin101” McCrary He is a Man of Business because it is Necessary

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BY SIMONE J. SMITH

“I know you were always going to be gangsta, but it doesn’t mean you can’t be a smart gangsta.”

This is what he was told at a young age. He had already experienced life in a way that many young African American men from East Palo Alto California had experienced. Known as the murder capital of the world, East Palo Alto California is home to one of the fastest, most irresistible sounds in Hip Hop. Even though he has faced challenges that some of us could not imagine, he has remained diligent, and has even taken it there by making his music known here in Canada.

Entrepreneur and Major Recording Artist Michael “Mobbin101” McCrary has become a shining star in the world of Hip-Hop. His work illuminates a vintage Hip-Hop sound that most new artists never master. He has an innate ability to intrinsically connect to a person’s: desires, passion, and fear and then magically translate these feelings into words that everyone can relate to.

Heavily inspired by: Nipsey Hussle, GCarter1300, Shill Macc, Bunk Ladden, and Shady Nate, you know when he comes up in the spot, he is not to be played with. What some people don’t know is that what makes Mobbin an unconventional Hip-Hop artist is the fact that he is also a professional football player. His hard work and diversified portfolio have made his name one of the hottest in his region.

2021 was “The Year of The Mob!” He released: “Mobbin’ 2.0,” “Diamonds On My Neck,” “Wrist” ft. BounceBack Meek and Nelly Starr, “2PM In Tulum” all turned out to be summer bangers.

He illustrates a grit and finesse that you will only find in the streets, and there was something about his voice and distinctive tone that spoke to me when I listened to his music. His multi-diverse catalogue narrates the intricacies and complexities of hustling, drug dealing, survival, street politics, and of course entrepreneurship. What makes our Classic Man this week epic, is his ability to tell a story, and what a story it is.

Of course, I had to reach out to Mobbin and have him share his storytelling with me.

“Mobbin101; what is that an acronym for,” I inquired?

“Man of Business because it is Necessary,” Mobbin tells me with a smile. “And 101 is the highway we reside off. I want men out there to Mob! Be Men of Business.”

“There is a lot about you online, but I haven’t had a chance to hear your story.”

“Well, I was born in Pensacola Florida. I am Haitian/Italian and Irish! I was raised in the California Bay Area! I was only born in Florida because my mom happened to be there on vacation.

My early life was not easy: when the crack era hit, it was real. Now that was a pandemic. Unfortunately, my mother was a drug addict, and my dad sold drugs. Like any addiction it was a disease, so my grandmother (on my dad’s side) raised me. Till this day I refer to my grandmother as my mom. My mom is still alive, and I love her, but she was not able to care for me. My dad and I come off as siblings, because the same woman raised us, plus I was always with my dad.”

Mobbin told me that his grades were always up to par; doing nothing was not an option in his grandmother’s house. In school he was recognized as an athlete; basketball was his first love, and then football became his love.

“I played football my whole life. I have relatives in the NFL, and the sport has always been very instrumental in my life. If it weren’t for football, I wouldn’t have graduated high school. I didn’t go on to college football right away.

I went to a few high schools and a few junior colleges. I graduated from Ceaser Chavez High School and graduated from West Valley College. I transferred to Withworth University in Spokane. It was a division three college, and also a Christian University. I will tell you this, going there was a complete culture shock for me. It was rural, and I am a city man, but I stuck it out.

I played pro-ball in Budapest, Mexico, and in South Carolina. I had to take a brief respite due to the pandemic, and during that time I started to pay more attention to music. Just like football, music is in the family.

I am a driven individual, and once I say something I am going to do it. People will hold your words and non-action against you. The original plan was to drop five songs and be done with it. Now I am on 25 songs.”

Mobbin 2.0 was a remix to a song written about his friends. Most people know him by his first single, “2 Pm in Tulum.”

“Tulum is the premier destination in the world. I had just landed there, and I was messing around with the beat, and then I finalized the song.”

Mobbin is a young man with a very bright future. I wanted to know what he had planned for 2023.

“I am going back to football, and I am a realest; if I can get one more professional deal, I will be content. The good thing is that going back to football will help with the music. It opens me up to an untapped market, and that way, both of my talents will be recognized.”

I have to say, I am proud of this young man. He has shown that he is more than capable of rising above his struggles and maintaining a positive outlook. He could have given up a long time ago, but he was able to cultivate resilience and perseverance, and this has made him the dynamic force that he has become.

Go ahead young man; you have our support!

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Classic Man

Reverend Dr.Gene Archer – Elevating community through spiritual and holistic education

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BY PAUL JUNOR

As a spiritual leader at the Pilgrim Church of the First Born (PCOFB) for over forty years, Reverend Dr. Gene Archer has committed his life to pastoring his local congregation. He was born on September 14th, 1952, in Jamaica, and after completing his primary and secondary education; he attended the Jamaica Theological Seminary in Kingston. He became a born-again Christian in July 1970 and after his immigration to Canada in the late 1970’s started PCOFB in Toronto in September 1977. The church will be celebrating its 47th anniversary in 2023 in what will be a historic occasion.

Rev. Archer is a Bible teacher and was an instructor at the Mount Olivet Bible Institute and Seminary (MOBIS). His church is a member of COFB Jamaica founded by Dr. Bent. The church celebrated its 87th anniversary in 2022. He is an ex officio member of the executive board of the Church of First Born Jamaica.

Reverend Archer continued his education in Canada, where he attended York University, Tyndale University and did doctoral work at Fuller Theological Seminary. He has spoken at: conferences, seminars, crusades, church anniversaries, church dedications, and varied church related events. He has a passion for teaching biblical trinitarian theology with a focus on Christology.

Rev. Archer’s hobbies include: reading, running, and learning about cellular health. He is interested in educating the community on the benefits of nutritional health. Although not a trained medical doctor, he is an avid reader and student of all aspects of: healthy eating, nutrition, and exercise.

Rev. Archer shares his wisdom on the Place for Wellness broadcast, which can be seen on Golive TV Channel. Golive TV advertises itself as the only multicultural IPTV that brings the community together. Over 2.7 million people have the ability to watch Golive TV, anytime, anywhere. It can be downloaded on the Google App store or you can get it on Google Play.

Rev. Archer discussed several topics which can be seen on Golive TV Channel at https://www.youtube.com on the following dates: August 4th, September 22nd, October 21st, November 4th, November 18th, and December 2nd. In a broadcast for PCOFB titled “Health Update” on May 17th, 2020, he mentioned that, “Your health is not an expense, it’s an investment.” The broadcasts have two functions: dealing with the spiritual and the physical side of the whole person.

In the broadcast titled, “Spiritual Safety,” on August 4th, Rev. Archer mentioned that God has given us the mucosal immune system, as the first line of defence in the body. It is an innate and adaptive (acquired) immune system. He talks about: social, relational and spiritual safety. He states, “What we crave is to be safe in relationships.” It is a place where we have a sense of belonging. It is said that the deep cry of every human heart is a cry for intimate belonging, where we feel safe to be as is.

In the broadcast on September 22nd, titled, “The Body is Sacred,” he states, “True health is not about looking good only on the outside, but treating our bodies with the respect and care that they deserve, so they can function optimally for God’s honour and glory. What we eat, how much we sleep and the quality of it, how we think, how often we exercise all have effects on our body’s overall functionality.”

In the broadcast on November 4th, he emphasized that, “The Place of Wholeness deals with the whole person, spirit, soul, and body.” His holistic approach has empowered his followers to take a look at how they treat the temple that God has given to them.

Over the years, Rev. Archer has promoted PureTrim’s natural health products. For him they are the safest, most effective and best on the market today. The health and wellness company offers wellness shakes, multivitamins and meal replacement bars based on principles of the Mediterranean diet. The 100% Plant-based, Vegan, Gluten-Free, and Dairy-Free products attract clients worldwide.

Dr. Archer hosts free weekly 30-minute health seminars on Zoom dealing with diverse health and related nutrition topics such as: diabetes, hypertension, weight loss, cardiovascular problem, immune health, and cancer.

On Thursday, November 30th, 2022, he did a presentation on using the Synergy Defence to deal with the Immune System. He states, “70% of our immune system is in our gut. Gut health influences: brain health, liver health, hormone health, cardiovascular health, kidney health, and of course, immune system health.”

On Thursday, December 8th, 2022, he presented on dealing with liver detox and health. He states, “Liver disease is on the rise at an alarming rate. Did you know there are over 100 liver diseases caused by a variety of factors? These factors include: viruses, toxins, genetics, alcohol, and unknown causes. Non-alcoholic fatty disease is the most common liver disease in Canada, affecting over seven million people. Liver cancer is now the fastest rising and deadliest forms of cancer in Canada.”

On Thursday, January 19th, 2023, he did a presentation dealing with Cardio-9. He states, “The number one cause of death in North America is cardiovascular disease. It can be avoided, stopped, and reversed. Endothelial Dysfunction mainly causes it. The lining of the arteries is damaged because of a drastic fall off in nitric oxide production along with bad diet and eating habits.”

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