SHOW / EPISODE

Black Boy Joy | THE Artist Refusing To Shrink | Ryan The Son

Season 1 | Episode 4
58m | Sep 28, 2026

Jess holds space for Ryan The Son — artist, entrepreneur, and creative director — in a conversation that goes places most therapy podcasts won't. Ryan talks about being told he "talks white" growing up, the muscle memory of Black boy joy he had to build after that, and what it takes to trust his gut in industries that keep telling him to shrink.

The two get into ADHD and entrepreneurship, the voice that says you're being selfish for wanting your own life, inner child work, and what it looks like when a Black man refuses to make his personality fit somebody else's box. Jess asks him how he knows it's safe to trust himself. His answer: "Vibes."

Chapters:

0:00 Meet Ryan The Son (intro + opener + Purple Couch pre-roll)

2:23 The conversation begins

4:47 VIMBASI practice — vibe, image, behavior

11:53 ADHD and entrepreneurial pattern-matching

14:43 The "selfish" voice from childhood

15:17 A word from Main Street America

16:00 Back to the conversation

20:38 The performer and the present — both here

23:51 "How do you know it's safe?" — vibes

29:06 Refusing to shrink your personality

33:06 The shrinking funnel in industries

36:06 Channel instead of shrink

Get connected:

  • Learn about Purple Couch Therapy: purplecouchcounseling.org
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On The Purple Couch with Jess, LCSW-S
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