We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Patty Medina. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Patty below.

Patty, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.

I founded Hooper Mentality in 2020 after witnessing first hand the needs of the youth in the inner city areas of San Diego and Orange County. These areas lacked free sports programs for their community and the focus on mental health awareness. I have personally suffered from depression and have had to, unfortunately, attend the funerals of former players that fell into depression or drug addictions. I have also watched athletes finish their athletic careers and fall into depression because they were not adequately prepared for the workforce or life after sports. I felt the need to create a space where athletes, current and former, could share their stories and ultimately, lessen their struggles and find power in vulnerabilities.

Patty, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Since starting Hooper Mentality, the organization has hosted free basketball camps in Sonora, Mexico; San Diego, California; San Antonio, Texas; Laurel, Maryland and Detroit, Michigan. All camps are funded through the sales of Hooper Mentality hoodies and t-shirts. 100% of the proceeds go to making sure the camps are free to the participants and include lunch. The goal is that Hooper Mentality will provide athletes, from middle school to college levels, proper resources to deal with mental health issues and help diminish the stigma surrounding mental health in the minority communities. Along with mental health related assistance, Hooper Mentality will provide resources for athletes in areas of life skills and business skills. Topics such as money management, business start up, resume building, interview skills and many more necessary areas of expertise that the educational system fails to emphasize and develop. Mental illness doesn’t choose who is affected based on a person’s social status or circumstance. That means athletes of all ages and backgrounds are just as susceptible as anyone else.” I want to make Hooper Mentality a safe haven for athletes of all levels to share their testimonies and find the necessary resources to whatever struggle or circumstance they are facing.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

This is a great question because I am an avid reader and an audiobook junkie. Two books that have significantly impacted my entrepreneurial thinking and philosophies are “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho and “Contagious” by Jonah Berger. All conferences, audios or books by Brene Brown have given me the courage to seek the power within my vulnerabilities. Jonah Berger’s book, Contagious, illustrates why certain ideas and products spread better than others by sharing compelling stories from the world of business, social campaigns, and media. It helped me determine my mission statement and purpose for my organization. The Alchemist is a beautiful tale about discovering one’s destiny and never losing faith. Every time I read that book (depending on where I am in my life mentally, emotionally and spiritually) I derive a new outlook and a different message comes across through the book.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the hardest lessons I have had to unlearn, and continue to unlearn, is the stigma that surrounds mental health and being honest about one’s feelings and state of mind. One of my favorite quotes has been “Pain shared is pain lessened” and I have learned that in sharing our struggles, our mishaps, our mistakes, our vulnerabilities, we realize that we are not alone in them and that others deal with the same struggles. The burden becomes less heavy when we share it. Mental Health, especially in many minority cultures, has not been prioritized enough or taken seriously enough and we have to change that narrative.

Contact Info:

• Website: HooperMentality.com
• Instagram: the.hooper.mentality
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coachpmedina/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/coachpmedina

Image Credits
Jackie Sandoval