We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jinave Turner a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jinave thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Tell us the story of a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big, life changing risk or a small risk. Either way, paint the picture for us, tell us the backstory and all the relevant details so we can fully understand the context and circumstances around when and why you took the risk and tell us how it turned out.

Taking risks can be really scary and necessary in order to make your dreams come true. In 2020 I was minding my bald headed business (taking care of myself mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically) when one of my friends called me seeking advice after a pretty nasty break up. I didn’t have any advice to give, people don’t usually want advice on that first call they just want someone to listen. So, I listened. I listened for an hour and a half. At the end of that time my friend said “ Jinave’ thank you, I think I needed to hear myself talk in order to see where I was wrong in the situation”. I said you’re welcome, I didn’t do anything- you did all the work” My friend took a risk by revealing their true feelings about their break up, good and bad to me, a person just sitting there listening.

As I processed this I thought to myself- Wow he showed real bravery. Here I am going through the same thing and I didn’t disclose it until a week later when I thanked my friend for being brave enough to share their story with me. From that conversation we created a podcast together that lasted one season covering relationship topics including but not limited to intimate partners, work, friendships, and family relationships.

I falled to mention that I was a private figure at this time of my life. Not known by people outside of the 20-50 people in my community. Starting a podcast with a co-host was work for me in the creative sector of my brain. I love to make education entertaining because that’s how my brain retains the information. I had to do some research, I took the lead from my co-host and got more active on social media.

More random Tuesday I was on instagram and there were people hosting live chats. I would pop in and out of the lives to see what they were talking about or doing as I didn’t know that the point of the live was at that time in my career. I came across someone called Durand Bernarr (an artist out of Cleveland Oh). He was talking about how he was staying positive during the pandemic sharing funny stories and positive affirmations. I found him super relatable and I started following him. His authenticity sparked the fire in me to start living out more of my creative dreams versus only letting them live in my head. Durand reminded me of someone who was friends with my inner child at some point in our lives. Durand is a skater and my inner child LOVED to go skating. I said to myself “people my age really are out here skating for real, I gotta step my game up”. Dead broke I went thrifting and a pair of skates found me. I got the skates for 3 dollars. They were very reminiscent of Xavior’s skates from Roll Bounce and I loved them just as much as he did. I skated up and down every street I came across for weeks. I fell a lot, I scraped my knees and elbow as an adult. I remembered how it felt to be present again. I felt myself smile, cry, celebrate the smallest bits of growth, and learn something new about myself with every fall. After consistent practice I decided to invest in a real pair of skates. I hadn’t owned a pair of skates outside of the Roll Bounce 20’s since I was maybe eight years old. I was excited to order myself a brand new skates at my big girl age of 33. When the pink ladies (that’s what a friend of mine named them) showed up… I was on a roll. I skated as much as I could, indoors and out for a few months. I took skating lessons until I couldn’t afford it anymore. I couldn’t believe it. I’d found a hobby that I wanted to start investing in. A healthy coping skill if you will.

I said to myself “one day I want to give Durand a hug and tell him thank you for the consent reminders that life is going to keep happening but we gotta keep on rolling with it.” Fast forward to 2024 I was minding my bald headed business when I got an email from none other than Durand Bernnarr stating he was having a skating event (insert looking eyes). I texted my friend Dukes and asked if she wanted to attend with me as she also enjoys Durand. She said yes and we were on our way. How about the Monday before the skating event I was fired from one of my jobs and there was a leak in my apartment that caused my water to be cut off on the night of the event. (insert straight face emoji followed by the facepalm emoji). I was about to send Dukes alone because I was vexed. Dukes said “Jin you have to go, life is gonna keep happening you have to breathe and skate through it. Now get your snacks, get your skates and get to the rink” I did just that and wouldn’t you know I skated right up to Durand and told him to his face “I’m proud of you” then I asked for a hug, he agreed. The very next day I woke up and Durand was nominated for a Grammy. Y’all I skated up to a Grammy nominated artist and told him to his face that I was proud of him. I knew it was something special about that hug. I had to pinch myself because it felt like a dream but I was awake and it happened in real life, better than I could have imagined.

I used to wish for experiences such as this and one day I realized the way to make them happen is to just do the thing. Let his story be a reminder that life is going to keep happening but if you don’t take some risks you may never really live the life you dream about.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hi, My name is Jinave’ Turner, I am a psychosocial substance abuse therapist, yoga guide, and content creator. I sew, skate, rap, dance and do the things that make my soul smile while regulating my nervous system. Online I share things from my life experience to educate, engage, and entertain. Clients and friends have shared that I am like a gentle alarm clock reminding us all to take care of ourselves and remember, we are all bald headed under our hair and to keep minding your bald headed business. Which means we are more alike than we are different.
I am very proud to have created spaces online and off for people to be more honest about their true feelings. I’m grateful to be a part of a supportive community of people working to grow through what they are going through in real time.

Any advice for managing a team?

My advice for managing a team and maintaining high morale is take care of yourself and communicate with your team. It’s as simple as that. For me I had to realize that if I don’t take care of myself first, I have absolutely nothing to give as nourishment for growth. If I’m not communicating with my team I have no idea how they need to be nourished. Learning that it’s not selfish to take the same care of yourself that you give to others was a major game changer.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to unlearn was that life is hard and then you die. I learned and accepted this to be “true” when I was about 12 years old. However, around the age of 33 while going through a divorce silently during a worldwide pandemic I finally realized this was a huge lie. I told 5 trusted people what I was silently experiencing and I received so much support I didn’t know I needed. A wise woman once said “you can’t heal what you won’t reveal”. That statement helped me realize how I was sabotaging my experience out of fear. Unlearning “life is hard and then you die” has been a fun experience as I now remember life is about choices. You have the ability to choose our own adventure.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.yougrowjin.us/blog
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baldheadedbusiness/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Baldieloxi
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jinave-turner-0610211aa/
• Twitter: https://x.com/Baldiewonder
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@lessraggedywithbaldielox7379

Image Credits

Kujawa Dukes

Ariel O’Stricker

Jinave’ Turner

Gabrielle Hill