BOYD INTERVIEWED INMARICOPA NEWS PAPER AGAIN

[The Streets Don't Love You Back]

News

Ex-drug dealer hopes to divert youth

By Michael K. Rich

September 25, 2010

For parents, councilors and other adult role models verbal expressions of what is right and wrong in life are derived from a set of preconceived ideals. Don’t do drugs. Respect your elders. Gangs are bad. The person delivering the message typically does not have firsthand experience with the lessons he or she is trying to convey, which can result in a less than stellar delivery. For Maricopa resident Robert Boyd that is not an issue. Boyd is a former drug dealer turned motivational speaker and author. His message: “The streets don’t love you back.” “I go to schools across the country, and the first thing I tell these kids is that some of you are going to listen to this message, some of you are going to end up in jail and some of you will die,” Boyd said. Boyd grew up in the eastside ghetto of Detroit, Mich., and at age 9 witnessed his grandfather stab his stepdad to death. “My stepfather was a good man and treated me like his own son,” Boyd said. “Once that positive light wasn’t around anymore, that’s when things got out of control.” Boyd became involved in gangs and rose to prominence as a drug dealer, making thousands of dollars a day. Names of the people he associated with read like an F.B.I most wanted list. However, all the money and glam associated with the lifestyle could never bring Boyd true happiness, and his artificial fame came to a grinding halt when he was arrested in 1993 while doing a drug deal. “I thought I could get out of the hood living that life, but all I got was a ticket to the pen,” Boyd said. “There is no retirement plan or 401k in gang banging and drug dealing,” he added. “The only two results of that lifestyle are jail and death.” The person who brought Boyd down was someone he thought was a friend, but the motivational speaker said the truth is that on the streets there are no friends; it is every man for himself. “There is no love in the game,” he said. Boyd received a sentence of 10 years in the penitentiary; however, due to what Boyd calls an act of God, he only ended up serving one year. Upon his release Boyd immediately changed his life, distancing himself from the people he once called friends. “I knew the only way to change my life was to get away from my old life,” he said. The motivation behind the change, he said, was twofold; one because he now valued his life and two because he wanted to make his mother proud. Yet, changing his own life was not enough for Boyd; he was determined to become a positive influence in the lives of children and others who might face situations similar to his own. To get his word out, Boyd started the “Keep it Real Show” in 1998, a weekly show in Cincinnati that profiles musicians, showcases their work and spreads a positive message. He also started “The Streets Don’t Love You Back” radio show, which airs live on the Internet every Wednesday night at 8:30 p.m., and the “Change” TV reality show, which airs three times a week in Cincinnati, and penned a book chronicling his life. However, that was not enough. Boyd, who spreads his time between Cincinnati and Arizona, also speaks to schools, youth organizations and other groups interested in his message. “I want the youth to know what I went through so they don’t make the same mistakes as me,” Boyd said. “The streets don’t love you back.” For more information on Boyd visit www.thestreetsdontloveyouback.ning.com EACH ONE TEACH ONE