Recently I had the opportunity to have a conversation with Actor, Director, Writer, and Producer, Justin Baldoni. Justin, currently starring as Rafael Solano in CW’s “Jane the Virgin”, is an extremely accomplished husband, brother, and father of two. The handsome leading man is as famous for his entrepreneurial success, as he is leading vulnerable conversations around family, relationships, identity issues, and traditional male stereotypes.
As the world around us demands upheaval of our current gender roles and responsibilities, this heartfelt entrepreneur is taking action into his own hands. On December 5th, 2017, Justin will unveil his newest TV project, one that aims to dive into the depths of what it means to be a man today.
Man Enough will be a weekly dinner party that dives deep into conversations about what it means to be a man today. The show will be an inviting and facilitated look into men, as they explore their insecurities, fears and dreams.
Justin is quoted in a recent Hollywood Reporter article, “We have all the shows in the world that empower women to talk about these things – which they should exist by the way because, let’s be honest, women deserve a safe space to have these conversations – but men don’t talk,” he says. “Even the idea of this show made men scoff, like, ‘Oh, who’s going to watch men talking to each other? That’s how rare this is. This is not The View for men. This is a conversation show. This is a show where men create a comfortable space for each other to go deep and have a conversation and we hope that this stuff happens in real life, too.”
The show will star a diverse weekly-rotating cast, everyone from How to Get Away With Murder star Matt McGorry and Dancing With the Stars pro Derek Hough, to Hamilton star Javier Munoz, comedian Bassem Youssef, spoken word artist Prince Ea, transgender activist Aydian Dowling and former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
As Justin said in the Hollywood Reporter article, “I wanted voices that would challenge each other,” he says. “Diversity was really important to me because men face issues based on their ethnicity and also based on their sexual orientation. We wanted to make sure that this was an inclusive conversation and also we wanted to make sure that women could watch and that men could watch and both feel like they learned something from it.”
To tune into Justin’s new show, visit http://wearemanenough.com/
To get involved in other ways:
1) Read Lewis Howes’ new book: http://www.maskofmasculinity.com/
2) Listen to a podcast or attend one of Connor Beaton’s events: https://mantalks.com/
3) Attend one of Jared Matthew Weiss town hall’s: http://tchpnt.co/
4) Meditate with Jesse Israel: http://www.bigquiet.nyc/