The Heart Behind the Humor with Roy Wood Jr.

Summary

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Mick Unplugged: "The Heart Behind the Humor with Roy Wood Jr."

Podcast Host: Mick Huntoon
Guest: Roy Wood Jr.
Date: November 13, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode of Mick Unplugged delves into the journey and purpose behind the comedy of Roy Wood Jr. More than just a humorous hour, the conversation is an exploration of legacy, authentic leadership, and using humor as a tool for healing, community, and truth-telling. Roy shares formative moments from his upbringing, early mistakes, and the foundational “because” that drives his work—especially as outlined in his new book, The Man of Many Fathers. The discussion is raw, insightful, funny, and inspiring—a masterclass on why laughter can be a powerful legacy.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Mutual Inspiration and Representation

• Mick opens by crediting Roy as a generational blueprint, stating that growing up, there were few public figures that looked like them to set an example.
• Roy credits his inspirations, notably Ricky Smiley, affirming the importance of seeing someone “like you” succeed.

  “I saw Ricky Smiley on TV in the late 90s... He put Birmingham on his back. When I saw that… I can do it from the west side. Whatever debate or doubts I had about whether or not I belonged in entertainment, gone.”
  – Roy Wood Jr. (04:13)

2. Digging Deeper: Discovering Your “Because”

• Mick differentiates between “why” and “because”—the former being the surface motivator (family, legacy), the latter being the foundational drive.

  “If I were to say, Roy, what's your why? You're going to tell me your son… But when I say, why is your son your why? I call that your because.”
  – Mick Huntoon (05:36)

• Roy’s “because” is to affirm to Black people that they aren’t alone or “crazy” for what they see and feel in America and to open the eyes of others to that reality—all through the lens of comedy.

  “If I can confirm to Black folks what they thinking and feeling while opening new eyes from non Black people on what we're going through, then mission accomplished.”
  – Roy Wood Jr. (06:00)

3. Origin Story – Creating His Own Opportunities

Roy candidly recounts his troubled college years at FAMU, including getting suspended and placed on probation for credit card theft. Unable to participate in many campus activities, he was forced to seek a radio internship off-campus—eventually talking his way into an early morning news spot at WVHT Hot 105.7.

“Negro, I had to graduate. The hell you mean?... I don't give a damn about nobody else.“
– Roy Wood Jr. (07:47)

• His hands-on radio education provided the skills and network that later propelled his stand-up and radio careers.

  “I watched [the hosts] for two hours... It was man, it was on some Star Wars Luke going to see Yoda... I really learned the craft of radio inside out from that building.”
  – Roy Wood Jr. (20:23)

4. Crafting Story and Emotion in Comedy

• Mick highlights Roy as a master storyteller, able to blend humor with emotion and never rush the narrative.
• Roy shares that his growth into a more vulnerable storyteller began during his 2021 special, Imperfect Messenger, using painful real-life experiences to elevate his material.

  “That joke was the genesis point of me going, oh, pain is a tool. Sorrow can also be woven into this fabric of what you're presenting.”
  – Roy Wood Jr. (24:50)

• He notes the influence of other comics (like Ali Siddiq) and acknowledges the delicate balance between manipulating audience emotions and staying authentic.

5. Dorm Room Fame and Evolving Beyond “Prank Call Guy”

• Mick recounts how Roy’s prank call CDs were legends among Gen Z and millennials—highlighting authentic generational comedy handoffs.
• Roy deliberately made his prank calls harder to find, focusing on evolving as a performer and not being pigeonholed.

  "If I'm not careful, [prank calls] will be the only money I make because people won't even think of me in... other regards."
  – Roy Wood Jr. (30:12)

6. The Book: The Man of Many Fathers

• Roy’s book is a series of value-driven stories, not a chronological memoir. Losing his father at 16 led him to seek mentorship from various men; each chapter explores a lesson from a different “father.”

  “I wanted to do a deep dive into who I am and why I am who I am...leave that, you know, for my son.”
  – Roy Wood Jr. (35:59)

• The book is meant for Roy’s son to read as a teenager:

  “He can pick this book up like, I don't know, maybe high school graduation...13, 14 is probably a pretty good crossroads.”
  – Roy Wood Jr. (37:30)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Self-Belief and Example:

  “You have to be a little crazy to bet on yourself. That’s inherent. But I think the belief that, ‘oh I could do this,’ that didn’t come from me.”
  – Roy Wood Jr. (04:15)

• On the Power of Representation:

  “If leadership is about vision, then this is what modern leadership looks like—courageous clarity and a belief that progress is possible.”
  – Mick Huntoon (02:00)

• On Channeling Pain Into Art:

  “Pain is a tool. Sorrow can also be woven... I always thought sorrow was for a one man show...No, you could probably do this and make it work.”
  – Roy Wood Jr. (24:50)

• On Legacy:

  “The written word will always have worth. They put words on walls in caves. People still go read that.”
  – Roy Wood Jr. (39:05)

• On Reaching Young Audiences:

  "People from your children’s generation... they still know me as the prank call dude. But now when you find out, oh, I've done all this other stuff, well now it's set up the way I want."
  – Roy Wood Jr. (35:01)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:06] – True stories of mutual inspiration between Mick and Roy
• [05:33] – Defining the “because”; Roy explains his core motivation
• [07:19] – Roy’s candid retelling of college trouble and how adversity led him to radio
• [14:15]–[16:46] – Internship story: lessons from radio, comedy, and Black media mentorship
• [22:59] – Growth as a comedic storyteller; finding courage to blend humor and pain
• [27:00] – Mick credits Roy’s timing and storytelling as influential beyond comedy
• [30:11] – Strategic career moves: moving beyond “the prank call guy”
• [35:36] – “The Man of Many Fathers”: why the book, who it’s for, and its intended legacy
• [39:05]–[39:19] – On the enduring power of the written word

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Episode Flow & Takeaways

• The episode balances humor with vulnerable, real-life storytelling. Roy’s honesty about early mistakes, the need for resilience, and making amends offers hope and relatability.
• Leadership lessons are woven throughout: cultivating legacy, the importance of visible role models, being intentional about growth and change, and mentoring the next generation.
• Roy’s “because” is both social and personal: using comedy as a tool to affirm, inform, and heal—especially for Black audiences, but also to begin overdue conversations with everyone.
• Listeners are encouraged to interrogate their own ‘because’, use pain as creative fuel, and leave a legacy that outlives technology (and even trends).

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Closing Call to Action

• Mick encourages listeners to support Roy’s book, buy copies for themselves and their children, and to reflect on their “because” as their superpower.
• Roy expresses gratitude for the chance to be transparent and give back, always reminding the audience that growth, humor, and community are interconnected.

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Summary in a Nutshell

"The Heart Behind the Humor" with Roy Wood Jr. goes far beyond laughs, offering a powerful, moving testament to resilience, mentorship, and intentional legacy. Roy’s journey from campus probation, to radio, to standup, to bestselling author is both cautionary and inspirational—an invitation for listeners to own their pain, disrupt expectations, and use authenticity as the ultimate leadership tool.

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Transcript

[Mick Huntoon]

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[Roy Wood Jr.]

I appreciate you.

[Mick Huntoon]

I appreciate you more, man. Like, we graduated high school the same year, college the same time. Like, you've always been that person that from afar. I've just appreciate it because during the time that we were coming up, Roy, man, like, you were doing it in the comedy entertainment game. I was trying to do it in the business and leadership game. Like, we didn't have a lot of people. I'm just going to be blunt and honest, that look like us, that were blueprints to show other people how to do it. And I appreciated you because you were like. You were like my generation's blueprint. And so, like, every move that you were making, I was trying to follow to see how you were doing it, because it was pushing me to be, like, the best person, the best entrepreneur, the best leader that I could be. Because you kept changing your game, so I had to change mine. You kept elevating. I had to elevate. But for me, it's all because we're literally the same age, bro.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

I appreciate what you're saying, but I guarantee if you point out any part of my game, it was, I got it from watching somebody else my damn self. I think the driving exemption, you have to be a little crazy to bet on yourself. That's inherent. But I think that the belief that, oh, I could do this, that didn't come from me. That came from Ricky Smiley. I saw Ricky Smiley on TV in the late 90s, and he was repping Alabama hard. He ain't just put Birmingham on his back, he put the whole state on his back. And nobody asked him to do that. He just did it. And when I saw that, I was like, oh, bet you can be from. He can be from the north side and get on tv. I can do it from the west side. And that was it. Like, it wasn't even no big. Like, whatever debate or doubts I had about whether or not I belonged in entertainment, gone.

[Mick Huntoon]

But that's what I mean, man. It's that drive. It's that thing that you've always had that inspired people like me. Because, yeah, you saw Ricky, but you still had to go do it, though. It's not like. Like, there. There was. There was a thousand people that were like, oh, yeah, I'm funny, too. I can Go do this, too. Yeah, but you actually did it, bro. And that's why, again, you're my goat.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

I appreciate you, man. I appreciate you, man.

[Mick Huntoon]

Yes, sir. Yes, sir. So on the show, I like to ask all my guests, like, what's your because that thing that's deeper than your why, right? Like, if I were to say, roy, what's your why? You're going to tell me your son, right? But when I say, why is your son your why? I call that your because. So if I were to say, Roy, man, what's your because? Why do you do the things that you do? Why do you have the legacy that you're trying to leave behind?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

I do what I do in an effort to better inform, to confirm to our people, to black people that they aren't crazy in what they're seeing and what they're feeling. Because so many people will gaslight us into thinking that we. What we see is not there. So if I can confirm to black folks what they thinking and feeling while opening new eyes from non black people on what we're going through, then mission accomplished. Because a lot of people don't know what's happening to our people. And it's fun to be able to do that through comedy. It's more difficult now to do it through comedy. But that's my weapon. That's the tools I got. You know, I'm a hammer and a nail.

[Mick Huntoon]

Yes, sir.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

I'm not a screwdriver. I'm not an Allen wrench. I don't know how to do none of that. I can't be precise and profound. I'm not Mark Lamont Hill. I don't have. I just ain't got it. But I can crack a joke. You know, I can probably make that work. Yeah.

[Mick Huntoon]

Yeah. And let's talk about your journey a little bit, man. Like, from intern, the internship that you created, Right. It wasn't like there was an internship. You created the internship at famu and then you parlayed that into tremendous radio success. And then the standup legend that you've become, man, like, talk to the folks about that journey just a little bit from what inspired you to create this internship for yourself to begin with?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Negro, I had to graduate. The hell you mean? Like, it wasn't like I was. I'm gonna leave a path for the next intern. I don't give a damn about nobody else. There were a couple things that were in play at the time. One, I was. I'd gotten suspended from school. I was at famu, and I stole some Credit cards, and I'd use one of them on campus, amongst other stuff or whatever. And so you get caught for the crime and you're on probation for that. But in addition to the crime, also you used a credit card on campus, little negro. So we gonna need you to be on probation when you get back on campus as well. So I'm on a campus version of probation in addition to regular federal probation. So within the campus version of probation, you can take your classes, but when you leave, when you're done with, like, essentially at famu, if you're on any type of behavior probation, you can go to class, you can go to the library, take your ass home. No football games, no frat parties, no hanging on the set. If you need to go something, buy something at the bookstore, cool. Do that on the way to your car, but take your ass home and get off this campus. You're not welcome here other than for education. And so with that pretext in mind, you were supposed to do an internship at the radio station, the campus radio station. As part of what my discipline for broadcast journalism was. And at the time, I was not allowed to write for the campus paper for that semester. I eventually got an exemption, but at the time, in the timeframe we're talking about, it was, you gotta go home. And I go, well, what if I'm writing for the paper and I gotta talk to my editor? Well, if it's not for a class. Well, no, it's not for a class, but it's for the experience so I can get the job when I. Well, we don't know. We'll have to talk. So it was like I was fresh off of. I was fresh off a suspension. So we're two months back into school, two weeks back into school. So we haven't thought that deep about our policy yet, Roy, So we don't have time to. So the more I thought about it, and I needed a class in radio. I was taking radio news. And you can do the internship with the radio station. I wasn't sure if I was in violation of. Of the policy or not. I felt like I would win, but I was like, I don't know if I want to risk that thing too. The campus radio station. Because I was going through all of this back and forth about whether or not I could. Whether or not I could take the class. And by the time they finally decided I could take the class, by the time they finally decided I could be on campus in radio. This is like a month into the semester now. We go back and Forth they go, you know what, here's your exemption. You can do anything journalism related within the journalism department any time of day. Well, by the time they gave me the, the extension, all the shifts at the radio station have been signed up for. And the only shift left was like some Sunday morning gospel play the gospel tunes radio shift. And at that point I was already on the road doing comedy regularly because during that suspension is when I started stand up. So I, I literally cannot do Sunday morning because I'm somewhere in the south on a Greyhound headed back to town.

[Mick Huntoon]

Yeah.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

So either I give up comedy or I have to get a radio. I have to get an internship at an outside radio station. So most radio stations in Tallahassee, they didn't have. They just didn't have scheduling that was favorable. I was just like, I need something to fit my schedule. I know beggars can't be choosers, but I can't come here in the middle of the day on a weekday. I got classes. I can't come at night because I'm working at Golden Corral. I'm gone. The only time I'm free is, is the ass crack of dawn.

[Mick Huntoon]

Right.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

That's the only time I can make this work. So it just so happened that there was a morning show that I used to listen to every morning when I was getting up and getting ready for school and, you know, whatever. And it was WVHT Hot 105.7, the the breakfast Buffet with Van Wilson and William Gilmore. And so I came up in radio news. My pops was a radio newsman. He did news on the fives for four hours straight on the black news station in town and then would do reports for the black music station as well, on the tens. And so I knew what radio news was because I sat beside him in the control room every summer for hours listening to him just read news reports and take calls. I listened to the Breakfast Buffet and I listened to Tom Joyner. Tom Joyner had news the Breakfast Buffet didn't. So about a month into getting back into school, I ride my bike over to hot 105.7 and I rap with Van Wilson, who, ironically, his father, Roosevelt Wilson, used to run with my pops back in the day in journalism circles and his pops, Roosevelt was one of my journalism professors. Now. I had flunked his class. I was a terrible student. But off the strength of my pops, it was enough of a vouch where I felt confident going. Step in the van. I go, yo, man, our pops used to know each other. I need an internship. I believe your morning show could use some hard news in the morning. If you don't mind, I would like to come to the station every day at 6am and do the news until 9am when I got my first class and van said cool. He shook my hand. He said bring Starbucks Frappuccinos and a dozen Krispy Kremes every day and I'll see you at 5:15 sharp.

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[Roy Wood Jr.]

And that's how I got my first internship. And the funniest part of that now, when I look back on it in hindsight, is that they made me bring these Starbucks frappuccinos from the gas station or whatever, because this was the beginning of iced coffee in the mid-90s. And I don't know if like, black men just thought it made you look gay if you bought one. So because, you know, you walk around, ooh, I got a little iced coffee, you know, homophobia. So I say, this is tr. True. I'm just telling you what I was thinking. I just feel like it's like, yeah, go get me one of them gay coffees that I like that I don't drink in public, Little Negro. So I get the internship at Hot 105 and I'm now the newsman. And on the days that I can't come in studio, I'm recording news reports from the house and emailing them to them. You could. The technology isn't what it is now, but it was garbled. But it was good enough for me to get the job done if I was absentee. And I would pick three national stories from USA Today, two local stories from the Tallahassee Democrat, and a kicker story from wherever I could find something, some little chuckle story or whatever. And I would write out my copy, bro. And I'd have my little Word, Microsoft Word document all caps and rattle through them stories. And under 90 seconds, man, I was cold with it.

[Mick Huntoon]

Wow.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

My co host, the co host of the show was a comedian named William E. Gilmore. He's still my OG to this day. Gilmore was the comedian on the show. Crack the jokes, do the skits, write the parody songs. And I just got to sit and watch him. I just watched him for two hours because I was only doing. This is the other thing. I was only doing news on, on the 10 and the 40. The rest of the time I'm just shutting up. I'm just, I'm. I'm 19. I'm just quiet. And I'm watching two grown men just hold court with the community. And. And so Gilmore, because he was a schoolteacher, first bail is 8:30. So 8:15, he out the door. So from 8:15 till 10:00am it's just Van hosting the show. And after a couple of months and Gilmore and I would start interacting in our news reports. And knowing what I know now, it was him bringing me into the show. It was him bringing me into the fold. Because instead of just doing a straight news in the WVHT News Center, I'm Roy Wood Jr. Here's the news today in Tallahassee, I would do a story and then Gilmore would be like, wait, wait, man, explain the story again. And Gilmore would have a joke. So now we're kind of interacting a little bit. So now this 90 second news break became two minutes, became two and a half, kind of became my own thing. So when Gilmore left and would go to school after I'd been established with the listenership and everything, then would start doing what Gilmore did. So in the 8 o' clock and the 9 o' clock hour, I started kind of co hosting the whole show with Van. And that night, that 8:30 to 10:00am timeframe, those air checks, which is for people who don't know that's like your audio resume, when you work in television or any form of broadcasting, you send them an air check, which is just samples of you being on air, being good at your job that time from 8:30 to 10:00am Those air checks is what I sent in. And that's what got me hired in Birmingham after Ricky Smiley left.

[Mick Huntoon]

Amazing.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

And so all of that, because I couldn't get the thing that I thought I was supposed to have, I ended up getting literally what I broke. I came in and news and then just watched Cats do radio all day and then slowly got to step my toe into the water until I was knee deep, till I was waist deep, till I was scuba diving. And I also have to give a shout out to DJ Dap at Hot 105.7 because DJ Dap Dap was a cat who was the afternoon DJ and he was piped in with all the rappers. And the rappers would come in and do their interviews. I learned the art of interviews and taking calls and, you know, the act of just what song to play and when the DJs would come in and live mix, you know, five o' clock traffic jam mix or whatever, I would watch them. It was, man, it was on some Star Wars Luke going to see Yoda in the Dagobah System type stuff, man. I really learned the craft of radio inside out from that building, man. It's gone now. I think it's. But that was a special place to me on Appalachia Parkway, man. It really was.

[Mick Huntoon]

Man, I love that story. And you know, all of my friends know, all of my listeners and viewers know this because I'm okay when it's my show telling people my opinion. Right. I'm bold with it. I've always said Roy Wood Jr. Is the greatest storyteller that we witness because of that. Like, you bring people into that space and you take them on that journey and you're so good to give the important detail and walk them through step by step, even on your comedy shows. And that's why, again, you're my favorite comedian because of that. Like, when I'm watching a Roy Wood Jr. Set, I know he is going to make me feel like I'm his best friend and he's telling me this story and there's going to be funny parts to it, there's going to be emotional parts to it, but you are in so control and you don't rush. And I think, you know, people hear comedic timing and they don't really understand what that truly means. But you perfected that skill of telling a story and bringing someone along that journey without rushing the pace. How did that become a skill set for you?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

So my third hour special, Imperfect messenger, which I did in 2021, backside of COVID when it was letting like 50% capacity in rooms or whatever, that was the first time I really told a deeper, longer story on stage and just as part of a bigger bit. And I was just trying to tell a joke. But then the moment, the more I started constructing the joke, I was like, damn, they really need to know this backstory. And it's not really funny, but it'll help this. And I was like, let's see if they go with me on it. And the audience went with me on it. And it was like a deeper, emotional, kind of painful thing to talk about. And without telling the whole joke, it's a story about how there was a murder that happened in Birmingham and I know the victim and the convicted killer and the confliction you feel of knowing this person who did not pull the trigger, but was there. And because you were there, you are a murderer in the, in the eyes of the Alabama justice system. Right, right. But then also feeling the pain and pity of this man who was killed, who literally helped my career in ways that like him and his son, they ran a black owned music store and they carried my prank phone call albums on consignment. The sales I ran through, that is the only reason my album got into every major music outlet in the state was because of the numbers. The Sales numbers they reported on my product, which ultimately helped my growth, help my career. So, Dane, this person who helped me is dead. Dang. This person who I know deep down made a mistake is good, but he's locked up for killing. Who do I feel sorry or for? So that's the. That's the baseline for a larger conversation and joke about criminal justice reform. That joke was the genesis point of me going, oh, pain is a tool. Sorrow can also be woven into this fabric of what you're presenting. I always thought sorrow and pain was for a one man show and for something much deeper and confessional and black box theater. And it's like, no, you could probably do this and make it work. Then you start looking at what Ali Siddiq has been able to do and the fabric that he weaves on stage with storytelling. I'd still say Ali Siddiq is the best pound for pound, joke for joke right now, doing the craft. But it just gave. That incident gave me confidence of, okay, when it makes sense to tell a story, tell a story. I don't think I'm a full blown storytelling comedian. Like, I don't.

[Mick Huntoon]

I don't.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

I don't know. I don't. There's something uncomfortable about dealing with emotion. It's very delicate because you're manipulating the audience in a way. So that part of it was. I'm hesitant at times, but I'd say that that third hour special is where it started. And then I told another story in my fourth special, Lonely Flowers, this year, which also was kind of a, you know, there's some depth to that one as well. So, you know, you look at that and, you know, the idea of writing this book now, the man of Many Fathers, where there's a lot of stories in that book that are painful, there's a lot that are hilarious, but it's a few in that thing that's kind of painful, man. And having the confidence to sit with that, you know, it's been a good thing. Writing this book has been a great exercise in that.

[Mick Huntoon]

I love it. And I'm gonna come to the book in two seconds, but there's two things I gotta tell you and give you praise for that. Maybe you don't know. First thing is, so I've been a speaker for a long time, 10 plus years, but watching your specials and I know you say you're not a storyteller. I'm giving it to you. I'm giving you your flowers. Not the lonely ones. I'm giving you the big, beautiful flowers right but watching your specials helped me as a speaker, just with pace, just with slowing down. And let the story tell. Like, let the points that you're trying to hit, like, tell. Because I'm not a comedian, but again, I do inspirational speaking. I do leadership development. Same concept. Right. To me, being on stage is stories and points. Les Brown taught me, never tell a story without a point and never make a point without a story. And you do that really well. So watching you helped me bring that aspect of that to life. So I'm giving you kudos. Number two, your dorm room famous bro. These. These Gen Z's and millennials are Roy Wood followers. And here's why. My kids, who are now 25, 23, 27, but when they were in school, when they were in college, you know, people stopped having CD players. You know, like, for us, that was yours. That was our Mac move. Right? Like, go look at my cd, Go look at my shelf system over there. But my kids always had a CD player only to play your prank call cd. And so their dorm rooms used to be part.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Put the albums on, like the 70s. Everybody crowd around the record player.

[Mick Huntoon]

Yes, sir. So you were dorm room famous. I just want you to know, because it's a thing that people still carry CD players to listen to your prank call CDs back.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

I pulled a lot of prank phone calls off. Offline number. I pulled all the albums off of digital stuff. Like, I think you can stream my stuff maybe. But most all of my pranks are underground now. Yeah, like, matter of fact, I'm positive you can't purchase my albums anymore. Like that. I went through a phase about 10 years ago. Well, that's. This is a year or two before I got Daily show. And I'd done so many prank calls. I had three albums. So that's about 40, 50 pranks. And then there's another 80 or 90 that are never. That never got put on streaming, that were just on YouTube. I just didn't want to be known as the Prank call dude. And I was having a fear that that was going to be my fate. And a lot of people showed love because of the pranks. But I also had a decade worth of standup appearances within that run. And so, like, since 2002, bro, I've been on TV every year, minimum of one time, never less than five times since 2014.

[Mick Huntoon]

Yep.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

So I've had a regular presence across Cape and still around 2013, 2014, a lot of people knew me for the pranks, which I respected and I loved. But I gotta Draw your focus to something else. So I have to make this harder to find because the money I'm making off these pranks, if I'm not careful, will be the only money I make because people won't even think of me in this. These other regards. And I'm not just thinking about the fans. I'm thinking about producers and writers who think, oh, we should call Roy. He could do this thing. You won't even think to call me. You know, you gotta be very careful about that much. In the same way that these young sketch Internet people, after five years or so, you have to evolve beyond what you were. Because if they only see you as that, then they attach you to a period of their life that they have matured from and you're seen as something that you may as well be the hula hoop in their garage or something, right? So, yeah, I love that the youngins have found them. I know people put them on TikTok now and they put videos with them. And I've like, my prank calls, I just call it. That's. That's open source code. That's open source comedy code for anybody that want. And as much stuff as I bootlegged and stole and media, you know, how much, how many movies I never paid for in the years prior to me knowing better, I look at my prank calls just being decimated all over the place and monetized by these people.

[Mick Huntoon]

You know, people always ask how I juggle everything. The podcast, the book, the events, the coaching, and the team. Well, here's the truth. I don't do it alone. I've got a new teammate, my Notion agent. When I'm prepping for an episode of Mick Unplugged, it pulls every note, every bio, every question I've ever written, organizes it into my show template, and even suggests new angles based on past interviews. It's like having a producer who knows exactly how I think, only faster. Notion brings all your notes, docs and projects into one connected space that just works. It's seamless, flexible, powerful, and actually fun to use. With AI built right in, you spend less time switching between tools and more time creating great work. And now with Notion Agent, your AI doesn't just help with work, it finishes it. I still make the decisions, but now the heavy lifting done. Try Notion with notion [e-mail] Mick. That's all lowercase notion.com Mick to try our new AI teammate notion agent today. And when you use our link, you're supporting our show. Notion.com Mick.

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[Roy Wood Jr.]

Get a game back.

[Mick Huntoon]

There it is.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

It's just a prank call. It didn't take. It wasn't that. I wrote worked hard at. I called somebody at 6:20 in the morning. They cussed me out. I uploaded it as an MP3. You're welcome. If you make you feel good, have at it. I, I like, I really do feel like that's just kind of my way of just giving back. You know, there's people who know my name and don't know my face. People from your children's generation. They still know me as the prank call dude. But now when you find out, oh, I've done all this other stuff, well now it's set up the way I want yes, sir. Yeah.

[Mick Huntoon]

Now let's talk about the man of many fathers. Man 1. I'm so proud of you for this book. I know the purpose, the intent of the book, but I want to give you the floor, give you the mic to talk about why the book, why now, and the legacy that that's going to leave behind because it is about to be a bestseller. Just so you know.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Man, I appreciate it. We'll see. As they say prayerfully, you know, I wrote the book because I wanted to kind of do a deep dive into who I am and why I am who I am. Where did I get my values from? What lessons instilled particular ideologies in me and leave that, you know, for my son to have, you know, whenever he's old enough and ready and wants to flip through it. And hopefully in that, you find a little bit of yourself. My dad died when I was 16, so a lot of guidance and mentorship and connection with men I innately sought out from any man that was around, be it a supervisor or a coach or an older comedian that I might have been opening for. Like, those things all played a role for me and being a better man, like all of those people. So the book is just a series of stories of just values. It's a semi memoir. I can't talk about my life. I can't tell you about people in my life without talking about my life to a degree. But it's not a memoir of every little incident and thing that happened in my life. But, you know, one chapter might be, hey, here's what I did learn from my dad. And then next chapter might be, here's what I learned from my co worker who was on cocaine. There's. There's lessons to be had in both sides.

[Mick Huntoon]

Yes, sir.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah.

[Mick Huntoon]

Yes, sir. So has your son read any of it yet?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Oh, no, he's nine. This book got cussing, you ain't allowed. You ain't allowed. He. He can pick this book up like, I don't know, maybe high school graduation, something like that, you know, maybe someone can't Cuss until he's 16, 17, 14. You better not cuss at me ever. But, you know, cuss at other folks. Do that whenever you want. But I'm your daddy. I still put hands on you. I'm also the man of many hands.

[Mick Huntoon]

Okay. That's book number two.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah. But not, I think, like, 13, 14 is probably a pretty good crossroads for him to understand most of these lessons of what I was doing and what my world was like. But, yeah, having A child really did redefine and really change my trajectory and the things that I hold important in terms of the things that I choose to talk about now. So I'm very excited for the book. I think it's just fun. It's concise, it's an easy read. But yeah, I just think that if you're asking for the bare bones inspiration for what drove me to write it, I would say that I love it.

[Mick Huntoon]

I love it. I also heard you say you couldn't leave your son an SD card. Right. Like, we can't have.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

What was it?

[Mick Huntoon]

The itunes player, the ipod. We can't leave that anymore. Right. So you had to put it in book form. So no matter how technology changes over the next 30 years, everybody still read a book, right?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah. No matter what, there will be a book. They put words on walls in caves. People still go read that.

[Mick Huntoon]

Yeah.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

The written word will always have worth.

[Mick Huntoon]

Hey, Sally's phone number is still on a bathroom stall at the airport in the men's room.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

If you call it, I bet you Sally don't show up. I bet you be somebody else.

[Mick Huntoon]

I love it, man. I love it. Roy, I know how busy you are. I just want to thank you for the time that you gave us today. Also for you, the day after Thanksgiving, you're going to be in Charlotte.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yes. Yes, indeed.

[Mick Huntoon]

I'm going to be there. So I live in Greenville, South Carolina, so Charlotte's just up the road. I'm going to be there. I'm going to bring some people with me. We're going to buy tickets. So I don't want anything now.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

I'm in Durham the day after. Ain't that closer?

[Mick Huntoon]

No, I'm in Greenville, South Carolina.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Oh, South Carolina. I'm thinking Greenville North. ECU Pirates. Yeah. That's on the east side of the state now. Okay. Yeah, you right there. Yeah. Spartanburg. Okay. Yeah. That ain't number 82 miles.

[Mick Huntoon]

Look at him, knowing the exact miles.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah, I remember that, man. I know. Gsp. Okay.

[Mick Huntoon]

Yes. So I'm gonna come up. I'm gonna see you, man. Just excited to see you in person again. Thank you for what you've meant to me in my life. Thank you for the inspiration. Thank you for the continual drive that you have. Everybody do me a huge favorite. I need you to go wherever you buy books. The man of many fathers. I need you to go get that. I need you to read that if you're a father. If you're a parent, you definitely need to get two or three copies. You need One for yourself, one for your children. Whenever they're at cussable age, we'll make sure you get it to them there. And again, I don't care. Go support it at your local bookstore, Amazon Books, a million Barnes Nobles. Wherever you buy books, go get it. And here's what I'm going to do, okay? The first 20 people that message me, and I don't care if it's Instagram, LinkedIn, wherever that message me, many fathers. I'm going to buy the book for you. The first 20 people.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Oh, wow.

[Mick Huntoon]

So hit me up wherever it is, man.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

You're too kind.

[Mick Huntoon]

No, no, no, because I believe. I believe in the message of the book. I believe in you, most importantly. And again, it's the least I can do to support you, brother.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Man, I appreciate you making. I really do, man. And I look forward to seeing you down there in Charlotte, man. Get you backstage before that show, man, because I know you're going to be drinking. They gonna kick you out.

[Mick Huntoon]

All right, fine. Because you told me. Because you told me to, I will. Ladies and gentlemen, this has been my good friend, Mr. Roy Wood, Jr. Roy, love you, man. Appreciate you.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Hey, thank you. Appreciate it.

[Mick Huntoon]

All right, to all the viewers and listeners, remember your. Because is your superpower. Go unleash it. You've been plugged into Mick Unplugged. Don't just listen. Take action, rate and subscribe. Follow me on social and get the full [e-mail]. keep building, keep leading, and most importantly, keep dominating. It's okay not to be perfect with finances. Experian is your big financial friend and here to help. Did you know you can get matched with credit cards on the app? Some cards are labeled no Ding decline, which means if you're not approved, they won't hurt your credit scores. Download the Experian app for free today. Applying for no Ding Decline cards won't hurt your credit scores if you aren't initially approved. Initial approval will result in a hard inquiry which may impact your credit scores.