‘Generation Giants’ seeks to inspire
Wed, 12/06/2017 - 10:45am
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By:
HEATH ELLISON
HEATH ELLISON
Kyle Taylor sits in a room that he calls his office. A series of gold framed pictures hang on the wall behind him, out of focus. Taylor is recounting the defeatist attitude of his younger self and proposing simple advice that he wished he had heard in his youth.
“You’re going to be okay,” he says into a circular microphone. That’s the first minute of podcast and video series Generation Giants’ inaugural episode, titled “You Have No Idea.” Taylor says and reiterates the thesis of the episode later on. “You don’t know what you’re capable of,” he tells the audience.
That element carries over into the ensuing series, an inspirational web talk show, hosted out of Taylor’s living room on Daniel Island. The format for Generation Giants sees Taylor talking with youth leaders around the community, sharing their motivational stories, and discussing the Bible. The podcast host uses Generation Giants as a platform to open a dialogue with young people.
“In a nutshell, it’s a personal development podcast geared towards students, primarily teenagers and young adults,” says Taylor.
Generation Giants began in June of this year. Originally a series of inspirational vlogs about perseverance, strength, and scripture, Taylor chose the podcast layout because of his own experiences.
“I’ve gotten a lot of value from podcasts, when people give up themselves, give up their knowledge, so I wanted to give something to students,” he says.
After a dozen episodes of the vlog format, and a four part series called “F41th Fu3l,” he began bringing guests on, which has become an integral aspect to Generation Giants. Since then, the podcast has seen Emily Hoisington of local non-profit Charleston Hope, former U.S. Olympic wrestler Brent Jones, and young entrepreneur Matthew Root.
“I firmly believe in what Kyle is doing,” says Hoisington. “It’s incredible just to have a way to share the things that you’re doing and learning.”
Seventeen-year-old Michael Root has been a featured guest twice on Generation Giants and sees Taylor as a brother.
“He’s really mission-driven behind it in reaching out to the next generation,” says Root. “I really thought as a high school student, specifically a senior, I could really bring value to some younger listeners.” Root currently attends the Charleston County School of the Arts.
“I just bring them on and try to hear their heart and what they’re doing and what they know,” says Taylor. “You get someone who’s already successful to impact young people’s’ lives, then I’m just trying to capture that and try to put it on a broader scale.”
According to Taylor, helping young people is “just kind of in my nature.” For six years, he has been involved in Seacoast Church’s youth mentoring program, currently called Custom. Taylor is a mentor for 10th grade students, and has spent time in the Seacoast’s college ministry as well.
“Everyone needs a mentor, everyone needs someone to help guide them,” he says. “Especially when you’re young, you don’t know the possibilities and that’s a big part of the podcast. Whenever you’re young, you haven’t yet tapped into even an ounce of your potential.”
The host’s primary reason for the podcast’s focus on young men and women comes from his understanding of the effect their surroundings have on them. “We all need to be striving towards some vision or mission, and when you’re a student it’s hard to do that because you’re stuck in a curriculum that many people love, but many people don’t,” says Taylor. “Most things in your life are against your will, more or less, when you’re a kid.”
Taylor hopes that Generation Giants’ future will expand on the house he’s built so far and drive home the student aspect by inviting representatives from school teams and clubs to the show, and potentially getting more students involved in the making of the podcast.
“I definitely want it to influence students across the whole country,” says Taylor. “I want it to become a banter for students to change themselves and thereby change their communities, change their schools, change the attitude.”
To learn more, visit the “Generation Giants Podcast” page on Facebook.
“You’re going to be okay,” he says into a circular microphone. That’s the first minute of podcast and video series Generation Giants’ inaugural episode, titled “You Have No Idea.” Taylor says and reiterates the thesis of the episode later on. “You don’t know what you’re capable of,” he tells the audience.
That element carries over into the ensuing series, an inspirational web talk show, hosted out of Taylor’s living room on Daniel Island. The format for Generation Giants sees Taylor talking with youth leaders around the community, sharing their motivational stories, and discussing the Bible. The podcast host uses Generation Giants as a platform to open a dialogue with young people.
“In a nutshell, it’s a personal development podcast geared towards students, primarily teenagers and young adults,” says Taylor.
Generation Giants began in June of this year. Originally a series of inspirational vlogs about perseverance, strength, and scripture, Taylor chose the podcast layout because of his own experiences.
“I’ve gotten a lot of value from podcasts, when people give up themselves, give up their knowledge, so I wanted to give something to students,” he says.
After a dozen episodes of the vlog format, and a four part series called “F41th Fu3l,” he began bringing guests on, which has become an integral aspect to Generation Giants. Since then, the podcast has seen Emily Hoisington of local non-profit Charleston Hope, former U.S. Olympic wrestler Brent Jones, and young entrepreneur Matthew Root.
“I firmly believe in what Kyle is doing,” says Hoisington. “It’s incredible just to have a way to share the things that you’re doing and learning.”
Seventeen-year-old Michael Root has been a featured guest twice on Generation Giants and sees Taylor as a brother.
“He’s really mission-driven behind it in reaching out to the next generation,” says Root. “I really thought as a high school student, specifically a senior, I could really bring value to some younger listeners.” Root currently attends the Charleston County School of the Arts.
“I just bring them on and try to hear their heart and what they’re doing and what they know,” says Taylor. “You get someone who’s already successful to impact young people’s’ lives, then I’m just trying to capture that and try to put it on a broader scale.”
According to Taylor, helping young people is “just kind of in my nature.” For six years, he has been involved in Seacoast Church’s youth mentoring program, currently called Custom. Taylor is a mentor for 10th grade students, and has spent time in the Seacoast’s college ministry as well.
“Everyone needs a mentor, everyone needs someone to help guide them,” he says. “Especially when you’re young, you don’t know the possibilities and that’s a big part of the podcast. Whenever you’re young, you haven’t yet tapped into even an ounce of your potential.”
The host’s primary reason for the podcast’s focus on young men and women comes from his understanding of the effect their surroundings have on them. “We all need to be striving towards some vision or mission, and when you’re a student it’s hard to do that because you’re stuck in a curriculum that many people love, but many people don’t,” says Taylor. “Most things in your life are against your will, more or less, when you’re a kid.”
Taylor hopes that Generation Giants’ future will expand on the house he’s built so far and drive home the student aspect by inviting representatives from school teams and clubs to the show, and potentially getting more students involved in the making of the podcast.
“I definitely want it to influence students across the whole country,” says Taylor. “I want it to become a banter for students to change themselves and thereby change their communities, change their schools, change the attitude.”
To learn more, visit the “Generation Giants Podcast” page on Facebook.