Kaleb Joseph Discusses Athletic Pressures and Mental Health

“Everything you want in life is on the other side of vulnerability.” This statement is a touchstone for Kaleb Joseph and his story. It appears on his organization’s merchandise, marketing materials, and website. In Hall on January 28, Kaleb Joseph shared his story with RL students, faculty, and staff: his chaotic upbringing, his finding solace in basketball, his living his dream when he committed to play for Syracuse, and his ultimate fall from grace when the pressure and anxiety became too much. 

Mr. Joseph’s Hall was the latest in a series focused on Health and Wellness, curated for Roxbury Latin boys. Mr. Joseph—a former Division I basketball player, and today a mental health advocate—is the founder of Self Help Tour, through which he offers presentations, workshops, and private coaching, as well as programming specifically for student-athletes on the pressure that comes with performance. As the Self Help Tour website states:

For too long, the unwritten rules of “toughing it out” have discouraged many talented individuals from acknowledging normal struggles and seeking help. By normalizing vulnerability and compassion through open dialog, our aim is to reduce silent suffering due to misguided stigmas of weakness.

Mr. Joseph used this ideology as a thread throughout his talk, encouraging boys to lean on one another and embrace vulnerability. After his powerful presentation, he fielded questions from the audience, challenging the students, faculty, and staff with thought-provoking and meaningful discussion topics. For many, the issues that Mr. Joseph brought to light continued as conversation topics throughout the day.