Today, we’d like to introduce you to Anthony Sanabria.
Hi Anthony, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
Where to start?!? I could start all the way from the beginning when I was born, but that would take forever, haha. I think a lot of this started in 2013 when I was in college at The College of Saint Rose. I went to a town hall meeting in Albany, NY. I wanted to get more involved in the community and make a change.
The town hall meeting was a discussion about the violence going on with youth in the city. I felt the conversation had some valid points, but they weren’t being heard by the right audience that needed to hear it because no youth were present. I then stood up and expressed that everything being said is great, but how do we know what youth are really experiencing or what they need without them being here? Many people in the audience agreed with my statement. After the meeting, I was approached by multiple youth organizations that were interested in having me as a volunteer or somehow involved.
The agencies felt I would be a good role model for the youth they serve. One organization that stood out was the YMCA’s Black and Latino Youth Achievers Program. The Albany site was run by my soon-to-be mentor, Maree Jones. A great woman with so much passion and love for helping others, especially youth. She asked me to come by the program, and once I did, everything was set in stone. I fell in love with the program and the youth, but most of all, I found my passion in that space. Later, I came to find out from my other mentor, Shaniqua “Shabby” Freeman, that I was a Social Worker.
Shabby and I had worked together for years. She was my first supervisor when I became a youth counselor through the Summer Youth Employment Program, and I was placed at Beacon Summer Camp. She taught me so much! Another woman who helped me find myself as I was coming of age. At the time, I graduated with a Criminal Justice Degree from Saint Rose and had visions of being in the FBI and doing community policing work, but I felt I wouldn’t be helping my people the way I wanted to, so I knew it wasn’t for me.
This is when I expressed to her that I have always had a passion for helping others and working to help people overcome the obstacles they face in life. I just couldn’t put my finger on what occupation that would be, and so it found me! When Shabby said you should be a Social Worker, after long talks with her and my other mentor, Maree. I then applied for Graduate school at the University Of Albany for the Master of Social Welfare Program.
The program was amazing. I learned not only a lot about the work and lifestyle of a social worker but also a lot about myself during this process. Which is then how “YellowTalks,” my motivational brand, came to be! I was on Instagram, and my nickname during college, and to this day, is “Yellow” because I’m light-skinned and always a positive/happy guy. So, I naturally said on the video I was making, “Hello everyone, welcome to YellowTalks,” and I began discussing a problem I had during the day and how I overcame it.
Then all of the sudden a lot of people began writing to me and expressing how they empathized with the situation, and some felt it was super helpful the advice I gave. It was at that moment I asked myself, could this actually be something? So, I asked my followers on Instagram if they would like to see more content like this from me. The immediate response was yes, and so began YellowTalks’ journey. A motivational brand that is about inspiring others to be the best versions of themselves through discussions of relatable and lived experiences. I then grew the brand from starting with just motivational video content and quotes to now having a podcast and personalized coaching services (Mindset and Career Development).
I have come a long way as a kid who was born and raised in Vladecks Projects in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. I am currently living in Albany, NY, as an MSW Social Worker, Community Advocate, Change Agent, Youth & Families advocate, and CEO Owner of a Motivational Brand. I am a man who is big on family/community and still believes in the concept that it takes a village to raise a child. I am proud of the village I come from and the people who became a part of my village throughout my life because, without them, I wouldn’t be who and where I am today.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I wish I had a smooth road, haha. I would say I have had many challenges, but none bigger than my mindset. I think with as many obstacles as I have faced throughout life, whether that be financially, family, intimately, grief, etc., the thing that really keeps us going is how we process all of these things mentally. I apply a lot of what I learned from basketball and my coaches when they said the game is 75% mental and 25% physical. I apply that to life because life really is a mental journey, and if you’re not mentally tough, you and your body will not be able to withstand the coming challenges that await you. I developed healthy coping mechanisms that allowed for me to be able to mentally process the things I dealt with, such as basketball, journaling, exercise, music, and going for walks/drives. This allowed for me to process my thoughts, at times gain new perspective, and recalibrate myself which in turn allowed for me to be able to continue pushing forward. The body is as only strong as the mind. I am grateful for where I am today and the life lessons I learned to help get me here.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My motivational brand, YellowTalks, is something I am very proud of… I have been doing this work since 2017/2018. I am a motivational speaker/coach, and it started as something that was just myself or having great friends of mine record me doing motivational videos anywhere and everywhere. Then, as time went on, more people started watching, and that’s when the team started to form, and guys like my Creative Director/ Co-Host Yemi and Co-Host/ Podcast Engineer Meech came on board. These two guys I am super grateful for because they believed in the vision, the brand, but most all they believed in me. The services we provide through the brand are motivational content, podcasting where we discuss day-to-day life experiences and how we overcome those things, and personalized coaching services called Plan A (Mindset and Career Development). The work we do is really about empowerment and positivity. We inspire people to be the best versions of themselves every day. The thing that really sets us apart, in my opinion, is at the end of episodes or if it’s the motivational content, we are always looking to challenge our listeners to push past these obstacles with the takeaways they get from the content.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
I just want to share two slogans from YellowTalks:
Be Good, Be Great, and Be Better! (YellowTalks Slogan).
Think about it, Talk about it, and Let’s be about it! (YellowTalks Slogan).
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @yellowtalks
- Facebook: @yellowtalks
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/t-anthony-sanabria-msw-b19ba2b0/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb3eAss8Sf4abRPimngAywA
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-705688908
- Other: https://linktr.ee/yellowtalks?utm_source=linktree_profile_share
Image Credits
Mandela Gadsden
Malachi Nichols
Alyssa Powell
Yemi
