Driven Spotlight: Anthony Glover

Driven Spotlight: Anthony Glover

By: Taylor Ford

Drive is often showcased for the select few who happen to make it into the spotlight. Usually, this “spotlight” is reserved for professional athletes, actors, Fortune 500 CEOs, and musicians whose relentless hard work collided with an opportunity of a lifetime.

More often than not, driven people deserve all the credit they receive. Don’t get me wrong, those stories are truly remarkable and often magnified by the magic of Hollywood and photoshop. But to be honest…I’m not looking for those stories, I’m looking for people like Anthony, or should I say “Brotha Anthony” as he is called. But inherently Driven men and women like Anthony are not easy to find, by nature their humility guides them away from any spotlight or credit.

I love meeting people like Anthony: Everyday people who are driven to make an impact on their community. People that inspire you, and quite frankly, challenge you. Anthony isn’t literally challenging per say (even though he is 6’5 and about twice my size), but rather he sparks a challenging internal dialogue within yourself. How does he make time for all the people in his life? How does he have the energy to do it? How is he so comfortable and confident? How is he always so positive and uplifting?

Can I do more? Why don’t I do more? How can I be more like Brotha Anthony?

I have met Anthony only a handful of times, and here I am launching a new series featuring him first. That… is why people call him Brotha Anthony, because after only 5 minutes with his radiant personality he will bring you in. Into his family; into his community.

Brian, our Director of Marketing, and I have been envisioning this concept for almost a decade; giving light to inspiring individuals in communities across the country. I’d like to introduce you to Brotha Anthony Glover.

Father. Husband. Poet. Mentor. Cowboy. Fisherman. Gardner. Storyteller. Community uplifter.

I spoke with Brotha Anthony during peak quarantine, despite being stuck at home, he was already planning his next project on his never-ending quest to mentor and leave his legacy. Through my time at Mdrive, I have asked A LOT of people the question “What Drives you?” but Anthony’s answer is by far my favorite:

“My legacy. My kids, my family, my hometown, I want my legacy to be felt. It could be my kids or someone I mentored doing great things because of something I sparked inside of them."

Everything I do now is a deposit, a down payment on my legacy.

Admittedly, when you meet someone like Anthony it's pretty easy to feel intimidated by all that he does; all the people and groups he passionately commits to.

• Like Fight 4 Life, a 12-week mentoring program for African-American males age 8 to 17 years old, where young men are taught to develop a positive self-image and important life skills to improve their own lives and their communities.

• Or how about how he became the Program Director for “Thunderbirds On The Rise” a weekly mentoring class for boys 5th to 8th grade where he willingly takes troubled kids who need mentoring the most and teaches them life skills they won’t learn in school. Like how to tie a tie, change a tire, or budget their money.

• And believe it or not, he has time to volunteer at Robinson’s Ranch as a horse lead helping people with disabilities learn, heal, and grow through riding horses.

• All while developing a day camp through his non-profit “Useful Hands” where young men learn how to grill, fish, woodwork, and take care of cars.

One of my favorite quotes is from Kanye West “Everything I’m not made me everything I am.” We often see a strong and confident changemaker like Anthony, and often overlook their journey up to today; When that journey is actually what forged them into who they have become. “My mother got pregnant with me at 18, fled the gang life, and raised me alone until I was 7. She met a man who stepped up and became a great father for me. A lot of kids in my community don’t have fathers…Phoenix has a lot of transplant single mothers. They don’t have uncles around or a father around, so I stepped up, I’ll be their uncle.”

Brotha Anthony certainly recognized the need for mentors, but he isn’t doing this alone. He is constantly bringing together his community, both those in need as well as those offering: Shining light on families going through difficult times, or entrepreneurial friends starting their own businesses. Not to mention he has a strong, independent wife, who is successfully using her social platform to bring about change. Ally Project PHX helps give feminine hygiene products to local domestic violence centers and homeless shelters.

It's not easy to find people like Anthony, but communities need people like him to connect those in need and those willing to help. By constantly volunteering and inviting others to do so, he’s bridging the gap between those who truly have the passion to help but unsure of the next steps to do so.

I’ve run into an incredible amount of driven people in my life. Oftentimes the driven can be focused and nearly obsessed with accomplishing a personal goal or achievement. Brotha Anthony is different. He dedicates his drive not at benefiting himself but benefiting those in need. At a time when society seems to take pride in throwing shade on others, Brotha Anthony is a walking lighthouse strapped with 10,000 lumens ready to brighten up your day!

Do you have a "Brotha Anthony" giving back in your community? We want to meet him or her! Please email me their name and tell me their story tford@dreambrands.com