RADIO

Tired of WOKE Nike? Here's some GOOD NEWS

Orlando Magic player and vocal Christian Jonathan Isaac has launched his own sports and lifestyle apparel company, UNITUS, and the world's first basketball shoes with a visible Bible verse, the JUDAH1. He joins Glenn to tell the story of how this came to be: "I wanted to see my values represented in the marketplace." Isaac discusses where the idea to make his own signature shoe came from and how he designed it. And he also explains why he believes Nike didn't resign him. *UNITUS is a proud sponsor of the Glenn Beck Program.*

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Welcome to the Glenn Beck Program. Jonathan Isaac, he's the NBA well, player for the Orlando Magic.

He's also written a book, Why I Stand.

He became very popular to people who don't know sports, during the -- during the COVID debacle.
Because he said, no.

He is -- he founded Unite Us.

And has any created, the first basketball shoe, to feature a visible Bible verse. You can find all of this at weareuniteus.com.

Welcome to the -- welcome to the program, Jonathan.

By the way, full disclosure, Unite Us is a sponsor, I think of TheBlaze.

So I just want to make sure you know that. But I don't really care. It doesn't really affect my conversation with Jonathan.

Hey, Jonathan.

JONATHAN: Hey, Glenn. How are you doing?

GLENN: How is your ankle?

JONATHAN: It's doing good. But I appreciate you all. I'm actually on this call with you on my way to practice.

GLENN: Okay. Good. Good.

So what prompted. For people who don't know anything about Unite Us.

What prompted you to start Unite Us?

JONATHAN: Well, what prompted me was first just wanting to see my values represented in the marketplace, specifically in the sports and apparel lane.

We've got a plethora of companies today. And really, just our society as a whole.

I felt are moving away from, godly values and principles. And also constitutional values and principles. And so it's like, hey. I know that millions of people feel the same way I do, about what makes a prosperous society. Faith, family, freedom. Things like that.

And I wanted to be able to give them something that they can be encouraged by.

And feel good about them, and know that the company that they are supporting, completely supports the answer to values, not just behind closed doors.

But in the mainstream media and marketplace.

GLENN: What prompted Nike to pull their partnership from you?

JONATHAN: So I don't officially know.

A part of it is when players get hurt, it's something that happens.

Right? I'm back in the bubble after I stood, I got hurt. And it was a pretty serious injury.

And, you know, it's -- it's a part of the business.

You can't play, you know, you can't make companies money. So I wasn't able to play. So I wasn't resigned.

GLENN: Okay. So now you have reintroduced Judah one. This is the first basketball shoe to be manufactured with a visible Bible verse in it. Never been done before.

Tell me about it.

JONATHAN: Yeah. So, again, that's just me trying to be authentically myself. And the sneaker actually came about before the idea of Unite Us started. And because I didn't resign with Nike, I actually went to my pastor, and I told them, hey. I don't have a shoe company anymore. We were just talking casually.

And he said, make your own sneaker.

And I was like, what? He said, make your own sneaker.

So I went down the line. Okay. What would it look like?

And I wanted it to be authentically me.

So I said, shoot, we'll put Bible verses on it. My middle name is Judah. We'll call it the Judah one, and have Judah on the side of it.

The line of Judah.

And so that's where it started. And then the bigger idea of United came about. It was like, why not just create a sneaker for myself?

Why not give everybody an alternative avenue to stand for their values?

And so that's where it started. And I'm just so glad that it's being released.

And honestly, the support, and the recognition of it, has been absolutely amazing. So I'm appreciative.

GLENN: So what is the process like to design your own sneaker?

JONATHAN: So mine was a little different I'm sure than most.

I remember watching a movie, a while back. And the person that went to a college campus.

GLENN: Yep.

JONATHAN: And used the students. And so that's what I did. UCF was right here.

And so I was able to connect with their design school. And we turned it into an entire assignment for the students.

And we were able to pay five of them to come up with designs that we liked.

And that's where the first prototype design was born. And we just ran with it, once we got it from them.

GLENN: So -- but it wasn't just the design. It was the design of the actual shoe?

Or is the shoe itself, you know, as far as the way it works or, you know, on your foot.

JONATHAN: Right. It was just the flat-based design.

And we were able to take it to factories. And a company that actually turned us into a real sneaker.

GLENN: Unbelievable.

So you have not only sneakers, but you have activewear, et cetera, et cetera.

I'm looking at Unite Us.com. You have a great, I stand with Israel T-shirt right on the front. I mean, you are bold, brother. You are bold. And I am thrilled. I am thrilled.

These make great Christmas gifts. How much is the Judah one?

JONATHAN: The Judah one is $150.

GLENN: Okay. They will ship them out, ready -- ready to go for Christmas.

You'll find something, that is -- at WeAreUniteUs.com.

I wanted to get you on, because I -- I wanted to ask you, I think this is such a remarkable product. And I -- I just applaud you.

You are the first guy to really come in, and just say, hey, I'm -- I'm doing my own thing.

And I'm doing it for God.

And I'm doing it because our values are being lost.

I would love to have any of your shoes. In our museum.

I mean, I can buy the -- the shoes that are being sold right now.

But if you have any of the prototypes. Any of the early stuff.

I would like to keep it in our museum.

Because I think this is going to be an important shoe.

JONATHAN: Absolutely.

Glenn, we can make that happen.

I appreciate you. What you said, you know, you're bold and all these things. I have definitely developed, I would say, quite a bit of calluses over the years, just from the different things. I'm like, look, this is who I am. I think where our country is going, we have to be authentic and transparent of what we believe. And stand on it. And, no. Not everybody will agree with it. Not everybody will like it. But there are so many people who need to see somebody stand up for what they believe in. To know that it's okay to do it themselves.

And I guess that's a part of my calling, and I just want to walk it out.

GLENN: You're a good man. Thank you so much. It's great to have somebody, that our kids, and even people like me, can look at and say, look at this guy. Look at what he's doing.

Courage is contagious.

And you are spreading that like crazy. Thank you so much.

JONATHAN: I appreciate you, Glenn.

GLENN: God bless.

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Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: There's a difference between a revival and an awakening. We are in a revival right now, but that doesn't necessarily lead to anything. Except, oh, I have to re-learn those principles. But that doesn't mean you apply them in your life. Okay?

That's an awakening. There's been two great awakenings in American history. One brought us the American Revolution. The second one brought us the Civil War and the freedom of slaves.

We have the possibility of going into a third great awakening. That's the only thing that will save us. If you don't know the difference between a revival and an awakening. Let me give you the negative print of a godly awakening. Our kids right now, they don't have any purpose. They don't have any meaning.

They look at everything, and it doesn't -- it's not real. None of it is real. It's money. It's fame.

It's -- you know, it's ever changing truths and definitions. And they have no purpose in their life. Okay?

So they're looking for that. Because man has to have purpose in his life. Man has to search for meaning.

So they're searching for meaning. And they found a group of people that actually mean something. And they're willing to die for it. And it's ISIS.

And so they're like, at least these people believe in something. They believe it. And they're willing to die for it. I'm going to stand with them. And they put that twisted understanding into action. That's the -- that is -- that's an awakening. It's just an awakening to the dark side. And that one is already happening. It has to happen on the good side. And let me speak directly to young men: Look, you are inheriting a very loud, angry, cynical and worst of all spiritually starving and malnourished society. And you are being sold a future of cheap pleasures and hollow heroes and screens with blue light that just rob you of your strength, one distracted second after another.

And in the middle of all that noise, may I just give you one piece of instruction. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, of good report or praise-worthy, seek those things.

Don't admire them. Don't nod at them. Seek them!

Hunt them. Chase them. Build your life around those things. A man who will do that. A boy. A young man who will do that, will become different. Noticeably different.

He will stop letting the culture feed him garbage. He stops applauding the trivial. He stops laughing at the obscene or cheering for the cruel.

He will become a curator of -- of real, lasting beauty in an age that has forgotten what beauty even looks like.

When other men are chasing down or holding up cynicism, this man holds up hope!

When everyone around him is chasing dopamine, he chooses discipline. When others will blame their circumstance, he'll take responsibility for his own action. When the world worships the shallow, he goes and searches for the deep!

You want to know what the secret of becoming strong is, or becoming trusted, or becoming the kind of man that your future wife, your future children, your future nation can depend on?

Here it is!

You become what you seek. If you seek trash, you become trash. If you seek virtue, you become a man of virtue. You seek excellence, and your life will begin to shine, not loudly, but steadily. Like the steel glow of a blade being forged.

That's who you'll be.

The world has a plentiful, seemingly never-ending supply of angry boys. We don't need any more addicted boys.

We don't need any more distracted boys. The world needs men. Whole men. Clear-eyed men.

Men whose souls are anchored to something higher than the algorithms, trying to own them!

Build a life worthy of admiration. Forget about the applause. Fill your mind with words that make you wiser. Fill your days with work, hard work, that makes you stronger. Fill your home with beauty that lifts every soul who walks into it.

Have your home a place where people walk in and go, man, I say so great here. I just love it here. I don't know what it is about your house. I just love it. It's the spirit that's there! Because you built it! You protect it.

Protect your integrity like a watchman on the wall. Don't lie. Don't cheat. Don't steal. And when you fail, and you will, stand back up again.

Because a man who seeks the virtuous, is not a man who never fails. He just -- he just becomes a man who refuses to stay on the ground.

If you seek things that are lovely and pure, trustworthy, praiseworthy, you'll become a kind of man this age almost never produces. A man whose very existence is a rebuke to the darkness.

That's your calling. That's why you were born.

Not to be lost. Not to play video games. Not to give up. Not to say, there's no hope. Not to end up in the trash bin of human history because you've -- you've taken so many drugs, you can't stand up straight anymore.

You're not destined to be alone.

You were destined for great things. You are destined to find an amazing woman!

Believe me. I didn't think I would ever find an amazing woman. Because I didn't think I was worth it. I didn't think I was worth it.

And until I started understanding how God works. That, yeah. I'm not worth any of the stuff that I have.

When you realize, it's all a gift. It's all a gift. And even if you work your brains out, you may not ever get all the things that you want. But you're going to have everything you need. Once you realize, carefully selecting friends makes a difference. My mother used to always say, show me your friends. I will show you your future.

It's true. Be careful who you select as friends. Watch your language. Watch what you're putting into your brain and what's coming out of your mouth. Because the brain is so amazing. It's being turned to mush. Did you know that there is a new study that just came out. I have to tell you about it next week, maybe.

New study going out. It is -- it's AI. And it has access to social media, and they have found that the AI -- the AI that is scrolling through social media all day, just to keep updated on everything that's going on in social media. It's getting brain mush. It's actually becoming dumber. It's become less effective!

It's a machine. What do you think this, flesh and blood, this thing is going to do?

We say life is meaningless. And life is the only thing that has any value. And yet, we spend all of our time, on things like social media. And that has absolutely no value.

But we think that's life.

I'm not that smart. I've just lived a long time. And I've made so many mistakes.

And I decided at one point, I'm going to stop saying, it's somebody else's fault. I'm going to start saying. Maybe -- what did I do to create that?

What did I do to attract that?

Why does this thing keep happening to me?

Why is it that I always find myself involved with these same kind of people?

Because, Glenn, dummy, it's you!

What you think, it's like -- it's like think of yourself as a -- as a beacon. It's just -- you're a beacon. Your GPS pin, that is constantly saying, here I am. Here I am. Here I am.

Except, it's transmitting more than just your location. It's -- it's transmitting what you're looking for, who you are. And it's attracting other dropped pins to you. It's saying, "I like this. I think this way. I believe these things. I am afraid of these things."

Whatever it is, you're thinking. It's constantly putting that out.

And saying, here I am. Is there anything else like that?

Anything else that can reinforce that? Anything else that can live like this?

Because that's me. Here I am. Here I am. Here I am.

That's why you keep finding yourself in exactly the same situations. Nothing will change, if nothing changes!

And the only thing that you can change, is you!

Seek the things, that have virtue.

Seek the things, that have beauty in music, in -- in art, in life, in architecture, in clothing! Whatever it is. Look for real, lasting beauty and value.

Find the things that are true! Truly true.

Universally true. Find the things that uplift. Seek those things!

And you will change your life and your world!