Mario Canon. From the Mean Streets to a Role on Empire . Episode 521 with The Real Brad Lea (TRBL)

Mario is from Springfield IL. He grew up with his mother and his cousins as his brothers.

Mario always wanted to be a rapper/entertainer and recorded his own songs/tapes in the 3rd and 4th grade using radio shack karaoke machines and a lot of miscellaneous wires. Loving basketball at a young age but then ruining his basketball dreams and military opportunity to join the Air Force after getting into some serious trouble with the law as a teenager. He was crushed and turned to the streets. No one would hire him and no one would give me a chance. Mario lost all his siblings all around him to violence and this was an eye opener for him to change. Despite the deaths and the legal trouble, Mario managed to land himself on a few big stages going on tour with Twista and landing a huge TV role on fox on the show Empire. Mario was sleeping in his car just to be a background extra for two years just to save money because that was the entrepreneurial spirit he had. Now, Mario currently owns commercial real estate and few other businesses including an Anytime Fitness in Lincoln IL. Follow him @ThisisCanon for more content.

In this episode, Brad and Mario discuss his story and how he found solace and fame through the lessons he has learned.

00:00 Intro

02:55 Mario's story

08:05 Bomb: Building the body helps building the mind

09:17 The feeling of "I am going to die."

12:00 Getting on Empire

17:38 Bomb: Believing in what's possible

21:10 Staying positive

22:42 Bomb: People can change…be aware of you hang out with

25:00 Bomb: It's gotta be in you, not on you

28:24 Advice for you

35:36 A normal day

41:42 Mario's song

46:00 Having nothing