Friday, 01/13/06

ANTIOCH — One of Rodrick Glover's most memorable experiences as a motivational speaker was when a teenage boy came up to him in tears, handed over a condom out of his pocket and said, "I won't be needing this."

The gesture followed what some would call an intense message on abstinence, a topic to which Glover has devoted his life.

Known as "The Motivator," Glover also is founder of Motivations Inc., a traveling drama troupe that spreads the message of abstinence to young people throughout the country.

Glover, who lives in Antioch, speaks to high school and middle school students about staying abstinent from premarital sex, drugs, alcohol and cigarettes while in high school and later in college. The professional drama troupe also incorporates the abstinence message into its productions.

The actors attempt to reinforce this message by focusing on the potential consequences of not remaining abstinent, such as pregnancy, AIDS and other health problems. The overall theme of the productions, Glover said, is making "healthy life choices."

"A lot of times I talk about how college affected my life," Glover said. "But nobody talked to me about college."

At least no one warned Glover about college ahead of time. It did happen later.

Glover was in his early 20s, and his life had "come to a standstill," he said.

"I was going through some relationship issues," said Glover, adding he that was involved with a girl at the time.

Then Glover's mom, Mattie, sent him a ticket so that he could go with his father, Gaetonio, to hear a man named Ed Louis Cole speak in Detroit. The topic was "The Sacredness of Sex."

Although Glover had heard the message of abstinence at home, he had not heard about it much once he got out in the world.

But when he heard Cole speak, he realized that his "body was a gift" and that he could become "a reborn virgin."

Glover said many told him that it was too late to become "a reborn virgin" and that it was silly to think such.

But he says his family — wife, Ava, and children Breanna, Christian, Cortland and Baylee — are evidence that it wasn't too late. Ava was the girl that he had dated in college.

Glover said he learned that "saving myself was all about learning to love myself."

Whether it's sex, drugs or alcohol, any addiction "controls your life," Glover said. "I started to love myself by conquering the things that were controlling my life."

Also, he said, he learned how to love Ava for the person she was and not just her body.

"It was a spiritual awakening in my life," Glover said, adding that he also committed his life to God at that time.

"It wasn't like I was strong enough to do it on my own."

For a while, Glover tried sharing Bible passages with young people as a way of spreading his message. But after getting a few blank stares, he decided he needed a more creative approach.

He formed a group called "Positive Theory," which was made up of students from Fisk University and some of his co-workers at the then Stouffer Hotel. They would put on skits encouraging young people to remain abstinent.

Meharry Medical Center gave them the meeting space.

Glover was later hired as the youth outreach director of the Martha Maddox Family YMCA, where he formed another group called PTAP, or the Positive Theory Awareness Program. This was composed of high school and college students who performed at area churches, conferences and other YMCAs.

A few years ago, Glover said he felt God's calling to do motivational speaking full time. That's when he formed Motivations Inc., which is made up of adult professional actors who work with his youth drama team, the ICAN Teen Program, a replacement for PTAP.

Now, Glover, known for wearing a boxing glove when he speaks, is taking the message to places such as New York, Texas, Florida and Wisconsin.

He and his drama troupe also will perform at Tennessee State University, his alma mater, next month.

"That commitment to loving myself, choosing to abstain from sex and to put God first helped me to put family first and be faithful to my family," he said.

Glover said he's hoping others will learn from his experiences.

One of Glover's longtime actors, Bill Lee McCleskey, is seeing the benefit of abstinence in his life.

McCleskey, who has been involved in Glover's drama productions since he was 15 and is now in Motivations Inc., described the message's goal as "personal development as a human being."

"It's inspired me to become a responsible, proactive individual," McCleskey said. •