The other day I was trying to create the most enviable man ever right and now like that someone that would rival Brad Pitt securities but with West incorrect historical content so what I did was I meant to be a pediatrician with a spoonful of cool graffiti able to previous triple serving of light backs her dude and and what I came up with was Kevin Strong of dunk the junk, which you know, a man who is finding new ways to slam the junk food epidemic with base and straight up, a man who has challenged the norm and is taking on some of the hottest social issues and change imaginable please make him very welcome Kevin strong guys.
My name is Kevin Strong and I'm a pediatrician ambassador founder of the nonprofit don't the junk reuse street art and hip-hop to teach children about the dangers of excessive sugar consumption, so they can choose how over a life of chronic disease. Sugar is incredibly addictive it lights up the same centers in the brain as cocaine. The sugar addiction starts at a devastatingly young age, in the United States were seeing an epidemic of babies born addicted to sugar. When moms consume high levels of sugar it transfers into the baby and creates a state of overgrowth, these large babies are difficult to deliver and once delivered we must rush to infuse their veins with sugar to protect them from hypoglycemia, brain damage and seizures.
This is a 12 year old girl my practice, who came to me leading to help me, help her lose weigh. She weighed 220 pounds, she was drinking ten sodas per day or a hundred teaspoons of added sugar, so I asked her to do one thing I said stop drinking the soda and drink water instead. She returned in three months and she had lost 20 pounds, no other interventions, she was thrilled her life had changed, so the solution is simple, decrease sugar intake.
However, the challenge is monumental; soda companies spend two billion dollars a year marketing to children so the companies have contracts with hospitals. In the United States hospitals profit off disease, cardiac stents, dialysis, bariatric surgeries... Soda companies pay off politicians through food lobby groups to derail public health campaigns at the expense of our children. Those in power are failing to address this epidemic so we took our campaign to the streets to educate children and families about the truth on sugar.
Art is our chosen weapon, we used street art and hip hop, art forms popularized by use speaking out against oppressive environment and social injustice. Our health, your health, the health of our children is being oppressed by junk food and we will be heard. If you have an idea a plan and you're not being heard take it to the streets take it to the people and you'll be heard. So here we are: this is Richmond California, this is street style counter branding ok reverse branding just down the street is a massive coca-cola billboard. A billboard we could never afford that sells coke as happiness, juxtaposed we have the truth scaled faced coca-cola CEO making thirty million dollars a year selling diabetes to our children. This is a soda machine in an African village to draw attention to coca-cola's efforts to increase sales in developing nations. As a soda sales plummet in the United States they plan to spend thirty billion dollars over the next ten years marketing to children in Africa.
This was the game-changer for our movement we wanted to come up with the villain that the children could battle. They're all gamers these days, they wanna battle someone, so we came up with soda Tron. Soda Tron is the robotic tentacled monster that's ravaging our cities. He's popping us of sugar poison, he's spreading propaganda on billboards "coke is happiness", he's manipulating politicians to railing public health campaigns and he's yanking kids off water fountains. Our next mural was a call to action defeat Soda drunk, inviting youth to join our mission to overthrow the evil Soda Tron empire. To feed Soda Tron is the youth led are inspired revolution against food and justice, coming soon is the defeat Soda Tron comic, it'll be a depiction of the epic battle between man and machine, between health and disease, between truth and deception.
This is my favorite slide, this is me and my pediatric practice pop up the soda trunk poster. Kids come in like Dr. Strong "-Who's Soda Tron? -Soda Tron? Soda Tron is the enemy, Do you wanna help me to defeat Soda Tron? -Yeah, What I have to do? Tell me, what I have to do Doctors Strong? - Don't drink the poison of the enemy for one month, don't drink the poison that the enemy for one month no sugary drinks no soda just drink water come back to my office."
In one month the kids are back in the office with huge smiles, -"Where's my poster Dr. Strong?" They've lost weigh, they've regained health and probably most important they're building their self-esteem back. If your gonna start a campaign please get a photographer and filmmaker, alright? Visual documentation of a campaign is crucial in the age of social media and digital imagery crucial.
This is in California, that is street artists VYAL check him out and that's Roman who won our art contest. Along your journey you will meet talented people if they share your passion invited them in and don't let go. These are too amazing people I met along the way the first one I mentioned already street artist VYAL incredible person high-fiving with the youth and in the background you see on the latter is Erin Yoshi check out on Instagram she did a mural for this event see it in the four years, it's beautiful she's an incredible human being, she's done murals all over the world for social justice.
This is in New York City with KIO a famous street artist and this is Sunshine, she won our youth art contest we invited the children to submit sketches and we incorporate them into the murals so they can see they are changing world. Make friends along the way, make friends everything you do won't be a success but if your aim is true and your mission is just you'll be rewarded lifelong friends. These are two of my brothers Mike Rich will be on my left is our main man street artists from Portland Maine (CP2 Mike) and that's Killer Mike, from Run the Jules, he is a famous rapper from Atlanta incredible human being we're hanging out in his barbershop skilling about a better world for our children.
I wanted to finish with a quote from the rap group Dead Press a rap album that changed my life "Let's get free": Free your mind and the rest will follow, see this time no one's promised tomorrow have fun life is short. I wanted to finish in conclude with the video and I don't know if I advances try here they are these the shorties they call themselves the shorties the best part therefore fifth-graders from the south side of Atlanta and they want our apt junk food rap contest ok they embody the spirit of the mission youth are inspired revolution against food injustice.
