Monte Morris

What’s it like to grow up in the number one murder capital in the country?

Monte Morris, now in his fourth year as a Denver Nuggets’ point guard, tells us what it was like in Flint, Michigan, sleeping on a couch as a boy, hearing gun shots and turning to basketball to stay away from trouble while his mom worked two jobs to support him. Overcoming daily violence and getting to the NBA made him unstoppable. But what Monte counts as truly proving himself was being able to keep a promise he made to his mother when he was younger.

When playing in the bubble in Orlando through the pandemic, Monte emerged as a team leader and inspiration during the Nuggets historic playoff run. It was while enduring daily testing and waiting in cars for COVID results, isolated from friends and family, that Monte discovered who his real friends were — and what truly makes someone unstoppable on and off the court.

He is joined by Matt Vogl, Executive Director of The National Mental Health Innovation Center at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Vogl founded the Center in 2015 to support big ideas and innovative technology solutions that address challenges in the mental healthcare system. Vogl is an innovator at heart. He is working to find creative solutions that can be quickly and effectively put to use to help people cope with increased anxiety, depression, rising suicide rates and COVID-related stress.

“The mental health care system is stretched to its limits,” says Vogl who also hosts a podcast called CRAZED on the subject of mental health. Besides peer support, meditation, staying active and staying connected, as a former comedian, Vogl believes that laughter could be the best medicine for coping with the pandemic. Find out more by listening to this podcast. #UnstoppabePodcasts