In this episode, I sit down with someone very special. William (“Will”) Jones III is a native of Atlantic City, NJ who also considers the neighboring city of Pleasantville as home. A barber for many years, his career and now-wife Yolonda brought him to Charlottesville in the mid 2000s.

When Will opened his own shop, he no longer found himself spending time in the historically Black neighborhoods of Charlottesville and he wanted a way to connect with his people. He began running the streets of downtown Cville and those casual runs with friends evolved into what is now the Proflyfyck Run Creww, a cultural movement that works for the empowerment of historically marginalized communities, encourages every human to look deep within to find their gifts and tap into their passions, and does all of this work together in a spirit of unity and love.

Will and Yolonda are the proud parents of four incredible young people. They also have three family dogs, and often host other dogs who are training with Will to be the goodest boys and girls. Aside from loving on his wife and his kids, Will finds purpose in discovering ways to leave this world better than he found it.