Tony Adway. Making Waves With Serious Talk. Part 2.

I heard about Tony Adway and learned more about him through his Facebook Live show on social media – The Tony Adway Show. I immediately realized this show was about the community but about a whole lot more than just steppin’. In Part 2 of our interview I found out how his show came about, people’s opinions of him, and the future of Chicago style steppin’. Here goes.

Where did the idea of the Tony Adway Show Come from?

I was always on Facebook and always going live.  One day I was on live and posted a random question that I don’t remember right now. Three days later people were still chiming in on that question with their posts. The post had about 3,000 comments.  I did it again the following week and got the same results.  I put two and two together and decided I need to do something like this on a weekly or a daily basis. From that point on it’s taken off until I became the number one internet talk show on Facebook.  I did that for seven months consecutively and the only reason I didn’t win for 8 months is that I was in Facebook jail for 30 days. The people that follow me really helped to turn this show into its own entity right now. 

Of all your shows, which topic was most important?

There are two that just stand out. I did a show on domestic violence.  Again, let me preface by saying when you do live shows you never know how they’re going to go. What makes the show successful are the people that come on the live and the testimonies that they give. When I did that show on domestic violence I had so many people in the steppin’ community come on live and tell their stories about being abused, being almost killed. A girl who I went to school with said she woke up one morning and her husband was standing over her with a bat. He commenced to beat her with the bat until she lost her eye.  Other steppers started coming on and when you don’t expect that to happen and it happens it just takes off.  That was number one, one of my most impactful shows because a lot of people thanked me for that show. That just touched me so much and so that show mostly stands out.

The second was a show I did on prayer requests.  I am very big on prayer requests especially because of what happened to me and for me.  I did a show where all I asked was for people to come and pray or ask for prayer for themselves or anyone who needed it.  That show took off and had about 11,000 comments and viewers. It was all about just praying for one another.  There isn’t enough prayer going on in the world.  That’s why things are going in the direction they’re going because there isn’t enough prayer for oneself or for other individuals.  Those two shows really stood out for me. But there have been a plethora of shows that have touched social media.

Where do you want to take steppin’?

Somewhere down the line, there is going to have to be a television show like Don Cornelius had Soul Train. You see where Soul Train went.  You see black men and women doing modern dancing, disco dancing.  It’s a matter of time before somebody – the next Don Cornelius – does the same thing for steppin’. Steppin’ needs to be seen worldwide on a weekly basis not just coming to the events but to be able to see it and watch Chicago-style steppin’ on tv.  It’s a great platform, exercise, fellowship with other steppers, and events.  People looking forward to the big events.  This is where I see it going if it continues to grow if we can eliminate a lot of the people’s problems. To get these kinds of platforms you’re going to need sponsors, but nobody is going to want to sponsor anything where you have fighting and adults acting like children.  So, when we can get that out of the game, I’m looking forward to in the next three or four years, the Soul Train of Steppin’ to be on your TV stations coming up soon. I can see Pete Frazier being the next Don Cornelius.  Can’t you?

The post on Facebook”

 Lionel Foote

“TONY is a REAL MAN who has faced life’s battles HEAD ON no matter how adverse the situation he has prevailed,Tony is an INSPIRATION to myself for l too suffered illness from time to time and when l see ALL that has occurred with him and he keeps on PUSHING ON with COURAGE, that’s a REAL MAN OK AND l get ENCOURAGED AND INSPIRED.”

When you see Facebook comments like Lionel’s what do you think you are doing right?

I don’t know if I would say I am doing something right. I am just here taking advantage of a second chance. My inboxes are really important to me. Minus a lot of BS that goes on in inboxes, I’ve had a lot of people thanking me for my stories ‘cause I haven’t hid anything.  When I did my first surgery and got my foot cut off I posted pictures on Facebook because I needed to let people visualize what they were praying for.  I didn’t want them to think that their prayers were going in vain.  So, I had to let people that follow me and pray for me see what I was going through and then I let them see my progression and how I moved forward. 

Then when I see parents, people I have never seen before in my life, inbox me and ask me to come and talk to their child who just had a leg amputated. They are so depressed they don’t want to be seen and don’t want to go outside.  They don’t want to go to school and then the parent calls me and asks me to come and talk to them. I have never met these parents before and I can talk to their child and let the child see what I have done. They’re not depressed and start going to school. Every day a little girl is coming to grips with her prosthetic and using it every day.  Stuff like that motivates me and drives me to continue to help others that need that type of inspiration.

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