Thursday, July 31, 2008
MARIO TALKS WITH ESSENCE ABOUT LIFE, HIS MOTHER'S DRUG USE & RUMORS...
Posted by THE fly GIRL at 7:18 AM
We’ve watched Mario grow from a cornrows-having tween crooner to a debonair ballroom dancer. But there’s more to this 21-year-old. In 2007, Mario allowed MTV cameras into his life to capture his mother’s jarring struggle with a 20-year heroin addiction and his desperate plea for her to seek help in the documentary “I Won’t Love You to Death: The Story of Mario and His Mom.” Now, with a huge weight off his shoulders—his mother, Shawnita Hardaway, has been clean for nearly a year—the Baltimore native is gearing up for the next phase in his life. Mario gets personal with ESSENCE.com about his Do Right Foundation (which helps kids in drug-prevalent environments cope), fears that his mother might relapse, and what he hopes his legacy will be. Plus, he sets the record straight on rumors about him and his “Dancing With the Stars” partner, Karina Smirnoff.
ESSENCE.COM: Some people wouldn't be so open about a family member's battle with drugs, especially a parent. What made you decide to do that documentary?
MARIO: I was launching my foundation, and I felt the documentary gave kids and young adults with the same issues [as me] inspiration. I feel like it has helped me to grow a lot, with the things that I have experienced and gone through with my mother. I also felt like it showed who I really was as a young man outside of the music, because sometimes you can get lost in that box of being just a teen star—I’m more than that.
ESSENCE.COM: What made you decide to launch the Mario Do Right Foundation?
MARIO: In terms of my faith in God, I’ve seen what He’s brought people through, what He has brought me through, and how He still allows me to be focused on my goals and dreams. I want these kids to realize that they have the future ahead of them and this is just an example of how God can work.
ESSENCE.COM: What were the challenges of making this documentary with your mom?
MARIO: My mother is a very blunt person, and more than anything she wants to be a speaker. She wants to help change lives. But there were times when we both were like, “Turn the cameras off.” Everything that you see in the documentary was written, approved and signed by me, so there were a lot of things that weren’t shown, yet everything you see is real and raw. I hope people are inspired by it and that it will change people in a positive way.
ESSENCE.COM: Some people wouldn't be so open about a family member's battle with drugs, especially a parent. What made you decide to do that documentary?
MARIO: I was launching my foundation, and I felt the documentary gave kids and young adults with the same issues [as me] inspiration. I feel like it has helped me to grow a lot, with the things that I have experienced and gone through with my mother. I also felt like it showed who I really was as a young man outside of the music, because sometimes you can get lost in that box of being just a teen star—I’m more than that.
ESSENCE.COM: What made you decide to launch the Mario Do Right Foundation?
MARIO: In terms of my faith in God, I’ve seen what He’s brought people through, what He has brought me through, and how He still allows me to be focused on my goals and dreams. I want these kids to realize that they have the future ahead of them and this is just an example of how God can work.
ESSENCE.COM: What were the challenges of making this documentary with your mom?
MARIO: My mother is a very blunt person, and more than anything she wants to be a speaker. She wants to help change lives. But there were times when we both were like, “Turn the cameras off.” Everything that you see in the documentary was written, approved and signed by me, so there were a lot of things that weren’t shown, yet everything you see is real and raw. I hope people are inspired by it and that it will change people in a positive way.
For the rest of the article CLICK HERE
Essence.com
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