GREENSBORO, N.C. — We see him every day on the Four 2 Five. His wisdom and inspirational words are a breath of fresh air to all of us. But to truly know Coach LaMonte you have to spend some one-on-one time with him.
Eric Chilton sat down to talk with the man who says his back story and his entire life path led him to do the "You Day" segments.
"I was sexually abused and molested from the ages of 5 to 9. And I spent much of my life after that trying to overcome the feelings of inadequacy and low self-worth, " LaMonte said. "It wasn't until recently that I realized how much I needed help."
After years in TV he said the pandemic helped him understand himself even better.
"You know, the saying in the pandemic was 'mask up' and I realized how accurately that described what I had been doing for years in my life," LaMonte said. "Wearing a mask and hiding who I really was. I was always the guy to make people laugh. I was always the guy that was the life of the party. But I was also the guy who had also considered ending it all every now and again."
After therapy and faith, LaMonte said he has come out on the other side and now uses his lessons to help others.
"You have to be whole before you can take others to a better place," he said.
If you want to see more of Coach LaMonte go to his website.