Rising Stars: Meet Mike De La Rocha of Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike De La Rocha.

Hi Mike, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I was born in Oxnard, California, and raised in East Ventura as the proud son of two educators. My father immigrated from Chihuahua, México and taught for more than 41 years at Ventura Community College, while my mother, a first-generation Chicana from San Jose, has spent over 50 years working in early childhood education through Head Start.

Growing up as one of the few young people of color in a predominantly white environment, I found community through punk music, skateboarding, and surfing. I joined my first punk band at 12 years old and immediately fell in love with the power of music to bring different people together. That belief in art as a vehicle for connection and transformation still guides me today, which is why I continue to perform with one of my best friends, Alonzo Beas, in our electronica punk band ON/NOTICE.

My political awakening came when I moved to Los Angeles at 17 to attend UCLA. There, I met my “second father,” Tim Ngubeni, who introduced me to a deeper understanding of history, identity, and liberation. At UCLA, I organized alongside a multiracial coalition of students fighting for access to higher education and was elected Undergraduate Student Body President during my last year. Those experiences taught me how art, culture, and grassroots organizing can be utilized to create lasting structural change. It fundamentally transformed how I see the world and my responsibility within it.

Since then, I’ve been blessed to work in the nonprofit, government, and creative sector, and now am a business owner of two incredible companies-Revolve Impact, an award-winning creative agency, and Tepito Coffee which creates jobs for formerly incarcerated people in partnership with Homeboy Industries.

Last year, my life changed in unexpected ways with the release of my memoir, Sacred Lessons: Teaching My Father How to Love, which became a USA Today bestseller. The book allowed me to travel to more than 30 cities across seven states and two countries, speaking to over 12,000 people about masculinity, emotional healing, and generational transformation. That journey eventually led to the launch of the Sacred Lessons podcast through iHeartMedia’s My Cultura Network, where I have honest conversations with artists, athletes, and community leaders about identity, vulnerability, and healing.

At the center of everything I do, whether through storytelling, music, or entrepreneurship, is an unwavering belief in grassroots organizing and that healing and belonging are essential to creating a more just and connected world. I truly believe arts and culture have the power to move people, shift narratives, and help us imagine new possibilities for ourselves and for each other.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. Some of the most difficult challenges have come from deeply examining my own privilege, my own conditioning, and my responsibility as a man engaging issues around masculinity, patriarchy, and gender violence. The more I learn, the more I realize how deeply patriarchy dehumanizes all of us, regardless of gender or identity, by disconnecting us from our own selves.

Through the Sacred Lessons book tour and podcast, I’ve had the opportunity to learn from incredible artists, healers, and cultural leaders about the cultural practices and traditions that are meant to help us navigate grief, trauma, loneliness, and disconnection. At the same time, through the bi-weekly DENA Heals men’s circle I’ve co-facilitated alongside Yancy Comins from Hands in the Soil for more than 15 months, as well as conversations with thousands of people across the country, I’ve witnessed just how much pain so many people are carrying, but also how much incredible work is indeed happening.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that healing is not a solo journey. We live in a time where so many people feel isolated, disconnected, and unseen, and I believe the antidote to that is genuine community and belonging. That understanding has fundamentally shaped my work and my purpose. Whether through storytelling, music, or creating spaces for honest conversation, I’m committed to helping build communities where people can heal, feel connected, and reimagine healthier ways of relating to one another. I also believe men have an important role to play in challenging patriarchy and helping create a more equitable, compassionate world for everyone.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Much of my work today is centered around storytelling, community-building, and creating culturally rooted pathways for healing, particularly for men navigating loneliness, isolation, trauma, and disconnection. In response to the growing mental health crisis impacting men, I’m currently helping lead the next phase of the nationwide Sacred Lessons community engagement tour, a multi-year initiative designed to transform how men access healing, connection, and support.

Rooted in culture, storytelling, and community-based practice, Sacred Lessons works to empower young people and men, especially men of color, by exploring the intergenerational impacts of trauma while offering culturally relevant tools to navigate life’s complexities. Through a combination of multimedia storytelling, live events, healing circles, and partnerships, the goal is to build bridges to genuine connection, emotional resilience, and thriving communities.

At the heart of this work is a desire to normalize vulnerability and make it easier for men to ask for help. We’re building a communications and community engagement platform that encourages openness, accountability, and healing while connecting people to life-saving networks, resources, and support systems. Through the Sacred Lessons podcast, I’ve had the opportunity to have deeply honest conversations with community leaders about masculinity, emotional transformation, fatherhood, and belonging. Combined with the momentum of my bestselling memoir, the platform has grown into an expanding multimedia ecosystem centered on redefining what it means to be a man through vulnerability, healing, and love.

What I’m most proud of is helping create spaces where people feel seen, safe, and connected, whether that’s through a live event, a healing circle, a podcast conversation, or a story someone hears at exactly the moment they need it. I think what sets my work apart is the intersection of culture, organizing, and healing. Everything I do is rooted not just in awareness, but in building real-world community and tangible pathways toward transformation. My goal has never simply been to create content, but to help create connection, belonging, and lasting social change.

We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Something that may surprise people is that despite spending so much time working on issues rooted in trauma, injustice, and pain, I still deeply believe in the goodness of people. Even in moments of uncertainty or despair, I try to lead with compassion and hold onto the belief that people can heal, grow, and transform.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve also realized that the things that bring me the most joy are often the simplest, spending time with my family, being present with my closest friends, surfing, making music, and creating moments of genuine connection. In many ways, my work has taught me that success means very little if you’re disconnected from the people you love.

I recently made the decision to get sober, and I’m about six months into that journey. So far it’s been one of the most grounding and transformative experiences of my life. I decided to stop drinking because I wanted to be fully present for the people closest to me and more intentional about how I move through the world. It’s taught me a lot about clarity, discipline, and what it truly means to show up for yourself and for others.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sacredlessons.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrmikedelarocha/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mrmikedelarocha
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrmikedelarocha
• Twitter: https://www.x.com/mrmikedelarocha
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mikedelarocha9288
• Other: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-sacred-lessons-with-mike-304426528/

Image Credits
Wade Brands – Picture at the beach and in the study
Ron Kurokawa – Picture at Vroman’s Bookstore and the men’s circle
Fr33way – Picture of Mike singing