We had the good fortune of connecting with Nicky Small and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nicky, every day, we know how much execution matters, but we think ideas matter as well. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
I lost my brother to suicide 4 years ago and decided to start the non profit (The JR Joker Foundation) In my brothers honor. The focus of men’s mental health & awareness suicide prevention came to my heart. With focus of helping men speak up.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Starting a Nonprofit from scratch with very little knowledge or experience has been challenging to say the least. I started this with love and compassion for my brother’s honor and to help more men speak up. What set me apart is not many people are taking on taking about mental health or suicide especially for men. It’s already a challenging topic to get people to talk about but I am proud of taking my hurt and turning it into something positive with a new creative approach. I came up with doing bowling events along sip & paint bowling pin events to make it fun and inviting for a man to come be chill and able to open up. Its been challenging to have such a new idea for fundraising event and have people see the bigger picture of awareness as bright the 1st step. It’s been hard to get sponsorships or grants but we are officially on 5th annual event July 2025. The growth is amazing

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would definitely have to take them to Red rocks and Morrison area as it’s a staple of Colorado. I would definitely try to take them to some great mom and pop restaurants like Willys Wings in Morrison, Nola Jane Restaurant downtown, Oasis Bar and grill for the vibes along with good food by my bro Kishan white (you buy I fry) I would then love to take them to Sloans lake for a nice walk go bowling and show them all parts of Colorado

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would love to give a s/o to a few people that truly helped me grow my vision and support me. 1st s/o to Teresa Cummings for helping me come up with ideas to honor my brother with bowling 4 Brain health and painted bowling pin trophies. Want to say thank you To my board of directors Calvin Parker aka “Callywood”, Juan Davis, Mario “Dre”Lane, Steven “BMG SHOW” Gilbert, Dennis “DJ Konz” Arijo, and Tori Sandoval. But most of all to everyone who supported me since day 1

Instagram: @nickyswizziesmall

Twitter: @nickysmall30

Facebook: Nicole Hunt

Image Credits
Teresa Cummings
Paige Hubbard

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