*In celebration of Women’s History Month, entrepreneur Sheila P. Coates, founder of Be Your Own Brand (BYOB), partners with BlackDoctor.org and launched a new digital platform, “Aging While Black with BYOB” during Black History Month.
The bi-weekly platform launched on Thursday, February 27, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. PST and 8:00 p.m. EST on BlackDoctor.org and its newsletter, as well as BYOB’s YouTube.com, Instagram, and Facebook platforms. The upcoming preview dates included Thursday, March 13, March 27, April 10, and April 24; new dates will be announced for May and June 2025.
Aging While Black (AWB) addresses a variety of issues and topics to embrace the beauty of aging along with things that are part of the aging journey including hormonal changes, menopause, age and style, second acts, dating, caregiving and more. The partnership with BlackDoctor.org allows Aging While Black to explore health topics such as cardiovascular disease, depression, immune nutrition, vision and vision loss and more subject matters with experts and key influencers.
“The goal is to create a one-stop shop for all things aging,” says Sheila P. Coates, who stresses that the Aging While Black platform is not just for people fifty-five years old and older. “It’s for all age groups because every day we’re aging. Young men and women may not learn certain things at home so Aging While Black can be a positive resource to help the next generation. Sharing stories and information to help us make better decisions today for a better tomorrow.
“I’m sixty-four years old, and I’m fortunate to still do many of the things I did in my forties,” Coates continues. “We want the platform to be entertaining and educational. Like conversations you would have with your friends but are hesitant to ask. When I was young, my mother told me that the body changes every five years and I’m living proof she was right. If you live long enough, you never know if you will be called to take care of your aging parents or start a second act. We would like to develop the digital platform as one of the top go-to platforms for information and discovery.”
Coates concludes, “I am not a doctor or healthcare professional; I am just someone trying to embrace all things aging and understand how I went from my twenties to my sixties in a blink of an eye. That is why it was imperative that we partner with a trusted source who can provide information and resources for many of the topics we plan to address. BlackDoctor.org regularly presents stories on aging from a social, medical and research standpoint and explore topics that are especially unique to aging in the Black community.”
Celebrating fifteen years as the founder and chief operating officer of BYOB, the brand consultant has worked with executives from Fortune 500 corporations, non-profit entities, media organizations, and entertainment and lifestyle companies. Coates is also an in-demand public speaker across the country and abroad.
Before launching BYOB, Coates spent more than 25 years as a record label and entertainment executive, where she worked as a marketing, branding, and artist development executive. During her tenure in the entertainment industry, she held senior vice president positions with then record labels Sony/BMG, Arista Records, EMI/Capitol, Virgin Records, MCA Records, Perspective Records and Hidden Beach Recordings. In her many positions/roles, she helped to develop and cultivate the careers of “Who’s Who” in popular music including Mary J. Blige, Toni Braxton, Lenny Kravitz, Barry White, Jill Scott, Babyface, Q-Tip, Lalah Hathaway, Monica, Faith Evans, Angie Stone, and countless other new, developing, and legacy artists.
For more information on Aging While Black with BYOB, visit BlackDoctor.org or BYOB’s social media platforms: YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.
