Today we’d like to introduce you to Reginald Buggs.
Hi Reginald, 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?
My story began in Columbia, South Carolina, where I grew up as a troubled young man in a family struggling with poverty and living on welfare. My two sisters and I were raised by our great-grandmother because our mother battled alcohol addiction and domestic violence and was unable to care for us consistently. When our great-grandmother became ill, my sisters and I were separated. They went to live with one aunt, while I was sent to another aunt who later attempted to adopt me.
I eventually ran away because I felt I was treated differently from the other children in the home. At 16, I dropped out of high school and tried to survive on my own. Without a father, positive male role models, or proper guidance, I struggled with anger, abandonment, drugs, sex, violence, stealing, selling drugs, fighting, and incarceration. I experienced situations that no young person should have to navigate alone.
My turning point came when I decided to leave that life behind and join the United States Navy. The Navy introduced me to discipline, mentorship, accountability, and a sense of belonging. The journey was not easy because I still carried years of anger, pain, and rejection. I made mistakes and got into trouble, but some people continued to see something good in me. They gave me opportunity after opportunity to grow, mature, and succeed.
I went on to serve nearly 30 years in the Navy before retiring. I also continued my education and earned an MBA from Regent University—something the 16-year-old high school dropout I once was could never have imagined.
Today, I am the founder of Become a Man Without a Man, Inc., a youth mentorship nonprofit based in Norfolk and serving young men throughout Hampton Roads, Virginia. We began with just five young men, and today we have more than 35 youth on our roster, with continued growth ahead.
Our work is deeply personal to me. I understand what it feels like to be abandoned, mishandled, angry, and without direction. I also understand the life-changing power of having someone believe in you. God took the pain, rejection, drugs, violence, and brokenness from my past and gave it purpose. Now, I am paying it forward by helping at-risk young men recognize their value, develop discipline, and become the men and leaders they were created to be.
My story is proof that where you begin does not have to determine where you finish—and that mentorship truly matters.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road, but I believe every bump was necessary for my growth. I often chose the harder route, sometimes because I did not know better and other times because I was still learning how to make better decisions. Somehow, through God’s grace, the crooked paths in my life began to straighten.
I married my wife when I was 20 years old. We came from similar backgrounds and carried many of the same struggles into our marriage. Neither of us had fully learned the “adulting” piece, so we had to grow up while also learning how to be husband and wife. We intentionally waited until later in life to have our only son because we knew we first needed to become more stable and prepared for parenthood.
My military career also came with challenges. Reading was one of my greatest weaknesses, and it sometimes affected my confidence and ability to advance. I had to work harder, study longer, accept help, and refuse to allow my educational struggles to determine my future.
There were many moments when I made life more difficult through my own decisions. However, every mistake taught me something about discipline, accountability, perseverance, faith, and grace. The road was not smooth, but it shaped me into the husband, father, leader, mentor, and man I am today.
Looking back, I can honestly say that the difficult terrain was necessary—because God used every crooked part of my journey to lead me toward purpose.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
At my core, I am a creative. I am a photographer, graphic designer, author, retired Navy leader, and founder of Become a Man Without a Man, Inc. My work brings creativity and mentorship together to help young people discover their identity, recognize their value, and express what they may not yet have the words to explain.
Some of the young people we serve are gifted in music, graphic design, photography, theater, writing, and visual art. I encourage them to develop those talents to their fullest potential. Creativity can give a young person a healthy escape from the noise, pressure, anger, and confusion surrounding them. More importantly, it can become a pathway toward confidence, healing, education, entrepreneurship, and a meaningful career.
I understand that personally. As a child, I often used imagination and make-believe to cope with my circumstances. I remember looking into the mirror and questioning whether I was real because I felt trapped inside a box. No matter which way I turned, the box remained—a prison created by poverty, abandonment, fear, and self-doubt.
Eventually, I learned to turn that box into a canvas and cover its walls with graffiti. Through art, I could express what I was feeling and draw what I believed life could become. I also lied frequently as a child, which I now understand was often a coping mechanism. I was trying to create another world because the one around me felt too painful and confining. Creativity helped me survive, express myself, and eventually imagine a life beyond my circumstances.
Today, I am also writing my first book to share how I escaped the traps of poverty, doubt, mental-health struggles, and explosive anger. I want readers—especially young people—to understand that their current environment does not have to become their permanent identity.
What sets my work apart is that I do not mentor from theory alone. I have lived many of the struggles our young men face. I understand abandonment, anger, failure, educational challenges, poor decisions, incarceration, and the absence of positive male guidance. I also understand transformation, discipline, faith, mentorship, education, military service, leadership, marriage, fatherhood, and purpose.
I am most proud that Become a Man Without a Man began with five young men and has grown to more than 35 youth on our roster. However, I am even more proud of the individual moments—when a young man begins believing in himself, discovers a talent, improves his behavior, accepts accountability, or realizes that his story is not over.
I am known for using creativity, transparency, faith, and lived experience to reach young people others may struggle to understand. I do not see troubled youth; I see young kings whose identities, gifts, and leadership potential are still being developed. My purpose is to help them turn their own boxes into canvases—and create a future larger than anything currently surrounding them.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Growing up, I was angry, shy, strong-willed, and very guarded. I carried emotions I did not understand and could not express. My anger was often the part people saw, but underneath it was a young boy dealing with abandonment, rejection, fear, and the feeling that he did not belong.
I was quiet in unfamiliar environments, but once I felt threatened or disrespected, my anger could quickly take over. I did not trust people easily, and I often used toughness as protection. I wanted others to believe that nothing bothered me, even though I was hurting deeply inside.
I was also highly imaginative and creative. I enjoyed drawing, art, make-believe, and creating stories in my mind. Creativity gave me somewhere to go when my real environment felt too painful or restrictive. I could draw the life I wanted, imagine myself as someone different, and briefly escape the box I felt trapped inside.
I was curious, independent, and determined, but those qualities did not always come out in healthy ways. My independence sometimes became rebellion, my strength became aggression, and my imagination sometimes became dishonesty. I had good qualities, but I lacked the guidance needed to understand and direct them.
Looking back, I realize that the angry and misunderstood boy I once was already possessed many of the qualities I use today—strength, creativity, determination, independence, and the ability to survive. Mentorship, faith, discipline, and maturity eventually helped me transform those traits into leadership, purpose, and compassion for other young people who may be hiding pain behind anger.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.becomingmanwithoutman.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BecomeManWithoutMan
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reginald-buggs/
