Page 10 - Florida Sentinel 12-17-19

Local
Entrepreneur Changed Name To Improve Chances
Author Shares First Book Of Poetry With Others
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Like many teenage ath- letes, Rolando Owens was an outstanding basketball player who got into trouble. He was removed from the team, but never gave up.
However, after having his past prevent him from a promising future, Owens did something no one ex- pected. He legally changed his name to Nero. From that point on, his life changed. He went on to play basketball on a national level for about 13 years.
Then he played in Hong Kong, Sweden, and Australia. But, he decided that he would remain in Australia. He played for about 13 years and decided to remain. He worked in the healthcare in- dustry and decided to step out on his own.
He launched a personnel company entitled The 33 Axis Company, promote bas- ketball players, models, other athletes and television per- sonalities. The company op-
ROLANDO “NERO” OWENS ... Entrepreneur
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
As a teenager, Troy Le- Gette began writing poetry. Once he shared some of his creations with others, he was encouraged to continue.
He continued to write, but during the 1990s and early 2000s, LeGette decided to take his writings more seri- ously. The end result was the publication of his first book, entitled “Social Climax.” He began collecting material for the book in 1999 and finished in 2006.
The book of poetry contains encouraging and inspirational poems, as well as those that motivate.
LeGette said one of his goals is “to go back to writing as my focus is acting. I would like to return to school for that.”
A native of Trenton, New Jersey, LeGette moved to Tampa as a teenager. He at- tended Middleton Middle School and graduated from Hillsborough High School. He attended Mercer Community College and is taking classes at the University of Phoenix on- line.
TROY LEGETTE ... Author
The 42-year-old com- mutes to Bradenton, but has made Tampa his home.
His hobbies include art, music, exercising, mentoring, and volunteering.
His future plans include ex- panding his horizons through writing. He will continue to publish his materials. He self- published his first book, but plans to find a publisher for future works.
Writing poetry has led him to want to write novels and eventually screen plays. “I plan to continue to improve my writing and hope to write for magazines,” he said.
erates out of Melbourne, Australia.
“It’s been a long journey, but had I stayed in Tampa, I don’t know where I would be today,” he said.
Now, his focus is to pro- mote basketball and getting kids motivated. He has plans to expand his company into the United States.
The son of Mrs. Vivian Heyward, Owens has sib- lings he visited while in town. He also worked on plans to
expand his business.
He was accompanied by
his son, Sachem, who was on the up-and-coming list of Australian basketball play- ers. Unfortunately, injuries brought his career to an early end.
Now, Sachem is pursuing other interests. He is now a rapper and recently re- leased his first recording. He also enjoys the art of Spoken Word and has his dad’s full support.
PAGE 10 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2019