Episode: Corey Wade – The Outcast, The Craftsman, The Everyman Within

In The Story of Everyman, we go beyond headlines and highlight reels to uncover the raw, unfiltered human stories that remind us who we are. Each week, host John Silos sits down with someone whose journey mirrors the quiet battles and victories we all share — stories that breathe, break, and rebuild what it means to live with purpose, humility, and heart.

This episode brings us face to face with Corey Wade — a man whose laughter carries both grit and grace, and whose story unfolds like a weathered map of East Texas roads. Corey was born right here in Longview, and at almost fifty years old, he’s lived through the spectrum of what small-town life can shape — the good, the bad, and the misunderstood.

From his earliest days at Pine Tree, a school long labeled as “the rich white kid school,” Corey never fit the mold. He wasn’t the cool kid, wasn’t the athlete, wasn’t the rebel smoking under the stairs. He was something else entirely — the outcast skateboarder, the one who drifted between worlds, never quite belonging but always paying attention. His story captures the feeling of growing up on the edge of acceptance, in a time when identity was shaped by what you weren’t allowed to be.

As the conversation unfolds, Corey opens up about what it meant to be “the nerdy skateboarder” — intelligent enough to be placed in the Academically Gifted Minors program, yet restless enough to walk away from it all. He talks about how curiosity became rebellion, how potential can feel like a cage when you’re too young to understand it, and how that quiet defiance shaped the man he would later become.

But The Story of Everyman is never just about where we’ve been — it’s about what we carry forward. Through laughter and reflection, Corey reveals the irony and wisdom that come with age: the realization that getting older doesn’t automatically bring serenity or understanding. It just sharpens the edges of what’s real.

In this heartfelt sit-down, John and Corey explore friendship, regret, humor, and grace — those intangible truths that link us all together under the same human sky. The episode is less an interview and more a mirror, one that shows us how easily our stories can overlap, no matter how different our paths.

The Story of Everyman isn’t about fame or fortune — it’s about the ordinary people who carry extraordinary lessons. It’s about resilience, the beauty of imperfection, and the quiet courage of showing up in your own life — again and again.

So pull up a chair, take a breath, and listen.
Because this — this is The Story of Everyman.
And today, it’s Corey’s turn to tell it.