Storytime with Chazark

Former Nickelodeon child star who played a supporting character in Ned’s Classified Survival Guide is being featured all over Instagram as homeless, struggling with substance abuse and mental-health challenges. Some people took selfies with him, some offered help, and some comments even suggested forcing him into treatment or an intervention. Nobody really knows what’s going on with him until he suddenly became a “celebrity homeless” figure overnight during Christmas week. I was an extreme Nickelodeon fan myself back in my 1990s childhood years. I used to watch TV after school almost every day — until my mom decided to cut off the cable. I didn’t watch much TV during my time at FSDB from 1996 to 2003, because dorm life meant everyone competed over what to watch. I wasn’t interested in arguing over TV — I’d already dealt with enough bullying, so I just kept to myself and was fine with that. I started watching more TV again in the early 2000s, but mostly Disney Cha...

​ I don’t remember exactly what age I was when we were invited to the local African American Seventh Adventist Church for a short devotional. I believe I was around 12 to 13 years old. We each gave a short lecture on different topics that we chose to share. I chose the topic of faith. As a future preacher hopeful, I was excited that I had an opportunity to get a taste of what preaching was like, even though I wasn’t allowed to stand at the pulpit. Unlike the other kids who struggled to pick a topic to talk about, my brain was like a library of sermons, lessons, and stories that had been preached to me. So I automatically browsed the “channels” in my head and chose “Sit on the Chair in Faith” as my short devotional topic. When it was my turn, I pulled a chair and carried it to the floor. Of course, I had an ASL interpreter who voiced for me: “Do you know what faith is?” A simple message in action. All I did was demonstrate: “Look, here’s the chair. I sit,” as I sat on the chair. “It’s n...

On November 20, 2025, my legal name became Chazark Holmes Wilder. Chazark Wilder means “protected as a free man in the wilderness” and reflects my time living in Arizona. I kept Holmes as my middle name to maintain the same last-name connection with Malik and to avoid confusion. I’ll explain how I feel about the name Holmes later in this blog. Community reaction has been mixed. Most people in Tucson — MMA training friends, University of Arizona community, lifelong Tucson friends, church folks, Deaf folks — were surprised but comfortable calling me Chaz or Chazark without hesitation. It takes time to get used to. Even my godmother in New York City had no problem with it. Deep family insiders in Florida still insist on calling me Reggie. At least I did not change my name for silly reasons. I remain same person whether name is Reggie or Chazark, even though personality traits continue evolving over time as life circumstances change. I tell people they can still call me Reggi...