Beyond the Title: 12 Questions with Mark ‘ShaH’ Evans

Mark "ShaH" Evans

Coach, Speaker, Entrepreneur & Mentor, Wolf Pack Combat Academy, You Control You & Urban Community Arts Network

Mark “ShaH” Evans is an entrepreneur, martial arts coach, speaker, and mentor dedicated to building leaders who strengthen their communities. As owner and head coach of Wolf Pack Combat Academy and host of the You Control You Podcast, he turns lived experience into lessons in responsibility, resilience, and purpose. A survivor of childhood abuse, racism, and violence, ShaH has managed multiplatinum recording artists, coached champion fighters, helped found a nonprofit, and mentored young men involved with the Department of Corrections. His mission is to build lasting leadership through discipline, courage, and personal responsibility, guided by his message: You Control You.

01Built to Last starts with a strong foundation. What is the foundation your leadership is built on, and how do you return to it when things get shaky?

My leadership is built on You Control You: the belief that what happened to you does not have to decide who you become. We can’t choose everything we go through, but we can take responsibility for what we do next. That belief changed my life, and it also holds me accountable. I can’t teach people that they have the power to choose, then act like I have no choice when I’m angry, hurt, or under pressure.

When things get shaky, I pause and ask, “What kind of leader do I want to be, and what does that require of me right now?” That might mean being patient, having a hard conversation, or admitting I was wrong. My circumstances can shake me without changing my standards. I might not be able to fix the whole situation today, but I can take the next right step.

02Where do you come from, and how do your roots keep you steady when leadership gets hard?

I come from a childhood where abuse and racism were an everyday part of my life. I also know what it looks like to get caught up in gangs, violence, and decisions that can take your future away. But my roots also include the people who taught me discipline and helped me see another way, especially through martial arts.

Those experiences remind me that I don’t know everything someone is carrying when they walk through my door. I can hold people accountable and still care about them. When leadership gets hard, I remember how much that combination can mean to someone who is trying to find their way.

03What's a piece of advice that has stood the test of time for you, the kind you still come back to years later?

The best advice I ever got was, “Life is simple. Not easy, but simple.”

To me, that means the principles are clear. Keep your word. Take responsibility for your actions. Put in the work. Treat people with respect. None of those things come with a promise that they’ll be easy.

I still come back to that advice because difficulty doesn’t change my standards. Keeping my word might cost me something. Doing the right thing might be uncomfortable. I’m responsible for my choices either way.

04What's a book, quote, lyric, or scripture that has stayed with you and shaped how you lead or live?

“Relentless” by Tim Grover and the story of Job have both stayed with me.

Grover’s concept of a “Cleaner” connects with how I hold myself accountable. For me, that means staying ready, mentally locked in, and prepared to do the work without needing someone else to motivate me. I hold myself to being in the zone, ready to go, instead of waiting for perfect conditions. That’s the standard, and my preparation has to match it.

The story of Job speaks to holding on to faith and integrity when life tests you. Job struggled, grieved, and questioned. His story reminds me that I don’t have to understand everything I’m going through to remain committed to my faith and what I stand for.

“Standards, not expectations” ties those lessons together for me. I don’t expect life to be easy or every outcome to go my way. My standard is to stay ready, put in the work, and hold on to my faith through whatever comes.

05What's something you've had to rebuild after it broke or fell apart, and what did that teach you about building things that last?

I’ve had to rebuild myself more than once. After surviving a nearly fatal knife attack. After my divorce. After COVID disrupted my business. And after a major injury took away the use of my right foot.

Those experiences taught me that pain and discomfort can be where we grow the most, but how we move through them matters. Pain alone doesn’t make us better. We have to learn to work through it in healthy ways so it doesn’t take control of how we treat ourselves and the people around us.

What I learned is that rebuilding takes more than pushing through pain. How I handle that pain affects my family, my business, and everyone I coach. Building something that lasts starts with rebuilding myself in a healthy way, taking responsibility for who I am and being intentional about who I’m becoming.

06What's one question every leader should ask if they want to build something that outlasts them, and why?

“If I couldn’t show up tomorrow, what have I taught people to carry forward?”

That question makes you look honestly at your leadership. Have you explained why things matter? Have you given people room to make decisions, take responsibility, and learn from mistakes? Or does everything still have to go through you?

If I want the work to continue, I have to help people develop their own judgment and confidence. They need more than instructions.

07Who are you actively preparing to carry this work forward, and what are you doing to set them up to succeed without you?

Both of my kids are carrying this work forward. My daughter carries it with her as she builds her business, and my son applies it to school and sports. I’m also teaching it to the more than 150 people at my gym. They know “You Control You” is meant for them to hold themselves accountable, even when I’m not there.

At the gym, they’re part of my pack. When they leave, they go home to their own packs. What they practice with us should show up in the patience, accountability, and care they bring home.

I’m preparing them by connecting what we practice in training to how we live outside the gym. Discipline, patience, and accountability have to carry over. I want them to take those lessons, make their own decisions, and teach them to the people who look to them. That’s how the work continues without me.

08When leadership feels heavy, what do you turn to (music, travel, culture, faith) that restores you and keeps you feeling like yourself?

I turn to God and take time for peace and quiet. I spend a lot of time talking out loud to myself and God, speaking honestly about what’s on my mind. I also take time to be still and listen. Along with that, I say my mantras:

I am financially free, disciplined, secure, and capable of creating millions of dollars in value.

I feel grateful, energized, loved, and fulfilled as I build a life that positively impacts billions of people.

I do the work every day. I speak, coach, create, learn, lead, and take the actions required to become a millionaire and reach three billion people.

I love my family deeply. I create a healthy, peaceful, loyal, and loving home while showing the people around me that they matter.

I speak with courage, clarity, truth, and purpose. My message reaches the people who need to hear it and inspires them to take control of their lives.

I see myself becoming a world-class coach, speaker, leader, and businessman. I see the opportunities, relationships, and actions that move me toward my mission.

I understand that my success comes from faith, discipline, service, patience, and consistent action. The more people I help, the greater my impact becomes.

I tie those mantras together with a declaration of the life I’m working toward:

“I am so happy and grateful now that I am financially free, my family is healthy and full of love, I am one of the greatest coaches and motivational speakers in the world, and my message has helped three billion people take control of their lives.”

Then I ask myself, “What does the man who lives this life do today?”

That time brings me back to my faith, my family, and my purpose. The final question reminds me to put action behind my words.

09When you think about the legacy you want to leave, what do you hope still stands long after you've moved on?

I want You Control You to live on long after I’m gone. I want my children, my students, and people I may never meet to carry that message into their own lives: what happened to you does not have to decide who you become. Your choices matter, and you have a responsibility to yourself and the people who count on you.

I hope a student remembers how I believed in them and offers that same belief to someone else. I hope someone going through their hardest moment remembers You Control You and finds a next step forward. I want families to teach it to their children and those children to pass it on.

I want my name to mean something, but I want the work to keep helping people. That’s the legacy I’m building: You Control You being lived, taught, and passed down for generations.

10What's a small daily habit or discipline that has compounded into something meaningful over time?

Waking up at 4 a.m., doing a few chores, making coffee, taking care of my dog, and going for a walk. Those might sound like small things, but I’m stacking wins before the day gets busy. I’m following through on responsibilities and doing things for others right away.

Then I walk and talk to God. That gives me time to clear my mind, be grateful, and think about how I want to show up that day.

Over time, that routine has strengthened my discipline and given me a sense of peace. Before I get into the bigger demands of the day, I’ve already cared for my home, taken care of someone who depends on me, and made time for my faith. Those small wins add up.

11What's a moment in your life where the music playing in the background ended up meaning more than you expected, a song that showed up right when you needed it, or made an ordinary moment stick with you?

“Juicy” by Biggie. I was 14 years old, crying after my stepfather beat me with a hammer multiple times and called me the N-word. I listened to the whole song, and when the last verse came on, its message about turning your life around stuck with me. I remember thinking, “Yes. That’s what I’m going to do.”

In that moment, I started imagining a life beyond what I was living through. I didn’t know every step it would take, but I knew I wanted something different, and I believed I could create it.

That song gave me hope when I needed it. All these years later, it reminds me of that 14-year-old kid who was hurting but still believed he could build a better life.

12What's a tradition in your life or family that you hope lasts for generations?

A tradition in my family that I hope lasts for generations is sitting down together and having honest conversations. We ask each other about the best part of our day, the not-so-best part, and what surprised us. Those simple questions give everyone a chance to talk, listen, and feel heard.

Being able to gather my family, speak openly about what’s happening, and work through life together means a lot to me. I want my children to carry that tradition into their own families. I hope they create homes where people can be honest, listen to one another, take responsibility, and know they are loved, even when the conversation is difficult.

That kind of connection is worth passing down.