In the summer of 1993, Rick Jervis and Jeff Pearlman—two college journalists at the time—arrived in Nashville for a summer internship at the daily newspaper, The Tennessean. It was a dream come true, and to their surprise and delight, they were accompanied by an aspiring Oakland rapper/Grambling student named Reggie Payne. His hip-hop moniker: Sexy Sweat. Over the next eight weeks, the young men developed a bond that, Rick and Jeff believed, would last for decades. Instead, Reggie vanished from their lives—and left behind a gaping mystery. Where did he go? What did he do? In short, what became of Sexy Sweat. Thirty years later, Rick and Jeff decided to find him—and were shocked and devastated by what they uncovered.

In the summer of 1993, Rick Jervis and Jeff Pearlman&mdash;two college journalists at the time&mdash;arrived in Nashville for a summer internship at the daily newspaper, The Tennessean. It was a dream come true, and to their surprise and delight, they were accompanied by an aspiring Oakland rapper/Grambling student named Reggie Payne. His hip-hop moniker: Sexy Sweat. Over the next eight weeks, the young men developed a bond that, Rick and Jeff believed, would last for decades. Instead, Reggie vanished from their lives&mdash;and left behind a gaping mystery. Where did he go? What did he do? In short, what became of Sexy Sweat. Thirty years later, Rick and Jeff decided to find him&mdash;and were shocked and devastated by what they uncovered.

In February of 2020, a 48-year-old Black man named Reggie Payne slipped into a coma and later died after police restrained him face down on his parent’s living room floor as he cried out for help. No one filmed it on their smartphone. No footage flashed across newscasts.

Reggie’s death came and went quietly, unlike the murder of George Floyd just a couple months later. But journalists Rick Jervis and Jeff Pearlman refused to let it go. Nearly three decades earlier, Reggie, Jeff and Rick worked together as summer interns at a Nashville newspaper. While Rick and Jeff went on to enjoy successful careers in media, Reggie – who went by the hip-hop moniker “Sexy Sweat” – vanished into a cloud of mental health struggles and personal trauma.

Following his death, Rick and Jeff started digging. They wanted to find out not just the details of how their friend lapsed into a coma at the hands of police but also how Reggie – smart, engaging, dynamic, ambitious – wound up as yet another American tragedy. This is the story of Sexy Sweat.

In February of 2020, a 48-year-old Black man named Reggie Payne slipped into a coma and later died after police restrained him face down on his parent&rsquo;s living room floor as he cried out for help.&nbsp;No one filmed it on their smartphone. No footage flashed across newscasts.
Reggie&rsquo;s death came and went quietly, unlike the murder of George Floyd just a couple months later. But journalists Rick Jervis and Jeff Pearlman refused to let it go. Nearly three decades earlier, Reggie, Jeff and Rick worked together as summer interns at a Nashville newspaper. While Rick and Jeff went on to enjoy successful careers in media, Reggie &ndash; who went by the hip-hop moniker &ldquo;Sexy Sweat&rdquo; &ndash; vanished into a cloud of mental health struggles and personal trauma.
Following his death, Rick and Jeff started digging. They wanted to find out not just the details of how their friend lapsed into a coma at the hands of police but also how Reggie &ndash; smart, engaging, dynamic, ambitious &ndash; wound up as yet another American tragedy. This is the story of Sexy Sweat.

Finding Sexy Sweat

Episode 1: Exactly

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/8c4665ff-4121-4ff8-9169-b300015d1377/transcript