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# Gene Folkes
- URL: https://www.thebeyondpodcast.com/guests/gene-folkes/
- Published: 2026-08-04T08:56:24.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-10T11:48:36.000Z
- Description: US Air Force veteran turned investment banker, founder of Oshun and host of the Folk(e)s Unfettered podcast; US Apprentice contestant in 2010.
- Author: Elliott King
- Tags: guest, Gene Folkes

**Founder, Oshun / Host, Folk(e)s Unfettered**

Gene Folkes is the son of a Jamaican father and an American mother, from a family with a long history of service; his grandmother fostered fifteen children at one point. Ten years in the US Air Force, at home and in Europe, gave him the framework he still runs on, and he carried it through careers as a military recruiter and an investment banker. In 2010 he was handpicked onto the US Apprentice, and walked off rather than be coached into a manufactured narrative he felt traded on racial stereotypes.

Today he runs Oshun, a capital-raising and advisory business helping small companies take on Goliath, and hosts the Folk(e)s Unfettered podcast. On The BEYOND Podcast he talked with host and producer Aleksandra King about earned versus empty confidence, who owns your brand once you sign a reality TV contract, and a candid, non-partisan read on Trump the businessman versus Trump the man.

## Credentials

- US Air Force veteran, ten years of service at home and in Europe
- Founder of Oshun, capital-raising and advisory for small businesses
- Host of the Folk(e)s Unfettered podcast
- US Apprentice contestant, 2010

## Find Gene

- [Gene Folkes on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/genefolkes/)
- [Oshun](https://oshunx.com)
- [Folk(e)s Unfettered on Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/folk-e-s-unfettered/id1513610327)
- [Folk(e)s Unfettered on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0clX8fQ4bKKLo3C5gHpuwA)

## Their episode

*The Price of Staying True to Your Values | Gene Folkes*, on The BEYOND Podcast with Aleksandra King.

[Listen to the episode](https://www.thebeyondpodcast.com/the-price-of-staying-true-to-your-values/)