Following the footsteps of famous uncle, Bob Marley, health advocate Charles Mattocks is spreading the gospel of conscious living to American audiences – this time through healthy eating. From diabetes awareness to accessible healthy foods, Mattocks has been campaigning all over daytime TV, from “Dr. Oz” to “The Today Show,” educating the public about the healing benefits of good food.
“My Uncle Bob has inspired and helped the world through the message of his music,” says Mattocks. “I want to help the world through the message of my films and TV shows.”
Mattocks, a resident of Tampa and son of Marley’s sister Constance Marley, is the acclaimed dietician and personality “The Poor Chef,” celebrated for developing healthy economic meals for under $7. His foray into healthy cooking marked an unexpected turn for the filmmaker, who was inspired when he was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. In collaboration with the American Heart Association, Mattocks soon published “The Budget-Friendly Fresh and Local Diabetes Cookbook,” which explored how anyone could manage the disease through diet and exercise.
“So many people have diabetes and are confused about the appropriate diet and lifestyle to counter the disease,” says Mattocks. “This has caused too much suffering and unwarranted deaths.”
Using his background in filmmaking, he has also produced documentary “The Diabetic You,” through his film company, Halo Films. Due to be released in June, the film travels around the world to portray the plight of diabetes, and the efforts to effectively treat the disease. Mattocks also plans to bring the fight to Jamaica, with a new reality program in the works called “Reverse.” To be filmed in Jamaica and released later this year, the show features guests fighting the disease through proper diet and exercise.
“This will be similar to another reality show, ‘The Biggest Loser,’ where overweight people are challenged to lose weight,” says Mattocks. “But guests on ‘Reverse’ will be challenged to reverse diabetes.”
Through his other documentary “Trial by Fire,” Mattocks also seeks to spread awareness about a rare, painful nerve disease called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), which his mother suffers from. About 200,000 people in the U.S. and another 100,000 worldwide live with this disease, which causes excruciating pain all over the body, with no identified cure.
The documentary has been aired at film festivals across the US, including the Hollywood Film Festival in South Florida, where it won awards for Best Director and The Most Impactful Film. The film features Mattocks’ mother and her personal struggles with the disease, but “the main purpose of the film is to draw attention, especially from the medical fraternity, to the thousands suffering from this disease,” says Mattocks. “I am hoping [the film] generate a movement to advance treatment, and a possible cure for the disease.”
Mattocks is also coordinating a social media campaign to draw attention to the sufferings of CRPS victims. He has embarked on a mission to distribute the documentary widely, including through Netflix.
Mattocks, who plans to relocate to South Florida within a few months, said he’s “comfortable and motivated” – creating, producing and distributing films with “a positive effect on millions of people worldwide afflicted with disease, especially rare diseases like CRPS. You don’t have to be a doctor to help the sick, you just have to care.”
