Jose "Joser" Rosales inspires the youth of Orland to live more meaningful and positive lives.

You've got to show up

One thing Jose “Joser” Rosales learned growing up with seven brothers and sisters is that you’ve got to show up. Be it in the classroom, on the basketball court, for your family, or in time for dinner— you have to show up. By “showing up” he doesn’t mean just being there. He means being a positive participant and contributing to the situation. “There were years growing up when I was there, but I didn’t show up,” said Rosales. “Like many of us, I had to learn the hard way on how to really show up and make a difference.”

Joser, who received the nickname from a friend in third grade, learned how to apply “showing up” when he started playing basketball. “I’m telling you, basketball saved my life,” he said. “Playing led to a healthy mind and a healthy body. I found my real friends in the basketball gyms and parks when I was in school in Arizona.” As he said, you can play for fun or you can play competitively, but you’ve got to show up no matter the situation.

Like many Orland kids, Rosales had that burning desire to get the hell out of a small town. He was going to make his way into the big world and never look back. However, after a few years in Arizona and art school, he felt a desire to go back, start a business, and help local youth. The business, Explozo’s Custom Tattoos, is well-known in the area, and he has had professional athletes as customers. “You have to be a real artist to ink tattoos,” he said. His other art is

painted on the walls of the local schools— all inspirational sayings kids can read and apply to their lives.

“I used to tell kids no one cares, but they took that negatively. What I really meant and refined is, ‘No one cares until you start showing up and caring for yourself,’ and the kids relate to that.” By “kids,” Rosales means the many kids in the Orland area he has coached, starting back in 2005 as an assistant JV boys’ basketball coach. In 2010, he began coaching in the Orland Recreation Youth Program and then volunteered at C.K. Price Middle School. On top of that, he formed a team to play in the AAU Basketball program in 2020. His daughter, Cali, became super excited and began naming off friends she wanted on the team. Joser said, “I told her her friends just played the game. They weren’t necessarily players. So, we got girls from Hamilton City, Willows, and Lake and Plaza school. These were girls who wanted to compete and get better.” In other words, these were the girls who would show up. He impresses that on his other children Dayla Sol and Janio.

Recently, Rosales started an art scholarship at Orland High School. The first kid to win it: Kyle Shannon, for welding. “Kyle is not only a welder, he’s an artist. He shows up,” said Rosales. “No matter what you do in life, you have to show up.”