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Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Darren Rhodes

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The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was keep. Ritchie333 (talk) (cont) 10:48, 10 June 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Darren Rhodes

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Darren Rhodes (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) – (View log · Stats)
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Yoga teacher. This was speedily deleted as WP:CSD#A7, but is now listed here to determine notability per Wikipedia:Deletion review/Log/2016 May 1. This is a procedural nomination, I am neutral.  Sandstein  13:47, 9 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This debate has been included in the list of People-related deletion discussions. McMatter (talk)/(contrib) 16:02, 9 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Note: This debate has been included in the list of United States of America-related deletion discussions. McMatter (talk)/(contrib) 16:02, 9 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Note: This debate has been included in the list of Hinduism-related deletion discussions. McMatter (talk)/(contrib) 16:04, 9 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Note: This debate has been included in the list of Health and fitness-related deletion discussions. McMatter (talk)/(contrib) 16:04, 9 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]
This definitely includes Cunard's sources below.
1. "In the yoga world, many superlatives go along with the name Darren Rhodes. ..." ... "YogaOasis locations Call 322-6142 or go to www.yogaoasis.com ..."
2. "These top yoga teachers have dedicated themselves to their practice at an early age ..." ... "Where to find him:..."
Puff pieces, clear promotion, of growing business built around a new "style" of yoga. This is clearly organised business promotion, and Darren Rhodes aka YogaOasis should be treated as a new company and required to meet WP:CORP, which it does not. --SmokeyJoe (talk) 02:13, 12 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Journalists typically write leads that try to "entice" the reader. See the Poynter Institute's explanation:

An effective lead makes a promise to the reader or viewer: I have something important, something interesting, to tell you. A good lead beckons and invites. It informs, attracts, and entices. If there’s any poetry in journalism, it’s most often found in the lead, as in the classic opening of what could have been a mundane weather forecast:

Snow, followed by small boys on sleds.

Providing basic information about how to contact the subject if the reader is interested in learning more is good journalistic practice.

Cunard (talk) 21:25, 14 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

  • Keep per the significant coverage in reliable sources.

    Significant coverage of the subject:
    1. Vinyard, Valerie (2010-05-23). "Poster perfect: acclaimed yogi". Arizona Daily Star. Archived from the original on 2016-05-07. Retrieved 2016-05-07.

      The article notes:

      In the yoga world, many superlatives go along with the name Darren Rhodes.

      Simply put, the Tucson resident and YogaOasis owner is one of the most visible anusara yogis in the world.

      In 2008, Yoga Journal named Rhodes one of the top 21 teachers younger than 40 who are "shaping the future of yoga."

      The 38-year-old also is the face - and body -for anusara yoga, which means "to flow with grace" and was founded in 1997 by 50-year-old Houston-based John Friend.

      Millions of people have seen and imitated Rhodes' poses on the anusara syllabus poster that's sold worldwide and at YogaOasis for $25 and $35.

      The article provides over 1,000 words of coverage about the subject.
    2. YJ Editor (2008-07-02). "21 Famous Top Yoga Teachers in America". Yoga Journal. Archived from the original on 2016-05-07. Retrieved 2016-05-07. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)

      The article notes:

      Darren Rhodes is quite literally the poster boy for Anusara Yoga. You can find him on the Anusara syllabus poster, deftly demonstrating more than 345 awe-inspiring poses. His motivation for achieving such a feat wasn’t ego driven; it came from his belief that asanas create more than just physical change. “When I come across a posture I really want to do, I ask myself, ‘How do I have to shift physically, mentally, and in my heart to be able to do that?’” He adds, “I want to be able to do a posture because I know it will require transformation on all levels.”

      Rhodes grew up in a family of yogis. His mother took up the practice when he was in utero, and his father is an avid meditator. He remembers entertaining his parents’ friends by doing poses in the living room. In high school he began practicing in earnest, using a Richard Freeman video and going to local studio classes. But it wasn’t until his early 20s that he met Anusara Yoga founder, John Friend, and had one of the most shakti-filled experiences of his life. “John turned my yoga practice into a radical, rockin’ life celebration,” he says, “which is what I strive to share in my classes.”

      Yoga Journal is an established publication. See "How 40-Year-Old Yoga Journal Keeps Up With Yoga's Newfound Fanatics" from the New York Observer and "Yoga Journal Celebrates Its First 10 Years in Russia" from The Moscow Times. I strongly doubt it would publish advertorials.
    Less significant coverage of the subject:
    1. Panasevich, Jake (2014-07-30). "10 Tips for Practicing Yoga at Home". U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on 2016-05-07. Retrieved 2016-05-07.

      The article notes:

      Get inspired. A great resource for all levels of yoga practitioners is the "Yoga Resource Practice Manual" e-book by Darren Rhodes. Darren is an excellent teacher and yogi. His e-book is thorough yet concise, and it provides pictures of each posture. The pictures alone are inspirational. If you’re in it for the long haul, this is a great home-practice tool.

    2. Cushing, April (2013-04-19). "The Yoga Resource Practice Manual with Darren Rhodes. {eBook Review}". Elephant Journal. Archived from the original on 2016-05-07. Retrieved 2016-05-07.

      The article notes:

      The manual is simplicity at its best, with straightforward instructions and great use of graphics and fonts that are eye-pleasing. The eBook also makes excellent use of links, enabling the reader to easily navigate the pages. For those looking for a yoga manual that is easy to use, informative, true-to-form and with outstanding photos, then this is it.

      ...

      One disappointment about the eBook is the inability to search for a posture in the index by the English term, as it’s only alphabetized by Sanskrit titles. It could be difficult for the user to navigate the index if they are unaware of the Sanskrit terms for all 360 poses listed in the eBook. You can search for the English term under the search feature on the i-Pad version, but many users may instinctively turn to the index first.

    3. Simonson, Scott (2003-07-07). "Yoga, and foot massages, too". Arizona Daily Star. Archived from the original on 2016-05-07. Retrieved 2016-05-07.

      The article notes:

      Yoga Oasis has operated in Tucson for about eight years, said owner Darren Rhodes.

      Yoga Oasis tailors classes to a variety of styles, skill levels and interests, including pregnant women and a mommy/baby class.

      The primary influence on the classes is Anusara Yoga, Rhodes said. Anusara, meaning "to be in the flow," strives to enhance both the body and the heart.

    4. Bloom, Rhonda Bodfield (2003-12-21). "Chanting: Giving voice to yoga". Arizona Daily Star. Archived from the original on 2016-05-07. Retrieved 2016-05-07.

      The article notes:

      Darren Rhodes, owner of Yoga Oasis, said misconceptions still exist about chanting, particularly since many of the chants are to specific Indian deities. He's had some students express concern that chanting may be in conflict with their own religion.

      ...

      Rhodes has a steady group of 25 people who come to his central location for the weekly chanting gathering on Sundays, and points out that a recent concert drew nearly 400 people. He's opening a chanting class at his East Side location.

    5. Gutherie, Catherine (2013-02-15). "5 Steps to Parivrtta Paschimottanasana". Yoga Journal. Archived from the original on 2016-05-07. Retrieved 2016-05-07.

      The article notes:

      For Darren Rhodes, yoga teacher and founder of Yoga Oasis in Tucson, Arizona, yoga is more than a means of unwinding; it’s a tool for observing unhealthy patterns and working to transform them. Rhodes has witnessed such transformation in his own body: As a teen, he was diagnosed with scoliosis, or curvature of the spine, that left him in pain most days. He describes the feeling as “an eagle’s talons wrapped around the muscles on the right side of my spine.” Years of yoga helped him reduce the curvature from what was once 40 degrees to less than 10 degrees. “I’ve learned that my practice is more potent than my pattern,” he says.

      Rhodes’s message is simple yet powerful: When you become aware of unhealthy patterns in the body, you can awaken to the possibility of change. A skillful, conscious yoga practice provides the opportunity for taking an unhealthy habit and creating a new one that better serves you.

    6. Weintraub, Amy (March 2001). "Tucson Yoga Tour". Yoga Journal. Retrieved 2016-05-07.

      The article notes:

      Darren Rhodes, owner of Yoga Oasis, has been a yogi since birth (his mother practiced and taught Bikram Yoga while he was in the womb), and his studio offers a wide variety of hatha classes, including Anusara, Ashtanga, Bikram, and Kundalini.

    There is sufficient coverage in reliable sources to allow Darren Rhodes to pass Wikipedia:Notability#General notability guideline, which requires "significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject".

    Cunard (talk) 06:19, 10 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

  • I don't see how that's covers any notability requirement. The subject is: 1.) an author of a book 2.) a teacher of a branch of yoga 3.) owns a yoga studio.
1.) His book failed to meet Any of WP:AUTHOR's requirement: 1.) The person is regarded as an important figure or is widely cited by peers or successors. 2.) The person is known for originating a significant new concept, theory, or technique. or 4(c) has won significant critical attention. Having his book mentioned in an article doesn't meet "significant critical attention."
2.) He teaches a branch of Yoga, Anusara Yoga, but he departed from the school and that branch of Yoga no longer is associated with him [1]. In the words of the article, he "blew up a yoga school." A former teacher of a branch of Yoga isn't anything notable.
3.) The fact that his Yoga studio was one of the fastest growing Yoga Studio does give it a close chance to meet WP:LOCAL but, sadly, the studio's only mentioned. There's no articles exclusively about the studio.
Even on the more general WP:GNG Guidelines, there's still a lot of problems with what was presented above. The Elephant Journal was a magazine that was sold at WholeFoods which now is online only [2]. It isn't a reliable source. The Yoga Journal is a reliable source but they're mere mentions of him with a paragraph about him. They're not about him exclusively. The Arizona Star is a good source but there's only 1 article where it's exclusively about him [3]. Again, not enough to merit WP:LOCAL. All in all, the guy's a former teacher of a branch of Yoga that no longer associates with him. That's nothing notable. CerealKillerYum (talk) 01:20, 12 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Wikipedia:Notability#General notability guideline requires "significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject". It makes no mention of WP:LOCAL. The Arizona Daily Star and the Yoga Journal articles allow the subject to meet this requirement.

The Elephant Journal has editorial oversight so it is a reliable source.

The Yoga Journal article here provides three paragraphs of coverage about the subject, which is significant coverage.

SmokeyJoe's demand to treat a person as a corporation is unsupported by the guidelines. This is a biography and the reliable sources are about this person—not about his company. Wikipedia:Notability (people)#Basic criteria says, "If the depth of coverage in any given source is not substantial, then multiple independent sources may be combined to demonstrate notability; trivial coverage of a subject by secondary sources may not be sufficient to establish notability."

SmokeyJoe's smearing of journalists like Valerie Vinyard of the Arizona Daily Star for writing "puff piece[s] that should be read as non-independent promotion" is a serious charge not backed by any evidence.

Cunard (talk) 21:25, 14 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The sources are independent, in your opinion? The US news source mentions him as the author of an eBook being advertised ($24.99 in iTunes), the article is a "how to" article, authored by a colleague of the subject. --SmokeyJoe (talk) 05:45, 12 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]
I'm not seeing any ads for the book, even after turning off the ad blocker and going to the actual site. And what do you mean by colleague? Both are Yoga instructors or that they both work for the same person/company? Both being instructors isn't any type of COI that would prevent it from being independent. But if the author of the article has a financial interest in the book, that's different. Hobit (talk) 11:49, 12 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Jake Panasevich, the author of the U.S. News & World Report piece, is a Yoga trainer based in Philadelphia. (Darren Rhodes is based in Arizona.) It makes no sense to disqualify a source because the author is a "colleague of the subject" of yoga. SmokeyJoe has provided no evidence that Jake Panasevich and Darren Rhodes have a close professional affiliation, so I am assuming that "subject" refers not to Darren Rhodes but to yoga. Cunard (talk) 21:25, 14 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.
Relisting comment: Relisting to review additional sources that were provided. Nakon 18:10, 21 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Nakon 18:10, 21 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.
Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, MBisanz talk 01:17, 29 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]
  • Keep. I agree with Cunard and Nakon's views that the sources provided are sufficiently independent to the subject. The extent of coverage cited by Cunard above add up to pass notability requirements. Deryck C. 10:21, 10 June 2016 (UTC)[reply]
The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.
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