December 8, 2021 • 35 mins
From winning Dancing with the Star to starting his own book series, Rashad Jennings has done it all. And he's willing to try anything new - with the exception of swimming.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Hey, we're back with the podcast. You got a special
guest Rashan Jennings, and we're gonna be in all types
of stuff in this episode. We're gonna be talking about
magic tricks, guitar, playing a near death swimming experience, and uh,
tackling your biggest fears. And I think his high school
story is gonna turn to a movie one day, so
I stay tuned. Something that every player needs to think about. Uh,
(00:28):
something I definitely thought about. It's not a bad thing
to think about. It is the word transition and one
thing about life you gotta always be able to adapt.
And somebody that I'm learning about it's a guest with
us today is I think someone who's transitioned really well.
And I want to get his pick his brain about it.
But former number twenty three, he had the jersey before me. Um,
(00:52):
so I'm trying to rep him well. But Rashan Jennings, Man,
what's going on? What's happening? Man? I appreciate you having
me on. Yes, you you up in a well definitely.
So how how are the holidays for you? Because like
the holidays for me, it's crazy. It's always about around football,
Like I've been playing football since I was six, and
Thanksgivings football and everyone's home on Thanksgiving and I'm normally
(01:14):
playing where I had practice that day. And Christmas for
me is my favorite holiday, and I've had practice on Christmas.
I've traveled on Christmas. So tell me, what do you
remember when you were playing with the holidays? Based on
now that you're done playing with the Holidays, how's it
changed for you? Big time difference, man. I remember, like
you said, when we play, when you're playing the game,
(01:36):
you gotta travel so much. You have to be able
to put your job first. And quite often I hated
like separating my family where you know, maybe my mom
and dad would want to come to whatever respective team
I was with, but then the rest of the families
back at home. So I really just have all them there,
you know, and I just be only one missed out.
So uh now I'm a little bit more laggical and
(01:59):
what I'm able to eat too around the dinner table. Yeah,
I ain't gotta wake up in the morning and run
from oversized man. So it's definitely I've got back. I've
got a chance to really catch up on all the
things that I've minist otia over the years and the
course of my career. You don't have to worry about them.
Friday ways, you know, uh Friday That that sneaky way
(02:21):
for a quick fine edge on the worst. Man, I
missed a couple along the way, but not too many.
Now have you played, because I haven't played. Have you
played that Thanksgiving game? Yes? A couple? Um, yeah, every
time I play on thans Giving games. It's just somewhere.
It goes on, even from college, like football it was
negative seven degrees college football, right, And then to get
(02:44):
in the NFL. Every time I play Thanksgiving, one time
I got a concussion. The next time I had a
crazy injury like some always happens on Thanksgiving. So I'm
glad like to sit back and watch and not be
out on the field worried if I'm gonna it hurt.
Now I feel that's true. I mean college, I probably
(03:04):
had a couple. You know, the season ends and you're
in the league, and now we're playing seventeen games, and
like you see like college coaches dipping in other jobs
and their seasons done. You're like, man, we still got
six seven games to go. Like this is really when
you want to like start hitting your stride as a
player as as an organization. This is the time you
got making push high school. You're done, you're starting basketball college.
(03:29):
We're gonna waiting for your bowl game, you know. And
the NFL is such a longer season. Man, it's just
so different. I came explain it to people who don't know,
like how long this season has compared to what you're
used to come out of high school and college. Yeah,
and then you got the mental aspect of that too,
along with the physical and like it's especially as a
young buck coming into the game. I mean, it's the worst.
(03:51):
First you think you I came in with attitude. I
thought it was gonna get cut every day. Man, at
some point the grand Reaper was gonna come say, you
know what, I appreciate you as playbook. And so you
always on the edge. You always feel like you gotta
prove yourself. Um, and even as you get older, you
still you feel that's of it because you understand the
business a little bit more. You know, you don't get cut.
(04:13):
You can you can you can you can check it out,
you can, you can proceee it a little bit. There's
some surprise, but you kind of see how the roster's built.
You kind of know when you got security or don't.
But you're right, you gotta feel like you gotta prove
it every every year. I'm on a one year deal,
like seriously, because I'm like, all, I just signed this
new deal, but shoot, next year, you know, my guarantee
money's up. So I definitely gotta show you know, It's
(04:34):
like every year is a long year deal. So I
want to talk a little bit, you know, about your career.
You're in different spots. How I look at my career
as chapters, right, I wasn't. I'm in my third organization.
I'm in my ninth year. I had four New England.
I came in and I was a pupil and I learned.
I just took in so much's information. I learned how
to win. I learned how to the situational football of
(04:56):
the game. I learned the team element of the game.
Um all the team, the team, the team over there.
As you know, I really learned a lot in that chapter.
And then my next chapter free with the Tennessee and
I kind of I kind of blossom as a leader.
I blossom as a as a guy got paid and
ranging see him and those pressures of having to perform
when you you know, when you're known, are supposed to
(05:18):
and then just signed with the Giants last year. And
this is kind of the chapter. I'm like the O
g like second oldest on the team. Guys are born
in the year two thousand, now, you know, just young, young, young,
younger league and you just kind of show them kind
of like the VET. I still got it, but I'm like,
(05:38):
I definitely feel like the VET in a sense of
my experiences. These guys, some of them never been to
a playoff game. I was fortunate to be in some
Super Bowls. Some of them never played winning football consistently.
Someone are still trying to find a stride. So I
kind of have like these chapters that I you know,
I'm a storytelling I kind of these chapters of my careers.
Tell me about your career. How you look back at
it from from the back end? Go, yeah, sure, appreciate
(06:00):
that question too. I look at it as you know,
where I'm from. I'm from a little small town, Force,
Virginia's is it's self explainat or Forced Virginia. I'm from
the country. I grew up understanding the animals before people
with that in mind, I'm small town, right, and so
Jacksonville my first chapter to the NFL. It's is a
(06:23):
bigger place than where I'm from, a huge in comparison. Um,
you got the beach, you know. I'm not used to
all these opportunities. That's really out there from where I'm from.
I went to Liberty University as well, which is ten
minutes from my house, so not that much exposure, you know.
Then the next chapter, I went to the Oakland Raiders,
which is a bigger market. I lived in Alameda. I
(06:43):
could see how contrash from where I was living at
San Francisco. Right there, I got a chance to go
to Facebook meets zuccab Like, it's bigger, right, I'm meeting
more people networking and the boom. I go to New York,
the mecca of everything. So I feel like I was
baby transitioned into um more life experiences, um, rather than
just coming from a low town to New York, you know.
(07:06):
And so I was prepped to appreciate it more, especially
as a veteran, understand how the NFL is very quick
and short, and how to how to how to kind
of like set up yourself for after football. Um. So
that's really I'm thankful that my trim My chapters in
the NFL. We're kind of on a roller coaster constantly
going up. Yeah, no doubt. Look, they sent me a brief, man,
(07:29):
I know, I know you, know of you and who
you were, and I believe we played against each other
and a lot of respect game plan against you. And
they sent me a quick little like bio resume, like here,
who's here, who, here's who's joined in, who we like,
and here's some stuff he did. You can hit on it.
You work with the you know, the Asthma Allergy Allergy
(07:50):
Association of America. You won Dancing with the Stars, you
have a new gaming adventure, you have a young adult
book series, acting job, acting gigs like, Man, I mean
he didn't he didn't let the NFL ruin you do
you transition quick? So when did you start working? When
did you start realizing like, yo, I have more talent
than just being a running back, and I want to
(08:11):
get paid for this one day and I want to
use my platform. When did that start fro you in
the process? Man, wore the start that conversation. So I
kind of say, I honestly, I always felt that way
whether it was in a position of at the time
when I was young, cocky that I could do everything.
(08:35):
I had the ambitions to do everything, but I realistically
was not in a position to do nothing. Um. I
had a point six g p A. In high school.
I was a fifth string running back, was overweight, chubby kid,
you know, like it. I was not set to do
much right. And so there was a trigger where I
started taking ownership of responsibility in my life and I
(08:57):
put myself more in the drive the seat. And that
tell me, tell me what. Yeah, that particular trigger, because
it was a couple, but this particular one, you know,
it's pretty funny. I make the story kind of quick though.
But was fifth string running back high school. We played
against a high school rival, um, last game of the season.
I never played one staff of high school football at
this point, bro. So this is kind of like our
(09:19):
super Bowl. If they beat us, they go to the
they go to the playoffs. If we beat them, they're out.
So it's like we gotta beat them. So when I
tell you I never played so much the top pass
and you need pass and the hit paths. I used
to take them out before every game and stuck it
with feminem's you know, sprite can't like. I was set
up for the front row ticket to watch the game.
(09:39):
Me and my buddy's name was Speedy. He never earned
his name at all. He was terrible, but um so
we was on the sideline. Quick story man. First string
goes out, he gets hurt, and there was a Tennessee
Scott to come watch him because he was really good.
Spencer Freeman's baller. First string got hurt, he comes out,
Second string goes goes in, he gets hurt. Third string
(09:59):
go and he gets hurt. All this in the first quarter.
Fourth string goes in. This guy gets hurt. First quarter.
I can't make none of this stuff up. So I'm
sitting on the sideline like you know, I'm fit right,
I'm fifth only because we got four running backs. That's
you know, they just gave me a number. Just shut
up and get up my face. So coach Skins Scott sidelines.
(10:21):
He gets a wide receiver and throws him in instead
of me. He goes in, he gets hurt. Can't make
it up, bro, So they have no choice but to
put me in. I go out there. I'm scrammed up
on a random helmet. I don't even know where I
put mine. It's you know, dirty mouthpiece. I don't know
whose it is. A rip it out. I got like
residue and we got white pants so you can see
eminem's three s all over my pants and stuff. You're
(10:44):
not going in the pants. Yeah, and uh, you know,
the teammates like the shout, what's you doing? I'm like
everybody hurt. We gotta go baby. First play, it was
just a counter. I get the ball, dirty yard touched down.
I come back to the sideline. I'm crunk, I'm damp.
You can't tell me nothing right. I chest about my boy.
(11:05):
He falls like it's a moment, and uh, you know,
they decided to put me in. Later on in the game,
I score another touchdown a similar situational defense. Guys kept
getting hurt left and right. Uh, they put me in
my first playing defense. Sacked the quarterback, he fumbles to
pick it up. Nobody's in front of me. Thirty y'all.
Touchdown and it's fourth quarter. They got one minute, they
(11:28):
got the ball. They gotta do is run the clock out. Um.
I don't know what they were thinking, but they came
out run the ball. We we we shut him down
running ball, shut him down. We called time out again,
keep calling time out, third down, and it's about like
five and it's thirty seconds left. All I got to
do his room. One more play and kind of take
it home. I don't know why they decided to run
(11:49):
the screen. I'm playing defense in I sniffed the screen out,
he throws it, I intercepted, taking in for a touchdown.
We went and walk off right first time I ever
played high school football. Four touchdowns sewing office, two in defense.
The Tennessee scout became and saw that started running back,
saw me, and he came on to me and he says, son,
(12:11):
you got potential. How your grades? And I told him
I had a point six and he said, you got potential,
get your grades right now for the first time. Run.
That's the That's the first time anybody ever told me
you got potential. Not believe in you outside of my
family and my parents. But that goes one the other.
And so I transferred high schools. I repeated my junior year, repeated.
(12:33):
I took all my home school classes, summer school classes
on top of the regular academics, and I never turned
that attitude around it When opportunity presents itself too late
to prepare. So you gotta get a movie deal after this,
because that story is crazy, bro. It's just never I
mean I've seen something. I've seen some kids in high
school had no business playing ball with polos under their uniform.
(12:56):
You know. I see some kids with some you know,
capri stawing over the pants, but I never seen no,
no eminem's in the sprite in the game pants. That's
the first. Bro, That's an absolute first. And I didn't
get you stay with the story of I get what
you're saying with the story because I couldn't be any different. Man,
Like when I touched the rock as a kid, I
was a baller quarterback since growing up, I was going
(13:19):
crazy four or five touchdowns of the game. And I
had a coach tell me when I was nine ten
years old at the game, I see the NFL one day.
So that potential, when someone sees that potential, man, that's
that's what it. That can go along with it For
you to tell that story now after everything you accomplished,
I mean, that game was crazy before that one coach
and say that to you at scout um. It's a
(13:39):
true thing. With that positive that manifestation that positivity can
do for somebody. Absolutely, man, absolutely, and I carried that
with me today. And that's why I utilized my platform,
I'm sure as well as you do. You know, quite
off to tell people, it's not too much special about me.
It is more so that I'm in a special position.
(14:00):
And so if I could utilize that to be a
magnifying glass towards things I believe in and being a
voice for it, I want to do that. So you'd
be surprised, just an encouraging word where it can how
that resonates with that individual and they hold on to
that moment for life. So so tell me, you know.
And when I came, when I came to New York Giants,
it was it was strategic. It was a place where
(14:22):
I was able to choose my place a little bit,
choose my spot over some other teams. And I knew,
I knew the platform I could do so much for me.
I knew it was a pressure cooker, and I wanted that.
I thought that opportunity was great. I thought the opportunity
to I was doing a lot of things, and I
was doing a ton of things that the Animal Foundation,
I started a police reformed company with my father. UM.
(14:44):
I had a radio show going on. UM. I was
playing really at a high level, but I was in
Tennessee and the market was so small, and I had
to almost self promote myself so much, like on this
and on that, I got this and I didn't. I'm
not like it. I don't like being a self promoting
hype man. I don't listen to the podcast when I'm
done on I haven't. I mean, I think they're great.
I don't even listen to him. I don't watch my interviews.
(15:05):
I get awkward watching myself talk. I wish I would
have said that it is sometimes I only like watch
myself one film. You know. I had that embarrassment. But
I was like, yo, I'm ready from for New York.
I'm from New Jersey. Originally I knew what it was
like growing up here on the NFC East is the
greatest division of playing, as you know, the tradition of
the fan basis. So tell me what New York did
(15:26):
for you and how you use New York to your advantage. Yeah, absolutely, man.
And similarly, when I looked at the options, you know,
I started thinking about big picture, and I knew that
the magna fund glass of New York would allow, and
the mecca of it, the echalon of it, um, the
history of it, the trajectory of it. Anything you say
(15:49):
cannon will be held against you, good or bad. That
if if if, if, if I'm giving a megaphone, I
can speak what I choose. So that's kind of how
I saw the opportunity of New York. Also, you know,
to get a chance to play under some leadership Tom
Coughlin at the time, and like so it was played
with ELI and so it was real procedures for myself
(16:10):
and I fit. I fit that, I fit the mold
of what they were trying to accomplish at the time.
I loved it. I loved every minute there. I loved
every second. Fan base people um, the networking ability UM.
And I really honestly think that that, you know, especially
at that particular time of my career, kind of I
became a giant, truly, like from the staple of you know,
(16:32):
how you carry yourself, how you how you present yourself,
what you're about, what you're stand for. But how I
used it was playing ball, baby, you know how that go.
It's it's cold like that ball and you know, it's uh,
it's fun though, like it's it's such a good time
to play in New York when you win. It especially
sure for me again you know with ESPN with uh,
(16:56):
you know, writing books and getting into carts, tunes and um,
all the things that I really dabbling. Man. That was
one thing did in the NFL. While I played every
single all season, I picked up a new art and craft.
The first off season I picked up a guitar until
I learned how to play right. And then the next
off season I pick up magic tricks. So the whole
off season I study how to do magic tricks a
(17:17):
low straining from am to one pm all day. And
then the next off season I picked up archery, Olympic style, fencing, um,
all these things. And you know it's ironic. I danced
What the Stars Happened because I think that happened because of,
you know, in part being in New York. UM. One
particular day, I was walking down Manhattan and TMZ pulled
(17:38):
up on me for no reason with the camera and
I had my headphones on, just kind of doing one
of these things, and he was like, every set, looks
like you got some great dance moves. Look you ever
thought about doing dance, but the stars and the cameras
on me, I'm just like, yeah, sounds great. I never
even knew what dancing what the stars was at that time.
I just said right, and um, somehow they got wave
of that, and the next year a couple other relationships
(18:01):
happened to make it make sense. So you know, I'm like,
only in New York. That's the reason I've always found myself.
New York has been able to put my little name
beside major names when it's probably ship That's like, it
seems to me like you just if you, like you said,
picking up a craft and and and and learning something new,
(18:25):
you have a learner's mentality, beginner's mentality. Where does that?
Where does that courage come from? Because dancing with the
stars out of our norm Like, I don't know if
I'm ready for dancing stars yet. I've done some dancing
for my game. I've done something this for my game,
like I've tried to I try to do some stuff
to utilize my game. I didn't do magic tricks and
(18:45):
archery or anything like that. You're trying to actually learn
something new, but that takes so much courage. Were you
ever afraid like a failure. How do you how do
you overcome that fear of failure or something new? I
love truly being a novice in the room. It's intrinsic
to me. I'm I'm drawn to setting in an arena
(19:06):
on a room from the most unaware of person when
it comes to the subject at hand or the talent
that should be exposed. Because the type of attitude I
have is I'm not gonna be that for long. Puts
me in a position of humility. It puts me in
a position of hearing it like it puts it puts
you back to an elementary route of let me absorb information.
(19:28):
So like when it came to dancing, I ain't gonna
lie to you, bro, I signed up because I didn't
know what I was signing up for. I'm gonna just
keeping abut like I said, I've never seen the show
prior to going on. So this is how it even happened.
So that off season, I'm I'm shilling down and fought
out of their FLOORID I trained people arena and and
and every single off season eight to one pm, and
(19:51):
I go into one of my friends house. It was
a big shin dig I had a party watch the TV,
eating and having a good time, and a commercial ca
and more. And the commercial came onto where these people
were dancing. It looked really good, like you want the
regular like normal club dance and hip hop or nothing.
They looked real smooth, and I was like, yo, what
in the world that they doing? I want to learn that, right,
(20:15):
And one of my friends, she happened to know what
kind of dance they were doing, so she said, oh,
I didn't do on the child shot. I said, what
the heck is a child shot? She said, oh, this
ballroom dancing, And what the heck is ballroom dancing? Right?
I know nothing of this, So I got the bright
out there. You know what, I'm gonna learn how the
ballroom dance this all season. Sure enough, the very next day,
(20:35):
right after the workout session, I walked into a ballroom
studio and I go in there with a tank top one.
I don't know the coach, I don't know anything. Right,
opened the door, Dan, everybody's like this all grateful, quiet, fatigue,
and you know, you got this big burley dude coming there.
And I didn't even know how to ask properly. She said,
(20:57):
she said, can we help you. I said, yeah, I'm looking.
I'm looking for the child shot like as a person, right,
And so she was like, sir, you're trying to learn
how to dance and the chot cha. I said yes, ma'am,
and she pulled me over theside. She said, well, we
don't have any availability into two weeks from the day.
(21:17):
That was like no problem at all. She said, you
want public or private lessons? I said, definitely private. I
don't want about saying this. I said, okay, I'll be
back in two weeks a week from that day. Theydn't
need to get to two weeks a week from that
day dance with the Stars calling it happened. So my
very first lesson ever was actually on the show, and
I and our very first dance was a child chot
(21:38):
So my head is very serendifferent and something like, you know,
guy just kind of looked out. I was like, hey,
I got something real special for you. Want to learn
the chatti luck? A week after week after week, man,
I was just learning new dances and new arts, and
I really really really became intrigued by for two fold one.
You know, I'm a hope for romantic man. Truly, I
actually I am in currently um getting my masters and
(22:01):
uh marriage canceling. I went to school psychology and sociology.
I have an aspiration to be a marriage cancelor down
the road. I feel like that's the most beautiful article
of clothing you can wear his love. And I'm philanthropically driven.
Most communities that I go in that are broken typically
have broken homes and broken marriages. And most communities that
(22:23):
go in that are healthy. When I go to these
schools and stuff, they have healthy marriages. So there's something there.
All in all, man dancing with just started going back
to like that fear of going into the unknown. I
actually looked forward. Um, as long as it's not swimming,
that's the only thing I ain't doing because I can't
do I can't figure that without But anything else in life, man,
(22:45):
I love being a novice in the room. Appreciate appreciating that,
that that feeling that beginning. I mean, what we learned
a sports relates to so much in life, like stuff
that I learned from Kobe Bryant, Like all right, beginner's mentality.
I'm take a notebook out at every meeting. Like Peyton
Manning said that he had a pen and paper out
every meeting. He was five minutes alo, and he watched
practice film after every practice before they walked, before they
(23:07):
went over it. You know what I'm saying, And that
preparation for everything. I mean, you're you're eight, you know,
you're like bro, I don't want to take notes today,
like I got. It's the same install But that leads
to off the field, that leads to business, that leads
to this at least to that that beginner's mentality is
what you're talking about. M H. And so also habits man,
that's saying that create your habits, and then your habits
(23:29):
create you for six days for a new habit. But
I'll tell you my story about swimming, man, I'll tell
you my story about swimming so I can swim. I'm
in Hawaii this off season with my wife. I'm going
to a wedding. I'm going to a friend's wedding. And
there's this little cove and this cove um, I would
wake up six am every day and I'll look out
my balcony and had this had a beach and it
(23:52):
was really calm water. And I mean, it's Hawaii is beautiful.
My favorite players almost ever been And I saw people
swimming across, said every single day. I don't know how
deep this is in the middle, but it's probably like
two hundred yards swim. I never swim three hundred yards.
I was like, man, I could swim like you know whatever. Wednesday,
I was like, man, I gotta swim that before I
go like, I gotta just accomplish it, like I gotta
(24:15):
swim across. I see older people, I see women, I
see kids doing it. I'm like, man, I gotta do it.
My wife goes out for a night swim one night
and she does it. She she does after like after
the wedding, a couple of drinks in she knocks it out.
So I was like, I'm the last one left. I'm
like the last one this winning. I'm like, I gotta
hit it. So so bohm. I swim out there and
(24:37):
I'm just head down, like just you know, focus on
stoking time, like head down and I look up and
I'm dead center of it. Bro. If I go left,
it's equal distance for me going backwards. I go inland forward.
I am the dead apex center. Bro. It is like deep,
like it ain't no you can bounce up. I am
(24:58):
dead in the middle. Bro, And there's a boat coming
in and out that people are going to go like
um snorkeling or whatever. And a boat's coming and it's
honking at me to get out the way. So I'm
dead center. I need a break. I'm rest, I'm treading water,
but I'm fighting the boats coming. I float back and
(25:19):
a boat's waves kind of pushes me back, and I'm panic.
I'm like, nah, dude, I'm not gonna die in front
of like little kids at a nice holiday resort like
in Hawaii. So I'm like, I like, I bang a left.
I'm I can't make it. I can't make it. And
I start like fighting and I'm not I'm not talking
about no nice swimming no more. I'm talking about survival swimming.
(25:41):
And I started going under the water and try to
swim under the water because I just can't keep my
head above. And I somehow, Bro, I swear like fault
fault from my life, got to the end of this,
got back to the beach, crawled in army, crawled and
just laid on my back and like a kid's making
a sand castle. And I almost died. And I I'm like, bro,
(26:04):
my ambition almost killed me. And I walked back to
my wife and she didn't even see it, Bro, like
it was in front of anybody. And I walked and
she said, how was it? He didn't see my almost
died and sheeting off for real and I was like, yeah, Yo.
Ever since that moment, dude, I had a shorter breath.
I had to go to breath work after that because
(26:24):
that that moment brought me anxiety to this day. And
I told my wife, you know, I want to take
swimming classes because I want to go back to the
line and do that swim. I have to. I have
to tackle you, Bro, I have to. So if I
ever I tell you, I have to tell you this.
If I ever see you mean you're gonna go for
a swim, Dude, We're gonna do it. We gotta tackle
that fear man. I gotta go get it. Bro. Couldn't
(26:46):
mess me up. And I'd be in the game sometimes
doing that breath like, Yo, why am I breathing like this?
I never breathed like this during the game. I'm chilled
during the game. But I felt like I had that anxiety, bro,
because it was a real near death experience and that trauma.
I really had to do some work in meditation and
therapy to like let it go. You know what I'm saying.
My breath became shorter because of it. Man, that's crazy. Bro, Hey,
(27:11):
that's a crazy story man. The fact that you you
want to go right back out there. You know what,
that's the side I'm gonna tell you, right, you know
that's the side. That's a side of a couple of things,
but one of them that proves an athlete. I had
this conversation with somebody about They were like, how do
you define an athlete when when when they get hurt,
break something, almost die and the first thing they think
(27:34):
about when they come to is how do I get
back in the position to do that again? Yeah? Yeah,
yeah bro? Literally deep And now I know when they
say in boxing, take take them a deep water, take
them to take them to the tenth round, taking a
deep water and drive. I got the deep water, bro,
And I didn't trust myself. I could have made it across.
(27:57):
What my whole point was. It took me justice farnest
swim back, but I panic. I lost myself, I lost
my breath, I got outside of my body and I feared.
I feared for my life for real, and I could
have finished it. My wife was like, you were dead
middle you probably just could have swim across and finished.
But I got my head about it. So me, I
gotta do the training. I gotta go tackle it because
(28:17):
it's just a fear I don't want to live with
for the rest of my life. And I gotta go.
I gotta go tackle it. I gotta go tackle things
I'm not good at because it's gonna give me that
much more freedom. I don't want to be tied to
my fears in this life. Man. I was. I've accomplished
way more than I ever thought. I accomplished absolutely, man.
And you really gotta do it too, because that's gonna help.
I mean, Patt a really amazing story in an illustration
(28:42):
for you, so of of being centered of of an ocean,
all right, center of a choice, you know, center of
anything where it takes just as much effort to turn
around as it does apply off through that that I
think like psychologically, you know, you know you talk about trauma.
(29:06):
What's the opposite of trauma? Right, That's gonna get you
so much more belief you know, and and things that
you already know. Right. Uh, So I can't wait yeah,
I can't wait to hear you know when you actually
do cross, we might have to uh me and you
might have to go do it together man, and go
film it just for the record. You know you said
(29:28):
we could go and film it. I'll be the first one.
I will film it on the boat while you swimming
to pull me out, me out man, Hey, man, I
didn't grew up swimming like that. I was in a
four foot pool. So I'm gonna go. I'm gonna do
the training. I'm a tackling for conditioning and uh I'm
(29:48):
gonna get better at him, and I'm gonna work on it,
and I'm gonna I'm gonna talk to you one day
and tell you that I did it. Man, that's gonna be.
This's a cool thing off my list of something to accomplish,
you know, for Shure, for shore and people. When I
go in the locker room, I'm like and I tell people,
I'm like, yo, why don't you just go get it?
Like what you're talking about? I'm like, what you want?
Why don't you go get it? And they're like, well,
where is it at? And I said, right right up,
(30:11):
right up on the other side of the mountain, like
you don't realize how close you are sometimes, bro go
get it like you can get what you want in life. Man,
you gotta believe it, and you gotta go do it.
And when it gets the hardest and it gets bleak,
and it gets dark and it gets cold and you're
in dead middle of the water, you gotta that's when
you gotta trust in yourself to go push that much
further because it's right over right over top of that
(30:32):
mountain top. Absolutely, man, you got a lot of great stuff.
I think me and you can can chat for a while.
But look your work with the Asthma Allergy Association of America, Man,
tell me about that. Tell me about those kids, and
and and kind of kind of your calls, and I'm
sure it's close to you. Yeah, man, so um. I
(30:52):
had asthma when I was younger, big time. I actually
was hospitalized because of asthma when I was thirteen. My
father used to drink and smoke heavily all the time.
I'm the youngest, three, I'm not the baby, just the youngest.
We had a baby. It's not me. My dad was
in the Air Force. He went through a real dark time.
(31:14):
You know. It was a point where he just turned
the drinking and smoking. So I grew up with that father.
He was always there, just always drinking and smoking. He
never really added too much values to the conversation, never
really talked to me about any depth of birds and
the bees, throwing the ball with me, catch take me
out like it was. That just never existed. And the
smoking is one of the things that triggered my asthma.
(31:36):
It was one particular time most hospitalized and I was
on you know, hooked up to tubes and things blowing
through a peak floor. It's only going a centimeter and
I'm fighting and scrapping for my life, my breath much
less what I accomplished too much in life. And the
doctors came in and they sat out with my family
(31:56):
and myself and talked to the severe any of it.
Doctor told my father, Hey, it will behoove you to
quit smoking around your son is triggering his asthma. And
I come home and my dad starts smoking outside and
things were okay until about two weeks later He's tripled
his way back in the house. So he's smoking back
(32:18):
in the house and I'm downstairs and I could smell
the smoke seeming through the vent. I started to choke
up because of it, and I knew my dad just
saw how I was pretty much on my deathbed. So
I'm like bothered by that too, that he's smoking in
the house and put a pill over my face. I'll
go upstairs knock on his door. His doors closed like
it always is. He doesn't answer that. I opened the door.
(32:40):
He's in the corner, drinking and smoking like he always does,
and you know, thirteen years old, these big red rimmed glasses.
I pulled a pill off my face and I said, hey, Dad,
can you stop drinking and smoking to be there for me?
And he took a puff of his smoke, sip of
his drink. He looked dead at me. He said, what
you wanna do when you get older? And uh, this
(33:03):
is the first time my dad ever asked me that. Right,
So I'm happy because they're like, get to have this conversation.
The other half. I can see how it's just arrogantly
on his face. So I still take my chance and
I tell him, I said, Dad, I want to play
running back in the NFL. And he took him puff
up with smoke, sip of his drink, and he said,
(33:24):
do you think you'd be able to make it to
the league without drinking and smoking your damn self. Kind
of like, who are you to ask me and my
own home not to And I looked down with tears
of my eyes and I said, Dad, just to prove
me wrong, I'm never gonna do it. And today I'm
thirty six, I'll never drink. I call damn my life.
Never smoked, damn my life, not against it, um, I
(33:44):
just it was just to prove him wrong, right, And
it's UH. Through that relationship, he watched his little knucklehead
care prove wrong here and I'm quit drinking and smoking himself.
We salvaged an amazing relationship and was always chasing his
love and I finally got it towards an end. But
I say that to talk about like asthma to me,
(34:07):
um asthma, I think kind of saved my life because
I had to focus on breath and had to focus
on eating right, and had to focus on all these
things uh to that ended up and enabling me to
be very successful with something else. You know, I do
a lot of work with UH asthma and also diabetes association,
(34:30):
because you know those are those are some conversations especially
in African American communities, has not talked about enough and
so I like to, you know, be a voice in
having those conversations. And I do stuff every single all
season with asthma and diabetes Association of getting screwed, people screened,
getting the magicated, along with Penny literacy and a lot
(34:52):
of stuff to do with the foundation. Now, man, you're
a great role model, um to teach the athletes people transition, Man, transition,
what's next? Let's come and you gotta keep adapting, keep
pushing yourself. And I'm not the editor producer of this podcast,
but this episode is gonna be called why not you
whyy not? You know? Why not put yourself in those positions?
What's the worst thing can happen? So I appreciate it, dude.
(35:14):
Like I said, I had a couple of questions, but
we went off topic into some real life stuff that
I think. Um, I'm happy it came out, man, So
I appreciate the opportunity to get the interview. You get
to know you all good man. So I appreciate you. Dog,
appreciate your dope, my favorite one yet man, super super
intriguing dude. And you definitely you definitely taught me to
(35:37):
go chase some things, and go tackle some things I'm
not good at, and learn some new stuff. Thanks for
joining us from the NFL Players Podcast. Don't forget to
subscribe and follow at NFL Players podcast on Instagram for
the latest players stories and to connect with the NFL
Players community
Hey, we're back with the podcast. You got a special
guest Rashan Jennings, and we're gonna be in all types
of stuff in this episode. We're gonna be talking about
magic tricks, guitar, playing a near death swimming experience, and uh,
tackling your biggest fears. And I think his high school
story is gonna turn to a movie one day, so
I stay tuned. Something that every player needs to think about. Uh,
(00:28):
something I definitely thought about. It's not a bad thing
to think about. It is the word transition and one
thing about life you gotta always be able to adapt.
And somebody that I'm learning about it's a guest with
us today is I think someone who's transitioned really well.
And I want to get his pick his brain about it.
But former number twenty three, he had the jersey before me. Um,
(00:52):
so I'm trying to rep him well. But Rashan Jennings, Man,
what's going on? What's happening? Man? I appreciate you having
me on. Yes, you you up in a well definitely.
So how how are the holidays for you? Because like
the holidays for me, it's crazy. It's always about around football,
Like I've been playing football since I was six, and
Thanksgivings football and everyone's home on Thanksgiving and I'm normally
(01:14):
playing where I had practice that day. And Christmas for
me is my favorite holiday, and I've had practice on Christmas.
I've traveled on Christmas. So tell me, what do you
remember when you were playing with the holidays? Based on
now that you're done playing with the Holidays, how's it
changed for you? Big time difference, man. I remember, like
you said, when we play, when you're playing the game,
(01:36):
you gotta travel so much. You have to be able
to put your job first. And quite often I hated
like separating my family where you know, maybe my mom
and dad would want to come to whatever respective team
I was with, but then the rest of the families
back at home. So I really just have all them there,
you know, and I just be only one missed out.
So uh now I'm a little bit more laggical and
(01:59):
what I'm able to eat too around the dinner table. Yeah,
I ain't gotta wake up in the morning and run
from oversized man. So it's definitely I've got back. I've
got a chance to really catch up on all the
things that I've minist otia over the years and the
course of my career. You don't have to worry about them.
Friday ways, you know, uh Friday That that sneaky way
(02:21):
for a quick fine edge on the worst. Man, I
missed a couple along the way, but not too many.
Now have you played, because I haven't played. Have you
played that Thanksgiving game? Yes? A couple? Um, yeah, every
time I play on thans Giving games. It's just somewhere.
It goes on, even from college, like football it was
negative seven degrees college football, right, And then to get
(02:44):
in the NFL. Every time I play Thanksgiving, one time
I got a concussion. The next time I had a
crazy injury like some always happens on Thanksgiving. So I'm
glad like to sit back and watch and not be
out on the field worried if I'm gonna it hurt.
Now I feel that's true. I mean college, I probably
(03:04):
had a couple. You know, the season ends and you're
in the league, and now we're playing seventeen games, and
like you see like college coaches dipping in other jobs
and their seasons done. You're like, man, we still got
six seven games to go. Like this is really when
you want to like start hitting your stride as a
player as as an organization. This is the time you
got making push high school. You're done, you're starting basketball college.
(03:29):
We're gonna waiting for your bowl game, you know. And
the NFL is such a longer season. Man, it's just
so different. I came explain it to people who don't know,
like how long this season has compared to what you're
used to come out of high school and college. Yeah,
and then you got the mental aspect of that too,
along with the physical and like it's especially as a
young buck coming into the game. I mean, it's the worst.
(03:51):
First you think you I came in with attitude. I
thought it was gonna get cut every day. Man, at
some point the grand Reaper was gonna come say, you
know what, I appreciate you as playbook. And so you
always on the edge. You always feel like you gotta
prove yourself. Um, and even as you get older, you
still you feel that's of it because you understand the
business a little bit more. You know, you don't get cut.
(04:13):
You can you can you can you can check it out,
you can, you can proceee it a little bit. There's
some surprise, but you kind of see how the roster's built.
You kind of know when you got security or don't.
But you're right, you gotta feel like you gotta prove
it every every year. I'm on a one year deal,
like seriously, because I'm like, all, I just signed this
new deal, but shoot, next year, you know, my guarantee
money's up. So I definitely gotta show you know, It's
(04:34):
like every year is a long year deal. So I
want to talk a little bit, you know, about your career.
You're in different spots. How I look at my career
as chapters, right, I wasn't. I'm in my third organization.
I'm in my ninth year. I had four New England.
I came in and I was a pupil and I learned.
I just took in so much's information. I learned how
to win. I learned how to the situational football of
(04:56):
the game. I learned the team element of the game.
Um all the team, the team, the team over there.
As you know, I really learned a lot in that chapter.
And then my next chapter free with the Tennessee and
I kind of I kind of blossom as a leader.
I blossom as a as a guy got paid and
ranging see him and those pressures of having to perform
when you you know, when you're known, are supposed to
(05:18):
and then just signed with the Giants last year. And
this is kind of the chapter. I'm like the O
g like second oldest on the team. Guys are born
in the year two thousand, now, you know, just young, young, young,
younger league and you just kind of show them kind
of like the VET. I still got it, but I'm like,
(05:38):
I definitely feel like the VET in a sense of
my experiences. These guys, some of them never been to
a playoff game. I was fortunate to be in some
Super Bowls. Some of them never played winning football consistently.
Someone are still trying to find a stride. So I
kind of have like these chapters that I you know,
I'm a storytelling I kind of these chapters of my careers.
Tell me about your career. How you look back at
it from from the back end? Go, yeah, sure, appreciate
(06:00):
that question too. I look at it as you know,
where I'm from. I'm from a little small town, Force,
Virginia's is it's self explainat or Forced Virginia. I'm from
the country. I grew up understanding the animals before people
with that in mind, I'm small town, right, and so
Jacksonville my first chapter to the NFL. It's is a
(06:23):
bigger place than where I'm from, a huge in comparison. Um,
you got the beach, you know. I'm not used to
all these opportunities. That's really out there from where I'm from.
I went to Liberty University as well, which is ten
minutes from my house, so not that much exposure, you know.
Then the next chapter, I went to the Oakland Raiders,
which is a bigger market. I lived in Alameda. I
(06:43):
could see how contrash from where I was living at
San Francisco. Right there, I got a chance to go
to Facebook meets zuccab Like, it's bigger, right, I'm meeting
more people networking and the boom. I go to New York,
the mecca of everything. So I feel like I was
baby transitioned into um more life experiences, um, rather than
just coming from a low town to New York, you know.
(07:06):
And so I was prepped to appreciate it more, especially
as a veteran, understand how the NFL is very quick
and short, and how to how to how to kind
of like set up yourself for after football. Um. So
that's really I'm thankful that my trim My chapters in
the NFL. We're kind of on a roller coaster constantly
going up. Yeah, no doubt. Look, they sent me a brief, man,
(07:29):
I know, I know you, know of you and who
you were, and I believe we played against each other
and a lot of respect game plan against you. And
they sent me a quick little like bio resume, like here,
who's here, who, here's who's joined in, who we like,
and here's some stuff he did. You can hit on it.
You work with the you know, the Asthma Allergy Allergy
(07:50):
Association of America. You won Dancing with the Stars, you
have a new gaming adventure, you have a young adult
book series, acting job, acting gigs like, Man, I mean
he didn't he didn't let the NFL ruin you do
you transition quick? So when did you start working? When
did you start realizing like, yo, I have more talent
than just being a running back, and I want to
(08:11):
get paid for this one day and I want to
use my platform. When did that start fro you in
the process? Man, wore the start that conversation. So I
kind of say, I honestly, I always felt that way
whether it was in a position of at the time
when I was young, cocky that I could do everything.
(08:35):
I had the ambitions to do everything, but I realistically
was not in a position to do nothing. Um. I
had a point six g p A. In high school.
I was a fifth string running back, was overweight, chubby kid,
you know, like it. I was not set to do
much right. And so there was a trigger where I
started taking ownership of responsibility in my life and I
(08:57):
put myself more in the drive the seat. And that
tell me, tell me what. Yeah, that particular trigger, because
it was a couple, but this particular one, you know,
it's pretty funny. I make the story kind of quick though.
But was fifth string running back high school. We played
against a high school rival, um, last game of the season.
I never played one staff of high school football at
this point, bro. So this is kind of like our
(09:19):
super Bowl. If they beat us, they go to the
they go to the playoffs. If we beat them, they're out.
So it's like we gotta beat them. So when I
tell you I never played so much the top pass
and you need pass and the hit paths. I used
to take them out before every game and stuck it
with feminem's you know, sprite can't like. I was set
up for the front row ticket to watch the game.
(09:39):
Me and my buddy's name was Speedy. He never earned
his name at all. He was terrible, but um so
we was on the sideline. Quick story man. First string
goes out, he gets hurt, and there was a Tennessee
Scott to come watch him because he was really good.
Spencer Freeman's baller. First string got hurt, he comes out,
Second string goes goes in, he gets hurt. Third string
(09:59):
go and he gets hurt. All this in the first quarter.
Fourth string goes in. This guy gets hurt. First quarter.
I can't make none of this stuff up. So I'm
sitting on the sideline like you know, I'm fit right,
I'm fifth only because we got four running backs. That's
you know, they just gave me a number. Just shut
up and get up my face. So coach Skins Scott sidelines.
(10:21):
He gets a wide receiver and throws him in instead
of me. He goes in, he gets hurt. Can't make
it up, bro, So they have no choice but to
put me in. I go out there. I'm scrammed up
on a random helmet. I don't even know where I
put mine. It's you know, dirty mouthpiece. I don't know
whose it is. A rip it out. I got like
residue and we got white pants so you can see
eminem's three s all over my pants and stuff. You're
(10:44):
not going in the pants. Yeah, and uh, you know,
the teammates like the shout, what's you doing? I'm like
everybody hurt. We gotta go baby. First play, it was
just a counter. I get the ball, dirty yard touched down.
I come back to the sideline. I'm crunk, I'm damp.
You can't tell me nothing right. I chest about my boy.
(11:05):
He falls like it's a moment, and uh, you know,
they decided to put me in. Later on in the game,
I score another touchdown a similar situational defense. Guys kept
getting hurt left and right. Uh, they put me in
my first playing defense. Sacked the quarterback, he fumbles to
pick it up. Nobody's in front of me. Thirty y'all.
Touchdown and it's fourth quarter. They got one minute, they
(11:28):
got the ball. They gotta do is run the clock out. Um.
I don't know what they were thinking, but they came
out run the ball. We we we shut him down
running ball, shut him down. We called time out again,
keep calling time out, third down, and it's about like
five and it's thirty seconds left. All I got to
do his room. One more play and kind of take
it home. I don't know why they decided to run
(11:49):
the screen. I'm playing defense in I sniffed the screen out,
he throws it, I intercepted, taking in for a touchdown.
We went and walk off right first time I ever
played high school football. Four touchdowns sewing office, two in defense.
The Tennessee scout became and saw that started running back,
saw me, and he came on to me and he says, son,
(12:11):
you got potential. How your grades? And I told him
I had a point six and he said, you got potential,
get your grades right now for the first time. Run.
That's the That's the first time anybody ever told me
you got potential. Not believe in you outside of my
family and my parents. But that goes one the other.
And so I transferred high schools. I repeated my junior year, repeated.
(12:33):
I took all my home school classes, summer school classes
on top of the regular academics, and I never turned
that attitude around it When opportunity presents itself too late
to prepare. So you gotta get a movie deal after this,
because that story is crazy, bro. It's just never I
mean I've seen something. I've seen some kids in high
school had no business playing ball with polos under their uniform.
(12:56):
You know. I see some kids with some you know,
capri stawing over the pants, but I never seen no,
no eminem's in the sprite in the game pants. That's
the first. Bro, That's an absolute first. And I didn't
get you stay with the story of I get what
you're saying with the story because I couldn't be any different. Man,
Like when I touched the rock as a kid, I
was a baller quarterback since growing up, I was going
(13:19):
crazy four or five touchdowns of the game. And I
had a coach tell me when I was nine ten
years old at the game, I see the NFL one day.
So that potential, when someone sees that potential, man, that's
that's what it. That can go along with it For
you to tell that story now after everything you accomplished,
I mean, that game was crazy before that one coach
and say that to you at scout um. It's a
(13:39):
true thing. With that positive that manifestation that positivity can
do for somebody. Absolutely, man, absolutely, and I carried that
with me today. And that's why I utilized my platform,
I'm sure as well as you do. You know, quite
off to tell people, it's not too much special about me.
It is more so that I'm in a special position.
(14:00):
And so if I could utilize that to be a
magnifying glass towards things I believe in and being a
voice for it, I want to do that. So you'd
be surprised, just an encouraging word where it can how
that resonates with that individual and they hold on to
that moment for life. So so tell me, you know.
And when I came, when I came to New York Giants,
it was it was strategic. It was a place where
(14:22):
I was able to choose my place a little bit,
choose my spot over some other teams. And I knew,
I knew the platform I could do so much for me.
I knew it was a pressure cooker, and I wanted that.
I thought that opportunity was great. I thought the opportunity
to I was doing a lot of things, and I
was doing a ton of things that the Animal Foundation,
I started a police reformed company with my father. UM.
(14:44):
I had a radio show going on. UM. I was
playing really at a high level, but I was in
Tennessee and the market was so small, and I had
to almost self promote myself so much, like on this
and on that, I got this and I didn't. I'm
not like it. I don't like being a self promoting
hype man. I don't listen to the podcast when I'm
done on I haven't. I mean, I think they're great.
I don't even listen to him. I don't watch my interviews.
(15:05):
I get awkward watching myself talk. I wish I would
have said that it is sometimes I only like watch
myself one film. You know. I had that embarrassment. But
I was like, yo, I'm ready from for New York.
I'm from New Jersey. Originally I knew what it was
like growing up here on the NFC East is the
greatest division of playing, as you know, the tradition of
the fan basis. So tell me what New York did
(15:26):
for you and how you use New York to your advantage. Yeah, absolutely, man.
And similarly, when I looked at the options, you know,
I started thinking about big picture, and I knew that
the magna fund glass of New York would allow, and
the mecca of it, the echalon of it, um, the
history of it, the trajectory of it. Anything you say
(15:49):
cannon will be held against you, good or bad. That
if if if, if, if I'm giving a megaphone, I
can speak what I choose. So that's kind of how
I saw the opportunity of New York. Also, you know,
to get a chance to play under some leadership Tom
Coughlin at the time, and like so it was played
with ELI and so it was real procedures for myself
(16:10):
and I fit. I fit that, I fit the mold
of what they were trying to accomplish at the time.
I loved it. I loved every minute there. I loved
every second. Fan base people um, the networking ability UM.
And I really honestly think that that, you know, especially
at that particular time of my career, kind of I
became a giant, truly, like from the staple of you know,
(16:32):
how you carry yourself, how you how you present yourself,
what you're about, what you're stand for. But how I
used it was playing ball, baby, you know how that go.
It's it's cold like that ball and you know, it's uh,
it's fun though, like it's it's such a good time
to play in New York when you win. It especially
sure for me again you know with ESPN with uh,
(16:56):
you know, writing books and getting into carts, tunes and um,
all the things that I really dabbling. Man. That was
one thing did in the NFL. While I played every
single all season, I picked up a new art and craft.
The first off season I picked up a guitar until
I learned how to play right. And then the next
off season I pick up magic tricks. So the whole
off season I study how to do magic tricks a
(17:17):
low straining from am to one pm all day. And
then the next off season I picked up archery, Olympic style, fencing, um,
all these things. And you know it's ironic. I danced
What the Stars Happened because I think that happened because of,
you know, in part being in New York. UM. One
particular day, I was walking down Manhattan and TMZ pulled
(17:38):
up on me for no reason with the camera and
I had my headphones on, just kind of doing one
of these things, and he was like, every set, looks
like you got some great dance moves. Look you ever
thought about doing dance, but the stars and the cameras
on me, I'm just like, yeah, sounds great. I never
even knew what dancing what the stars was at that time.
I just said right, and um, somehow they got wave
of that, and the next year a couple other relationships
(18:01):
happened to make it make sense. So you know, I'm like,
only in New York. That's the reason I've always found myself.
New York has been able to put my little name
beside major names when it's probably ship That's like, it
seems to me like you just if you, like you said,
picking up a craft and and and and learning something new,
(18:25):
you have a learner's mentality, beginner's mentality. Where does that?
Where does that courage come from? Because dancing with the
stars out of our norm Like, I don't know if
I'm ready for dancing stars yet. I've done some dancing
for my game. I've done something this for my game,
like I've tried to I try to do some stuff
to utilize my game. I didn't do magic tricks and
(18:45):
archery or anything like that. You're trying to actually learn
something new, but that takes so much courage. Were you
ever afraid like a failure. How do you how do
you overcome that fear of failure or something new? I
love truly being a novice in the room. It's intrinsic
to me. I'm I'm drawn to setting in an arena
(19:06):
on a room from the most unaware of person when
it comes to the subject at hand or the talent
that should be exposed. Because the type of attitude I
have is I'm not gonna be that for long. Puts
me in a position of humility. It puts me in
a position of hearing it like it puts it puts
you back to an elementary route of let me absorb information.
(19:28):
So like when it came to dancing, I ain't gonna
lie to you, bro, I signed up because I didn't
know what I was signing up for. I'm gonna just
keeping abut like I said, I've never seen the show
prior to going on. So this is how it even happened.
So that off season, I'm I'm shilling down and fought
out of their FLOORID I trained people arena and and
and every single off season eight to one pm, and
(19:51):
I go into one of my friends house. It was
a big shin dig I had a party watch the TV,
eating and having a good time, and a commercial ca
and more. And the commercial came onto where these people
were dancing. It looked really good, like you want the
regular like normal club dance and hip hop or nothing.
They looked real smooth, and I was like, yo, what
in the world that they doing? I want to learn that, right,
(20:15):
And one of my friends, she happened to know what
kind of dance they were doing, so she said, oh,
I didn't do on the child shot. I said, what
the heck is a child shot? She said, oh, this
ballroom dancing, And what the heck is ballroom dancing? Right?
I know nothing of this, So I got the bright
out there. You know what, I'm gonna learn how the
ballroom dance this all season. Sure enough, the very next day,
(20:35):
right after the workout session, I walked into a ballroom
studio and I go in there with a tank top one.
I don't know the coach, I don't know anything. Right,
opened the door, Dan, everybody's like this all grateful, quiet, fatigue,
and you know, you got this big burley dude coming there.
And I didn't even know how to ask properly. She said,
(20:57):
she said, can we help you. I said, yeah, I'm looking.
I'm looking for the child shot like as a person, right,
And so she was like, sir, you're trying to learn
how to dance and the chot cha. I said yes, ma'am,
and she pulled me over theside. She said, well, we
don't have any availability into two weeks from the day.
(21:17):
That was like no problem at all. She said, you
want public or private lessons? I said, definitely private. I
don't want about saying this. I said, okay, I'll be
back in two weeks a week from that day. Theydn't
need to get to two weeks a week from that
day dance with the Stars calling it happened. So my
very first lesson ever was actually on the show, and
I and our very first dance was a child chot
(21:38):
So my head is very serendifferent and something like, you know,
guy just kind of looked out. I was like, hey,
I got something real special for you. Want to learn
the chatti luck? A week after week after week, man,
I was just learning new dances and new arts, and
I really really really became intrigued by for two fold one.
You know, I'm a hope for romantic man. Truly, I
actually I am in currently um getting my masters and
(22:01):
uh marriage canceling. I went to school psychology and sociology.
I have an aspiration to be a marriage cancelor down
the road. I feel like that's the most beautiful article
of clothing you can wear his love. And I'm philanthropically driven.
Most communities that I go in that are broken typically
have broken homes and broken marriages. And most communities that
(22:23):
go in that are healthy. When I go to these
schools and stuff, they have healthy marriages. So there's something there.
All in all, man dancing with just started going back
to like that fear of going into the unknown. I
actually looked forward. Um, as long as it's not swimming,
that's the only thing I ain't doing because I can't
do I can't figure that without But anything else in life, man,
(22:45):
I love being a novice in the room. Appreciate appreciating that,
that that feeling that beginning. I mean, what we learned
a sports relates to so much in life, like stuff
that I learned from Kobe Bryant, Like all right, beginner's mentality.
I'm take a notebook out at every meeting. Like Peyton
Manning said that he had a pen and paper out
every meeting. He was five minutes alo, and he watched
practice film after every practice before they walked, before they
(23:07):
went over it. You know what I'm saying, And that
preparation for everything. I mean, you're you're eight, you know,
you're like bro, I don't want to take notes today,
like I got. It's the same install But that leads
to off the field, that leads to business, that leads
to this at least to that that beginner's mentality is
what you're talking about. M H. And so also habits man,
that's saying that create your habits, and then your habits
(23:29):
create you for six days for a new habit. But
I'll tell you my story about swimming, man, I'll tell
you my story about swimming so I can swim. I'm
in Hawaii this off season with my wife. I'm going
to a wedding. I'm going to a friend's wedding. And
there's this little cove and this cove um, I would
wake up six am every day and I'll look out
my balcony and had this had a beach and it
(23:52):
was really calm water. And I mean, it's Hawaii is beautiful.
My favorite players almost ever been And I saw people
swimming across, said every single day. I don't know how
deep this is in the middle, but it's probably like
two hundred yards swim. I never swim three hundred yards.
I was like, man, I could swim like you know whatever. Wednesday,
I was like, man, I gotta swim that before I
go like, I gotta just accomplish it, like I gotta
(24:15):
swim across. I see older people, I see women, I
see kids doing it. I'm like, man, I gotta do it.
My wife goes out for a night swim one night
and she does it. She she does after like after
the wedding, a couple of drinks in she knocks it out.
So I was like, I'm the last one left. I'm
like the last one this winning. I'm like, I gotta
hit it. So so bohm. I swim out there and
(24:37):
I'm just head down, like just you know, focus on
stoking time, like head down and I look up and
I'm dead center of it. Bro. If I go left,
it's equal distance for me going backwards. I go inland forward.
I am the dead apex center. Bro. It is like deep,
like it ain't no you can bounce up. I am
(24:58):
dead in the middle. Bro, And there's a boat coming
in and out that people are going to go like
um snorkeling or whatever. And a boat's coming and it's
honking at me to get out the way. So I'm
dead center. I need a break. I'm rest, I'm treading water,
but I'm fighting the boats coming. I float back and
(25:19):
a boat's waves kind of pushes me back, and I'm panic.
I'm like, nah, dude, I'm not gonna die in front
of like little kids at a nice holiday resort like
in Hawaii. So I'm like, I like, I bang a left.
I'm I can't make it. I can't make it. And
I start like fighting and I'm not I'm not talking
about no nice swimming no more. I'm talking about survival swimming.
(25:41):
And I started going under the water and try to
swim under the water because I just can't keep my
head above. And I somehow, Bro, I swear like fault
fault from my life, got to the end of this,
got back to the beach, crawled in army, crawled and
just laid on my back and like a kid's making
a sand castle. And I almost died. And I I'm like, bro,
(26:04):
my ambition almost killed me. And I walked back to
my wife and she didn't even see it, Bro, like
it was in front of anybody. And I walked and
she said, how was it? He didn't see my almost
died and sheeting off for real and I was like, yeah, Yo.
Ever since that moment, dude, I had a shorter breath.
I had to go to breath work after that because
(26:24):
that that moment brought me anxiety to this day. And
I told my wife, you know, I want to take
swimming classes because I want to go back to the
line and do that swim. I have to. I have
to tackle you, Bro, I have to. So if I
ever I tell you, I have to tell you this.
If I ever see you mean you're gonna go for
a swim, Dude, We're gonna do it. We gotta tackle
that fear man. I gotta go get it. Bro. Couldn't
(26:46):
mess me up. And I'd be in the game sometimes
doing that breath like, Yo, why am I breathing like this?
I never breathed like this during the game. I'm chilled
during the game. But I felt like I had that anxiety, bro,
because it was a real near death experience and that trauma.
I really had to do some work in meditation and
therapy to like let it go. You know what I'm saying.
My breath became shorter because of it. Man, that's crazy. Bro, Hey,
(27:11):
that's a crazy story man. The fact that you you
want to go right back out there. You know what,
that's the side I'm gonna tell you, right, you know
that's the side. That's a side of a couple of things,
but one of them that proves an athlete. I had
this conversation with somebody about They were like, how do
you define an athlete when when when they get hurt,
break something, almost die and the first thing they think
(27:34):
about when they come to is how do I get
back in the position to do that again? Yeah? Yeah,
yeah bro? Literally deep And now I know when they
say in boxing, take take them a deep water, take
them to take them to the tenth round, taking a
deep water and drive. I got the deep water, bro,
And I didn't trust myself. I could have made it across.
(27:57):
What my whole point was. It took me justice farnest
swim back, but I panic. I lost myself, I lost
my breath, I got outside of my body and I feared.
I feared for my life for real, and I could
have finished it. My wife was like, you were dead
middle you probably just could have swim across and finished.
But I got my head about it. So me, I
gotta do the training. I gotta go tackle it because
(28:17):
it's just a fear I don't want to live with
for the rest of my life. And I gotta go.
I gotta go tackle it. I gotta go tackle things
I'm not good at because it's gonna give me that
much more freedom. I don't want to be tied to
my fears in this life. Man. I was. I've accomplished
way more than I ever thought. I accomplished absolutely, man.
And you really gotta do it too, because that's gonna help.
I mean, Patt a really amazing story in an illustration
(28:42):
for you, so of of being centered of of an ocean,
all right, center of a choice, you know, center of
anything where it takes just as much effort to turn
around as it does apply off through that that I
think like psychologically, you know, you know you talk about trauma.
(29:06):
What's the opposite of trauma? Right, That's gonna get you
so much more belief you know, and and things that
you already know. Right. Uh, So I can't wait yeah,
I can't wait to hear you know when you actually
do cross, we might have to uh me and you
might have to go do it together man, and go
film it just for the record. You know you said
(29:28):
we could go and film it. I'll be the first one.
I will film it on the boat while you swimming
to pull me out, me out man, Hey, man, I
didn't grew up swimming like that. I was in a
four foot pool. So I'm gonna go. I'm gonna do
the training. I'm a tackling for conditioning and uh I'm
(29:48):
gonna get better at him, and I'm gonna work on it,
and I'm gonna I'm gonna talk to you one day
and tell you that I did it. Man, that's gonna be.
This's a cool thing off my list of something to accomplish,
you know, for Shure, for shore and people. When I
go in the locker room, I'm like and I tell people,
I'm like, yo, why don't you just go get it?
Like what you're talking about? I'm like, what you want?
Why don't you go get it? And they're like, well,
where is it at? And I said, right right up,
(30:11):
right up on the other side of the mountain, like
you don't realize how close you are sometimes, bro go
get it like you can get what you want in life. Man,
you gotta believe it, and you gotta go do it.
And when it gets the hardest and it gets bleak,
and it gets dark and it gets cold and you're
in dead middle of the water, you gotta that's when
you gotta trust in yourself to go push that much
further because it's right over right over top of that
(30:32):
mountain top. Absolutely, man, you got a lot of great stuff.
I think me and you can can chat for a while.
But look your work with the Asthma Allergy Association of America, Man,
tell me about that. Tell me about those kids, and
and and kind of kind of your calls, and I'm
sure it's close to you. Yeah, man, so um. I
(30:52):
had asthma when I was younger, big time. I actually
was hospitalized because of asthma when I was thirteen. My
father used to drink and smoke heavily all the time.
I'm the youngest, three, I'm not the baby, just the youngest.
We had a baby. It's not me. My dad was
in the Air Force. He went through a real dark time.
(31:14):
You know. It was a point where he just turned
the drinking and smoking. So I grew up with that father.
He was always there, just always drinking and smoking. He
never really added too much values to the conversation, never
really talked to me about any depth of birds and
the bees, throwing the ball with me, catch take me
out like it was. That just never existed. And the
smoking is one of the things that triggered my asthma.
(31:36):
It was one particular time most hospitalized and I was
on you know, hooked up to tubes and things blowing
through a peak floor. It's only going a centimeter and
I'm fighting and scrapping for my life, my breath much
less what I accomplished too much in life. And the
doctors came in and they sat out with my family
(31:56):
and myself and talked to the severe any of it.
Doctor told my father, Hey, it will behoove you to
quit smoking around your son is triggering his asthma. And
I come home and my dad starts smoking outside and
things were okay until about two weeks later He's tripled
his way back in the house. So he's smoking back
(32:18):
in the house and I'm downstairs and I could smell
the smoke seeming through the vent. I started to choke
up because of it, and I knew my dad just
saw how I was pretty much on my deathbed. So
I'm like bothered by that too, that he's smoking in
the house and put a pill over my face. I'll
go upstairs knock on his door. His doors closed like
it always is. He doesn't answer that. I opened the door.
(32:40):
He's in the corner, drinking and smoking like he always does,
and you know, thirteen years old, these big red rimmed glasses.
I pulled a pill off my face and I said, hey, Dad,
can you stop drinking and smoking to be there for me?
And he took a puff of his smoke, sip of
his drink. He looked dead at me. He said, what
you wanna do when you get older? And uh, this
(33:03):
is the first time my dad ever asked me that. Right,
So I'm happy because they're like, get to have this conversation.
The other half. I can see how it's just arrogantly
on his face. So I still take my chance and
I tell him, I said, Dad, I want to play
running back in the NFL. And he took him puff
up with smoke, sip of his drink, and he said,
(33:24):
do you think you'd be able to make it to
the league without drinking and smoking your damn self. Kind
of like, who are you to ask me and my
own home not to And I looked down with tears
of my eyes and I said, Dad, just to prove
me wrong, I'm never gonna do it. And today I'm
thirty six, I'll never drink. I call damn my life.
Never smoked, damn my life, not against it, um, I
(33:44):
just it was just to prove him wrong, right, And
it's UH. Through that relationship, he watched his little knucklehead
care prove wrong here and I'm quit drinking and smoking himself.
We salvaged an amazing relationship and was always chasing his
love and I finally got it towards an end. But
I say that to talk about like asthma to me,
(34:07):
um asthma, I think kind of saved my life because
I had to focus on breath and had to focus
on eating right, and had to focus on all these
things uh to that ended up and enabling me to
be very successful with something else. You know, I do
a lot of work with UH asthma and also diabetes association,
(34:30):
because you know those are those are some conversations especially
in African American communities, has not talked about enough and
so I like to, you know, be a voice in
having those conversations. And I do stuff every single all
season with asthma and diabetes Association of getting screwed, people screened,
getting the magicated, along with Penny literacy and a lot
(34:52):
of stuff to do with the foundation. Now, man, you're
a great role model, um to teach the athletes people transition, Man, transition,
what's next? Let's come and you gotta keep adapting, keep
pushing yourself. And I'm not the editor producer of this podcast,
but this episode is gonna be called why not you
whyy not? You know? Why not put yourself in those positions?
What's the worst thing can happen? So I appreciate it, dude.
(35:14):
Like I said, I had a couple of questions, but
we went off topic into some real life stuff that
I think. Um, I'm happy it came out, man, So
I appreciate the opportunity to get the interview. You get
to know you all good man. So I appreciate you. Dog,
appreciate your dope, my favorite one yet man, super super
intriguing dude. And you definitely you definitely taught me to
(35:37):
go chase some things, and go tackle some things I'm
not good at, and learn some new stuff. Thanks for
joining us from the NFL Players Podcast. Don't forget to
subscribe and follow at NFL Players podcast on Instagram for
the latest players stories and to connect with the NFL
Players community
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