Jimmy Graham: Defying Death in the Arctic Ocean, The Joy in Punking Defenders, Making Amends with the Saints

In this episode of NFL Second Acts, hosts Charles “Peanut” Tillman and Roman Harper welcome former Pro Bowl tight end Jimmy Graham for a conversation that’s equal parts inspiring and entertaining. Jimmy talks about his decision to retire from football and reflects on the moments that defined his career, including his “welcome to the NFL” moment and the time he famously jumped over Roman on the field. Jimmy also shares his death defying journey rowing across the Arctic Ocean and why he did it to support children in need. The guys also explore what life has looked like since Jimmy stepped away from the game. He’s now a licensed helicopter pilot, a bank entrepreneur and he’s entered the world of venture capitalism. The discussion dives into his growing passion for aviation, his personal Mount Rushmore, and the story behind his old nickname, “Big Red.” It’s a revealing look at how Jimmy has carried his drive and curiosity beyond football, turning every challenge into a new adventure.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Basically, if the swells get too big, you pull a
drogue out which is behind this little boat, and it
allows you to go up and down these waves straight
because if you ever, if they get too big and
you go down straight, the whole boat of jackknife and
roll down what is technically a mountain of water, and
then everybody strapped on outside, who knows what's going to happen.

(00:21):
I mean, you're probably gonna get hit by something, so
I mean, this was by far the most dangerous thing
I've ever done in my life.

Speaker 2 (00:32):
What's up, everybody?

Speaker 3 (00:33):
I'm Peanut Tolman and this is the NFL Player's Second
Act podcast with me as always as my trusty co
hosts Roman.

Speaker 2 (00:41):
I smoke Copper. You can't say that, Oh No, I
can't say that. No.

Speaker 3 (00:47):
Oh, I thought that's where the shirt is just smoky
the bear.

Speaker 2 (00:50):
Oh. I thought that because it.

Speaker 3 (00:52):
Was smoking it was. It's okay, Sor right, Let's talk
about our guests that we have. He's already been on before.
I love this guy, like genuinely love this guy. He
was a teammate of mine. I watched this man grow
into the man that he is today, and we can't
say enough great things about him. So I've seen this
dude destroy individuals on the defensive side of the ball,
just like, no doubt, just running through cats all day long. Uh,

(01:15):
he recently just rolled across the Arctic Ocean. Ladies, Jimmy,
please walk into the pod, mister Jimmy Graham.

Speaker 2 (01:23):
Yeah, appreciate you all having me. I appreciate it. Appreciate it.
And I like how he's just yeah, appreciate it. Guys.
You just got that. That the cool the cool man.

Speaker 3 (01:31):
Well, I think Jimmy grew up. He probably he wasn't
cool growing up, and he's now cool like Jimmy Graham.

Speaker 2 (01:38):
He's so cool.

Speaker 4 (01:39):
He just walks in.

Speaker 2 (01:40):
He look, he got he got the one the one
button on.

Speaker 3 (01:43):
He just got online button to the top. He got
the one on. So it's and his like barely holding
on to.

Speaker 2 (01:51):
That.

Speaker 4 (01:51):
But I've seen Jimmy when he had the red afro.

Speaker 2 (01:53):
Though. See I've seen that picture. Not everybody's seen that.
I ain't seeing the red you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 1 (01:59):
No, it was uh, it was about like a foot
of just red curls. It was okay, yeah, I mean popularity,
you know, but but you know, I mean people people
try to get me to bring it back. The only
reason I did that was because they said I was
too short to be an acc Plan four. So then
with that I was six nine, So that's.

Speaker 4 (02:16):
What it was.

Speaker 3 (02:17):
So it was just trying to be tall enough to
me at the market. All right, let's talk about one
thing we do have in common. We were both retired,
like so so crazy. You kind of announced, like, you know,
unofficially or officially that you know what, I'm done. I'm
finally done with football because You've still been able to
come back and catch touchdowns because you're Jimmy gre.

Speaker 2 (02:38):
Jimmy Gred like so I just have people and turn around.

Speaker 4 (02:41):
Yeah, yeah, like what it.

Speaker 3 (02:42):
Is, and I'm glad I didn't have to deal with it.
Could you maybe talk about, like, you know, how'd you
feel about that? Like what was this the emotions behind it,
like where you at mentally and just like finally just
getting that out of the way.

Speaker 1 (02:57):
Yeah, you know happened right up to the row, so
you know, I was in a good mental space to
be there, you know, and and you know, for me,
I think really going back that last year and in
New Orleans was big for me, right, Yeah, you know,
you know, there's there's always people that talk about it,
and obviously it's always been on my mind. You know,

(03:18):
what would have happened if if I stayed right, most
likely probably super Bowl and we would have you know,
me and Drew would have shot every record in the book.

Speaker 2 (03:27):
You know, I have no doubt about.

Speaker 1 (03:28):
That, just just from our connection, you know, just you know,
and people think that that was natural. First off, he
had all those you know, good young years in my legs.
When I was able to run twenty routes after practice
right one, he demanded that from me, and he taught
me that's how you do it.

Speaker 2 (03:45):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (03:45):
So our connection was built over many, many years and
many you know, many many routes between me and him
and Colston.

Speaker 2 (03:51):
I mean it was crazy.

Speaker 3 (03:53):
You guys are making stuff up. I know, our practiced
making stuff up, making it well. A lot of that
too is me not knowing what was going on.

Speaker 1 (04:00):
Right, So so I would say, like like my first
two years, I mean I still learned the rules, Like
I still had to figure out what defenses were some
of the like I see something new. And in the end,
my thing was always you know, it's one high too
high and if you can't figure I'll just get open.
So Drew was good with binding me when I you know,
when I got open. Some other teams didn't like that,

(04:21):
you know, but being able to go back and you know,
connect with the city score a little bit, you know,
get that feeling back in that dome, really connect with
you know, not only you know, some guys that I
played with in the past, obviously Cam, you know, just
being back when was awesome. But also you know, Normans
is very unique because they still have people in the
building from back when I was there, back when you
were there. You know, you know they you know, it's

(04:42):
a family run business. So you know, even though coaching
staff might change, that thorough floor is still the same, right,
So you know, being able to connect to to you know,
all these people that knew me, you know when I
was the hyper competitive you know, still nice to everybody,
but you know, just on the field, I was just
a different human.

Speaker 2 (04:59):
But you know, being able.

Speaker 1 (05:00):
To connect with them and process that a little bit.
And one of the biggest things was when I when
I got that house that year, my CFO, he actually
found it for me. We rented it because on one
of the only places you could have like fully furnished.
And I remember walking up the third steps and I
looked out the window and I saw this building and
I remember looking into the windows and I'm like, that
looks like a like a government facility.

Speaker 2 (05:22):
And then I.

Speaker 1 (05:24):
Literally, uh text my boys like, Hey, what's what's that
across the street from us? And he's like, Oh, this place
called Covenant House blah blah blah. So I said, listen,
before I leave the city, I want to make sure
I do something for these kids.

Speaker 2 (05:34):
Now.

Speaker 1 (05:34):
I thought I was gonna go over and talk to them,
but you know, for me, you know, we did some
much bigger for him. You know, I'm going to go
at the end of this month and talk to him
about my experience and and you know, give him some
words of encouragement on what they're going through. But really
that was for me, you know, that was kind of
you know, the big finale of why I really just

(05:55):
need to move on to focus on business and you know,
just move all my life because you know, this body
can only do with so much and you know, I
just need to use my brain.

Speaker 3 (06:04):
Now, was it important for you to say, Look, I
want to I want to make sure the Saints I retire, Like,
was that important to you?

Speaker 1 (06:14):
Yeah, I would say that was one of the most
important things in my career. One because of you know
how I left right. I left angry. Right when I
got that phone call that I was getting first, I
was like, you can do that, you know, I was.
I just got paid, you know. But that was not

(06:37):
in my thoughts whatsoever.

Speaker 2 (06:38):
You know.

Speaker 1 (06:38):
I thought we were going to just continue to just
smack people and put up fifty What do you get
to Orleans ten okay? Yeah, okay, yeah, So people think
I was there like ten years. I was one of
there five. But we had a lot of touchdowns.

Speaker 4 (06:53):
It was a lot of it was a lot of it.

Speaker 2 (06:56):
Was really good years. Yeah, it was electric.

Speaker 1 (06:58):
But you know, for me, you know, it's a I
knew that I that I obviously needed to grow up
and be more of a man, you know, and just
not hold on to some of that stuff, you know,
because in the end, everything that I experienced in the city,
everything I experienced on that team, everything I experienced with

(07:19):
my teammates, my coaches, and that staff was some of
the best years of my life. You know, Like, you know,
I got drafted into New Orleans if they won a
Super Bowl, and now you got this red headed, mixed
kid with freckles coming in who doesn't know nothing about football.
Is drafting the third round, you know, to play tight end.
You already have Germany shockey. Why are we drafting the
tight end? I'll never forget these things. And then you know,

(07:41):
I had a bunch of people who just believed in me,
even even though I didn't believe in myself. Right, So, uh,
you know, just being able to go back and retire
as a saint, you know with number eighty, You know,
it's a big deal for me because you know, I
went from being a little boy to a grown man,
and that happened because of that city and really the

(08:03):
teammates I had, right like yourself, like Jonathan Wilma, like
Jarry Evans, like Carl Knicks, like I could keep going,
but I'm a stop obviously, Drew Brees, and you know,
all of that really pushed me to be a better person,
really pushed me to be the best player I could be,

(08:23):
And you know that's that's something I'll always be grateful for.
And I'm just proud to be anoleance Sence. You know,
I retire.

Speaker 3 (08:29):
What was the emotion that you felt when you found
out when you got that phone call. What was the
first emotion not just oh you can do that, but like,
what did you emotionally?

Speaker 2 (08:37):
What did you feel? Uh? Rage?

Speaker 1 (08:41):
You know, for me, none of this would have happened
if I would have just gotten paid, right, So I
tracked back the two years before that, you know, Andreon
Nonea's Rob Gnkowski, they both get paid early, right before
they go into year three. And I've got better shots
than everybody in the world. So I'm like, okay, well,

(09:01):
I'm good. I signed this deal, so I'm gonna go
into my last year. Maybe we'll figure something out. We
go into the last year and they say, listen, there's
no reason to pay you because we're just gonna franchise
you twice and get rid of you because you be thirty.
Well that's a problem, you know, especially the way that
I played all right, because you know, I didn't care
about my body. I was, you know, our type of
person that if you had said something in the media

(09:23):
to me before the game, yeah, I would run backwards
to hit you.

Speaker 2 (09:25):
You know.

Speaker 1 (09:26):
I was just doing dumb stuff like that randomly, just
because I was too emotionally charged, and so then that
season ends, so I'm thinking, Okay, we're gonna figure something out,
and this whole thing about just franchising me because it
doesn't matter, and I'm about to be thirty. And then Vilma,
you know, say, you know, you know, I bet you
won't see this through, so obviously I have to. Uh

(09:46):
So that goes into like six months of you know,
the media, you know, saying I wanted fourteen to half millions,
say I want thirty. I didn't want any of that stuff.
That's that never came out of my mouth. I told
us sayings, listen, you pay me one dollar more than Grondcoma.
I just wanted a dollar more, just at a principal,
you know, because you know, well, I mean you know,

(10:09):
I mean I had every every stack humanly possible, so
you should beat a number one, Yeah, you should be
pay yeah. Uh So then after all that, then they
ended up paying me. And then I came back and
they tried to destroy me, and in the in the
physical fitness test the first day we get back, I
killed that because I haven't been sitting in Miami on
the beach. I've been working with Swayze, so I'm ready
for it. So that whole season goes through, and they

(10:31):
tell me, hey, we're going to find you some help
on offense because you know, at the time, we're kind
of struggling a little bit, you know, we're trying to
figure things out.

Speaker 2 (10:37):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (10:38):
So I was actually I was in the plane. I
had gone to the beach and I was chilling and
I got this Sean PAYNK call and I was like
what So I picked it up and I was like, hey,
blah blah blah. You know this is you know, this
is going to be a big deal for me, you know.
I you know, I've never done a trade to this trade, Like,
what do you mean. He's like, yeah, We're about to

(10:58):
trade you to Seattle, and I'm thinking of Seattle.

Speaker 2 (11:01):
They hate me. Yeah, We've been what killing them.

Speaker 1 (11:04):
I've been talking so much cash to them every game
we play, win or lose, Like like I remember scoring
uh in Seattle and then dunking the ball and Mike
Benning comes up to me and I don't even remember
what I said, but it was not nice. So, I mean,
beyond dispect where it was my face. I fought one
of their guys before the before the game even started.
In the playoffs, so I'm thinking I'm not going there.

(11:27):
So the first thing I thought was like, well, because
I had a great through ac separation. So I was like, well,
I'm gonna go get hurder. I'm gonna make sure I
can't leave, right. But then in the end, you know,
they just went to the super Bowl, So I'm like, well,
you know I do want to ring, and you know,
I know them boys are ready play with Marsham, Legion
and Bloom and Russ all these guys.

Speaker 2 (11:44):
You know I'm ready.

Speaker 1 (11:45):
But you know, I mean, at first, I was so
locked in to you know, just I was just mad
Man Madden every way and just really kind of like
how is he impossible? Like I didn't know you could
sign somebody to a max deal and then trade them
away year later, you know.

Speaker 3 (12:00):
So yeah, I'm actually glad you found peace with all
that though. Yeah, I'm really I'm glad to hear you said.
I know you alluded to it. Well, well, you gotta understand,
I was in the locker room with Jimmy, and trust.

Speaker 2 (12:13):
Me, so like he's not lying.

Speaker 3 (12:15):
Like I watched Jimmy come in, he literally have seemed
like way more freckles and like so so raw. He's
a basketball player that like we took in the third round,
like nobody even had football film on him, for real.
And he starts hitting the weight room with JV. He's
learning and trying to take care of Shaki when Shocky's
in Shocky mode, and like in like, and he grows

(12:38):
into this outstanding player for us. I see him catching
touchdowns every week, He's spiking the ball, he's flexing on him.
He grew like right in front of us, and the
whole contract thing was getting out of control.

Speaker 4 (12:50):
In the best year that you were having.

Speaker 2 (12:52):
It was like crazy sixteen town. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (12:55):
And I'm literally like, are we gonna get this deal done?
And he's like, man, I don't know, blah blah. I'm like, dude,
I'm about to become your agent and tell Mickey, like
what's up? Because it was it really was a thing,
and nobody could shy away from it because it was
starting to become larger and larger. And I had that
same feeling when when they released me and I left,

(13:17):
how angry I was for two years, just angry, hated
the organization because you feel like you gave so much
and the team acted like they loved you so much.
The city loves you, and then all of a sudden,
whenever they're done with you, they're done with you. You're
just supposed to be cool with it. And so to

(13:39):
then be able to come back a couple of years later,
I always think it's so important to like, let bygones
be bygones. And I was very appreciative, Like when I
came back and saw you, and I'm with my son
and you sit up here and tell my son like, dude,
your dad's baller, like, and my son's like, why is
he saying that about your dad? Like, But to see

(14:02):
you back in the black and gold, it was great
to like, I was so happy to have to see
you have that moment because a lot of us we
don't ever get to go back and be able to
do those things. And I love the words that you've
used and chosen to use to describe all that, because
it was a highly charged, highly emotional thing to see you.
And then you got hurt in Seattle unfortunately, and you know,

(14:25):
and then from there, like whatever your career was, it was,
you know, and you were just a touchdown maker.

Speaker 2 (14:31):
He was a baller his words, no no facts.

Speaker 3 (14:37):
Was he was he was an olkay at the ballas
that's when you when you look back out of all
the plays you've had, what's one play that stands out
in your mind.

Speaker 2 (14:49):
One place. Just give me one play that stands out
in your.

Speaker 3 (14:53):
Mind, just like, yeah, I did that, Like oh that
was that was dope, just killed it.

Speaker 1 (14:58):
So I got one play and I got my first
my like NFL like, welcome to the NFL moment. Okay,
So my first, the one that I really remember was
it was my rookie year. We're playing in Atlanta and
we need to win this game to go to the playoffs. Right,
We're the defending Super Bowl team, so we're probably like

(15:18):
four or five yard line, you know, third down. Sean
calls time out. We go to the sideline and Sean
asked Drew, what do you.

Speaker 2 (15:26):
Want to do? And he says, oh, I want to
throw it to the big kid.

Speaker 1 (15:29):
And I'm looking around like it was a big kid,
you know, And then all of a sudden, Reggie Bush,
Jeremy Shockey, Marcus Colston, DeBie Henderson, Robert Meacham, and one
of the best old lines ever lived. They all looking
at me, and I'm like, oh, that's me, And you know,
I really don't understand much about football at the time, right,
and so I knew at that moment, I was like,

(15:53):
if I catch this, I'm on my way, and if
I don't, I'll probably never get another chance ever again
in my life. I knew how important that was. You know, One,
we need to go to the playoffs. But two, if
this doesn't go right for me, you know, I'm not
going to get many chances in this Hive stakes to
be able to prove that I'm worthy to be called on.

(16:14):
So you know, I go out there plus two of
the numbers.

Speaker 2 (16:17):
I'm one on one. Now I know it was zone.

Speaker 1 (16:22):
Uh So I run a little quick slant and right
when I run it, you know, it just kind of
just goes right there. But I see this guy kind
of diving over me at the end. It's like his
helmet because he's trying to take my face off because
it is zon. But you know, end up scoring, we
end up going to the playoffs. And you know, that
was a big one for me because I knew one
all the unbelievable players there on the sideline, you know,

(16:42):
and then too, you know, Drew called my name, and
you know, because he believed in me, So you know,
to be able to come through for your boys, you know,
come through for the guy who called your number and
called your name. Was was obviously life and career change
it for me. So it's a big.

Speaker 2 (16:58):
Respect instantly from your from your team, instantly, especially on touchdowns.

Speaker 3 (17:03):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I think to me, this is a
play that stands out of my mind when I think
about your success, greatness.

Speaker 2 (17:17):
He just the thing.

Speaker 4 (17:19):
It's done.

Speaker 2 (17:21):
I was not even going those Literally.

Speaker 4 (17:25):
I come up to jim and like, Bro, why did
you jump over me?

Speaker 2 (17:28):
He's like, you were gonna go low me? No, I
was not, Bro, I just assumed you were. Right.

Speaker 1 (17:34):
When I turned around saw forty one, I was like, oh,
you're gonna cut my legs out.

Speaker 2 (17:37):
I know him, I know him. And then right about here, really.

Speaker 3 (17:42):
I was my question to you, sir, what is running
through your mind when he jumps over you?

Speaker 4 (17:50):
Well, like, what is you thinking? Well, first of all,
is he just on the top of your hand?

Speaker 2 (17:55):
I was just like, Jimmy.

Speaker 3 (17:56):
Catches, okay, I'm just gonna make the tackle. And then
all of a sudden, like I go and he like
just straight up leaps over the top of me.

Speaker 2 (18:03):
And I was like, has that ever happened before people
jumping over you.

Speaker 3 (18:07):
No, it's the only time anybody's ever jumped over me. Actually,
I give you up your props. Nobody's never happened to me. No,
it's never never never missed.

Speaker 2 (18:17):
Yeah, like never, and it just doesn't Yeah, it just
doesn't happen. No.

Speaker 3 (18:22):
Love that it actually never happened to me as a
ball and the fact that it happened early. I thought
Jimmy had a fresh legs so he could do it
early in the game.

Speaker 2 (18:30):
That late what was that twenty fourteen?

Speaker 3 (18:33):
Yeah, I was twenty fourteen the first time we played
the Saints. I was really excited about playing against them again.
They won that game and in Carolina, and it was
I mean, he.

Speaker 4 (18:44):
Jumped over me so fast.

Speaker 2 (18:45):
I talked to him later on Mike, what if did
you jump over me? Dog? Why do you do me
like that?

Speaker 4 (18:50):
He said, ro I thought you were going along like dude,
I wasn't even closer to going low. I said, don't
do that. I won't go low.

Speaker 2 (18:55):
Is this after the game? No, this is during during
a game. This is during the game. Assume he was
have like a.

Speaker 3 (19:01):
Bess like, all right, look, bro, I'm not gonna jump
over you if you don't go low back pretty.

Speaker 2 (19:04):
Much jumping over stupid. Don't be doing that.

Speaker 4 (19:11):
I was like, bro, I'm not gonna go low with you, like,
but I get it though, I get it.

Speaker 2 (19:15):
I should have joined over. Yes, yeah, it was funny.

Speaker 3 (19:18):
I do get it when you say like I assumed
that you were just going to go love like.

Speaker 1 (19:22):
Well, like I assume because one we prize against each other,
me you a mount, right, and they were like.

Speaker 2 (19:28):
Battles right special with Mount. That's that's why me and
him got so many fights.

Speaker 1 (19:34):
We you know, all the time. It was bad. Uh,
So I figured, you know, so you'al watching film. I'm like, bro,
like I know he's coming in, were coming over there,
and if I catch the ball in the middle and
it's me and him, I know he's chopping my legs
out and I'm gonna right on my forehead. It's like
it's not happening. So I predetermined all that. But we're
like right when I saw forty one, I was like, no,
nobody because you also like people realize like you were

(19:56):
smacking people.

Speaker 2 (19:57):
You know, it's like I smack been watching like on
that game. I know. That's why I said, bro, you.

Speaker 3 (20:05):
Yeah, dude, man, that was a yeah you got me
on that one, Thomas, good job.

Speaker 2 (20:11):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (20:12):
I wasn't ready for it.

Speaker 3 (20:13):
And it's just funny because, like I remember practicing against
Jimmy so many times in practice because I always had
to guard him. And that's when I knew him and
Drew were going to be so good, just because they
literally I had.

Speaker 2 (20:24):
Asked Jimmy, I'm like, Jimmy, like, what route was that?

Speaker 3 (20:26):
He's like, do I mean, Drew kind of lets me
just you know, do me do him and then just
find it.

Speaker 2 (20:32):
I'm like, because I'll be guarding Mike, I don't even.

Speaker 3 (20:35):
Think that was a route. Like I'm trying to because
I want to get better too. I always were trying
to help you out with things like, oh, dude, I
really liked how you set that up there.

Speaker 2 (20:42):
This part he's out there freestyling.

Speaker 3 (20:46):
By like year three with him and Drew, it was
like freestyling out there, real talk. And we always had
big time competition periods every Thursday and Friday.

Speaker 4 (20:55):
It was like big competition ones versus one.

Speaker 2 (20:58):
Where somebody's running yeah, We're like yeah, and we bet
we won't say we have money on the line.

Speaker 3 (21:03):
But It's definitely a lot of trash talk the line,
and it was like we're going at it.

Speaker 2 (21:08):
Yeah a little six seven, right, Maybe it was good dude,
I like that was good.

Speaker 3 (21:15):
It's good competition when you have that. I think the
fighting brings out the competition. We had plenty of fights
in Chicago with with the offense defense and you're just
like because you're trying to uh yeah, you're trying to
embarrass the guy because he trying to embarrass you. So
that just brings out the competitive side of both players
actually trying to get better. That's what makes us. That's
what makes the league so competitive. You're on the team,

(21:37):
you're only fifty three man roster, but we're still going
to be competitive within the team. Still, I still want
to be successful.

Speaker 1 (21:44):
Yeah, but that's also like, you know, as I got older,
they changed a lot of that, right there was there
wasn't a lot of that going on, you know. I
mean I got to Chicago on a fight and it
was like what is going on here right there? You know,
I almost got kicked out of practice. It was like
a whole thing. And I'm just come from New Orleans.

Speaker 2 (22:00):
Bro. We get Tim Tim fight to practice, right.

Speaker 3 (22:03):
It's so what you're saying is you're coming from like
an old school NFL and then you go to a
new team whatever and it's just like wait, what.

Speaker 2 (22:10):
What are we doing?

Speaker 1 (22:10):
Because things are changing? But like for me, and the
aspect is like one if it's not gonna be anything egregious,
you know what I'm saying, Like, you know, I'm gonna
blindside somebody come out of nowhere, you know, but if
you know there's a catching he tackles me and we
both get up with John, you know, something might happen.
Uh you know, So in the end, I would I
would find out quickly who the dogs run a team? Right,

(22:31):
you know, because because you know, I want to know
before we get out there on Sunday.

Speaker 3 (22:34):
You should have been there when I was. Need have
been fighting all the time. We just have been some dolls.

Speaker 1 (22:38):
It'd have been just like me and Malcolm. Yeah, me
and Malcolm fought basically every day.

Speaker 2 (22:41):
That was me and Brandon Marshall.

Speaker 3 (22:42):
We thought all the time every day because we were
just competing all the time, just fighting.

Speaker 4 (22:47):
Okay, all right, now here we go. Let's let's jump
into it.

Speaker 3 (22:50):
The same question I always ask Jimmy every time I
see him.

Speaker 2 (22:54):
What are you up to these days?

Speaker 1 (22:56):
It's always something everything, you know. So I just got
back from place cool. I was up in North Carolina
getting trained in this thing, this helicopter's Airbus H one five,
and got some Knivision training. So I'm going to help
out when there's like natural disasters as a helicopter pilot,
to like help bring food and get people out if
they're stuck. So that was probably one of the coolest

(23:16):
things I've ever done, honestly.

Speaker 3 (23:17):
And if you're getting called into Dudio to maybe help,
you'd come from here and go to wherever you're needed,
and then you'll get up in the skies.

Speaker 2 (23:25):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (23:25):
So basically the owner of the helicopter, I met him
in Palm Beach. We do a lot of charity together.
We help out a lot of veterans and kids. And
so the last hurricane they went to North Carolina. You know,
he had some people up there helping out because all
the roads were closed down. So basically his aspect is
anywhere really in America. What happens randomly is that the

(23:48):
quick response teams, you know, it takes them a bit
to get there. So a lot of private citizens that
they'll donate their their playing helicopter and their pilots to
try and help out because once these roads are closed,
there's no way in and out. You know, people are
starving people, you know, just the basic needs of like diapers,
food and water. And then if people are critical, you know,
you can take those people to facility.

Speaker 2 (24:10):
You know.

Speaker 1 (24:10):
I'm just excited to get the opportunity to want like
donate my time you know and skill set to help
people out.

Speaker 2 (24:15):
And never seems to not surprise me. I love it, though,
call me I fly with you.

Speaker 3 (24:21):
I'll be looking, man, let me know, let me know,
let me totally do that in a heartbeat.

Speaker 2 (24:26):
You should do it. It's fun. I don't know, you know,
Jimmy offered to fly me back home one time.

Speaker 3 (24:31):
Like I still can never get over Jimmy flying the
helicopter over the practice facility in New Orleans. Like it's
like just random one day because it is a helicopter
riter Like, what the world's going on?

Speaker 4 (24:41):
Oh, it's Jimmy up there. I like that.

Speaker 2 (24:44):
I like that.

Speaker 1 (24:45):
You let me know. All you do is ask Vilma.
Vilma came up into the aerobatics with me. Oh yeah,
because he lost a bad to me. Uh so, and
he's terrified of flying. Uh So he came up and
you know there's things like F one race car wings
and uh you know, at the end of he said,
mes was a incredible thing I've ever done. I'll do
this every week, every day I can. So you know
it's it's trust me. I'll take care of you. May

(25:05):
have a good time, okay, deal, and we'll put videos
and I'll cut a video for you.

Speaker 2 (25:10):
All right, all right, that's dope. I know what we're
doing tonight. We're doing it at night time, white Fosphorus.

Speaker 4 (25:20):
And we'll be right back.

Speaker 3 (25:22):
This summer, you were busy. You were in the Arctic.
You rolled across the Arctic. I don't know how many
miles it was, but I know it was something far
and it was something cold.

Speaker 2 (25:30):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (25:31):
So basically this thing was called the Arctic Challenge twenty
twenty five. There was four of us on the boat.
You know, one of my best friends, Andrew Trope, former
Navy Seal Team six, and we're at obviously a pub,
and talked about doing something like this, and then it
came about so how can I.

Speaker 2 (25:48):
Describe the difficulties of this?

Speaker 1 (25:51):
So basically, like last November is when I decided, okay,
this is there's a lot going on here. I really
need to take hold of similar responsibilities as far as
navigation comes, and well, you know, obviously from living on
a sailboat and flying helicopters and planes, I understand quite
a bit about that, but this is not a new level,
you know. So basically I spent you know, three months
reading everything.

Speaker 2 (26:11):
I could.

Speaker 1 (26:13):
About the weather up there, the ocean state, the sea state,
and then I even flew to London to meet with
our weather modeler. And so a weather model basically is
basically an outlook on what could happen based on what's
currently happening. So low pressure high pressure system isobars, and
then things at certain levels whins when gusts, and then
you have currents, and then you have swells and all

(26:35):
those things coming to factor when you're when you're rolling
a boat that goes to knots and they weighs eight
hundred pounds.

Speaker 2 (26:41):
So it was it was intense.

Speaker 3 (26:44):
Have you fully decompressed from coming off of this adventure?

Speaker 2 (26:51):
Definitely?

Speaker 1 (26:52):
I mean really, it took me about a month to
get my sleep back, you know. So some of the
complications of this is if you take one of the
things that we had to go through, it would be
probably the hardest thing you've ever done. But now you
you know, compound on top of that ten more things,
you know, like just sleep alone. The longest I slept
in ten days consecutive minutes was forty three minutes because

(27:17):
we're an hour and a half on, an hour and
a half off, so you know, and I have a
lot of jobs where I have to put it, you know,
put a satellite out, you know, upload take videos for
whather models, send it to him. We'll talk about the
course and what we should do and some of the
things coming up. And then my calorie burn was eighty
five ish one hundred calories a day, so I was
in taking you know, ten eleven thousand calories.

Speaker 2 (27:39):
As I could.

Speaker 1 (27:40):
I actually got saved by a cyclist that I cycle with.
He basically guided me on what he's done to help
his gut, because, you know, in taking that many calories,
that is like freeze draft food is so difficult, and
it's it's really hard for you. So what really saved
me was instant mass potatoes. You've never had a meal

(28:03):
like instant mass potatoes when you are that hungry, tired,
wet and cold.

Speaker 2 (28:08):
You know, it was literally brought my spirits up at times.
So how do you get instant mass potatoes in the Arctic?

Speaker 1 (28:14):
You could, yeah, uber no. So basically, so the setup
is we have to carry everything we need on the
boat to be able to last us what could possibly
be twenty days. Like there's some people that just finished
a row I forget it was like South America maybe

(28:34):
to Australia.

Speaker 2 (28:36):
That took them like five six months.

Speaker 1 (28:37):
So they have to carry that much like food and
all these extra parts in case something goes wrong. So
basically the boat is just like every little cabin is
just full of all these food and snacks and everything.
Because you basically are in zone two training twelve hours
a day, so you know, stopping you from cramping and
just getting blown up and you know, just dying. You
really need to take those calories. But the biggest thing

(28:59):
is our water, is the ability to make water. So
we have a water maker there and so every other
ship change, we have to basically make water, fresh water
for the food to heat.

Speaker 2 (29:10):
It up and these burners.

Speaker 1 (29:12):
So not only like let's say there was two big
fronts that came through The second one was the worst
for us. It was I would say twenty to twenty
five foot like swells. The winds were like twenty eight
got c yeah, no, no, I'm telling you, it was.

Speaker 2 (29:30):
Just got seak. It was crazy.

Speaker 1 (29:31):
It was twenty eight gusting thirty eight or forty four
something like that. And you know, the entire time, you know,
you're trying to keep the boat straight out of the
wind when it wants to point into the wind. But really,
like when you make your food. The couple in the back,
their job was heating up the water. So we're hitting
these swells and they're you know, basically turning on a
burner and you know, making boiling water then passing it down. So,

(29:56):
I mean, everything that you could think of made this
thing absolutely just torturous.

Speaker 3 (30:03):
Have you ever so before this, have you ever seen
or been in a twenty five foot swell?

Speaker 2 (30:10):
Now?

Speaker 4 (30:11):
Or okay, okay, because like the first time you see this.

Speaker 1 (30:15):
Oh yeah, no, no, well I have been in some
really bad weather, right obviously in a plane and just
from the sailboat stuff, you know, transporting sailboat back and
forth or you know, going out. But you know that's
a that's a that's a sixty two foot yacht, you
know what I mean. So it's like it's very stable.
But the principles of this, I mean had to study

(30:37):
quite a bit to make sure that I understood which
way we need to point it on the wave, and
then based on if we can, what we need to
either throw out this thing called a pair anchor or
a drogue, so the drug stops you. Basically, if the
swells get too big, you pull a drogue out, which
which which is behind this little boat, and it allows
you to go up and down these waves straight because

(30:58):
if you ever, if they get too big and you
go down straight, the whole boat of jackknife and roll
down what is technically a mountain of water, and then
everybody strapped on outside, who knows what's gonna happen. I mean,
you're probably gonna get hit by something. So I mean,
this was by far the most interous thing I've ever
done in my life, like in every way possible. Yeah,
but I'm here.

Speaker 2 (31:19):
I like it.

Speaker 3 (31:20):
I mean, mon was nowhere near what you did. I
did Lake Michigan, Lake Michigan, and we just did ours
in a day. We just did non stop, so we
never got a chance to sleep.

Speaker 2 (31:31):
We just did it a hours, which was was still
a beast.

Speaker 4 (31:35):
It's still a beast.

Speaker 2 (31:35):
Something wrong, Yeah, yeah, still a beast.

Speaker 3 (31:37):
But we looked at the weather ones like all right,
the currents this way, we should go now, yeah, stars
up a day just because the way the swell or
excuse me, the way the current was going.

Speaker 2 (31:49):
Like if I wanted to go straight, I had to
really turn the boat that. Yeah, go on that way.
We learned early.

Speaker 3 (31:56):
We took a break, we took like a ten minute break,
and we lorady to sail and we.

Speaker 2 (32:01):
Drifted back a mile.

Speaker 3 (32:03):
So what we did was we had a pair anchor
a chase boat with so whenever we would like take
a ten minute break, we were just anchored to that
boat and they would just kind of hold us some
place just kind of yeah.

Speaker 1 (32:16):
So, I mean for us, we had to we had
nobody around us, so we had to throw out a
pair anchor. So the par acre really stops you from
basically drift drift like that much. But like to talk
about how difficult this was, it was some of the
worst things was in the cabin because you have to
keep it sealed. Your breath is is creating this humidity,
so all the walls are just dripping water. So everything

(32:38):
in the basically everything in the cabin is completely soaking wet.
So so you you know, you've been on deck getting
hit by waves. Now you take that stuff. It's freezing
cold out there. Then you take that off and you
get this waterproof sleeping bag. But kind of everything is wet,
you know, and just being like that, not showering for
ten days and then having to use the bathroom in
a bucket is tough. It's it's a it's a definitely

(32:59):
humbling experience in many ways.

Speaker 3 (33:01):
Did everyone leave the boat the inside of we'll call
it the cockpit. Did everyone leave the cockpit when a
person had to use the bathroom?

Speaker 2 (33:08):
Oh no, no.

Speaker 1 (33:09):
So so the setup of this boat is so there's
there's a cabin on both ends of it, and then
there's three little kind of like rowing seats. The back
seat we actually took out, and that's where the bucket was.
Oh okay, so outside, so if you can imagine, like
you know, you I mean it took me, it took

(33:31):
me seventy two hours. Vies about them, right, because the
way we're eating, and you know, I could barely sleep
for the first set hours trying to get us because
I actually decided to take a different route than anybody'd
ever gone before for reasons that I believe will work better,
you know, based on what I know about weather and winds,
and so it was very intense, you know, first forty

(33:51):
eight seventy two hours, and so imagine you know, like
let's say it's gustin twenty and it's you know, overcast,
can't you know it's it's it's cold as raining, These
big old waves are coming out and basically you have
to just walking along the side of this. You have
to have three points of contact or your fall in
the water. Yeah, so now you're like, all right, I'm
going to I'm gonna use a bathroom, and you got

(34:12):
to kind of get behind everybody, and then you're wearing
all these layers, so now you got to figure out
your way out of some of these.

Speaker 2 (34:19):
And then you got this little bitty bucket. I'm a
grown man.

Speaker 1 (34:23):
So so you know, now I'm trying to figure out
as you're holding on to these deals.

Speaker 2 (34:28):
Yeah, you know, it was hold on.

Speaker 3 (34:33):
I got more sleeping talk about the sleeping arrangements, like
you you kind of went into it but give me
a little bit more detail, like where and how did
you sleep? Like I do a set of ruin, or
I do a shift a ring, I do my hour
and twelve hour and a half.

Speaker 2 (34:46):
I come back inside. Do you leave all that on?
When you take all that off? Just getting your sleeping bag, Like,
explain that set up.

Speaker 1 (34:53):
So basically, you know you've been on an hour and
a half cranking as hard as you can right for
the most part in the zone two, zone three, depending
on where the weather is. So the cabin door opens up,
and I see my friend and he's smiling, and I
just tell him I hate him because I'm miserable all
the time. And then so he climbs out. You kind
of get in there, and right when you get into
the front door, you kind of take off your big

(35:14):
jacket and a bit. And me and him figured out
because my hands were freezing cold. Even though I played
in Green Bay, I'm just not built for that stuff,
you know. I'm more of a Miami guy. So we
would actually use the same gloves so that the gloves
are warm when you first got out there. So basically
I get in there, I look at weather winds, I

(35:34):
send some stuff the weather modeler.

Speaker 2 (35:36):
I make sure everything's good.

Speaker 1 (35:37):
Eat a little bit, and now I try to set
an alarm because the biggest thing is you don't want
to be late for the next ship, right because yeah, yeah,
and when you're sleep deprived and you're hungry, and you're
cold and you're wet, I mean, the last thing in
your mind is thinking is be a good teammate. It's like,
let me just get ten more minutes, you know. So

(35:57):
basically you have to sit in there and the boats
rock and then at our feet, like I was too
big to actually stretch out on the boat, so you know,
I'm trying to find a position that doesn't Also in
front of us is this like rudder. So it's it's
our auto tiller technically, but if you touch it, it'll
just fall off. And now the boats just start doing circles.
Now you got to open the door, reset everything. So

(36:21):
and also that thing is insanely loud, So our cabin
because of all carbon fiber, you can barely hear.

Speaker 2 (36:28):
This thing is so loud.

Speaker 1 (36:29):
So I would try and lay down and try to
make myself off asleep, and you know, next thing, I
know would be like thirty minutes later, this alarm will
go off, and you there's nothing in your body that
wants to get up, like, no part of you. I mean,
you're hurting so bad. But you know, then again, I
gotta go there for my boy. So I put my
stuff on, kick the door open, look at him smiling.
So yeah, it was crazy, put on that fake smile.

(36:52):
So you go ten days straight.

Speaker 3 (36:55):
Because I'm still just trying to get a vision of
all of this. I can't believe you did another thing.
But yes, I can't. Actually I can't believe that.

Speaker 4 (37:04):
So but you're just rotating the whole time. Yeah, so
it's three that are rowing.

Speaker 2 (37:10):
No, it's two on, two off. So it's two on,
two off, and.

Speaker 4 (37:13):
You guys, somebody's rowing for ten straight.

Speaker 2 (37:16):
Days all the time. Ye. The boat's moving, Yeah, the
boat's moving.

Speaker 3 (37:20):
And you went a total of five hundred and eighty
four miles.

Speaker 2 (37:23):
Yeah, notical miles, Yeah, nautical nical miles. There's a difference,
big difference. Just keep going. Oh, yes, that's a whole
nother conversation. What is the difference. So there's miles of
nautical miles. One is different.

Speaker 1 (37:37):
I mean notical miles was set up back in the
day because they used to use knots on a rope,
and it's historic and that's what they use not only
for sailing, but for flying.

Speaker 3 (37:44):
All right, at this moment you got about this video,
how are you feeling at this moment?

Speaker 1 (37:50):
Me?

Speaker 2 (37:50):
Miserable, cold.

Speaker 1 (37:53):
I'm like, like you can't see much of my face,
you know, like I'm trying to cover up as much
as similar possible. And not only that, but you know
you're not washing your face. You get wind blasted. So
all this like like your skin is starting to peel off,
you know, like the skin in your hands is starting
to peel off. So and right about here, this is
like after halfway. This is right when my side joint

(38:15):
in my back started like acting up. So you know,
not only that I'm suffering. You know, I've had reconstructive
wrist surgery. I've had reconstructive right knee surgery. You know,
I've had a lot of injuries in my past. And
so right about halfway is when I really started feeling
a lot of those injuries.

Speaker 3 (38:28):
This is what no one was left a feather, the
feathering with the did y'all start that first?

Speaker 2 (38:35):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (38:36):
So like if you're like a really sculling, then then
you feather, but with this you don't it straight. Yeah,
because they're so high, so you don't really need to feather.
And really, that constant motion for ten days, you're not
gonna be to keep that up.

Speaker 2 (38:49):
I gotcha. I didn't know nothing about that, did you.
I don't even know a feather. Me no idea. I
found out last year.

Speaker 3 (38:56):
That means I don't even feel bad. What was the
first thing you did when you got off the boat?

Speaker 1 (39:01):
Well, so NFL Films was there, Okay, so we're going
to see that at some point, okay this season. I
have no idea. What I said, I have no idea.
I was like a loosener at that point. But basically,
so I get off this boat. There's all these cameras around,
and I hadn't stood up in ten days, and you know,
being on the wave, so I just fell down, like

(39:22):
I couldn't use my legs for the first time.

Speaker 2 (39:24):
You know.

Speaker 1 (39:25):
It felt like, you know, like after a major surgery.
I mean, you just have no strength and no like
stability in your inner ear. And then basically we got
what we could. We got in about like eleven o'clock
or ten o'clock, we found a hotel aim Or pm pm. Okay,
but there, so it's twenty four hours daylight, so you know,
it hasn't been dark yet, you know, even when you're

(39:45):
in the cabin.

Speaker 2 (39:45):
It's still light. Yeah, So we basically go to the hotel.

Speaker 1 (39:48):
Nothing's really open because we're in this place called fal Art,
which is it's like a glacier island. So it was
a wild place to see because it's there's so many
different there's so many different people there from different continents
because you don't really need a visa to go there
and work, so it's it's a very international place where
there's doing a lot of studying on you know, ice,

(40:10):
climate change and all these things, so a lot of
brains there.

Speaker 2 (40:14):
But we get to a hotel.

Speaker 1 (40:15):
My secretary was working on a hotel in flights twenty
four hours once we saw land because we couldn't see
land even though we're beside it for three days and
it's a few yours, we couldn't see it because there's
fall for three days. So we get to the hotel
and the only place open is a pizza place. So
I ordered four large pizzas and we all sit down
outside and destroy you know. But the number one thing

(40:38):
I did. When I went back to room was I
took a shower for an hour. I just sat there. Man,
It's like, you know, just having a warm shower was
probably one of the best experiences, one of the best
things I've ever I've ever got in my life, because
you know, you've been without it for so long.

Speaker 3 (40:53):
How emotion so I can relate to the whole not
walking for for ten days. I just did it or
a day, and I got very emotional toward the end.
Once I could see land about two three miles away,
I got really emotional NFL films that were there for mine.
So I remember I started crying, and I remember why
I was doing it. We did it for like a

(41:14):
neuro blackstorma and cancer research, and we had all these
names of these kids that have passed away, a few
kids that have passed away from neural bleastoma. And I
just remember I got so emotional when I was sleep deprived,
and I was just like, if you cancer, and I'm like,
I'm crying. And then I get on shore and I
just I fought. I just I just laid there. It's

(41:35):
just like my legs are tired. The difference though, is
maybe a week after I did the role.

Speaker 2 (41:41):
I had a.

Speaker 3 (41:41):
Blood clot in my calf that went up into my
lungs and damn near killed me. And I had I
was for like a day or two like so that
was that was my experience from way better you did it.

Speaker 2 (41:55):
I'm laughing because I survived death. That's why I'm laughing.
I'm not like almost dumb.

Speaker 3 (42:01):
No, I'm laughing because that's a vibe, okay. And I'm
still here to slap you in your chest.

Speaker 2 (42:06):
That's why I'm still here.

Speaker 4 (42:07):
I mean I appreciate it well.

Speaker 1 (42:08):
Like like talking about like getting emotional, I'm I'm pretty
sure I did as well. Uh Like whenever the cameras came,
I really don't remember what I said. But midway through
is this island that we really try to stay away
from called Bear Island, and we're halfway through. That's when
Hannah passed out letters that the Covenant House had done
and it was all the kids that we were rolling

(42:29):
for to raise some money. Uh so everybody kind of
read a letter, you know, and and you know, it
really centered things to really why we're there, what we're doing,
why we're suffering. And then once we touched Shorty, it
was like I wasn't even thinking really about myself. You know,
it just it just reminded me, you know of really
you know, who we did it for. Why we're out there,

(42:51):
you know, why why would you know this, this this
big idiot be up in the Arctic ocean freezing and
suffering like that, and and you know, it's really to
inspire the kids, you know, and and you know, to
give them opportunities, you know, to to live a better
life and to get out of the situation. And you know,
you know I was, I was one of those kids.

(43:11):
And so every time I do something, I usually tag
on and make sure that I do something for you know, youth,
you know, who are suffering like I did when I
was a kid. So you know that for me was
the biggest thing. And uh, you know it's hard to
talk about even now, because that's what's the most important
part about this entire adventure, was, you know, creating these

(43:31):
opportunities and inspiring the youth.

Speaker 3 (43:33):
Out of all the adventures that you've done, what's been
the most comparing with this one, What's like, what's been
like the best lesson learned, something that you've learned about yourself?

Speaker 1 (43:43):
Yeah, well, I hate cool weather.

Speaker 2 (43:48):
I know that now, no doubt. I think.

Speaker 1 (43:54):
You know, when I was, when I was younger, I
did a lot of things, you know, for myself. You know,
I had a lot of my own goals, and you know,
some of those goals I fell short, you know, like
short of uh, you know, coming out of high school
and you know, even in college. And you know when
when I stopped falling short is when I started doing
it for a bigger purpose. And you know that's one

(44:17):
of the reasons why I've been on this crime for
so long, you know, trying to do so much for
the kids is is because you know, I realize, you know,
how important I why is and and you know it
motivates me every day to get up and and you know,
to push myself and to become a better person and
to try and you know, bring light on certain issues.
So I would say, you know, really my motivations in
life have changed dramatically, and it's through these experiences. You know,

(44:41):
I've learned so much from doing you know, the more
I do for others, you know, really, the more I'm
doing for myself, you know, the more healing I'm doing
for myself, for my childhood, you know, the more healing
I'm doing for myself and falling short in many ways
in my life, you know. So for me, you know,
that's been one of the biggest things that I've gotten
out of this and many of the things that I've
done in my life.

Speaker 3 (45:00):
I love you hear hearing you say that, Jimmy, because
I know because I know your background, I know your
family upbringing, I know your family that brought you in
and how much they meant you and all that other
stuff and so, and I know how much your personal
goals have mattered to you, like the things that you've
tried to go and achieve, and you know from the
whole battle of are you a tight end.

Speaker 2 (45:20):
Or wide receiver?

Speaker 4 (45:22):
You know, like all of these.

Speaker 3 (45:23):
Things, and then the injuries from Seattle, and I knew
how much you wanted to go out there and crush
and do these things.

Speaker 2 (45:30):
And and so.

Speaker 3 (45:31):
To hear you say like, no, actually, like the more
I've tried to do for myself, the more I've fallen short.
But I've never fallen short when I try and do
something for somebody else.

Speaker 1 (45:40):
Yeah, Well, I mean it's like you know, when I
was younger, and then many times and you know, throughout
many periods of my life always felt like you know,
it was me versus the world. You know, you know
that's how you end up to the NFL. Yeah, you
know that's end U getting traded. Is you know when
when when you try to always live like that, you know,
and then you know, eventually I kind of flipped it,
and now is it's like me and I got a

(46:02):
little army behind me of the reasons I'm doing stuff.
You know that that extremes of motivation, and you know
it really has molded me and changed me a lot
as a human being.

Speaker 2 (46:10):
You know, as you know, you know I was pretty intense. John.
What I'm saying.

Speaker 3 (46:17):
A little bit like this is really an evolve vision
of yourself, bro, Like this is awesome most of us,
include myself, even to where you are right now.

Speaker 2 (46:26):
And so I just I'm thankful.

Speaker 3 (46:29):
Do an adventure like like that. I promise you will
get there.

Speaker 1 (46:32):
Oh yeah, so if you want to, oh no, no, no,
I can make that happen next year if you want.
It's I mean, really, you know, what I've realized is
is that you know when when when you push yourself
to to a level of extreme exhaustion, like to what

(46:53):
you think is your limit.

Speaker 2 (46:55):
That's when you really find out who you are.

Speaker 1 (46:57):
Right, you know, when we know, when life's always comfortable,
you know, maybe some things might pass by in some
you know, some character leads or you know, you know,
maybe some laziness kind of happens. But when you're pushed
to that level, you know you have to make a decision.
And and when you're at that decision point, that's when
you really find out who you are.

Speaker 2 (47:15):
I'm just so impressed. Next time you want to do
something crazy, call me. I'll do. I got set I
look for to do like this, and I'll be I'll
be trying to up the game.

Speaker 3 (47:23):
And I know I'm forty four, but I just like,
what can I do to push myself?

Speaker 2 (47:27):
Like the high Rocks.

Speaker 3 (47:28):
I'm doing high Rocks right, And you're just like, but why,
I'm like, I just want to push myself a little bit.

Speaker 2 (47:33):
I just want to see you. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (47:34):
Well, first thing you got to do is come flow
with me. I'm game and I'll show you something.

Speaker 2 (47:39):
I'm game.

Speaker 3 (47:39):
I'm like this close of getting into a flight schooling
about I'm thinking about doing one back back home and learning.

Speaker 2 (47:46):
To HI on a small plane. First. Yeah, well, learning.

Speaker 1 (47:49):
Well, everybody has to, so let me know, and I'll
look at the school. I'll make sure the maintenance and
the planes are right. Yeah, I'll talk to you instructors,
make sure they're good, and then you'll learn a little bit.
And then i'll show you how to flip a plane
a little be easy.

Speaker 2 (48:00):
So game.

Speaker 4 (48:01):
We'll be right back after a quick break.

Speaker 3 (48:04):
All right, So Jimmy, the other question, I'll always ask you,
what's next, what's your new adventure?

Speaker 2 (48:09):
What do you have going on? I know you always
have something going on, So.

Speaker 1 (48:13):
Yeah, the world I mean right now, really just focus
on business. You know, I started like a lending company
back in eighteen. We basically just it's a short term
lending company. And now we're in the process of buying
a bank. So there's some due diligence here that goes
on with that, and it'll be it's a nation, it's
under a national flag. But we really are just trying

(48:34):
to just have a better community bake down here in
South Florida, you know, that's fully integrated, provides everything like
a big bank does, and really just focus on that
and the debt fund. I'm also part of a venture
capital fund out of a DC called flint Lock with
a former soa compilot, Joe Seamus his name. And so
for me right now is just kind of focusing on business.

(48:55):
You know, I was blessed enough like when I was younger,
because the guys like you, many guys on the team
were always already established when I came on the team,
and really especially Vilma really pressed upon me, you know,
understanding cash flow, where my money's going, where to invest in,
how to do it, who to talk to, how you
need to educate yourself in that. You know, I'm not
going to blindly give my money to somebody when six

(49:17):
months of studying I can, I can truly understand where
that money's going, what questions to ask and understand. You
know what my biggest issue right now currently is, which
is taxes and fees, right I need to I need
to make sure I'm paying at least amount of taxes
and fees as humanly possible, especially if you're in you know,
like the market.

Speaker 2 (49:34):
Right.

Speaker 1 (49:34):
So I was always in my et spans that's to
be a five hundred, you know, just doing things kind
of smartly. And I was able to do that because
I had unbelievable mentors in a business space, but really
teammates that were also doing that, you know, Marcus Colson, right,
you know, just like all it was interesting because that
team was so unique, the Seattle Seahawks, right, that whole team,
like they have a little group together and they all

(49:56):
they all invest together on projects, right, So you know,
you know, part of these great teams were a lot
of guys Aaron Rodgers, right, he is very very busy
in that space. Drew Brees as well, So you know,
I had great mentors in that and so really moving
on to that. But right now, gearing up to eventually
start doing air shows, you know, that's I'm trying to

(50:17):
find the right platform. You know, I know that we're
gonna end up getting a combat Leader jet, which used
to fly air shows with Clay Lacy and Joe Clark.
It's a beast. It's basically a little private jet that
does roles and Lootsen does aerobatics. But really one of
the things that I can replace is entertaining people, right,
like I remember like getting it being able to go

(50:40):
back to New Orleans and score again in that stadium.
They're they're none better, They're none better in life, like
to go one on one against a grown man or
really there were kids at that moment. Right, he's like
ten years younger than me, and tell him, yeah, I'm
getting a ball and just jump over him and in
the crowd teammates, I'm head bumping and there's nothing that

(51:02):
can really replace that, right yeah. And that's a problem
for me because I scored so many times in the NFL.
It's because I was addicted to that feeling.

Speaker 2 (51:08):
Uh, you know.

Speaker 1 (51:09):
So for me, I think, you know, really continuing, you know,
to push myself in aviation, to do some air shows
in front of crowds and be able to you know, uh,
you know, continue with the program I have with the
kids with young Eagles. But in the end, there are
some things on the horizon, you know. I think, one
day I love to sail around the world solo. And
then when it comes to the next big event, me

(51:32):
Luke Wilson, NHL guy, and maybe my Navy steal boy,
maybe you uh, you know, we might do the Ram
Race race across America, which is on bikes. It's front
of West coast to the east, cost three thousand miles, so.

Speaker 2 (51:44):
I do that. I was wondered. I was like, he's
going to definitely cycle Florida.

Speaker 4 (51:49):
I was all the way, all the way the.

Speaker 2 (51:51):
Whole I was like, I hope you don't save me
for selling around the world. I don't want to. Yes,
you love that. Now you should look this up.

Speaker 1 (52:00):
Is one of the most brutal, Like I mean, I
think the solo person like the records like seven six
days or something like that across the Yeah, three thousand miles.
You're not stopping, bro. This this is this is one
of the hardest.

Speaker 2 (52:14):
Is it a relay er?

Speaker 3 (52:14):
Is it all for individual I'll let you know, Okay,
I'm gonna get a peloton.

Speaker 1 (52:20):
I got there's a team they have like basically one, two, four,
and I think maybe eight, and then there's like you know,
mixed and like all these other things. So I'm gonna
figure out what's best for whoever is willing to do
this with me. They're want to raise some money. Absolutely,
and this this trip will be probably the most probably
the funniest thing you ever been a part of, because

(52:41):
Luke Wilson is probably one of the funniest people you've
ever been around. He is absolutely his NHL boy equally
as funny. And Andrew Trope is is equally as funny.
So you basically have you know, it's basically like a
little frat team biking across America.

Speaker 2 (52:58):
So it's gonna be cool. That's so.

Speaker 3 (53:00):
My last and final question is, uh, we asked all
of our all of our guests this question, Mount Rushmore.
You get four people to pick that have helped you
turn you into the guy you are today. You could
be on the field, off the field, just four people
have had a positive influence on you in your life.

Speaker 1 (53:18):
Who would those four people be? There's probably twenty. Becky
Vincent Delay took me into high school. You know, you know,
I owe her a lot, you know, and and you know,
she believed in me when no one did, and and
you know, gave me a roof for my head. And uh,
you know, she's the first person tell me how smart

(53:39):
you know, and and and then so I started believing it. Now,
I mean, I'm still idiot, but you know I can
read it.

Speaker 2 (53:44):
Remember that matters. Yeah, Yeah, there's a big deal. It's
a big deal.

Speaker 1 (53:49):
Tammy Myerson, Uh, she unfortunately passed away three months after
I got traded to Seattle.

Speaker 2 (53:57):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (53:57):
Tammy was my manager and I've been a part of
her family. She took me in and she's the one
who taught me business, and you know, she opened my
eyes to you know how I needed to see certain
things and introduced me to a lot of amazing people,
a great community down here in Miami that I'm still
close with today.

Speaker 2 (54:19):
Well, there's so many people.

Speaker 1 (54:23):
One of the bigger influences on myself in my career.
Really it's hard to split them up. But Jonathan Bilma, Uh,
you know, I came in as a young basketball player
and my last day, my rookie year, Jonathan Bilma says,
you're gonna be back in Miami.

Speaker 2 (54:43):
I said yeah.

Speaker 1 (54:43):
He's like, well, I start working out in the week
and if you follow me, I'll get you paid. So
you fast forward to when I sued the NFL. Jonathan
Vilma he told me, he said, listen, I told you
that if you follow me, I'm gonna get you paid.
So I'm gonna finish what I started. So until you
get paid, I'm gonna work out with to every day.
So he worked out with me every day for six
months and then retired after I got paid. You know,

(55:05):
he was a true leader. We had many leaders on
our team. He's a true leader. No, you saw were you.
And that's that's what's so unique about that team as
well as like the Legion of boom Is there was
not just one leader. I mean, there was a leader
every position, right, and that's what made those teams special. Wow,

(55:28):
there's too many people to name at the end. It
is a tough question. It's a tough question.

Speaker 2 (55:33):
Too many people. I got one more what you got?
Really with my career, I would say Drew Brees.

Speaker 1 (55:42):
You know, he he had no reason to, you know,
explain to me what he thought I could be my first,
dam only job. You know, he had no reason to
to call my name against Atlanta with all those proven
players in there chancing a lot right to believe in

(56:02):
a kid like me who wasn't a football player, who
still didn't understand what defenses were right. I was still
trying to just line up on the right splace and
run the right route. It's at the right depth, you know.
And and you know, so last year being able to
induct him with the Saints Hall of Fame was a
special moment for me. You know, I couldn't really hold

(56:22):
emotions back obviously, and neither could he, you know, because
I think you know, we both know how special that
moment was. Those moments that we had together were for
each other, you know, because I really didn't have you know,
a lot of family growing up, so you know, for him,
I always felt like he was my older brother. And
and you know the way he put confidence in me,

(56:46):
you know.

Speaker 2 (56:46):
So yeah, man, good job. I appreciate it. Man, dude,
I appreciate having you know.

Speaker 4 (56:53):
Before we let you go, man, I think we want
to show.

Speaker 2 (56:56):
You a little something.

Speaker 3 (56:57):
Okay, so you tell us what you think when you
see that.

Speaker 2 (57:00):
Okay, that's the guy.

Speaker 3 (57:05):
The picture he saw when he was younger than this
too would have picked out.

Speaker 4 (57:12):
Did the Afro have a name?

Speaker 1 (57:13):
No, no, no, well no, that's when everybody call me
big Red, big Red, big Red at one point in
time because I'm from the South, you know what I mean.

Speaker 2 (57:21):
So like you know, everybody hate be Red. You know,
that's how it was, you know.

Speaker 1 (57:25):
So, yes, this is the this is what we knew
the mass. But don't get a twisted like he will
make fun of that. But that kid right there, he
will dunk on you for sure. Just know what he
was doing. Yeah, yeah, yeah I was. I wasn't trying
to shoot at all. I was just trying to get
just dunk on everybody.

Speaker 2 (57:41):
Yeah, So I.

Speaker 3 (57:42):
Love it, man, Jimmy, Man, you know how much I
love you. Dog appreciate it, man, dude, You're You're awesome man,
and you're always keeping it so being entertaining by everything
you're doing. And I just love that you have reached
the point where it's no longer about you and that
you really have found joy and trying to do things
for others and that you really like Man, that's a
real goal and you've never fallen short when you did that.

Speaker 2 (58:03):
So I'm gonna take that with me. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (58:05):
Well, I appreciate both of you guys, you know, one
for the battles that we had and reallyated leadership man,
you know, it's it's uh, you know, when I met you,
you were almost like a grown man. I thought, because
a great hair, uh, but you know, really how you
handle yourself man, it's a leader.

Speaker 2 (58:20):
Right.

Speaker 1 (58:20):
It really inspired me a lot, really taught me a lot,
and really humbled me in many ways, especially watching you
go back to New Orleans. Right, it was a big
reason I did, you know, So I appreciate that. I
appreciate that because I really needed it at the time.
So thank you, no doubt, bro, no doubt.

Speaker 2 (58:35):
Man.

Speaker 3 (58:35):
Well, thank you man for and Jimmy Man for shure Man.
You know that for an All you guys listeners and
where you pick up your podcast at where you're watching
it or.

Speaker 2 (58:44):
Listening put my leg up to but I don't know if
there man.

Speaker 4 (58:48):
Uh, we appreciate it.

Speaker 3 (58:49):
Man. Make sure you give us a like subscribe if
you leave a couple of comments for us. Make sure
that that follow button too, And whether you listen at
iHeartRadio Apple podcasts, please tune in and continue to tell
a friend to tell a friend to web Peanut teleprame.

Speaker 2 (59:01):
There you go, man, get us out of here. Peanut,
that's Roman.

Speaker 3 (59:04):
That's Jimmy, Jimmy g and We Out And this is
the NFL Player's second act podcast, We Out

Speaker 2 (59:24):
M