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December 13, 2023 53 mins

On the latest NFL Players: Second Acts podcast, Super Bowl champion Brendon Ayanbadejo joins Peanut and Roman. Brendon and Peanut reminisce about their time as teammates with the Chicago Bears, which included playing in Super Bowl XLI. Brendon also shares what it as like to be on the field for two of the most iconic kick returns in Super Bowl history. Brendon has found success after his NFL career, also, and shares his “P-Pod Theory” and how he got involved in the business world with “Orange Theory Fitness.” And he talks about his gay rights advocacy, and why he spoke out about it during playing days in a time when it wasn’t trendy.

0:00 - start of the show

1:26 - Brendon introduction
2:38 - The guys talk about their experience playing in the Super Bowl
5:00 - Brendon discusses his Nigerian name
8:46 - Brendon discusses his support for gay rights
14:50 - The guys discuss the Colin Kaepernick situation
16:37 - Brendon talks about being on the field for Devin Hester and Jacoby Jones’ Super Bowl kick return touchdowns
23:00 - Brendon shares his peapod theory
27:09 - Brendon explains how he started working with Orange Theory
39:32 - The guys discuss if Cross fitters are athletes
40:58 - Brendon explains how he has overcome adversity in his life
44:25 - The guys talk about Kobe Bryant and “Mamba Mentality”
47:05 - Brendon gives his personal Mount Rushmore

**NOTE: Time codes are approximate

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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I'm Brendan, I am Bide Joe and this is the
NFL Players Second Acts Podcast.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for tuning in.

Speaker 3 (00:22):
I'm Peanut Tooming and this is the NFL Players Second
Acts Podcast. My god, Roman, he got the black and
white up top, he got the black and white shirt,
he got the concord. Jay's on, what's up, dog, don't
hurt nothing now? Feeling good dog? Good morning? Come feeling
at his studios, were feeling live and we lit right now.

Speaker 2 (00:44):
What's up?

Speaker 1 (00:45):
Well?

Speaker 2 (00:45):
When you call me out, I gotta do it. So
thank you for first and foremost, thank you, Peanut story. Yes,
start being yourself and the introduction only gets weirder every
time we do this. And now we're going to introduce
our guest in just the second, but first and foremost
think all of our listeners. Our view was out there
anywhere you pick up podcasts, whether it's Apple podcasts or
iHeartRadio podcast Thank you so much for always tune in.

(01:07):
Shout out to iHeart Radio taking care of us. Last
time we're in New York. Now we're in LA. You
continue to travel, This thing continues to move, we continue
to grow, and we'll have more and more listeners. Tell
a friend, to tell a friend, to tell a friend.
Continue to hit us. Give us five star rating, give
us a rating of review. Click that follow button. Thomas,
you like that one? Peanut who we got today? Keep

(01:28):
back there smiling. I'm Peanut Tillman. We got a great
show for you today. One of my old teammates is
going down ten year event, three time pro bowler. One
super Bowl forty seven, I sho would have been with
the Bears, but it was with that other team. Yeah,
but he asked us you were on the team, Peanut. Clearly,
if you're on the team, you don't win Super Bowl.

Speaker 1 (01:47):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:47):
Yeah, yeah, but he won Super Bowl forty seven. He
is a business icon. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Brendan
tom today. Joe, all right, no, I'm going to start
this one off. So Brandon, could you please share with
the people when you first saw Peanut what you said

(02:09):
and what does that mean.

Speaker 1 (02:11):
It's not what it sounds like. It's just it's just
peanut in Spanish, Spanish.

Speaker 2 (02:16):
Yeah yeah, And so we go way back. You guys
clearly go way back. And when you guys greet, the
greet each other the way you do, and all of
a sudden, everybody else in the room feels a little
bit like what, yeah, what is that?

Speaker 1 (02:28):
You guys?

Speaker 2 (02:29):
Just break that out of I thought that was a
very just like old times.

Speaker 1 (02:32):
Yeah, you know, we go chest to chest, left side
so you can feel my heartbeat.

Speaker 2 (02:35):
Yeah, yeah, one thousand.

Speaker 1 (02:39):
Like that. When you go through a tragedy like losing
a super Bowl together, that makes you real tight.

Speaker 2 (02:45):
Yes, sir, this is why we're together right now. Is like, actually, yes,
you're correct, we're right here.

Speaker 3 (02:53):
I still have would you The bad part, well, I
shouldn't say bad part. Bad good part for you is
you actually won Super seven. Like I'm over two, you're
one and one. You're one and one, yeah, over two,
one on one, one and one. Yeah, like that. That
stuff hurt. I haven't fully recovered, you guys.

Speaker 2 (03:11):
Is a little bit different situation though, because you lost
yours first, then you won it the second time. I
want it first, then I lost it this second time.
So it's still different emotions. Not trying to get in
this whole super Bowl you know, mind's better than yours,
or you don't have this and so, but it is
a different emotion because once you win it once you understand,

(03:31):
you want it for all your next next up teammates.
You want them to be able to share that infro,
that that feeling, that emotion. And but when you actually
lose it first and then win it, I guess it
is like this one thing is like, oh oh my gosh.
You never know if you're going to get back, you
never know how you're going to get there, and all
of a sudden you win it again.

Speaker 1 (03:51):
I'm sure it's very special. Yeah, I think winning it
was the last game I ever played in, and I
kind of had an inkling that it was going to
be the last game I ever played in. And so
just that whole season, just hearing the national anthem and
just playing and lacing them up, I kind of, you know,
had a feeling it was gonna be my last season.
It was ray Lewis's last season, and a lot of
other guys as well. We had a lot of vests
on that team. Man. I would cry like a baby

(04:12):
every time I would hear the anthem, and then of
course for the Super Bowl, cried like a baby. Yeah,
And but luckily it got that that monkey off my
back and got the win. But I do have one
regret from the Super Bowl that I played with Peanut
and we lost. Is that I didn't go to the
post game celebration. And if I could do all that
stuff over really and I would do all the post game,
I would just do everything because it is special to

(04:33):
get there. It's really rare and special to win, but
it's still very special to get there. And I just didn't.
I didn't appreciate it, Like I.

Speaker 3 (04:40):
Remember the night because Common performed. Common was there, he performed,
but it was still just kind of bittersweet though. It
was just like, yeah, because you didn't win.

Speaker 2 (04:47):
Because you didn't win.

Speaker 3 (04:48):
Like, don't get me wrong, Common from Chicago, he or
their freestyling doing his thing.

Speaker 2 (04:52):
It was just like it just was a It put
a damper, It was a dood. It was I'm not yeah, Brendon,
all right, So first question, could you please tell us
how to say your real name.

Speaker 1 (05:07):
I know how to say it.

Speaker 2 (05:08):
I've done some research, so could you please share with
the people what your real name is and what it
also means.

Speaker 1 (05:13):
Right, so I'll take you back to the motherland and
a lot of people that know me, they know I'm
half Nigerian and half Irish. But I would say I'm
one hundred percent black. That doesn't matter, right, But it doesn't. No,
I mean it matters, but I'm just you know, I'm
just giving you some extra extra color on the situation.
I appreciate it. But so my real name is Ola
Dele and so the Nigerian side, traditionally, your grandparents will

(05:34):
name you. And I was born in the States, but
my grandma knew that I was going to be coming
home to Nigeria very soon, and so she named me
Wealth follows me home, which is and we played with
a lot of Nigerian teammates ale Ogunli Israeli, Donaje by
Batunde like so many. Even my brother had a stint
Opa Fami had a stint with us. But yeah, so
just traditionally, your your grandparents will name you. It's basically

(05:56):
like like like Michael. You know, it's a very common name.

Speaker 2 (06:00):
Well, I didn't know that until all of a sudden
I've read about yours and then I actually learned what
this my son's friend's name was and also yours as well.
But so how did how did you That's your name
is Ola Deli, but right you go by Brendan, Right,
So how did that kind of transition or how did
that happen?

Speaker 3 (06:17):
That's the Irish Irish man.

Speaker 1 (06:23):
So what it was was, uh, I was born in Chicago,
so that's why it was special for me to play
with the Bears. One Super Bowl with the Bears, and
then we moved to Nigeria. Then we came back to
Chicago and then how long were you in Nigeria? Just
like three years? And then when I was ten, we
left Chicago, where I went by Daly, which is normal
to chop off the prefix. So like my brother's name

(06:44):
is Oba f Or, you call him Oba Fami, you
call him Femi. Right. Even the singer Shade, she has
a prefix on her name. She goes by Shad, right,
So I went by dalea And then that was fine
in Chicago. That worked in Chicago. We kind of ethnic
in Chicago. But then I moved to Santa Cruz, California.
In Daylay, no one could say Daay. So a lot

(07:06):
of people that know me if they call me Dlay,
they knew me before I was ten years old. Yeah,
after ten, I started going by Brendan when I got
to Santa Cruz, because I said, I went from gangsters
to granola, moving from Chicago to Santa Cruz, California, Like
we had Whole Foods before they had whole Foods. Yeah.
So I'm like, man, just call me Brendan, Like why
can't just Jason Brendan? You know whatever, you got real

(07:26):
go by Brendan. Yeah. I had to. I had to
lose the Nigeri in this a little bit. I had
to dial it down a little bit.

Speaker 2 (07:31):
Yea, yeah, yeah, I feel that. Santa Cruz, Yeah, Santa
Cruz Beast Broadwalk.

Speaker 3 (07:34):
I went there exactly, back and back in sixth grade
when I lived in Monterey Old School. Yeah, good times,
Northern cal Baby on them about that, I.

Speaker 1 (07:42):
Don't I mean, And they didn't call you Peanut there.
They had to call you Charles or.

Speaker 2 (07:45):
Charlie Santa Cruz you know show it was Charles all day.
It was my government name.

Speaker 1 (07:50):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (07:50):
Yeah, I don't even know you as that person, No,
not at all.

Speaker 3 (07:53):
Most people don't. Most most people know me is Peanut,
like my good friends. Yeah, y'all, y'all know me as Peanut.

Speaker 1 (07:59):
Why is it? Like? Why is it uh peanut Charles? Though?
Like why do they got to say both? Why can't
they just say peanut?

Speaker 2 (08:07):
I don't know that's just kind of that's just kind
of how it is. I don't know, that's just kind
of how.

Speaker 3 (08:11):
It That means they don't know you that well. Maybe
that means they don't know me that well. You know,
it is what it is. So let's let's let's let's
die back into it. So my first question to you
is locker room. You played ten years. I'm a what
thirteen year guy? You're a twelve year guy?

Speaker 1 (08:28):
And but thank you? What I play eleven? Oh?

Speaker 2 (08:32):
Okay, what I say ten?

Speaker 1 (08:33):
No? You said twelve.

Speaker 2 (08:34):
Okay, I'm sorry, you're you're you're twelve years. No, he
gave me one extra I mean, I'll take it.

Speaker 1 (08:40):
That's one extra bad. Yeah, yeah, I take it. But
I just take it. I just want to be correct.
Go ahead, please.

Speaker 3 (08:45):
So when you were with the Ravens, you were very
open about gay rights.

Speaker 2 (08:51):
And and and and and and talking about that.

Speaker 3 (08:54):
And I think one of the cool things that one
of the things that I didn't know but doing my
research is the owner was really giving you support and
telling you not to not to be silenced. And I
know one of the congressmen in Maryland tried to silence
She was like, well, you need to silence him and
tell him to be quiet. But the ownership in Baltimore

(09:15):
really backs you up and say, oh no, he's We
support him and what he's talking about, and we we
love what he's doing, and we want him to have
a voice and talk about what he feels is right.
Can you talk about what it felt like to have
the owner of the Ravens behind you and what it
was like to have the support of your teammates in

(09:36):
the locker room.

Speaker 1 (09:37):
Going back to that situation and really thinking about it.
I'd started my advocacy in two thousand and nine and
this kind of came to a head in twenty twelve.
Delegate Burns an elected official in the city of Baltimore.
He wrote a cease and assist letter and send it
to the Baltimore Sun. So I wake up one day
because I was giving away. I was raffling like tickets away.

(09:58):
As you know, I take my tickets, whatever tickets I had,
and if you donated to a charity, equal equal rights,
marriage equality charity, then you know I would give you
the ticket. So I was trying to raise funds, raise
money for awareness, you know. So he basically told me
to stop, and you know, from our generation. If someone
tells you to stop doing something, a lot of times

(10:18):
you could you keep going a job? Yeah you know this,
like what are you going to do? Like what are
the ramifications if you don't comply? You know, you ain't
doing nothing legal, right, But like at the time, it
was just a very controversial issue.

Speaker 2 (10:31):
Sure, you know, and when I've read about it too,
I didn't realize how different it was at the time,
Like this wasn't that long ago, and you were like
so out of step of what not only the NFL
was doing, but also your community and a very you know,
very democratic place in Baltimore, like it seems to be.

(10:53):
And I'm not trying to be so political, but when
you look at it in today's landscape in twenty twenty three,
it's just different. And for you to be considered the
first and it wasn't that long ago, I think that's
another testament to you and your story as well. And
what you were standing for was on the right side
of things. And look, we look at it as the
history back.

Speaker 1 (11:11):
And you're like, history do that you look back at
like how did America ever have segregation? How did how
did women not be able to have this I mean
still today women don't get paid the same as men,
and if you're a black woman you get paid even
less than anybody. Right, So, like, how do we still
have inequalities in our society in America, the Land of
the Free, the home of the brave, Like gay people
didn't even if you were, they didn't have marriage equality, right,

(11:34):
So Obama didn't even talk about marriage equality. Yet there
was no Black lives matters yet, like none of these
things were even exposed, you know. So that's why it
was so big for me to talk about equal rights
and start with marriage, being that one of my parents
is black and one is white. And in America in
the sixties you had loving worst Virginia. You couldn't even
a black and white person in the South couldn't even

(11:55):
get married. So now we're talking about love is love
and we're talking about two people of the same gen
being able to get married. So once again, like I thought,
it was a fight on equality, a fight against equality.
So it was important for me to stand up for
other people, even though I wasn't a part of that demographic,
because there's other people that stood on the side of
us having the rights that week.

Speaker 2 (12:13):
Do you think that's more based upon all right, the
way you were raised, Like where does that come from?
And then also maybe tell us on the because I'm
sure you had some kind of pushback or just in
the in the and not on and let's speak of
it from the locker room terms, right, then maybe the
city like when people saw you or because you were
recognizable and uh, they don't know you're you're not the

(12:37):
same person. Then you were much bigger, You're not as
uh ripped up. I guess I would say.

Speaker 1 (12:42):
Yeah, I think like the type of guy that I am,
A lot of people are like, oh, that guy is gay,
you know, like I do my eyebrows or you know,
I look a certain kind of way, like I was
a metro sexual guy, like before people were doing that stuff,
you know what I'm saying, So, yeah, he's definitely gay
or he's putting on the front or like why is
he so adamant about equal rights? And being that I
had a black and a white parent, like my parents
kind of taught me about those things, you know, like oh,
there are inequalities in America. Like yeah, I love this

(13:04):
country and I think it's the greatest country on earth,
but it's got a lot of fed up stuff going
on in this country. Lot of flaws, yeah, a lot
of flaws, right, and there's like how do we change
those things when me being a professional athlete having the
platform that I have, like, I have the ability to
change the landscape. So I took the chance. In two
thousand and nine, you know, Britney Spears went to Las
Vegas and she married her friend, and she instantly had

(13:26):
more rights. And some of my friends that have been
in monogamous gay relationships for a decade, she instantly in
Vegas had more rights with her and whoever she got
married to for a day or two days or however
long it was. So I'm like, man, I have a
chance to make a change and make a difference. And
so the first thing that happened is like I showed
up at worked the next day and some of that
stuff went viral because I wrote, I did an op
ed in the Huffington Post, and all of a sudden

(13:47):
they're like, oh, Brendan's coming out, Brendan's coming out. I'm like, yeah,
coming out for equal rights, you know. Like I was
very self self conscious about it at first, you know,
and then I did think, like, man, I could lose
my job, like when Delegate Burns, you know, wrote that op. Yeah,
and so it was very important that Dick cast pulled
me aside in the locker room here. At the time,
he was the president of the Ravens, and of course
he was in kahoots and talking to Steve Bushatti, the

(14:08):
owner of the Ravens, and they're like, yeah, let's give
Brendan support and let him know that we support this issue.
But at the time, the NFL had not done anything
for the rights, and they're still a little bit slow
with some of the stuff. But now I think it's
it's it's it's uh, it's the thing to do.

Speaker 2 (14:23):
I don't think it's taboo anymore.

Speaker 1 (14:25):
No, it's not. It's the end thing to do. You're
gonna you're a little uh, You're gonna do your little
gay rights thing now because it's cool and they understand
that like gay people, they have a lot of money.
The LGBT community has a lot of money, They have
a lot of sway, they have a lot of power,
and they want you to spend their money on on
your products. You know, so not everybody does it, But
back then it wasn't popping off like that.

Speaker 3 (14:45):
I mean there's always resistance when you want to fight
against something like I mean, we we we and I won't.
We won't go down the old Colin Kaepernick thing.

Speaker 1 (14:54):
But right very he was he was a very similar issue.

Speaker 3 (14:56):
He was standing up for for rights against black people
and did a simple gesture kneeling, And then I mean,
you're anytime you.

Speaker 1 (15:04):
Want to.

Speaker 3 (15:06):
Get a message across, you're going to meet some resistance,
you know, like it's it's that's kind of like the norm.
And I think if you don't get that resistance, people
ain't really paying attention. So when you when you get
that resistance, like you got the season Desist lat or, like, yeah,
it was a big deal and and people it brought attention,

(15:27):
brought awareness, people started listening, people.

Speaker 2 (15:29):
Say, Okay, what is this about.

Speaker 3 (15:31):
It brought more attention to your calls, and you know
what I'm saying, like that's just that's just.

Speaker 2 (15:35):
Kind of how it worked.

Speaker 1 (15:36):
Like even just saying like I'm not going to sit
in the back of the bus, like there was a
whole Birmingham, Like there was a whole thing like I'm
not going to sit like I'm going to drink from
this water fountain. You know what I'm saying. So yeah,
most definitely. It's hard to change mind. It's hard to
change opinions. But I think you just got to kill
him with kindness and you just got to do it
with love and come from a positive place. I think
that's why Colin had so much. He was so divisive because, like,

(15:59):
you know, he had a great message. But then you
can't wear any cop killer stuff, you know, because that's
not the right message. The right message is like, don't
kill me because I'm black, like you should. You're a
peace officer, you should be protecting me. And so, you know,
like when you kind of have a controversial message but
it's the right thing, you got to make sure you
always do it in the right way. And that's why
MLK was so successful and very non violent. Told you

(16:22):
to turn the other cheek and so that stuff to
do when when they're killing you.

Speaker 2 (16:26):
It's really hard to do. But Jesus not me. He's Nigerian,
by the way, Yes he is. Something that's not controversial.
Super Bowl. Yeah, kind of going back to it. Both
you guys are there when Devin Hester returned the opening
kickoff for a touchdown in the Super Bowl. I don't

(16:48):
think that's ever been done before until he did that.
I was watching it. You guys are both there inside
the thirty. Hester's gonna take it all the way for
a touchdown and no, I'm ninety two yards. You had
a critical block on that play. You went from a
double team, then you went off and caught a guy

(17:09):
on a single block outside to kind of spring them
keep the whole the alley wide open for this touchdown.
So how was that emotion? What was you guys emotions
on the sideline, Like, tell me what that's like. You
wait on this game your whole life, all the flashing lights, everything,
on the first kickoff, you know what it's like. And
then all of a sudden, you score on this play automatically.

(17:31):
You gotta be like, oh, this is over to wrap,
like we're about to just kill it. We're gonna crush it.
Take me through that emotion. That play I've never witnessed
or been a part of anything quite so dramatic. I'm
sure he will be different.

Speaker 3 (17:43):
I'll let be a you go real quick, and mine
will be one hundred percent completely different from his.

Speaker 1 (17:48):
Go for it. Yeah, man, I'll just say that. In
the Super Bowl with the Ravens and the Niners. Jacobe
Jones also scored a touchdown. I was gonna go there,
but and I was on the field, you know, I'm
just saying, yeah, And I will say Devin Hester's touch
now rate with BA on the field was a lot
higher than when BA wasn't on the field, you know
what I'm saying. But I think I think we had
such a special thing. And Dave Tobe, which is our

(18:09):
special teams coach, I'm surprised. He's not a head coach.
You always talk about it.

Speaker 3 (18:12):
You at talk about the Special Teams Hall of Famer,
no doubt, special guy, special guy.

Speaker 1 (18:21):
But that's what we did. So you know, like while
I wasn't surprised that it happened because we had did
it so many times, even multiple games with two touchdowns
in a game, like, that's what we did. And we
won games on defensive specially team, That's just what we did.
And every team I played on had that DNA, that
special teams in defense. But to do it on the
first play of the Super Bowl, Yeah, we're like, oh,

(18:41):
we're off to a great start. It's gonna be a
great night. Ended up being a tough night, but yeah,
it felt. It felt amazing, And I think the thing
that feels even better than watching it on the field
is that I always see that play like once a week.
Devin Hester's got to be a Hall of Famer, He's
got to be. But to see him just do his thing,
I'm still the only guy in the room. It's like,

(19:02):
I don't know, let's go ahead. If you the only guy, Well,
you've played. We played with them, but to play against them,
you feared that man, You know what I'm saying. A
game changer. So I think no one's ever been you
know who's done what he's done, and the rules are
going to change, so it's not going to have his opportunities.
So let's let's go for Super Bowl forty seven real quick.
There was a controversial I don't know if it was

(19:24):
a call, but they thought it was.

Speaker 3 (19:26):
It was not a call, but people people thought you
were right right yeah with Ja Kobe, do do you
think you're holding?

Speaker 1 (19:33):
I mean I was holding, but I was holding within
the rules because when you're in a double team, which
most people don't know is that you can hold somebody
from the back on a double team, but on a
normal block you can't do that right, because naturally if
you double team somebody, they're going to try to spin
out of it or do whatever. So the rules kind
of apply differently. So you just need to know the rules.
If you don't know the rules, then it is what
it is. Then maybe I can give you the rules

(19:54):
section in the NFL Code two point seven right A
three point five.

Speaker 2 (19:58):
I agree. They allow you to holding certain situations double
teams on the outside versus gunners. Dude, you can hold
them like all day there you can. Nobody ever cares
so to set that.

Speaker 3 (20:08):
So that was the first play of the second half,
right right right right? Did the lights the lights had
already turned off?

Speaker 1 (20:15):
Did man? I think it happened shortly after that, If
I'm not mistaken, it did.

Speaker 2 (20:18):
It was like after because Baltimore really went up at
that point like, oh, shut this thing off before you
get turned the light off. The lights went, cut it off,
cut it off.

Speaker 3 (20:25):
Coming back started the second half, they kick off Jakobe
to the house one hundred and nine right, if I'm
not mistake, it's one hundred and nine yards and look
at him go, Jun says past the fifty and he
is dying inside.

Speaker 2 (20:42):
The train had a kickoff return one hundred and nine
yards in a touchdown time record. It's yeah, there's a
photo right there.

Speaker 1 (20:50):
Hey we dancing back there.

Speaker 2 (20:52):
Yeah, celebrate one hundred and nine yards. I feel like
it without the air hump, right, that's that's the.

Speaker 1 (20:56):
Whole So we're just going to push it real good.

Speaker 2 (20:58):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's right.

Speaker 3 (20:59):
Yeah, the entire kick return team, that's what we're looking
at right now. Yeh fIF eighty six, forty four to
thirty five of Jacoby number twelve right there with his
leg of just feeling himself, feeling good.

Speaker 2 (21:09):
After going one hundred and nine yards coast to coast,
Brendan with your ankles in that position and you're it
looks like you're about to You're about to thrust right
right right. You can definitely see this on the YouTube version.
That's yeah.

Speaker 3 (21:24):
So, Lindin, I don't think I've ever asked you this.
What was more exciting Devin's or Jacobe's, man.

Speaker 1 (21:31):
You know, I think they probably felt the same. But
to do it the first play of.

Speaker 2 (21:36):
The yeah, I was waiting for it.

Speaker 1 (21:39):
It's never been done before you first play of the game.
But like, honestly, a lot of those emotions from the
from the first Super Bowl with the Bears versus the Colts,
like a lot of that stuff I don't remember, you know,
I kind of suppressed, like it really does hurt, you
know what I'm saying, losing ship, especially when you go
through that whole season, a special season together, like we're
the best team pretty much all year. We start the season.

(22:00):
I don't know if it was eight and o or
something like that, but we went on a very nice run.
I'm so far to end like that. You know it
was it was you beat my New Orleans Saints. That
was that was one of the best games.

Speaker 3 (22:10):
That was Reggie bush fault though, because Reggie Bush was
like trying to talk you.

Speaker 2 (22:15):
Guys are still mad about that, clear, I'm not mad
about it was.

Speaker 3 (22:19):
The NFC Championship game. No, I'm saying he brought it
on himself. It was just like he was a rookie.

Speaker 1 (22:24):
Was like, was upset going to that game?

Speaker 2 (22:27):
Well or lack of the covering lack was upset?

Speaker 3 (22:30):
We did and we ended up covering him. So yeah,
we got the last laugh for that game. So it's cool,
you know what I'm saying. An't nobody tripping on it,
don't don't be mad because we destroyed y'all.

Speaker 1 (22:42):
Did we play off twice that year? No? No, they played.

Speaker 2 (22:45):
We played the following year as well, late in the
season and Chicago won again. Yeah, and Soldier feel for me.
At that point, I was just tired of going through
the cold weather, Like why they keep going?

Speaker 1 (22:56):
Why we keep going up here? Late in the season's different.
We definitely some wins off that call weather.

Speaker 2 (23:01):
It is totally different, and until you've done it, you
don't understand it. We'll be right back after a quick break.
So I'm retired, you're retired. You're retired.

Speaker 3 (23:11):
We've all been retired for a number of years, and respectively,
we're on our second acts. Talk to us about your
pea pod theory and how you use that in your
second act.

Speaker 1 (23:21):
Yeah, well, I like to say we just transition because
you say retired. It gives people the wrong idea, like
now we ain't retiring and we're done, like we're transitioning. Yeah,
and so mat Yeah, they do better.

Speaker 2 (23:32):
Tell my wife that all the time. Words about it.

Speaker 1 (23:33):
It's such an intention, right, sets an energy. And so
I always say, you know, I always say transition. And
when I go speak to guys and you know, if
I'm working with the Ravens or if I'm working with
the Dolphins or certain teams that bring me back to
talk to guys about entrepreneurship, you don't retire and uh
so we're just going to transition. So let's just get
the R word out of here. Maybe not use it. So, yeah,
my pea pod theory is that, like you know, it's

(23:56):
a bunch of peace and they all sit in this
pod together and it's like, Okay, what are you going
to do? How are you going to transition? And how
are you going to transition to successfully? Right? So take
your time, take your time. And so it's like the
first thing is like what are you passionate about? Right?
So that's the first pe like your passion and when
you do things that you're passionate about, it's easy to
wake up, it's easy to do them, it's easy to

(24:18):
interact in those things. But is there something is there
a problem? Which is the next p with something that
you're passionate about, Like, for example, you guys like guys
are podcasting, Well, there's an opportunity here to get your
message out, to talk, to entertain, to educate, and you're
passionate about that, right, So the problem is that there's
nobody like you two in this podcasting space. So you're

(24:40):
solving a problem and you're providing some type of service
and there's a benefit there. So first you find the
problem around the scope of something that you're passionate about,
and then from there it's going to fill your cup
and it gives you purpose. So for me, I found
my entrepreneurship. I found it in fitness franchising. I love fitness.

(25:00):
I was a fitness guy. I always would you know,
Peanut would always see me working out. I'd be the
first guy in there working out. I love the workouts, YadA, YadA, YadA,
like ca. So I'm passionate about working out. Well, what's
the problem in fitness. Well, America is the unhealthiest country
in the world, So there's an opportunity. Maybe I can
provide some type of fitness service to the world, and
if I can get people healthy, then that's going to

(25:21):
give me purpose. And so those are the first three
piece and then the next p is like, Okay, well
what are you doing it for? Are you doing it
for profit? Are you doing it for philanthropy? So what's
the reason that you're doing it for me. I was
doing it for profit, but I, in my instance, I
was also making a lot of money doing it, yeah,
you know, and helping people. So those are kind of

(25:43):
that's my peapot theory. And then the last p is
just people and working with people, helping people, providing a
benefit to people, being a value add to people. And
so yeah, I talk about the peapot theory and trying
to figure out like what's going to be next. And
it's kind of like doing a SWAT's analysis on yourself. Strengths, weakness,
is opportunities and threats. So I kind of like put
these grids together and you're kind of just creating a

(26:05):
board and trying to figure it out. So this is
kind of like the first step and telling younger guys
that are transitioning out of ball. But the thing is
that you never know when you're going to transition, Right.
We're all fortunate enough to play double digit years in
the league, and if you look at these statistics, I
think it's like less than ten percent. It's three percent.

Speaker 3 (26:22):
No, no, no, I was saying three years. I was saying
three years. We played three years. But you're saying, let's
percent to play double digit to play double.

Speaker 1 (26:29):
Digits, I don't know, it's like six, I don't know,
it's like somewhere six to ten percent when you get
to ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, of course, right, so it's
very rare.

Speaker 2 (26:37):
Were super pleased.

Speaker 1 (26:38):
We was out there, like cats were going home and
playing video games. We're going home to kids like getting
ready for I don't know school night or whatever it
was that we were going to be doing.

Speaker 2 (26:47):
But it was another crazy stat. So when it comes
to like life football, ye, the journey in which you
have Taylor, look that up. The longevity of guys that
played ten plus.

Speaker 1 (26:58):
You'll be making Taylor nervous over there. You know. They
send it up though they sent it out in the
you know, like you get your little monthly packets or
whatever you do, they send it out. I was like, man,
this is pretty interesting. And then to go to go
to twelve years, it was like even smaller numbers. You know,
it went from like less than ten percent to like
two to three percent, right, you know, Yeah, it's wild.
So tell me how the orange theory in West Coast

(27:19):
fitness partnerships, Like, how did it developed and the next
steps of what you're trying to build as an empire. Yeah.
So oddly enough, like you know, even with marriage equality,
like there's an opportunity for me, And I answered the call.
With Orange Theory, there was an opportunity for me, and
I answered the call.

Speaker 2 (27:38):
Did you do Orange Theory? Why you were playing?

Speaker 1 (27:40):
No? I found it three days after, three days.

Speaker 2 (27:42):
After, send me two hours. Because I just think it's
very interesting when like the guys that do Orange Theory
versus like, oh, I'm just going to work out. It's
just another it's another lane. It's just totally it's different.
And so that's why I want to know more of
it and tell me how you found your way on it.

Speaker 1 (27:59):
Yeah. So coincidentally enough, I played in the Super Bowl
February third, twenty thirteen, and then on February sixth I
went to Orange Theory for the first time, and my exiit,
introduced it to me. So it's like super Bowl on Sunday,
Orange Theory on Wednesday. And when I went there, I
was very surprised because when we work out, like we
pay a lot of money to work out at these

(28:20):
facilities and they give us these programs. We show up
at whatever sloted time you want to show up, they
have your lift program, they have your run program, or
whatever it is. It might be position specific that day,
or it might be regions or recovery, whatever it is.
But we pay a lot of money, like one thousand
a week to work out at some of these facilities.
But you can go to Orange Theory and you get
a whole program. You decide what time you want to
work out, you get a whole program, and it's whatever

(28:42):
you know, like for West Coast business is like one
ninety nine a month for unlimited, right, yeah, and so
you get this in this all inclusive training program that
this is going to teach you everything like whether you're
a runner, jogger, power walker, and that's kind of your
cardio or your anaerobic cardio side, and then your lifting side.
We're going to work full body. So once I saw
the program, I'm like, man, like, these people show up

(29:04):
and they're happy, and they're related, and they're they're crushing
their goals and the energy is just amazing. The company
was founded in Florida. I was living in Florida at
the time, so I walked into the number of the
first Orange Theory that was ever created.

Speaker 2 (29:14):
Wow, that's it's a little special. Do you think it's
about the community as well, Absolutely, because I think that
that's really ever been to I have gone before. Definitely
good energy.

Speaker 1 (29:24):
But there's fourteen hundred locations I walked in. There was
about eighty locations at the time, and I saw an
opportunity and through through doing my MBA and being able
to look at p and ls and business plans with
a P and L profits and losses, just looking at
at just the health of a business, you know, like
expenses and good job, good job Gary mad Loon's gonna

(29:45):
love that. Expenses and revenue and all that stuff. So
I did my NBA while I was playing George Washington University,
so as she duves as I was transitioning out, you duve, Holly.
You know, Hunter was so one of my teammates, Hunter
Hilliburg Hillameyer, which I see kind of all the time
now because we do some business together. Yeah. But we

(30:05):
would we would be at practice and he would go
to Wharton, he'd go to he went to kell excuse me,
he went to yeah, Kellogg in northwest northwa.

Speaker 2 (30:14):
Yeah, ye, yeah, he went to Kellog.

Speaker 1 (30:15):
So he would go to school after practice and he
was our starting Sam, linebacker for the Chicago Bears. Someone
I remember, I'm like, Hunter, you're going You're going back
to school. I'm like, why why would you want to
go back to school? Like you're set, I'm like, I'm
never going back to school. Fast forward five six years later.
What was I doing? I was sitting in that classroom.
I'm like, oh, this is the same. Yeah, this is
why I was doing that.

Speaker 3 (30:34):
I think I graduated, got my NBA or I'm amba,
I got my master's in in Carolina twenty fifteen.

Speaker 1 (30:40):
Yeah, I think all you guys are crazy. It's a
different thing to do while you're playing. And I make
sure you know, the Sleep Monsters undefeated. So I have
to sit front row. Yeah, so I said row. And
then of course the professor's going to be like, oh, Brendan,
so you guys are playing the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
How's that going to be? You know? So, but now,
it was a great experience, but it taught me really
how to look at it, get business a different way.

(31:01):
And even like the NFL is a franchise, every team
is a franchise. So I started to put my business
cap on and my owner's cap and So when I
walked into Orange there, I saw a great opportunity to
be able to bring Orange Theory back to California. At
the time, they had a California location, And now in
our portfolio we have fifty Orange Theories, the bulk of
themar in California. We have ten in Cincinnati, Ohio. But
I was just able to really just dissect the business.

(31:23):
I saw a great opportunity and we started with one
and through M and A mergers and acquisitions, we're acquired
by a private equity firm, and we're able to scale up, yeah,
and buy more locations.

Speaker 2 (31:33):
So I mean talking about it all was first of all,
was California always your main goal? And taking it out
there because you just saw the opportunity like you're talking about,
and you also I also want to know is your
goal and you've said it publicly, is you want to
get to one hundred Orange Series and have you got
to that? How many have you got to? And also

(31:53):
are you going to how close are you or are
you You're still is your goal? Steal the three hundred
dollars three hundred million their valuation?

Speaker 1 (32:01):
Is that still your target? Man? You did some research,
didn't you?

Speaker 2 (32:03):
We read a little bit.

Speaker 1 (32:05):
So manya Thomas, Okay, Thomas, I.

Speaker 2 (32:10):
Mean I'm still I'm still asking the questions, but yees
shout out the town, right, So the landscape has changed.

Speaker 1 (32:16):
I think the thing is is that you have to
be able to to be valuable, and change is the
landscape changes. So COVID really changed the fitness business. It
made everything different. Yeah, it made I tell you, I
agree so that it changes. So I got to be
able to change. I got to be able to adjust
to that. I don't think. Yeah, I don't think we'll
be able to get to one hundred orange theories now.
But I've pivoted and so I still sit on the

(32:38):
board with my company, West Coast Fitness. We actually have
a board call today. But so I also invested into
another franchise that's called Kids Strong, and we currently have
three units open, we have three units in progress, and
so I think between the two, I'll be able to
get to one hundred between the two and still get
to that that valuation that I'm So, tell me what
Kids Strong is. Let's let's talk about that. Yes, So

(33:00):
it's an accelerated childhood development program. You know, we focus
on are you guys lifting weights or it's so the
kids are doing milestone based activities. So you know, like
if you're if you're two years old, you should be
able to jump in land off of two feet as
you start to as you start to get into all kindergarten.

Speaker 2 (33:24):
All kids can't do that though, like we.

Speaker 3 (33:26):
Right, all kids can't do that, but we got to
just face reality.

Speaker 1 (33:29):
Like kids, but just like everything is not for everybody
though based not for everybody.

Speaker 2 (33:36):
You're baby gonna be on the sideline holding the sticks.

Speaker 1 (33:38):
Like let's just just like not for everybody, but like,
but the majority of kids milestone based, the majority of
healthy young kids can jump and land off of two feet.
When you start to get into kindergarten and first grade,
you start to work on penmanship or what makes your
hand strong. Well, hanging does, so we have the kids hang,
so we do we do milestone based fitness for the
children instead are going to help them and apply to life.

(34:01):
So they also we work on their character. So they
have to present and they have to talk in front
of a crowd, well in front of their other pupils
in the class. And so yeah, so it's like imagine
just we're working on all these different things from brain, body,
and character to develop those things and your children from
age one all the way to age eleven when they

(34:21):
age out.

Speaker 2 (34:22):
Yeah, now are you still investing with Tonal?

Speaker 1 (34:26):
I am still investing with Tonal, but I'm not working
with Tonal anymore. So, I mean my money is there.
The money is just sitting in.

Speaker 2 (34:32):
We're room for it.

Speaker 1 (34:33):
Yeah yeah, I mean you're not You're not always going
to win, but once AGA mean you're wearing a Tesla shirt.
I am wearing a Tesla shit. I mean you're I
love it. You gotta have a diversified portfolio. Come on now,
diversity I hear me. I'm with you. But everything is
not going to be a winner. So you got to
take you know, you gotta you see an opportunity. You
think you have a chance. You look at the business model.
You look at who's running the company. Do they have

(34:54):
you know, a great leader, a great CEO, a great founder?
Is it a great product? What's the market? What's the
what's the landscape like? So the fitness landscape has changed
a lot. So you know, you got to be able
to be able to mold and bend and.

Speaker 2 (35:06):
Let's look at your let's looking at your w's and l's.
What is that my wins and losses. It's smart, it's smart,
staying right there, staying current.

Speaker 1 (35:15):
I'm with that.

Speaker 2 (35:16):
I like that, though, what's it talk to me?

Speaker 1 (35:19):
You know?

Speaker 2 (35:19):
So I feel like I can still play.

Speaker 3 (35:22):
I look like I can still play, but technically I
probably still can't play.

Speaker 2 (35:26):
We every everything I can get it.

Speaker 3 (35:28):
I can get three practices in no doubt, no doubt,
no doubt, Thomas, I can still dunk. I can still there.
I can dunk vertical right now. Okay, I'm just trying
to tell you I can still. I can still dunk
on a ten foot goal on a ten foot goal vertically.
It might take me four or five times, but in

(35:49):
the end, I'm like, I'm gonna still get it done.
No doubt I can do that. My question is, we're
all fitness gurus, we all work out. What's it been
like for you traveling around the world speaking and preaching
the gospel of fitness to people around the world. How
has that been.

Speaker 1 (36:05):
I think it's been, you know, like I'm kind of
a testament of what I'm speaking about, you know. So
it's like I always try to be an example when
it comes to fitness, but it's so much more than
just the way that I look. It's you know, I
was talking to Jocelyn. It's like, okay, well, like what
are my organs like? You know, like what does my
face look like? What does my parents look like? So
it's a holistic approach, and for me, it's longevity. So

(36:25):
when I think about my fitness, like how do I
get to one hundred and be functional and be happy
and be healthy and be pain free? Can I get
to one thirty and still do that? People are like, no,
take me out. I don't want to make it to
one hundred. But I want to be like old Testament
right there. I want to be more ham Yeah, I
want to be able. I want to be capable, you
know what I'm saying. So it's like I think about everything.
So it's diet, it's sleep, it's you know, like what

(36:47):
am I putting in my body in terms of supplementation,
stress levels, happiness levels, like, so there's a lot of
different things that I take into it. It's not just fitness,
I think, you know, in the grand scheme of things,
fitness might be the third or fourth most important thing
is you're working out. But it's like what's your sleep, like,
what's your diet? Like, what's your stress levels? Like stress
pressure can bust pipes. We know, stress can us cancer,

(37:10):
you know what I'm saying. So there's a lot of
different variables that and things that I like to talk
about and bring to fruition. But it's more than just fitness.
I think fitness is kind of for me, it's more
of a stress reliever and a release and then it
helps me get my rocks off to a little bit,
you know, like you're talking about dunking or whatnot, Like
it just makes my quality of life better. But I
want to be able to you know, I want to

(37:31):
be able to move some things and do some things
and keep tabs a little bit, you know what I'm saying.
You know, Ba, it was always in the cut off
shirt in the locker room. You know, Oh Thomas, are
you ready? He's oh no, are you ready? Oh no?

Speaker 2 (37:43):
I mean you talk about.

Speaker 3 (37:45):
It right now with ding, you know, walking in slow motions,
sh shout out to my son.

Speaker 1 (37:55):
I'm a Dan's prime for filming that right there.

Speaker 3 (37:57):
That's not that's not professionals a little bit more.

Speaker 1 (38:01):
Look at it. Look at the face on him, like
the face.

Speaker 2 (38:04):
You look like a baseball player.

Speaker 1 (38:06):
You ain't got my friend like a Latino Dominicans. Yeah,
oh man, y'all had to just put me on. It's okay.

Speaker 2 (38:12):
You mean we put you on.

Speaker 3 (38:13):
You put that out, you put it out there.

Speaker 1 (38:17):
We didn't. I mean we do, right. I mean, there's
a lot of different things you could have posted on there.
You could have put a picture with me and Obama
up there if you really wanted to hype me up, that.

Speaker 2 (38:26):
We could have did that. That's boy, but I own that.

Speaker 3 (38:30):
People want to see that. I mean it helps though
that you are a fit guy. If you're I wouldn't
respect you if you had a fitness of you talk
about all this orangetree and he was like five hundred pounds.

Speaker 2 (38:43):
Like, I'm like, I'm not working on it.

Speaker 1 (38:45):
But did your did your did your football coach play football? Though?
Did Bob Babbage play football?

Speaker 3 (38:50):
He did in high school? He did in college. Most
college coaches have I'm sorry, mostro coaches that got to
the college just they.

Speaker 2 (38:59):
Got to the college level. It takes.

Speaker 1 (39:01):
It's there's not a lot of Ron Riveras out there.

Speaker 2 (39:04):
No, That's what I'm saying right now, right, So, I mean.

Speaker 1 (39:08):
You could teach people how to be fit. You don't
have to be an example like that, but it does
help to be an example.

Speaker 2 (39:13):
So let me here. Here's here's you should not apologize for.

Speaker 1 (39:16):
That's not apologize.

Speaker 2 (39:17):
I own that. Yeah, but for sure I think it's
I think it's even funnier because as we look through
your Instagram, you got certain videos some similar to that.

Speaker 1 (39:26):
Then you got a serious face and I'm like, so
what do we sell it? Like? What are we doing?
I love it.

Speaker 2 (39:32):
I think it's awesome that.

Speaker 1 (39:33):
You know, I had to I had to rebrand the
I G you know right right, I had to rebrand
you know what I'm saying wrong with that?

Speaker 2 (39:41):
I mean, it's a lot of aps CrossFit. Are they
athletes or are they just people that work out athletes?

Speaker 1 (39:48):
The crossfitters are athletes.

Speaker 2 (39:49):
This is a this is a big deal here, so
for me personally, So, Sean Payton broke his leg when
you're not parting attention to my fellow on the sidelines,
broke his leg.

Speaker 1 (39:58):
He's a big cross better.

Speaker 2 (39:59):
He's a huge CrossFit right, so he went into this
whole CrossFit thing where like he's just going to recover
and that's what he got through, he got stronger, he
got lower, body got stronger for him, he got stronger.
And then he was like, all right, we're instead of
the normal conditioning test where we're doing three hundred yards
shuttles or whatever that is to get right for the season,
we're gonna do like CrossFit games. So you had to

(40:21):
do like so many hang cleans, so many like like
power cleans from the floor. Then you had to do
like these jump over the bar. The man, it's not
even about that. The bottom line is this. He set
a time for all the NFL guys. We all had
to hit these certain times to do this, and then

(40:42):
he had all his CrossFit buddies come in from his big.

Speaker 1 (40:46):
Gym, and they destroyed the NFL Times.

Speaker 2 (40:47):
No, No, the NFL times destroyed theirs.

Speaker 1 (40:50):
Well, the pro crossfitters though, right.

Speaker 2 (40:52):
I think it's a total different Nettle.

Speaker 1 (40:54):
Yeah, I think you're spot on with that.

Speaker 2 (40:57):
It was just funny to see because like the original
thought process goes exactly where you were. It was like,
these guys are going to destroy whatever we did, and
then you come to find out, no, actually we're still
superior athletes and we know how to almost a sudden
like when we get really tired, we just pushed through. Yeah,
Like that's just what we do as athletes. And it

(41:17):
seems like you've done that in business. You found a
way to be successful in other lanes. I think that's
a beautiful thing. And what you're talking about that you
know you weren't you balled out at UCLA. You know,
we can go all the way back to the USC
game where you had like four sacks. All you did
was just eat and this is what you were. You
were a great player there. And then you found a

(41:38):
way to be successful through the Canadian league. You bounce
around from CFL to other leagues in football, just trying
to make it. You went to NFL Europe right, right,
and so, and then you find your way a couple
of practice squads. It didn't matter about anything. You're one
of those that like a testament that I'm going to
find a way to be successful at whatever I'm doing,

(41:58):
no matter what. How how does that happen? How could
you share your story or say a couple of words
of advice to all those that want to be successful,
whether it's life, whether it's football, all the different avenues.
What was the one piece of advice that you say like, Okay,
through it all, this is what's got me through.

Speaker 1 (42:15):
Yeah. I think I've always been an underdog and I've
always been underestimated, and but I never would quit. So
you know, I just have that underdog that that big
that big heart, in that big fight mentality. So for me,
I'm always failing forward. And if I'm not failing at
what I'm doing, then I'm not the goal. The moonshot
goal isn't high enough. And so I think a lot

(42:36):
of people when they fail, they think that failure, you know,
means that you did something wrong. Well you actually what's
the process once you fail? It's like do you take notes?
Do you regroup or do you have baby steps? Like
Elon Musk when you launched his first rocket, He's like,
I just want to get this rocket off off the platform. Yeah. Right.
The goal isn't to get like the goals to get

(42:56):
to Mars, but I just want this rocket to get
off the platform. So he knows like, okay, I need
this rocket to last fifteen seconds. Just launch. Then the
next rocket's like okay, this next rocket's going to last
one minute. Then eventually I'm going to take a rocket
up and I'm going to land it. So I think,
you know, you can quit at just getting off the platform,
or you can fail forward and you continue to fight
and strive. And so everyone has different goals, different aspirations.

(43:19):
I've always had big goals, big dreams, big aspirations as
a kid that grew up in the projects of Chicago
to play for the Chicago Bears. You know, when I
moved out of Chicago, the Bears had won their last
Super Bowl with Walter Payton and Jim McMahon, that amazing team, right,
Mike Singletary a linebacker. So for me to finally make it,
I was like, man, I got to be a Chicago Bear.

(43:39):
I got to play in the NFL, you know. And
eventually I reached that goal. But I got cut three
times before I even made my first team. In fact,
the Bears was one of the teams that cut me.

Speaker 2 (43:48):
I don't think I knew that.

Speaker 1 (43:49):
Yeah, when I was it was ir Lackers. First year
I was actually with the Bears. I signed with them,
So two thousand, two thousand was the year. Yeah, yeah,
so they cut me that year and then it was
just kind of poetic justice that I came back and
they traded for me in two thousand and five. But yeah,
I think just failing forward is very important. But you
have to do self analysis as well. For sure. You

(44:10):
can't just think like you're going to fail and if
you do the same thing, then you're probably just gonna
fail again. So you do that self analysis and fail forward.
Take those notes. What lessons did you learn? And so
I usually don't say losses. I say lessons instead of losses.
So you have wins and lessons. And that's basically just
trying again and not giving up being that underdog. So
it kind of all all the DNA was there for me.

Speaker 2 (44:32):
Yeah, yeah, for sure. So being that we are in LA,
thanks for your answer.

Speaker 3 (44:37):
This this is a he's big, big Kobe fan and
a testament by you being an underdog. And I know
Kobe Bryant had the late great Kobe Bryant had that
mama mentality. To talk to us about what Kobe meant
to you and how he inspires you.

Speaker 1 (44:57):
Well, I was actually at a at a special conference
for orange theory. But yeah, I was on a plane
when I actually heard what happened, and I was flying
back from an orange theory conference, like a special conference
for orange theory and then I'd heard what happened, and
like you hear about celebrities and people dying all the time,
but Kobe was such an instrumental piece of LA and

(45:17):
getting LA a championship and whatnot. But man, I cried
when when Kobe passed away. And I'm friends with his
sister Sha Shah Bryant, but just to see everything that
he did. He'd be on campus when I was at
UCLA as well. Yeah, he'd be there working out, going
to the gym. Yeah, he'd be doing that, but he'd
be doing some other things on campus too.

Speaker 2 (45:35):
It's a nice campus. I've been out there. It ain't bad.
It's not bad.

Speaker 1 (45:39):
He was definitely working out and playing, but he was enjoying,
you know. I mean at the time, he was just
he was a teenager, yea, yeah, yeah, yeah, was before
he was married and all that stuff, right, Yeah, But yeah,
I think just the Mamba mentality and everything that he's done.
But then to also see him transform and continue to
level up and get better because he had had mentioned
a gay slur during a game and caught a bunch

(46:00):
of flack for it, and what did he do. He
stepped up and he embraced it. And so he leaned
into the gay community and he started donating and learning
and started preaching love when it comes to the LGBTQ community.
And then he stopped saying and he gay slurs and
stuff like that. So to see somebody that was already
that great and there was still space for greatness, that

(46:20):
says a lot like what if you're good, if you're
just good, then there's a high ceiling for you to
improve and to get better. And so don't just rest
on your laurels and think that good is good enough,
just like Kobe was great, but being where he was
that wasn't good enough. So I think he taught us
a lot of lessons and very instrumental person in LA.
Actually brought my daughter to the crash site. Oh wow, yeah,

(46:44):
just you know, just just up north here, north of
LA and brought him to the crash site and brought
my daughter to the crash site and we brought flowers
for him and his daughter. So yeah, it was it was.
It was a sad time, but yeah, and I still think,
you know, LA is still affected by it. But yeah,

(47:04):
it's rare to have a person that amazing, and it
shows way too soon that we lost such a special
person for sure.

Speaker 3 (47:09):
So, so here's a question that we never asked anybody
on the show, right, You've had why me?

Speaker 2 (47:15):
No, No, it's I'm just yeah, is this something?

Speaker 1 (47:19):
Are you just feeling it?

Speaker 3 (47:20):
I'm just feeling it right now off the cuff freestyle
something we never asked anybody shows my book.

Speaker 2 (47:25):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1 (47:26):
Is this his add kicking in? Possibly?

Speaker 3 (47:29):
So You've had a very successful life, great career in
the NFL. Business wise, you're you're killing it right now
in the fitness world, business world. Excuse me. If you
had a Mount Rushmore for people on Mount Rushmore, if
you had a Mount Rushmore of mentors, who would they be?
Of mentors?

Speaker 1 (47:49):
Huh?

Speaker 2 (47:50):
Mentors? Yeah, who helped you just throughout life? Yeah, came
up with that.

Speaker 1 (47:55):
That's a good one, you know why because I've never
really had a mentor. And there's one person that's been
very instrumental in my life.

Speaker 2 (48:03):
Okay, it doesn't have to be mentors, just like people
that have helped you.

Speaker 3 (48:06):
That people just have been instrumental of, Like people that
she's like, yo, man, I yeah, this person, that person,
that person, and that person.

Speaker 1 (48:14):
There's been pivotal moments. There's definitely been pivotal moments, like
I kind of like marched to the beat of my
own drum. But the most instrumental person in my success
is my older brother, Obafemi, and he's eighteen months older
than me, and everything that I ever did, he was
kind of the icebreaker and so he would clear the
path and it was harder for him to do it,

(48:35):
but I eventually did it and he made it easier
for me. So being that he was my brother, some
drunk my brother always, but at some junctures he was
my father, my protector, helping me get tryouts and workouts
with NFL teams and whatnot. So he did a lot
for me.

Speaker 2 (48:51):
Is he still that same impact on your life? Do
you feel like I.

Speaker 1 (48:54):
Think he is. But you know, being that he was
eighteen months older, which isn't a lot, but a kid
when you was seven and one is you is five,
that's a big gap, you know what I'm saying. He's like, like,
that's twenty five percent older than me, you know what
I'm saying. But now the gap is kind of shrunk
and we're more so on the same playing field and
we kind of sharpened each other, but there was always
more competition in my house because him and I were

(49:16):
just at each other's throats all the time. And then
eventually we figured it out that like it's me and
you against everybody, it's not me and you against each other,
you know. So yeah, he was probably the most important.
And I think the next pivotal moment for me was
probably in two thousand and eight and I was back

(49:37):
at UCLA and I was visiting my linebacker coach, Bobby Field,
and he's the assistant at the time, he was the
assistant athletic director and he was my linebacker coach at UCLA,
and then eventually he was assistant head coach at UCLA.
And he's been in kind of sports and academia his
whole career. And I said, Coach, you know, it's two
thousand and eight. I've been playing ball for five years now.

(50:00):
I'm you know, just what's next, you know, I'm trying
to figure out what's next for me, What advice or
what you know, what could you tell me to help
me in that department? And I'm thinking about, you know,
I want to be in in athletics and higher education.
You know, maybe I want to be an athletic director
one day. He's like, Brendan, go get your MBA, go back,
go back to school and get your MBA. And and
that's exactly what I did. And so that was a

(50:21):
pivotal moment. I remember that conversation and I remember doing
it and completing it.

Speaker 2 (50:26):
Why did he say the NBA was so important for
you at the time?

Speaker 1 (50:29):
Do you think he saw that?

Speaker 2 (50:30):
Did you just see like you were just different, You
needed to be more focused on that that that lane
of business.

Speaker 1 (50:37):
Is that what it was? Yeah? I think so, because
I already had that the athletic acumen in the athletic education,
so he wanted me to get the business acumen. And
I wasn't you know at the time there was Now
there's a lot of internships and different things that they
do for additional education, Like we didn't have any of
that stuff. No, no, no, we're when we're in the league
back then. So he's like, yeah, just go get your NBA.
That's probably the best thing.

Speaker 2 (50:58):
You can come more morehole like ballistic and then all
a sudden, business, do you get your masters?

Speaker 1 (51:05):
No? Just us, peanut, just me, Sorry, I'm just throwing
it out there. Anybody else in the studio have a master's?
Just me? And peanut. Yeah. Man, yes, sorry, yes, sir, yes,
I was smart. Man, It's all good, all right, Well,
I appreciate it. Man, uh o, thank you. That was

(51:28):
really good. I don't know if you got all four,
did you know? I mean, I think those were kind
of like the two the.

Speaker 2 (51:32):
Two brother twice and the coach twice. Okay, they got,
they got, they got.

Speaker 3 (51:36):
Two faces on the on the on the on the
mountain that I just like, I just didn't know if
he finished.

Speaker 1 (51:42):
Up, I mean, and then like watching the way that
the Ravens run their organization and their program, so Dick
casts was very you know, there's some little moments with
Dick casts as well, But doesn't you know I pretty
much marched to the beat of my own drum a lot.
And that's why I'm kind of, you know, I'm kind
of a different guy, kind of like what they is,
you know, different.

Speaker 2 (51:56):
I like it. B A Hey man, we appreciate you.

Speaker 1 (51:59):
Thank you for coming out, Thank you for having me
on much.

Speaker 2 (52:01):
Continue success in the Orange Theory and everything else. Man,
You're you're very diversified. I love your story, I love
your journey. Continue to beat you know, go off your own,
beat up your own drum. I think that's a It's
been a blessing and a really good thing for you, man,
So shout out to you.

Speaker 1 (52:18):
Yeah, thank you, thank you for allowing me to share
my story in and get my message out.

Speaker 2 (52:21):
Hey, I'm Peanut. This my guy Roman Black and White Harbor.
So he's so random. All right, Thank you guys as always.
Man for all of our listeners and everybody out there
watching and wherever you pick up your podcast, whether it's
Apple Podcaster, iHeartRadio podcast, continue to take a listen, give
us a.

Speaker 1 (52:41):
Five star rating.

Speaker 2 (52:42):
Shout out to those that are hitting that button, follow,
give us a review, continue to tell a friend, to
tell a friend, to tell a friend. We're going to
continue to spread the word, continue to share more stories
like Brendon and I I have Adasio, and continue to
shine the light on the transition of all of our
second app as we all continue to grow and be
better by sharing each other's story.

Speaker 1 (53:04):
So Peanut, tell them what we're doing.

Speaker 2 (53:05):
Man, we're done.

Speaker 3 (53:07):
That's it on Peanuts NFL Player Seconds podcast and we out.

Speaker 2 (53:12):
That was what we talked about. Tell them what we
were doing.

Speaker 1 (53:15):
That's exactly what I want out. Maybe that's what that's
exactly that's exactly what I want you to do.
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