May 1, 2025 • 17 mins
Meet Thomas Reed III – a football player, entrepreneur, and dedicated advocate for student-athletes often overlooked by traditional recruiting systems. In this powerful conversation, Reed shares his journey from Deer Park, New York, to professional football, including the life-altering decision to give up his own scholarship opportunities to care for his father during a medical crisis in Colorado. His story is not just about athletic talent but about resilience, sacrifice, and an unwavering commitment to helping others.
Through the Thomas Reed III Foundation, Reed has created an innovative model that goes beyond typical football camps. His TR3 camps blend elite athletic training with education, life skills, and community support—offering college credit courses, NCAA guidance, and access to mentors. His upcoming all-star game at Cowboy Stadium is a game-changer, spotlighting under-recruited or injured athletes for one last shot at college sports. With camps in seven cities from New York to Hawaii, Reed is opening doors for first-generation college athletes and redefining what support looks like. As he says, “Stay blessed and enjoy the adversity… appreciate it, understand it's a blessing to still be where you're at, and keep pushing forward.” Learn how to get involved at officialthomasreed.com.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
what's up everybody?
This is brian van or.
I'm back for another episode ofscaling up success powered by
synergist.
Today I have a really goodfriend of mine, thomas reed, the
third tr3.
How are you, my friend?
Speaker 2 (00:14):
doing good man, how you doing doing, doing excellent
.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
If I was any better, I'd be you, bro, and uh, your,
your light is shining so bright.
I just just wanted to be ableto give your little shine to the
rest of the world about whatyou're doing.
What big things that you gotpopping off right now.
First of all, let's take it alittle old school man.
You grew up a little bitdifferently on the East Coast,
(00:42):
right?
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Yeah, born and raised in New York.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Okay, Tell us a little bit about that.
That is not a East Coast right.
Yeah, born and raised in.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
New York.
Okay, Tell us a little bitabout that.
That is not a football haven,right?
No, it's not.
It's actually baseball turnedinto like a lacrosse hot spot
for a while.
But football definitely waslike a thing for me growing up.
My dad put me in it First timeI popped somebody.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
It was a good feeling and kind of just stuck with me
ever since Right, and I mean youplayed all types of positions
back in the day, right.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Yeah, I played tight end in high school.
I learned how to long snap backthen.
That's where my forte and thatcame from.
I was a defensive end.
They even had me playing likeoffensive guard and I was
pulling on like triple optionand all that stuff back then and
power plays.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
So I played a little bit of everything and power
plays, so I played a little bitof everything.
What do you think that taughtyou along the way of being able
to play multiple positions andbeing able to adapt to multiple
situations?
Speaker 2 (01:32):
First off, it taught me a lot that there's a lot of
technique to everything.
But it also taught me how toplay the game of football in a
chess way.
You know you gotta.
If you know your opponent'smoves and you know the technique
before it happens, it's easierfor you to execute on the other
side.
So if I, like you know, if I,if a tackle is down blocking
he's supposed to take a certainkind of step, you know to get
(01:53):
down to the next level.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
So then, from a defensive end standpoint, if I'm
reading that and I see, it'sreally interesting because what
you're doing now and we'll getto that very soon but what
you're doing now, you're almosthaving to forecast how certain
business options are going tocome your way.
So I kind of can see how, beingable to read the play you can
(02:20):
read the play in business, youcan read the play in football,
and I love what you're doingwith stuff that you got going on
.
But tell me a little bit more.
Like how did you get toColorado, man?
Like that's Deer Park?
New York is a lot, a long wayaway from Colorado.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Yeah, yeah.
So I was in.
I went to high school in DeerPark and then I went play my
juco ball back in Brooklyn ASAcollege.
My dad was dealing with somehealth issues at the time and it
was a he needed a transplant.
So at that time my dad gotaccepted on the transplant list
here in Colorado or at UC healthhospital um, for his transplant
(03:00):
.
And now so there's apossibility he can get it done
on the East coast, he can get itdone out here in Colorado.
And since we had no family outhere, uh, that's when I started
the process of helping kids getrecruited.
Because I was giving myscholarships that I was
receiving to other kids and allof my other teammates, I knew I
wasn't able to go to thoseschools.
I had to bite the bullet tokind of make that sacrifice for
my family.
So I was giving my scholarshipsout to kids and I was just
(03:21):
banking on the school to offerme in Colorado so if he gets a
transplant here I could takecare of him and still go to
school, still play ball, likebasically kill two birds with
one stone.
So once I finally got thatfigured out, sure enough, the
last school to offer me was adamstate, and that's how I ended
up here man that is.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
That's such a an amazing story.
Man like there's, you know,with the world that it's all
about me type of, especially inlike you.
You see it a lot in sports.
People don't give up stuff likethat, man, and like in business
too, like you know, for you tohave that, that type of heart,
that servant's heart, to be ableto help others, man, that that
(03:59):
is so profound and and I know it, it serves you, you know more
greatly than just you know whatyou do on the field.
So thank you for what I mean.
You know that obviously didn'tcome just from you.
That came from your family too.
You know like your upbringingbrought a lot of that in, would
(04:19):
you agree?
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Oh, 100%, I think you know, shout out to Mr and Mrs
Reed, you know, and the wholeReed family.
But they definitely taught me alot in the teachings you know
of my life and also life had toteach me some things.
I went through things the hardway just like any other child,
you know, not listening to myparents when I should have Right
, but they definitely showed methe ropes and the kind of for
(04:43):
them to kind of instill a lot ofthe things in me.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
It was a blessing to have and that is it's led into
who you became, not just on thefield, because now tell us a
little bit about where you're atnow, like, where are you
playing ball?
Speaker 2 (04:53):
So right now I signed to go play for a team in
Alabama.
It's called the Alabama Beavers.
They're affiliated with the IFA, the International Football
Alliance.
They're very similar to the UFL, but they send players to
Canada and other leagues andhopefully the NFL, UFL, CFL,
stuff like that, just like theUFL process.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Um that's fantastic Yep.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
So I just signed out there and I actually report for
training camp in the next coupleof weeks and our first game is
May 31st man, man, and we can'twatch.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Can't wait to watch you ball out.
Man, Love, love, love seeingwhat you're doing on the field,
but, uh, I know what you've gotgoing on.
This is what I wanted to get to.
So now we we have thatbackground of where you, where
you came from, who you are, but,like you know, tell us about
the foundation that you built.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Yeah.
So right now I have my footballcamps that I host around the
country.
The time is free to theirfootball camps.
I'll be hosting in the seventhcity this year and the main
purpose of it is that it is alot of guys that I either played
with, I trained with over mycareer.
They're looking to kind of getback to the community.
I'm looking to do the same.
So we're kind of just givingthat inspiration and that asset
(06:03):
and that, you know, opportunityto learn from guys who have been
there and walked their shoesand also been to places where
they're trying to go.
So we want to be able toprovide that.
But in my camps as well, Iunderstand the academic side is
important.
So I provide an opportunity forkids to get college credit
courses so that way they canstart their college academics
early.
I teach their families aboutthe NCAA process, because
(06:25):
anybody who has been throughthis process can tell you it is
not easy, no matter if you're aJUCO product, if you're fresh
out of high school.
It is a totally differentlifestyle, it's a totally
different environment.
It's a business first andforemost.
So I teach families that theNIL deal process and all of that
stuff.
Then with my foundation, theThomas Reed III Foundation.
It's a nonprofit that I startedwhich is to create more
(06:47):
opportunities for our studentathletes to build an identity
outside of sports as well.
So I'll be hosting you knowevents from you know,
thanksgiving food drives to giveback to the community, to host
my own high school all-star game, which is going to be in
January of 2026.
Giving all of the kids who areeither injured during high
school or just feel like they'reunder-recruited, I'm giving
(07:08):
them their one last shot to kindof find that opportunity,
whether it's a partialscholarship or walk-on or
whatever the case may be.
I'm just giving kids anopportunity to grow and learn
and enjoy the game.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
What's the response been?
Because you do things in a muchdifferent way than most of
these camps.
Most of these camps that yousee now are like, so
commercialized and privatized.
Now Yours is all about culture,man, and I love that.
About what you do.
You want to give back to yourcommunities instead of just like
, hey, come to our camp so wecould get paid, type of cause.
(07:41):
Like you can tell thedifference with these camps, at
least I can, and that's whythat's why we love work you know
to, to to promote what you do,because you have you have a
servant's heart, man, and that'show, how did you?
Is that?
Is that just coming from yourbackground, like just wanting to
give back to your communitythat gave you what you grew up
(08:01):
on?
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Yeah, I kind of went down an unorthodox road.
I mean, everybody's career isobviously different, but my road
was a little different.
From health injuries to familylife situations, to transferring
credits, to all of that stuff,and honestly that's how I ended
up with seven college degrees.
I got my two bachelor's andfive minors.
So that was like I said.
(08:25):
I kind of went down that road.
And it's not and I mean this inno way.
But my parents it's not thatthey didn't, they just didn't
know any better.
You know, and most parentsdon't.
I was the first collegegraduate in my family.
I was the first collegegraduate in my family.
I was the first college athletein my family.
They didn't know any better.
And there's a lot of other kidsthat are dealing with that same
situation.
I would hate to see thegeneration and seeing what it's
(08:46):
turning into with NIL deals andsocial media and that whole
lifestyle now, where there'skids who are super inflated egos
because social media got totheir head but they still have
so much work to do and thenthere's kids who are super
talented and super gifted andwork hard.
They're just not getting therecognition because they don't
feel that they're.
It's such a drastic scalenowadays and a lot of these kids
and these families don't knowwhere to go.
(09:06):
From that point on, I want tobe able to make sure that those
careers don't go to waste orthose opportunities don't go to
waste.
I want to be able to providethat for them where another
coach, like a friend of mine,who has the NFL, the UFL, the
IFL experience if I can'tconnect with him, but he can and
I can still give that kid theresources to better his career,
then I feel like I did my job,you know, and that to me that's
(09:27):
really what it's all about.
I hate to see careers go towaste.
I hate to see a lot of shoulda,woulda, couldas when in reality
there's a lot of opportunities.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
They just need that um with what you're building.
Like you, you obviously havelike a business plan because,
like a lot of these, these campsthat I've seen there, they come
in one year.
They they're you know, like howhave you built this thing out
that like you're?
You're now expanding.
(09:54):
I mean, tell me about, like Imean we've, we've had this
discussion, but tell the massesyou're gonna be at cowboy
stadium with one of your camps,is that?
Is that correct?
Speaker 2 (10:04):
my all-star game.
So, yeah, so my non-profit game, um, again, that like, and it
could be something that small.
But I think the aspiration of,like, a young kid who felt like
he had no opportunity and inoctober and november will have
the opportunity to walk into annfl stadium and get a partial
scholarship or get a walk-onopportunity to continue his
college career, and it allstarted from the motivation of
(10:27):
him walking into an NFL stadium,you know, and I want to make
sure that those little things,like that little sense of detail
, is what's going to make a massdifference for a child's
motivation.
So if he's like he walks inthere and he sees the lights, he
sees the stadium, he's likedamn, like he walks in there and
he sees the lights, he sees thestadium is like damn, I want to
be here one day.
Well, here's an opportunity forthat to happen, and that that's
my goal is to make sure that alot of these kids have the
(10:47):
opportunities to make thingshappen I absolutely love that,
bro.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
How did you build this culture so strong within
your camps that you know likepeople are gravitating towards
it?
Speaker 2 (10:58):
um, honestly, I I think it's just, it's been word
to mouth, um, but like again isis I gotta give credit and shout
out to all my coaches inreality, um, like, I have a
coach you know, delrick abrams,like you know you talked to.
He played for the falconsmephist showboats.
I got ricky sat, who played inthe nfl for a bit.
I have a whole bunch of guyswho are coming out to help and
(11:19):
get back to the community.
Um, so that definitely helps inbeing able to do that.
And then what I'm providingwith coaches, um, and the
academic side is just it's,that's, I think that's what's
drawing them in now that'samazing.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
how have you seen and you've been doing this for a
minute now like, how have youseen, like the growth, like
through, like social media andtechnology, change the way that,
like, people are resonatingwith what you do?
Speaker 2 (11:44):
I definitely have seen it, because I've gotten a
lot of good responses andfeedback and I've even had some
parents reaching out to me likeasking a lot of questions on,
like you know what's this andwhat, how do we, how do we go
about, you know, getting the kidregistered or what's the
process that is?
Or you know, I even have parentswho never had a college athlete
before.
Like the kid is in sixth orseventh grade and they ask me
about the college recruitingprocess and I'm not going to
(12:06):
deny them that information andjust tell them like, oh, like
you know, you know he's notgetting recruited right now.
I still give them theinformation and I guide them all
the way through until he getsto that point and I think that's
what's building that culture,that dynamic of unity, with a
lot of the parents who are now,hey, I think your kid, my kid,
is going to sign up for thiscamp.
They tell another parent andthen they tell another parent or
(12:28):
other businesses who I'mgetting involved to provide the
resources to those athletes andto those families outside of the
athletic realm.
I have gyms, I haveacupuncturists, I have
chiropractors, I even have likehealth and wellness founders,
like anything, to pretty muchhelp these kids find an identity
outside of the sport, provide aresource to these families that
are in the local communities,the local businesses.
That's what it's all about.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
Do you do you feel like um the way that NIL is
changing the scope of collegeathletics?
Do you do you feel like there'sa shift in the way that it's
changing the entire landscape offootball itself?
Speaker 2 (13:10):
I definitely think it plays a factor to some degree,
but I think it just comes withthe power of a lot more.
When it comes to, like I said,social media and the level of
attention you know everybodyportrays to be something that
they're not.
Sometimes there's some peoplewho are under the radar, who
just don't get enoughrecognition.
Nil does play a factor into theidentity of what's affecting
(13:34):
college sports right now to adegree, but, like I said, I
think it plays a factor morewith social media and I think if
we just teach the educationside of it, kids are going to
their personalities and they'regoing to do what they want to do
anyway.
But as long as we're providingthem with the information to
change one set like onesituation in their lives, then
then that's OK.
I feel like we did enough.
We can't, we can't make them doit Right, but we can give them
(13:58):
enough information to be like,hey, if you go down this road,
this is what the possibilitiesof this is and it's happening
because of NIL deals, because ofthe college quarter, because of
your scholarship.
Here's how it would affect yourdegree program.
Here's how it would affect yourmaster's, if you want to get
one in the next 40 years of yourlife.
You know, I give them all thatinformation and I'm very blunt,
I'm very honest about it.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
I love that.
I love that.
If there's one key piece ofwisdom that you could impart to
somebody that is interested onthe road that you've been on,
whether it's on the footballside of things or the business
entrepreneurial side of thingswhat would that be?
Speaker 2 (14:33):
Yeah, Stay blessed and enjoy the adversity.
Like a lot of people hitadversity and they kind of let
their emotions take over and itkind of hits that downfall.
You got to kind of just take iton the chin, no matter how hard
it is, and just appreciate theadversity, because if you have a
right sense of mind of how tofigure things out, moving
forward, everything will be okayat that point.
(14:55):
You know it's just about howyou figure it out from that
point.
But you can't let it consumeyou, you can't let it do none of
that stuff.
You just got to deal with it,appreciate the adversity and
understand that it's a blessingto still be where you're at.
You know, not a lot of kids cango play in college.
Not a lot of kids can go playprofessionally.
Not a lot of people have eversigned a pro contract before If
(15:22):
hit a little bump in your road,whether it's an injury or
whether your business isflunking in some form or fashion
, to figure out what the problemis, come up with a solution,
appreciate the adversity andkeep pushing.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
I love that man, I love that.
What?
What's next for TR3?
Well, I mean, you got all kindsof stuff happening, but you
know, give us some.
Give us some big things thatare that are popping off for you
, bro.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
Right now, like I said, said just get my camp, you
know, ready and situated forthe kids we're going.
We're doing a camp in iowa,we're doing one in alabama,
three in colorado, one in greely, one in denver, one in pueblo.
Uh, I got one going to new yorkand then we're heading out to
hawaii for the last stop.
I got my season coming up, soI'll finally get to suit up and
play again and, uh, showcase,you know, to these kids that
I've been mentoring over thelast few years, what I'm capable
of doing and why I teach what Iteach, and that's pretty much
(16:02):
it.
And then just locking in andgetting the kids ready, situated
for the TR3 Foundation Rise UpAll-Star game.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
Love that, love that.
How can people get a hold ofyou if they want to be involved
with what you do, bro?
Speaker 2 (16:14):
They can reach out to me through all social media
platforms LinkedIn, instagram,facebook.
I have all of that.
My Instagram is thomasreid.
The number three they can reachout to me through TR3
Foundation or TR3 Camps.
I have both Instagram pages forthat.
But I also have my website,officialthomasreidcom, where, if
these kids want to apply for myscholarship because I have a
(16:36):
scholarship through myfoundation you can apply for it
there.
I'll send a $1,000 check towhatever school you commit to
once I help you with therecruiting process.
My registration for my camp ison there.
Everything is in my contactpage, so you can all find me
that way.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
All that stuff is linked down below as well, on
this podcast as well.
Thomas Reid man, I appreciateyou.
You're my boy.
Thomas Reid man, I appreciateyou.
You're my boy.
I wish you nothing but success.
I want to see you dominateagain this year.
Much love and stay healthy thisseason.
My friend.
We'll be talking to you verysoon Once again, ryan Van Ornam,
with the Scaling Up Successpodcast powered by Synergist.
(17:13):
Have a wonderful day.
Thanks again, thomas.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
Yes, sir, thank you.
what's up everybody?
This is brian van or.
I'm back for another episode ofscaling up success powered by
synergist.
Today I have a really goodfriend of mine, thomas reed, the
third tr3.
How are you, my friend?
Speaker 2 (00:14):
doing good man, how you doing doing, doing excellent
.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
If I was any better, I'd be you, bro, and uh, your,
your light is shining so bright.
I just just wanted to be ableto give your little shine to the
rest of the world about whatyou're doing.
What big things that you gotpopping off right now.
First of all, let's take it alittle old school man.
You grew up a little bitdifferently on the East Coast,
(00:42):
right?
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Yeah, born and raised in New York.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Okay, Tell us a little bit about that.
That is not a East Coast right.
Yeah, born and raised in.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
New York.
Okay, Tell us a little bitabout that.
That is not a football haven,right?
No, it's not.
It's actually baseball turnedinto like a lacrosse hot spot
for a while.
But football definitely waslike a thing for me growing up.
My dad put me in it First timeI popped somebody.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
It was a good feeling and kind of just stuck with me
ever since Right, and I mean youplayed all types of positions
back in the day, right.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Yeah, I played tight end in high school.
I learned how to long snap backthen.
That's where my forte and thatcame from.
I was a defensive end.
They even had me playing likeoffensive guard and I was
pulling on like triple optionand all that stuff back then and
power plays.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
So I played a little bit of everything and power
plays, so I played a little bitof everything.
What do you think that taughtyou along the way of being able
to play multiple positions andbeing able to adapt to multiple
situations?
Speaker 2 (01:32):
First off, it taught me a lot that there's a lot of
technique to everything.
But it also taught me how toplay the game of football in a
chess way.
You know you gotta.
If you know your opponent'smoves and you know the technique
before it happens, it's easierfor you to execute on the other
side.
So if I, like you know, if I,if a tackle is down blocking
he's supposed to take a certainkind of step, you know to get
(01:53):
down to the next level.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
So then, from a defensive end standpoint, if I'm
reading that and I see, it'sreally interesting because what
you're doing now and we'll getto that very soon but what
you're doing now, you're almosthaving to forecast how certain
business options are going tocome your way.
So I kind of can see how, beingable to read the play you can
(02:20):
read the play in business, youcan read the play in football,
and I love what you're doingwith stuff that you got going on
.
But tell me a little bit more.
Like how did you get toColorado, man?
Like that's Deer Park?
New York is a lot, a long wayaway from Colorado.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Yeah, yeah.
So I was in.
I went to high school in DeerPark and then I went play my
juco ball back in Brooklyn ASAcollege.
My dad was dealing with somehealth issues at the time and it
was a he needed a transplant.
So at that time my dad gotaccepted on the transplant list
here in Colorado or at UC healthhospital um, for his transplant
(03:00):
.
And now so there's apossibility he can get it done
on the East coast, he can get itdone out here in Colorado.
And since we had no family outhere, uh, that's when I started
the process of helping kids getrecruited.
Because I was giving myscholarships that I was
receiving to other kids and allof my other teammates, I knew I
wasn't able to go to thoseschools.
I had to bite the bullet tokind of make that sacrifice for
my family.
So I was giving my scholarshipsout to kids and I was just
(03:21):
banking on the school to offerme in Colorado so if he gets a
transplant here I could takecare of him and still go to
school, still play ball, likebasically kill two birds with
one stone.
So once I finally got thatfigured out, sure enough, the
last school to offer me was adamstate, and that's how I ended
up here man that is.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
That's such a an amazing story.
Man like there's, you know,with the world that it's all
about me type of, especially inlike you.
You see it a lot in sports.
People don't give up stuff likethat, man, and like in business
too, like you know, for you tohave that, that type of heart,
that servant's heart, to be ableto help others, man, that that
(03:59):
is so profound and and I know it, it serves you, you know more
greatly than just you know whatyou do on the field.
So thank you for what I mean.
You know that obviously didn'tcome just from you.
That came from your family too.
You know like your upbringingbrought a lot of that in, would
(04:19):
you agree?
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Oh, 100%, I think you know, shout out to Mr and Mrs
Reed, you know, and the wholeReed family.
But they definitely taught me alot in the teachings you know
of my life and also life had toteach me some things.
I went through things the hardway just like any other child,
you know, not listening to myparents when I should have Right
, but they definitely showed methe ropes and the kind of for
(04:43):
them to kind of instill a lot ofthe things in me.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
It was a blessing to have and that is it's led into
who you became, not just on thefield, because now tell us a
little bit about where you're atnow, like, where are you
playing ball?
Speaker 2 (04:53):
So right now I signed to go play for a team in
Alabama.
It's called the Alabama Beavers.
They're affiliated with the IFA, the International Football
Alliance.
They're very similar to the UFL, but they send players to
Canada and other leagues andhopefully the NFL, UFL, CFL,
stuff like that, just like theUFL process.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Um that's fantastic Yep.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
So I just signed out there and I actually report for
training camp in the next coupleof weeks and our first game is
May 31st man, man, and we can'twatch.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Can't wait to watch you ball out.
Man, Love, love, love seeingwhat you're doing on the field,
but, uh, I know what you've gotgoing on.
This is what I wanted to get to.
So now we we have thatbackground of where you, where
you came from, who you are, but,like you know, tell us about
the foundation that you built.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Yeah.
So right now I have my footballcamps that I host around the
country.
The time is free to theirfootball camps.
I'll be hosting in the seventhcity this year and the main
purpose of it is that it is alot of guys that I either played
with, I trained with over mycareer.
They're looking to kind of getback to the community.
I'm looking to do the same.
So we're kind of just givingthat inspiration and that asset
(06:03):
and that, you know, opportunityto learn from guys who have been
there and walked their shoesand also been to places where
they're trying to go.
So we want to be able toprovide that.
But in my camps as well, Iunderstand the academic side is
important.
So I provide an opportunity forkids to get college credit
courses so that way they canstart their college academics
early.
I teach their families aboutthe NCAA process, because
(06:25):
anybody who has been throughthis process can tell you it is
not easy, no matter if you're aJUCO product, if you're fresh
out of high school.
It is a totally differentlifestyle, it's a totally
different environment.
It's a business first andforemost.
So I teach families that theNIL deal process and all of that
stuff.
Then with my foundation, theThomas Reed III Foundation.
It's a nonprofit that I startedwhich is to create more
(06:47):
opportunities for our studentathletes to build an identity
outside of sports as well.
So I'll be hosting you knowevents from you know,
thanksgiving food drives to giveback to the community, to host
my own high school all-star game, which is going to be in
January of 2026.
Giving all of the kids who areeither injured during high
school or just feel like they'reunder-recruited, I'm giving
(07:08):
them their one last shot to kindof find that opportunity,
whether it's a partialscholarship or walk-on or
whatever the case may be.
I'm just giving kids anopportunity to grow and learn
and enjoy the game.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
What's the response been?
Because you do things in a muchdifferent way than most of
these camps.
Most of these camps that yousee now are like, so
commercialized and privatized.
Now Yours is all about culture,man, and I love that.
About what you do.
You want to give back to yourcommunities instead of just like
, hey, come to our camp so wecould get paid, type of cause.
(07:41):
Like you can tell thedifference with these camps, at
least I can, and that's whythat's why we love work you know
to, to to promote what you do,because you have you have a
servant's heart, man, and that'show, how did you?
Is that?
Is that just coming from yourbackground, like just wanting to
give back to your communitythat gave you what you grew up
(08:01):
on?
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Yeah, I kind of went down an unorthodox road.
I mean, everybody's career isobviously different, but my road
was a little different.
From health injuries to familylife situations, to transferring
credits, to all of that stuff,and honestly that's how I ended
up with seven college degrees.
I got my two bachelor's andfive minors.
So that was like I said.
(08:25):
I kind of went down that road.
And it's not and I mean this inno way.
But my parents it's not thatthey didn't, they just didn't
know any better.
You know, and most parentsdon't.
I was the first collegegraduate in my family.
I was the first collegegraduate in my family.
I was the first college athletein my family.
They didn't know any better.
And there's a lot of other kidsthat are dealing with that same
situation.
I would hate to see thegeneration and seeing what it's
(08:46):
turning into with NIL deals andsocial media and that whole
lifestyle now, where there'skids who are super inflated egos
because social media got totheir head but they still have
so much work to do and thenthere's kids who are super
talented and super gifted andwork hard.
They're just not getting therecognition because they don't
feel that they're.
It's such a drastic scalenowadays and a lot of these kids
and these families don't knowwhere to go.
(09:06):
From that point on, I want tobe able to make sure that those
careers don't go to waste orthose opportunities don't go to
waste.
I want to be able to providethat for them where another
coach, like a friend of mine,who has the NFL, the UFL, the
IFL experience if I can'tconnect with him, but he can and
I can still give that kid theresources to better his career,
then I feel like I did my job,you know, and that to me that's
(09:27):
really what it's all about.
I hate to see careers go towaste.
I hate to see a lot of shoulda,woulda, couldas when in reality
there's a lot of opportunities.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
They just need that um with what you're building.
Like you, you obviously havelike a business plan because,
like a lot of these, these campsthat I've seen there, they come
in one year.
They they're you know, like howhave you built this thing out
that like you're?
You're now expanding.
(09:54):
I mean, tell me about, like Imean we've, we've had this
discussion, but tell the massesyou're gonna be at cowboy
stadium with one of your camps,is that?
Is that correct?
Speaker 2 (10:04):
my all-star game.
So, yeah, so my non-profit game, um, again, that like, and it
could be something that small.
But I think the aspiration of,like, a young kid who felt like
he had no opportunity and inoctober and november will have
the opportunity to walk into annfl stadium and get a partial
scholarship or get a walk-onopportunity to continue his
college career, and it allstarted from the motivation of
(10:27):
him walking into an NFL stadium,you know, and I want to make
sure that those little things,like that little sense of detail
, is what's going to make a massdifference for a child's
motivation.
So if he's like he walks inthere and he sees the lights, he
sees the stadium, he's likedamn, like he walks in there and
he sees the lights, he sees thestadium is like damn, I want to
be here one day.
Well, here's an opportunity forthat to happen, and that that's
my goal is to make sure that alot of these kids have the
(10:47):
opportunities to make thingshappen I absolutely love that,
bro.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
How did you build this culture so strong within
your camps that you know likepeople are gravitating towards
it?
Speaker 2 (10:58):
um, honestly, I I think it's just, it's been word
to mouth, um, but like again isis I gotta give credit and shout
out to all my coaches inreality, um, like, I have a
coach you know, delrick abrams,like you know you talked to.
He played for the falconsmephist showboats.
I got ricky sat, who played inthe nfl for a bit.
I have a whole bunch of guyswho are coming out to help and
(11:19):
get back to the community.
Um, so that definitely helps inbeing able to do that.
And then what I'm providingwith coaches, um, and the
academic side is just it's,that's, I think that's what's
drawing them in now that'samazing.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
how have you seen and you've been doing this for a
minute now like, how have youseen, like the growth, like
through, like social media andtechnology, change the way that,
like, people are resonatingwith what you do?
Speaker 2 (11:44):
I definitely have seen it, because I've gotten a
lot of good responses andfeedback and I've even had some
parents reaching out to me likeasking a lot of questions on,
like you know what's this andwhat, how do we, how do we go
about, you know, getting the kidregistered or what's the
process that is?
Or you know, I even have parentswho never had a college athlete
before.
Like the kid is in sixth orseventh grade and they ask me
about the college recruitingprocess and I'm not going to
(12:06):
deny them that information andjust tell them like, oh, like
you know, you know he's notgetting recruited right now.
I still give them theinformation and I guide them all
the way through until he getsto that point and I think that's
what's building that culture,that dynamic of unity, with a
lot of the parents who are now,hey, I think your kid, my kid,
is going to sign up for thiscamp.
They tell another parent andthen they tell another parent or
(12:28):
other businesses who I'mgetting involved to provide the
resources to those athletes andto those families outside of the
athletic realm.
I have gyms, I haveacupuncturists, I have
chiropractors, I even have likehealth and wellness founders,
like anything, to pretty muchhelp these kids find an identity
outside of the sport, provide aresource to these families that
are in the local communities,the local businesses.
That's what it's all about.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
Do you do you feel like um the way that NIL is
changing the scope of collegeathletics?
Do you do you feel like there'sa shift in the way that it's
changing the entire landscape offootball itself?
Speaker 2 (13:10):
I definitely think it plays a factor to some degree,
but I think it just comes withthe power of a lot more.
When it comes to, like I said,social media and the level of
attention you know everybodyportrays to be something that
they're not.
Sometimes there's some peoplewho are under the radar, who
just don't get enoughrecognition.
Nil does play a factor into theidentity of what's affecting
(13:34):
college sports right now to adegree, but, like I said, I
think it plays a factor morewith social media and I think if
we just teach the educationside of it, kids are going to
their personalities and they'regoing to do what they want to do
anyway.
But as long as we're providingthem with the information to
change one set like onesituation in their lives, then
then that's OK.
I feel like we did enough.
We can't, we can't make them doit Right, but we can give them
(13:58):
enough information to be like,hey, if you go down this road,
this is what the possibilitiesof this is and it's happening
because of NIL deals, because ofthe college quarter, because of
your scholarship.
Here's how it would affect yourdegree program.
Here's how it would affect yourmaster's, if you want to get
one in the next 40 years of yourlife.
You know, I give them all thatinformation and I'm very blunt,
I'm very honest about it.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
I love that.
I love that.
If there's one key piece ofwisdom that you could impart to
somebody that is interested onthe road that you've been on,
whether it's on the footballside of things or the business
entrepreneurial side of thingswhat would that be?
Speaker 2 (14:33):
Yeah, Stay blessed and enjoy the adversity.
Like a lot of people hitadversity and they kind of let
their emotions take over and itkind of hits that downfall.
You got to kind of just take iton the chin, no matter how hard
it is, and just appreciate theadversity, because if you have a
right sense of mind of how tofigure things out, moving
forward, everything will be okayat that point.
(14:55):
You know it's just about howyou figure it out from that
point.
But you can't let it consumeyou, you can't let it do none of
that stuff.
You just got to deal with it,appreciate the adversity and
understand that it's a blessingto still be where you're at.
You know, not a lot of kids cango play in college.
Not a lot of kids can go playprofessionally.
Not a lot of people have eversigned a pro contract before If
(15:22):
hit a little bump in your road,whether it's an injury or
whether your business isflunking in some form or fashion
, to figure out what the problemis, come up with a solution,
appreciate the adversity andkeep pushing.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
I love that man, I love that.
What?
What's next for TR3?
Well, I mean, you got all kindsof stuff happening, but you
know, give us some.
Give us some big things thatare that are popping off for you
, bro.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
Right now, like I said, said just get my camp, you
know, ready and situated forthe kids we're going.
We're doing a camp in iowa,we're doing one in alabama,
three in colorado, one in greely, one in denver, one in pueblo.
Uh, I got one going to new yorkand then we're heading out to
hawaii for the last stop.
I got my season coming up, soI'll finally get to suit up and
play again and, uh, showcase,you know, to these kids that
I've been mentoring over thelast few years, what I'm capable
of doing and why I teach what Iteach, and that's pretty much
(16:02):
it.
And then just locking in andgetting the kids ready, situated
for the TR3 Foundation Rise UpAll-Star game.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
Love that, love that.
How can people get a hold ofyou if they want to be involved
with what you do, bro?
Speaker 2 (16:14):
They can reach out to me through all social media
platforms LinkedIn, instagram,facebook.
I have all of that.
My Instagram is thomasreid.
The number three they can reachout to me through TR3
Foundation or TR3 Camps.
I have both Instagram pages forthat.
But I also have my website,officialthomasreidcom, where, if
these kids want to apply for myscholarship because I have a
(16:36):
scholarship through myfoundation you can apply for it
there.
I'll send a $1,000 check towhatever school you commit to
once I help you with therecruiting process.
My registration for my camp ison there.
Everything is in my contactpage, so you can all find me
that way.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
All that stuff is linked down below as well, on
this podcast as well.
Thomas Reid man, I appreciateyou.
You're my boy.
Thomas Reid man, I appreciateyou.
You're my boy.
I wish you nothing but success.
I want to see you dominateagain this year.
Much love and stay healthy thisseason.
My friend.
We'll be talking to you verysoon Once again, ryan Van Ornam,
with the Scaling Up Successpodcast powered by Synergist.
(17:13):
Have a wonderful day.
Thanks again, thomas.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
Yes, sir, thank you.
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