Gabe Knapton

Sometimes the road to professional football takes a non-traditional path. Colorado native Gabe Knapton knows that trail well.

After playing linebacker for his dad, who demanded a lot as the head coach at Skyline High School in Longmont, Gabe had his choice of many colleges to continue his playing career. It came down to Wyoming and Colorado State. He chose to be a Cowboy because of alumni in his family and most importantly, the coaches.  

During his time in Laramie, the staff switched Gabe from linebacker to defensive end. He made the transition look easier than it was because of his motor and non-stop hustle. In reality, it was difficult to learn a very different position and physically he was still more like a linebacker. Regardless, he had hopes of getting drafted in the NFL and while a few teams called during the draft, no one called his name or his agent. 

Unsure of what to do at that point, Gabe’s dad suggested taking a year off, working out and staying ready. So, he took a gap year before gap years were cool and eventually played indoor football with the Colorado Ice, then got his break with the Montreal Alouettes in the Canadian Football League. He would be named Montreal’s Rookie of the Year and go on to play for several years in the CFL between Montreal and the BC Lions. 

In retirement, Gabe is a busy guy: husband, father of two, owner of Different Breed Performance gym and a firefighter with the City of Thornton.  

Listen to Gabe’s story and conversation with Susie Wargin on the Cut Traded Fired Retired Podcast. 

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The draft came up and I'm sitting there watching it
and the Panthers call and I had Green Bay call
and they're like, hey, we're looking at you, maybe at
later rounds or an undrafted free agent. Well, those days
came and nothing came, and I remember telling my dad.
I'm like, well, what do I do now? Like, what
do you think? My dad has always supported me in
whatever I do, So he's like, why don't you just

(00:21):
take a year. Let's take a year you work towards
what you want to do if things don't work out.
That's kind of what I did, is every morning I'd
wake up and I'd just go, just gotta keep working.
Good things will happen if you keep working.

Speaker 2 (00:33):
Welcome to cut, Traded, Fired, Retired, and Conversation number one
hundred and ten. Wow, that's a lot of conversations. Of course,
that number does not matter chronologically because you can listen
to episodes in any order you'd like. I'm your host,
Susie Wargen. This episode's guest is a Colorado native who
I hadn't met until we sat down for his conversation.

(00:54):
Gabe Napton grew up about thirty miles north of Denver
and new hard work from a very young age. He
played for his dad at Skyline High School in Longmont.
Gabe had to amp up the hard work even more
because coach Napton required nothing less than one hundred percent.
Gabe had several scholarship options and chose Wyoming, where his
family had many ties and he felt most connected to

(01:15):
the coaching staff. He ended up changing positions during college
from linebacker to defensive end and was a little bit
of a tweener when the NFL draft came around. He
didn't get drafted and never caught on with an NFL team,
so Gabe went the unconventional way to the pros. He
started by playing indoor football with the Colorado Ice and
then played several years in the Canadian Football League, where

(01:37):
he was Rookie of the Year for Montreal his first season.
He was traded from Montreal to the BC Lions and
then went back to Montreal just before COVID hit. By then,
Gabe it opened up a jim in Longmont, had a
family and was trying to figure out if football was
still an option, oh when he was also training to
be a firefighter. Eventually, he realized he needed to set
roots with his family business and firefighting, and he retired

(01:59):
from foot. He's got a great perspective with his non
traditional path to the pros, ladies and gentlemen.

Speaker 1 (02:05):
Gabe Napton Cut Traded Fired retired podcast with Susie Wargen Gabe.

Speaker 2 (02:12):
Naptin How are you.

Speaker 1 (02:14):
I'm doing well, how are you?

Speaker 2 (02:15):
Thanks for having me? Absolutely? Yeah, Hey, thanks for reaching out.
It's so funny. I keep an eye on athletes that
comment and things on Instagram and I've seen you pop
up over the last month or so. So I started
looking into you and I was like, I think this
guy would be actually really good for my podcast. Is
all the CFL that you've done. And then you reached
out to me and you're like, hey, I don't know

(02:35):
how you get on the podcast, but I think I'm like,
oh man, this is so crazy because I literally was
about to reach out to you. You've got a good story.

Speaker 1 (02:43):
Yeah, you know, I think a lot of guys have
good stories. And that's kind of how I have followed
you and stuff. As I follow guys that have faced
adversity or they go through, you know, a wild career
in football and whatnot, and it's always interesting to see
just guys that were either counted out or you know,
had to go an alternate route to get to where

(03:03):
they became in their football career and in their life
and stuff like that. And it's always interesting just to see,
you know, what guys go through and kind of what
gets them to the point.

Speaker 2 (03:13):
They're at and then what they're doing these days too,
which is pretty cool. And you're one of many who
I have talked to you who are now a firefighter.
So we'll get to that, which I think is great.
But let's start with you. Your roots are here in Colorado.
You grew up in Mead, went to Skyline High School.
Obviously a great football players. You got many offers out
of high school. But did you do other sports? Were
you a multi sport athlete?

Speaker 1 (03:35):
So my dad's thing growing up was you're gonna play
sports or you're gonna get a job. So my thing was,
you know what, I'll play them all then. So I
played football, basketball, baseball, track. I wrestled my first year
in high school and then I ended up being a
basketball player after that. But just doing it all, I mean,
back then, it was a different time. I don't want

(03:57):
to say I'm this old guy. Now or whatnot. But
a lot of athletes played every single different sport. You know,
when it was football season, it was football season. When
football got done, it was right into basketball or wrestling.
And then you just if you're a good athlete, you
help out those other teams. And that's kind of how
it was at my school and stuff like that. And

(04:17):
I wanted to also be a good football player, but
then help the basketball team win, or play baseball or
just challenge myself in different ways as an athlete. And
I believe that helped me become more athletic. Playing all
the sports and doing different things.

Speaker 2 (04:31):
Yeah, you've got little kids, now, will that be something
that you ingrain in them if they want to get
into sports, to do multiple sports?

Speaker 1 (04:38):
Oh yeah, I'm super. I just want my kids to
love what they do. That's huge to me. I know
a lot of people come up to me and they're like,
so is bo which is my middle son, and he's
real athletic. He loves sports. He's naturally loved the game
of football. But I'd never pressure any one of my
kids to love a certain sport. It's up to them

(05:00):
to find what they love, what they want to do.
I just never want to be like, hey, you're playing,
because that's when the love for the game's gone there,
and I'm like, okay, you're doing this now, and you're
doing this like it'll be kind of the same rules.
You play sports. I'll support you with whatever you want.
But if you're not going to play sports, it's time
to get a job, and it's time to work for

(05:20):
you know, do your part around the house and help out.
And that's kind of the way that I envisioned me
being as a parent.

Speaker 2 (05:27):
Yeah all right, So in high school, when did you
start to get noticed by colleges for football.

Speaker 1 (05:34):
I think by my sophomore year. I went up to
a camp at Wyoming and there, back then, Wyoming had
a big tackle camp that was basically like scrimmaging and
stuff like that, and there was a lot of different
universities at that football camp. After that camp, I did
real well. And it's crazy you think back and a
lot of people ask, you know, like, what did you

(05:54):
do different? What'd you do this? And I was just
having fun, like I love the game. My dad was
my coach in high school, so oh that's cool. It
was cool.

Speaker 2 (06:04):
It was tough, yeah, yeah, cool.

Speaker 1 (06:07):
Yeah, there was speed dumps along the way with that,
and but playing for my dad really and he had
sit downs with me all the time that you have
to do more, you have to be more. Like being
the head coach's son is it's cool, but it's tough
because you've got a lot of doubters, a lot of
people like, oh, well, he's there because of his dad.

(06:27):
So I had to work extra hard to prove myself
and I think that really helped me out in the
long run, because I was always out just to show
people that I was really good, because I was good
and that's the only reason. So that and having fun.
I just love to play football. That was like my release,
Like once it was game time, Like that's all I
thought about. And I trained kids nowadays and I work

(06:50):
with young athletes and I try to tell them like
it's an obsession. I was obsessed with the game of football.
That's all I could think about was football doing well,
you know, playing professional footb Well, that's was my dream
since I was a little kid, was I want to
play pro ball. So everything I did in high school
all the way up through college was just focus on football.
And it was a healthy obsession. But that's all that's

(07:12):
all I thought about. So and I think in order
to be real good and in order to go far,
like you have to have a degree of that obsession
for the game and just to love to want to
do better. And it was weird, like my dad never
really had to get on me and be like, hey,
you need to go work out, you need to go
do this, you need to go watch film, like I
always just wanted to do that stuff. It came very naturally, yeah,

(07:36):
and it helped me out in the long run. And
then sophomore year I started getting some interest and Wyoming
kind of fell on there first and foremost, and just
because my dad kind of knew some of the coaches there.
And then your uncle, Yeah, my uncle played ball up there.
He's actually in the record books up there for like
single season sacks and stuff like that. And he went

(07:58):
to play in the NFL from Wyoming. He was drafted
by the Saint Louis Rams or something and when they
had like fifteen rounds or something.

Speaker 2 (08:05):
Right, yeah, a thousand guys a year.

Speaker 1 (08:08):
Yeah. But I remember going to Wyoming games, wearing Wyoming
stuff all the time, and it just kind of that
always felt like where I would be going sure, and
I had offers from CSU CU, I had some from
out of state Nevada, San Diego State, and a lot.
Really I still have a big box of all my

(08:30):
for the kids someday, But there wasn't really a doubt
in my mind. Like CSU, I love them. I loved
Coach Lubick, I loved Coach Delaney, like they came over
to dinner multiple times, and I love those guys a lot,
but I also knew that their time there wasn't going
to be prolonged for a while. So and then Joe
Glenn stole my heart honestly in Marty English. Like those

(08:52):
guys they're still close friends today, especially Marty like he's
had a huge impact on my entire football career and
not only that of me just as a man.

Speaker 2 (09:02):
So that resonates a lot when when those coaches and
and that's tough when you compare, I mean you just
mentioned four really amazing men that are great leaders of
men and father figures just so many. So when you've
got that, I mean that's hard when the heart strings
are going, but you figure out the ones that you
really really want to be a part of.

Speaker 1 (09:22):
Yeah, yeah, and that's always a tough that's a tough
time in a young man's.

Speaker 2 (09:26):
Life because oh, yeah, you're sixteen, seventeen, eighteen.

Speaker 1 (09:29):
You're young, and then you've got these guys that you
really respect, like Coach Lubick and Coach Delaney and stuff,
and then it's time for you to Like I remember
when I told my dad, I'm like, I'm going to Wyoming,
like that's what I want to do. He's like, well,
you better let coach Lubick and Delaney know and these
other coaches. So it wasn't like I just ghosted them.

(09:50):
That wasn't allowed in my house. Like I had to
be a man, and that was the hardest thing for
me to do, was because I really respect those guys
and you got to call them up and be like, hey, coach,
I'm going to Wyoming, especially Coach Delaney just long pause
and he's like, well, you're going to do great things.
We're pretty disappointed, but you're gonna do great things. And

(10:11):
I remember that. I was like, I'm sorry, coach, but
you know, at the end of the day, they understand
that guys have to make a decision of what they
want to do. And that's what it comes down to
is like when I'm training these kids now, and I
have some kids that are presented with opportunities go play
college ball, it's I can't sit here and tell them
where to go. I can't, and so I always tell

(10:33):
their parents, and I tell them that you will know,
you know deep down and when it comes time, you'll
know it's gonna be hard, but you'll know in your
gut and just go with your gut. And that's kind
of what my dad told me. He's like, I could
tell you what I think, what I suggest you do,
but it's not gonna be what you want. So he's like,
I'm gonna stay out of it completely. You decide what

(10:53):
you want to do. And that's kind of like for
a young athlete, that's like your first step of like
being a man in absolutely making your own choice. What
do I want to do? What do I want to
do for school? What's going to set me up for success?
So as a cowboy, that's cool.

Speaker 2 (11:08):
How long was your dad the head coach at Skyline.

Speaker 1 (11:10):
I want to say, like fifteen years or sothing.

Speaker 2 (11:13):
Oh wow, so way beyond when you were there.

Speaker 1 (11:16):
And that's probably why I love ball so much. I'd
go to practice all the time, okay, you know, doing
camp and stuff. Dad had me and my younger brother
who's three years younger than me. We'd be with that
all the time. During camp, he'd be coaching, we'd be
watching the football guys, you know, go do their thing.
You know, when you're young, you look up to those guys,

(11:37):
and going from middle school to high school, like being
able to put on a skyline jersey was like gold
to me because I've been watching these guys for so
long and you look up to them and you're always like,
I can't wait to play varsity football, Like I can't
wait to be up there, be one of the big boys.
And then you do it, and it's it's just a
great feeling. It's kind of falls right into place.

Speaker 2 (11:57):
Oh absolutely, yeah. Okay, So you go to Wayom and
you do very well there. You're a couple of times,
you get honored with All Mountain West Honors and have
a great college career there, and then you have a
feeling that you're going to get drafted, but you don't,
Yeah what happened there? Did you go to any of
the shrine games? You get invited to anything or just

(12:19):
workouts with teams.

Speaker 1 (12:20):
So there's a few things that happened in my college
career and adversity. Looking back now, you know, when you're
going through it, you're like, gosh, this stinks. But I
initially went to Wyoming and I was a middle linebacker.
I played very well at middle linebacker. I was you know,
led the Mountain West and tackles for my first two
years as linebacker because I red shirted, and then I

(12:40):
started right out the gate as a red shirted freshman.
So started and then I played that freshman year, sophomore year,
and then my junior year. We had some guys graduate
at defensive end, which one was a very close friend
of mine still to this Day's name's Mitchell Ryan.

Speaker 2 (12:58):
He played for Oh Yeah, clost for a while.

Speaker 1 (13:00):
He was at Eating Boy. Me and Nick ran around
together in college our whole time there. So he's a
he's a great friend of mine. I still talked to
him for this day.

Speaker 2 (13:07):
I need to get him on the podcast. If you
can help me with you to be a great guy.

Speaker 1 (13:10):
I love n But him and a guy named John Fletcher,
they were kind of our defensive ends. They both graduated.
We didn't really have anybody that could kind of step in.
I was a bigger middle linebacker. I was already two
hundred and forty pounds six y three, So they're like,
you know what, Naptain could be the one that we
dropped down that will have the most chance at success

(13:31):
of that position. So upset about it, I didn't really
like it.

Speaker 2 (13:35):
But if you were a linebacker all through high school, okay.

Speaker 1 (13:38):
And then they're like, all right, you're playing defensive, then
like use your motor, you'll be fine. And I went
out and I learned this new position, and you know,
it was a learning curve, but I felt like I
did good. I think that year. I was even voted
All Conference Mountain West at the end of the year.
But I just was learning on the fly, and I
think that kind of stepped me back a little bit,

(13:59):
just because learning a whole new position and I had
already been just racking up tackles on streak to break
a lot of records at Wyoming, which is tough when
you're asked to do something for the team, But that's
what it's all about, right, Like, yes, I don't want
to be like, you know what, No.

Speaker 2 (14:13):
So for the layman out there, Gabe talk about the
difference between linebacker and defensive end, and what that learning
curve was, like, why it's difficult to you know, you
can't just put people in and out of positions.

Speaker 1 (14:25):
Yeah, it's tough. So good thing is they're both defense,
so I I think the thing that helped me most
is being a middle linebacker. You're basically the quarterback of
that defense. So I'm out there making calls, making checks.
I know the defense, I know what my guys are
doing up front. I know what the guys are doing
behind me, like you're running that thing. And then you

(14:46):
drop down to the line. So you go from pretty
much being untouched to where I'm kind of free going
making plays to now having to engage with offensive linemen
that yeah every single play. Yeah, I knew the defense well.
Playing middle helped me jump into that role and be like, Okay,
I know what I'm doing, but it's just the difference

(15:07):
of using your hands and.

Speaker 2 (15:09):
It's a completely different physical position.

Speaker 1 (15:11):
Oh and it's unbelievable how you go from middle where
there's not one time that I tapped my helmet and
was like, hey, I need to blow Like I it's hard,
but it's a different kind of hard when you're down
on the d line like if you go a few
series and you're still out there, like you need to
get out of there because you're exhausted.

Speaker 2 (15:28):
Yeah, that's why you see those guys sub all the time.
But your guy with the green dot is in there
for one hundred percent of the snaps a because he's
calling the plays, but he's not getting beat up like.

Speaker 1 (15:37):
That exactly when you're pushing a guy that weighs three
hundred and thirty pounds around and then you do that
for eight nine plays and then you're like, hey, I
need a blow for a couple, which I hated coming
off the field. That's the one thing that really I
had to mentally tell myself, Hey, it's time to get
a blow so you don't look like crap out there,
but it's okay to it get It's okay to get off.
So I'd get off and i'd hit a point a

(15:59):
couple plays are I want to get back in? Like
I just hated watching the game. I always wanted to
be in, but I had to tell myself to do
that so I look good on film so I didn't
get hurt. So that was probably the biggest one. And
then pass rushing, like there's a technique for pass rushers
and using your hands and knowing when to fold back
in Like there's a lot of different styles of thinking

(16:21):
than it is for like a middle linebacker. We're middle.
It's just like seball attack, make your right fit D line.
It's like, Okay, now I gotta set this guy up
with a pass rushing move. I got to try to
beat him. It's a game of chess. It's more okay, yeah,
So I'm sitting there trying to set things up to
get my sacks, you know what I mean. There's a

(16:42):
little bit more of just line up when that ball
moves go, But there's also a part of just having
to be like, Okay, I got to set this guy up.
What's he going to do next that I can beat him?
When when the next pass play comes, you know what
formation am I looking at? Now? Are they gonna run?
Is it gonna be a zone? Away? Zone? Two? What's
the first step with that old lineman going to do?
So it goes from reading an entire offense to you're

(17:05):
down and your focused on one guy. What's he going
to do? How do I beat him?

Speaker 2 (17:08):
So much more planning and technique.

Speaker 1 (17:11):
But I think at the end of the day. I
remember Marty brought me in because he did not want
the change to happen necessarily, but he knew that it
was a necessity for us to do good on defense.

Speaker 2 (17:22):
And he was your decoordinator, right, okay, And.

Speaker 1 (17:24):
He told me, he goes, listen, it's going to take
a little bit to learn, but if anybody could do it,
you got it, and he goes, all you got to
remember is just keep your motor, because that's kind of
what got me to college. And honestly, I hang my
hat on that for professional ball too, is once that
ball was snapped, like, I would not turn it off
until I was around the ball. So my motor helped
me out through a lot. It cleaned up a lot

(17:46):
of my technique as a D line because I would
just go fast and as hard as I possibly could,
and if I made a mistake, I usually cleaned it
up with a hustle. That's kind of what I hang
my hat on his hustle. And that's something that anybody
could do out there, absolutely take any skill. So that
and then NFL came and I'm like, all right, this
is my time, Like I've been looking forward to this
my whole life. I didn't have a big draft party

(18:07):
or anything like that. I got signed.

Speaker 2 (18:09):
With Thank goodness. Yeah, I got.

Speaker 1 (18:10):
Signed with a pretty big agency out of college that
sent me down to Texas to Michael Johnson's Sport Performance
trained at Michael Johnson, got ready for the pro day,
I didn't get invited to the combine. I did okay
at my pro day, but I was still in this
weird spot where like some teams were like, hey, we
like him that middle linebacker because we've seen it what
he can do. So I was like, do I drop weight?

(18:33):
In my agent's like, well, yeah, let's drop some weight.
But then I had played so good at d line
like half the teams wanted me as a d N
so I was too light, and then I wasn't running.
I've never been a good forty guy, Like, I just haven't.
I could play ball, but forty was not like my
strong suit, which stinks in today's world, but too much.
Yeah yeah, and at the end of the day, you

(18:54):
got to play football. But that's kind of I think
that kind of threw a wrench in there. And then
the draft came up and I'm sitting there watching it,
and it's crazy because going up to the draft. Like
I kept working my butt off throughout college just to
try to earn money and stuff. And I was painting
a house and I had the Panthers call, and I
had Green Bay call, and they're like, hey, we're looking
at you, maybe at later rounds or an undrafted free agent.

(19:16):
Well those days came, and nothing came. San Francisco called
me back and was like, Hey, we're gonna come back
out there and work you out. I was like, okay,
I'm going to keep working out and then we'll see
what happens with them. Well, you know, things changed so
much about they ended up coming back working me out.
But I was like a list guy, if things work out.

(19:37):
I was on a list, which it's tough to hear,
you know. And I'm like, well, shoot, I've been working
for this my whole entire life. And I remember telling
my dad. I'm like, well what do I do now?
Like what do you think? Because this is when things
get serious, because now it's like, you're not on a
football team anymore. Got a job, Yeah, you got to
look for a job. You got to do that. And
he's like, my dad has always supported me in whatever

(19:59):
I So he's like, why don't you just take a year.
Let's take a year. You work towards what you want
to do if things don't work out. I had a
class that I had to finish up. So I finished
up a class and he's like, you could train and
just work. And I worked on a farm throughout my
whole time at Wyoming. When i'd come back, I worked
on a farm. The guy's name was Roger Smith. Worked

(20:21):
for him throughout high school. So when I got done,
I'm like, hey, Roger, I'm gonna move back to Colorado.
Do you think I could work and run the farm
and stuff? And he goes, of course. So I came
and I ran an Angus farm. So I was doing this.

Speaker 2 (20:34):
I took a gap year before there was a gap
year and ran a farm. Okay, yeah, So.

Speaker 1 (20:38):
I did that, and then I continued to work out,
and I was like, well, I gotta I want the best.
And that's another thing. My dad's like, you need to
get the best training you possibly can, and I'll support
everything you want. So I got ahold of Lauren Landau.
He's like, yep, come on down. So when I moved
down here, I started training with Lauren, and I remember
I kind of gave him my background. I'm like, you know,

(20:58):
things didn't work out through that NFL. A call could
happen anytime. I just want to stay prepared and just
be ready for when that happens, and just have an agent,
you know, calling and working for me and just be ready. Well,
nothing really kind of was coming to and agent kind
of fell off because.

Speaker 2 (21:18):
You're not making any money, right Yeah, So yeah, then.

Speaker 1 (21:22):
You're in a point where now you have no agent
and you're calling agents but they're like, okay, what what
are you doing? And you got nothing to give them? Yeah,
and you're like nobody wants anything to do with you.

Speaker 2 (21:33):
That's frustrating.

Speaker 1 (21:34):
I tell kids this all the time that you know,
adversity is an amazing fuel if you're determined, So nobody
wants any part of you. The only person that really
believes you can do it is yourself, maybe your dad,
you know, and you're kind of in a dark spot
and you're like, Okay, I just got to keep working.
So that's kind of what I did, is every morning

(21:55):
I'd wake up and I'd just go just got to
keep working. Good things will happen if you keep working.
So I had an opportunity to go play some arena football.
My thought was, you know, like I never really envisioned
doing that, but I'm like, I if I can just
keep some good film going, something good will happen. So
I went and played some arena football. All the time

(22:16):
I'm working on a ranch, like early in the morning,
getting up, working on the ranch, running to practice. And
then the arena football is a whole different monster. Like
you're busting to like Texas.

Speaker 2 (22:27):
You're bussing, yeah, on a bus. Oh and this is
what the Colorado ice right, okay.

Speaker 1 (22:31):
Banged up And I mean you're playing on concrete with
turf on it, so you're just tearing your body up,
you know. And I was living with my soon to
be wife at the time, and I'd come home just
bathtub full of blood, just turf burns all over, and
She's like, what's going on. I remember I bust to
Texas one time. I stayed there an extra day because

(22:52):
there was a workout for the CFL. So I stayed
in Texas, paid my way to get to the workout
after a game, did a workout for the CFL teams,
and then flew home. And I did that a few times.
I did that in Washington as well. During season, you're
all banged up, You're like, and I told the scouts,
I'm like, I just had a game last night, so
these guys are looking at me like Jesus, dude wants

(23:15):
it bad. And then finally after which really I'm like,
how long can I do this? After that season, I
ended up getting all IFL as a defensive end.

Speaker 2 (23:27):
So I all IFL.

Speaker 1 (23:30):
Yeah. So I went in there and I did my thing,
and then then I had coaches call me from the
CFL and they're like, hey, we want to bring you
down to Texas and have you do this workout. Well,
I was at the point I was so frustrated with
those workouts that I told them I'll never forget. I
told general manager Jim Pop for the Alouettes, and I
was like, I've worked out and I've done these workouts.

(23:51):
I've ran forties for people like you guys know what
I can do. Testing wise, It sounds cocky, but I
think to this day. He was like, all right, we'll
take a chance. And then I was like, if you
bring me into your camp, by the end of that camp,
I'll be your starting defensive end. And then that's all
I said. And then I'm like, well, I told my
dad that, I'm like, I kind of I don't it
probably sounds pretty arrogant, but we'll see what happens. And

(24:13):
then they called me and they're like, all right, we'll
see what you got. So they brought me in to
a camp in Florida, and at this point, it was like,
this is it. This is my last shot if I
don't do it now, like I gotta figure something out
to set myself up for the future, you know what
I mean. Up to that point, there was really no
plan B. So that's what my dad told me. He goes,
you going to camp, there's no plan B right now,

(24:34):
you just focus on this. So my one thing was,
you know, they brought me into camp and everybody's like,
who's this guy with the beard from Wyoming? Like nobody
knew who I was. Oh, he came out of the
IFL like he's probably not that good. I know. They
were thinking that we'll just bring him in just as
an extra body. So I remember thinking, I'm like, what's
the one way? And I was wrote things down. I'm like,

(24:55):
what's the one way that I can get noticed? And
then it went back to just hustle. I'm like, and
this was like a non contact camp, kind of like
a mini camp. I was like, if I can just
do any position they asked me to, but the one
thing is always be in the picture on the film
hustling as fast as I could. So that's kind of
what I did every play. Montreal's offense would have a

(25:16):
few running backs that literally every time they caught the
ball they would run all the way to the end
zone to score. So I would chase after them to
the point where even the whistle blew and I would
still be sprinting after him. Well, it got people to know.
I think I was like number seventy three or something,
and they'd be like, who's this seventy three guy? Like,
he's always hustling, He's alls running.

Speaker 2 (25:38):
You run in all the film, the film pictures.

Speaker 1 (25:41):
And then the decordinator there came up to me like
day two or three a camp and was starting to
ask me questions and stuff like that, and I kind
of gave him a little bit of my story. And
then he must have researched because he's like, well, you
could play linebacker too, right, I was like, I used
to play linebacker. He's like well, I'm gonna put you
in on seven on seven and see how you could
come and stuff like that. So I just kept doing

(26:02):
what I was doing, hustling, running to the ball. And
then at the end of that mini camp, I got
some good feedback and they're like, all right, well, and
that was kind of They brought in guys they were
looking at for this camp and they're like, well, we're
going to bring you back to regular season camp, so
we'll see what you could do with pads on. And
I knew once I put pads on, I knew that
that was my end, because that's when I really would show.

Speaker 2 (26:22):
Up, is when when I when you can hit it, when.

Speaker 1 (26:24):
You can it's time to be physical and do that stuff.
So I went to camp and then didn't look back
since then. And then at the end of the camp,
they brought out the roster and I was the starting
defensive end on that roster, and I just remember my
general manager just smiling at me because he knew he
was one of the only guys who knew that. I
was like, hey, I'll come be your starting defensive end
by the end of camp, and then I played the

(26:46):
best football in my life throughout that.

Speaker 2 (26:48):
Season, So you were their Rookie of the Year, Rookie
of the Year. Yeah, and they nominated you for Rookie
of the Year to represent them for the entire league,
which is cool.

Speaker 1 (26:58):
So it turned out to be good, and.

Speaker 2 (27:00):
You needed somebody to believe in you.

Speaker 1 (27:02):
You did, And sometimes that's most of the battle. Is
like this decarninator for Montreal, Noel Thorpe. He's a Canadian guy,
but he there was something that and I know it
went back to my motor and just my love for
the game and my hustle and stuff. But he latched
onto me and he liked what I was all about.
He liked the physicality and the violence that I bring

(27:24):
to the team and to the defense. And that year
he was putting me at middle linebacker, putting me on
the d line, like mixing me all over the place,
and I was making plays and it was a great year.
And then it's funny because then all of a sudden,
all those people that you're trying to call for help,
like hey, agent, I need an agent, like I need
somebody to represent me, Well, all those guys start popping

(27:46):
back up, and it's like you really realize that's the
first time that I like, I sat down after that
and I was so happy because nobody believed in anything
that I was doing. I had people, family members tell me, hey,
it's time to maybe start thinking about something else. It's
time to maybe throw in the towel. Friends that were

(28:07):
friends in high school and stuff. I knew a lot
of people were like, what's he doing? Like why does
he keep chasing this?

Speaker 2 (28:12):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (28:13):
And then I made it. And then, like I said,
I didn't look back. I went and had a great
career up there, and obviously, see there's roadblocks and adversity
you face, but it was great.

Speaker 2 (28:23):
You played several years with Montreal. At one point they
trade you to the BC Lions where you play for
eight games, and then you get back into Montreal with
the Johnny Manziel trade.

Speaker 1 (28:35):
Which that was nuts because at this time, like I said,
my timing was always terrible. So me and my wife
got married, we had a baby, We timed it up
just perfectly for when it was the most stressful technical
horror right yeah, which was like, you know, contract year,
you have to play good. And I was like, well,
it is what it is. Now. I got some fuel
and I had this beautiful little girl that I'm like,

(28:57):
it comes down to this, like, this is how I
put food on the table. So it's go time. And
it became very personal. I was locked in. I was
at that facility from sun up till sundown, and so
I'm every day just trying to be the best player
I could be because I knew I had a wife
and I had a little girl that depended on me.
So it was it was go time. And then I

(29:17):
ended up playing super good and coming up with a
really good contract year and Montreal brought me back. And
then a few years down the line, we Tina was
pregnant with our second one, and I blew my shoulder
out at the very like last game, so I'm like, great,
here we go. And that was the end of my
big contract year. So I'm like, so, what's gonna happen now? Well,

(29:39):
Montreal traded me to b C and I'm like, well,
it is what it is. I gotta go do my
best there. We fell in love with BC. There is
an awesome place. The coach was great. I was doing well,
you know, just kind of getting back into a different
team and played real good and then Montreal had some
stuff go down and they won. Wanted to get me

(30:00):
back to Montreal. So they did this big trade deal.
I remember it. I was sitting there talking to my
wife and I'm like I could see myself and she's
like six seven months pregnant with Oh. I'm like, I
could see myself retiring up here. And literally right after
I said that, I got a call from my agent
and he's like, hey, you've been traded. You need to

(30:20):
be in Montreal in like two days. I told him.
I'm like, I have my whole entire family up here.
And literally I drove up there. We lived, We lived
outside of BC. We lived in Washington, right on the border,
so I'd crossed the border and.

Speaker 2 (30:33):
Yeah, which a lot of people do.

Speaker 1 (30:35):
So I literally called my wife and I'm like, hey,
we got to pack up everything. I got traded. And
she laughed and she's like, no, you did it. I'm
like I did, Like we got a pack like now.
So then she was such a trooper. We packed up everything,
packed up our whole entire house. We had this little
girl that was almost yeah, she was two years old,

(30:56):
just stuffed in this back seat and I'm like, all right,
let's hit it. We drove nineteen hours, got home, I
got them all settled out. My wife, bless her, she
was just big and pregnant and just like, what are
we doing? So we got home to our house and
I unloaded everything. Then I caught a flight later that night,
and you know, was back in Montreal in like twelve hours,

(31:17):
getting ready for practice how to play the next game,
which was against BC. They were flying to Montreal.

Speaker 2 (31:22):
No way. Oh wow, So you never had You didn't
have a house in Montreal.

Speaker 1 (31:27):
I was just running a little basement apartment kind of
off the main street there, which was awesome. I got
to know a lot of people there, and my landlord
was so cool, you know, when that's what you kind
of do. Is football world's so unpredictable. So okay, I
could be here for the entire six monthlies or I
could be traded, and obviously, you know, security deposits, stuff

(31:51):
like that I'll take care of. But I just want
you to know that something could pop up where I'm
traded immediately and I have to leave. And my landlord's
pretty much you know, I was a good renter and
I helped them and I'd give them tickets every now
and again, and he just got good relationships with them,
so when it happened, they're like okay, Like even in BC,
the guy we were living at his place and we

(32:13):
were right on the bay. He is an awesome guy,
Jim Farmer. I actually still talk to him every now
and again. But I told him and he was like
all right, dude, like what do you need? And he
helped me like pack up my stuff. He was so awesome,
and I told him, I'm like, well, what do I
owe you? And he was like, you just take care
of your family because his his wife was there and
got to know my little girl and Tina real well

(32:35):
and they kind of were friends and stuff, so they
helped us out. So everybody along the way just it
was awesome.

Speaker 2 (32:40):
But it pays off to be a good person. It does.

Speaker 1 (32:42):
It does, and that's kind of what I've always been
brought up to be. And you look back on those
days and you're like, oh my gosh, like how did
we do that? I remember driving home like and whenever
something crazy would go down like that, I'd call my
dad and be like what do I do? Like I
gotta literally drive nineteen hours and it's like, you just
drive safe and things will work out. Just keep working.

(33:05):
I would all say so when I was back playing
in Montreal.

Speaker 2 (33:08):
And playing with some big names too. I mean I
mentioned the Johnny Manziel, who you played with for a
couple of years. We were chatting before we started here today,
Chado Chosinko was up there, and you had a lot
of guys that and I think people probably forget that
some of the NFL players that did go to the CFL.
And it's not just this Patsy league that's up north

(33:30):
in Canada like it is. There's really good athletes up there,
and you can also make a good living if you
don't spend it all, which is what you did.

Speaker 1 (33:37):
Oh yeah, yeah. I think if you're good with your
money and and you think consciously about you know, your
you're not making millions and millions of dollars, but you
are making good money to make a good living if
you do it correctly. So that's kind of what I
thought about my whole time. I'm like, why do I
need a brand new truck. I didn't even get a
new truck until I became a fire and I drove

(34:00):
an old, beat up, you know, beat up farm truck.
And it's just kind of how I how I've always been.
I don't need really many fancy things as long as
I could, you know, hunt and fish and I have
my cows and stuff like that, so I never really
needed a lot of things. I just tried to save
my money. But it set me up for success. And

(34:21):
some guys don't really do that, which.

Speaker 2 (34:23):
No, they don't, whether it's CFL or NFL. They just
spend it as it comes in.

Speaker 1 (34:27):
But just the experiences up there was it was a
great time. I got to play with Johnny Manziel was there,
Chad Johnson, He's a great dude. And those guys will
tell you too, like even myself when I was getting
ready for the NFL, like that's the big leagues, right,
The NFL is the big leagues. That's what everybody wants.
That's you know, what you hope will happen. And then

(34:50):
you get this opportunity to go to the CFL. And
I remember researching it, I'm like the Montreal Wettes, and
then I looked them up. I'm like, geez, they've been
to the Gray Cup. They have all these big name
guys like John Bowman or Anthony Calvio or all these guys,
and you're like, huh. Then you see, like Fluoti started there,
Cameron Wake and you're like, okay, it seems like good football.

(35:10):
And then when you get up there and you get
in those games, like it's football. There's the best of
the best. There's a lot of guys up there that
have been passed up down here that for sure should
be on an NFL roster, and they're up there just
hungry and trying to get down here. So you've got
guys that are they're really giving it. They're all they

(35:30):
love the game, and it's if you're not ready, you'll
get hurt up there. It's oh yeah, boy, football.

Speaker 2 (35:35):
I mean, I'm sure you'll get sleft out real quick too.

Speaker 1 (35:38):
Oh yeah. And there's a lot of guys that I've
seen a few that, you know, they were on NFL
rosters for four or five years and then things didn't
work out and they come up there and they they
step in like they're gonna come and just dominate and
be starters. And a lot of them.

Speaker 2 (35:51):
Got released, I bet.

Speaker 1 (35:52):
So it's football, it's professional football. There's guys that want it.
And it was awesome to go up there, you know.
I still I tell people they're like, well, how was
it up there? In it it's football. You get up
there and you go to like Saskatchewan or even Montreal now,
like those stadiums are rock and they're packed. The gray
cups a big deal. Those fans in Saskatchewan, it's are

(36:14):
cold here, doesn't even just so those guys, I mean
it is freezing cold and they're out there no shirts on,
like it's it's rowdy. It was a fun time. Oh,
they love it.

Speaker 2 (36:27):
They love it.

Speaker 1 (36:28):
Obviously, hockey's like their thing. But once football season comes along,
those fans, there's some diehard fans out there, and and
just the league and the guys involved up there, it's
just it's a smaller league. So everybody kind of knows everybody.
That's the one thing is you know you there's so
much there's so much movement around that like yeah, when
you go to another team, like guys know everything about

(36:51):
you and they're like sweet, you know we got napped
and finally or it's just it's a real close knit group.
The football world's very small as a whole. NFL c
oh everybody, but then up there it's even smaller. So
I made great friends that you know, they're my best
friends to this day. And you meet brothers. And I
was fortunate enough to be with Montreal for so long

(37:11):
that I made a lot of close, long life friends
that I was very fortunate for my time up there
and playing football for money.

Speaker 2 (37:20):
Like absolutely, how can you beat that? You can't.

Speaker 1 (37:22):
It's funny because you get into the whirldwind of work
and stuff. I remember having to tell myself up there.
It's just like you wake up and you're like, oh God.
But then I'm like, listen, I'm going to play football
and I'm almost thirty years old. I'm getting paid to
do this, Like this is the best job in the
entire world. Yeah, And I would consciously tell myself that

(37:43):
all the time.

Speaker 2 (37:43):
And really, when it's gone, it's gone.

Speaker 1 (37:45):
And it happens to everybody. I just I told some
of my athletes this other day. I said, no matter
how good you are at this game, that day of
it never happening again is all is creeping up. Every
time you put that helmet on is one day closer
to you not ever putting on again. And it doesn't
matter how good you are, it doesn't matter how many
plays you make, it's coming. And if you can just

(38:07):
take time, whether you're in high school or college and
just enjoy that moment that you're in, whether it's practice,
it's game time, and just look around. And that's kind
of what I did my last four years up there.
I remember before games would start, I would just soak
it all in because I knew this isn't gonna last
for ever. As soon as you start getting up in
those thirties and stuff, you're an old man up there,

(38:29):
and it's that clock's ticking. And that's one thing that
I literally throughout my whole career, I have no regrets.
I gave it my all everywhere I went, and I
hung my hat on hard work, and I think that
helped me when it was time to walk away. I
walked away on my own terms. That's kind of and
I'll go into that, like COVID kind of came around.

Speaker 2 (38:51):
Yeah, I saw that. So like in twenty nineteen, you're
with Montreal but get released after training camp.

Speaker 1 (38:56):
Yep, Yeah, that was kind of that. It was kind
of a you know, they were going a different direction
with the team. I was making good money, so I
was older on that block and they had a couple
of younger guys come.

Speaker 2 (39:07):
In that were cheaper, that were cheaper, and.

Speaker 1 (39:10):
They signed them, and then I believe that year they
brought me back for the playoff run.

Speaker 2 (39:15):
Oh yeah.

Speaker 1 (39:17):
So they ended up bringing me back like midway through
season because they're like, okay, this guy, like I think
she had like one sack throughout the whole time. They're like,
let's get napped in back like.

Speaker 2 (39:26):
He's because you wracked up sacks and tackles. Oh yeah
with Montreal a.

Speaker 1 (39:30):
Lot, and they were like, you know, he's getting up there,
but I guarantee you he's still working out. So that's
the first thing they called. When when they called, I
was like, yeah, I've been working out. I was like,
I don't stop doing that. So I was ready. I
was still pass rushing and stuff. I was actually working
out down here with Lauren, just staying ready. And then
I went back, went through playoffs and stuff like that.

(39:51):
I think we got to like the Eastern Final and lost,
and then I had went home and then COVID had
hit after that year, and when COVID came, it wasn't
like the NFL where they were still able to and
I was basically a free agent, so I was not
tied to anybody, so I wasn't getting money from anything,
and I'm like, well, this is another one of those
speed bumps. You know, I'm gonna have to figure something out.

(40:12):
So I was thinking about what I needed to do.
Still working on a farm. I had bought in my
own cattle at that time, so and I still have
cows now. Just little investments here, and I started a gym,
like just on a whim, I'm like, you know what,
I'll start a gym. I'll start helping young kids try
to chase their dreams. So I bought a place. I

(40:32):
started a gym called Different Breed Performance, which I still
run today. And then COVID hit the day that I
opened up my gym. That's when they shut everything down.

Speaker 2 (40:40):
The day you opened, Yeah, the day, Like.

Speaker 1 (40:43):
I remember, it was like I kept hearing like, oh,
they're going to shut down. Business is going to do this,
and I was like, no, they're not going to shut
down business. And I had an opening and then it
might have been the next day, but people are coming
in like okay, yeah, I want training for my kids
and stuff like that, and then it was like business shutdown.
But what helped me was my space was on the
smaller side, so I could have less I could have.

Speaker 2 (41:06):
Small groups and your numbers worked out of it.

Speaker 1 (41:08):
So high schools were shutting down. My gym was open.
I had like three squad racks just getting started. So
now all these high school players that were trying to
work out and stay and get recruiting done were calling me.
So I literally had sessions all day long.

Speaker 2 (41:23):
Oh my god.

Speaker 1 (41:24):
Because there was no school, they were doing online, so
they would come in. I would train them clean as
good as I can. Everybody was just terrified with the
whole COVID thing going on, so it was like clean
wear masks if you want to. They're smaller groups, so
I'm not too concerned about it. Don't come in if
you're sick. Like it got my name out there because
a lot of people were like to the point that
I was turning people down, like wow. They were like,

(41:46):
we want a place to train, and I'm like, I'm fool.
So that helped me out a little bit. And then
COVID slowly started things started opening up, and you know,
after that year or whatever, then the CFL team started
calling me again and they were like or at this time,
I had gotten my emt as well. So I was
running a gym, working on a farm and getting my

(42:06):
EMT at night. Wow, because I was like, well, I
could be a fireman. My brother is a fireman at Thornton.
So he was like, just get your EMT like do that.
So I had doing that, and then I had some
job interviews, so I had my business going. I had
a job interview with Thornton, and then CFL teams, three
teams were calling me, going, hey, we want you to
come back and play because a lot of guys had
retired and they're like, okay, we're going to be done.

(42:29):
They moved on, and now these teams are calling me back,
offering pretty good contracts, like hey, come back up here
and play. Well. I had two kids at the time,
a business, and I remember thinking about it. I'm like,
well I could go back up there and play. And
I remember talking to my wife and I'm like, but
what I go up there? I play two more years,
three more years, and then I'm stuck back in the spot.

(42:51):
Now I'm trying to get things going again. Yeah, my
business is doing okay. And then I had that interview
with Thornton. They called and they were like, all right,
you're hired. So it was kind of opportunities time and
just and That's kind of how my life's always been.
It's like work, work, work, work, like take the punches
as they come, like work, work, and then all of
a sudden, options, good options come up, and I'm just

(43:14):
sitting there. I remember telling my wife, I'm like, it's
not a bad spot to be in, but it's a
hard spot. And I remember telling her I was like,
if I was a young man and I was not
married and I did have a kid, I'd be back
up and I'll probably play a few more years.

Speaker 2 (43:26):
That's a much easier decision then.

Speaker 1 (43:28):
But I have now said I have to feed, I
have my kids that I love more than anything in
the world. I need insurance, I have a job as
a professional firefighter, and then my business is doing good.
So at that point I was like, I retire. So
I retired from the game and then kept my business
going as much as I could through fire Academy and

(43:48):
stuff like that, which it actually ended up doing pretty good,
to the point where I moved from my Space and
Frederick and I basically flip my barn into a big,
huge gym. So that's yeah, that's what I do now
is it's at my house. I train athletes and then
I work two days a week and I'm off for
four days with the fire department.

Speaker 2 (44:06):
Oh my god.

Speaker 1 (44:07):
And the fire department thing was awesome because they hire
you and they're like, well can he Is he a
hard work or does he do this? Is he and
all those things? They were a yeah. I was like check, check,
like all right, like I'll show you. And then academy
is kind of like training. That's kind of how I
looked at everything in life. I'm like, Okay, this is
training camp. I'm in firefighter training camp. I love that

(44:31):
getting ready for camp, Like I just love that whole thing.
So I'd be like, Okay, nutritions dialed in, I'm gonna
get my hydration dialed in. I'm going to study. I'm
going to learn as much as I can. And I
went into academy and did really well. I remember guys
would tell me they're like, oh, it's no joke, Like
the workouts and an academy are no joke. And I

(44:51):
was like, all right, well we'll see. And then I
of course.

Speaker 2 (44:54):
I've been my whole life, so.

Speaker 1 (44:56):
Absolutely it came in to the point where I was
loving it so much. I'm sure all these other to
deaths are like, God, this guy is nuts, But that's
what I've grown up doing. So I loved it and
haven't looked back since then. I love my job. I
think it's the best job ever. I tell people this
all the time that are kind of getting done with
football and looking for career. Going from football to firefighting

(45:18):
is an easy transition. You're with a team, you get
that adrenaline rush and spike, but there's other parts to
it that are serious life lessons and helping people. Yeah,
and things that not a lot of people see. You
see some rough stuff, but it goes from you're playing
a game and you think that this game is the

(45:39):
only thing in the world that matters and it's so important,
and then you go into a career like firefighting, where
you're dealing with life and death. You're helping people on
their worst days of their entire life. That's real life stuff,
and that that's something that I've grown to love and
really take pride and is helping people that are in

(46:00):
the worst time of their life and just being comforting.
You know, when firefighters show up, they're like, oh, you know,
they're here, finally, Thank God you're here being that So
I take a lot of pride and taking my job
very seriously and being ready for, you know, the worst
calls in the world, just so when it's game time.
And that's how I refer to it, when it's game time,
that I could perform the best I possibly can and

(46:22):
save somebody's life if I have to. So to me,
that's real stress right there. I'm ready for the game.
I used to be like, oh, I'm getting butterflies, you know,
I'm nervous, But that's stress right there. That you have
to be prepared and you have to do your studying
and you have to know what you're doing because there's
people's life on the line. So that's one thing that

(46:42):
I really like about it, and that's it's the best
job I've ever had, Honestly. I love the people I
work with, I love the department that I'm with, and.

Speaker 2 (46:50):
You get that locker room feel again, which is what
I think a lot of guys miss the most. Is
I love playing the game. Practice is okay, but it's
that camaraderie in the locker room that you never get again.
But at a fire station you can get that. Those
are brothers and sisters and you guys are such a
tight family.

Speaker 1 (47:08):
Oh and you are. That's my second family. They're like,
you do everything together you and sometimes you argue and
because you live together. So yeah, but it is a
locker room fill and you're with if you're on a
good crew, you're with your friends. You know, they have
to be able to count on you. You have to
be a part of the team. That's something that I
knew that I could not sit in an office. I couldn't.

(47:30):
I really didn't know what I wanted to do. That's
kind of why I started my business. I'm like, well,
I could still be around football, but then listening to
my brother and stuff, which me and my little brother
are on the same department, which is awesome.

Speaker 2 (47:42):
We'll work together every now and do you okay?

Speaker 1 (47:45):
But he told me about it, and I'm like, you
know what this is? It like, this is the only
thing I could see myself doing. And then once I
got in there and I met a bunch of the
guys and you know, you joke around, you have fun,
but then it's serious business when when it's time to
run calls and stuff, like, it's a great job. I'm
just unbelievably blessed that I was able to get this

(48:06):
job and that I'm able to help people out and
playing football was a big part of me and I
love the game of football more than anything, but just
the things that it has given me past the field
is amazing. And I know a lot of guys probably
on this podcast can agree with me, Like, you learn
so much about yourself and it sets you up for

(48:28):
success if you use it correctly. Yah, when you're done,
because you have the work ethic, you have the drive
to be better, you're working in a team, like it
teaches you to overcome things. And no matter how good
you are or what position you're in on the field
or where you're at in your career, Like, adversity's coming
all the time, and that's what happens in life too.

(48:50):
But when you face it on the field and you
face it over and over again all the time, I
think that when you're done, it helps you to where
it's like, oh, another punch in the face, It's cool,
bring it on, Like, yeah, I'll figure it out. And
that's kind of how I've been throughout life. I'm like, Okay,
there's a punch with me. Sometimes the punches all come
at once for like a month, but I'm like I'll

(49:11):
tell my wife, I'm like, listen, they're all coming right now,
but I'll be back on top eventually. I'm just gonna
put my head down and keep working. And that's kind
of what I've hung my hat on. Is that, and
it's seemed to work.

Speaker 2 (49:23):
Yeah, I think it's working just fine. Gabe. Okay, Well,
then last question, what do you tell those kids that
you train. You've got three kids of your own, and
I'm assuming people look to you for advice. Even in
your firefighter community. There's a very small amount of people
that can go play at that professional level to learn
the adversity like you've learned. So what do you tell

(49:44):
people when they face that and how to kind of
get past some of those tough points in life.

Speaker 1 (49:48):
The number one thing that I tell the kids and
just people ask is you've got to put in the work.
And I know it's a simple saying and its cliche,
but the work, it's true. You gotta do the work,
and you've got to do the hard work. You can't
look at stuff and go, oh, that's gonna be too
hard or that's gonna challenge me too much. Like I'm

(50:10):
gonna go this way, like go straight through the hard
work and just figure it out. You're gonna fail, You're
gonna face adversity, But adversity is fuel if you use
it correctly. Welcome that adversity and overcome it. Because that's
honestly throughout my whole story, my career of football and
stuff like that, that's the one thing that I've taken
away is and that I truly respect, is those hard,

(50:33):
super hard decisions. Those hard situations are in whether it's
on the field or in dealing with money, teams getting traded.
You know that adversity you gotta face it head on
because if you face the tough stuff, it's gonna make
you grow as a person. And that's when I truly
became a man, and I truly really it made me realize,

(50:55):
I'm like, I can do anything I want if I
just face adversity and I work my buddy off. Because
when you're down all the way down and keep getting
kicked and punched and you're facing adversity, but then you
come out on top, it's just like leveling up. People
say it all the time. You just level up when
you overcome big challenges and you set your mind on

(51:16):
something and you're working for it and you obtain that goal,
it's just leveling up and then that's how you grow
as a man as a person. If you can train
your mind to be like Okay, that's hard, Okay, I
want to do that, then I think it helps in
the long run for sure. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (51:32):
This was awesome. So nice to meet you, hear your
story and know more about you, and this was really cool.

Speaker 1 (51:40):
Well, I appreciate having me on and I'm glad I
could tell my story. And I know there's a lot
of a lot of guys out there and gals out
there that have awesome stories too, So I just love
listening to them and hearing what people got and how
they get to places in their life.

Speaker 2 (51:54):
I appreciate that. Yeah, all right, cool, Thanks Gabe, appreciate it.
Thank you very much, Thanks Gabe. Episodes of Cut, Traded, Fired,
Retired are released on Tuesdays. Please follow, download, and like
this podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. You can keep
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at ctf our podcast and also on the website ctfurpodcast

(52:16):
dot com. I'm your host, Susie Wargen. To learn more
about me, visit susiewargin dot com. Thanks for checking out
this episode and until next time, please be careful, be safe,
and be kind. Take care