May 19, 2025 • 25 mins
When eight-year-old Marcus Smith II experienced his first anxiety attack, no one knew what to name it. This untreated childhood anxiety would shadow him through his meteoric rise as a first-round NFL draft pick and eventually bring him to the brink of suicide—twice. But from these darkest moments emerged a powerful mission that's transforming youth mental health across the nation.
"Football was my band-aid," Marcus reveals in our deeply moving conversation. This temporary covering masked his underlying struggles until the intense pressure of professional sports stripped it away. Without proper mental health tools or support, Marcus found himself paralyzed by anxiety on the field—"almost like a vegetable"—despite his extraordinary physical abilities and years of training.
The turning point came in 2018 when Marcus finally spoke those transformative words: "I need help." The overwhelming support from his Seattle Seahawks teammates showed him the power of vulnerability and sparked the creation of Circle of M, his groundbreaking nonprofit. Unlike traditional youth programs focused solely on physical development, Circle of M pioneers a holistic approach where mental wellness precedes physical training. "We do everything backwards," Marcus explains. "It should always be mental first and then physical, because the brain itself controls the rest of your body."
Through innovative techniques like "feelings wheels" that help youth identify and articulate emotions, Marcus is building a generation equipped with tools he never had. His powerful message for future healthcare professionals—"Be where your feet are"—offers wisdom for anyone navigating challenging careers. As a husband, father, and man of faith, Marcus embodies authentic leadership that meets people exactly where they are.
Ready to join this mental health revolution? Follow Marcus's journey and learn more about Circle of M's transformative work by visiting thecircleofm.com or connecting on Instagram @thecircleofm. Together, we can ensure no child faces their mental health battles alone.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Welcome to the HOSA Future of Health podcast Today.
I am deeply honored andgrateful to Marcus Smith II,
founder of the Circle of MMarcus.
Welcome.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Thank you for having me.
I really appreciate the time.
This is amazing.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Thank you again well, marcus, you know you're, you're
, you're a leader.
You're inspiring so manymillions of people across the
nation and really across theworld, and I wanted to go right
into our interview.
You've talked about growing upin Columbus, georgia, and the
early struggles that youencountered with what a lot of
(00:51):
people are talking about thesedays, which is anxiety and
depression, and even with aloving and supportive family.
So how did this all shape whatyou're working on today?
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Yeah, it was something that was really
something that I needed to getthrough as a kid.
It was something that we didn'ttalk about.
I think it's important for usto talk about the anxiety and
the stressors that we go throughas kids, right?
My first anxiety attack waswhen I was eight years old.
(01:32):
I remember my grandmother notknowing exactly what it was.
She put a blood pressurereading on me, but then after
that we just kind of went onabout our days and I was able to
attack the day, but I didn'tknow that it was something that
was plaguing me.
(01:52):
So that carried with me for mywhole entire life.
It was something that I dealtwith, even through the game of
football.
Even through the game offootball.
Football ended up being my safehaven, because it was a
comfortable place for me to bean athlete on the football field
, to have fun, to not thinkabout anything, nothing that was
(02:14):
going on at home.
I didn't have to think aboutschool, I just could play
football, and so when you reallylook at that, that's kind of a
band-aid, if you really look atit that way, because a band-aid
is only there for a certainperiod of time, and so we look
at life like that.
Football was my band-aid.
(02:35):
But once I got to the NFL highschool college, to the NFL, that
band-aid was lifted and Ididn't have the band-aid anymore
.
Now I had fans, I had coaches,I had family, I had everybody a
part of the next chapter in mylife.
(02:55):
But I still hadn't addressedthe anxiety issue that I had
dealt with when I was eightyears old.
Now it's compound interest,compound interest that I didn't
necessarily have the tools todeal with.
So that's why I'm in this spacenow.
That's why I got into thisspace, because I was dealing
(03:16):
with that all through my careerand I had some struggles with it
and so I wanted to help otherswhen it came to mental health,
because I know that that's whatI dealt with since I was eight
years old.
So that's why I'm in this space.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Well, you know it takes courage, it takes an
understanding, and you know whatit takes leadership to be able
to speak up, to be able toconsider helping others, to give
back, to do all of the thingsthat you're doing today to help,
again so many millions ofpeople around the world.
(03:56):
And so, marcus, you weredrafted.
You were drafted in the firstround of the NFL, the National
Football League, and playing atthe absolute highest level.
What was it like?
Dealing with such mental healthchallenges, et cetera, and such
we all see it such a highpressure, high profile
(04:20):
environment, and how did itaffect your performance and your
identity?
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Yeah, it was tough.
I'm going to be honest with youguys.
It was tough just because Ididn't have the tools at the
time, I didn't have the teamaround me to be able to tell me
hey, go to therapy.
Or I always looked at whatpeople thought about me, and
it's always about provingyourself right before proving
(04:50):
someone else wrong.
So I think I just had thatmentality and that's what kind
of plagued my mental health, andmy mental health kind of went
into the dumps.
It got lower and lower andlower and my play started to
become.
I was almost like a vegetableon the football field.
(05:12):
I'm not sure if anybody in thehealth space could understand
being in a pressure environmentand you kind of handicap
yourself.
You feel like you can't move,and so that's kind of where I
was.
I'm riding on a high, I getdrafted first round.
It's a great thing, family isfun.
But then reality sets in like,oh man, now I have to go perform
(05:35):
.
Now I have to get a lot of sex.
Now I have to live up to theexpectation of me just being the
best football player that Icould be and I wanted to be.
But because I didn't address mymental health issues, it kind of
allowed me to take a step backand I didn't play very well and
(05:59):
that plagued me as well.
So that's how it was.
When I look at football, when Ilook at my family and all my
coaches, I just wish I wouldhave the team around me to
understand exactly what I neededat the time and to really
(06:19):
redefine who the real MarcusSmith was at that time.
But I will say it wasdefinitely tough.
It was tough because I am thefirst one in my family to ever
make it that far.
I'm the first one in my familyto get drafted first round in
one of the top premier leagues.
So it was a struggle in thebeginning, but again, once again
(06:45):
, I prevail.
That's why I'm doing the workthat I'm doing now.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
You know what, and that's again, that's leadership.
It's all about that leadership.
And so you've described thischallenge as being your toughest
opponent anxiety, depression,et cetera and even, you just
said, even tougher than you knowother players on the field, I
(07:10):
mean.
So, marcus, can you take usinside what that internal battle
looked like and how it affectedyour sense of identity?
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Yeah, the internal battle was obviously looking at
myself in the mirror every dayand wondering am I good enough?
Can I play this sport?
Now?
This is a sport I've beenplaying since I was five years
old, and sometimes you questionyourself.
It's like do I belong?
Is this somewhere that God hasme?
(07:44):
And I had to realize that itwas.
But sometimes, when anxietystrikes, depression follows, and
now you're in a depressed stateand it seems like a black cloud
is over your head and you can'tget over it.
You can't seem to get to thelight at the end of the tunnel,
if you will, and so in my mindit was crying.
(08:11):
I said a lot of tears, just tobe honest with you guys.
I talked to my parents a lot,right, and even though they
didn't all the way fullyunderstand, I was able to
express my emotions and mythings with them.
And then I also talked to mywife and it was a lot of release
(08:33):
that I had to do all the wayfrom when I was eight years old.
So I would always say you know,make sure that you address some
of those issues that wereplaguing you when you were
younger, because those thingsjust travel with you.
You want to make sure that youpush those thoughts to the front
(08:54):
of your brain and release themout of your mouth so you can be
free.
Those are the things that I hadto exercise.
I had to exercise those rightaway, because anxiety and
depression was truly knocking onmy front door and I was crying
a lot, crying out because Ineeded help.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
Marcus, you know, just as your friend and
colleague here, I find it justincredibly brave of you, but I'm
grateful to you and I think youknow the millions of people
that you've touched and willtouch and that will hear this
program as well will also say,wow, that's, that's incredible
(09:39):
advice and that's a leader thatyou are.
And so you've turned thispersonal experience into purpose
through the circle of M.
This is a nonprofit that'sfocused on mentorship and mental
wellness.
What, Marcus, inspired you?
(10:01):
I think we can tell there aresome inspiration points here,
obviously, but what inspired youto create this organization and
what impact are you seeing inthe lives of those who
participate?
Speaker 2 (10:17):
Yeah, I'm going to be honest with you guys.
I had a suicide experience andthat's just the realest that I
can be.
I had a suicide experience whenI was in Seattle, 2018.
And so, after having thatexperience, I remember talking
to my coaches, talking to PeteCarroll, talking to Clinton Hurt
(10:40):
, talking to the training staff,and it was the first time in my
life that I said I need help.
I had never said those wordsbefore because I was afraid, I
was scared to say that, becauseall of my colleagues, all of the
people that around me, I wasafraid to know, oh, what would
they think about me?
Would they think that I'm justthis crazy person?
(11:00):
Would they think I'm not agreat teammate?
Would they think that I'm justthis crazy person?
Would they think I'm not agreat teammate?
Would they think that I'mquitting on them?
And so, once I released thatand I said that it was so many
of my teammates Some peoplecould say the Legion of Boom at
the time so many of my teammatescame to me and rallied behind
(11:21):
me and some of them even saidhey, I was dealing with that two
weeks ago.
How did you get through that?
And it was at that moment thatI understood how being
vulnerable and speaking up wassuper important and I got some
of my teammates to open up to memore than they have opened up
to me in the past.
(11:43):
And so that's why I eventuallycreated, two years later, the
Circle of M Incorporated.
Because I realized and Iunderstood the more that you
speak, the more that you freeyourself and success is not a
destination, it's a mindset.
And success is not a destination, it's a mindset.
So being able to pour that into not only my professional
(12:07):
athlete brothers, I alsorealized that it starts when
you're young, so we can pourthose things into them early.
Then they have a better chanceat just life in general.
Because they understand, theycan articulate their emotions
and they could speak that tosomeone or speak that to a
therapist or their teacher ifthey're getting burnt out, etc.
(12:30):
So that's why we do the programnow.
We start what we call afeelings will every day.
I mean not every day, but everyprogram is every Wednesday.
We start with the feelings willbecause we want them to
understand what your emotionsare and how you can articulate
that to someone, because I don'twant them to be in a situation
(12:52):
where they're not heard and theywant to take their own life.
I want them to be able to speakup and say what they're feeling
, so they can get the help thatthey need.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Absolutely remarkable and just you know so so
incredibly vital, important,critical all the words you can
use.
Marcus, and so the circle of Mblends this emotional awareness,
physical movement andentrepreneurial guidance in one
(13:23):
single program, something wereally truly almost never see.
Why was it important for you tocreate such a holistic approach
and how does that combinationhelp people heal and grow help?
Speaker 2 (13:41):
people heal and grow.
I love that.
I love that question becausewhen you really look at it, you
see facilities have the physical, physical physical.
Everything was physical,especially growing up, right,
and I realized that, well, we doeverything backwards.
It should always be mentalfirst and then physical, because
(14:04):
the brain itself controls therest of your body, it's
controlling your physical.
So how can we be in physicalnature and not have the mental?
You need both, and so that's whywe created the mental wellness
piece, because if we can talk toyou before you hit the field or
we can talk to you beforeyou're going into to your career
(14:28):
, right now you have the mindsetand you have the wherewithal to
understand what you're gettinginto, what you're going into.
And that's why it's it's superimportant, that's why we've
mended.
It's almost like the mecca ofwellness, because when you come
(14:48):
in, you sit, you talk with usand you talk to other
professionals, and it doesn'tnecessarily have to be a
professional athlete.
It could be the nurse, it couldbe the doctor, it could be
therapist, but you're gettingall these different perspectives
.
And then, after that, now yourbrain is working, now you are
now understanding what this isall about.
(15:11):
And then you do recreationalfun activities to get your mind
going, and then afterwards weask you the same type of
questions that we asked youbefore to get you thinking again
.
And so that's why it's superimportant, because you need both
in your life to sustain yourlife.
(15:32):
We all know, doing the physicaland keeping physical and not
really taking care of yourmental, you start to get burnt
out.
But if you can be able tocontrol both and have the
discipline for both, then nowwe're talking about great
leaders.
Right Now we're talking aboutthe next president.
(15:52):
Now we're talking about peopleand kids who can lead the next
generation of kids.
So we're not leaving anybodybehind generation of kids.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
So we're not leaving anybody behind, leaving no one
behind.
I mean, that's a big part ofthis, and you know your passion.
You know when you started with Ilove that question, and you
could see that you really lovethe question, but you really
love what's behind it and youwere eager to answer that.
That, and that's what we'retalking about here, is, marcus.
(16:25):
What you're talking about isreal, real people, real issues,
and, in your case, you'reproviding real, tangible
solutions so that someone hasthe tool to be able to change
the world, rather than just thefacilities, like you said, like
the structural.
(16:46):
You know, you got the gym, yougot this, you got that, but you
don't have the mental toolkit tosay, okay, here's how I
approach this and I need to getmy brain in a place where I can
be together and then excel atthe rest.
Right, that's what you'retalking about here.
So you're not just an advocate,though, marcus, and you're not
(17:09):
just an athlete.
You're also a husband, you're adad and you're a man of faith.
So how have those personalroles shaped your mission and
the way you lead others, both onand, maybe even more
importantly, off the field?
Speaker 2 (17:30):
Well, first and foremost, you know, my faith
always comes first.
That's the first thing mybelief in God and how I am able
to move forward.
You know, god was there with mein the suicide attempts.
He was there with me once andhe was there with me twice, with
my wife being there and then mymother-in-law being there.
(17:52):
So if it hadn't have been forthose two people in my life, I
might not be talking to youtoday.
Right, and I think my kids andmy family have really shaped how
I view other kids.
Right, because everybody isdifferent and it's important as
(18:13):
a man of faith to meet peoplewhere they are not where they're
going, but be present with themin the moment, because I truly
understand if you're presentwith them, if you can meet them
where they are, they don't feellike they're ostracized or they
don't feel like they're beingtalked about in a bad way.
(18:34):
They actually feel like someonecares.
And so my family is a caringfamily.
They love me dearly and I lovethem.
My son, my daughter.
My son's name is Ezra, mydaughter's name is Sarai.
They teach me a lot of patience, but also it allows me to work
(18:56):
on some of those mental healthtools that I've learned with
them, because that's somethingthat I didn't have.
But I not only don't, I don'twanna give that just to them, I
wanna be able to give that toothers, right?
Because the kids are the future.
They're gonna shape the worldand so, with social media, with
(19:18):
all of these things that arearound them, if they have the
tools to be equipped, they'regoing to be better than ever.
They won't be a statistic.
No matter what color they are,no matter what they look like,
they won't be a statistic.
They'll be a leader and they'llbe more than a conqueror.
But my family is a reason why Ido what I do.
(19:43):
But there are a lot of thereasons why I excel at a high
rate.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
You know it's just profound.
It's profound and as we look atHOSA, future health
professionals many of ourlisteners for this podcast are
future nurses, future doctors,future public health leaders,
future mental health advocates,who will soon be literally on
(20:14):
the front lines of healthcare.
Marcus, what would you wantthem to know about the
connection between mental andphysical health, beyond what
we've already talked about here,especially when working with
youth and athletes?
Speaker 2 (20:34):
Yeah, I love that.
I really do.
I love that because I've seenit firsthand.
My wife is a nurse, she's amidwife, she went to the
University of Pennsylvania andalso she went to Georgetown.
So I've seen her go through alot in the nursing space and all
they had to do being on thefront lines, even down to school
(20:56):
, and being in clinicals.
So I truly understand whereyou're going and the work that
it takes to be in your field.
And one thing that I would wantto say to you is be where your
feet are, wherever your feet areplanted, that's where you're
supposed to be.
(21:16):
There are gonna be times whereyou're gonna feel like you wanna
quit.
There are gonna be times whereyou're gonna feel like you're by
yourself, but I wanna encourageyou to continue to stay at it,
because what you do is truly aneed in this space and that we
(21:40):
need.
You Also wanna encourage you tohave your tools.
I want you to have your teamaround you.
It could be a parent, it couldbe a teacher.
(22:01):
I want you to have someone thatyou can confide into and we
call it an emotional dump to beable to get all of your emotions
out, so you're not bottling itin, in, and so you don't get
burnt out.
But the number one thing Iwould say be where your feet are
, because you're meant to bethere love that be where your
feet are.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
I'm gonna use that if you don't mind.
That's, that's incredible.
It's such great perspective andsuch incredibly invaluable
advice.
And so for the host of studentsand future health professionals
listening today who want tomake a difference and they all
do what is your call to action,marcus, and how can they step up
(22:45):
as leaders and help end thestigma around mental health in
their schools, in theircommunities and even in their
careers?
Speaker 2 (22:57):
Yeah, I would say, as I said in the kind of in the
beginning a little bit, you know, I would say that my call to
action would be to you're notalone.
First and foremost, help is onthe way, and success is not a
(23:20):
destination.
It's a mindset that successtruly is the pain, the struggle,
the things that you are dearalong the way to get to your
destiny.
That is true success.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
Marcus Smith, the second founder of the circle of
M and the definition of leader.
You are the definition, myfriend.
How can folks find out moreabout the work you're doing at
the circle of M?
Speaker 2 (24:00):
Yeah, so you can go to our website.
It's the circle of Mcomcom, andyou can also go to my personal
website, marcussmith2.com, thesecond being two uppercase I's.
Sometimes it's hard for peopleto know that, but you can find
(24:23):
me that way, and my Instagram isthecircleofm marcussmith2 me
that way.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
My Instagram is thecircleofm.
Marcus Smith II.
Founder of the Circle of M.
You are changing the world, myfriend.
Thank you for all you're doing.
We'll welcome you back anytime.
Look forward to staying intouch.
Thank you for changing theworld.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
Appreciate you.
I thank you for having me.
We changed the world together.
We can't do it alone.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
Thank you, marcus.
Thank you so much, no problem.
Welcome to the HOSA Future of Health podcast Today.
I am deeply honored andgrateful to Marcus Smith II,
founder of the Circle of MMarcus.
Welcome.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Thank you for having me.
I really appreciate the time.
This is amazing.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Thank you again well, marcus, you know you're, you're
, you're a leader.
You're inspiring so manymillions of people across the
nation and really across theworld, and I wanted to go right
into our interview.
You've talked about growing upin Columbus, georgia, and the
early struggles that youencountered with what a lot of
(00:51):
people are talking about thesedays, which is anxiety and
depression, and even with aloving and supportive family.
So how did this all shape whatyou're working on today?
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Yeah, it was something that was really
something that I needed to getthrough as a kid.
It was something that we didn'ttalk about.
I think it's important for usto talk about the anxiety and
the stressors that we go throughas kids, right?
My first anxiety attack waswhen I was eight years old.
(01:32):
I remember my grandmother notknowing exactly what it was.
She put a blood pressurereading on me, but then after
that we just kind of went onabout our days and I was able to
attack the day, but I didn'tknow that it was something that
was plaguing me.
(01:52):
So that carried with me for mywhole entire life.
It was something that I dealtwith, even through the game of
football.
Even through the game offootball.
Football ended up being my safehaven, because it was a
comfortable place for me to bean athlete on the football field
, to have fun, to not thinkabout anything, nothing that was
(02:14):
going on at home.
I didn't have to think aboutschool, I just could play
football, and so when you reallylook at that, that's kind of a
band-aid, if you really look atit that way, because a band-aid
is only there for a certainperiod of time, and so we look
at life like that.
Football was my band-aid.
(02:35):
But once I got to the NFL highschool college, to the NFL, that
band-aid was lifted and Ididn't have the band-aid anymore
.
Now I had fans, I had coaches,I had family, I had everybody a
part of the next chapter in mylife.
(02:55):
But I still hadn't addressedthe anxiety issue that I had
dealt with when I was eightyears old.
Now it's compound interest,compound interest that I didn't
necessarily have the tools todeal with.
So that's why I'm in this spacenow.
That's why I got into thisspace, because I was dealing
(03:16):
with that all through my careerand I had some struggles with it
and so I wanted to help otherswhen it came to mental health,
because I know that that's whatI dealt with since I was eight
years old.
So that's why I'm in this space.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Well, you know it takes courage, it takes an
understanding, and you know whatit takes leadership to be able
to speak up, to be able toconsider helping others, to give
back, to do all of the thingsthat you're doing today to help,
again so many millions ofpeople around the world.
(03:56):
And so, marcus, you weredrafted.
You were drafted in the firstround of the NFL, the National
Football League, and playing atthe absolute highest level.
What was it like?
Dealing with such mental healthchallenges, et cetera, and such
we all see it such a highpressure, high profile
(04:20):
environment, and how did itaffect your performance and your
identity?
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Yeah, it was tough.
I'm going to be honest with youguys.
It was tough just because Ididn't have the tools at the
time, I didn't have the teamaround me to be able to tell me
hey, go to therapy.
Or I always looked at whatpeople thought about me, and
it's always about provingyourself right before proving
(04:50):
someone else wrong.
So I think I just had thatmentality and that's what kind
of plagued my mental health, andmy mental health kind of went
into the dumps.
It got lower and lower andlower and my play started to
become.
I was almost like a vegetableon the football field.
(05:12):
I'm not sure if anybody in thehealth space could understand
being in a pressure environmentand you kind of handicap
yourself.
You feel like you can't move,and so that's kind of where I
was.
I'm riding on a high, I getdrafted first round.
It's a great thing, family isfun.
But then reality sets in like,oh man, now I have to go perform
(05:35):
.
Now I have to get a lot of sex.
Now I have to live up to theexpectation of me just being the
best football player that Icould be and I wanted to be.
But because I didn't address mymental health issues, it kind of
allowed me to take a step backand I didn't play very well and
(05:59):
that plagued me as well.
So that's how it was.
When I look at football, when Ilook at my family and all my
coaches, I just wish I wouldhave the team around me to
understand exactly what I neededat the time and to really
(06:19):
redefine who the real MarcusSmith was at that time.
But I will say it wasdefinitely tough.
It was tough because I am thefirst one in my family to ever
make it that far.
I'm the first one in my familyto get drafted first round in
one of the top premier leagues.
So it was a struggle in thebeginning, but again, once again
(06:45):
, I prevail.
That's why I'm doing the workthat I'm doing now.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
You know what, and that's again, that's leadership.
It's all about that leadership.
And so you've described thischallenge as being your toughest
opponent anxiety, depression,et cetera and even, you just
said, even tougher than you knowother players on the field, I
(07:10):
mean.
So, marcus, can you take usinside what that internal battle
looked like and how it affectedyour sense of identity?
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Yeah, the internal battle was obviously looking at
myself in the mirror every dayand wondering am I good enough?
Can I play this sport?
Now?
This is a sport I've beenplaying since I was five years
old, and sometimes you questionyourself.
It's like do I belong?
Is this somewhere that God hasme?
(07:44):
And I had to realize that itwas.
But sometimes, when anxietystrikes, depression follows, and
now you're in a depressed stateand it seems like a black cloud
is over your head and you can'tget over it.
You can't seem to get to thelight at the end of the tunnel,
if you will, and so in my mindit was crying.
(08:11):
I said a lot of tears, just tobe honest with you guys.
I talked to my parents a lot,right, and even though they
didn't all the way fullyunderstand, I was able to
express my emotions and mythings with them.
And then I also talked to mywife and it was a lot of release
(08:33):
that I had to do all the wayfrom when I was eight years old.
So I would always say you know,make sure that you address some
of those issues that wereplaguing you when you were
younger, because those thingsjust travel with you.
You want to make sure that youpush those thoughts to the front
(08:54):
of your brain and release themout of your mouth so you can be
free.
Those are the things that I hadto exercise.
I had to exercise those rightaway, because anxiety and
depression was truly knocking onmy front door and I was crying
a lot, crying out because Ineeded help.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
Marcus, you know, just as your friend and
colleague here, I find it justincredibly brave of you, but I'm
grateful to you and I think youknow the millions of people
that you've touched and willtouch and that will hear this
program as well will also say,wow, that's, that's incredible
(09:39):
advice and that's a leader thatyou are.
And so you've turned thispersonal experience into purpose
through the circle of M.
This is a nonprofit that'sfocused on mentorship and mental
wellness.
What, Marcus, inspired you?
(10:01):
I think we can tell there aresome inspiration points here,
obviously, but what inspired youto create this organization and
what impact are you seeing inthe lives of those who
participate?
Speaker 2 (10:17):
Yeah, I'm going to be honest with you guys.
I had a suicide experience andthat's just the realest that I
can be.
I had a suicide experience whenI was in Seattle, 2018.
And so, after having thatexperience, I remember talking
to my coaches, talking to PeteCarroll, talking to Clinton Hurt
(10:40):
, talking to the training staff,and it was the first time in my
life that I said I need help.
I had never said those wordsbefore because I was afraid, I
was scared to say that, becauseall of my colleagues, all of the
people that around me, I wasafraid to know, oh, what would
they think about me?
Would they think that I'm justthis crazy person?
(11:00):
Would they think I'm not agreat teammate?
Would they think that I'm justthis crazy person?
Would they think I'm not agreat teammate?
Would they think that I'mquitting on them?
And so, once I released thatand I said that it was so many
of my teammates Some peoplecould say the Legion of Boom at
the time so many of my teammatescame to me and rallied behind
(11:21):
me and some of them even saidhey, I was dealing with that two
weeks ago.
How did you get through that?
And it was at that moment thatI understood how being
vulnerable and speaking up wassuper important and I got some
of my teammates to open up to memore than they have opened up
to me in the past.
(11:43):
And so that's why I eventuallycreated, two years later, the
Circle of M Incorporated.
Because I realized and Iunderstood the more that you
speak, the more that you freeyourself and success is not a
destination, it's a mindset.
And success is not a destination, it's a mindset.
So being able to pour that into not only my professional
(12:07):
athlete brothers, I alsorealized that it starts when
you're young, so we can pourthose things into them early.
Then they have a better chanceat just life in general.
Because they understand, theycan articulate their emotions
and they could speak that tosomeone or speak that to a
therapist or their teacher ifthey're getting burnt out, etc.
(12:30):
So that's why we do the programnow.
We start what we call afeelings will every day.
I mean not every day, but everyprogram is every Wednesday.
We start with the feelings willbecause we want them to
understand what your emotionsare and how you can articulate
that to someone, because I don'twant them to be in a situation
(12:52):
where they're not heard and theywant to take their own life.
I want them to be able to speakup and say what they're feeling
, so they can get the help thatthey need.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Absolutely remarkable and just you know so so
incredibly vital, important,critical all the words you can
use.
Marcus, and so the circle of Mblends this emotional awareness,
physical movement andentrepreneurial guidance in one
(13:23):
single program, something wereally truly almost never see.
Why was it important for you tocreate such a holistic approach
and how does that combinationhelp people heal and grow help?
Speaker 2 (13:41):
people heal and grow.
I love that.
I love that question becausewhen you really look at it, you
see facilities have the physical, physical physical.
Everything was physical,especially growing up, right,
and I realized that, well, we doeverything backwards.
It should always be mentalfirst and then physical, because
(14:04):
the brain itself controls therest of your body, it's
controlling your physical.
So how can we be in physicalnature and not have the mental?
You need both, and so that's whywe created the mental wellness
piece, because if we can talk toyou before you hit the field or
we can talk to you beforeyou're going into to your career
(14:28):
, right now you have the mindsetand you have the wherewithal to
understand what you're gettinginto, what you're going into.
And that's why it's it's superimportant, that's why we've
mended.
It's almost like the mecca ofwellness, because when you come
(14:48):
in, you sit, you talk with usand you talk to other
professionals, and it doesn'tnecessarily have to be a
professional athlete.
It could be the nurse, it couldbe the doctor, it could be
therapist, but you're gettingall these different perspectives
.
And then, after that, now yourbrain is working, now you are
now understanding what this isall about.
(15:11):
And then you do recreationalfun activities to get your mind
going, and then afterwards weask you the same type of
questions that we asked youbefore to get you thinking again
.
And so that's why it's superimportant, because you need both
in your life to sustain yourlife.
(15:32):
We all know, doing the physicaland keeping physical and not
really taking care of yourmental, you start to get burnt
out.
But if you can be able tocontrol both and have the
discipline for both, then nowwe're talking about great
leaders.
Right Now we're talking aboutthe next president.
(15:52):
Now we're talking about peopleand kids who can lead the next
generation of kids.
So we're not leaving anybodybehind generation of kids.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
So we're not leaving anybody behind, leaving no one
behind.
I mean, that's a big part ofthis, and you know your passion.
You know when you started with Ilove that question, and you
could see that you really lovethe question, but you really
love what's behind it and youwere eager to answer that.
That, and that's what we'retalking about here, is, marcus.
(16:25):
What you're talking about isreal, real people, real issues,
and, in your case, you'reproviding real, tangible
solutions so that someone hasthe tool to be able to change
the world, rather than just thefacilities, like you said, like
the structural.
(16:46):
You know, you got the gym, yougot this, you got that, but you
don't have the mental toolkit tosay, okay, here's how I
approach this and I need to getmy brain in a place where I can
be together and then excel atthe rest.
Right, that's what you'retalking about here.
So you're not just an advocate,though, marcus, and you're not
(17:09):
just an athlete.
You're also a husband, you're adad and you're a man of faith.
So how have those personalroles shaped your mission and
the way you lead others, both onand, maybe even more
importantly, off the field?
Speaker 2 (17:30):
Well, first and foremost, you know, my faith
always comes first.
That's the first thing mybelief in God and how I am able
to move forward.
You know, god was there with mein the suicide attempts.
He was there with me once andhe was there with me twice, with
my wife being there and then mymother-in-law being there.
(17:52):
So if it hadn't have been forthose two people in my life, I
might not be talking to youtoday.
Right, and I think my kids andmy family have really shaped how
I view other kids.
Right, because everybody isdifferent and it's important as
(18:13):
a man of faith to meet peoplewhere they are not where they're
going, but be present with themin the moment, because I truly
understand if you're presentwith them, if you can meet them
where they are, they don't feellike they're ostracized or they
don't feel like they're beingtalked about in a bad way.
(18:34):
They actually feel like someonecares.
And so my family is a caringfamily.
They love me dearly and I lovethem.
My son, my daughter.
My son's name is Ezra, mydaughter's name is Sarai.
They teach me a lot of patience, but also it allows me to work
(18:56):
on some of those mental healthtools that I've learned with
them, because that's somethingthat I didn't have.
But I not only don't, I don'twanna give that just to them, I
wanna be able to give that toothers, right?
Because the kids are the future.
They're gonna shape the worldand so, with social media, with
(19:18):
all of these things that arearound them, if they have the
tools to be equipped, they'regoing to be better than ever.
They won't be a statistic.
No matter what color they are,no matter what they look like,
they won't be a statistic.
They'll be a leader and they'llbe more than a conqueror.
But my family is a reason why Ido what I do.
(19:43):
But there are a lot of thereasons why I excel at a high
rate.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
You know it's just profound.
It's profound and as we look atHOSA, future health
professionals many of ourlisteners for this podcast are
future nurses, future doctors,future public health leaders,
future mental health advocates,who will soon be literally on
(20:14):
the front lines of healthcare.
Marcus, what would you wantthem to know about the
connection between mental andphysical health, beyond what
we've already talked about here,especially when working with
youth and athletes?
Speaker 2 (20:34):
Yeah, I love that.
I really do.
I love that because I've seenit firsthand.
My wife is a nurse, she's amidwife, she went to the
University of Pennsylvania andalso she went to Georgetown.
So I've seen her go through alot in the nursing space and all
they had to do being on thefront lines, even down to school
(20:56):
, and being in clinicals.
So I truly understand whereyou're going and the work that
it takes to be in your field.
And one thing that I would wantto say to you is be where your
feet are, wherever your feet areplanted, that's where you're
supposed to be.
(21:16):
There are gonna be times whereyou're gonna feel like you wanna
quit.
There are gonna be times whereyou're gonna feel like you're by
yourself, but I wanna encourageyou to continue to stay at it,
because what you do is truly aneed in this space and that we
(21:40):
need.
You Also wanna encourage you tohave your tools.
I want you to have your teamaround you.
It could be a parent, it couldbe a teacher.
(22:01):
I want you to have someone thatyou can confide into and we
call it an emotional dump to beable to get all of your emotions
out, so you're not bottling itin, in, and so you don't get
burnt out.
But the number one thing Iwould say be where your feet are
, because you're meant to bethere love that be where your
feet are.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
I'm gonna use that if you don't mind.
That's, that's incredible.
It's such great perspective andsuch incredibly invaluable
advice.
And so for the host of studentsand future health professionals
listening today who want tomake a difference and they all
do what is your call to action,marcus, and how can they step up
(22:45):
as leaders and help end thestigma around mental health in
their schools, in theircommunities and even in their
careers?
Speaker 2 (22:57):
Yeah, I would say, as I said in the kind of in the
beginning a little bit, you know, I would say that my call to
action would be to you're notalone.
First and foremost, help is onthe way, and success is not a
(23:20):
destination.
It's a mindset that successtruly is the pain, the struggle,
the things that you are dearalong the way to get to your
destiny.
That is true success.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
Marcus Smith, the second founder of the circle of
M and the definition of leader.
You are the definition, myfriend.
How can folks find out moreabout the work you're doing at
the circle of M?
Speaker 2 (24:00):
Yeah, so you can go to our website.
It's the circle of Mcomcom, andyou can also go to my personal
website, marcussmith2.com, thesecond being two uppercase I's.
Sometimes it's hard for peopleto know that, but you can find
(24:23):
me that way, and my Instagram isthecircleofm marcussmith2 me
that way.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
My Instagram is thecircleofm.
Marcus Smith II.
Founder of the Circle of M.
You are changing the world, myfriend.
Thank you for all you're doing.
We'll welcome you back anytime.
Look forward to staying intouch.
Thank you for changing theworld.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
Appreciate you.
I thank you for having me.
We changed the world together.
We can't do it alone.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
Thank you, marcus.
Thank you so much, no problem.
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