WEBVTT - Steve Smith Full Interview 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:03.360 My next guest. He's live in studio, which is always fantastic. 0:00:03.680 --> 0:00:06.880 The game of basketball has been very, very good to. 0:00:07.000 --> 0:00:09.959 My next guest is the former NBA All Star If 0:00:10.000 --> 0:00:13.000 I if I say anything wrong, check me okay, correct you, okay, 0:00:13.119 --> 0:00:20.560 World champion with the San Antonio Spurs, Olympian businessman, broadcaster, philanthropers. 0:00:20.760 --> 0:00:23.720 After playing fourteen season in the NBA, he became You 0:00:23.720 --> 0:00:26.280 can see him in popular TV commercials, which I always 0:00:26.360 --> 0:00:29.120 enjoy him and he looks so relaxed because I can't act, 0:00:29.160 --> 0:00:31.000 So whenever I see anybody looking at that relaxed, I 0:00:31.000 --> 0:00:36.040 always go, what are you doing? Back college basketball? Seeing 0:00:36.120 --> 0:00:39.680 nightly on NBA TV and some cold suit you know, 0:00:39.720 --> 0:00:41.040 you know how the cold suit on the day, but 0:00:41.120 --> 0:00:44.080 he got the cold suit on NBA today, uh TV. 0:00:44.360 --> 0:00:47.800 Please welcome to money making conversations. Steve Smith. Appreciate, thank you, 0:00:47.880 --> 0:00:49.600 thanks for having me. I like that. You can do 0:00:49.640 --> 0:00:52.040 that again, absolutely, But you're not the cold suit on 0:00:52.120 --> 0:00:55.720 with a little you know, square and everything. So, so 0:00:55.760 --> 0:00:58.520 what is the image of Steve Smith? What is Steve's brain? 0:00:58.680 --> 0:01:00.600 I guess I can say I would say Steve Smith 0:01:00.640 --> 0:01:04.559 brand is just being himself, a humble person for that voice. 0:01:04.640 --> 0:01:06.720 He already got the voice. He went into Steve Smith voice. 0:01:06.760 --> 0:01:08.680 It's just a natural, just a natural, just a natural. 0:01:08.760 --> 0:01:11.600 My friend, just kid from the east side of Detroit, 0:01:12.120 --> 0:01:14.560 got a chance because of that around basketball you talked about, 0:01:15.400 --> 0:01:17.240 got a chance to take me around the world. And 0:01:17.319 --> 0:01:20.680 obviously for me, um, it's taken me where. I still 0:01:20.680 --> 0:01:22.520 haven't had a job. I always tell people, haven't got 0:01:22.520 --> 0:01:24.280 a job yet because I'm doing stuff I love and 0:01:24.360 --> 0:01:26.800 dreamed to do. So dreamed of playing in the NBA, 0:01:27.160 --> 0:01:29.760 and obviously that dream came true. Never thought and dreamed 0:01:29.760 --> 0:01:32.080 of being broadcasting. But that was something I said, that'd 0:01:32.120 --> 0:01:34.200 be a fun job. And but how did that? How 0:01:34.200 --> 0:01:36.240 did that happen? Because you said you never thought because 0:01:36.240 --> 0:01:40.120 you just athlete, correct more than just an athlete. But 0:01:40.160 --> 0:01:42.160 I think, Um, at the end of my career, never 0:01:42.160 --> 0:01:44.320 thought I'd being broadcasting. I was sitting at the restaurant 0:01:44.319 --> 0:01:46.360 and some of alternery executives were there that I got 0:01:46.360 --> 0:01:48.280 a chance to meet and be around because I'm here 0:01:48.280 --> 0:01:50.640 in the landing, played here, and they said, Steve, would 0:01:50.640 --> 0:01:52.440 you want to be in broadcasting? I said, no, no, no, 0:01:52.480 --> 0:01:54.280 not at all, that's not for me. I didn't go 0:01:54.280 --> 0:01:55.960 over to school for that. They said why not? And 0:01:55.960 --> 0:01:58.080 that the reason they caught me, because they said why not? 0:01:58.160 --> 0:02:00.640 I didn't have an answer for so went in and 0:02:00.640 --> 0:02:03.040 did a demo and obviously they said, uh, we think 0:02:03.080 --> 0:02:04.720 you'd be good. Why don't you think about staying in 0:02:04.760 --> 0:02:08.480 basketball and covering the Hawks? And I tell people, boy, 0:02:08.560 --> 0:02:10.600 coming to Hawks at that time, they couldn't win a game. 0:02:10.680 --> 0:02:12.680 Yet to come up with stories, you had to come 0:02:12.760 --> 0:02:17.560 up with different people. You just had to come on 0:02:17.680 --> 0:02:19.720 and just to keep talking about basketball. I think it 0:02:19.880 --> 0:02:22.200 expanded me as a broadcast for a team that wasn't 0:02:22.200 --> 0:02:24.919 doing well at the time. Okay, So so here's something 0:02:24.960 --> 0:02:27.280 I wanted to talk about as education, because of my 0:02:27.320 --> 0:02:29.400 degree is in mathematics and it took me seven years 0:02:29.440 --> 0:02:31.520 to get my degree. Okay, but I thought, I always 0:02:31.560 --> 0:02:34.560 tell people that you can't repole education, and so you 0:02:34.600 --> 0:02:37.760 went back and got your degree. My mom a promise. 0:02:38.880 --> 0:02:40.560 When I got a chance to go to Michigan State 0:02:40.639 --> 0:02:43.000 University my junior year, I had this little thought that 0:02:43.040 --> 0:02:44.800 I was gonna come out and my dad and they said, no, 0:02:44.880 --> 0:02:47.440 you're not coming out earlier, going all four years and 0:02:47.480 --> 0:02:50.720 then obviously when I finished, I only had eleven credits left, 0:02:50.800 --> 0:02:53.200 and you know, you started procrasting. I'm gonna do that 0:02:53.200 --> 0:02:56.120 in the summer. Summer started to go on. But my 0:02:56.160 --> 0:02:59.200 mom eventually, you know, my rookie year past, and I 0:02:59.240 --> 0:03:01.240 always had that waste in my mind, you're going back 0:03:01.240 --> 0:03:04.480 getting your degree. And so then after the time it 0:03:04.720 --> 0:03:08.200 really hit me was when my kids said, Dad, you 0:03:08.240 --> 0:03:09.680 don't have your degree. Because I say, hey, you're going 0:03:09.680 --> 0:03:11.240 to college getting your drie. They said, you don't have 0:03:11.240 --> 0:03:13.320 your degree. So that was the kicking my butt to 0:03:13.320 --> 0:03:15.520 make me go back. And you can't talking nor if 0:03:15.520 --> 0:03:18.120 you're not applying it yourself. And I say, the hardest 0:03:18.160 --> 0:03:20.560 thing just having leven credits left. It seemed like that 0:03:20.639 --> 0:03:22.280 was nothing when I first left, I go back and 0:03:22.320 --> 0:03:24.959 do it. After years, kept going and going. You always 0:03:24.960 --> 0:03:27.440 made excuse. But after the kids, in that little voice, 0:03:27.480 --> 0:03:29.400 my mom made me go back. Well, it is important 0:03:29.400 --> 0:03:31.360 to you. You know the reason I like it because 0:03:31.360 --> 0:03:34.360 that means your goal. Person, the goals are important to you. 0:03:34.440 --> 0:03:37.000 It's important you in athletics, and then in this part 0:03:37.040 --> 0:03:38.800 it's important you in life. Because of the fact that 0:03:38.920 --> 0:03:40.360 I would tell me, if you set a goal, you 0:03:40.360 --> 0:03:43.480 can actually you know, you can actually hold people accountable. 0:03:43.800 --> 0:03:45.640 And so once you got that degree, you can start 0:03:45.640 --> 0:03:48.560 holding your kids accountable for sure. I mean I could 0:03:48.560 --> 0:03:51.760 stick my chest out and so you have to. But 0:03:52.040 --> 0:03:54.200 I would say more than just that degree, just having 0:03:54.240 --> 0:03:57.160 that experience being on that college campus, and UM, I 0:03:57.240 --> 0:03:59.000 tell you, I'll take that into the next segment. That 0:03:59.040 --> 0:04:01.520 was the reason why I started by Steve Smith Scholarship Fund, 0:04:02.120 --> 0:04:05.960 talking about we're talking about we're talking about I'm back home, 0:04:06.320 --> 0:04:09.840 speaking obviously about basketball to the entire high school, my 0:04:09.920 --> 0:04:12.000 high school, Persian High School, and a young lady stood 0:04:12.080 --> 0:04:13.760 up and said, Steve, you know, I want to go 0:04:13.800 --> 0:04:17.279 to college. I don't have enough funds and money and 0:04:17.320 --> 0:04:20.080 financially means to go to college. I did everything everybody 0:04:20.120 --> 0:04:22.200 told me to do. I'm a four point old students. 0:04:22.200 --> 0:04:24.680 I'm only missed class two or three times in my 0:04:24.880 --> 0:04:27.560 entire school, and uh, I don't have enough money to 0:04:27.600 --> 0:04:29.760 go to school, and how can I go without athletics? 0:04:29.800 --> 0:04:31.640 And that's when it started to me I needed to 0:04:31.640 --> 0:04:33.720 help and do something to have kids from my high school, 0:04:33.760 --> 0:04:36.839 my community. The first reaching your own personal pocket. Yeah 0:04:36.839 --> 0:04:39.719 you did, I had to write. So what triggered that 0:04:39.800 --> 0:04:41.919 next step? You know, it's getting other people involved and 0:04:41.920 --> 0:04:44.240 getting them involved in the point of say, I can't 0:04:44.279 --> 0:04:47.760 do this by myself. What pushed that? What that opportunity 0:04:47.800 --> 0:04:50.120 did in your mind? I think anything, you know, this 0:04:50.240 --> 0:04:52.080 is being successful. You're not going to ever do it alone. 0:04:52.160 --> 0:04:53.760 I think for me, it was my you know I 0:04:53.839 --> 0:04:56.599 call it team Smith, my parents, you know, my mom's 0:04:56.720 --> 0:04:59.520 voice even though she's passed, my dad, my parents, my wife, 0:05:00.080 --> 0:05:03.160 my community, understanding that this is something I wanted to do. 0:05:03.240 --> 0:05:06.600 And then obviously reaching in that that pocket is uh, 0:05:07.600 --> 0:05:11.360 it was I got that look for my wife, you're 0:05:11.360 --> 0:05:13.599 about to donate how much? Two point five million dollars? 0:05:13.680 --> 0:05:17.200 He said, why? And after you explain why, it all 0:05:17.240 --> 0:05:19.440 makes sense. And for me it was something I wanted 0:05:19.480 --> 0:05:21.120 to do. And like I said, always had that voice 0:05:21.120 --> 0:05:22.720 with my mom in my head. And that's and so 0:05:22.880 --> 0:05:27.040 how I has basketball being u because the beauty about 0:05:27.080 --> 0:05:30.680 you is superstar in college, we got to say that, uh, superstar, 0:05:30.880 --> 0:05:32.640 you don't be then all star not being a superstar 0:05:32.960 --> 0:05:37.120 and the NBA Olympian that's you know, that's rare opportunity 0:05:37.320 --> 0:05:40.120 right there. How has that helped you in life? Being 0:05:40.120 --> 0:05:43.440 that successful? And then and then like you said, somebody 0:05:43.480 --> 0:05:46.280 approached you by being uh an, so you went, oh, 0:05:46.440 --> 0:05:49.240 that's not me. And so now you're so successful in 0:05:49.320 --> 0:05:52.440 this world. How's that happening? You know? I think he 0:05:52.520 --> 0:05:55.240 goes back, Um, you know their voices from my mom. 0:05:55.360 --> 0:05:57.520 But then on the other side, as my dad thirty 0:05:57.600 --> 0:06:00.240 seven years, he drove the city city of Detroit, US 0:06:00.920 --> 0:06:03.080 hard work, watching them get up at four o'clock in 0:06:03.080 --> 0:06:05.120 the morning, coming back at nine o'clock at night. He 0:06:05.480 --> 0:06:07.520 drove the bus with thirty seven years. So I made 0:06:07.560 --> 0:06:10.359 him retire just hard work. And I think whenever you 0:06:10.440 --> 0:06:12.479 put your mind to someone, you start to put in 0:06:12.520 --> 0:06:14.720 your stamp where you're gonna go in, and you gotta 0:06:14.720 --> 0:06:17.000 put in more work than anybody else to be successful. 0:06:17.040 --> 0:06:18.880 And I think you never measure yourself on I want 0:06:18.880 --> 0:06:20.240 to be better than you. I want to be better 0:06:20.240 --> 0:06:21.920 than you. You want to be the best version of 0:06:21.960 --> 0:06:24.720 yourself by putting in hard work. Okay, Steve Smith the 0:06:24.760 --> 0:06:27.160 personality that that's the person that I see on TV 0:06:27.440 --> 0:06:30.840 these commercials. You seem so see I'm just gonna get 0:06:30.880 --> 0:06:33.200 into Steves. See you're the guy keeps saying, but you know, 0:06:33.240 --> 0:06:34.960 I just want to play basketball. I just wanted but 0:06:35.040 --> 0:06:38.080 you're so natural, Steve, I'm mad at it because you 0:06:38.120 --> 0:06:41.200 can do so many good things that are natural. Why 0:06:42.120 --> 0:06:46.240 why you know that's don't worry about that. Don't worry 0:06:46.240 --> 0:06:50.360 about you can't do everything there but I can't add though, 0:06:50.560 --> 0:06:54.239 But I didn't stop me from making money, So you're natural. 0:06:54.360 --> 0:06:57.120 Talking about that whole process, because I'm sure when people 0:06:57.120 --> 0:06:59.800 approach you by commercials, it was a doubt in your head. 0:07:00.000 --> 0:07:03.080 People approach you about being on TV at the national 0:07:03.200 --> 0:07:08.200 of covering college basketball, sideline reporting, there were always doubts, 0:07:08.240 --> 0:07:11.000 and I always trying to use this show to break 0:07:11.000 --> 0:07:13.640 through those doubts, break through those those moments where you 0:07:13.640 --> 0:07:17.520 are afraid, but you broke through. Why you gotta try. 0:07:17.680 --> 0:07:19.360 I mean, that's the one thing is you're not gonna 0:07:19.360 --> 0:07:22.320 succeed unless you try. And I think always it's a 0:07:22.360 --> 0:07:24.720 wisdom going out there and talking to people. Always say 0:07:24.720 --> 0:07:27.080 tell kids, seek wisdoms, Seek people like yourself to get 0:07:27.080 --> 0:07:29.840 a chance to been there before you ask people, ask questions. 0:07:30.200 --> 0:07:33.000 And I think more importantly is when you define yourself. 0:07:33.400 --> 0:07:35.360 It's hard to mess up being you. If you just 0:07:35.400 --> 0:07:38.040 be yourself, whether it's good or bad, as smiles, as eyes, 0:07:38.080 --> 0:07:40.000 it's always gonna be true to you. So I always 0:07:40.800 --> 0:07:43.120 I guess probably myself on being me. Where the cool 0:07:43.160 --> 0:07:45.239 thing about it is that? And I guess the cool 0:07:45.320 --> 0:07:48.120 that that that the I guess the all the part 0:07:48.200 --> 0:07:50.360 that you were playing it out on a large stage, 0:07:50.840 --> 0:07:52.360 you know, I guess you can say you know when 0:07:52.360 --> 0:07:54.560 you were doing it for the Hawks when nobody watching, 0:07:54.760 --> 0:07:59.280 because that was good, good good good training ground, great 0:07:59.280 --> 0:08:01.360 training ground. But when you when when when the stage 0:08:01.440 --> 0:08:03.960 kept getting bigger and having an opinion because you know, 0:08:04.000 --> 0:08:05.640 as an analyst you have to have an opinion. You 0:08:05.640 --> 0:08:07.960 have to meet these same players. You have to couch. 0:08:08.280 --> 0:08:10.040 You know, you have to be relevant because you know, 0:08:10.040 --> 0:08:11.880 as as a fan, we can see through going A's 0:08:11.920 --> 0:08:14.880 saying that right, So so as as an analyst, how 0:08:14.880 --> 0:08:17.720 did you gauge that maintaining I gotta tell the truth 0:08:18.080 --> 0:08:21.080 but also maintain the relationship or doesn't matter, No, it 0:08:21.160 --> 0:08:23.480 does matter. I think first of all, is I just 0:08:23.600 --> 0:08:26.640 love the game of basketball since three or four years old. 0:08:26.680 --> 0:08:28.520 Was always I've always had a ball in my hand. 0:08:28.920 --> 0:08:30.640 And then I think I'm gonna watch it at the 0:08:30.720 --> 0:08:32.960 high school level, I'm gonna play it. I'm anna coaching 0:08:33.040 --> 0:08:35.200 and doesn't have anything to do with finances. I would 0:08:35.200 --> 0:08:37.040 have played this game just because of love of it. 0:08:37.360 --> 0:08:39.440 I think the next part about it is I'm always 0:08:39.480 --> 0:08:42.560 around it. I've been around a U, I've been around kids. 0:08:42.600 --> 0:08:44.800 I keep in touch with all my friends and found 0:08:44.840 --> 0:08:47.800 it around the country about kids in this game of basketball. 0:08:47.880 --> 0:08:49.640 And so for me to get a chance to be 0:08:49.679 --> 0:08:51.720 on TV, I'm just naturally talking like we would be 0:08:51.720 --> 0:08:54.320 talking we were at home. Some of those words that 0:08:54.360 --> 0:08:56.800 you can't say on that keep you to keep you 0:08:56.880 --> 0:09:00.200 lout of the pepper, I keep it all south, and 0:09:00.240 --> 0:09:02.280 I just think, you know, being able to break down 0:09:02.280 --> 0:09:04.120 the game from my eyes from a guy that's seen 0:09:04.160 --> 0:09:06.360 in so many different ways, and obviously each year you 0:09:06.400 --> 0:09:09.199 get more experience, it helps. And also staying relevant. You 0:09:09.280 --> 0:09:11.480 gotta talk to the young group about the game of basketball. 0:09:11.520 --> 0:09:14.679 Then obviously going to guys like George Gerband, Spencer Haywood, 0:09:15.360 --> 0:09:17.520 guys that taught me the game from the City of 0:09:17.640 --> 0:09:20.280 Trading and State of Michigan. You keep those two together 0:09:20.320 --> 0:09:22.120 and you're somewhere in the middle. You always got to 0:09:22.160 --> 0:09:23.800 talk to older guys who've done it because they have 0:09:23.840 --> 0:09:27.000 their vision. Then my youngsters, the youngsters telling me about 0:09:27.000 --> 0:09:29.960 the crossovers and different things. But you're like um an 0:09:30.120 --> 0:09:33.240 icon because you've spent four years in college. That's where 0:09:33.240 --> 0:09:34.960 coming in they mad because they got to go to 0:09:34.960 --> 0:09:37.320 school for one year and then come in and they 0:09:37.679 --> 0:09:40.240 they almost kind of like, well, the G League. I 0:09:40.280 --> 0:09:42.800 know I'm cutting this question tight, but I want to 0:09:42.840 --> 0:09:45.800 get a little thought all about coming to school early. 0:09:46.080 --> 0:09:48.160 Are not going to school at all and going to 0:09:48.200 --> 0:09:52.200 the NBA. Well, first of all, under the presently constructed rules, 0:09:52.480 --> 0:09:54.719 if they stayed the same for college athletes, I think 0:09:54.720 --> 0:09:57.200 they should be allowed to go, you know, from high 0:09:57.240 --> 0:09:59.720 school to the pros. But now they can change some things. 0:09:59.760 --> 0:10:02.320 I have so many ideas where I think, if you know, 0:10:02.400 --> 0:10:04.439 first you should be able to get health insurance just 0:10:04.520 --> 0:10:06.400 like a state worker and wherever state you're in. I 0:10:06.400 --> 0:10:09.200 think also you should be able to put UM I guess, 0:10:09.240 --> 0:10:12.719 pursue your UM degree and academically more than just a 0:10:12.760 --> 0:10:14.559 four or five six years. I think it should be 0:10:14.600 --> 0:10:16.839 ten year gap. Whether you get a chance with playing, 0:10:16.840 --> 0:10:18.679 you still should have ten years to be able to 0:10:18.720 --> 0:10:20.760 get your degree. So so many different things, but they 0:10:20.800 --> 0:10:23.040 don't have those opportunities. I think they should be out 0:10:23.040 --> 0:10:24.600 allowed to come out of high school. When we come back, 0:10:24.600 --> 0:10:27.240 we're going to talk about the real estate. We're gonna 0:10:27.240 --> 0:10:30.120 talk about the foundation in more detail, but also the 0:10:30.800 --> 0:10:33.520 stops in your life and how you transitioned. And also 0:10:33.760 --> 0:10:35.760 I want to talk about when a time when it 0:10:35.800 --> 0:10:38.120 really was over with how what were your thoughts there. 0:10:38.160 --> 0:10:39.600 But also I want to talk about why he don't 0:10:39.640 --> 0:10:42.240 have a talk show, why he ain't hosting the game show, 0:10:42.520 --> 0:10:45.120 why he ain't producing these big movies and everything. Because 0:10:45.280 --> 0:10:48.000 I'm sitting next to the next big star, his name 0:10:48.080 --> 0:10:50.559 just having to be Steve. I can do something with Steve. 0:10:51.000 --> 0:10:56.199 I do real good business with Steve's I'm back on 0:10:56.960 --> 0:10:59.720 Sean McDonald. You're listening to your money making conversations. Sitting 0:10:59.720 --> 0:11:04.400 next to me is entrepreneur Philanthropus um all Star. He 0:11:04.520 --> 0:11:06.640 knows text met because he won a championship with Sam 0:11:06.679 --> 0:11:09.480 Antonio Spirits. I'm from Houston, Texas, so we kind of 0:11:09.480 --> 0:11:15.319 like a brother. Come on, man, Guacamola, come on, it's ridiculous. 0:11:15.880 --> 0:11:18.120 I'm beyond text Max. I'm kind of like, if you 0:11:18.120 --> 0:11:19.880 came by my house, you go, you kind of you're 0:11:19.920 --> 0:11:22.640 kind of crazy. You're kind of crazy because nobody eats 0:11:22.679 --> 0:11:25.920 this much Mexican food, But I do what's your favorite 0:11:25.920 --> 0:11:29.400 place in Atlanta? Now? Okay, which is fine because that's 0:11:29.440 --> 0:11:31.040 what you're doing. I already told you know you need 0:11:31.080 --> 0:11:34.160 your talk show. Don't don't be don't don't don't like 0:11:34.320 --> 0:11:37.160 to eat, don't act like I'm using. I'm stunned by 0:11:37.200 --> 0:11:39.199 this reaction. You know, I'm gonna tell you something. And 0:11:39.280 --> 0:11:42.640 this is nothing negative about Atlanta, Okay, but the best 0:11:42.679 --> 0:11:46.199 eating places when we started off, he's got to be negative. 0:11:46.040 --> 0:11:48.160 I gotta. I gotta say this now because a lot 0:11:48.160 --> 0:11:50.440 of people, well, you ain't look here. I've lived in 0:11:50.800 --> 0:11:53.960 Los Angeles. I've lived for the real in Chicago, I've 0:11:53.960 --> 0:11:56.640 lived in New York, I've lived in Atlanta for real, 0:11:56.760 --> 0:12:00.280 I've lived in Houston. Chicago is the best eating East. 0:12:01.080 --> 0:12:03.280 That's always variety. I mean they really you want some 0:12:03.320 --> 0:12:05.840 great pizza, you want the great steaks, you want the 0:12:05.840 --> 0:12:09.880 great seafood, you want just the American dish. The best 0:12:09.920 --> 0:12:13.640 breakfast places in the world are Chicago, by no Nobody 0:12:13.679 --> 0:12:15.679 can compete with that in Chicago. Now when you come 0:12:15.720 --> 0:12:20.400 to Atlanta, Bobby Q Jimmy Knicks hands down one of 0:12:20.400 --> 0:12:24.160 the best chains you know. And I would recommend people 0:12:24.200 --> 0:12:26.440 to go to as far as text next. Kids can't 0:12:26.480 --> 0:12:28.679 be used to man just cannot be Houston now and 0:12:28.760 --> 0:12:32.240 now it's it's a place pure pure taco. They're good 0:12:32.559 --> 0:12:34.959 here in their land. They're good here. Pure Taco is 0:12:35.000 --> 0:12:37.920 really good here because they because they because they chips 0:12:37.920 --> 0:12:43.440 are soft, little little little salt on a little little 0:12:43.440 --> 0:12:45.840 little salt on it. But but the sauce is the key, 0:12:45.880 --> 0:12:48.880 the pika, the guyo that has to be also. See 0:12:49.040 --> 0:12:51.760 that makes see I'm tasting your chips can't be hard 0:12:52.160 --> 0:12:53.960 and your sauce a rough. You know what I'm saying. 0:12:54.080 --> 0:12:56.199 You gotta make sure it's right. So Pure Taco is 0:12:56.240 --> 0:12:58.440 one of the best in the city. Um, but I'm 0:12:58.440 --> 0:13:00.160 gonna tell you if you want to go and get 0:13:00.200 --> 0:13:04.800 a nice little guacamola uh sauca mix, go to Sprouts. 0:13:05.600 --> 0:13:07.240 Uh they have this. You can go in the back 0:13:07.280 --> 0:13:11.040 of the store. They have a guacamola sauca mix. Fantastic, 0:13:11.080 --> 0:13:14.040 little spicy, but it's the best. Get you some light 0:13:14.120 --> 0:13:16.280 chips on the sheriff when you go out, and brother, 0:13:16.840 --> 0:13:20.360 you're having your own, your own Mexican party at your house. 0:13:20.400 --> 0:13:22.760 Text mix, So you'n't talking me about some food. Man, 0:13:22.760 --> 0:13:24.480 I'm a war winning banker. You may not know that, man, 0:13:24.520 --> 0:13:26.120 So you start talking about some food, We're gonna lose 0:13:26.160 --> 0:13:28.360 this conversation real fast because I just get lose my mind. 0:13:28.920 --> 0:13:32.080 So so with that being said, let's go back to you, Mr. Mr. 0:13:32.640 --> 0:13:35.800 Interview with Sean McDonald RA Sean mcdal's Money Making Conversation show. 0:13:35.920 --> 0:13:38.160 Let's talk about that big donation you made at two 0:13:38.200 --> 0:13:40.760 point five million that Like, when you make a donation 0:13:40.880 --> 0:13:43.880 like that, people go, oh, how are you gonna pay 0:13:43.880 --> 0:13:45.800 for this? So where do you get the money? Oh? 0:13:45.840 --> 0:13:49.319 He rich? When you open your doors like that, or 0:13:49.360 --> 0:13:52.800 making the donation the flood age open, how do you 0:13:52.840 --> 0:13:54.960 stop the flood age? But also how you stay true 0:13:54.960 --> 0:13:57.760 to your commitment? Well, I think, first of all, the 0:13:57.800 --> 0:14:00.800 commitment was something that you you don't don't make more myself, 0:14:00.800 --> 0:14:02.559 you just don't make that commitment, but I'll doing your 0:14:02.559 --> 0:14:04.800 homework and understanding how you're gonna do it. And obviously 0:14:04.920 --> 0:14:08.040 was a collaboration and what I mean by collaborations from 0:14:08.040 --> 0:14:11.679 the state of Michigan, from my community, from Michigan State University, 0:14:11.800 --> 0:14:14.600 from my family and honor my mom. And obviously you 0:14:14.679 --> 0:14:16.559 get a chance to just like I said, go seek 0:14:16.559 --> 0:14:20.040 that wisdom and I have great business guys, if one 0:14:20.120 --> 0:14:23.200 game up with the idea. Obviously, Um, they said, Michigan 0:14:23.200 --> 0:14:25.440 State wants to do a student academic Center's okay, come in. 0:14:25.480 --> 0:14:27.240 Then they said, Steve, want you to donate two point 0:14:27.240 --> 0:14:29.360 five million dollars and let me hang up on them first. 0:14:30.160 --> 0:14:34.440 Because when you start to think about the impact it had, 0:14:34.480 --> 0:14:36.800 not for myself but just for my community. For a 0:14:36.880 --> 0:14:39.120 kid from Detroit Persian from the East Side to get 0:14:39.120 --> 0:14:42.200 a chance to have a building on Michigan State campus, um, 0:14:42.240 --> 0:14:44.280 to name it from my mom who didn't attend Michigan 0:14:44.320 --> 0:14:47.520 State University, something that her legacy can can live on. 0:14:47.920 --> 0:14:50.720 What gives me chills. Right now, my son is probably 0:14:50.800 --> 0:14:52.800 my mom's building right now for the finals week. He's 0:14:52.800 --> 0:14:55.520 a freshman at Michigan State. So to have that legacy 0:14:55.560 --> 0:14:57.360 for him to call me and say, you know, I 0:14:57.400 --> 0:15:00.080 never met Mama Bell, but for me to be in 0:15:00.160 --> 0:15:01.760 here special, for me to get a chance to be 0:15:01.800 --> 0:15:05.320 studying and my grandmother's building, So that legacy and obviously 0:15:05.440 --> 0:15:07.800 what is done. As you guys know, we all are 0:15:07.920 --> 0:15:11.360 not gonna make it pro but you can obviously kids 0:15:11.360 --> 0:15:14.600 from Michigan State University nine and ninety six of them. 0:15:14.640 --> 0:15:16.440 Percent of them gonna graduate if you go through my 0:15:16.440 --> 0:15:18.520 mom's building as a student athlete. So that's what I 0:15:18.520 --> 0:15:20.960 wanted to do to have guys have and young ladies 0:15:21.000 --> 0:15:24.000 have a help for them to be able to get 0:15:24.000 --> 0:15:26.480 a chance to graduate in further day education and get 0:15:26.520 --> 0:15:28.840 that education, just like you gave the athletic ability to 0:15:28.840 --> 0:15:33.120 Michigan State. So but you do annual golf tournament, can 0:15:33.200 --> 0:15:36.440 you continually raise funds to continue to provide scholarships? Talk 0:15:36.440 --> 0:15:38.760 about that? Well, we started about twenty years ago. This 0:15:38.800 --> 0:15:42.280 is a twenty year anniversary and obviously awful golfer. I 0:15:42.440 --> 0:15:44.800 was still am but I'm getting better. But I'm okay, 0:15:44.800 --> 0:15:46.600 but I'm a competitive I can't you can't sing, I 0:15:46.600 --> 0:15:50.880 can't play golf. Okay, God, but it gets a chance 0:15:50.920 --> 0:15:54.320 to raise money. I had one in Lands and Grand Rapids, Detroit, 0:15:54.360 --> 0:15:56.480 and now we've condensed this to Grand Rapids right now 0:15:56.560 --> 0:15:59.480 to twenty year, we get about six hundred golfer, six 0:15:59.520 --> 0:16:01.920 hundred fift golfers to get a chance a lot. That's 0:16:02.000 --> 0:16:04.920 that's a lot of people. It didn't start off like that. 0:16:07.800 --> 0:16:10.400 People do we get about six hundred sixty, six hundred 0:16:10.440 --> 0:16:11.880 fifty people to get a chance to come out and 0:16:11.880 --> 0:16:13.480 have a good time. And one thing I like about 0:16:13.480 --> 0:16:17.400 it about of them are repeat to come back and 0:16:17.760 --> 0:16:20.840 just believe it in raising money for kids to get 0:16:20.840 --> 0:16:23.040 a chance to further the education, because I think education 0:16:23.120 --> 0:16:27.040 is equalizing and obviously you know experience and education. You 0:16:27.080 --> 0:16:29.560 get a chance to go on campus and get an education. 0:16:29.840 --> 0:16:32.680 It's not just that degree, that experience with different cultures, 0:16:32.880 --> 0:16:34.440 because it was it was a shell shock for me 0:16:34.480 --> 0:16:37.960 coming to Detroit, going to Michigan State Universary. It's huge. 0:16:38.120 --> 0:16:40.960 It's big. I'm used to this a certain type of way, 0:16:41.000 --> 0:16:43.920 but it broadens the horizons, get you expand yourself and 0:16:43.920 --> 0:16:46.160 get a chance to see other things. And so so 0:16:47.240 --> 0:16:49.160 that's a lot I want just change. But with charity 0:16:49.200 --> 0:16:51.760 golf tournament to go, that's an amazing number. And that's 0:16:51.600 --> 0:16:54.240 that's a testament to the quality and the fact it's 0:16:54.240 --> 0:16:56.560 going into the twentieth year. Let you know that's consistent. 0:16:58.320 --> 0:17:01.040 How could I could? It's just nobody can sign up? Now, 0:17:01.920 --> 0:17:03.880 are you still we? We we we still might find 0:17:03.920 --> 0:17:05.719 a way. Okay, cool, We'll tell us how we can 0:17:05.720 --> 0:17:08.560 get in touch with Steve Smith's charity fund dot org 0:17:08.720 --> 0:17:11.360 is a definitely a way, but just going through obviously 0:17:11.400 --> 0:17:15.040 West Michigan, I mean Grand Rapids, Uh, their their website, 0:17:15.040 --> 0:17:17.639 but the Steve Smith Charitable Fund dot org you definitely 0:17:17.640 --> 0:17:20.560 find all the information. Okay, real estate, tell us how 0:17:20.560 --> 0:17:22.919 you got started, how you got started in there? Well, 0:17:23.600 --> 0:17:27.160 my guys, when I left Michigan State, I was uh 0:17:27.240 --> 0:17:31.280 standing apartment uh and the management company is called DTM Management. 0:17:31.720 --> 0:17:34.840 And then my business guys always told me that there's 0:17:34.840 --> 0:17:37.400 a few things that you know, obviously it's not going anywhere. 0:17:37.880 --> 0:17:40.879 You've never seen pretty much a university closed down. You 0:17:40.960 --> 0:17:44.639 ever seen casinos closed down or hospitals? So put your money? 0:17:44.760 --> 0:17:46.280 Which one would you want to do? Steve? And I 0:17:46.280 --> 0:17:49.399 said university? That makes more sense to me. Your brand 0:17:50.400 --> 0:17:53.720 when you look at it, there's always a kid wants 0:17:53.760 --> 0:17:55.760 to have his wants to be at a university. They're 0:17:55.800 --> 0:17:58.600 all from Michigan State is fifty some thousand. It's gonna 0:17:58.600 --> 0:18:00.600 go to forty eight, but it's gonna be then forty 0:18:00.600 --> 0:18:03.880 eight to fifty two thousand. Since I've been around, And 0:18:04.240 --> 0:18:06.879 if you can have real estate around a university or 0:18:07.000 --> 0:18:11.960 hospital or casino, those industries are pretty much not going anywhere. 0:18:11.960 --> 0:18:14.639 So I bought my one unit right thirty three thousand 0:18:14.640 --> 0:18:18.160 and nine, and every since then, I've been blind box 0:18:18.240 --> 0:18:20.760 of a hundred units now every since then and you know, 0:18:20.760 --> 0:18:23.080 we've we've done pretty good and it's still going. So 0:18:23.080 --> 0:18:25.000