WEBVTT - Russell Shepard 0:00:00.360 --> 0:00:02.600 This is cut to it with Steve Smith Senior at 0:00:02.640 --> 0:00:08.879 production of The Black Effect and I Heart Radio. I'm 0:00:08.920 --> 0:00:12.200 Steve Smith Senior and I'm John And this is cut 0:00:12.240 --> 0:00:16.600 to it. Good do it? Good do what they're getting 0:00:16.640 --> 0:00:19.919 down to? Do it? Good do it. We asked the 0:00:20.040 --> 0:00:23.880 questions you always want to know, but no one ever asked, 0:00:24.000 --> 0:00:29.600 let's cut to it. You ain't heard am about it? 0:00:29.640 --> 0:00:39.479 Then we're about to let you know. It's all come 0:00:39.520 --> 0:00:42.000 back to traveling. So when I get to you know, 0:00:42.040 --> 0:00:44.760 it's kind of hard. Uh. I got a whole little 0:00:44.920 --> 0:00:46.920 you know, with the mass mandate all that stuff from 0:00:47.040 --> 0:00:49.080 you know. I got certain masks I can wear when 0:00:49.120 --> 0:00:51.760 I'm traveling, and certain was I can and so I 0:00:51.840 --> 0:00:54.320 have my I couldn't have my glasses on, so I 0:00:54.360 --> 0:00:56.960 had I wear headphones a lot of times when I'm traveling. 0:00:57.840 --> 0:01:01.120 So I check in. I'm like, man, I don't know 0:01:01.120 --> 0:01:04.120 how long the lines are. Man, I'm gonna just go ahead, 0:01:04.440 --> 0:01:09.200 go ahead and hit the head real quick, go to bathroom. 0:01:09.440 --> 0:01:11.480 Meredith is not in her head that he just said 0:01:11.560 --> 0:01:15.679 hit the head, right, So I'm going to go palty 0:01:16.080 --> 0:01:18.720 and gon use the loop. So I go to the bathroom. 0:01:18.760 --> 0:01:21.000 I'm walking to the bathroom. And I got my roller 0:01:21.040 --> 0:01:23.200 back because I do a lot of carry on. I 0:01:23.280 --> 0:01:29.119 got my my, my, my, my bluetooth. And there's a bluetooth. 0:01:30.000 --> 0:01:32.559 Mom like when the old players that got the blue 0:01:32.600 --> 0:01:35.399 that got the bluetooth just said, you know what you say, bluetooth, 0:01:35.440 --> 0:01:37.800 I don't have the head set from the guy and 0:01:38.000 --> 0:01:43.920 uh their head hold on, shout of the spice a 0:01:44.440 --> 0:01:48.960 hold alright, where's where is the not? Chuck? Yeah, that's 0:01:49.000 --> 0:01:50.320 that's how you're walking around there. And I was on 0:01:50.360 --> 0:01:51.920 the phone with you. That's what you did. He say, Hey, 0:01:51.960 --> 0:01:54.000 hold a minute, hold on, hold on, I got out 0:01:54.000 --> 0:02:01.920 the line. Chuck. Yeah, if we get get so soon 0:02:01.920 --> 0:02:04.520 as up going. I got my roller back back. And 0:02:04.640 --> 0:02:10.040 there's a guy who football football analogy scampers to the 0:02:10.120 --> 0:02:15.680 restroom and kind of cuts me off, goes in the bathroom. 0:02:16.440 --> 0:02:18.520 He had to go back. He had the potty dance right, 0:02:18.560 --> 0:02:21.480 he had to sign self aside self with scamper forty 0:02:23.440 --> 0:02:26.839 gets to the bathroom. He uses the bathroom. I'm using 0:02:26.880 --> 0:02:31.120 the bathroom. I turned, I go to wash my hands. 0:02:33.280 --> 0:02:37.280 He proceeds to take several steps to the right, not straight. 0:02:38.400 --> 0:02:40.320 The right is to the door, so so what did 0:02:40.360 --> 0:02:44.239 he not do? You? You was on the phone, I said, 0:02:45.720 --> 0:02:49.200 tell them what I said, Gee, hey this you know what? 0:02:50.200 --> 0:02:52.680 I didn't wash his hands? I said a loud enough 0:02:52.720 --> 0:02:55.519 in here. I said, oh, you wash your hands. I said, 0:02:55.520 --> 0:02:57.000 you ain't gonna wash your hands, so you're gonna damn 0:02:57.000 --> 0:02:59.760 the run me over. I know, dramatic being like little, 0:03:01.480 --> 0:03:03.959 but you ain't gonna wash your hands. Oh you just go, 0:03:04.160 --> 0:03:06.280 I said, Oh, so you're just gonna go go out 0:03:06.320 --> 0:03:11.440 there with them pissie tips. That's disgusting, man, Like, that's 0:03:11.480 --> 0:03:14.919 just that's that's like top top three and it ain't 0:03:14.960 --> 0:03:18.679 two or three most disgusting things you can do. And 0:03:19.080 --> 0:03:23.400 that's before COVID. I don't care like, that's before COVID. Like, 0:03:23.480 --> 0:03:27.480 it's just nasty. How do you use the bathroom and 0:03:27.680 --> 0:03:31.239 not wash your hands? Like you are a disgusting individual 0:03:31.639 --> 0:03:34.720 if you do such things. He rolls his eyes. Oh, 0:03:34.800 --> 0:03:36.640 he responded, yeah, you never told me that. He response. 0:03:36.720 --> 0:03:38.240 He rolled his eyes and said, you roll you eyes. 0:03:38.400 --> 0:03:39.920 You you need to put some soup on your tips. 0:03:40.240 --> 0:03:44.160 That's what you need. So he washed his hands begrudgingly. 0:03:46.400 --> 0:03:49.560 You should never recretingly wash your hands after after your 0:03:49.640 --> 0:03:52.480 native right that that should not be something you begretguingly 0:03:52.520 --> 0:03:58.600 do this. Dude go to here, almost run me over, 0:03:58.960 --> 0:04:01.160 and he ain't gonna wash his hands, Isn't he be 0:04:01.320 --> 0:04:04.200 shamed me yourself? So he washed his hands and when 0:04:04.200 --> 0:04:07.760 we came and he went out, and uh so it 0:04:07.840 --> 0:04:09.160 was just one of those things. Man. That's one of 0:04:09.160 --> 0:04:13.040 the things I dislike, is where beyond the pandemic. I'm 0:04:13.080 --> 0:04:15.080 telling you, it's just one of those things. I'm in 0:04:15.120 --> 0:04:18.080 the airport so much. You see a lot of nasty 0:04:18.240 --> 0:04:20.640 things that people do, and I think it's you know, 0:04:21.480 --> 0:04:25.800 with you ad the pandemic hygiene would you always say Joe, 0:04:26.800 --> 0:04:30.880 Joe says this about hygiene, and I think it's masterful. Well, 0:04:31.120 --> 0:04:36.280 first of all, hygiene's free. That that is masterful, and 0:04:36.520 --> 0:04:39.600 we all know, like you don't need a pandemic or 0:04:39.800 --> 0:04:44.520 something being this basic, just basic, like wash your hands. 0:04:44.600 --> 0:04:47.200 What's better is MoMA didn't teach you this. What's better 0:04:47.360 --> 0:04:49.479 is you know we've been there, like when someone didn't 0:04:49.520 --> 0:04:51.880 and then turned around, realize it's Steve. Don't try to 0:04:51.920 --> 0:04:54.680 tap him up like at the restaurant. I don't care 0:04:54.839 --> 0:04:58.120 who it is that told you no bunch should have 0:04:58.200 --> 0:05:00.360 to tell you have to tell you something is going on, 0:05:00.480 --> 0:05:03.480 and then you're gonna who what else do you do? 0:05:03.520 --> 0:05:06.200 You're gonna touch your face, You're gonna chick someone else's hand. 0:05:07.279 --> 0:05:09.760 Hey man, this cut to It ps A, wash your 0:05:09.839 --> 0:05:11.880 damn hands. That's it. That's all we're asking you to do. 0:05:12.680 --> 0:05:21.920 That's it. Wow. Who we got coming up on the 0:05:21.920 --> 0:05:24.719 Cut to It podcast? We've got Russell Shepherd, a seven 0:05:24.839 --> 0:05:28.320 year NFL veteran for the Eagles, Bucks, Panthers, and Giants, 0:05:28.360 --> 0:05:31.040 and a standout for L s U. Russell is now 0:05:31.160 --> 0:05:34.320 a thriving entrepreneur with one of the fastest growing waste 0:05:34.360 --> 0:05:38.800 management companies in the US, Sheep Boys Waste Management. Russell 0:05:38.880 --> 0:05:43.480 Shepherd on the Cut to A podcast. First segment, it's 0:05:43.520 --> 0:05:46.919 called get Iced Up Their random ice breakers. Smitty select 0:05:46.960 --> 0:05:48.360 him at random? Smitty, why don't you go ahead and 0:05:48.360 --> 0:05:50.640 give him the first one? All right, you're granted already, 0:05:50.720 --> 0:05:52.720 you know you know it's gonna be You got a 0:05:52.800 --> 0:05:58.240 grand all right? If you wouldn't get hurt, would you 0:05:58.440 --> 0:06:08.240 rather skydive? Yeah? Or view sharks from underwater cage? Which 0:06:08.279 --> 0:06:10.040 one would you do if you knew you weren't gonna 0:06:10.040 --> 0:06:14.920 get hurt. I probably gotta see that shark. I gotta 0:06:14.920 --> 0:06:18.760 see that beast. That's a that's a guard creature. You know, 0:06:20.360 --> 0:06:23.440 that's an amazing thing like that much respect for the predator. 0:06:23.680 --> 0:06:26.280 So I'm gonna be I'm gonna be racist. You know 0:06:26.279 --> 0:06:34.080 how to swim? Racist? How that swim? I mean, I 0:06:34.160 --> 0:06:36.200 spent four years in Timple. I look, I jumped in 0:06:36.240 --> 0:06:38.520 the water. I was with Louis Murphy, you know what 0:06:38.520 --> 0:06:40.800 I'm saying. I'm pretty sure you know Louis Murphy this 0:06:40.960 --> 0:06:44.120 and Jackson recipes and they called me and um a 0:06:44.200 --> 0:06:46.640 few other cats. We went on. We went fishing one 0:06:46.720 --> 0:06:48.960 day and boy as we jumped in the water and 0:06:49.040 --> 0:06:52.799 they're like, you know, I got to feel how powerful 0:06:53.279 --> 0:06:55.720 that ocean was, you know what I'm saying. Being in 0:06:55.839 --> 0:06:59.560 that day literally probably not even probably forty five seconds, 0:06:59.640 --> 0:07:01.720 and men that we got out of the water, a 0:07:01.800 --> 0:07:06.240 shark hit the boat like that was that was. I 0:07:06.360 --> 0:07:08.600 never I never get back in the ocean again like that. 0:07:09.000 --> 0:07:11.320 I go to the beach, but not in that water. 0:07:12.160 --> 0:07:20.080 So you so you just played uh better being shark mate. 0:07:21.480 --> 0:07:24.600 You know the way my life is structure right now, 0:07:24.640 --> 0:07:27.600 I don't see no water, you know, but wastewater. That's 0:07:27.640 --> 0:07:29.680 the on the water I'm saying on the day to basis, 0:07:30.200 --> 0:07:33.080 all right, what personality traits would you like to change 0:07:34.120 --> 0:07:37.560 in yourself? You know I tend to be, you know, 0:07:37.600 --> 0:07:40.600 a micro manager. I'm I'm a very hands on individual. 0:07:40.840 --> 0:07:43.240 I believe you know what you ask people to do, 0:07:43.440 --> 0:07:45.360 you need to you know, you know you need to 0:07:45.400 --> 0:07:47.280 show that in your day to day you know how 0:07:47.400 --> 0:07:51.840 you operate. So to me, the trusting you know, you know, 0:07:51.960 --> 0:07:54.720 not micro management. And like I said, I'm learning that, 0:07:54.880 --> 0:07:59.040 especially you know, being a boss, you know, CEO, trust 0:07:59.120 --> 0:08:01.480 people you know to do that job because I can't 0:08:01.520 --> 0:08:05.239 do it all more, especially at the rate that we're born. 0:08:06.040 --> 0:08:09.360 Would you rather be a hobbit or elf? For twenty 0:08:09.400 --> 0:08:15.120 four hours? Elf? What's the different? What's the difference other 0:08:15.200 --> 0:08:18.400 than one worst for us? For god, like a temporary 0:08:18.480 --> 0:08:21.600 job for a few weeks. What's the difference? Man, I'm 0:08:21.600 --> 0:08:24.560 gonna I get to see sound of hobbit. It was 0:08:24.640 --> 0:08:26.280 open in the question too, Like bro, I wanted you 0:08:26.320 --> 0:08:28.840 to Steve, I want you to answer to what's the difference? 0:08:29.160 --> 0:08:31.800 And look, if you keep it, G if I keep 0:08:31.800 --> 0:08:34.079 if I keep it g I was born with a deformed. 0:08:34.120 --> 0:08:36.120 So I have skinny ear at the top of my 0:08:36.320 --> 0:08:41.040 ears skinny. So I was used to get called the 0:08:41.160 --> 0:08:43.880 elf as a kid growing up. You know what I'm saying. 0:08:44.000 --> 0:08:47.440 So this this dude then put his elf identification. Now 0:08:47.760 --> 0:08:57.920 it's like the conduct. Yeah right, I'm not touching that. Um, 0:08:59.320 --> 0:09:01.199 I mean, this is my show show. I don't have 0:09:01.320 --> 0:09:03.000 to be either one. I would just be no. I 0:09:03.120 --> 0:09:04.640 was just ask me what the difference is. I really, 0:09:04.920 --> 0:09:08.719 I really don't know which. I just wrote this. I 0:09:08.840 --> 0:09:12.400 reat question. I'm like, man, I'm good, but I do 0:09:12.600 --> 0:09:15.559 like it. Um all right, man, So I you know, 0:09:17.080 --> 0:09:18.640 let's just kind of jump into it. Where are you 0:09:18.760 --> 0:09:22.760 from in a place you call your hometown. I'm from Houston, 0:09:22.840 --> 0:09:25.760 Texas a k Ahetown, Man. I was going to raise 0:09:26.280 --> 0:09:29.920 lived out over, lived all over the city. Um. You know, 0:09:30.080 --> 0:09:32.199 this is where me and my wife here when I 0:09:32.320 --> 0:09:36.000 was playing. You know, we came home offseason. That's where 0:09:36.000 --> 0:09:37.920 we lived. We bought a house out here about seven 0:09:38.040 --> 0:09:40.719 years ago. So this has been the place I've been 0:09:41.040 --> 0:09:43.880 really outside of my NFL career. In four years, I 0:09:43.960 --> 0:09:46.839 was in college h town. You know who some of 0:09:46.880 --> 0:09:51.800 your favorite Houston artists. Then I love Houston music. Um, 0:09:52.120 --> 0:09:55.000 you know what I'm saying, I'm a big fan of 0:09:55.080 --> 0:09:58.760 the just in general, the you know Bumby, you know 0:09:59.120 --> 0:10:02.679 pm C. You know, you can throw a few other people, 0:10:02.720 --> 0:10:05.800 the young people in here, you know making Scott, you 0:10:05.880 --> 0:10:12.560 know scar Face. It's a even you know what I'm saying. 0:10:13.160 --> 0:10:16.240 You know he wanted to you know, the good guys 0:10:16.320 --> 0:10:19.120 from the city that puts on the city. So I 0:10:19.240 --> 0:10:22.520 love it. We sleep, we sleep on scar Face. That 0:10:22.559 --> 0:10:25.360 was a class fix to fix classic album. I have 0:10:25.440 --> 0:10:30.160 not slept on scar Face. I roll Scace. If you 0:10:30.320 --> 0:10:32.920 if you're from Houston and you talk about music and 0:10:33.000 --> 0:10:36.520 you don't mention scar Face and Pimpsie, you know, you 0:10:36.600 --> 0:10:41.360 ain't know. You weren't born in the city. You're a 0:10:41.400 --> 0:10:46.640 suburb baby, or you you're just young, you infants because 0:10:46.920 --> 0:10:51.719 the music has changed, like smile scar Face. Yeah, but 0:10:51.760 --> 0:10:53.599 I'm gonna keep it you with your big brother. You know, 0:10:53.800 --> 0:10:56.960 some music probably like where you're from. Some stuff that's timeless. 0:10:57.040 --> 0:10:59.360 Like even the little kids know that out here, they 0:10:59.440 --> 0:11:02.000 gotta know the star Face. They got no PIMC, they 0:11:02.080 --> 0:11:04.800 got no Big Mo, they got no certain things. Because 0:11:04.840 --> 0:11:08.360 it's so it's so embraded in the culture people riding 0:11:08.400 --> 0:11:11.640 around with these swangers and these certain things and these cars, 0:11:11.760 --> 0:11:14.240 and you know where they talk. They get it from 0:11:14.440 --> 0:11:18.120 these these artists. But you know that generation also doesn't 0:11:18.120 --> 0:11:22.000 know the history as well exactly. That's the problem, That's 0:11:22.040 --> 0:11:23.880 what you know. I had to said this way. That's 0:11:23.880 --> 0:11:26.240 wh watch a lot of these boys walking around here 0:11:26.320 --> 0:11:28.120 with their paying sag and so they're looking at their 0:11:28.160 --> 0:11:30.079 draws because they think it's cool, but don't even really 0:11:30.160 --> 0:11:33.679 understand what they really symbolize. Right then, I don't want 0:11:33.720 --> 0:11:36.520 to get into like really acknowledging that, but I think 0:11:36.720 --> 0:11:41.160 understanding your history, right, understanding and why, like you want 0:11:41.200 --> 0:11:45.280 to look cool, but who are you really? Who you 0:11:45.400 --> 0:11:48.800 replicating people that you don't even really understand what you replicate. 0:11:49.960 --> 0:11:52.480 And so I think, you know, just watching the young 0:11:52.559 --> 0:11:57.440 guys like, uh, it was really cool. My seven year 0:11:57.480 --> 0:12:01.239 old right now, all he really he knows it's Baltimore, 0:12:01.920 --> 0:12:04.280 right he was just born where I was playing in Baltimore. 0:12:04.760 --> 0:12:07.000 He literally just said it over the weekend, he said, 0:12:07.840 --> 0:12:11.000 he told my wife, he said, Mommy, I'm pretty lucky. 0:12:11.040 --> 0:12:16.000 Steve Smith is my daddy. He just said someone has 0:12:16.120 --> 0:12:21.200 said something to him and he's just connecting the doctor right, 0:12:21.280 --> 0:12:25.559 and and and so it's even and why is that 0:12:26.040 --> 0:12:30.280 thing is? Sometimes I'll be watching film or like my 0:12:30.400 --> 0:12:32.400 boys just say something, or we'll be watching something. We're 0:12:32.400 --> 0:12:35.640 watching the show, and then I flashed up. He's like, Daddy, 0:12:36.400 --> 0:12:38.199 why are you were in that kind of jersey? And 0:12:38.920 --> 0:12:42.360 and even though it was watching something that had hair, 0:12:42.520 --> 0:12:46.079 he goes that he got hair, right, just kind of 0:12:46.240 --> 0:12:49.599 understanding that, you know, the history. And I think I 0:12:49.679 --> 0:12:57.439 think with technology man our our young folks miss out 0:12:57.480 --> 0:13:02.760 on so much history because it requires us to requires 0:13:02.840 --> 0:13:06.559 them to sit down longer than two minutes and be 0:13:06.679 --> 0:13:11.400 focused on something. And the old stuff you can't you 0:13:11.520 --> 0:13:16.480 can't put it in the uh you know story on 0:13:17.559 --> 0:13:20.719 in TikTok. Like it requires a little bit of attention 0:13:20.840 --> 0:13:24.360 and a little bit more than just some you know, 0:13:24.520 --> 0:13:26.960 some some clips. Yeah, I mean like West, we're saying, 0:13:27.080 --> 0:13:31.280 like you're from Houston. So culture transcends, right, Like even 0:13:31.320 --> 0:13:34.199 I'm from North Carolina. So the culture transcends, but it 0:13:34.280 --> 0:13:35.800 ought to be passed down a lot of people just 0:13:35.840 --> 0:13:38.400 don't even bother to sit down with the O. G 0:13:38.720 --> 0:13:41.600 s and and for lack of better term, the elders 0:13:41.960 --> 0:13:46.760 to even just be able to download that to mention. Yeah, yeah, 0:13:46.920 --> 0:13:49.920 you're right about that. You're right. The ones that do, though, 0:13:50.000 --> 0:13:53.240 they have a little more success. Life tough. So you 0:13:53.400 --> 0:13:55.480 right now, when you don't, when you don't reach back 0:13:55.520 --> 0:13:57.719 and ask people that can do it, you know, you 0:13:57.840 --> 0:14:00.480 kind of you stumble a little more. And us that do. 0:14:01.080 --> 0:14:02.760 You know, they tend to have a little better the 0:14:02.880 --> 0:14:05.840 chance at life. You know, right about that. You gotta 0:14:06.040 --> 0:14:09.400 they got received it. How did your upbringing shape you? 0:14:10.080 --> 0:14:12.040 You know, it was big for me, you know, especially 0:14:12.120 --> 0:14:13.880 once I got to the league, because you know, my 0:14:14.040 --> 0:14:16.800 dad is my dad is he he's from the streets. 0:14:16.840 --> 0:14:18.800 You know, he came from you know, he was he 0:14:19.000 --> 0:14:23.600 was he was in high school, crackhead, and he was 0:14:23.640 --> 0:14:27.400 an inner city kid. And you know, even throughout his adulthood, 0:14:27.560 --> 0:14:31.080 you know, it was he was like, it's affect this community. 0:14:31.520 --> 0:14:34.920 You know, it's turned turned to a nice suburban area 0:14:35.000 --> 0:14:38.280 into a raw, a raw area, you know, just kind 0:14:38.320 --> 0:14:40.880 of change. So my dad, my mom and dad had 0:14:40.920 --> 0:14:43.120 me early. And my mom, you know, she got pregnantly 0:14:43.200 --> 0:14:45.440 you know, when I was chasing you know, high school, 0:14:45.560 --> 0:14:47.920 and my dad was just out of high school and 0:14:48.160 --> 0:14:50.880 he transitioned from the streets. You know what I'm saying. 0:14:51.080 --> 0:14:52.920 As I grew, you know what I'm saying. When I 0:14:53.080 --> 0:14:56.480 became you know, you know, a young kid and got 0:14:56.560 --> 0:14:59.400 into my teenage years. My dad by that time, he 0:14:59.560 --> 0:15:02.520 had more the trades. Um. You know, he used to 0:15:02.600 --> 0:15:04.920 come home with a pocket full of money and um, 0:15:05.080 --> 0:15:07.320 you know, he was dirty though, you know, he was 0:15:07.360 --> 0:15:09.640 like he didn't work. You know how I've seen that, 0:15:09.960 --> 0:15:14.120 Like I didn't see him and nothing nice and flamboyant, 0:15:14.200 --> 0:15:15.960 Like he came home with some money he brought home 0:15:16.040 --> 0:15:18.280 to the families. So, you know, fast forward when I 0:15:18.360 --> 0:15:19.880 got to the league and I and I and I 0:15:20.000 --> 0:15:22.360 got the money like we all do at that time. 0:15:22.800 --> 0:15:26.480 You know, with me, I what I seen was how 0:15:26.640 --> 0:15:30.200 my dad was making money having these trades. He was 0:15:30.280 --> 0:15:32.920 a dumb truck guy. He was an a c man. 0:15:33.600 --> 0:15:36.360 He was what he was doing with his money bringing 0:15:36.480 --> 0:15:39.320 home to the family, investments in real estate. So we 0:15:39.480 --> 0:15:41.560 was in the hood and my dad's had it was 0:15:41.800 --> 0:15:44.200 a house and in the hood, and he was like, man, 0:15:44.480 --> 0:15:47.440 it was behind the hospital. He was like, look, they 0:15:47.840 --> 0:15:50.880 they're gonna there's nothing else around that that house but 0:15:52.080 --> 0:15:55.280 a hospital and McDonald's and buildings. He said, they're gonna 0:15:55.280 --> 0:15:57.920 buy that shipped out one day and uh, fast forward 0:15:58.000 --> 0:16:00.320 seven years later. Man, they bought the house. He bought 0:16:00.360 --> 0:16:03.280 the house for thirty thousand dollars. And um, when we 0:16:03.440 --> 0:16:06.280 got out seven years later, they gave us a hundred 0:16:06.320 --> 0:16:09.240 and fifty thousand dollars to leave the street and they 0:16:09.360 --> 0:16:11.920 turned that house into a parking lot. You know what 0:16:11.960 --> 0:16:14.040 I'm saying. They bought the whole blockout, you know what 0:16:14.120 --> 0:16:17.160 I'm saying. And we transitioned from the hood to the suburbs, 0:16:17.520 --> 0:16:19.800 and I was able to get in a better schooling system. 0:16:19.840 --> 0:16:23.280 I had a better surrounding environment, so I got the 0:16:23.360 --> 0:16:25.840 witness state growth. And they did it the right way. 0:16:25.920 --> 0:16:28.200 So when I got to leave, you know, I knew 0:16:29.720 --> 0:16:33.960 coming up, how will you introduced a football? You know, Well, 0:16:34.040 --> 0:16:36.800 like I said, we was in a tough neighborhood. You 0:16:36.880 --> 0:16:39.000 know what I'm saying, So keep us acting my dad, 0:16:39.080 --> 0:16:40.840 but us in sports, you know what I'm saying. I 0:16:40.960 --> 0:16:44.240 had a bunch of cousins, first cousins. My dad had 0:16:44.240 --> 0:16:46.320 a lot of siblings and were all the same age, 0:16:46.400 --> 0:16:49.960 and they just threw us in sports to keep us acting. So, uh, 0:16:50.160 --> 0:16:52.800 you know, I started playing around like seven eight and 0:16:52.840 --> 0:16:55.840 then I just know I got good. I just kept 0:16:55.880 --> 0:16:58.960 getting better and it became an obsession. You know, the 0:16:59.120 --> 0:17:01.680 parents can lead you to the water and the kid, 0:17:01.800 --> 0:17:05.400 but it's up to the child to to take kind 0:17:05.400 --> 0:17:09.280 of adopt that adopt that obsessive trade and go over 0:17:09.359 --> 0:17:13.120 and beyond to get You know that everybody isn't Mike 0:17:13.200 --> 0:17:16.600 Evans length and span and can start playing, you know, 0:17:16.840 --> 0:17:19.240 in the twelfth grade, let get great. So you know, 0:17:19.359 --> 0:17:21.280 I got to see my dad work hard. I got 0:17:21.320 --> 0:17:24.359 into sport early. I took that football and I just 0:17:24.440 --> 0:17:27.000 kind of took off. Now we know you are Swiss 0:17:27.080 --> 0:17:28.960 army knife. When it come to the positions, where'd you 0:17:29.000 --> 0:17:33.399 at least start your positional start? Yeah? So I started 0:17:33.560 --> 0:17:36.440 running back. You know Little League, that's where everybody play. 0:17:36.520 --> 0:17:43.600 Everybody right running back to the running back. You know 0:17:43.720 --> 0:17:45.600 that's the easiest thing. You know that it's early in 0:17:45.680 --> 0:17:48.639 the game. You know when we were playing, it was 0:17:48.880 --> 0:17:51.880 it was very simple. Now there they throwing that thing. 0:17:52.080 --> 0:17:55.320 You know what I'm saying. But you know I've learned 0:17:55.400 --> 0:17:58.920 to you know, going to school like ls you starting 0:17:58.960 --> 0:18:03.080 off a running back. I respect the art of running 0:18:03.280 --> 0:18:06.280 and how the simple seticity that comes with running the boss. 0:18:06.320 --> 0:18:09.200 So you know, I love started off with running back 0:18:09.200 --> 0:18:10.960 and then once I got high school, they threw me 0:18:11.040 --> 0:18:18.920 a quarterback Oregon. It was on Alex Smith. You know 0:18:18.960 --> 0:18:22.920 what I'm saying. So so you start off and running 0:18:22.920 --> 0:18:27.000 back and now you're your quarterback, and you become pretty 0:18:27.040 --> 0:18:33.920 damn good quarterback, right you. You becomes highly recruited and 0:18:36.560 --> 0:18:41.119 you go to l s U. You got under arm 0:18:41.160 --> 0:18:46.800 are all America Number three athletes or ESPN one fifty. 0:18:48.280 --> 0:18:51.800 They switch you to quarterback immediately, Like how did that 0:18:51.960 --> 0:18:55.560 transition go? Like walk us through that process for you 0:18:55.720 --> 0:18:59.840 and take us through everything you were feeling through that transition. 0:19:02.200 --> 0:19:04.520 Like you said, I was a highly recruiter player. You know, 0:19:04.600 --> 0:19:06.639 I went to school. I could have went to the 0:19:06.720 --> 0:19:09.480 school pretty much, and I chose the l s U 0:19:09.600 --> 0:19:12.320 because the possibility to play quarterback. A lot of schools 0:19:12.400 --> 0:19:15.080 were Nick Saban came to me and told me, you 0:19:15.160 --> 0:19:18.000 know he you know, I didn't know Nick Savan like 0:19:18.160 --> 0:19:20.280 that because, like I said, my dad wasn't the ball player. 0:19:20.359 --> 0:19:22.200 So he came and seeing me. Everybody at the school 0:19:22.240 --> 0:19:26.639 is really excited. But you know what I'm saying, you know, 0:19:26.760 --> 0:19:29.200 but I'm like, you know, being a Texas kid, I 0:19:29.320 --> 0:19:32.480 had only my level of of of of football history. 0:19:32.560 --> 0:19:35.080 My dad wasn't telling me about these other great players 0:19:35.119 --> 0:19:38.000 and coaches. So when he came, he's Nick Savan told me, 0:19:38.080 --> 0:19:39.480 hey man, he said, I think you can go here 0:19:39.480 --> 0:19:41.480 and win the highs and here and do that. He said, you, 0:19:41.600 --> 0:19:43.480 I think you can come to Alabama play d D 0:19:43.640 --> 0:19:46.320 for me and be a first round pick. Looked at 0:19:46.359 --> 0:19:51.440 him like he was crazy, Like I'm not. I'm not. 0:19:51.600 --> 0:19:53.480 I'm at this point, I'm the number one player in 0:19:53.560 --> 0:19:57.000 the country. I got games on es esken you know, 0:19:57.119 --> 0:19:59.040 usually high school back when we was comed up high 0:19:59.040 --> 0:20:01.440 school dbs where you to the receivers that couldn't catch. 0:20:01.880 --> 0:20:04.399 They wasn't these ball skilled cats that they got Now 0:20:04.480 --> 0:20:07.600 they're developed, So like to say, I tasked for like 0:20:07.680 --> 0:20:10.200 I said, Nick Saban said all that I was looking crazy, 0:20:10.359 --> 0:20:12.080 which is probably the worst decision of life, not to 0:20:17.880 --> 0:20:22.840 facts my left my ball skills being able to play 0:20:23.000 --> 0:20:25.880 the D beyond him. He wanna be a first round pick, 0:20:26.080 --> 0:20:30.000 second early seer, you know, like, but he seen it 0:20:30.119 --> 0:20:32.399 because like he was the only one mind tried to 0:20:32.440 --> 0:20:34.840 turn me into a dB um. He told me that 0:20:34.960 --> 0:20:38.640 after I got to college. When I met him, Mac 0:20:38.680 --> 0:20:41.639 Brown told me he wanted me to play dB. I 0:20:41.800 --> 0:20:43.639 just didn't see it. I didn't have nobody telling me. 0:20:43.800 --> 0:20:45.840 But when I got the l s you brother, and 0:20:45.920 --> 0:20:49.760 I see how the boys strowing that ball, I was like, 0:20:50.240 --> 0:20:52.040 if I want to play at the next level, and 0:20:52.080 --> 0:20:54.240 if I want to make it, have opportunity to take 0:20:54.280 --> 0:20:56.200 care of my people, you know, and do what I 0:20:56.240 --> 0:20:58.200 need to do. I gotta I gotta make a change. 0:20:58.240 --> 0:21:01.040 So I went to coach Miles, probably towards the end 0:21:01.080 --> 0:21:02.760 of the season. I was like, Coach, I think I 0:21:02.840 --> 0:21:05.480 wanted to do it. And Percy, however, was hot. You know, 0:21:05.560 --> 0:21:07.880 there was already schools are already selling me on that person, 0:21:08.000 --> 0:21:09.840 Harving Roll when I was coming out of high school. 0:21:10.240 --> 0:21:12.080 You know what I'm saying. So you know, I just 0:21:12.119 --> 0:21:14.200 thought it made sense for me to get this twitch 0:21:14.240 --> 0:21:16.760 you get too. I was saying, my guys, get hey. 0:21:16.920 --> 0:21:18.520 You know, it's one thing in high school when you 0:21:18.600 --> 0:21:20.960 start seeing how cats coming back to college and they 0:21:21.000 --> 0:21:23.879 got this and they got that. Oh ship, I need 0:21:23.960 --> 0:21:31.879 to make the best business. I love cut to it, 0:21:32.160 --> 0:21:35.359 and I love it even more when you download us 0:21:35.480 --> 0:21:39.440 and subscribe and you can follow us on social media too, Smithie, 0:21:39.600 --> 0:21:42.600 where where at? That's at? Cut to it on Instagram? 0:21:42.800 --> 0:21:47.840 What about Twitter? At? Cut to it Facebook? Cut to 0:21:48.000 --> 0:21:51.840 it featuring Steve Smith singr. What about online? And you 0:21:51.920 --> 0:21:54.280 can follow us at cut to It podcast dot com 0:21:54.440 --> 0:21:57.600 where you can buy merch and you can subscribe to 0:21:57.720 --> 0:22:00.760 us wherever you listen to podcasts. I got all my 0:22:00.800 --> 0:22:05.200 answers questions. Um, yeah, I got all my questions answered. 0:22:05.840 --> 0:22:07.840 That's what I'm here for. A brother, cut to a 0:22:07.920 --> 0:22:12.280 podcast dot com. When they have that athlete designation some people, 0:22:12.720 --> 0:22:14.560 I think it's recepted either way. So you're saying you 0:22:14.600 --> 0:22:17.600 were open, you were open to whatever. I mean. After 0:22:18.160 --> 0:22:23.560 after he saw after he saw the competition, he had 0:22:23.560 --> 0:22:29.040 to get on campus and realize yeah, um yeah that 0:22:29.200 --> 0:22:33.280 this athleticism. Uh the boy got some arms. Yeah yeah, 0:22:33.440 --> 0:22:36.040 yeah yeah. And I was seeing, like dont Robinson, I've 0:22:36.080 --> 0:22:38.119 seen it like I always take five and looking at 0:22:38.119 --> 0:22:42.359 the big I could have been college fact had broke 0:22:42.440 --> 0:22:44.800 the records, and I was like, if I want to 0:22:44.840 --> 0:22:48.400 have me and Donart Robinson came out of college same 0:22:48.520 --> 0:22:51.560 year you played four years I played I played seven. 0:22:51.760 --> 0:22:54.000 I could have played more if I wanted to, you know, 0:22:56.920 --> 0:23:00.639 I decided to stay. So I feel like I've always 0:23:00.800 --> 0:23:06.000 made business. So it sounds like based off what you 0:23:06.080 --> 0:23:09.320 witness with your dad and his transparency and his his 0:23:09.520 --> 0:23:13.240 great work ethic and your mom and his entrepreneurship and thinking, 0:23:13.560 --> 0:23:17.119 his forward thinking, and also the I think one of 0:23:17.160 --> 0:23:18.720 the things that we get caught up in is we 0:23:18.880 --> 0:23:22.000 call ourselves entrepreneurs because we have ideas, but if we 0:23:22.080 --> 0:23:25.240 don't execute them, then they're just ideas. But your dad 0:23:26.600 --> 0:23:29.760 had an idea, follow through with the idea, and then 0:23:29.840 --> 0:23:33.720 also had a proven successful track record that showed after 0:23:33.800 --> 0:23:37.840 seven years that when he bought this house for thirty dollars, 0:23:37.920 --> 0:23:39.840 he just didn't bump his gums and talk about it. 0:23:40.880 --> 0:23:47.120 It came to fruition with it. What hundred dollar profit? 0:23:47.240 --> 0:23:51.560 They're like, hey, one long term you gotta be patient, 0:23:51.800 --> 0:23:55.879 and two that forward thinking and also execution that you 0:23:55.960 --> 0:23:59.119 were able to see, like, man, Pop knows exactly what 0:23:59.240 --> 0:24:03.600 he's talking about, because you know, back in in at home, 0:24:03.720 --> 0:24:06.880 there's always a lot of guys talking right and say, oh, man, 0:24:06.960 --> 0:24:08.359 do this do that? And then you asked them did 0:24:08.400 --> 0:24:10.119 they do it? And the and the answer is really no, 0:24:10.280 --> 0:24:13.879 they didn't do it, you know, And so seeing that, 0:24:14.880 --> 0:24:17.639 so let me, Actually, you play seven years in the league, 0:24:18.359 --> 0:24:22.240 you always had the thought of making business decisions because 0:24:22.280 --> 0:24:27.280 of the way your pop led his household. How early 0:24:27.359 --> 0:24:30.880 in your career were you already thinking about life out 0:24:31.080 --> 0:24:36.440 after football? Man? As soon as I got to that 0:24:36.560 --> 0:24:42.760 motherfucker excuse my language, you know, alright, So it's like 0:24:42.800 --> 0:24:45.200 I said, my fucking man, like I said I was, 0:24:45.600 --> 0:24:48.720 I was undrafted. Now we talked about how Hollywood cruit 0:24:48.760 --> 0:24:52.400 I was, you know, after college, my college career, from 0:24:52.400 --> 0:24:54.200 the beginning to the end, I played more of my 0:24:54.280 --> 0:24:57.480 first two years than my last. My last two years, 0:24:57.880 --> 0:24:59.800 you know what I'm saying. You know, I went through 0:24:59.800 --> 0:25:02.640 a from a family situation. You know what I'm saying. 0:25:02.800 --> 0:25:05.119 It was just a tough time for himself. My sign 0:25:05.200 --> 0:25:07.959 should I had a seventy five dollars signing bonus at 0:25:08.000 --> 0:25:11.840 the Texas EMMA Focus supports hunted. So I knew if 0:25:12.000 --> 0:25:14.480 if I got if I had an opportunity to make 0:25:14.560 --> 0:25:16.800 the team. If I knew, you know, if if I 0:25:16.880 --> 0:25:19.560 got to the check, I was already thinking what I 0:25:19.680 --> 0:25:22.320 had to do. So you know, my dad, he got 0:25:22.400 --> 0:25:24.640 into the dump truck. My grandfather was in a dump 0:25:24.680 --> 0:25:27.680 truck in thirty years and my dad he played with 0:25:27.760 --> 0:25:30.080 that throughout my childhood, Like sometimes he'll hustle with that 0:25:30.440 --> 0:25:32.240 and that guy spoke, he'd do his other things, but 0:25:32.600 --> 0:25:34.399 you know, the dump truck and thing was probably the 0:25:35.400 --> 0:25:37.400 thing I knew right off the back. I can handle 0:25:37.440 --> 0:25:40.640 if I made twenty thousand and thirty thousand dollars check, 0:25:40.680 --> 0:25:42.520 you know what I'm saying. So you know, when I 0:25:42.760 --> 0:25:44.920 when I made the first year, thank god I made. 0:25:44.960 --> 0:25:47.040 I end up getting cut from Philly at the final cut, 0:25:47.320 --> 0:25:50.439 but I got claimed right before the first game by Temple. 0:25:50.800 --> 0:25:53.120 So you know, I played for the Temple four years 0:25:53.119 --> 0:25:55.199 straight and never got cut. So my first year, after 0:25:55.280 --> 0:25:56.920 I made my check, you know, I was talking to 0:25:57.040 --> 0:25:59.320 my pops, you know, because I was living with him. 0:25:59.359 --> 0:26:01.520 My first two year is an off season that I 0:26:01.560 --> 0:26:03.480 got in in the league. I was like, man, what 0:26:03.600 --> 0:26:05.480 I what I need to do off the riff. He's like, 0:26:05.560 --> 0:26:09.000 let's play with these dumb trucks. So, you know, from 0:26:09.000 --> 0:26:11.560 the first my first year, man I invested. You know, 0:26:12.040 --> 0:26:13.879 I was saving money because I was you know, I 0:26:13.960 --> 0:26:16.440 wanted to marry my beonce at the time, and I 0:26:16.560 --> 0:26:18.520 was just thinking, like, what's the first thing. How I'm 0:26:18.560 --> 0:26:21.400 gonna flip this money? You know, saying how would keep 0:26:21.520 --> 0:26:24.080 keep this, keep this going, make something from this? Because 0:26:24.080 --> 0:26:26.280 I was my first three years, I was a week 0:26:26.320 --> 0:26:28.800 the week. So you're saying, how are you gonna flip 0:26:28.880 --> 0:26:32.480 this money? You know how? You right? Yeah, I do. 0:26:33.200 --> 0:26:35.840 And so you're saying, how you're gonna flip this money? 0:26:37.600 --> 0:26:42.000 Take me through when you are were you raised? How 0:26:42.040 --> 0:26:44.720 did you not make some of the mistakes these young 0:26:44.800 --> 0:26:49.560 boys making where you look at flipping your money and 0:26:49.720 --> 0:26:53.879 making it legal Russia, flipp your money and trying to 0:26:53.920 --> 0:26:56.440 get that fast money and maybe doing some illegal stuff. 0:26:57.600 --> 0:27:00.080 The reason before you answer the reason I'm asking all this, 0:27:00.800 --> 0:27:05.000 and I'll just set the stage. Man, I love you know, 0:27:05.040 --> 0:27:06.800 we got the same financial god d C. And DC 0:27:07.000 --> 0:27:10.000 always kind of tells me about you, and I'm just enamored. 0:27:10.040 --> 0:27:16.480 And it's remarkable, bro, Like how and you're thinking and 0:27:16.600 --> 0:27:21.320 what you're doing and balancing, and then also too the 0:27:21.480 --> 0:27:28.480 humility that you have and you literally willing to get 0:27:30.200 --> 0:27:33.840 to deal with the BS, right you and waste management 0:27:34.119 --> 0:27:37.120 you and liquid waste manager you. You literally excuse my friends, 0:27:37.119 --> 0:27:39.880 you're dealing with ship all the time. Right, You're dealing 0:27:39.960 --> 0:27:46.680 with people's bullshit and then you're dealing with literal you 0:27:47.000 --> 0:27:51.720 different with every aspect of it. Brother, that's such that 0:27:51.960 --> 0:27:58.520 that's that's such. Appreciate that, that is such as the 0:27:58.600 --> 0:28:03.639 dynamic of it. No, the dichotomy of like what you're doing, 0:28:04.680 --> 0:28:07.520 you've been at the in our world right now? You would. 0:28:07.640 --> 0:28:10.000 I would, because they consider if you are, if you 0:28:10.119 --> 0:28:14.200 have that shield next to your resume in any kind 0:28:14.240 --> 0:28:18.520 of way, as an intern in public relationship people are 0:28:19.080 --> 0:28:25.960 people are giving their left left kidney to say, Hey, 0:28:26.119 --> 0:28:28.720 I intern for this team, and hey, I want to 0:28:28.760 --> 0:28:31.119 get it. I have. I have a dude that called 0:28:31.200 --> 0:28:33.960 me yesterday, that text me yesterday and said, man, can 0:28:34.000 --> 0:28:37.080 you write me a letter of recommendation to be a 0:28:37.200 --> 0:28:40.960 wide receivers coach. I'm not gonna say. The person name 0:28:41.120 --> 0:28:44.520 is probably listening, go hear this. I don't know how 0:28:44.560 --> 0:28:47.400 to respond because technically I don't even know if he's 0:28:47.400 --> 0:28:50.800 a good wide receivers coach. I don't even know what. 0:28:51.840 --> 0:28:54.959 I don't see his I look at his file empty. 0:28:55.560 --> 0:28:58.120 I don't know. So I'm asking and I'm really setting 0:28:58.160 --> 0:29:03.320 the stages. You played in the lead seven more years 0:29:03.480 --> 0:29:08.320 than someone else. But yet you're doing something to half 0:29:08.400 --> 0:29:12.600 these people if they got the opportunity, including myself. Now 0:29:12.760 --> 0:29:17.440 I'm good that I prefer a different trade. And you're 0:29:17.520 --> 0:29:20.880 doing that trade with a smile in your face. You're 0:29:20.920 --> 0:29:25.640 doing what excellence. You're employing other people of color, You're 0:29:25.640 --> 0:29:29.400 employing people in general, not just people of color, just 0:29:29.520 --> 0:29:35.280 in general. And it just is so abstracting, Bro, It 0:29:35.400 --> 0:29:39.400 just doesn't make sense. But then knowing you and and 0:29:39.560 --> 0:29:44.240 seeing your film and watching your grind man, you legally 0:29:44.440 --> 0:29:47.040 you always gonna do what's gonna put food on the table, 0:29:47.600 --> 0:29:53.080 and you are never above anything. And so I have 0:29:53.240 --> 0:29:57.479 to set that stage because you should say to say, Bro, 0:29:58.640 --> 0:30:00.600 you do poor the pottoies you do look with wastes, 0:30:00.680 --> 0:30:03.280 Like how did you get into business and be able 0:30:03.320 --> 0:30:06.160 to sit here in front of us and say, I 0:30:06.320 --> 0:30:11.960 Russell Shepherd, And I know I'm good enough and I'm 0:30:12.000 --> 0:30:16.800 okay what I do because of blame blame blame, blame black. 0:30:17.880 --> 0:30:20.520 Like I said, I got the witness and my people 0:30:20.640 --> 0:30:23.800 grow up. My mom she she had me, she was seventeen, 0:30:24.240 --> 0:30:26.240 My dad was twenty. You know, you know what I'm saying. 0:30:26.320 --> 0:30:29.560 So I was very aware and open to the thing, 0:30:29.680 --> 0:30:32.000 and like I said, you, as a parent, you gotta 0:30:32.080 --> 0:30:36.680 be very cautious of of with your day to day 0:30:36.760 --> 0:30:39.760 actions and what your your routine is, because your your 0:30:39.840 --> 0:30:43.920 children will unconsciously take that up on him. So again, 0:30:44.400 --> 0:30:47.400 fast forward, when I watched my dad take care of 0:30:47.520 --> 0:30:51.160 his family, he was dealing with ship that people didn't 0:30:51.160 --> 0:30:53.520 want to deal with. He was, he was in dumb trucks. 0:30:53.560 --> 0:30:56.320 He was, you know what I'm saying, trash so and 0:30:56.720 --> 0:30:59.080 it was great. He was coming home with a pocket 0:30:59.160 --> 0:31:01.320 full of money. And I was as a kid, I 0:31:01.480 --> 0:31:03.520 was like, damn, like, you know, okay, this is how 0:31:03.800 --> 0:31:06.320 my dad. That's how he was taking his family. And 0:31:06.520 --> 0:31:08.760 like I say, so, I was. I was never too big. 0:31:08.880 --> 0:31:11.880 I wasn't thinking about flashy cars. I wasn't thinking about 0:31:12.280 --> 0:31:14.960 you know, the typical kid. When you grow up in 0:31:15.240 --> 0:31:19.680 the household, especially at minority, you're gonna have uh the 0:31:19.800 --> 0:31:22.400 house was going to be more so under two hundred 0:31:22.440 --> 0:31:24.880 thousand dollars, but the car is gonna be closer to 0:31:24.960 --> 0:31:29.120 a hundred thousand dollars. In in the in the real world, 0:31:29.320 --> 0:31:32.640 the financial the right way, it's not supposed to be 0:31:32.840 --> 0:31:35.360 like that. When you're trying to come up and do 0:31:35.520 --> 0:31:38.640 certain things for family. So watching my people in them 0:31:38.720 --> 0:31:41.080 success and again my dad was a good thing. But 0:31:41.200 --> 0:31:44.160 my mom, my mom worked in corporate America for twenty 0:31:44.200 --> 0:31:47.400 plus years. She was in HR. My mom was a 0:31:48.280 --> 0:31:53.040 medical practices, you know, billion dollar corporate companies. So my mom, 0:31:53.200 --> 0:31:54.880 you know what I'm saying, And she didn't go to college. 0:31:54.920 --> 0:31:58.080 She was just very witty, very good with the mouthpiece, 0:31:58.160 --> 0:32:00.240 and she was just very sharp. But she was a 0:32:00.320 --> 0:32:03.840 good sponge and research person. So my dad was putting 0:32:03.840 --> 0:32:06.480 in some sports and ship. But my mom was putting 0:32:06.520 --> 0:32:12.040 me in like um nonprofit um like committees to children 0:32:12.120 --> 0:32:15.360 and in business classes. And she was taking me to 0:32:15.720 --> 0:32:18.520 the nicer parts of Houston and putting the putting me 0:32:18.640 --> 0:32:21.880 in certain things. And she was taking me from the hood. 0:32:21.960 --> 0:32:25.720 And my mom always every morning, I never went to 0:32:25.800 --> 0:32:30.280 school in the hood, Summitty, Never, my mom took up 0:32:30.320 --> 0:32:32.320 wherever we was at. She was gonna wake up. He 0:32:32.360 --> 0:32:37.440 was waking up at four and taking me to the birds. 0:32:37.840 --> 0:32:40.280 And she wasn't taking me to all white schools. She 0:32:40.440 --> 0:32:43.120 was taking me to schools that were very nixed. She 0:32:43.240 --> 0:32:45.800 wanted me to have a real life experience, you know 0:32:45.840 --> 0:32:47.280 what I'm saying. She wanted me to be able to 0:32:47.360 --> 0:32:50.800 communicate with different people. So you know, like I said, 0:32:50.800 --> 0:32:53.680 when I got to college, as you know, when you 0:32:53.840 --> 0:32:56.160 get to college, most of us a shell shop because 0:32:56.160 --> 0:33:01.880 we've never been around these type of people. So you 0:33:02.120 --> 0:33:05.800 so you're not going to maxim You're gonna maximize the 0:33:06.000 --> 0:33:09.280 field aspect, the football aspect of it, because that's who 0:33:09.360 --> 0:33:12.320 you are. But what we like to maximize in college 0:33:12.360 --> 0:33:15.720 is the networking. And that's the biggest that's way bigger 0:33:15.760 --> 0:33:18.400 than the football. And so when I got to college, 0:33:18.520 --> 0:33:21.400 I was talking to everybody. I was talking to the 0:33:21.480 --> 0:33:27.240 white kids, the the athlete, the professors, the business people, 0:33:27.720 --> 0:33:31.240 the people like the alumnis, talking to everybody. So you know, 0:33:31.400 --> 0:33:33.720 like I said, I was already sharper than those things. 0:33:33.800 --> 0:33:35.240 So I just knew I just had to get to 0:33:35.320 --> 0:33:37.440 the money. So you know, like I said, when I 0:33:37.720 --> 0:33:40.320 I when they told me, look, man, you don't have 0:33:40.400 --> 0:33:42.920 that much film. We don't know really what position you 0:33:43.000 --> 0:33:45.200 want to play. You just but you can still make 0:33:45.240 --> 0:33:47.840 a living by going out here and just knocking somebody 0:33:47.960 --> 0:33:52.440 head loose and running special teams. I was like, man, ship, 0:33:52.600 --> 0:33:56.600 this this where my athletic ability, my mindset. You know, 0:33:57.240 --> 0:33:58.600 I was like, I can do this. So I was 0:33:58.680 --> 0:34:00.760 able to build a career off of that man and 0:34:00.840 --> 0:34:03.479 then um from building that crew. Over seven year period, man, 0:34:03.520 --> 0:34:08.320 I started like two, I've started three companies. I've started. 0:34:08.960 --> 0:34:11.560 That's the thing you gotta start. So I started the 0:34:11.600 --> 0:34:14.480 trucking company. I did well with that. I got up 0:34:14.520 --> 0:34:17.880 to my five trucks, you know, But throughout that process, 0:34:17.920 --> 0:34:21.200 I realized this wasn't the way I wanted to provide 0:34:21.280 --> 0:34:23.440 and take care of the family. I knew there was 0:34:23.520 --> 0:34:25.760 better ways. You know it It's a lot of overhead 0:34:25.800 --> 0:34:27.320 with those trucks, and you deal with a lot of 0:34:27.360 --> 0:34:30.480 wear and tear. So you know, once I collected my 0:34:30.560 --> 0:34:34.040 return on my investment, you know, my fourth year I 0:34:34.160 --> 0:34:36.480 gave I had a career year. You know, miss and 0:34:36.560 --> 0:34:39.759 Jackson rescue Peace to the homie. He got hurt and 0:34:40.080 --> 0:34:42.040 I was able to. You know, the thing is with 0:34:42.120 --> 0:34:44.520 special teams, you're gonna make a team, and that I 0:34:44.680 --> 0:34:47.360 just lacked the reps. So throughout my four years I 0:34:47.560 --> 0:34:50.160 was on I was a scout guy. I was Steve Smith. 0:34:50.280 --> 0:34:53.719 I was this person. I was that receiver. So over 0:34:53.840 --> 0:34:57.080 four year year career I developed as a receiving my 0:34:57.239 --> 0:34:59.719 it was catching up to my athletic ability. So when 0:34:59.800 --> 0:35:02.200 this to Jackson Tour, his his a c L his 0:35:02.360 --> 0:35:07.040 last year, nobody it was Mike Evans and nobody else. 0:35:07.200 --> 0:35:10.520 Cecil Shwarts had a career. In the injury Lewis Murphy 0:35:10.920 --> 0:35:13.840 got hurt. I was the next man enough, so I 0:35:14.480 --> 0:35:18.120 played opposite of Mike Evans from week eight to week sixteen. 0:35:18.640 --> 0:35:21.520 I was able to off twenty three catches and um 0:35:21.960 --> 0:35:24.320 three hunting and ten yards. Man. I was able to 0:35:24.840 --> 0:35:27.600 gain a lot of interests from the off season, and 0:35:27.680 --> 0:35:29.520 I knew I was gonna make some type of money 0:35:29.719 --> 0:35:32.400 going into that next year. So I gave the trucking 0:35:32.440 --> 0:35:34.360 company to my mom and dad. That's kind of like 0:35:34.800 --> 0:35:36.440 a gift, man. I was like to thank you out 0:35:36.520 --> 0:35:40.360 for everything, and they just inherited trucking company, and you 0:35:40.440 --> 0:35:44.040 know they That's how they took care of themselves throughout 0:35:44.120 --> 0:35:47.240 my career until they sold the company and became partners 0:35:47.280 --> 0:35:49.840 for me in my last venture, which is the waste 0:35:49.880 --> 0:35:52.480 Manager management company. But like I said, I've done a 0:35:52.520 --> 0:35:54.279 lot of things, Man, I invest you. We have the 0:35:54.320 --> 0:35:59.239 same financial guy, bro. I asked a thousand questions investing 0:35:59.280 --> 0:36:02.839 in things from a it was up there. Hey, hey, hey, 0:36:04.440 --> 0:36:06.360 he said, no, don't don't give out on the secret. 0:36:09.520 --> 0:36:14.000 I like listen, I like I like all the you know, 0:36:14.320 --> 0:36:16.120 these are my guys. But a lot of people think 0:36:16.200 --> 0:36:19.160 I'm dumb and ignorant. Man, I want to keep that personal. 0:36:19.760 --> 0:36:22.319 I like, I like matter of fact, a matter of fact. 0:36:23.600 --> 0:36:24.920 No no, no, no, no no no. Let me say 0:36:24.960 --> 0:36:29.600 it's real quick, because look, I will say I've a 0:36:29.680 --> 0:36:32.120 comfort a lot of my young life, and you know, 0:36:32.200 --> 0:36:34.560 I'm proud of that. I've gone out and I've done 0:36:34.600 --> 0:36:38.320 the research. But when I say Smithy has one of 0:36:38.360 --> 0:36:43.759 the best portfolios that that is out there right now, 0:36:45.080 --> 0:36:47.360 I would I would say so, Actually, I ain't. I 0:36:47.360 --> 0:36:49.120 ain't gonna put too much on it. I ain't gonna 0:36:49.120 --> 0:36:51.279 say it all. But when I will say he has 0:36:51.400 --> 0:36:54.560 one of he has one of the best portfolios I've 0:36:54.640 --> 0:36:59.800 seen um from any NFL professional athlete. Russell, there was 0:36:59.840 --> 0:37:03.560 something you posted on Instagram, your Instagram at Russell Shepherd 0:37:03.680 --> 0:37:06.160 Nineteam a few weeks ago that that I want both 0:37:06.200 --> 0:37:07.600 of you guys to talk about it and kind of 0:37:07.680 --> 0:37:10.960 dismount because everyone has this preconceived notion that when you 0:37:11.280 --> 0:37:14.240 walk into the NFL that you're automatically loaded that everything 0:37:14.239 --> 0:37:17.640 that all your worries are cast aside. So you wrote 0:37:17.680 --> 0:37:20.400 this post and it said rookie's playing on the minimum. 0:37:20.719 --> 0:37:24.479 The minimum salary is six thousand dollars. After that their tax, 0:37:25.640 --> 0:37:28.280 which leaves two hundred forty four thousand dollars. The remaining 0:37:28.800 --> 0:37:31.640 amount is three hundred and sixty six thousand dollars, which 0:37:31.719 --> 0:37:36.160 doesn't include agent fees, union dudes, full one K contributions, 0:37:36.239 --> 0:37:40.040 living expenses, et cetera. And so you wrote on this, Uh, 0:37:40.200 --> 0:37:42.200 you at twenty one would have thought of a million 0:37:42.280 --> 0:37:45.719 dollars lasting you a lifetime, But after spending almost a 0:37:45.760 --> 0:37:48.880 decade in professional sports, I quickly realized if the individual 0:37:48.960 --> 0:37:52.160 lacks proper knowledge and the right resources, that money could 0:37:52.160 --> 0:37:55.520 be gone in months. Take time to educate yourself so 0:37:55.640 --> 0:37:58.680 we can start investing properly and owning ship for the 0:37:58.680 --> 0:38:00.400 two year old. Because you guys have so much of 0:38:00.440 --> 0:38:04.360 this financial prowess. Kind of dismantled because when I read this, 0:38:04.920 --> 0:38:08.200 it brings it to life. But dismantling that notion of 0:38:08.680 --> 0:38:11.000 you made an NFL, you got bookoo money, you've got 0:38:11.080 --> 0:38:16.120 money coming out like dismantled that for our listeners. Well, 0:38:16.239 --> 0:38:19.960 agent fees are three percent full one K. Back when 0:38:19.960 --> 0:38:21.759 I was playing for one K my first year, it 0:38:21.880 --> 0:38:25.040 was only like four or five thou dollars. Now it's 0:38:25.080 --> 0:38:28.560 up to two dollars and it's all still. You can 0:38:28.640 --> 0:38:33.719 elect to take your to to opt in or opt 0:38:33.760 --> 0:38:36.560 out to form one K the union dudes, and around 0:38:36.600 --> 0:38:39.960 ten thousand dollars you have the opportunity to opt in 0:38:40.560 --> 0:38:45.600 or opt out. UM three is your three percent of 0:38:45.680 --> 0:38:50.359 your agent fee. Is the amount that he negotiated. Now 0:38:51.920 --> 0:38:58.920 not what's that gross? Yeah, yeah, before it's before taxes, 0:38:59.000 --> 0:39:00.799 so it's not what you bring. So if you if 0:39:00.880 --> 0:39:03.000 he gives you a million dollars a year, that is 0:39:03.120 --> 0:39:07.640 three percent of a million dollars, which is thirty thousand dollars. 0:39:08.520 --> 0:39:12.720 Not the you know Russell because he lives in in Houston, 0:39:12.760 --> 0:39:15.640 it's forty percent. But for a regular four seven point 0:39:15.719 --> 0:39:18.759 five percent, right, So if you get a million dollars, 0:39:18.800 --> 0:39:20.839 it's ryan. For me, it was about four hundred twenty 0:39:20.880 --> 0:39:23.239 five thousand. You take thirty thousand, so that releaves me 0:39:23.320 --> 0:39:26.719 with about three hundred ninety four thousand dollars. And then 0:39:26.760 --> 0:39:31.200 if I do, then they divided up into they divided 0:39:31.360 --> 0:39:34.880 up into uh seventh, you know, it used to be 0:39:35.160 --> 0:39:37.600 sixteen weeks, now seventeen weeks, so that's equal up to 0:39:37.680 --> 0:39:44.200 about twenty thirty thousand dollars a check. And you only 0:39:44.280 --> 0:39:46.480 get it really for the full seventeen weeks, so you 0:39:46.560 --> 0:39:49.160 have to you have to manage the other So seventeen 0:39:49.200 --> 0:39:51.560 weeks six months, you got to manage the other six 0:39:51.680 --> 0:39:56.839 months of the year. Um. You know, it is one 0:39:56.880 --> 0:40:01.880 of the things that you know because people see us 0:40:02.040 --> 0:40:05.800 as we get paid a king's ransle to play a 0:40:05.880 --> 0:40:09.040 child's game. People don't really want to. People don't care 0:40:09.239 --> 0:40:13.640 and hear your financial issues right once you give that 0:40:13.800 --> 0:40:16.160 check back and blah blah blah. But at the end 0:40:16.160 --> 0:40:18.799 of the day, a football player is no different than 0:40:18.880 --> 0:40:22.239 any other corporation which you have people that blow their 0:40:22.280 --> 0:40:25.759 money and organizations in corporate corporate America every single day 0:40:25.800 --> 0:40:28.239 you've got CEOs who live in paycheck to paycheck, just 0:40:28.360 --> 0:40:31.839 like you have football players living paycheck to paycheck. Right. Um, 0:40:32.520 --> 0:40:39.160 so it is a very much a business in which 0:40:40.600 --> 0:40:43.439 you can enjoy the business. But if you want don't 0:40:43.480 --> 0:40:46.719 have a good understanding of money and also have some 0:40:46.800 --> 0:40:49.400 good people around you, and you also are teachable and 0:40:49.520 --> 0:40:56.160 you desire to you desire to be, desired to learn Russell. 0:40:57.160 --> 0:41:00.040 I'm pretty sure, Russell, because we weren't on in you 0:41:00.120 --> 0:41:03.279 weren't in Carolina together. Russell got introduced to d C 0:41:04.000 --> 0:41:09.759 through Stewie Jonathan Stewart, but Stewart was my teammate, and 0:41:09.840 --> 0:41:12.600 I worked on Stewart for about six or seven years 0:41:12.640 --> 0:41:17.680 before I left, right, And you know, and so like 0:41:17.800 --> 0:41:23.239 you're saying, is I've mistakenly and intentionally at times, I 0:41:23.440 --> 0:41:26.160 like the people think that I'm dumb, that I don't 0:41:26.320 --> 0:41:29.919 know exactly what's going on, that I that um don't 0:41:30.000 --> 0:41:34.120 have money, and and even me doing TV, people think, well, 0:41:34.200 --> 0:41:37.279 he must be broke. It's really I'm forty two years old. 0:41:37.680 --> 0:41:39.239 I just don't have anything else to do. I just 0:41:39.280 --> 0:41:42.040 can't sit at home, and you know, sit at home 0:41:42.200 --> 0:41:45.719 to play video games and in order Amazon out the wazoo. 0:41:45.880 --> 0:41:48.239 You know, I gotta do something. And I just like 0:41:48.920 --> 0:41:52.919 talking ball. It gets my will spinning. Key's the hamster going. 0:41:53.760 --> 0:41:56.560 Let's say, you know, And I think Russell, his his 0:41:56.800 --> 0:42:02.799 his post says it all. It's just like I would say. 0:42:02.800 --> 0:42:08.120 The way he explained it, it would be like when 0:42:08.160 --> 0:42:12.120 you order something to fast food when you order, you 0:42:12.200 --> 0:42:13.800 go up to fast food and you say, hey, this 0:42:13.920 --> 0:42:16.359 is what I want. You tell them what you want. 0:42:16.520 --> 0:42:19.200 The only thing they ask is do you want You know, 0:42:19.239 --> 0:42:21.960 if you order a burger, they say do you want pickles? Onions? 0:42:22.000 --> 0:42:24.160 What do you want not want on it? And then 0:42:24.400 --> 0:42:26.839 they say do you want a medium? Large? Small? That's 0:42:26.920 --> 0:42:30.399 it when you drive up to the front. Magically, all 0:42:30.480 --> 0:42:32.840 of that stuff is whipped together and it's there in 0:42:32.880 --> 0:42:35.560 the bag that you pay for it. That is what 0:42:35.680 --> 0:42:40.279 the finished product of football is. However, there's someone that has, 0:42:41.880 --> 0:42:44.240 first of all, to start today, there's someone that's gotten 0:42:44.239 --> 0:42:47.839 the truck and put that order together to drop off 0:42:47.920 --> 0:42:52.680 to that to that franchise. Then there's they have to 0:42:53.320 --> 0:42:56.000 have a license to drive a CDL license to drive that. 0:42:56.160 --> 0:42:58.359 Then they drop it off and somebody puts it into order, 0:42:58.880 --> 0:43:01.799 somebody unloads it, and somebody cooks it, and there's such 0:43:01.840 --> 0:43:05.040 a long process to it. But what you see from 0:43:05.120 --> 0:43:07.600 these players on Sunday, and also what you see from 0:43:07.640 --> 0:43:11.080 these players financially, is there's a lot that goes into it. 0:43:11.200 --> 0:43:13.799 That is, you don't see how the sausage is made 0:43:13.840 --> 0:43:17.200 all the time. You just see the finished problem and 0:43:17.520 --> 0:43:24.279 sometimes the finished product is not even close to really 0:43:24.400 --> 0:43:28.560 presenting how much hard work the journey was, what the 0:43:28.640 --> 0:43:31.680 journey was, and also how many other people have been 0:43:32.239 --> 0:43:35.759 included in getting that process, whether there's coaches, where there's 0:43:35.840 --> 0:43:39.040 good coaches, bad coaches, whatever the case may be. And 0:43:39.120 --> 0:43:42.000 so I just think he summarized it well as a 0:43:42.120 --> 0:43:44.319 million dollars if you gave you know, And that's how 0:43:44.400 --> 0:43:48.520 my financial journey started. They asked me, someone asked me, 0:43:48.560 --> 0:43:50.160 if I gave you a million dollars, because you live 0:43:50.200 --> 0:43:51.920 off of the rest of your life. Man. We did 0:43:51.960 --> 0:43:55.720 a quick summarization, and I realized very quickly, I'm screwed. 0:43:56.000 --> 0:43:58.719 I cannot quickly, you know. He was like, are you 0:43:58.800 --> 0:44:00.759 gonna buy your house? Bang? Man? By time we was 0:44:00.840 --> 0:44:02.760 done after that million dollars, we didn't even do taxes. 0:44:02.840 --> 0:44:06.239 We just did buying a house, buying a car, paying 0:44:06.280 --> 0:44:09.960 for taxes. Bro. After after a year, after buying all 0:44:10.040 --> 0:44:13.560 the stuff I need, I think I had like fifty 0:44:13.640 --> 0:44:16.200 thousand or seventy five thousand dollars left because I bought 0:44:16.239 --> 0:44:20.520 a house about two cars. That's gonna be tough, right, 0:44:21.120 --> 0:44:23.640 And he and then was like, and that just kind 0:44:23.640 --> 0:44:31.759 of showed me man, this mirage of being flashy, right, 0:44:31.880 --> 0:44:35.640 And I say this jokingly. Man, I've been on Nike. 0:44:37.200 --> 0:44:39.560 I've been on the Nike app, you know, since ithing 0:44:39.600 --> 0:44:42.319 no longer. And I actually negotiated my underarmor deal tour. 0:44:42.360 --> 0:44:44.279 I had an under armor like at least what two 0:44:44.360 --> 0:44:46.239 or three years I think it was two years till 0:44:46.239 --> 0:44:49.560 I was done playing. I was still getting Nike stuff, right, 0:44:50.400 --> 0:44:52.839 I had a hundred thousand dollars of expenses that could 0:44:52.920 --> 0:44:56.160 order with Underarmer, I'm sorry, and bro, I used to 0:44:56.760 --> 0:45:00.440 order under Armour like I would order under my all 0:45:00.520 --> 0:45:03.120 my ski stuff. Right now, my attic is under armored. 0:45:03.239 --> 0:45:05.360 That stuff I ordered back when I was with an 0:45:05.440 --> 0:45:09.319 under armour, when I was with the Ravens. Right, it's 0:45:09.320 --> 0:45:12.000 stuffed stealing there with tags, Thank goodness. I ain't got 0:45:12.080 --> 0:45:17.879 that big, right. And so my point is that there's 0:45:17.960 --> 0:45:21.919 so much that goes into it and you just don't 0:45:22.040 --> 0:45:26.279 realize what it is. You don't realize how much it is, 0:45:26.360 --> 0:45:29.520 what it takes. And man, Russell, you're a prime example 0:45:29.600 --> 0:45:32.680 of utilizing the knowledge and the people around you to 0:45:32.840 --> 0:45:40.960 get there. Good good, let's getting down to do good. Hey, Gerard, 0:45:41.120 --> 0:45:44.279 why did you get that T shirt? Oh yes, I 0:45:44.400 --> 0:45:46.480 got it from cut to a podcast dot com where 0:45:46.520 --> 0:45:49.480 we have exclusive merchandise. Shout out to our guys at 0:45:49.480 --> 0:45:51.080 seven or fourth shot. But yeah, you can go on, 0:45:51.560 --> 0:45:53.840 buy you a T shirt, subscribe to us wherever you 0:45:53.920 --> 0:45:58.320 listen to podcasts. How has planned in the NFL and 0:45:58.480 --> 0:46:02.200 playing at the highest level helped you become a good 0:46:02.239 --> 0:46:08.600 business man, but also harmed you to your detriment as 0:46:08.640 --> 0:46:13.080 a businessman because of your ability to think ahead, to see, 0:46:13.760 --> 0:46:16.560 as we say, ball don't lie. You can always see 0:46:17.200 --> 0:46:19.480 honest guy never lies. You can always see that that 0:46:19.600 --> 0:46:23.080 ten thousand foot advantage. How was playing in the NFL 0:46:23.239 --> 0:46:26.080 helped you and hurt you in business, especially when it 0:46:26.200 --> 0:46:33.040 requires making adjustments. You know, your life and in sports 0:46:33.560 --> 0:46:36.000 they very they go hand to hands. So you know, 0:46:36.560 --> 0:46:39.800 being able to play at that high level, you know 0:46:41.239 --> 0:46:44.920 it is you know, I have a motor that most 0:46:44.960 --> 0:46:47.640 people don't have. You know, I'm up every day at 0:46:47.640 --> 0:46:50.279 four o'clock. Today I woke up at three five. Oh 0:46:50.360 --> 0:46:54.719 you beat me. I was up at five, seven and seven. 0:46:54.800 --> 0:46:57.520 That's the exactly exactly, so you're earlier rid. So you know, 0:46:57.640 --> 0:47:00.520 I said, it's helped me because you know, my journey 0:47:00.920 --> 0:47:03.680 has been my kind of my journey in the business 0:47:03.760 --> 0:47:06.279 world because you know, I went from being in five 0:47:06.320 --> 0:47:09.600 star hotels every week, traveling to the best stadiums, having 0:47:09.680 --> 0:47:11.960 on the best gear too. You know, now I'm doing 0:47:12.080 --> 0:47:14.880 I'm in a ship truck. We transport liquid waste. You know, 0:47:14.920 --> 0:47:18.640 we're chef boys waste management and we're transporters and storage 0:47:18.800 --> 0:47:21.000 and storage and collectors of liquid waste of all kinds. 0:47:21.080 --> 0:47:23.759 With there's human waste, it can be grease, it can 0:47:23.800 --> 0:47:27.440 be septic um. You know. We also to a rental 0:47:27.440 --> 0:47:31.080 providers and portable toilets, handwashed stations, holding tanks on water 0:47:31.239 --> 0:47:34.640 tanks we deal with. We have restaroom trailers, the big 0:47:34.680 --> 0:47:42.000 fancy Russian trailer and some of the wheel's up event. So, 0:47:42.120 --> 0:47:43.759 like said, we do a little bit of everything. Man, 0:47:43.960 --> 0:47:46.880 we we were growing. We're the fastest growing waste startup 0:47:47.280 --> 0:47:49.320 in the city of Houston. So I say all that 0:47:49.440 --> 0:47:52.160 to say is that we're growing fast. And in the 0:47:52.239 --> 0:47:54.800 waste industry, you always have to be able to adapt 0:47:54.800 --> 0:47:57.800 because you run into problems, unique problems every day. And 0:47:57.840 --> 0:48:00.520 it's no different if you're in solid waste and you're residents, 0:48:00.719 --> 0:48:04.440 residential trash pick up people homes or you're dealing with 0:48:04.640 --> 0:48:07.239 poor de parties or r V traders like we do. So, 0:48:07.760 --> 0:48:09.680 you know, being able to adapt and being able to 0:48:09.960 --> 0:48:12.200 humble myself to get in these trucks, to get out 0:48:12.239 --> 0:48:14.680 on these any streets, and to do whatever it takes 0:48:14.760 --> 0:48:16.960 to learn the business. Because again I'm not a guy 0:48:17.000 --> 0:48:19.239 who comes from a waste a waste industry or a 0:48:19.280 --> 0:48:21.600 waste family. You know, so me and my family had 0:48:21.640 --> 0:48:24.520 to get in and we had to learn. We had 0:48:24.560 --> 0:48:28.239 to be employee operate as they call owner operators, so 0:48:28.400 --> 0:48:30.799 we can grow and so we can really learn, because 0:48:30.840 --> 0:48:33.880 I won't be able to best leave my my team, 0:48:34.360 --> 0:48:37.440 best lead the people that depend on this if I 0:48:37.480 --> 0:48:39.320 don't even know what the hell I'm talking about. So 0:48:39.880 --> 0:48:42.480 you know, when I you know, when I got to NFL, 0:48:42.680 --> 0:48:44.320 you know, if I was always a leader, you know, 0:48:44.440 --> 0:48:47.319 I'm a leader. That's probably a lot of guys they 0:48:47.400 --> 0:48:49.520 survive off different things in the NFL, you know, you know, 0:48:49.640 --> 0:48:52.239 once you the own the physical aspect, I didn't have 0:48:52.320 --> 0:48:55.279 the measurements, the unique speed, the rare ball skills. So 0:48:55.760 --> 0:48:58.120 my my leadership ability being able to get in the 0:48:58.200 --> 0:49:00.480 locker room that was very important. That hand in hand 0:49:00.520 --> 0:49:03.359 with my physical skill set, so you know, being able 0:49:03.360 --> 0:49:05.680 to humble myself and play special teams. It was no 0:49:05.800 --> 0:49:07.560 different than me being able to get in the quarter 0:49:07.600 --> 0:49:10.560 potty truck and learn how to suck out of RV 0:49:10.719 --> 0:49:15.480 trailer after against splash you know a few times because 0:49:15.719 --> 0:49:18.880 exactly I'm dealing with reports. Now, I'm not dealing with footballs. 0:49:18.920 --> 0:49:22.080 I'm dealing with you know. Do you give you example 0:49:22.120 --> 0:49:23.680 real quick and I'm gonna talk your head off. So 0:49:23.760 --> 0:49:26.200 for example, to answer you the short phrase and answer 0:49:26.200 --> 0:49:28.799 your question, the ice storm hit in Houston. The ice 0:49:28.840 --> 0:49:31.360 storm is unique. We don't get cold weather like that. 0:49:31.520 --> 0:49:34.320 It was seven degrees everywhere in the state of Texas. 0:49:34.640 --> 0:49:39.040 Everybody pipes bursts, so nobody could use the bathroom, nobody 0:49:39.160 --> 0:49:43.320 had any So portable toilest companies became very important, you know, 0:49:43.440 --> 0:49:45.839 portable toilests in general. So you know, if I had 0:49:46.000 --> 0:49:49.200 enough equipment and um just for you know, February, seven 0:49:49.719 --> 0:49:52.480 million dollars in that one day because of the volume 0:49:52.560 --> 0:49:55.400 of calls we got from the pipes that were bursting everything. 0:49:55.520 --> 0:49:57.759 So you know, when I got to the yard and 0:49:57.880 --> 0:49:59.640 we get into the yard to prep the trucks and 0:49:59.719 --> 0:50:02.200 bea was to go out and make these emergency delivers 0:50:02.280 --> 0:50:06.400 and asad deliveries um for whatever, whether it's a handwash station. 0:50:06.520 --> 0:50:09.200 We delivered fifty handwash stations to Corporate h g B 0:50:09.520 --> 0:50:13.480 because they needed handwash stations employers we need. Delivered sixty 0:50:13.560 --> 0:50:16.680 portable toilets to an Exon plant because they needed for 0:50:16.920 --> 0:50:19.920 just one sector of their department. So when I got 0:50:20.000 --> 0:50:21.960 to the yards, so we can make these deliveries, and 0:50:22.080 --> 0:50:25.480 we had numerous others. The truck, the water was frozen 0:50:25.920 --> 0:50:29.120 in the tanks and then the water was frozen underneath 0:50:29.200 --> 0:50:33.000 the ground. So we had to we can't do nothing 0:50:33.120 --> 0:50:36.440 in our innerstry. We don't have water. We transport over 0:50:36.600 --> 0:50:39.319 you know, probably two thousand gallons of water a week, 0:50:39.760 --> 0:50:41.800 you know, saying and that's how important. So when I 0:50:41.880 --> 0:50:43.920 got to the yard, I had to figure out how 0:50:44.040 --> 0:50:46.480 on the funk am I gonna get some water? So 0:50:46.640 --> 0:50:49.400 we can deliver these deliveries. We can make this money 0:50:49.480 --> 0:50:52.120 and we can help the people that watch cars. They 0:50:52.160 --> 0:50:54.920 were people that watch cars. I had just define guys 0:50:54.960 --> 0:50:57.560 in the city that had mobile car washing things, and 0:50:57.640 --> 0:51:00.680 they had their tanks full of water and they and plastic. 0:51:01.160 --> 0:51:02.480 You know what I'm saying they're in a certain thing 0:51:02.560 --> 0:51:05.120 where they don't freeze, and some people have them indoors. 0:51:05.640 --> 0:51:07.839 So I was able to collect enough water from guys 0:51:07.880 --> 0:51:11.439 to have mobile car washes, and um I was able 0:51:11.480 --> 0:51:13.560 to to put in in the tank when our water 0:51:13.680 --> 0:51:16.960 tanks and get to wherething to go. That's the guy. 0:51:17.040 --> 0:51:20.160 That's one story. And we deal with stuff, you know, 0:51:20.320 --> 0:51:22.759 we have, you know we do in our industry. We 0:51:22.880 --> 0:51:27.080 do well when times are good. We do well when 0:51:27.160 --> 0:51:30.000 times are bad, like when I say bad, when we 0:51:30.080 --> 0:51:33.880 have hurricanes, we have catastrophic things. We have spikes, you know, 0:51:33.920 --> 0:51:37.120 because people need, you know, these things for emergency youth. 0:51:37.200 --> 0:51:39.160 So we always have to be able to adapt and 0:51:39.239 --> 0:51:41.400 waste especially you know, when you're dealing on the horrible 0:51:41.480 --> 0:51:43.719 toilet side. Like Steve said in the League, man, you 0:51:43.800 --> 0:51:45.960 gotta learn how to survive. And I said, everybody has 0:51:46.120 --> 0:51:48.600 unique skill setting and and it's up to you to 0:51:48.800 --> 0:51:50.640 to get the most out of that skill sets. So 0:51:51.200 --> 0:51:53.000 you know, there's no different in business. More of us 0:51:53.040 --> 0:51:56.320 would be great business owners if we were exposed to it, 0:51:56.400 --> 0:51:58.719 but a lot of us aren't exposed to it. And 0:51:58.960 --> 0:52:01.399 um I wasn't in the lock from talking about instagrams. 0:52:01.440 --> 0:52:04.000 So I was talking about investment deals. I was talking 0:52:04.040 --> 0:52:06.920 about ideas. So you know, if we don't get it 0:52:07.000 --> 0:52:08.680 at home with our parents, because a lot of our 0:52:08.719 --> 0:52:10.880 parents worked for people and they don't even know, we 0:52:10.960 --> 0:52:12.880 have to change the narrative in the locker rooms and 0:52:12.960 --> 0:52:15.000 talk about it in the locker rooms. And what we 0:52:15.040 --> 0:52:16.680 can teach each other. We teach each other how to 0:52:16.719 --> 0:52:18.799 play ball and how to do other ship. We can 0:52:18.840 --> 0:52:21.760 teach each other how business. What were something to hiccups 0:52:21.760 --> 0:52:25.040 you encountered in the business world that you were unprepared for. 0:52:25.400 --> 0:52:27.320 When I started my business, I was twenty nine. I 0:52:27.400 --> 0:52:30.240 had no work experience, I had no really no credit, 0:52:30.360 --> 0:52:32.680 no not because I was paying my house off. I 0:52:32.800 --> 0:52:35.360 did the things that you said. I secured my family's 0:52:35.400 --> 0:52:38.320 future from at least so if I come out with 0:52:38.400 --> 0:52:40.640 these crazy ideas like at least our house is paid 0:52:40.680 --> 0:52:42.520 on for, I can go be a janitor to take 0:52:42.600 --> 0:52:44.600 So you know with me is when I went to 0:52:45.040 --> 0:52:47.520 to start this business to give in. The waste industry 0:52:47.640 --> 0:52:51.360 is kind of capital intensive, so nobody would give me 0:52:51.800 --> 0:52:56.480 any lines of credit, any money anything to start the business. 0:52:57.000 --> 0:52:59.320 I had to figure out a creative way and I 0:52:59.440 --> 0:53:01.600 talked to see a few other people, and I had 0:53:01.640 --> 0:53:06.359 to pretty much threatened of Chase that I'm gonna take 0:53:06.480 --> 0:53:09.920 my money and start a business. And and in the 0:53:09.960 --> 0:53:12.759 midst of me doing that, they gave me a line 0:53:12.800 --> 0:53:15.960 of credit to start my business. I'm a reward it 0:53:16.080 --> 0:53:24.200 for you. You had to leverage to strongly suggest you 0:53:24.280 --> 0:53:26.640 had to left. We don't want to say that word. 0:53:26.640 --> 0:53:27.880 We don't want to say that word. We don't want 0:53:27.920 --> 0:53:32.600 to say that word. You had to leverage the current 0:53:32.719 --> 0:53:36.719 capital you already had in the bank and tell them, now, 0:53:36.760 --> 0:53:38.879 I'm gonna take this money out. You see, I'm good 0:53:39.000 --> 0:53:40.800 enough to hold my money in here, but it's not 0:53:40.920 --> 0:53:46.840 good enough to utilize this amount of money to be 0:53:47.040 --> 0:53:50.120 a guaranteur of to give me a line of credit 0:53:51.760 --> 0:53:54.560 to do it. And so you had to leverage going 0:53:54.640 --> 0:53:59.120 to another bank for them to take a shot on you. 0:53:59.719 --> 0:54:03.920 And obviously not talking about four or five d dollars. 0:54:04.000 --> 0:54:06.799 You're not talking about like twenty thousand dollars. You're talking 0:54:06.840 --> 0:54:12.560 about put potentially six six digits a million. So you 0:54:12.640 --> 0:54:15.759 have to negotiate with them and leverage. I would take 0:54:15.840 --> 0:54:18.840 my million dollars out because I want to start a 0:54:18.920 --> 0:54:22.600 company and can you at least get me of my 0:54:22.680 --> 0:54:27.399 million dollars to start a business? And that was that's 0:54:27.440 --> 0:54:31.120 what it took for that to happen. And I'm not 0:54:31.239 --> 0:54:33.320 putting worth your mouth and I don't know the answer, 0:54:33.440 --> 0:54:37.000 So I'm gonna ask, why do you believe you had 0:54:37.080 --> 0:54:42.000 to go to such extreme measures too to get it 0:54:42.120 --> 0:54:45.279 to push them to to to to get them to 0:54:45.440 --> 0:54:48.680 really see that you were serious for them to give 0:54:48.719 --> 0:54:50.439 you a line of credit on a million dollars, because 0:54:50.440 --> 0:54:53.080 I would imagine a million. It wasn't like you were asking, 0:54:53.480 --> 0:54:58.520 I'm gonna go buy lottery tickets. You were telling them 0:54:58.560 --> 0:55:00.480 what you want to do, and you had to leverage 0:55:00.719 --> 0:55:02.640 what you currently had in there for them to give 0:55:02.680 --> 0:55:06.040 you that. What do you believe? That was everybody every 0:55:06.080 --> 0:55:09.600 aspect of how everybody provides and lives, and it's it's 0:55:09.880 --> 0:55:12.440 a business. So you know my financial guy that I 0:55:12.560 --> 0:55:16.080 was appointed through Chase um and I never had a 0:55:16.239 --> 0:55:19.480 private financial guy I was. I just Chase gave me 0:55:19.560 --> 0:55:22.279 a financial guy like they give everybody else who has money. 0:55:22.480 --> 0:55:25.880 An investment counts. So the guy who was having my money, 0:55:26.000 --> 0:55:28.080 you know, he obviously didn't want me to take my 0:55:28.200 --> 0:55:35.200 money out because the fees. It messages with his his business, 0:55:35.320 --> 0:55:37.880 so you know he he is his job to do 0:55:38.040 --> 0:55:41.759 whatever it takes to keep as much money in the 0:55:41.880 --> 0:55:45.120 investment counsel. Because that's how these it's part of their business, 0:55:45.200 --> 0:55:47.799 part of their structure, how they win. So, like I said, 0:55:47.840 --> 0:55:50.280 when I was figuring these things out by asking questions 0:55:50.360 --> 0:55:52.520 and talking to people, I was like, well, Ship, you 0:55:52.600 --> 0:55:54.800 know the bank won't give me no money. You know, 0:55:54.960 --> 0:55:58.200 the waste industry is unique, especially for urban black kid 0:55:58.239 --> 0:56:01.640 who's been playing footballers whole life. So nobody really even seen. 0:56:01.760 --> 0:56:03.800 They was like, Okay, well that's too big of a 0:56:03.920 --> 0:56:06.400 risk for us just to give you the money for 0:56:06.520 --> 0:56:08.000 you to do that. You know what I'm saying, You 0:56:08.040 --> 0:56:10.839 want you need to go work for intern. You haven't 0:56:10.880 --> 0:56:14.360 even intern. I didn't have no experience. All I just 0:56:14.480 --> 0:56:18.440 had was my wife worked for a guy and he 0:56:18.520 --> 0:56:20.520 started a business in two thousand and nine when I 0:56:20.520 --> 0:56:22.239 went off to high school, and everybody was coming to 0:56:22.320 --> 0:56:23.759 in high school because they know if I was gonna 0:56:23.760 --> 0:56:26.680 be the next bench young who Percy Harving whatever. And 0:56:26.760 --> 0:56:29.399 I always remember John because John took his four one 0:56:29.480 --> 0:56:33.879 K and John started a waste company and his wife 0:56:33.960 --> 0:56:36.759 and everybody thought he was crazy. At this point. In 0:56:36.840 --> 0:56:39.840 two thousand nine, he was executive at a big trash company. 0:56:39.920 --> 0:56:42.359 He was doing well, and he's seen a way where 0:56:42.400 --> 0:56:44.799 he could start a company. In two thousand and nine, 0:56:44.960 --> 0:56:48.520 you fast forward to two thousand and in twenty he's 0:56:48.640 --> 0:56:51.680 the owns one of the fastest growing companies in the country. 0:56:52.080 --> 0:56:54.960 Um he does about thirty million dollars annual revenue. He 0:56:55.040 --> 0:56:57.680 has over a hundred and fifty employees, and he owns 0:56:57.719 --> 0:57:01.280 a third party waste company. And John does is. John 0:57:01.480 --> 0:57:05.480 calls every portable toilet company, every dumpster company in the 0:57:05.600 --> 0:57:08.759 country and says, hey, let me sell your stuff for you, 0:57:09.040 --> 0:57:11.640 and I'll sell your stuff for your regular price. He 0:57:11.800 --> 0:57:15.399 wasted such a big need people will pay thirty over 0:57:15.960 --> 0:57:18.800 normal pricing to to just get the ship out of 0:57:18.880 --> 0:57:22.080 that way because it's nasty, it's causing causing problems. So 0:57:22.520 --> 0:57:25.080 he started Zeaters and it's a third party waste company 0:57:25.120 --> 0:57:28.520 and he sells people's portable toilets, fencing dumpsters all over 0:57:28.520 --> 0:57:31.200 the country. So when I got burnt out, I was 0:57:31.240 --> 0:57:33.440 getting burnt out towards my second year in Carola and 0:57:34.040 --> 0:57:37.080 the Giants to two thousand and nineteen, I reached out 0:57:37.120 --> 0:57:40.320 to John, said, John, give me some ideas, which I 0:57:40.440 --> 0:57:43.240 know you're doing well in the waste industry. What do 0:57:43.360 --> 0:57:45.360 you think I could do little to nois and with 0:57:45.560 --> 0:57:48.720 just hard work and dedication and being a sponge. He says, 0:57:48.800 --> 0:57:52.040 started with a portable port propty company and that's where 0:57:52.040 --> 0:57:55.000 I got the idea to start the company. What John 0:57:55.080 --> 0:57:57.720 did for me, John says, Okay, I use about forty 0:57:57.760 --> 0:58:00.840 five I use about forty five county. Company is nationwide, 0:58:01.160 --> 0:58:04.240 and I used about six companies in Houston. And he says, 0:58:04.320 --> 0:58:07.200 what I'll do for you is if you go by 0:58:07.320 --> 0:58:10.080 brand new stuff and you hire right and you do right. 0:58:10.720 --> 0:58:13.440 Instead of using all those six companies, I'll use I'll 0:58:13.480 --> 0:58:16.480 push everything through you. And I went and I felt, 0:58:16.720 --> 0:58:18.840 I mean I was. I was going crazy trying to 0:58:18.840 --> 0:58:20.720 figure out where to get this money to ball this. 0:58:20.840 --> 0:58:23.000 I was like, ship, do I spend all my money 0:58:23.200 --> 0:58:25.720 or I know, I don't need you all my money. 0:58:25.760 --> 0:58:28.720 So I was just figuring out asking people, got the money, 0:58:29.000 --> 0:58:33.080 bought the equipment and man the first month, man, it 0:58:33.200 --> 0:58:35.640 was an August. At this point, the Ravens called me. 0:58:35.720 --> 0:58:38.120 The Ravens wanted me to come work out me and 0:58:38.240 --> 0:58:40.600 dance Bryant, you know, come work out. And this is 0:58:40.680 --> 0:58:42.440 the first month we was open. It took me about 0:58:42.480 --> 0:58:44.840 seven months to get it all open and everything and 0:58:44.960 --> 0:58:47.800 permits and all this stuff. And the first month I 0:58:47.880 --> 0:58:50.400 made like set like seven thousand dollars, and I was like, 0:58:51.880 --> 0:58:54.800 I've seen it. My overhead to that point was probably 0:58:54.880 --> 0:58:57.080 like eight thousand dollars, you know what I'm saying to 0:58:57.200 --> 0:58:59.440 run the company. You know, it was really low at 0:58:59.480 --> 0:59:01.160 that point. And I just see I like that, I'm 0:59:01.200 --> 0:59:03.680 dand up covering my overhead in the first month. And 0:59:03.760 --> 0:59:06.280 then John Company he came and see my equipment and 0:59:06.320 --> 0:59:09.520 he started pushing me. The second month, I made fifteen, 0:59:10.120 --> 0:59:13.160 Third month, I made twenty five. Fourth month, I was 0:59:13.240 --> 0:59:17.440 down there in forty m Wow, you know what I'm saying, 0:59:17.560 --> 0:59:20.080 And like it was just growing and like and then 0:59:20.160 --> 0:59:23.480 I started learning how to sell my stuff outside of 0:59:23.640 --> 0:59:26.360 John's third party. I started using my l s U 0:59:26.520 --> 0:59:30.960 connections that shield you talking about. I started going inside 0:59:31.040 --> 0:59:34.800 these big companies and I started and I was driving too, 0:59:35.280 --> 0:59:37.479 and I was learning the industry to talk to lingo 0:59:37.960 --> 0:59:41.120 and then I was just it just organically was coming together. 0:59:41.760 --> 0:59:43.880 And you know, like I said, Man, fast forward. We've 0:59:43.880 --> 0:59:45.560 been open a little bit over the years. You got 0:59:45.600 --> 0:59:47.560 the fast grown. We started up in the state of 0:59:47.640 --> 0:59:50.800 Texas and we're growing good. Man. We gotta staff about 0:59:51.040 --> 0:59:54.160 We have ten people right now and it's good people, man, 0:59:54.240 --> 0:59:56.800 people that need the opportunity they wanted. They can work hard, 0:59:57.120 --> 0:59:59.000 and we're gonna continue to grow. Man, over the next 0:59:59.080 --> 1:00:01.280 four or five years. We should have you know, we 1:00:01.320 --> 1:00:04.040 shouldn't employed close to you know, thirty forty people. You 1:00:04.120 --> 1:00:06.920 know what I'm saying. We're growing that fast. So you know, 1:00:07.080 --> 1:00:09.040 I'm excited about what we're doing. Man, this this, this 1:00:09.040 --> 1:00:14.760 is really good. Congratulations, Congratulations. Obviously your last year and 1:00:15.560 --> 1:00:17.720 with the Giants, you had Dave Gentleman, so you were 1:00:17.760 --> 1:00:22.840 dealing with bullshit and then I knew that I've been Hey, 1:00:23.400 --> 1:00:26.720 look Dave paying me. So look Dave, David's David is 1:00:26.760 --> 1:00:30.240 at old School Boston candidate, you know. And you know 1:00:30.320 --> 1:00:32.800 I can say this now that I'm I'm tired, and 1:00:33.080 --> 1:00:34.600 I got a lot of respects to that man days 1:00:34.600 --> 1:00:37.880 still talk to this day. Russell, your your husband, your father, 1:00:38.160 --> 1:00:42.240 your NFL alumni, You're an investor, entrepreneur. Which of those 1:00:42.400 --> 1:00:45.000 things did you always know? You would be a good 1:00:45.040 --> 1:00:48.120 father man. I mean my dad before anything, he was 1:00:48.760 --> 1:00:51.960 apoples was said, he was the best man in my way. 1:00:52.520 --> 1:00:55.320 You know what I'm saying. At all my homies, all 1:00:55.480 --> 1:00:59.280 my my my, my cousins. You know, not having the 1:00:59.440 --> 1:01:02.200 father in the life effected a lot of people, you 1:01:02.280 --> 1:01:04.400 know what I'm saying. And not having the mother, you 1:01:04.480 --> 1:01:06.600 know what I'm saying. My mom is my mom is 1:01:06.680 --> 1:01:09.160 my my mom will run my company. You know, she 1:01:09.360 --> 1:01:12.360 is my CFO. She she has you. When you call 1:01:12.520 --> 1:01:14.520 and you want to talk a bit business. You know 1:01:14.640 --> 1:01:16.840 you're talking to her, you ain't talking to me. I 1:01:16.960 --> 1:01:19.280 just make sure the company is going in the right direction. 1:01:19.640 --> 1:01:22.480 And I determined, you know, what goes and what stays. 1:01:22.960 --> 1:01:24.840 But like I said, I got some good people, you 1:01:24.920 --> 1:01:26.840 know what I'm saying. So just being a good parent 1:01:27.480 --> 1:01:29.640 was off the rif I had to do that, and 1:01:29.720 --> 1:01:31.600 I was gonna do it if it takes, you know, 1:01:31.640 --> 1:01:34.120 if I had to go, you know, be a trash man. 1:01:34.320 --> 1:01:36.960 If I had to to to be a coach, and 1:01:37.000 --> 1:01:39.880 I had coaches and teams reaching out to me when 1:01:39.920 --> 1:01:41.880 I was before I was done playing. I hate Come 1:01:41.920 --> 1:01:43.920 be a scout, Come be a coach, you know, what 1:01:43.960 --> 1:01:45.840 I'm saying. So I had a lot of options, and 1:01:45.880 --> 1:01:47.880 I was willing to do whatever so I could buy. 1:01:48.760 --> 1:01:50.560 I think that's a question to him me to be 1:01:50.680 --> 1:01:53.760 the best parent I could possibly appreciate your time, brother man, 1:01:53.920 --> 1:01:57.320 looking forward to appreciate, looking forward to your hearing or 1:01:57.400 --> 1:02:05.560 your story. Brou Yeah, you are a unique person. You 1:02:05.640 --> 1:02:10.200 are well worth it, you are competent and most of all, 1:02:11.240 --> 1:02:14.960 your lovable. I'm Steve Smith Singior, I'm Gerard Little John 1:02:15.160 --> 1:02:20.960 and this is cut to It. Cut to It with 1:02:21.080 --> 1:02:25.120 Steve Smith Senior. That Is Me is a production of 1:02:25.360 --> 1:02:30.120 Cut to It LLC, Balto Creative Media, The Black Effect 1:02:30.320 --> 1:02:33.960 and I Heart Radio. For more podcast from I Heart Radio, 1:02:34.360 --> 1:02:38.160 visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever 1:02:38.440 --> 1:02:41.760 you listen to your favorite shows from Cut to It. 1:02:42.400 --> 1:02:46.800 Executive producer Steve Smith SINGR, co host Gerard Little John, 1:02:47.480 --> 1:02:51.880 talent in booking manager Joe Fusci, Social media team Wesley 1:02:52.040 --> 1:02:56.040 Robinson and John Show from Balto Creative Media. Cut to 1:02:56.120 --> 1:03:00.240 It is produced by Brian Baltaschevitch and Meredith Carter, with 1:03:00.360 --> 1:03:05.280 production assistance by Alex Lebrek, Production coordinator Taylor Robinson. Theme 1:03:05.360 --> 1:03:08.640 music by Alex Johnson, Lyrics and vocals by Anthony Hamilton. 1:03:10.480 --> 1:03:12.880 You ain't heard about it, then we're about to let 1:03:12.960 --> 1:03:17.160 you know. It's all