Quin Blanding| Former ALL AMERICAN| Embracing Challenges, Failure, & Building a Thriving Business

n this podcast episode, former football player Quinn Blanding discusses his transition from a promising athletic career to entrepreneurship. He shares the mental and emotional challenges he faced after not being drafted into the NFL, his subsequent shift to the healthcare industry, and the launch of his own business, Phase Five Fitness and Performance. Quinn emphasizes the importance of resilience, the concept of "falling forward," and the need to seek help and redefine success when facing setbacks. His story of perseverance and personal growth offers inspiration and motivation to listeners, and the hosts commend his willingness to support others. 

📍CLICK, LIKE, & SUBSCRIBE @letstalkassetspodcast on YouTube

📍You can find us and listen on Apple & Spotify Podcast

📍Follow the two host:

⭐️ @iamchrisawilliams
⭐️ @gio_paradis

📍Follow our official Instagram Page:
@letstalkassetspodcast

Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00:27) - Let's start this podcast. My name is Chris Williams, one of your hosts, and I'm joined by my co-host Giovanni Paradise. Today, y'all, we have a very, very special guest. We've got a seven, five, seven legend in the building standing. Now, if you don't know Queen Blanding, there's no way you're from the seven, five seven. But let's say you said we're not from here and you're looking to know about Quinn. Let me read some of y'all's Quinn stats. So Quinn was a five star football recruit. He was ranked as the number one player at his position in the nation, ranked as a top five player in the nation, a high school All-American, meaning he played in the All-American Bowl, a nationally televised game. He had over 25 offers from the top schools in the nation. And when I talk about his top schools, y'all, I'm talking about the Alabamas, the Clemson, the Notre Dame's, the Ohio states, the Oregon, Notre Dame, all of them.

Speaker 1 (00:01:16) - But he did end up committing to University of Virginia, a very prestigious school. in college, Quinn was the first true freshman to start an opening game since 1976. He also started every single game his freshman year and broke longstanding records. He was a conference defensive rookie of the year, and in his collegiate career, he ended up breaking the school records for most tackles by a defensive back. He finished top ten in tackles all time by any player, which is an amazing feat for a defensive back, by the way. and he was an All-American Quinn. You know, that's a metaphor, but we welcome you to the podcast, baby.

Speaker 2 (00:01:54) - No. You know, I appreciate you guys and those stats I haven't heard in a long time. And, you know, it's almost been ten years since I stepped on UVA's campus as a first year to play in those games. But it's it's an honor to be here. I appreciate you guys for having me up here. But this set up, and I'm gonna keep saying it is the best setup I've ever been a part of this interview kind of setting that I've been a part of it.

Speaker 1 (00:02:20) - You know?

Speaker 2 (00:02:20) - Absolutely. But, you know, I just want to say I appreciate you guys for having me up here.

Speaker 3 (00:02:24) - Absolutely. So, you know, Chris talked about some of your stats, Quinn. And you know, obviously high school. Right. Everyone thinks back to the teenage years in high school. And they remember him in high school as the time of their life. So walk me through how high school was different for you than the average kid?

Speaker 2 (00:02:42) - Yeah, I think so. Just going back to being from Bayside High School, my whole entire family tree, I guess, went to Bayside High School. So I had teachers there that probably coached my dad or, you know, teach taught my mom, my sisters, everybody. And I'm like, all right, I guess I'm the next one in line to go to Bayside. So it's like, you know, you get to hold yourself accountable at those moments. But it's not even that. It's just understanding what my dreams are. My goals were, you know, I wanted to be an NFL.

Speaker 2 (00:03:13) - I wanted to play an NFL, wanted to get that gold jacket around my my shoulders when it was all said and done. And so my drive and my focus was strictly football and I and I thought to myself, I had to be the perfect person. I couldn't do no wrong. I had to get good grades. I couldn't mess around outside. One side left, I was training or I was home. Like that was it. I didn't have the the luxury of trying to go out and hang out on 17th Street, down at the wherever the dairy Queen is. Yes, sir. I didn't have time for that. Like I went down to the beach, but it was more during the day. I didn't have those times to go out and enjoy friends and in a sense of get in trouble. I had to be perfect. I had to be spotless because that's what I thought was going to get me to that next level. So I just thought. That's what I had to be. And that's what I had to do to sacrifice all my time to make it to where I wanted to be.

Speaker 3 (00:04:05) - Definitely. It takes a lot of discipline, especially in high school. Yeah. I mean, you're with kids still, right? I mean, I even think after high school, you know, we're still kids. We're not thinking like adults, but walk us through when, you know, a lot of kids have that dream. Even kids that might be there might be kids watching this podcast or collegiate athletes that still have that dream. When did you feel or when did you know that? I think this is a reality. I think that I can go to the league. Yeah, no.

Speaker 2 (00:04:36) - And I think that's a good question because a lot of people are going to say, oh, since birth, I mean, I didn't have a choice to play football like my dad played at, my uncles played and my brothers played it. So it was like I didn't have a choice. So it was just like, hey, what are you going to do? But it really saddened. It sank into me when I got to high school my first year of high school when I played baseball too.

Speaker 2 (00:04:55) - And my football coach, Coach Moore, I remember to this day he was like, you got to choose which one you got to do baseball, football. And I said, you know what? I love football too much to let it go. And I said, you know, from this day on, this is my passion. This is what I'm going to do. And I was like, you know what? This is where it starts right here. And then once I started catching passes from EJ in the in the gym one year when he came back, my first year and the first summer, I went to meet all the team. He was throwing me passes and I was catching him. I'm like, this is a this is a college quarterback throwing me the football right now. He's going to go to the NFL. So I can play this game. Not knowing I didn't want to be a receiver. I could care less about that, but I just knew. I said, yeah, it's time to go.

Speaker 2 (00:05:34) - I mean, I've always been talented growing up, always been the best kid on the field, but I was like going in as a true freshman at base out of high school. Yeah. No, it's it's a really time for me to shy, really tired, for me to elevate, really time for me to show these people who I am. And so that's what I've been about. I mean, everyone knows my dad, you know, my brothers. So I'm like my uncles. I'm like, all right, now I got to make a name for myself. How can I prove myself that I'll sign them? So, I mean, I got cousins, you know, that all went to Green Run and all those guys ball too. So I'm like, how do I keep up with them? And I showed what I got and I just did what I had to do. And I was like, you know what? I can make it to the NFL. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (00:06:13) - Yeah. So as you said, you balled on the highest level, you know, high school, college and so on and so on.

Speaker 1 (00:06:18) - So how did you get to that point? You know, as we talked about, you know, being a high school kid, you're tempted a lot, especially a person of your magnitude. Yeah. So did you have like a consistent schedule you had or something to make sure that you didn't have any distractions or anything like that?

Speaker 2 (00:06:32) - I don't even think it was distractions at the moment. I just think it was the people around me. I think I, you know, kept my circle very small. I didn't really have all, you know, friends from all over. It was just like my family was my friends, like I kept everybody close. And I think they seen the potential. They knew what I was about. And it was like, yeah, we're not letting him go down the path that everyone else goes down to. So it was like my mom, my dad, my, you know, my grandmother like, no, this is what you're doing. This is how I gotta get done.

Speaker 2 (00:07:00) - Like my mentors, my coaches. And it's like, you got a chance to be at the next level. Like, you know, it sucks to say, like, I talked to my dad all the time. Like he had the chance. I talked to my brothers all the time. They had the chance to go, but no one made it. So I took it upon myself to put the weight on my shoulders. Like, now I'm built different. Yeah, like I'm going to make it so I wasn't even, like all those distractions were there. Yeah, like, I mean, everyone's a kid. Everyone makes mistakes. But it's like I seen it firsthand. I knew what it's like. I grew up in that area. I'm like, I'm not going to be a statistic. Like, I'm going to make it out of here. Now, a lot of people make it out of here. So I'm like, you know what? It's really time for me to put my head down and just go.

Speaker 2 (00:07:38) - That's what I was been taught my whole life. So that's what I keep doing to this day to be where I'm at now. And that just I just stayed focused and I just kept laser cut and just knew I had dreams and goals to reach.

Speaker 3 (00:07:50) - Yeah, absolutely. So and like I said, this is a question that really I wanted to to kind of bring you back in time. You had a lot of offers. Yeah, a lot of offers. we know a lot about everyone from Virginia knows UVA. Great school. top, you know, academic school, a lot of opportunities. in a very beautiful area. How do you. There's someone who wants to be in the NFL turned down. Because UVA is not known as a major football school, they're not putting a lot of talent at your position. You know, I think UVA, what has a lot of linemen, right? They usually goes to the league. But historically at your position you're like, okay, my path to the NFL, you made a different decision like that probably wasn't the easiest path for you to take to the NFL.

Speaker 3 (00:08:39) - UVA probably wasn't it. Yeah. So so you took the low road less traveled. Why walk us through that decision?

Speaker 2 (00:08:46) - No, absolutely. And like you mentioned earlier with the Alabamas to Oregon, you know, Ohio State's I've seen Nick Saban, I've met Urban Meyer, they all came to Bayside. But it was the driving factor of I want to make a difference. I want to make a change. There's there's another coin Blanding somewhere out there in Oregon going to Oregon. There's another Cleveland out there going to Alabama. There's another one going to Ohio State. Why join the same bandwagon like and and a lot of people think back in the 90s and 80s Virginia was top one. And top two. Top five in the country. Yeah. Like top dogs were going there. Like from the Herman Moore as a sophomore is like even looking at Anthony Poindexter, like Ahmad Hawkins, like Tony Kove, like those people were ballers, tiki barbers, the barbers like Thomas Jones, the.

Speaker 3 (00:09:33) - Jonesboro, like.

Speaker 2 (00:09:34) - Everybody was going there.

Speaker 2 (00:09:36) - Marcus Hagans like. All these people are from Virginia Beach to Hampton Roads area. Absolutely. Why not go do the same thing?

Speaker 1 (00:09:44) - Yeah.

Speaker 2 (00:09:44) - Why not go change a culture around and put Virginia back on the map? Well, then, I mean, everyone sees tattoos, but I mean 7 or 5 sevens tattooed on me, you know, because I believe in it. Like I believe in this culture here. Like, a lot of people don't understand this culture. A lot of people don't understand that, you know, what we do here is just work. We work to get to where we want to be. And if that's how I see you guys, do you guys work to get to where you want? And that's what we know because it's in our blood. Like you look at the top people come here for Rio, does something in the water. He worked to build to all those places he's got. It's because this blood here is different. And I believe in that. Like I believe in my blood is different.

Speaker 2 (00:10:23) - And then people were like, oh, y'all can't play football there. Okay. Come tries.

Speaker 1 (00:10:27) - Like.

Speaker 2 (00:10:28) - That's how I feel. Because it's just like, okay. So I wanted to take that same energy. And those guys that were going to UVA are from this area.

Speaker 1 (00:10:35) - Yeah.

Speaker 2 (00:10:36) - Like after after my class, we started dropping down from this area.

Speaker 1 (00:10:41) - And.

Speaker 2 (00:10:41) - You can see the results like we wanted to go there to change a program, change a culture. And like you said, I've had all of those offers. I never regret it. Yeah. Like I posted on Twitter last night, a old photo of me that was from my first year. Like when I won all those awards. Like it was like, let's do a photo shoot, which is cool. My thing was socks. I love socks, love funky socks. Like, I like just having cool things about me. Yeah, that was a photo shoot, but it was like that was the yellow me. But my mindset is still the same because that blood is in me.

Speaker 2 (00:11:12) - Yeah. And that's how I. That's how I grind and get to where I am now. Yeah. And so I will never change that about anything. People say, oh I had went there and it had just been easier for you to go to NFL. Okay. Nothing in my life has been easy.

Speaker 3 (00:11:26) - I love that. That's a great answer. That's a better answer. Yeah, that was a solid answer.

Speaker 1 (00:11:32) - So we know you talked about the pressure you put on your shoulders right. You know being a highly touted recruit also going to UVA kind of representing for the 757 trying to bring people back. So how do you deal with that pressure? You know, because that's a lot now on your shoulders.

Speaker 2 (00:11:47) - It was. And funny enough, I started my podcast back during Covid. a lot of people don't know this, but still, you know, are learning this about me. It was tough. Like it was to a point where like. I was doing in playing football for others. I was out there, but me personally I really wasn't out there.

Speaker 2 (00:12:10) - I just played the game I love at the highest level. When I stepped on the field I was in a different space, but I stepped off the field. Pressure, weight, anxiety, like what am I going to do next? How can I take care of my family? How can I make sure this person eat? How can I make sure that person eats? How can I take care of all of this around me? But I wasn't even taking care of myself. My mental was gone like it was. I was in a bad place, like at.

Speaker 3 (00:12:34) - UVA, at.

Speaker 2 (00:12:35) - UVA. My mindset of just having that pressure on me, it was like. Have to make it like if I don't make it. What's next?

Speaker 3 (00:12:44) - So I mean, are you.

Speaker 2 (00:12:45) - Going to be a bus? Are you a failure?

Speaker 3 (00:12:47) - Yeah, I mean, you you were the defensive rookie of the year. You set the record for the most, you know, tackles by a defensive back I mean so mentally.

Speaker 3 (00:12:59) - You know, you really learn to compartmentalize that.

Speaker 1 (00:13:03) - Stuff on the field was crazy.

Speaker 3 (00:13:05) - Yeah, yeah, that's kind of crazy.

Speaker 2 (00:13:06) - It's just I played once I stepped on the field, I was in a different world.

Speaker 3 (00:13:09) - You were able to shut off.

Speaker 2 (00:13:11) - Everything around me went silent. I knew I can hear the crowd. I knew where my family was. If if you ask anybody in my family, I knew exactly where they said at any game, no matter if it was a way game or a home game, I know exactly where they said, and I will look to them every time I made a play. Every time I did something, I knew where they were. But once I stepped on that field, that stress, that anxiety, silence. But the second I step off, it's back on because now I got to make sure I'm perfect. I gotta make sure I do this, I gotta make sure I do that. I don't want the scouts to see this. I don't want them to see that they can't hear about this.

Speaker 2 (00:13:46) - They can't hear about that. Like I had to make it because I didn't want to come back here and someone be like, oh.

Speaker 3 (00:13:54) - Yeah, you you.

Speaker 2 (00:13:55) - Should have been the one to make it. Like. I mean, I still get that now, but it's like I'm at.

Speaker 1 (00:13:59) - Peace with that now.

Speaker 2 (00:14:00) - Yeah, absolutely. But before it was, it was tough. Like my mental was bad, like all those accolades. That's just me playing now.

Speaker 3 (00:14:08) - Hearing that that from you, Quinn. And for the for the audience, for those who don't know, Quinn is my cousin. And so when he speaks to that family aspect of it, I remember and the family still talks about it to this day, how much they love watching you play at UVA and how special it was for them. So it's a kind of sacrifice, right? And put what you were going through aside and to give them that joy. I have a lot of respect for you because that that's that's tough man. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (00:14:34) - That's tough. It was it was tough like I mean, I talked about it before in my podcast where I just opened up about it because at those moments I didn't know what I was going through. I didn't know what I was fighting, I didn't know what.

Speaker 3 (00:14:45) - I was still very young though, bro. I was a teenager, right?

Speaker 2 (00:14:48) - I didn't know who to speak to. I mean, we had psychologists there, but did I really want to speak to him because I don't he doesn't know me. He's like a great guy though. I talk to him all the time, but he's a great guy. But I'm like, you're not from Virginia. You're not from Virginia Beach to Hampton Roads. You don't know. The life that I'd seen growing up is like, how can I relate to you? How can you relate to me? I never understood that. I didn't understand that until when I was done two years later, after I got done out of the NFL. Two years later, when those times I said, oh, something's wrong and I gotta figure this out.

Speaker 2 (00:15:19) - Yeah, I have to. Changed his mindset that I mean, because I was I was how bad? Yeah. Like it was times I didn't know how to ask for help. I've never been a guy to ask for help. But then when that happened, I had to start asking, you know, I had to let that fear go of like, hey, can you help me? Like, I need help. Like I had to tell myself I need help.

Speaker 3 (00:15:41) - That takes that takes a lot of courage. A lot of courage, to do that.

Speaker 1 (00:15:44) - So would you say, When you kind of got through that, like, how did you get through? That is what I would say. You know, you mentioned you being in a bad mental space and such with plan. are you in a better mental space now let's start that.

Speaker 2 (00:16:00) - Listen, when I tell you I met the best point in my life, I feel like I'm in the best shape of my life. It's like no.

Speaker 1 (00:16:07) - Tomorrow.

Speaker 2 (00:16:08) - If you ask me. A few years ago, I didn't know what to do. Like, I didn't know where I was going to be. I didn't know, you know, if I would still be wearing different type of clothes. What? Like I'm in my work uniform. I wear scrubs for a living. I don't have to hurt my body no more. Yeah. I get to wake up and go impact patients lives. I get to go and talk to interact with physicians who've been to school for 12 years. I get to talk with nurse managers, charge nurses like I get to talk to these people every single day to help patients, algorithms to help patient treatment.

Speaker 1 (00:16:42) - Yeah.

Speaker 2 (00:16:42) - Health care. I'm in those buildings now. I have no no house of regret, no house of bad blood, no budget for what I'm living now. Yeah. And and I will say, I met the best part of.

Speaker 1 (00:16:57) - My life right now.

Speaker 2 (00:16:57) - Like, my journey is truly beginning right now. And you said how I get through it.

Speaker 2 (00:17:02) - I mean, of course, you know, I just sat there and prayed all the time. I just had to really change my mindset, change how I thought, change how I move, how I walk. Now I'm living.

Speaker 3 (00:17:14) - Let's, let's then thank you for sharing that. And I'm glad. Happy to hear that you're in that space now. But take us back to your senior year at UVA because you obviously graduated you know congratulations I got a degree I do I had a degree, I do have a degree. And then look, one thing, one thing I can remember from the family, it was always talked about, you know, because you were obviously balling out. It was always talked about is Quinn going to finish? Yeah. That was always a question that family everyone talked about. Is Quinn going to, you know leaving early.

Speaker 1 (00:17:43) - Yeah.

Speaker 3 (00:17:44) - Leave leaving early. Was he going to graduate. Everyone was like he could go to the league now. He should go now. He shouldn't wait.

Speaker 3 (00:17:49) - He should go now. Because if he gets hurt, you know, and like he finished. So yeah. And you know you know congratulations. That's not easy. It's a prestigious school to have a you know my partner in Rondo. You know he he's he graduated from UVA law. Oh wow. Yep. So that's his alma mater. So he's a big fan of Wahoo.

Speaker 2 (00:18:05) - Yeah.

Speaker 3 (00:18:06) - A big fan of yours. Yeah! Wahoo! I love it. And just walk us through that senior year. Football's done. Right. You're coming up on graduation? Yeah. What's going through your head? What's. What's next for you? What are you thinking? Snacks. You know what's.

Speaker 2 (00:18:20) - Crazy? I didn't even walk for graduation.

Speaker 3 (00:18:23) - Really.

Speaker 2 (00:18:23) - I didn't walk, I was training.

Speaker 3 (00:18:26) - Oh, wow. So?

Speaker 2 (00:18:27) - So technically, I finished three and a half, so I did three and a half years. I took a lot of summer school. Not just because I was behind. I went to get ahead.

Speaker 2 (00:18:34) - Yeah. So my last semester, I don't have to worry about nothing but training. So I did it I finished I did three and a half years at UVA last semester. I had no classes. I'm done. Yeah. I basically just wait for my diploma at the end of the semester and I graduate in May basically. So I was like I'm training. I was back here training. I didn't even go to graduation. That's one thing I would say. I don't regret a lot of things, but that's one thing I regret not doing. Wearing a cap and gown and walking across that stage and just saying I really accomplish what I set out to do. And I know it was just like, I have my diploma, I love it, I look at it all the time, but it's like, that's one thing I regret not doing was going to to actually get my degree from it. Shake hands, left hand, right hand, whatever how the thing goes, turn my cap. Toss. So one thing I regret, but going back to my senior year, at that moment, all I could think about was ball and all I could think about was football.

Speaker 2 (00:19:34) - Okay, what team's going to draft me? Who's looking like this? Where am I going to go? How am I going to fit in? What can I do to set myself apart? I started training for the draft at 218. My final weigh in was 203.

Speaker 1 (00:19:49) - Well.

Speaker 2 (00:19:50) - I've never been that low.

Speaker 3 (00:19:51) - Why is it now though? Who told you to drop away? So it wasn't even like.

Speaker 2 (00:19:57) - Like it happened like that. It was just. My training regimen was just that intense, like. Well, like it was like. The main question was how fast can he run? Every day training, training, training like 40. It's like I'm hitting ten splits. 30 splits, 40 splits. Like, I wanted to make sure all those answers that they wanted to get answered, those scouts was going to get checked off the box. I could care about.

Speaker 1 (00:20:23) - The rest because.

Speaker 3 (00:20:24) - I mean, you're measurables, you're a big guy for your. Exactly.

Speaker 1 (00:20:26) - You're a big guy too.

Speaker 3 (00:20:28) - Exactly.

Speaker 3 (00:20:29) - So you can hit the sack.

Speaker 2 (00:20:30) - So it's like I'm going to stand apart, say, hey, I can cover that back in because they didn't think I could run.

Speaker 1 (00:20:37) - I proved it.

Speaker 2 (00:20:38) - I play football. I don't run track, I play football.

Speaker 3 (00:20:41) - And so game speed's different, right? Very different. But yeah, but no.

Speaker 2 (00:20:45) - One plays. No one puts that two and two together. Unless you're like that top guy. Like, if I went anywhere else, it wouldn't have been a question, you know, because it just would have happened that way. But I'm at UVA. We don't win. They don't really care. Whatever goes show you.

Speaker 3 (00:21:00) - Absolutely. So where were you at? Like as far as because I don't what year was this again when you win 2018 2018. So I was gone. so I wasn't with the family at that time, but so walk me through what the mindset was as far as what were scouts, however, that your coaches to what were the professionals telling you you were going to go?

Speaker 2 (00:21:21) - No one had a right answer.

Speaker 2 (00:21:22) - Okay. I will say that I went to the Reese's Bowl. it's another Senior Bowl for, you know, college seniors bored out there had lost top three in tackles, tied for second and tackles. The other guy was, Davenport. That went to the New Orleans. Deion was like, yeah, how am I going to talk with that guy? That's how it should be. Like, I should of be making all the tackles. I'm a safety. So it's like my mindset there was just like. Wherever I go. Somebody's got to pay the price. I don't care if it's first round. Second round, third round. I want to see my name called across that board, because if you look, you get to forget those accolades. If we go to stats wise, no one's better than me. Yeah, like my stats are unbelievable. It's one stat that a lot of people don't know about. I'm top five in the whole NCAA in tackles. Well like I'm behind Luke Kelly I'm actually number four Luke number two.

Speaker 2 (00:22:21) - Well all time tackles in Double-A history.

Speaker 3 (00:22:25) - That's insane.

Speaker 2 (00:22:26) - As a safety yeah I'm like I'm getting drafted. My name's getting called on that board. But my focus is like whoever chooses me oh they already know what they're going to get. Yeah. Because that's football was my life. But at the same time my mental still wasn't good though. Yeah. Because I'm still fighting those inner battles of like. How do I please my family? How do I please the crowd? How do I please everyone around me? But my drive was like, I'm going to get a a yellow jacket, a gold jacket at the end of the day. And when that process happened, I didn't go to the drive. I had it at, down at, down the beach at the Turtle Cape, had a nice little family get together, watch the drive, and while my name didn't get called, I left. My family was still there. Party and I left. I went home for like two hours. Like. I was destroyed.

Speaker 2 (00:23:21) - Yeah, like I thought at that moment, my life was over and you was talking about what's next? I didn't think about what's next.

Speaker 3 (00:23:29) - But you didn't quit.

Speaker 1 (00:23:30) - I did it.

Speaker 3 (00:23:31) - Because you made it, I did. But at that.

Speaker 2 (00:23:33) - Moment.

Speaker 3 (00:23:35) - All the air was sucked out of you. It was.

Speaker 2 (00:23:36) - I didn't I didn't have this mental I have now. I didn't think about what was next. Yeah, it was no, what was next? It was. I'm back home now. It's nothing else I can do. Yeah, I heard the cliche coming on again. I'm just it's it is what it is. I was down bad.

Speaker 1 (00:23:53) - Yeah.

Speaker 3 (00:23:54) - How did you pull yourself out of that. I went back.

Speaker 2 (00:23:57) - To be with my family. Had a good old party with them. I was getting calls from coaches like, hey, we're calling these people to get you somewhere or something. I just was glad I went back to be with family.

Speaker 1 (00:24:08) - Yeah. So let's talk about that too.

Speaker 1 (00:24:10) - Also because we talked about all your stats, all your accolades. So all the stats, all your accolades say you should have been, you know, taken off that board. So why do you think, you know, just reflecting back on it now. Why do you think it didn't work out that way.

Speaker 2 (00:24:23) - At a certain point. When you just ball out the way you do. Everyone thinks she's just going to plateau. Everyone thinks she's just going to stay the same. It's no really.

Speaker 3 (00:24:33) - Room for.

Speaker 2 (00:24:34) - Room for growth. You're just where you are and that's it. That's fine with me. Cool. A lot of people were leaving the image of a big body safety. A lot of people wanted the shorter, little, faster, twitchy people. Yeah, but it's okay, because then when I got to the league, played with Washington my first year, went to training camp, did all that pre-season, had a great time.

Speaker 3 (00:24:58) - Can you tell us how you got there though? Yeah. Well so they.

Speaker 2 (00:25:02) - They, they called of course, and was like they were going to sign me to a few too. funny thing is, three days later, three days later.

Speaker 3 (00:25:10) - Three days. So you had so you had to you had to deal with defeat, the disappointment and letdown for three days. You didn't know. Three. Well, what we're.

Speaker 1 (00:25:17) - Doing for those three.

Speaker 2 (00:25:18) - Days sleeping, playing a game in my own little world, just trying to manage life. So they.

Speaker 3 (00:25:24) - Called you for.

Speaker 2 (00:25:25) - Days. So my agent called me, was like, hey, got the Redskins on the line. They want to sign to a futures deal or practice squad, signed a practice squad, and I was like, okay, or training camp, whatever it's called at the moment. I was like, all right, this is my shot. This is my chance. No one else is called. What to do now? Let's just go out there and do what you do best. Ball. Have fun. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (00:25:48) - So I was like okay I went there kill rookie minicamp. Great. When did big training camp falling out there get graded out Hunter's every week. I'm barely practicing. I'm barely playing. I'm on the sideline. I remember this vividly. We're at Fedex Stadium or playing Denver. I'm calling out plays from the sideline of what Denver is about to run. That's how in-tune I was with fit. Mind you I'm not practicing I'm barely getting in. It's like the third preseason game or something. So when this third preseason game the vets are suited up. They get their sign. They get to play a little bit. Yeah I'm looking at this. I'm like are they about to run this run it all. They're about to do this. They do it. I had to train the staff. Look at me. One of the trainers looked at me, was like, what are you talking about? Like, watch this play. It's about to happen. They run. He's like, oh yeah, that's how it tuned.

Speaker 2 (00:26:43) - I was football, oh, I can sit here and talk X's and O's all day. I can draw it up, I can build it. But I was like, you know what. Who gets it in the you know, the season, preseason. It was like, all right we're going to let you go. Oh, well, let what you mean let me go like I'm dying. I went home. I literally that day, mind you. My dear, and I hope he sees this one day. My DB coach didn't even give me an exit interview. Wow. Didn't even give me an exit interview. Everyone else talk to me but my DB coach. Guess who I seen leaving the facility? My DB coach outside running. Didn't say nothing. But I remember this to this day because it only made me work harder. But I remember leaving from Washington wherever in Ashburn, Virginia. Yep. I drove to Charlottesville, Virginia, and I was at UVA's first game that day. Hurt. Disappointed.

Speaker 3 (00:27:44) - It was great that you showed up for the year as a.

Speaker 2 (00:27:46) - Disappointed though hurt like. I literally. I told you when I didn't get drafted, thought life was over. Me getting cut. Definitely thought life was over. Like I was like, this is not it. Then at the time my sister lived in Fredericksburg, Jordan. Yep. Lived in Fredericksburg. Cool. Let me stay at your basement. I can't go home. Why? I was terrified.

Speaker 3 (00:28:13) - You gotta face up.

Speaker 2 (00:28:14) - I had to face, like, walking and seeing people's faces and like, oh, you're this. Why? Why are you home like that?

Speaker 1 (00:28:21) - Pressure on the shoulders. You were talking about him.

Speaker 2 (00:28:23) - I couldn't do it. I stayed in my sister's basement from October. But no, from September, August, September, all the way into November. I didn't go home. I was scared to go home. Oh, and I was literally that. Some nights I cried myself to sleep. I wake up, I go to sleep at 4 a.m. and wake up at eight, drive to UVA, barely get a workout in, drive an hour back to Fredericksburg, do it all over again.

Speaker 2 (00:28:49) - It was. It was bad. Like I at that moment, I knew life was like it was not it for me.

Speaker 3 (00:28:54) - No, it was rock bottom.

Speaker 2 (00:28:55) - It was, isn't it? Like we mentioned, I've been at the high my whole life, but I had to still work when I was young to get to that high. And it's when you build that structure up and then someone just knocks it down. How do I build that up again?

Speaker 1 (00:29:11) - Yeah.

Speaker 2 (00:29:11) - How do I go from rock bottom again at this age to get to there? It's easy when you're.

Speaker 1 (00:29:16) - Young.

Speaker 2 (00:29:17) - Because all you're doing your whole life is building. Yeah, but when you already built.

Speaker 3 (00:29:21) - How do you rebuild.

Speaker 2 (00:29:22) - Again from something you already started from scratch from? Like how do you do that all over again? Like, I didn't understand that it's it was it was stressful. I didn't want to face it. I never wanted to face it like that was my biggest fear in life. Was going back home, seeing someone in the grocery store like, oh, why are you home? You should be doing this.

Speaker 2 (00:29:42) - You should be doing that. Someone looking at me all crazy or, oh, you're a failure. That's what I thought. Like, I didn't even want to face people like that. I knew personally, like, oh, you're a failure. That's what I thought the whole time. And then October comes around. I'm like, this is not the life I want to be. It's not the life I want to live. Like, I started reaching out to people trying to figure out what was next. I'm like, I don't know what's next, but this is still at the moment, I don't know how to ask for help. I'm just googling things, trying different things. I'm like, okay, whatever. Like what's next? But then I'm like, I got with my boy. He's my trainer, he's my best friend. And I got back to training. That's what I love to do. I got back to working out, got myself back to where I wanted to be. I got signed to Carolina that year, the end of that year.

Speaker 2 (00:30:33) - And I'm like, you know what? This is going to see. Then I get to Carolina. I mean, they. They did what they did, too. So I'm like, I made a practice squad that year, but I'm like, you know what? This is a step. I'm going to be the best practice squad player that y'all ever seen. It was to the point I was out there talking to Christian McCaffrey in front of.

Speaker 1 (00:30:54) - Sema.

Speaker 2 (00:30:55) - In front of the GM's the owner. I'm talking crazy to him like he's just a regular person that ever played football.

Speaker 3 (00:31:03) - Like probably the best running back in the league. Yeah. Ever. Hey probably what it's all like what I'm seeing is like. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (00:31:10) - Like what I'm seeing.

Speaker 2 (00:31:11) - Face to face. There's nothing that he can't do.

Speaker 3 (00:31:13) - There's nothing he can do.

Speaker 2 (00:31:14) - Yeah I'm sitting there talking. Don't tell him like, oh no, that's a tackle. You know I'm not. We're not tackling. Oh no, that's a tackle. We talking junk like we are outside and no one and we don't know each other.

Speaker 2 (00:31:26) - That's what I brought.

Speaker 1 (00:31:27) - To the table.

Speaker 2 (00:31:29) - Then after that year we get a new coach, new staff. He brings in a bunch of players he knew I'm still outshining them. At the end, it's like, yeah, we gotta let you go. Politics.

Speaker 1 (00:31:41) - Yeah, a lot of politics. It seems like.

Speaker 2 (00:31:43) - You gotta let me go again. I'm like, well y this time my DB coach talked to me though and he said, you're the smartest player. I talked to you, one of the smartest people I know that can actually play this game. And I said, you know what I appreciate you for at least talking to me. But my head coach at the time. Could it look me in the eyes and tell me he's letting me go? I would never forget that. To this day, if you're going to let me go, just tell me to my face.

Speaker 1 (00:32:10) - Yeah.

Speaker 2 (00:32:10) - At this point, I'm older now. I understand the business. I understand the game. If you're going to let me go, it's no hard feelings.

Speaker 2 (00:32:17) - I understand this part now. Before I didn't understand in Washington. I like it is what it is. But now me being smart and getting to, you know, as to why I'm also here, I. This is when I started to realize I knew football wasn't going to be for long. Yeah, when I understand there's something else that has to come after this because I'm a bubble guy. I'm the guy that's on the bubble. I can go at any moment. There's guys coming in every Tuesday and Wednesday's workouts, having tryouts. I don't know if they're my position or not. It could be a lineman trying out. They may need a lineman. They can let me go. I had to start figuring out what was next. Yeah, like now my mindset is starting to change here. Like, now I'm starting to think about real life here because at the end of the day, I get let go is like, how many times am I going to get picked back up? Yeah, I don't know.

Speaker 2 (00:33:11) - I could be the best player ever. I still don't know when I'm getting picked back up.

Speaker 1 (00:33:17) - So now you're on to your next move. So tell us about that. I know you touched on that earlier. You know you're really impacting people and saving people's lives and such. But tell the audience you know more about that.

Speaker 2 (00:33:26) - Yeah. So my degree is in sociology. So my whole life I wanted to be a social worker. I wanted to help people. I want to empower the youth empowered teens, empowering adults just to get to that next phase in their life and social work. And my mind was that way. Like, I love helping people, but I never knew the true meaning of help for myself to really help others. And so throughout my journey in life, I was like, okay, what's that really found? The power and help is when I reached out to my one of my mentors and I literally remember this. It was July 4th, 2022. I was in Austin, Texas.

Speaker 2 (00:34:03) - We was at one of these Airbnbs because we were going to go out for July 4th, downtown or something. And I remember I just called him and I just said, hey, I said, I know it's the weekend. I don't mean to bother you, but my job, I've been down for an NFL for two years at this point. Like I let go in 2020, having put on my cleats to actually be on the field in two years.

Speaker 3 (00:34:23) - What are you what were you doing at the time?

Speaker 2 (00:34:26) - What?

Speaker 3 (00:34:26) - Anything possible for work, for anything possible.

Speaker 2 (00:34:30) - Good thing I learned to save a dollar. Yeah, I had good savings, but it was like I was living off a savings. I tried everything you can think of Amazon shipping. I done resale shoes, I like, I didn't, I didn't anything you can possibly think of in the entrepreneur space I done? Yeah, I thought about it, I tried it, I spent tons of money on courses, on on trying this. I've done it because I didn't.

Speaker 2 (00:34:57) - I needed to find the next thing because I was still now understanding life, and I still didn't know what my next move was. But I also had to this point. I still have a business at this rate with phase five fitness and performance. What we do cryotherapy.

Speaker 1 (00:35:11) - So tell us.

Speaker 3 (00:35:12) - A little bit about that.

Speaker 2 (00:35:12) - So yeah. So this started actually in 2018 with my boy when I was with Washington because I called him one night we're at the hotel. I'm just like. Recovery is a big aspect of my life. Recovery helped me be to where I am and I always love cry out there. Ever since I started cryotherapy, I love it. I'm like, we need to start something like this because if you think about it around here, how many recovery places do you see? How many cryotherapy places do you actually see and go to?

Speaker 3 (00:35:41) - I'm like, you're limited. I mean, they're starting to pop. I just they are.

Speaker 2 (00:35:44) - Starting to pop.

Speaker 3 (00:35:45) - Up. I just did cryotherapy for the last month for the very first time, and they do kept telling me to do it.

Speaker 3 (00:35:51) - I was like, I was nervous, I did it. I've never felt that type of euphoria in my life. It's amazing.

Speaker 1 (00:35:56) - You think it's worth.

Speaker 3 (00:35:57) - It. Oh my God. Like, yeah, I was just nervous because like all this cold hits. So yeah, it's it's easier than the ice baths. Way easier. Oh because you don't get wet.

Speaker 2 (00:36:06) - It's.

Speaker 3 (00:36:06) - Yeah. You know.

Speaker 2 (00:36:07) - All that water is gone and.

Speaker 3 (00:36:08) - It's only in there and it's cold, like, then it's it's like it's instant cold. So, you know, you go numb like the tub. You slowly. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (00:36:16) - You slowly chill and then it just simmers out. Then now you're warm again. Yeah. Like with cryotherapy is really shocking your body like it's shocking the body. Say, hey, we need to send help to where those areas of soreness, you know, arthritis or any kind of pain is that we need to send blood there. Now it's really opening that blood and pushing that blood right there, right now because everything is going to your center or your core to protect those big organs, and it's to protect it.

Speaker 2 (00:36:41) - But now all the workers are being spread out. It happens faster. So now you got to think like, okay. Now how recovery is that? Like, how does that help my recovery? Before, you know, before practice, after practice in between people are doing it before before games and after games, like after you've done played hold up. So what everyone thought. Yep. Oh, put ice on your ankle when you get all of that full body right then and there. It's amazing. And I just wanted to bring that back here because all I knew was when it was the one on Laskin. Well, the only one of the restore.

Speaker 3 (00:37:17) - That's where I go.

Speaker 2 (00:37:17) - Yeah. It was the only one at that moment in this time. That was close. Yeah, but it was still very far. Yeah. I'm all the way on town center. I gotta go all the way down to Alaska and just to do recovery. Yeah. I'm like, there has to be a better way.

Speaker 3 (00:37:31) - Yeah. Walk us through your business. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (00:37:32) - So it had to be a better way in my mind to think like, how can we make this one affordable and one feasible and actually get people there, like, how are we going to get the people that are in this area to us? And so we were like, okay, so my boy was like, give me, give me a day or so. But mind you, I'm looking at storefronts. I'm looking at how much cryotherapy, cause I'm looking at all the machines. I'm. I'm like, if I see what restore does, how can I make the same thing? But put it local and town center. And he called me back two days later. He was like, what do you think about a mobile cryotherapy? I was like, mobile. He was like, yeah, we can go to people. I was like. I'm with it because in a sense of like thinking about it, well, I pay a overhead when we're just basically going to pay a card note in a sense, we're just paying a cardinal just for the trailer, basically just to pull a trailer up and down 64, going down 95, going to Florida, going, going to UVA, going, going wherever.

Speaker 2 (00:38:35) - It's like. You know what? That's smart. Because now we eliminate things for everyone to say, oh, well, it's too far. We can't go now. We're right outside. Yep.

Speaker 1 (00:38:47) - And make it simple to expand and scale.

Speaker 2 (00:38:49) - Exactly. Make it simple for people. We're going to come to you instead of you have to always come to us. Come right to me. I'm right outside.

Speaker 3 (00:38:57) - How much do you guys charge for a session?

Speaker 2 (00:38:59) - So it depends. So if we go, let's just say a big tournament, right? Or if we pull up to a local gym, depending on the gym, depending on, you know, if we're thinking number wise, 35 a session, $30 a session. Oh.

Speaker 1 (00:39:11) - But when you're.

Speaker 2 (00:39:11) - Charging, go to a storefront, it's about $85, $89. Yeah, just for a session. We also have reboots. Add an extra 5 or $10 to that. You're paying half of what you're doing at a storefront right here. Local. It's a full body chamber.

Speaker 2 (00:39:27) - You just walk in the trailer, get in, walk out. Same thing. You have the reboots, we have chairs. We we have it all. So it was in a system of. We're not here to say, like, at the end of the day, we want to make money. It's the bottom line. Everybody wants to make money. But it's not always about making money. It's always about helping the next person. How can we make this person better? How can we help recovery impact someone's life? And this is where I really started to feel like this is where help was for me. To help the next person to say, this can help you longevity wise, versus I'm just trying to give you a product. Here it is. Use it.

Speaker 3 (00:40:05) - And what areas do you guys service?

Speaker 2 (00:40:07) - So we service all over honestly like it's local here Virginia Beach. It sits at the Sportsplex all the time. I work major tournaments at the Sportsplex. We have one coming up and I think in a couple of weeks there, we travel down to Florida because I play on a flag team.

Speaker 2 (00:40:19) - We play, we travel with dad to the flag tournaments, wherever they are. We have contracts with ODU football, men's and women's basketball.

Speaker 3 (00:40:27) - As beautiful like.

Speaker 2 (00:40:28) - We do a lot of things. We pull up to local gyms, we advertise these things like it's to better people. It's not even just for athletes. It's for the average person who's going to the gym.

Speaker 1 (00:40:38) - Yeah, it's.

Speaker 2 (00:40:39) - It's for those who just want to recover. Like cryotherapy is becoming a thing. Yeah. In that it's going to continue to grow. It's going to continue to build upon itself and it's going to be for everybody. And that's how we promote is for everybody. Yeah, I'm just recovering.

Speaker 3 (00:40:54) - What's the name of your business. So it's.

Speaker 2 (00:40:56) - Yeah. So it's phase five fitness fitness and performance. So you can just that's on Instagram as well. And it's always by the sports place. Once you pull into the sports place it's that big trailer. It has a girl and a guy outside of it on the on the outside of it.

Speaker 2 (00:41:10) - It's a nice little wrapping. We provide everything and it's fun.

Speaker 1 (00:41:14) - It's a home.

Speaker 2 (00:41:15) - Feeling. That's what we wanted to build. It was home versus going to a storefront where it's like it's business. Yeah, this is home for us.

Speaker 3 (00:41:23) - Yeah, there's some real crucial that I want the audience. I want to ask you something to bring out to the audience. Yeah. You don't do this full time. You started this business. You have a career. Yeah. Tell us about your career. And tell us how do you balance? Because a lot of people, right, won't start the journey of entrepreneurship. They won't become, oh, I got a career, I can't, I don't, I can't I don't have enough time. I can't do it because I have to I have my career.

Speaker 1 (00:41:48) - But you balance both of them. Yeah. Tell us all.

Speaker 2 (00:41:50) - No, absolutely. And I think that's a great point. And and honestly too, like learning more about myself to like, at the beginning stages, it was rough because I was like at one point that was the only job I was doing.

Speaker 2 (00:42:03) - But then it's like, I got this job that I do now with medical device sales. It's like, okay, how can I manage that now too?

Speaker 3 (00:42:10) - And how can I explain the responsibility of that? So yeah.

Speaker 2 (00:42:12) - So what in medical device sales is what I do is I'm, I'm in hospitals all day, every day, whether that's working with physicians, whether that's working with techs, my nurse managers, my charge nurses to basically provide these devices to help patient outcomes. And I'm in the procedures with these physicians and I'm helping them troubleshoot if need to. I'm providing suggestions, I'm providing options. I'm, you know, essentially, I mean, I don't want to say this, and I'm a doctor without being a doctor in a sense. Like, I have to know everything going on inside of that room to make sure that I'm there for the patient, because at the end of the day, we're patient first, that bottom line, I want to make sure even if it's my device or someone else's device, and I tell people this all the time, the patient comes first to me.

Speaker 2 (00:43:00) - I could care less. I want to make sure I'm there to protect that patient and make sure everything runs smooth. That's my job. Some days I'm up at 6 a.m. because the first case at seven, sometimes I'm at a hospital until 8 p.m. at dawn. Cases. Yeah, but I'm there. If a physician has a scope in their hand, I'm there. Yeah, because I believe building that respect, earning their trust at the end of the day.

Speaker 1 (00:43:23) - Yeah. So we know we mentioned you know you work in both right. Phase five performance and also medical device sales. So I know a lot of entrepreneurs are budding entrepreneurs. They think okay I'm going to start a business. I have to do everything myself. Yeah. No. Are you doing everything yourself? Would you work in both businesses or kind of how do you operate that?

Speaker 2 (00:43:40) - So no, that's a good question because like I said, at first I was like, my business partner is my boy. Like, of course, like we're good friends.

Speaker 2 (00:43:47) - He's like a brother to me. And we we work it together. But at one point I was the sole face of it at one point, because that's all I worked because he had another job, too. So he's like, hey, you got to work that job. All right? I'm working this. I help figure this out. All right. Fine. What tournaments is doing this all right. How many people okay, who do I need to email blah blah blah. All right. What's the price set like? Hey, here's what it is. And then it kind of flipped. Once I got this job, it was like, okay. He was kind of managing the front end of it. Now I'm kind of on the back end like, hey, what's going on? Do you need anything? And this is what I moved to Boston, so I'm the furthest away from it now. So now I'm trying to figure out, hey, is there a tournament? Like, do you need me? Are you good? Like, do we need to get somebody like, what's going on? Talk to me.

Speaker 2 (00:44:31) - Then he ended up moving away further. So it's like, all right, what do we. Do now. How do we keep this going? Then of course, we manage. And we train someone who runs it when we're not here. So now it's on the point of like, all right, we still do the work on the front end, too. Like, I want to know what tournaments we're going to, who's running it, what's going on? How can I help manage this business as well? All I want this person do. Hey, get the trailer there. run the sessions, get everything done. We'll pay you. Here's here's your chance. You know, like, we're not going to stingy. Like, hey, no, do this for free. No, like, hey, I'm still going to do the work up front. I want to know what's going on because I love being hands on. Because I still love learning about this business. How can I improve myself? How can I continue to be a better businessman at the end of the day and keep promoting it out and still be hands on? Like at some point? Yeah, you want to lay back and kick your feet up and have fun and and let the business work for you.

Speaker 2 (00:45:28) - But I'm just so hands on. Like, that's how I learn. I learn by being hands on and that's where I'm at my best. And so to manage both of that, I mean, of course my main career is going to get majority of my time. That's just an honest assessment.

Speaker 3 (00:45:42) - Well what what separates your company from everyone else in your industry.

Speaker 2 (00:45:48) - Like I said, it's home. Like when you walk in and you see the trailer. We have signatures from high schoolers, college all around the wall because we make it home. Like when these people step in there, it's like we got music playing or whatever song. You guys will have fun with it. We bring home to you basically opposed to like, you just go into a store and they got the little elevator music playing. It's it's nice though.

Speaker 1 (00:46:13) - Yeah, I love it.

Speaker 2 (00:46:14) - It's it's an amazing feeling.

Speaker 3 (00:46:16) - Here's a different.

Speaker 2 (00:46:17) - Experience. It's just a different experience. It's it's it's home like and at the end of the day too, it's it's regular people.

Speaker 2 (00:46:24) - It's just me and my boy doing it or whoever is working with us doing. And it's just a amazing feeling just to be a part of that and just continue to build upon that. So I always say it's home when you walk in.

Speaker 1 (00:46:36) - Yeah, 100%. I know we touched on some of the great things that you're doing, you know, in your business with phase five and things like that. But I want to ask you, Gwen, what is the biggest asset either about you or about your company that you feel like you can offer to the world?

Speaker 2 (00:46:52) - I think that's a great question that a lot of people don't think about. And I think a lot of times people go straight for the business first. I think it starts with yourself, like you have to be the biggest asset. And I think the biggest asset that I've learned, I told you before, I was down there from 2018 to 2020. Really 2014 at 2020, I wasn't in the right headspace. I didn't have the right mental capacity to do what I thought living was when I figured out the definition of how to live.

Speaker 2 (00:47:23) - That became my biggest asset in life was live. To really, truly be myself and to live. That's the biggest asset that if I could ever tell anybody anything. It's a truly fine. You first. Yeah. Don't look nowhere else. Look yourself in the mirror and say, this is my asset. Because you don't know how to function. What are you to life? What are you to this world? And a lot of people don't get that. But I said you know what. That's how I separate myself I've been different I've always been different. I've always been the most talented, sometimes been the most smartest. But how can I really separate myself. It's because I know me. If you look at all these people talking nowadays, he would just be talking. But I was watching him one time. Him doing. He's himself. He's authentic. He knows him. I know myself. I know me, that's my biggest asset. That's and that's going to make my business an asset because I'm a big asset to myself first and then everything else around me, it grows.

Speaker 2 (00:48:32) - That's the point of life for me. That's what I bring to the world as an asset is me. And I think that's the most important thing people have to realize in this world, for us, this world to keep going. It starts with us. And in the younger generation, it starts with us because we didn't. I didn't have mentors really growing up. I mean, I'm not sure if you guys had the mentors grown up and people to really show us what life was, but now we understand what life is. Were those mentors. We understand the life. We understand the role in what we play. We're assets. And that's what I love about this podcast honestly. Like when I first heard the name I'm like that's an amazing name. I'm like, dang, why didn't I think of this name? Like I went my podcast was QB knows. I'm like, dang, that says probably would have been really better because it's like, that's what people bring to this world. And a lot of people don't understand that.

Speaker 2 (00:49:24) - And I remember the first episode you mentioned of talking about just people don't come up, people don't get free game no more. People don't just talk to people. People don't just inspire to provide and put people on. People don't do that no more. But watching this podcast, I'm like, this is amazing because that's on the podcast. I like to watch because it's real, it's authentic. It shows.

Speaker 3 (00:49:47) - It shows what.

Speaker 2 (00:49:48) - Life is really about to give free game back. Like, I'm like, I love it. Then you ask me to be on it. I said, sure, just tell me when. Yes sir. I could have it. I didn't matter when it was I was going to be here because I was like this. People don't get this no more.

Speaker 3 (00:50:03) - Yeah. I mean, I just think that there is thousands of people out there, right? Every, every year that go through similar what you go through. I mean, the collegiate athletes, D1 athletes, because a very small subset even get a chance to put on the NFL uniform like you did, and even a smaller subset, make a career out of it or can stay because like you said, there's so many people in the NFL that are bubble guy.

Speaker 3 (00:50:26) - It is a majority of them and you're one injury away. I don't care if you're a All-Pro in the NFL, you're one injury away from being a bubble guy and being out the league. We've seen it. I mean, from big name recruits, Heisman Trophy winners. It doesn't matter. You can one injury away. And that's why like I think that this is so important for them to watch and why I wanted you, you know, to come on. And we're honored to have you as because they've gone through those things and professional athletes, people don't realize the pressure that's on them. They only see the glamor. They look at you and they envy you. But not knowing your struggles, not knowing what you went through. And then to go through that, to hit rock bottom. And then it's kind of refind yourself, rediscover yourself and your purpose and then, hey, yeah, you have a career. But also, look, I also have a business, and a lot of people make an excuse of why they can't start a business.

Speaker 3 (00:51:16) - Yeah. And so I knew you. I had no, you know, obviously through the family, you had a business. I didn't know too much about it. Just from a bird's eye view, news and stuff. I'm like, wow. Quinn's went through what he went through. He has a whole career. And like, I know you moved up to Massachusetts. I was living up there. He hit me. I was like, man, Quinn moved to Massachusetts. And then you're back down here in Richmond, which you're closer to family. They're all stoked, but then you got this business going on it. I just think that it goes to show you guys can go through adversity. Yeah, there are people out there. You go through so much and ups and downs, it doesn't matter. You were at the top of the top. Yeah. You know what I mean. And there doesn't matter. You can fall. Yeah. You know you get knocked down on your, you know, as long as you fall.

Speaker 3 (00:51:58) - And I use that quote I said in the podcast, if you fall, you fall on your back. Because if you can look up, you can get up. And you know, I, we, we love to have people from all different types of backgrounds that have gone through these things, because our last guys had a, you know, different story. But yeah, he he fell, you know, he went through rock bottom. Yeah. And before he got to where you and a lot of people just think that this journey and this thing in life and about being successful, finding purpose is all sunshine and rainbows, know that it's like this. They think their trajectory is like, okay, I graduated high school, go to college, get a job, get a career, get them. Boom. Everything's sunshine, rainbows. There's going to be storms. it's going to be storms and and and and that's why, you know, we we love to have people on here to to share their story, you know, because it's not just, you know, what we've been through and the things we've been through, but other people are going out there and you cannot quit.

Speaker 3 (00:52:52) - That's the thing. Because you could have, you know, I mean, you could have like just kind of thrown your hands up, you know, I'll, you know, I'm not in the NFL. You know, I'm depressed now, you put yourself out of that and and it takes a lot. Yeah. No.

Speaker 2 (00:53:05) - But to that point is, is a lot of people say that like a lot of people do quit. But I told myself, I'm not going to be one of those guys like I couldn't. I've already faced that fear of like going home and like, oh, people are going to say this. I've already faced it. I'm not going. I'm not going to be the person. They say, oh, you quit. Oh, you gave up now. No, because it's never been in it. Never been inside of me to quit. Yeah. So I say, you know what? It's time to go like. And I like to fall back and you just fall on your back because you can look up.

Speaker 2 (00:53:35) - I've always said fall forward. Denzel Washington did a speech at Penn. It's called Fall Forward. And he talks about if you fall forward, you still gain it inches. Yeah, you're still falling forward. And because once you get up from falling forward, you're closer to where you were. You're not falling backwards because you fall back. You get up, you're still in the same place. You fall forward, you still you're still gaining something from this experience. And so that's what I put my mind to. I did a monologue in. Public speaking class in college. Like because it stuck with me. I resonated with it because now is to the point of like everything I do, I fall forward. I know I'm going to fail like some people don't. Don't do this. I prepare to fail because now how am I going to climb up? How am I going to get up? Like I go into these cases? I think the worst like because I want to know, can I build myself out of this? How can I get us out of this situation? Because I think that's the most important thing.

Speaker 2 (00:54:26) - People just prepare for the most glory things in life. Cool. Okay. How are you going to handle when you fail and people don't understand how to fail? I love failing because you know what? I'm going. Yeah, I know what I'm doing. I know how to elevate from here.

Speaker 1 (00:54:43) - Yep. When we definitely appreciate you coming out here man and sharing your story with the public, I know someone is definitely going to be impacted by your story. You know how you were saying all those people you know you were scared to come back home. Yeah. Because you were saying they were they will look at you as a failure as such. I know when they see this podcast, they won't look at you that way. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (00:55:03) - No. Yeah. So tell us, tell us as we wrap this up again, shout out your business again. Tell everybody you know if they want to use your business, how to get in touch with you and tell us what's next for Quinn bland. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (00:55:15) - So no.

Speaker 2 (00:55:15) - So thank you guys for having me. Obviously this has been a great I haven't done an interview or podcast in a long time. Absolutely.

Speaker 1 (00:55:24) - but.

Speaker 2 (00:55:24) - It's it's just been it's been amazing to be here. I mean, of course we're family, but getting a new person in contact and friend and to to build relationships too. But I think this is a perfect thing you guys are doing, especially for this area, this community. We needed it, honestly. But you guys can look at phase five fitness and performance. You can follow that on Instagram. You can contact me on Instagram at just Quinn underscore Blanding. It doesn't matter. I'm always available. I'm always willing to talk, whether it's business or just life, because I think that's the like I said, that's the biggest aspect, asset that I can give to people. It's just my knowledge that I've been through. I'm not perfect. I'm not. I'm not somebody that walks around and says, I have all the answers. But no, I my experience has gotten me to where you and I, and I love it.

Speaker 2 (00:56:09) - I'm 27. I'm. But I'm an old man at heart. I feel like I'm old. So I know I love it because a lot of people call me that. And so if you guys want to talk, I'm available at any time. But what's next for me? I'm continuing to build. I'm continuing to build, continue to grow in and venture off into different avenues because at the end of the day, this is my career. I love what I do, but at the end of the day, at some point having kids and having a family, at some point down the road, I don't have kids and I'm not married, so don't get engaged.

Speaker 4 (00:56:40) - Don't even do that. You don't do that either.

Speaker 2 (00:56:42) - But you know, it's it's time to really just evolve into the human being that are being and really put my foot, like really in the earth and really just start building and growing into whatever I think is fitting my style and what I love to do and whatever comes to my mind, I'm ready to attack it.

Speaker 2 (00:57:01) - And so that's what's next for me, honestly. So love.

Speaker 3 (00:57:04) - It. Yep.

Speaker 2 (00:57:04) - So that's me. And I just I just want to say thank you guys.

Speaker 3 (00:57:07) - we appreciate your time. And, you know, thank you guys for joining us Giovanni here with.

Speaker 1 (00:57:13) - Chris.

Speaker 3 (00:57:13) - Williams. Let's talk assets.

Speaker 1 (00:57:15) - Let's talk assets.