Latest / The Standard / From Factory Floor to First-Round Pick to Super Bowl Champion | Ep. 35 Sly Williams

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From Factory Floor to First-Round Pick to Super Bowl Champion | Ep. 35 Sly Williams · The Standard

• 0:02
  SPEAKER_02: Coolie oh right.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_02: Welcome to Standard Podcast, where we raise the bar, rebuild the culture, and call out the lies or misconceptions that nobody else will.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_02: This isn't motivation, this is a movement.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_02: I'm Thomas Rowe with my host Aaron Charles, and today we're sitting down with Sylvester Sly Williams, former NFL defensive tackle and Super Bowl 50 champion with the Denver Broncos.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_02: But there's more of Sly's story that's a little bit different from every other NFL player you've ever heard about.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_02: Sly played only one season of high school football.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_02: He started one game, he wasn't recruited by anyone, and after graduation, he was assembling radiator parts in a large factory, working a factory job before deciding to take one more shot.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_02: He walked on to Coffeeville Community College in Kansas.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_02: Nobody wanted him.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_02: He earned it.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_02: From Coffeeville, he transferred to University of North Carolina Gotar Hills, became a first-team All-American, first-team all-ACC defensive tackle, and was selected 28th overall in a first-round pick by the Denver Broncos in the 2013 NFL draft.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_02: Four years later, Sly walked off the field as a Super Bowl 50 champion, part of the legendary Denver Broncos defense, the number one ranked defense in the entire NFL that season.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_02: Over his eight-year NFL career, Sly played six for six organizations: the Broncos, Tennessee Titans, Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints, and the Los Angeles Chargers.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_02: His story isn't just about football, it's about what happens when you refuse to accept what others think about your potential.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_02: We're diving into the truth behind what it really takes to build identity, discipline, and legacy in sports and in life.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_02: So let's get into it.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_02: Slide, thank you so much for joining us.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_02: It's an absolute pleasure and honor.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_01: Man, listen, I appreciate you guys having me.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_01: I also appreciate the intro, man.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_02: Of course, of course.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_02: I bet.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_02: I bet.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_02: So let's start where most people don't know how your story begins.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_02: You played one season of high school football.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_02: You started one game, nobody recruited you, and after high school, you're working at an factory assembling radiator parts.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_02: How did it how did it take or how did you get from the factory floor to walking on at Coffeville Community College?
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I think the biggest thing for me is just, you know, one of the things that really motivated me was greatness, right?
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_01: And I also wanted to have an impact on my family.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_01: I wanted to change my father's life.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_01: And I knew in order to do that, I had to escape my environment, right?
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: So at the time it was never about making it to the NFA, it was just about creating a better future for the people that believed in me and the people that loved and supported me.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_02: Right on.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_02: And what would you say is the biggest lie or misconception you feel a culture of the sports industry has sold athletes about how it how it takes or what it takes to get opportunities and who gets recruited and who gets a chance?
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_01: I think the biggest from what I see is people think talent is all it takes, right?
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_01: And I think talent is just the tip of the iceberg, right?
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_01: And of course you got to be talented.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_01: But I think I think 90% of the players that play this game, football, basketball, whatever sport it may be, got talent, right?
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_01: I think talent is just something that we is an overused word, right?
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: I think it takes a lot more than that.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_01: When you talk about understanding the game, right?
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: The leadership qualities that it takes.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_01: I was a guy that got drafted in the first round, not just because I was talented, because there were guys that were more talented than me.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_01: Even coming out of high school.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_01: I was a guy that never played football a day in my life.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_01: I go to junior college and I'm a starter the first year there, and I'm up against four high school All-Americans that were more talented than me.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_01: But really, what separated me was my work ethic, right?
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_01: My leadership qualities and my ability to show up every day and do the right thing.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I especially when we talk about these kids and we talk about making the right or wrong decisions, it's like making the right decisions is just as important as having talent.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_02: No doubt.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_02: No doubt.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_02: So you walked on to JUCO at Coffeyville and nobody handed you anything.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_02: Obviously, you were focused and resilient.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_02: Did you have a mentor, somebody that kind of took you under their wing?
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_02: And what was that decision like?
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_02: And what did you believe about yourself that no one else believed yet?
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_01: I did have a mentor.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: Actually, I had an amazing mentor that was actually uh, because I had I got a basketball background, and a lot of people don't know this, but uh I used to and still think I am a pretty good basketball player.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_01: But I had a mentor of mine that that really was a guy that was a basketball coach, and he was also a physical education teacher at the school, strength and conditioning.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_01: And he was somebody that took me in his wing because I was kicked out of school as a sophomore.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_01: And when I got kicked out as a sophomore, I was working too many hours at work, really trying to, again, provide and help out my family where I can.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_01: And so when they kicked me out, I had two decisions, right?
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_01: They gave me one was alternative school, and one was a GED program.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_01: And that moment in my life, I felt like that they were trying to close the book on my life.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't like that, right?
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_01: So I wanted to be able to write my own chapters from now on out.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_01: And so I made a decision, which was a risky decision, but I decided to re-enroll in that same school.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_01: And in doing so, I started to connect with people that were supporting me, right?
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_01: Connect with the right kind of people.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_01: One of the people that I connected with and built a stronger relationship was a guy by the name of Andre Simon, who was again a basketball coach.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_01: And the one of the things that he he did for me, man, was he showed me that he believed in me.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_01: And so every day, you know, when I would go to school, because I had an issue with going to school every day and I was late.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I worked as man, so I'll be late, don't go at all.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_01: And so one thing that I would do every day is when I would go to school, the first thing I would do is stop by his office.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, I would just say, Hey, I'm her coach.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_01: And he was, hey, big fella, big fella, have a good day.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: And to me, it became a point in my life where it was I wanted to make him proud and not let him down.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_01: So it allowed me to hold myself accountable every day because I knew if I didn't go that I would have to answer to him.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_02: No doubt.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_02: No doubt.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_02: That's one of the most important aspects that Aaron and I try to talk to our young athletes and families, how important it is to have a mentor, right?
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_02: You couldn't have done it on your own.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_02: You needed somebody to do it.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, you go back to everyone talks about Pete Manning.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_02: He couldn't do it alone.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_02: He needed an entire team around him to win that Super Bowl.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_02: We're gonna turn it over to segment two, which is identity and legacy.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna turn this over to Aaron.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_02: Aaron, go ahead and take it away.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_04: Okay.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_04: So I would love I get to dive into just who you really are.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_04: So obviously, Thomas shared all your accolades from walking on through Carolina to the Denver Broncos.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_04: Tell our audience who is Sly beyond all of those things.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I would say, you know, you know, I had an amazing father, right?
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_01: And my father wasn't someone who had money.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_01: You know, he wasn't someone that had an amazing job.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_01: You know, he was just a guy that showed up every day and he was a guy that breeded hard work, right?
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_01: My father sent me to college.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_01: When I went to college, I went with two things in my toolbox, and that was work ethic, and that was respect.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_01: Those were two things my father taught me very early on.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: It's work as hard as you can, be respectful, and also be your own leader, right?
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_01: So that's all I had in my toolbox.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_01: And to me, I knew that that was enough.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_01: So when you talk about whoever, a hard worker leader, right?
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_01: A mentor to all, right?
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_01: I mentor so many people of all ages, right?
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_01: And and to piggyback off what Thomas said, and we talked about you know having that mentor, is like, for me, I want to be that to other people.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_01: So that's why I pride myself as a mentor.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_01: That's why I try so much to give back to the younger generation and and and and be a vessel of hope, of hope, right?
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_01: Because when you think about it, and there aren't many people that could look up and say, I spoke with a Super Bowl champion, I spoke with a first-round draft pick.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_01: And there's even less people that can say, I spoke to a guy that made it to this level in his life, and he never even played the game of football, right?
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_01: So when you speak about my set, when you talk about leadership and what's possible in life, I'm a living example of that.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_04: I love it.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_04: You're the one percent of the one percent of the one percent.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_04: And it's it is rare.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, I can think about just when we reached out and you took our call immediately.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_04: You know, I never dreamed of the day as I started to do this work that I'd get to interact with you, let alone other Super Bowl champions.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_04: It's just unbelievable to me.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_04: And so we're so fortunate and we're so blessed.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_04: And I mean, avid Denver Broncos fan, and I've been an avid Denver Broncos fan since I was a young, young girl.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_04: So I want you, this is more kind of a selfish question, but I want you to kind of give us a sneak peek or take us back behind the scenes of like what it was like to be a part of that 2015 Denver Broncos defense.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, you guys were the number one ranked defense in the entire NFL.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_04: You won the Super Bowl 50, which you guys really won that with your play.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_04: You played alongside Von Miller, Demarcus Ware, and Malik Jackson, who we also know.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_04: So, what does legacy beyond the game mean to you?
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_04: And what was that experience like?
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_01: I would say that's probably one of the single greatest years in my life.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_01: And when I said it, I say that in because again, when you look at the structure of our team, right?
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_01: You look at you know how we were built and who our leaders were, right, and who our quarterback was.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_01: Well, people hear the name Peyton Manny, they easily think Hall of Fame 2013, 14, Indianapolis Peyton's, Indianapolis Coast, uh Peyton Manny, right?
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: That's who they go back to.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_01: But that wasn't the Peyton that we had.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_01: And I think what made us so great was we didn't need him to be at his best because we were a team, right?
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_01: And it's uh like you said earlier, it's not about one man, it's about an entire group.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_01: And when I tell you, I talk about culture, I talk about leadership, right, a lot.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_01: I preached it heavily.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_01: And I went to the Super Bowl in 2013 and we had an extremely talented team.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_01: Pro bowlers across the board, guys that went to the Hall of Fame, paid many play out of his mind that year, right?
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_01: Threw for a million yards, a million touchdowns, won the MVP.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_01: Great.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_01: Come back two years later, we got a more resilient team.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: We bring in some different leaders, guys that led in different ways, right?
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: Guys that brought something that we needed, that accountability piece, right?
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_01: Player-managed teams, player-led teams, and and then we brought in the head coach, right?
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_01: And one of the things that Kubia said to us was, I failed at this before, right?
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_01: Meaning being a head coach.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_01: So obviously, I would be an idiot to do things the same way that I did before.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm gonna do things differently.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_01: And one of the things he said was, I'm gonna allow you guys to police yourselves, right?
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_01: And he said, Everybody won't get treated the same because your level of play will determine how you get treated.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_01: And that only that not only taught me what type of team we were gonna be, but it also taught me a lot about life.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_01: And about life is about what you put out, right?
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_01: The more you put out, the more you receive.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_01: The problem that we run into today is people that put out less expect more.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_01: And just being a part of that team and the dynamic that we had and led by the players, and and we started to come together as brothers.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm talking about every guy I play on that team with, I could pick up the phone right now and get out and call out, and they will answer on the first ring.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_01: What's up, Slide?
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_01: And to me, that's what you talk about, a lake.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_01: That's what you talk about, a brotherhood that will last me until I leave this earth, and that's what it's all about.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_01: So you talk about having a reunion and supporting each other through different businesses and and and career moves that people are making, right?
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_01: I called Brandon Marshall last week.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_01: I caught him on Thursday.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_01: I was flying to Vegas on Friday.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_01: He picked up what's up, bro.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_01: I see me about to be in Vegas.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_01: Say, man, what you need?
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_01: It was that for me like that.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_01: And it worked both ways, right?
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_01: Anytime I'm going to LA, anytime I'm going to Dallas, you know, I know Akiba's in Dallas, I know Malik is in LA, right?
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_01: So all these different relationships that, but it all started because of one special year, right?
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_01: And the year that we will be remembered for forever because of the work that we put in, because of the way we came together as a team that supported each other, we get to spend the rest of our lives.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_01: And I always tell people this no matter what you say about me, you got to call me a champion.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_01: And you got to mention my name and lines of guys like Peyton, Bob Miller, and DeMarcus War.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_04: Well, you're in rare five air.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_04: What great company you're in.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_04: And you're obviously just as equally as incredible as they are in your own right.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_04: And so you've also navigated, you know, a lot of transition releases, trades throughout your career.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_04: How did you manage that?
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_04: How do you create identity beyond performance to really navigate life like that?
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_01: I always say no.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_01: The one thing I pride myself on is I gave it everything that I had.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_01: So every situation that I've ever been a part of, it's one thing that I was never able to say, unless I could have gave more.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_01: And for me, as long as I give it everything I got, I can live with whatever the results are, right?
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_01: Because I know two things happen.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_01: Either that opportunity wasn't for me, or I wasn't the best player, right?
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_01: And so it's not gonna be because, man, I could have worked a little bit harder, man, I could have done this a little bit differently.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_01: Like I know every situation I'm gonna go in and put everything I got into a situation, and I'm gonna live with the results.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_01: And what a lot of people don't understand is the NFL, it is a business.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_01: They make business decisions, it's a lot of money involved.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_01: And so when you talk about me, I'm a guy that came to the NFL at the age of I got drafted at 24.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_01: I turned 25 my rookie year, got into my second deal, I'm almost 30, right?
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_01: So the numbers started to play a part.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_01: And okay, he's a little bit older.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_01: So once I got to that point where I say, you know what?
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_01: My last year, I went back home to Denver, and for me, I felt like that was a good close to that chapter of my life.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm at home and I get a call to go to New York.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_01: And my agent called me and he said, Hey, you ready?
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_01: I said, Man, I work out every day, you know.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_01: But mentally, I was ready to move on with my life.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_01: And I no longer wanted to be identified as just an athlete.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_01: And I think a lot of times, I think even today, guys get caught up in is we identify as athletes, which that's a great identification, right?
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_01: When you plan.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_01: But when you lead a game of football, you can't walk around saying, oh, I'm an NFL player because people start to look at you crazy.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_01: So I like to be identified as a father, I like to be identified as an entrepreneur, a mentor, and so many other things, along with being an athlete.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_01: Because I just use that platform that I had as an NFL athlete to catapult me into the thing that I'm doing today and the thing that I want to continue to do and also the way I lead.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_04: I love that.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_04: That's so important, I think, and I think part of what the work that we really are trying to help these athletes with.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_04: What is one truth you wish every young athlete understood about what it really takes to be at the level that you performed at that maybe nobody else has shared with them?
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_01: I think these, I think athletes, and and and I hate to say this, but I think it started a lot with parents, right?
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_01: Because we we we are supposed to build confidence in our kids, and you should believe that you're about to make it, right?
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_01: But I think I always tell athletes this, man, you should have two plans, plan A and plan B.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_01: And I always say, if plan A is to make it to the NFL, MBA, MLB, whatever it may be, and plan B is to be a doctor, a lawyer, start a company, we need to switch plan A and plan B.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_01: And you work equally as hard as equally as hard at both of them.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_01: Because the game of sports at the professional level is a business.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's what a lot of people miss.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_01: There are only 32 first-round draft picks in the NFL.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_01: It's only about 260 players drafted.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_01: So, in order for 260 players to come in, 260 players got to go out.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_01: And when you get to a point to where I see so many guys, and I got a buddy of mine that I'm very close with, and the one thing he prided himself on is, man, I should have made it, right?
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_01: And what see talented?
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely, just as talented as me.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_01: Same ability, same size, actually playing on the same team with him.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_01: He didn't make the team, I made it.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_01: The only difference between me and him was is I was slated to make$5 million, and he was scheduled to make$800,000.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_01: And my salary was guaranteed, his wasn't.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_01: So the investment that they made in me was going to force them to keep me and get rid of him.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_01: And I always say, man, don't tie yourself to making it to professional sport.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's a dream that we should all chase.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_01: But at the end of the day, if we put the same effort that we do into making it to professional sports or college or whatever it may be, into other things in life, you could be equally successful with better odds.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_04: I love that.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_04: Listen to that.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_04: Replay that over and over, kids.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_04: I think that's so, so valuable.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_04: Okay, I'm gonna turn it back over to Thomas.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_02: We're gonna get into segment three, which is advice across stages.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_02: So we got into your background about working in the factory, going to work at JUCO, going to JUCO, then make it into North Carolina.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_02: What about these young players who have been told no or not recruited, or maybe they're overlooked or written off?
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_02: What do they need to hear right now?
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_01: I keep fighting.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_01: I tell you this, man.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_01: I I when I started, when I wanted to go to college, when I made a decision to go to college, we talk about having that mentor, right?
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_01: I made a decision that I wanted to go to college.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_01: The first thing I had to do was find a college that wanted me because at the time I wasn't thinking about playing football.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_01: My mentor said, Hey, you're a big guy, and I don't want you to leave school and all is dead.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_01: So let's try to find you a college where you can play football in.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_01: So I started making all these phone calls, and I started to get people to pick up the phone.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_01: One of those schools that show interest was Coffeeville Community College.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_01: So I get them on the phone, I'm talking to them.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_01: They say, How big are you?
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_01: Six, three, and three fifteen.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_01: They say, Perfect, we need some big bodies, send us some tape.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_01: I send the film, and I get they get the film, they confirm they got it.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_01: After that, I never heard from them again on the phone.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm calling every single day.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sending messages, I'm calling, I'm calling different coaches.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um by the time I had already started to enroll into the school, started to take all the tests, get my financial aid in order.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_01: And my mentor said, man, we got two decisions to make.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_01: He said, We can go to a division two school and just go to school solely, or you could take a leap of faith in yourself, man, and better in yourself and go ask for opportunity.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_01: And so I got into my car and it was a 2000 Oldsmobile Intrigue with no AC.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_01: I remember the car like it was yesterday.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_01: And I remember this drive because this entire drive, all I kept thinking to myself was, what's on the other side?
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_01: What is this coach gonna save me when I get there?
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_01: Or are they gonna accept me, or are they gonna send me back home?
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_01: But I just kept telling myself I can't go home with nothing.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't just write in my whole family, they didn't send me off the car.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_01: I gotta leave with something.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_01: And when I went into his office, I never forget, man, he was sitting in the chair.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_01: And when I walked in, he just looked at me, he said, Who are you?
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_01: I said, I'm Sylvester Williams.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_01: He said, What are you doing here?
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_01: And nervously, I just said, Coach, I'm just looking for an opportunity.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_01: And he said, Okay, come back next week and we'll work out and see what you can do.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_01: And when he gave it the opportunity, I took full advantage of it, right?
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_01: And and and working out three times a day.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_01: But I always say, man, rejection in this game that we play in sports, unless you are all American, all I tell you, just get in the door wherever you can get in there.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_01: Whether it's D2, AIA, I don't care where, just get in the door.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_01: Because once you get in the door, the work will speak for itself.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: And a lot of times I see kids that say, oh, well, I want to go to Arkansas, I want to go to Alabama.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_01: Listen, man, if Alabama don't want you, the worst thing you could do is take a last-minute scholarship offer to a school that just offered you because they got an open spot or just because go with a school that love you just as much as you love them.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_01: There you go.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_01: For me, when I went to North Carolina, I had offers from every school across the country.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_01: I had Alabama come in, they offered me a week before signing a day.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_01: And they said we had a scholarship, but I had to make a decision right in there.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_01: And respectfully, I turned it down.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_01: All of the same thing, respectfully turned it down.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_01: North Carolina had been recruiting me since the first day, and they had been recruiting me all the way through.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_01: They stayed on the phone with me, they made sure I was treated well on my visit.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_01: I went on visits that it was like, hey, I didn't even get a chance to speak with the head coach.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_01: I went to USC and all I did was shook Lane Keep his hand.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_01: And it's like, why would I ever go to school here, right?
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_01: When the head coach don't even take the time to sit and have a conversation with me.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_01: So I think too many athletes and young kids, they fall in love with the school.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_01: Fall in love with yourself and fall in love with the best fit for you.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_02: No doubt.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_02: That's so true.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_02: And this kind of answers my my next question.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_02: You went from community college, as you stated, to first round NFL draft figure.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_02: What did that journey teach you about preparation, adaptability, and making the most of your opportunity once it finally came?
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_01: I always say, man, when I got the coffee bill, the thing that motivated me the most was that four high school All-Americans, guys that was committed to Florida, Kansas State, Arkansas, and Georgia.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_01: The guy that was committed to Florida got kicked out of Century.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_01: Big old massive, massive individual.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_01: And the one thing that I learned was that was gonna be my advantage very early on is guys wasn't giving 100%.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_01: Guys only giving 60%, 70%, 80%, 50%, not showing up every day, not working this way, and I say, you know what, that's my advantage right there.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_01: So I started going to overdrive, working out three times a day.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: In the morning by myself, afternoon with the team, and at night by myself.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_01: I said, that's how I'm gonna close the gap.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_01: The film study that went into it.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_01: And what I started to realize by me doing all of that work, watching film to understand and learn the game, it built my confidence up.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_01: So when I got in the game like situations, practice, I went to junior college, and I probably started the first practice as I don't know, fifth defensive tackle on the chart.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_01: Now, mind me, I left high school being a guy that had had zero success at all.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_01: Like when I tell you, like I I had one second high school because the guy didn't block me.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_01: And when I got to junior college, my very first day on the field, I was unblockable.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_01: They couldn't even run a play.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_01: So the next day, the coach said, wait a second.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_01: So the next day they say, Well, move him up to the second string.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_01: Same exact result.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_01: When I say couldn't run a play, it's like they hike the ball, the center is in the quarterback line.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_01: They hike the ball, I'm stripping it from the running back.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_01: So they say the third, they say, put him with the starters and see how he does.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_01: And I've been a starter ever since.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_01: I love it.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_01: And that all came from the preparation and the work that I put in, right?
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_01: And you talking about the guys that I was up against looking at me like, man, who was this dude?
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_01: And the whole time I had been studying a game, studying the other guys that came before me at Coffeyville game.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_01: This back when YouTube first started popping in the college level.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm going back to watch the guys that I'm like, what made this guy so good?
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_01: And I started to just mod him every day I started to work and mentally prepare for what was ahead.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_01: And when I got to North Carolina, man, it was the exact same thing.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_01: And it was, I'm like, man, these dudes is not doing everything they got.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_01: And it's like, if you would have taken some of the guys I played with, the talent they had, put it with my work ethic, we have Hall of Famers right now.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_02: There you go.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_02: There you go.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_02: And that's gonna be a perfect lead into the next question.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_02: And for coaches and parents who are watching this, you played at all levels, JUCO, college, D1, NFL.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_02: What do you think is more important and why?
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_02: Character or talent?
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, character 100%.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_03: Gotcha.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_01: And I would say, man, you know, talent is listen, the NFL is a fraternity of the top athletes in the world.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_01: But you look at the guys that last for long periods of time, they all got high character.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_01: You look at the guys and you see the Walter Payton Man of the Year Awards.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_01: Like, that's why that reward is so glorified because it is important.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_01: And I always tell them, man, I got a 12-year-old son, and my son is starting to play sports, lacrosse and football.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, people always ask me, say, man, what workouts do you have him doing?
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_01: I said, man, I don't really have him do a lot of workouts.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_01: He gets workouts, and I focus on the man and the young man that he is.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_01: Because as long as I go to practice, I see him working hard in practice, I don't got to bring you home and at 12 years old and have you pushing sleds, and I don't have to hate you that.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_01: As long as I know that when you're in that environment that you give everything that you got, I know I'm building the right young man, right?
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_01: Because it's gonna come a time where your life is gonna be consumed with sports.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_01: 12 years old is not the time for that.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_01: To me, I'm focusing on building habits, right?
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_01: Uh um, building leadership qualities inside of my son, building resilience, right?
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_01: When things don't go his way, how do he react, right?
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_01: Because I say, man, everybody got great character, everybody is a great human being when everything is going good.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_01: How do you react when things are not going your way?
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_01: How do you react when you don't get what you want?
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_01: 100%.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_01: That's true character to me.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_01: The emotional intelligence that these young kids don't have is what's hurting us.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_01: We live in a world now, and I'm sorry I'm ranting a little bit, but we live in a world now where, see, when I was coming up, and when you guys were coming up, we didn't have social media at the level that it is.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_01: I can wake up today here in Florida, and I can find out what's going on in Alaska, Utah, Australia, LA.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_01: All the negative things that we wake up to every single day.
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_01: We exposed to so many other things.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_01: Death.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_01: These kids have seen more death on social media than in their life than we've seen in our entire life.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm 37 years old.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_01: So we talk about what they're exposed to.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_01: It's important to build characters because we can't let social media raise our kids.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_02: No doubt.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_02: You know, one of the things that we talk about when we've actually talked about this before.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_02: We've talked about it with Malik.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_02: We'll have an athlete that we're working with and we'll say, yo, you know, Alabama just gave us a call and they were asking about you.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, did you send them my my highlight reel?
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_02: I'm like, yo, they they already know you could play.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_02: They're asking about your character.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_02: Are you coachable?
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_02: What do you like on a Zoom call with your parents?
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_02: What do you like on a Zoom call with your with your coaches?
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_02: What do you like in the classroom?
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_02: It's it's amazing, amazing how many guys you and I have, and we've talked about this with Malik.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_02: How many guys have so much talent, but they never make it because of character?
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_02: They just get washed out, right?
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_02: It's it's too bad.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_02: We're gonna turn segment four over, which is the rapid fire round.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna turn it over to Aaron.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_02: Aaron, take it away.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_04: Okay, I'll take it away.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_04: So I'm gonna start a fit sentence and I'm just gonna have you finish it for me.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_04: So here we go.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_04: Discipline equals success.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_04: Leadership equals success.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_04: Faith equals.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: Oh wait, faith equals success.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_04: What about legacy equals?
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_00: Legacy equals a lifetime.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_04: What is one thing you would never compromise on?
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I would say who I am.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_01: I would never compromise on who I am, what I believe in.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_04: I love that.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_04: And if you could put a billboard up for every kid in America to see, what would that billboard say?
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_01: Stay committed, stay honest, have the right mindset, believe in yourself.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_01: My champagne is what I'll put every time.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_01: Be accountable, have the right mindset, and stay persistent.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_04: I love it.
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_04: Okay.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_04: I'm so fast.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_04: It's back to you, Thomas.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_02: Right on, Sly.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_02: All right, that's our closing segment.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_02: And then we're just gonna open up the floor to you, Sly, if there's something that you need to share.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_02: Before we wrap up, is there something we didn't touch on today that you feel athletes, parents, and coaches need to hear about belief, opportunity, and building something when no one thinks you can?
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I think the uh the the biggest advice, and and I even get this apparent, because I you know I coach my son's 12U football team, and I was because I have parents asking about NIL and these different things like that.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_01: I always tell parents, listen, man, allow kids to be kids, but there you go, but but breed them into young men, right?
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_01: Because we I think the one thing that a lot of parents do is we force greatness onto our kids.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_01: And and you know, we want it to be so amazing, right?
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_01: And and and they will be, you know, in some shape, form, or fashion, right?
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_01: It may not be an amazing athlete, but they could be a heck of a CEO one day, right?
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_01: And so I think sports is the foundation to life.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_01: I always say that, man.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_01: And if your kid can play sports and they can do it the right way, and like you said, have that high character, have those leadership qualities, right?
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_01: When I always say, man, success is almost inevitable with the right mindset.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_01: And I always say, man, a lot of things, you talk about leadership, having the quiet leader, like the right leadership.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_01: If you're a great leader at a very young age, you can be successful at just about anything in life that you put your mindset to.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_01: And my son, he's at a point now where he's real, real big on um wanting to create his own YouTube channel.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_01: And I haven't allowed him to.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, the one thing he's like is like, well, dad, you know, because he went out yesterday, caught a fish at the lake, and was showing it to me.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_01: He said, Well, I want to create a YouTube channel.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_01: He all he's different, I did, and I tell him, I said, son, listen, right now, all I want you to focus on is being a leader of yourself, right?
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_01: So having a high character, being as respectful as you can to the people around you, and looking out for your younger brothers because everything else in time will play itself out.
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_01: You don't have to make a decision right now of what you want to do when you're 30.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_01: Like, no, right now you're 12 years old.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_01: I want you to focus on being 12.
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_01: We will get to a point to where it comes time to make decisions on future college and careers and all those things, but now is not the night, right?
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_01: Now is not the right time.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_01: Let's just be on the young man that you are.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_01: And I always tell my just work as hard as you can work.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_01: I will never put pressure on you.
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_01: Work as hard as you can work and let me live with the results.
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_01: Because as long as I know that you gave everything that you had and that you put the work in, whatever the results are are on me.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_01: You were successful either way it go.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_01: And and these parents manage like finding these kids the right mentors, finding these kids, people that have been through the process, right?
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_01: Myself, go if there are programs out here right now, amazing programs like the ones you guys created that that will help these kids understand that what's on the other side because they're getting blindsided.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_01: You got kids that's get loved on by these coaches in the recruiting process, and then you get to the college and they don't even remember your name.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 31:25
  SPEAKER_01: Because you were just a number to them.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_01: And they they saw your highlights here.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_01: Like you said, they don't they don't care if you know you got an amazing highlight.
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_01: They don't not watch the highlight.
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_01: And I tell you a story, man.
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_01: When I got drafted by the Broncos, and I was amazed at how many, how far down the timeline that they went.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_01: You talk about calling my old job when I worked at the Modine Manufacturing Company, my high school football coach.
• 31:54
  SPEAKER_01: I was calling him just to thank him.
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_01: And he said, Well, Sly didn't want to tell you that I knew he was going to everybody because they recalled me.
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, wow.
• 32:01
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, what?
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_01: He's like, I'm in so I'm shocked because I'm like, what did they say?
• 32:05
  SPEAKER_01: He said, Sly, they just asked what type of guy you were.
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_01: He said, What type of guy you were?
• 32:10
  SPEAKER_01: And he said, You know what?
• 32:10
  SPEAKER_01: Sly's one of the hardest running guys that I've ever met, respectful.
• 32:14
  SPEAKER_01: And you guys can't make a wrong decision.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_01: And man, what I said to him was, I said, Coach man, I appreciate it.
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_01: I said, Coach, I promise you, I will never change who I am.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_03: There you go.
• 32:24
  SPEAKER_01: You know what he said?
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_01: He said, Sly, I know.
• 32:26
  SPEAKER_01: He said, Money doesn't change people, it just makes them more of who they already are.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_01: He said, So I know that you will be a great leader and impact a lot of people.
• 32:34
  SPEAKER_01: And and for me, it's just like these kids, man, got all these big dreams.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, man, keep dreaming.
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, don't never give up on your dreams, and don't never let somebody else tell you what you can and can't be.
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_02: We could end the podcast right there.
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, that is some truth, but we gotta have some fun.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_02: Sly, top three movies of all time, according to Sly.
• 32:57
  SPEAKER_01: So just gonna, I'm a big loving basketball fan, right?
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_01: So loving basketball, training day, and all about the Benjamin.
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_03: There you go.
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_03: Love it, love it, love it.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_03: My favorite movie of all time is Love and Basketball.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_03: Love and Basketball is a good one.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_02: Good one, good one.
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_02: What is that, Ray Allen?
• 33:15
  SPEAKER_01: No, that's with shoot, I can't think of the guy's name.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_02: I know who you're talking about.
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_02: I was thinking about right, right, right, right.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_02: Sly, thank you for sharing your story and your truth.
• 33:25
  SPEAKER_02: Team, if this conversation challenged you, inspired you, or made you think differently, share it.
• 33:31
  SPEAKER_02: Send it to a kid who's been overlooked.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_02: The athlete working at a job, wondering if they still have a chance, the coach who almost wrote someone off, the parent who needs to believe in their kid just a little bit longer.
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_02: And if you need to get a hold of Sly Williams, Sly, where do they where can they get a hold of you, whether it's your social media handle or your uh website?
• 33:52
  SPEAKER_01: The best we in champ, champ group consultant, but none of that really matters, right?
• 33:55
  SPEAKER_01: I tell you what, if they want to get in touch with me, you guys got my contact info.
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_01: I I say this, man.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_01: It's nothing special about me.
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely nothing.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_01: I've never been the biggest, the fastest, the smartest, anything like that, right?
• 34:09
  SPEAKER_01: I went from being kicked out of high school, I've been kicked out of school twice, eighth and tenth grade, hell back in the first grade, never playing football in my life since I was a senior, not having no shit.
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_01: I became a first-round draft pick, right?
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_01: All because I believed in myself.
• 34:24
  SPEAKER_01: I turned the game of football into a multi-million dollar empire, right?
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_01: Build my own company.
• 34:29
  SPEAKER_01: I got a multi-million dollar real estate portfolio, all because I believe, right?
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_01: I'm in the process of building another multi-million dollar company, right?
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_01: All off the backs of what I did as an athlete.
• 34:40
  SPEAKER_01: I turned around, I did the same thing in life.
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_01: Married to an amazing woman, did the same thing in relationships.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_01: Every time I've had a setback in life, I go back to who I'm in my core and I work hard and I always overcome.
• 34:51
  SPEAKER_01: So I tell these kids is it's nothing special about me.
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_01: When people see me, they they amaze like, dude, do you not understand that you got a way better start than what I had?
• 35:00
  SPEAKER_01: And look what I was able to turn it into.
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_01: So just believe in yourself, right?
• 35:05
  SPEAKER_01: Believe in yourself.
• 35:05
  SPEAKER_01: Don't ever let anybody tell you what you can or can't do.
• 35:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I guarantee you, and if I'm wrong, then you go find me at Sylvester Williams Champ or Champ Group Consultant.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_01: Go find me.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_01: And if I tell you something, it don't happen, then come find me then.
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_02: I love it.
• 35:22
  SPEAKER_02: Love it.
• 35:22
  SPEAKER_02: Team, if this episode resonated with you, leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
• 35:28
  SPEAKER_02: It helps us reach more athletes, parents, and leaders who need to hear this message.
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_02: This is the standard podcast, and this movement only grows when we raise the standard together.
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_02: Talent fades, but truth endures.
• 35:41
  SPEAKER_02: Let's raise the bar, let's rebuild the culture, let's become the standard.
• 35:45
  SPEAKER_02: Aaron Sly, thank you guys so much for your time.
• 35:48
  SPEAKER_02: Really appreciate it.
• 35:48
  SPEAKER_02: You guys have a great day.