Latest / StartUp Health NOW Podcast / Former NFL Wide Receiver Torrey Smith Partners With Rose Health to Promote Mental Health Resilience

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Former NFL Wide Receiver Torrey Smith Partners With Rose Health to Promote Mental Health Resilience · StartUp Health NOW Podcast

• 0:00
  [ on-hold music] You know, the number one reason why pro athletes or anyone of notoriety should speak up is because, number one, everyone thinks that you live this perfect life.
• 0:22
  Um, everyone thinks that, hey, you know, a lot of people have a lot of money, which is true. Um, a lot of people have all of the material things that they want. You know, they have the fame, the recognition.
• 0:33
  People love you or hate you, depending on where you are. But people all take that in, like, and think of it as a positive situation, but they don't know what goes into the behind-the-scene things.
• 0:49
  [upbeat music] Welcome to StartUp Health NOW, the podcast where we talk with the entrepreneurs shaping the future of health and discuss the health moonshots they're working to achieve. I'm your host, Logan Plaster.
• 1:01
  Today on the show, a very special guest, two-time Super Bowl champion, Torrey Smith.
• 1:06
  Torrey joins me on the show to discuss his recent partnership with Rose Health, a mental health startup that has been with StartUp Health since early 2020.
• 1:15
  Torrey and I talk about his life post NFL, and why it was so important to him to become an ambassador and investor promoting mental health resilience. Hope you enjoy the interview.
• 1:25
  [upbeat music] Torrey Smith, uh, thank you so much for, for joining me for this, um, this show, for H- uh, StartUp Health. Great to, uh, learn more about your partnership with Rose Health. Hope you're doing well today.
• 1:45
  Doing great. Appreciate you having me. So it's, uh, it's been a little over a year since you officially retired from professional football, right?
• 1:53
  I understand September 2019, after having played with the Ravens, the Eagles, the Niners, the, the Panthers. An interesting time to retire.
• 2:01
  I'd like to, before we even jump in, like, what have been your thoughts over the last year watching, uh, the team and just watching professional football? It's been a, a huge change, you know.
• 2:11
  Part of me wishes I would've waited one more year because of all the uncertainty. I literally retire and toss myself into an uncertain situation while the NFL is still continuing to go on.
• 2:22
  But honestly, I've always told myself that there were two reasons I would ever retire early. One was if my family was ever in jeopardy, or two, my long-term health.
• 2:33
  And I actually tore some cartilage in my knee and had surgery, and I had to take medicine to actually perform.
• 2:40
  And so once I started to realize, like, wait, this isn't just lasting for like a week or a couple of days to try to get over a hump, I felt like I kind of needed it.
• 2:49
  So for me, that was my cue to, hey, it's time to move on, um, worry about the long term, and, uh, figure out your next pha- phase of life, you know? I wasn't nervous about it. I was always prepared.
• 2:59
  You know, I graduated with my degree in criminology from the University of Maryland, and then I received my MBA while I was in the NFL, just trying to learn more so I could be more prepared when the time comes, and it's here.
• 3:12
  And I'm living it out in a COVID world like so many other people, trying to figure things out. Um, but I'm extremely excited about the second phase of my life. Yeah, and, and a new phase it really is.
• 3:23
  I mean, you may have retired from one thing, but, uh, you have been busy since that.
• 3:27
  I mean, I've seen a number of announcements talking about working with, um, uh, the Parks and Rec of B- of Baltimore on a community center, uh, your own initiatives, and obviously we're on this call because of your partnership with a company called Rose Health, you got the T-shirt on.
• 3:43
  Uh, a health tech startup that helps, uh, folks monitor their mental health using sophisticated tools, AI, machine learning, et cetera. So that's kind of what we wanna hone in on today.
• 3:54
  Um, in terms of that partnership with Rose Health, uh, why was mental health an issue that really resonated with you, that you felt like you wanted to get involved? Yeah, mental health to me is a, is a big deal.
• 4:06
  You know, I tell people all the time, you know, I had a therapist before I actually really had one when I [audio glitches] um, she was the person that really talked to me and able to g- was able to get me to open up.
• 4:17
  So there was a lot that I learned and a lot of challenges and issues that I was dealing with. And prior to meeting her, my only way of acknowledging issues or dealing with issues was to suppress it.
• 4:28
  Um, deal with it alone, and it led to me dealing with a lot of different... A lot of pain, honestly.
• 4:35
  Um, and just keeping stuff in, you know, not being able to sleep, not being able to eat, um, just stressed out, you know? And I, and I never really mastered the ability to be aware or really figure out how to help it.
• 4:47
  Um, and so learning about Rose and what they do, um, the number one thing for me in the way [audio glitches] was just simply b- being aware of how I feel and what type of things take me to that place.
• 5:00
  Um, I wasn't a person that generally would write in a journal. Mm. Um, it was this mental journal up top that- Yeah... seemed like it was, uh, running around a track in circles and circles over and over.
• 5:11
  Um, but with, with Rose, they have the ability, you know, it's, it's simple. It's on my phone. The same way I send a text message to anyone else, I can kinda document how my day was.
• 5:19
  I can be honest with myself, because anything, what I've learned with mental health, is only as good as your honesty. Mm. You know?
• 5:27
  Um, no one's ever gonna know if anything is wrong, if, my therapist or anyone, unless I tell them. Yeah.
• 5:33
  Um, so to have the opportunity to be honest, feel like it's just me, but that there's a therapist on the other end of that line, um, it's great.
• 5:40
  But right now I'm in a, a great phase of my life, so, um, you know, it's, it's more so a reminder for me to, to keep going and keep pushing.
• 5:49
  But also it's allowed me to become more aware of what situation or what environments or what things may trigger me and make me feel a certain way.
• 5:56
  So more than anything, I'm building my own, like, mental health resiliency, I would say, um, as a way for me to just be aware, to make sure that I'm in the best, I'm the best version of me. Yeah.
• 6:06
  Because if I'm not the best version of me, I'm a father of threeUm, I'm a husband, and, you know, if I'm not, uh, the best version of myself, I, I for sure can't fulfill my obligations towards them.
• 6:16
  I- it's interesting you say the it's just me bit, because one thing I think is so fascinating about these types of, um, mental health applications is the power of actually having a little bit of distance.
• 6:29
  A- and you can tell me if you agree or disagree, but the idea that I am tracking it with myself, of course, there's a therapist on the other end, but there's a little, there's a little bit of anonymity in terms of I'm just, I'm just filling this out a- and I can be a little bit more honest.
• 6:44
  And I think it's interesting because, like, the technology is allowing me to open up in a way that I think maybe 10 years ago we would have thought teletherapy was gonna create these big walls, and now there's...
• 6:54
  I think, I think there's some ways that technology is, is opening up, let- allowing people to be honest. Have you felt that? Absolutely. No, I agree with that 100%.
• 7:02
  And for me, I'm a person that tries to live my life based on accountability.
• 7:08
  And I feel like so long in my life, I've held myself accountable in school, I held myself accountable to ball, I held myself accountable to my family, but I never held myself accountable to trying to be aware of how I'm feeling or my emotions- Mm...
• 7:23
  or my mental health. And so this is really a tracker for me. Um, and it's crazy.
• 7:28
  I don't know how this technology works, but, you know, when I write certain things or something that's triggering, it's like the information is there for me to help myself.
• 7:37
  Um, I've, I've grown to love meditation, I've grown to love yoga, different things to try to get me at ease.
• 7:44
  Um, and this app just points me in the direction of so many different tools that I've been able to use to help manage through.
• 7:50
  And whether that's something that takes forever or it's five minutes, or even an article that I can read, um, it's been very helpful.
• 7:57
  Why do you think it's important, if you do, uh, for, for pro athletes to speak out about mental health? Oh, it's huge.
• 8:05
  You know, the number one reason why pro athletes or anyone of notoriety should speak up is because, number one, everyone thinks that you live this perfect life.
• 8:15
  Um, everyone thinks that, hey, you know, a lot of people have a lot of money, which is true. Um, a lot of people have all of the material things that they want. You know, they have the fame, the recognition.
• 8:26
  People love you or hate you, depending on where you are. But people all take that in, like, and think of it as a positive situation, but they don't know what goes into the behind-the-scene things.
• 8:37
  You know, for a perfect example, I felt like I had a, a solid eight-year career in the NFL, and I would say I wasn't happy for probably six of those years. Mm.
• 8:48
  And it was things that were going on away from the game, within my family.
• 8:53
  Um, it was dealing with the loss of my brother, um, which I don't feel like it impacted me a lot, but I know it changed the way I was thinking about so many different things which did have an impact on me, on...
• 9:07
  So I think it's important to talk about these things, 'cause that's real life. You know, I lost my brother. That's relatable. Um, I've technically been released from a team.
• 9:18
  That's being fired from your job [laughs] in the real world. Yeah. Um, I've been in a position where I've been able to make the game-winning play.
• 9:25
  I've also been on the other side where I feel like I failed to make the play.
• 9:29
  So the emotional rollercoaster of the highs and the lows, um, that you place on yourself, and forget being upset with yourself, you know, you have millions of people [laughs]- Yeah. [laughs]...
• 9:40
  that, that are upset with you, and it kinda sends you on this rollercoaster. So, um, it's real life, and I think a lot of people can relate to that.
• 9:48
  And, you know, it's important for athletes to break the stigma that your life is perfect, because it's not. Yeah. Yeah. It's alm- it's almost...
• 9:55
  What I hear you saying is it's, it's, it's amplified, all these things, these highs and these lows, with so many people with their inputs, um, their hopes, their dreams kinda piled on top of you.
• 10:06
  Everything gets, uh, amplified by a thousand. Um, s- so you have been very involved in your, your hometown, Baltimore. Um, I live downtown Baltimore, so I- I've, I've seen some of, some of the work that you've done.
• 10:21
  You've been involved with the community. Um, you know, what kind of, what kind of legacy are you hoping to build, uh, here in the city?
• 10:29
  Um, you know, I don't know, and kinda how does this sort of mental health, uh, vision fit into that? Uh, well, in the city itself, um, obviously I've... It's...
• 10:41
  Things are good when you win a Super Bowl with the team and in the city. So, um, that's first things first, football-wise, kinda took care of itself. But I always had a reputation away from the game.
• 10:50
  Um, always, every off day I had, I was in the community.
• 10:54
  Um, and I grew close to this city and grew to love this city and its people because I feel like I can relate to so many of the kids and the families that I was able to interact with.
• 11:06
  And I'm not just talking about the things that are, are great about them, right? Hardworking, blue-collar city. I'm talking about the struggles and the challenges that they deal with.
• 11:15
  And being in the position that I was in, I always felt obligated to let them know, like, "Hey, I'm just like you, and for the kids, you can be just like me."
• 11:23
  And so when you talk about the journey that we're taking on now with running the programming at Hillton Rec Center in West Baltimore, it, it ramps it up a notch.
• 11:32
  You know, 'cause we've been in after-school programs where we've been able to deal with our kids, and they're in this bubble, right? We have our 30 or so kids. We're taking care of them.
• 11:42
  And I remember catching a train, I was in Philadelphia, Eagles at the time, um, during the year we won the Super Bowl, catching a train literally on every off day to go and teach our kids.
• 11:52
  And I would look and I would see so many kids from the outside looking through, literally looking through our glass windows, wishing they could be in the program. Mm.
• 12:00
  And that, to me, is a visual representation of what it looks like when you see kids who have opportunity and those who don't. They want it, but they can't get to it. Yeah.
• 12:11
  And so to have the opportunity to have a community center where we can help not only a child, but that child's siblings, that child's family-Um, it opens so many doors, and it's a responsibility that we don't take lightly, and I believe in the potential that's there.
• 12:24
  And it's not just about what they're capable of com- of accomplishing academically. Yeah. Um, I feel the obligation to let them know that, you know, their health is a priority as well.
• 12:36
  Um, generally when you're talking about neighborhoods that are impoverished or violence may be higher, or drug use and abuse, all you're talking about is trauma and PTSD. Yeah.
• 12:47
  There's literally PTSD in these neighborhoods- Yeah... and we don't talk about it. Mm-hmm. And so I can relate to a lot of the situations that exist.
• 12:54
  I've been through a lot of things that a lot of these, these young men and women are going through or have been through. So it's important for me to show them, like, "Hey, I've dealt with things.
• 13:05
  I have some, some issues and, and barriers that I've-- some walls that I've, I've had to tear down.
• 13:10
  You can do the same thing, and you deserve the peace and freedom t- [laughs] that you d- like, that you generally just deserve." You know? It's not something that it sh- you, like, you feel like you have to be tough.
• 13:21
  Yeah. That's the biggest lie I've ever been told, is that I have to be tough and strong all the time, and I realized I tied strength and mental health together when that's not the truth.
• 13:35
  I, I tied crying with weakness- Yeah... and having a weak mind, which isn't the truth.
• 13:41
  And so when you're talking to kids who are, or families that are literally trying to survive, it's important to spread that message so that they know, "Hey, y- you are a human," right? "You are a person.
• 13:52
  You have a heart, um, and people care about you, and people care about your mind and what's going on there." So- Mm...
• 13:58
  um, again, it's, it's my responsibility to help them to become more aware of that, and literally we're gonna be using Rose in this center as a way for us to track how these kids are feeling. Wow.
• 14:11
  We can't legally, um, un- look and view their things, but they can become more aware of how they're feeling. Um- That's awesome...
• 14:19
  we'll have a therapist on the other end that can talk to them, that they can feel comfortable with, because [laughs] a lot of the issues that we're talking about could be fixed if we talked about mental health more.
• 14:30
  Yeah. And that's gonna be a priority for us just as much as providing other resources for their academic success.
• 14:36
  Th- that idea of, of using really a high-tech approach to mental health, um, in a community center, in a parks and rec center, seems really new and novel.
• 14:47
  I mean, to your, to your knowledge, how unique of an opportunity is this to kind of bring these two ideas together? Oh, man, it's a, it's a very unique situation.
• 14:57
  You know, I think, I don't wanna discredit already doing great work, because sometimes the, the best mental health tool or resource that we all have is a mentor.
• 15:08
  Um, and so there are a lot of community centers that have that, and we will be a center that has mentors and, and adults that these kids and families can look up to.
• 15:17
  But the reality of it is, a lot of us, and I'm, I'm a part of the us, have issues talking with people. Yeah. And so when you feel that, "Hey, this is my secret.
• 15:26
  This is between me, myself, and my therapist," i- if I want it to be that way. Yeah. Right?
• 15:32
  Like, y- this is a, a app where you can decide that, "Hey, I'm only gonna deal with this for myself to manage myself, and I can be honest with myself." So, um, the, the sky is, is the limit with- Yeah...
• 15:45
  what these kids can experience.
• 15:48
  Hopefully, and my number-one goal would be just to help them become more aware of who they are, um, more comfortable with their own mental health, and also be comfortable reaching out and not seeing it as a sign of weakness.
• 16:00
  Interesting. That's, that's beautiful. Um, what do you think about where this can go? Something about StartUp Health is that we talk about health moonshots.
• 16:09
  We talk about the importance of these big, audacious goals in health that we can really all strive towards collaboratively, and you're talking about... You know, you're, you're one individual.
• 16:19
  Rose Health is one company, one rec center. When you think about your, your sort of longer-term health vision, your health moonshot, like, where do you think this can go, and, and how big can it get?
• 16:32
  Um, I think it can... I mean, the sky's the limit. You know, you're talking about a country and an issue or challenge that doesn't discriminate. Hm.
• 16:44
  Um, your mental health and the challenges that you may have or the struggles that you may have with it, doesn't care if you're rich or poor, um, doesn't care if you're Black or white, doesn't care if you live in the north or the south, the east or the west.
• 16:57
  Um, those problems are still there. Those challenges are still there, and it's important to note that this is a resource for that.
• 17:05
  Um, I, I'm a firm believer in using multiple approaches to deal with your health, um, you know, 'cause you never know what may work best for you, or all things may work together to kinda help you piece it together.
• 17:19
  But the thing I love the most about it is that, again, there is a, on the end of my rose [laughs] is my therapist, right?
• 17:26
  But at the same time, my biggest takeaway is that I'm able to track and become more aware of how I'm feeling, you know, what triggers me, what type of things throw my day off, what type of things give me issues.
• 17:37
  So therefore, now I'm not fighting a war or a battle and not be, having the ability to identify who my enemy is. I'm fully aware.
• 17:46
  So therefore, I can avoid certain situations, or I can know, like, hey, don't let, allow this to get to you, because this is gonna take you to that le- a level.
• 17:55
  So for me, and I really think that comes from just playing football my entire life, because when it comes to examining film or study- or studying your opponent, you have to figure out what their strengths and their weaknesses are, and then you figure out how to attack them.
• 18:12
  Well, with my mental health, now I have to figure out what my own personal strengths and weaknesses are so that I'll know how to attack it and how to handle it, which is what the Rose app has been able to help me do.
• 18:24
  Awesome. Well, Torrey, thank you so much for taking the time to not just, you know, explain the partnership with Rose, but just share your passion.
• 18:32
  And thank you for just the work that you're doing in the community here, and, um, s- uh, kind of modeling vulnerability, uh, and, and being open.
• 18:41
  I mean, it's just, it's incredibly critical, and I can see the good that, that will come of it, so I appreciate that. Man, thanks. Appreciate you having me, man.
• 18:49
  [upbeat music] StartUp Health invests in health transformers from around the world who are committed to achieving audacious health moonshots.
• 19:03
  If you wanna learn how you can join this community of entrepreneurs, or if you wanna connect with one of our 330 companies, go to startuphealth.com. Thanks for listening to StartUp Health NOW. We'll be back next week.
• 19:15
  [upbeat music]