Latest / NFL explained. / Thomas Q. Jones talks choosing acting over alcoholism after the NFL

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Thomas Q. Jones talks choosing acting over alcoholism after the NFL · NFL explained.

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Nice work. You know you guys are getting better saying
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: this Second Acts really messed up the first time. I'm
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: very intentional about it. Ya got it? I would invest
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: it up if it literally is not on top of
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: my head. I'm looking at myself like I'm not lying.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: I would tell you best it up. I'm very intentional
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: about it. No, I can tell you really are like Rome,
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: I don't never forget your name, but I was thinking.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: I was like, I was like, damn, I forgot his
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: name until until Yeah, I'll never forget your damn name
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: ever until I needed it. Everybody, what's going on? I'm
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: one of the hosts with the most put Tolman and
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: you're listening to the NFL Player's Second Acts Podcast. Our
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: special guest today Thomas Q. Jones. And I got my
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: guy with me as always Rome, And I want Thomas
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: Jones Arms Harper with me on the show. What's up?
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: What Up? What up? What's up? Brother? What's up? My guy?
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: And uh, I hear no lies in that statement. I
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: totally want Thomas Jones Arms. Well, let me let me
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: read a little bit about this brother. So Thomas Jones
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: the football player he played twelve years. He was my
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: teammate in Chicago for a couple of years, ran for
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: over ten thousand yard. He ranks UH twenty six all
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: time on the NFL rushing list, and when he retired
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: in two thousand eleven, he transformed from Thomas Jones the
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: football player into Thomas Q. Jones the actor, the writer
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: of the producer. I'll tell you what, Rome, I was
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: super lucky and blessed to have this guy as a teammate.
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: One of the biggest things that we did in Chicago
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: was not keep him there after we had our Super
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: Bowl run. He was one of those amazing locker room guys,
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: great savvy vette to kind of help bring up the
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: young pups in our locker room. And probably one of
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: the biggest mistakes we ever made in Chicago was letting
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: that man walk away. You know how it is, Peanut.
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: Every year, you know, those guys upstairs, they don't have
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: a real post or beat on what is going on
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: on a day to day basis inside that locker room downstairs.
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  Speaker 1: And every team has this one guy that's kind of
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: like a glue guy that really helps getings going. You know,
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  Speaker 1: he's a great leader. He really shows the young guys
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: what to do on a day to day basis and
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: what it really is to be a pro. And you know,
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: all of a sudden, you get the guys upstairs, the
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: GM the scouts there, like, man, we just got this
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: next guy in line. He's gonna be great. He's a
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: cheaper option, this, this, this and this, and it's like, no,
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  Speaker 1: he was only good or the best version of himself
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: because you have the vet beside him, helps showing him
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  Speaker 1: the way on a day to day basis, man, showing
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: the tricks of the trade. We see that every year. Man,
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: I watched that team, that Chicago Bears team go to
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, you guys lost. And I love
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: what Thomas Jones brought to that team, that organization, and
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: uh it stinks. But now we're gonna hear more from
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: his side of the story too, So I'm looking forward
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  Speaker 1: to him my man. Yeah, yeah, yeah, let's check that
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: out right now. Okay, guys, Peanut could not be here
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: with us to kind of conduct this interview. Thomas, I
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: hope you are understand that. But you know, as we
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: previously recorded and you were hearing the intro already, I
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: want you to hear this personally right now, Thomas and
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: I want to hear your reactions from what my man
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: Peanut had to say about you. I was super lucky
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: and blessed to have this guy as a teammate. One
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: of the biggest things that we did in Chicago was
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: not keep him there after we had our Super Bowl run.
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: He was one of those amazing locker room guys, great
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: savvy that to kind of help bring up the young
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: puffs in our locker room. And probably one of the
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: biggest mistakes we ever made in Chicago was letting that
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: man walk away. Wow. Man, it's I mean, it's early,
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: so hearing that it's you know, just hit me for
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying, like, just um, it means everything.
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: It means everything. Chicago is a second home for me.
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  Speaker 1: It's where I really feel like my NFL career started
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: in Chicago, even though I was drafted by theres on
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: the Cardinals. Uh. Peanut with someone that I had a
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: really close relationship with. I watched him evolved and grow
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: to a Hall of Fame football player. Uh. I think
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: some of the Peanut punch. I deserved some of the
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: credit for that because because I have uh, actually I
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: have nerve damage in my both of my elbows because
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: he of him punching the ball out of my arms
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: and practice every day chasing me down. Um. You know,
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: so he practiced a lot of that peanut punch on
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: me and irritated me a lot. But he also helped
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: me make sure I'm holding onto the ball. So we
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: helped each other. Um, it just means a lot, especially
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: come from someone like him. You know, he's a Hall
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: of Fame player. Uh, He's a legendary cornerback has had,
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: I mean, one of the best football players, best teammates
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: that I've ever had that I could ever have. And
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: in regards to me not being able to come back,
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: I was definitely definitely upset about that. I felt like,
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: if I could have come back to Chicago after that
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: Super Bowl run, uh we we definitely if we stayed
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: healthy and played well, we definitely had an opportunity to
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: get back to the super Bowl and win. And I
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: wanted to win the Super Bowl in Chicago. I kind
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: of understood what that felt like just by seeing um
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: the parades on TV and especially during the playoffs into
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: two thousands, six seasons. Um, but um, hey, I had
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: the opportunity to play in Chicago play with incredible teammates,
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: like like Charles Tillman. So at least I have the memories. Alright, Alright,
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: so you're talking about this Peanut punch. So because I
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: was teammates and Peanut for one year that was later
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: on his career, he had already perfected this thing. So
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: how did this thing kind of evolve? Because you're the
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: first person that's actually like, oh, he practiced it on
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: me all the time, and when I saw him, he
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: wasn't practicing as much. It was just perfected by that point.
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: So how did this thing start evolving? How? How like
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: tireson were you just like, look, dude, every time I
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: turn around, you trying to punch at me and chase
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: me over here. Well, I saw with Chicago and two
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: thousand four and and practice, I developed this habit of
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: finishing every run. So it was known that I would
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: take every uh, every running play in team period, no
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: matter where we were on the field, no matter whether
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: we were on our own thirty, we were on you know,
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: backed up on our own tin, or you know, on
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: the opponent's ten, I would score every play. And yeah,
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: no matter what the situation it was, Peanut would always
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: chase me down and he would knock the ball out
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: and and he would always catch me at the at
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: the perfect time when I didn't think he was gonna
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: do it. And and to be honest, the first few
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: times it infuriated me almost to the point of where
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: and he'll tell you this, I wanted to physically fight
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: him because he because I would get five yards from
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: the end zone and he wouldn't punch the ball out,
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: and then it's a touch back, and that's on tape.
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: So I have to watch that in my offensive meetings.
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: He's not in those offensive meetings, so I have to
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: watch that in the offensive meetings. And now, you know,
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: depending on how the day went practice, you know, my
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: coach like Thomas, you got to secure the ball and
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: I'm like, I'm fifty yards down the field, like you know. So, yeah,
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: he developed this whole thing of chasing me down knocking
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  Speaker 1: the ball out at random times. UM. And he was
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: and he started doing in the games. UM. And I
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: wasn't there prior, so I hadn't seen him do that
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: before because I hadn't played with him. But I know
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  Speaker 1: every time, UM, I would see him punch the ball
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: out in the games, I would be ecstatic, obviously because
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: now getting the ball back on offense. But in practice,
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: whenever he did the exact same thing to me, been
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: after the play, I was running back to the huddle
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  Speaker 1: and he would come from behind and punch the ball
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  Speaker 1: out and I would be furious. So it was a
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  Speaker 1: bit I had a I have a bitter sweet relationship
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  Speaker 1: with the peanut punch because in practice I was infuriated,
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: but in the games, I was like ecstatic, you know,
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  Speaker 1: So either way, Um, it was incredible, you know, for
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: him to have a where with all to do that,
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: because he also made me more cognizant and aware of
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: holding them to the ball at all times, regardless when
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: the whistles blown or not. So he made me a
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: better person. But practicing the peanut punch on me in
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: practice every day, you know, he had never told me this.
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: And I'm by far giving you, like Sev credit because
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: he didn't do this until you showed up. I'm giving
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: you way more credit than what you were even trying
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: to take. I'm getting honestly real all right now. I
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: don't know if I can take seventy because he still
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: has to do it, you know, But it's okay. I'm
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: giving you seventy. Kay, I'll take it. Then I'll take it.
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: I'll take it from you and take I'm giving it.
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: You don't even you don't want it, you don't probably
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: don't deserve it, but I'm giving it. I'm giving it
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  Speaker 1: to you today. All right, That's what I got. You
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: played five more years after that Super Bowl year with
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: and and and then you played with the Jets and
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: the Chiefs and you made a Pro Bowl. Uh when
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: did you know though? It was time for you to retire?
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: And I played you when you were with the Jets
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: that that next year or so we did right, And
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: I was with right, Yes you did. I knew it
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: was time to retire one random day in Kansas City
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: when I woke up from a nap um going into
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: my twelve year in the NFL. I woke up and
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: I'm not sure what made me feel this way, but
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: i just felt like I had enough. I guess they
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: always say when you know, you know, I never think
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: you're gonna get to that point because you love football
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: so much, especially uh me. I love football since I
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: was a five year old kid, and at that point
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: I was thirty two thirty three years old. And I
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: was still in great shape physically mentally, I was still
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: ambitious and still wanted to win the Super Bowl. So
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: there were there was really no rhyme of reason for
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: me to to say I'm done, but I just felt it,
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: and going into my two year, I knew that was
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: gonna be my last season. Man. That's I mean, it's real.
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: Just like you say, when you know, you know, it's
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: something about your mind, your body and when it is
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: your time, you know. And that's really cool though that
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: you said you just woke up from the affle, like, yeah,
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: this is it. I know this. And you know I
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: watched a lot of your highlights last night when when
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: you were talking that rock in Virginia, but I forgot
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: you used to take that thing like that. So and
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: I also want to just I just get this out
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: the way now. Y puts not here to kind of
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: pile on all right, You're the main reason I started
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: and then doing all these curls and try self. My
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: brother just wanted to let you know that you know
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: what I'm saying, Like the arms of them guns was popping,
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: bro when the coming out right, I'm happy to listen.
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: I'm happy to him inspired anybody because most of that
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: was just me wanting to make sure I was as
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: strong as possible and I could hold them to the
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: ball and I fumble. Um. But also you know, there
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: was some asthetics, aesthetics to it. You know, you can
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: come out, you can get your jersey, you know, cut
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: a little short, grease the arms up a little bit,
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: a little bit more more tyger bomb on the arms,
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: you know, but for the games. But that's dope, bro.
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: I mean, we're not gonna say nobody's paying attention, but
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: somebody's always watching and paying attention to those things. And uh,
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: it's just real funny because my big mantra was this though,
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: So Thomas I used to do and just say, look,
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: everybody says you can't arm tackling league. I'd be like,
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: watch me, you know what I'm saying. But the tackle
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: is a tackle and the lead tackles the tackle. Dog.
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: At least that's what I used to tell myself, Um right,
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: tell me. So here's another personal question, and you know,
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: just on emotions and so you were on the ballot
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: for the Hall of Fame in two thousand twenty two.
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: How much did you care about getting a gold jacket?
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: I think that's the ultimate individual award in football, to
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: be UM inducted into Kenton. Obviously, there's a lot that
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: goes into that. There's a lot of politics, politics, politics,
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: a lot of politics while you're playing. To even get
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: to the point of nomination Pro Bowls, UM, all pros UM,
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: you know, Uh, there's a lot of criteria and also
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: I think there are a lot of people who have
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: access to voting for that that maybe don't don't have
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: the criteria themselves even vote UM. But you know, that's
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: kind of the situation that you're in with the Hall
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: of Fame. I think there are a lot of guys
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: that have had Hall of Fame caliber careers that that
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: aren't in the Hall of Fame. And I think they're
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: are a couple of guys who, um, maybe didn't have
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: the credentials that uh, other guys should have that are in.
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: You know, So it's just all subjective. UM. It's an
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: honor either way just to even be recognized and put
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: in the same categories as some of these incredible running
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: backs that have had outstanding NFL careers. So one way
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: or another, I'm proud of my career, I'm proud of
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: the effort my efforts that I put forward. I'm proud
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: of the relationships that I made and the effect I
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: had a younger players. And um, and that's what really
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: matters to me, the relationships you get from football. Um.
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: I always tell people I can't remember my own stats,
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: the yard, the tackles that like, to me, it doesn't,
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: It matters so much less because what really football gives
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: you is the relationships that you get out of it, man,
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: And I think that's what most of us missed, probably
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: most of them were out of it. And also the
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: ways that we appreciate the most, um, what we're done.
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: And so I agree and um, and so I will
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: give you a little kudos too, because I feel like
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: I can say this, I played with your brother Julius,
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: and so I mean you can always go to the
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: dinner table and say I got more than him. So, um, well,
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: you know, I mean what I look at it is
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: I look at it as what we have combined. So
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: see now now now you're now you're showing off. Well
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: I'm saying, I'm like, well, you know, being my brother
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: actually are the first brothers in NFL history to rush
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: for over thousand yards in the same season and collectively,
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: we have over fifteen thousand rushing yards. UM. So I
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: kind of look at it from that, and I think
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: we have around a hundred touchdowns and ninety ninety something touchdowns. Um.
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: So you know, I try to put because this is
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: the this is the NFL. And so if you can put, uh,
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: two people from the same household together, but their staf
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: us together, um, you know, I think that's more impressive
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: than me actually having more more yards of him or
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: him having more yards than me. As you should, as
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: you should, um, and you know, shout out to Julius
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: two man. He's a good dude, great teammate of mind
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: for just a couple of years in New Orleans. So
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: all right, you talked about and I've I've I've seen
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: you on Life after I watched your episode, you know,
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: I watched a couple of your your other shows that
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: you're doing in producing. It's really cool stuff. And I
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: did see them doing your your makeup and your your
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: haircut getting right. Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: I did see that. So what I let you go that, Uh,
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: but you talked about the struggle the first eight to
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: ten months after you retired that uh, specifically with with
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: the drinking. Uh, because you maybe take us into your
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: mindset during that time. Um. And what was the moment
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: when you said to yourself, I have to make a change.
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: I mean, I retired and I was immediately low, lost,
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: immediately lost something I never expected, you know. So so
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: you went from saying you know what, I know, it's
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: my time to doing it and then feeling lost afterwards.
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: I have what they called buyer's remorse. Okay, yeah, buyer's remorse.
• 16:15
  Speaker 1: So it's like, man, I'm done. I know going into
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: every game this year, this is my last game, and
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: I'm gonna go ahead and I give everything I had.
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: I'm gonna try my best and I get hurt, but
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: I'm gonna try to win a super Bowl and hopefully
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: I can get to eleven thousand rushing yards and um.
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: And when I retired after that last game at mid
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: High Stadium, and I flew back home, we had a
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: last team meeting and I moved my stuffed from Kansas
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: City back to to to Miami. I sat at my
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: house and I looked around and I'm like, Okay, who
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: am I? Who am I? Now? What am I gonna do? Now?
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: You know? Usually off the off season. Program workouts start
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: in two months in March, Nuary the seventh. Okay, I
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: don't have that. Um the season starts in July. I
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: don't have that either. Um So, all I could see
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: as a thirty three year old retired NFL player was
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: thirty three two seventy m. I couldn't see the next season,
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: and that's what I was used to seeing as a
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: football player. The next season, my junior season, then my
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: senior season, then your college freshman season, sophomore blah blah blah,
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: blah blah blah, on and on and on and on.
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: So I never had to see set what seventy five
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: looked like because I was too busy seeing what the
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: next year looked like. You know. Um So, I hadn't
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: planned for anything, and I didn't have anything that I
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: was passionate about because all I knew and loved was football.
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: So yeah, I resorted to drinking beer, which was totally
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: out of my character. Uh As you said. You know,
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: I trained heavily in the NFL, was very very much
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: in shape and had an extreme diet and super lean
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: three four five percent body fat at two So you
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: can't do that drinking beer. And I realized that beer
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: was the only thing that made me not think about
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: how much I missed football and the environment. And so
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: it gradually became more of a habit, to the point
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: of where I would wake up at six am or
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: six thirty am having a corona and then I would
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: just drink sporadically during the day, and even when I
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: would go to the gym, I would have a beer
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: before I would go to the gym. It just made
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: everything feel better because even going to the gym reminded
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: me of football. Nothing. There was nothing that didn't remind
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: me of football. Everything. Everything. Yeah, and so I realized
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: over a ten month, almost a year period that I
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: was starting to change. My body was starting to change.
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: I never had a six I had never not had
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: a six pack in my lifnesse I was kid, and
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: I started to look at my physique and and I
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: also started to look at like my eyes, and you know,
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: I was just starting to change. Unfortunately, I was able
• 19:11
  Speaker 1: to bump into some people that introduced me to acting
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: at the perfect time, because if I would have continued
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: down that road, um, honestly, there's no telling when I
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: would have been able to stop. Well, hats off to
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: that man, and uh, you never know what God has
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: lined up for you and sometimes and and that's a
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: perfect transition because your series on Amazon Prime Video Life
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: After I told you I watched a couple of episodes
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: of it already. Um, it gets into the transition of
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: guys like yourself like me after football, So I know
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: what I get from it. But I'm a former player
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: who's been in that locker rooms, had to make that
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: hard transition and and learning yourself post football. For those
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: that are not like me or you, what do you
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: want people to take away from it? Uh, when they
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: watch it or after watching it. I would want people
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: to understand that all NFL players, h first of all,
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: aren't multi multimillionaires. That's it's not that's just how it works.
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: I want uh. And I can understand why people think
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: that because the NFL is so big and there's so
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: much money floating around, and you're constantly seeing on the
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: ticker on Sports Center hundred million dollar deal and eighty
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: million dollars. You know, Um, a lot of times people
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: don't take the time to really understand that there's only
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: a few people on the team that are making that money.
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: And I'm not saying that the other guys aren't making
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: substantial amounts of money, but not the amount of money
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: that they would think. And then there's taxes, and then
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: you have family, and you have friends, and you have
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: financial advisors who are thieves, and you have a business
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: managers who are thieves, and you know, so there's just
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: so much that goes into our lives outside of just well,
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: you're you're you're you're an NFL player, so now you're
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: a millionaire, right, um. And also I want them to
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: understand that, you know, everyone, Um, when they retire from
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: the NFL, they don't move to a deserted island to
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: put their fee up. That's not reality. Um. You know,
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: we have a very specific lifestyle as NFL players. We
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: have very specific demands. Um. The NFL and football is
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: a very demanding job. You have to give every ounce
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: of your being to that job, so much so that
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: it's very, very hard to invest in anything else in
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: your life because the minute you're not thinking about football
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: is the minute you're not going to be in football.
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: That's the nature of the NFL. So once you leave
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: that environment and you're out here now and you have
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: to adjust to what the world looks like outside of
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: an NFL environment, it's very very difficult. And I think
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: that people watching this have a different respect for NFL
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: players and what we actually go through. Um that puts
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: us in the position, um, sometimes the took position to
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: disconnect from football once we retired. Yeah, And so I
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: watched with my son who's six years old last night
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: Room in the second and uh, he saw DeMarcus Ware
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: his episode, the first one, and uh, and he was
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: just like, so, Dad, you're saying, like he got carried
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: off the field like he would play a game, get
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: carried off And just seeing all the different things in
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: different highlights, you know, it really does kind of show
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: you the human element, or the human aspect of it
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: all that you have emotions, that all the things that
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: we willing to put up with or do to help
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: trying to win a game or where these paths we
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: look like superheroes, but we're really truly not a lot
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: of us. Are so many hurts, so many different emotions
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: that we go through. And uh, I think you're do
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: an amazing job of really sharing that aspect of it,
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: because that was always my biggest thing is that, um,
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: we were not already as men you're not allowed to
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: have emotions, all right, But now as football players, you
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: really gotta be tough, right, and you gotta be extra
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: hard because that's what this game is. It's violent, it's this,
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: it's that. And um, I just thought you did an
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: amazing job of that, and I want more people to
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: really dive into that because anytime we can celebrate those
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: that are doing other things outside of the helmet because
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: that's you know, I'm so much more recognized personally now
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: without a helmet on doing some TV stuff than I
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: ever was with all the great stuff I accomplished with
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: the helmet on. And it's probably very true for you
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: as well. Right, No, you're exactly right, and I'm glad
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: you made that point. Um. As a as a football player,
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: we're trained to not be vulnerable, not show weakness. That's
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: how you get beat in football. But that's not the
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: human element, it's not human nature. We all are vulnerable
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: at times, we all have weaknesses and insecurities. Uh. And
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: unfortunately for us as as football players, we're taught the
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: majority of our lives to not be human in a way,
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: and so that becomes that becomes a habit. And then
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: when you retired or when you're not in on the
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: field or in an NFL locker room, you know, you
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: still have those habits. Yeah, so a lot of times
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: we seem very irrational to a lot of people who
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: don't understand our world as NFL players. Sometimes it's hard
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: for me to watch some of these, uh the sports shows. Obviously,
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: people are getting paid to talk about football and sports,
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: and I totally get it. I respected, but a lot
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: of times I was sitting I watched some of these people,
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: you know that have a perspective that's interesting that that
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: have never actually played, and especially played in the NFL,
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: and and it's so wild to just completely hear some
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: of the things that they say and realize that I
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: would love for one of these people just to have
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: to put on a uniform on on on game day,
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: not even practice on game day, and actually have to
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: play and just and then what would your perspective be
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: if you made it out of warm ups without saying
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: I can't do this. And definitely if you made it
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: through a four quarter game playing one of the three
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: mere positions running back, dB, safety, corner, linebacker, center, quarterback,
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: what would your perspective be after that game? Um, So
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: that's why you know, this docuseries was important to me
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: because usually other people that didn't play or don't have
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: our experience as speaking for us. And that's what I
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: love about technology. Now we have podcasts, we have we're
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: able to create docuseries and speak our own voice and
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: speak our own truths. You know, I see you on
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: SEC network that I'm always proud of you and Tikio,
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: and I'm just happy because you guys are very very
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: important to the voice as players because you give authenticity
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: to our experience. Uh and you and you combat certain
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: people who might not know the experience. And there are
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: there are certain people who are haters um and don't
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: want to know our experience. They want to say what
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: they want to say because they might not like us
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: as athletes, that might be envious of us as athletes.
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: And that's just real talk. So I enjoy seeing guys
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: like you all representing us, Guys that I played against,
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: been in the trenches with. I've seen you on the
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: scouting report on Wednesday. I know this dude, right, He's
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: always around the ball. He's a ball hawk, you know.
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: So it's good to get the passion and the real
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: specific nuance information from you all, um on on on TV.
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: And that's and that's how I feel about this docuseries.
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: If you watch Life After on act no, I think
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: you did an amazing job with that and um and
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: talking about your second act now okay, UM, and so
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: you said acting saved you. What was it about acting
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: that drew you to it when you didn't have a
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: passion for it? Because you said you you lacked passion
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: when you first retired. I think I was just looking
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: for anything to do. To be honest, I was really
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: really bored. I didn't have I'm very passionate person about
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: whatever I pursued with football. I was one of those
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: guys that I was in the locker room, weight room,
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: film room all day. I would watch film. We have
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: Wednesday work day. You know we can leave at five. Um,
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: I'm there till eight. Yeah, and then I go home
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: and I watched the DVDs at home, and I fall
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: asleep watching the DVDs. That maybe eleven, and then I
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: wake up and I get maybe five or six. I
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: was sleeping. I'm back over there five thirty six. Um.
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: So I dedicate myself to whatever I'm trying to be great. Uh,
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: at and so acting was something that I didn't know
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: that I needed. I didn't know that I would fall
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: in love with. I didn't know that I would develop
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: a passion for. But what I realized was that once
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: I started acting and I started to take it serious
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: and got it just some acting classes, is that it
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: was similar to football. UM, in a lot of ways,
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: even from just the specifics of it. You have your
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: playbook in the NFL. The more you know your playbook,
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: the more you don't have to think on the field,
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: You just react. UM. Same thing with a TV script
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: or movie script. The more you know the script, the
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: more you know your character, the more you know your lines.
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: You're not thinking about your lines. You're not thinking about UM,
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: do I look stupid? Do I sound stupid? You're like, no,
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: I know my lines. How do I make this character believable.
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: How do I tap into, um, whatever the emotional experience
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: this character is having based off of my similar emotional
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: experiences in my life and breathe life into the character. Um,
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: that's psychological. That takes a lot of work. UM. The
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: same thing with the pressure. Uh. You know you play
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: on Monday night football. There's no there's no edit there's
• 28:37
  Speaker 1: no edit button on that. You come up, you you
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: miss a tackle and the dude scores as it from
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: the millions of people at home. You don't get it
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: bars and it's going to continue to be replayed. As
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: as an actor, you do have different takes. But before
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: the director says action, that adrenaline is there. You know
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: your lines, you know the work that you've done, you
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: know the notes to the director has given you. It's
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: your close up. Now the cameras on you. You've already
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: shot the wide shots, so everyone you've done with that.
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: Now it's your close up type shot on your face.
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: So you have to action boom. You gotta dig in.
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: You gotta dive into that character. You gotta dive into
• 29:14
  Speaker 1: those emotions. You have to dive into whatever you're feeling,
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: and you have to convey that at that take. And
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: if you don't and the edit bay they don't have,
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: they don't have your best take. So that's what you're
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: gonna look. So I think the energy, the passion for
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: acting came from me being able to connect it in
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: a lot of ways to football and also the competition.
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: A lot of competition, man. You know some incredible actors
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: out here. So to book some of these roles or
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: to get some of your projects picked up, you got
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: to compete. So I think that's what made me really say, Hey,
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: this is something that it's gonna save my legacy that
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: I've created and potentially saved my life too. Like when
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: I hear you speak about it, you're passionate about it
• 29:57
  Speaker 1: number one, And it's like, man, you have taking time
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: to know what that feelings like. And there's nothing better
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: than knowing the feeling like, man, I got it right,
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: and that I can do this, and like the confidence
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: in which you speak of Like man, when the action hits,
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: not only do I know my words, bro, but I'm
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: ready to kill it. You know, as football players were
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: naturally actors. Some of the biggest characters you've ever made
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: in your life have been You're not lied about that,
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: actually and and and they're just naturally funny or naturally
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: interesting people. You know, it's just channeling that energy into
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: something else, and that's what it is. That's a beautiful
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: thing about coming from the NFL. I'm as an actor. Uh,
• 30:41
  Speaker 1: it wasn't a blueprint, but I've always been in front
• 30:44
  Speaker 1: of the camera. Winner luge. You have to talk to
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: the media. So you're under the microscope at all times.
• 30:50
  Speaker 1: Everything you do is going to be criticized. It's never
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: good enough. And you know you you go from being
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: Roman Harper, that's you know, chilling in your locker before
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: the game, but then after that coin toss, you turned
• 31:04
  Speaker 1: into Roman Harper before the one different year. That's a
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: different person than than the men's home. With your family,
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: in your in your six year old son, you tap
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: into something else. Um. So you naturally able to do
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: that because you've been doing that entire life. So we're
• 31:19
  Speaker 1: actually more prepared to be actors, and a lot of
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: actors are. Um, we just don't realize that. But I
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: put the work in. Like you said earlier, I trained
• 31:27
  Speaker 1: for four years and two different actors studios. I was
• 31:29
  Speaker 1: in acting classes for six hours a week. Um, So
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: I'm a trained actor. The training process is what helped
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: me get out of the state of depression that I
• 31:40
  Speaker 1: was in and as a as a former NFL player,
• 31:43
  Speaker 1: because I was able to channel all that energy into
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: studying the craft and put all of the raw emotions
• 31:50
  Speaker 1: and trauma in my life into these scenes in in
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: my in my in my classes, and then that translated
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: to using those techniques into the characters, whether it be
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: an audition or whether it be in an actual project
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: at I booked. So I'm loving this now as we
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: as we continue to unpill all this on the Lewys
• 32:09
  Speaker 1: of this onion here. Now, you gotta tell me one
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: thing because I'm reading your name right now. Not everybody
• 32:13
  Speaker 1: knows this, but when you added the que to your
• 32:16
  Speaker 1: professional name to throw people off with you being a
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: football player, um didn't work right out the gate. Or
• 32:22
  Speaker 1: I mean, like it's hard to hide your physique, bro, Like,
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: let's just be honest with you. Walk in and they're
• 32:26
  Speaker 1: like all right, um, all right, you're Thomas Jones and
• 32:30
  Speaker 1: so now you're gonna be Thomas Q. Jones. But like, bro,
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: you look like you do something right? Like that has
• 32:38
  Speaker 1: to be the question all the time, right. Well, the
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: funny part about it is people in Hollywood don't think
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: about football players. They have no idea about it. You're right,
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: they're multiple men in Hollywood that have my physique that
• 32:51
  Speaker 1: looks just like actors. You know, I was able to
• 32:53
  Speaker 1: have a really really good career, but you know I
• 32:56
  Speaker 1: had braids most of my career. I look friend and
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: also I wasn't always on TV. You know. Usually I
• 33:04
  Speaker 1: wasn't the guy that was always a friend of the camera,
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: and I wasn't always doing something to bring attention to myself.
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: So I was able to slide in as Thomas Q.
• 33:12
  Speaker 1: Jones um because people definitely did not expect Thomas Jones
• 33:17
  Speaker 1: from the Bears and the Jets to be a real actor.
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: And so that's why I added the middle initial, because
• 33:22
  Speaker 1: I wanted to throw people off just enough so in
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: case they did know, they they wouldn't judge me based
• 33:30
  Speaker 1: off of my football career, but based off of whatever
• 33:33
  Speaker 1: role that I was playing. And by that time, once
• 33:36
  Speaker 1: you see that I can act, then you can't say,
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: that's Thomas Jones trying to act. Now that's Thomas Q. Jones.
• 33:42
  Speaker 1: Oh you know that's Thomas Jones from the Bears. What
• 33:44
  Speaker 1: Thomas Q. Jones the guy and blah blah blah, yeah,
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: yeah boom, because they say, what you don't you know,
• 33:49
  Speaker 1: you don't get it. You never get a second chance
• 33:51
  Speaker 1: to make a first impression. So by that time it's
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: too late. I'm Thomas Q. Jones already. That just so
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: happened to play in the NFL versus Thomas Jones for
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: the Bears is now now he's trying to act, of course,
• 34:02
  Speaker 1: all right type of thing. All right, tell me one
• 34:03
  Speaker 1: quick answer this and I got another follow up. The
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: Q stands for Quinn of the middle name. So that
• 34:12
  Speaker 1: was what I was initially, things like it's probably his
• 34:14
  Speaker 1: real name, like the Q stands for like what his
• 34:17
  Speaker 1: real middle name is? Or did he just come up
• 34:19
  Speaker 1: with it, like just because it kind of gloss? Okay,
• 34:22
  Speaker 1: got it. Now. I've also listened to you another invision.
• 34:24
  Speaker 1: You said you win bare bones. You're talking about Hollywood.
• 34:27
  Speaker 1: You win bare bones. When you start in Hollywood, you
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: had no car, Uh, living in the studio apartment in Hollywood,
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: you walk to auditions. Uh take us through that experience,
• 34:38
  Speaker 1: and like, how long did you do that? Or how
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: long did that last? No car in l A with
• 34:42
  Speaker 1: those hills, I mean seems like it seems kind of real, bro, Yeah,
• 34:47
  Speaker 1: no it is. And and to be honest, I still
• 34:50
  Speaker 1: lived that way in l A. I've been I've lived
• 34:53
  Speaker 1: in Miami since two thousands of four, So this is
• 34:55
  Speaker 1: what my permanent residences is in Miami. Um I realized, Um,
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: if I'm going to pursue acting and I'm going to
• 35:05
  Speaker 1: pursue it in a way where UM, I have I
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: want to be great, I have to create some sort
• 35:12
  Speaker 1: of stakes. I have to create something, uh, some sort
• 35:17
  Speaker 1: of environment that's gonna push me. So when I moved
• 35:20
  Speaker 1: to l A, I've got a studio apartment, um, right
• 35:23
  Speaker 1: in the middle of Hollywood. Didn't bring my car. I
• 35:26
  Speaker 1: would literally walk um two meetings. UM. Or I would
• 35:31
  Speaker 1: catch a cab so I might I might be sitting
• 35:34
  Speaker 1: in a cab for an hour going to from Hollywood
• 35:37
  Speaker 1: to uh Marina del Rey to do an audition, and
• 35:41
  Speaker 1: then I would get a cab after the audition all
• 35:45
  Speaker 1: the way back and I'm sitting in another hour and
• 35:47
  Speaker 1: a half because I'm in traffic. And I did all
• 35:49
  Speaker 1: of that just to be told, no, you didn't book
• 35:52
  Speaker 1: the role. Um. So you know, living in that studio apartment,
• 35:57
  Speaker 1: which I still live in now, meeting other aspiring actors,
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: living with people who get are who weren't fortunate enough
• 36:04
  Speaker 1: to have the same opportunities. Maybe that I had to
• 36:08
  Speaker 1: live in the same environment I had. It really forced
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: me to be extremely humble and appreciate any opportunity that
• 36:15
  Speaker 1: I that I earned. UM. And it also helped me
• 36:18
  Speaker 1: earn the respect of of other actors because they didn't
• 36:21
  Speaker 1: even some guys and even my classes, they were some
• 36:24
  Speaker 1: guys and someone who would know that's Thomas Jones. You know,
• 36:28
  Speaker 1: my dad is a big fan or blah blah blah.
• 36:31
  Speaker 1: But they didn't see me that way because I was
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: in classes like them. I never talked about football. Um,
• 36:36
  Speaker 1: I was humble. I was one of the one of
• 36:39
  Speaker 1: the students. Were all learning together, we're all acting together
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: and being critiqued and criticized together. Um. So that's why
• 36:45
  Speaker 1: I took that route, because I needed to really psychologically
• 36:50
  Speaker 1: transform into an aspiring artist to understand what that experience
• 36:54
  Speaker 1: felt like, to see if it even matter enough for
• 36:56
  Speaker 1: me to continue to pursue it. You know what, man,
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: And this is completely off topic, but um, you seem happy, bro.
• 37:04
  Speaker 1: Like you seem like you're finding your space, You're finding
• 37:07
  Speaker 1: your way. You seem very happy bro in content. And this,
• 37:12
  Speaker 1: this Thomas Q. Jones, is this like who the real
• 37:16
  Speaker 1: version of you is? This is like they really are? Yeah,
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: I think I think this is the real version of
• 37:23
  Speaker 1: who I am outside of football. Because football make you
• 37:28
  Speaker 1: a certain type of way, especially especially when you play
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: a long time. You you, But you have to be
• 37:35
  Speaker 1: that way to be successful, um and have longevity. If
• 37:39
  Speaker 1: you notice all of the guys like us that played
• 37:43
  Speaker 1: multiple years, we have a certain edge to us. We
• 37:48
  Speaker 1: have a certain fearlessness to us. We have a certain
• 37:51
  Speaker 1: type of confidence and certain type of mystique. Um. Because
• 37:58
  Speaker 1: you have to think you can be a humble person
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: and a down to earth person. But that's football is
• 38:04
  Speaker 1: not the sport for that. On the field, UM, you
• 38:07
  Speaker 1: have to stick your chest out at all times. And
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: sometimes that translates into your real life. Um. And if
• 38:15
  Speaker 1: you don't have something that you can tap into two,
• 38:19
  Speaker 1: understand that it's okay to be insecure, it's okay to
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: be vulnerable. So okay, did not stick your chest out,
• 38:25
  Speaker 1: So okay, did not be the man, the outpha dog,
• 38:27
  Speaker 1: the best of the best. Um. Then you're gonna be
• 38:32
  Speaker 1: like that the rest of your life because you have
• 38:34
  Speaker 1: to consciously figure out how to get out of that
• 38:37
  Speaker 1: mental space. And if you don't have kids or a
• 38:40
  Speaker 1: family or something UM that reminds you that you're human,
• 38:45
  Speaker 1: uh and not the superhero that you you have to
• 38:47
  Speaker 1: be as a football player, you're not going to really
• 38:50
  Speaker 1: truly find happiness within yourself, because that happiness still comes
• 38:55
  Speaker 1: from the respect you get from other players, the money
• 38:58
  Speaker 1: you get, the attention you get. That's still a part
• 39:01
  Speaker 1: of your confidence in who you are. So I think
• 39:03
  Speaker 1: acting because I've opened myself up to vulnerability, open myself
• 39:08
  Speaker 1: up to being human again. I've been able to find
• 39:12
  Speaker 1: a space of peace within myself and and then being
• 39:18
  Speaker 1: able to act and play different characters and and different
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: experiences that these characters have had. Um, and open my
• 39:25
  Speaker 1: mind up to things that I might not have been
• 39:27
  Speaker 1: as open minded too before. Um, it's just given me
• 39:30
  Speaker 1: a different perspective in the world and people in general. Yeah,
• 39:34
  Speaker 1: so I know where you're at now. You probably hear
• 39:38
  Speaker 1: the football stuff all the time, But when you're in
• 39:42
  Speaker 1: these meetings with Hollywood guys, like, do you ever feel
• 39:45
  Speaker 1: like you need to shrink yourself so you don't seem
• 39:48
  Speaker 1: too big? Or you know, like because you know, my
• 39:52
  Speaker 1: I was always taught this man like man, bro, don't
• 39:55
  Speaker 1: you ever stop, don't you let your don't let anybody
• 39:57
  Speaker 1: else ever dim your life. Right Like, no matter what
• 40:00
  Speaker 1: room you in, you you just keep shining like that
• 40:03
  Speaker 1: always is who you are. You can't let others dim
• 40:06
  Speaker 1: your life and So I wonder what that when you're
• 40:09
  Speaker 1: in the Hollywood or you're out there these acting places,
• 40:12
  Speaker 1: like do you ever have that that aware with all
• 40:15
  Speaker 1: of that awareness, Like, man, I'm in the space where
• 40:18
  Speaker 1: I might need to like shrink myself or do you
• 40:20
  Speaker 1: are like, you know what, I gotta continue to be me.
• 40:23
  Speaker 1: That's a great question, great question, And I struggle with that.
• 40:28
  Speaker 1: That's the one thing that I will say that I
• 40:30
  Speaker 1: struggle with, Uh, is because I'm living a double life. Yeah. Uh,
• 40:36
  Speaker 1: you know a lot of the guys that I have
• 40:40
  Speaker 1: worked with him in Hollywood and and and consistently work
• 40:43
  Speaker 1: with in Hollywood, Um, they don't really know my former life,
• 40:49
  Speaker 1: which is still my life when I come home. When
• 40:52
  Speaker 1: I come home, uh you know me, I don't I
• 40:57
  Speaker 1: don't have the studio apartment, I don't walk everywhere. I
• 41:00
  Speaker 1: don't I don't have those same conversations or relationships. Um,
• 41:07
  Speaker 1: you know when I come home, you know, I'm I'm
• 41:13
  Speaker 1: around you know people that that I've known for twenty
• 41:17
  Speaker 1: plus years. Uh, that aren't aspiring actors or artists. They're
• 41:23
  Speaker 1: accomplished in whatever they're doing. Um. So I might be
• 41:27
  Speaker 1: on a yacht just with a drink like you know
• 41:31
  Speaker 1: those uh, you know, just chilling, or I might be
• 41:35
  Speaker 1: at the next game court side, um, or a heat
• 41:38
  Speaker 1: game court side, or I might be a problem in
• 41:41
  Speaker 1: twelve on South Beach, Um have an expensive dinner, you know,
• 41:45
  Speaker 1: and with the owner of the restaurant who's like my
• 41:48
  Speaker 1: brother for twenty years. You know. Um. That's so a
• 41:52
  Speaker 1: lot of times, you know, I struggle with that because
• 41:56
  Speaker 1: how do you sometimes dim your light so people don't
• 42:02
  Speaker 1: feel insecure, but also not make yourself feel small. Um.
• 42:08
  Speaker 1: You know, I'm not responsible for someone else's life being
• 42:11
  Speaker 1: darker bright, um, But I do try to shine light
• 42:16
  Speaker 1: on people and shine whatever light that I have to
• 42:18
  Speaker 1: show them that hey, you're like and be bright too. Um.
• 42:22
  Speaker 1: But it's very, very difficult sometimes because I get caught
• 42:26
  Speaker 1: between the Thomas Jones guy who you know, it's here
• 42:33
  Speaker 1: and status and how I move and the time it's
• 42:36
  Speaker 1: Q Jones guy who has to work in his environments
• 42:41
  Speaker 1: and work in certain situations that Thomas Jones wouldn't have
• 42:46
  Speaker 1: the patience. Two Also, he wouldn't set himself up to
• 42:50
  Speaker 1: work with certain people who don't have as much to
• 42:52
  Speaker 1: loses him. M you know. So it's a very complex situation.
• 42:56
  Speaker 1: That's a great question that you ask, because that's the
• 42:58
  Speaker 1: one struggle that I have, and I think I consistently
• 43:01
  Speaker 1: have that because I have this dual uh life that
• 43:05
  Speaker 1: I've that I've chosen to live. But hopefully as an
• 43:08
  Speaker 1: the actor, Thomas Q. Jones and producer is slowly evolving
• 43:13
  Speaker 1: and catching up to the Thomas Jones football player. So
• 43:17
  Speaker 1: we can Thomas Jones and Thomas ke Jones can meet
• 43:20
  Speaker 1: the middle. The more more we talked, bro, I had
• 43:24
  Speaker 1: to know. That's why I just had to ask, all right,
• 43:26
  Speaker 1: we're gonna go to right now and then we're gonna
• 43:29
  Speaker 1: come right back with quick hitters to get you up
• 43:31
  Speaker 1: out of here. Thomas, appreciate it, man, Thank you, you
• 43:33
  Speaker 1: gut thank you. All right, man, We're back here with
• 43:36
  Speaker 1: my man, Thomas Q. Jones. The best version of himself
• 43:42
  Speaker 1: is what I've heard. That's what I call him. It
• 43:44
  Speaker 1: don't matter what everybody else thinks about him. I know
• 43:46
  Speaker 1: it's jet some bearrass fans out there going crazy, but no,
• 43:49
  Speaker 1: Thomas Q. Jones is a beautiful man. It's nothing but
• 43:53
  Speaker 1: great vibes going on today. All right, all right, Thomas,
• 43:56
  Speaker 1: We've got a couple of questions from quick hitters. I
• 43:58
  Speaker 1: want first thing come to mind. I want answers, I
• 44:00
  Speaker 1: want honesty, and this is what we all the people
• 44:03
  Speaker 1: tune in for you ready, okay, and this is a
• 44:06
  Speaker 1: question that I would love to know. Alright. Number one,
• 44:09
  Speaker 1: what was the most you bench pressed during your playing days?
• 44:14
  Speaker 1: The most of bench pressed was five huh, that's the most.
• 44:20
  Speaker 1: And that was that was actually my tenth eleventh year
• 44:24
  Speaker 1: in the NFL. So I was that's the grown man strength.
• 44:26
  Speaker 1: That's what. I agree. He's not all the people, he's Yeah,
• 44:33
  Speaker 1: that's what That's why I got the gray hairs. Now, yeah,
• 44:37
  Speaker 1: grown man strength kicks in about like thirty one, thirty two,
• 44:41
  Speaker 1: thirty three year is bro. It just doesn't take as
• 44:44
  Speaker 1: much to lift his heavy like, no, you just maintain
• 44:47
  Speaker 1: the strength. Okay, Okay, I'm very impressed with the number.
• 44:51
  Speaker 1: I was thinking about four twenties. You put me at
• 44:53
  Speaker 1: four fifty five. I love it. I love it all right.
• 44:57
  Speaker 1: Better atmosphere a locker room or a movie or TV
• 45:02
  Speaker 1: set mm hmm, the locker room okay, alright. The locker
• 45:08
  Speaker 1: room environment is just it's just so many personalities, so
• 45:14
  Speaker 1: there's so much going on. You have one conversation here
• 45:18
  Speaker 1: that's completely something wild. And then you have a conversation
• 45:22
  Speaker 1: over here that's about stocks and bonds. And then you
• 45:25
  Speaker 1: have you know, somebody over here in the locker that's wrapping. Uh.
• 45:30
  Speaker 1: You know, it's it's like a it's like a variety
• 45:33
  Speaker 1: show in the locker room. Always entertain great point and
• 45:37
  Speaker 1: the fact that you brought up stocks and bonds, I
• 45:39
  Speaker 1: know that conversation, yes, very and then you have somebody
• 45:42
  Speaker 1: rapping over here on the other side. It's all right.
• 45:47
  Speaker 1: When winning an Oscar makeup for not winning the super Bowl.
• 45:53
  Speaker 1: Mm hmmm, No, I don't okay, good, I'm I'm gonna see.
• 45:58
  Speaker 1: I knew Thomas Q. Jones was honest, not like no, no,
• 46:01
  Speaker 1: that super Bowl super Bowl is what man? I mean.
• 46:06
  Speaker 1: I didn't dream of winning an Oscar as a as
• 46:08
  Speaker 1: a kid. As a kid, I dreamed of winning a
• 46:12
  Speaker 1: Super Bowl ring. So although it would be an incredible
• 46:16
  Speaker 1: honor to win an Oscar, uh, and it would feel great,
• 46:21
  Speaker 1: uh something about having that ring to flash everywhere you
• 46:27
  Speaker 1: go and being a part of NFL history as a
• 46:31
  Speaker 1: world champion. There's no better feeling than that as a
• 46:34
  Speaker 1: football player. Yeah, I'm with you, man, And it's so
• 46:37
  Speaker 1: hard too. All right, So what's your favorite character you've played.
• 46:44
  Speaker 1: My favorite character out of all the characters that I played,
• 46:48
  Speaker 1: would probably be my character on Marvel's Lue Cage, Comanche.
• 46:53
  Speaker 1: I think that would love that show. He loved that show. Well,
• 46:57
  Speaker 1: he was a great show, great show. Hated to see
• 46:59
  Speaker 1: that it it was wasn't renewed. Um, but that character
• 47:05
  Speaker 1: was incredible because it was a very layered character. Shout
• 47:08
  Speaker 1: out the Jail Coker, the creator of the show, who
• 47:10
  Speaker 1: believed in me. Um that gave me the opportunity to
• 47:13
  Speaker 1: play that character. And shout out to Alfrey Woodard, incredible actor,
• 47:17
  Speaker 1: beautiful woman inside and now Theo Rossi, my brother who
• 47:20
  Speaker 1: played Shades uh partner and crime on the show. I
• 47:24
  Speaker 1: developed an incredible relationship with Theo and Alfrey Woodard Uh.
• 47:28
  Speaker 1: During that second season of Luke Cage, Um and I
• 47:31
  Speaker 1: grew a lot as an actor. There was a lot
• 47:33
  Speaker 1: of pressure on me during that season to uh to
• 47:36
  Speaker 1: bring this character to life, this very complex character. UH.
• 47:39
  Speaker 1: And I was able to step up to the plate
• 47:41
  Speaker 1: and and it gave me a lot of confidence moving forward.
• 47:43
  Speaker 1: So yeah, Comanche on Marka's Luke Cage was so far
• 47:47
  Speaker 1: my favorite character that I've been able to play. I'm
• 47:50
  Speaker 1: just glad you didn't say Thomas Q. Jones. All Right,
• 47:57
  Speaker 1: who's the actor you want to work with the most
• 48:00
  Speaker 1: that you haven't yet? So you would love to? Man
• 48:05
  Speaker 1: so many incredible actors. Uh, obviously I did go watching too.
• 48:10
  Speaker 1: This is incredible. I think that's kind of the typical answer,
• 48:17
  Speaker 1: But I would love to. I was thinking about this
• 48:21
  Speaker 1: guy the other night. I'm a huge fan is Robert Duval.
• 48:26
  Speaker 1: And I know Robert Duval is older now, as an
• 48:29
  Speaker 1: older and older actor, I don't even know if he's
• 48:31
  Speaker 1: even acting anymore. But um, I watched so many of
• 48:35
  Speaker 1: his movies and so many of his projects, and he's
• 48:37
  Speaker 1: such at that first character from Armageddon. Um, I think
• 48:43
  Speaker 1: it was only getting a deep impact. One of those
• 48:45
  Speaker 1: one of those films, uh, to Lonesome Devil Western that
• 48:48
  Speaker 1: I grew up watching with my father. Um, I see
• 48:52
  Speaker 1: actors like that who are so diverse. Um, and I'm
• 48:56
  Speaker 1: like wow, uh. And actually I would have loved to
• 48:59
  Speaker 1: have acted with before he passed with it was Patrick Swayze. H.
• 49:03
  Speaker 1: Patrick Swayze was was an incredible actor. Violet Davis and
• 49:08
  Speaker 1: I'm giving any more names than one but there's just
• 49:10
  Speaker 1: I can't answer that with one name. Violet Davis. Uh
• 49:14
  Speaker 1: is I mean, there's so many actors that I look
• 49:18
  Speaker 1: up to and look at it and I'm like a
• 49:20
  Speaker 1: pattern my career actor them in a way, in a
• 49:23
  Speaker 1: way some of their styles as actors. Um, I'll pay
• 49:27
  Speaker 1: attention to and learn from. Okay, last one here? Who
• 49:32
  Speaker 1: is on your Mount Russiamore personal Mount Rushmore? You know,
• 49:37
  Speaker 1: and it's just four. This is a hard thing for
• 49:39
  Speaker 1: all of us. Just for go Mount Rushmore of what exactly,
• 49:45
  Speaker 1: but like just in people like that have influenced your life.
• 49:48
  Speaker 1: Got you okay? Ah? Man? My father, all right? One
• 49:56
  Speaker 1: Malcolm x two um, one of my high school coaches,
• 50:03
  Speaker 1: Barry Jones, Okay, and yes, and one more person. Wow,
• 50:13
  Speaker 1: what a question? What a question in my entire life?
• 50:19
  Speaker 1: A man, I would have to say my running backs
• 50:23
  Speaker 1: coach Jimmy Ray, Okay, I like it now. Yeah, last
• 50:28
  Speaker 1: thing out here, and I want you to share this
• 50:30
  Speaker 1: personal story. I've heard it already and we're gonna get
• 50:32
  Speaker 1: you out here, Thomas. But could you tell the people
• 50:35
  Speaker 1: why you were number twenty? Yeah? I wore number twenty
• 50:40
  Speaker 1: because my mother and father, UM work to combine twenty
• 50:46
  Speaker 1: years in the coal mines of Virginia. My mother worked
• 50:50
  Speaker 1: nineteen years underground, and my father worked one year and
• 50:54
  Speaker 1: was laid off and he couldn't get back in the
• 50:56
  Speaker 1: coal mine. So, UM, nineteen plus one is twenty. And
• 51:01
  Speaker 1: when I saw him with the Chicago Bears in two
• 51:03
  Speaker 1: thousand four, UM, I felt like that was a rebirth
• 51:06
  Speaker 1: for me. It was a new opportunity for me to
• 51:08
  Speaker 1: jump start my career. And UM, I won of the
• 51:13
  Speaker 1: twenties motivation because every time I stepped out on the field,
• 51:16
  Speaker 1: I thought about all the things that they sacrifice for
• 51:18
  Speaker 1: me to even have that opportunity to be there. So
• 51:22
  Speaker 1: that's why our number twenty it will always be a
• 51:25
  Speaker 1: very special number of me. Well, look, man, Thomas, Man,
• 51:29
  Speaker 1: appreciate that. Appreciate you sharing. Like I told you earlier, man,
• 51:33
  Speaker 1: vulnerability is equal strength, man, and I appreciate the being
• 51:38
  Speaker 1: vulnerable with us today, sharing all your stories, sharing all
• 51:40
  Speaker 1: your times. And I hope everybody picked up on that today. Man.
• 51:44
  Speaker 1: And uh, thank you, Bro. I really appreciate you spending
• 51:47
  Speaker 1: some time with us today. Thank you, Thomas. Well, I
• 51:49
  Speaker 1: appreciate you on having me and this platform is huge, man,
• 51:52
  Speaker 1: what you all are doing with this podcast and with
• 51:54
  Speaker 1: the Pivot podcast, and um, you know, even I am athlete,
• 51:57
  Speaker 1: you know, I know that's a little bit different. But
• 52:00
  Speaker 1: in regards to just you know, grounded people, grounded conversations,
• 52:05
  Speaker 1: what you all are doing, Man, is is groundbreaking. It's
• 52:09
  Speaker 1: never been done before. Man, it's never been done before.
• 52:11
  Speaker 1: People have a lot of misconceptions about us as for
• 52:14
  Speaker 1: MAN NFL players and its current NFL players, and the
• 52:18
  Speaker 1: beautiful thing about it is, Man, you guys care enough
• 52:20
  Speaker 1: to have a podcast like this to give former players
• 52:24
  Speaker 1: a voice, which which matters a lot, Man, So thank
• 52:27
  Speaker 1: you for having me on MAN. I appreciate the questions
• 52:29
  Speaker 1: that were the dope, dope ass interview. Man, it was
• 52:32
  Speaker 1: dope questions, very well thought out questions. I'll made me
• 52:35
  Speaker 1: think a lot that last one. Man, I felt kind
• 52:37
  Speaker 1: of bad. I see my mom. I can't now my
• 52:43
  Speaker 1: mom came. I definitely have my mom because I'm like,
• 52:47
  Speaker 1: like football, like, okay, my dad obviously that's my best friend.
• 52:51
  Speaker 1: Only four people. You know that it's all you get. Dog,
• 52:54
  Speaker 1: I'm telling you, it's the hardest one. Everybody struggles because
• 52:58
  Speaker 1: they don't know to go family or they do, like
• 53:00
  Speaker 1: old family. Then I just do. It's a hard wood.
• 53:02
  Speaker 1: It's a hard wood. Well. Thank you Thomas Q. Jones
• 53:14
  Speaker 1: for joining us today, blessing us with your time, your
• 53:18
  Speaker 1: your your vibes, your mindset, everything that you've been able
• 53:22
  Speaker 1: to complish and accomplish in your second acts. It's been
• 53:26
  Speaker 1: amazing to hear today, Peanut, what you feel. I felt
• 53:29
  Speaker 1: that that was like entertainment to night quality. Man, you know,
• 53:32
  Speaker 1: these your your interview schools. You're just getting. I think
• 53:35
  Speaker 1: you're gonna be leaving the college scene and headed to
• 53:38
  Speaker 1: l A doing doing some of these interviews, interviewing some
• 53:41
  Speaker 1: of the stars. Man, you're getting really good now. Man,
• 53:43
  Speaker 1: I'm getting I'm getting kind of jealous. You're surpassing me.
• 53:47
  Speaker 1: You're actually above me right now. You're on a hell
• 53:49
  Speaker 1: of a job. I gotta man, I say, man, it's
• 53:52
  Speaker 1: all about eye contact. Let's make this thing very conversational.
• 53:56
  Speaker 1: We'll just see where it goes. Hopefully we've got some
• 53:58
  Speaker 1: good TV or man even better on a podcast. Them them,
• 54:02
  Speaker 1: them NFL broadcast Blue Camps. They've served you well, brother,
• 54:06
  Speaker 1: they served you well well. Thank you, man, I appreciate it. Man.
• 54:09
  Speaker 1: We're gonna get you guys, up out of here. Thank
• 54:12
  Speaker 1: you to all the listeners for tuning in. I asked
• 54:15
  Speaker 1: you once again to spread the word and to give
• 54:17
  Speaker 1: us a rating of review and a follow on Apple podcast,
• 54:21
  Speaker 1: the I Heart Radio app, or wherever you get your podcast.
• 54:25
  Speaker 1: This is me and p Nut Dillman and we're out
• 54:27
  Speaker 1: with the NFL players. Second Acts Podcast