Today’s guest on Something Like the Offseason is Jordan Clarke. Jordan was a standout collegiate basketball player at Drake before playing professionally overseas in Denmark, England, Chile, and Argentina. Today, Jordan is a Director in Nike’s Corporate Strategy and Development Group. Prior to Nike, Jordan was a Project Leader at the Boston Consulting Group. At BCG, he developed deep expertise in Consumer (Fashion and Luxury, Apparel, and Retail) and Private Equity (Commercial Due Diligences, Vendor Due Diligences, and Market Landscapes). He holds an MBA from Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia and a BBA in Finance from Drake University.

During their conversation Jordan answers Micah’s big four questions before diving into his playing days, his injury history and the silver linings they brought about, the transferable skills he took from sports to the corporate world, how to build confidence in a new environment, and a whole lot more.

Follow Jordan: LinkedIn | Instagram

Chapters:

Introduction (00:00)

Destined for Next Level (00:15)

Toughest Matchup (02:54)

Player Who Didn’t Get Their Chance (04:55)

Nicest Thing Coach Ever Did (07:33)

The Decision to Play Overseas (09:03)

Injuries Brought Perspective (12:42)

Holding On to Ball Taught Preparation (16:22)

The Transferable Skills Sports Taught (19:33)

Building Confidence in a New Environment (23:42)

One Thing You Got Wrong About the Business World (27:56)

Working at Nike (30:45)

Where to Get In Touch with Jordan (33:38)

Projects on the Horizon (35:17)

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Today’s guest on Something Like the Offseason is Jerel Worthy. Jerel was a 2x All American defensive end at Michigan State, and had a long and successful career in the NFL, most notably with the Packers and Bills. He’s stayed around the game post-player career in one of the more unique ways we’ve seen with his role as Business Development Manager at Kiewit where he is in the decision making rooms on stadium building projects among others. He’s a man who persevered through some low points to reach the height of his sport, and has always kept community and family a focus through it all, both of which shine through and are spoken to in today’s episode.

During their conversation Jerel of course answers Micah’s big four questions regarding his playing days, then the two of them get into how Jerel prepared himself for the end of his playing career, becoming a decision maker off the field, the importance of sharing and educating your community, his two P’s patient and preparedness, and a bunch more!

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Chapters:

Introduction (00:00)

Destined for the Next Level (01:40)

Toughest Competition You Faced (10:10)

Player Who Didn’t Get Their Fair Shot (18:45)

Nicest Thing Coach Ever Did (23:21)

Being Prepared for Whenever the End Comes (26:27)

Being the Entertainment vs Being the Decision Maker (31:53)

Advice You Wish You Knew for Navigating Corporate America (37:15)

Delivering For Yourself and Your Community (40:16)

Be Patient and Prepared (44:58)

Where to Get In Touch with Jerel (50:00)

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Today’s guest on Something Like the Offseason is Branden Bufford. Branden played football at Howard, before making stops with the Detroit Lions in the NFL and the Chicago Rush in the Arena League. Post ball Branden has gone on to build a career in the education world while simultaneously building out a real estate portfolio across the Detroit area.

During their conversation Branden starts off by answering Micah’s big four questions, before getting into how and when his football career ended, the choice to pursue a career in education, representing your family and community, how he found real estate, learning to make his time work for him, and much more.

Follow Branden: LinkedIn 

In Detroit and looking for a new home? Check out Bufford Properties!

Chapters:

Introduction (00:00)

Moment You Knew You’d Get to Next Level (01:25)

Toughest Person You Went Against (03:53)

Player Who Didn’t Get Their Chance (05:21)

Nicest Thing Coach Ever Did (07:23)

Getting Cut From Two Leagues (07:59)

Choosing to Go Into Education (11:59)

Representing Your Community (13:17)

Finding Real Estate and Being Inspired by Family (14:45)

Not Getting Analysis Paralysis (18:45)

Finding Confidence In Yourself (21:05)

Carrying Patterns and Self Belief Over to New Arenas (25:05)

Take a Seat and Grind (27:35)

Learning How Best to Use Your Time (30:35)

Lesson You Had To Learn Post Ball (32:50)

How to Connect With Branden (36:15)

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Today’s guest on Something Like the Offseason is Jared Green. The son of a hall of famer, Jared grew up around football, developed a love for the game but also the business and networking side of things. He would eventually make the league himself, but after a few years decided to leave on his own terms so he could pursue the entrepreneurial path he always envisioned. Since then, he has founded and runs multiple companies, all centered around his mission of engaging people in organizations and empowering them to thrive at work with some badass technology.

During their conversation Micah has Jared answer his big four questions, before diving into how Jared developed a business mindset early, why he left football so quickly, bringing the athlete mindset into the corporate world, where self determination comes from, why agreement is key to relationships, and so much more.

Follow Jared: LinkedIn | Instagram

Chapters:

Introduction (00:00)

Knew You Were Going Next Level (01:35)

Toughest Matchup (06:30)

Player That Didn’t Get Their Fair Shot (09:25)

Nicest Thing Coach Ever Did (17:45)

Building Confidence & Building a Network (22:40)

Self Determination, Purpose, Autonomy (29:15)

Corporate Athlete Mindset (33:15)

Boosting Employee Engagement (38:40)

Building Agreement in Relationships (47:20)

Relationships are Everything (55:30)

Jared’s Book and How to Connect (01:02:22)

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Today’s guest on Something Like the Offseason is Vick Ballard. During Vick’s playing days he was leading the SEC in touchdowns and making a name for himself as a rookie with the Indianapolis Colts before a string of injuries derailed his career. Upon leaving Football he turned his sights to the career he had always wanted, an engineer, and not only went back to do his undergrad all over again but then added a Master’s and MBA on top of that, eventually leading to his current role as an engineer at Lockheed Martin. It’s an incredible story of bouncing back and following your own path, and you won’t want to miss it.

During their conversation Micah has Vick answer his big four questions, go through his football journey, explain the educational process he went back to, how he learned to learn the best way for him, and a bunch more.

Follow Vick: LinkedIn | Instagram | Twitter

Chapters:

Introduction (00:00)

Knew You Were Going Next Level (01:47)

Toughest Matchup (06:36)

Player That Didn’t Get Their Fair Shot (07:55)

Nicest Thing Coach Ever Did (09:58)

Injuries Derailed a Promising Start (11:45)

Starting Over Post Ball (16:48)

Why Get the Masters Degree (23:45)

Looking Forward Not Backward (25:00)

Getting In With An Industry Leader Like Lockheed (26:33)

Learning the Best Way For You To Learn (29:44)

Advice You Wish You Knew Earlier (32:52)

Where to Get In Touch with Vick (34:06)

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Today’s guest on Something Like the Offseason is Lauren Gregor. Lauren was a stand out multi-sport athlete in high school, who went on to play Volleyball at Penn, balancing D1 athletics with an Ivy League education. Today, she is the founder and CEO of Rent-A-Romper, a baby rental clothing company that’s helping parents get through the early years. Prior to starting her own company, Lauren worked in strategy and operations with over 15 years experience delivering large-scale, complex projects across industries

During their conversation Micah has Lauren answer his big four questions before diving into her transition out of sports and into teaching, her sudden move to Europe and what she learned from their differing work culture, her pivot to entrepreneurship, the difficulty of building on your own, feedback loops, and much more.

Learn more about Rent-A-Romper

Follow Lauren: LinkedIn

Topics:

Knew You Were Going to Play in College (00:15)

Toughest Matchup (01:53)

Player That Didn’t Get Their Chance (03:45)

Best Thing Coach Ever Did (05:57)

Realizing Playing Days are Over (07:38)

Teaching as a First Job out of School (10:03)

Realizing Her Skillset Made More Impact Elsewhere (14:46)

Sudden Move to Europe and Getting Back to Basics (17:55)

European’s Relationship to Work vs Americans Relationship to Work (21:40)

Idea For and Founding Of Rent-A-Romper (24:10)

The Responsibility of Entrepreneurship (27:44)

How to Understand What You Are Good At (31:34)

The Difficulty that Comes with Entrepreneurship (35:29)

Feedback Loops In Life vs In Sports (37:45)

Excitement for the Year Ahead (40:54)

Where to Find Lauren and Rent-A-Romper (42:23)

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Today’s guest on Something Like the Offseason is Jonathan Massey. Jonathan was one of the top Tight End recruits in the nation coming out of High School, and spent time in the SEC with Vanderbilt before going the JUCO route and eventually ending up finishing his playing days at Southern Miss where he and Micah were teammates. Post-ball Jonathan leveraged his always curious mentality and entrepreneurial spirit to work his way up the ladder of the restaurant world where he now serves as Director of Franchise Development for Wingstop, while also building out his own portfolio of rental properties in his free time. A man of many talents and a whole lot of wisdom, this interview was an absolute blast and full of valuable insights.

During their conversation Micah has Jonathan go through the big four questions, before diving into the up and down path Jonathan had through his football career and the mindset changes that came with it, how to focus on the doors that open and not the ones that are closed, breaking down the franchising business model, some real estate investment talk, and a whole bunch more. 

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Chapters:

Knew You Were Destined For College Ball (01:30)

Toughest Player You Went Against (02:55)

Player That Never Got Their Proper Chance (04:10)

Nicest Thing a Coach Ever Did (06:15)

Choosing Your School as a Top Tier Recruit (08:45)

Path From SEC to JUCO (12:20)

First Time Thinking About Life After Ball (16:05)

Seeing the Doors That Opened Instead of the Ones That Closed (19:45)

What Working in a Cell Phone Store Taught (24:25)

How Curiosity Leads to Opportunity (27:50)

Diving Into the Franchise Business Model (31:05)

Increasing the Level of Possibility (39:30)

Confident But Coachable (44:45)

How to Get In Touch with Massey (46:35)

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Today’s guest on Something Like the Offseason is Andrew Sendejo. After a stand-out career at Rice University, Andrew went undrafted and had to grind his way through a year in the CFL before getting his shot in the NFL. He would seize that opportunity, and went on to a 12 year career as a Free Safety, spending a majority of his playing days with the Minnesota Vikings.

Andrew then went straight from playing football to the entrepreneurial world, where he co-founded BrainTree Nutrition. BrainTree Nutrition offers brain enticing formulas designed with clinically validated ingredients shown to improve memory, cognition, recovery, vitality, mood, sleep, and gut health. 

During their conversation Micah has Andrew answer his big four questions before diving into his jump into the entrepreneurial world, which skills translated the best from his playing days to his business days, how to find a new high in life, where BrainTree came from, and much more.

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Learn more about BrainTree Nutrition by visiting their website.

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Chapters:

Introduction (00:00)

Destined for the Next Level (01:30)

Toughest Matchup (03:50)

Player That Didn’t Get Their Chance (06:45)

Nicest Thing Coach Ever Did (10:25)

Realizing Retirement was the Next Move (12:35)

Choosing a New Path Post Ball (17:25)

Translatable Skills from Ball to Business (21:25)

Considering Coaching (22:15)

Finding a New High and Being Grateful (26:25)

Bringing the Big Game Mentality to Entrepreneurship (28:35)

BrainTree and Where to Find Andrew (32:35)

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Today’s guest on Something Like the Offseason is Darrion Weems. Darrion was a standout offensive linemen at Oregon and in the NFL who decided to leave the game while still arguably at the height of his abilities (a decision we cover in the pod). He’s now an entrepreneur and creative, working in real estate, selling scripts in Hollywood, acquiring companies, and a whole bunch more. A former teammate of Micah’s, Darrion is a modern day renaissance man and was an insightful and hilarious guest that you’ll love getting to listen to. 

During their conversation Micah has Darrion answer his big four questions, before diving into Darrion’s choice to stop playing football while still in his prime, how he found what was next, learning to think in the long term, creating new patterns and processes, and much more. 

Follow Darrion: Twitter | LinkedIn

Chapters:

Introduction (00:00)

Destined for the Next Level (01:17)

Toughest Matchup (04:02)

Player that Didn’t Get Their Fair Shot (07:47)

Nicest Thing a Coach Has Done (09:47)

Making the Choice to Stop and Pursue New Dreams (15:12)

Finding What Was Next (20:42)

Learning to Think Long Term (26:17)

What You’d Do Differently (29:37)

Creating New Patterns and Processes (32:17)

How to Contact Darrion (38:42)

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Today’s guest on Something Like the Offseason is Charles Robinson. Charles was an incredible football player during his days at Duke University, but instead of pursuing the next level, he had the foresight to get moving on his post-ball life early on. Taking advantage of the network and education offered at a place like Duke, Charles moved straight from football into the business world, leveraging his experiences and education to become a rockstar in the investment and start-up worlds. 

Now an experienced CEO with a demonstrated history of working in and building start-ups and start-up ecosystems, Charles runs his own real estate investment firm, Robinson Capital Group, while also serving as a Managing Partner at 1888 Ventures, a mentor at Techstars, and Board Member at Startup Atlanta.

During their conversation, Charles answers Micah’s big four questions before diving into networking strategies while still in sports, why you need to be ok asking for what you want, the thought process behind a career pivot, his current start up ventures, and much more.

Check out all things 1888 Ventures by visiting here.

Follow Charles: LinkedIn | Instagram | Twitter

Chapters:

Introduction (00:00)

Moment You Knew You Were Destined for Next Level (01:27)

Toughest Player to Go Against (03:32)

Player That Didn’t Get Their Opportunity (08:20)

Nicest Thing a Coach Has Ever Done For You (10:47)

Mindset After Final College Game (15:22)

Strategies to Network Outside of Sports in College (22:26)

Be Ok With Asking for What You Want (30:12)

Thought Process Behind A Second Career Pivot (37:30)

Backstory on 1888 Ventures (44:00)

Awareness of and the Evolution of the Self (45:27)

Where to Find and Connect with Charles (50:32)

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