Suiting Up with Paul Rabil

"I want to be the best football player I can be for as long as I can be." Drew Brees is a man of football records. For starters, he's the Big Ten record-holder in virtually every passing category. Since 2006, he has more touchdowns, passing yards, and 300-yard games than any other NFL quarterback, he's eclipsed the 5,000 passing yard season-marker five times in his career, where no other NFL quarterback has achieved this more than once. He's a Super Bowl Champion, MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, Comeback Player of the Year, and the list goes on.

“Athletes are crossover stars in business, fashion, media, news, you name it.” The business of sports has changed. Athletes have more leverage than ever, ownership groups and labor lawyers are restructuring their Collective Bargaining Agreements, brands are paying more in endorsement dollars, and media spends are being governed by social media influence.

"We spend hours in prep and research for each guest on our show." Last week, we published our 10th episode of Suiting Up. It's been a year since my co-creator, Tyler Steinhardt, and I first ideated a podcast theme, built a plan, and began to take our first measured steps towards execution. 

One of the best goal scorers of the modern era, this 6'5 250 pound attackman has played professionally in Colorado, Maryland, Philadelphia, and New York. He won a Gold Medal at the 2010 Federation of International Lacrosse World Championships, and co-founded Hex Performance, a athleisure detergent designed for the active person. 

"I want to be real. I want to be authentic. I don't want to endorse something that I don't do myself." Many know our next guest from turning around the NBA's 2012 New York Knicks Season. Growing up in Palo Alto, he was the Northern California HS Basketball Player of the Year, graduated as a four-year starter from Harvard, and went undrafted in the NBA. Now playing for the Brooklyn Nets, Jeremy Lin, is the NBA's first player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent. 

"When you're challenged, you find out the most about yourself." Angela Ruggiero is one of the most decorated American Olympians of all time. She competed in four Olympics, playing defense for the women's ice hockey team. Today, she's a member of the International Olympic Committee, serving on the Executive Board as its Chairperson of the Athletes' Commission.

Miles Chamley-Watson (MCW) was born in London in 1989. He's taken a non-traditional route to a Top 10 world ranking fencer, now Team USA member, and competitor in the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics. He's 6'5, 185 lbs, an African British-American, with dyed blonde hair and tattoos head-to-toe. Definitely not your stereotypical fencer.

“Make sure you have the right teammates and trust them to do their job.”

"Be courageous enough to stop worrying about being perfect." In this episode, we talk about leadership through adversity, playing in the moment, avoiding underselling yourself, and focusing on the significance of what you do - rather than calculating your success in wins and losses.

“Scared money doesn’t make money.” Forsett was undersized by most NFL standards, especially for one of the most grueling positions in the league. He's disciplined, motivated, thoughtful, and intelligent. Yet these are only a few of the characteristics that helped the 5 foot 8 running back cut, duck, and spin through NFL defenses.