Part 1: How Tyler Clutts Turned Failure into Success

1:20

So, today, um, actually, I don't even want to really introduce you

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cuz we met not knowing each other. Like, we just like whatever. So,

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so, um, Jordan, I don't know what what number is this podcast. I don't This is like our 700th,

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I hope. I wish. Yeah. Yeah. Um, but today we have Tyler Klutz. He is

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I mean you're a lot of things so I don't want to just say uh football. I made that mistake before

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by describing people as a former football player. That bother me. You're a dad, you're a husband, football

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player. Part of the journey. Yeah. Real estate business. We we uh

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you also were at a time really focused on helping athletes financially. Yep.

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Um standup guy, Christian. Mhm. I mean, um, I do I do swear every once

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in a while I get nervous around you because where are you gonna you gonna smite me

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for for what? And for what? I don't know anywhere in the Bible that it says

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you can't you can't use a bad word. And the last one I set up that you

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probably could do you probably could do like the son of Thor.

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You probably could do that. You probably You should think about No, I think he could do Thor. Period. I think you could do Thor and long hair.

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Go back to my college pick. I had it. But if you if you go I think if you go the superhero theme, I think you have to

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go like son of Thor though. You know what I mean? Le short sh short sh short sh short sh short sh short sh short sh short sh short sh short sh short shorter hair. I like son cuz I feel younger. You know

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now that I'm north of 40. Like the younger the younger I can associate the better. All right. Welcome. Thank you.

2:53

Thank you. I appreciate you, man. Long time coming. Yeah. So, I should say to everybody, the way we met is actually um moving moving uh

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our national office to Dallas. Um looked at a bunch of different cities and you actually helped us

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look at a bunch of different cities even though you lived in Dallas and you kind of probably knew I think you stacked the data by the way.

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So, I can't change the data and we we were really big on using data. But I I

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made sure you saw the Dallas data, right? And I kept pointing to it. I kept pointing to it because the first time we

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met, we met in Phoenix, right? So, you were coming from California. We met in Phoenix and uh like the minute I met

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you, like again, we hadn't even communicated prior to that. There were some other guys on your team that were like, "Hey, give this guy a shot. Let

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him let him come talk about it and the second I walked in, I was like, "That's my that's my kind of guy right there."

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Like the second. So, I was like, appreciate it. Then if he moves out here, then So, it

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was all it was all a good deal. No, no, no. It was great. No, instantly. Uh, and then we connected on, you know,

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just in general. I mean, I think, you know, the athlete struggle is is,

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you know, I mean, there's so many people, uh, that go through it. Um, some that make it, some that don't, some that

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have trials and tribulations. So I think that that for me like if you play a team sport

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by definition you already know how to be a teammate. You already know how to sit the bench. You already know how to be a

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star. You already know like every aspect of business comes through sports. And uh

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that's why I got I got one review of my book and they said, "Well, why do you talk about sports so much?" And they

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said, "That's why." Because I just feel like there's so many lessons there. But then we So then we meet and we're

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vibing and then I'm like, "Oh, where where you from?" No idea, by the way. We They had no

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idea. And both from Fresno. Well, I'm from Fresno. You were living in Fresno. 20 years. 20 years in Fresno.

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Yeah. And And your kids went to the high school that my wife went to. Yeah. And so Yeah. There was just like it was

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such a small world that So you you go to you go to Clovis High. Yep.

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Well, you play you play both ways. Yeah. At Clovis. At quarterback. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So I was a a

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quarterback. Um, but then I was also like outside linebacker, defensive end. Nice. You know, high school ball. If you're

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over 215 pounds, like you smoke beetle. Yeah. Well, you No, but you're just one

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of the biggest kids, right? So, as a quarterback, I was bigger than my whole offensive line. Wow.

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And so, um, and so, yeah. So, I had to play I had to play both ways.

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Protecting who here? No. And, and I got to give credit. We we had we had uh an incredible group of

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guys that like the like the consmate like team mentality. Like those guys would die for all everybody on their

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team. And so and we and we found success because of that. Not because of talent, not because of

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um ability and skill and and all the things and training from eight years old

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on like it wasn't that. It was guys that were willing to die for their brother and and that's what we had. So, uh, but

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yeah, so I was bigger. Had to play both ways, which I enjoyed it. I I feel like I feel like I was born like

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1500 years too late. Like just kind of that gladiator mentality. And I don't even know where that came from.

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No, I feel it. So, the more I'm out there, it was hard for me when I got in the NFL and, you know, we'll get to that, but

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you know, playing fullback and only playing like 18 plays a game was the hardest thing

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for me. It was so hard because I'm like I I just want to help. Like I want to I want to contribute. I want to I want to

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help. But uh back then it was fun. That's a that's a transition. I I want to get back to that because that's a

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transition that I think is hard in sports and it's hard in business to go from, you know, you go levels, you

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know, and you go from being the top, you know, every play is is you and then all

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of a sudden now you're part of a team and it's hard to sometimes realize that one small contribution

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that maybe has nothing to do with scoring or nothing to do with stopping a touchdown or scoring a basket in my case

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or even or even in the game or in the Yeah. Or even in the game, how you know, can you contribute?

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Yeah. And now in business that we know that there's people that we have on the bench that we're like, "Oh, they're amazing."

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Even though they didn't score that touchdown, but it's it's it's tough. Yeah. Yeah. So, so for the record,

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we So, you you went in in I have to preface it, Jordan, especially for you

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in the in Fresno. It's the Valley Championship. We call it the valley because it's the central valley.

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And even though now they change it to the central section or whatever it is, it's still a valley. It's a valley championship. Yeah. But you you won a valley championship.

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Yep. My senior year. My senior year. Yeah. We were in uh we were in the Valley Championship my

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junior year. I actually was didn't play quarterback my junior year. I played I

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split time with a guy named Jordan Christensen. Is a great buddy of mine still to this day. Um and we split time

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my sophomore year, his junior year. He was he was good. He ended up breaking a ton of central section records. Still

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holds a bunch of records in the central section his his senior year. So, it helped the team most to let him do that

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and then me move over to the defensive side of the ball. So, I just played defense until Wednesday before the

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Valley Championship. We were playing Bakersfield. We ended up putting like six or seven guys in division one uh

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division one uh scholarships and they were just it was different level, right?

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and uh and I had to move back to quarterback. Hadn't played. I I had some

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cleanup time maybe like week two and I went into that Valley Championship with like 36 hours of preparation and still

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to this day I've never been that nervous. Like doesn't matter what the stage is, doesn't matter if it was a, you know, state championship wrestling

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match. Yeah. Um you know, in front of 12,000 people, it's just me. Like I've never been so

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nervous as I was going into that game just because the guys had worked so hard all year and

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so much was going to be dictated on how I played. Wow. Do you think that Do you think that people over Do you think that people

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overplay high school stories like high school sport? I mean I I I I kind of

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struggling with uh just in general, right? I mean it's always like that thing if you played high school sports

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maybe you were good. you played college sports, you were probably good. And obviously if you get to the league,

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you're definitely good, right? So do you think that people overplay or do you think that like you said that was the

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most nervous moment of your life? I mean that's a big deal until to this day. Yeah. To this day. Yeah. Still.

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So how how do you rank high school sports and what contributions people have at that level?

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Well, so I think I think it depends. I think it depends on what you're contributing to that, right? you

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contributing to how good you were, then yeah, I think it's way overplayed because we're always remembering the best stuff. We're not we're not

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remembering, you know, defensive ends that get reached and give give up a touchdown to lose a game. We don't

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remember that, but you remember that sack that you had that ended the game against, you know, whoever, right?

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Right. So, I I think what what is not overplayed about it is the value of what

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you learn in it that carries over and and exponentially more in college and then the next level. But I do think that

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there's so many lessons. And so as parents, um I do think it's very very important

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that if your child does love sports and does enjoy it and does want to do it, the benefits that come from it,

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regardless of if it gets you a scholarship, regardless of if it gets you an opportunity to go to college, there's just lessons that come from high

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school sports. Um and and not about the sport specifically, but about just that

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sacrificial effort that you give for something that's bigger than yourself. You get you get angry.

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Yeah, sure. You don't you don't show it like really. I mean, you show it, but

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you haven't worked cows with me yet. I'll get you out there, Moon. I promise you, you'll see it.

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I I mean, I just your your Well, your approach, I think, to life is very

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It looks like you try to come at it from a positive. I try. Yeah, I try. Yeah. Yeah, I try. But I think we're all weak, right? And

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it all Yeah. We can't control everything, man. I'm I'm I'm angry all the time, bro.

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Like literally, I wake up and I realize emotion. Yeah. Cuz when I fall asleep, I'm 6'7.

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Mhm. You know what I mean? Like in my mind, I'm like, "Okay, you know, I'm like I'm dreaming about being above the rim. Double pump. Uh

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and then I wake up and I'm 5'9 and I'm like, I just wake up angry." I look I get like my energy.

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I get that. I get that. I um I I had to draw in on everything that I had to play

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uh because we have very similar stories

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Like very very similar stories in that like I was motivated when I was told I

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couldn't do something and I was told that my entire life and I was told that because

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I'll start with the worst like from a speed perspective just not God's gift to me that was not it right and so but

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through that he taught me other things and how to be you know proficient in other areas is. But um like like in in

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high school for example, my wrestling coach uh told me he's like and he always

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he always had this I always have to imitate his voice. Clutsy, what are you

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what are you trying to play college football for? You're too slow. You're not big enough. You're not going to do

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it. Just keep wrestling. And he was like trying to get me to be all in on wrestling. And and I appreciate what he was trying to tell me. He thought it was

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truth, I think. But um but that moment right there motivated me like man. Yeah.

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And so so your thing and you're talking about your coach when it was talking about being a CEO

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like that was exactly it. And then it happened again in college and these are two men that I respected

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as much as anybody. second to my own my own dad is I respected them because they had such an influence in my life and

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created and shaped who I was as a young man like like not as an athlete but as a

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young man because of of just the the skills and and lessons and um the

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ability to fight through hardship that they had taught me and put me in you know in opportunities to learn. And then

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my head coach in college who man I killed myself for I mean I was all ball

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like you talk about dudes that are like like one tracked I was one tracked that was it all ball and I get to I get to

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the end of my college career and I was you know three time allconerence and I'm you know top five in school history

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sachs at Fresno State. Yep. um which was its own deal just getting there, right? But then he tells me as is, you know, my

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dream at four years old was playing in the NFL, being Tom Wrathman, you know, San Francisco 49ers, like fullback, just

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a gritty, grimy, just tough football player. And that's what I prided myself on and worked for since I was four years

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old. And then here I am, the guy that I had given everything to. And um at the

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time felt like I had done enough to earn respect and to earn it. But again, he

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tells me he's like, "Hey uh Klutzy, um glad you got your degree because you're

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going to have to use that cuz football's football's probably done for you." And I'm like, "I've been your I've been

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your team captain for two years." And so in the moment, I'm pissed. Yeah. But I am forever grateful and I think

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you are too for your coach. And I don't know if it was intentional. I don't know. I can't speak for your coach. Yeah. And I can't even speak for for my coach

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that told me this, but I'm forever grateful because I do believe that he knew me and he watched me for five years

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and he watched how I worked and how I operated and that challenge of you're not going to do it. He used that again

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by him telling me that. Yeah. There was no chance and and we can talk about it more on like what it took.

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There was no chance I wasn't going to not be in the NFL. I don't I don't know. I think I mean

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they I think in in my case I mean I did I have not talked about openly my you

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know my I wouldn't say I was going to say failed career but I don't know if it was a failed career. I I my athletic

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career has been um a little unresolved in my mind. Okay.

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You know like I mean I probably should have stuck with track and soccer. I was second in the city in the 100

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meter. you know, like so there's a lot of mistakes I made I feel like moving

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from track and soccer to basketball just because I love the game so much. Um, but then as also to your point, we

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talked about this pre-show, like you know that 35 to 90,

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you know, I feel like everything that I did in sports prepared me for 35 to 90.

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Yeah. I didn't, you know, I didn't go professional. I didn't do the things that I thought maybe I could do, but

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everything about that set me up. So, but I would say for me, like I don't think I think that people when when they gave

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their opinion of me in whatever sport or school or residency

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or even my coach, I feel like they believed it. I I feel like they looked at it and they said,

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"I know Moo's a dog. I know he's going to work his tail off. I know that he's going to wake up early and and stay

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late, but there's there's certain things that are just where they see deficiencies and and I think that's

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um Joel Burll was on our show and we we we talked about superheroes. Yeah. And the difference between superheroes

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and super villains. Yeah. And he said it's just who believes in you. And I think like you know you look at

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Steph Curry, right? I write about Steph Curry. Steph Curry, I love you. You're amazing. You're top five of all time. Mhm.

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But you don't get Bob McKill up. You don't get, you know, Mark Jackson. You don't get Steve Kerr. Guys that let you

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just jack. I mean I mean literally, right, if you look at from a percentage standpoint,

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Yeah. there were guys in the league, I mean, Matt Mood, Aldur Raou, right? Like there's guys in the league that were

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just as accurate, maybe just as spont spontaneous, didn't get that opportunity. So

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I I struggle with that. even now to this day writing a book or doing whatever doing this podcast

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I'm always waking up every morning like they just don't believe they don't believe I can do it. Yeah. So I I think I think you've got to

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recognize how how you're wired um like internally and how you receive that

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information because I I generally and and it's gotten me in trouble. I mean

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I'll I'll be the first to admit it is I generally tend to think that other

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people are good, right? and that other people do want good for other people generally. I know

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that's not true. I'm not I'm not living in a fantasy world. I know that that's not true. Um but I I generally believe

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that. And so to me, one of the things that I've had to work through that I've

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recognized after retiring from professional sports and just kind of sport in sports in general is that I had

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I had a um um I had a dependency on not letting people down. And so I I took it

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as, hey, this coach is challenging me. He wants the best for me. He's challenging me. I can't come up short.

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Like I can't let him down. Um, but if you are wired in a in a way maybe in your sense is that like, okay, I wake up

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angry like, f that dude. Like I'm I'm about to go get it. I'm going to show him. If that's if that's how you

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operate, operate in that way as long a healthy way. And obviously your path,

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you've handled it that way, right? the the um I think the big the big

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challenge, right, is that you just don't get so wrapped up in proving everyone

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wrong, right? That you're following paths just to say, you know, throw them

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up the middle finger, right? And you're like, look, I'm not following like the path that I really should be that I'm called to. And I do think and

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you and you mentioned being a Christian. I think that there's God puts these challenges in front of you in different

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places in your life for a reason to sharpen the sword to pull the potential

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out of you that he wants. And however, however you're wired and however um it

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uh it sparks whatever that motivation is. I think I think that's an intentional that's an intentional hurdle

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that you're we're called to to to go over and however we handle that. So you so you don't so so I remember like all

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these names of all these people. Do you do you channel that energy like that? Do you I mean is there someone

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that you think and you're like that person

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you know because you're positive you're not Yeah. But but like No, no, no. I look I 100% I have a story. I have a story and and I only

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hope the best for this guy.

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I really really really do. but he was on my team and he wasn't like a direct competitor because there's guys that like, you

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know, I go into the draft uh hopeful I'd be a late round guy. I was I was a defensive end and let's just call spade

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of spades, right? I was a white defensive end that was 6'2, 245 pounds, ran a 4840. Like nothing jumps out on

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paper like this is NFL talent right here, right? But I was I was highly productive, right? I was that tryhard

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good locker room guy, you know? I was that guy. He gave

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That's like the what's what's his name from the Simpsons? Uh the guy that lived Flanders. Yeah.

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The old the old good college try. Sorry. Uh but but there was guys in that draft

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and I'm sitting and I'm sitting on my parents and I always remember and I tell the story you using this visualization

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of this green couch that my parents had. It was like this leather three-seater green couch. There's five kids in my

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family. So that thing was tore up. Like tore up. Treore up. But like I'm sitting in front of the draft uh sitting in

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front of the the TV by myself cuz my parents kind of know how I get pregame like um like my wife learned like Friday

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at like 5:00 p.m. before Sunday game probably just keep distance like it's not it's not safe or wise to be around

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me like cuz I just get really like wound up in preparation and and and um and so

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my parents knew this from a young age and so they're like he's kind of in his

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mode. We're gonna give him his space. I'm watching this draft. Watch the first day. No expectations. But I'm watching

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these guys and I'm like, "This dude, this dude, that's so terrible. This dude had two and a half sacks.

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Two and a half sacks in Okay, that's fine. Okay. And then you're watching, but what really got me, um, and what's

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hard for me still about the NFL is they're drafting on potential, not production, not character, not

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heart. And it's it's tough because that's why I mean if you put a batting

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average on draft picks, you're you're getting sent down you're

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getting sent down to low A if you're if you're a GM because everybody wants, you know, there was a there was a period

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like the Patriots, they were drafting on, okay, hey, what is their character? What is their skill? What is their

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and there was success with that. But for me, I'm watching and there's this one dude and he was on my team. He got

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kicked off our team three times. Once he was off and you know off field serious

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issues, comes back, does it again. Comes back and then does it again and

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finally is kicked off but missed. He only played one or two games that season. But he had those flashes. I mean

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he was a and again I don't want to talk bad about him because he was young. He was um

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immature. I mean, you know, 22 years old. I mean, we're all young and dumb at 22, right? Guys, women, you guys are

22:42

intelligent, perfect, never made mistakes. Yeah, they got it. They got it together. But but we he was that But um I'm

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watching and this cat gets drafted in the fifth round. Didn't He played two games. I maybe had

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a tackle or two, but tell you what, like he had flashes once or twice a game

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that were like exceptional. Exceptional. And so I there's those guys that I'm like

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I wish heart mattered a little bit more. And that's what like I coach my son's team and that's what I'm teaching these boys. Like I really really am. And and

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Martellis uh on your podcast a couple weeks ago he said I was telling you I was listening that on the way which I shouldn't have cuz like dang that's big

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shoes. But uh but uh he he said something that like stuck out to me. He

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said look you're chasing greatness. You're not chasing winning. Like so. And that's something that I've been

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implementing with these boys and I just didn't have those words. I I I just tell them like look a fifth

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fifth grade pop warner championship doesn't mean anything. What matters is that you are productive, successful,

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joyful um men someday, right? And then high school and all that leads to that.

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But

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like I'm not training I tell and I told the parents like I'm not training your boys and I'm not creating schemes for

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your 11-year-old son to win a championship in fifth grade. That doesn't mean anything.

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What matters is what they're learning from this and the foundation that they're laying now that they can continue to build on. I mean, I'm not

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going to be there all the way through, but that's awesome. But Marty, I mean, he put it perfect like you chase greatness. You don't

24:19

chase winning. Yeah. So, so two things I brought up. Uh, I read about Seria Bonnelly

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that you brought up, sorry, that I read about Seria Bonnelly. You know, she's a skater that never really won anything, but she won in

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life. Um, and she did a backflip at her in in that that made her routine

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lower scoring. Mhm. And uh you know I the same thing that you say and I kind of use a phrase like

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a lot of people when you focus on winning you have to get better faster than everybody else is getting better so you don't get worse.

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So you got to win that fifth grade championship because if you don't win the fifth grade championship you can't win the sixth grade championship. You

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can't go to the NFL. Mhm. But the truth is is that if you pursue greatness, sometimes that pursuit of

25:03

greatness, it makes you lose that fifth grade championship or it makes you lose in a certain situation because it's not

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the right thing to do necessarily to win, but it's the right thing to do to be great. I think that's that's brilliant.

25:15

Yeah. Because in in like life, right, in in in business, in sports, uh in school,

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whatever it is, if you're chasing a championship, a championship like maybe, and I'm

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saying like maybe because I've won a handful of championships, it's cool. It's not as cool as what you build it up to be, right? It's not as cool as what

25:35

you think it's going to be. You know, getting, you know, uh closing a big deal. Hey, it sounds cool. even when like hey

25:42

you get that commission check you're like oh that's cool but it's not it doesn't fulfill you like

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you think that it would be getting to be a CEO like you're like that's the ultimate right like you were talking

25:55

about your business like and that's too big of a dream you can't go there but then you get there and then you're like there's so much more so if you're

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constantly chasing those tangible goals right those those physical real goals

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there's always going to be something else and so teaching to say, "Look, one,

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you got to enjoy, and it's super cliche now, but you got to you've got to enjoy the process. You've got to en you've got

26:18

to enjoy the rebuilding. You got to enjoy, you know, the sharpening of your sword. You've got to enjoy that process

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because if you think that you'll be happy once you win that fifth grade championship, no, it it's not.

26:30

It's not." Totally agree. And I I I think the other thing that you mentioned too that that I really struggle with is is

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so as much as I love sports, you know, I look at the way that um I

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feel like life in general, this is not just sports, I think life in general, uh preocial media,

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um pre pre knowing things about people before you meet them

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was was mostly meritocracy, of course, right? There are people that don't get an opportunity because of racism or

27:04

sexism or whatever. I get that. But for the most part, the it used to be you win a

27:10

championship, you were the quarterback when you won that college championship and you're going to go in the draft and

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you're going to go high in the draft because that's because it's a merit thing. Yeah. And it's now that we're getting to

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even with social media, you know, with sports, I mean, you you can have a guy plays one game, has a great moment, not

27:29

even a game. And actually, I've been watching the women's basketball, you know, cuz my daughter plays and I've

27:35

been in that I've been in that space since for like 20 years almost. Yeah.

27:41

And even in that space, what's happening is it's to try to get notoriety for the game.

27:41

Yeah. They're they're going to other

27:47

things besides just being an amazing person and an amazing basketball player. And I in business, too. It's happening

27:54

in business. I mean, writing books. I'm writing now. It's like, you know, I'm looking at it. They're like, "Well, what's your platform?"

27:59

Well, who do you talk to? Can you get this person to share your book? And I'm like, "Wait a second. I'm trying to create greatness. I'm

28:05

trying to create something beautiful that that doesn't really matter anymore." Does that frustrates me? Does that frustrate you?

28:11

Yeah. Yeah, it does. It does because I think we're celebrating things again that don't directly contribute to

28:20

helping anyone, right? We're celebrating things. We're celebrating like I can't imagine playing college athletics right

28:27

now, right? Because part of you going and signing an NIL deal with someone

28:32

else and transferring or whatever, part of it has to do with your social media like and what you're doing and what your

28:38

branding is and and who you are there, right? And it doesn't matter if it's if

28:43

it's loud, if it's offensive. I mean, there's a there's a line there, but it doesn't matter. It's not based on

28:52

necessarily quality of the athlete, the dedication of the athlete, the

28:58

commitment, the loyalty, all of those things. That that's like secondary, third, it's down the line. It's about

29:06

how many eyes, what is what is um what is the draw? What is going to get people

29:11

to watch? How can we use that person and this is what you know professional sports has been for for some time and

29:18

you know I played for a guy who mastered that right is how do we get more people whether they like us or not

29:25

to watch us and care about how we do whether they're rooting against us or they're rooting for us doesn't matter

29:30

right and so now we see that across the board and so what we're doing is we're

29:36

just celebrating things that are going to be detrimental when that sport to these athletes that it when when it's

29:42

taken away. Not if, when it's going to be taken away. And now they're left in shambles. And we're going to continue to

29:48

see. Look, I can't imagine being an 18, 19year-old kid that signs an NIL deal

29:57

for six figures. I mean, you know what it was like in college? I lived off of $252 a month,

30:03

man. And after that 30 pack of Keystone that I got,

30:09

Fresno. Fresno. friends know y'all. But what I'm saying is like it wasn't like I can't

30:15

imagine I can't imagine living that way having these expectations when you get

30:20

outside of that and and you're looking at most most professions and I'm not

30:26

going to say all but like most professions is like doesn't really matter. I don't care what your Instagram

30:33

and Tik Tok posts look like. Like can you contribute to the cause of this company? Can you generate revenue? And

30:40

there's just skills I think that are being overlooked. I think there's some good things that come from it, but like I just I I don't envy these these

30:47

college I think it's I I think it's I don't want to say a bad situation because it just

30:53

makes me look old. Yeah. But I do think Oh, we're the salty old guys for sure. I do think that to your point and and

31:00

and I do want to talk later too about the transition when you you know you

31:06

finally know it's over. as an athlete um in that transition. Obviously, it

31:12

happened to me in college, happened to you later than that, but um I think that that's to your point,

31:18

the meritocracy thing probably does pan out in the long-term big scheme of things.

31:24

Um yes, there are families that just make it because of their name, but for the most part, you got to deliver at some point.

31:30

Yeah. Yeah. There's a very small population that, you know, inherits

31:35

something, right? whether it's their name, whether it's a company, whether it's emp whatever. Yeah. I mean,

31:40

sometimes ability, right? Like there's some guys that just were blessed, right? And they they didn't get to choose that.

31:47

They didn't choose their parents, where they were born, the opportunities they had, that was inherited. Um but I do I

31:53

do feel like um the general

31:59

generally there's more and more kids that believe that they deserve inheritance and don't don't believe that

32:07

hey I I have got to go create something. Yeah. And so that's what's that's what's tough. That's what as as I look at it I

32:14

think that's what's really tough because I mean in Salena where I where I live now right it's a cool small town. I

32:20

mean, it's exploding, right? Which is that gets me a little it's getting me nervous. But like our our our

32:26

quarterback, good player, great player. Like, and he's fun to watch. Like, he really truly is, you know, just just committed to OU,

32:33

man. What that deal is that that kid got. He's got another year of high school left.

32:39

And I'm just thinking like that's insanity. like the the opportunity

32:45

uh the opportunity for distractions, the opportunity for just like and I'm not saying he is this, but I'm

32:51

just in general with all these kids like the opportunity um for just destruction.

32:57

Yeah. Being introduced into somebody's life because of their availability to whatever they want.

33:02

Yeah. Yeah. If they have I mean hopefully they have they have strong families. Yeah. You know that's right. Um, so I

33:08

feel like in talking to you, my my my CEO coach story

33:13

is your NFL draft story. Yeah. Yeah. I think so. Yeah. When you were telling

33:19

it and when you've told that story, I'm like, gosh, we're there's a lot of similarities.

33:23

Yeah. I mean, and it's crazy. I think for me I don't I think that there are things

33:32

that I wanted and I'm I'm being I'm being vulnerable here because I'm I'm thinking as I go.

33:38

This is not what I wanted to talk about. But I think is there's things to I think you mentioned something earlier. So

33:45

I'm always trying to get something different more like you know okay you know

33:52

CEO okay you're done. No, write a book. No, you're done. But podcast like it's always um and I and I think ultimately I

33:59

want to be able to say that I impacted the world. Yeah. You know, and not not necessarily just for me, just for an opportunity to

34:06

change a trajectory of somebody's life because I know that I've had that opportunity from different people.

34:11

Yeah. You know, you want to hear something that's crazy and I don't want to stop your thought because I know you're rolling. But literally conversation with

34:16

a buddy of mine, business partner, um he said yesterday he's building a he's building a new company and he's this guy

34:23

that's he's always doing something, right? And um and I asked him like how are you going to balance this? He's in like

34:29

pharmaceutical sales and then he's got a dirt company and then he flips land and then he builds houses and he like all

34:35

over the place, right? Like how are you going to do this now? You're starting this like concrete company. He go I was like how are you like when are you going

34:41

to step away from these other things to do that? He goes, "Man, the reason I do these is I want to change other people's lives before I change my before I change

34:48

my own." And like that's what you just said. And like just cra literally that was the conversation I had yesterday.

34:54

Yeah. It it it's it's a it's a compulsion. It ends up being and I and it's only as I get older I understand

35:01

why I decided to coach AO for, you know, we talked about that earlier for 15 years

35:08

and fly kids all over the country. And I was like, "Okay, what you know what?" You know, I I remember I remember flying

35:15

back from work. We had meeting in the Bay Area and I was coaching. I mean, and I was

35:21

coaching I was doing like you I mean I'm coaching like at the time I think there were 11. Yeah.

35:26

And I was killing myself and I literally landed at the airport in Fresno,

35:32

sped to the gym and you know just went and and coached. And a lot of people are like, "Well,

35:38

why?" I mean, it was it was meaningless in in most people's eyes.

35:43

But, um, but so, okay, so I digress. You So, you get to the So, you're undrafted

35:49

now, right? You have your your moment, your less than 1% moment. That's you're let

35:55

So, you know, I'm I'm texting you. I'm like, I want you to be on the podcast. There's very few people that get to be

36:01

on the We talked about this the other day. I do have people that reach out and actually like people with

36:06

followings, people that they're they're like, "Hey, I I want to be on your podcast." I'm like, "Dude, what's your story? Like, what

36:12

what do you what's your less than 1% story?" Like, yeah. And you go undrafted. And I didn't know

36:20

this when we met. I didn't even know this after we worked together. I had to go look it up.

36:25

And I'm like, "Oh, wait a sec." Cuz you just said you played. Like you and you didn't even say you played. Like I had to force it out of you. You know, we we

36:31

went to Freso State like you went to Freso State. You're like, "Yeah." I was like, "What'd you do?" Like, "Why?" Well, I kind of played, you know, like

36:36

you didn't even brag about it. Yeah. But that's your less than 1% moment. So, you're on the green couch. You're

36:42

sitting there. Yeah. Two, what was it? It's two day. How the NFL back then? It was three. Three days.

36:43

Yeah. It was three. It was first round was one day and then it was like second, third, and fourth, then five, six,

36:54

seven. Yeah. So, you go through your name doesn't get called.

36:59

And now what? Man, I I wrestled I wrestled really hard. I I had um honestly like and with

37:07

God I was like look what kind of cruel joke is this? Like

37:13

four years old like clearly you put this on my heart. Like it wasn't like it

37:19

wasn't like oh like I'm really good at this. It was like I was a I was a four-year-old kid and there was like

37:24

some 10 12 year old kids playing football at the park and I remember like they're like, "Oh, we'll give it to this

37:30

little kid." And they handed me the ball and like I just I ran and I got tackled and I was like that was the funnest

37:36

thing ever. This is all I want to do. This is all I want to do the rest of my life, right? And and like and everything that I did,

37:43

every decision I made for the most part somehow tied back to playing on Sundays.

37:49

And so we're at this moment where like seemingly this dream is being ripped away. Um and and and and even to this

37:57

point in this this this inner dialogue that I'm having, this this prayer that I'm having is after that little window

38:02

that free agents get called too. So the draft happened. So I'm again escalating.

38:08

You talked about angry. Like I'm getting more and more mad, more and more frustrated, more and more disappointed.

38:13

And then and then the draft's done and I'm like I don't even care. Like just get me to a camp. like I've had to prove

38:20

my way everywhere I've gone. I I got no problem with no problem with that. And then there's this like 24-hour

38:26

window where they call preferred free agents where sometimes that's better than being drafted in the seventh round because you

38:32

can pick where you want to go if you've got interest. So I'm like surely there'll be some interest because you know I had calls from teams and um I

38:38

just want to make sure this is your number and this is up to date. I'm like oh okay cool I'm on at least on their radar.

38:43

Not a call not a single call in that window. And so then this is when I'm

38:48

having this conversation and I had had an agent that was telling me the same thing like she and this was my special teams coach's wife. She was an attorney

38:55

and she represented bunch of like kickers and stuff like that. And she says um you know I told you you should

39:01

just be a long snapper cuz yeah I just I don't think that you that you can make it. And this is like after my soul's

39:07

already crushed and I'm like all right I appreciate that. And so that I'm having this you long snapped for like

39:13

No, I was twice. I was like a backup long snapper and I'd done a couple things like here and there like

39:19

I was not a long snapper by any means but but let me back up. I did recognize the value early on and I don't know

39:26

exactly when it was but like realizing like the more you can do the more valuable you become. I kind of took that

39:33

to the extreme where I was like the jack of all trades, master of none for a little while. also was like,

39:38

you know, if I'd have maybe focused on one like specialty, like great. But, um,

39:43

I'm going through this and I'm wrestling with God and I'm saying like, why would you put this on my heart and then just totally take it away?

39:49

And I mean, I didn't get an answer except like a week later. Um, I had

39:56

gotten a call from a Canadian football team, the offensive coordinator. He lived in Fresno in the offseason and he

40:03

called me and was like, "Hey, uh, we're having a workout. Want you to come. I saw that you haven't got drafted. I I

40:09

think you'd be a really good fit." I'm like, "All right." Like, CFL, I was kind of like gh whatever

40:16

Argonauts. Yeah. And uh, anyways, I went to the workout. I ended up getting getting signed or

40:22

invited to camp. Yeah. And I but I didn't care. I was like, "Look, this is another opportunity. Like, I'll do my time there

40:28

and I'll come back and I'll play on Sundays." You know, a couple guys had done it. So, I went up, played up there. Uh, I really enjoyed it actually. Like,

40:34

it was it was a good time. Like, I was my early 20s. And Canadians are fun.

40:40

Like, they're it's good people. And, um, we just Canadians just vibe. They do. That's right. That's right.

40:45

That's why we connected. And, uh, and so then I come home and kind and here and here's my story. And again the the when

40:53

when people struggle and when people are are going through stuff what the danger

40:59

is is the danger is is if you fight if you battle through it you learn you grow

41:05

and you get to a point the the danger is that you can believe that you did it all

41:10

yourself right and it was because of my doing that I I accomplished whatever that goal

41:17

is. Right? So, I come home from Canada and there was a girl that like I'd known

41:23

for years. We'd been friends. She actually dated my high school coach's son or not high school, college coach's

41:30

son for like a long time. And so, she was always like way too pretty first of all, and then she was

41:36

always like, you know, yeah, coach's coach's son's girlfriend. It was like, so thought had never crossed my

41:42

mind. Um, and I was still pissed at my coach at that time. So, she had reached out and I'm like, I'm gonna get him.

41:48

So, she had reached out. She I don't I don't know about this non- anger thing, you know. Yeah, it's there. It's there. It's

41:57

there. There's a whole lot of Old Testament going. It took maturity to get to where I'm at right now. Back then, though, back then

42:03

there was still some dog. Um, and so, uh, so we start dating when I come home

42:09

from Canada. I'm planning on going back. But like immediately I knew I was like I

42:14

mean this is stupid comparison but it's like I just I felt like I had invested

42:19

in Apple in like 1985 with her. I'm like there's no way that like I'm ever going

42:24

to be able to buy into this any later. Like I got to I got to put a ring on it and because this is better than I'll ever ever get an opportunity to. But

42:32

what happened was like who she was to me there was a new sense of motivation that was outside of myself. It was a new

42:38

sense of, hey, it's not just my dream I'm chasing. Cuz when you're not accountable to somebody

42:44

else, like you can, not saying you do, but like there's it's easier to just be

42:50

like, okay, it's eas for me, it's easier to disappoint myself than it is to disappoint anybody else.

42:55

So, I always need an accountability partner. I always need someone that can hold me. If I'm struggling with something, I need someone to know

43:01

because for me, I I I do better with that. And so to her now, not that like I

43:08

promised her anything, but to to her now the dream was like reinvigorated. I wasn't tired. I wasn't like, "Okay, this

43:14

is" and and so we started dating and and then everything I did. So I you know, I thought I came back from Canada super

43:21

rich, like super super rich, right? I had like 15 grand in the bank, Canadian,

43:27

by the way. Right. Right. Right. And so I come back and I got It wasn't bad back then, though. It wasn't It wasn't bad bad.

43:32

Uh Well, it wasn't bad bad, but it wasn't bad. Good. Yeah. It was 80. It was 80. It was Yeah. So it was a 80% conversion, but I

43:38

got, you know, money in Royal Bank of Canada. I'm like, yeah, RBC. And so I'm

43:44

like, yeah. Like I I could just cruise, right? I get home and then my bank

43:49

account's at like nine. And I'm like, hold on, I just lost a whole digit like just coming home. And then and then now

43:57

with her and then now there's bigger dreams, right? Now it's like, okay, I want to get married. I want to support like

44:02

So I started working insurance in the offseason. So I was like an insurance broker and so uh started doing that and

44:09

then I was like this isn't making any money right now. So I then started working at Doghouse Grill at Sports Bar.

44:17

Yeah. I was working at Doghouse Grill cuz my parents as much support as they as they provided for me like they were

44:23

really good like you've got to learn and like and they didn't have it either, right? They didn't have any excess cash that they could support me and and nor

44:30

should they not at 23 years old. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. um other than I had to move back in with them. Um but uh then

44:38

and so then I'm like, "Okay, well tips and tips and insurance money aren't

44:43

really cutting it." Um so then I started also working at a Christmas tree lot, right? Pumpkin patch and then Christmas

44:50

tree lot. Okay, we got I got to stop you for a minute. Okay, Tyler's officially Jamaican.

44:56

He's Jamaican. I'll take it, man. I will take it. Jordan. Jordan, I was thinking about that uh in Living

45:01

Color skit. Yo, I mean Yeah, cuz I'm saying how many jobs you got. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, I mean if I I'm

45:08

looking at it, I'm like once you get to when when you get to two, you can like you like you're kind of

45:13

Jamaican. You when you start talking about three and it's also the the spread. Yeah. You know, it's like insurance to

45:19

Christmas tree lot. It's not even like No, it's it's real. It's it's like what I tell people that Yeah. I selling

45:26

Christmas trees. It's no big deal. And I love it. It and so but it was it was all there

45:32

and but all the while like I'm thinking I'm going back to Canada, right? I'm going back and playing

45:37

and um it was just like all right, save up, save up, you know, get her a ring and then there's a wedding eventually

45:43

that you got to pay for. Um and like she was like beyond supportive. So, but then

45:49

um one I ran out of money and then two is I'm getting ready a week before I go

45:55

back to camp the next year. uh they had hired a new staff, new head coach. He calls me and he's just like, "Hey,

46:01

Tyler, appreciate you everything you did last year, but you know, with the with the roster structure, you know, in

46:07

Canada, you can have half your roster is Americans, imports, non-imports, and Canadians." Um, so I'm I'm competing

46:16

against not only the fact that like I'm American, but like other guys as well. So anyways, he's like, "We're not going

46:21

to bring you back to camp. We need that roster spot." So, I'm having another another moment, you know, with God. And

46:27

I'm like, "Okay, hold on. Now I'm not even good enough in the CFL." CFL. And, you know, I felt like I had had a

46:33

good year. I mean, it wasn't like uh I mean, I had seven or eight sacks in

46:40

like a 29 game season or whatever we had up there, right? So, it was like productive, but it wasn't like

46:45

and so but I'm like, "Okay, I'm not good enough there." And I I now have someone that like I want to support. I want to

46:53

give her what she deserves and then and this is all being taken away and then this dream that I've had is still as

47:00

strong as ever and that's all being taken away again. So I had another one of those moments and I was out for a

47:05

year and a half like out out and so same deal insurance I was working this guy

47:11

that had pumpkin patch carnival Christmas tree lot like the whole deal.

47:17

Um, and then training at 5, doing speed training at lunch, and then working till

47:22

like 11 or 12:00 at night. And it was it that's your 40 days and 40 nights right

47:28

there. It was Yeah, it was a wild time. It was a wild time in the moment. Um, in the

47:33

moment though, and that and and when I say like we got to be very careful saying that we did it ourselves because there there's

47:40

no way on my own strength I could have done that. Yeah. And it was my wife now, Tiffany. Um, you

47:46

know, we had gotten married and I'm ready to hang it up. I'm like, this this sucks. Like, I'm going to every dollar

47:53

we made, I'd go be going to these open workouts for like the UFFL and the CFL where you're paying $200. So, now I'm

48:00

having to travel. I'm paying and there's there's one I was in Orlando

48:05

and this is when I was like, I got to hang it up. This I can't chase this anymore because we're we're in Orlando.

48:12

It's at the the Citrus Bowl. was at one of their practice fields for a UFFL team. And uh I fly out there and I get

48:21

there an hour and a half before the workout starts just to register, whatever. I get there, there's already

48:26

500 people in line to register.