Arian Foster

this from you. You need to start from the beginning, keeping that hitting in the second season. Man, it's really a super excited Uh. But wanted to start off something. Man and I had the opportunity went back to Utah watching my watching my utes play. We were state. We were while we were staying, UM the head coaches, Jay Hill, who actually used to play UH for for University of Utah. He was there when I was there, so it was really cool, uh to see him. It was cool walking

into the stadium. They said, Uh, we haven't had fans in the stands six and eighteen days And I was like, wow, you just forget probably about two or three weeks into UM when we were decided we were gonna go back to uh uh to the University of Utah to see

a game, um and and see Angie's parents. Man, Um, I'm a believer, and I also believe that those uh little things inside, those those little voices, if you're quiet enough, and when you're sitting in the car on the run or doing something, UM, I believe that's God just you know, tap you on the shoulder, tap you on the heart, whisper. And so you gotta have those quiet moments. I went to University of Utah from ninety nine two thousand and we you know, growing up and growing up in l A,

moving to Utah for college, being a young dad on scholarship. Man, let me tell you some scholarship checks ain't what they used to be. They used to be tough, right, And so we had pale grants and financial aide. And you know N I L back then, man, but no L. And I wasn't no n I L. Yeah, you know it was in I L for so one time we lived on for three oh one twin River Away. That was apartment where we lived there. Peyton was really young, and I remember around this time we only had a

few We had like one or two diapers left. And Angie is looking at me, and I'm looking at Angie and we're just trying to figure it out. And it's like set in the third you know, actually second week in the month, scholarship check ain't coming to the end of the month. Not a lot of options. So I know, you know, I'm gonna do what I know I need to do. So I um, I told, and I said, hey, make a list. What do we need? So make the

list on screw the license plate. We had a Ford Focused stick shift, So I get in the little four it was a green Ford Focus getting the stick shift two door, get up early, unlike under the license plate, and I drive up to the This place was called Harmon's on Redwood Road, So I'll go to the Harmon's early by sick fifteen. Not going there, man, And I got my list. We need pampers and wipes, but we need a whole bunch of other stuff too. And so

I'm you know, I'm i'mna doing what I do. If I'm get caught, I ain't get him kid called stilln't want to three Pampers ship. I'm gonna out big. So I load up the cart and I go shopping. Man, I get steaks, chicken, wipes everything. And I walked straight out there out the store loaded up. I ain't got a bag in sight, load up, trump, speed off. I couldn't get in a fifth gear fast enough to all. I probably went from one in three killing the clutch, killing the clutch. So I go home and I run upstairs.

We just live on the second floor. Bring him, babe and Angie like what wait, what is this? I'm like, just grab stuff and put it in. So I'll go in there. We'll bring our stuff in. And what's the point of story. I'm not trying to make lighter, trying to you know, I ain't know snitch, but also believe in you know, you gotta give a contest of who you are and season to move forward. Man, I want to give context of who we are, who I am, who you are, who backstage, Joe are everybody that's with

this just context of Um. Sometimes you look at people and you see them and you don't understand their story. Um, And so I tell that story is probably about the week and a half before it's my time time to get on this first class flight. Lord, like, uh, you ain't gonna pay this back. You know it's been a while now. You've been in Utah a few times, You've been honored in the Hall of Fame, Packed twelve, Hall of Fame. You this, you that, But you ain't paid back what I let you get away with. So, man,

I went to the bank, got cash. So we're looking. So we're back there and we're looking for Harmon's. Harmon's is no longer Harmon's. Harmon's is Utah's version of Audies or Piggly Wiggly or food Line. It's actually changed into two different grocery stores now. So I'm going there and I'm asking for a m I go in there, and you know, when you're trying to make right, you know, God is going now, he's gonna he's gonna stretch it. He's gonna pressoushi if you bail out, right. So I

go in there. You know, I got my Utah hat on and and put these glasses on though you know, okay, Duke got the cameras, man, So I put the glasses on. I walk in and he's gonna say, boy, you better take them glasses on trying you're trying to do the short So I took my glasses off and I asked for the manager. So I walk in. I think it's called Macy's or whatever it's called now, not Macy's, like the store. But I know I'm saying it wrong, but whatever.

To the point of it, it ain't the same story technically, So I'm off the hook. I don't know you're not, but I know I'm not. I'm just telling you what's going through my mind. Can you can I can I talk out loud to y'all? You know hear me? Right? So I'm like, so you know, and so I was, hey, can I speak to the manager? Yeah? Was it? I just want to speak to the manage John, John to the front place, John to the front. So it's probably only like forty seconds, but you know, it feels like

ten minutes, man John at lunch. So I'm straight right, boy, don't you boy? Don't boy? No? Now at this point, was it a more audible voice of said that quiet voice? No, this thing, it's out of it. Yeah, I want to make sure I knew that, Nina, don't you move, just boy, out of breath, like you know, I ain't ran, but why is the altitude making me sure to breath? Well, let me get this system manager because John is out.

So they bring their system manager up and so I got my mask on right, and I said, well, so I go to explain what I'm doing in the first couple of things where well, you know, I had or like man just quit playing around. So I said, Sir, I took some things a couple of years ago that I shouldn't have. He goes, wow, you know so a typical rational person. He goes hands on his hips. So what did you take, sir? And I went to go explain, and I just said I took some things that I

know I shouldn't have. He goes, well, was it in the And I knew this was the lower having. He said, was it in like hair products? I don't know why. He was like, was it you know what particular section of it? Oh? Any anyway, so I'm like, now, I took groceries, but I took her stuff I wasn't supposed to take. So I had the cash. I gave it to him and he said, wow, we generally don't get people coming back to pay for what they took. And so I did that and it was over and I

walked out. Man, what was crazy is to build up to doing it was so much more than it than what I experienced by doing it. When I walked out of the store, it was like a weight had been lifted because it was I think it was crazy is prior to us going there that week? Yeah, bro, I haven't thought about that story ever in my life until probably,

you know, a couple of weeks before we left. What's funny about that is when you actually did the act of the borrowing of the goods, you weren't as nervous as going back to have a conversation about what you did. Just that ain't born and their product some sprits er or something. But just doing doing that act because at the time you wasn't doing it to be funny. At the time, you wouldn't doing it, you know, with your guys, with your teammates as a as a joke or as

a hazing. I mean, you did it because you need to take care of your family. Not saying that's right or it's justified. However, you going and doing that, you were just trying to take care of your family. Well, now, because I had the luxury of hearing this story. We had spoke at an event and Steve had told this story to a bunch of college guys, and that wasn't the story that they thought they were gonna get. They thought they were going to get the age and eighty

nine the hairs. How I broke down a dB But he had that audience. You could hear a pin drop in there and just that messaging to even pay it back to that store. But the cash you gave, of course, and I think, if I remember correctly, he was gonna put it into their grocery fund that when indigent people had come in when they're in a situation like maybe young Steve Smith was in, Hey, I got this in my back pocket. Let me take care of this young individual.

So he's gonna be helping out others as well. It was just tough that for me, it was staring in the face of a company. You there wrong, even though the original company long gong. You gotta let go of the offense to see his opportunity. So that was, um, that's what I experienced, man, And it was it was it was, I want to say, it was just different and it was just say one of those uh, one

of those reflective moments, right, yeah. And I think the other thing too that you said that was profound is sometimes you have to go with that voice that's the small, little whisper, because that's often the one that is the one. You know, you gotta that's the real voice. That's that's the one. It's it's that one. It's now over time it becomes so audible that you have to move, but you have to listen when it's that small, like and it's right there in the back of your mind too.

It's never gonna turn everything down and everything. You gotta listen to that voice. That voice has always been the one that I'm like, all right, I gotta be obedient to that one, because I know if I'm obedient to that one, then when I get to the future, then that's then everything's gonna be taken care of. So that's that's the most profound part that you listen to, that to that small whisper voice, because that's always the one. Always.

I don't know about that storm manager voice though, like hands on his hips, no, he was he was like, well, what did your take? Oh, was it hair products or was it you know? And I'm like, you know, damn willing products. While you look at my hat when I said that, you don't you do one? Covering up like it's a red toothpage back in the day, y'all finish who we got coming up on the Cut to a Podcast? We've got Arian Foster, a four time Pro Bowl running

back for the Houston Texans in Miami Dolphins. He was first team All Pro in t and he holds the Houston Texans franchise records in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. Arian Foster on the Cut to a Podcast. I appreciate you have me, man, I appreciate it. Man. You look good. You look all healthy and vibrant. Relative man, But I'm doing all right for myself. Hey, what do you mean? It's it is? Yeah? Yeah, you know, ups and downs life. We haven't in there everybody but life life and out

here man, life be life, And I like that. Our first segment it's called get Ice Up. There are random icebreakers. Smithy has random questions. We have no idea what they are. Smitty, go ahead, give me the first one, all right? What makes what makes you most frustrated? Uh? Irrational people or just irrational thoughts? Um that like people believe things or do things like off of impulse or just off of strictly feelings without like really thinking through why they do

or think that way. So, uh, does truth exists without evidence? Sphical question? Um, it's icebreakers, The truth exists without evidence? Yeah, as black man, we can say, y'all, well, I gotta I gotta follow up on that one. How do two

people agree on what truth is? Well, that goes back to my the ship that bothers me is uh, I mean I would think, I mean not to get all super deep on from the first minute, but if it's literally what's going on, and it's what's going on in our country right now, is if two people can't agree on what truth is, that's when you have the disco

or the dissonance. Right, So you have to agree that there has to be a methodology or yeah, methodology in order to get the closest to truth, because when you're talking about it philosophically, you can only learn things to be true to a certain degree, Like there's no absolute truth and this is going a little deeper than I anticipated.

But so you have to agree that the degree in which we're calling something true, um, has to be Uh, derived from like a methodology, and if we can't agree on that methodology, then there's really no point in that's even having a company at least me too. What does success look like to you? Yeah, that's a great question. Now, this is one of the better questions in the world. Like when you like, when you talk to young cats, right,

when you talk to young cats. We have all these dreams, goes and efficient is one of the things that I always tell them is like to make sure you understand and define your success because you're always gonna be chasing that rainbow, like there's always a bigger call, better call, bigger house or whatever. Can be so defined with your successes. And so to me, success looks like a healthy, happy family that UM can get to get up and enjoy the day without having to worry about uh, society's wolves.

You know that ain't real life? Then wow, just being honest like that is that that's that that's a UM.

You're talking about methodology, man, that's a mindsetting which a lot of people find UM extremely difficult to process to and our personally believe, especially with the four team, they just fourteen through those people, UM are leading to suicide of our suicide rate right now from to currently today fourteen And that is exactly has to do with what you define success, right and something and and social media defines success in an unrealistic and almost kind of you know,

we hear this in football. Perception is reality, right, What people perceive you as is what they believe you are, even though contrary to belief and evidence that would show right. I just did a podcast is his Father podcast? And he asked, he asked me about um, asked me about some some questions, but then he said, why do you do your podcast? And I said, well, I do it because I want to give people an opportunity to reveal who they are outside of their role. Because I had

a speaking engagement with a guy. Waited till after the speaking engagement, and he said, you know, as a as a young he was older, he was older gentleman, and he said, uh, you know, I respect you and as a as a as a man, as a young man, I really admire how you've grown because as a football player, I particularly didn't like you. And I really wasn't sure

how to take that backhanded compliment. But what stuck with me is he took my role or my job and formulated his opinion, Oh who I am as a man and as a as a as an employee of the NFL to say or disqualified me in every other area of my life because of how I play football. And I just found that interesting. That's that's the world we

live in. I know, I know. But if we do that to them, if we do that to them, meaning someone else, Oh they're offended, you know, leave a bad review on a on on something that they work at. Oh they get they they get their socks and the tizzy. Right. Imagine if we started leaving reviews at the person at the register at a at a bank, or or at a store and just started saying, man, great great store,

horrible services, and then start name dropping. Better be carrying out here, man, hey man, listen, I've had a lot of time on my hands, right, I've had a lot of time on hands, So I started, you know, I just started to think about his name. I love cut to It, and I love it even more when you download us and subscribe, and you can follow us on social media too, Smithie, where where at that's at? Cut to It? On Instagram? What about Twitter? At? Cut to It? Facebook?

Cut to It featuring Steve Smith singr what about online? And you can follow us at cut to It podcast dot com, where you can buy merch and you can subscribe to us wherever you listen to podcasts. I got all my answers questions. Uh yeah, I got all my questions answered. That's what I'm here for, a brother, Cut to a podcast dot com. Where are you living these days?

I'm still on in Houston, man. I got all my babies out there, so um, until they until they you know, are out on their own and experience in the world, I'm gonna be there. I gotta foot in there at least, all right. How has life been for you for the

last eighteen months? Oh? Man, Well, split with my lady and I think that was like one of the first times where uh really experienced heartbreak because before I think I have been um, I would to stay womanizing, man, But like I played the game a lot, right, and so this is the first time I was really like invested in a family like that, and so um, long story short, Um, yeah, experienced some heartbreak to where it was like really transformative and it kind of changed the

way that I viewed things, kind of changed the way I looked at myself and you know, in the midst of it, just kind of figuring out um uh forgiveness and kind of meet people where they at instead of where I expected to be and that that's that's been really helpful. So we already started off this way. I love asking asking it this way. You know, where are you from in the place you call your hometown? I grew up at Albuquerque, New Mexico. UM, went to high school in San Diego. So I kind of read both

both kind of reaped me. So I called both home. Okay, how would you describe your childhood? Chaotic but um but fun? It's chotic. Elaborate on that if you, if you, if you're there too, Yeah, yeah, So I grew up. I mean it's nothing the story that nobody's heard before, but I grew up in a domestically violent household, uh, group of poverty. UM and so kind of navigating those waters and and trying to u hold onto a dream you have as a kid, it gets uh, you know, it

gets dramatic. There's just a lot, a lot of moving pieces, um, a lot of emotional baggage you have to work through in your lot of years that that you were unable to UM and then you know the family dynamic that comes with that as well as being a breadwinning and your family from somebody from first generation wealth too, being able to manage all of those relationships and the expectations

that come with that UM friendship. So uh yeah, man, I read something my my my research team gave me that which was really good and I want to park on it. Um, you're raised in an Islamic household. M hm yes, so my father Muslim, Um, I believe he

was raised Catholic, UM, but his life. You can't just say that casually and then skied over it like so so so so when I when I say, when I say Muslim in the house I grew up in, it was It's not the like traditional Eastern Muslim, right, it's more so the americanized um f O I through the Islam Minister Durkan, like, it was that sect of Islam that I grew up underneath, which is basically the same thing, except that they are a little more um politically active

and politically motivated. So like, in order to in order to to to be in the f O I like, you have to have a very good foundation and you have to understand your black history. You have to understand, uh, your Bible, you have to understand your Koran. And I think growing up in that household, which obviously I'm not a Muslim anymore, but I grew up in a house or of allowed me to, um, get a good route

foundation of religion in general. Because I think if you're if you're born in the crypt from my experience, and if you're born in a Christian home, if you're born in a Catholic home, I grew up around a lot of Christians and Catholics. Uh, they're not really necessarily interested in other religions. Um, but when you grew up in that household that I grew up in what we are and it's it's more so to understand. It's also they intersect, right, so uh, now to get too deep into it, but

you can. Jesus and Jesus in a in a Christian belief, is the last prophet before God is supposed to have come back in Islam Muhammad's dad, right, Um, and Jesus was a prophet in in in Islam, and so they view and love Jesus like a prophet, but they just don't view him as divine like Christians, too, and so there's a lot of healthy respect and love for a lot of the teachers that Jesus brought uh from the perspective of a Muslim and so, like I said, growing

up in that household, um, it allowed me to kind of get excume, allowed me to get it kind of a baseline understanding of the world religions, the major world religions. Um. And so that's kind of how I navigated my theological belief system was kind of trying to understand it all um.

And I mean that journey took me to an attire of different place, but I think the root of it was was was necessary and not being pigeonholed into this is the truth because we say it's the truth and and anything else that you're going against the family, you're gonna get. That's that's kind of want to run up into. When I went to college. When you go to college, Um, this is like pre internet days, real internet days, and there was internet, but it wasn't like it is today.

But this is this is when where you were from, Like that was the culture there. Like the cultures are kind of melting together of Internet, some of the cultures or who who allows them? Who if you allow them to melt together. Yeah, yeah, I mean that's that's a

that's a whole other conversation. But um uh, so let me let me let me let me ask you this then, because but what's funny is, you know, as I'm sitting here listening to you and hear you talk, I can also see you know, you always considered a guy who who who thought will beyond his years? You always thinking

you were a thinker. And by the time you're what sixteen years old, you have the ability to have a complete, well rounded education of black history, a complete education of the Muslim culture, and then also obviously other cultures as well. You're living in um uh Albuquerque, New Mexico. That that in itself is a unique dynamic. Um. I mean I can imagine filling out of place and be and and

and sticking out would be an understatement. Yeah, that's kind of been my experience everywhere I went to be honest, and there wasn't anything purposefully, No, you couldn't. It's just it's I hate to say that users it's happenstance. And I was gonna do you do you run from that or do you embrace it? Well, I used to run

from me. And I think when you're a kid and you're kind of developing who you as an individual, you know, your people can tell you, you know, be yourself all you want to, but still there's that social pressure to you wanna have friends, you want to have you want to have ladies, you want to you know what I mean. And so I think when you're younger, it's viewed as

a liability to your personality. But as you grow, what you start to learning is it's a it's an asset and you use it, is so, and so I never, I never. I don't like grown down to I'm grown now. I don't give a ship. But when you're when you're growing up like it's it's harder to like like when everybody around you it's Christian, Like everybody around you is

Christian and you're Muslim. Is like that That dude's weird though, and it's like you have to defend that without even um it's it's not you're not the aggressor, but you have to defend it, you know, or else or else. It's constant, it's a constant garage. On top of that, where I grew up around predominantly um my earlier years. I grew up around a lot of like Mexicans, a

lot of Mexicans. So you the outcast in that sense where you're black, and so you gotta defend blackness to see all these Mexicans, right, and then you get around the brothers and sisters at that age you have almost too black. No, you have my mother, my mother, My mother was a Mexican, right, So so I grew up

We'll see that's that's the type of say. But but now, so then you're not you're not black enough, right and so and so it's always fighting that dynamic socially until one day I just realized, like these people like I don't like. These people don't care less and and that that that in itself is attractive. When you're unapologetically yourself. That's that's when people come and say, okay, cool um. And you know it's just a life lesson. You have

to you have to go through the learn. I asked my wife, because my wife is my wife from Utah. She grew up Mormon, um, but she's obviously married to me with four kids, so she ain't Mormon. And I asked her a question to ask you just put based on being raised one way, in living an experience in life another way. And so uh so shout out to Angie of giving me this great question. I can't I

can't take credit for it. Um, but she said, Uh, as you've gotten older, have you recognized any patterns or ideologies that were passed down from you to you from your young age that you catch yourself having a correct now that you're older. That's actually a great question. Um. I married up, so that's right, that's right. G uh no, But um, the reason why that's a great question because it is not necessarily applicable to me, but I see

it everywhere I go. Right, So my mother finds it's like she was raised Catholic and she was she would probably considered herself agnostic. Now hm um, I don't want to miss call moms, but but she was like super raised Catholic, like back she I think she's going the fifty nine. So like when like I used to do something that to you know, school on the teacher used to slap you with the rules and hold on. You can't be telling your mom when she was born, Bro, she owned it, man, I know she owned it, but

she don't want you owning it. Forward though she said, my apologize he was born he was born at eighty nine. But but but yeah, so she grew up in like in a Catholic system where like they used to hit him, like they had permission to hit the kids, and so like she has residual because she's not a believer anymore in that sense. Um, she's unsure about the higher power thing. But she's like, uh, she has residual. Like, man, I'm afraid of hell, Like she's super afraid of hell. And

so like sometimes she says, it's guilt. We always, you know, we always we joke about it. But the one gift that I am extremely grateful that my parents gave me, and I always tell people all the time, is they gave us the freedom to be ourselves. They gave us a foundation of religion, like this is what we believe is the truth, but like you're your own person, go find it. If it brings you back to what we believe in, that's amazing. If it doesn't, that's also amazing.

Be who you are. And they gave us a foundation, um, and they taught us how to think and not what to think. And that was that was the gym that my parents gave me, and they gave me the freedom to explore without feeling um shackled by by their belief system. Oh man, sometimes I back in my childhood, I used I never experienced that because I never had to go through It's like, we're praying, if you want to join us, join us, Like, this is how we pray, this is

what we believe in. And for years, this is what I believed until you know, I've found my own path and my own journey. But um, I was very grateful for my parents because they never looked at me differently throughout my journey. At the end of theological journey to this day, they're just like, as long as you're happy, man, that's that's all. That was the general they gave you to me. That's that is the goal, the life goal of a parent, you as a father, you as a mother.

Your goal is to have them prepared for the world, to live in the world, to be a productive member of society when I'm going, when I when I'm when I'm dead, If they can human being and and be productive and take care of themselves and take care of the loved ones, like then you didn't. Let's talk about that though, because I'm about to throw a monkey wrenching there ahead, right, because you know, uh, we've all done you know, obviously, me and you, we've done football camps. Right.

You go those football camps and you see little little right right right, little Ray Ray out there. Ray Ray ain't nothing but like nine. And you see those parents out there screaming and hollering and little Ray Rays gonna take care of me, right. And I just know for myself, I've done so many football camps or been to games, and I started to see those parents who are talking about Ray Ray are talking about John. John is gonna make it and lead, He gonna take care of his mama. Right.

We we look at sometimes sports in a way as an outlet. But I guess so I'm asking you because I think you're a great guest to talk about, is we short change ourselves, especially in the lower income community. And I think the Lord he's saying that lower income is important to stand and saying with color lower income. We look for our son and daughter to make that opportunity in sports, but we don't invest the same energy in the school books making sure, Lord Ray Ray, a

little John can read, can write, can count. And I'm asking YouTube gentlemen, why do you think that is the reason why we don't invest into our children's education is because it's not as UM. Our neighborhoods and our our communities don't have the infrastructure that other communities do, so they don't have the after school programs, they don't have to stamp programs as prevalent as they do in other communities. UM. And there's a whole bunch of societal structure issues as

to why UM. But that's like from the outside of perspective. From the insider perspective, which is equally valid, equally important. UM is Minnisterica I used to actually touch on this is like when you look at black people in America, they don't there's no natural resource that they have here right in order to develop wealth. And you talk about why some communities are more poverty strictly than others, it's because they have been denied access to UH having wealth

in this country legislatively. Were talking about redline and laws, you talk about all this kind of stuff. And so he used to talk about how our athletes and our entertainers are our natural resource because wherever the culture moves is where we move or where wherever we move is

where the culture moves. I'm talking about in entertainment in America, right and so, uh that has kind of been a real outlet in in our communities is you can make it like this, you can do you can you can be a musician, you can be an athlete, you can be an entertainer. And that has been a real pathwork, especially growing up. Like you see a group in l A, you see a lot you probably know a lot of people that that we're athletes or entertainers that you know,

quote unquote made it. And I think that becomes like almost a viable expectation um to at the very least, you can pay for your own college, Like I don't have to as a parent pay for your own college, right because we're out here struggle there, like as a parent, Like we're out here struggling. Like you can provide for yourself in that manner if you focus on your sports.

And so school is like such a long game. Like even if you do get a full ride as as a and an academics, the degree in which you get like there's no guarantee for a good steady job, Like you definitely up your chances, don't get me wrong, you are the probability you getting a better job with higher

wages is way higher. But it's just a more when now mentality, which is which permeates our communities and so, like I said, there's a lot of different variables, but that's just kind of touching the surface of it's easy for me. It's easy for It was easy for me to say, like do you just gotta grind? Like you

just gotta get there? You gotta like you just gotta you gotta because that's what I did, right, Um, But and that that was my mentality to tell my family that I used to tell the kids that like, and it was to me irresponsible now as a little older man to say those kind of things because when you're leaving out contextually everything that I had been privileged to have. Uh. And this is one thing I I preached my kids

all the time. It's like you are a privileged like I didn't like when I grew up, Like we used to like my mom used to send this hungry sometimes to bed, like we didn't have food, Like you guys are you guys get to pick? You have options about what you happen to dinner? There was never options whatever it was there, that's what we was eating, Like that, that's a privilege. She need houses Like this is a privilege. I took him. I took my daughter, she's eleven years

or I took it. I took it to like some of the lower income neighborhoods and hustings like you see this, like this is where your dad grew up, Like he grew up like this, And she just bewildered. She goes to private school. Now she doesn't understand, like she didn't understand that side. And so like I'm very make sure she's aware that she's privileged. Um not to shame her

for her position, because it's not her. She was a true perspective of both sides of the exactly, I'm I'm allowing her to see that like what her father has done, um uh to help bring this family's financial trajectory into a different ace. Um. But then but also in doing so, like I said, when I was when I was in the league, it was more so my mindset was like, yo, you gotta go get it. Like I don't hear all these excuses like yeah, niggas just bitching like that type

of stuff. Right. I was never like I was just never aware of the issues that they faced on the day to day basis that can be debilitating right to where it's like if I get a flat tire, I can cause somebody up and it's it's fixed and it's no problem. Is what it is. A flat tire can ruin somebody's month time, can be the difference between like

gas money and food money, when yeah, rent money. So when you compile like all of the problems that are possibly out there, you compile that with all of the societal pressures, you compile that with with the issues that people face, like all the generational trauma. Like you, you compile all of this stuff, it's really easy to uh not have empathy to people who are living and check

the check which is the majority of America, right. And so to to to answer your question, it's it's you have to uh attack it with different mindsets that it's it's a duality, so you have to attack it from the micro which is like like I can tell my brother right was was he's struggling, um and I'm and I was like, listen, I don't like this current economic system that we live in, but it's what we live in.

It's what it is. If you want to get to where you want to get to in this in this society, you have to grind to the point where you're miserable. You have to do something that nobody is willing to do. You have to do it day in and day out and be dedicated to and it's ugly and it's disgusting, and nobody's by you, and it's lonely, and you have to be unhappy. Like that's what it is. But because if you don't like the freedoms and the and the things that you want, they're just not gonna be there

under this economic system. That's the micro right when you look at it from the day to day and you and you're really telling people how to how to make it in this until or in this in the system, um. But when you look at it in the macro. Uh, that's when the empathy starts to come. When you start to throw in all of the things that that that that have transpired towards people, towards legislatively, all of these things and all of these factors also factor into your

individual life. Yes, it's possible for you to to to be wealthy in America, but the probability of it is very low. It's very low, and so you have to understand your place in it. Yes it's it's very possible, but it's just not probable. And so you have to be which is loudes to what we were talking about earlier. You have to be content like with who you are as a human being, which is when when when moms and dads and they're struggling, or whoever is raising me,

they struggling. They work in the nine of five. You don't even see them that often. They're frustrated. They don't have the time or the energy to sit here and emotionally cater to a child like like they need it, like they need to write I have that tree, but not everybody does, and so we rely on school systems. We rely on That's why they say it takes a village. We rely on a lot of other people to help raise our kids. Good. Hey, Gerard, why did you get

that T shirt? You mean, oh yes, I got it from cut to a podcast dot com where we have exclusive merchandise. Shout out to our guys at seven or four shot. But yeah, you can go on, buy you a T shirt, subscribe to us wherever you listen to podcasts. We didn't get too much into my theological journey. But I used to be like anti religion. I used to despise it. But what I've come to realize is that it's not necessarily just the teachings of the religions that

is important. It's the communal aspect for our for our for our for our kids, like it's it's it's the it's the entire community rallying around for for a common purpose that is powerful. And I'm all for that, and that that was a later in life realization that I had. Um. But the key point, I think is if if we really look at things, and like I said in the Macro,

we really start to empathize with people's situation. And it's not to enable them, right, It's not to say it's not your fault, right, It's it's to say that your society has certain set of circumstances, and in order to get out of those circumstances, there are certain sacrifices that have to be made and it's catering to those uh emotions that come with that, and and that is where the empathy lines, because there is there's there's there's a way out, right. I always telling there's a way out,

but it's you ain't gonna like it. But but in that, it took me years of therapy to unravel all of the ship that I had gone through in order to get to where I went through. Like Isa, I just tell people don't like no, like I have to mentally put it. It's a little different because you will receive

you nervous in the trenches like that. But you was wait white, way more physical than a lot of I will be with you that but like when you're in the trenches dog, like I used to tell people like you, have to mentally prepare myself every game for like a possible broken body part, broken bone, like see, I have to disagree with you because you're actually no. I One of the reasons why I didn't play while I stopped playing is I had to every week physically prepare myself

for the mental anguish and professional hate that I had for each defended out I went against. I built up, I built up my anger every week against the opponent. I'm trying to remove him from just the roster. Like I used to call myself an assessor, like I want to like you know, if you have a house refinance. When the appraisal comes after I've been in there, I want them to say no, that it is not even livable.

It is condemned. You can and and I'm saying that jokingly, but that was literally how I can't how I tried to play, which was physically exhausting. Like you said that day to day yes, yes, that day to day grind. It's almost like it's almost like and I had a lot of conversations with a lot of my brothers who have played with over the years, and this is a real thing. It's almost I don't want to categorize because I don't want to minimize with like actual PTSD cats

go through, but it is a form of PTSD. Oh yeah, some form of every form of something that you where there is mental and physical trauma, especially obviously mental and physical and they lead coincide each other. There there is some post traumatic stress and then going and then going from that from like being because you's gotta be you're crazy to do some of the ship that we did, like you gotta be like it's not it's not saying it's not normal, really really trying to like like I

don't know, put my mind. It's you're to fight like everything you know, you really willing to You're really willing a dog, and everyone's gonna die for this ship. Like that's how you feel at the time. Well, I'm wanting to kill. I'm wanting to kill somebody I don't want know about. I'm willing to die. It's like I ain't trying to die over the middle now, like unpacking all of that emotional like it's almost it's it's performative, but it's also it's it's it's for your protection, it's real

and all of that. It's not it is not it is not a game or charade for the people that who are emotionally invested in their craft. Yep, right, and and so and so I had to I had to do a lot of like therapy too, un undo a lot of that because I had to channel that energy into something else. Like it's like almost I needed I needed an outlet in order to get a lot of cause growing up you have a lot of anger and and and football was the outlet. Right, That's how I

got that ship out. Like it was like it was a it was a safe haveing. It was a place where I could just I could talk. Ship I could be physical, I could rush somebody up, I can do whatever without any consequences. But when you're in just the regular daty that that's not civilized. So it's like, but you still have that ship is still there, and so you have to find a way to get that either competitive edge or that physical edge out um in a

healthy way. And so that's the real thing I think a lot of us deal with how do you get that out? Now? There I got. I got into jiu jitsu. That's a really that's a really dope sport. Um jiu jitsu. I still play basketball, so you know, I get on the court and that that that really scratches my competitive edge because you know, like I was, I was one of the biggest ship talker. So um that that helps helps get that out um. Yeah, this stuff like that man trying to find to get physical outlets out and

uh um and not staying dormant. I think so when you when you retire from the NFL, you wrote it's hard to write those words because this game has been everything to me my therapy, my joy, my solace, and my enemy. So reflecting back, does one of those things stand out to you more than others? Yeah. Uh, I

think this the accumulative effect of it all. When something that has been the center point of your entire life and has been the driving force for you to get up at five thirty every morning, uh, when that is gone, you have to rediscover who you are without the the catalyst of your occupation. And that is the biggest uh um hurdle I think we all, as ex professional athletes have to go through, is can you have and I identity without something that has been your identity your entire life?

Can you I was out about care and I think that was that was one of my gifts. Um, for whatever reason I had was I was always kind of disassociated, Like anytime we were anywhere, I would never unless they knew who I was, your foster. I'd been like I would never the attention. I didn't really. Yeah, I tell you two people, I've seen you before, Like I played chess on ESPN once. You probably see me because of that,

I used to deflect. Um, Yeah, I don't. Don't think it was just never my my my dad didn't didn't fall in love with that the airan foster of the football player. I fell in love with the relationships are built. I fell in love with the freedom that it gave me, um, and the luxury that gave me to um explore who I am, man, summarize you're playing days in Houston. Man,

I ain't joyed my time there. Man. I think it was it's a whirlwind, right when when And it's just it's kind of like a shock, and uh, you know, life goes on and the game goes on, and the city goes on. Uh, make lifelong friends and bonds and things of that nature. But I think that it's it's just one of those things for me anyway, that seems like a lifetime ago, even though it's what four or five years ago. When I retire, it just it just seems like a lifetime ago because when you're retired, there's

no obligations. You can literally sit on your phone all day, you can play video games all day, you can travel all day. UM. And so I've taken that opportunity to really dig into who I am and what I am and what kind of man I want to beat. And these have been the most transformative five years of my life.

And I think that's what when I reflected my playing days, that's really what I see as I see a journey and a sacrifice that a young man made to his older self that allowed him to really explore himself and and be a better human being for our community. Like not to get all hallmarky, but that's why I want to get home. I want you to get hallmark because here's the last thing I want to ask you there.

And I don't even want to use your first name because I want to use your last name using in the south right, What would Mr Foster if he can go back, tell young Foster to prepare him for life? Oh? How how I got out with the little Homie? Well, first of all, I know who the little Homie is, but I just mess yeah, no, I man, it's just

been It's been such an enjoyable conversation. Bro. I I just want to I want to if you could play this back, I want to know what you can, what you would tell yourself, just because because before you say it, man, it's growing up. We we we felt like we had to snatch our dreams growing up. We we felt like we were starters, but we were sitting on the bench growing up. We want to be influencers, We want to be this. You were all those things. We just didn't

realize that throughout our journey. Yeah yeah, uh, I think I would tell a little Aaron, depending on what age, UM, I would tell him, Um, you already got it, like you already have it, man, everything that you love, everything that that inspires you, you already have that ship. Um, listen to people, be humble. Uh and and you'll grow into what you think you can be. Uh. It isn't necessarily to do with football, just in general, like like you got it, like you have the tools already, Like

just he was that's dope, period. Man. We really appreciate you taking the time to come on our podcast. Man, I don't know, man, I appreciate you. Man, I appreciate you. Bro's Uh yeah, I ain't never got to tell you, man, but you you inspired shot out of me as a kid, man as an as a kid, but you know as as a young adult. Uh and and the way you played, the way you carried yourself. And so I never really I don't think I ever really got to give you flowers man from man and man, how you how you

did things. And when I did get the bump uh elbows with you in the league, it was it was always love. You know, you'd always show love and so I how they appreciate it, but I appreciate you. I was always room. It was always remarkable watching your run, watching how you gallop, watch how you just pick the holes, and and one of the cool things is, you know, I think I thought unique opportunity of playing uh with

with coops in Baltimore. And it was interesting because I was on that uh you know, I didn't really care and show that and you know, he really does not like conflict, and so it was interesting because I was Mr conflict, you know, if I wasn't getting my touches. I asked him like, hey, you've got a problem with me? You know, no, but you know, but you know, first of all, you butt me off the first conversation. I

have the question. I know you're full of ship, right right, but and just saying that, you know, we don't really realize as players how much power influence we really have. We allowed the coaches to believe that we actually don't. And um in Baltimore was one of the places where you realize you had it, and so they made it very apparent. So in Baltimore they gave your rope to do two things, swing or hang yourself and so you you had that power, right, you have the power because

you either were successful or you got cut. The only person you have to blame it yourself. And so it was just remarkable if I go back and just in a football aspect, for you to pick up the offense in the way it was picked up and allowing that system to benefit you, but you also master in that system. It's one thing. You can be productive in the system, but to master to where the next guy does not have the same kind of success in that system man

requires a lot. Man, and and and it was just really cool as I go back and look at playing in the system and then go back and looking at all the people that played in it, the people who were successful like you, Andre, Kevin Walters. There's a lot of other guys, uh O, d Man, it's remarkable, but it's so many other guys that weren't as successful because they did not master their craft. And you didn't get a lot of credit. Bro, you didn't get a lot of credit. And you you I give your flowers. You

you did them. You did a great job. Man. And again, hate it playing against you just because you galloped and just you hit that zone outside zone and cut it back and it was like, damn, he's just been just like galloping, just strutting, like he ain't moving. So so, man, I appreciate you are a unique person, you are well worth it, you are competent, and most of all, your lovable. I'm Steve Smith Senior, I'm Gerald Little John and this is cut to It. Cut to It with Steve Smith Senior.

That Is Me is a production of Cut to It LLC, Baltol Creative Media, The Black Effect and I Heart Radio. For more podcast from my Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows from Cut to It. Executive producer Steve Smith, singer co host Gerard Little John, talent and booking manager Joe Fusci, Social media team Wesley Robinson and John show

from Balto Creative Media. Cut to It is produced by Brian Baltaschevitch and Meredith Carter, with production assistance by Alex Lebrek, Production Coordinator Taylor Robinson. Theme music by Alex Johnson, lyrics and vocals by Anthony Hamilton. You ain't heard about it, then We're about to let you know. It's all