Best of "Deep 3"

It's all Tory Smith, two times Super Bowl champions, eight year NFL veteran with the Ravens, forty Honors Eagles Panthers, and he's the founder of the Tory Smith Family Fund with his wife Shannel. Yeah, we're about to go into a part of our podcast we like to call the deeper three. And so we know that a three route isn't deep. So you're gonna let us be great anyway.

So we know that, but uh, these next three, these next three questions just allow us to take a deeper dive into you, you know, as a person beyond your profession. So Smitty, go ahead and uh lead us into the deep three. You celebrated an anniversary with your wife, Um a couple of weeks back, and so I want to ask you, what is being a father and a husband meaning you today means everything? You know, we just celebrated

year seven and the responsibility that comes with that. Every time I look at my wife, every time I look at my kids, I look at the individuals that I prayed for and that I made decisions for without even knowing they existed. And to add a responsibility to provide for them, to be challenged by my wife, to be a better communicator, to not let my past um impact the way that I am with my kids, and to be able to see them through and lead them. Um. It's special, you know, and she's special and the way

she helps challenge me. So I'm for sure thankful for it. And that's the biggest responsibility that I'll ever have on this on this earth. And I don't take it for granted, and I don't take the responsibility lightly. You know. It's I'm fortunate that, you know, I was able to play as long as I did, and I'm looking forward to, you know, being more present now with my kids, and I'm trying to be a better father and a better

husband myself. That's where you talked a lot about your childhood, what you saw, what you what your experience looking back on it? Now, what does forgiveness mean to you as an adult? M hm hmm. It's really good right there. But but put me in counsel right now now. Forgetting this is huge, man. Do you know for me how hard it was? Forgettness is everything, but for givingness isn't easy. I will say that, um. But when you do it, it's very free, Like you feel like you have a

weight lifted off of you, like it's not yours to carry. Um. But I've been able to forgive my mother's ex husband. Forgive doesn't mean that we're buddies or that we're gonna be hanging out, nothing like that. That might work for some people, but that's not working with me in this situation. Um. But I forget. I forgive him, um. And you know, but we're all sinners just like him, UM, and I'm no better. So I forgive him. Man, I I can

move on. I don't care that same type of hatred that I used to have, that same type of hatred that would cause me to be up at night or the being a rage every time I even think of his hear his name or picture his face, you know, like I don't have that anymore. UM. I think of forgetting this for my mother as well. M hm. I used to judge my mother and and for the situations that she put me through, or my brothers and my siblings through. Um, I carried a lot of weight. You know,

I've always loved my mother through that. But I carried I was, I had carried a lot of weight, and and honestly, I would say hatred towards a lot of things towards her in a lot of ways, UM, that I no longer have because my perspective is different. I've forgiven her and I understand, you know when I think about now again, I'm not taking away from the fact

that these were her decisions and she made them. But I just take a look back at where I was at twenty five and where she was at five, and if I was in this situation, what I have been or done any better? And when you think about it, it's you know, it's it's a tough situation, UM, And your perspective is different. Right, I was twenty five years old, Stephen.

I think I was just around you, right, I was around that age, and you know, my mother had must for kids and still trying to survive, literally survived for abusive relationship. So, um, it was a different thing. But I've been able to forgive her, and now I don't.

I don't. I don't bring that up, you know. I try not to talk about the past towards her, because you can't truly forgive someone to interact with them if you're gonna throw it in every phase, every single time, you know, you get into an argument or you bring back these old feelings. They may never go away. But I forgiven it, so I know not to bring it up, you know, And and that's huge for me. That's powerful.

Show the last question to end it all, if you, if older Tory had the opportunity to go back in time and write a letter to young Tor what to say, Um, don't let your circumstances of situations make your heart cold. I feel like everything I'm telling y'all, I've missed out. Not even that I missed out. I've carried a lot of weight. Um. I built up these walls to protect me from so many things, and it's even blocked me

from the ability to love the right way. Like I'm I'm I'm a thirty one year old man, and I'm I have to learn how to love, like that's the weirdest thing to say, um, because love to me, like I said that people around me, I like, if this is loved and and you're saying you love me, like this doesn't add up, like you know, like these decisions, the situations you put me in, this isn't love right.

And so for me that process is with my my wife, um being I was I'm super awkward, Like I didn't tell people, um, I love them, like I made sure because of what I saw and what people said, I love you and I love you carried no weight. I needed to know that your action showed it. So I went until I was probably about years old but probably been told my people around me and started telling them that I love them because it didn't make any sense as the acci didn't show. And I always and everyone's like,

you know, you just know how tor is. You know how tor is, Like he's gonna show, he's not gonna say it right, And I just kind of started listening to that a little bit and think like, well, if I'm gonna complain about how it was for me coming up, I'm no better in the way that I'm handling these things, and it made me cold in a lot of ways. I'm used to disappointment, um from other people. I'm used

to being disappointed from other people's actions. I'm used to uh failure, and so all of these things kind of built this cold heart that honestly, my wife has probably felt the biggest blow from that and and her journey with me and helping me to be better. So, um, I would say that just open up more and not take as long, because I think God would be a lot more. I think my heart is pure in terms

of like my intentions and my love is. I feel like it's being the goal and the objective and what I want and what I projected is pure and real. But um, I know my co heart and feelings have hurt some people along the way. We appreciate you coming on, man, We appreciate your time. And I think the last thing after that tour, yep, I love you bro, Love you too, man, love you too, Love you too. Bro. Appreciate you Man.

Mohammed Massaqui, five year NFL veteran, a graduate of the University of Georgia, an entrepreneur, graduate from the Harvard Business School and just overall, good dude. All right, here's my first one. And I put a lot of thought into it because I, you know, just preparing for this, knowing how how deep you are, what you've been through, and it's been it's been awesome to kind of just walk through this journey with you. You've you've had many mountaintop

experiences and some valleys. When you sit on the porch of life with a beverage in one hand and two listening capable ears? What is life? Taught you that you can use what is life? On my thoughts? Going crazy? I don't want to It is a six pound Jorkie. Poor. Uh, you just off that you lost so man and came with marriage. Bro, you you know, don't put that on their life. Now. We're not gonna let you do that. No, miss, Why that's what you gotta do, even though I'm the one.

That's why he's backing it up. Yeah you know. Um, I'm sorry. What what is life? Yeah? What is like? Yeah? What is like? Taking me? Um? I got a friend. He has a quote he said, the unknown opportunities excite me, whether the future makes me nervous. And so I've I've lived by that to where you know a lot of times we're gonna live in the past and we want to think of like the best days of whatever have

have gone. And so whatever these future opportunities are, they're they're exciting, and if you do what you need to do, um, you can prepare for it. And even at the end, like the future opportunities sometimes not even yours is living through your seats, living through your kids, and so that legacy of you know, given the next generation something to build for it on is what's exciting. Mo If you had to go back in time to Cleveland with the knowledge you have now, what would you do differently? And

I would? I would I would reach out two vets. I wouldn't try to figure it out on my own like I would. I would figure out a way to get in contact with some media, to figure out a where to get in contact with Moose. I figure out a way to spend more time with Hinds versus trying to, you know, put together all these pieces by myself. Um. You know, when I don't think people like rely on just other good people functions at the high level a lot of times, and so I would know how to

do that better. M What drives you now what's your why? My why? Man? I could say my daughter, uh and and having a child that puts everything in perspective. Um. But then I I told somebody like I think I got fifty percent out of my athletic ability, and he

thought I was crazy. Um, and I like broke it down just like some of the things that we talked about of just not knowing um, some of the areas that you don't develop it And so the why now, it's just maximizing my human potential, like whatever gifts God has given me on this planet and not wanting them go um, undeveloped and unshared. You know, especially when you you know a lot of times people don't athletes don't do things selfishly just because of themselves. They're doing it

for family, they're doing it for impact. That the work that you're doing in the community, or both of you're doing in the community. It's not just all about speech Smith, it's not just all about g And the higher you function, the more you're able to give, the more you're able to do to empower other people. And so in realizing that there's a lot that can be done to do that, it's just the potential to see it all the way through UM in all aspects. Paige Demacos, she's the chief

operating officer of the Draft Neckwork. She's co host of the TV in Fantasy podcast, and she makes a mean Greek chicken. How do you want to impact the world? UM? Right now and also in five years? The good question, UM, thank you. I want to impact. I want to impact the world and talked about it a little earlier, but I want to be a leader of a sports media company that helps change what what it looks like in

sports UM. And that means getting more women and minorities and making sure that there are more opportunities at the ground floor to make sure that we are allowing those people to elevate properly, because unless we change it at the beginning, we're gonna have some of the situations like we talked about, where you're gonna make a higher just to make a higher and they're not going to be qualified.

Our responsibility is to foster people and have internships and create opportunities so we can get more diversity, so that when I go to on a trip to the combine, it's not ninety eight percent white guys. It's a more honest reflection of what our country looks like. And I think that's I know that that's super ambitious, but I'm

an ambitious person. So that's that's what I want now, and it's what I wanted in five years, because I would hope that in five years I'm gonna be an even better, more prominent, more powerful position to do more of it and quite honestly expect more of it from other people that are also in my position, and I think that will that will be something that will be exceptionally powerful. So then what does success mean to you? What if this it success mean to use? Success is

every single day. To me, there is there is something to be said about competing with yourself and I have always done this, and to me, it's a success every day, a competition every day, a challenge every day. Because if you start setting benchmarks of this is success for me, then what's after that? Right? So to me, it's it's every day and there's no there's no endgame here. That's not there's no endgame. It's it is constantly getting better at every aspect of what I do, whether that's in

my work life, in my personal life. Quite frankly, one of the things I love competing and having success in most is is as an ass ead and and working out every day and setting little micro challenges that make me feel successful every day. Like that, it's success to me. It's every day, it's showing up. It's it's making those competitions that force you to always be the right amount

of uncomfortable, so you're constantly getting better. You can go backwards and write a letter to young page, what would you tell her to be on the lookout for, UH for this year? Specifically, I would tell myself eight months ago, I would tell myself to relax because it's man, it's it's been a journey, UH, this this last since I left the Combine, UH, life change a whole lot. The second that I got back from being in a bubble

for ten days in Indianapolis. And if I could talk to myself just getting back to the Combine, I would

tell myself just relax, like everything's gonna be okay. Just relax. Um. But if I could talk to my younger self, UM, I would definitely go back to you know, a much younger, ambitious eighth grader who at that time was like, I want to work in sports and was getting bullied by a lot of people at school, and would tell that person that those people were going to ask you for fantasy football advice and tickets and and being and having access to your friends who play in the league, and

that they don't matter. And so I would tell that eighth grader to not care about other people so much and just know that eventually those people are gonna be asking you for stuff and it's never not going to feel good. And and that's what I would tell younger page. 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, Um, yeah, I got all my questions answered. That's what I'm here for. A brother, cut to a Podcast dot Com. Harold Varner. He's a PGA Tour member since two thousand and sixteen.

He's a native of Gaston in North Carolina. He went to college at East Carolina University and he's a member of Brand Jordan's So tell us, so you said you had a good chafing story, tell a show when I turned pro. My really good friend and agent now he manager. He caddy for me for my first seven er or so. Yeah, No, he came. He came out to hopper nice. We missed the cut the first week, and then we went down this place. We missed the cut. But when he wins,

he don't say we takes all the glory. We missed the co He went the next week. We get so. I I just as a kid growing up, I just always if I chafed, you know, you do that, you do it afterwards, you like, you know, make sure you don't put any lotion on, you know, like it'll burn whatever. But we get down the river landing. I had never heard a baby powder like being uh yeah, using baby papers period, were just using it as a No. I've heard a baby but not for like grown men chafing.

You know, I never i'd have heard of gold bin. I didn't like the way that goldon smelled, you know, I just never really yeah, and they're all in the locker rooms. I wonder you don't go in there. That's disgusting. Go ahead. So we uh he played professional baseball and I'm like, he's like, man, you don't put on baby powder. I'm like, I ain't never heard of. It smells good, Like if it does the same trick, you know, I'm gonna start using that. Man. I came out there and

I put on my shorts. Then I had baby powder going everywhere, like coming through my shorts. We use baby powder. Were you playing because there's so much And that was first time about the hitting. You hit your side. I got on the lebron thing just in reverse. So the one thing that I like until so I didn't chafe. And all I remember is that week it was like

a hundred and we were sweating. Every time my hands got you know, sweaty, hit my shorts and it was driving because the baby they called that cheap, So it was yeah, that's my that's my chafing story. I've never chafed sinceon. So I just it smells so much better. Whenever you know, you're like, because sometimes when you use that gold band, you start sweating. Man, you don't, I know you don't change. But m hm mm hmm started happening.

You travel all the world around the world, and the only thing you picked up in golfers learned how not to chase and use gold Yeah you chafe one time, you know you better have I used A. I was using A and D and it was just like look you know, oh yeah you was definitely some old person. And yeah, it's unbelievable. Once you chafe, what does A and D. It's like thing and you just you put

it where you're chafing. It like chaffing is basically where your inner thighs are rubbing against each other because you can get it right here, oh because of the swing. It's wherever Like there's like again this audio podcast, they don't know what you're pointing to. Oh, under your armpits. People get it when they run. You didn't know that. Yeah, I didn't know until I got to the baby pattered thing. I started looking up why people chasing? That's how I

found out now. But Goldband did come out with a deodorant stick that is fire. I should be sponsored by gold What about blistering with with with shoes? Shoes never had a blister period, No on my feet. I got the worlds they did kind of shoot you guy your feet on. I mean maybe as a kid when they came out with the classics that look like old shoes, maybe then. But even then, I don't know if I had cowst up in the right spots. But my on

my little toe, I have like a little thing. I got one on my thumb side too, but it just doesn't I don't chafe. It's or I don't blister up. Do you do you lay out any of your clothes before? No, man, I could be color blind when it comes to match and I get I get Amanda to do on my shot. What yeah, mandal pick on my outfits and then iron them and then I'll travel. He gets it done for me, but I did. We bought a rug for the house and she said it was blue, and I didn't see

any blue in this right. I'm the worst matcher ever. Really, Oh my gosh, dude, you don't understand. Here's the last question I got. A question is is there is there the unwritten rule there's only one person allowed to wear red on Sunday? Patrick read wear's red on Sunday. I don't think there's I mean, if you like being talked about. You wear that red, I wear purple. I went to East Carolina just you just Sunday. I mean people, I mean, I don't. It's very few people that wear the same

colors on Sunday. In general. They might have a night outfit that they're picked out to wear on Sunday, but very few people are like, I'm wearing the same color Sunday. Everybody knows tiger works. That be you try to come back out and wear red and black when you know good and what talking about? To read one of the masters in red? I know, but we ain't talking about him. What you said your unwritten rule? Then I'm just talking

about you know. I was like, I mean, like there's certain things you're like, no, bro, you can't do that right right right? Red and black? The thing uh I would say would be people say, don't wear white belts. I'm wearing a white belt. Why I still first heard that one. Yeah, people are like white belts and some golferd thing. I see it on Twitter all the time. So I wear the white belt. I'm wearing a damn white belt. If I want to wear a white belt.

What about guys that have guys because I've seen it in tennis, like you see it Australian Open and all these major tennants, and like they'll be wearing the same outfit. Man, I wear the same outfit. No, I'm talking about the same two people. Yeah, they might wear all yeah, and it's twinsies. Have you ever been partnered with someone you same thing, the same like, y'all both Nike, y'all both go you really got that problem? You don't? Are you

the only Jordan guy? The only one that wears the clothes? Um? So you shouldn't have fun factor today in the Jordan brand. If you're if you wear everything Jordan's tota head, they go opposite because they start with the shoes. I never knew it. Fred told me that one time. I was like, all right, you know I didn't know that. So um so, Keegan Bradley, Kinging Bradley, Me, Pat Perez and Luke Don would wear the shoes. So does Jamie love Martin. I think you just started wearing so a lot of people

wearing the shoes. Ryan Palmer wears him. I played with him in this team event and we wore in matching shoes. I brought shoes. I was like, hey, man, just wear these shoes. You're gonna like him, trust me. He's like, I don't know now, that's all he wears influencer. I don't understand though, if you gave me a pair of shoes and they look good, I'm wouldn't be looking at because it's the day of the match. Sc trying to get used like Jedi in the last place. You're gonna

be all right, put on the damn shoes. Yeah exactly, Yeah, yeah, we're gonna play playing your shoes on my team. Cool, all right, man, we'll appreciate it. Thanks. You gotta stop by your podcast. Michael Vick he went to Virginia Tech University. He's a four time pro bowler. He was the NFL Comeback Player of the Year, and he's the NFL's all time leader in rushing yards by a quarterback over six

thousand yards. If you could put a billboard in Newport News, Jenior with any message on it, what would it be and why I put it a big billboard? Let's say love that I made it because you know, even when like people, they hurt harm people in their own communities, like and I grew up in no friends who grew up together who would I hurt, harm and kill one another?

And like and like yo, we just all like you know, on your neighborhood or your peer right, people understood that concept then like it's really not that much altercation going on in the world, Like I think, I mean it is. It is because we make it that way. You know, it's several situations that cause conflict and in the communities, man, and you know, for one, it's just too many people trying to do the same thing. And then you know,

like it's just no lordy or no respect. But if everybody went their own separate way, hed their own goals and in vendors, then you know, they easily said they've done it. I think, you know, it will have a highest success rate, more success stories. People just fall into that trap. They don't have no respect for one another, you know, one young kids and you know even with the adults, just sometimes the level of disrespect is just

way too great. It's just far too great. And then you hear about sad stories and like, damn, where where the integrity goes? So I'm trying to change that. But like I'm don neighbor, Mike how and pat folk can a second chance? Speed second chance to change the person's life and happen to me. That's why I'm stop out my own prison reform program UM to help you know, incarcerated fellas man and women with their re entry back

into society. You found out through a friend who just finished up twenty six years for crime he didn't do UM and coming home to hardships, you know, and not complaining about it. And I'm just like, these people need a need help, you know what they need help? You know, obviously I found out transportation and housing it's what's most important, and then they need assistance, a little assistance after that. So you're trying to create some programs and on partner

with programs that can help. You know. I never God, but you know, I just know what what what that second chance to do? You Like, guys come out of their feelings and that that's their label and never it never goes away in their life is never the same, and I just don't think they get to the fair opportunity to go out of the go and try to be successful again. You know, hopefully we'll see that. You know, the success stories are you know, far greater than what

they are now. Because I just know that they just need a chance. You don't. Once you get that felling the tag, like everything kind of goes out the window and then you know it's just no real opportunity in life, and that's not fair. Um So, so I think, you know,

my initiative, you know, it's a social reform. Um, it's too you know, I want to attach myself to things that that that my heart is really gonna be into and that I'm a social you know, justice programs as well, um, but this one is where I really can have an impact my heart and be into it. And because it happened to me, you know, betting the second chance, and uh,

you know, I had resources. And then these resources can be presented to these spellings of men and women and help them, you know, hopefully go off and do some greater things. Well. I appreciate that, man, I love I love that and look forward um to seeing all the great things is doing. The last one though, this is kind of just gonna make you think. Um, you know,

we all struggle with things. And I heard this and I wrote it down and I thought it is extremely imp appropriate for you because you have overcome a ton of things and so struggling. I heard that struggling is successfully not giving up. So what have you struggled with that you haven't dealt with yet? Um? Yeah, I think UM probably still certain, you know, insecurities and just trying to, you know, continue to be UM trustworthy. Man, UM don't

trust a lot of people. I've just been very a lot with a lot of people, and it's UM almost the point where it's like, you know, I'll be thinking about friends and I'm like, d do I Like it's so people like, man, do I didn't even really need friends? Who do I need to talk to every day? If I you know, if I want to just get something off my chest or if I want to explain something to somebody, Like who can I really trust? You know

what I mean? Because so many times I'm and the simplest situations and violence for him, Like I can't even understand why, you know, people make the decisions to do some of the things that they do, and and I just like, yo, damn, that person really wasn't for me. He really don't care, Like you know, I gave him the world. I just I did so much and that look how you look at me now, you know what

I'm saying. So I'm like, that's two years and years and years, and you know, um developing a friendship and giving and make it to people like you know, taking care of and they're able to feed their families. And then sometimes they look back at you and they be like, Yo, well, I guess they feel like you ain't doing enough. And You're like, damn, I did. I didn't have to do anything, you know. So I'm like, damn, how am I supposed

to trust me? Somebody said, Yo, this is my boy and that's my friends because I've just been told by some of the people that I love the most, like that's just not the pay. Sometimes be like, all right, so that's how life is, and that's how I like this. But I'm I don't really trust people, like so that's what I've been dealing with, man, And I don't think it's gonna change. I think it's going in there. It's not going in the right direction, you know what I'm saying.

But this is going in the direction that I wanted to go in, and I wanted to flow in where like, yo, I can control the crowd around me. You are a unique person. You are well worth it, You are competent, and most of all, your lovable I'm Steve Smith, singer, I'm Gerard 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 I Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio Apple Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows from Cut to It. Executive producer Steve Smith, singor co host Gerard John, talent and booking manager Joe Fusci, Social media team Wesley Robinson and John Show from Balto Creative Media. Cut Too It is produced by Brian Baltaschevic 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