CHASE GRIFFEN - Meat Ball'n

Hey, guys, welcome to another episode of Eating While Broke. I'm your host, Colleen Witt, and today we have very special guests. Former UCLA quarterback and Name, Image and Likeness Athlete of the Year Chase Griffin is in the building.

Thank you for having me.

Thank you. This is a very unique You're a very unique guest, So I'm very honored to have you here. We don't get a lot of athletes, okay, and we definitely don't get a lot of athletes with a resume like yours.

I appreciate that. Now I'm glad to be here cooking some good food.

Yes, yes, So before we get into your whole story of who you are, can you tell me what you're gonna have me eating today?

Absolutely?

So today we're gonna make some spaghetti and turkey meatboats. I was talking with my mother when I was figuring out what I wanted to cook, and she was like, left spaghetti your whole life, And she sent me a picture where it was a school assignment, probably like the first or second grade, and I was talking about how much I love spaghetti and meatballs.

Do you still wasn't most like the last time you ate this dish?

Probably last week.

That's hilarious. So you really now when you sent the dish over, you were talking about making the meatballs from scratch. And of course, guys, I didn't even want to be a hater. I just was a hater only because I was just like, I didn't know if you could handle that much cooking and talking. But I really wanted to learn from you.

Yeah, I mean either way, I did.

The store boughs, so it'll be good, really because I wanted to hear your story. All right, go ahead, and you can start whipping up these turkey meatballs. And is there a reason why it's turkey by.

The way, Yeah, I didn't really grow up eating pork, but beef meatballs are good too, just just but turkey was always sort of to go to.

Yeah, yeah, and I did learn and I didn't look at this back. But what I've noticed with a lot of groceries now because I don't eat pork or beef really, is that they be having a lot of hidden ingredients in the fine print. It'll say like turkey meatballs, but then it'll be like put some pork meat in the very very tiny pit to tiny print, you know. So I didn't check our bag. But hopefully we're good. Okay, it's all good.

It's not the end of the world.

And then so go ahead, take me back to I want to say, five year old youth.

Okay, Yeah, I was living in Texas. I was born actually at UCLA Santa Monica Hospital, So going back to UCLA.

Was like a homecoming for me.

My parents didn't want me growing up in La so I had moved to Austin really round Rock when I was four. At that time, I just started playing violin and I just started playing soccer, which is still probably my favorite sport to watch nowadays.

Soccer. Yeah, but you ended up playing.

Football, definitely the other football. But I think I always had a lot of energy as a kid, even in soccer. Was really aggressive and I liked, you know, that aggressive, violent nature of football.

And that's one thing about me.

Even though I wasn't always the biggest player, I could always take a hit and football has opened a lot of doors from me. I'm always grateful for you. You have siblings, Yes, I'm the oldest of three. So yeah, so at the time when it was when I was five, it was just my sister and I.

She's two years younger than me.

She's a senior at Stanford right now, shoutout road, super proud of her. Yeah, he's only eleven, so he's got all the upside in the world and now he got two extra helpers and my sister and.

I like how you positioned that. But as a young and that's that's your your siblings. Did you watch the Waynes interview? Yeah, your older siblings have a huge impact.

Yeah, I think that's always sort of informed how I've seen my trajectory, like, not only how does it affect me, and you know, God will in my future family, but how does it affect.

The immediate younger siblings.

Yeah, so we're gonna keep the pasta up.

Big big shoes whatever. You don't do that one put plastic on the stove.

Don't do that.

So the meat balls, I read the package for you, just a case. They said, just put water in the in the bottom of the pot. I put a bottle of water over there, and I don't know. I guess they turned brown. I haven't made these. I'm trusting you defeat us today.

Yeah, No, that'd be good.

They just got it as long as they could.

Ye, Like they're pre cooked.

You're just eating you just gotta heal man.

So you go back to the violin, because where does this enter in the scene where you're playing about can you currently play the violin?

I still can. I'm a little rusty.

I can't play the way I could when I was growing up, and that's because I was playing every day, like as a as a child, I was practicing all the time. And then in middle school I played, you know, in the Strings Project, which was University of Texas talent development program, and then my chamber orchestra at my middle school, I'd say it was one of the best chamber of orchestras in all the public.

Schools in Austin. So but I've always loved music, you know.

I was even going back last night listening to some of the stuff I was listening to when I was like five, six, seven, eight years old.

Like I remember there's a song called hell Yeah by Jay Z and Dead Press that I.

Really loved, and you could play that on the violin.

No, no, no, but I could still wrap it word for word. But I've just always had a love for music, yeah.

Even more than sport. That music is the thing that I love.

And now I produce music, so you know, in my spare time, whenever I'm not working on finance or not not you know, working in media. That's that's where I enjoy spending my time. It's both you know, productive, and it's good for the mental it's a creative space.

When you were younger, did you know that you want Was there a particular field of interest that you felt like you were going to lean towards when you got older.

Yeah, I wanted to go to the NFL.

I think the main thing was I was raising a household of love and household where like potential was potential was celebrated, so I never really felt like I wasn't I didn't have the ability to be excellent and anything that I put my mind to. My passion was sports, and I liked violin.

I prefer music production, so I would.

Say my main passion was sports, but the school always came first.

That was always the thing.

I wanted to make sure, even if I didn't get the offer I wanted coming out of high school or anything like that, I'd be able to get.

Into any school and walk on.

Thankfully, I was a good enough player where that didn't have to be the case.

But you were a straight a student in school.

Oh yeah, yeah, no debating that.

So take me back to your parents. What kind of home environment you know, get so UCLA and a Stanford.

Kid, definitely, Yeah.

I mean I was blessed to have both my parents very present in my life.

And I never doubted that I was I was well.

I never doubted that if I put my mind towards something I couldn't grow in that. You know, we grew up middle class in Texas, and you know, I will say like I think I had more privilege than some of my friends, especially at my high school, and that's always stuck with me because I understand what platform and with the things you're blessed with, it's a blessing to be a blessing to others. So whether it was you know, giving rides or just spending time now, it's really about

Were your parents strict on who you could be friends with, I think it was.

More so, I think they trusted my discernment. I think when raised the way that I was raised, you just learned to go where your love, your godho where you feel you know, at home.

And for me, I.

Think something good about me is I do see the good and everyone like I'm a Christian.

First, and so I.

Just a regular word.

Well, I just I can't look at anyone and not see them as you know, a brother or sister, you know. So as far as staying away from certain things, definitely, But as far as staying away from people, like avoiding people, I've never felt in me to do that, you know. And I understand, like you know, depending on your self confidence or depending on your ability to stay strong in

Okay, what did your parents do for work?

So my father he's a consultant, you know, he's worked in the media space, he's been an entrepreneur.

And then my mother is a teacher.

She actually she teaches first grade at the at the school.

Where my brother goes. Yeah, yeah, it was funny. No, he loves it. He loves.

Your brother is gonna be strong.

Yeah, I'm really so excited for him.

You said he's eleven, Yeah, his fifth grade. That's a big age gap. Your parents were like.

Yeah, I'm not even sure what they thought process was on that, but that's a.

Big age gap. You were like a full teenager. Were you excited when you're you're gonna have a little baby baby?

Think? I was in shock. I had to sit down. Well, you know, like for the longest it was just my sister.

And I, and you know that that's sort of the identity, like it's me and Rose, Me and Rose, me and Rose. But you know, I had always prayed for a brother. Funny enough, but you know, it's on God's time and not mine.

That stream.

If that's a lot of order, you could scoop it out, maybe I don't know, Yeah, yeah it should be. Okay, this is the This is what happens when you have a set win no sink. You gotta kind of make it do what it do as.

Well as a plastic doubl I don't think so right.

You're doing good. So I had a feeling that there was an entrepreneur in there, because the whole mindset of I could do anything. I said my mind too. Sounds like complete typical delusional entrepreneur. That's how you have to be.

I remember I was looking at a at an interview. It was it buster Rhyme's like, it's not lousional if it happens.

But that's very true.

You know, they're you know what you The world sees you as delusional until it happens, but you I think every entrepreneur has to be. The signature ingredient of being an entrepreneur is you just have to be the biggest dreamer and you you really do have. You have to look past your environment. Right, you're creating a world that no one has seen before.

I mean the part of part of creativity, and the most beautiful part of it.

Is it's two sided.

Like there's really nothing original, there's nothing new under the sign but at the same time, there's always going to be innovation. That's what makes people people that we where we come from a creator, so we have the ability to create.

It's part of the reason why I love music so much.

You don't speak like a twenty four year old. I'm sorry, I just don't. I know that sounds good. I don't know if people tell you that, but you just seem well beyond your years. Your parents could teach your parents in class.

Yeah, No, they're they're the best parents in the world, you know, I think, I think, I mean, we'll.

See how each one of us turns out. But i'd say.

To today today, right now, they're just looking good today, they're they're excellent. And you know, I'll always be grateful for the household, always raising.

Yeah, to the point where your mom could say a five year old picture of that's that's pretty impressive. Your parents are still in Texas.

Yes, they're still there there. They'll probably raised my brother there. I'm not sure.

I mean, my sister she's moving down.

She's about to graduate and so she's moving down to Los Angeles and we'll see. We'll see if my parents make a migration out here.

Yeah, because now two of their kids are out here right.

Exactly exactly, so we'll see. And you know, they've lived here before. You know, both my sister and I were both born here.

Do you think the chance is high because they like to be by.

You guys, I think so.

But I definitely think for raising gage, you know, my little brother, I definitely think you know, it would make.

Sense to stay in Texas. Yeah.

Yeah, they know how to raise a child in Texas. There's there's some different elements out here.

I feel like Las. Yeah, I feel like Texas is definitely better homely family.

I'm always grateful that I came from where I came from, that I was raised. You know, it's a little bit country, you know, but it's quiet, and you know, I really you were talking about not getting in in the wrong crowd and all that. There's enough space for where you can really choose, you know, who you spend time around. Sometimes in cities you sort of get, you know, mixed up into it and.

It's harder to avoid certain realities.

Okay, Well, now that I kind of got a good idea that you grew up in a very good environment. I love hearing that. Yeah, let's get into you decide that you from a young young and that you want to get into the NFL. So you start pursuing this path. I'm guessing the parents like yours. They were like, heck, yeah, you're gonna be in the NFL.

If we're gonna do it, we're gonna do it big as that's sort of regardless of what it is, and you know that that really applies to every part of my life, and it's why I think I'm not like extremely attached to, you know, any one thing. It's more about just continuing to be my best self in whatever it is.

The opportunity is, so you graduate high school, the first school you get into, you choose UCLA.

Yeah, so my first offer was actually Yale, and the way I got that offer was crazy. I was at a camp called QB Collective and it was put on by a guy named Richmond Flowers, and he's one of the best agents when it comes to NFL coaches, and so all of the coaches at the camp were NFL coaches at the time.

There was a I think he was an analyst or.

Maybe a past game coordinator, but his name was Mike McDaniel.

Mike McDaniel went.

To Yale, saw me there and felt like I was one of the best quarterbacks at the camp. They all had assumed based off my performance, I had a whole bunch offers. This was coming after my sophomore year. I'd thrown for three thousand yards. I was one of the best sophomores in Texas and they assumed I had a bunch officers.

They like, where do you have offers from? I said, I have zero offers.

Now I was I was probably five six, five seven at the time, not ideal for a quarterback.

But regardless exactly exactly, they didn't care. They tenth grade.

They were asking where your offers were.

Well, football, you know their kids would offer seventh eighth grade and it's probably getting earlier and earlier as training gets better.

But we were in a camp. So did your parents pay for the camp or how did that work?

Yeah? So we were, we were invited. I forgot how we got connected.

My father has always been so good as far as you know, going back to if we're.

Going to do something, we're gonna do it the right way. So yeah, me too.

I'm big fans, but when it comes to how you how you do things, you have to seek out expertise. And you know, he had he had heard about this camp. He had seen this camp, and so you know, we have we had reached out, got connected with Richmond, and then Richmond did some research on me and it was like, yeah, come out. Well anyways, McDaniel, who's now head coach of the Miami Dolphins, he's a Yale alum and he called up the head coach at Yale and said, I want

So that was how I got my first offer. And then after that, oh, we returned beyond Billboard.

Now it's always been I think a dream of my father to have one of us go to Harvard, yeah school. So when Yale was the first offer, you know, he was ecstatic, but I'm sure, yeah, exactly what's up Harvor?

And you know, down down the line.

Harvard definitely became a viable option. I was actually going to go the week that I committed the U c l A. I think I went to u c l A on a Tuesday. I was supposed to go to Harvard on Friday. And if Harvard would have offered me that Friday, I might have committed, but UCLA got to me first, and I committed on spot.

What did your dad say when he found out on Friday that Harvard?

I mean, I think I think part of good parenting is you have to you have to realize, now, if it was Harvard and then some other university that that wasn't you know, prestigious or something like that. I think he would have stepped in and been like, hey, let's think about it.

Yeah, of course, but you.

Know U c l A when it comes to its black history, as far as Jackie is running, Curtsey, Jackie Robinson, Ralph Bunch, Like, there's just so many folks who've changed the.

World, who've come through there and been athletes.

And then you know, on the school side, number one rank public institution in the country, it's in Los Angeles, it's beautiful, weather is always good, and there's just so many factors to where I think, yeah.

Boston would have been a little chili.

Permafrost for six months.

Your parents are so proud. I'm sorry. We don't have to do a you know what. You could play this for them, you know what I'm saying. You can say, go listen to the episode. They're gonna be very they'll probably cry a little bit.

I'm always very appreciative man. You know, like my father, he's always dream big for his family. I think, you know, whether he acknowledges or not, I really respect him for the transformation he's done. And it's all about building upon others work. Like my my Gigi, my my father's mother did a lot of work to make sure that her two kids, you know, went to college and went on to be successful.

Did he come from a two parent household?

No he did not.

Wow.

So he's done a lot of work to you know, progress his family and God willing, I'm able to do the same thing when it's my time, you know, I think right now it's about building my foundation. My sister is going to start living. We'll live together starting in June, since we'll both be working.

I was going to I was going to ask you that. I was like, are you guys going to end up roommating?

Yep, we are, So I couldn't, you know, choose a better roommate. We shared a bathroom growing up, so we know how to do it.

Yeah. But I always wanted to live with my siblings when I got older, and it never happened though, Yeah, we never roommate it all right, So you choose UCLA. Now let's let's get into the gritty gritties, and I yell is in effect?

Yeah in twenty one? So what year did you go? I got to UCLA in twenty nineteen, okay, okay.

And that process, that recruitment process was really you know, there were a lot of ups and downs, and it sort of taught me how to, you know, just trust in my faith and continue producing.

Well, can we talk about the ups and downs?

And definitely? Definitely.

So you know, I got the early Ivy League offers and then after that, you know, UCLA.

Was really my first Power five offer. Power five.

You know, at the time, there was the PAC twelve, so it was the big five conferences?

Can it down for yeah, the women?

Yeah, well just for the folks that yeah.

So there was the PAC twelve Conference, the Big Ten Conference, the Big twelve Conference, the S, and the ACC. These were considered the Power five just because these schools had the most money, biggest media deals, and theoretically best players. So I didn't have any of these offers just because you know, I'm five to ten and as a quarterback, you know a lot of colleges won't even look at you if you know you're you're not a certain height, you know.

But you know, there there were definitely schools that were interested.

They were just waiting on the first Power five. Now I didn't give them that chance. I'm like, well, if UCLA had had the confidence and conviction to offer me, then I'm not going to wait on some other school that was waiting on them to offer me. That's not how it works. Plus, Ucla just had so many other factors. I think academically, if I was going to pass on Harvard had to be either UCLA or Stanford.

Yeah.

Yeah, there's a lot of fine institutions out there.

And maybe if NIL was around while I was coming out, you know, I was, I was the Gatoray Player of the Year of Texas my senior year. There might have been a school in Texas, or there might have been a school in the South that might have had a two or three million dollar an IL deal waiting for me, and that would have you know, that definitely would have factored into my decision. Yeah, but I think for the circumstances. Once once they offered I was, I was fine with going.

Yeah, so you have well, before we even get into that, you keep mentioning the five to ten. Yeah, did that have any type of mental warfare in you point or put different points?

So for me, I was blessed because I had school, So football was do or die.

Like I knew if everything went to nothing, I would get into Harvard like I believe that in my mind, or get in anywhere. So football wasn't do or die. It was the thing I loved the most. There was a disappointment though.

Going to camps where I would go and the coach would be like, man, you's so good, like we love your film.

I'd be out there.

I wouldn't miss it, throw the entire day like ever before or five stars there, you know, missing missing a few, thought I'm not missing. I would go in an entire month of camps without one in completion, and it just showed it's not always all on merit. Yeah, and it's important to learn that, you know. I think as a kid like it's important to do everything you can to have the best merit, but there's always other factors in play.

And for me, I think realizing that early.

And still not letting that stop me from reaching my goals. You know, it was a test of faith, you know at that you know at that age you don't have the perspective your dream is really all that power as you And for me, I felt like my dream kept on getting deferred.

But part of trusting.

God is gonna work out better than you even pictured it for yourself.

But you were having the conversations about the height one hundred percent. I think that's totally relatable, but it's also inspiring.

Yeah, yeah, no.

And I would always look at quarterbacks in the NFL who were out performing guys who were six five there. I would look at Drew Brees, who's an Austin kid. You know, that's why Saints are still my team, and then Russell Wilson, like these are guys who are either six foot or shorter than six foot who are some of the best quarterbacks to ever play the position. I never knew what it was like to play at six too. I only knew what it was to dominate at five

You do you think that that also made you play harder and better.

I never played with the chip on my shoulder because of the height. I just honestly, you know, I feel like I'm a pretty genuine.

Guy or a pretty well mannered guy.

But it comes with like even as a little kid, like I enjoy beating other people, like I enjoy keeping, I enjoy keeping score, I enjoy winning, and you know, I approach every aspect of my life like I'm not measuring myself off other people. It's just like your competitive Yeah, like why can I not be the best at this?

Yeah?

I love that. So Okay, so you're at UCLA, you're killing it. But when I look at your bio, you have all these other goals. And the one thing I was talking to my producer with was, you know, for someone that's clearly looking like they're going to the NFL, it seems like, you know you're talking about getting your doctorate, you're working on your masters right now? Correct?

Yeah, So I actually I have two masters from UCLA, so I'm surprised at all. Yeah, I'm finished with school, you know, for now.

You have two masters already. Yes, what are they say?

The master's education? So I did that. It was a program that worked well with the football schedule. I got my undergraden two years, so I got my undergradden public Affairs, so I still had four years of eligibility, so I had to be in school. So I wanted to make sure I did Masters that. You know, I wasn't just sitting in class for football sake.

Did all your schooling in.

Six years, but all my undergraden too? Yeah, how I came in with some units okap tests and then I also real smart, bro.

My sister is the really really smart one. That's why she got into Sandford straight up. But I know how to do school well.

And you know how to cook well.

I'm watching you and I appreciate. Yeah, you gotta steam, definitely, I see.

I see.

I like a seer and steam.

You know, I should have had you make the meatballs from scratch. I did not think he was going to be this good in the kitchen.

Oh, it's all good. I grew up with an amazing cook in the house with my mother. Whenever my father would makesteaks, they'd be good too. He put a bunch of seasons, a lot of a lot of Tony saturies.

You ever watch all of the videos online and they're making the steaks and the only thing they seasoned it with is salt and pepper.

Yeah, I think that's more for health reasons. I understand, you know.

And definitely in our community there's there's certain medical certain medical predispositions that that we struggle with. So I do understand when people are vanilla with the seasoning did s.

But speaking for myself, I definitely prepare. I mean I definitely I'm a seasoning prefer for a well seasoned meal. Now a little water.

You're about to do the sauce, yeah, season the sauce.

Yeah, So what I'm gonna do, I'm gonna add the sauce in directly with the pasta.

I know, just you know, are you a big sauce guy or like a little bit of sauce?

I like sauce.

I like sauce too. Sometimes I meet people They're like, why did you put so much sauce on it?

I'm like, no, I don't understand why. You know, you can't you can't. Actually this this is what the Italians do. They add the actual pasta water back in with the pasta.

Okay, so you're at UCLA. You're getting all these sponsorships are you? Are you pursuing them or they pursuing you? Can you walk me through that?

Yeah?

So actually I got my first sponsorship through LinkedIn. So any young professional, any young any young person, just make a LinkedIn. You never know what it will lead to. You might meet the person who gives you your first job on there. For me, I met the person who gave me my first endorsement, deal guy by the name of Rob Master, who at the time he was handling a lot of Unilever in Therefore Degrees Marketing.

Yeah, so Unilever works closely.

They managed a lot of a lot of companies on the advertisement side, but namely Degree and Degree had a campaign with staying the Up, winning awards for it called the Breaking Limits campaign, and in this we all told our story. For me, I told the story as far as you know, a lot of you know, quarterbacks my size being overlooked, but because of the caliber player I was, you know, we still were successful.

You know, we were still able to get there.

I think that really catapulted my early career just because it showcase you know, there were folks who maybe thought I wasn't going to get you know, all the big deals or anything. Well, my first deal was a big deal. My first deal is a big deal with a categorical leader. And then early on I also had Boots, Mobile and Shell, so I already had, you know, within my first three to five deals.

I had three you know, marquee brands, and I.

Was able to also earn enough from those deals to also you know, tie like as a Cristian like, I wanted to give ten percent of all of my money made and still want to continue that to organizations or to.

Causes I care about.

You know, at Huddle High School, a lot of my teammates and a lot of the community depended on the school to eat during the day, so they would either be on like free or reduced launch or breakfast. And I wouldn't have been able to reach my goals without you know, my teammates are without my best friends in my high school. And so once I had money, I wanted to make sure that I was giving towards a

They provide the school on the weekends.

They provide meals that way, when they're not at school, they're also able to have sesseness.

Yeah, because I know LA has a lot of homeless kids.

Definitely.

I think, you know, in working you know, with the food bank and doing more research on how my foundation can help, I think you sort of see like hunger and children and homelessness and children are not things of the past or not things of you know. Obviously it happens in other countries, but it happens in America a

You know right now and that you care about right now.

Wow, when you got your first sponsorship deal and you started getting these sponsorship deals, how did you conduct? How did you negotiate? How did or how did who played a hand? Was it you?

It was really just my father and I the whole way. Really, I was self repped, and I wanted to stay self repped just because I felt like nobody could tell my story like mine. And I also enjoyed the process. I enjoyed, you know, making first contact with the company. I enjoyed, you know.

Making the first contact or them reaching out.

To their way. You did it in the way either way.

Sometimes sometimes I would be at an event and I'd be speaking and a CMO would be there and chief marketing officer and they would be like, we really love your story, we really love how you're able to present a brand and present yourself.

Let's find a way to work.

And you know, as a creative, as someone who loves music and loves film.

You know, I really enjoyed the creative process.

So in all of my fifty plus brand deals, for the vast majority of them, I was creating the creative or I was working with their creative director to creative and then I was creating a shot list and the interests of time where you know, initially my first shoots took three four hours. It's like, no, if I spend two hours ahead of time working on shot list, the shoot turns into an hour match and it provides more you know, vision as far as for the final product.

With my with my videographer editor of choice. Yeah, so I really found my way.

Where did you get the media part of the background a game?

My father he's worked in media, and then what does he do in media though on the production side.

Yeah, but I think I also I just have a I've always loved movies like.

My town.

Of course, we could go to downtown, but the nearest place that was sort of like my haven that I spent my time was the movie theater. So I would I would, you know, we'd have our games on Friday night and on Saturday, I'd love to go to the movies. Sometimes I would go with friends, but Honestly, I love going to the movies by myself.

I just I just love the actual movies.

Yeah, I do that.

Yeah, there's no I sometimes I don't realize that. You know, a lot of people don't do that.

But I've always enjoyed it, and I've all enjoyed movies, and so to be able to do productions and to you know, sort of world build in a way with primarily the brand's key performance indicators in mind, I think, you know, being able to create value out of art is one of the most beautiful and rewarding things.

So you have a degree in education. Yeah, are we almost down to you sitting with me?

Yeah?

I know. Let's get him on the other mics. Nobody likes the live mics and production. Really, no one does. If you're an audio person, the live mics are like your enemy, and then these mics are your friends. Yeah, they'll complain on the other side real quick. But all right, sorry about that. Didn't mean to derail you.

Oh no worry.

So you you're doing all these deals with brands, and this is in twenty twenty one, This is like three years since twenty one, right, So this is becoming your actual revenue stream. Yes, yes, and you're now running a business of your own and your dad is watching his son go to school and like have enough business to even tie, Like, yeah, you're starting tie.

It was great just because you know, I think definitely there's a perspective shift once you start making money.

What do you say that perspective shift is.

Well, I think there's a sort of confidence that comes from what I'm doing is creating value, not just for others, but also for me. And that's one of the best part about athletes being able to capture on the revenue they create. It's like we've been value creators forever. We just haven't been able to capture on the.

Entire part of the value.

Of course, we've been able to get to school, but you know, there's just so much more. Frankly, if you're helping someone make money, I think you should, you know, for taken in a share of that revenue.

Yeah, a lot.

We were barred from that, you know, for a long time. And when I first got to UCLA, that's how things were. Now in twenty twenty one one, aspect changed a bit name image and likeness, where we were able to do endorsements and things like that.

But you know this coust that changed.

There were a sleuve cases, so it was primarily on the legal side.

One of the one of.

The biggest heroes in the history of I think college athletic rights is Ed Obannon, a former Brewin Nate Smith Player of the Year, national champion. So shout out at Obannon. But he had sued the nc DOUBA for utilizing his name, image and likeness and the NCAA EA Sports basketball game and so that's why they had to stop producing that game because they weren't paying the athletes air affair share.

Now they brought him that I'm older. He wasn't fresh out of college. It was a little bit later, but that was and he was ostracized for it, even by the Brewin community. I know.

It was really a shame. Now we've taken steps to welcome by. I still don't think he's received the glory that he deserves for the stand he took.

That's literally changed the trajectory forever and changed, don't feels being.

Yeah, every every chance I get, I try to sing his phrases.

You know, he's worked very hard. Have you ever met him or no?

But you know there there there will be a day in time for that absolutely.

So, so that was what the start of it, and then what happened after that.

So after that, there were a slew of other cases, most namely Austin versus NCAA, which in twenty twenty twenty one called in to question the anti trust exemption that the NCAA has. The reason why the NCAA has been okay, the reason that NCAA has been able to act the way that it does is it's had anti trust exemption. So, you know, policies that aren't really in accordance with other aspects of the American economy, they're able to operate, you know, in their own sort of set of rules.

That's how you have unpaid work.

Basically, as far as the Austin versus NCAA case, it called in to question that anti trust and the NCAA saw the riding on the wall and so they started rolling back their restrictions. You know, in twenty twenty one, they rolled back their restriction on athletes capitalizing on and exercising their name, image and likeness rights and then now

But is there any for any of the previous.

So there's some back pay and I'll definitely capitalize on that chance.

Do you Oh, you're gonna pray over it all?

Got you got you do? You got a waitingness this morning? Giving us this food, please ud be nourishment to our bodies and thank you for giving us this opportunity to you know, spread your platform in your son Jesus name.

Man, Amen, appreciate. I just saw King of Kings in the movie theater.

Last How was it?

It was good? I don't know, because like I read the Bible when I was like twenty nine. Okay, I'm raised Jewish. Jews don't really talk about Jesus.

It's a different perspective, like how you put it.

But you know, because I know it's so well now, it's interesting to see it play out. Have you just signed out before we Your food is great. By the way, there's a book series called Jean Edwards, A Tale of three Kings Prison and the Third telf. He does like this fictionized perspective of what like John the Baptist went through or King David went through.

But it's like a David's second best story in a Bible.

When I say, I promise you these books are like two three hour reads, but you will read them and you will be like it just I don't know. It gives you like a feeling of kind of like their emotional like what they were processing in their like feelings that I think the Bible does a really good job. But I think to like carry the weight of like being Jesus's cousin and knowing he's healing people and you you about to get your head chopped of, you know, like to kind of go through that that feeling in

Yeah, I mean to me, the religious movies are hit or missed with me, but they're always fascinating.

You know.

I think part of the beauty of religion and faith is it is so personally like it is subjective as far as your walk with God.

Can't I can't judge somebody else.

No, no, but sitting here with you, I just got an idea. I was like, we should only do a Geen Edwards series. You should read the book, should read the books. I'll order them and amazon them to you or whatever. And and then since you're into media, you could be like, yo, I think we should do this project because there are so many like projects that are kind of like off. You look at the Chronicles of Narnia and all of those guys. You know, they do

That's why you know, the story of David to me is just just fascinating.

Like the Bible is far from boring. It's got some of the you know, the messiest characters.

Is the first time I read it I was like, there was like, what's in there? I said, incests, right, murder, It's a lot of crazy stuff.

It's got the gambit as far as you know the darkest parts of humanity, but also you know the best parts of God.

Yeah, your food is delicious. I said you could cook and I was watching you salt and I was like, we go see it came out good.

It's gonna be seasoned. Absolutely. I grew up watching the best in my mother.

Yeah. So from an outsider looking in, you would assume that based on everything you've said, you would you would be looking towards going into the NFL definitely. But then you read your resume and there's a pivot in there. So I want to know what's going on.

Yeah. So now I work in finance.

I work at a pension endowment fund called University California Investments.

And Pension Endowments.

So when you think about four one ks, it's not just magical black box that you're putting a piece of your paycheck into.

It's literally what I think.

Yeah, so there's somebody managing that account, and that's what a pension is. So we managed on behalf of University of California Office of the President.

And also, you know all of our.

Pensioners, which are primarily University of California employees.

Does that mean you decide where that money is invested, like with stocks and bonds.

Or precisely so they're interesting. You know our team with creating returns and protecting that wealth and then also providing you money to the schools whenever they needed.

Now what made you get into that line of work?

I met our chief investment officer a few years ago speaking out in event. I think he was a keynote that was one of the panels, and I was just like, what is University of California investments?

I didn't even really know about it.

I think I had some good business acumen. I've invested almost all the dollars I've made from NIO.

Very serious. Yeah, you didn't buy like a bunch of Jordans with it.

I mean, we're Jordan's school, so I got some ones. Yeah, oh yeah, thank god.

But I meant like, you didn't blow any of it on anything.

So when I got to school, I sort of set my spending habits I lived off of and you know, I hate asking anybody for money, so like, I just lived off of the money I was getting from the school off of my scholarship, our cost of living, and our rent was paid for all of that. So I just continued that, you know, all the way through my career, and I sort of looked at my NIO money a surplus. I'd give away, you know, a portion of it and then the rest I'm investing for the future.

And did you invest with this firm or no?

So I invested, you know, personally, just within you know, a regular brokerage account.

So did you learn that early on.

Stocks and all that, I'd say early on compared to most you know, I've been investing since I started making money.

But that's you started making later.

Yeah, probably probably. I wasn't investing as a kid. I didn't have money as a kid.

Well where did you learn how to invest?

Really from experiencing?

Then my father he's you know, he's always had a broker's account, and then he was just telling me the money that are now, like I should invest it just because the multiple, the earlier you invest, that multiple just continues to ac crew. It's like having my own personal sort of retirement or down payment for a house.

Or you know, rainy day fund.

I really look at it as my primary savings account.

Oh, I like that. So where did the pivot from the NFL. Well, your trajectories to say, I don't know if I want to do the NFL anymore.

Yeah.

So, you know, early on in my career at UCLA, I played more and I played really well, especially in the twenty twenty season.

But over the course of my career, you.

Know, depending on whether it be you know, injuries or you know, more pertinent just coaching decisions, I sort of saw like, if I wanted to play, I was going to have to transfer. If I wanted to play, you know, the amount of time I wanted to play, I was going to have the transfer.

And that was something that was weighing on my mind.

But I also saw you know, the upside on what I was doing on the media side, the upside and being LA on the sports media side, and then you know, started to build that relationship with University of California and felt like I was really building a professional home for myself.

You know.

All that being said, I think if I was you know, chasing the dream one hundred percent, I probably would have transferred. But I'm not happy. I mean, I'm not you know, unhappy with how it turned out. Like, I'm very grateful I still have my health, my mind, my capability of thinking, and those are things you really can't take for granted when it comes to, you know, everything that football has done for me.

Yeah, I think as a as a mom and a woman, my fear would be if like my son went to football, because I did you ever watch the Netflix documentary It was like on I think football players and their money, Yeah, I mean.

What my business?

Yeah, I mean I think I think my mother probably was praying over me every single.

Play, you know, so she did talk about it a little bit percent.

And you know that that'll be a conversation for my mother, my father, and my little brother just because he's getting to the age where he'll probably start playing tackle football, you know, more regularly.

Wow. Yeah, I feel like in the back of my mind as mom, that's that's a be like of all.

Dreams one hundred percent.

I mean, and like I know the amount of injuries. I know, the amount of like just being hurt, whether it be emostly like the spiritually drained and then especially physically like you just is a culture where you got to play through it. And I think that's a skill set one hundred percent. But I also think, you know, as a parent, you you may think twice as far

That's something that's when you're watching.

Him, you know.

For for myself, you know, I mean, yeah, it's like I've definitely have my bell rung. I've definitely been hit, and it's like next week you've not seen the same way out your left eye. But it's also myself, like I it's something that I love and something that I accept the risk doing it. But when it's somebody else that you love, you know, there's sort of a different aspect included.

So what's the end goal?

So if I were to say what I want to really do in generalized terms is build generational wealth early, I think like that there's a lot of work that's gone in for generations, generations to get me to where.

I'm at now.

And God has you know, done all the heavy lifting. I think it's really just about taking advantage of opportunities now, So continue to learn, continue to recognize my weakness and play to my strengths, and then you know, going to public service and philanthropy, whether it be you know, holding elected office one day. I just want to be able to affect change with a platform that I've been afforded.

And you know, as I.

A crew more and more wealth, I can be better in my scale as far as philanthropy, and then do all of that while maintaining my faith. If I do that, you know, I know, you know what, whatever sort of struggles or whatever is next for me, whether you know it be a future family or things like that, I'll be you know, well prepared for that.

Are you super goal oriented at home?

So?

I think my parents set a lot of goals for their children, and I think every good parents should.

For me.

I'm not the biggest planner. I'm more, you know, evaluate what the opportunity is and just work the best at that. Something will come out of that. That's sort of where my trust in God comes, just because I feel like trying to say how things are going to be five years from now is Vain's vain.

Yeah, you don't know as.

A person, but what about like a year out a year?

What I mean?

I think setting goals is definitely good and I think for some For me, my goal is just each and every day, like what's on the calendar.

All right, I'm going to be so good on this like that. That's sort of how my mindset is. And you know, I'll look down the calendar a little bit.

But part of being really busy is you got to take it day by day because if you have four or five meetings, you know three of them are three completely different things. You have to be able to sort of disassociate and lock back in on certain things. You can't be thinking about what's happening down the line when when you're there, you'll be prepared for it.

I find myself counting ours, Like if you're ever hanging out with me, go and you'll be like what are you doing? And I'll be like, I'm counting ours because I count. Yeah, I'm constantly counting, like how long does it take? To my girlfriends? We went to a birthday dinner and one of my friends was like, what is something that you've you know, you've done it. You'll be proud of. I was like, I have no idea. I'm

Down to Yeah, I think that's the coolest part about you know, sports, It's like you have to be regimented by nature. I've been you know, doing twelve for you know, fourteen hour work days between sports and school since I was you know, since I was like six or seven, you know, I would go to school, then I would train after them homework. It's like after by then, do you did a twelve hour work day in your.

Seventh That was gonna be my next question is like, what's the day in the life of you right now?

Yeah?

So for now, Like I always try to start my mornings, you know, started out immediately with prayer and then you know, some type of music. I love sending verses out to people so I always send it. There's a small group of people. I send it on one.

Of those I get friends that do the DM.

Yeah, I'm not blowing up in boxes. It'll be just you know, one or two you know, quick verses. Yeah, I mean it's really whatever verse I was going to read, I'll just share with other people. And you know, there's some folks that really enjoy that. And then you know, after that, I try to get a workout in, you know, whether it be you know, running or lifting.

And how long is that? Like an hour?

Yeah, I keep it to thirty minutes, thirty minutes. Yeah, I'm passing like your I'm past.

I'm past the two and a half hour you know, workout blocks of football. I'm not trying to impress anybody.

Yeah.

I start out with some cardios, then you know, do three or four core lifts, you know, and then you know, finished with some cardio and I'm in.

And then you know, I'll tend to have like my.

First meeting around like ten or eleven, and then you know, I'll do a few meetings and I take take an hour for lunch. Maybe you know, practice on you know, either do music or practice on a skill set and then you know, I have my afternoon meetings, which is normally like one or two, especially since we're on the West Coast, a lot of the meetings are in the morning because that's early afternoon for New York and abroad.

Well, I like that.

And then the weekends are off.

Yeah, you know, honestly, for weekends, I spend a lot of time on music. That's sort of like my recharge time. Even during football, like when we were out of season, that would be when I'd go to the studio, like because studio sessions go from like yeah.

And they never have windows. Yeah, never wonder you walk outside, you'd be like.

Oh, it's like the casino. I don't want you to know this daytime.

Well, thank you so much for spending time with me today and feeding me. Truly an honor to sit with you.

No, I really enjoyed it. I appreciate it.

If food was good, I appreciate the appreciate the ingredients, camera coop was good, and went forward to watching the Send it to my family.

You better the parents. Shout out to the parents.

Man.

Really really thankful for all the work you did with Chase.

Yeah, I appreciate it. Thank you so much.

Thank you he's up, guys. Peace for more. Eating while broke from iHeartRadio and The Black Effect, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.