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It's a lot of stuff you're going to have to go through and do times that you don't feel like doing anything, but you're going to have to find the strength to do it. And there is no substitute. There is no shortcut to success. Hard work is the key to success. Relationships are the key to success. Being nice to people, like treating people, making people feel valuable.
All right, So Michael Strahan, when we thought of this show, he's like epicenter.
Who is he to you? I mean, he's a good friend.
He's someone that I've admired for over two decades and sometimes I feel and I've asked him to this is there like three or four Michael Strahan's crazy.
He does so much. Yeah.
Yeah, I mean, I don't think we should lose sight of the fact that you guys have had these parallel lies.
And the New York of it all.
You know, you came to it maybe with a little bit more eyes wide open. And he talks about that this is all he ever knew. He was like, this is just what it is to be an athlete. But man, did it set him up for the ubiquity that you talked about.
The parallels are kind of strange. I mean, right, we were both drafted in ninety three. He won a championship with the football team Giants in New York. We want to know nine, Yeah, and then he's taking his world to the world of media and now business and we learned so much that we didn't know in his episode.
I mean, it really was fun to kind of hear him talk about all the stuff, you know, like he talks about imposter syndrome. He talks about all these things that we all worry about just as like humans, Like those are the things that worry him as well.
I mean, the other interesting thing to.
Me is you talk a lot about building your team, finding the right partners. He's got an amazing partner in Constance Schwartz Marini. They created Smack and that has really helped shape his business Outlook, they've.
Done it together and look like me, he comes from a world of team and he never used the word I it's always weird. And I think that's fascinating. And I really think that with all the great things that Michael has done, he's in the early innings of what's this mega media business license empire.
On this episode of the Deal. Michael Strahan. All right, so as we get started, introduce yourself.
Michael Strahan. I am.
I'm an old retired football player fifteen years here in New York City. I played for the New York Giants. Since retirement, I've gone on to be an entrepreneur, several businesses, multiple television shows, and I've had a very lovely, comfortable but hard work for life. And I'm a father. My best achievement right there. And that's about it.
World about that.
So let's start there. Let's start with the world champion of it all, but also the New York of it all, because, like you know, we're sitting here and I mean, who's likeier than me sitting between you two guys. But New York is at the core of so much.
Of it for both of you. What is New York meant to you? Everything? Everything?
I have only known New York. And I was just talking about this yesterday with Carmelo Anthony. Someone said to him at this dinner we were at that if you were in another city playing they would appreciated you a lot more for what you brought to the team. And he goes, yeah, but it's not New York and New York isn't for everyone. Alex defied the odds. What usually happens when someone come to New York, no amount how great they were somewhere else, the city eat you alive.
I didn't know any better. I came here from Texas Southern University, drafted in nineteen ninety three. I didn't know there was another way except for to suck it up and make it in the city. But had I had my career in another city that didn't have the spotlight of New York, I would have been a football player, had a great career.
But I just would have.
Had it somewhere else, and I don't think people would have paid as much attention. But being here in New York is meant the world of me because it's opened up so many opportunity that's given me a life away from the game of football, but the life that you have to work for and you have to go out and take the same principles you learn in sports. But New York is meant the world.
Michael.
I'm interested to know because I haven't even thought about it myself. Michael Strahan played fifteen years in New York. Champion versus not winning that title.
Is there a difference you think, Hey.
Yeah, you know what, Charles Barkley hit me with this the best. I see him at a golf tournament and I never met him, and I love Charles.
I'm like, oh my god, Charles, it's the best.
And he sees me and I go, hey, Charles, Michael straight and he go, hey, man, this is right after we won the Super Bowl.
Good to meet you. You know what.
You were on my S list, like the curse word of S. And I'm like, I'm on the list. I've never met you before. He goes, no, no, it was a list of guys who had great careers but never won. But now you're off my list, he said, I'm even on my own list.
He's number one on that list. Yeah yeah.
But I tell you what, I kind of resigned myself to have being that guy. Had a great career, played well, did the best that I could do.
Man.
I gave it everything I had because I didn't want to leave the game and actually look back and say, oh, you know, had I maybe worked a little bit harder, man, I really focus a little bit more, and I've done this. I had no regrets but to win it in the year fifteen completely changed the perception that people have with you.
The wait, did they look at you? It's almost that your career is appreciated a lot more.
And I didn't realize it until we won, and then I said to myself, you idiot, you were gonna be happy with just being good without winning it all. It really shows what it's all for and what you're really playing for, which is that whole team experience of winning.
Does that resonate with you, oh, without a question.
But you know, I don't know about Michael, But for me, I grew up watching Dan Marina in Miami, and every conversation starts and ends with, well, he's not Montana, He's the champion. Marino's not.
Yeah, And after.
Winning in nine as a New York Yankee in this city, everything changed. I mean, to this day, Michael and I guarantee happens with Michael. Firefighters, teachers, thank you for the championship, fathers, with kids. It's really winning in New York. There's nothing like it.
Isn't that funny?
Yeah, it's like thank you And I'm like, no, thank you, you have no idea.
It really worked out well. I am very thankful, as you are leave.
Me, and so what does it do for you as a businessman? Like because at that as you said, like the timing's kind of perfect.
I couldn't have been even better.
In the sense that like it it launches you and you're in New York. So championship plus New York. How does that inform you as a business person?
It completely opens doors that you know, some doors obviously open because you're an athlete in this city and life is about relationship. Business is about relationships. So I had a lot of relationships. But it's something different when you walk in a room or when you're being introduced and it's like super Bowl Champion, World Series champion, as Alex knows, it's just it's like somebody walks in a room full
of great actors and this is an Oscar winner. And that's what it's like when you win a super Bowl, when you walk into the room and it's like you bring back, if they're a Giants fan, an incredible memory for them at some point in their life, if they watched that game, because that was my opinion, probably the best Super Bowl ever played. Undefeated Patriots and Tyree and Eli doing the unthinkable to make us help us win
that game. And I just think that that adding that little Super Bowl champion on to the end of your name or some title card opened up so many more doors and just saying ya, he played for the Giants, right.
I was so disappointed when he retired because I wanted to watch more mikel and I think Michae could have played three or four more years, at least everyone thought so. And I just thought it was courageous, bold and smart to leave a few years early than a few years late.
You always want people want you to want more.
Yeah, And the crazy thing is, I've been playing and god knows fifteen sixteen seasons, and I'll walk down the street, Oh you the Lakers do play, You're gonna come back and help us. I don't know if they're joking, but they're feeding my ego.
I'll tell you that.
And I'm like, no, And I wake up in the morning, take one step out of bed and go. I don't know if my feet could hold that out to the damage out there anymore. But when they do that, though, when people come up and say those things, it makes me know that I did it the right way.
And so when you choose that timing is that a business decision.
I think it was just a for me. It was a gut heart decision. Had we not won the Super Bowl, I probably would have said, Hm, let me see if we can get there. We were close. Since when we want it? I just I don't know. At one point, I just kind of had the epiphany of fifteen years playing in this city, putting everything I had into it, and it wasn't so much to work.
I love the work. I haven't taught.
Myself to love practice, like to put on that equipment and go run into another grown man for a few hours every day. I taught myself to love it. I loved the sprinting and running to be in shape, to walking out of that tunnel and eighty thousand people are screaming or they're booing for you, against you. I loved every bit of that. But after we won, I had nothing else to prove to myself at least, and I had never really had any major I tore my peck muscle,
I had my thumb repaired, had a risk scope. Outside of that fifteen years, I never blew out my knees never nothing, hips are good.
Everything.
I banged up everything, but I felt great. I didn't want to limp away. I wanted to walk away. And what else was there for me to accomplish. I'd done everyone, every other award, the individual or team misel. That was it, and I realized my heart wasn't in it anymore.
You had some famous moments in the parade and some of the great speeches you had, and all that to fire everybody else. Did you already know or when was the moment that you knew that you looked in the mirror and you said.
And you really want to know?
Yeah?
Okay.
So I never really took vacations or anything. I was like locked in for fifteen years. So I go to Greece. I'm like, you know, just go to Greece. I'm wanna go to Greece. I wanna go Sanerini. I'm gonna meek and oaths. I want to have a good time. I me in Santorini. I get a call from the Giants and they asked me to come back, and I looked at it.
I said, Santorini or New Jersey, and I decided to stay right where I was.
But it wasn't so much the fact that I couldn't play, because physically I felt great. I literally realized in my heart, I just didn't want to do it anymore.
I didn't want to do another stomp you out speech.
She didn't have it in me to try to pump up another grown man anymore for that business. And I truly said it wouldn't be the game, there wouldn't be anything. I really, in my head tried to go through and rerun what it would take. Said I don't want to do another speech, and it let me know that my heart's not into it. And I've never cheated it. I just said I'm getting everything I can't into it. I
don't ever want to look back and regret. And I felt had I gone back without my heart being into it, I would have been stealing from football, which something I never wanted to do.
And so one of the things happened upon like a little anecdote of research that I want to run by you, which is sometime in the late aughts, you're on a TV show and I think it's a New York based show. It's with a I think an anchor named Sarah Gore. If I remember, you're sitting there, you're getting interviewed about being an NFL player. Okay, and you go to break and you look at her and say, I want to do what you do? Was that in your mind?
Then?
Do you remember that?
I don't.
I've said some crazy stuff. No, I've said some crazy stuff, but it's all happened.
Yeah, because that's well before that, well before anything.
I don't know.
I just I think because I grew up in Germany and I didn't play football growing up, And my senior year of high school, my dad said, do you want to play football? Do you send me to Houston to living my own go for five months and play football? And my dad said, you're going to get a scholarship, And he was so matter of fact about it that I didn't know that Texas was supposed to be tough to get a scholarship because that's where all the great
football players, a lot of them come from. So I just went back kind of Lodi, had no idea how to play football. Got one scholarship offer to an HBCU Texas Southern, and I went there not knowing anything and wanted to quit. But my dad kind of informed me, well, if you quit, what are you gonna do? You're not coming back here, like you have an opportunity to take advantage of it. But he always was a win not if type of guy. He never said if to me, so I always operate in a mindset of win.
Something's going to happen. So if I said that to her.
When I said that to her, in my mind, I'm probably going, oh, I could do that. Yeah, I'm not to do what you do. This is fun and I believe it. I could do it naive. Being naive at that moment, it would have been overwhelming for me. But I'm pretty sure I believed that I could do it right then there. I'd take over right there and do.
It all right.
I don't want to get too far away from that incredible part of your origins. When you think about like deals that you make, some of those are like deals with your parents, and some of them are deals that they impose upon you, which it sounds like your dad did. Why do you think I'm sure you talked to him about this. Why did he make that decision or push you in that direction for football?
Because I think my dad when I was thirteen years old, I had a nickname Bob, and I'm the youngest of six. You know, three older brothers, two the two sisters out the oldest and as that's four boys, and my brothers and their friends called me Bob, and I'm thinking, oh, that's funny, that's cool. I'm cool like I'm young. I got a nickname with my brothers and their older brothers than their friends. But Bob meant booty on back, big old buck, like crush me man. But I was thirteen.
I've had whole cry and I'm doing all these things. But it inspired me because I went out and bought to Jane Fond of VHS tapes Come on Deharschel Walker Workout Book back in the Yeah, I was big back then, and this must have been what eighty five or something like that, eighty four. I bought all that stuff and
I started doing a Jane fond of tapes. I started doing the HEARSTL Walker push ups and sit upst I read the book and my dad saw me doing this for about six seven months and he said, you know what, you're willing to work this hard, I'll work with you. So every six day of the week from when I was, you know, almost thirteen, I was fourteen till I was sixteen seventeen, I worked out with my dad and he would go buy the muscle and fitness books and he would type up a program on a computer because he
was always having a new computer than everything else. And we go to the gym, you mark down your weight, your reps, everything for years. And that's why I think he saw what I did in the commitment that I had. He said, what can I what can I inspire my son to do to take advantage of all these things? And I remember working out with him on a Saturday and I'm just sitting there kind of a kid man. He goes, don't worry. Some one day it'll pay off. I'm in Germany. Football is not even in a conversation
at that point. But he had a plan and he saw something in the meeting. At the time, I didn't say it myself because he was a boxer. He's a boxer, yeah all irmy boxer, Yeah, said he fought Ken Norton twice. Ken Norton's in a marine, so my dad was in the army and according to my dad, he's one and one. I don't know you beat the heavyweight champ of the world, but he claimed he's won.
And what when I look at your career, Hall of Fame, career, World champion and then talk about a wild pivot. Right, My question is, did you ever dream that big? What's the easiest, the best part, and what's the toughest part of a job like that? Because you're not talking about football, you're talking about real life stuff.
Well, I almost forget I played football unless I go to like my man cave and I see things I don't think about football, and it's really yeah, yeah, I watch it now at Fox and I'm like, I'm looking at guys, get hit going. Who's dumb enough to do that? Then I realized I was dumb enough to do that for a long time. But you're just young and you're
in the middle of it. It has been such a pivot in a sense that you know physically obviously, but mentally because I realized a long time ago that being a football player or an athlete, you can get into a room, but once you get in the room, you have to prove that you belong there and that you deserve to stay there. You know, people will take a meeting with you, everybody wants to take a picture and hildre kids they hung out with this athlete. But what
keeps you in the room, right, It's your talent. It's the talent that a lot of people don't see or don't think you have because they've only seen you in one way. And for me, the biggest pivot was getting out of my own way telling myself that I'm more than just a football player, because I remember going into these meeting thinking, no, I'm just this football player. They're
just going to see me as this football player. And a friend of mine said, well, they're going to see you how you see yourself and completely change my mindset. And I mean another speaking of speaking something into an existence, is I'm a guest.
That's what we want?
A super Bowl on Regis and Kelly and at the end of the day, maybe Red just said, what are you going to do next? So well, I'm on a show right now, Kelly and Michael, Michael and Kelly. If you decide to retire, like I said this on the air on the air, yeah wow. And that's why I thought that's where you were going the first time. It was something else I said, which is crazy. I try things. If it doesn't work, I don't look at it and
say I completely failed at it. I try it. If it doesn't work, I learn from it and I find something else. But I think doing GMA now is so intimidating because I was coming from sports and now I'm coming from entertainment, you know, light fluffy stuff to now do talk about real world issues and the news. It's intimidating. But just like being an athlete and everything else you wanted to do, you learn. And I study Robin or Howie, Terry and Jimmy like I'm studying each one of them.
Studying Terry Bradshaw the way you tell the story, the way he talks about stuff that's not even sports related but brings it back to football. I'm looking at George and tell how he very direct and there will be a whole script of things that George doesn't waste time with a lot of words to get straight to the point. And I literally told him the other day, George, I like, how you get straight to the point.
Man.
I am trying my best to figure out how you do that so I can do it myself. But it's like those little things that it's just not being there and just sent on camp satisfied, but it's being there and constantly being a student of what you're doing, and that has really helped me in every job that I've done,
especially helped me at GMA. But I think everything for me has happened in the right order, because had I not had football and in Fox, I don't think I'm able to do live with me and Kelly, which in turn, if I don't have that, I don't think I'm ready or able to do GMA had been mixed up in any other order. So I think the universe just seemed to put things in the way they were supposed to.
Know me when you say study maybe for a viewers, how does that look.
I'm just like everybody else. I'm just curious, I think because people think, oh, you played sport. No, I played sports because it was later in my life. It just happened to be what I was doing. But other than who I was, I have a lot of interest. I'm interested in the world. I'm interested in everything that goes on.
So just like the person at home, I continue to watch program I read newspapers, I do all those things, and then we get a lot of notes, We get a lot of emails, a lot of things that you just read to keep up with what's going on for the day. Get emails telling you what direction the show could be going in the next day, what stories recovering?
Just got to read, just got to read.
I want to connect a couple of dots that we've been sort of moving around, and one is the New York of it all, you know, so it's New York Championship Hall of Fame the read's moment. Does New York give you the confidence.
Kind of learned to? I don't know how do I put it.
Just do what I do and trust myself and not worry about the opinion of others. I think that really helped me when it came to like doing things here in New York. But that was hard because I was shy when I got here. Here you're forced out of a shell. But I had to find my rhythm of who I was and who I was comfortable in being and being in front of the camera.
Care me.
I'm more shy away from the camera. Away from the camera, I don't know people or whatever I'm going to quiet I gun, yeah, sit in the back. I observed. I'm cool with that. I don't need to walk in the restaurant and everybody know I'm there. You know, I'm very comfortable in my own little world of you know, non celebrity. More chill seems to be an easier way of life that I prefer.
Was that shocking to you when you got here New York?
Oh yeah, I remember.
I'm coming reallytle man, you want to talk illustrated at like three years old.
It's almost like when they say you really don't know. You think you're gonna take a punch until Mike Tyson hits you and connection. That's New York, especially when things are not going well, because the pilot on is pretty strong and you just can't run away from it, and you just have the Yankees, like the Giants, big big brands, enormous fan base with legacy brands, and it comes out here pretty good.
I remember, I remember Alex, and I reached out to you about this like one day. Oh my god, Alex Rodriguez is the greatest thing the Yankees have ever done, knocking home run. Then he has one game that isn't great. I know, he's busting his butt. It's the same guy he said was great yesterday to the next day, Oh why did the Yankees do this? Alec he got it.
Then the next day he hits the home run. He's the greatest, And I remember reaching out and said, you know what, just keep doing what you're doing like you can't pay attention to that, because the bottom line is what really helped me. I stopped letting people criticize me who could not do my job? How are you telling me how to do my job? And you could never do this job. You've never done it. As I told one reporter, the last time you put up on a
uniform is when your mom took you trigger treating. You've never done that. So why am I letting you affect me in what I do for a living? And that really helped me this guy, So now I don't care if you can't do what I do? Why am I listening to you telling me? Just like asking somebody for an answer, and then you got to go ask ten other people if I could reach the person who's gonna give me the answer while I'm I asking you. I
just don't subscribe to that anymore. But it takes a lot of getting beat up to finally get fed up enough to realize that, hey, I'm gonna do what I need to do.
I don't care.
When we come back, we talk about Michael's transition from winning a Super Bowl to life after football. Plus the influence of his mentor and business partner, Constance Schwartz Marini, and what comes next for their partnership. You mentioned something that I think is really important, and Alex alluded to it feels like everything you've done in apparel jac Penny Men's Warehouse, this is not with you know, apology to those high high high end brands or Mes or whoever.
Like that's a conscious decision. It feels like those partnerships tell us.
More about it because it's me. I think we do. Everything I do is authentic, right. I don't do anything that does not fit me. I don't wear a suit that I don't make. I don't like our fabric. I would touch every tie, every shirt that we'd make just to make sure was what I would wear. I don't want to have a customer come up to me or someone and say, well, you know, I bought this and it's not what you said it was going to be. I'm like, no, I'm wearing the same thing. Hey, yeah,
check this out and trust me. I have a great appreciation for a Mas and all the other sure brands. Trust me, I really do. But I just think that I know what I'm comfortable with. Yeah, and what I'm comfortable with. I feel like, you know, they's a big part of America that would be comfortable with that as well. But it's also about making sure that people have what they want, look a certain way that they want to look,
feel a certain way that they want to feel. Because I'm a big believer that the way you dress, you know, to a confidence booster, a builder. It's something that they can afford to do, and it's something can afford to do for your kids instead of you know, the world's expensive enough and I do my best not to add to that.
So how do those deals come about?
Like what's the origin of, you know, getting into the the apparel?
Their origin was we literally I was wearing suits every day. I'm one Live then I was on NFL, so six days a week, I am literally in a suit. And we went over to Peerless, the suit manufacturing company, and said, hey, got this idea, when do you a suit line? When do something that's authentic to me? And to be honest with you, it didn't have a big budget to do it for the show, so why not make our own stuff?
And Peerless brought in JC Penny and we sat down in a meeting and said, hey, this is the idea what we have and if we want to partner with you guys, if you'll be interested. And one of the reasons I think that they jumped on it immediately was one, I think the audience that I had built from fo ball to live. But two, when we were in that pitch and I was in there with my partner, Confidence Worts, who I called the boss, but I pitched it.
I didn't sit.
There and let her team pitch it, Like I said, this is what we have, this is what we're doing, these are our thoughts behind it, this is why we believe it's gonna work. And when I got done, I said, Confidence, you have anything to say. She literally was like she was crying. I'm like, I'm in my head, I'm going not now, not now.
She's like the teacher, the pupil, and the teacher. Now the pupil, the teacher, Like I pay attention, I know what's going on.
But it was just in a real moment, and they said yeah, because they saw the passion I had it behind it. I just wasn't gonna say put my name on it, put my face on it, anlet it then just throw it out there and they say yes in the meeting. And we've been a big success at JC Penny expanded the men's warehouse and it has been an incredible nine years.
And so what is the process? I mean, you know, apparel has been something you invest in. Tell us about skincare, like, how do these things bubble up?
Well, believe it or not. I do wear a little makeup on TV. May have a little bit on right now, I knows. But with those things like cleaning your skin, I think skin is like an outfit. It's about your confidence. It's that outward appearance means a lot. But we realize that a lot of men don't really do anything else tide of taking face soap, letting the water run over their face and go okay, I'm good, and not just
not enough as far as long term skincare. So we kind of came up with a very easy system that the very easy steps take you long to take.
You to brush your.
Teeth and you can take care of your skin. And that was important because I need to do that.
So listening to you talk and you know, I've watched this guy now for a few years, do this too?
Feels like you like the deal?
Making I do what is it because it's competitive and it's kind of I love the teamwork part of it, to be honest with you. I love to see other people on the team like have something they're passionate about and excel at it. I love being a part of a team and like bringing people together and watching everything grow and watching them grow in the process.
So so Jason, as we were prepping for Michael and Constants on this podcast, everyone asks me, tell me about Michael, Tell me about Michael. I said the same thing about Michael that I do about Irving Magic Johnson. And what I say about Irving is like, he's exactly who he is camera on off. You text Michael as busy as he is or email him, you're going to get something back, usually within an hour or two. Even if he's busy, he's like, hey, i'll call you at the end of
the day. I'm running around. And that's the reason why when it comes to reputation and building businesses, he understands that part, which I do think some of our colleagues forget that a little bit because they haven't practiced that type of behavior, so you know.
But it's a learned behavior.
I can get to learn and like, for me, I just want to be the same. Consistency to me is a big thing. Consistency.
But and Magic's done an incredible job.
And Magic as our mentor, right, he's the king, right, we're following his footstets. But Jason, you appreciate this. When I retired in sixteen, one of my first calls when I joined Fox was Michael and I said, Michael, I'm gonna need your help. I'm going to lean in and he gave me just simple but great advice, right, And I think he said, Okay, I'm going to help your meet it. You got to help me in business? Yeah, exactly, And now he doesn't need anybody to help you know what.
I think this is the interesting thing is speaking of Magic.
I heard about Magic. I heard this last night as well, that when Magic was playing for the Lakers, Jerry Buss kind of took him on his wing, obviously, but Magic got the telephone number of everybody sat in the front row of this arena and personally called each and every one of them to ask them, like, what did they do so that they can basically get fourth those seats at the Lakers and really built relationships and He was the first athlete I think who and Jerry Buss was
one of the owners who I guess was that open because I think back in today, I don't think ownership with as open as they are now to helping guide in business or being in business with guys. But Magic was the one who kind of showed that there's more than one side to an athlete. That's what we do at this moment. I was thirty six when I retired.
What did I do?
I could have moved to Florida and played golf all day like my buddies and did nothing else. But I can't imagine that life like you're too young. You have so much more to give, and that sports was just one small part of your life.
And so speaking of Fox, Alex, I mean, I think that first of all, it's a commonality as you mentioned, the willingness, the ability, and the decision to stay close to the game in that way. I know you've done it, Alex. Where does that come from?
For you?
Football is like one of some of the best memories of my life. I mean, and I love to me doing the Fox NFL Show and being there with the guys on set.
It's my highlight.
Of my week and I fly cross country every week for it, and everyone goes, are you tired of flying? I'm like, no, there's never a Sunday. And I swear to you sixteen years there have never been one Sunday that I've showed up in that student. We're there at five thirty six until usually five pm that I've shot got there and I'm like, oh, I get ready to go. Ever,
it is so much fun. And that's like my locker room now, because the biggest thing about sports that you miss isn't I mean, obviously you're making a lot of money, but I don't miss that because there are other ways to make money. I missed the guys, and neither of my guys. Now this is my new locker room with no egos because we all accomplished everything we wanted a game of football.
Now we're here to have fun. This is gravy.
How do you get yourself in the mindset to be And you alluded to this earlier to be critical but fair, to bring insights to you know, people like me who never played the game, like, how do you approach that?
Well?
I think the business been an analyst is just saying what you see and do it in an honest way without ill intent and out maliciousness. I don't say, well, I can't believe this guy played like this. He's making all this money, but does that have to do it anything like nothing? Let's talk about his performance, right, and let's be honest about his performance in a way in which you can that you could tell that I played
the game. I understand what position he Then what I got to portray to the audience the way I felt about it is I've been.
In the locker room.
I've been up twenty one and lost, I've been down twenty one and one, Like, what are the emotions? What are the feelings? What's going on with the team on the winning side, how's the team on the losing side feel when things start to go against them? They just can't stop the tide from rolling? Like I need to convey that to the audience, the feelings, the things that they just can't google on the internet and get a
feel for or a stat man. Of course, are you stats here and there, But for the most part, stats mean nothing. It's the game of emotion and that's what you want to get to the audience. And that's the one thing I had to learn. And my little buddy Jay Glazer, of all people, wasn't one who really taught me that because I was doing the typical well you know, they got to do this, and now he goes Michael people, then they can find it anywhere. Tell them what it
feels like in that locker room. You were in that locker room. That's how you set yourself apart.
How did you know that you had it? What was that moment for you? I didn't. I didn't.
That's the weird thing when people you know, you're just so natural, I don't, you know. I just think I reached a point where I don't really think about a camera being there. I don't think about it does gonna affect how I'm gonna be gonna be. I'm gonna be. I'm gonna be me. Yeah, And when the camera's not there, I'm gonna be the same dude. And if the hardest thing for people to beat themselves on television, that's the hardest thing I think for people in the camera's on,
you can you be yourself. It's kind of like somebody an actor trying to act as himself. I mean, I give you a lot of hats off to you if you can act as yourself in front of a camera in a movie. But I'm just me. I don't think about it. I don't get that serious about it. And then there are some times you're on live TV and something happened and you're like, Okay, can I say that?
Man? Get away with that? Maybe not.
I trust my gut with those type of moments too, and I think that that goes a long way to.
Trust easier to trust your moment when we're talking about football, baseball. I'm amazed when I see you talking about like politics, election year, hurricanes, earthquakes. Was there a moment early on, probably not so much today, in the GMA days that you felt a little impostus.
You have George, who's absolutely man, you kid, I feel it sometimes absolutely impostures. Sitting room, well, you know, one oh one over here, I'm sitting there. I'm sitting there looking at people who I loved and admired like they you know, you're the gold standard. And for me the first few years sitting there, I literally was in a master's class and I would just sit there and watch them do their thing with ease and go, man, they're so good. I don't know if I'll ever be that comfortable.
Because I was uncomfortable in front of the camera for News, very comfortable for Fox, very comfortable when I was alive. GMA made me uncomfortable because it was subject matter that I felt, you know, I may know this stuff for some of this stuff, some of it.
I need to I need to get, you know, in tune with, but.
I felt they will already belong here. And I had a boss of mine to say, you know what, Michael, the world's changed. People want to get their news delivered in different ways from different people. It's not the traditionals sit there and you know, I'm going to tell you what you should think. Yeah, not that anymore. It is you know, you fit what people want to hear who they want to hear it from, and you just need
to believe in that and believe in yourself. And yeah, man, I just felt like an imposted for a long time. But now I feel as comfortable there as I felt like any other set.
One thing you've learned from Robin and one from George, because there I'm big fans of both of them.
The one thing I've learned from Robin that I belonged I was on the carpet was I was over here for Live getting ready to interview with celebrities who are coming soon.
But she looked at me and she goes, you're nervous. Huh. I said, I am.
Scared that death. She goes, Michael, I came from sports too. When she said that, I was like, I forgot, Like Robin's has just had so many incredible It's such an incredible career and transcended so many things. And that was the one thing all gave me the most confidence in the world. With that and with George, you know, I've learned with George, be consistent. George is George. He's always going to be prepared, He's always sharp. He's going to
challenge people who say things that should be challenged. He's not going to run away from a challenge because someone's supposed to be his friend or he doesn't want to hurt a feeling. George is going to get and after a question that should be asked, and he's going to do it in a way that I hope to one day be able to do, which is just with this straightforwardness and its honesty in a level what you've got to respect. And I think That's why he gets so much respect from everyone, including myself.
You've talked about identifying things you want to do and then they materialize.
How do you think about the future kind of crazy.
I do think about a little bit more about the future now than I think I probably used to think about. I think because my kids are older and you know, freshmen in college, and it makes you go, all, right, what am I going to do?
Do I want to work the.
Rest of my life or do I want to do I want to go hang out with my buddy to play golf like I seem like they're doing every day. And I think they're the fine line between the two of them. I don't think I'm able to sit idle and do nothing that would drive me mad. But I do think that they're the way in which I can figure out another avenue or something that I have not done yet that I would love to try to figure out and conquer a little bit. And I think I'm fine in my way and kind of in the vein
of Alex. You know, the sports fund I'm doing with our good friend Mark Lazary, and so I think that's something I'm very interested in, very passionate about the business side is investing, very passionate about investing.
Well, let's talk about that, because I do think. I mean, obviously the show is called the Deal. What are the opportunities to do that for you? Because sports is a I dare say, you know, you guys came up literally parallel. It is a very different ecosystem than it was, oh yeah in the early nineties. How do you view that from a deal maker's perspective. A lot of my deals they're so far removed from the sports. Yeah, I mean this is the fund is sports fund, and we would
do things around sports, and we have. But I think on a personal note far as my investing, it's full gamut. I mean, I'm just an open book to solid investment, to be honest with you, and I have several investment vehicles.
I invest through.
One is a group of eight friends and the other one is a group of three friends, and we find deals. We get deals come through each of us because we all have very different careers, but all of some in tech,
in finance, myself is sports. But we all get so many opportunities that come our way that will vet it together and then we decide if you want to investor in but we have a fund that we do that with, and they have one that's a smaller fund, just three of us, and those are probably those are smaller investments that probably can't take as much capital as the others. So the three of us will do it or divide
it or figure it out in that way. But the gamut of investments, you know, I think we invest over thirty companies.
Yeah.
Is there a deal that sticks out in your mind? One that either I saw that I knew it was going to be amazing, or wow, that turned out in a way that I didn't anticipate, you.
Know, the one deal that I've walked on and I think about it every time I play golf at bel Air Country Club in LA.
Because I walked past the guy's house.
Young guy calls me up and I met him in LA and I was living out there, and I want to have a meeting with you at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
Great cool, go over there.
We haven't lunch, and he's telling me about this business that he's working on with a field, his friends. He would love for me and invest and everything else that I'm looking at him, and I'm oh, man, I mean I retired at that point, so I think i'd retired at that point, So it gotta be two thousand and eight nimes pen something like that, maybe before that. But he's telling me about this business and I'm like, oh, yeah, great, and in my head I'm going, em, I don't know, I'm invested with this kid.
You know, he's like.
Too young, so young, and I don't know, I don't know. He seemed like a little little crazy tender.
Oh wow, wow wow, Now how much would you have invested?
Well, and what do you think it was? I knew what was going to be happened to.
Oh man, I look back now, like what do you but you can't one thing. I don't get upset.
You can't win them all right, and.
You're gonna lose us. I mean I've lost money in some deals. I mean we you know, and but I've made a lot of money and other deals. And I think that that's kind of like the competition part that I like, you really got to do your due diligence. You really got to be disciplined about what you're going
to do. And for me, my association with certain things, like there's certain things that I won't do because I want to be associated with something like that, even though it would be a great business with then there are certain things that you know what that's right up my alley, or there's certain people I invest in who have a product that is great.
I believe it's great.
A lot of great things don't work, but I believe that that person, as a CEO of somebody who's an entrepreneur, is going to really figure out a way to make it work.
So one person who's been critical in all of this. You alluded to her a couple of times. It may just simply as the boss is Constance Schwartz MARIENI how does smack come together?
What's the origin story there? Well, Constance had started the company with another person and if Constantly and I we met twenty eight twenty nine years ago. But she worked at the NFL and I retired, and would be stayed in contact even when she moved to LA because she left the NFL, would work for a record label, then she worked for a management company, and then she was managing Snoop full time for seven years before she decided
to go out on her own. But we always stayed in touch, and then I went out when I retired, I moved to LA because I was doing Fox, the only thing I was doing at the time, so I might as well live close and I would go to her office all the time, and I would just sit there in meetings and listen and have opinions on things.
And after a while of doing that, she either she was like, Okay, if you're going to show up here every day, you're either you gotta come a part of the business or you just got to not come back. She got sick of me, Like yes, either sick of me, or like you're going to be a part of it.
So I was like, yeah, all right, I'm in.
So I end up joining the company, and now the other partner left, or just her and I we own and the whole company. You know, we haven't sold off anything of it or taken on any partners, but you know, we now at that point where like strategic partners would really work for us. It was expanding a lot of ways that we want to expand. And yeah, that was twelve years ago through twelve thirteen years ago. And we get along in a sense that I think we both
understand each other well. We don't scream and argue with each other like we both had the same sensibilities, and we have a saying h L YB hustle like you're broke, and we both do that. We do not take for granted what we have. We work hard now as we've ever worked, and I know we both feel a responsibility for everyone who works with us. So that's what we started. That's how it all got started. And it was not much going on back then. Yeah, Yeah, wasn't much going on.
And then guess from like I guess sheer willed and determination and just pushing and pushing and pushing, especially when every days you're like, what the heck are we pushing for?
It?
Just once one thing happened, that the next thing happened, and the next thing happened, And now we've been off and running pretty well for a while.
Well, I mean, I think it's fair to say understanding sort of the underpinnings of what you're trying to do. I mean, the world sort of came to you in a lot of ways, Like the world recognized a lot of the things that you guys would recognize, which is this intersection. We talk about it. Alex and I talked about it constantly business, sports, culture, technology, broader economics, broader ambition. Why do you think that happened? I mean, what happened in the world to put you at the center of it.
I wish I knew, I really wish I knew. And I name our company Smack Sports, Music and Culture, and that's really what we're involved. I mean, we manage wiz Khalifa Common and on the sports side, it's myself, it's Dion Sanders, Shiloh Sanders, Chador Sanders, Travis Hunter, Kurt Menefee, Aaron Andrews, the Garcia Twins, where the Bella Twin wrestlers, Tony Gonzalez, just a full gamut of different type of people with different types of skill sets, and we're about
working with people. We want to work with people who had the same you know, hustle and drive and ambitions that we have because a lot of work manage someone's career and try to build a career, like build a business off of their career, which is something that we take a lot of pride in being able to come up with it, where by ea Aaron Andrews line with NFL, NHL, NBA and be able to create something from an idea and actually make it a business. Not pass it off.
And we have a small but mighty team. And I just think, you know, universe works in mysterious ways. Man, I don't get it. I really don't. I remember when you talk to Confidence ask her about the call, that she would like, Oh, I had this epiphany. I woke up in the middle of night and with these epiphanies. And I got to say, is as crazy as she
sounds when she's telling me. She's always right and she really is a subvant and it just makes sense to her how this business works and how the world works, and you know, the long term goals because she doesn't look at the immediate. She's always year the head of
myself and everyone else. When my dad left off, as I got growled and moved to New York, my parents were in Texas, Confidence has picked up and has given me that confidence of like when and what's next and believing things are going to happen where my dad left off.
Look, there's a lot of young people out there that want to be the next Michael Strahan, Like knowing what you know now, what advice would you give yourself at twenty one? And are young viewers that want to be like you or something like you, what advice would you give them?
What is a lot of advice.
I literally woke up this morning and I was like, man, it's early. I got a bed a little late last night. I started watching one of these series kept me up later than my he was a bedtime and I got up.
And I said, man, I'm tired.
Then I realized that this is not tired. Tired was pulling myself out of a bed at Fairleigh Dickinson here in New Jersey, or at University of already in training camp, tired, beat up, sore, get put it on shoulder paths that are still wet and damp from the sweat from the day before. To constance, I am my last question? Could I please finish? My last question is that?
Okay, boss, I'm in here singing your praises.
By the way, A right, boss cauld, I have one minute.
You go that way, Yeah, go through there. You can have a seat right here in the background.
But then I realized that, man, I look at now when I go, it's a lot of work for anybody that's out there who's young. It's a lot of stuff you're going to have to go through and do. Times that you don't feel like doing anything, but you're going to have to find the strength to do it. And there is no substitute.
There is no.
Shortcut to success if you're not with the hard work is the key to success. Relationships are the key to success. Being nice to people like treating people, making people feel valuable. I don't care what your job is here upset, I don't whatever show I do or I don't say people work for me and work with me. But I believe in making every everyone feel they have the value, no
matter what their job is. Because if you do that, they will do everything they can for you for your organization to make it be the best it could be. So treat people with respect, treat yourself with respect, work your butt.
Off and be open to say yes, and don't.
Care if it doesn't work, because you're going to learn something that's gonna help you down the road. And that has really been my whole life lesson and get yourself a great partner like confidant schwartz Marini, who I'm scared of because she's behind me, so I gotta say all these nice things about the boss. She is so lovely. Cannot wait for you to to have a conversation with her.
Did he do okay?
I mean he should treat he forgot the part? You know what, She's coming in hot.
We're ready for it. We're ready for it.
Thank you so much, Thank you so much.
I love you, Thank you, brother.
The Deals of production from Bloomberg Podcasts and Bloomberg Originals. The Deals hosted by Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly. Our producers are Victor Veees and Lizzie Phillip. Our story editor is Sir Dartha Mahonta. Our assistant producer is Stacy Wong. Blake Maples is our sound engineer. Rubob Shakir is our creative director. Our direction is from Jaqueline Kessler. Original music by Blake Naples, casting by Dave Warren. Our editorial supervisor
is David E. Rabella. Our executive producers are Sage Bauman, Jason Kelly, Adam Kamiski, Kelly la Ferrier, Ashley Hoenig, Trey Shallowhorn, Kyle Kramer, and Andrew Bardon. Additional support from Rachel Scarmeazino, Elena Los Angeles, Vanessa Perdomo, Anna Maazarakis, David Fox, Audreyan Atapia, Alex Sugira, Oshna Shaw, and Diana Colonge. David Dominges is our director photography. Our camera operators are Josh Devereaux, Jesse Ridner,
and Ryan Covatero. Katia Vnoy is our video editor. Rob Silcox is our gaffer and our grip is Pernoy Jacob. You can also watch The Deal on Bloomberg Originals, YouTube and Bloomberg Television. Subscribe to the Deal wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening.