Thank you for tuning in to the NFL Player's Second Acts podcast. I'm Peanut Tillman and I got my boy gand Off the Gray aka rooman Harbor woman.
Want something?
Did you just think of that one? I've never actually heard that one. I just came off the top of the Don't I like that one?
All right?
I'm's been telling me to rap, so I've been thinking about some raps. So yeah, getting off the Gray. That's that's you all weekend, Getting off the Grad.
You know what. I appreciate that.
First and foremost, let me thank all of our listeners and people that always tune in and watch us on YouTube. Wherever you pick up your podcast, make sure you give us a five star rating, give us a review, leave a couple of comments. Be sure to make sure you always hit that follow button wherever you pick up your podcast, whether it's Apple Podcast, our Heart Radio. Peanut, who is the beautiful guest today? This is a man of many, many traits. Man.
Well, let me just read off his bio to you real quick around Draft pick twenty eleven Draft dB veteran six years in the league.
He now wears many hats.
A fashion model, personal trainer and he is probably from the greatest state in the United States.
Baby, well the fact I mean when you said probably probably maybe really hey, hey.
Just say it, Aaron Williams, everybody.
I appreciate it. That's a great intro.
Amazingly everybody knows SEXYT football is is king as it pertains a football. It ain't no damn Alabama. I mean well, first team All State Dave Campbell. Hey, if you know, if you're not from Texas, you don't know about that Dave Campbell. Like the Texas high school football the magazine covered like it's it's everything to make that subject. Benson was the first one to make it, like back in like I was ninety nine, So he made it in like ninety ninety eight or something like that, like.
It's it's a it's a real it's a real big man.
The agent Peterson making too, I believe.
So. Yeah, because he came.
After him was pretty good.
He did.
It was like it was like a god, yeah, there isn't he really was he was.
He was like starting like he was him before he was him. That's how That's how he was pretty much. Yeah, I didn't know that.
So I want to get off on this Aaron because number one, man, you're a pretty fashionable guy yourself. But I went and looked at your LinkedIn profile page and I want to know have you updated it at all? Because like you got a lot on there, Like how often do you update this thing? You got all kinds.
I try to have my people updated for me because I'm just always doing other things. Yes, I try to do as much as possible. I mean, being in football and we always taught the more you can do, the more accessible you are. So I try to just stick to one thing. I try to do multiple things and just in case one thing doesn't work and go on to the next.
So like a jack of all trades, I try to be all right. So how many jobs do you have right now? I mean I feel like I got two jobs, you know, or maybe three jobs right now. I feel like you is like you remember that show Living Colors, Like how many job you?
God mind?
Not enough? How many jobs you.
Got right now? Honestly, I have a lot of hobbies. I wouldn't consider them jobs because they don't feel like jobs. I get paid for them, but I make my own schedule. I work with people that I really enjoy being with, and I'm not forced to do anything. That's a great pleasure of being your own boss.
So what's the what's the best job you have right now? What's the best?
Definitely definitely training high school, college, and some professional academy. And I made to the highest level. So I was once that kid. They're like, man, I want to be there, So I told myself to get back as much as possible. Plus, my dad is really like big in the community. He runs a FBU and does the All American Game with NBC. So I've been around football camps my whole life, helped around the community. Did that same thing when I was in Buffalo, so I've been a part of my whole life.
I got a question for you because you're from McNeill, Texas, like number one, where's that at? So I saw his population two thousand. Shout out to Thomas me and him doing some researches. All right, So tell me about McNeil and kind of like your upbringing, because you know, you said your dad was around and really helped coaching and doing all these other things. But how does he get involved?
How do you guys get involved in such a small community to all of a sudden be able to be in such a such a big game or like a big way, you know, if that makes anything.
Yeah, definitely. So McNeil is actually the high school I went to, and it's in around Rock, Texas, which is a suburb north of Boston, about thirty minutes north of Austin.
I'm loving this conversation with all these Texas towns. This is making me feel like home, shaking, kind of good about myself.
And h predominantly white neighborhood, not really recognized for having kids come out to make it in sports. It's a real, real quiet neighborhood until I got there and I started racing have it, but everyone real good people. My dad has always been in love with the game of football. He had a stint with the Niners, a little try out, didn't really pan out for him. Coached for about fifteen years,
and then I came into the world. Coached me since we were I was five, and then my brothers came along helped them out, and then we all grew up did our own thing. I had a brother play a issue baseball issue, another brother went to UTSA, and then obviously me went to ut and my little sister commerce softball.
So family, so we've always been busy running around and once we got out of the house, my dad was kind of like, I want to continue to help these kids because that's his passion, is helping ca Is get to the other goal. We've been doing that. We did local camps at first, then we started doing state camps, and then we nationwide with it. So we're all over from Cali to Maine, to Vegas, to Florida to Arizona, every say you could probably think of. We've got a
lot of kids, a lot of kids. C J. Straw was probably one of our kids from FBU, so we have a lot of kids in the league that came through us. And it's I'm real proud of my death for doing that and give me a lie of how to really get back to community other than just teaching them them kids the techniques are on the field. My
thing is off the field. I'm a big off the field guy because I know what it now feels like to play football for so long and then it not be there no more to try to figure out what's next. So I know the struggles of the transition of being a part that, and I want kids to understand football is going to end.
At some point.
At some point everyone's different, but it's going to end, and that's when we're to me. Real life really starts when football ends. So I try to get ahead of the curve with these kids. Understand like, I know you think this is gonna last forever, but I thought the same thing and that one injury took me out. So have a plan. I always try to give these kids. Have a plan B, C, D, because I know A
is football for these kids. But I'm more worried about if that Plan A don't work out, what are you gonna do?
So excuse me, what's been one of the most gratifying stories that you've had helping some of these kids.
I think since you've been doing these camps, I think for me, it's always great seeing one of your kids to make it to D one, D two, D three, where wherever they go as far as college wise, and even the more accomplishment when they make it to the league. But for me is when they come to me and say, hey, you change my life, You change my perspective, all things, you changed how I look at life. That's that's a real reward for me, because man, that's that's the bigger.
I want people to especial for US athletes. Our mentals are so important and it's not talked about a lot because as we're put on a high pedestal for such a long time, everybody were looked at as idols and whatnot, and people forget that we're still humans. So for me, it's them coming to me and saying, hey, I'm still doing great in life after football. Football stuff is all great, that's athletic ability that you and God can talk about and pertain. But when it comes to me, how's your
mental how your family house? How are you? How are you treating others? That's the more important goal for me.
Well, you, I think you alluded to it a little earlier when you were saying that, like we all have our transition and that's when life really starts. I know I had my little transition, rome you did his, obviously. That's why we have this podcast, NFL Player Second Acts, and it's really trying to figure out and help players and really just listen to them as they tell us our stories about their transition. How long did it take for you to get adjusted to your new lifestyle once you transition.
After football? I'm still there seven years the league. Now, man, I say, probably the last year. Yeah, wow, yeah, last year. I'm just now started feeling comfortable and not feeling like an outsider really in a way.
Yeah, and outside of like how like as in like it's hard to get back to like regular society. Yeah, like I'm not in society yet, but I'm like in this weird place, right, Okay.
I consider so my life before I I was a football I called the football life. Yeah, because it's totally different from the life I'm living now. Football life. I was handled at a lot of things and rewarded a lot of things just for my athletic ability. And then transitioning to not blinging football no more, I had to really truly figure out, first of all, who I was, because I didn't know. I just knew twenty three Aaron Wims from Roynrock me Neil that was me for the
long sign I saw that was my identity? Did that go away and be taking them? I had to refigure out my identity and and see what makes me happy? How can I give back in any way possible? And it took a long time. I'm not gonna lie, it took a long A lot of bumpy roads and a lot of self help and family members helping me, but rehab and all that stuff. It definitely got me to the point now where I'm at and I have to think football honestly, because it's a mental game. After football.
At that point, everything is you know, everything was schedule was made for you, breakfast was made for you, the regiment was made for you. For me now it was like, how do I create my own regimen? How do I go on day to day? Because the first two and a half three years I was waking up like, all right,
what do I do now? Now? Lucky for me, I'm blessed enough to I made two contracts, two very good contracts, so the financial side wasn't like worries, which thank god because if it was, it would probably be a harder road for me. But not being able to like know what I'm going to do the day was very, very weird for a very long time. It was. It was very scary. It was scary because it was fun for the first two months, and then after the two months it was like, well, you don't want to spend money
because you're not really you don't have a job. I don't have a job, right now, so I can't really do what I want without going broke. One of my main goals. First thing caught my dad taught me, don't go broke. You know that you don't have to keep
up with the joneses we like to call it. And me adjusting to that to be able to once freely spend whatever whenever to now looking at my bank account and what I'm spending and how I'm spending it and one of my investments, how am I going to do that when I do put money investments and I don't have to readjust how I live in life all those certain things until I figure out an occupation or something
and bring income. That took a little while, but my dad being with the camps brought me in and it was hard for me to stay be with the game still with my whole background story with the football, so it took me a long time to be around the game. But my dad forced me just because he knew this is what I This is what I know, and I have a lot of knowledge for it and kids need
to hear about this. And it took me a while for my selfish reasons to not want to be there, but I finally finally kicked it in and decided to just go for it and try it.
Yeah, so I we read up on one of the other things you're doing and it's helping lower ranked Yeah, lower ranked high school student athletes get scholarships. So it's like a big deal for you. You've talked about how much you passionately care about the young people that you're helping. Kind of tell me how you got into that, and like how's it going, and like how rewarding is it to see a kid like you said, because you said
that's what you were mostly excited about. It's not about the fifteen percent that they're going to be all right, these guys are good athletes, they're gonna make it. But the ones that come to you after they've been with you and say, man, like you've changed my heart look on life, Like I look at things differently.
I like, I like those comments way more because I have former players or former teammates or teammates that I call me today and they are struggling and that that need help, whether that be financially, whether it be mentally, whether it be whatever their situation is, and for for kids to get ahead of that curve before it hits them. That's that's a blessing for me because I just say, that kid a lot of heartache, a lot of pain,
a lot of suffering. Life is going to give us obstacles, obviously, But to help that kid acknowledge and see the things that may make made him go down that path before you know where I got to makes me feel happier, just because how I see my journey was it took me, let's see, seven years. It took me about six years to really feel kind of like normal. I guess that's
a prize for me. Man. That's that's saving a life, Honestly, a lot of a lot of I know, you guys have a lot of friends who played in the league and stories of people, you know what I'm saying.
So, dude, I saw that all growing up. I was never My kids are shocked when I'm like, I was not the best player on my team at any point besides little league football, And I saw so many better players than me kind of fall by the wayside, continue to grow, and then you see them fall by the wayside. High school, college, NFL, you see talent. Talent is in abundance on the NFL rosters. It's all about the mental
side of it. Who could be spiritually, emotionally, mentally locked in long enough to outlast the people around them and then also four quarters in the game, and usually those are the great ones, like those are the great ones. That's what separates the great from the good, to the guys that aren't here anymore. And it's really good that you're able to talk to these people at a younger age and kind of tell them, hey, what all pitfalls
are out there? And it comes to better, so much better because I'm a I'm a father of four peanut is as well. But when your dad ain't saying it, it's come from somebody that actually seems to care about you or like a mentor, it just really just seeps in so much better, especially with your experience in your background.
Yeah, the mental I think the well, I know the mental aspect of it is super serious. And I know you had two serious injuries. I know for me when I had injuries. You know, you're either talking to your your trainer, pops, or there's there's always that one person you can kind of call on when you when you when you need something. Who was the individual or individuals that you leaned on when you had those those two injuries.
I'm always say my family, yeah, but I mean outside of that Fred Jackson running back, Yeah, brob me brought me under under his wing. When I first got this and I was a I was a kid from Texas that came from a winning program, always handed things to me. Then it get the Buffalo wholly different culture and a kid from Texas who's never been outside of Texas, only knows Texas. But getting up there was a very cultural shock, and I didn't really didn't know how to really adjust.
I was very segregated, segragated myself from not on purpose for my team, it was just because I wasn't comfortable to where I was at. So he brought me in, showed me how to be professional, showed me how to be a pro, showed me how to be in the community, showed me that it's bigger than just football. And I ain't gonna lie Without him, I probably have been out second year in the league. But he saw potential me.
He saw potential he saw I don't know what he saw, but I thank him every time because, Uh, I'm where I'm at today because of his guidance.
You know, my man Smoked Dixon. Gerald Smoked Dixon actually worked upstairs for Buffy. Yeah, and loved you, raved about you being a great ball, great tackler.
We're gonna take a short break and we'll be right back.
I want to talk about because he raved about you. I used to follow you because my boy talked about you so much. I'm like, I should take this other safe down. Who's this young cat about to come up here and do this, that and the other. You're a baller than you. I saw the first neck injury. Was that the one with Edelman right where you're diving. It looked like a great tackle.
It looked like it, but it's kind of weird. I want to talk to you about these things. I feel like we can open up about these a little bit now because you've been through them, because you had two significant neck injuries.
Second one was bogus though, yeah, like number one. How was the rehab? How do you feel like they happened? What exactly was the definition of your first neck injury and your second neck injury?
I couldn't even tell you the men a term of it, yeah, like so long or whatever, But basically, when I tackled them, when I came down, you'll see my neck whiplash back. I have a small from my C five to C seven. My vertebrate kind of has a small narrow opening for my where my nerves are at. So when I tackled the element and it landed, my whiplash the vertebrate, I wouldn't say ruptured, but it like pinched on my nerve really bad, maybe go partial paralyzed for about a month
and a half. Oh wow, and then.
Like how far down was paralyzed.
On my whole my whole right side. Wow, the whole right side was paralyzed. It happened right as soon as I landed and I try to get up. You'll see on the film, like if you look back, you'll see my like trying to roll over, but I can't be cause my right side it is not really given.
So what is that feeling like? Because I've never had that feeling?
Yes you have, Yes you have. And it's funny you say that. Remember those terrible stingers, Yeah, it's that, but fly or maximized by two and have it stay there lingering for a month and a half.
Because the sting is like ah, and then you started to come.
Now the stingers just stay staying right up here. Have it go down your leg, down to your toes and have that while you're walking every day or trying to walk.
I should have a little bit. It's like when your legs sleep or something.
It's basically like when your leg sleep and you're pinching and you can't feel. That's exactly how it feels to be perilous.
How screened was that When you felt that was like, oh man, okay, oh wait a minute. Knowing that you just was like, I just made it. I tried to make this tackle, but now I can't move. Like, what was the first thing that went through your mind?
Oh?
Shit?
Honestly, because I was I remember looking at the sky. It was a perfect day, blue blue sky. Yeah, and you know, normal tackle get up, yeah, and I'm just like Initially I was like, oh snap, I can't move and I started freaking out. And then they came to me and said, don't move. They started poking me, They started pinching me. Can you feel this? Can you feel that? I was like, nah, I can't, and then I started
freaking out, and then I would have totally freaked. They put me in the They put me in the ambulance, went back to the hospital, put me on the gurney and on the table. I think about two hours three hours that came back. You feel this? Can you feel this? I was like, man, I can't feel nothing. So then I started freaking out, like man, this might be it. But the warrior in me, I'm sure you guys know, as being athletes, we get hurt all the time. It's
it's it's normal everyday thing for us get hurt. All right, what what injury is it? Okay, I've had this before about two three months. Okay, bat, what I gotta do to get back? My first innection was like when can I get back? Which is really crazy at the time, but I just thought it was another First of all, I thought it was just another painful stinger. Yeah, and I just thought, okay, maybe a couple of weeks, you'll be back. A month hit and I was like, okay,
still not really feeling things. But after a month and a half I started feeling tinglingess and my feeling started coming back. And then I had a rough discussion with my head trainer right after I got the surgery or no, this is after this my second one, so after the first one, they you know, people were like you sure you want to come back, and I was like yeah, man, like just got paid, I got three more years of my contracts. A little, there's nothing I can be all right,
work my way back six month rehab recovery. Scary recovery, by the way, just like I've never felt so scared for people to be around me because at the time when I had my surgery, my neck was like loose because my my neck muscles weren't you know, really Yeah, I.
Was wondering like like did you have a big muscle atrophy?
Very much so so because after the surgery, when I walk, you know you when you pop something, it's loose because it's not That's how my neck felt. So when someone bumped into me, it felt like my neck was about to fall on the ground. So I was like, okay, I'm not moving no more. So I'm gonna say in bed for the next two months and just chill. Got my brace, my neck brace on. It was it was a long, long journey, so work back.
Did you ever go out with a neck brace?
No? I didn't go out at all. Okay, there's no way, Okay, I didn't go I'm seeing.
I just like, why are you here? Why are you here?
I've seen that.
Yeah, I'm sorry. I had to know balid questions.
I'm a god. That's like, if I could make a way happen, I'm gonna do it.
And you seemed like that, okay.
Now tell him. That's how it was. Someone call my name and be like, I'd be like, yo, what's up?
You're good?
Okay, you don't need me? All right? Cool? So it was a lot of weird movie meant for a while. Yeah, fast forward, right before we get the training camp, worked them my way up to getting uh well, I felt like it was one hundred percent first first scrimmage of the of the year in training camp, my first contact game since my injury. I'm sweating bullets because I'm excited to finally get back and play. Yeah, but in my mind, well, can I sustain another hit? Yeah? Will I get back
up again? Will I even walk? Now? None of that's really hitting me at the time, but it started hitting me when we did the kickoff and then.
First first series of contact.
About to make some contact, I had a sweep to the right to my side. Runnybody came in and I said, we're gonna find out we looked out eyed at each other and I said, here we go. Made contact. It was a big hit. Got up.
I was like, oh, I can feel myself.
I got excited, confidence, confidence, restore. I'm back. We had just hired Ed Reid too as as our dB coach. My mentor guy looked up to for a long time, gave me the cheek hose of the game. All right, perfect situation. And then the second hit happens, and then Jarvis Landry Jarvis Lander hit, and that that was a That was a rude awakening to what I was about to get myself into. As far as life comes, ah, I wanted to go back again. So the draws landing hit.
I'm knocked out. Two minutes, three minutes, come in, come back conscious. I'm looking at the sky. I'm telling myself that I don't get up. This would be my last play in the NFL. So I said, Aaron, gotta get up, Bro, gotta get up. Got up. They're like, do you need a stretcher? Do you need this to bring the ambulance? I said, y'all better not bring the ambulance back out. They didn't bring it out. I said, I got this on a walk man, y'all been in the buiness for
a long time. When you've been in the business for a long time, you kind of know the politics, what owners are kind of thinking your gms. I got up. I started walking on the field. Man. I don't know why, but every sense my smell, my side, my field, it heightened like by like ten. I smell the grass I'm looking at, like the beautiful stadium in Miami, the sky. I hear the crowd roar, and it was silence. But then they saw me walk off. It was allowed to applause.
Something hit me bro and said this is my last game. I don't know what it was. It's just like God was like, can't can't let you go back anymore, So walk on the field. I just I told myself, man, take everything in you have right now, because this will be the last time we will ever be in a field with pads on and being a player. I remember
that like significantly, like it was yesterday. And then got in the locker room, had trainer, assistant trainer, our owner Terry Fugula, our GM Doug Whaley at the time, our president, and we're in there. We were in there silent. Yeah, all of them came came in there, all of them.
That's how you know how serious that was. The president come down, owner.
The owner, everybody came down. And when they all came in, bro I broke down. That's love though it's heck of love. It's heck love. But I broke down because I knew right then and there that was it. That was it was it. So fast forward, get the surgery. We go to uh Super Bowl in Houston. Yeah, Doug Whaley our president, and I'm and the owner. We meet up. You know, we have a conversation. How do you feel, how do you rehab going? I'm good, Like I got it. I could.
I can keep going, keep playing. I've been working my butt off. This is not the first time that's happened. I'm good. So it's like, okay, like we really want you guys to stay here, be here, and we just want to look out for your health. And I said, no, I'm all good. March rolls around and everybody that's in the league knows that March is free. It's that dude. Calendar date, March tenth, nine thirty five am. I got the call Doug Wayley and man, you're my first big signee.
But unfortunately, we're going to cut you. And I'm like, I'm getting ready to go work out. Yeah, And we had just had a conversation in February the Super Bowl in Houston. Y'all love me, y'all, y'all wanted me to come back, and then now y'all telling me I don't want me. So now my confidence is shattered. And that's when adult darkness comes in in a dark place, and then I'm fighting to be on another team. I gave myself.
I'm a guy that gave myself a time, a timeline, and once that debt, once that period is done, like we're moving on to the next thing. So I gave I mean, I don't I'm not a guy that want that wanted to, like like be around the game and not on a team. Like I didn't want to just be active, but not on a team. So I gave myself a year. Because I've been around the business for quite some time, I know how it goes, especially with my two injuries. Went through the season, season came and gone.
That that's it. No one called I worked out the whole year. It was the weirdest year of my life just to work, just to be working out while watching. I'm sure you guys, have you ever been on Wahington watching the game, And he'd be like, dang, he's still in the league. Dang he got another contract, and.
Then we know you better than ever.
I'm not hating it, like it was just like my reality. Like, man, I'm sitting here and this guy's out there playing. So the season year comes and gone, I'm like, all right, that's it. The day the next day, New Orleans caused my agent says, hey, we want Aaron to come in. You don't have to do no the thing with the doctor's physical physical you don't have to work out. We've seen his game, we respect his game. We want him two year, fourteen, come on in. Man. I couldn't do it.
I was checked out because once I said the year, it was a year, yeah, and that year came and gone. Now I could have been like, oh, they're gonna give me once. Once you're checked out, you're checked out. And I love the game, But it was like, do I continue to be a Warrior? Do I keep continue to be a savage? Or do I do I finally look and say stop, Aaron. You're like you have so much ahead of your only at that time, I was twenty six.
I was twenty six years old, very young, very young, And it was like at that time I couldn't see past, see myself fifty six years old. I was worried about the now, especially the money that I was getting. I was like, I'm taking care of my family's family's family's family. Yeah, so why would I want to give that up? It took me a long time, but my mind, my heart, it just it just wouldn't allow me.
But to me, that's a savage though right there though, like you listening to your body right, like I still think you're I still know you're a savage. I think you're a savage and courage just by the standpoint of like you know what, this ain't right, I think I need to check out. But look you you got carted offer, you got taken off the field four times on a stretcher, right, Like.
It's happened to me once you any any times?
Never you play, you've been playing, you placed, you've been playing I think Rome. A lot of y'all don't know thise, but Rome started playing four all in like nineteen seventy two. Right, this is Benjamin Button body right here. No seriously, you say that he's been keeping playing a minute.
I've been watching both of y'all for a long time, and I respect y'all's game. I remember seeing Ron I'm playing. He took his helmet off two thousand and eleven, maybe eleven twelve. So you take your helmet off? I said, oh, no, it was it was early. This was when I was college. Yeah, keeping two thousand and eight, I'm ready to hear thousand and nine, the build up we were watching, I maybe take your helmet off. I was like, damn because you had the gray hair. And yeah, So fast forward when
I got drafted. I think we played you guys one time. You did and me being a rookie kid twenty years old in the league, I'm like, I'm I'm playing. He's right here next to me. He's right here next what all the time? I said, Dany, he still got great hair.
You don't want to color it, Ryan. Don't he look like a Techmobil player?
He like.
I was like, look that was his Like he was a throwback.
Yeah, my god, I saw room the first Like, dang yo, this dude is from like tech Mobile, Like he playing on an eighty five Bears, like.
I'm so old that he's still playing. Here's just from twenty five. Yes, so that you see that.
You say, you know, I mean, look, we love to hear everybody's first time they recognize me because of my gray hair. It's a thing.
Like damn.
Everybody has this, like random stories like the first time I saw that Roman Harper was great.
Oh my god.
They all thought I was way older than what I was peanuts still older than me.
I am, but I don't look it.
You're correct, but you probably also maybe jing that thing a little bit. I don't. So it's just part of the deal. It's just part of the deal.
We're going to take a short break and we'll be back in a minute.
Aaron, I want to know this because you one of your job titles is life coach, And if you could hire a life coach, or if you were a life coach looking at younger Aaron Williams, what kind of advice would you give him to be able to handle his transition and to kind of kind of walk him through that whole phase of his life these last six years.
For sure, one have the right people around you, that's definitely one of the biggest things.
But how would Aaron know that. How would Aaron know who the right people around him?
By knowing who you are and knowing your morals and principles and what you how you want people to perceive you as a person. I think the ego of my NFL life trickled into my after football life a little bit, and I had I was I still had that attitude of I'm this, I don't need I'm this. Yeah, And it had took me a little bit to understand like that ain't even no more. And the people around me weren't telling me the right things.
Oh, they were just feeding it.
They were feet into it. Been around a lot of people. A lot of people have been around me. I've taken care of a lot of people. It's kind of it was hard to decipher who was there for me and who was just there to live the life that I've been living. And if you open up your eyes a little and it's to me, it's self care. You'll get
tired of being used after a while. Like at some point you're you're gonna be like, you know what, I'm good, I'm done, Like I'm I realized that you needed me more than I needed you, so respectfully I'm gonna have to just it's love, but I'm gonna have to show my love from a distance. So when I started part of my parton Ways from the Negative wavelength Vibes, whatever you want to call it, but I started painting to
the true people that were there for me. And it took my parents to understand or to help me understand, like, yeah, that person wasn't really there for you. Remember when he did this and that. Yeah, we would try to tell you, but you just didn't want to You didn't want to see it. We had life had to show you because we tried, and life is your is the best teacher, and it taught me it's just not the teacher you want to teach. But it took me. It took life.
Took me a while to see who was there for me and for me to take to understand and realize that I had to understand my own self worth and love for myself. So I got tired of just being a nice guy. Sometimes you gotta be like, hey, bro, I did all I can do for you. Is now time for you to do yours. Because I had to do that, no one was there when when I had my first knick, surgery. My parents were there for me. One of my friends came by and said, hey, how
are you doing? What you're good? How's your neck? Do you do anything? It took six months of me to do that by myself, I mean my parents, but really by myself, to be like dang, like where are my people? I'm in my room three days straight in the dark. I ain't got one phone call. So when things like that started happen, you start regulating the good and the bad.
And then once you start regularing the good and the bad, you have people that are pushing you, influencing you to do better, to not be stagnant, to take what you learn in football apply to life. Everything we do in football, you can apply it to life, showing up to meetings on time, plies of life, doing the things you don't want to do. There have been time I'm sure you guys woke up and was like, I don't want to
work out today. Yeah you know, but this morning. But you knew the results of that, of what would happen if you didn't work out. So there's a lot of mental push. A lot of family and friends who were there for me, loved ones to push me outside the darkness and into the light. And then it took me to want to better myself because a lot of people say, Aaron, go get help Aaron, you should do this, Aaron, go be a coach, Aaron, And I know I can do those things, but in my mom I just don't want
to do it. Like I'm not in that mic right. My space is just go do it. So I was rejecting everything. It took me to be like, you know what, bro come on, man, get up the same way you got up when you hurt your neck the first time and the second time, the same way we got to get up, except now we're not in the football field. We're in real life. We're in our bed, and we're in our bed too long. We're getting comfortable in the dark, and that's never a good thing, to get comfortable in
the dark. So I had to It was hard, but I had to push myself. I had to really push myself to get out of bed to go brush my teeth. That's how bad, that's how down I was. I was willing to smell, disgusting, look bad because I just didn't care. I didn't have I didn't have I didn't foresee my future outside of football. But having my parents and the friends that were there, and my players, my young kids that I trained. Now, I know they're young, but they
taught me. They keep me young, they keep they give me a good spirit and and they helped me keep in track by making sure that they're in there in line. So having those things and then having something to get you out of the house, having something for you to do, whether that be fishing, whether that be doing your LinkedIn to get ready for future jobs, whether that be getting
your resume ready, whatever it may be. It needs to do something but create in your in your room and ponder about what you did before, because pondering about the past ain't gonna get you nowhere. But in the same place.
Yeah, I think my kids keep me out.
I got too many kids, soccer games and basketball games and everything.
I know you got a whole tribe too, I do.
I do.
That's good for us.
That though I'm a dad uber, I.
Just believed worm a, I'm a duber. I'd actually never heard that until just no, Yeah, that's what we are.
That's really dope. Though you had to try because for me, I didn't. I don't have kid or wife or you're lucky.
So it's positive and negatives.
It everything. I'm joking.
But one thing I do want to ask you, though, is what you played. You've been playing? You played what twenty five years in the league. I got thirteen, you got six? So, uh what was your We all got our welcome to the NFL moment? Like, what was your welcome to the NFL moment?
Oh?
Man Marion Barber M Yeah that when he was in Chicago. Yeah, okay, yeah, it's twenty eleven and uh yeah RP and my guy, I've watched him when he was in Dallas before I got to the league. Yeah, and just seeing him on TV, he was looking he was a big dude, but in person was another, especially with the dress and all that it was. I was like, man, you're you're like crazy good at what you do. I think it was like a it was a power to my side. He jumped out of the seat. The sea gap left the wide
open hole. Our d n got flushed out outside and it was mono e mano. I think we're aund like on the thirteen fourteen yard line and man, I got trucks so bad. That man truck me so bad. And I'm like, all right, gotta I gotta prove myself. This is right before I made the tackle. I looked at his eyes. I said, oh, we want to get him went in there boom, oh snaph. I looked around my eyes. I said, oh, I'm in the league. I remember being social field.
I'm looking up.
I said, oh, I'm here. I did it. But then we got back to sidelines. Know the dbs like what happened?
Bro, Why.
Y'all know who that man was? Y'all tripping? So that was my That was my welcome to the league moment. But my other one was Calvin Johnson getting mossed by Calvin Johnson was probably one of the most embarrassing.
Was it one player or was it like two or three players? Because he was he was he was notorious. It was going over seriously.
It was me. It was me and George Wilson on that two of us most both of us.
This is that already knew give me that.
And I was in perfect position like I was, yeah, you thought you. I thought I had it. And then I went up and next thing I know, I see two large and just give me this both of us and I said, wow, this isn't this isn't college, Like, you know, there's I was. I was pretty dominant in college, so I was like I had winn against the best I went justin Blackman. Was there a lot of receivers Big twelve that I can't I can't really remember right now because I don't even like receivers like that. But
you're good, we don't either. I played against top, top guys. Yeah. So but when you know, you hear Calvin Johnson, you know what to expect, but when it happens to you, you're like, oh, no, this man is for real.
No, we all have Calvin Johnson's stories. We you know, Peanut played against him the most. But I remember the first time that I was like, oh wow, yeah he is different.
He him, Yeah for real.
We were in the I played in My My, My, My first pro bawl got to play in and he was out there. You know, he got the best of the best out there, and I'm looking, I'm like, oh, yeah, he's still way better than everybody else. It was like next level of stuff. His catch, radious, ability able to jump.
Run, never seen a guy like that, never seen, was like unheard of at the time.
So Big too, so Big, never talked, didn't speak, didn't talk any trash, didn't the nicest even off the field.
I talked to him outside the outside of the game. Nicest person you'll ever meet, even nicest person between those white lines. Like he'll do the dirtiest thing to you, like as far as like one hand catch or or taking over your head, but won't say anything. He'd like, hey go tryl you know this, very subtle comments, good try, good play. But yeah, it was. It was really cool and it's a it's such a blessing man to see
guys like you and Tilman. I grew up watching on TV, and I was like emulating in my high school days punch out king right here, like I was in practice. Like people got mad at me because they got tired of me punching, punching them me too, but I was like, man, this this great is doing it, and look what's happened.
So I was punching and so like watching you guys and then being able to be on the same field, man is Honestly, I wanted to say to you guys, it's such an honor to share a feel with you guys, because you guys have been great role models for me. You showed nothing but positive outlooks of how to be a dB one and then two after after football, I
followed you on the FBI, right, yes, sir, followed. I followed you guys, and to see you guys from being great football players to just being great men, great husbands, great fathers, That's that's what I look for. And I want to thank you guys because a lot of I was fortunate to have my dad, and when my dad wasn't there, you guys were the ones that I was like, well, how can I get to that? So thank you for being good role model to me, even though you don't
never knew or noticed that. I was watching you guys from a distance. Guys do that and just the way you got guys carry yourselves made me want to move the same way. And I got compliments from that. And I thank you guys because I learned from you guys and my peers that helped me through the way as well.
So, oh, dude, that's ultimate. Thank you. Yeah, peenup receiving that, that's a big thing for him. We've worked on this since the podcast. He's gotten better at receiving compliments. And I didn't see that coming from you, So I appreciate that. That's that is awesome to hear, and not only that, but it's going to pay it forward to the next generation as well, because everything that you're doing in your
communities that you're serving. I got one last football question and then we'll probably finish up on a fun question too, And for me, it's that number one what made playing in Buffalo special and number two being from Texas like me being in Alabama. Like I remember, Buffalo called me and I was like, nah, bro, I can't do it. Like I can't, I can't do it. I didn't they called you, Yeah, Like nah, it's just not Yeah.
I can't.
I don't think I'm first of all, I don't think my family's going to go up here, and I don't think I can deal with the cold. So how did you do it?
Well? First of all, I didn't know where Buffalo was when I got drafted.
Okay, there it is.
So when I got there because during the draft process, I didn't talk to nothing, not one person from from the Bill staff. So to get drafted by then was completely different. But getting there, like I said, kid from Texas with different culture shock, It took me about a year and a half to really start to get into things, give it a chance to be would.
You do that first year?
Just did you wear sleeves in the game?
Nah, I'm proud to say that, and that that's a that's a that's an old school yes, Like I'm old school general. I'm y'all's generation to call you guys all or anything, but like I grew up learning from you guys of like we don't show weakness, Like we don't show the other team that were cold and we can't keep up with them. So my teammates got mad at me because I did the same thing, like we ain't wearning sleeves out there. I had a lot of guys
from Florida, Louisiana and Cali that wanted were sleeves. I'm like, nah, man, this is a mental thing. So I was more of the old school regiment. But Buffalo was It's a similarity between Texas a little bit as far as the football side, and then you have the blue collar city that I have never been witnessed before. I come from Austin somewhat a big city, kind of created city, and then Buffalo where there's like not really anything really going on, but
the people there are so amazing. They work hard for what they have. They love their bills like no other. There. You guys may notice our fan base is the number one fan base I know. There may be the Cowboys or.
Jump I can break this market.
It's crazy and they light on fire. They do a lot of crazy things.
It's like they're a college town exactly.
That's what and that's what. It reminded me of being at ut for a while. And when I got outside my ways and started actually playing good and then just getting with the with the people in the community, I realized, Man, this place is actually like really amazing and it's not the glitten gamer glamour. You ain't gonna go to a red carpet one weekend and then a basketball game the
next weekend. It's just you find people that you that mold what you believe in, and you stick around and hang out and then they introduce you to someone else, and they introduce you someone else. And the fact that they were respectful enough for me to like invite me to like their company dinners or their family dinners just out of love. I was like, cool, this is this
is great. But then to be like, hey, invite your teammates as well, like not just to be around me, They wanted to be just around us, like the team. And I felt like that was really special because other other teams don't have those type of fan bases where they show a lot of love. They may be crazy about you on the field, but when it comes off the field, it may be a little different. Bill's Mafia now they gonna know you, like a lot of people don't recognize you because we have our helmets on. But
Bill's Mafia gonna know you. Once a Bill, always a Bill. That's That's one of the things. So I gave it a chance, and people treated me like, like I said, if I was their own. So I just ran with it and just kept going.
So all right, now, fun question, So are you still horseback riding?
Man I still do horseback ride, having horseback ride, rode in Manute just because of the neck in the back.
I mean, you got some great pictures out there on the internet, great pictures.
I still got my five horses out there. I haven't haven't really rodeoed the much that like I used to.
You have five horses, what are their names? You got names?
Yeah?
I got got Dallas, I got bo At, least some of there's Cisco in there.
I know Cisco, Cisco in there, Ivy, Rudolph or Rudy. I call it Rudy, And I know I'm forgetting one. We just got it though, okay, so but yeah, it keeps me busy. He's my mind clear for sure. The connection with the horse is just.
Like everybody talks about that you own a horse, you have like this connection.
Connection, man, It teach you how do you? Energy is real? Energy is real like when you walk. When you walk into a room, people are either going to notice you or they're not. And it's just off the energy you bring off. And I learned that from horses. I communicate through a horse just by hepathically, just like energy. And just if I come off and they know I'm sad or frustrated or mad about something, they can sense it. If I'm happy and create and just want to be free,
they can sense that. So if I'm sad and the frustrated, it's gonna be long day writing because he's gonna feel that same tension for loose and having a great time. It's it's one of the most peaceful things you can be a part of. But it taught me how to regulate and how to maneuver in certain spaces and really just present yourself with with confidence and everything. So horses definitely keep you busy. Yeah.
Yeah, you seem like you've had or I know, you've had a pretty successful life and your upbringing with mom, dad, parents, of your family, who would you say is on your personal mount rushmore so helping you get to where you are.
In life right now?
Mm hm, outside of my family.
Just it could be family, It could be it could be anybody. It's your personal mount rushmore of four people.
Oh for sure, Mom and Dad one and two off the back, off the rip. Fred Jackson will be number three.
All right, now, you gotta tell me why you can't just name drop keep it moving.
Mom and Dad is altusly for obvious reasons. They've been there since day one. So injury injury.
You said a little bit about Fred earlier, you talked about.
Fred. Fred's been been with me through my ups and downs life. Uh, He's been with me to the good and the bad and the ugly and it's still with me to this day. Talked to me yesterday actually, So he was never one of those vets that only vetted you in the locker room. He was one of those vets that checked up on you and make sure you things were good and make sure you were on the right path. There have been times where I veered off
and he grabbed me and brought me back. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have my second contract if it wasn't for him. I wouldn't have the love of Bill's Mafia. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have the confidence of of of trying new things when I don't have any interest of doing it. He taught me like, you never know until you try. He was one of those guys that told me that there's been times where well, I've gotten he's gotten late night phone calls while because
I was out partying and doing crazy things. And he was never the one to just hang up the phone and be like, well he's a grown man, let him do his own decisions. He'd wake up. I'm talking about this man has man. I'm supposed to know this one two three, five kids, four or five kids and a wife left them to come save me and the time of need where I needed him. And you don't get a lot of guys that you don't grow up with or you just met because of work to have that
type of love and care for you. So I will always be into debt with Fred no matter. There's nothing anyone could say bad about Fred to me because I'm here now because of partially what he taught me. And and just like your kids get on your nerves, I got on his nerves, but he never gave up on me. Yeah,
so that for sure, Fred will be number three. I'm gonna say my head trainer, Sean Sean Gibson will be number four because I hate like I don't want to choke up, but he was the reason why I I'm able to walk, I'm able to have a clearer mind. He's the one that sat me down. He's the only person besides my mom and dad to sit me down and say, hey, you're a grateful a player, You're a great person. I am not talking to you from a head trainer standpoint. Remove the head trainer helmet. This is
a man, a friend, a person that loves you. You need to stop playing the game. It was hard for me to hear that.
I couldn't imagine. I couldn't either.
It was a guy that wanted me. He knew my goals. I want to be pro bowler, all pro super Bowl, all this stuff. He knew that I worked hard, but he also knew I had so much ahead of me. Yea No one in that facility said, Aaron, you might need to stop playing this game for your health reasons only,
not that like call anybody out. I'm not trying to call anybody out or anything, but say in the fact, this man took off the badge of being a bill staff member and put his own personal being love and care for me and saying I love you enough too much to allow you to want to go back on that field and for me to be like, potentially carry you off and may not walk again, potentially carry you off and tell your family members he's no longer here with us because of a hit or because of this,
because of that, he loved me enough to sit me down and say you're more than what you are now. And it took someone outside and my family members to tell me. Because when your son Dad tells me, it's all the time, but it doesn't register like that. For whatever reason, I don't know why it doesn't when you're here from someone that sees you outside of what your parents see you, You're like, oh crap, someone outside my parents just telling me the same thing. I might want
to listen. So Mom, Dad, Fred Jackson, Sean Gibson, my Mount Rushmore.
Dude, that was great. Almost teared up right there then, and I cry a lot all the time.
I started being I started just accepting it's okay to let emotions be emotions.
I think it's it. I did and look, man, I because I was laughing so hard. But you know me, though, I think you have a real full day whenever you're able to laugh and cry.
Absolutely in the same day, absolutely.
Full blown, absolute circle of life. I'm still waiting. I think my crying is just from this oil I put on my face my eye. So that's kind of why I'm tearing up right now. It's getting irritate. Well, Aaron Man, thank you, man. Appreciate that. Mank you guys for having me this beautiful story.
Man, I'm glad we got to hear that. Man, than you got to see each other's faces. And definitely without the helmet on, you got great hair. Peanut hairs, all right, I mean the great waves is popping.
We're good. I appreciate you it.
Thanks man, appreciate it that but hey, first of all, let me get this out of here the right way for all of our listeners and everybody that always tunes in. Man, make sure you give us a five star rating, give us a review, hit follow, leave a couple of comments. Please, you know, tell a friend to tell a friend to do what Peanut, tell a friend there we go, tell a friend. Man, wherever you pick up your podcast, whether this Apple podcast, iHeartRadio app, please please continue to follow.
Man.
We're telling great stories, really allowing people like Aaron Williams himself to open up and tell his side of the story of his transition and what all we're doing and now in our second act. Man, it's been great to hear another side of it.
Thank you guys for having me. Man.
Yeah, Man, Hey, Peanut getting off the gray that's Aaron NFL player.
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