BE A BALLER -"Building a lifelong legacy"

Roy Hall - Building a Life Long Legacy in Paying It Forward

• Coach Tim Brown, Uncommon Life • Season 1 • Episode 13

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Over the last 10 Years former Ohio State and NFL wide receiver Roy Hall Jr. has developed and emerged as one of the most sought after speakers, educators, ministers, and corporate consultants in the country. His passionate, no-nonsense, high energy messages have unlimited range that empower audiences to live a successful and satisfying professional and personal life. 

Roy is also co-founder and Executive Director of the Driven Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides basic human needs to families to combat poverty and build hope.



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SPEAKER_04:

Welcome to Be A Baller podcast, where we discuss how to build a lifelong legacy. I'm your host, Coach Tim Brown. Today, I'm talking about building a legacy in community service with our special guest, former Ohio State and NFL football player, Roy Hall.

SPEAKER_02:

Before we get started, let's hear a word from our sponsor.

SPEAKER_01:

Good players win games. Great players break records. Legends change the game and share their fate. This is Ry DeRozio, Executive Director of the Central Ohio Fellowship of Christian Athletes, inviting you to attend the 24th Annual Lunch with the Legends on Thursday, April 20th at Villa Milano. This year, we are excited to honor former OSU football legend, Executive Director of the Driven Foundation motivation on corporate speaker, Riverboard President Roy Hall Jr. Join us in celebrating Roy's athletic success and his extraordinary passion to inspire people, athletes, and coaches to be followers of Jesus Christ. The Legends Luncheon helps raise support that fuels FCA to serve coaches and athletes of Central Ohio. Get your Lunch with the Legends tickets today at centralohiofca.org slash events. Wellstone Tax Advisors is proud to support Roy is

SPEAKER_04:

executive director of the Driven Foundation, an organization that is committed to serving and enhancing our community through family and youth-focused outreach events, programs, and services. Roy is building a lifelong legacy in community service. Roy, welcome to Be a Baller podcast.

SPEAKER_05:

Be a Baller,

SPEAKER_04:

huh? I'm excited to be here. Let's go. Yeah. You know, both of us grew up in Cleveland.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah. You grew up, grew up, though. Yeah, I went to Shaw High School. My mama moved me to South Euclid out of East Cleveland, like fifth grade. You should have stayed. I don't know. I'm thanking God for mom making that move. I don't know. Stay in the show, man. We could have did some damage there, probably. A little bit, a little bit. Be a Cardinal.

SPEAKER_04:

Be a Cardinal. You know it. You got it. So growing up in the Brussels, South Euclid area, when did you realize you had a special gift in athletics?

SPEAKER_05:

Well, that's a great question. You know, I was tall when I was growing up. I was taller than a lot of the kids. But probably right around fifth, sixth grade, you start realizing that you have some ability. Now, I didn't have any formal training. I wasn't on any youth traveling teams. That was a little bit different when I was growing up. I didn't play travel ball, AU ball. And so you're just playing in the streets and in the backyards and with your friends. And then once you start competing with some of the older guys, mostly because you're tall and so they will allow you to get on the court, you get beat up a little bit and you develop a certain mindset. And so I kind of honed my skills from that standpoint just in the neighborhood. But then in the seventh grade, when I was on a formal team for the first time, when I got to Memorial Junior High School, and you're a standout playing football, you're faster than the other kids, you're running away from kids on opposing teams. You know, we used to only be able to play three quarters in junior high school. You know, you're averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds in seventh and eighth grade and three quarters. They're like, man, this dude can do some things. So that was kind of around the time that I realized that I had some gifts. And then when I could beat my mom in running. And so my mom was fast. She used to race a lot of the kids in the neighborhood. And when I got around fifth or sixth grade, we went up to one of these little parks and ran about 50 or 60 yards. And I pulled away from it. I'm like, yo, it's time now. It's time. I think I got a little bit of skill.

SPEAKER_04:

I think most people don't realize you were not only a great football player, but a basketball player as well. I think you had a little experience with LeBron, didn't

SPEAKER_05:

you? Yeah, we had a little bump in my senior year. A little bump in. Here's the thing. You know, you got one of the greatest ever do it you know if he's the greatest to ever do it now one of them and that means he was probably one of the greatest to ever do it when he was six and seventeen too so we kind of clashed heads they got the better of us I think they won by like eighteen points or something however with six minutes to go in a game we was only down like six or seven points right there yeah and then you know I kind of got ejected for some some physical physical altercation with Bron as he was going up for a nice little dunk or something football came out yeah you know you It was a little controversial, but I was toughening him up.

SPEAKER_04:

Getting ready for the NBA. That's all it was. You were a successful student-athlete at Ohio State. How were you able to balance both football and academics?

SPEAKER_05:

The thing with academics and sports is that's not necessarily something that you can just develop on the spot. A lot of kids think that once they graduate high school, if they make it to the next level, that they'll be able to turn it on in college. I'm going to study. I'm going to have tutors. I'm going to have more time. But you actually have less time and time management becomes a necessity and something that has to be a priority for you. And most people don't know how to do it if they haven't started doing it. So you can start as young as sixth, seventh grade when your grades start counting towards eligibility. And so academics have always been and were important to me, not so much because I wanted to show how smart I was, but I just wanted that discipline. I wanted to be the best. How can you say you want to be the best student athletes or the best athlete and you're a beast on the You're a beast on the field. You're a beast in the pool. You're a beast, you know, chipping the ball. If you're a golfer or whatever you are, but you get into the classroom and you subpar below average. And so if my name is being announced or put on blogs or put in the newspaper or in articles online about how many points I scored and my name is showing up there, you know, I learned this from you, like the power of protecting your name. If you shifted my name, that same name is on my, my, my projects. The same name is on my tests. The same name is on my name is in the book for the teacher when I come in for attendance. So if I'm not there, not showing up, you know, and then also my name is next to an F or next to a D or next to a 2.2 GPA. But if I know if I have the possibility or the opportunity or I have it inside of me to be the best athlete I can be, I got that same greatness on the inside of me academically. So I never wanted the two to mismatch. And that was just something I took to heart, something my mom put in me early, keep your grades up. And I figure if I can keep my grades up and I know how to, if I know how to practice and work hard on the court or in the field, I could do the same thing in the classroom. It's really that simple. You find out who the smartest person is in the classroom, I'm going after you. If I give you these names right now, if I give you Katie Steiner, if I give you Katie Lazar, if I give you Stacey Gunn, if I give you Tony Gross, if I give you Casey Hill, these are people that you'll never know. But these are the people that was like top 1% of my class. Like the 4.6 students. So I will find them, like yo, I'm going go after you. You might get a 102 out of 100 on this test, but if I come in at like a 93, 94, I feel like that's weighted more because you can't run across the middle, catch a slant, and take it to the house like I can. You see what I'm saying? So I got a 94. I still got an A. You got an A. You got a 102, but you can't take it to the house like I can. So that's kind of how I used to look at it. Yeah, that's how you develop it. Then when you get to college, it's easy. Your GPA might not be as high because it's strenuous in the time, but you still can roll out with a 3.4 or and be all right.

SPEAKER_04:

You know, on the other side of that, being an Ohio State athlete, can you tell the audience about how you use that platform to impact others through Athletes in Action and involving that ministry? You also did a lot of speaking for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes during that time. So tell our audience how you use that platform.

SPEAKER_05:

So even in the studio, you've got lights on. I know the listeners that may not be able to see this part, but the listeners can see the lights on us and shining off our bald head. But the lights are even brighter at Ohio State. yeah right but there's the physical light right the lights for the night games the lights during the games where it's foggy the lights of people looking at you and then there is that light shining on you from heaven like you was born with a light on the inside of you and so given the blessing of having a platform like Ohio State what it does is it magnifies that light that's coming up out of you even more so and so you look different you sound different you talk different and you know know from a believer standpoint when you are walking with that type of confidence on the light that's on the inside of you you have the responsibility more than enough opportunity but you have the responsibility to now talk about and highlight and figure out how you can use your life to make a difference on what was darkness now is in the light now so me being the light now all of a sudden everybody around me can see this problem over here because I'm shining on it so now all of a sudden I'm bright now I can see this problem in front of me or this challenge in front of me now it's my responsibility to use this heavenly platform at Ohio State and that logo and everything that comes with it to make a difference in that area so it's no longer what man people don't really know or somebody should do something about this now I'm in position because I can see it I can see it and the people around me can see it and so since we all looking at the same problem we probably should figure out a way to leverage that platform to make a difference so if I got a hundred and ten thousand people that cheer for me if I score a touchdown in the Michigan game I'm going to I can get a fraction of that if I just say something about the different challenges that's going on in the world today and or to use that platform to talk about my faith in Christ. And so now all of a sudden, it's no longer, oh, man, I got faith and I pray before the games. It's like we need to have a dialogue because this four years is going to be up here soon. And now we need to have some real life conversation. So when I'm done playing ball, we can connect on a different

SPEAKER_04:

level. That's good. That's good. Can you talk about how your faith journey and your relationship with the Lord is help you serve the community.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah, that's primary. I, you know, usually, you know, when you study and really like looking at Jesus' life, like he didn't show up to go do something. When he showed up, he noticed a problem and then he solved it. Like it wasn't like, hey man, you know, I'm going to go over here. These people hungry. Let me go feed them. It was like, I'm here and I noticed that the people were hungry. So I got the ability to do it. And so at Ohio State, when I was in the NFL, again, you get exposed to different challenges and problems. So now all of a sudden you can say, now that I'm here, now I can make a difference in those respective areas. And so the journey is always evolving and maturing, right? Where you go from just reading the word, right? And somebody telling you about it. That's cool. Like somebody telling you about it. You know, you think of those individuals that were blessed to be able to welcome Jesus into the world when he first got here, when he first was born, right? and you know they got a chance to see it and then as soon as they turned around they went and told everybody about him like first I heard he was there and I heard about him and then once I saw him and touched him and like hung out with his parents now I'm gonna leave and I'm about to tell you all about him so it starts with that like I heard about him now I'm gonna tell you about him but then once you start studying him and trying to build his character in you now it's like what do I need to do like I can't just be a hero of the world now I gotta go do something and what does doing mean it means being consistent and whatever the problem is, you know, people have their own lanes in ministry. Everybody got different lanes, but Jesus didn't have different lanes. He had one lane serving people, right? And so you may do something a little bit longer and you may have a specific calling, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you can't come on this side and minister to people over here. You might be called to work with men who are incarcerated, men and women who are incarcerated or women facing domestic violence or whatever it may be. But if you see a young man that needs some guidance, some parental guidance, and you can give him some wisdom, you should jump right into that boat because that's a great opportunity. So for me, the spiritual journey is just one of maturity. You know, how can I continue to grow in the word, grow in study, grow in teaching, grow in revelation, grow in interpretation, like all those things, and then be able to teach it now more so than being taught. Now it's like, hey, let me go out and do what the word says.

SPEAKER_04:

Time for action. Yes, sir. Being an Ohio State football player, we You hear the word pay forward all the time. What does that mean to you?

SPEAKER_05:

So that was one that Coach Woody Hayes gets the credit for. I don't know if he made it up or not, but if Coach Woody Hayes said it, it's probably his.

SPEAKER_04:

We ain't going to debate

SPEAKER_05:

it. There's two ways to look at it. There's the giving back situation. Like I've heard it said before, you can give back or you can pay it forward. The giving back piece to me is this is where I come from. These are the people that help me. These other individuals that I meet remind me of people that helped me along the way so I can give back because these people represent kind of where I came from where I came from I think paying it forward is a different mindset in my in my perspective paying it forward is more I want to do something now that's going to take you to the next level and so there is giving back like serving and giving back is a part of paying it forward right you can give back but I think paying it forward is more intentional like if I do this it's going to help take you from level A to level B to level C. It's going to take you up, take you forward versus giving back might just be I want to do something nice and I don't know what's going to happen. But paying it forward is I intentionally say my conversation, my giving, my support, my mentorship, my leadership, whatever it is I'm giving to you is perfectly positioned to push you to the next level. And that's how it should be intended to. So when people pay for your food and wine, you know, it's not paying it forward unless you purposely take it tell them, like, hey, I don't know if you're having a good day or not, but I hope for the rest of the day that Starbucks coffee makes you feel a little bit better, you know what I mean? Giving back is more, hey, what's going on in the community? Oh, great, I can toss$1,000 towards it, and what happens, happens, and, you know, it builds hope, so to speak. But sometimes paying to afford it is, no, if I invest$1,000, now let's take this from this to this, right? It's a little bit more intentional.

SPEAKER_04:

You have such a heart for serving the community, you know. What is that that drives you to serve the less fortunate? There's something inside of Roy Hall that drives him.

SPEAKER_05:

Well, you know what East Cleveland was like. You know, and it was probably even worse obviously when you was growing up. It was better when I was there. You think so? Oh, I know so. I was there in the 70s. Well, see, it was different though because you guys were facing more like political stuff, like more like the race piece came in. I mean, not that it's not prevalent now, but it was a different fight then, right? But the community was stronger, but it was a different fight. I think understanding where I come from, you know, being the child that was with a mom who's been in the grocery store and we have to pick and choose what we want to put in the shopping cart based on Tony the Tiger being on one and the other one just saying like Kroger right and the three or four dollar difference and not understanding why and then getting to the register having done all that manipulation of prices and all that and having to put things back because that check wasn't clearing right back in the day you can swipe the check you know And it wasn't going through. Or you just got to put all the groceries back and walk out in shame because you just didn't have the money to get it done. You know, having those moments, witnessing domestic violence growing up, dad having substance abuse challenges with heroin, going through that poverty, you know, mom can't keep a roof over the house and trying to figure out how to, you know, sidestep the person that's leaving the eviction notice on the door. Like all those things, And being in those moments, you never forget. And those weren't my mom's fault, right? She worked in two jobs, you know, but we had some challenges in the household. And then you start to think about what you didn't have. Food, right? Always got to eat like microwavable slash frozen dinners all the time. Never going to a restaurant. Never being a part of a sports team growing up. Having to beg grandparents for money to try and pay for bills. You know, being in crack houses and being less left in the car with a car running and, you know, your pops is inside of a, of a, of a establishment for five, six, seven hours, you know, you know, going back and forth with the drug habit, like just all these different things. You remember growing up that made me super uncomfortable and knowing that kids are still going through the same things. Now, families are still going through it now. And to have a meal on, on, on the, on the table could be something that like this, that's the weight that the balance and do I buy you this pair of Jordans? because I want to because you deserve it because you got a 4.0 as my son or my daughter or do I take that 200 to make sure we eat for the next week and I really want to get you something for Christmas I really want to get you something for your birthday but I can't and you got to understand that so that we can eat that's not a decision that's easy for any parent because you want the best for your kids and so I feel like it's my responsibility again to keep leveraging Ohio State keep leveraging that NFL platform and shift it and say if I can beat the people that love the Bucs Take that momentum and feed it into an organization that can help put meals on tables and put cleats on kids so that they can play ball or be a mentor or leader in their school. That's what I'm about. So that's kind of how those two things run parallel because I was that kid that didn't have a dad, didn't have certain things in my house that I wanted to get bullied and picked on. In sixth grade, I was six foot tall with a 14 shoe with clothes that didn't fit. They wanted to fight me and bully me and they picked on me and all that stuff so I know his kids going through it. So I try and make sure I do my part to let those families know that there is hope, man. They just got to keep pushing. Yeah, so you've done it well.

SPEAKER_03:

Hey there, Clark Kellogg here. Building a legacy usually involves meeting the unique needs of others and being part of something bigger than yourself. That's why I love First Merchants Bank. First Merchants believes that helping communities prosper means more than just providing banking services. It means offering accessible financial education, expanded access to homeownership and partnerships with local nonprofits to help raise up neighborhoods and lift families out of financial hardship. For resources and tools available to you, visit www.firstmerchants.com. Member FDIC Equal Housing Lender.

SPEAKER_04:

In 2008, you and Ohio State teammate Antonio Hall, Antonio Smith, I'm sorry, started the Driven Foundation. Sure. Can you talk about the vision behind the Driven Foundation?

SPEAKER_05:

Simple. Provide families with basic human needs to build hope and to combat poverty. That's the last piece we just spent talking about in a half of a sentence, right? We want to provide basic human needs, starting with food. A basic human need, in my opinion, is mental and leadership coaching and development for kids. That's a basic human need. And my opinion, obviously clothing, shelter, back to school supplies, things of that nature. But we want to make sure that the things that are overlooked are looked at and combed through with a fine-tooth comb to figure out how to help kids and help families. And that's what we want to do. It's that simple. So if there's anything related to keeping your belly full, mentoring and youth development, and also making sure kids get a good academic academic experience, that's what we want to do to help. And so that's why we developed the Driven Foundation back in 08. And we've been running strong for about 15 years now. And we've had a lot of help along the way. And we've been making an impact. And that's been priority.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah. Speaking of that, you've been able to bring the church, business, sports community together with your Driven projects. How have you been able to accomplish this? Because you know how hard it is bringing all these entities together. It's conversation.

SPEAKER_05:

And I believe that most people in the business world that want to help They're believers. They just can't talk about it at work like they want to. You know, some do, some don't. But I think, you know, if we can all come together and cheer and high five at an Ohio State game, you know, a CJ score a touchdown or throw a touchdown or Marvin Harrison Jr. These are the relevance now, but all the greats and we can cheer and scream and shout and tailgate together and all that stuff. If I tell you that I got about 250 families that probably won't be able to feed their kids over the course of winter break because they've been depending on those free lunches at school and over winter break they don't get it how can we come together and make a difference like if you look at me and say that's somebody else's problem you're definitely somebody that I would consider not a true Buckeye fan too right like are you really a Buckeye fan because if Buckeyes come together and take care of other people in Ohio we're talking about Ohio one out of every six kids in Ohio struggles with hunger one out of every in Ohio right and so we got 110 screaming I should be able to go to the who's who and say, look, this is what I got going. You don't have to necessarily put everything together, but if you got the resources, the manpower, some type of technology or whatever to help this process go a little bit smoother, then you probably should want to dive in. At this point, conversations are revolving around, if you're trying to help with the ministry, we can have some great friendship and great conversation. If we're talking stats and Buckeyes and if they're going to win in the Peach Bowl against Georgia, that's probably something that I don't want to spend too much time talking about if we're not talking about how to make a difference people are passing away that you know and that you hear about all the time and like we're limited we're limited in our time on the earth two people pass away every single second 157,000 people dying every single day on this earth and that's a fact and we decide to overlook the challenges that other people have so I bring people together by just being direct now I didn't used to be that way I used to be kind of passive and now it's like hey this is what I'm doing are you helping are you not if not that's cool you know give you a fist bump but I'm to go my way because we got stuff to do, but we don't have time to waste.

SPEAKER_04:

Was there a moment when that transition happened when you decided that, hey, I got to do, I need you to do more?

SPEAKER_05:

You know, honestly, it's, I got tired of just talking about Ohio State. Football. Like, we always talk about life after football.

SPEAKER_07:

Yeah.

UNKNOWN:

And everybody wants you to get your grades up for life after football. We talk about, and then your grades up, you graduate, you got a marketing degree. Like, I don't want to just be in a office. I'm called to something. And it's easy.

SPEAKER_05:

I wrap my mind around this. God told me one day that your calling has a cost. And I said, okay. But sometimes it's going to cost you friendships. It's going to cost you relationships. Sometimes it's going to cost you sleep. Sometimes it's going to cost you some money. Sometimes it's going to cost you some of your reputation. Sometimes it's going to cost you your health sometimes. Sometimes it can eat you up. But when you're called to do something, it's going to cost you something. And I'm called to serve. I'm called to speak. I'm called to serve. I'm called to design. I'm a graphic designer. I'm called to market. I'm called to build events. My gift and my gifting is whatever I touch is going to be gold. That's what it is. That's the gift. And I know it's not mine, but my gift is whatever you tell me to do, like this podcast, I see my guys behind the glass. I'm coming for them too. If they put me in a position to have to produce something, I'm coming for your job right there. I'm just joking. They are high school kids. But what I'm saying is whatever i do i know my gift i've been given the gift to be able to to learn and i can learn how to master something and then get great at it and but i'm not doing it just for me so i've worked with plenty of organizations now i build websites for people i build podcasts for people i give people content i ghost write for people i do a lot of different things because i know what the gift is so now it's like my calling has a cost sometimes it's going to cost me this person thinking i'm not a great person because because I'm so direct about it but how can you overlook the gentleman that's outside the Chipotle every day begging for money and food and you walk past him every day like how did you when did you get to the point where you overlook another human being where you've already judged them and said oh they already making enough money or they should get a job or they shouldn't or I work I work myself to this point like how do you get to that point and so my job now all right if you don't like it that's cool but I'm 6'3 245 pounds you ain't gonna argue with me you ain't gonna argue with me you know what I mean like you know so I know I know Mr. Brown, when you was 39 years old, you was the exact same way. You was going about your business. I'm still that way. I know you are. I know you

SPEAKER_04:

are. I'm still that way. You know, this is a podcast about being a baller, which is truly what you are. But in that baller is building a lifelong legacy. So when you hear that word legacy, what does that mean to you?

SPEAKER_07:

You

SPEAKER_05:

know, how will people tell your story and how will people tell how you use your life to make a difference? You know, Bill Russell passed away recently, right? six seven months ago however long it's been 10 championship rings 11 or 12 I can't remember how many Bill Russell and that's cool but they only talk about his rings he was great if you remember them right Michael Jordan arguably you know I believe he's the greatest ever now people say LeBron etc etc based on stats numbers longevity but that's numbers like what else did he do what else are you doing biblically every time think about this when you hear Jesus, it just covers everything. He did everything. He helped everybody. Like, obviously he was some, he's Jesus, but he did everything. So if he's the blueprint, I should be trying to do that too, right? I think about Daniel. We know about Daniel in the lion's den. And we know about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and all his homies. Like, for real, for real, Daniel was the man, because Daniel brought his boys with him when he got elevated. He brought his boys with him. But I believe the whole book of Daniel, I read through that thing multiple times. And it's in my spirit because I was studying a couple months ago. We've been studying that with the Ohio State football team. But what's interesting about that, all the stuff that all his boys went through, all the stuff that he went through, him almost getting killed and all that, like, that's cool. We get the testimony of when the lion's den came out unscathed. I get all of that. But the whole purpose of the entire book of Daniel had nothing to do with Daniel. It was all about the king. The only way that Daniel could get the gospel and get an understanding of who God was to the entire world at the time was if the king made an announcement about it and the king didn't make an announcement about it until Daniel came out unscathed and no stars and he looked at him and was like you my dude Daniel I'm sorry for not helping you get up out of this but now I know that the God that you serve is the one that is the true God and so it says he sent messengers to everybody on earth because he was the king so now all of a sudden because Daniel stayed faithful, he converted the king into one of the biggest believers ever to where he's like, I'm going to use my platform to tell everybody about your God. That's what legacy is. So now we talk about Daniel. Yeah, Daniel did this, this, this, this, but it was really about Daniel using his faith to make sure somebody else became a believer and so that that person had the juice to be able to share. And so that's why it's important for us to be as loud as we can. If I'm talking as a believer and Gene Smith as the athletic director, or my man is Coach Ryan Day, and I say something to Coach Day, and Coach Day uses that platform to say, you know, Jesus is real, or support the Driven Foundation, or support, you know, anything, like anything positive, a kid again, whatever. Now, all of a sudden, people are going to do it. And that's how it's supposed to go. And you leave your legacy by how your voice and your actions started to change and shift how other people flow in relation to Christ and the ministry.

SPEAKER_04:

That's

SPEAKER_05:

legacy. That's

SPEAKER_04:

powerful. That's powerful. Well, this has been a great conversation. I know you on the road. But here's a challenge. Lastly, as we as you turn the corner, can you give a word to other athletes on how to use their platform to serve the community? Sure.

SPEAKER_05:

Most people wait for the camera to come on and the microphone to come on and figure out what they want to say. Anticipate being great. Anticipate having some failures. But then also anticipate the questions that will come with that. And once you start anticipating the questions, you start to, okay, this is how I will answer this if we do well. This is how I answer if we don't. If somebody asks me a tough question, and this is what I'm going to do. Once you get good at that, you take another step back and say, how am I going to say what I want to say? No matter the question. So first you get good at answering questions and then you're like, I don't have to answer the question. I can dictate where the conversation goes no matter what. You can ask me, hey, Roy, talk a little bit about Ohio State and I can shift and start talking about whatever I want to and say, Ohio State is good, but let me tell you about this. Be a little bit more firm and in representing your relationship with the Lord and your directness in how you want to make a difference. If something's going on, say it. There's no repercussions for saying, I really believe that we need to help the people who are struggling or experiencing homelessness in the city of Columbus. Why can't you say that? You can say whatever you want to say if that's what you believe in. Because your platform as an athlete is only going to be there for a short amount of time, period. So when I was at Ohio State, like we did some things. We did a main event, had like, I don't know, 12, 15,000 people and we talking about Jesus and that was awesome. But I didn't know, like if I had somebody come to me and say, you like serving? Like we can get you started with a nonprofit now. Like Parrish Johnson is doing right now where you've got a half a million people watching you around that you could get up on TV after you win a Rose Bowl and say, look, we helping some people in Columbus come through and help us serve. Versus now, you know, when you six or seven years removed and you try and go back and make people remember what you did at Ohio State to get their attention so that they can help support what you're doing. Take the time that you have right now on the platform that you have and build on it right now because that jersey number that you have on four years from now, somebody else is going to be wearing that same

SPEAKER_07:

number.

SPEAKER_05:

Period. That's what's going to happen. And once that number gets converted over, it's a wrap. It's a wrap. Unless you can reinvent yourself or unless you got a big time play or something. Everybody not going to win a Heisman. If you're Troy Smith, my man, you walk into a room, you win a Heisman, it's a little bit different. But if you're a captain, you know, you play sparingly or 50% of the time or you had a decent career, they're going to forget. They're going to forget. So you make them remember.

SPEAKER_04:

Right. There it is right there. Well, I appreciate you. I've been blessed with knowing you for about over 15, 10, 15 years now and just watch you grow and mature. And it's truly been a blessing watching you as a development and who you are. It's been about 18, 19. I don't want to tell my age, but anyway, it's been been a blessing watching you grow and mature. And that last thing you said, make them not forget. Be remembered. And that's what you've done. That's what we talk about legacy. Yes, sir. You know, being remembered. And you truly remember. It's not just a guy that speaks hard and so far, but action speaks louder than words. And your actions truly speak for you. Roy, can you tell the audience how they can get involved with the Driven Foundation and

SPEAKER_05:

support it? Yeah, that's awesome. Great question. If you want to get involved from a volunteer standpoint or even consider a gift to the organization to be able to do our community outreach, you can visit staydriven.org. That's staydriven.org. And even if you have the desire to have me come in and speak or share the gospel or share with your group, share with your company, share with your organization to get them fired up, motivated about purpose and passion, you can do that on staydriven.org as well. There's a place for that. So we look forward to serving with you. But again, that's staydriven.org if you want to volunteer or learn more about the Driven Foundation. All

SPEAKER_04:

right. So this brings us to the end of this episode. I want to thank you, Roy, for joining us and talking about building a legacy in community service and paying forward. Hope this episode was encouraging, inspiring to you all. This is Coach Tim Brown, and I want to thank all the listeners for listening to Be A Baller. And Roy, you are truly a baller. I appreciate it. Be blessed.

SPEAKER_00:

If you enjoy our show, please share this podcast with your family and friends. Be A Baller podcast is available on all major podcast stations. Be sure to come back next week as we continue to discuss on how to build a lifelong legacy. Until then, don't forget to be a baller. This podcast was created by Coach Tim Brown. It was edited by Taran Howell and produced and recorded by the video production class of Worthington Christian High School.