I asked y’all to send me some questions, topics, or ask for advice and I would write back. Here it is. Hopefully we can turn this into a regular thing.
What are some albums that you are listening to and why do you like them?
I’ll just list five albums that I have been listening to a lot recently and talk about couple of them
MID AIR – Paris, Texas
Sunburn – Dominic Fike
Lahai – Sampha
Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) – Yves Tumor
FORWARD – Jordan Ward
Bonus : The Head Hurts but the Heart Knows the Truth – Headache & Vegyn
MID AIR is Paris, Texas’s debut studio album from the LA based rap duo that blends punk rock chords with brash verses to create an attitude filled alternative rap album that has kept me listening since I first heard it. What I like about it is the energy of the record throughout the whole playthrough, starting with a high with the first track “tenTHIRTYseven” transitioning into “Split-Screen” perfectly. It makes me feel young listening to it, reminding me of rap concerts when I was in high school that mostly involved sweat, body to body tightly packed venues, and pits that swallowed you alive if you weren’t rowdy. Some of my favorite tracks include “DnD (feat. Kenny Mason)”, “NüWhip”, “Sean- Jared”, and “Lana Del Rey”. Bring the dri-fit if you pulling up to see the group live.
Lahai is Sampha’s newest album that was recently released but I haven’t stopped listening to it since it came out. After his 6 year hiatus, Sampha makes a triumphant return to form with his powerful vocals mixed with strings, pianos, and electronic soundscapes that feel more in place for the score of an indie movie. I didn’t know I needed this album, but I’m thankful it’s here. My highlights include “Jonathan L. Seagull”, “Can’t Go Back”, and “What if You Hypnotize Me? (feat. Léa Sen)”. Probably one of my favorite albums of the year so far.
Sunburn by Dominc Fike is a solid pop album. A bit commercial on some tracks, but overall a good collection that I keep finding myself going back to. This album just reminds me of summer, visiting New York while it came out and riding on country roads in small town Ohio, to getting ice cream with my grandma while “4×4” plays. The Apple Music live album version of “Mama’s Boy” is slowly making its way to the top of my most played songs this year. As the cold breeze begins to pick up, Sunburn keeps me warm for a little longer.
FORWARD by Jordan Ward, Praise a Lord. . . by Yves Tumor, and the Headache & Vegyn collab are also some of my favorites of the year and deserve a listen if you have the time. Check them out.
Would you rather be 5’5” or 7’5”?
Probably 5’5”. I think I stand out enough, so I couldn’t imagine being any taller. Plus being 5’5” would just be easier in general. Not dealing with airplanes, small cars, shopping. Don’t have to eat as much being smaller. Riding roller coasters would be nice again too.
What’s your favorite accomplishment and why?
This is a weird one for me because I feel like I haven’t accomplished anything. I know that sounds weird and it isn’t true at all, but to me it’s hard to look back on my life and think about things I’ve done in light of me accomplishing something. As a kid, my dad always said “ You don’t get told a good job for doing what you’re supposed to do.” As a grown man now, I can see the pitfalls of telling a child that, but when I was a kid, It made me stop looking for praise early on. You got straight A’s? Good. That’s your job, you’re supposed to do that.The house is clean and all the chores are done? They better be. You played well in a game? That’s expected from you. As I got older, I’ve gotten a lot better at looking back at things and telling myself “Yeah I did do that. I have done some great or cool things”, but there is still a tiny part of me that feels like the laziest person in the world and I haven’t done anything worthwhile or the stuff I have done is old so who cares. This is all a long winded and disjointed response to a question I still haven’t answered but my favorite accomplishment is becoming the person that I am today. Becoming a version of myself that is proud of who I am and can look at himself without feeling shame, guilt, or embarrassment. And becoming a version of myself that doesn’t take things too seriously and is always looking to learn.
How’s the transition from football to regular life?
It’s going. I think this is such an odd experience that is not unique but seems like no one talks about. When I talk to other athletes about it, everyone feels the same way but handles it in their own ways. For me personally, it feels like the part in Step Brothers when Robert and Nancy get divorced and Dale and Brennan get their lives together. Dale throws away his chewbacca mask and Brennan goes to costco and gets the big pack of toilet paper. Dale works for a catering company and Brennan works with his brother leasing helicopters. Most athletes have been defined by their whole lifes from playing whatever sport and a large part of their identity is tied to it. When that chapter closes in their life, most of them feel lost. I know I did (still do most days) and I know I’m not alone in that feeling from my experiences talking with teammates or other athletes. It’s nowhere near as close but it’s a similar experience to veterans coming home. While you’re in the military you are praised for serving and making a sacrifice, but when you get out, people just see it as you dicking around in another country for four years and coming out with no skills or experience at all.I think that’s why some military folks become lifers or former athletes get into coach and athletics because that’s what they know. I know they are not the same at all, but you can see the parallels. Difference being that I went to school for free and played a sport for my own self interest and service members actually serve their country and are willing to put their lives on the line for it. So besides me basically being a decorated veteran, all I’m trying to say is that there is a transition of coming out of it, but most of the work starts with looking in the mirror. You are not defined by the things you do. Your value doesn’t start and end with your ability to play a sport. But just because you’re done playing doesn’t mean all that passion and fire goes away. I still am a competitor and love pushing myself and the comradery of it all. So lean into that. Despite getting jobs and growing up, Dale and Brennan were still prestige worldwide and when the time came they killed the catalina wine mixer. So just because playing is over, don’t think that everything else is. The end of competing is not the end of you. It’s hard early on but your relationship with sports, competing, and training will change over time, but once you’re an athlete you always are, so use it in the new spaces you enter for your own advantage.
A poem?
I’m okay. Not a fan of poetry and I’m no good at it either. The only poet I like is Shel Silverstein. The only poem I like is Ozymandias by Percy Shelley.
Skating with the homies.
Skating was probably my first true love. This could be an entire separate piece on its own but I’ll keep it short for now. My first board was a Walmart complete that my neighbor and friend gave to me when he got his first real deck. Spending hours in the garage trying to teach myself how to ollie and when you land the first one that you actually pop off the ground, it’s over. You’re addicted. I can remember watching Baker 3 before I would go out, everyday meeting up with my friends at the vistas park and spending all day skating all over. The Lowe’s ledge with Stone, Devin, JP, Brandon, and so many others that came and went. It didn’t matter what was going on in school or at home but once you got on the board and you were with the homies everything was all right. Skateboarding brought me some of the best times in my life and my best friends that I still have. I still watch skate videos and keep up with skating despite losing all my skills on the board, barely being able to kick flip. It’ll always hold a special place in my heart. And I always keep my board in the back of the e30.
That’s all we have for now. If you want me to answer your questions next time, leave a comment or shoot me a message. Until then, don’t worry about an invitation.