Hollywood Superstar Terry Crews on “White Chicks” Fame, America’s Got Talent, His NFL Journey
NFL
0:00 When I came out of therapy and I was in a car
0:02 and I drove out and I was at gas station, this guy was like,
0:05 "Can I get an autograph?" And I was like, "No." And the guy was like,
0:10 "Come on, man." I said, "No, no." Now,
0:14 the guy probably thought I was crazy, but I'm fresh out therapy.
0:18 I'm working on my stuff.
0:21 I'm working on.
0:23 NO, NO, I DON'T HAVE TO GIVE YOU AN AUTOGRAPH, MAN.
0:25 I don't owe you that.
0:26 He's like, damn.
0:27 All right.
0:29 And then I I got in the car and shook and cried cuz I had never done that.
0:41 Yeah, cuz I I felt like I had to do it.
0:48 What's up everybody?
0:49 I'm Peanut Tilman and this is the NFL Player Second Act podcast.
0:54 And with me as always, my trusty co-host, Mr.
0:58 Roman Ha.
1:00 What was that?
1:00 Boston.
1:01 I was like Boston.
1:02 Our last guest was a He was He was from No, he he's he's tried New York.
1:06 He's tried Texas.
1:08 Like it's fine.
1:09 It's whatever.
1:10 Let's talk about the guest here.
1:12 Our next I'm really excited.
1:13 I, you know, I hate to like put any pressure on him,
1:16 but he may be the most famous
1:19 guest we had.
1:20 Probably a top three or four guests we've ever had.
1:23 And it's I don't even have to ask him.
1:25 I was going to ask him to do it.
1:26 He's already doing it.
1:29 HE'S A HEART AND SOUL OF FLINT, MICHIGAN.
1:32 BLIND BACKER AND SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER.
1:34 Played in the league for 6 years.
1:36 He's a Hollywood star.
1:37 He's an author.
1:38 He's an artist.
1:39 He's a businessman, ladies and gentlemen.
1:41 Welcome to to the Perry crew.
1:47 It gets better every year.
1:49 They just droop a little more and they just
1:53 We got to get that little workout today.
1:55 We go to the gym.
1:56 We going to get that Euro workout.
1:58 Yeah.
1:58 Euro trade indeed.
2:00 N indeed.
2:05 I love that episode on my wife and kids.
2:07 It's my favorite episode.
2:08 Oh my god.
2:09 All right, man.
2:09 Terry, what's keeping you busy nowadays, man?
2:12 Oh, I have so much.
2:14 You know, I'm still hosting AGT, America's Got Talent,
2:18 the number one show of the summer.
2:20 Uh we just finished auditions.
2:22 There's so much going on.
2:24 I don't know what to say.
2:25 I'm busier than ever and I'm very
2:27 very thankful for all the opportunities that have
2:30 been been coming my way cuz the business is changing in a lot of ways.
2:34 I mean entertainment is changing is moving
2:36 more to socials and short form content.
2:41 So what's happened is I started a show um with Cadillac
2:45 F1 called Cruise Control which is going to be out very soon.
2:49 Okay.
2:50 Um, I've been going all over the world with Cadillac F1.
2:54 Um, go doing some stuff with TWWG Mo Motorsports, with uh with Indie 500,
3:01 NASCAR because they have a NASCAR team,
3:03 they have a indie team, and they own Cadillac F1.
3:06 So, I've been really involved because I wanted to, it's funny because
3:10 I got involved with F1 five years ago just as a fan
3:15 and officer, they embraced me, man.
3:17 They just took me and I was interviewing
3:20 like the guys on the podium after they won
3:22 the races and stuff and you know it was wild and they just took to me man.
3:27 So I I I been to Budapest.
3:29 I've been to Spain.
3:30 I've been to Abu Dhabi.
3:32 I've been to just following them all over the world.
3:34 And then when Cadillac came in
3:36 I was going to say Cadillac has not always been in right.
3:39 This is very good.
3:40 You got to understand and this is the thing.
3:42 I pitched this to them.
3:44 Uh we were in Miami and I met with uh the executives and Dan
3:49 Towers who is the chief and head who who basically made this whole thing happen.
3:55 Um, I went to Dan and I said, "Look, man.
3:58 First of all, you need some, we need people who are going to translate F1
4:03 for the American audience because we don't, you know,
4:05 it's still new to us where the whole world has been seeing it the whole
4:09 thing." But the fact that we got an American brand here and I said,
4:12 "And got understand my father and my I'm from Flint, Michigan.
4:16 My father, everybody worked for General Motors.
4:18 My father moved up from Edison, Georgia.
4:21 Met my mother in Flint, Michigan.
4:24 Got married.
4:24 if it wasn't for General Motors, I wouldn't exist.
4:27 And he was like, "So, I am the guy." And you know,
4:32 you know what Cadillac means, especially for us.
4:34 Yes.
4:35 You know, the African-American community, man, what Cadillac stands for,
4:39 it's still pressed a lot.
4:40 It was, you know, I mean, you didn't even make it, doesn't it?
4:46 AC.
4:46 It's in every rap song.
4:48 It's in every, you know what I mean?
4:49 It's like a caddy means so.
4:52 It means success.
4:53 It means you made it.
4:54 One thing, one the big thing is
4:57 I also told the story about how my grandfather when one
5:00 of the biggest things I remember every Saturday he put on his onesie,
5:04 he get his bucket, he get his whole thing and he would wash his Cadillac, right?
5:08 And he would wash and it would take all day.
5:10 He would get the white walls,
5:12 he would get all and it was polished up and then him
5:14 and my grandmother would get dressed up and they would go out on Saturday night.
5:19 It was the flyest thing I ever seen.
5:21 You know what I mean?
5:21 a Cadillac.
5:22 I said, "Guys, you got to understand what it means.
5:25 We have to have, you know, I said,
5:27 I understand what it is, but we also have to have, you know,
5:30 someone who can translate it because F1 is a lot like, you know,
5:34 the Kentucky Derby because nobody really cares
5:37 about the cars going around in a circle.
5:39 What it is is the clothing, the food." So true.
5:42 The excitement, the party, the whole thing.
5:44 You know, the Kentucky Derby is the same way.
5:46 How many How big is the hat girl going to have?
5:48 You know what I mean?
5:49 Did you have the white suit?
5:51 you have your stuff ready.
5:52 So, it's about the experience and that's what
5:55 my show is about and it's called Cruise Control.
5:57 It'll be out soon.
5:58 I love that.
5:59 It's really good.
6:00 One of the things, okay, this is one.
6:02 And then a book.
6:03 I just got a children's book.
6:06 Okay.
6:05 That just came out um called Terry's Many Hats.
6:08 Many Hats.
6:09 Tererry's Many Hats.
6:10 Like, you know, and the whole thing was when I was a kid,
6:15 you know, I was told that you can only be good at one thing.
6:18 And I wanted to be an athlete and I wanted to be an artist.
6:22 I'm a painting, drawing, I'm left-handed, right brain, the whole thing.
6:26 And uh I was told I had to choose because the athlete in me,
6:32 all the athletes were like,
6:32 "You going to that's going to mess up
6:34 your art." And then the art people were like,
6:35 "No, we don't do that." And I never ever I
6:39 decided I was going to do both no matter what.
6:42 And the whole thing that I wanted to teach kids
6:45 is that you have to go after so many other things.
6:48 Especially now, you know what I mean?
6:50 Um, going after one thing works in a competitive world, okay?
6:55 When you're competing with other people, it's like in the NFL,
6:58 you got to concentrate on being the best player at this time.
7:01 But it doesn't work in creativity.
7:04 You understand what I mean?
7:06 Being creativity.
7:06 The whole essence of what being creative is is taking two things
7:10 from a whole another discipline and mixing
7:12 it together and creating something new.
7:14 I didn't see this message being sent out to kids.
7:17 You know what I mean?
7:18 People are competing for grades and they're doing all this stuff.
7:20 But I decided I was going to do everything I wanted to do everything.
7:25 And listen, I didn't start acting until I was 31 years old.
7:28 You know what I mean?
7:29 I wasn't an actor.
7:30 Never did a play.
7:31 Never did nothing.
7:32 No commercial, no nothing.
7:34 And all of a sudden, I was thrust in that thing and had to learn on the fly.
7:39 And now I have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which is unbelievable.
7:44 Amazing.
7:44 I didn't know you had a star, but that is incredible.
7:47 I know that's a special thing.
7:48 I got to know this though, cuz this is what P and I were talking about.
7:51 Have you ever on AGT, America's Got Talent?
7:56 Again, I don't know how they vet the whole process,
7:58 but have you ever like after a performance like, man, that was terrible.
8:00 That was trash.
8:01 I know you can't say that on TV.
8:02 Absolutely.
8:05 Like like how often does that happen?
8:07 Like I've never seen I was just like I know there's
8:09 got to be somebody who's like what the hell was that?
8:12 Well, first of all, now this is the thing
8:14 and this is what I love about being the host.
8:17 I don't have to judge him.
8:19 Right.
8:20 I don't, you know, usually the ex the red
8:22 buzzers will tell you everything you need to know
8:25 when and it's like and I I'll look at him like I'm sorry it didn't work out,
8:31 you know, man, you know, you can always come back and the whole thing.
8:35 And now this is a the big thing that I love about being the host.
8:41 It reminds me of myself.
8:43 In what way?
8:43 it because I wanted always wanted to the the dream of entertainment.
8:51 I didn't know I was going to be acting,
8:52 but I knew I was going to be involved in Hollywood.
8:55 You have to when I this is back in 1989,
9:00 actually 88, when me and my wife were dating,
9:03 I promised her I said I said, "Babe, when we get married, what we going to do?
9:07 We're going to play in the NFL and then we're
9:09 going to move to LA and we're going to make movies." I said this.
9:13 I claimed it.
9:14 Usually when I do all that stuff,
9:16 I would talk all my dreams all the time and it would get me in trouble.
9:19 You know what I mean?
9:20 People like, "Man, come on, man." But I knew I I
9:22 spoke it and I knew that's what I wanted to do.
9:26 I knew Hollywood, ever since I saw Star Wars,
9:28 I knew I wanted to be involved and I was thinking behind the scenes, y'all.
9:33 Like, I had no idea it would be in front.
9:37 I because you I came up in the Keenan
9:40 Ivy Rans world of Robert Towns and Spike Lee.
9:43 People were they were grabbing cameras and let me tell you Spike will even tell
9:47 you he's like man we didn't go to a film school to get a degree.
9:51 We went to film school to get the equipment.
9:54 That's what we wanted cuz you couldn't get
9:56 the equipment unless you had it from the school, right?
10:00 And so we he did She's Got to Have
10:02 It and then Robert Townsen did um Hollywood Shuffle.
10:06 these movies that were like, whoa.
10:08 And this is in the beginning of this real gorilla movement where
10:12 gra guys were grabbing cameras and doing and I even did it.
10:15 Me and my boy, we played on the uh Rams together
10:18 and we shot a little terrible little movie in Detroit, man.
10:21 We got kicked out of location.
10:24 I mean, we were we ran out of money.
10:26 What was the name of this?
10:29 Uh Young Boys Incorporated.
10:32 Okay.
10:31 And it was it was about gangs and stuff
10:33 and it was it was like it was it was terrible.
10:36 Okay, I'm just telling you, we didn't know what we were doing.
10:38 And I loved it.
10:40 Let me tell you, I loved it.
10:42 I was like, if I don't get any money doing this, I'm happy.
10:47 And that's what I knew I needed to be doing.
10:49 Like, like I said, film is going to make Now, I thought because as an artist,
10:53 I also thought I was going to be doing special effects.
10:57 So, I would paint and draw.
10:58 And you got to understand when I was on the NFL teams,
11:02 I was known as the artist football player.
11:05 So I when I would get cut from teams, I would go back in the locker room
11:09 and ask the players they wanted their portraits painted.
11:12 And I did so many NFL players, man, all during my years.
11:16 I put a few of them on my Instagram.
11:18 We we have a couple of those.
11:20 Yeah.
11:20 You see, but but that's that was how I survived.
11:23 That was how and they would give me like five grand and and it would it
11:27 would last me till I could get back in camp and I would do it again.
11:30 And I remember painting Brett Favre, Dan Marino, uh, uh, Stan Humphre.
11:36 Brian Mitchell was the one that we saw.
11:38 Oh, B.
11:38 Mitch, man.
11:39 B.
11:39 Mitch is my boy.
11:41 Brian, listen.
11:42 He gave me money to help me survive.
11:44 We I was able to feed my family.
11:46 Was looking out, but I I had been cut already.
11:49 You see what I mean?
11:50 So, it was one of the things, but I but I said,
11:53 I'm going to use this ability to do it in movies and do it with Hollywood.
11:58 And I had my I had my portfolio in at Disney, at DreamWorks, at Hannah Barbara.
12:04 Uh and then but this was the problem.
12:06 This was the problem.
12:08 Toy Story had just come out.
12:10 So this was now computer graphics.
12:13 And I and I was like, "Oh man, you know,
12:15 and I remember doing all my stuff for animation.
12:17 I thought it was going to be in animation." And they were like, "Uh, we need,
12:21 you know, computers." I was like, "Oh man, no,
12:23 I don't." And I was back to square one, man.
12:26 Just I was heartbroken.
12:28 And I'll never forget, I was doing security from uh for movies
12:32 and then I was doing bouncing at the same time.
12:35 So I would do my whole day of security on the movie set and then I would bounce.
12:39 And a guy came up to me and he said, "Hey man,
12:41 they got this audition going down going down in Santa Monica.
12:45 You want to try it?" And I was like, and I kept getting people saying,
12:48 "You need to try this." And I was like, "Man, I don't know." What was it?
12:51 It was a show called Battle Dome.
12:54 Battle Dome.
12:55 Battle Dome.
12:56 And it was American Gladiators on steroid.
13:00 Okay, you if you Google it, you can Google it.
13:02 Terry Cruz on Battle Dome, but it was the first thing I ever auditioned for.
13:07 And I got it because I was still in shape.
13:11 And I I went for it and that what it was was like a mix
13:14 of wrestling meets MMA because remember like
13:18 the whole UFC thing had not happened yet,
13:22 right?
13:20 And this was in 1999.
13:22 So people hadn't seen this level of violence on TV.
13:25 They would put me in a cage and I would fight three people.
13:29 We'd be bleeding and fighting and the whole thing.
13:32 It came on late night and I was a warrior named T- Money.
13:35 They gave me a character named T- Money.
13:37 I gave me a chain with with a um dollar sign.
13:40 I had chest flexing.
13:42 Yeah.
13:42 Right.
13:43 And this is where this came from.
13:44 That's Yeah.
13:45 Yeah.
13:45 They came and I did that and they was like we shot it right here in Englewood.
13:49 We shot at the sports arena and they were like, "No gang signs, please.
13:53 No gang sign." Cuz the gangs will come.
13:56 Yeah.
13:55 And it was right across from the jungle where I ended up shooting training day.
13:59 Dude, I'm trying to like this is this is old school.
14:01 You know what I mean?
14:02 Like it's hard to believe cuz it was 1999 when when we did this.
14:08 Um and I had just came out of the league,
14:11 but I was like this is my first I said I got to do this.
14:14 I got to learn what I'm doing.
14:16 And the first movie I ever auditioned for was a movie called The Sixth Day.
14:21 Arnold Horson.
14:22 Yeah.
14:22 Yeah.
14:22 I remember that.
14:23 And I got it and I was like,
14:25 "Wait a minute." Now I didn't know what I was doing though.
14:28 You have to Now you talking about a man who had like what?
14:34 Imposttor syndrome.
14:37 Mhm.
14:36 It was me because I'm like I don't know what I'm doing.
14:40 And Michael Rooker who's been super famous.
14:42 He he was in Guardians of the Galaxy.
14:44 He's done he's been acting for years.
14:45 He was like another villain and we were playing this bad positive.
14:48 He was like, "Hey, Terry, what you got?" And I was just like,
14:51 "Michael, what do I do?" He was like, "Man, what you got to do?
14:54 You when I step here, you just step here, man.
14:56 It's all good, man." And he was so cool.
14:58 But he was teaching me as we went.
15:00 And I'll never forget the first scene I ever had with Arnold.
15:05 And I was supposed to come up to the door and say, "Adam Gibson,
15:10 we need you to come with us." And man, I went, they like,
15:13 "Ashen." And I went up there and I had my thing on and Arnold
15:17 Schwarzenegger opened the door and looked at me and I went nothing came out.
15:26 Nothing.
15:26 I was like, "Uh." And then they said, "Ah, cut, cut, cut, cut.
15:30 Uh, something went wrong with the C.
15:32 We got a lighting issue.
15:34 They never noticed our clothes." Right?
15:37 Didn't know.
15:38 Now you got to understand all I did I went back and I I had
15:42 a pause and I said I thought they were pausing because of me and they weren't.
15:47 And I told myself, man, if you if this is your opportunity,
15:51 like, brother, you want to go back to doing security?
15:54 You want to go back to bouncing?
15:56 I said, man, you better take this and you got to do it and you got to go, man.
16:00 They call action again.
16:01 I was like, Adam Gibson, you got to come with us.
16:03 And he was like, whoa, I like this man.
16:06 This guy, he's really good.
16:07 I like his energy.
16:09 I like it.
16:10 And I knew you just got to jump.
16:13 You got to go in.
16:15 And even if you're scared, even if you're afraid it, you have to do it afraid.
16:20 You got to understand too,
16:21 like every time I was on Battle Dome and the doors were it was it would close.
16:25 They had these open they would open
16:27 these big doors like you know like wrestler doors.
16:30 You come down and do the walk and you see it on the internet.
16:33 It's crazy.
16:34 I felt like throwing up every time like there was no peace.
16:39 I was like, "Oh my god, I don't know what I'm doing.
16:43 I don't know what was happening." And I also I thought
16:45 I was going to get hurt cuz this games were dangerous, man.
16:48 The games were crazy.
16:49 These people were coming to kill us, you know.
16:51 But I said, "This is the only way.
16:53 The only way out is through." And I went in and oh my god,
16:58 but every time those doors open, I changed into another person.
17:04 Yeah.
17:03 I changed into T- Money.
17:05 And I did.
17:05 And it kind of it was like taught me how to act.
17:08 And this is the way I've been learning.
17:11 I learn by doing,
17:13 you know, and a lot of people always feel like, and I want to say this too,
17:19 you might need a degree when you're a doctor or a lawyer.
17:23 Um, and you may need things that where it's really,
17:26 really regimented and a lot of, you know, paperwork and all things.
17:30 But as an artist, you just have to do.
17:33 You don't need a degree to be an artist.
17:35 You just have to do it.
17:36 Mhm.
17:37 Um, you have to act, you have to you have to paint, you have to draw,
17:41 you have to sing, you have to play your instrument, you have to do it.
17:44 You don't, there's nobody who's going to judge you but you.
17:48 And whatever level you want to be at, it's it's all about skill level.
17:53 You know what I'm saying?
17:54 So, when I started, I I'll never forget doing
17:58 Everybody Hates Chris and Tasha was tell I was like, I can't learn these lines.
18:02 She was like, Terry, sing the lines.
18:04 You just sing them.
18:05 I said, what are you talking about?
18:06 She said, "Terry, if you want to remember the line,
18:08 sing it as if you were singing a song,
18:10 like no, I need you to come in here." And and it's like,
18:14 and I went, "Oh my god." She gave me the keys to the kingdom,
18:17 but she'd been acting since she was a kid.
18:20 And so I would I never hesitated to ask like, "What help you here?
18:26 What help you there?
18:26 What?" And all of a sudden it I was getting major major
18:31 lessons from people who are superstars who who do have the degrees,
18:36 you know what I mean?
18:36 And I'm acting with people with the Giuliard and all
18:39 this stuff and acting on on plays and theater and all that.
18:43 And I'm just going, okay, okay.
18:45 And I I never stopped.
18:47 And I just and I took the thing is I I said yes probably
18:52 to every challenge because if you don't if
18:54 the feelings if your stomach's not bubbling up, you probably don't want it.
19:01 You know what I mean?
19:01 If it's too easy, I wanted to always be uncomfortable.
19:06 M uh we did a series with um Aaron Sorcin who was like
19:10 this really super playwright and uh it was called Newsroom and there I
19:15 am I'm acting with Jeff Daniels and uh all the you know Dev
19:19 Patel and all the I mean really really and you can't mess up.
19:24 I would do a whole monologue and they would say I'm sorry we got to redo it.
19:27 You said we and the word was them.
19:31 I was like but same it meant the same.
19:33 They was like no.
19:35 And I that level of like, oh my god, I gota and it made me better.
19:42 But we I did five of those episodes.
19:44 It was on HBO and I was like, whoa.
19:47 And I realized I could do this.
19:49 You know what I mean?
19:50 Every time you get another challenge, force yourself into the fire, you know?
19:56 But and people thought about it's funny
19:58 because I have reams of notebooks where I would just write down all my lines
20:03 and just keep rewriting them until I memorized it.
20:06 I never stopped.
20:07 I took the same effort that it took to get
20:10 into the NFL and then applied it and just kept applying it.
20:14 Even now, I I I hate being unprepared.
20:17 I I don't mess around with my preparation.
20:21 I don't mess around how serious I am with with everything, you know.
20:25 Um, this is one reason why I don't drink.
20:28 I don't smoke.
20:28 I I I I train for my future.
20:33 You know what I mean?
20:34 I I train as if like even now I I So, you clearly still work out.
20:39 Yeah.
20:39 I Oh, I I just came out the gym like literally two hours, you know?
20:43 You don't say.
20:44 Yeah.
20:44 You know, I I worked out in an hour or so, man.
20:49 But but my thing is why does does working out have to be sports specific, right?
20:57 You know what I mean?
20:58 Like that that's a trick.
21:00 A lot of people like, I ain't playing no more, so I ain't why I got to do that.
21:03 No, I train for life.
21:05 It's lifestyle.
21:06 You see what I mean?
21:06 It's lifestyle, man.
21:08 Um and so, but I also felt that way about studying my my, you know,
21:12 having my backstory together and understanding what does this character want?
21:16 What do what what do I want to be?
21:18 And then with my hosting, knowing who these people are, you know,
21:22 and knowing how to do interviews, knowing how to talk to people,
21:25 understanding that because that's what I mean when when I say I enjoy doing
21:30 this because I was that guy who drove all the way out to get to entertainment.
21:35 So everybody on AGT is just like me.
21:38 You know what I mean?
21:39 It's their first time and they walking in and my job is to protect them.
21:44 my job.
21:45 Again, like you said, you have you seen people that are terrible?
21:47 Uhhuh.
21:49 But I hold their dream for them.
21:51 That's awesome.
21:52 You understand what I mean?
21:53 And let me tell you, we have some people, and this is a this is another flip out
21:59 because there are some people who come on and they're actually very good,
22:03 but they ain't the best, right?
22:05 But they thought everybody's going to love them,
22:08 and it turns out they were disappointed.
22:10 And I've had people in tears and they go, "Oh man, you know this.
22:15 I always dreamed about this is what I prepared
22:17 for and I'm now I didn't do it." I say,
22:20 "Welcome to the business." Anybody who's ever been in this business
22:26 has been through exactly what you're talking about right now.
22:30 I've been kicked out of auditions.
22:32 I'll never forget the con like, "What are you doing?
22:34 Get out of here." And it's like ah then
22:39 you wonder like man should I should I quit?
22:43 Should I whatever?
22:44 But it's one thing to lose but it's a whole another thing to accept defeat.
22:50 You understand what I mean?
22:51 To me a loss is is a teacher.
22:55 You lose you.
22:55 I lost that audition, lost that job.
22:58 What is it I need to know?
23:01 What is it that you're not seeing?
23:03 you know, and that was the big turn.
23:06 And I think that applies to everything
23:08 like almost every any disappointment, anything.
23:12 Okay.
23:13 What what is the universe trying to teach me in this moment, you know?
23:17 Cuz there was a whole I had a whole life where I
23:20 thought I was good and everything's cuz success can be its own problem.
23:25 No doubt about that.
23:26 I'm sorry.
23:26 I'm I'm interviewing myself.
23:28 I used to have a guy tell me when you lose, when you lose, don't lose a lesson.
23:32 like y'all lost the game or you what something bad happened or whatever.
23:35 Yeah.
23:36 But it's like what's the lesson in that?
23:37 So that was when when things happen that don't go the way you want them to.
23:42 That's kind of what I try to tell myself.
23:44 When you lose don't lose a lesson.
23:45 What is uh what are you supposed to learn from this?
23:48 You've been doing this Hollywood thing for a while now.
23:50 What's been one of the most gratifying jobs you've
23:53 worked on since being a Hollywood superstar from Flint, Michigan?
23:59 I can't say that there's a favorite because
24:02 it's almost or or or what's more gratifying.
24:05 It's because it's a big it's a it's a it's kind of one big thing.
24:11 Um, but this is this is one of the most gratifying experiences I've ever
24:15 had is when a young lady came up to me and she said she said,
24:22 "Terry," he said, "my little brother died of an illness literally like 3,
24:29 four years ago." And she said, "We have all your media,
24:34 everything you've done in a box." And she said,
24:38 "We used to laugh when he was sick and we be in the hospital.
24:41 We pull out White Chicks.
24:43 We pull out Everybody hates Chris.
24:45 We pull out um Brooklyn 999.
24:48 We pull out all those things." And he's not there anymore.
24:51 He's gone.
24:53 But I still pull them out.
24:56 And every time I sit there and I just think about him
25:00 laughing and how he loves you and what you mean to us, bro.
25:09 I'm choked up thinking about it now.
25:10 I mean, come on, man.
25:12 Come on.
25:13 When you talk about See, it's it's bigger than you, right?
25:18 You know, and and if you could I the fact
25:21 that that someone was blessed by something I did or had done in that way.
25:31 You know, entertainment is very important.
25:34 You know, some people say,
25:35 I said this to Shannon Sharp, you know, people say, well,
25:38 you know, doctors and people, they should get,
25:42 you know, same money as entertainers or sportsmen and athletes.
25:46 But I'm like, "Hey, man, we have a bigger audience." Yes.
25:49 It It's not really about it.
25:52 What it is is how many people do you serve?
25:55 You know what I mean?
25:56 A lot of people think it's it's what you do, but that's not true.
25:59 You know, Jeff Bezos makes a lot of money cuz he serves a lot of people.
26:04 That's the rule.
26:05 You know, and and it's it's not it doesn't have anything to do with judging.
26:10 Are you helping?
26:11 You know, if you help 10 people, you get 10 people money.
26:16 That's just it.
26:17 But if you help 10,000, it's different.
26:21 If you help 10 million, what if you help 10 billion?
26:26 You see, and what has affected me and there's no
26:31 place in the world where I'm not known blows my mind.
26:36 I went to Australia for the first time and they're like, Terry Cruz.
26:41 I go to Korea for the first time, Terry Cruz.
26:45 This is the power of what entertainment is.
26:49 It's the power of what we do.
26:51 You know what I mean?
26:51 Listen, the the prime uh Australian rules football player in Australia
26:57 could come over here and nobody know who he is.
27:00 My friend Tierry Enri who's one of the superstar soccer superstar soccer player.
27:05 He did he played for the New York Red Bulls so he can have a real life.
27:10 So he's like I can walk and get coffee.
27:12 I can't do that in France.
27:14 I can't do that in the UK.
27:17 He said, but he could walk around in the street.
27:19 He said, I wanted to know what it was like.
27:21 I said, but I I go anywhere in the world, man.
27:25 And I've been everywhere from South Africa, all of Japan, um Abu Dhabi,
27:32 all the continents, and they're like Terry Cruz.
27:35 You know, it's funny, Terry, cuz Mr.
27:38 Uh, Enri was actually with us at the Super Bowl a couple years ago.
27:44 Mhm.
27:43 And he was just walking by our our one of our guys who's not here, Taylor.
27:47 Taylor flipped out like, "Oh my gosh." I got a picture with him
27:52 and then nobody else said a word to him.
27:54 He just walked around.
27:55 I'm like, it's crazy.
27:56 I'm like, how does anybody not know who that is?
27:58 There's a statue of him outside of the Arsenal Stadium
28:02 in the UK when just And you're like, it's like Kobe.
28:05 Yeah.
28:05 It's like, how do you not know that guy?
28:07 But um but that's America.
28:09 America everywhere.
28:10 Listen, everywhere in the world, man, he can't go anywhere.
28:13 Wait, you got to understand the first time I met Terry,
28:15 they had he had a decoy car.
28:19 Really?
28:18 He had two cars and the security wouldn't they would put him in one and then
28:23 they have a fake dude that would go in the other and they had to split.
28:27 That's Tierry Enri's life.
28:29 It's a whole different level.
28:30 That is what I mean.
28:31 A whole different level.
28:32 And they were wait they were parked outside the hotel and I was like damn
28:38 that's a level of fame that I was like what
28:42 does it does it blow your mind that out of all the movies and things
28:46 that you've done you're a football player you
28:49 have you know you played in the NFL
28:51 you become this actor and the role
28:54 that everybody remembers the most is from white like
28:58 like it's crazy I love it The movie
29:02 was hilarious and there's snowing up in here.
29:06 It's like those things that think about I was thinking about this the other day.
29:11 You know, first of all, you could if you were a musician and you had a hit song,
29:17 you you sing that song for the rest of your life.
29:19 That's true.
29:20 Yeah.
29:20 YOU CAN GET PAID ON THAT SONG FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.
29:22 OH, THAT'S my jam.
29:23 That's my jam.
29:24 You be 83 and they be like, "Oh, here come the jam.
29:27 Somebody's watching me." THAT'S YOUR ONE HIT, RIGHT?
29:31 YES.
29:31 First of all, I'm a one hit wonder and I don't even sing the song.
29:36 Literally that song and me that have been
29:39 attached but the A thousand miles by Vanessa
29:43 Carlton is attached to me which has made me this world and it translates beyond.
29:52 And now you got you have to understand this too.
29:55 comedy.
29:56 You do not You will always forget what makes you cry,
29:59 but you will never forget what made you laugh.
30:03 Never.
30:03 That's why when you go, "Oh my god,
30:06 that's that one dude that's like if you see a movie or whatever,
30:09 remember she's your queen to be." You'll
30:13 never forget that cuz everybody was balling, laughing the whole thing.
30:17 And I said, I embraced it.
30:21 I said, "Oh my god, what an opportunity.
30:24 I've been given I've been given something nobody else has." It
30:28 flipped me out and I I remember when it first came out,
30:31 the movie came out and the producer said, "Terry,
30:34 your life will never be the same after this." Because again,
30:38 remember, I work with Keen and Ivy Ways.
30:40 He remember my dream was to do stuff with this guy and here
30:44 I am working with the Keenan Ivy Ways and the Ways family, the funniest.
30:50 They're the Jacksons of comedy, right?
30:53 And here I am and Kenan said, I said, "So,
30:56 what do you think?" He's Ken's like, "Man, just do what you do, bro.
31:00 Just do whatever you want to do.
31:01 You killing it, man." And he lets me go and you understand.
31:05 And I got everything I learned on comedy.
31:09 I got in the locker room.
31:12 In the locker room.
31:13 Because first of all, all the players are cartoons.
31:17 I was watching these guys and I was like, "Oo, I'm taking that.
31:20 Oh, I'm taking There was players that were
31:22 doing crazy stuff and I was like, "Oh, yep.
31:25 Yep.
31:26 Mhm." and and I started to channel all of those things that I
31:30 got in the locker room and when I put it in into that movie,
31:34 people were like, "What in the world?
31:36 I KNOW THIS DUDE.
31:37 I KNOW THIS." It was so perfect.
31:41 And it, like I say, it was a confluence of things that all connected together.
31:47 And now, and now because you don't have that many comedies anymore.
31:53 So what's happened is nostalgia has reuped.
31:58 Not only is it good now you every year new pe new kids turn
32:04 13 years old and the first movie they want to watch like dad can
32:07 I watch White Chicks you know what I mean and they watch it and so
32:11 I go to the mall and they're like so there's a whole new crop
32:15 that know that learning you ALL OVER AGAIN
32:17 ALL over again every year mind you
32:20 cuz it's like a whole group listen and I'm going to tell you this I
32:24 get goosebumps man this is wild my baby she right I was 23 years old.
32:29 She was three years old when I was doing that movie.
32:32 She was on the set.
32:33 Three years old walking around and we were doing our thing.
32:36 Me and Marlin, I'll never forget we at the table.
32:38 He spit spitting his toenails into the water glass.
32:41 We right and I'm like, "Oh man, we listen man.
32:45 We making fart jokes.
32:46 We I'm thinking ain't nobody go." Dude,
32:49 she's in college 20 years later sitting on the rooftop of her college
32:56 and the film they're showing the whole school is White Chicks
33:01 and they are on a roof and they're playing it
33:03 for the whole faculty and the and the kids and they're cracking up.
33:07 My daughter is like, "Oh my god." I come out the speedo, she's like,
33:10 "Lord," but I said, "What is that?" Like 20 years later, how powerful.
33:18 And and it's bigger than ever.
33:20 Wait, first of all, it's not going anywhere.
33:22 And wait till we do the second one.
33:27 I'm trying to tell you bigger than ever.
33:30 I think it got bigger as it went on.
33:32 Sorry.
33:32 No, no, no.
33:33 I I think definitely think it got bigger as it went on.
33:35 Does it ever get too much for you?
33:39 No.
33:40 No.
33:41 I'm too grateful.
33:42 I'm too grateful.
33:43 Yeah.
33:44 If it's Listen, if if that ever gets too much for people,
33:47 you got to understand too,
33:48 I've been in this in this business for a long
33:51 time to see people who came and left.
33:57 Mhm.
33:57 All right.
33:57 I've been in I've been doing this almost 30 years.
34:00 And so there's a lot of people who hated
34:02 on what they were given and it gets taken away.
34:06 That's just that's just a fact.
34:09 Yeah.
34:08 And it's wild to me.
34:10 There were so many people that were in this business and hated
34:13 what they were doing and you're like, why are you in it, right?
34:17 And they're like, uh, and they were they were very dismissive to their fans
34:21 and and people would come up to them and say, "Hey, man,
34:24 say that line for the movie." And they're like, "Ugh,
34:26 get out of here." And you're like, "Oh,
34:28 man." You know, you're disrespectfullying what it means.
34:32 You imagine if that if you could just
34:36 make somebody feel a little better for that time.
34:38 You don't know what's going on in people's lives.
34:40 you don't know what's happening.
34:41 Now, again, I I do understand having to go.
34:43 I do understand that, hey, you know, I don't have time right now,
34:47 but that doesn't mean you treat people with disrespect, right?
34:50 You know what I mean?
34:51 And my big thing is is that gratitude will get you everything you need.
34:58 Yeah.
34:58 You have to have an attitude of gratitude because it's too it's too precious.
35:04 This is too valuable and it's too rare.
35:06 Bro, what I've been given, I mean, it's very few people I I like I said,
35:12 to be a black man from Flint, Michigan,
35:16 and known worldwide is I don't know what to say.
35:22 It It's It's so rare.
35:25 It's so precious.
35:26 I can't I won't ever ever I I just treat it like gold.
35:30 I treat it like
35:31 I know what to say, Terry.
35:32 Go ahead.
35:32 And And I'll use your own words for you.
35:35 I'm happy.
35:35 Yeah.
35:37 According to Terry Cruz,
35:40 you consider yourself the most thankful man in Hollywood.
35:47 And it's because I'm from Flint, Michigan.
35:49 I know where I could be right now.
35:51 And I'm already living way above what I even expected.
35:54 So, the honor is all my privilege.
35:57 I'm going to continue to entertain until the last day.
36:00 This is just the beginning.
36:02 And so, that is the words of Terry Cruz.
36:04 And so, Why are you truly the luckiest man in Hollywood?
36:12 I mean, what can I say?
36:16 I I don't know why.
36:20 I do know, but I I'll say this.
36:24 There is cause and effect.
36:27 Um 20 years into my marriage, uh I almost lost it all.
36:34 Mhm.
36:35 Okay.
36:35 And when I say this, I got arrogant.
36:39 I I believed the hype.
36:41 I was dismissive to my wife, to my family.
36:46 I thought Hollywood was everything.
36:49 And I thought it was bigger than real life.
36:53 And I had done a lot of things that I was ashamed of.
36:57 And I was lying to my family and lying.
37:00 Hey, this is the thing, too.
37:01 I used to go to my wife and be like,
37:03 she would be like complaining about something.
37:06 I I thought like, oh, you know, you you living the best life.
37:10 I got I did all this stuff for you and the whole thing, you know,
37:13 and then I'll tell her some things and I was like, why don't she believe me?
37:17 But the question I should have been asking is, why am I lying?
37:21 And I had a whole image that was false.
37:27 And I learned to love that image.
37:29 And I had put that my even my wife was married to that image
37:32 and there was a lot of things she didn't know about me.
37:35 We finally came to her head and and when I told her our marriage was over.
37:41 It was done, kicked out, over rap.
37:45 And there was things that I never really addressed and issues that I
37:50 never really had to I mean just came to grips with because
37:59 and this is what I want to say is that success is the warmest
38:02 place to hide cuz you have nobody to tell you about your stuff.
38:09 Everybody was like you good, you great.
38:11 Oh, you Terry Cruz, you wonderful, but but you know you ain't wonderful.
38:17 You know something's on.
38:18 You know it's not right.
38:21 But oh, let's just keep the keep the machine going.
38:24 Let's keep the whole thing going.
38:26 Man, I had to decide whether I wanted my family or did I want this stuff.
38:34 And you and you ask why am I so grateful and why am I still here?
38:39 It was that fork in the road.
38:42 I gave this up for my family and God gave me a hundred times more.
38:49 You understand?
38:50 I do.
38:51 And that see it, bro.
38:55 100 times more.
38:59 Yeah.
38:58 I made the right move.
39:00 It was like make that choice.
39:01 Is this this this do you want it?
39:04 It's like God set you up on a hill and say,
39:06 "Hey, the devil can give you all you want, but you know,
39:10 but what does it profit a man to to gain the whole
39:12 world and lose his soul?" And I realized I I'd be fake.
39:18 But and everybody would love you fake.
39:20 This Hollywood don't care if you lose your family.
39:23 They don't care how much we want.
39:25 Hey, you know, we got another movie.
39:27 Good.
39:27 You don't have to go home.
39:28 We can keep you on set and you can work all day.
39:32 And I was like, I don't want this.
39:35 I don't want this at all.
39:37 And dude, I had to I went to therapy
39:41 for the first time cuz I had never been in therapy.
39:45 And I started to learn what made me tick.
39:47 Learn what was going on in my life.
39:49 Learn, oh wow.
39:51 I mean, you start to learn why do you want to be successful, you know?
39:57 And you know, you I got to say this because a lot of NFL players,
40:02 you know, we play off pain,
40:04 you know what I mean?
40:05 We play you I used to hit people
40:09 because it actually made me feel good cuz I wanted to feel something.
40:13 You know, that whole energy of slamming myself into another person was reminders
40:20 of when my my father was beating my mother and I would feel that rage.
40:26 You know, this is the stuff that I never addressed.
40:30 You just do.
40:32 And again, road rage works in the NFL,
40:35 but it doesn't work outside of the league.
40:38 You understand what I mean?
40:39 Those same traits don't work in a real life.
40:42 You can't do that in a business setting.
40:45 You know what I mean?
40:46 Like all that aggression don't come.
40:49 Hey, hey, man.
40:50 Whoa.
40:50 You know what I mean?
40:50 like here.
40:51 Hey, settle down.
40:54 Easy big guy.
40:55 You know what I mean?
40:56 Hey man, hey, I didn't know.
40:59 And listen, I man there was so many time you got to understand there
41:02 was times I was with my wife and this is stuff people don't know about.
41:05 But I would get rage man and somebody would I felt slighted.
41:10 I would throw people over her head and it
41:12 was so many times I almost went to jail.
41:15 Really ridiculous.
41:17 Like why would you just waste this?
41:19 Why would you put yourself in this position?
41:21 Oh, no.
41:21 You ain't doing me like this.
41:23 Wait a minute.
41:26 Yeah,
41:25 wait a minute.
41:26 Calm down.
41:28 But that worked.
41:29 I remember getting into fights in camp just so I be noticed.
41:33 You know what I mean?
41:34 You don't want to disappear.
41:35 It's so true.
41:36 But that don't work in a real job.
41:39 You know, that doesn't work with your co-workers.
41:41 You can't be fighting people.
41:42 And Right.
41:44 And what I'm just telling you that's that's and now another thing is
41:48 my version of NFL is a lot different than what it is now.
41:51 It was the no fun league.
41:53 Okay.
41:54 There was no celebrations.
41:55 You if you was caught smiling,
41:58 you didn't you didn't take this serious enough, you know.
42:02 And I was a goo.
42:04 I wanted to play.
42:04 I had fun.
42:05 I was in the They heard me laughing on the bus and they were like,
42:08 "He don't want it." That's one reason I got cut.
42:12 It was kind of wild cuz you weren't allowed to really man take your helmet off.
42:19 Show yourself, man.
42:21 You a number.
42:22 Sit down.
42:23 Shut up.
42:25 And a lot of guys I played with were and again
42:29 they're not here anymore because and they they lived as that player.
42:34 And and this is the thing too, man.
42:36 the NFL for me and what I saw is that you had to become this winner.
42:42 I become this person.
42:44 I encapsulate this winning and this is it.
42:47 And this is a warrior mentality and I'm the image and and the bigger
42:52 and the better and but problem is if you become your wins,
42:58 you inevitably have to become your losses.
43:02 Great point.
43:04 And the players couldn't handle it.
43:05 Yeah, cuz you got to stop.
43:08 Hey man, Tierry Enri, one of the best quotes he ever told me,
43:12 he said, "They don't teach you how to die." Wow.
43:16 It's facts.
43:18 That athlete who's on the tip top, they don't teach you when it's over.
43:24 How do you do?
43:26 What do you do now?
43:28 and in my day you were just left out and you were
43:32 they oh and and then they told you you were lucky and you're
43:36 like but I don't know what I'm doing what I this all
43:39 I know how to do like hey you you got that money right
43:42 you did that they know your name go out there and do
43:44 something they're like I don't I don't know what I'm I don't know
43:47 what I'm doing man and people get lost and then you in the hole
43:54 and then if you ask for help it's viewed as weakness Yeah.
43:59 Yeah.
43:58 So, everybody who anybody who was like,
44:00 "I need help." You They sat there and they just sat there and was quiet.
44:05 Sat in the hole, died in the hole.
44:09 I watched it.
44:10 Didn't say nothing to nobody, and just deteriorated.
44:14 One of my good friends, man, Chris Mims, man, passed away.
44:19 Found him in a one-bedroom apartment downtown LA.
44:24 Dead.
44:25 No family, no nothing.
44:27 Gone.
44:28 First round draft pick.
44:30 You understand what I'm saying?
44:33 Yeah.
44:32 Couldn't tell anybody he needed help.
44:35 We had people literally played the NFL homeless, passed away just last year.
44:41 And you like couldn't say nothing because it was viewed as weak.
44:46 You were viewed as, "Oh man,
44:48 now you supposed to be tough enough." It doesn't work that way, man.
44:53 It doesn't work that way.
44:53 And that's what going to therapy really showed me that I
44:58 was this image and I had to be a real person.
45:02 I was two people like the Terry Cruz out here
45:05 and then Terry Cruz and I needed to combine them.
45:12 Yeah.
45:10 And I needed to be one whole person.
45:14 And I got my wife back and then I got my life back.
45:19 And I said this is why everybody say he smile a lot.
45:22 Hell yeah.
45:22 That's about a lot.
45:24 You got a lot to be thankful for.
45:25 And that's awesome.
45:26 I would not be here, bro.
45:28 Yeah.
45:28 I'm just telling you, we like to ask some of our guests question.
45:31 Uh Mount Rushmore, it's got four four pieces or four pics.
45:35 You get four people uh that have shaped you,
45:39 help mold you, help you become the man you are today.
45:43 The husband, the father, the actor,
45:45 the the businessman, the artist, this four people.
45:50 Who would those four people be?
45:51 Oh, that's deep.
45:53 That's really, really deep.
45:55 Wow.
45:56 Oh.
45:57 Um, first, I'm just going there's not an order of importance.
46:04 You know what I mean?
46:05 My wife is number one on Mount Rushmore.
46:08 Hey, man.
46:08 We grew up together.
46:09 I mean, we've been married 37 years as of July of this year.
46:13 She's Flintstone, too.
46:15 Yeah.
46:15 Oh, no.
46:16 She's from Gary.
46:16 Oh, okay.
46:17 Gary, Indiana.
46:18 We met.
46:19 Right.
46:19 Right.
46:19 We met in the middle, but you know, Gary is just like Flint.
46:23 Gary and Flint, we were like, "Hey, we know you." You know what I mean?
46:28 We met right in Calamazoo at Western Michigan University.
46:31 But um we got married in 1989.
46:35 Okay.
46:35 So, she never put up with none of my junk.
46:40 Like, always told me the truth about myself, which is very, very amazing.
46:47 And we grew up together.
46:48 So, she's number one.
46:49 Then I got to go to Coach Lee.
46:52 Coach Lee was my middle he he was
46:57 like my junior varsity coach play football with him.
47:02 And he said cuz the the head coach was hated everybody.
47:06 He just was y ain't going to do nothing.
47:08 Y'all ain't going to do nothing.
47:09 Nothing.
47:09 You you you you ain't going to be nobody.
47:12 That's his whole thing.
47:15 Damn, co.
47:14 I know.
47:15 See, you got to understand, man.
47:16 But wait, wait.
47:17 This is the thing, man.
47:18 When I say we're growing up in this this era
47:22 where they thought they were helping you.
47:25 They really did.
47:26 No water.
47:29 Yeah.
47:29 They Nobody would give you a compliment.
47:31 Nobody would say you were good.
47:34 You ain't going to be nobody.
47:35 You know what happened?
47:36 Everybody believed him.
47:38 Yeah.
47:38 They believed him.
47:39 They said, "You ain't going to be nobody." They said,
47:41 "Yeah, I guess I ain't." Coach Lee looked at me.
47:44 And he said, "Terry Cruz,
47:46 there's no way you should not be playing at a division one
47:49 school on a division one scholarship." That's just how he said it.
47:54 I was like, "What?
47:55 Me?
47:56 Terry Cruz, you should be playing in division
47:57 one school on a division one scholarship.
48:00 Terry Cruz." And I never heard, not even from my father.
48:06 My father didn't believe, he didn't like sports at all.
48:08 He was like, "Man, you want to go to army?" And I was like, I don't.
48:11 So me and my father still have issues.
48:15 But he believed in me.
48:17 And man, one of the best days of my entire life.
48:19 I was on the Chargers.
48:21 I made it all the way to the Chargers
48:24 and I invited him out to the game to Kansas
48:28 City and we were playing Kansas City and he
48:31 got to stand on the sideline and I said,
48:34 "Coach Lee, this is cuz you believe in a little boy." I said, "You said it.
48:39 Nobody else said it.
48:40 So, he's one.
48:42 Then I have to go with Mr.
48:44 Eckleberg.
48:46 Eichelberg.
48:45 Eichelberg, who's my art teacher.
48:49 Okay.
48:48 This man, there's a third owner of Mount Rushmore.
48:51 He believed in my art so much that I, unbeknownst to me,
48:59 he submitted and filled out all these applications for me
49:03 to get my first scholarship to school for art.
49:09 And I had an art scholarship at Western Michigan University.
49:12 And then I walked on to the football team.
49:14 I did not know that.
49:16 Most people probably do not know that.
49:18 Yes.
49:19 Art was my first.
49:20 And then I went to Interlockan Arts Academy for the summer session and I
49:24 had a Chrysler scholarship that he applied and I was known as the best.
49:30 I mean, they put me down as one of the best artists there.
49:35 And I was studying with people from all over
49:37 the world at Interlock and he believed in me, man.
49:40 And I'll never forget, I walked in the class, he said,
49:42 "Jerry, got some good news for you." And I was like,
49:45 "What?" He said, "You got I got you two scholarships." I was like,
49:48 "What are you talking about?" Changed my life forever.
49:53 And so I did a special when I went back and I went back to Flint.
49:58 It was a special was on Detroit, but I went back to Flint and they brought Mr.
50:02 Ekleberg to me and I couldn't believe it, man.
50:05 I was just in tears cuz now my life had changed.
50:08 Like he changed my life.
50:10 I wouldn't be here.
50:10 I told him I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you, man.
50:13 That's so unbelievable.
50:15 I love that.
50:16 I love that story.
50:18 And the other the last one I would say
50:23 he's not he's not doesn't have a church anymore, but my pastor Jim Reed.
50:27 Jim who?
50:28 Jim Reed.
50:29 Okay.
50:29 He had a church here uh called Faith Community.
50:34 And when me and my wife at this period in time when we were breaking up,
50:39 he gave me the best advice I ever received.
50:42 He said, "Terry, I can't promise you you're
50:45 going to get your wife and family back,
50:47 but you need to get better for you." Now,
50:50 understand that's a whole different concept because as men,
50:55 we we do everything for Scooby snacks.
50:58 You know what I It's like, okay, I'm going take out the garbage.
51:00 I'm going to get sex.
51:01 I'm I'mma do this and get my money.
51:03 I'm going to do this and get my props.
51:05 I'm You know what I mean?
51:06 I got All right.
51:07 But that but to get better for yourself, that's a whole another concept.
51:16 Yeah.
51:15 Just self-improvement for the sake of improvement.
51:19 like what's what he's and it changed the way I I saw everything cuz it
51:26 wasn't about getting my wife and family back cuz most time people do that stuff.
51:32 Okay, are you ready?
51:33 I I did this so now you supposed to come back.
51:37 Mhm.
51:36 No, there was no guarantee.
51:38 In fact, we probably going to get divorced and now
51:41 you got to live the rest of your life.
51:44 You know what I mean?
51:45 And now you have to be good for you.
51:48 And I went, and this is the thing that a lot of men
51:52 had a hard have a hard time with is self-care because you feel selfish.
51:57 You feel like, man, okay, you know,
52:00 if if I take time off and what or if I if I rest a little bit,
52:05 um, then then, you know, people look at me like I'm soft or whatever,
52:09 then it it's always this this, you know,
52:11 we've been fed a lot of stuff on on media and movies.
52:15 You know, I saw a movie where the rocket got shot and kept going.
52:18 I said, "Hey, man, that that's not real, man." Hey, how many movies you seen?
52:23 Like, hey man, you know that knee wouldn't have took that.
52:26 You know what I mean?
52:26 Like, uh, but the movies are movies and bam, he gets shot and he kills still.
52:33 No, you're going down.
52:36 And what happens is people die in that spot cuz they living in a movie.
52:43 Yeah.
52:42 And he taught me that he said, "You got to live in reality." You know,
52:47 we not we can't go off how the world should be.
52:49 We have to go off how the world is and you need to stop and you need
52:55 to take care of you because right now
52:58 this is a very pivotal moment in your life.
53:02 And I would that changed everything for me.
53:04 And now even now I'm not shy about I need some rest.
53:10 I'm going too hard right now.
53:12 I need to I need to chill a little bit and I need to take and and listen the fir
53:16 I couldn't tell people no before cuz you feel like
53:21 I remember people the first time I came out of therapy
53:24 this is why I was in therapy and they said
53:25 uh what if a director tells you to do something you
53:27 don't want to do I said oh no we got
53:28 to do it he said no you don't no you don't you
53:31 just tell the director no I said no I'll get
53:34 fired they said well you get fired then do something
53:36 else but that's not I can't do that here
53:40 as a as player and as a co as a you know a player in the NFL and as an actor I
53:47 was always like all right I got to do I got
53:49 to do it I got to do he's like no you
53:51 don't Terry tell them no that was new to me man you understand it was new
54:00 cuz all my life they was like you obey orders tell it's like the military
54:05 right especially no fun league at the time you can't tell people no right
54:09 I'll never I remember when I came out of therapy and I was
54:12 in a car and I drove out and I was at gas station.
54:16 This guy was like, "Can I get an autograph?" And I was like,
54:19 "No." And the guy was like, "Come on, man." I said, "No, no." Now,
54:25 the guy probably thought I was crazy, but I'm fresh out therapy.
54:29 I'm working on my stuff right now.
54:32 I'm working ON NO, NO.
54:34 I DON'T HAVE TO give you an autograph, man.
54:36 I don't owe you that.
54:38 He's like, damn.
54:39 All right.
54:40 And then I I got in the car and shook and cried cuz I had never done that.
54:51 Yeah.
54:51 Cuz I I felt like I had to do it, man.
54:54 There was times my whole family is sitting there
54:55 and people come to the table and I'm signing autograph.
54:57 My wife is like, "Why you signing auto?
55:00 What?
55:00 You got your wife and kids here?" Well, this is my business.
55:03 This is what I do.
55:04 This I couldn't tell people no.
55:08 Now I practice it.
55:09 Not not today.
55:10 I'm sorry.
55:11 I have to go to another meeting.
55:12 Sorry about that.
55:14 And if they don't accept it, they don't accept it.
55:16 But it was nice.
55:18 I'm not rude.
55:19 I'm I'm just like, "Hey, not today.
55:21 Sorry.
55:21 Got to go." Yeah.
55:22 Yeah.
55:23 And and when I can, of course.
55:26 But those things, these are the littlest things, man,
55:30 that are that are pivotal that are
55:32 the that are the keys between making it or dying.
55:37 You see what I'm saying?
55:38 And it it seems so like well well it ain't that deep.
55:41 It's always that deep guys.
55:43 It's always that deep.
55:45 You don't even know it.
55:46 You don't even know what's in you.
55:47 You don't you don't know why you do what you
55:49 do until you start sitting down and examining like whoa.
55:54 Yes.
55:53 Whoa.
55:53 Why did I ever want Whoa.
55:55 This is why I wanted to do that.
55:58 This is why.
55:59 Wait.
56:00 And my big thing now is just to tell players, be honest, man.
56:06 Be honest.
56:07 It's okay.
56:08 You know what I mean?
56:09 Tell when you hurt.
56:10 And listen, man, and I was from the day of the league where I'll be honest,
56:14 we been in there and you couldn't say you was hurt.
56:17 And you were couldn't say it.
56:20 Wrap that hamstring up tight as you could
56:24 because if you if you don't play this game, you're gonna get cut.
56:30 And but I also understood, wait a minute,
56:33 I got kicked out into my destiny, you know.
56:38 Mhm.
56:37 And I had to say it over and over and over again.
56:39 The best thing in my life hasn't happened to me yet.
56:42 The best thing has not happened to me yet.
56:45 I love the NFL.
56:46 The NFL is a wonderful thing,
56:47 but it ain't the best thing that's going to happen to me.
56:50 There's going to be better that happens to me.
56:53 You understand?
56:54 And every player needs to know that.
56:56 Every guy in the NFL right now needs
56:59 to know that there is better than the league.
57:04 It's great now, but it's better waiting for you.
57:08 Yeah.
57:08 I appreciate you coming on the pod, blessing us with all these
57:12 wisdom and these jewels and these Oh, man.
57:14 This has been dope.
57:16 Thank you.
57:16 Thank you so much.
57:17 I'm getting all choked up in here.
57:19 No, I mean, hey, it's you.
57:20 But when you when you speak though, like it's I I feel the energy.
57:25 like I feel it and it's it's and it's real and it's it's the real you and it
57:30 it's contagious.
57:32 Thank you.
57:32 So, thank you for blessing us and just telling us some stories, man.
57:36 This Thank you for having me.
57:37 This has been awesome.
57:38 Wait, and I got to thank the NFL.
57:40 Hey, man.
57:41 It's changed and for the better, you know, and good thing is things get better.
57:46 The fact that we can talk about this right now
57:49 and it's we're here at the headquarters.
57:50 Yes.
57:51 This was unthinkable.
57:53 You got to understand, man.
57:55 unthinkable.
57:56 But when I was 30 years ago and I just thank God right now like wow wow I I'm
58:04 I'm walking careful cuz I'm going really can we
58:08 really talk you know like you know and we can Yes.
58:13 the fact that we can have this right now and I'm like it's great man.
58:17 I feel great for the players right now cuz
58:19 there's so many things they can take advantage of.
58:22 so many they they really want them to look at the mental
58:27 health side of things the the and the other opportunities the fact
58:32 that I get this NFL legend stuff and it's and it's always
58:35 saying hey you can find out this opportunity here you want to be
58:38 in banking you want to be in finance you want to be
58:42 in hospitality we whatever you want to do will help you get
58:45 into those worlds man I used to talk about art and they'd
58:49 be like man sit down get out of here you But it's beautiful.
58:54 Well, Terry, man, I just on my piece, dude.
58:56 Thank you.
58:57 I'm so glad that I know that you learned how to say no,
59:00 but that you did not say no today for us.
59:03 And you know, anytime you're around,
59:05 you always have the same smile, the same energy.
59:07 I see your biceps popping.
59:08 And I'm going to get I'm getting on video.
59:11 He's doing some chest pops for me cuz I'm going put that on my social.
59:14 I'm put that on my social.
59:15 I'm going to the gym right now.
59:16 Let's go.
59:19 Let's go.
59:19 I'm going back to the gym.
59:20 You are not going back to the gym.
59:23 I I love the fact that you also leaned into white
59:25 chicks cuz I I was kind of scared to ask that question.
59:28 Making my way downtown fast is fast and I'm homebound.
59:38 That just happened.
59:39 That just happened.
59:41 Oh my god.
59:42 Come on.
59:43 That just happened.
59:44 Hey, when you can spread love and happiness, people are like, "Oh,
59:47 when you every time I do, man, come on." that that's so great.
59:50 Um I I I'm just happy.
59:53 Yeah, you did.
59:54 Man, thanks to all our viewers and listeners out here.
59:56 We got to get Terry out here.
59:57 We'll do this forever.
59:58 Thank you for always tuning in and listening
1:00:00 or watching wherever you pick up your podcast, Apple Podcast, iHeart Radio app.
1:00:04 Uh continue to like share sub share subscribe.
1:00:09 I mess this up all day, though.
1:00:11 Like, share, subscribe, follow, follow, leave a couple comments, man.
1:00:16 Tell a friend to tell a friend to tell a friend to check us out, man.
1:00:19 And you can also see us on the NFL's YouTube channel.
1:00:22 There we go.
1:00:22 Peanut.
1:00:22 I'm Peanut.
1:00:23 That's Roman Shash.
1:00:25 Yeah, Harper.
1:00:26 That's Trey Cruz, y'all.
1:00:27 And this is the NFL Players Second Act podcast.
1:00:30 Thank y'all for tuning in.
1:00:32 We out.
1:00:37 Fire.