Speaker 1: 0:16

me and Gino grew up together um, really good friends and the thing that I saw every single day I saw him putting in the work, jogging around the neighborhood, you know, going to his house, seeing him, seeing him work out, and I was like, oh snaps, this guy is normal. I didn't understand this as a kid, but I'm like, this guy's a normal guy, and so that moment made me realize that normal people can still make extraordinary dreams happen if you just decide to dedicate, putting the work and be real with yourself. And so, as a four or five, six year old, looking back, I understood that process and I've carried it with me my whole entire life.

Speaker 2: 0:55

So take us back to those battles with your brothers. So, you being the, you being the younger one, what? What was that like? Is that where a lot of your competitive nature came from?

Speaker 1: 1:04

A thousand percent. I just told my brother today. I was like, man, I'm gonna pay you back still for busting my nose. We have boxing matches with gloves and they're beating me up. I'm going against both of them. You know like, fight one brother, then the next brother, I fight. I'm like why don't y'all go against each other? And I'll never forget my nose got busted and my mother hit those boxing gloves forever.

Speaker 1: 1:22

But they would double team me. You know I have a video of my wife and my son laughs at it because I'm on the curve crying and pouting because they won't throw me in the ball, because we're playing sideline kill, which I run up, and they're still hitting me. So they taught me how to be tough. They taught me how to be resilient and they taught me how to really grind for what I wanted. So I'm grateful for them and even though at the time, I feel like they were being hard on me, what they were doing was teaching me a set of principles and, as you like to say, standards to live by in order to make my dream come true.

Speaker 2: 1:56

So I'll always attribute my athletic success to them, because I want to beat them more than anything else. And now I know as you age, you're making sure that you look like a linebacker these days instead of a wide receiver, just in case in any family meals any wrestling matches break out.

Speaker 1: 2:07

Absolutely. Yeah, I'm bigger than my brothers, now for sure. Like I'm probably about 20, 30 pounds bigger than them. So you know, it's a. It's a little bit different, now for sure.

Speaker 2: 2:15

I'm telling you, when we met, that's what I said to you I'm like man, you could be. You could be a linebacker now if you went back to the league. Now, one of the things about the NFL and a lot of individuals don't realize this, so I, you know, I was really a basketball player, so a lot of guys tease me like man, how do you start doing all this work? In collegiate and pro football? You were a hooper and so what a lot of people don't realize and I didn't know this until I started working in the NFL is back when you were playing, there were rookie symposiums and in the rookie symposiums, in the rookie symposiums, they would tell the players you have a better chance of getting struck by lightning than playing in the NFL. Like that's how rare it is to take the talent that God gave you and to take it to the place that you took it to.

Speaker 2: 2:53

What I want to focus on is not success that you had on the field. I'd rather talk about the adversity, which is how you really helped shape people to understand where that authentic power lies. So you, essentially, you have this dream. You reach this pinnacle that people in a lifetime better chance of getting struck by lightning, and that's what you walk into, that's what you embrace. And then there was a period of time, trent, it ended for you, but when it ended for you, you had this, this, this bright right light and epiphany, where you basically took out a phone, you start filming videos and rehab time started. Can you take us back to that dark time for you, when you had to say goodbye to football? But it was really the opening of all these lives that you've touched and you continue to touch all over the world.

Speaker 1: 3:36

Yeah, um, it was the hardest time of my life up to a few years ago, and the reason it was hard I like to explain to people that you know, don't play sports. Just imagine losing your everything, the everything that you thought was the world since you were four years old. I was programmed since a kid to be an athlete. Of course, my parents made sure I take care of my grades and they made sure I knew that I was more than an athlete, but I didn't want to hear that. All I wanted to do was either play football, basketball, baseball and make it to the lead.

Speaker 1: 4:08

So when that was over, I felt as if my life was over. It's like what am I supposed to do? I never worked a nine to five, I mean in college. If you try to do an internship, they're going to laugh at you. So what do I do with my life? And a lot of athletes get to that point and I remember being in my parents house in my room and I just got cut for like the eighth time from the Seattle Seahawks actually the Washington Redskins at the time commanders now, and I remember looking around my room and all the trophies, my, my roommate, one of my best friends that just committed suicide, tristan, my son. He was one year old at the time and I remember asking this question Like is this it, is it over for me?

Speaker 3: 4:50

Well, you said this right, and I love the situations where it's like you know what It'd be really good if we had you. Let me see if I can manipulate something so that we can get this done Right, because that was what I was the king of. I could manipulate situations so that it would benefit a player all the time, or benefit my own career or salary, you know. So not having to do that in these situations is just a clear message on both ways.

Speaker 2: 5:23

And do you feel that's why you were able to? And you're like me, right, I'm not putting the pads on, but you know, you do know there's a value that you brought to that building, there's a key contribution that you were able to make by caring, loving on those players and holding those standards. What was that like for you to be able to leave Alabama and then be able to see for you that the values that you stood on and the beliefs that you had, that they didn't waver, you didn't buckle, you didn't try to change, you stayed true to the things that made you you? How unique was that for you to then become part of two national championships at Georgia with those same beliefs, those same standards, the things that make Scott Cochran who he is Scott.

Speaker 3: 6:15

Cochran Jr. See, I didn't, I didn't. I've never thought of it that way. This is when I got to Georgia I told Kirby. I said hey, there, you have what you need in the building, you have good coaches, you have great players. What you don't have is what I need to start really infiltrating on and we start a thing called skull sessions, which basically we called them at bama too. You know, your, your first meeting with the player were skull sessions.

Speaker 3: 6:49

Um, so, I think, figuring out and like year one, I told him you know, I'm like we're not gonna win this year. And he's like what? Because I brought you over here, like I'm like, listen, this, what I need to get done with this team we can't get done. And it was COVID too. So maybe that had something to do with it. But we just needed time right. We didn't start the mental conditioning program at Bama until 2008. 2007, we didn't have it, and in 2008, we implemented it right. And in 2008, we implemented it right at LSU. We implemented it in 2001.

Speaker 3: 7:29

Um, it took a year to kind of feel it out. Um, I implemented it as soon as I got there, but I knew it wasn't going to be. I could tell in the first game that I coached there, that the guys weren't ready. I noticed small things that most people wouldn't recognize, but I noticed mentality conversation. What they did looking at the scoreboard was one what are we up by? What are we down by? And so I knew going into the off season after the 2020 season that it was like this is the year where this stuff has to click. So it is is when I really dove into the leadership.

Speaker 3: 8:19

I really like we took the leadership off campus and did our, did the same thing I did at Bama. You know, we, we did those things. We kind of got them gelled together so that right hand knew what the left hand was doing and they could keep each other accountable. Um, but I never saw it as my own personal standard. Um, I saw it as you know. What's interesting is it is that I saw it as you know. What's interesting is it is that I saw it as special teams is pretty easy, um, so this is a piece I really love. Now let me dive even more into that piece, and I say it's easy. It's football for all the people out there listening to this and you listen to coaches that sleep in their office that do all this stuff. It ain't that difficult, the foot, the game hasn't changed that much, it's just football.

Speaker 4: 9:14

Yeah, well, I mean, I feel like coming in here each and every day. Everyone understands the importance of one, what it means to be a Miami dolphin, but also what it means to be a family. You know, I think that's something that coach McDaniel harps on a lot is the importance of the family aspect. When you take a look at our locker room, you see a lot of guys where you know we have a good mix of, you know, obviously, rookies but veterans that are, you know, some are four years, some are five years, you know some are 10 plus years. When you have that kind of experience, coupled with this new wave of rookies that are coming in from the NIL era and things like that, there really tends to be a unique mesh.

Speaker 4: 9:51

That happens to where and you know, selfishly, I kind, I kind of you know, dab this up to player engagement to where we're finding creative ways to connect our locker room, you know, um, between rookies and veterans, new guys, you know, from free agency, or you know guys that have been veterans on the same team, just finding unique ways to connect the guys into what seems more like a family than it does a team, and I think there's a unique difference there, like as a team, like, yeah, you can play well, but do you guys play well together?

Speaker 4: 10:20

You know, is there individualistic mentality? That happens, um, but when you're a family that plays well together, I think it just adds a different dynamic. And when you're having the family mentality come from the top down, everyone feels it, you know so. Everyone enjoys coming in every day. No one really sweats the blood, sweat and tears that you have to put in, um, but what I love about this locker room is like they care about each other. You know, there isn't an individualistic mentality. Everyone loves connecting with each other. Um, I'm watching guys that are spending their off season still doing community work together.

Speaker 2: 10:51

Well, yeah, I think about alec ingold, another, just, I mean one of the best human beings I've ever. I mean, it's just, he's an extraordinary human being that, in your locker room, makes a difference, giving back, serving a holistic individual.

Speaker 4: 11:04

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 4: 11:05

And when you're able to have a leader like Alec Ingold doing that and be so open, honest and upfront about it, like it, it clears the way for other guys to be like yeah, I want to do that too.

Speaker 4: 11:14

I mean, we have guys all over that locker room that do so much and oftentimes goes unnoticed, because a lot of that you're not going to see that on the bottom ticker on ESPN.

Speaker 4: 11:24

That might not be the highlight, you know the first thing Monday morning on the networks, but I see that and I'm like that's what makes a difference in a locker room. You know guys who, yes, they take football seriously, but at the same time they connect with their players and they connect with the community, and you know South Florida's waited a long time To see something special from the Dolphins. So I think what people are feeling is is that that different? It comes from right here, of them understanding this is a different team and I think the difference they're talking about is that family aspect, that they can feel how closely everyone is From staff, coaches, players, like everyone's locked in because we all have the same goal in mind. But it just feels different because now, like I think, we're starting to see it more amongst the players, the coaches and the staff so I'd love to finish this episode of the burn not talking about the Miami Dolphins, not talking about players, talking about you.

Speaker 2: 12:13

Yeah, uh, there's. There's a electric nature of your smile where you take advantage of every day. And from when the transition took place, when caleb was starting to realize he was going to have new opportunities whether it be with pack or now the amazing things he's doing with the spurs when he brought you in, there was just an energy, like when you smile, it's like, man, I'm going to attack this. Yeah, where does your fire for life come from? Where did the discipline come from? I think a lot of people don't realize and caleb and I used to talk about this it's hard to do what you do. You're not leaving this at five o'clock, it's like not at all. This is a 24 hour opportunity you've signed up for. Yeah, where does the discipline? Aside from relationships, I know that's important to you, but what are you built on? What is your burn? What is your? Where does that discipline come?

Speaker 4: 13:03

from for you. Yeah well, it's interesting because, again, I didn't know. Prior to this I was at um doing cnf development. I didn't know that existed until I got to um. I didn't know player engagement in the nfl existed until c Caleb called me and I remember it to this day. He called me like noon on a Tuesday and was like you know, we topped it up for a couple minutes Like can you, are you free at two o'clock for an interview? I wasn't, but I made myself free for the interview which was that same day. And then at the end of that interview he was like we'll come up to the facility on Thursday, spent the and spent the entire day there doing interviewing in person. Called me the following Tuesday let me know that they were going to make a decision. Called the following Thursday with an offer in time of contract Friday. So it took eight days. You know, to the fastest job like job I've ever been a part of.

Speaker 4: 13:44

But I say that because every new transition that I've had in my life was I was transitioning into a place that I was never familiar with, that I didn't know existed. Again, student athlete development. Didn't know that was a thing until I got to UM Player engagement. Didn't know this existed until Caleb called me. So the fire that I have is I wake up every day thinking something new could happen today, whether if it's a new conversation, somebody new that I meet, a new idea that could help me help somebody else. I'm born, thrive and bred to be built for whatever comes next, and the fact that I never know what it is. That's what excites me.

Speaker 5: 14:19

Here comes Spud Webb, you know, and I'm like, okay, so he can dunk. I'm like, what does it take to dunk? Well, you gotta work hard. I was like, well, I'll, I'll do whatever it takes.

Speaker 5: 14:30

So I was the kid that would see something, have a limiting belief and then see someone else do it. I was like I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it. It's like that story of Roger Bannister, right, you know, with the four-minute mile, and once he did it, everybody else could do it. Sometimes you just need to be able to get around somebody else that has done it, and then you visualize it and then you go ahead and do it. And I was never afraid of hard work and you know, growing up again, I mean, it was just I was surrounded by a kid that would see something, have a limiting belief and then see someone else do it. I was like I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it. It's like that story of Roger Bannister, right, you know, with the four minute mile, and once he did it, everybody else could do it. Sometimes you just need to be able to get around somebody else that has done it, and then you visualize it, and then you go ahead and do it and I was never afraid of hard work. And you know, growing up again, I mean it was just.

Speaker 5: 15:30

I was surrounded by other athletes and I always just thought, man, I want to be the best, I don't want to be lacking behind, I don't want to be second best. The second best sucks and you know I was fortunate to have strong male role models. You know the coaches be okay with that, like they were all about winning too. Everything was competitive. My middle school gym teacher still alive, his name, ron howard. This man played tight end for the seahawks and the dallas cowboys and had a super bowl ring. So imagine being 13 years old and your gym teacher's got a super bowl ring and you're looking at everybody's, looking at the super boring. You know what I'm looking at, ben? I'm looking at his fingers mangled like this Cause. He played in the seventies man, so his fingers are like this Well, he would talk and he'd be like so what you gotta do? And I thought he was just trying to be like cool, no man, his hands are messed up. So I realized everything comes with a price and that's okay, because he's got the ring and I thought I want that, I want to be pro. I want to be pro at something.

Speaker 5: 16:39

In fact, when I was interviewed after I got my Division I scholarship, my senior year to the University of Denver, I was interviewed by the Seattle Times and they said you know, you already have high hopes to do something in the hoops. I said, well, I don't know about the NBA, but I'm going to be pro at something. And that was a godsend, man, because I know that I was never afraid of hard work. I was always being competitive at every little thing, every little thing. Who could do the fastest, this, who could do the best, that, like? That's just what mattered back then, and I still think it matters today. And that's what. When I was introduced to bodybuilding, it was the perfect sport for me because it was all about just the effort that I was willing to put forth. You know you could spot me, but that's not getting the job done. You can encourage me, but I still got to eat those meals. I still have to be willing to do the work when no one else is watching, and that's something I know you preach about all every day.

Speaker 2: 17:36

Oh, we are going to talk about that, but I got to make one more hoop story before we get into that. And breaking Olympia, the Phil Heath story in this amazing documentary that, like you all, better watch it. I'm going to put links to it, clips to it. If you don't want to buy it, I'll buy it for you, like like I didn't rent it, I bought the thing. I'm like thank you.

Speaker 2: 17:57

I'm like this is my guy, I'm purchasing because I will watch this multiple times over. It's that and it was even better than that. But before we get there, there's one story you shared with me which is really unique, because sometimes I think when I talk about this concept of the burn and people hear my mom's story, they're like I could understand that, like you're. You're fighting to continue to write her story every day and some people have that pain and then other people are like wow, I've never had anything happen to where I figured out what that burn was and part of your burn. And you shared this amazing story with me about your coach who got mad at you for not dunking the basketball, who lit a fire, and that to me that's part of the burn. Like he helped you find this fire inside of you. You got to tell us that story before we start talking about that seven-time mr olympia body oh man.

Speaker 5: 18:47

So a shout out to coach bethea at rainer beach high school, which you know. They've got a lot of great champions that have come out of there. It's got nine state titles. I mean it's champions that have come out of there. It's got nine state titles. I mean it's phenomenal.

Speaker 2: 19:02

But you know, I was always really athletic and my biggest thing, being under six feet, was to jump high the message I have for you that I had to come to you in real time fun to be able to do it from the Dolphins team hotel for this episode of the burn. But also I wanted to deliver this in real time because of a lesson that was reiterated to me through the fight of the Kansas State Wildcats, and a lesson for each and every single one of us in our lives that when you face challenge and adversity, it's oftentimes your greatest opportunity to find out how strong you can be. Many of you know, but for those of you that don't know, I'm the mental performance coach for the Kansas State Wildcats. I'm in my sixth season with Kansas State. Also did this work for Alabama for five years and two national championships with Coach Saban, wound up at Kansas State after four years of doing this work for Coach Kleiman and three national championships at North Dakota State. So this is my 10th year working with Coach Kleiman. So we've been through lots of challenge and adversity over these 10 years working together.

Speaker 2: 20:15

But two weeks ago on a Saturday night in Provo, utah, we had one of the toughest losses of those 10 years. We went out to BYU both teams undefeated 3-0. Kansas State Wildcats ranked 13th in the country and I never care about rankings during the season. I paint the picture for you for perspective. The rankings really only matter for the fans. I always say until we've played every game on our schedule and then the opportunity to earn the playoff games, the opportunity to earn our bowl games. Until every game is done and we see zeros, I don't care where we are ranked. You can tell us after we've completed every single one of those plays, every single one of those games. But I just share that for perspective. So it's two undefeated teams for a 60-minute fight in Provo, utah. For those of you that know what happened in that game or for those of you that watch that game and I always appreciate the love and support of the Wildcats we've created a larger fan base because of so many of you, because of my work with the Wildcats, you choosing to wear purple and to cheer and to root for our young men in Manhattan, kansas.

Speaker 2: 21:31

But this was a tough game. This was a challenging game. The game while on the sideline almost felt like it was a bad dream. Almost everything bad that could have happened happened. Byu special teams muffs a punt ball goes all the way back to their one yard line Typically fumbles that we pick up and we run it into the end zone to create points. They pick it up and run it 99 yards for a touchdown. Our star running back ended up having the second fumble of his career picked up, run into the end zone for another touchdown. Interceptions, tough plays. We had a challenging time putting the ball in the end zone for the first time in over 11 games. It was like a bad dream. We're questioning what are we watching?

Speaker 2: 22:16

And you go through those games and you take a hard loss. And when the game is over just like for you, when you face challenge and adversity, you have to often look at yourself in the mirror. When it's over, when you see zeros at the end of your day, maybe you're competing for something, you're challenging yourself for something in business, in life, in sports, and then you end up falling short and you've got to look yourself in the mirror. And it's an opportunity to take ownership. And that's what Coach Kleiman did that night in the locker room. He said so what now what? He challenged every player, every coach, every member of the organization.

Speaker 2: 23:00

Look yourself in the mirror and figure out the next level of ownership that you can take. What more can you do? So take a quick pause and ask yourself that question, wherever you are in your year, right now, september the 30th in your year right now, september the 30th we're getting ready to enter the fourth quarter, the final 25% of your year. Where are you right now? If you're ahead of where you wanted to be, don't you dare be seduced by success. Keep connecting to that burn every single day, keep stacking days, keep hammering prize fighter days and keep winning, because the byproduct is continuing to win at very high levels. But if we get seduced by our success, we pull back from our habits, you will stop winning.

Speaker 2: 23:47

And for those of you that are behind, so what now? What? Now is the time to take ownership and to recognize. Often the greatest parts of a fight in a business year are in that last quarter, that last 25%. For those parents listening, you get one or the other. There ain't much in between. You're either going to pour belief into your kids or you're going to pour pain into your kids' hearts. And I, just I really wanted to capture how beautiful that is, that that mother was that source of worthiness for you which had to have showed up when you would go to just the belief you would have in yourself from hearing those words in your home.

Speaker 6: 24:23

Oh no, absolutely. I mean, like I said, walking into a space and being a black woman and now being in a space of doing, well, Okay, like I'm going to walk into spaces and I'm even getting on planes. You walk into business class or first class and you're like only black woman in here going into a meeting and you're like only black woman in here. I'm okay with wearing that on my shoulders because I saw my mom do it. I'm okay with understanding that you have a conversation and they kind of come in like hey, hey, and I'm like yes, I'm like oh, my god, now, oh, now I'm worthy because I'm Olympic champion. I was worthy when I first walked in here. You know, like I said, just knowing that, you know from the beginning, and now with my daughter, my oldest, so I have two, zoe, she's the little one, she's a boss baby. I'm going to be there just to say I agree with you.

Speaker 6: 25:20

That girl. She's walking out to the world like I'm here. I'm like okay, so she's just that one. I can tell she's boss baby, my oldest, she is such it's one of those like beautiful souls, like she'll see someone that kind of like gets hurt. She's like mommy, they're hurt, we have to help. She's that kid and I'm like I want to foster, I want to keep that just innocence for as long as I can.

Speaker 6: 25:36

And something else. I'm very clear because you were talking about social media in their faces. Yes, she's on my phone, she looks at it. But I tell her all the time I'm very okay with you getting bored and people ask like, what do you mean by that? She doesn't need to be entertained every two seconds of like I need something here. I'm like no, I need her to be okay in her own space with nothing else going on and to say you know what? I'm going to play with these rocks and draw on the concrete and create my own fun. I just need her to be okay with her from the age of five, all the way up. So if you're in a classroom and someone doesn't want to play with you, I love to draw, so I'll draw right now. You know what I mean, just I love the little things what a powerful lesson.

Speaker 2: 26:15

Once again, parents, I I hope you're listening Now I have to take you here. I've got to take you here. There is this beautiful, joyful, passionate side that comes with that big old smile and that champion of Don Harper Nelson. But there is also that alter ego of Don Harper Nelson. When you step up to that line and you and I talked about it I love talking to Jay Gadd about this Tell us about the alter ego, where it's important to understand the power of your mind to flip that switch and to go to that deep, dark place where you know nobody can beat you.

Speaker 6: 26:57

You almost don't want to have this conversation with everyone because everyone doesn't understand. I'm in a space where I'm okay, they don't understand, but I am an absolute monster. I could care less about you for 12 seconds. I feel so bad for you that you have to lie, because I'm sure that your dream will not survive right now.

Speaker 2: 27:16

Mine is I feel you want this to survive.

Speaker 6: 27:17

I am so clear with that. From 2008 until 2016,. There's three spots, remember? I told you I took a spot every year. So that means only two spots are open, and that is my mentality. I, once again, they're like oh my goodness, it's the hardest thing to make. Yeah for them.

Speaker 6: 27:32

Like I am, I just, I, just you, because you do, you have to. First of all, I train way too hard. Bobby kills me every day, so you think that I'm going to go out here and give you an inch, an ounce man, what up? Listen, you should have shown something else. The hurdles I think the 100 is wide open, but it's not over here.

Speaker 6: 27:52

Like I am, I have to, in a sense, want to murder you for 12 seconds and then I get done. I'm like good job, girl, that was such a good race. But I'm really in this mood because I want, like if I didn't, I'm like don't you got to find a way to calm down and figure out what's going, because I just you have to when that gun goes. It's not even when the gun goes off, it's actually before, in the warm-up area sometimes I was like I don't even want music because I, I need to. I'm talking to Darm up here. I don't want the music, I don't want to drown it out. What someone else is saying. What am I saying on this day? What type of beast am I today? I don't like Kendrick, lamar, drake, diddy no, they talking nonsense. I'm talking about today, the work that I put in. They don't know the work I put in you.