Welcome to In Search of Excellence! My guest today is my good friend Arik Armstead. Arik is a star defensive lineman NFL football player for the San Francisco 49ers and a dedicated philanthropist. He has been nominated for the NFL's Walter Payton Man of the Year Award for four consecutive seasons, recognizing his on-field excellence and impactful community work.In this episode, we are talking about Arik’s remarkable transition from little league rejection to NFL Man of the Year nominee, his crazy spring break in Vegas and unexpected meeting with Floyd Mayweather, and the importance of humility, faith, and unwavering hard work in his path to excellence.Time stamps:
01:36 Family background
Mother wrote a book about being the illegitimate daughter of a priestBorn and raised in LA and was shot in a gang shootingFather is a respected basketball trainerTrained over 500 NBA playersArik was always with himGrew up as a gym rat and that shaped his mindset07:28 Arik’s childhood
Being around famous athletes was coolThe influence of NBA player Mike WilkesBeing humble and having compassion for other peopleYour hunger to be successful must exceed your thirst to shine
15:39 Entrepreneurial spirit
His brother started a snack barWhen he went to college, Arik continuedDidn’t have entrepreneurial drive as a kidAt college, his creativity and problem-solving kicked in
19:03 A chubby kid in the gym
Was always in the gym with his dadPlayed basketball and footballMatt’s advice about giving an effort
23:12 Playing football
Playing football and basketball at 11 years oldOffered a scholarship to USC his Freshman yearStarted dunking in freshman year
26:44 Achieving goals
Army All-American and a McDonald's All-AmericanTo play football and basketball in collegeWanted to be the first person to play in the NBA and NFLThe importance of dreaming big and setting your goalsThe importance of internal motivation
32:21 The importance of education
Education was not super important to himHe would do some things differently today
35:57 Being available for the highest bidder
Oregon recruited himCoach Kelly’s promiseThe offers he gotKids should not only take the highest bidBut what else they will get – reputation, coach, skills
44:38 The humbleness of million-dollar athletes
Randall’s story about a million-dollar player who wanted to be his internArik was aware he needed to learn and educate himselfThe wedding
48:13 Arik’s drafting
Drafts are spectaclesHis was in Cleveland and he didn’t goDidn’t want to embarrass himselfHad a watch party with his loved ones at home
52:28 Crazy agent stories and meeting Floyd Mayweather
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