← Determined Society with Shawn French | Adversity & Mindset
Determined Society with Shawn French | Adversity & Mindset
How Ben St. Juste Beat the Odds to Succeed in the NFL
00:52:21
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- [00:01]
Benjamin St. Juice
I'm ready for my life to change.
- [00:03]
Shawn French
ABC Sundays. American Idol is all new. Give it your all.
- [00:07]
Benjamin St. Juice
Good luck.
- [00:07]
Shawn French
Come out with a golden ticket.
- [00:09]
Benjamin St. Juice
Let's hear it.
- [00:10]
Shawn French
This is immense world.
- [00:13]
Benjamin St. Juice
I've never seen anything like it.
- [00:15]
Shawn French
And a new chapter begins.
- [00:17]
Benjamin St. Juice
You're going to Hollywood.
- [00:19]
Shawn French
Carrie Underwood joins Lionel Richie, Luke Bryant and Ryan Seacrest on American Idol News Sundays 8, 7 Central on ABC and stream on Hulu. Your data is like gold to hackers. They'll sell it to the highest bidder. Are you protected? McAfee helps shield you blocking suspicious texts, malicious emails and fraudulent websites. McAfee Secure VPN lets you browse safely and its AI powered tech scam detector spots threats instantly. You'll also get up to $2 million of award winning antivirus and identity theft protection, all for just $39.99 for your first year. Visit mcafee.com cancel anytime. Terms apply. Congratulations on an amazing season.
- [01:02]
Benjamin St. Juice
It's bittersweet because it's like we're one game away from going to the Super Bowl. Beautiful message by coach Quinn in the locker room. He was like, you know, don't let this moment overshadow like what we accomplished. People that don't go through nothing in life, once they hit a big challenge, they have no strategy for it. Like you have to go through stuff in life and maneuver through it and find solution that what makes you better, more resilience and stuff.
- [01:26]
Shawn French
You're a deep ass dude. Like I respect the out of it.
- [01:34]
Unknown
Sh French. What up? This one luck. I let the pain inspire me. I put my all in Everything I'm doing up until it's done, I'm me for the entirety I put it in no V time I be working Just know I'mma go for mine cuz I earned it. They watch and I know it's time I confirmed it the whole society Determined, determined foreign.
- [01:58]
Shawn French
What's up everybody? Welcome back to another episode of the Determined Society. I'm your host, Shawn French. Before I introduce today's amazing guest and it's going to be a great one. You're going to love him. Please. If you haven't already subscribed to the YouTube, Spotify and Apple podcast, please click that follow button and let us know what you think. Also follow at the Sean French on Instagram S H A W N and at the Determined Society. So today, ladies and gentlemen, I have with me someone that was literally four quarters away from playing in the super bowl this year. He is the starting defensive back for the Washington Commanders. My man Benjamin St. Jude what's up, dude?
- [02:36]
Benjamin St. Juice
What up? What? I appreciate you. Thank you for having me, man.
- [02:39]
Shawn French
I'm grateful you're here. You know, it's so funny. You never know who's moving in. Five more. Five doors down from you, right?
- [02:44]
Benjamin St. Juice
Five doors down.
- [02:45]
Shawn French
And I. I found out later, like, honestly, like, when I said hi to you before, like, I was just saying hi because, like, you know, you're new in the neighborhood, like, hey, what's up, man? And, you know, I'm trying to talk to you because I talk to everybody. You'll see that I'm walking around my dogs. I'm the guy. I talk to everybody. They're like, someone said, hey, did you know that. That he. He's. He plays for the Commanders? I'm like, no way. That's pretty cool, man.
- [03:05]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah, I got. I got a nice warm welcome from a few people. My. My neighbor up front in front of me is a Giants fan, so he's a Rudy. Yeah, off rip. He's like, thank you. Like, you know, we. We welcome you in the neighborhood, but I'm a Giants fan, so I was like, all right, I get it.
- [03:20]
Shawn French
But, dude, Rudy's great. Have you ever gotten like, a real, like, long conversation with Rudy?
- [03:25]
Benjamin St. Juice
Not yet. My wife, been a few times. She's way more talkative than. I mean, in general. She's just way more in the neighborhood than me.
- [03:32]
Shawn French
Yeah.
- [03:32]
Benjamin St. Juice
Because I'm busy and all that stuff, but I'm starting to learn a little bit more about everyone's story, where they're from and, yeah, all that stuff. So I'm looking forward to talking with Rudy. Yeah.
- [03:42]
Shawn French
No, dude, Rudy's great, man. He's. He's hysterical. But, dude, the neighborhood. It's funny because your wife does a good job. She does a good job around the neighborhood, stopping and talking and, you know, walking the new brave. Congratulations, baby.
- [03:53]
Benjamin St. Juice
On the baby. Yeah, yeah. Yes. It's been great. It's better. It was. She was born right before training camp, which was, like, really hard. It was. It's a gift in the curse because I got a little bit of time two weeks before training camp started.
- [04:04]
Shawn French
Yeah.
- [04:05]
Benjamin St. Juice
But then once training camp started, the season started. Like, I'm gone. Like, I wake up early in the morning. She wakes up. I see her 15 minutes. I'm going to the facility. I come back home around 6 bedtime, 6:30. So I maybe 45 minutes with her. So I didn't really have the time to be a real dad throughout the season. But it was really cool to have her on the sideline. For games, and I feel like it was her lucky charm. Every time she came to games, we won. But now in the off season, I get to be a real dad and take off a little bit of responsibility so my wife can still be herself, you know, not just a mother. So.
- [04:36]
Shawn French
Julia, right?
- [04:37]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah, Julia.
- [04:38]
Shawn French
Julia.
- [04:38]
Benjamin St. Juice
Okay.
- [04:38]
Shawn French
Yeah. I mean, dude, I. I hear you, man. It's. It's hard because when, you know, it's like, our kids don't choose their parents, right? They don't choose who we are and what we do, and it's hard. Like, how did you. How did you manage that during the season? Because I would have to imagine, like, it was hard for you emotionally. Like, okay, like, my daughter is brand new, and I'm. I'm here, you know, I'm trying to get to somewhere, you know, that we haven't been in the last 31 years. But also, you got your little heartbeat that's beating outside your body, you know, chilling at home.
- [05:11]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah. Yeah, you. You nailed it. It was tough. It was tough every day just because, like, sometimes I would go by a few days and I'm like, I didn't really do much with her. You know, I missed out on, you know, some anniversaries, like first month, second month, third month, or, like, her trying some new things, her trying some food and all that stuff. But obviously, it's. It's part of the game. It's a sacrifice. I think when we went through a rough patch, I think we lost, like, three straight. I remember Bobby Wagner, good veteran, good leader in our team, did a speech, and he was like, you know, he's been there, done that. He's seen, like, what it takes and all that stuff. He's like, honestly, it hurts, and I hate to say it, but you guys are going to have to sacrifice things for us to take it that next step. Like, if it's like, less time with your family, less time with, you know, your kids, less time on a video game, less time doing all the other stuff to sacrifice to give it back, give back that time to the team so we can take that next step. You're going to have to do it and your family date, like, it's. It sucks to say, but they. They're not going to understand. They can tell you they understand, like, we understand yet, but they don't really understand why you're not there, but it's for a greater goal that you want to achieve.
- [06:18]
Shawn French
You know, it's interesting because I had a conversation with my wife last night, right? And the show's gotten to a point where we're getting the opportunity to do cooler things. Like, we're getting to go places. Excuse me. And that's going to. That's going to take time away from me being home. And the direct response was, is it going to be like this every month? Because, you know, your son has. Or son has baseball, the girls have gymnastics. And I'm like. And I'm thinking in my mind, like, oh, my God. Really? Like, is this really where we're going with this right now? Like, we. We spent four years building this platform. Now it's exploding. We have to capitalize on that. Or it was for nothing. But at the same time, I get it, man. I understand it. And our wives see us completely different.
- [06:59]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah.
- [06:59]
Shawn French
Your wife doesn't see you as a football player, dude.
- [07:01]
Benjamin St. Juice
No, she just sees me as her husband. And even though she was an athlete too, you know, ran track and field, understand the schedule, the sacrifice and everything at the same time, she's past that. That's in the past. You know, she's. She's a mother now. She's a wife. And quality time with family and all that stuff, that's what she cherished. And I guess the balance for me is that every time that I'm there, I'm going to be 100% present. That's what I try to work on. No phone going on walks. No phone, no call. Don't call me, don't text me. I'm not going to pick this up. Like, my 100% attention is going to be with my family when I'm there, because I know that later on, like you said, there's going to have to be some sacrifice, and I'm not going to be there.
- [07:38]
Shawn French
I love it because everybody talk. This is like the theme, right? Everybody talks about balance as an entrepreneur. And you're also an entrepreneur, too. We'll get to that. But they talk about balance, right? You can't balance everything in your life. It's literally impossible. And I always say it's about when you have that time is being fully present, and you hit that. Like, how are some of the how. And I'm. I'm going to learn from you right now because I have a hard time shutting off.
- [08:04]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah.
- [08:04]
Shawn French
Like, my dude, it is hard. How have you been able to be like, okay, I'm going to leave my phone over here when it's time to be with the. With the baby and the wife, and I'm going to go on a walk and not bring my phone. How do you. How do you deal with that.
- [08:17]
Benjamin St. Juice
I think most of this stuff and people always trying to find like a secret sauce, a secret, like, oh, what's the technique? Or whatever. They all come back to discipline. Honestly, you can be. You can wake up one day, let's say I tell myself, like, I'm gonna read or I'm gonna leave my phone at home when I go on walks, when I say that the first time, I might be extra motivated. For the first week, I might be like, oh, we're going on walks. The phone is not there. I'm fully present. Then I'm like, wait, like, I got this really important business call. I might have to, like, take it all. Wait, wait. Like, my agent said he was going to call me, so I might bring it on the wall. So the next thing you know about it, in two weeks, you have your phone in your pocket every walk that you know with your family. Yeah, but that discipline of good, bad, however you feel you leave that phone there, whatever, whatever goal that you said, it doesn't matter what mood you in or if you're motivated or not, that discipline will always kicks in and, you know, you'll put that phone away. So that's what I try to do. And honestly, like, I've tried multiple things. I talk with, like, multiple coaches and all that stuff about certain things, and they always revolve around the discipline part of it.
- [09:17]
Shawn French
You literally hit every facet of the show in, in one, one part of the conversation. But that's the thing, right? So even with, you know, your, your job, football, your, your marriage, time with your kid, the walks, everything, it's like everything in life is going to boil down to discipline and determination, right? How disciplined are you in those moments where you lack the emotional motivation side of it? And, and dude, I'm motivated. Maybe I tell people this and I don't. It may be more. I'm motivated maybe three to four days out of the month. I don't want to wake up at 4 o'clock in the morning every day and go, go to the gym. But I do it because I said I would. Right. I'm trying to build something here. And there's disciplines every single day. And I know if I do all these little things, I'm going to grow into this person that deserves this 100%, you know, like, that. That to me is everything.
- [10:04]
Benjamin St. Juice
And even if it doesn't work out, that's why I always tell people because, like, there was a lot of kids from back home or just in general to ask me, like, what can I Do what can I do more to make it to the league or whatever and all that stuff. And I tell them like this discipline of consistently working on your craft and doing all that stuff. And sometimes they ask me like, but what if I don't make it? What if it doesn't work out? So what? At least you did everything that you needed to do to make it where you at and if it doesn't work out, you have no regrets. Yeah, there's nothing worse than not doing it and then having to regret the rest of your life. Man, I should like, you know, I'm saying, did three episodes like I said I was gonna do, but I only did one a week. Your chance, your opportunity is gone now. Like you can't go back. And then you gotta live with that the rest of your life. Like.
- [10:46]
Shawn French
And then I think what, what people learn along the way, that's what I've learned and I'm sure you can attest to this, is like you build yourself into somebody that if that one thing doesn't work out, you're prepared for the next thing. Right. Because life's gonna throw things at you. You know, you're gonna eat sandwiches. Like it's gonna, there's gonna be times, man, you're like, what is going on? But as long as we stay consistent in these moments where people aren't seeing like when we're doing the work and you know, it's silent.
- [11:12]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah.
- [11:13]
Shawn French
Like that's what's going to build the next, the next version of you.
- [11:16]
Benjamin St. Juice
A thousand percent.
- [11:17]
Shawn French
So real quick, so you grew up in Canada, Montreal, Canada. And you know, I think. Did you play hockey too?
- [11:26]
Benjamin St. Juice
I did, I played hockey. That's first sport I ever played. Obviously I keep telling people that like Montreal or just Canada in general, like the winters are extremely long. I would say like we start it start getting really cold like mid October and you don't really see snow like fully melted until beginning of May. So it's very, very long. So you have to pick up some sort of winter sport or whatever. And then hockey obviously being the national sport. My dad cleared up the backyard one time, put the hose with some water and made an ice rink for us to just start skating. Because my, my dad is a multi sport athlete. You know, he taught me how to snowboard and ski, taught me how to play basket football, hockey and all that stuff. So picked up the skates at 4. I played until I was like really like 14. Talking about every local arena. I was there with my friends and all that stuff. And I was really talented, but I thought that I could be better at football. My dad was a football player. I asked him what's his favorite sport? He said it was football. So I was like, you know what? Let me be different, you know, like, it's, It's. It's not easy, but it's, It's. It's. It's catered for Canadian kids to go to the NHL. You know, like, guys do, like, remote school, get drafted at 18. Like, it's. That's the path, like, right. You take. I was like, I'm going to try football. I'm going to be. I'm going to be different. I'm going to be the kid they remember for making it to the NFL from Canada, from Montreal, playing football, not hockey, you know.
- [12:51]
Shawn French
So how many kids from. From Canada make it to the league?
- [12:55]
Benjamin St. Juice
So right now in the NFL, I would say, like, there's about like 8 to 10. Ish. Like, if we saw like, an emergence of, like, Canadians players, like 8 to 10, like, active, like maybe 7, like, on roster and everything. But from Quebec to wow. Is me and then Matthew Bergeron that got drafted to a second round two years ago by the Atlanta Falcons.
- [13:18]
Shawn French
It's wild.
- [13:18]
Benjamin St. Juice
So that's. That's it.
- [13:20]
Shawn French
That's wild.
- [13:21]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah.
- [13:22]
Shawn French
How does that feel for you? Because, I mean, yeah, it's great to be in the NFL.
- [13:25]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah.
- [13:25]
Shawn French
Like, you're setting the example for. For kids in your country of what is possible.
- [13:30]
Benjamin St. Juice
Mm. That's. Honestly, it's a big responsibility, but it's. It's a responsibility that I carry with a lot of pride and honor just because I saw how hard it was growing up, the lack of resources that we had, like, in terms of football, on the educational aspect of it, on recruiting, there was no recruiting and all that stuff. And I saw how much talent we had. We just didn't have the exposure. So I. I told myself, like, if I ever make it to the big leagues, then I have to give back to my community. I have to give back to those kids because I know that we have the talent. I know there's going to be more. And I'm. We're starting to see it, start to see more Canadians. Guys are proud. Coaches are starting to go recruit in Canada. Like, they believe it. Before that, it was like, at my era, when I was coming out, it was like, I send my highlight tape or I send my stuff to a coach. He's like, oh, yeah, that's sweet. But you playing Canada, like, I'm saying, like, we don't know your we don't know your, your. What's it called, the level of competition. You gotta, you gotta come here to the U.S. you gotta prove yourself.
- [14:20]
Shawn French
Yeah.
- [14:21]
Benjamin St. Juice
And play against the four or five stars, and we want to see if you're good. And that's what. That was my era. Now they're starting to be like, okay, we saw some Canadians, you know, they can play and all that stuff. We'll recruit that area.
- [14:30]
Shawn French
That's interesting. You know, you. That's funny. But, like, I get it. Right? Like, I totally understand. You said something that. I thought it was very interesting. You told yourself, you made a promise of yourself that when you made it to the league, you would give back. Now you run the biggest American football clinic in Canada, and it's very rarely talked about here in the States. Like, can you walk the audience through how you're giving back to the youth and what it means to you in the community?
- [14:53]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah, like I said, like, I never forgot about that, that, that, that dream that I had as a kid. So then when I got drafted, nothing was really in place. I had. My foundation wasn't in place, my brand wasn't in place. But I had the vision that I want to give back. So I went on Instagram, I posted a story, I said, hey, I'm gonna be at this field at this time. If there's any kid that want to pull up and, you know, learn some techniques or play football, whatever, I'll be there, Post it. Show up. 150 kids show up, which is like an Instagram story and everything. So we had a great time and the kids loved it. And that kind of sparked the idea. I was like, if 150 kids can show up off an Instagram story at a park for two hours at a football field, what can we do? If we set up a team, a foundation, and resources, time and all that stuff? So that's what we did. We created the original foundation, which is tied in also with my brand, but we also do all the football camps, nonprofit football camps. First year, we hosted 500 kids show up to my whole high school. Second year, 2022, 623 shows up. 2023. Third year, 550 again. And then we're going on four years of 500 plus kids that show up. And honestly, it's, it's, it's just, it's awesome because we have the football component on the field where I bring all NFL, nca, CFL players to teach the kids and have fun and all that stuff. But we also have the educational aspect of it. Like I said earlier growing up, we lack resources on education. Kids don't understand if they should take the ACT or the sat. Like in Canada, it's very different. Like the, like the system is very different. They don't understand if they need to take the SAT and sat, what score they need to have, what classes they need to take, how, how to get recruited by colleges and all that stuff. So we bring a whole bunch of specialists and you know, people that can teach them that for the first portion of the camp. So the first couple hours is all workshops on mental health, on how to take care of your nutrition, how to market yourself once you make it and what on the academic side of it, academic side of things, what you need to do to receive a scholarship. So if you're a parent and you drop your kid off at my camp, you know, your kid is not only coming out, coming off the field with new technique on how to be a better football player, but also he's going, he's coming out of there smarter, knowing what he needs to do and all that stuff. Because I picked every single thing that I didn't have as a kid that I had to learn from trial and error. And I said now these kids and they're not going to have to go through what I went through. I'm going to give them everything that I learned.
- [17:24]
Shawn French
You know, this is amazing because like how long is the camp? Let me ask you that question, is how long is it? One day.
- [17:29]
Benjamin St. Juice
It's a full day. So kids show up at like 8am for registration, maybe 7:30 registration and we don't leave the field until 8pm after we're done with the 7 on 7 tournament.
- [17:38]
Shawn French
It's amazing. Like the fact that they're going there and getting a great football education from CFL players, collegiate players and then you an NFL player, but diving into the academic side of it and the things that are going to make them whole way past the sport.
- [17:53]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah.
- [17:53]
Shawn French
Because I think where people get lost and I think I. And I know this is true, okay. Because I've seen it and it's especially crazy in baseball. Parents get freaking lost, bro. They get lost in their kids. Like it needs to be this way. They need to be playing a thousand games a year. My kids need to be seen, they need to be recruited, but they're not teaching the kids the other stuff. Right. And in the, and the fact that your foundation is focusing on the fundamentals of being an amazing human being, Education, nutrition, all that kind of stuff. Like, dude, that's going to Help them outside of the sport.
- [18:26]
Benjamin St. Juice
100%. Yeah, that's, that's, that's the goal, honestly. Because I know, like, the hard truth is. And the hard truth is that not. Not everyone is going to make it to, like, the NFL. But if you can get out of. If you can get something out productive of my camp, of my foundation that you can use in the business aspect of it or whatever, you still want to work in sport. Cool. You can. We teach you the business stuff. We can teach you all the other stuff. To be an agent, to be like a marketing agent, to have your own, like, all that. You can still be involved in sport without being an athlete. Because it will be like, it will be a lie for me to tell you that everyone will make it to the league, but you can still have an impact and in whatever aspect you. A work field you want.
- [19:05]
Shawn French
It's fascinating, dude. Yeah, it's fascinating, like, because as a parent and then also as a coach, as I coach baseball for many years, like, when you do a camp, you want those parents to see their kids light up when they come out of that camp.
- [19:17]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah.
- [19:18]
Shawn French
Right. Like, happy and fulfilled and, and armed with knowledge. And a lot of times it's just focused on the technical aspects of the sport.
- [19:26]
Unknown
Yeah.
- [19:27]
Shawn French
You know, which is only. It's only a fraction of exactly of who they. It's not even who they are. It's what they do. Being a football player is not who you are. It's something that you do. Right. You know, just like this is something I do. This is my. This is my profession. This is my job.
- [19:42]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah.
- [19:42]
Shawn French
It's not who I am.
- [19:44]
Benjamin St. Juice
No.
- [19:44]
Shawn French
It's part of what makes me who I am.
- [19:46]
Benjamin St. Juice
I think a lot of people get lost in that.
- [19:47]
Shawn French
Come on, man. I have. Have you ever had moments where you got lost in that?
- [19:51]
Benjamin St. Juice
I try not to because it gets harped on so much. Yeah. I really forced myself, but I feel like I'm a. I might go through that towards the end of my career. Like, I'm still in the middle of it, you know, but towards the end of it, when it's slowly going to be done and I'm slowly going to realize, like, yo, this might be over with. Like, you know, maybe I can't run as fast as I can. Like, my body is crumbling on all that stuff. Like, I might have to find something else. And that's where NFL players, professional athletes, they're like, damn, I'm scared of shaking someone and saying, like, hey, I'm such and such from this team. No, you're not such and such from this team no more. You're just Benjamin.
- [20:29]
Shawn French
That identity shift, right?
- [20:30]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah.
- [20:31]
Shawn French
You know, I used to call it the identity crisis. I did a TED Talk on it, right, about my shift from being a collegiate baseball player at lsu, which is pretty much a professional baseball player, right?
- [20:40]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah.
- [20:41]
Shawn French
You get a lot of exposure there. And then, you know, the last house recorded, you're in, you know, 2003, you're in the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. Like, wait a second, what now? Like, who am I? I went on this journey of just burning bridges, hurting people, because I was this massive void inside of me, right. I was just in so much pain. But the things that I've noticed lately is, you know, you. You. You touched on mental health, right? For. For those kids, building the brand while you're in the actual peak part of your career. So that way, you do have that pivot thereafter. I think it's so important, man.
- [21:17]
Benjamin St. Juice
It is. It is like that they. People in general, like our support system and all that stuff, like, they trying to teach us that, like our PA mentors, ex alumni, NFL players that come and they trying to say, sometimes people, you know, the information comes in. One here leaves the other. I try to really take notes on that and really understand that, like, right now is the best time to do most of that stuff. Obviously, focus 100% on your craft, being the best version of yourself on the field. But outside of that, like, trying to build a little bit because you. You're the hottest thing right now. You know what I'm saying? Like, when you're done playing football. Yeah. People might remember you a little bit, but not as much as, like, right now. So capitalize right now. Strike while the iron's hot. You know, I'm saying you got something that's. That's. That's really good. Giving back to the community with your foundation. Cool. Put it for. Put it forward. You know what I'm saying? Show people you got a brand. Show people and all that stuff. But, yeah, no, I don't blame. I don't blame each other. Like, I said with your example, with the. After leaving lsu, like, that's. That's all we. That's all we did all our life. That's all we know, you know, football and all that stuff. And we can say all we want, like, oh, I'll transition to this and all that stuff, but there will be an identity shift when we're done hard, man, because we're behind just in. In life.
- [22:28]
Shawn French
Like, that's it.
- [22:29]
Benjamin St. Juice
Behind, like dude, the workforce and, you know, working a regular job or being in a work environment where the people. It's so different, and vice versa. People don't understand the locker room. They don't? No. You know?
- [22:41]
Shawn French
No, they don't. The locker room's the best, right? Locker room's the best. You learn a lot about life right in those trenches of football or your. Or your sport, baseball, whatever the sport is. But, dude, to your point, it's like you. You. When. When you're done, right? When I was done, it was like when I sent my resume. 2003 College World Series, SEC champion. You don't have experience.
- [23:01]
Benjamin St. Juice
It's like, yeah, you don't.
- [23:02]
Shawn French
Like, bro, like, what did you want me to do? I couldn't work because it was illegal. I got suspended for working a baseball camp for my head baseball coach. Then I. Dude, I got suspended because I made 50 bucks.
- [23:14]
Benjamin St. Juice
It's crazy.
- [23:15]
Shawn French
It's crazy. Ben.
- [23:17]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah.
- [23:18]
Shawn French
You have no experience.
- [23:19]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah.
- [23:19]
Shawn French
Like, wait a second. I just did all this. I just did all this, like, you know, what I was supposed to do. And now I'm not valued in society. And I think. And I know that's where a lot of mental health issues do happen for. For collegiate athletes. But. But even. But more so, like Major league baseball players or NBA players, NFL players, because they've. They've gone an extended amount of time outside of college, and that's what they did. And they were known on a national level or world. Global level, and now they're just someone who doesn't have experience.
- [23:49]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah. Some of you. Back to square zero. In a good way. In a bad way, though, because if you're able to utilize all the tools and the stuff that they teach you at the professional level or call it a collegiate level, even though you don't have the experience of work, you have values that other people don't.
- [24:06]
Shawn French
Yep.
- [24:07]
Benjamin St. Juice
Like the discipline that we have as athletes. Way different than the discipline of someone, like, outside of, like, the professional athlete world. I'm saying discipline of I wake up at 5am, I got 6am lift, I need to eat well. Like, people don't understand that you need to take care of yourself, like, and eat well. Your nutrition, take care of yourself, recovery, all that stuff. All the. All those small things are things that, you know, build Fortune 500 businesses. And they looking for that. So that's why, like, if you're able to shift from your athletic world to the workforce and they know that you have those qualities and those values people are looking for that they're looking for people that can lead. Most people don't know how to lead. You know, athletes can lead. So all those things, if you can utilize that and use that in your advantage like you're, you can make your transition can be very smooth.
- [24:56]
Shawn French
Absolutely. Well, athletes understand that, that leading is more of a collaboration than telling.
- [25:02]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah.
- [25:02]
Shawn French
And I think a lot of people that, that didn't play high level sports think leading is managing. Yeah.
- [25:08]
Benjamin St. Juice
It's like one person telling everyone what to do knows. It's like you say it's a collab effort. What do you think of this? Okay, cool. What do you think of this? Okay, cool. And then you come together and then you're like, okay. I think from, based on your perspective, what you just said, we should do this play, we should do this, whatever. I'll tell the coaches it's a whole thing. But he's managing, he's putting, putting the pieces together and all that stuff. It's not just him saying, hey, we're gonna run the ball on, on third down and then we're going to go now. Okay. I asked the oc that's what you think. I asked the dc I asked some, the quarterback and the running back. They think this play, it's a, he's putting the pieces together. And that's what you call a leader, in my opinion.
- [25:43]
Shawn French
1,000%. 1,000%. Because it's like you may consult with everybody, but at the end of the day you might do what you're going to do. But at least everybody feels heard, right?
- [25:50]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah.
- [25:50]
Shawn French
You know, everybody feels heard and everybody collaborated in that final decision. It is what it is, right? The big thing, man, is why I think athletes are so, so successful beyond sport is because we run the play. Just like you said. 5am Wake up, 6am Lift fuel my body, do my recovery. It's like I look at my, my schedule every day I go, okay, so I know I'm up at 4. Yeah, I, I take my, whatever I'm gonna, I have my, my coffee. I'm in the gym by 4:30. From 4:30am to 4:50am I'm walking on an incline from 4:50 to 5:45. I am lifting when I get home, 6:15 shake. I have everything boiled down. And my wife doesn't know this because she thinks I'm unorganized. I am pretty disorganized with some things I'm telling you right now. Like I'm a mess in a lot of areas. But I'll know from the time I wake up in the morning, every Single timestamp of what I'm doing. And then I know at 6:40ish, I'm upstairs to help kids get ready for school. I've already made their breakfast, did their lunches after I took care of me. But now, dude, I've got all this done and I'm going to help get them get out the door and then my day starts.
- [26:59]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah, that's, that's everything. Honestly, that's the biggest thing that like, goes back to what we said in the beginning, the discipline of it. Like, yeah, people can do it for a short period of time, but like, athletes, I, I, I believe athletes, like master that throughout, you know, college to the pro levels and all that stuff. Because every little. It's a game of inches. I mean, it's cliche, but it's a game of inches, a game of details. And all those things, they, they matter. And.
- [27:24]
Shawn French
Yeah, well, as an athlete, we're taught to suck it up, right? And like, and athletes go through a massive amount of adversity. I think now is a good kind of segue into, okay, you know, Canada to Michigan, played for Harbaugh, play your freshman year. A lot of snaps. A lot of snaps, right?
- [27:40]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah.
- [27:41]
Shawn French
And then there's some adversity there, right? Walk everybody through your freshman year, then like a little bit of, you know, adversity. And then transferring to Minnesota, then ultimately third round pick. Man, what was that journey like?
- [27:52]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah, it was, it was crazy. At that time, I was, I was coming out of Canada as the number one player in my, my class. You know, a lot of hyped, a lot of, you know, eyeballs and spotlights. I mean, all that stuff from having like a scholarship from a Power 5 school. And the crazy part is how also how I got this scholars. Like, I remember in 2015.
- [28:20]
Shawn French
I kept.
- [28:21]
Benjamin St. Juice
Watching these highlights of like college players, like, you know, the Tyrone, Matthew, the Patrick Peterson, all those guys and all that stuff.
- [28:25]
Shawn French
Peterson was a beast.
- [28:26]
Benjamin St. Juice
LSU legends, you know what I'm saying? They had the DBU and everything. And then my mom walked in and was like, you keep watching all these highlights, but you're not going to camps. Like, you're not registering for camps. You're not going out there and like, that could be you. Like, wow. But I was young. I was young. I didn't have that much like self esteem yet. I didn't have the confidence that I have now and all that stuff. But I was like, you think I can do it? It's like, okay, what do you, like I'm saying, like, what Are you losing by not doing anything? What are you losing by, by, by going, we can bring you to the camp or whatever. Like, just, just put up half of it. How much is the campus? I think like 500. I put up 250 from my, my job that I worked during the summer. My parents put the other 250. We drove from Montreal down to Ann Arbor. That was about like 10 hours. My parents were like, cool, we'll go, we'll go visit and, you know, check out the state of Michigan. You go to this camp. Like, they had no intentions, they had no expectation. As I had no expectation. Expectation too. I was just like, let me test my talents against these, these American players. You know, I went. First day, went well. Second day I'm like, oh, like, you know, I can ball with these guys like this cool, whatever. Third day, I get pulled to the side. Harbaugh's like, hey, I want you to stay, you know, and, and compete against a, a group of guys and a group of receivers that were like high rated, 4 or 5 stars guys and all that stuff. He, it goes back to. He's trying to see, like, you know, can the Canadian really ball? You know, can he really play? I went out there, did my thing, and then he's like, come to my office. He's like, look, kid, like, you, you've been, you've been balling all these, these past, past couple days and want to offer you a full scholarship to come here and play.
- [30:01]
Shawn French
Get the out of here.
- [30:02]
Benjamin St. Juice
So I'm like, but I had no reactions because going back to. I had no expectation. And also, there's also a language barrier. I'm from Montreal, Canada. I grew up speaking French. I don't speak English very well at that time. Now my, obviously my English is. So you're doing a great job. I'm, I'm 17. I just turned 17. Everything, all the educational, all my education is in French. My household, speaking, speaking French. I understand football terms, but I don't understand English like that. I don't understand what scholarships, what college football and all that stuff. All I know is from the highlights that I saw. So he's like, I'm offering you a scholarship. I'm like, what's that? Okay? He's like, I mean, he's like, kid, you're not happy or whatever, Excited. I'm like, can somebody, like, help me? Whatever. That's when this translator that do all that, translate all the transcripts and that works with the ncaa. Explain me. Okay. He's offering a full year, full four Year scholarship. You'll be here freshman to senior year. If you decide to leave your junior year to go in fl, we'll do this. I'm like, oh. So it took me a few. It took me like a few weeks to realize like, okay, this is big. This is a Powerfire school. This is Michigan. This is like, horrible offering a scholarship. So I was like, damn. I was like, okay. But then the ball started rolling, like, you know, I just needed that little spark, you know, thanks to my parents that, you know, pushed me out there to go and prove myself, the ball started rolling. You know, I got an interest from, like, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech, Rutgers and all that stuff and ended up going to Michigan to get a good balance, you know, education, great educational school and great football. Yeah, everything was nice when their freshman year played. Played a little bit on defense, played a lot on special team learning. I'm expecting more playing time. My sophomore year in the spring ball, I pulled my hamstring. Oh, okay. Like, this is my first injury. Never got hurt before, you know, just.
- [31:51]
Shawn French
Saying, hamstring, just a hammy.
- [31:52]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah, hammy. Come back for spring ball. Pull the other one. I'm like, oh, okay, I'll go back. Okay, we'll take care of both. Pull again. By training camp of 2018, I. I pulled my hamstrings six times.
- [32:05]
Shawn French
Damn.
- [32:06]
Benjamin St. Juice
So I was like, man, I must be doing something wrong. But at this time, I don't have that much knowledge on how to take care of my body rehab and all that stuff. All I know is just play football. I know how to show up to practice and just go ball. And I wasn't ready. I wasn't ready for the beginning of season. So they came up to me, the training staff came up to me and they're like, go ahead and just sign these papers that will give you more time to go see some outside help and maybe recover faster. Because obviously they were like, hey, it's not working here. Maybe you want to see something like, yeah, I'll go check out some. Some outsides, you know, some outside help, you know, second opinion doctors and all that stuff. Sign a paper, go out, meet these doctors, train for like two months, like, strain the hamstring and everything. Come back. I'm like, am I good for the 2019? Because I missed the 2018 season. That's. Am I good for the 2019 season? Yeah, yeah, we'll get you back on the spring ball and whatever I go through passive physical and all that stuff, I'm still not back on the roster. I'M like, yo, what's going on? All that stuff. They tell my parents to come down to Ann Arbor and they tell me, yeah, like, we just don't feel comfortable, just based on your injuries, to bring it back on the roster. So, yeah, you. You can't play here no more. I'm like, what you mean I can't play here no more? He's like, yes. And. And that was my first taste of the business side of things, even at a collegiate level, is the business.
- [33:31]
Shawn French
Oh, hell yeah, dude.
- [33:32]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah, you're good, Saint Juice. But you were hurt for this period of time. We had to replace you. So basically, when I signed this paper, my scholarship went to somebody else, but they didn't tell me. I'm saying that's kind of like what happened. But I'm a kid. I'm like, 19, 18, 19 at the.
- [33:49]
Shawn French
Time, you know, what you're signing.
- [33:50]
Benjamin St. Juice
I don't know. Like, my parents are not down having you, like, like, mentors to help me and all that stuff. So that put me in a super dark place because I was like, wait, that's my dream. Like, that's what I work so hard, and now, like, would I have to go back home? Like, nah. I feel ashamed people are going to say that back home, that maybe I quit or I wasn't made for this. All, like, all the people that said, yeah, we knew he wasn't cut for this. Come on. Nobody makes it out of Canada, goes to, like, Michigan, goes to NFL. Like, we knew he wasn't going to make it. So I was like, it's very, very dark time, honestly. And what got me out of that is just there was no other option for me. Like, that's what I worked so hard for. So I was like, there's no way I'm going back. So that's. That's what I put in my. In my mind. Like, I just put one thought in my mind. I'm not going back home. Yeah. I'm not quitting this football stuff. I don't care what it is. I knew I could get my degree. I make sure I got my degree. I told my mom I was going to get a degree. I got a. I got my bachelor's degree from Michigan. And I talk with a few people, some resources, and they told me, like, not because Michigan disqualify you medically, that other teams can't pick you up. So I'm like, oh, other teams can pick me up. Cool. And that was before the transfer portal thing and all that stuff. So I made sure I Graduated and I, I graduated as a grad transfer and that's when Minnesota took a chance on me. And they were like, yeah, yeah, we'll clear you. They cleared me and went out there and played. And you know that that was 2019. That was my best football season with them. But that, that period of time is, is. I, I didn't. It was very, very dark. I was down bad mentally, physically. But I just told myself, like, I'm not quitting.
- [35:28]
Shawn French
The thing that I love about the story is not that you ended up getting to Minnesota, having a good year in 2019, and got drafted as a third rounder. My favorite part of the story is how you dealt with that heartbreak. How you dealt with the like, oh.
- [35:44]
Benjamin St. Juice
It was, it was bad. It was.
- [35:46]
Shawn French
You could have given up, dude.
- [35:47]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah, no, it's bad. It was like, I could use the cafeteria and I use a cafeteria like before all the guys use it because they weren't kind of wanting me to exclude myself. I could work out in the morning, but not like while the other guy and those were my friends. Like, I went to war with them. Like, I went on games and all that stuff. Like we won lost game and all that stuff. And they were like, nah, like since you're not on the roster, you can't do this. And then after a short period of time, I lost access to like, the facility to use it when I went to games on Saturdays at the Big House. Like, I had to watch it from the stands. I couldn't be on the sideline. Like all small things that can play that, that can play like in your head, like as a young kid. But going back, I just told myself, like, nobody's going to know me as a quitter. I'm not quitting or anything. I'm not going back home, not quitting. I'm keep doing this football thing. Something is going to pop up. An opportunity is going to pop up.
- [36:35]
Shawn French
Dude. I want the audience to really key in on that because at that time you're what, 17 years old? 18 years.
- [36:41]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah, 17. Got my, got the offer. Eight, 18 enrolled at Michigan and then 19. That happened.
- [36:47]
Shawn French
19, that happened at 19 years old. Right? That's what I want them to digest because there's adults right now sitting in their. Drowning in it, right? And, and I've been there before and I'm not for you watching. I'm pointing at you and you listening. I want, I want you to take this into your ear holes. I'm not calling you out, but what I'm saying is where you're at right now is not necessarily need to be where you're going to end up. And we all have a choice, right? We have a choice every day to choose either forge forward and. And. And go after our dream or sit in the. And ruin our life.
- [37:19]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah. Like, isn't there a saying that's like, if you, like, you halfway through hell, like, why are you staying there? Yeah, you're halfway, like, why are you gonna stay there?
- [37:27]
Shawn French
Yeah.
- [37:27]
Benjamin St. Juice
So, yeah, that's. That's literally why I told myself, like, you know, I'm in the gutter right now. I just got told that my dream of playing here at football is done.
- [37:36]
Shawn French
Yeah.
- [37:36]
Benjamin St. Juice
In the coldest way possible. It's cold. I just told myself, like, people back home not going to know me as a quitter. Keep going. Something going to pop up.
- [37:45]
Shawn French
Had a great year in 2019. Third rounder.
- [37:47]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yes, sir.
- [37:48]
Shawn French
So that moment, you know, you get the call from.
- [37:53]
Benjamin St. Juice
From coach Ron Rivera.
- [37:55]
Shawn French
Yeah, Ron Rivera. That man went through some shit, dude. Yeah, he's a beast, man. But, you know, you get that call. What was it like in that moment? Looking at your mom and your dad and celebrating.
- [38:09]
Benjamin St. Juice
Was. I'm still trying to put words to it because, like, it happened so fast. Like, I remember seeing, like, I remember Culture Vera calling me, telling me, like, we're gonna draft you in this pick. And see my name go through the board on TV and getting announced and all that stuff. And the best way to explain it was, like, when I. When I saw that, it was like a whole retrospect, a whole movie in my head went back of all the good, the bad, the injuries, the highs of going to Michigan, the lows of getting, like. You know what I'm saying? Disqualified. The highs of. At Minnesota of having a great season, the lows of the 2020 covet season, my draft stock tanking. Yeah. And then the highs of finally being drafted, like, top 100, like, that's what the whole thing went through. Like, everything from the kid that started playing hockey that had no idea they would make it to the NFL, that probably wrote on this little car, that's cool. Like, what I want to do in life. Oh, playing the NFL. And they were like, yeah, funny. Okay, here we are. Yeah. Yeah, that's. That was the whole. Everything that was going through my head.
- [39:08]
Shawn French
Dude, that's a. That's an amazing moment, right? It was because I. I've. I've had that moment on the opposite end. You know, I sat there in the year 1999. So that was the 1999 season. So the year 2000, that's the year that LSU beat Stanford in the College World Series. And I had, you know, professional organizations, you know, tagging me as their number one catching prospect. That's catcher. And my coach is telling me like, hey, you can go anywhere you want. College wise. I'm like, well, where are the offers? You know? And then it was like, well, you're probably gonna go day one in the draft, I fell off the board completely. I, dude, Ben, I'm not joking. This was back when AOL had. It was dial up Internet. That's how old I am. He's like, dang, you old, bro. Sitting there in my parents guest room, like literally on the OL network watching the draft for three days and every single time a new pick would come up. I relived the pain of not getting chosen.
- [40:10]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah.
- [40:10]
Shawn French
And then I noticed, and this is where I, this is where I noticed I was different. I called my catching coach, Matt Brown. I, I lost touch with Matt Brown. I don't talk to him anymore. I don't know where he's at. Like hell if he listens to this. Please reach out because I would love to talk to this guy because he changed everything for me. He always believed in me, right? He always believed in me. Said, I can go anywhere. I was one of the best defensive catchers he's worked with. Excuse me. I called him, said, hey, Brownie. I was like, I'm run something by you here. You think I could play at lsu? He goes, no doubt. So okay, because why do you ask? I was like, well, the draft's over. I have no place to play, my career's over. He's like, this should not happen, Sean. We failed you somewhere. You should have a college scholarship signed right now. I go, well, I turned some down, right? I, I go, I just noticed that both their catchers got drafted. I said, can you. Do you have a. He's like, I got a guy. I got a guy there on the inside. I'll call him. Called him. Two days later they called me and I signed pretty much for books and, you know, a lollipop because I had no leverage, right?
- [41:19]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah.
- [41:20]
Shawn French
But the point is, is like, that's when I realized, like, I'm always going to look for the solution.
- [41:24]
Benjamin St. Juice
Always.
- [41:25]
Shawn French
You know, I may be hurt, I may be depressed at that moment. I may have, I may have taken a beating emotionally those three days, but I'm not going to let it define me, you know, not going to let that find me. That was a hard time though, dude.
- [41:38]
Benjamin St. Juice
Now it is. And how old were you when. I haven't.
- [41:40]
Shawn French
So I had to because I had already gone through junior college. Right?
- [41:43]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah.
- [41:44]
Shawn French
So I had a blood clot my sophomore year. So that goes my three years. I was like 21, dude. So I'm. I'm a late October birthday, right?
- [41:52]
Benjamin St. Juice
It's young, young twenties taking like. Like I said, like this is what we did a whole life and you look at a screen and you never see your name pop up. Like that could be the end for a lot of people.
- [42:04]
Shawn French
For a lot of people. Bro and bro in that end, dude. After that 20, after 19, the 1990s, eight season. My first year in college, I got in great shape. I got lean. You know, I wasn't fat anymore. And then, you know, I ended up getting a blood clot. A blood clot. And all the offers are gone off the table. And then I, then I, then I get back. So I lose a whole year. Right. And then I get my. Then I get another year. So I hit 426. I crushed it. And then no draft and then LSU for nothing. And then when I got there I got hurt. I had surgery. So I've been constantly at this point fighting to stay above water. And I just think that those moments are what makes us in pressure filled situations that I go through now.
- [42:54]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah.
- [42:54]
Shawn French
It's like I didn't come off of it then. Why the would I come off of it now?
- [42:57]
Benjamin St. Juice
100. It makes you tougher. It creates these coping mechanism that you can have these. All these things that your brain relies on to. If you don't go through nothing like people that don't go through nothing in life, like it doesn't matter if you're athlete or not. But people that don't go through in life, nothing in life, like once they hit a big barrier, like once they hit a big challenge, they have no strategy for it. Like you have to go through stuff in life and maneuver through it and find solution. That what makes you better like that? What makes you more resilient? Stuff like.
- [43:26]
Shawn French
I think it's the buy in, bro.
- [43:28]
Benjamin St. Juice
The buy in.
- [43:29]
Shawn French
The buy in that's the ante.
- [43:30]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah.
- [43:31]
Shawn French
You. You buy in that. I mean that, that adversity, that all that, that's your buying. Come on man. It's makes you. Makes an easier life in the end. Right. If you go through everything, you come up out of it. Then you can navigate things. As we start landing the plane of the show, I don't want to, you know, not discuss. Congratulations on amazing season.
- [43:51]
Benjamin St. Juice
Amazing. Amazing I mean, I know it in.
- [43:53]
Shawn French
The way you wanted it to.
- [43:54]
Benjamin St. Juice
So, yeah, I say it's, it's bittersweet because it's like you're, you're, you're. We're one game away from four quarters, as you said, from going to the Super Bowl. But beautiful message by coach Quinn in the locker room. A very emotional. From us losing. Obviously, people were sad, but he was like, you know, don't let this moment, this game, this, this loss, like, overshadow like what we accomplished in this season. Like 31 years. This franchise never been like, that was the last time that it had been an NFC championship. 14 wins from last year. Four wins. Yeah. You know, a generational talent at quarterback that's going to take care of, of this franchise city for, for the years to come. Moment of the year. Hail Mary against the Chicago Bears.
- [44:44]
Shawn French
That was wild, bro.
- [44:45]
Benjamin St. Juice
You know what I'm saying? Like, that wild. That's. Those moments are engraved and hit like we're stamped in history. So it was like, don't let what just happened overshadow everything that we've done.
- [44:55]
Shawn French
And dude, it's just the beginning for your organization.
- [44:58]
Benjamin St. Juice
That's what I'm saying.
- [44:59]
Shawn French
It just, that was just. This is part of it.
- [45:01]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah.
- [45:02]
Shawn French
You had to, you had to fall short a little bit, right? The next year.
- [45:06]
Benjamin St. Juice
Now you know the standard. Now you know what it takes. Now you know what you. What you might need to sacrifice a little bit more. And for me personally, like, I didn't. I didn't get the chance to play in the playoff. My first three years, my fourth year, I get to. I get so close to Super Bowl. So now I know what I'm chasing. Now I know what it takes. I know what I need to. To. To fix. I know. I know what I need to. To do better because collectively we had a great year. But for me, like, if I get to like, expand on it, like, please, I'm in a. I'm in a process of, like, I got. I was up three years starter, playing well and all that stuff. Highs and high lows. But like, this year there was a. There was a lot of expectation for me. I was supposed to be, you know, the best corner, best version of myself. I was supposed to sign, like, you know, I'm saying, be on pace to sign like this huge contract and all that stuff. And that can still happen, but based on some inconsistent plane that I had some stuff that I fall short. I'm in a position where now, like, I had to do a lot of introspect and like, reflect on what I can do better. You know what I'm saying?
- [46:10]
Shawn French
That's amazing.
- [46:11]
Benjamin St. Juice
Was I ready for this next step? Yeah, maybe, maybe not. But this is something that I've been working on, like this whole off season, not just physically, but also mentally. Like, you know, what prevented me from having the season that I said that I wanted to have? Because not taking away from anything from the team, we had a great season. But personally, myself, my coaches, people around me were expecting a little bit more and I fell short sometime off that, and I want to fix that. And that's that I think the mindset that, you know, all great competitive have.
- [46:40]
Shawn French
You know, that's commendable.
- [46:42]
Benjamin St. Juice
So that, that.
- [46:43]
Shawn French
But that's what makes you you, right?
- [46:44]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah.
- [46:45]
Shawn French
Like you're allowed to do that. I think that's something that every athlete, every entrepreneur, every mom, every dad, doesn't matter. Go through. What could you have done better?
- [46:53]
Benjamin St. Juice
Always, always looking for the small little detail that could take you to be the best version of yourself. You know, that little 1%.
- [47:02]
Shawn French
I love it, man. I love it. That's a great perspective. And no doubt you guys will be back. You'll be on top of your game next year because now you're getting to that next version of Ben, right? To where you get, you get the opportunity to really self evaluate and just like, okay, what was it? And when you're, when you're least expecting it, you'll find out. Yeah, that was it. And then, you know, you attack that moment right there in that specific thing. And then next year, you're having the year that you want to have in the next year, same thing. And then you look back eight years later, like, damn, I did it.
- [47:32]
Benjamin St. Juice
Hey, hey.
- [47:33]
Shawn French
That's a 12 year career, man. The back half the eight years, man. I was a dude.
- [47:37]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah, I was the dude. That's the goal. That's what we aiming for.
- [47:41]
Shawn French
Hey, you're gonna get it. You're gonna get it, man. Before we land the plane, dude, like, you're looking fresh, bro. Talk to me about that, bro. The original. That's your clothing brand, right?
- [47:49]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah, that is the brand right there.
- [47:50]
Shawn French
Well, I know where you live, so I know where to come and get snacks and snack. Some gear, bro.
- [47:53]
Benjamin St. Juice
So I got some.
- [47:54]
Shawn French
Yeah, I'd love that, man.
- [47:55]
Benjamin St. Juice
Talk.
- [47:55]
Shawn French
Talk to, talk to me about the, the, the background of the brand and, and everything like, like that.
- [48:00]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah. So this started at the same time as the foundation in 2021, got drafted outside of football. I love fashion, I love style, streetwear and all that stuff. Always been a big guy to that. And I was like, you know, might as well invest in something that I created, you know, my own brand and all that stuff. So I partnered with my guy Remy. He's a graphic designer, creative, creative director from Paris. We got together and we created the original and what it stands for. The the is the English part of it. Original with the E at the end is how you spel French.
- [48:32]
Shawn French
Right.
- [48:32]
Benjamin St. Juice
To embrace and represent, you know, the French culture that we have, but also with where we at right now. So you mix the two together and our slogan is, you design yourself. So love it. Don't die a copy. Don't try to copy somebody else. Don't try to be somebody that you're not. You design yourself, so be yourself. You know what I'm saying? So.
- [48:50]
Shawn French
Right.
- [48:50]
Benjamin St. Juice
We make clothes that everyone can wear. You know, every. It doesn't matter who you are. This is going to be comfortable. It's made by athletes, but it's for everyone. So we have, we started very small with T shirts, hoodie and all that stuff that sold out. We transitioned to some tracksuit that sold out and now we have, you know, sweatpants, socks, bandanas, beanies, backpacks. Like we're moving. We got a new collection coming out soon. And yeah, that's what I do. Like on the side, on the side. Trying to build this small brand. I'm very hands on with everything. Like every package that every customer gets, you know, I carefully packaged it, put the, put the sticker and mess decision everything in it. Like I do it myself. At some point we'll have a bigger team that's going to help and everything.
- [49:35]
Shawn French
Yes, at some point you're not gonna be able to do that.
- [49:37]
Benjamin St. Juice
Yeah, but, but yeah, no, I, I enjoy just as much as I, I love football and that's, that's my passion. Like style and clothes. That's my passion too.
- [49:46]
Shawn French
Well, dude, I'm telling you, man, I can go on the grandma. Look at you and the wife. Always, always, always fit.
- [49:50]
Benjamin St. Juice
I appreciate it.
- [49:50]
Shawn French
Always look good. I'm like, damn, look at these guys. I appreciate these guys. No, great. I actually have a shirt for you. It's not here. I'll have to, um, I'll hit you up and I'll, I'll bring it to your house. I, you know, we, we now have merch too. And you know, I want to gift you one of our shirts. And you know, our, actually our link went live today too, so.
- [50:08]
Benjamin St. Juice
Appreciate it.
- [50:08]
Shawn French
Not doing it the way you're doing it, but it's just, you know, something else, man. I just. I love your mission, man. I love what you're about. And I learned a lot about you today, man. You're a deep ass, dude. Like, I respect the out of it.
- [50:21]
Benjamin St. Juice
Appreciate it. Likewise, man. Thank you. This. This was, this was very fun. This was not scripted. Very genuine, organic conversation about staying determined, staying disciplined, going through stuff and coming out the other end stronger. And hopefully by, you know, a couple months or even next year, then, you know, we get to have this conversation. I got a nice super bowl ring.
- [50:43]
Shawn French
Oh, we're gonna do it here. We're gonna do it again after you win the Super Bowl.
- [50:46]
Benjamin St. Juice
That's awesome. That's what we're looking for.
- [50:47]
Shawn French
We're gonna do it, man. Like, the cool thing about it for me was, is just the opportunity to get to know someone else a little bit deeper, right? Because we live five doors down from each other, man. It's always in passing now, our conversations and our. In our friendships going to be much different, right? Able to learn more about each other. And that's the fa. My favorite part about this platform is I want to have somebody on. We're able to go deep. And sometimes I mesh well with guests, sometimes we don't. Right? It is what it is. But like, like, bro, like, I value this and thank you for your time. And you know, dude, like, you're, you're. You literally scream determination and grit, and that's what I want the audience to get out of today.
- [51:20]
Benjamin St. Juice
Appreciate that, man.
- [51:21]
Shawn French
I appreciate you. So, guys, thank you so much. Go ahead and follow Ben. We're going to drop all his links here, even to his website for his clothing brand. If you feel compelled, go check it out. Buy something nice for yourself or your family. And until next time, guys, stay determined.
- [51:47]
Unknown
This one luck. I let the pain inspire me. I put my all in. Everything I'm doing up until it's done, I mean, for the entirety, I put in overtime. I'll be working. Just know I'm a go for mine. Cause I earned it. They watch and I know it's time I confirmed it the whole society determined, determined.