Front Burner - ENCORE: A conversation with Toronto Raptor Fred VanVleet

Episode Date: December 27, 2022

NBA superstar Fred VanVleet had a long road to becoming a beloved Toronto Raptor. He suffered a terrible loss growing up in Rockford, Ill., when his father was shot and killed when he was just five years old. As a young man coming out of Wichita State University, the point guard went undrafted in 2016 and had to fight his way onto the roster of the lone Canadian franchise in the league. But only a few years later, VanVleet was a key member of the team that won the 2019 NBA championship. Now, VanVleet is the undisputed leader of the Toronto Raptors. In this special episode of Front Burner, we meet VanVleet at the OVO Athletic Centre in Toronto to hear about his unexpected journey from underdog to all-star, and why he's partnered with the University of Toronto's undergraduate business program to launch a needs-based scholarship for Black and Indigenous students. This episode orginally aired on September 28th, 2022.

In the Dragon's Den, a simple pitch can lead to a life-changing connection. Watch new episodes of Dragon's Den free on CBC Gem, brought to you in part by National Angel Capital Organization, empowering Canada's entrepreneurs through angel investment and industry connections. This is a CBC Podcast. Hey, everybody. So the news has slowed down a little bit during the holidays. So we're going to use this as an opportunity to reshare a couple of great episodes we've made so far this year. Today, my feature conversation with Raptor star Fred VanVleet. I spoke to Fred back before the season started. And well, the Raptors have struggled a little bit since. Injuries have

piled up and so have some tough losses. But they'll bounce back. Don't you worry. Anyway, it's a great convo. I really, really enjoyed it. And I hope you like it. So I had a chance to get drafted, but they were talking about putting me in the D-League for two to three years, slaving away for $20,000 a year, $10,000 a year.

Turned the rules down. I bet on myself.20,000 a year, $10,000 a year. Turned those down. I bet on myself. I was disappointed, but I just want to thank everybody for coming out. Fred VanVleet, back before he was a Raptor, when he was just a kid from Wichita State University, calmly explaining to a room full of supporters at his own draft party that he hadn't been picked. It's that kind of grit and poise that's become Fred's calling card in his career as a professional

basketball player. It's really this sport story for the ages. An undrafted point guard from Rockford, Illinois, who suffered a terrible loss as a child, is passed on by 30 teams. Not once, but twice. Only to be picked up by the lone Canadian franchise in the NBA. Three years later, he's won the league championship. in the NBA. Three years later, he's won the league championship. We the North are now we the champions, the Raptors, the 2019 NBA champs. And now Fred is the undisputed leader of the Toronto Raptors, and he's coming off a pretty blockbuster season looking forward to the next. And today, he's talking to us about his unexpected journey from underdog to all-star.

If you want to just back up a tiny bit. And then go straight here. Yeah. Yeah. And then the door is just right here. Right there on the corner. Where it says OVO Athletic Center. Amazing. Thank you so much.

Thank you very much. Thank you. You too. Bye-bye. All right. So we are at the OVO Athletic Center, which is the Raptors' private training facility. It is this really beautiful new building in the west end of Toronto, right by the water. And I don't know if you guys can hear, but a bunch of the guys are practicing on the court just down the hall. It's pretty cool. I feel super short.

And we're here to meet with Fred Van Vliet. And the reason that we're here is because Fred has just launched this scholarship with the University of Toronto for black and indigenous students. And we're going to talk about that with him and a bunch of other stuff. So let's go find Fred. Hey. How are you doing? Fred, it's so nice to meet you. Nice to meet you.

Thanks so much for doing this. Oh, thanks for coming. Appreciate it. Can't wait. So you are an NBA champion, an all-star, but it's so crazy to think that it really wasn't that long ago. In 2016, you are this undrafted player out of Wichita State. Are you sick of people reminding you about that?

No, I'm not sick of it. I think, you know, however people choose to tell the story is up to them. It's definitely something that I carry with me and all of those experiences kind of made up who I am today. So I don't run from it, but I feel like I'm much more than that. Can you take me back to that moment in 2016 when you're at that party with your friends and your family and you're explaining to them why you're going to bet on yourself? It was a good test. It was a good test at a young age. I've been pretty mature like ahead of my years, you know, for a long time, even since I was a teenager. But that being in that moment and having to speak in public and, you know, a night that we all thought we would be celebrating my name being called, turning into that pivotal moment, I wasn't necessarily expecting that.

But I just got up there and spoke from the heart and really just tried to let people know how I was feeling and what I was thinking at the time. Luckily, there was a camera there, so people got to see that years later. But it was just an experience that I had to go through and something that, you know, was a big point of the story, a big chapter and a time for me to really grab, you know, my life by the horns and do what I always knew I wanted to do. When you talk about betting on yourself, like what what does that mean to you? What does that mean to you? For me, it just means that, you know, it's really just like self-belief, self-empowerment and being your own biggest fan. And it was out of necessity, obviously, you know, I didn't get picked, so I had no choice but to be my own biggest fan, but just not getting discouraged and having faith, faith in yourself, faith in the hard work that you put in and, you know, faith in God, whatever you believe in. But for me, it was just more so like I knew what I wanted. I knew

what I set my goals to be. And I wasn't going to let that moment, you know know deter me from that. What's your message to the guys who are trying to you know crack a new role in the NBA or even just crack the team for the first time? It's only one word Fred Van Fleet and you can you can do it rise from championship to all-star to leader to community leader off the court. While he was learning the NBA and learning to compensate for maybe some size or quickness, you know, things, he was able to hold on, get a roster spot, then finally work himself into a rotation and now be a high-level starter because he is tough and he is smart and he knows who he is. When you signed with the Raptors in 2016, I think there were three other point guards at the time, right, including Kyle Lowry.

What did that feel like? Did you feel pressure at that time? Not really. It really was not the smartest thing to do, to be honest, at the time. Like now looking back, weighing the options that I had at the time, it wasn't necessarily the best option, but just from communication, we knew that there was interest here in the front office. So whatever that meant, I just remember that being a thing like there's interest. Somebody in the front office. So whatever that meant, I just remember that being a thing. Like there's interest. Somebody in the front office likes you. There's interest. You have a chance to make the team and just go to camp, run the summer league team and try to make the team. And so that was

good enough for me. That's all I needed to hear. And I took that and ran with it. When you say like it wasn't a good idea at the time, like is it because there were other other point guards? Yeah. Well, you just you have Kyle Lowry, who's ultimately the best Raptor of all time, right? Corey Joseph, who was one of the best backups in the NBA. And DeLon, who was a first-round pick that they just picked. So it wasn't necessarily the best odds for me or the best opportunity to make a team, but everything just ended up you know working itself out so i

know you say there was interest from the front office like of course but then but why did why did you do it then like why why the raptors since i guess you had you had other options right yeah i had a few i had a few other options but i had a great workout here um when i did my pre-draft workout just the people treated me so nice. Obviously I love this city, but I had a great workout and then there was just a straight up conversation. I was like hey, come, we want you to run our summer league

team. You have a shot at making a team and we like you, so just come try and that's really what I did. Give the Warriors credit there. Spreading the floor out. Yes, indeed! I did. I wonder if we could talk a little bit about about where you come from. You come from Rockford, Illinois, which I know is near Chicago, but not Chicago. Right. Yeah.

And tell me a little bit about where you grew up. So, yeah, Rockford, Illinois is a smaller city, you know, in comparison to Toronto. It's about 150,000, 200,000 people. That's outside of Chicago. It's not really anything connected to Chicago. But a small town that was kind of hit by you know the manufacturing wave and industrial things and factories shutting down and things like that. So, now I'm growing up it was a little bit rough, but you know just one of those hard

working blue collar cities and real people, real down-to-earth people, small community, and it's really just made me who I am and and sharpened me down to earth people, small community. And it's really just made me who I am and sharpened me as a man and as a person. How? How so? Just your survival mode, you know, from day one, obviously, I lost my dad at five years old. So like just from that early on, you're in survival mode and being in survival mode, it gives you certain instincts and certain feel and just learning how to deal with people and learning how to pay attention to your surroundings. And it just toughens you up. It just hardens you up a little bit. You go back there a lot, right? You spend tons of time there in the off season.

I wonder if some people might be surprised by that. Like maybe they wonder why you don't spend your off season in Lake Cuomo or L.A. or something. So why? I haven't outgrown it yet. You know, I still feel a strong connection there. I still have a lot of family there. I'm sure I'll venture off, you know, at some point in my life to experience things. But I bought a house there, so I live there in the off season. All my family's there.

And there's just nothing else that feels like home. You know, home is home, and you can't really make a new home as hard as you tried. You know, I spent the first 20, you know, 18, 20 years of my life there. So I'll always have a strong attachment to it. You mentioned your dad. Do you have memories of him? Yeah, I have a lot of memories of my dad. Just, you know, fun memories, joyful memories. I would spend a lot of my mornings with him when

my mom would go to work and my brother would go to school. I think my brother was in kindergarten at the time or first grade. So me and my dad would just spend a lot of one-on-one time together. So I have some fuzzy memories. I think I was about five, four or five years old, but definitely have some good memories. Do you ever wonder what he would think about how your life turned out? Yeah, I know what he would think. He's proud, and that's a connection that I've tried to keep in terms of my faith and talking to God. I talk to him, so I feel like he's living through me. He's watching down.

He's proud of me and my brother and my family, so something that I carry with me every day for sure. and my family. So something that I carry with me every day for sure. I wonder if I could also ask you about your stepdad, who I know plays an important role in your life as well. But I read that he would wake you up at like the crack of dawn and make you and your brother wear these 30 pound vests to work out. And what was that like at the time? Oh, it was terrible at the time. It was horrible because, you know, after my dad passed, my mom kind of stepped up and had to play two roles along with my grandparents. So she was overcompensating a little bit. And we had so much freedom because we were, quote, unquote, good kids, you know, to her knowledge. So she would work and we would have time to run around the neighborhood and do it as we please.

And then once we moved in with my stepdad, it was like a complete 180. And, you know, he's a disciplinarian. He was a military guy, police officer. So it was just a lot of regiment and strict rules. And, yeah, he was just a dictator. So that was a big flip for us. I'm sure it was awful then, right? Obviously. But what do you think about it now? us and he kept us out of trouble. And, you know, a lot of my friends that I grew up with and that I shared, you know, classrooms and hallways and bus rides and, you know, sleepovers, like they didn't have the same household that we had. And so we were safe at home. We were protected at home. It wasn't by any means like a great environment for kids to grow up in. I

wouldn't want my kids to grow up how I grew up, but my parents did the best that they could with what they had. Maybe we could spend some time now talking about the 2019 championship. Yeah. So I remember at the time there were all these images of you. Like, of course, you remember at the time you had like that black eye. And at one point you were bleeding on the floor and you had like a chipped tooth. There you see that left elbow right smack into the face of Ann Vliet.

elbow right smack into the face of Van Vliet. There's a tooth in the pain. And then I know there was this event that was kind of a bit of a game changer. It was the birth of your son right in the middle of the run. And can you tell me what happened? Yeah, I think I was just a little bit stressed and a little worried and just uneasy with, you know, having my family not be with me. I was here in Toronto. They were home in Illinois and knowing that my baby boy was on the way and just dealing with that and added into the basketball part wasn't really going my way in the Philadelphia series. So just a little bit uneasy and unsettled and and when my son came and i was able to fly back and see my family again and and hold my my first son like that was uh it was just a big weight off my shoulder mental reset like that's all i needed i just needed something to change

the the momentum and and once i got it back you know i, I just never looked back. Yeah, you put up this enormous game. Yeah, I just never looked back. And I'm streaky like that. So once I get hot, you know, I'm able to continue that for a while. In the playoff game since Fred Jr., his averages have ballooned to more than 14 points a game, shooting 54% from the field and 55% from three. This isn't the first time something like that's happened, right? Like I know when your daughter was born, you also had a streak. And so I guess I'm curious, is there something about fatherhood that kind of turned something on in you? And like, if so, what? I probably couldn't even explain it. All I know is that I lost my dad, you know, at an early

age. So I grew up without my biological dad. I had an incredible stepdad step in who I call my dad to this day, who played a great role in my life. But just that natural biological thing that you can't explain, I didn't really have that growing up. So there's something close to my heart, dear to my heart when it comes to my children and being able to kind of be the dad that I never had, you know, growing up. And then, you know, adding in what I learned from all the important father figures that I had throughout my life, because there was a lot of important role models that I did have, you know, growing up. Yeah, I'm hoping we can talk more about your role models when we talk about your scholarship, because I'd love to hear your thoughts on mentorship.

Yeah. Yeah, in particular. I obviously do not need to tell you how insane Toronto was when you guys won. Right. I got one question for you. Are you ready? Estimates say this could be up to 2 million people unified by one team and one feeling.

This crowd brought a wide stretch of Toronto's downtown to a total standstill. What was it like for you to be part of the team that brought Toronto and really this whole country their first championship game? It was like living in a movie if you can imagine that just like we were experiencing it just like everybody else was I think that's what made it so great was that the build-up to that my first two years getting swept, you know, having to deal with that, having to deal with the slander and just the way that that team came together. And now we're competing for a championship in this city with these fans for this country. We got to experience the highs and the lows and the highs were really, really high.

the highs and the lows, and the highs were really, really high. So it was just an incredible time for the city especially, but even for the country and being a Canadian. And, you know, the Raptors are Canada's team, and we got to experience that firsthand. When you talk about having to deal with that slander, like, what do you mean? Just, you know, we're professionals,

and we all hold ourselves to high standards, but there's only one team that can win a championship every year. So when you don't win or you get put out early, we had a 59 win team the year before who we all felt like we were championship caliber. We end up getting swept like that was a disappointment. Obviously, Coach Casey got fired. Nick stepped in, we traded them are like, there was a lot of change over, um, and all of the players, you know, were that we felt that we saw it. We could, you could feel the vibe. And so it was a great feeling to overcome all of that and, and win a championship the following year. Do you feel like the Raptors get the respect that they deserve Do you feel like the Raptors get the respect that they deserve outside of this country?

Probably not. But I'm also not a person that really cares or pays attention to that because of my life. I know what it's like to be on the other side of that. So I never really had the hype train or, you know, I was never winning a popularity contest. So I never really was into that. So probably not. And then may go deeper into business and things like that of the NBA. But I know we get a lot of love and we get a lot of support. And those are the things that I tend to focus on. It strikes me that your story is actually so kind of similar to the rapper's story, right? actually so kind of similar to the rapper's story right like under respected overlooked both became these superstar forces really through hard work and grit and and frankly like will

right right which is cool yeah so i think again like you got a choice to make if you want to make something out of yourself or a situation like there's really only one way to do that. And that's to just have a crazy belief in yourself and your situation. And that's something that I've been blessed, you know, to have. I think it's fair to say that you have now stepped into Kyle Lowry's shoes as like the leader of this team and we were just talking about how so many of the players are younger right and so what what does leadership look like to you like on a day-to-day basis what kind of things are you doing as a leader? Yeah I think first and foremost for me is always about accountability and there's a lot of different

ways to do that but I'm gonna be one of the first ones in I'm gonna get my work in I'm gonna be professional and I'm gonna continue to try to get better I'm gonna put the team first and then I'm then it's really just my job to challenge guys you know and try to get the best out of them so after I show you that I'm trying to get the best out of myself now is you know I feel like it's my job to help guys reach their full potential, all while focusing on the team aspect. So I've had a chance to be around some incredible leaders. I've had a chance to learn and sit back and play all different roles.

Like I was a guy trying to make the team, and now I'm the leader of the team. Like I was a guy trying to make the team and now, you know, I'm the leader of the team. So I've seen the range and all this experience that I add, you know, for my daily use. Do you like it? Do you like this role? Oh, I love it. I love it. I love it. It's a little more stressful, more sleepless nights for sure, because there's more weight to carry. But it's a challenge and it's fun. It's what we do it for. You know, I don't work as hard as I work to be anything other than the best. Can we talk about President Masai Ujiri for a second? So he obviously has this reputation as someone who can find

and maybe more importantly develop talent. And so what kind of faith do you have in his vision for the team? Again, like one of those leaders that I spoke about, I think he has a vision. I think he knows how to execute vision. And I think more than anything, he's not afraid to challenge people. And whether that's players, coaches, staff, whatever, I think that's kind of what's needed. You know what I mean? It's not always going to be comfortable, but he lets you know, you know, you probably can't talk to him for five minutes without him saying win 500 times. And he's going to, he wants to win. You know what I mean? And he put that at the top of the board. That's a program that I can follow.

And so everything else falls under that. I wonder if I could also ask you about something that recently made headlines, because talking about you as a leader, you've also been quite vocal about issues around racial justice. And, of course, what has happened with the Phoenix Suns and Sarver. The owner of the NBA's Phoenix Suns and the WNBA's Mercury has been suspended for one year and fined a record $10 million for racist and sexist behavior in the workplace, according to an investigation. When you learned about his behavior, what was your reaction? What did you think? Not surprised, to be honest.

I know it's probably not the most politically correct thing to say, but just not really surprised. I think we all have an understanding of what really goes on behind closed doors um i feel incredibly um sorry for the people that had to experience that you know with his misconduct the people that he affected i think that's where the focus should be at is on those individuals but um you know with the penalties and the suspension and all that like you know that, it's a big business. The NBA is a big business. And you've got to know how business is conducted behind closed doors.

But there's no place for that in our game, in our league. And I think we've been pretty forward thinking. And as we've seen since it came out, I think they're pushing to have them sell the team. since it came out. I think they're pushing to have them sell the team. So, you know, the NBA is marketing itself on being progressive and standing up in the face of injustice. And we got to continue to do that and make sure that we hold ourselves to higher standards. And that's from the owners down to the janitors. I think everybody, you know, just has to do our part. Do you think it's doing a good job of being progressive? I think so. I think so. I think, you know, it's there's worse businesses, right?

There's worse corporations. I think with anything this big as a global entity, I think you'll find stories like this one. But again, there's nothing that's going to be perfect. But how are we going to combat that? How are we going to address it? You know, there was a lot of backlash about the initial penalty. But, you know, we've seen things progress as the time goes by. And the power is always in the community. And the power is always in the people and how we manifest that and stand together. and how we manifest that and stand together.

I think, you know, as long as we all just try to be good people and stand on that and help each other out, I think we can kind of combat these things as time goes on. And there's just no place for it anymore. You were sidelined last season with an injury, and you're heading into a new season. How are you feeling feeling I feel great I feel really good I feel uh strong again I feel confident again um definitely uh didn't realize it until you know things slowed down and I had to go home and sit and couldn't really move and I had to

sit down for you know six weeks uh how affected I was because I was still in the fight. But, yeah, that was a pretty low point for me. Anytime I get injured, it's not fun. You know, you just, I love the game so much. But being able to have a full summer to rehab and recover and come back and start all over again, I'm feeling pretty good. Good. And your family's here with you in Toronto? My family's here.

Yeah, you were saying to me before, you always keep them close. Yeah, I try to keep the family close. Again, we have a crazy schedule, so I miss a lot. But when I'm free and when I have time, I like to be present. In the Dragon's Den, a simple pitch can lead to a life-changing connection. Watch new episodes of Dragon's Den free on CBC Gem. Brought to you in part by National Angel Capital Organization. Hi, it's Ramit Sethi here. You may have seen my money show on Netflix.

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To listen to this podcast, just search for Money for Cups. Okay, well, we didn't actually have to wait for the next NBA season to start to catch a glimpse of Fred VanVleet's leadership skills at work as we waited for Fred's scholarship recipient to arrive, Pascal Siakam, number 43 of the Toronto Raptors. He actually walked by, and Fred helped us talk to him. Hi, we're with CBC. Hello. Oh, hello.

Sorry. Hey. What's happening? They doing a podcast with Fred? You guys look so scared, man. Nah, I'm like, that's kind of like cutting my gut. Oh, okay. I don't know what's going on.

I was a little surprised. I didn't know what was happening. What kind of leader is Fred? Oh, damn. I know, I was like, I'm not expecting this at all. So what was your question again? Sorry. What kind of leader is Fred?

I think he's, yeah, I'm not expecting this at all. So what was your question again? Sorry. What kind of leader is Fred? I think he's vocal. I think he learned a lot from Kyle, DeMar, and all those guys. And you can tell. And I think he's always carried himself in that way, being a point guard, directing the team, and just making sure that everyone is in the right spots. And he has that good relationship with the coaches. Like, you know, he sees the game in a different way than a lot of people.

So I think, like, that ability kind of, like, you know, helps him just put everyone in their positions. And also he's just got that presence about him, which helps. And I think that also when you see someone, you know, his journey and how he got to where he's at right now, you can only respect it. And I think that, you know, as a leader, that's important. Thank you.

They call me One Take P. That's my name. You know what I'm saying? Okay, so One Take P headed on his way. It was time for Fred to meet 17-year-old Abdullahi Hassan. He's going to be the very first recipient of the Fred VanVleet Scholarship at the University of Toronto's

Rotman Commerce Undergraduate Program, and he entered the OVO Training Center Court with two very proud-looking parents. Yo, yo. What's up, man? How you doing? I'm good. Good, congratulations, man.

Thank you. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you, I'm good. How you doing? How you doing? Good, man. Nice to meet you how you doing how you doing good man nice to meet you That's the media guys doing all right. She just how you doing? Nice to meet you guys welcome good to see you. How you feeling? You excited awesome, man. You see you got the drip wrong. Yeah Yeah, to come out. Cool, man. So when you found out you got the scholarship, like, where were you?

What was going on? So I was in my second period accounting class. I was just on the computer doing my assignments, and then the U of T official and my guidance counselors, they strolled in and they said, oh, we have a letter for you. We would like you to read it in front of the whole class. And then that's when I found out that I got the scholarship. And the first thing that I did, I just, you know, I had to text my sister and tell her, like, I got a scholarship. Don't tell mom.

I have to tell her when I get home. Like, I have to surprise her. And I just felt great, excited, and just grateful for the bullet screens. What happened when you told your mom? I told my mom. She just was, like like in tears. She was just so like grateful and like, you know, proud of me. It was like a great feeling, you know, seeing your mom in that state, feeling like, you know, she accomplished, like seeing me accomplish so much. And like, I feel like that's what made her feel like that. Tell me like what this means for you, like to get this. For me, I feel like it's just a opportunity for me to grow even more you know like I'm grateful for this whole experience and like you know the scholarship and meeting Fred

himself and I feel like this is just an opportunity for me to do better you know work harder and it's definitely motivating me to be better uh was it like meeting Fred right I was nervous so nervous but then after that when we took the pictures and then we went in the room we had a conversation I felt more at ease you know he was talking to me like it was just a normal conversation and I felt like you know I could I feel better you didn't look nervous you looked super chill I did yeah no I was inside I was nervous I couldn't I couldn't function um he's gonna be your mentor now which is pretty cool yeah it's cool I'm excited like what are you into like but you know you're this is Rotman it's cool i'm excited like what are you into like but you know you're this is rotman it's business so like what what do you want to do with it yeah i

was just discussing it with him like i have a you know i'm looking into going into maybe accounting but obviously i'm more open to seeing something else that interests me so i definitely want to look into that but for now i'm looking to go into accounting I definitely want to look into that, but for now I'm looking to go into accounting. My name is Aboukar Mohammed and I am Abdullah's dad. I'm happy for him. I would like to thank Freddie that he's doing a good job for the city, for the community, and we appreciate that. So let's talk now about why we're here today,

why we got to come and talk to you, which has been great. Thank you so much. Thank you. And what you let us kind of be a part of to watch is this scholarship that you are launching with the University of Toronto for Black and Indigenous students. And so why did you want to launch a scholarship? I think just rewinding a bit, coming out of the bubble like we spoke about, there was this huge social justice push in the world globally. And I think just some of the internal conversations we had was

how do we push envelopes and how do we challenge the corporations whether that's the team or local businesses or a college in this instance to make an effort you know in the community and I think this is one of the things that was born out of that which was to offer a full scholarship based in entrepreneurial skills and pursuits. And just something that I'm just honored to be a part of. For somebody who didn't love school that much, I think it's a great cause. And given a kid that may not have had as good of a chance at this, a chance, I think is pretty special. You mentioned entrepreneurship. You're like an entrepreneur, too.

And you have a podcast. It's called Bet on Yourself about entrepreneurship. And so what has drawn you to that? I think just one to maximize all of the opportunities that I have. And it's something that's allowed me to become a great basketball player but just in life in general just trying to maximize everything that I do so having a business mind having business savvy and just want to progress as a businessman I think this is something that I find connection with people on. It's something that I have a passion for. So I usually always reach up, you know what I mean, to try to learn and pick people's brains and learn

from people that are ahead of me. But this is something where I feel strongly about being able to mentor and just give assistance and confidence to somebody who's following in the footsteps behind me. So it's definitely a special situation. I feel like we've talked about mentorship and leadership a lot during this interview. And I know as part of the scholarship, it's tuition, it's money for books, but it's also a mentorship with you. And so why was that important to you to offer that? Because I think it's the most important, to be honest, because more than anything, we go wherever we do it throughout the day. We still got to go home to ourselves. We still have to talk to ourselves.

We still have the car rides, the showers, you know, dreams like you can talk yourself out of your dreams. You could talk yourself out of your goals and um i think just having somebody to bounce ideas off of whether it's reassurance or um just a ear to listen to or uh you know we we all internalize all of our issues and i think if you have someone to share with you'll realize that most of us all go through the same thing so um i'm really looking forward to just being there as a ear, you know, for the student. You've mentioned people who have been mentors to you. Could you tell me about some of them? Yeah, I mean, starting early, right, my big brother, who's three years older than me, he played a pivotal role in my life. He kind of raised me, you know, after we lost our dad.

Fast forward to my stepdad, obviously, who stepped in and became my dad, my high school coach. Brian Ott was a huge mentor, figure in my life. Really a lot of my coaches, my basketball coach, college coaches, and then, you know, the NBA, I get here. I get to learn from Kyle Lowry as, you know, on and off the court um Asai's an

incredible leader Nick Nurse is an incredible leader um I just try to learn from all the great people that I have encounters with and so take bits and pieces take all the good stuff and the bad stuff that I don't like you know I throw it to the side but uh yeah I've had I've had a chance to be around some pretty cool people what do you think the most important thing you learned from Kyle Lowry was? I think Kyle is just the ultimate pro. I think that he has a really good understanding of what it means to be in the NBA, what it means to be the face, to be the leader, to be presentable. He works incredibly hard.

He's active in the community and he just plays this professional game better than anybody I've seen. So I definitely got to learn that from him. He's a hell of a competitor when it's time to lace him up, but he's just, he was just a great guy to have, you know, running the show. your career in the NBA and also all the work that you've been doing as an entrepreneur you have this very cool sweatsuit on right now which is part of your company when you started making a lot of money how did your relationship with money change that's a great question thanks thanks yeah I think I think it just humbled me a bit because you just there's so much that you just don't know like there's so much things that you don't know until you realize that you don't

know them so now you gotta go actively search out this information and so for me coming into a lot of money at a young age it was just more so like let me go figure out what to do with this because they don't teach you that part they just teach you that you work hard and the American dream is to come from nothing and become rich but it's like okay now what like what if you get that at 22 or 23 or 24 you God willing have 60 70 years of life that you gotta you know make it make sense so um it just took me back to the drawing board of like feeling like a student again and just learning and seeking out more mentors in different areas and different aspects of the financial world um and just I just had to learn so much it's an interesting answer I feel like most people would not have said humble to describe their reaction to coming

I'm just really curious about this, like what it feels like for you to know that you now have the kind of wealth to take care of your family. I saw a video of you buying a house for your mom. I'm going to have a very good house. Oh, my God. Oh, we got it good. Oh, my God.

Oh, we got them good. Oh, man, I like it. Oh, hell yeah. And you now know that your children will want for nothing, and really, like, probably their children and even so on, right? And what is that like for you, this idea that you have been able to bring generational wealth to your family? Something that just hasn't really set in yet.

Something that I just refuse to believe. You know, it's just I don't operate like that. Like I said, I try to be humble. I try to still be a regular person. I keep all of my family and people that have known me since I was a baby around me for that reason. But yeah, I think obviously i work hard it makes me work even harder because there's just more there's just more out there there's more stuff to do i know what i can do with what i have so like if i go get some more i know i can do more and um i just i just like to have fun work hard make money, do fun stuff with the money and do good stuff with the money.

So like I just think having an impact and having a reach is more empowering than like the actual dollar amount, because the money will come and go and I could lose it. I could save it like it's not necessarily all about the money once you get it. You can't really understand that until you do. Yeah. Fred, thank you. No, thank you. It's been such a pleasure. Appreciate it.

All right. That was very fun. But that is all for today. I'm Jamie Poisson, and thank you so much for listening to FrontBurner, a low-key Raptors podcast, and also a Daily News podcast. For more CBC Podcasts, go to cbc.ca slash podcasts.