Determined Society with Shawn French | Adversity & Mindset - From Heartbreak to the Gridiron: Noel Devine's Journey of Resilience
Episode Date: August 5, 2024Episode Overview: In this powerful episode of The Determined Society, host Shawn French sits down with Noel Devine, a former standout football player whose life story transcends the boundaries of the ...gridiron. Noel's journey is one marked by profound loss, remarkable talent, and an unyielding spirit of determination that has inspired countless people around the world. In-Depth Show Notes: Introduction: Shawn French opens the episode by introducing Noel Devine, a name that resonates with football fans and anyone who has followed inspiring stories of perseverance. Noel's journey from a challenging childhood to becoming a football star and now a mentor is a testament to the power of resilience. Early Life and Challenges: Noel shares the heart-wrenching story of his early years, growing up in Fort Myers, Florida. He lost both of his parents to HIV/AIDS at a very young age, a tragedy that shaped his life in profound ways. Raised by his grandmother, Noel faced the challenges of navigating a world where stability was scarce, but hope was a constant companion. Despite the odds stacked against him, Noel found solace and purpose in football. He quickly became a local sensation, known for his speed, agility, and vision on the field. His highlights went viral on YouTube, catapulting him into the national spotlight before he even graduated high school. Rise to Fame: The conversation delves into Noel's rise to fame, from his viral YouTube clips that showcased his extraordinary talent to his recruitment by the University of West Virginia. Noel reflects on the pressures of being a young athlete in the public eye, the expectations placed upon him, and how he managed to stay grounded amid the hype. College Football and Professional Career: At West Virginia University, Noel continued to impress, becoming one of the most electrifying players in college football. He shares anecdotes from his college career, including memorable games and the bonds he formed with teammates and coaches. The discussion transitions to Noel's professional career, including the challenges he faced as he attempted to transition to the NFL. He opens up about the injuries, setbacks, and the mental toll that came with the high stakes of professional sports. Life After Football: After stepping away from professional football, Noel found a new calling in mentorship and coaching. He now dedicates his time to mentoring young athletes, sharing his story to inspire them to overcome their own obstacles. He emphasizes the importance of education, mental health, and surrounding oneself with positive influences. Noel talks about the initiatives he has launched to give back to his community, including football camps and outreach programs aimed at helping underprivileged youth. His goal is to provide the guidance and support that he wishes he had received as a young man. Key Takeaways: Resilience in the Face of Adversity: Noel's story is a powerful reminder that no matter the challenges we face, we can overcome them with determination and hard work. The Importance of Mentorship: Noel underscores the value of having mentors and role models who can guide young people through difficult times. Life Beyond the Game: For Noel, football was just the beginning. He shares insights on finding purpose beyond one's career and using personal experiences to make a positive impact on others. Closing Thoughts: Shawn and Noel wrap up the conversation with a reflection on the importance of never giving up, no matter how insurmountable the obstacles may seem. Noel leaves listeners with a message of hope, encouraging them to keep pushing forward and to use their struggles as fuel for their dreams. Subscribe to The Determined Society for more inspiring stories from individuals who have overcome incredible odds to achieve success. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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What if you were a little boy?
Never knew your biological father because he passed away from AIDS.
And then when you were 11 years old, your mother died of AIDS as well.
Thank God you have a stepfather that could help raise you in a community to back you.
Well, this story is very interesting.
Imagine a young boy becoming a YouTube sensation
for being the most amazing running back.
One of the best in the country,
five-star athlete, goes to West Virginia,
plays Big D-1 ball,
and then goes undrafted,
and the Eagles pick him up
and has to leave camp
five days into it
because his best friend got murdered.
I want you to come with me
on this story of Noel Devine.
I think you're going to like it a lot.
Let's go.
Hi, guys. My name is Rich Klein.
I'm the director of training
at the Omni Club here in Fort Myers, Florida.
Our day-to-day at the Omni looks a lot like this.
O Dark 30, coming in, ready to go.
Open the doors at 5 o'clock.
And it's a variety of things from our SkillX classes,
which is kind of like a boot camp class.
There's also an O-Fit class,
which is like our functional fitness class.
And then we have a variety of other yoga,
Pilates bar classes,
which are really incredible to engage the members
and get the best results in the shortest period of time.
Hi, my name is Bella Alessio.
I'm a program director here at the Omni in Southwest Florida.
Southwest Florida. Here at the Omni, we base ourselves here on a performance institute.
We have Techno Gym equipment, which is the highest level of equipment that you can have.
Our AI-driven technology brings us to the next level to bring you to your next level.
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going the extra mile to make sure where people come in that their needs of met.
What's up everybody? Sean French with the Determine Society back at the Omni Live with
another amazing high-level guest, Noel Devine. Thank you so much for being here today,
buddy. Thank you for having me. Oh, dude, it's a pleasure, man. I, you know,
shortly after I moved to Southwest Florida, I kept hearing this name. This is, this is back in the day,
and to be sitting here with you now, and to be able to interview you, and from what I understand,
You haven't really gone on podcast much and talked about your story.
So the Determined Society audience is going to get the very first Noel Devine story on camera.
Thank you guys for having me.
And thank you for giving me the platform to share my story.
Absolutely, man.
I mean, you're a local legend here, you know, an amazing football player.
But for the audience that's, you know, maybe way over in Nevada that may not know who you are,
working through who Noel Devine is.
Well, my name is Noel Devine.
I'm a local guy, Fort Myers, Florida, grew up in Fort Myers, Florida, playing football.
I started playing football when I was like 11 years old.
Right after my mom passed away of HIV, she lost a battle of the disease.
Like I said, when I was 11 years old.
And then I never met my biological father, but I was fortunate to be raised with a stepfather.
So playing sports kind of helped fill that void, you know, of losing my mom.
And I always been gifted and talented with a God-given ability and talent, fast, strong.
So when I started playing football, it was just like a getaway, just to get away from everything I was going through at home.
And I grew up playing Cape Coral for a Cape Coral Junior Football Association, a great organization, good family-oriented atmosphere.
And then from there on, I was successful from running the ball scoring one or two touchdowns, three touchdowns.
And after that, just playing in high school as a freshman playing varsity and becoming like a youth.
sensation as soon as YouTube surfaced, 2000, 2003, 2004.
It's going viral on a run, on highlight runs, highlight rails,
and then being recruited, nationally,
a five-star recruit, being recruited by every school there was.
And then almost missing out on the opportunity academically,
I was ineligible.
So there's some areas I had to clean up,
just defining all the odds, overcoming adversity.
And that's pretty much mean.
And I went on to play at Norfolk Myers High School.
same high school as Dion Sanders.
Dion actually tried to adopt in me.
A lot of people know of that story.
Talk about this real quick.
So this is how the story happens.
At the time, my high school principal was DeShazzo,
same principal as Deon.
Or maybe a teacher when Dion was in high school.
I'm not sure how their relationship started.
But me and the principal at the time, DeShazzo,
that's how our relationship started.
And I had lost a close friend of mine when I was 15
and I was a sophomore in high school.
got shot and killed. We went to tussle these kids, all over, name calling over the phone.
Someone dropped the end bomb. Being kids, you know, everyone thinks they're tough,
want to fight and battle. And I'm a close friend of mine. And at the same time, I had my first
born on the way at 15, 16 years old. So the principal to Shazzo, make a long story short,
told Dion about me. You got this kid. He's going through things. He got these problems. But
he's got a tremendous talent. And I want to see if you can mentor this kid and help him out.
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And like I said, my mom
had passed away at the time. I was a runaway
living with best friend of mine
in Cape Cor, a white family household,
best friend Robbie Harlow.
And just with no guidance.
And we met at the local barbershop, Cheney's barbershop off of MLK,
met Dion there.
When I first met him, man, you can just feel his energy or like this guy is different.
Like he's having sent.
Like he's the man, you know.
And at the time, I was a kid, I went up and I visited his home.
We had the Haunson, Texas and Prosper, Texas.
I was going to move up there.
He went through the legal custody of him adopting me and everything like that.
And then I even went to Baltimore with him to training camp.
That's when he's still playing for the Ravens.
He had number 37.
And then right after that, I returned back to Dallas.
And I was going to start school like a couple days later or so, and I was homesick.
So I end up calling a friend back at home who I ended up living with when I was running away.
Harlow was another friend of mine, Shaffner's.
And they got me a plane ticket and me not telling Dion he was in with the rapes at the time.
And his wife, O'Larro, at the time, was just back at home.
and I told I had practice that morning.
You rolled out.
And I rolled out.
I kind of had my stuff packed the night before.
And I left.
I drove all the way to the airport.
As a 15, 16 year old kid,
just wanted to return at home.
My firstborn was born.
I had another kid on the way.
My second born, my son, Andre,
who's playing for Jacksonville State right now.
Same coach.
I played for Rich Rodriguez.
Another story.
And then that's how that story, and I left.
And Dion, he forgave me.
I was a kid.
Of course.
Me, at home, sick, wanted to return home.
I had a kid.
and everything.
And had a lot of things going on, just dealing with girls and stuff like that.
And I returned home and not really understanding, like, the full concept of Dion
mentoring me and what he was trying to do for me at the time.
Right.
It's like, man, I just want to go home.
But I got to tell you something.
It's, you know, for the audience watching and listening, it's, this is an amazing story.
At 11 years old, lost his mom to HIV, lost a friend.
You know, your friend got murdered at 15.
you were having your first child at 15, being uprooted from North Fort Myers to Texas by an amazing
individual Dion Sanders. And dude, like, I can literally say defying all odds and being the epitome of
raw determination, that's who you are, right? Like, how many people, think about that, man,
how many kids would not have made it out? How many kids would be, would not be sitting here with me right now
with a beating heart, but you made it.
You got to go play in college.
You got your opportunity in the fell.
So talk to us about, dude, that's a special person.
I mean, I think about it.
I look at my life and I just boil back down to my childhood,
my mom and my stepdad, just sending us to church.
And that's where my foundation started from.
I think it just saved my life on a St. John Baptist Church.
I was like five, six, seven,
just going, sending us out the house,
really.
There's my mom to do whatever she was doing
and explore around the house
because my mom did drugs. She smoked, she smoked crack.
Is that how she got infected with HIV was through drug use?
That's what I'm assuming because, I mean, here I am healthy.
And I heard stories of just like people that inject heroin and inject this and that.
But that's how I was told my father got the disease from injection.
But your biological father, too.
So I was never really close to that side of my family, my father side.
So, I mean, my history on my father's side is.
is very small, it's very low.
I feel that.
Same thing with my biological father to the side.
Family, I don't really know.
I don't really know him.
Yeah, so you're out to fight and beat these generation of curses.
Sure.
Like I said, the spiritual foundation just saved my life going to St. John Baptist's Church.
And I just look back as a kid to nights crying, just hot, sleeping on the bottom
bump with two of my stepbrothers.
And then two on the top, three on the bottom bunk, two on the top, just hot night,
fan in the window, just crying, praying to God and that he saved my life.
And it makes something of me.
And like I look now to where I'm at.
And honestly, God, I can say it's just God.
And just the last name, divine itself is godly.
You know, so I mean, God had a purpose for me.
And here I am.
But like I said, it's a lot of people in the community that I've seen that didn't make it as far as I did.
But like they say, it takes a village.
Sure does, man.
It's a community, Fort Myers community, a lot of administration staff in North Fort Myers High School.
A lot of friends, family, my grandma took a lot of support, a lot of prayers from my grandma.
I have a younger uncle who's a younger minister as well.
Like I said, just having that prayer line and that belief and faith
and self and just to keep going to persevere and overcome things.
But I think the sports changed my life and saved my life tremendously.
Just like I said, having a platform to be a leader, you know, to have a voice,
you know, and to inspire, to inspire the next generation, to inspire my kids, you know.
That's a big thing, man, you know.
audience you know he's talking about inspiring his kids i don't i don't your children are such amazing
athletes they're it's it's honestly hilarious because i mean they're that good right and you can
see the bloodline but but the leadership that you've displayed and i hope they truly understand
what their father has been through and the fact that you're here to mentor them you have
kid at Jacksonville State.
You have kids on the track.
My daughter goes to Woffert.
She's the first, you know, she goes to Woffert.
And, you know, I was the first to graduate.
One of the first to graduate in my family.
So like I said, it boils back down to breaking generation of curses.
And, like, I was the first to graduate.
She was my grandmother.
She didn't even graduate high school.
So, you know, my mom, neither did she.
So one of the first.
And my daughter, she's off at Woffert.
It's amazing.
Yeah, studying law school.
And my son, he's just getting started.
It's incredible, man, to see what you've done and how you're parenting and how you're leading,
not only just your family, but into the community.
You know, and I don't think that we can do that unless we've been through the shit, right?
We have to go through things in our life that shape us.
And, you know, part of your purpose was dealing with a lot of loss early so you could come out and go to West Virginia and play in a big Power 5 school and then get your opportunity.
Yeah, man.
I mean, it's incredible, man.
Man, you were electric.
You were so much fun to watch.
Now, you did go undrafted, and you had the opportunity to play in the NFL.
Walk us through that, man, because that is a story in itself, and I think that needs to be shared.
Yeah, man, there's always these little tragedies, always something that come up and hit me.
And this pretty much, going through the draft process, I didn't get drafted.
And as a kid, I worked hard, extremely hard every day.
And that was the only thing in my mind was to be the best and to make an NFL.
well, let's face it, like that was my way out.
You know, not having a mom, and then being a runaway kid,
and that was my way out, rather it was, you know,
through academic scholarship.
But obviously football is my main focus.
That's what I've been blessed and gifted at to do and to do naturally.
But like I said, it was always my goal was to make it to the NFL
and to not see my name get called in a draft
and to be like a high-profile athlete, a five-star,
being New York Times as a high school athlete.
And to accomplish all these things, it's like, but I can't get drafted.
It's like the fear of failure, you know.
It was real for me, you know, like coming from here, overcoming everything I overcame.
I felt like I failed, but then I had an opportunity because I went undrafted to the Eagles.
They gave me a shot, you know, and my best friend got killed around the same time.
My best friend Alonzo Stewart, his mom died at AIDS, my mom died of AIDS.
When I walked in my mom room, his mom was dead.
For a second, I thought his mom was my mom.
And then, like, a couple years later,
we become best friend, both queer years.
This had so much in common.
And I always had a special place in the heart.
He was a brother to me.
Yeah.
So that happened.
The draft happened.
It's like two blows, one time, boom, boom.
It's like, man, I can't take this.
And like, the fifth day in Cam, I walked out,
called my agent Eugene Parker.
It was Dion's agent.
And I kind of went through that process
because I knew Dion, and that's how I even chose the agent,
not really having a relationship with him
or him really understanding me
and the things I've been through.
But it's just like, I was at a breaking point.
And I walked out, and after that, I just felt empty.
I'm like, man, this don't even feel right.
Like, I'm not a quitter, bro.
Yeah.
So whatever I got to do to make this right, I'm going to take this route to the CFL,
UFL, whichever route I got to go.
So I went to the UFL, did that in Nebraska, Omaha, Nebraska did that.
It was understructure.
It probably lasted like six games or so because of a little paycheck housing
that was included in the contract.
And then I signed with Montreal Alouettes.
And I went to Canada, I played in Canada for two years, Montreal, great experience.
Everything was written in French.
I was a little culture shop.
Had to learn how to grocery shop.
Right.
Because everything was different.
Like you came by Jiffy peanut butter.
You go to a Canadian store.
You see a different brand of peanut butter.
So I had to adapt and adjust.
And I just think just like playing football, it was able to help me adapt and adjust
because you have circumstances and situations that you're able to adapt.
You have to adapt and adjust to like you have a fast change around turnover or something like that.
fumble, but you have to just let it go and forget about it and move on the next place.
So that's what I say, like, sports kind of like saved my life on, you know, building me,
teaching me things like work ethic, how to be accountable, you know, just things like that.
But as far as the draft goes, that's pretty much the story with how that happens with the NFL.
You know what I find most interesting about his story for everybody watching is, you know,
all the athletic accolades.
Cool, right?
I'm a former D-1 athlete.
I play baseball at LSU.
I respect the athlete side of things.
What I respect more about your story is all the loss that you've incurred in your life
and all the two steps forward and a couple steps back, right,
as far as the draft and leaving camp and going to Omaha and to Montreal,
what you've done is you've built this reservoir of resilience.
And now you're here at the Omni as one of the trainers here.
and you get to impact young children.
I don't know if you realize the opportunity that truly is
because one day there's going to be a little Noel divine that runs through here
that's completely not blood related to you,
but you have the opportunity to impact.
How has your experience in everything you've been through
made you a better coach?
I just think everything I've been through is just like I can help the next generation,
next kids to go through the same thing.
It's like, like you said earlier,
I went through it for a reason.
It wasn't for me, but it's for the next to come.
It's crazy.
Life's just like a full circle.
Dion tried mentoring me.
Now here I am mentoring kids.
And like you said, you have to go through it, you know what I mean?
In order to get to the rule of things of the problem with kids.
You know, so it's a joy for me to help kids reach their full potential and push them to be the best they can be.
I mean, you know, I had mentors.
Like my trainer, Coach Dundra, he passed away.
He had a lot of athletes in the community.
I'm going to Cape Coral.
Cape Coral, Naples, he'd been around.
He just passed away of cancer.
He started at Shady Yotes, training a ton of different generations
of athletes, myself, my kids.
So like, it was just like paying it forth, you know,
to the next, I would call him, he would show up for free.
You know, so, like, my heart's just in the right place.
And it took me a while to accept, you know what I mean, my purpose.
For a while, I was like depressed and couldn't believe the whole thing with the NFL.
So like, just like,
being with the kids and being around kids, just being that leader and mentoring them and
showing them the way and teaching them and just building them to be the best they can be.
Like I said, I reached their potential.
That's amazing, man.
I look back at my life and in my career in baseball.
And I've been sitting there.
And it was back in the day, right, where it was like America online, it was the dial-up.
I was supposed to go the first day in the draft, you know, as a catcher.
I was one of the top prospects for the Arizona Diamondbacks defensively.
And I'm like, dude, it's going to happen.
I'm going.
First day, day didn't go.
Second day didn't go.
Third day didn't go.
I'm sitting there in front of my computer screen,
watching my life slip away.
And I had turned down so many scholarships, right?
Because I wanted to go to a bigger school.
I had nothing.
Didn't get drafted.
You know, undrafted, you know, didn't have any more offers because I turned them all down.
Right.
And then finally LSU called.
And, you know, that was an up and down battle for me, some injuries,
bad mindset, victim mentality.
but ultimately me not making it in Major League Baseball
and getting that big check and being drafted,
what it did for me was it gave me everything.
I have everything now because of that.
And what I don't want the audience to understand
and really dial into what you go through
is building you for something even greater.
I would not, had all that worked out,
I'm not sitting with you here today.
How can I be mad at that?
So we have to submit and really like just give it up to the process for God and the universe to work to be like, here's your purpose.
Here's where you're supposed to be.
Now grab onto it, chew it down and roll.
And that's what you've done and that's what I've done.
You know?
Yes, sir.
I agree.
I agree.
Sometimes things happen and you don't understand why things happen.
But it's like to say everything happens for a reason.
You may not get it now, but eventually down the road, looking back, like, you get it.
Like, if I'm able to, like, scoring a touchdown and then making the impact on the kid's life, it's just as fulfilling to me, you know, because I'm making a difference on a kid life.
And people made a difference on my life, you know.
It's bigger, man.
Yeah.
It's bigger.
And then, like, I never realized how many people I influenced or made an impact on from the sports or from a distance or just them seeing me on YouTube or playing with or playing with me with me with me.
on a video game NCAA, like, dude, like, meet me.
Like, dude, you're smaller than I thought.
But, you know, but it was a desire in my heart and my passion
what made me me, like, I love the game, I love to play.
But now it's just like, you transfer that same energy
into the next thing.
And that's just like, for me, it's just training kids,
mentoring kids so they can reach their full potential.
Never know who you're impacting.
You know how many text messages I've gotten in the last month?
Like, ever since I had Eric Thomas on the show, right?
Oh, wow.
I'm one of those guys.
It's nuts, right?
He's always been one of my favorite motivational speakers, if you want it as bad as you want to breathe.
Just watching that even when I was in college, man.
Cous bumps, bro.
Yeah.
It's motivation for me.
The guy is impactful.
And then I had the opportunity last week to spend some time with him up in Michigan in person, just hanging out with him.
And you realize that he is the real deal, right?
But my point is, is there's different inflection points in our careers and in our lives.
And when people see those things, they start feeling more comfortable of opening up and telling you what you've done from them.
from afar. I've been blessed over the last month to get multiple text messages, you know,
emails or DMs on how my platform has helped them. I didn't even know they were paying
attention. There just goes to show, man. It's just like, we're all here for a reason and you need to
stay present, be where your feet are, and give everything you got in that moment, every interview,
every conversation, every task. And then all of a sudden, the world is impacting.
it one person at a time. You impact one person. They go impact another person. That person
goes impacts another person and now we have a movement. And that's what I've really focused on
building with the determined society. And that's why I'm just so grateful you're here because
your story that you just gave and people are listening to right now and watching right now,
it reached somebody that needed to hear it. That's powerful, bro.
It's a blessing to be a blessing. God has a history. God has a hear of
has us here for a reason, excuse me.
I'm getting a little choked up, man.
It's a little emotional.
But thank you for having me and thank you for the platform
in giving me a platform to tell my story
and to open up and tell my story.
There's been a time.
Even I had an interview with the big magazine, The Next.
And I choked, I couldn't, I didn't feel comfortable
just opening up telling my story.
Now I get the bigger picture.
Like I said, it's about the next kid to come along
because we're all going to go through adversity.
But it's how you handle that.
and how you bounce back from that adversity.
And truly, I feel like going through things like that
and builds character.
It sure does, man.
And reframing that, I choked.
You didn't choke.
It just wasn't the right platform, right?
It wasn't the right moment for you.
You weren't ready.
It wouldn't have come off right.
So instinctively, you pulled back from it, right?
Yeah.
And now here we are, however many years later,
and you're getting it out.
And you never have to apologize for being emotional.
See, for the people watching,
yet again, I want to be very real with you.
If you're a man or a woman and you feel like you cannot be emotional
and you feel like you can't wear your heart on your sleeve
and show exactly what is bothering you, to me that's weak.
You know, I think that comes with, you know, being an athlete.
They tell you be tough, be this, be that.
And I think that just pits like a false sense of pride in your head.
Yeah, no thank you.
Like, dude, just swallow your pride.
like show your emotions where your emotions on your sleeve, but like you got to learn how to flip that switch.
I want people to know me, man.
You know, if I'm out here doing this, I want people to know me.
I want somebody that has never met me that can watch the YouTube or listen to me and then meet me in person, be like, man, I already know you.
Because you show me your heart from afar all these years.
And to me, that is a mission, right?
And I think that the more people that do that, the better off we're going to be as a society.
And so thank you for showing that, you know.
And dude, I love running into you here.
And this is just the beginning for us, man.
I've got some great things that I think you can be a part of.
And I know that you want to be a part of.
But, you know, how is it being a dad?
I'm a dad of five.
It's a blessing for me.
You have five.
Yeah.
So my firstborn, Desiree is 19.
I got three.
And I'm like, what is going on in my life sometimes?
I can even slow it down.
I can never be on time to think.
I said spit it that way.
Hey, but you was on time today.
He was early, bro.
It was great.
So busy.
All of them were athletes.
My firstborn, Desiree, she's 19.
She goes to War for it.
Then it's Andre.
He's 18,
going to Jackson, Real State.
Destiny 16.
She's a junior track runner.
She's been to Junior Olympia.
She's going into her junior year training her off with ham,
training injury.
She got two more years of high school.
So next goes to get her into college.
That would be the third one.
And then my son, Noel, the third.
He's phenomenal basketball, football,
track, you name it.
And just a great kid.
And then my baby boy,
He's just now getting started, doing push-ups, sit-ups, being self-motivated.
How old is he?
He's eight.
But yeah, just like being around him, being at home, like that's, for me, there's no other
place I'd rather be just with my kids and working out with them training them, just giving
back to them, putting that energy back into my kids because they represent me.
But being a dad, I mean, it has this challenging moments, you know you want to get on the kids
about little things because you want to give them the discipline and structure like dishes,
You know, just little things, but it's always fun with me,
because my house is always the house that come through coaching Noel,
the son of bringing his friends over.
I coached most of his friends.
We've coaching the past six years and moving up every level with him.
But it's fine.
You know what's crazy?
I think you said at the beginning of the interview.
You were the first one to graduate college, right?
Yes, sir.
Do you realize what you've done?
No, but no, I'm being concerned.
Like, do you realize what you've done for your children?
I mean, you have two in college.
and you have a 16 year old
and two years
it's gonna be in college
or whatever that works like.
I pray so.
I mean like bro,
dude,
that's big, man.
Thank you.
Do you ever acknowledge that
about yourself?
I mean,
when I posted it on social media,
I mean,
I didn't really think about it
but just like to see
some of the people
that's closest to me
happy for me
to see some of the comments
it made me feel proud of myself
as a dad.
And like honestly,
just dropping my,
my daughter off, she was the first one. I bought my eyes out and I cried and then dropping my son
off I cried. He was a little tougher. Like, he probably shed a tear or two, but who knows when
he got to the room if he really cried or not. But it was tears of joy for me just to see how far I've
come and to see how far my kids come and what they pan out to be. Like I said, they represent me.
And from my perspective, they all look like great kids and me. Yeah, absolutely.
It might be biased because I'm their dad. I mean, the community loves them. I mean, I follow everything
they do. You know, they're good kids, man. You're a good man. You're a good coach. You're an amazing
father. And you have made so much impact in this world. And I hope you continue to do that and
continue to grow and get your message out there and be a positive light for everybody else.
So, dude, thank you so much, Noel for coming on. Dude, it was incredible, bro. Your story
is unbelievable. Thank you guys for having me. Thank you for giving me the platform to be able to
share my story and open up to you guys. Thank you.
Absolutely. This man right here is the epitome of a father and a leader. Come down to the Yami,
check him out, and just get to know him because, dude, you are just getting started, my man.
Oh, thank you, brother.
I appreciate you, thank you.
Absolutely.
Share in French, what up?
Let the pain inspire me. I'm from all and everything I'm doing.
Up until it's done, I meet for the entirety. I put it in overtime. I'll be working.
Just know I'm a go for mine because I earned it. They watch and I know it's time.
I confirmed it.
A whole society.
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