Determined Society with Shawn French | Adversity & Mindset - From NFL Stardom to Serving Veterans with Drayton Florence

Episode Date: September 30, 2024

In this riveting episode of The Determined Society, host Shawn French dives deep with former NFL star Drayton Florence. They discuss overcoming adversity, the impact of haters as motivational fuel, and the transition from a successful football career to founding a company dedicated to helping military veterans. They also highlight the leadership lessons Drayton has carried from his coaches into his post-NFL ventures and his passion for coaching high school football. Tune in to hear inspiring stories, practical advice, and discussions on mental health and leadership, all aimed at empowering listeners to persevere and succeed. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Rinse takes your laundry and hand delivers it to your door, expertly cleaned and folded, so you could take the time once spent folding and sorting and waiting to finally pursue a whole new version of you. Like T-time U. Or this T-time U. Or even this T-time U. Said you hear about Dave?

Or even T-time, T-time, T-time, T-time U. So update on Dave. It's up to you. We'll take the laundry. Rinse. It's time to be great. Stories like that are the things that make you and I on the same wavelength, man. Being told you're too small, you can't do this, you can't do that.

Just being able to find within yourself that determination factor where you can just go conquer and do everything. And the haters that are along the way just help fuel the fire. So I enjoyed it, man. Yeah, you know the haters, right? The people that are there telling you can't do something. I feel like they fulfill a certain purpose in your life. They're there strategically to give you fuel and to give you energy, right? You know, what if you spent your whole life playing football,

got drafted, went into the NFL and had an illustrious career, a very successful one and an impactful one? And then when you were done, you decided to give more back for military vets, and you created a company that could help them with their disability benefits after they are unenlisted or leave the service for the United States of America. And then also, go coach high school football to impact the youth. Well, this next story is a very good one, and I want you to come with me and hear and see the amazingness of Drayton Florence.

Come on. Shout French, what up? I'm for my all and everything I'm doing. Up until it's done, I meet for the entirety. I'm putting an overtime. I'll be working. Just know I'm a go for mine because I earned it. They watch and I know.

What's time? I confirmed me. A whole society determined. Determines. What's up, everybody? We were back at Lynch's Irish Pub with my boy, Grayne Florence, an 11-year NFL event. He's doing some amazing thing for military veterans getting their disability benefits.

So welcome the show, man. Good to see you. Man, thanks for having me on, man. I'm excited to have this conversation with you. Absolutely, man. It's good to see you here. You've been in Jacksonville ever since you stopped playing, man. What about Jacksonville made you want to stay here?

kind of, you know, hold up camp. Well, I lived in San Diego. I lived in Buffalo, and I didn't like the state taxes way too high. So when I moved to Florida, I was all in on no state taxes. But, you know, Jacksonville, you can't beat it. I mean, you got the beach right here. Yeah. I play golf almost every day.

So I got the best golf courses in the country. And, you know, it's just close to home where I grew up down from Ocala, Florida. Yeah. So it was an easy transition, man. And I've been here for over 12 years now. That's awesome. That's awesome. So after the NFL, I mean, what's talking about your career in the NFL?

How was that? You played college football at Tennessee Chattanooga. There was one more stop too, wasn't there? Tuskegee University. Yeah. That's where I got drafted. Yeah. Second round?

46 pit? 46. That's awesome, man. That's awesome. What was that experience like for you? It was unbelievable, man. I mean, those four years went by so fast and, you know, transitioning from one college to another midway, you know, after my sophomore year. I went to Tuskegee University.

And I was fortunate enough to get drafted in the second round from the division to school. So, you know, my whole career was, you know, defying the odds, always being the guy that they had a question mark besides. So, you know, I kind of took that as motivation and fuel. And, you know, that's one of the reasons why I ended up lasting so long playing this game for 11 years. Obviously, I was blessed with no injuries. but, you know, just being in that position, being able to play the game that long, and now I'm coaching at Bowles High School here in Jacksonville. Dude, that's awesome.

So I'm giving that knowledge back to the next generation and watching these guys develop and become successful on and off the field. Yeah, man. I want to touch on that, but first I want to go back to the underdog, right? You said you were overlooked, man. I grew up my whole life, kind of the same thing. And even getting into the podcast space, feel like I've been stepped on, overlooked, And it really does provide that internal drive.

So, but, you know, it doesn't always look the way people think it looks like, right? Like, people think it looks like all this gritty thing. But sometimes it's just getting up and doing the dang work, man, putting one foot in front of the other, how did you, in those moments where you felt you're being undervalued underlook, how did you stay determined to keep fighting forward? Well, I put all my eggs in one basket. I know we tell people not to do that. But I bet on myself, you know, I was determined, number one,

to outwork anybody that I ever met, and that's teammates, coaches, no matter what. And I knew when I made that transition from D1A to Division II ball, you know, that question mark was going to be there. Yeah. So I'll tell you a quick story. I'm down at the Senior Bowl. I'm the only Division II player there. But Rishin Mathis is also their local guy from Jacksonville.

Right. So he went to Bethune Cookman, but that's a D1A. So I'm a D2 guy. They throw us in the room together. We're sitting there at night. We're just talking. You know, we're the only two Black College HBCU guys here. What are we going to do?

So there's a tradition at the Senior Bowl where you take your helmet emblem and you pass it around to y'all there are the guy. Right, right. And I was like, screw that. Like, you know, I'm keeping my D2 helmet the way it is. Yes. Like, I'm here on business. Everybody here socializing and networking.

Like, I'm the guy that's here that all this. scouts are saying, does this guy belong? So I had something to prove that week down in Mobile at the Super Bowl. So that was, you know, stories like that are the things that make you and I on the same wavelength, man, being told you're too small, you can't do this, you can't do that, just being able to find within yourself that determination factor. Yeah, man. Where you can just go conquer and do everything. And the haters that are along the way just help fuel the fire. So I enjoyed it, man. Yeah. You know, the, haters, right? The people that are there telling you can't do something. I feel like they,

they fulfill a certain purpose in your life. They're there strategically to give you fuel and to give you energy, right? And then you take that and you internalize it. As long as you don't let it eat you up, it can be the most valuable energy, man. And that's what I found. It's like, okay, well, you don't believe any bet. Hold my beer, watch me do this, right? Exactly. Exactly. I mean, everywhere you go at every stop, whether it's business, whether it's sports, there's always going to be those negative nancies in the room. Let's identify them and let's use that as an example for everybody else. That's not how we want to be.

Yeah, and you know that's just not your people, right? You're there for a reason. Okay, fine, I see you. Thank you. Good. We move on. When it comes to what your family eats and drinks, you know your choices matter. You're the expert because you know what fits your life.

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Because, man, it happened to me in baseball. You know, I was not strong enough, not fast enough. And I went, played in the SEC, played at LSU. You know? So, I mean, once I got there, I got injured. And it's like, you're never coming back from this. You're never playing here. You'll never wear a uniform.

And then I played. I got healthy. And then I played my senior year in a backup role. But, man, I was told I would never. receive the field and I did it and a lot of it was you know because I want to prove somebody wrong but now I've grown so much it's like I'm just here to prove myself right now you go you know what I mean I would imagine probably about when you transition to your NFL career now you're there it's like okay I'm proving myself right yeah it was a lot of that like like you just detailed a lot of it was

proving myself right and then a lot of it was what can I get out of this opportunity and I saw more than just sports. So I actually went back to college while I was playing ball, got my degree, got my master's degree, and I opened up a business while I was still playing. So I wanted to use that access that I had to different opportunities, kind of maximize and do my own transition to the entire life. So, I mean, I had a blast, man. I met so many different people, so many amazing people. I'm on a podcast with you. Thanks, man. In 2024, I never thought I would be doing this, but you know, you just got to follow the path that guys got sent for you and just, you know, continue to move forward.

Dude, that's it, man. We don't know the end game, what our job is to be here now and do what, follow the assignment, right? Exactly. Do what we do. And then the end game shows up. And a lot of times it's never what we look like, right? Right.

So what we imagined. Like, I never imagined I would be sitting here on the show, right, talking to high level athletes, former athletes and amazing entrepreneurs like yourself. It's like, dude, but my life. led me here. And again, I had to walk through that door. Yeah. And I had to, I had to hone my craft, right? I had to get better and get better. And so point where now we're here, man. So now it's like trust in the process. We just keep working, man. You know, so now, you know, fast forward to now. You own a, you own a company that helps vets. You know, how was that? That's rewarding work, man.

Talk to me about that. Yeah. Yeah. So you got, you know, all these politicians that they offer the vets, they want to help vets. Yeah. When it's time to make sure that the legislation protects them, you know, they turn their back. So me and my dad started a company about 13 years ago, international company, because we have clients all over the world. And, you know, we help veterans with their disability and compensation claims. We also help them transition from the military to the civilian world, whether that's with job

interview skills, being able to present themselves and show that their skills transition into the world. That's a big one, man. That's a massive one. It's the same thing with athletes. Being able to process decision, decision making on a dime. Those kind of skills are very transferable to the real world. But what blows me away is like to your point, like the resumes and these vets, right? Go on the world. It's like, oh, you don't have experience. Like, I just fought for your country, man. Exactly. It's like, what the fuck, right? Like, that is massive, man. You Help with the mental health aspect too. Yes, definitely.

So we help with the mental health, PTSD, depression, anxiety. Man. You know, it's so rewarding working with the people that serve and protect our country on a day-to-day basis. And not only helping the veterans, but helping their families as well. So it's amazing, man. And, you know, we got a big Navy presence here in Jacksonville. And, you know, just to be out in the community,

coming to different events, meeting the guys that serve the country and women. because I come from a military background. My grandfather served in the Korean War. Wow. My father served 20 years in the United States Army. All my uncles served, and my sister just retired after 29 years in the United States Army. So you got that passion, man.

I got that passion, man. I was born on a military base. I was going in Fort Knox County. Wow, really, man. Kentucky, huh? Yeah. See, that's amazing because when you can take your passion of something you believe in so much

and turn it into a career, a business where you can actually go and help people, man, you have a purpose-filled life every day. Yeah, so I tell my friends, I don't work. I just help people all day. Yeah, man. Some people may not understand that though, right? It's like, what do you mean? You have this company. You're doing all this. It's work. But like when you love it, like, I'm working right now. This ain't work, bro. This isn't work. Like, I get to do this. This shit's fun. You know, so, man, like, how is that, how has that fulfilled your life? Like, as far as, like, you know, filming. You know, filming. that fulfillment because after the NFL, I would have to assume when you're that transition

from NFL player to regular duty, that's a tough one, man. Oh, yeah. It's very tough. And a lot of guys struggle with that because there is no roadmap or guide to tell you how to deal with what you've done your whole life. Right. All of a sudden, you can't do it anymore. So a lot of teammates that I've had and myself, a lot of guys go through different phases.

Luckily for me, I was able to transition a little bit more smoothly than others. But just knowing the resources that are available to us, tapping into our mental health, tapping into different opportunities and resources that can assist us. Because, you know, we all got that ego. And it's hard to deal with. So just being aware of mental health, things that it can do for you, how you can get help. And I think the NFL does a pretty good job of kind of helping guide guys through. Like I said, there's no blueprint.

Yeah. So we all go through our ups and downs. Luckily, me being focused on helping other people, it's kind of helped me, you know, maneuver that a bit smoother than others. At the very beginning of that transition out, was there those moments where you felt lost? Because, I mean, dude, I only play college baseball. And I was like, dude, I don't know who the heck I am. Yeah, no doubt.

I mean, I'd be lying to it. I tell you, I did it. I mean, you got, I think I played football from 1988 to 2014. That's crazy. So it was a part of, it's like, wake up. up brushing your teeth. DNA, man. It's what I do, it's who I am, but, you know, I was a little different because I played

so long, I was able to plan my transition. Yeah. Other guys play two or three years and then the door is closed. Yeah, yeah. So I was a little bit more fortunate. And I also mentor guys that are still playing, the younger guys showing them the way through. And Brandon's doing a great job with that. Brandon Siler.

He's awesome, man. He's actually the guy that got me here tonight, so I want to give you a full. praise to him while he's a big shout out he's doing great things in the community as well with military veterans and NFL veterans also it's crazy I think the one thing that I respect most is when high profile high performers when they are done with their career they focus on others right right yeah because like the world could be a selfish place man you know so how how how how does that help you sleep at night man because that's that's special well that's that's what we It's called leadership, right?

Yeah. You know, leaders always want to help and get everybody on the same page. So, you know, I've been around a lot of great leaders in my life. I've been blessed. And me and Brandon actually played for, I think, one of the best coaches in the NFL, Marty Schuytenheimer. Oh, too, yes. He's a great leader, a humble leader, very detailed.

And those are some of the characteristics that I carry over from him to help me run the job and the business that I do on a day-to-day basis. So, you know, being the guy that accepts leadership roles and tries to get everybody on board, those are the quality qualities that you look for and a guy that's, you know, like a guy you want to bring in on board. You want to maybe hire him into your company or do business with him. Was Marty the best leader you ever played for? I wouldn't say he was the best leader I've ever played for because I played for so many great leaders of men. Yeah.

But on the NFL stage, I mean, he's right. right up there. We also had a lot of position coaches and defensive coordinators that was just as good. And they could lead men, but they just didn't get the credit as the head coach. Bro, those assistant coaches are the ones that make the impact. Exactly. Because the head coach is there making the call, doing the hard stuff. And those positional coaches are the ones that they're going to put their arm around you and treat you more like the man that you are. I always loved when I was an assistant coach because like then I can be that guy.

Right. When you're the head guy, you got to make the lineup. You got to do all that stuff, man. It's difficult getting on a personal level with everybody. Yeah. So I'm learning that in coaching now, man. Like I said, I'm coaching over at Bowles High School. I'm excited for the upcoming season.

We've got a lot of great players, top recruited players. We've got five-star guys on our roster. It's a great school, man. It's a great school, not only athletics, but academic-wise. So, you know, I'm excited about the season that's coming up. Looking forward to it, man. How many years you've been coaching there, man? It's my first year.

Oh, congratulations. Yeah, so like I just, we just went through spring and now we're in summer. Oh, dude, that's exciting. Yeah. What are you most excited about? Just watching the kids develop and, you know, a lot of mistakes that we were making in the spring. We've corrected those, so we aren't making those mistakes. So now we're actually, I want those guys to slow the game down.

And what I mean by that is when they're processing the game mentally, the game slows down. You know, as a former athlete, you know, when it's 0 and 2 or 0 and 3, you know what pitch is coming. Do you. Two steps ahead of the pitcher. So it makes the game feel a little bit slower. So I'm interested to see how those guys can transition, slow the game down, by thinking the game instead of just using the athletic ability.

And that all comes from leadership too, man, right? Because like how you lead as the head guy and how your coaches also assist you in leading, the preparation is the thing, right? Because if they're not prepared and they don't understand the playbook, they don't understand assignments, they can't read a defense, then it's really hard. It is really hard to slow the game down. Yeah, because you're guessing at that point.

Yes, guesswork, man. You're guessing. It's just like a test. If you haven't studied for that test, you're cooking, you're guessing. There's nothing more, the best feeling I can say for me in sports

is being overly prepared. So I know exactly what the offensive coordinator on our other team is thinking on third round before he makes the car. And that's by studying, right? Exactly. It's by watching trends, watching film and understanding the game,

X's and O's wise, but also the tendencies in the mindset of that opposing coach. That's a tough one, bro. Well, that's the part of the game that I miss the most. Yeah. When people always ask me,

well, what do you miss? It was the mind game. Yeah. Studying that offensive coordinator and knowing what he's going to do on 32 or 33. And you see him bringing that personnel in. And then you see the formation.

Yeah. And then you see the motion. And you're like, okay, yeah, coming. So, you know, being able to think the game out and then letting the athletic ability to just do what to do. That's the high level part of it, man, because if your mind is free and you know what's going on, your body just moves with it. It's almost like, dude, I see everything before it happens, right? Exactly. It's just like the year that Joe Burrow had at LSU. Like, he knew everything. He couldn't miss. He just, he couldn't. He couldn't. He couldn't. He was

prepared. He was a coach's son. Exactly. He's a coach's son, man. So when you can do that, right? It's just, it's everything. Yeah. But that's the part people want to skip. That's the part people don't see it.

Yeah? Right. Because that's the iceberg underneath, right? Exactly. We've got the success up here. We've got the touchdown passes. We've got the interceptions. Right.

The Super Bowl rings, the national championships. But nobody sees down here. How long has he been in the film movie? Oh, man. Is he breaking down courage is with his receiver? Yep. He got his old line. in there going over protections like all of that stuff now I will say the hard knocks

they're doing a pretty good job of giving us a behind-the-scenes look they are on how they prepare how teams prepare yeah I like to see more of that on a college level as well I would love that I would love that a good thing that maybe we should put that together what's that we should probably put that together you want to that's a good idea I mean and we can start with you well there we go dude hard knocks NCAA. Why not? We call it something different.

Let's stop talking about it. I stop talking about it, because someone's going to take it. Traymark. We got to cut that out. We got that part out. But dude, thank you so much, brother, for coming on. No problem, man. And sharing your story and talking about what you do.

You're making a big difference. The biggest difference you're making is with the vets and these children that you're working with, man. You're a real hero, you're a real leader. Thank you so much. And I appreciate you having me all. Absolutely, bro. Let's do it again. Absolutely.

What I've always found is all the flavors, you can taste artificial flavoring in them. With raw, it's exactly that. I don't taste that. It's a clean protein source. It tastes great, and I'm not putting a lot of things in my body that aren't good for you. The biggest thing that I will say that I love about raw nutrition and bum energy is they're all natural ingredients in the third-party tested. So what that means is an actual lab test. is to make sure what's in the product is actually what is stated on the label.

And then you'll see on the website of raw nutrition that it is signed off on. So there's no banned substances in these products. Athletes can use them safely and not get tested and pop for a failed drug test for performance enhancing, you know, ingredients. It's completely safe. Guilt-free, baby. George Garcia, my man, hey, thanks so much. Dude, your local guy from Jacksonville Beach, the beaches, this is a community. How does it feel for you to create something and grow something that can help this community out and for you to just see it get better, man? You know, First Beach's Insurance is so important to me, but more important to me is the beaches community.

My family's been in this area for over 100 years. It's who we are. We care about the people. We care about the businesses. We just love seeing this place prosper. That's amazing, dude. And just thank you so much for being here today, supporting this event, 10 year anniversary and adaptive and helping to determine society, you know, just in everything that we're doing here. and everything that we're doing here, you're truly, truly outwardly focused. And I had no idea your family's been here for over 100 years. That's a legacy, man. Talk to me about that because that's big. Yeah, so it's kind of funny. People always say, how are you, O'Garcia? It was just a guy that came

over on a boat in Cuba in 1875, and we ended up in Jacksonville, Florida, and been at the beach ever since. It's just a place we love. This is beautiful. I tell you, I'm a big fan. I'm so happy to meet you. I love what you do with the Trevor Lawrence wig. Yeah. You really dive into the creative part of this whole business and in the outreach to the community. I just think it's great to see and I wish more people were doing that. How'd you figure out how'd you come up with that? So the wig idea was actually, it was a gift for my son who was four years old, but he wouldn't wear it. And so I started wearing it. And I mean, I'm Duval till I die for sure. We're Jaguars all the way. So the wig, everyone loves it. Everyone loves Trevor.

You know, so that's just something we do to try to keep it light. It's just insurance, you know. Right, right. Well, you got to liven it up a little bit, right? That's right. You know, Trevor, you guys locked him down for some more. He's staying. That's a big deal. Big for the community. Big for my content, too. Absolutely. Because, dude, what if you had to get like a short wig? I know, I know. We can't do that again. Your whole brand would be off. Exactly. So we got him locked in for seven years. That's seven more years of content. We're ready to go. Beautiful, man. Well, listen, dude. I appreciate you, George. Thank you so much.

Thanks, Sean. insurance right here at Jacksonville Beach, Florida. Peace. See here. Shout French, what up? This one luck I let the pain inspire me. I put my 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. I confirmed. Next up is a little song from CarMax about selling a car your way. You want to sell those wheels. You want to get a CarMax instant off.

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