The Ryan Hanley Show - RHS 002 - Justin Forsett on the Evolution from NFL Pro Bowler to Entrepreneur

Episode Date: September 17, 2019

Became a Master of the Close: https://masteroftheclose.comNow a successful entrepreneur, former NFL Pro-Bowler, Justin Forsett, joins The Ryan Hanley Show to share his experience evolving from professional sports to business. Justin explains which skills and mindsets help him reach peak performance in both chapters of his life. Get more here: https://ryanhanley.com/Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello and welcome to episode two of the Ryan Hanley show and today I want to introduce you to Justin Forsett, an NFL pro bowler turned entrepreneur who has an incredible story. His story alone, his origin story alone isn't why I wanted to have him on the show. What I love about Justin is that he capitalizes every day in everything that he does on his superpower, and it has nothing to do with his athletic ability. I want to start with a tweet just because it's interesting to me. I'm a former athlete.

I'm a Division III college baseball player, maybe slightly different level. But I'm always interested in this kind of thing. And you sent out a tweet talking about the Oakland Coliseum. You said, if anyone wants to know what it feels like to fall on that dirt in the Oakland Coliseum, go outside right now, sprint as fast as you can in the middle of the street. Once you get up to full speed, jump as high as you can and belly flop on the pavement. I'm just interested, like, was it really that bad? Like, it just sounds terrible.

It is that bad, man. So after I sent that tweet out, and it went viral, that tweet is like over 20,000 likes before it had tweet. And so with that, it's baseball field because the A's are still playing and the football field, they're playing the Coliseum. So in the middle, like around a 50, 40-yard line, it's grass, and then you have this huge chunk of, like, clay for the infield. And what they do is, like, normally for a baseball game,

because I played baseball in high school, normally a baseball game, they rake the sand, they water it, they make it soft. But in that Coliseum, they remove all of the extra dirt, all the extra, you know, sand from the infield and they dry it out. So it is super hard. It is like, like you can hear your cleats, like as you were walking on concrete with your cleats on. Wow.

It is, it is brutal. And people were sending me, like, photos of, like, Pete Rose diving into second base, like, jumping up. And I'm like, man, it's not the same. If Pete Rose dived headfirst in this clay, like, he would have got up with, like, most of his chest and face missing. Yeah. You know, I've heard the story. You know, players have talked about it for years, how bad is and it and I guess that's obviously why they're leaving for Las Vegas but uh at least part of the reason why they're leaving for Las Vegas but um it's

interesting to me that today 2019 and this was so I was scrolling through all the comments and it's just funny how um people can't just give you that comment like they've never been there they've never experienced they're gonna hammer on you with all these gifts and pictures. I just thought that was so funny. It's good that you're taking it in good nature, right? Yeah, yeah, for sure. It was fun. So obviously I have you on here and I want to share your story with this audience because

I think you've had a really interesting journey in your career. And I want to start kind of at the beginning of where you were drafted in the seventh round in the NFL draft. And I think, you know, baseball has 70 rounds or 100 rounds. I mean, it goes on forever. But in NFL, it's, you know, if you get picked towards the end of that draft, a lot of those guys don't end up making it onto the actual 53 man roster, 53 man roster, whatever it is. And so, and I've heard other interviews that you've given where you've talked about your preparation and I am just, I'm really interested in both your mindset, like when you got drafted and then like, when did you

start to figure out that you were going to have to work, you know, that much harder to kind of make your dream a reality? Talk me through that process. Cause it had to be, you know, super, you had to go deep on that. Yeah. I mean, it honestly all started from a young age, man. I was always limited labeled, you know, the underdog. So I was, you know, had to fight for what I wanted. Nothing came easy for me. So I had to put in that that's what equity – I had to work hard. I had – you know, they were telling me I was too short and too slow,

too small, all these different type of things my entire life. So getting drafted in the seventh round at pick 233, you know, just a few picks away from Mr. Irrelevant. Like that was no different to me. I just had to keep my head down, stay focused, excel at what I could control, which was my attitude, my effort, my preparation, and just kind of let the chips lay where they may because that's what I was used to.

What do you think is different about that, though? So many people, I think, you know, at 5'8", right, not prototypical size for an NFL running back. A lot of people would have just given up. Like, as soon as they heard their first, the first coach or the first, you know, parent in the stands or whoever say, you know, a man like you're probably just too small. Like, they would have believed that. They would have let that sink in. And obviously, you didn't. So So where do you think that comes from? One, it was be simple because I did believe in my abilities. Like I, I believe that, you know,

I had something special within me. And then just where I came from, I wanted so much more for my life. It was something that thing, the thing that I was chasing was greater than myself. So I wanted so much more for my life. It was something that thing, the thing that I was chasing was greater than myself. So I wanted something better for my family. You know, I was at one point, you know, living out of a motel with my dad and my, my, my mom and two brothers.

There was times when I had to take baths with bottled waters. There was times when I had to do my homework by candlelight because we couldn't afford to pay bills. Like all those things I was thinking about in tough times and those would motivate me, fuel me to keep pushing forward. I wasn't going to let anything stand in my way. Not even critics doubt, from people around me, coaches, teachers, you name it.

I was not going to be denied. When you get to the, to the, your very first practice or OTAs, are you invited to OTAs as a, as a draft pick? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So you can learn, there's an OTA seven route pick. You go to OTAs and all those mini camps. So you get there, like, is there immediately an established pecking order

or it's kind of all the rookies grouped together? Like, how does that work? Like, are you fighting from day one or do you get like, like from high school to college, you kind of get a rebirth, right? Like everything you did in high school is kind of reset. When you get to college, you get to kind of reestablish yourself in this new space.

Is that the way it is in the NFL or does it, is there still that pecking order that's coming in? Well, first normal, you get there with the rookies. So the veterans aren't even there yet. So you're just practicing, working out and training with the rookies. And so everybody's in the same boat and then then it kind of gets you up to speed, and then you have, like, your first real organized team activity, OTA, and you're practicing with the team.

And that was pretty cool. I mean, there is a paint in order. When you see the stars going in, and I'm in a huddle with, you know, Matt Hasselbeck and Walter Jones, who's a Hall of Famer, and Julius Jones, who's the running back, starting running back at the time. Nate Burleson, all those guys. I'm like, man, this is guys I watched on TV. It's kind of a surreal moment. Like, man, you kind of made it.

And I'm in a huddle getting a play call from a house back was pretty, pretty insane for me. So that was definitely pecking order. So tell me a little bit about like the first time. So I've interviewed other athletes. You're the first person I've ever talked to who's been in the NFL. And I was talking to a gentleman who used to play in the NHL. And I asked him like the first time you put one in the back of the net, like your rookie season, you pump one in the back. You know, what was that like?

And he's like, well, you know, I'd done it so many times in other leagues. Like it wasn't that big a deal. Is that the same the first time you touch pay dirt in the NFL? You know, you bust through and you score a touchdown. Does it feel the same or is that another level? No, man. That was a pretty special moment for me to get into the end zone. I remember I was in – it was in Phoenix playing the Cardinals,

and it was my second year in the NFL. That's when my first regular season touchdown, and somebody got hurt. The running back – sorry, the running back got hurt, so I thrust in for the – I got thrust into the lineup for the rest of the game as every down back and broke through, and it was just like a you know adrenaline rush you know just all the emotions of you know scoring your first touchdown um it's kind of like you finally made it and arrived in the NFL well and that was during a time when you still couldn't dance right so what'd you what'd you do so I always I was pretty

simple man I always uh gave thanks and it was like a prayer after, after I scored a touchdown. So. Yeah. I, I like, you like to dance and I liked it. They brought it back a little bit. I think it's fun. No, it's great for the game, man. For a long time, NFL stood for the not fun league. So I think that bringing it back brings you out of personality, you know,

the fans love it, keeps them engaged. So it's good for the sport. but that you transitioned your career from pro athlete to entrepreneur. And talk to me a little bit about when, have you always seen yourself as a business person? Has business always been on your mind? Or was there a time in your career when you started to say, hey, like, you know, the next, what am I going to do next after the NFL? And business might be a good option for me. Well, my dad was an entrepreneur. We had a restaurant for a few years growing up in Florida. But I didn't know if it was going to be, you know,

kind of my lane once I retired. But once I got in the NFL and I started seeing like those staggering statistics, we were saying like 80% of football players two years after they're done are either bankrupt, divorced, or depressed. I knew I didn't want to be in that number and in that statistic. And I would look around and I saw guys like, you know, Magic Johnson at the time, Michael Jordan, Roger Starback in Dallas. These guys like really transcended the game and used their sport as a stepping stool for their next career. And they excelled at it and they became locals. And that's kind of what I wanted to do. I was kind of trying to find out, OK, how was I going to do it?

Fortunately or unfortunately, I was fired a lot of times. I was fired six times throughout my career. So I had to think about the end a lot. And, you know, I had this concept. We talked about shower pill uh with a couple of my college teammates and I felt like okay this can be the avenue where I can be you know a voice to those who uh were placed in the box us being athletes like just like play football or play a sport and just do that and you're fine and then you'll go broke. But I wanted much more. I wanted to be in

that other number with like Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan. So I pursued the business angle entrepreneurship. Yeah. What does it feel like? Like what would go through your mind when you hear that you've been released by an NFL team? Like, you know, you said like you, you had been fired six times and then, you know, you've, you found another, um, you found a job with another team, um, moved throughout a couple, a few different teams. Um, I was not your biggest fan when you were in Baltimore. Cause you used to run all over my bills. So I have to admit that, but, uh, obviously like you had, you know, very high moments. And then, and then obviously at different times you were released, like what goes through your mind in that moment? Like, are you questioning if there's another job for you every time or did you reserve for a period you knew you'd be able to find

something else well the first time I got fired I felt like I had an opportunity to go somewhere else because it was so early in my career but they're sure there's many times we I didn't think I was going to have another opportunity to play in the NFL and live out my dream uh I can think about that time in Jacksonville where I got fired there and I was getting ready to transition out of football I was getting ready to you know do full-time business and um you know entrepreneur journey start that up and uh you know out of nowhere Baltimore Ravens gave me a call and then my career took a turn for the good and was able to do some amazing things there in Baltimore. But, yeah, there was definitely a lot of down times.

Yeah, and for those of you who don't know, that was your Pro Bowl season, 1,200-plus yards, scored eight TDs on the ground or eight TDs total. You know, that was the year that I actually watched you live. Just mow down my Bills team, but that's all good. We'll let that go. So, okay. So you get to the point where you kind of feel like it is the end, right? And that was with the Denver Broncos, correct? That's when you were with the Broncos. You know, you've decided that you're not going to be the statistic of a former NFLer who ends up going broke, and business is going to be the next step. Like, tell me about

where the shower pill came from. Like, how did you know this was the venture that was going to be this next step? Well, I'll just give a little backstory on just the term shower pill. It came from the NFL locker room. It's a joke, inside joke, where there's pills for everything but no pills for a shower. So when a guy skipped out on a shower after a training session, he said, I'm taking a shower pill, bro. Don't judge me. So that was a joke, but it wasn't really a laughing matter inside a locker room because you could get things like staph and ringworm and skin infections. So we wanted to come up with a solution and create an actual shower pill is what we did, which is a disposable washcloth and antibacterial toilet that removes sweat, dirt, and body odor after any amount of sweat.

And so we had the idea, the concept. The locker room loved it. But when we knew we had something really special is when the feedback outside of the locker room came in. And it was, you know, your soccer moms, the campers, the hikers, the fitness enthusiasts, the runners, they all embraced the product and made it their own and felt, you know, found a home for it, so to speak. So we knew we had something special. We had, like, product market fit. People were buying the product.

We're getting had something special. We had like product market fit. People were buying the product. We're getting rave reviews. You know, we're Amazon's choice product on Amazon platform and over 500 reviews. And we're just like, okay, well, I guess the product works. And, you know, we just need to pour some gas, more time, more money on it, more money in it. And, you know, the sky's really the limit for us. So that's kind of when we knew we had something special and I can go in full time and kind of try to push this thing forward. Yeah. So talk to me about the genesis of that, because that's a, that's a,

there's a lot in there that I'd like to unpack around the business side of this, you know, and I guess maybe just in making this transition as clean as possible, like when you're looking at the entrepreneur side of your life, you know, what, what skills, what lessons, aspects of work or whatever, like from your NFL life to the entrepreneur, like what, what transitioned, what came with you? And you said, you know, this is something that, that really helped me from this previous life that I lived and what things maybe didn't transition over as well or that you had to learn now that you've been an entrepreneur for a while? For sure. So a lot transitions over, man. Transfer over to the entrepreneur life from football. I feel like I'm on the grid on every

day fighting. So work ethic, you know, commitment discipline all those it takes all those things uh you know to be a great football player and to be a great businessman and i use those skills that i had you know just being consistent persevering through tough times uh i'm no stranger to that so i fit in well in the entrepreneur uh lifestyle um some of the things that i had to pick up um with some of those skills like you know&Ls and balance sheets and investors and raising capital, those things didn't necessarily come natural to me. I actually had to study, had to research. I spent some time at an executive program at Harvard Business School this year for some I develop you know even work to help me in my business reaching out to people that have

experienced running companies have great mentors around me just so I can learn and be a sponge from was important. Just get some of those other skills that I was lacking that I didn't get from the football field. So there was a lot there that I didn't have, but more so than not, a lot transitioned over from the football field. Do you ever feel like, you know, from my own athletic career, I felt like sometimes the business side of things like perseverance and it's almost more difficult mentally because when I was a baseball player, I knew I just need to go out and hit on the tee for an hour. Like that's what I'm going to go do. I'm going to go do that. And I can see results. And sometimes it feels like, and I'm just interested

in your take in this, like it almost do, it almost feels like in business, a lot of times you can grind for a long time before you see any real development. And then it'll kind of snap forward sometimes if everything works out where when I was in my athletic career, I felt like I could see more incremental changes or more incremental improvements or adjustments day to day, a little tweak here, a little tweak there, some practice in a certain area, and I can start to see those improvements. And I know even in my own career in business, I have struggled at times with like, man, I feel like I'm doing the work. And it doesn't actually feel like I'm getting the reward that I should be getting. Did you ever find any of that or

have similar experience? Yeah, man, I felt that, you know business, but also in my playing career. So my breakout year in the NFL didn't come until year seven. I was 29 years old. That was 15 years of me doing the same things over and over again until I got a true breakthrough in my sport and in my, you know, so I was no strangers to that. So I understand that just like in sports and in business, it's a marathon, not a sprint. So you just got to water. You just got to, you know, plant. You just got to just make sure that you are excelling at those things that you can control on a daily basis and embrace the process. And if you do that, stay committed to it, I believe with consistency, you will see that growth that you want and you'll see your dreams come true and those goals that you want to attain happen. So that's kind of what I

look at. I think it always is like, you know, I may not see huge results today, but I understand that it's a marathon and not a sprint. So that's kind of my mindset. Yeah. One of the things I thought was really interesting, um, and preparing to talk to you today was, um, your experience on Shark Tank. So I'd love you, I'd love you to talk through a little bit, just both, you know, why you went on Shark Tank and what that experience was like. And then, and then some of the things that you learned coming out the other side of it. Man, Shark Tank was, was an amazing experience for me on so many levels. Not only, you know, to get on the show, to be there knowing that, man, this is a way for us to get our product and brand out there to, to basically the world and on a big stage, but also getting there, not getting a deal,

receiving the feedback that we got, mostly positive, but knowing that there was an area inside our company where I could grow and we could grow in the financial part and having a CFO and having a better understanding of P&Ls, balance sheets and all those things. And, you know, that helped me, even though it didn't feel good at the time, being rejected on national TV, it helped me grow as a businessman and as a teammate in my,

within my company. So that experience, you know, standing in front of, you know, Mark Cuban and Barbara Cochran and Lori Grenier and Alex Rodriguez, who was the guest judge at the time, it really prepared me to be where I am at now, where, you know, after that, we kind of had to take a step back as a company and think about, okay, where are the areas where we need to grow, where we need to tighten things up and kind of prepared us where we went on to Good Morning America and crush that and then go from there into Target nationwide where, you know, we're in all 1800 stores now and a few other distribution channels throughout the country. But if I didn't have that moment of rejection, I wouldn't be where I'm at today. Did you get to spend any time with the judges outside of what, just that moment when you walked through the doors? No, no, we didn't. It was in and out.

We were the first group to pitch. And so they had a whole day left to get guys in. Yeah. How much total time do you think you spent in the room with them? Because you only get, it's like minutes on the television. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So we were over an hour in there, uh, talking, going back and forth and they show four or five minutes. Yeah. That's interesting. So one of the

things I thought was really interesting, um, in, in, in kind of looking through that experience for you was, uh, after like the, the time when the show aired, you were pumping the show really hard, even though you knew that you hadn't been in, you know, you hadn't gotten a deal. And you like got a little bit of flack for that, which I just talk me through one your thought process, because I love that you did that. I think it's tremendous. And I understand why you did it. But, you know, one, what was your thought process? And two, like, when you do, you know, someone your position who does have public persona um you know like when you get pushback on something or you get flack or you get haters we were talking before about all the p rose flop gifts that you got you know like how do you handle that emotionally um

man like i said i grew up i mean no one expected me to be where I'm at today. No one expected, you know, this 5'8", 190-pound running back to play nine years in the NFL. So being rejected, being, you know, laughed at or criticized is something that I've been used to. And I just ignore the noise, whether it's, you know, good or bad. And after, you know, the reason why I pumped it, you know, and people are like, man, why would you do that? You know you didn't get a deal. It just looked bad. And after, you know, the reason why I pumped it, you know, and people are like, man, why would you do that? You know, you didn't get it. You didn't get a deal. And it just looked bad. So the reason was because this is an opportunity for people to see us take a loss on TV,

so to speak. You take a loss on where we didn't get a deal. But I wanted them to be able to see that it's okay to fail. It's okay to take a loss as long as you learn from it. And I was determined and made a declaration to myself that this won't be the last time that the world sees me as an entrepreneur. I'm going to do everything I can within my power to make this company go. Yes, you saw me when I was at my lowest point as an entrepreneur. But just remember that I'm not dead yet and I'm not done yet with this passion that I have in this company that I'm running. So I want people to see that it's okay to have some rejection and some setbacks. It's how. And, you know, I think about that every day. And when I wake up, you know, it pushes it pushes me and fuels me to go forward.

I'm so interested in that mindset that you have. This to me feels like the crux of, or at least a part of the success, how you've gotten to where you are in all the different aspects of your life has been this particular mindset like that, that you didn't, you don't let these, you know, I hate the word haters because I feel like it's so overplayed, but just any negativity, you don't let that slow you down, right? There's something, some sort of belief inside you that, that you just, you know, this is what I believe. This is who I am. I'm going to keep pushing forward because I know where I want to be. Is there, are there any, um, there might not be tactics, but are there any, um, I guess,

ideas, mantras, concepts that maybe someone who doesn't handle it so well, right? Like when negativity comes into their life, they, they really, they, they let it drag them down. Is there, is there anything you can share with them share with them that they can maybe hold in their head or something that they can repeat or maybe something that you've written or created that they can go back and watch to help them get through this? Because this to me feels like your superpower if I'm pulling it out. Well, man, yeah. For one, my faith is very important to me. So I realized that a long time ago that I'm on Earth not only for myself and self-consumption, but to make a difference and have an impact in people's lives. So anytime I come across anything that I see as a setback or adversity, I think about the greater scheme of things and how I can use that to help people.

So when adversity hits, I don't ask the question, why me? Or why do I always have to take the long road or the hard road? I ask the question, how? How can I use this to make me better? How can I use this to push my company forward? How can I use this to make me a better husband, a better father? You name it. So that's the kind of perspective that I take. And then realizing that there's going to be a lot that's out of my control. So those things that I can control, excel at it, attitude,

effort, preparation. I say it over and over again. It's important. And then being accountable, um, to what I call a huddle in life. So I have a group of people,

a group of, uh, individuals that I trust that I can be vulnerable with that I could be transparent with that kind of helps me and push me when times get rough and a lot of times people want to isolate themselves when they get hard times but that's when you nearly need to dig deep and dig deeper into your huddle where you can get guidance and instruction you know from those people that love you the most so a combination of those things can allow me to have that, you know,

mental. So, so I, I love this, be accountable to a huddle idea. It's for the non football fans who may be listening to this. The huddle is the collection of guys on the offensive side of the ball before they play is. And, and that just, just to give people some context. I'm sure I think most people understand the reference. The question I have from what you just said, and I, and thank you for that. It really is.

I think what I was looking to get, how do you choose that huddle? Like for you, like you personally, when you're thinking about the people who are in that huddle with you, how do you, how do you choose them? Like what goes through your mind when you personally, when you're thinking about the people who are in that huddle with you, how do you choose them? Like what goes through your mind when you're thinking about who you want to be in that space with you? People that add value, you know, people that experience, people that are honest, people that are loyal, trustworthy, because you want to be in a place where it's actually a safe place where you can be vulnerable, where you can vent, where you can really say what's on your mind and not

really feel like you're going to be judged by the way you feel, whether it's good, bad or indifferent. So I look for those people. Um, you know, I always say that if you're the only person in your circle or huddle that adds value, then it's not a circle, it's a prison and you can find your way out um because uh you want people that are going to lift you up and you know and add strength to the group not not stress so that's kind of what i look for yeah so where um i want to bring us back to the shower pill um where is the shower pill going from here, man? I mean, you're national syndication and targets. I know you're in a lot of fitness centers, including crunch, including metabolic.

And, you know, what, what's the, what's the next step for, for the shower pill? Do you have any other products coming out, out of the company? Like talk to me a little bit about the, about where, where the next steps in your entrepreneurial journey go. Yeah, man, it's pretty cool with the shower pill, which, you know, it simply means it's just that shower on the go, um, you know, product. And, uh, we got the body wipes out in stores, gyms all over the country. And, uh, we actually have our face wipes coming out, which will be in target all over the country here next, starting next week. Um, when we're releasing that product and we'll probably have another skew coming out here uh soon before year ends but um but yeah just create more cool dough products for the consumer that's uh on the go and enjoys fitness and you know uh

health you know so that's kind of that's kind of the direction we're headed well i i'm very glad that our that our paths have crossed one because i got to spend this amount of time with you. Also, you know, and this is, you know, in full transparency to everyone listening at home, we sell we sell the shower, pill the body wipe in metabolic studios. And the reason is that it works. There's a lot of a lot of people that come in, they're like, they're moving, they get a metabolic workout, and they want to get back to work in that extra 1015 minutes that it takes to hit the shower. Maybe they just don't have that time or, or maybe they just want to clean up before they jump back in their car and head home for the family at the end of the day. And, you know, in terms of everything that you'd want out of a wipe that non alcoholic, you don't you don't want your skin to get dry. That's not what happens.

You know, the you got a nice nice smell. Um, you know, you, within no time, your clothes feel just like, as if you hadn't used it, which isn't the case with other body wipes that I've used. So, um, it's been, it's been a good product. And I'll tell you not just a lot of people come in and buy them out of our shop who are going camping. You would say campers. That's a huge one. Like people will come in, like clients will come in and buy a couple couple boxes and take them out. And they're going camping. So hey, man, I think you got something. I think it's incredible that that you have been able to be such a shining example of someone who can take a professional

career and transition it into an entrepreneurial journey. I think whether it's the NFL or just working for a large company, I don't think it necessarily has to be a pro athlete. I think whether it's the NFL or just working for a large company, I don't think it necessarily has to be a pro athlete. I think what I love about your story is that you didn't let the first, you know, you didn't let the first half of the book be the second half of the book. You kept writing that story. And I'm just very happy that you came on here and shared it with us today. Thank you. I appreciate you having me, Ryan. It's my pleasure to be on. Yeah. Just where's the best place for someone to connect with you? I'll have links up on the show notes and everything, but just one place for people to get at you. Yeah. You can go to at J4set on all platforms or at Shire Pillow on all platforms and find me there. All right. Appreciate you, man. All right. Thanks, Ryan. Close twice as many deals by this time next week.

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