The $1M Mistake That Changed How This Ex-Pro Baller Invests

0:04So we're gonna start off with a friend of mine Byron Burden I want to start with you sir yes how you doing You ready to have a little fun? I'm doing great. How are you doing? Nice. Okay. Everybody hear them good? Is that mic good? Awesome. So give me a little background on your athletics. You played basketball overseas. Can you give us a little bit about where you grew up and how that affected your life? Yeah, I grew up in Pennsylvania, Potsdam, Pennsylvania. Went to Temple University. Okay, okay. We got one. Yeah. And then from there, I went to Germany and played for the Bear Giants for a couple years.

0:40Nice. What visualization affirmations added value when you were in your sports to help you become successful? I think the biggest thing is just consistency and discipline. That was probably the biggest two things that really helped you to get where you need to go, the discipline and consistency. What's the one financial, the largest financial mistake you ever made that cost you a lot of money? The million-dollar mistake. Honestly, it was more about appearance, buying cars and certain things and trying to look like we had money instead of really understanding how money works and investing in things to generate money.

1:17That was the biggest thing I've seen, personally. So the car dealership was the one that took the money out of your pocket? Yeah, the car dealership back then. Yeah, too much hanging out and, you know, a lot of... The clubs? Yep. Okay, cool. If somebody wants to be a top 1 % in their field and they want to create amazing outcomes with their life, what advice would you give them? You've got to outwork everyone. There's no way around that. You just got to put the work in and keep your head down. That's probably the best advice I can give to them, for sure. Your project, can you talk about what you're doing?

1:48You're launching in L.A. this next month, I believe, right? Yeah. A.C. Green is my partner, former Laker. So September 5th in L.A., we open a fitness facility. Yeah. So it's an NIL academy and performance facility. Yeah. And we're really excited. Alexander DiPiro, FIFA ambassador, he's also our partner as well. So we'll be doing training for soccer, football, and basketball there, and also education, NIL as well. Can you talk about the NIL stuff, the financial literacy, and why that means a lot to you? Yeah, we partnered with Rockefeller Capital Management. They kind of gave us a playbook because a lot of the kids now, they really don't understand what's going on as far as taxes and just different things as far as NIL.

2:28And the parents, I see that a lot. A lot of the parents really don't know what's going on. So that's something we're going to help them with as well. Can you talk a little bit about your documentary, too? Like what you're doing with pro athletes, how you're telling testimony stories? Yeah, we have a docuseries. It's called Next Gen NIL. We filmed Ashen Gentry last April in Dallas. So he was the first athlete. And basically, it's a multi-sport docuseries. And it's just showing behind the scenes and all the different challenges that these kids go through. I mean, they see all the money at the end, but it's so much in the process that leads up to that.

3:01So this docuseries will incorporate all of that, you know, and it's entertaining. We're also working with Dick Sporting Goods. My partner with that is Jack Gilardi Jr. He's going to be helping oversee the project. What are you doing in Jacksonville with Aaron? We'll get to Aaron at the end, but what are you doing? What are you working on? Yeah, we're looking to expand into Jacksonville. Aaron, like he said, he's a former Jaguar. He has great connections out there. And we're looking to expand into underserved communities out there and really help those kids, not just sports-wise, but off the field as well, you know, definitely.

3:32So we're really excited about that. And Daniel as well with our foundation academies. We're partnering with that. We just looked at a couple properties. They're pretty cool, Aaron. That was some fun stuff. Tell me what were the biggest challenges that you went through as an athlete on the court, off the court, with your family, as a kid, getting to where you got to? Honestly, the biggest challenge I seen was just so many people pulling at you. Some family members, they think you're making money, not really understanding how much is going out, right? So you're getting calls from people always needing stuff, and you can't be everything to everybody.

4:09So that was probably the biggest challenge I've seen. I spent time with Aaron when he was with the Jaguars. I stayed with him in the summer, and I seen him dealing with a lot of stuff, which is people constantly thinking that you can just be everything to everybody, and you can't. You've got to learn how to say no. So that would be my biggest advice. That's good advice. Yep. Who is the person that made the most impact in your life as a kid? I would honestly have to say my mother. She was a superhero. She raised six kids by herself. So just seeing her to persevere and do what she did, you know, and still provide for us, that gave me just the instincts that I could do whatever I wanted to do and achieve those goals.

4:52That's awesome. Yeah. Amazing. You guys give them a round of applause.

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