Keep Showing Up & Realize Your NFL Dreams—with Andrew East – EP98
So, you’ve spent your whole life working to become a professional athlete. But you’ve signed 8 contracts with 6 different teams in 4 years, and you have yet to play in a game. What do you do? Most of us would get discouraged and call it quits. Andrew East just kept showing up, and though things didn’t happen on the timeline he had planned, he did achieve his dream of playing in the NFL—and discovered a meaningful life off the field in the process.
Andrew is a long snapper for the NFL’s Washington Redskins. He played college football at Vanderbilt, serving as team captain for two years and playing in multiple bowl games. Andrew is also the host of the Redirected Podcast and the creator of Side Hustle Social, a social media marketing platform designed to support aspiring influencers in learning to make money through social media.
Today, Andrew joins us to discuss the bittersweet way he got a scholarship to play Division I college football and how he achieved his NFL dreams—on an unexpected timeline. He describes the pressure around being a professional athlete, explaining how mental health issues impact the overall health of NFL players and why they are responsible for their own wellbeing. Listen in for Andrew’s insight on the nutrition and financial challenges of professional American football players and learn to have faith when things aren’t happening on your timeline!
Topics Covered
[1:24] How Andrew’s background shaped him- Dad allowed to believe anything possible
- Parents supported college football dream
- Got scholarship when player murdered
- Did best to pay tribute, positive influence
- Helped reach goal to earn Eagle Scout
- Drove around country to get in front of teams
- Never know how long advantage might last
- Keep working to achieve (unexpected timeline)
- 8 contracts + 6 teams in 4 years
- ‘Not how it’s supposed to be’
- Anxiety attacks lingered for months
- Gave up on NFL, quit working out regularly
- Unaddressed psychological issues common
- Devote everything to dream with no Plan B
- Brutal, often leads to addiction
- Sharing hurts chances of making team
- Announced decision to quit football
- Call from Redskins 3 days later
- Life outside football affords freedom
- Trust body to perform as trained
- 4 out of 10 (lifestyle, financial factors)
- Relationships to self and others suffer
- Wife, father and business mentor
- Financial advisor and marriage counselor
- Football coach + speed, skill coaches
- Nutrition coach provided by team
- Teams beginning to track
- Use tech to shape training regimen
- Weight more important than composition
- Offensive lineman 20-25% fat
- Players ‘as replaceable as burger flipper’
- Athletes must take responsibility for own health
- Just launched social media course
- Not reliant on football for happiness
- Work toward a goal
- Keep showing up