NFL legend Ricky Williams joins Charles Robinson on You Pod to Win the Recreation to debate his life since hanging up the cleats, psychological well being in sports activities & launching his hashish life-style model Highsman.
Hear the total dialog on You Pod to Win the Recreation. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you pay attention.
Video Transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING]
CHARLES ROBINSON: We’re right here with “You Pod to Win the Recreation” with Ricky Williams, all professional operating again, Heisman Trophy winner, visionary behind Highsman, which is a hashish life-style model spelled H-I-G-H-S-M-A-N. I would like type of hit you with this off the highest.
For example the foundations had been completely different. You play within the NFL, say, 15 years, which might be a remarkably lengthy profession for a operating again. However for example, you play 15 years. You go within the Corridor of Fame, I suppose, prototypical extra form of Corridor of Fame path for a operating again. Would you’ve gotten been a happier particular person proper now than you might be?
RICKY WILLIAMS: No, I do not assume so. But it surely’s attention-grabbing as a result of all of us exist in a sure time interval. And so individuals say, if I used to be born 10 years later or 10 years earlier. And there is some actuality to that. However the different actuality is the folks that have been born 20 years in the past, 30 years in the past, 50 years in the past are the entrance runners within the forerunners that bought us to the place we are actually.
And so if I used to be born 20 years later, then I in all probability would have the ability to do the entire issues that I wished to do and nonetheless be a soccer participant. However after I was enjoying 10, 15 years in the past, it wasn’t potential. However I wish to assume due to what I did 15 years in the past that it is made potential now for gamers to have the ability to do this.
CHARLES ROBINSON: You first began to actually examine yoga and astrology and all kinds of various issues. Would not soccer type of infringe on that?
RICKY WILLIAMS: It looks as if in loads of other ways soccer gamers are inspired to be human beings. It looks as if the NFL and the Sports activities Leagues are beginning to notice the extra we are able to humanize our athletes, it is higher for enterprise.
And I feel the previous is being an expert athlete was so intrusive on another facets of your life that you just noticed folks that it was manifesting points as a result of we weren’t anticipating to be people. We’re anticipated to be machines. I feel the extra we are able to humanize athletes, it really empowers us to be more practical and higher position fashions.
CHARLES ROBINSON: And I bear in mind listening to you discuss simply the psychological facet of, like how a lot individuals is likely to be type of lacking the truth of how a lot mentally this may also help, not simply soccer gamers, however actually anyone individually. Are you able to speak just a little bit about that, simply why individuals appear so targeted on the bodily finish of it? However I’ve usually heard you speak concerning the psychological finish of it.
RICKY WILLIAMS: Yeah, I imply, one other buzz phrase the previous a number of years, particularly relative to athletes, is psychological well being. Again after I performed over 20 years in the past, I had a dialog on Fox Sports activities about combating social nervousness dysfunction. And again then individuals have been blown away.
And it is nonetheless type of taboo for our heroes, sports activities stars, to have psychological well being points. We’re allowed to have damaged arms and bodily points. And so once we take into consideration what’s allowed, it is extra snug to speak about how hashish may be useful for the bodily stuff.
However from my expertise, it is like, bodily ache sucks, nevertheless it would not come wherever near psychological and emotional ache. And so sure, hashish did assist me not need to take so many NSAIDs and ache capsules. However for me, the best reduction I bought was getting my thoughts proper.
CHARLES ROBINSON: I bear in mind I used to be protecting the league on the time the place the early retirement initially occurred and simply the best way it was absorbed, the best way individuals processed it and the criticism and the anger. Are we additional away from that? Does it really feel like we’re? Or is that simply type of bull-[BLEEP]?
RICKY WILLIAMS: We’ll at all times be rising farther from that, hopefully. And also you see because the longer we dwell, our perspective retains altering. As we become old, we’ll maintain seeing issues change increasingly. And I feel that is what I like about rising older, is that not solely issues that we see on the planet, however I am a lot much less loopy than I used to be after I was youthful.
And the world is much less loopy. And I feel we are able to admire that. However I am at some extent now the place I am extra taken with being a part of the world changing into much less loopy. And that was the impetus for beginning Highsman. And it is like, when are we going to begin to enable what we all know in our personal experiences of life to be extra invaluable than bull-[BLEEP], different individuals’s judgments and all that different stuff?
And that is my solely factor about hashish and the approach to life model. Our tagline is Spark Greatness. However then I noticed, you may’t be nice for those who’re caring an excessive amount of about what different individuals assume and you are not trusting your coronary heart. It is about simply encouraging individuals to be nice and reminding individuals that may’t be nice until you are keen to belief your coronary heart. And for me, hashish helped me contact my coronary heart and be taught to belief it.
