Episode Transcript
[00:00:10] Speaker A: Yes, sir. I'm excited to be here.
Hey, man. Welcome back to the Transition podcast. We got a real special guest here, my boy, Zach Follett. Hey, bro, what's up? What's happening now? This is going to be a good one because it's gonna be great, because I know it's gonna be real, it's gonna be authentic, it's gonna be genuine. It's gonna be filled with the spirit. I do this every time, so let's do this real quick. Dearly father, we thank you and praise you for this opportunity.
I'm excited to be able to carry out this call. We ask that this conversation, Lord, just be guided by your spirit and that the ears and the hearts that receive this Lord will be blessed by it. We thank you that this is fun, it's exciting, it's entertaining, but it's real. In your name we pray. Amen.
[00:01:03] Speaker B: Amen.
[00:01:03] Speaker A: So I do that every. I do that every podcast before every podcast, but I usually do it offline, like, it's not recorded. And so the last episode I did, my boy was like, man, you should just go ahead and record that. Yeah, just be real with it. So I did that, man. We said with my boy Zach Follett here. First of all, I've known Zack for. I met you coming out of the league probably like, so that was probably 2017 ish. I don't remember the exact year, the exact date, but, bro, I remember meeting you. I think it was either at a golf course or right here. I can't remember. I think we was in passing at a golf course. And I remember meeting you right here outside your first coffee shop here, a cup of joy. And, bro, we just hit it off, bro, like, you was one of the realest cats that I connected with. Your energy, your passion for Christ, for people.
I'm like, this dude is. This dude is wrong. This dude is wrong. So let me introduce this man how I know him.
Zach is a husband, a father.
He is a man of God, ex NFL 7th round draftee, and currently a CEO of cup of joy.
Eight. We're getting ready to go on eight.
[00:02:33] Speaker B: Eight tomorrow, eight shops.
[00:02:35] Speaker A: Bro, that's amazing. Congratulations. If we had, like, one of those, like, clapping things, I'd push it. Yeah, there it is. Clap it up for my boy. Clap it up for my boy.
But, yeah, bro, I'm excited to. I'm excited to share space with you today, man.
[00:02:50] Speaker B: Well, I want to say I'm excited as well, because I've done some podcasts in my day, but none with someone as real as you, as you were excited, like, oh, this dude dope. It was the same, because the brotherhood that you create with guys on the football field is you. You had that. I never have to play on your team, but I already knew that you would have been on my squad.
[00:03:11] Speaker A: Yes, sir.
[00:03:12] Speaker B: But then to have that, like, oh, here's somebody. Like we said, we're fish out of water in this world coming out of football. Here's someone that I can relate to that knows me, knows what we've gone through. But then two loves the Lord, knows the Lord.
It's just a unique combination. And so to find someone that can relate to you on things with the history that you've had, oh, it's a breath of fresh air. And so I knew that, oh, man, we're gonna be able to come in here, just chop it up like brothers, keep it real, and pray someone listens to this and like, ooh, I feel that. And give you some wisdom for your life.
[00:03:47] Speaker A: No, that's real. And I appreciate that, bro. I appreciate it. Cause it's real. So, listen, though, let me. Let me brag on yo. Let me brag on you real quick, because I thought Zach was a damn tight end.
I'm like, I like this dude. I was like, I like this dude.
He must have played tight end or something. If anybody don't know that's on the offensive side of the ball, usually catches and run and blocks and does all that.
[00:04:10] Speaker B: And I want to say I was offended by that, because offensive dudes, they're a different type of dude.
They wear the white jerseys, and they're just a little softer. Bless all you offense, but you ain't a dog like the defender.
[00:04:24] Speaker A: It's different, right?
[00:04:25] Speaker B: It's different.
[00:04:26] Speaker A: It's different. So, yeah, my apologies, bro. With all due respect, man. So I'm like.
I'm like, man, I thought this dude was a tight end. You know me, good christian brother, you know. Whoa, whoa, whoa. But then I started to do some research on my boy, so. All right, so you went to Cal, graduated from Cal Berkeley, which is amazing. You're originally here from, and I'm a brag on you a little bit then, you know, I mean, I'll let you take the reins, but originally here from Fresno, Cali or closed, California, went up to Cal Berkeley, played. What was it, what years. What years you play?
[00:04:59] Speaker B: 20 05. 20 08.
[00:05:00] Speaker A: 20 05 to 2008. So you graduated in 2009?
[00:05:03] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:05:04] Speaker A: From Cal Berkeley.
[00:05:05] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:05:05] Speaker A: Got it. So, bro, I did not know that you hold the pac ten. This was pac ten. So you notice.
[00:05:12] Speaker B: Do og.
[00:05:13] Speaker A: Yeah. Og, pac ten, and Cal record for most fumbles.
[00:05:18] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:05:19] Speaker A: Most fumble calls, forced fumbles.
[00:05:21] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:05:23] Speaker A: That's raw, bro.
[00:05:24] Speaker B: There's a reason why I had neck surgery, bro. I was coming in. You were coming in smashing.
[00:05:28] Speaker A: You was coming in hot, bro. I did not know that. So 13 forest farmers on the season, which is a pac ten record, a Cal Berkley record. I don't know if it still holds, but that's still raw.
So you were 51 tackles for loss, 23.5 sacks. Raw. Got drafted 7th round to the Detroit Lions fire. We're going to talk about that a little bit, so let's get into that real quick. Going from college to the pros, being drafted, did you expect yourself to be drafted?
[00:06:04] Speaker B: Yeah. Okay. I was projected third or fourth round. Really? Yes. But I had neck. I'd hurt my neck my junior year in college and so, and that was known. I missed three games. So as you go in, it's a meat market going to the NFL, right? What cow is good and what cow was bad? And that's why they put you through all the testing. And I failed a lot of my physicals. I had bulging discs in my neck. And so here I go thinking I'm going to be third or fourth round, right? And that comes and starts slipping and falling and now it was a humbling. It was my first humbling journey with the Lord.
And now it's the 7th round and I'm like, oh, lord, free agent coaches are calling me and I'm like, lord, the whole point of the excitement of getting drafted was where were you going to send me? God, you have a plan for my life. I don't want to have to choose and make this decision. And so I was on my knees, 7th round, like, lord, I just pray you send me to a team. Like, I just want to get drafted. Like, I see what you're doing here. And then five minutes later, Detroit lions called me and yeah, bro, that's so.
[00:07:10] Speaker A: Many, so many gems in that, bro.
[00:07:12] Speaker B: But he continued the humbling journey by sending me to the Detroit Lions because they're owing 16.
[00:07:18] Speaker A: Cause Detroit, not the Detroit now. Yesterday, Detroit was. Not today Detroit.
[00:07:22] Speaker B: I got there after an zero 116 season, worst season in NFL history. New coaching staff coming in and they're like, we're gonna, you know what I mean, set these kids right. And if you know right, coaches got egos, right. And you can't tell the first round, second round big ballers what to do. So who do they find? Oh, little white boy from Clovis, you're gonna be our little whooping boy.
[00:07:44] Speaker A: Come here.
[00:07:44] Speaker B: And boy. But also, too, it was my first. I'm a new christian, and it was my first experience of a spiritual. Of spiritual warfare. I didn't know what that was. Right. Well, someone led me to Ephesians six, and I said, oh, okay.
I'm coming here fearlessly, talking about christ like, lord. You gave me the NFL, this platform. I'm gonna preach your name. And, boy. The darkness. Extortion from strength coaches on their fine money system.
Coaches walking up and stealing my glasses. Like, wait, time out. I'm a grown up.
[00:08:18] Speaker A: Walking up and stealing your glasses.
[00:08:20] Speaker B: Cause I had Cali stunner shades, right. And the east coast coaching staff different.
[00:08:24] Speaker A: They look at California.
They looked at California people so differently across the league, bro, if you was from California, you was different.
[00:08:34] Speaker B: You're different.
[00:08:35] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:08:35] Speaker B: So the head coach come to find out. Cause I tripped. Like, bro, why are grown men touching me? What is this? And the head coach put a hit on my glasses. Like, I'm sick of walking, looking at these glasses and that Cali boy. So whatever coach brings me his glasses gets $500. And, like, bro, it was next level. It was. And I got injured. Yeah, there was a whole story there, but, yeah, bro, no way.
It was stupid, bro.
[00:09:01] Speaker A: Type out. I've never heard this story. I can't zoom past this.
[00:09:05] Speaker B: Okay, I'll break it down.
[00:09:06] Speaker A: A hit for your glasses.
[00:09:08] Speaker B: A hit for my glasses.
[00:09:09] Speaker A: See, that's wrong, bro. I mean, that's. That's. I mean, that's. That's. That's wrong.
[00:09:12] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:09:13] Speaker A: So another grown man, a coach. So, I mean, as a rookie, though, too.
Are you fresh out of college at this point? You went to Cal. So you was up there with some dogs. Dogs at Cal, right. You go up there, some grown man takes his. Takes your glasses off your head, bro. How do you respond to that one? How do you respond to that? And then, I mean, we talk about your faith a lot, so we'll get into, like, how did you incorporate your faith and how you was gonna respond to that? Cause that's wild.
[00:09:44] Speaker B: Yeah, that was. Yeah, the faith is. And that's like, your natural reaction would be like, I'm about to smash someone in the face. Natural gut. But, like, oh, hold on. So, I was confused. I'm like, what are you doing? What's going on? And he was like, you'll get these later. And I'm like, bro, am I in the twilight zone? Like, what is going on? But after the glasses. So, coaches that they have a fine, like, if you knock a player down during with no pads on, it's a dollar 500 fine. And, like, they can just make up fines and fine you for sure. So we're eager. I don't want to mess up. So they do a check down to the tight end, and I run up, and I chest them up hard, and he falls down, coach.
[00:10:24] Speaker A: So, see, that's when we talk about tight ends.
We was talking about my bad.
Yeah.
[00:10:31] Speaker B: So, yeah. And coach shorts comes and dog cusses me out for doing it. Well, then I ended up getting hurt spraying my ac joint. So now I'm out, and the strength coach came up to me in the weight room before we went out to practice. He's like, hey, hey, Zach, I saw coach. He really ripped into you when you hit that guy, huh? And I'm like, yeah, what of it, right? He's like, okay, well, here I got the good news and the bad news.
You know, the bad news is, he wants to fine you for that hit you put on him. But the good news is, it's dollar 500. But if you pay me cash, 250 for the weight room fund, then we'll call it cool.
[00:11:07] Speaker A: No, he didn't, right?
[00:11:09] Speaker B: And I'm like, whatever, whatever, right? I go out. So then I go back to the locker room, and I'm telling the backers, right? And they're like, he said, what? Oh, no, Zike, you better not pay him, right? You better. Ernie Sims. Zike. He called me. Zike. You better not pay that boy. So I'm like, all right, I'm not paying him. So every day, he would ask me, and by the way, I live in a hotel. I'm waking up at 06:00 a.m. going to bed at 12:00 p.m. i don't have time to go to the bank and get you money. So he keeps asking me about, I don't got your money. I don't got your money. Well, one day he decided to go bad while we're out of practice. And I'm still hurt. And he's like, hey, Zack, when are you gonna give me my money?
[00:11:40] Speaker A: He said, strength comes.
[00:11:42] Speaker B: When are you gonna give me my 500? And I'm like, 500? You told me 250. He said, interest, you better give me my money. I got a nine year old daughter that will bring me my money, be the man of your word. And, bro, I just remember the presence of evil coming from that man and from that whole organization that, like, my jaw was dropped, and I'm like, bro, I want to go home. I hate this place. I hate Detroit. I was in the Doubletree hotel room, probably crying. Like, really? Like, wow. Gonna use my shoulder as an excuse to why I didn't make it. I called my cousin who the Holy Spirit spoke through for me to come to Christ, and I tell him the whole thing, right, the x rated version and the longer stories, and he's all excited, bro. He's like, oh, this is amazing. I'm like, bro, amazing. What are you talking about? I'm about to quit.
[00:12:26] Speaker A: What are you talking about?
[00:12:27] Speaker B: And he's like, bro, your light in the darkness. You're bringing Christ in the darkness, bro. And the Satan's trying to drive you out. All these little demons are coming after you, bro. He said, you gotta give it to God, bro.
[00:12:39] Speaker A: You gotta get on your knees.
[00:12:41] Speaker B: And I remember double tree hotel. I get on my knees and I said, God, I give it all. Cause on my strength. I want to run home to California calling a black hole. But I'm gonna lay down the girls, the money, that all the things that I wanted to be in the NFL, I lay it down to you. Ended up getting cut, put on practice squad, persevered through that, got called up by week six. Week eight is when I got NFL hit of the year on Danny Amendola.
[00:13:08] Speaker A: I saw that.
[00:13:09] Speaker B: I saw that, and that was a testimony of the Lord. I had the flew that week. The weakest I've ever played a football game in my life. Tell me how I'm able to pick a grown man up off his feet, throw him to the ground, fix the mask, ran through Amendola, and it was like, oh, geez. Like, that was the christ playing through me.
[00:13:29] Speaker A: And this is how raw you are. The smile that you had on your face afterwards, I watched that clip maybe about ten times, bro. And I'm like, okay, he ain't no tight end. I'm like, he's a dog, and let's talk. That's the hit of the week for the entire NFL, bro. Like, that still lives on the Internet today. No, it was more than nice, bro. You did not slow down. You didn't stop your feet. You folded that boy like a lawn chair and smiled about it.
[00:14:02] Speaker B: And, like, you get, you know, I love that when you run through someone and you don't when it's the perfect hit. It was nice.
[00:14:10] Speaker A: I love that, bro. I love that. So Detroit has a history, of course, but you were able to persevere. You were able to utilize your faith to sort of navigate some of the challenges that you were seeing in that organization. And so when you come out of that, how does your career in Detroit sort of take place? Like, how does that unfold for you?
[00:14:36] Speaker B: But the key as I want to drop, wisdom nuggets. Here's a nugget, please. It came down to when I got cut and put on practice squad. Mind you, all those stories I just told you. Oh, yeah, forget all y'all in Detroit. I'm gonna go be a free agent somewhere else if I'm on practice squad, I hate you guys. Well, I come out to practice with basically, like, f you written on my forehead to all the coaches, like, I don't care about attitude.
[00:14:59] Speaker A: Just the attitude.
[00:15:00] Speaker B: Everything. Coach Gunther Cunningham comes over, he's like, he said, boy, you have 24 hours to turn your attitude around, or I myself, personally, am buying your ticket back to Cali and sending you home.
[00:15:12] Speaker A: Jeez.
[00:15:13] Speaker B: So that was nice. A little wake up call. But I went home and I sat there with the Lord. And again, the ego. I came from Cal the man, and now I'm the rump boy in Detroit. But I sat there and being like, okay, what am I complaining about? We're in the middle of a recession. 2009, eight, I'm in the NFL. I'm guarding my fantasy wide receiver in Calvin Johnson. I'm making 90k. Like, boy, Zach, you better shut your mouth, stop crying, and you better go in there and outwork every single person like you've never worked before. And my job was to keep my name out of their mouth. So it did something to where most of us will be put in that situation in life where you're against adversity, are you going to fold and quit, or are you going to strap it on and say, I'm going to go get it? And I say that because that, to me, is a crucial point when a lot of our pride in today's world gets offended and we don't like the way someone spoke to us, and so we want to flail out what you could, what roads you could be cutting off. Because if I did not humble myself in that moment, I would have not been able to make it to the NFL and get that money, go down that road, get the start cup. I wouldn't be here today if I would have let my ego win. Yeah.
[00:16:31] Speaker A: And I mean, and everybody sort of wrestles with ego to some extent, of course, especially as an athlete who's doing this at the highest level. Like you said, been a guy his whole entire career, and all of a sudden, you go to this league, this NFL, where in the world's eye, you're still the guy.
[00:16:49] Speaker B: Yeah, right.
[00:16:50] Speaker A: You're still the guy. Like, you're a one percenter out of 80,000 kids who, coming out of college football, you were one of, even in the draft, one of 230 something kids, young men at that time. So you're still a guy. But now you have to humble yourself in a whole new realm. How do you sort of, and we talk about your faith a lot, bro.
You've mentioned how you found your faith in cal.
[00:17:20] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:17:20] Speaker A: Right now, you go through this really, really tough injury.
You go through this really tough injury.
Was it your back, neck? It was your neck. Now, that's serious. You go through this tough injury, you go through this experience in Detroit with the coaches. You're learning a lot in your faith. You're becoming stronger in your wisdom. Now, you go through this injury, how does that shape your career during sports? And what is some wisdom that you were able to extract from that injury?
[00:17:56] Speaker B: Well, man, first, a lot of frustration, right? We have our path in life and what we want, and I'm here in the NFL. I put in the work. God, you got me here. And then this injury, I made it from being cut on practice squad, persevered. Now I'm the starting linebacker.
[00:18:09] Speaker A: That's wrong.
[00:18:10] Speaker B: Like, I did it.
[00:18:11] Speaker A: You're starting next level.
[00:18:13] Speaker B: Like, let's go. Coming out of the tunnel like my dreams are coming true. And bam. Taking away metal lands playing the New York Giants.
And I laid on that field paralyzed for like 30 seconds.
[00:18:26] Speaker A: Paralyzed.
[00:18:27] Speaker B: Spinal tap to the spinal cord.
[00:18:29] Speaker A: You were paralyzed out.
[00:18:30] Speaker B: Yeah. When the doctor comes and pinches you, do you feel that? And like, oh, snap. I don't feel.
[00:18:35] Speaker A: I can't imagine that fear.
[00:18:37] Speaker B: Yeah. Oh, my God. Worse. And over time, it felt like longer, but they said about 30 seconds. Feeling came back, carted me off. Hospital ran the test. Hey, three days in the hospital, you're good to go home.
[00:18:46] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:18:47] Speaker B: Go home. And that ended my career. But when you have to talk about faith, it's to me, romans 828, you know what I mean? Either he's a faithful God or an unfaithful God, and he's one that has a reputation of being truly faithful in every single promise he's ever made. So if he's going to say that, for we know he works all things together for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose, his purpose. So I know I love him. So all things will work for my good. So even this injury doesn't make sense. But where people. Where I used to, but where we screw that up is for his purpose, not mine. And so when I really decided to be like, God, you are mine. And, too, by the way, I was a wretched man. And I know the grace. I know the love that he's given me. There's no one better. And what was also very crucial of why the NFL happened in my life was it was such a false idol that I worshipped, that God gave me Christ. And he said, here's my son now. Here's the NFL. Where does it compare? And I'm like, oh, my gosh. The NFL's got nothing on Jesus. So when that injury came and it was time for me to walk away, I was excited because now this. I was really excited to be something more than a football player, because, you know, our whole life, since 15 years old. Oh, isaiah. What's up? How's football? Yep.
[00:20:06] Speaker A: Football.
[00:20:06] Speaker B: Football. And it's like, bro, I actually do more than football.
[00:20:09] Speaker A: That's real.
[00:20:10] Speaker B: So I was excited to start a new journey. I didn't know what that was, but all I know that he was gonna work for my good. So I looked up to heaven and I say, God, it is not for man to direct his steps, but it comes from the Lord. Direct my steps, father.
[00:20:24] Speaker A: Yes, sir.
[00:20:25] Speaker B: And he directed.
[00:20:27] Speaker A: Yeah, no, that's. That's raw. Do you remember. This is a trivia for you. Do you remember who you made your.
[00:20:32] Speaker B: First NFL debut against with team and, bro, let me. I will not forget that, because the Steelers, they're bigger than any team in the NFL.
[00:20:40] Speaker A: Come on, man.
[00:20:41] Speaker B: Boy, come on.
97 56. I forget their names now, but they were monsters.
And I just remember, like, even in the locker room, like, I'm looking at these monsters, and then, like, I look at myself and I'm like, what am I doing here?
[00:20:56] Speaker A: What am I doing here?
[00:20:57] Speaker B: How did I get here? I don't belong here. But, yeah, no, yeah. They were big boys, man.
[00:21:02] Speaker A: That's raw. You had a lot of gems there, man. My journey was a little opposite. And on these shows, I really like hearing.
Hearing from the guest journey and then sort of giving a little bit of my experience, too. Right. So when I was in the league, one of the things that I wrestled with, one, you know, there was this mindset for me of, like, damn, am I good enough to be in the league, right? Like, I used to look at my stats, I used to look at some of my performance, and I think it also goes back to, you know, some of the possibly the way we look at our walk of Christ, too. Like, damn, am I really worthy of this love, right? Like, am I really worthy of this? Because we serve a perfect God, right? But I know me. I know my imperfections. I know all the little dirty secrets, all the little behind the closed doors. And granted, I do believe, and the heart is deceitful, but I love the Lord. But I'm like, damn, I know me. And so I go to the league, had this same sort of mindset, right, of, damn, am I good enough, or am I worthy for this role, right? And so for me, it really took away where I allowed that thought process or that even that question alone to hinder some of my performance right on the field. I honestly thought God was throwing me a bone. Like, here, man. Like, I'll give you this. You know what I mean? Like, you know, and I wrestled with that a little bit. And so, for me, coming out of the league, I was challenged with my identity. Who am I outside of the league, right? Who am I outside of being a football player? I know there are some things that I definitely loved and I enjoyed doing, but one thing I had to rely on was my faith. That's the one thing that I had to rely on, was my faith. My faith was shaking, though, bro, and I don't know if we got to get real. We about to get real, bro. We about to get real. My faith was shaking when I came out of the league, bro, okay?
And I'm still feeling like I'm recovering from that to this day.
But why?
[00:23:19] Speaker B: Why? Why was it shaking?
[00:23:20] Speaker A: Why was it shaking?
So I'm in a vulnerable position, right? I'm coming out of the league. I spent the last 20 years doing this work, you know, playing. Playing this game.
You know, I became. I grew up in a christian home, so I knew Christ. At a young age. I started to develop a relationship with the Holy Spirit, I believe. When I was in college, I had a mentor by the name of Jamal Jones, who also was our chaplain at Fresno State. That was the first time I would say I was really discipled as a believer, and that sort of developed my christian walk. And so, you know, once I got to the league again, I still identified myself as a believer. I still identify myself as an athlete. But once I got out, I was vulnerable. I'm no longer an athlete. I'm no longer a football player. So who am I? So I had my faith. I knew I wanted to serve young black and brown kids who grew up like me in urban cities, you know, that were sort of pushed off into the margins, you know, grew up without fathers in the household, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
And so I kid you not, bro, and I'm gonna share this experience, but I was going to this church. I suffered church hurt.
[00:24:39] Speaker B: Many do you do?
[00:24:41] Speaker A: I suffered church hurt.
I come out of the league, z, and I go on this.
This mission trip, this one day mission trip out in San Francisco. And if you know anything about the tenderloin area out in San Francisco, it's just.
It's rough.
[00:25:01] Speaker B: It's rough.
[00:25:02] Speaker A: I'm talking about.
[00:25:03] Speaker B: Yeah, I know.
[00:25:05] Speaker A: I'm like, tenderloin skid row. I'm like, it's rougher up there, in my opinion.
We go up there, bro.
I'm going up there with this church group, and we're serving the whole San Francisco community. I'm talking about, you know, we are laying hands on the unhoused. We are giving out clothes. We are, you know, catering to pets that are still on the streets. Like, this is a group from all over California, and we're there for a day. We're doing ministry. We're doing the Lord's work. I'm talking about, bro, we, like, praying over strippers in the strip clubs and stuff. Like, we didn't go into strip clubs, but we, like. You know what I mean? Like, lord, you know, we all need some help. You know what I mean? Like, you know, we all need some help. So I kid you not, bro.
We getting ready to go into. We're getting ready to go into this, back into the auditorium where worship is getting ready to take place as we close out the day. And there's a long line of individuals, we're all getting ready just to go back into the auditorium. We're standing in line, and there's a group of black kids, man, hanging out. You know, man, they smoking weed. Like, you know, they doing what they do, whatever, whatever.
And z, I remember just kind of sitting there thinking, like, damn.
I don't see anybody interacting with them or engaging with them.
And I was just kind of in my thoughts, and one of the kids that were with me came over to me, was like, hey, you gonna go talk to them?
I was like, I don't know. You know, I'm just like, I don't know. I don't. You know, I don't know. And. But I'm wrestling with this, bro. Like, I'm wrestling with this. And finally, I, like, muster up enough courage, because I don't know these people.
I don't know these cats, you know what I mean? A couple guys and a couple girls. I don't know these people. And I muster up enough courage, and I go over there, and I'm like, hey, y'all, my name's Isaiah. We here for this christian conference.
Just kind of chopping it up, small talk. And I'm like, hey, y'all, mind if I pray with y'all?
So, man, the girls, you know, she calling shots. She like, hey, so and so, come over here. We about to pray, right? So we. We praying. And I remember having this conversation with this guy named Brian. He, like, asked me a whole bunch of questions about my faith. He had been incarcerated for a little while, he said. And, you know, he was a believer. And, you know, while he was incarcerated, I think he had a transition there, you know, with his faith. And he just kind of challenged me, and I challenged him back, you know, as a believer of Christ. And I remember walking away from there, going back into that church service, z, feeling so hurt, man, like, feeling so hurt. And my pain and my hurt came from nobody, or at least any. I didn't see anybody engaging with these young african american folks. And it was like, if we're here to do true ministry, if we're here to preach the gospel to all nations, why wasn't anybody engaging with them? That was my thought process, right? I mean, we talking about we washing dogs, we washing cats. You know what I mean? Like, we doing the most. You know what I mean? Like, we doing the most. And. But it was like, this group of young black kids, like, nobody was engaging with, and that hurt me. That hurt me, Z. Like, and this had to be 2017, and I kid you not, I walked out of that auditorium.
I walked out in my mind, I was like, this fake.
I was like, this fake. You can't tell me that you love Christ and you love God and you here to love people, but when it comes to a specific group of people that you in this particular situation, this group of people you didn't engage with.
And, bro, I was hurt. And I had a conversation with the pastor, the youth pastor that was, you know, I was there with. And it was. It was humbling for me because I had to muster up enough courage to even have the conversation with him. Like, hey, this is how I felt. That was, you know, that was. I was like, hey, this is how I felt. And he was really apologetic about it in a sense of, like, we got to have an authentic conversation. He was like, look, man, like, to be honest, I was scared.
He was like, you know, if it was like this little white surfer kid, like, I would have felt more inclined to go because maybe there was some relatability there. And for me, I'm like, damn, bro, so you put the burden on me to have to go talk to them. And then, you know, it just. It was a good conversation. But it hurt me, bro, because I had this idea, z, that as a believer of Christ, everything was blanketed. There was just this blanket faith that we all had the same faith, we all had the same belief. We all believed one universal thing. And when I saw that take place, it was like, damn, that kind of crushed me, bro. That kind of crushed me, bro. It crushed me in a way to where, you know, I have not been the same since towards christians, not even just church. I think my heart.
My heart broke. Like, my heart towards Christ.
If I'm being honest. If I'm being honest, I think my belief around the church, even if I'm being honest. Yes. Yes, man. Like, yes. Like, God, you are the God that I serve for my youth, you know, and this is what, like, I trust you and I trusted you my whole life.
And I followed and I've believed and I've submitted to, you know, the church.
But this how the church acted, and I kind of threw that on God. Like, you know, this is a reflection of you.
[00:31:45] Speaker B: No, you see what I'm saying? I feel you and how. But that was a great whisper of the enemy for you to throw it back on God. Yeah, because we know what God God does. We know what Jesus did. Woman at the well, he was loving and doing the thing that I. I'm not a fan of the christian culture and the american western church, which looks nothing like our Bible that we read, man preach is anyone can sign up.
So we played in the NFL, but if someone put on a 39 Steelers jersey, they're not Isaiah Green, and they don't play for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
You have to get the authentic, real ones. You gotta get. But as a Christian, they can throw on a christian jersey. And we want them for business. We want you on the team. Come on in. Let's build it more. We're handing out jerseys to build this up. But it's just because you wear a jersey doesn't mean you're on the team. And I'm saying that from Romans when Christ said that if the spirit of Christ is not in you, you are not in Christ.
That's massive. And I believe the Lord chooses of who he gives his spirit to. And the way that we have set up Christianity all are welcome. Yes. All are welcome to the kingdom of God. But we're having people who really don't. They want to, but they really don't have the spirit to be able to show a compassion of God to love those people, man.
[00:33:09] Speaker A: That's real.
[00:33:09] Speaker B: And too, like, that's why I love Berkeley so much. And, you know, it is Berkeley. If you know of berserkly.
It made me a chameleon. Yeah. Did I smoke when I was there? Absolutely. But it made me be able to go and not be afraid of a black person smoking weed.
[00:33:24] Speaker A: Facts.
[00:33:24] Speaker B: I can be like, how I. Is that a grape switcher? What's up? Right? I'm not smoking the weed, but I know how to talk your language now.
[00:33:31] Speaker A: Correct?
[00:33:32] Speaker B: Because I hung out with dudes in the locker room. So then that opens the door. But if most church people, they don't know how to have that conversation. So at the end of the day, some of the people, I would say that you were maybe offended by God did not build them in a way to disciple and preach to them.
[00:33:50] Speaker A: And I've started to see it that way. Right. That may not be your ministry.
Like you said, God may not have built them that way. And I just took it on, man. I took it on. And I'll be honest, I haven't been the same since, bro. And again, for those listening, and for you as well, my ask is that y'all continue to pray for my heart. You know what I mean? I do believe that. Crisis on the throne, he's proved it to me time and time again. And I know a lot of individuals, and I don't think that it was. I don't think that it was a mistake that was in this vulnerable transition, because we know during transitions, you're vulnerable. You're vulnerable during transitions. And so for my coming out of that NFL, I was vulnerable, bro. I was so vulnerable. And a lot of times, people can get lost in this transition. Things can happen. Just. You know what I mean? Things can happen in transitions where people don't recover. They don't. You know what I mean? They get lost in it.
[00:34:57] Speaker B: You're already lost coming out. Cause your identity, your Isaiah younger, Isaiah and Zach, the football player. Who am I? What am I? I'm a child of God. But what is that? I'm loved by God. I'm loved by a father. I don't know what love from a father looks like. Right? I've spent many years trying to figure out, like, God, you say you love me, and it's written. So I believe it. But I don't know how to receive love from a father because we don't know what that looks like. And every father figure in our life and coaches, they all told me that I wasn't good enough. And my dad told me that I was the most worthless piece of shit son a father could have. So then worthlessness is over my life. And that's what made me, Zach, the great football player, because I had an anger and a rage in me by being told I was worthless.
Show you. And that's what made me a killer.
[00:35:44] Speaker A: For me, it was performance, bro.
[00:35:46] Speaker B: Performance.
[00:35:46] Speaker A: For me, it was performance, bro. Like, you were worthy as long as you performed well. Like, again, I was gifted with the talent. I was fast. You know what I mean? I was charismatic. But my athletic ability, I would outperform everybody.
By the grace of God, by my ability to work ethic, I would outperform everybody. So it was like I was used to being number one at all things that I did. And you, when you were number one, you were worth something. Yeah, you were worth something. You were worth something based off of your performance.
[00:36:19] Speaker B: Okay, so now I'm seeing the transit. Okay. What I was number one in is kind of what. How do I.
[00:36:27] Speaker A: Who am I?
[00:36:29] Speaker B: Kick me to the curb. Like, that's cold.
[00:36:32] Speaker A: Kick me to the curb. Like, I wasn't worth.
[00:36:35] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:36:36] Speaker A: Now I'm like, I gotta figure it. Like, who the am I? You know what I mean?
[00:36:42] Speaker B: 100%.
[00:36:42] Speaker A: And so now I'm again in this maze, bro, of trying to figure out, damn. Like, where's my confidence?
Cause I'm no longer playing sports. It wasn't like, I'm a damn straight a student in school, and I had this thing all figured out, you know what I mean?
What am I going to do?
Where am I going to perform at its highest? Where I can be a top tier, 1% performer today.
Still haven't figured it out.
[00:37:18] Speaker B: Well, man, I don't know. This is all coming on the podcast. But God doesn't want you to figure it out.
[00:37:24] Speaker A: Oh, say more.
[00:37:25] Speaker B: Why does he want you to go from one broken system of value to another system? He wants you to learn to rest in who you are in him.
[00:37:36] Speaker A: That word rest is like, oh, yeah.
[00:37:38] Speaker B: We don't know what rest is, boy.
My wife, like, can't you ever just. No. Cause if I'm not doing and performing, then I'm not good. I know. I pick weeds for 3 hours and watch tv. My dad's watching up there. Just make him proud. Maybe he'll say he loves me one day.
[00:37:56] Speaker A: So what does rest look like to you, man? In this season, as you are, and I know we.
What does rest look like for you in this season as a new father? You know, as a husband, as a CEO of eight, getting ready to be eight coffee shops. Bro, that's amazing.
[00:38:19] Speaker B: Well, one, the reason why I'm trying to learn rest is because it's important to God.
[00:38:27] Speaker A: Mmm. Bro, you dropping bars?
[00:38:30] Speaker B: He's teaching me, bro. He's teaching me. Our society says rest is foolishness.
Seven days a week. Let's grind. Cup of joy is closed on Sundays. That wasn't because I'm trying to be holy and all churchy and, oh, I'm closed on Sunday. It's like, nah, bro. Like, I did everything. Like I was telling you, milkman and so forth, I needed a day to go and restock and, like, to rest and to sleep, and so I just. I kept it. Like, God has blessed me, and I've seen the blessing on the company by the company, taking a day of rest. Do I take a rest in those days? Not really. But the company rests, and so we are not designed again. He didn't make us. He didn't make us for the Sabbath. He made the Sabbath for us. Like, we have to rest. He designed us, and we need to learn to rest in that. And so of what I've been trying to do is saving Sunday or any day. It doesn't have to be a Sunday, right? Take a day. Take a day to just. Right now, it's Tuesdays for me where I wake up and I try my best to not come in town. Cause if I come in town, I'm caught in it moving. I wake up, make my coffee at home, open my word, trim my bonsai trees, get the stress level down, do some gardening. Gardening for me is massive. That's where I connect to the Lord. Oh, he teaches me. He shows me. I'm pruning a tree. Wow. Oh, gardening. It's my thing. Wow. I love it. But that's my rest, and it is. We need it, or else this thing starts spinning out of control.
[00:40:02] Speaker A: That's raw really quick.
You said gardening is your thing. I had the opportunity, bro. I'm learning so much. I'm learning a lot about me, right? So I had the opportunity. One of our executive assistants had some flowers, right? For the first time. She had the flowers for maybe about two weeks, man. Beautiful flowers originally. And I'm like, hey, would you allow me to, like, clean these up a little bit? You know, it was nice and I saw one of my, you know, one of my other colleagues. She, like, trimmed them and had them all looking nice. I'm like, hey, yours needs some support.
Would you mind? And so, man, I've never done this before, but I took her. I took her flowers and, like, took the time from, like, eight in the morning till maybe about. I want to say this, and my employer might get upset, but who cares? Eight. From, like, eight to 838-3845 to, like, trim these flowers, bro. And there was so much that came out of that for me. Like, damn, these are somebody else's flowers. I don't want to mess it up. You know what I mean? Like, I really never done this before.
You know? What? If it don't come out right, da da da. It has to be perfect. Like, so much of this is coming up for me. Just for trimming flowers, bro.
Just for trimming flowers in. And I turned on, you know, some meditation music from Eshon Burgerdi, some, like, nice wave music while he was spitting scripture, right? And I trimmed these flowers, bro, and all this stuff is coming up and service me and all these thoughts. And when I say it was the most peaceful, like, you might have found a new thing. Hey, bro, when I say it was the most peaceful time, just like, man, just. It was a moment of rest. It was a moment of rest, man. And I would assume as a CEO, as a CEO, like, rest is important, but for anybody coming out of the league, we're talking about rest. We're talking about vulnerability. We're talking about your faith in general.
Anyone aspiring to be a CEO, like, what does that even mean to be a CEO? From a former athlete to transition to CEO. Like, what does that look like, man?
[00:42:16] Speaker B: Man. I would just say it was something that I absolutely never wanted to be.
We look at CEO is like the white dude in a suit, super square, super smart. And I'm looking at all that, like, not a square, not smart. And I don't wear suits.
[00:42:32] Speaker A: Far from it.
[00:42:33] Speaker B: Yeah. I'm not those things. I'm going to do it a little different. And so, as cup of joy kept growing, the need of a CEO became more apparent. Well, I'm holding on to trying to be in the locker room behind the bar with the team. Well, years have passed. I'm 36, these kids are 20, and I'm trying to speak their language. There's been such a separation. I'm offending them when I'm trying to pay them a compliment because they don't know me like that, right? And so that was, like, I was like, my identity within the company was really starting to like, man, I don't even belong. And I've delegated to everybody. Like, am I even really needed here? And the Lord gave me a good word of the analogy of a sea captain. And he was talking about how, man, look at a sea captain, Zach, he's up on the top by himself, and he's reading and he's charting and he's looking, and he is steering the ship of where it needs to go. Then you have your lieutenants, your general managers, and your operations manager. They are going down to the deckhand where the team is. And, Zach, I know you want to be down with the team telling jokes and shooting dice and kicking it, but I need you to be up at the top because I don't have what I have with you with the rest of them, and I need you with me. Right? And so it was like, I need you to be the best CEO you could be. And I was like, oh, okay. If that's. Again, Zach, this isn't your coffee shop, Zach, this isn't what you want because that's why I'm throwing a fit. But that's not what I want it to be. And I'm a business owner, and I put in the work, and I don't have to do anything I don't want to do.
You can stay that way and keep just getting headaches by getting right hooks from the Lord. But I submitted that, and I've been getting. And I've begun the CEO journey. And I'm still struggling with it quite a bit because, like, I was sharing with you earlier, man, like, the AI in Google emails, like, every time I write an email, bro, it's redlining, it's suggesting. And I'm like, every time I write an email, I feel dumber and dumber. Like, I'm back in high school. And my teacher, when she found out I was going to Berkeley, she wrote me this, gave me a d, and wrote me a note. Like, you better step it up if you think you're going to Berkeley. And I'm just not made for this world. So I'm like. And so I'm just like, you know what? I don't care if I don't capitalize the I, and I sound retarded or dumb when I say this.
It is what it is, and that's who I am. I'll try my best to get better, but I can't let that voice that is always against us, like, you can't. Like, I just need to. I need to show up and be this, and I need to read more books. I'm not a reader. Add. I can't sit down. I'll listen. And audio. But God has spoke to me one through the Bible and more. When I read a book, the Lord speaks and moves in my life.
[00:45:16] Speaker A: That's real.
[00:45:17] Speaker B: And I think that's part of the reason why I don't read so much. The enemy wants to keep me from that solitude. Right. Well, then I've been asking, okay, God, why I still struggle? Like, why can't I want to sit down and read? He said, because, like, your.
Your stimulation is out of. Out of control. Like, I've had to delete. I just deleted Gmail app off of my phone.
[00:45:39] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:45:39] Speaker B: Addicted to Gmail.
[00:45:40] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:45:41] Speaker B: Deleted YouTube, deleted Instagram, Twitter.
[00:45:44] Speaker A: Overstimulated.
[00:45:45] Speaker B: Overstimulated. I'm here looking for a dopamine here constantly, and it was, like, time to delete and get rid of so I can slow it down so I can actually sit and read my bible for more than three chapters.
And so I'm starting there right now.
[00:46:00] Speaker A: That's good.
[00:46:01] Speaker B: But then also, too, I would say the pressure of CEO and kind of being that face in that guy, a little bit of an imposter syndrome.
I know. Like you said, I know who I am, and I know that I don't deserve to be where I want to be. And I. And when it's CEO, I'm not. I don't know. I don't know how to. How to count and do math. And people looking at me as successful businessman, I'm sitting here like, bro, you got the wrong one. When are they going to find out that I can't do this?
[00:46:27] Speaker A: They gonna see me, right?
[00:46:29] Speaker B: Ooh.
[00:46:29] Speaker A: When they gonna see me?
[00:46:30] Speaker B: But here's the catch.
[00:46:31] Speaker A: What's the catch?
[00:46:32] Speaker B: The Lord said, that's why I've handcuffed you. Because, Zach, if you ever try to operate life outside of me, it will all collapse. So I don't have a choice but to get down on my knees and say, lord, show me, teach me, humble me. Transitioning. It's not just transitioning to the real world. Transitioning into be a husband and to be a gentle man. We don't know what gentleness is. The Lord has taught me what gentleness is. Then he gives me twin boys, talk about died of self twins right off the gate. And one of them has a severe autism that takes a compassion like I never knew in my life. So God has been sanctifying ways since leaving the NFL. It has been a difficult journey, but again, God is faithful to Philippians one six. He who started a good work in you, faithful to complete it into the day Christ Jesus returns. And so hallelujah for the Lord.
[00:47:31] Speaker A: Amen. That's good.
[00:47:32] Speaker B: He will deliver me. He will give me what I need to do the job that he's called me to do.
[00:47:35] Speaker A: That's good, man. I appreciate that. Because you think about. I wrestle with that, too. You think about.
You think about individuals like ourselves who've been in the locker rooms, we've been around guys in the locker room our whole lives. And all of a sudden, then it's like, okay, I need to isolate you.
[00:47:52] Speaker B: Yes. I don't like that.
[00:47:54] Speaker A: You know what I mean? You talk about.
[00:47:56] Speaker B: That's the worst part of it all.
[00:47:57] Speaker A: You talk about being on a. That's the worst part of it all. Like, I need to isolate you. I need to take you over here so I can deal with you personally and so you can deal with. And I can show you you. So I can show you me. I can take you through this wilderness. So you're like, ah, damn, I gotta deal with myself?
[00:48:12] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:48:14] Speaker A: Let me scroll on Gmail real quick. You know what I mean?
Let me get that hit real quick. Let me distract myself. And so, you know, I really think that's dope, man, that you're, you know, I listened to another interview you had, you know, where you. Where you started, where you were starting. Cup of joy. And, you know, the Lord spoke to you saying that, like, you said, you can't do.
Like, if you want this to grow and to flow, you have to stay connected to me. That's the only way this thing is going to flourish, right?
And so as someone who understands being in that locker room, the camaraderie, being around the team, the guys, the fellas, right? Like, I would even go a step further and say sometimes, you know, you hear this saying of, like, man, you're an eagle, right? Like, why you flying around with the pigeons? Right? Like, and not to disrespect anybody in anybody's journey, but you're one percenter. Like, I need you to operate as such and outside of the locker room, that may look like, hey, I need you to. I need you to captain this ship up top where nobody else is but you and me, right? And that can be, like you said, one of the hardest parts of the journey, man. And so I want to commend you to saying yes to that journey, man. Being faithful enough, and not even just faithful enough, because I know we fall short constantly, but committed, like, committed to the journey.
[00:49:40] Speaker B: Where are we going, bro?
[00:49:42] Speaker A: Like, committed to the journey.
[00:49:43] Speaker B: We have no choice. We're slaves. He bought us at a price.
[00:49:46] Speaker A: Committed to, paid with the blood I'm.
[00:49:49] Speaker B: In when I hear people like, oh, they left the faith. Where are you going?
I've been bought and sealed.
[00:49:58] Speaker A: Yes, sir.
[00:49:58] Speaker B: And bud. So I want to share this because I remember thinking about and, like, I hope someone's. A lot of people struggle with depression.
[00:50:05] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. Yeah.
[00:50:05] Speaker B: A lot of people struggle with depression.
[00:50:06] Speaker A: Oh, I've been wrestling this week. I ain't gonna hold you.
[00:50:08] Speaker B: It's real, bro. Yeah, it's real. And coming out of the NFL, I don't know if it's Cte. I don't know if it's spiritual warfare. I don't know. I got a terrible mix of both coming at me.
[00:50:16] Speaker A: I see all of the above.
[00:50:18] Speaker B: All of the above. Read the symptom. Oh, my gosh. I try not to think about it and give it weight in my mind, but last year, I would say this is probably maybe September.
We're men of grit. Like, we know how to grit it out, right? Well, when that foundation of grit starts to crack, boy, talk about it. It scared me. And then you got the kids, you got the wife, and you got the business, and it's crushing me, and, man, and I've had bouts with depression. I've had bouts of suicide. And just to be clear, I look at. I don't want to die. I love life. I love working for the Lord. He has blessed me more than a man could ever ask. But there is an enemy. There is an opponent that wants me dead, and he wants to kill, steal, and destroy. And he has been working ever since the day I've come to Christ to try to take me off this map so he doesn't have to mess with me anymore. He doesn't want another throne established in Visalia. So the warfare that goes on when we open a new location or just as I carry this journey. So then in September, out of all the bouts that I've overcome, this one got to the point where, like, I mean, it's. Amen. Like, grab. Just grab the gun and do it, right? Just do it. And it's nonstop, and there's nothing you can do about it. When the cloud comes over, it's just torment, torment, torment. And I'm looking at my beautiful boys and all I've been blessed with, and it don't matter. And that scares you even more. It's like yeah, like, none of it matters. Like, I want to do this. And it got to a point where, like, me and my wife, the enemy had us going at each other, and I didn't know who to call, what to do. I called the suicide hotline, and I just said, look, I need some help. And just in that bit of humility, too, of calling this lady, and she just. They're like a friend talking to you. Oh, what's going on? And I'm telling her, and she said, hey, you should look at. Go to a psychologist today and go find someone to go talk to, right? Weakness. We don't go talk to people and therapy and da da da da da. So that God allowing me, because I believe the enemy is on a leash. He has control of him. He let him do his pit bull thing and bark, bark, bark to get me down, to break me, to crack me to where I had to wave the flag, say, I can't do it. And then that's when I said, okay, I'll do whatever it takes. Therapy, bring it my way. That night, she opened up the door, I went on my computer, I booked a therapist appointment. And, man, something as silly and healing as I sat down, and I broke it down. All of this to this lady stranger, everything I'm going through.
Zach, you're going through a lot. You carry a lot, bro. I just start crying.
[00:52:54] Speaker A: Yes, I am. Thank you. My wife, no one thinks I am.
[00:52:59] Speaker B: And it was healing, but it was just. God used the humility to have that cloud go. But then also, that was at the same time when that CEO conversation happened. I remember you telling him, I stopped fighting him, and so then he had to break me, because never in a million years am I going to be a CEO. He had to break me to work. Whatever you say, lord. And so, yeah, man, I fight that battle. Depression is real, and to me, the hope is Christ. And so if you're watching and you struggle with that, but you don't have your hope built on the rock, man. Ask for that holy spirit to come in and contend on your behalf in those times, because I know he will come and whisper, but I'll never do it. I will never. I am sealed in that hand. I will continue to fight, but he is my hope and why I fight, period. And without that hope, I see why people do it.
And so, yeah, man, it's a lot of people on the outside. Oh, wow. Zach, man. Cup of joy.
[00:53:58] Speaker A: Hey.
[00:53:58] Speaker B: Locations. Beautiful wife, twin boys.
[00:54:01] Speaker A: It's just all good.
[00:54:02] Speaker B: You're living now.
[00:54:02] Speaker A: It's all good.
[00:54:03] Speaker B: You're living, and I'm like, it's all good. You don't even know.
[00:54:07] Speaker A: You don't even know.
[00:54:08] Speaker B: Yeah. So let me get on this podcast with my boy where I can keep it real and let you know, bro.
[00:54:11] Speaker A: I appreciate you sharing that. For real, man. I really do. I really do. I really do.
And I second that, bro. I had a tough week. I had a tough week. And it's crazy because nobody. I been through that, too. I been through that, too, man. I came out the league, and it was like, damn. I found myself on the floor, bro, with my shotgun in my hand, and I'm like. I'm like, I see how easy this is.
[00:54:34] Speaker B: Yes, yes.
[00:54:35] Speaker A: I see how easy this is. And I don't have. I didn't have kids, you know, I wasn't married at the time, you know, and just imagine the other pressures and the weight, you know what I mean, that those responsibilities can add to your plate and to your mental. You know what I mean, to that mental sort of torment, in a way. It's like, man. So, one, I'm gonna commend you for being courageous and bold enough, man, for seeking help, because that's raw. That's raw, bro. Cause we're taught as athletes, like, suck it up.
[00:55:06] Speaker B: Man up.
[00:55:08] Speaker A: Grind it out.
[00:55:09] Speaker B: Rub some dirt on it.
[00:55:10] Speaker A: Rub some dirt out of it, bro. You don't know how many times, you know, as athletes, especially as that 1%, you hurt. So what you feel in some type of way, so what?
[00:55:20] Speaker B: You better not let it show, because that linebacker's coming in, and you'll never see the field.
[00:55:24] Speaker A: And you'll never see the field again.
[00:55:26] Speaker B: So you better just grit it out.
[00:55:27] Speaker A: You want this? You want this?
Grind it out. You want this? Suck it up. You want to be a dog? Don't show no weakness. Don't show no pain. Like, don't ever let them see you sweat. If this what you want. Cause guess what? If you do, somebody else gonna come take your spot. That means you ain't worth shit.
[00:55:44] Speaker B: Yeah. And then you come out of that arena, into this arena, and like, oh, man, I got working 6 hours. My feet hurt, and I'm like, oh, my God. Like, I don't know. I can't. I don't what? I can't speak this new language, like, 40 hours a week at a desk.
[00:55:59] Speaker A: What am I doing?
[00:56:00] Speaker B: This and that and, oh, so hard. And I'm a. You need to pay me more entitled. I'm not talking my employees. My employees are the dopest and the best just know that cup of joy. You see them in here, smiling, loving.
[00:56:11] Speaker A: Let's go.
[00:56:11] Speaker B: Dopest. I'm talking about the other world. I'm talking about going to chase bank, and the girl's just on her phone, can't say hiding. And I'm just like, I can't do it. Like, it's in my nature to coach and to raise people up. And two, just the standard of excellence that we were held to. So everywhere I go, I see it through the lens of perfection, and we're never gonna achieve it. And so, as athletes, we're tortured by that lens of perfection.
[00:56:35] Speaker A: We're tortured by that, bro. And that's why I appreciate you being honest, real and authentic, with, like, hey, you know, I don't got this stuff figured out. I really don't. But, you know, you mentioned imposter syndrome. I don't have this stuff figured out, but I'm rocking, you know what I mean? I'm trusting in the Lord with all my heart, and he's going to direct my paths. You know what I mean? He gonna see me.
[00:56:55] Speaker B: He said, you got me.
[00:56:56] Speaker A: You know what I mean? I had a tough bout over the last couple weeks, man, the same thing where it's like, man, I hear these. The thoughts are coming back. That dark cloud is coming back. And, you know, one thing I started to do, man, is when I feel myself getting back to that point of, like, the narrative or that inner dialogue, being so pessimistic, being, you know, tormented with these thoughts, it's like, you know, I can give it all up. It's easy. I can see how easy it is. But then I said to myself the other day, Lord, forgive me for thinking like that, but it's real. So forgive me for thinking like that, because life is good. So I want to thank you for life. God, I want to thank you for the things that you have. I flipped it. I was like, lord, I just want to thank you for the things that you've given me. I thank you for this warm shower. You know what I mean? I thank you for this apartment. I thank you for the things that you've given me, like, the life that you allow me to experience. Like, I know that I'm thinking these thoughts, and these thoughts are pretty loud right now, but, God, I will be honest with you. This life is good. So I just. You know what I mean? So I had to, like.
[00:57:57] Speaker B: And you are not your thoughts, bro. That's not coming from you.
[00:58:01] Speaker A: But they were loud.
[00:58:02] Speaker B: They're loud, and it's there and they're convincing.
[00:58:05] Speaker A: They're convincing.
[00:58:05] Speaker B: They're convincing. He's great at lying, right? So that's one thing that I've tried to realize is I'm not my thoughts. And then two, my cure for depression is when those thoughts come, I hear a lot of I and me and my.
When I'm the most depressed, I'm focused inward. And when I want to cure my depression, I start going and serving people.
[00:58:28] Speaker A: That's good.
[00:58:29] Speaker B: I walk into the cafe and I'm in bed. I'll walk to the next customer in line. Your drinks on me today.
[00:58:34] Speaker A: That's good.
[00:58:34] Speaker B: And just do something for others, as God has called us to do.
[00:58:38] Speaker A: That's good, man. And I appreciate you sharing. I know that's going to bless people. I know it's going to bless me. It is blessing me, man.
So last thing, man, we've hit on so many jewels, so many gems. I definitely want, you know, I want to hear the feedback from some of the listeners as we go through this, man, and we're going to. This is just probably one of the best, if not the best episode. I feel like, you know, I've been able to record and all of them have been dope, but, I mean, we in cup of joy right now. Got a cup of joy sitting in front of us, man. You know what I mean? You're a joy to be around, man. You bring the joy. You bring the energy. You know, when we're talking about athletes transitioning out of sports, and one of the things that I've gotten a lot of feedback on is everybody transitions at some point. You know what I mean? Everybody goes through some level of transition, right? But specifically, those athletes that are coming out of sports trying to navigate, you know, what life is, what life looks like. Navigate this new identity or trying to find this new identity. You know, some focus areas that you mentioned, you know, one is being able to manage time, right? Like, so often as athletes, we're given a schedule, right? So one of the things that you did mention was, you know, athletes being able to manage their own time. You know, the second thing you talked about was being self motivated, you know, finding a team, because teams are important. We are so used to working with and on teams. You mentioned it earlier, therapy, right? Being able to humble thyself and be able to seek help, even though we've been taught to grind it out, stick it out, dug it out, you fine. You know what I mean? Like. But being able to seek some outside support in therapy has been really beneficial for your transition. And last, you know, being a caged lion, transitioning to normal society, which one of those topics do you feel will best support athletes transitioning out of sports into a potential CEO role?
[01:00:50] Speaker B: Man, I think it's the last one, the cage line, because we were bred. We were bred to be killers in sports. And then you come into the real world, and a part of it is like, oh, I have this killer in me that I now can go take to the business world and go gobble these little goons up, right? Well, put Christ in there, right? And Christ's way is different than the ways of the world, and business is cutthroat and making deals. And that was the hardest part, is I have the killer in me, and I can win this deal in the strength of Zack. But Christ has called me to a different way. And that's what's been the craziest thing over ten years. To watch is not doing it the way that I have been, been taught in my flesh to go and try to win or to dominate. But when you lose, I would say in the flesh, or you're really winning. When you crazy things of, like, all examples of, like, money, I want to go, and I want to get more money, and I want to make a deal or a lease deal. But when you do, integrity, right? What God teaches us in proverbs, to live a life of integrity, to fear the Lord. He knows every thought and every action. And we had a. We had a thing come up where we issued breaks wrong for three years in our handbook, and it was a decision to basically, oh, bro, they clicked the button, they received all their breaks, and it's on them. And, no, I ain't taking care of that. Or, bro, I'm not in love with money. Money does not control me. And God is testing and watching me right now and rather being a lion and try to pounce and take what's mine. I'm going to be the lamb, and I'm going to go and do what's right, and I'm going to pay out a full hour of those ten. That was a $300,000 decision. That hurt drastically. But what God showed me that when you go and you make the decision of integrity, he's watching. Can I trust you with this decision? For we know the love of money is the root of all evil, and when I make that decision, he can come back. You can't outgive God. He who refreshes one man will be refreshed in his time of need. The Lord loves a generous giver. He has made us rich. And for in America, we are rich. Don't get it twisted. He has made us rich so we can be generous on every occasion. And that is one thing that even with employees or lawsuits that come my way. I see cuz at the gym and that line is like, bro, I want to just. And you turn the other cheek when someone wrongs you or offends you, your flesh wants to dominate, and I know I can, but you turn the other cheek and you let him strike the other. And boy, it's the hardest thing you do. But I'm just telling you, when you do it God's way, he says, oh, son, I'm proud of you making that decision. Now. Now let me open this location. I'll get you the lease that you didn't want to do. I got a place. Told me it was a place I worked on for four years to open up the location of my dreams. I want to say they used me, but I worked and worked. And then it came time to sign the lease, and they're like, oh, no, we need you open on Sundays. Oh, wow. And so I'm faced with this dilemma of like. And I'm justifying it, trust me. Oh, no, I can this location only. And da da da da. And I just had to rest with no, like, that's what the Lord has done. We're gonna take our day of rest, bro. I said no to that. It was painful.
Three months, a month later, I get a knock on my door from my realtor being like, oh, hey, the Starbucks is leaving out of the Grand Cafe location, which is our dopest location. Do you wanna move into it? 25 year demographic of a coffee shop. So it's like, don't try to fight in your will to make things happen.
Do what you know is right in your heart and watch how the Lord will defend your battle. It is true. And I've seen it over eleven years in business.
I done told you day day. That's the Lord tells me, bro. That's it.
[01:05:03] Speaker A: Yeah, no, that's, that's applicable. Like, this is coming from a man who's walked the journey, who's had to be faced with these decisions, who made these decisions. That's wisdom. Wisdom and granted. We'll all be faced with the opportunity to say yes to something and to say no to something again, you know, the prayers for the heart. One thing that I have, I commend you on is your submission to Christ.
[01:05:35] Speaker B: He is Lord.
[01:05:36] Speaker A: That is one thing that God has been showing me in my life. Hey, brother, man. Look, young brother, you got to learn to submit. And I'm not saying submit to everything. You submit to me, to his word. And I want to commend you for that submission because saying no to something that looks good and to be able to walk away from that and trust in Christ, trusting God and seeing the fruit from that, man, that is a.
These are lessons from a CEO.
These are lessons from a CEO. These are lessons from a man.
These are lessons from a real human being, bro. Like this.
When we say CEO, we have this stigma. Like you said, there's this stigma behind it, man. You can see this dude sitting outside his coffee shop and be like, hey, bro, what's good? And you wouldn't even know.
And so, you know, it's not because, you know, he's not the tallest, he's not the fastest, he's not the strongest, he's not the smartest. It's because he is submitted to that word, to God's word, which I commend you on that, bro. And I loved. The testimony is going to strengthen. It's gonna strengthen the body, bro.
[01:06:54] Speaker B: That's right.
[01:06:54] Speaker A: And so, man, I appreciate you. Thank you for my cup of joy.
[01:06:58] Speaker B: Of course.
[01:07:00] Speaker A: It has been a pleasure. It's been a joy having this conversation with you, man. From the first day, it was authentic, it was raw, it was real. It was just like this here. You know what I mean? And this was your first shop. I remember this was your first shop. And to see you seven shop laters, man. Your commitment to the process has been beautiful to watch, man, you know, with the power invested in me through Christ, like, I ask that God continue to bless you. Bless your family, bro.
My prayer is for your family.
[01:07:32] Speaker B: That's it.
[01:07:33] Speaker A: My prayer. Not even just for you, but it's for your family, for your wife, for your babies, man, that the spirit continue to work in your wife through you, with you and your. And your family, bro. Like, that's my prayer, man. Because that's going to continue to impact generations to come, bro. And so that's my prayer, man.
Congratulations on your 8th tomorrow out in Visalia. Thank you, man. You're a blessing and I appreciate you, big dog.
[01:07:58] Speaker B: Hey, anytime, bro.
Isaiah, man. Yeah, you're a real one, bro. I appreciate. I knew again that this was going to be a play. That's what I was. I was like, bro, this is like the club Shay Shay.
[01:08:09] Speaker A: Yeah.
[01:08:10] Speaker B: Where people feel comfortable to come and spit.
[01:08:13] Speaker A: That's right.
[01:08:14] Speaker B: And that's exactly what I felt, felt here today, man. Blessing. Blessings to to what you're doing here, the listeners and the people that have heard what the Lord wanted to say today. I mean, to me, that verse in the beginning, and it was on your arm, that was proof to me. Oh, the spirits here today, this should be a good one.
[01:08:30] Speaker A: We couldn't make that up. We didn't make that up.
[01:08:32] Speaker B: That was nice. It's always be good to be reminded. It's always been.
Yeah, man. And yeah, if anyone, I always say this, to not be someone that's untouchable. But zachupofjoy.com. come by a shop, email me.
The whole reason why I opened up a cup of joy was to connect to people and share the love of God, because it transformed my life. And so hit me up, let's grab a coffee. I will treat you ain't gotta pay. But that's not the free gift that I'm gonna be trying to give you. I'm telling you about the greatest free gift you've ever, ever seen in your life, and that is of Christ, man. The gift of faith. It'll change your life. Be ready for war. Be ready for the hardest excursion you're about to go on. And my favorite line is when they say, man, only weak people need a God because they're not strong enough. Like, boy, if you even knew. Because you don't know what you're coming up against. The principalities of this world come up against you. The battle we face is not against flesh and blood, but against the dark spiritual forces in the heavenly realms. So if you're somebody like, I have no clue what you're talking about. That was me until 20 years old. I would love to sit down and open the scriptures and show you and tell you what the gospel is so you could see this information of what God has done for you. And then you can be, you can now not have to wear a fake jersey. You can put on the authentic piece. You feel me? So that's my heart. Appreciate y'all listening.
[01:09:54] Speaker A: That's it, man. Love.
