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"Mick Unplugged" is a transformative podcast that challenges listeners to move beyond the conventional 'Why' and embrace the empowering realm of 'Because.' Hosted by Mick Hunt, the voice of Modern Leadership, this podcast is designed for leaders, doers, and anyone aspiring to create meaningful impact in both their personal and professional lives.
Each episode delves into the principles of Modern Leadership, focusing on discovering your 'Because'—your core driving force—and how it can turn dreams into reality and aspirations into actionable steps. With practical advice, real-life stories, and forward-thinking insights, you’ll learn to make your 'Because' a daily focus, fueling your journey toward success and fulfillment.
Whether you’re looking to deepen your motivation, set meaningful goals, or apply modern leadership theories to overcome challenges, "Mick Unplugged" provides the tools, strategies, and insights to guide your path. Subscribe now and start transforming your life with purpose and modern leadership principles.
Are you ready to change your habits, sculpt your destiny, and light up your path to greatness? Welcome to the epicenter of transformation. This is Mick Unplugged. We'll help you identify your because so you can create a routine that's not just productive, but powerful. You'll embrace the art of evolution, adapt strategies to stay ahead of the game, and take a step toward the extraordinary.
Intro:So let's unleash your potential. Now here's Mick.
Mick Hunt:Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to to an inspiring episode of Mick Unplugged, and I have 1 of my goats as a guest today. From dominating the NFL field to pioneering advances in safety technology, he has continually shown resilience, innovation, and leadership. His journey from a top performing athlete to a visionary entrepreneur is nothing short of remarkable. Currently leading Winpak, a company transforming safety in sports and beyond, Please join me in welcoming the Ohio State University's finest, the 1 and only, Shawn Springs. Shawn, how are you doing today, brother?
Shawn Springs:How you doing, my brother? Hey. When you say the Ohio State like that, Mick, I already know. You got it down, man. You didn't have you might have some Buckeyes on here already, brother.
Mick Hunt:I am a Tar Heel through and through. You guys might get us some football, but in basketball, you know, everything runs through us. So I'll I'll leave you with that 1.
Shawn Springs:That's right. And the crazy thing is I am a Tar Heel fan when it comes to basketball, man.
Mick Hunt:There you go. Man, so I wanna get into it, man. You you've been a person who's inspired me. You know, I'm literally just a couple years younger, so watching you winning defensive player of the year in Ohio State, which most people don't understand how hard that is for a quarterback to win defensive player of the year or conference player of the year. Like, that's freaking awesome.
Mick Hunt:But then not only what you did in the league, and we'll get a little bit there, but the businessman that you've become. And I I've read so much about you, again, inspiring me to be a business leader as well. And and the conversations that you had with with Paul Allen, I think, really transformed who you are. So I'd love to hear about that transition from
Shawn Springs:Yeah.
Mick Hunt:NFL superstar to entrepreneur dynamo.
Shawn Springs:Right. It has been a journey, man. And I sometimes find myself just pinching myself, trying to figure out, like, you know, this God has blessed me, to be in a position where then we can go through the history of me playing, but basically great parents. My mom and dad had me out of high school. My dad ended up going to the NFL.
Shawn Springs:My mom went into military. So a lot of that shaped who I became. And what we're gonna talk about today from the challenges of competing at high school and going to Ohio State thinking you're the big dog and realize that you're 4th on a depth chart. I think coach told you you're gonna start. 2, working your way, setting a goal, make sure that you elevate the standard, take it to the next level to being drafted 3rd overall into the NFL, meet Paul Allen, playing 13 years in NFL and starting a company.
Shawn Springs:And I never thought that, you know, just recently in March, I would go into the Smithsonian of American history for innovator as 1 of the innovators in the new bilingual sports technology exhibition called Change Game, Game changer. So we go through all that, man. And, sometimes I get shy about it, man, because it's like, how, why? Well, I think we're gonna tease out today. It probably stemmed from my parents and journey and work ethic and all that.
Mick Hunt:Literally, that's where I was about to go when you talk about why and I'll make them unplug. Right? We go deeper than why because I think everyone's why is superficial, and I don't mean that in a negative way at all. Right? But to me, it's your because.
Mick Hunt:That why behind the why that really transforms you as an individual, as a leader, and as a person. And for you, right, like, you had, I'm gonna say the crazy cool dynamic. And and for you, it probably wasn't cool growing up this way. Right? But you had a father who is an amazing athlete, an amazing leader in sports, and then your mom in the military.
Mick Hunt:Right? So what was life like for Sean that most 4 or 5, 6 year olds didn't go through because you were getting it all, bro?
Shawn Springs:Yeah. You're right about it. So most people don't know my dad and mom grew up in that. I'm I'm a tell you interesting fact, man. My dad and mom grew up knowing each other from, Williamsburg, Virginia.
Shawn Springs:Right there, most people know about Williamsburg because of Thanksgiving and Christopher Columbus and, you know, all this stuff that happened down there. But they grew up in a small town, man. They knew each other, had me out of high school. And man, it was just my dad went on to play a junior college in Coffeyville, Kansas, and then was recruited to a house state and played for the legendary Woody Hayes, and then was able to go to the Dallas cowboys and play for Tom Landry. Landry.
Shawn Springs:His best friend was Tony Dorsett. You know, he knew, Roger Staubach and all those guys, if you're familiar with the old Cowboys. Mhmm. And then my mom's journey was totally different. You know, she grew up where her life was a little more challenging.
Shawn Springs:My grandmother was an alcoholic. She went into the military and left me with my grandma Springs, my father's mom. And she went into the military and then came back and got me around 1st or second grade. Right? I was kinda raised in the south man with my whole family and everything, growing up swimming in the James River, man.
Shawn Springs:I tell people all the time, you wanna make an athlete, let them swim in that James River, man. Alabama, some Mike Vick, Bruce Smith, Lonzo Warner, all them boys from down there. Right. Ronald Perry and, you know, and it was just that's what made me man. And then mom came back from Germany, being stationed in Germany with that military discipline.
Shawn Springs:Mature now from seeing the world a little bit, and she raised me in PG County until I went to live with my dad. So my my experience is wow. My dad was I would be in a locker room with the guys and spending my thanksgiving's down there, and then then I'd be in PG County over in Maryland during the school year. And so I got to see the best of both worlds. Right?
Shawn Springs:So I think for me, what really shaped me is my experience, you know, from I've seen $1, 000, 000 homes to like hanging out the hood. Right. Right. So you develop a different type of mindset both ways. Right?
Shawn Springs:And I went to great schools and stuff like that. So that's kind of the foundation that was set very my grandpa and them and all my family. You know, they kinda raised me, and that's what I did.
Mick Hunt:That's awesome. And then superstar athlete in high school. I'm sure every college in the universe wanted Shawn Springs, and Ohio State had a bigger purse. You know, they had a bigger wallet.
Shawn Springs:You know, they they
Mick Hunt:they had the black card. So this is pre NIL, so I'm not getting so much trouble.
Shawn Springs:Right. Yeah. Please don't. Please don't. Please don't.
Mick Hunt:No. So why Ohio State? I know a lot of it had to do potentially with your dad being there as well, but but why Ohio State? And then also, you hit on it. You're the big dog until day 1 starts.
Shawn Springs:Right.
Mick Hunt:Right? And then all of a sudden it's like, yeah. Okay. Go down to the bottom and then and work your way up.
Shawn Springs:Nick, man, like, most people that know that my dad you're right. My dad went to Ohio State and played for legendary coach Woody Hayes. But I was a small kid. I wasn't a big kid, like 8th, 9th, and 10th grade, and maybe in 11th grade. I didn't really start getting the big offers until, like, halfway through my senior year and it just kinda exploded.
Shawn Springs:I ran track and everything, but unlike my dad who was the number 1 player in the country, you know, coming out of high school and a small town, Westbrook, Lawrence Taylor, Mel Gray went to the high school. So actually, and that's another thing. Most people don't know it, man. They've been around all my life. Miss Taylor, Lawrence Taylor mom was my nanny at First Baptist.
Shawn Springs:The cool thing is in my grandma's spring is when I was staying with her while my dad was in school and going into NFL, my mom was stationed. Going back to the Williamsburg days, she was cleaning the halls of William and Mary. I would play with my cars, And it was a basketball coach at William and Mary named George Blantus. George ended up becoming my Nike rep 20 years later. So that's that's a cool thing.
Shawn Springs:But I got recruited my senior year by pretty much once that kinda blossomed, everybody came out of the woodworks, man. And most people don't know that I committed to the University of Michigan early. Coach Gary Moller. Okay. Gary Moller.
Shawn Springs:I don't know if I ever told this story. This is the first podcast I ever told. The reason I I was loving Michigan, they had 5 5 at the time. I came in on my visit, they had Jalen Rose, Jalen and Chris, and, Juwan and all those guys, Steve King. I mean, on the Michigan football team, my boy, Ty Law, Wheatley was there, and all those guys were in Mick.
Shawn Springs:But, man, 2 reasons why I didn't go. 1 was Ty called me and was like, I don't know, man, if it's for you because then I let the kids leave early. I'm a throw my boy, Ty Law, under the bus. How can I explain to you about to tell that part? You know, he's made up of Michigan since then.
Shawn Springs:We went to a Chinese restaurant the night before, National Sounding Day. I think it was February 8th, and it was Kolemic. And, my dad said, who you gonna go sign with, man? And I said, dad, coach Mueller coming in town tomorrow to sign in. He said, alright.
Shawn Springs:Cool. My stepmom, beautiful light skinned lady, she started getting red around her neck and stuff. You know, she went to Ohio State, so her blood is blowing. So I get back to the house and we got I remember we had I'll never forget. We had, like, a red Jeep Cherokee.
Shawn Springs:My dad goes, hey man, wait right here. I said, okay, cool, cool, cool, cool. My little sisters get out. My mom get out. My son mom get out.
Shawn Springs:He basically goes, if you go to Michigan, don't come in my damn house no more.
Mick Hunt:That was dead serious, right?
Shawn Springs:It was dead serious. So I ended up going to Ohio State. I was pretty recruited by Ohio State. And when I got there, man, I was like 1 of the guys thinking I was the man. Hell, my roommate was the player of the year, Stan Jackson, New Jersey.
Shawn Springs:Then we had all type of guys who were just studs, and I found myself 4th on a depth chart, deep on a bench, you know, my freshman year, man, laughing and thinking about it. But I believed in myself because of the way I was raised and the way my dad worked me and the way he kinda installed the values in me by work ethic discipline and and, you know, just taught me football. For me, man, it was like a eye opening experience and 1 of the best things that ever happened. I can tell you more about, like, how I went from 4th in a depth chart to the highest drafted corner in the history of the NFL if we wanna go into that, but I just worked, man.
Mick Hunt:And that's the key. Right? I tell people this. And and my mentor, Les Brown, he's called it the Mick factor. I I didn't call it this.
Mick Hunt:This is what he said, but I know that this embodies Sean Springs as well too. Mental resiliency because your first day of practice. Right? All the freshmen are there together, so everybody's a superstar. But then when the upperclassmen come in, you get treated like you're supposed to get treated at that
Shawn Springs:point. Right? Right.
Mick Hunt:But here's what's critically important to understand. The mental resiliency that it takes to know that I'm gonna persevere. And I think that that embodies you. And then the next part for me is impact, which we're gonna talk about when we go to NFL. But your character speaks loudly of who you are and then the mentality to keep going.
Mick Hunt:And to me, that's Shawn Springs.
Shawn Springs:Man, you've been reading up on me, brother.
Mick Hunt:You have been my guy since 96, man.
Shawn Springs:96 for
Mick Hunt:my freshman year at UNC, and you were my guy.
Shawn Springs:Well, I really appreciate that, man, because that really truly is who I am. First of all, I believe that we all put on earth to provide a service to others. So I think if you come in there with a with a humble heart and a good spirit, I think good things happen to you. And man, you're right. I mean, I just set that goal of like, if I outwork, you know, and I think it's probably still true to this day.
Shawn Springs:Like, I remember a dude Malcolm Jenkins, a recruit they had, most people know Malcolm because he played. He came up to me 1 time and was like, is it true you never lost a workout at Ohio State? I was like, I was like, I did. I mean, there were people faster than me like Joey and Terry and those guys, but barely, by a little bit. Maybe.
Shawn Springs:Sometimes it wasn't, but, you know, I was competitive. But I just worked, man. And so often, especially in this new NIL day and age, people don't believe in, like, earning it. So for me, it was about, I gotta earn it. And that's what life is about.
Shawn Springs:Like, you know, and I'm not, not saying every situation you need to stick there, but there are some situations that you gotta see through and you can see the light. And if you continue to persevere and you let that, you know, they say, iron shop an iron. Once you, you know, you get in there, you see Eddie George, the way he worked. You see the way Orlando Pace come in a year after me, the way he worked. Ricky Dudley, Joy Galloway, Terry Glenn, Chris Sanders, Marlon Coerner, Tim Walton, who's their secondary.
Shawn Springs:Like, when you see these guys, Chico Nelson, when you see these guys, Dan Wilkinson, 1st rounders, all Americans, ballers, and you like, man, I gotta be a part of that. And that's what life is about. And I think that's what carried me into, you know, NFL the same way. Although I was a pretty high draft pick, when I first started, I wanted to be the best in the room, the best on the team, the best in the big 10, the best in the country, get drafted NFL.
Mick Hunt:And you did it. So 3rd overall pick
Shawn Springs:Yep.
Mick Hunt:As a defensive back. Yep. Never done before. Only done 1 time since.
Shawn Springs:Or twice since now. Right?
Mick Hunt:Twice. Yes. You're right. You're right. Twice since.
Mick Hunt:What was that moment like for you?
Shawn Springs:Man, I cried, man. And I cried. And this is the funny thing, man. I cried because I thought I was gonna be the first or second pick. I can play with
Mick Hunt:it here. Right?
Shawn Springs:There there
Mick Hunt:was not 2 people better than Sean Springs that year.
Shawn Springs:Well, Orlando, I can accept, man. And rest in peace with my boy, Daryl Russell from USC. But I remember Oakland calling me on that call, Al Davis, and those guys called and said, would you take a deal without no signing bonus? And just more of a guarantee 1st year. That was, it was a weird deal.
Shawn Springs:And I think, I think the quality, they wanted Orlando and then he ended up going to the Rams, and they became down to me and Darren Russell, and they called me first. And I was just like, I want to, but David Ware at the time didn't let me do it. So I end up going to Seattle, which was the best decision of my life to go play for Seattle and a new ownership there that they were they didn't have at the time, and that changed my life going to play for mister Allen in the Pacific Northwest.
Mick Hunt:Amazing. I wanna get to mister Allen 2 questions now.
Shawn Springs:Right.
Mick Hunt:3rd question for you as it relates to the NFL, though. What what's 1 moment that stands out for Sean Springs? When you think about your NFL career, what's that 1 moment that stands out to you?
Shawn Springs:That's a tough 1II had several moments. I guess the first moment had to be my I was holding out that year. I get in a camp on Tuesday or Wednesday. I take a physical on Thursday. No.
Shawn Springs:I take I get in a camp on Tuesday. I take a physical. Practice Wednesday. We travel Thursday and walk through, and I lined up. Coach Erickson said, you all know the place.
Shawn Springs:Your first assignment is when you go in a game, everybody else gonna play around you. You match up with Jerry Rice. You got you got him. You're going. No.
Shawn Springs:That guy right there. You know what I'm saying? I I heard I heard of him a little bit. Jerry Rice. It was like the 3rd preseason game, so he was gonna play at this point.
Shawn Springs:I think he was probably about year 9 or 10. You know, he was gonna play at that point, and I I remember that moment. My mom was at the game. So that was a big moment for me, man. Lining up on Jerry Rice.
Shawn Springs:God. Another big moment for me, man, and I don't know if it's like, man, like, I don't even like thinking about this sometimes. The first game we played without Sean Taylor.
Mick Hunt:Yeah. You lined up with 10.
Shawn Springs:Right? We lined up with 10, man. Yep. Wow, bro. And, man, it make out till this day, man, it's it make me tear up.
Shawn Springs:That was a big gesture. I don't even that by Greg Williams. I don't even think coach Gibbs knew that we were gonna do that in the spirit of energy in the in the stadium man and with me. And at that time, my dad was in a coma and stuff. So I remember me and Sean sat beside each other every day, and he was talking to me.
Shawn Springs:He was like, man, I don't know how you fly to Dallas, see your dad in the hospital in a coma, and then come back on Fridays and play in the game. And I remember Sean just supporting me and just developing our relationship with him, man. And, that moment was big for me. Crazy, brother. Crazy.
Mick Hunt:It's wild, man. Because I've talked to several people that have been impacted by Sean Taylor. Right? Like, just
Shawn Springs:Right.
Mick Hunt:Not who the I don't wanna say the media because I I don't think he was getting portrayed negatively, specifically by the media, but there was just some negative moments that maybe the media went in on. And that wasn't a full representation of the man and the person that Sean was. And, like, to know how many lives he touched, man, like, that's that's
Shawn Springs:Yeah. He he you know, for a young dude, you know, like you said, Sean wasn't perfect, man. But
Mick Hunt:Who is? Who is?
Shawn Springs:Yeah. Right. Right. No one's perfect. Right?
Shawn Springs:Like, with the way he changed and the impact he had in a short period of time, it's just simply amazing.
Mick Hunt:Absolutely. So you spent your last couple of years with my team, the Patriots. Right? My my uncle Stanley's team that I like to call them.
Shawn Springs:Yeah. Uh-huh.
Mick Hunt:And and you retire, and you had a moment, a conversation with Paul Allen. And I remember this you saying this. Paul said it wasn't about being a billionaire. It was about making an impact. And you said that that conversation Yeah.
Mick Hunt:Changed your perspective. How so?
Shawn Springs:Well, because in the world we live in today, it's it's about, you know, how we make money and and it becomes, but, like, what are we doing to make a difference and make a change? Right? You know, when I asked mister Allen, I was like, man, did you know you're gonna be a billionaire? He goes, Sean, it wasn't about becoming a billionaire. It was about making a difference in the world.
Shawn Springs:So at that point, Mick, I knew it wasn't about, like, taking chasing money. I knew it was about, like, finding something you love, a direction you wanted to go in, and, working hard at it, and money will come if you do the right things.
Mick Hunt:That's amazing. And then you became Yeah. CEO of Impact. Right?
Shawn Springs:Yeah.
Mick Hunt:And that's what you're doing. Right? You're you're making an impact. And a couple of things, man, like, you say I research you, but I mean it when I say you've been, like, my guy forever. And you don't know how you've inspired me seeing the things that you've done.
Mick Hunt:Some of the coolest things you've ever done. Right? Like, how many patents do you have now?
Shawn Springs:They who? I think, like, 5 or 6 patents and 2 companies. You know?
Mick Hunt:So Crazy. And then the Smithsonian.
Shawn Springs:I'm in the US Patent and Trademark Hall of Fame. I think right above me is a lady who created a messenger RNA. Then I'm in the Smithsonian, which is the latest exhibit in the American Smithsonian of American history. That exhibit is called Change Your Game, and it's really around bilingual interactive exhibition where you can learn about all different type of cool technologies. There's 4 featured innovators, myself for impact protection, the lady who founded a sports bra, the man who founded Gatorade, and the other guy who did a prospect prosthetic for sports and stuff.
Shawn Springs:But there's 60, I believe, 60 other technologies that you can experience in from instant replay to the deflategate ball is in there. I know you don't wanna hear about that 1. We they got that I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know what you're talking about. And just talking about safety far as, like, or technology, innovators who really have done things in sports that affect regular lives that you just don't even know about, like, my helmet in baseball catches your kids win or, you know, skis and just sports bra, what it did for women.
Shawn Springs:Like, I I mean, that's 1 of 1 of the most amazing stories that I don't think people really understand that she took 2 jock straps really and sold them together and created basically a sports bra.
Mick Hunt:Wow. I didn't know that. Yeah. What's crazy to me is you grew up right there. Right?
Mick Hunt:Did you ever envision the day did did 8 year old Sean ever just say, we'll be there 1 day?
Shawn Springs:No, man. I don't think that guy who was excited to go on the field trips because he lived in Washington DC area, and they felt like he was getting out of school, so everybody did to go to the Smithsonian and mess around on a bus. Right. But for me, I never woulda imagined that. I think I've always had a humble curiosity to make things better.
Shawn Springs:I wanted in high school, I wanted to be an architect. So I because I like things being developed, Done investments in land and stuff like that, but, man, like, the Smithsonian. It's so funny. I go down to the that took my I think 1 of my sons, we went down there, and we looked at it. And we're walking around, and people are just, like, looking at that.
Shawn Springs:That's you. Right? Like, I'm in the I'm in the Smithsonian for, like, 7 to 10 years. That's unbelievable.
Mick Hunt:It's wild, man. So let the listeners know, like, what is Winpak about? What is it that you're doing?
Shawn Springs:Winpak, we're based out of North Virginia. We build, helmet padding solution for products. We don't make the helmet. We make the padding solution safer. It was based out of Northern Virginia, and we basically started off with the idea to make the game safer for the next generation of athletes.
Shawn Springs:The sad thing about football is football is a very dangerous sport if not played correctly. The great thing about football is if played correctly with the right rules and the right equipment and the advancement equipment, it's the 1 of the world's best sports, if that'd be best sport in the world. Right. Right? So I wanted to work with companies in sports and in military.
Shawn Springs:We've done a lot of work with military because of this, the seriousness of impact protection in the patent system. So think about if listeners out there thinking about, our product, you go on a dicks, you see a catcher's helmet from EvoShield. The pad on the inside is my engineers. We designed it, and that's my technology inside that. Or the military, working with the Department of Defense.
Shawn Springs:You know, when you think about our soldiers and my mom was a soldier, so I understand the seriousness of it, but I think I don't know. Most people understand that they protect their lives. That ain't a, ain't a game. They need protection to save their lives. And we work on serious things like that because, you know, these guys are out in the battlefield.
Shawn Springs:Unfortunately, we're bullets to fly. So we gotta be able to make sure that that soldiers who protect our freedom come back. So we are Impact Protection. We got engineers. We design things.
Shawn Springs:We we work with companies and and get to be in cool sports like cricket.
Mick Hunt:Very popular in Asia, brother. Very, very popular.
Shawn Springs:Yeah. You're right, man.
Mick Hunt:So, Sean, you've been so gracious with your time, man. I I feel like we need to do episode 2 Yeah. At some point. Right. Right.
Mick Hunt:Because there's so many places I wanna go, but I wanna be very conscious of your time and and the gratitude that you're given by being on the show. 1 thing that Right. That I'd love for you to end with, there are a lot of athletes, and I don't care the sport, that struggle to transition. Right?
Shawn Springs:Like, there are
Mick Hunt:a lot of athletes that struggle with that transition. What's some advice that you would give a fellow athlete to, you know, that resiliency that you have, that impact, that's a part of your character. What's some advice you'd give?
Shawn Springs:I think the biggest of the advice to any athlete I would give them is don't define yourself as an athlete. Going there with the idea that NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball, NHL, whatever sports you play, male, female, it's a stepping stone in life. We know that our bodies can't hold up forever. So you gotta understand that that's just a moment in time, and this is a stepping stone to take you to the next level. So I think if you go in there with the mindset of I could be 28 years old.
Shawn Springs:Now I gotta go into the real world and start to develop yourself professionally and stuff like that. With that mindset, I think you might have a chance to transition nicely.
Mick Hunt:That's it. Sean, brother, I appreciate you spending some time with us. I definitely wanna do more because I there's so much more we could talk about. Thank you for being an inspiration and a role model to me. So, personally, I thank you.
Shawn Springs:You're welcome, brother.
Mick Hunt:You got it. And for all the listeners out there, remember, your because is your superpower. Go and use it.
Intro:Thanks for listening to Mick Unplugged. We hope this episode Unplugged. Remember, stay empowered, stay inspired, and stay unplugged.