The official podcast of Few Will Hunt, the world’s largest community of hard workers and 100% Made in the USA apparel brand. We’re on a mission to restore the dignity of hard work and help others live The Rules of The Few to strengthen ourselves and strengthen society. No entitlement or excuses are allowed here.
Exactly.
Colin Thompson:And that's what matters in business and life and everything is, like, the relationships, the trustworthiness, delivering on what you wanna do. Mhmm. And if you deliver, you raise your hand and say, hey, man, I screwed up. And that that makes you even deliver more or let the people know that this guy can deliver and hold his own. So Absolutely.
Colin Thompson:It's all about relationships. Yes. And people take that kinda tongue in cheek, I think. Yeah. But you get it delivered.
Colin Thompson:Welcome to the Fuel Hunt Show.
Joey Rosen:What's going on, Eagles? Welcome to the Fuel Hunt Show. I'm Joey. I'm here with Drew. And today, we are joined by Colin Thompson, one of the few NFL tight end, founder of a media company, not for long media, podcast host.
Joey Rosen:I mean, I probably keep going on and on. One thing I will tell you that Colin is not, he is not an accountant. No.
Colin Thompson:He's not
Joey Rosen:an accountant? No.
Drew Beech:Is that how we're kicking this off with it?
Joey Rosen:I think we're ready to kick off with it.
Drew Beech:What happened. When we
Joey Rosen:met you.
Drew Beech:Well, yeah. Our first the reason why you're here.
Colin Thompson:Well, what does it have to do
Drew Beech:with me financially? I'm confused. Yeah. So Oh
Colin Thompson:my god. Yes. The story is great. Yes. Yes.
Colin Thompson:Yes.
Drew Beech:Story is short. So I'm
Colin Thompson:like, wait. Did I screw something up in billing?
Drew Beech:Oh, yeah. Colin and I attended the same high school.
Colin Thompson:Yep. What year
Drew Beech:did you graduate, Colin? 2012. So that was 2009. So we're 3 years behind. We're in the same high school at the same time.
Colin Thompson:Yep.
Drew Beech:And we're I was we're on our first flight to meet Bader's.
Joey Rosen:Mhmm. And we're
Drew Beech:Philadelphia, Charlotte. Philadelphia, Charlotte. We are a connecting flight. Memorial This is 2021. Right?
Colin Thompson:Memorial Day, Sunday. I was coming back from a bachelor party, my own kind of, but it was, like, COVID time, so it was kinda weird. Yeah.
Drew Beech:So I was next to this abnormally large man, and I said, I was like, yeah. Like, this big and small talk, how's that? Like, you you were the temple. You had your temple bag.
Colin Thompson:Temple bag. Yeah.
Drew Beech:I know you were the temple. I guess, like, when he's got the talk, I said, what do you do for work? He said, I'm an accountant. Yeah. Alright.
Joey Rosen:He said,
Drew Beech:I'm an accountant. I'm in finance. He said
Colin Thompson:I I used to I I think I said marketing. Maybe I'm not.
Joey Rosen:Usually Okay.
Colin Thompson:Usually, it's I could be wrong. It's what definitely not not finance, sir. I could tell you
Drew Beech:that right now. Would would you never would have said finance?
Colin Thompson:I don't think so. Well, I like that one better. Let's go with that part. Who knows? I could have.
Drew Beech:Again My my recollection is
Colin Thompson:I had a big weekend the weekend before and, like, usually, I'm, like, talking to everyone on the plane, but, like, I'm going back to, like, practice. That's typically
Drew Beech:your strategy is, like, you know, say you play the Listen.
Colin Thompson:I'm a nobody. I really am. Like, in the NFL scheme, like, I'm a I'm an I'm a nobody. Like, if I played for a maybe a bigger brand and it's no shot at Carolina Panthers, but they're not the biggest brand in the NFL. I started with the Giants.
Colin Thompson:I was somebody there, and I was undrafted. Like, literally, people Evan Ingram was the 1st round pick. I was the undrafted tight end. Like, my signing bonus was $45100. His signing bonus was, I think I don't know what it was then.
Colin Thompson:I would say maybe 1,500,000. Yeah. Yeah. So big jump, and people were like, call in down the street, like, in New York, like, I'm drafted. Go Big Blue.
Colin Thompson:And you're, like, holy shit. Same in University of Florida. Yeah. Sure. I was somebody there.
Colin Thompson:But then I went to Temple. People
Drew Beech:don't care. Yeah.
Colin Thompson:People don't know you. And then in the NFL, I was a journeyman tight end, so I've literally never had a fan come up to me in public in the NFL, I don't think.
Drew Beech:Ever? K.
Colin Thompson:I don't think so and be like, hey. Are you now Carolina a little bit towards the end?
Joey Rosen:Sure.
Colin Thompson:But I was out with Baker Mayfield, like, at a Mexican restaurant having beers, shooting shit before a game. Sorry. Yeah. And no one said a word to him. That's just Carolina.
Colin Thompson:It's just like Yeah. That's crazy. Imagine that here. Oh my gosh. No.
Colin Thompson:Even that imagine it's like a imagine, like, Reid Blank
Drew Beech:and Chip. Mhmm.
Colin Thompson:Not even, like, a pro bowler. Yeah. He would get mobbed. Yeah. Yeah.
Colin Thompson:Yeah. No. I don't ever say, like, I'm somebody else, because I'm not
Drew Beech:I'm new
Joey Rosen:high end.
Drew Beech:Guys. It's kinda silly.
Colin Thompson:I try to start with podcast first because if you say NFL, then people get squirrelly and they Sure. Get weird.
Drew Beech:Yeah. Yeah. You might as
Colin Thompson:I am, mate. But I like finance,
Joey Rosen:but Listen.
Drew Beech:I tell the account story.
Joey Rosen:Thing? It's a it's a great story. It's
Drew Beech:a great story.
Joey Rosen:With it. I'll with it.
Drew Beech:Either way, you do not tell me it's it's it's it's it's hard to be the main guy.
Colin Thompson:Because you just never know, like, these guys tell me our stories, man. You know? Yeah.
Joey Rosen:I know. I get a 100%. Yeah. I get a 1000%.
Drew Beech:I, I assume there's Plus,
Joey Rosen:you're heading you're heading to practice, like, you're not trying to get keyed up.
Drew Beech:Yeah. We wanna keep a
Colin Thompson:low promo. Monday. That'd be a Monday. Yeah. Because Memorial Day.
Drew Beech:Yeah. Mhmm.
Joey Rosen:I just remember
Colin Thompson:that because we got on that flight, and my wife was in Key West for her bachelor at party. She landed at the same time. I said hi to her, and then I got on the plane. It was, like, a weird I would not I would have remembered it.
Joey Rosen:But
Drew Beech:So long story short, he I we connected on some level because we end up having, like, a a heart to heart the whole play. Like, the play out was ever before It was
Joey Rosen:like a hard work hard
Drew Beech:to heart. Oh, yeah. We're just we're talking about everything. We found out we went to the same high school, and then he was telling me all like, you had told me all about your wife and all in the journey and, like, how like, what you went through in college, and then it felt like that's why you're here today too is to tell us a story because you it was not easy, on your journey at all.
Colin Thompson:I promise not to, interrupt and give meaningless notes about Memorial Day weekend. Like, because that's just who I am. I think it all matters.
Joey Rosen:It's all good.
Colin Thompson:But but,
Joey Rosen:it's all good.
Colin Thompson:Yeah, man. What a journey. You know?
Joey Rosen:When we were in the when we were in the airport, I remember I don't know how we got separated. I mean, I travel alone, but that time we were traveling together.
Drew Beech:Just sitting I
Joey Rosen:was just sitting there and, like, I see you walking
Colin Thompson:You guys were on business meeting We're in LA.
Joey Rosen:2. 2. Yeah. We're
Drew Beech:gonna connecting foot.
Joey Rosen:And I remember you walking down with Colin, and there's a size difference. There's a notable size difference between the 2 of you. And I'm like, where'd you where'd you find this guy? Yeah.
Colin Thompson:I was chumming
Drew Beech:up with this guy. You get double extra fuel, a
Colin Thompson:100 wire. Damn right, Daniel.
Drew Beech:We, we I remember you be like, took a piece of it. I just got off the plane. You know? I'm like, I'm like, besties with this guy. I was like, why is it going on?
Colin Thompson:Going on,
Joey Rosen:dude. It's
Drew Beech:not even going to go in. Like, he's actually gonna come with us to LA.
Joey Rosen:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So my, my sister went to wood too. Yeah.
Joey Rosen:Oh, yeah.
Drew Beech:Yeah. Yeah. She was
Joey Rosen:always she
Drew Beech:was always Yeah. Yeah.
Joey Rosen:She's always here.
Colin Thompson:Place, man. It's Yeah. It's produced some absolute characters and great people, and it's it's it's, you know, I liked it, and it's in, like, a promo to wood. But I like wood because I was a public school kid, really nice one up in Doylestown and, like, the Catholic league is not perfect. It's got you know, some rooms have AC, some rooms don't have AC.
Colin Thompson:Yeah. Yeah. Some rooms, you know, it's hot hot as hell, and there's a little snow coming in the window because the snow they don't you know? Like Yep. Like, you definitely but you know what?
Colin Thompson:They want your success. Like, I'll never forget it. And so this goes back into, like, the toughness and, like, hey, asking for help. And, like, I remember I needed to gain weight, and this goes into the football journey too about breaking my feet and putting too much weight on one period of time, but I needed to put a bunch of weight on. So my one teacher, miss Devenny, who's did work to the Philly's ballpark, like, 2 days a week and then would work up, you know, would 5 days a week as a teacher, like, talk about working hard.
Joey Rosen:Sure.
Colin Thompson:And she let me, like, keep all my chocolate milks and peanut butter and just, like, and jellies in her fridge, and I could not eat them in her class alone when you weren't allowed to eat in class. Yeah. Yeah. So, like, people like that along the way, and as you guys know and everybody listening to those Yeah. People
Joey Rosen:They play they play a part. Huge part. This whole, like it's not as much a thing anymore, but this whole self made thing. Yeah. I just I don't buy.
Joey Rosen:It's bullshit. It's bullshit. It's absolutely bullshit.
Drew Beech:It's so funny you're
Joey Rosen:talking about.
Drew Beech:I'm I'm reading
Colin Thompson:out loud.
Joey Rosen:I owe the I owe the bucket in.
Drew Beech:I'm reading out loud.
Colin Thompson:We can't curse?
Joey Rosen:You can. I can.
Drew Beech:Okay. It's it's
Colin Thompson:that's my shit is the farthest I'll go. Okay. I've only said 1 or 2 f bombs in my life on air. Actually, one was last week. I was with a former teammate on air, BS, and then one because I was so comfortable.
Joey Rosen:So this bucket that you're sitting next to is called the f it bucket.
Colin Thompson:You'll see
Joey Rosen:it has cash in air.
Colin Thompson:Oh, my cash for that.
Joey Rosen:There was a cash in air. So, that was instituted. I brought it to the show to clean up my language, my trucker mouth because a lot of the Eagles that watch or listen really listen in the car with their kids.
Colin Thompson:Kids.
Joey Rosen:So we got a really touching story from Maya a few weeks ago, with her listening with her children.
Colin Thompson:I'm sorry, Maya.
Joey Rosen:And I listened to the episode that she listened to, and I was like, I have, like, a trucker mouth. So that's where the bucket came from Okay. The whole thing. So I owe the bucket 20 because I said b s.
Colin Thompson:Maya's is
Drew Beech:So we don't we don't demand Yeah. You put money in the bucket. It's just common courtesy. Like, I'll
Colin Thompson:throw some money. Don't worry
Joey Rosen:about it. For I
Colin Thompson:like all NFL guys in the building. He's got money. Meanwhile, I've played the longest career and made the least amount of money of any NFL player.
Drew Beech:Set record. Set record.
Colin Thompson:I'm setting a record
Drew Beech:there for
Colin Thompson:sure, man.
Joey Rosen:But we're talking about, one thing I wanna clarify. We're talking about archbishop Wood Yes. Right out, just outside the city in Warminster. Warminster. Yep.
Joey Rosen:Pennsylvania. That's a school where
Drew Beech:Great institution.
Colin Thompson:Greater institution. Yes. Yep. Finer learning.
Drew Beech:So you were saying there's no self made, and I'm reading outliers right now. And and I'm halfway through, and that's about, like, the sentiment of the book is that all of these self made people and people that have done great things, the outliers, all had help along the way.
Joey Rosen:They did. And it's even if it's not somebody that outright helped them or showed them what to do or let them use their fridge with their peanut butter and jelly Huge. It's someone that showed them what not to do. Yeah. Through osmosis or,
Colin Thompson:you know, an one. Right? Like, that's a whole thing to unpack of, like, learning from other people, learning other people's mistakes. They don't even know that they're a part of it. Yep.
Colin Thompson:And we probably tell those stories all the time without even really clicking in of, like, oh, I just learned another lesson there.
Joey Rosen:Yeah. Yeah. I knew a a guy back in the day. He had somewhat of an unscrupulous business venture, but he was successful with it, and he had self made, tattooed across his knuckles. And, you know, it fit really well because it's 8 letters, but, it's not true.
Joey Rosen:You know? It's it's one of those glory stories. It sounds good, but it's not true.
Colin Thompson:Community. I mean, you guys try to build a community here. Yeah. And that's, like, people say it's cliche and, like, even in football, we're trying to build the right culture. It's, like, everybody gets it.
Colin Thompson:You're all trying to be good people, moving in the right direction, helping each other, put freaking food on the table for your family, a nice place to lay your head, and then for the rest is gravy from there. You know?
Joey Rosen:For sure. For sure. Yeah. It's on I cut you off a little bit.
Drew Beech:No. It was outliers
Joey Rosen:at one point. I gotcha.
Drew Beech:And it's funny that because culture, you can't put, like, a ping Gary Vee said this in a book.
Joey Rosen:Yeah.
Drew Beech:But it's like you don't put a ping pong table in the in the break room until you have culture. Like, there's so much more that actually goes into Yeah.
Colin Thompson:That's a Matt rule, man. Like, it Carolina I'll I know I'm a big coach rule is about leadership. Like, if you're listening and you wanna learn more about leadership and, like, coach Ruhl could literally speak for 1,000,000 a year and go on the road, and we'll be clear. Matt Ruhl, NFL head coach Carolina Panthers, he turned around Temple's program, which is the losing program in college football history, I think, or at least top 5 we were we are. And then Baylor who had major rape scandal, major issues
Joey Rosen:Mhmm.
Colin Thompson:Flipped them both around. He's Got a massive, huge record breaking contract with Carolina. I was there during my period with him of time to 20 to 22, and now he's in Nebraska turning their program around. He guides us a leader. Yeah.
Colin Thompson:But, like, he just when it came to, where was I going? Lost my train of thought. I wanted to paint some color on the Brule thing. What were we talking about? The leadership.
Colin Thompson:Leadership. Like, go back and watch this stuff on YouTube. Like Mhmm. Unbelievable. Our community.
Colin Thompson:That's where I was going ping pong. Mhmm. So go watch some of his stuff when he speaks to coaches about leadership and program building. The guy's unreal at it, but also the ping pong tables. Like, at Temple in North Philly, it's rough.
Drew Beech:Mhmm.
Joey Rosen:And I
Colin Thompson:thought I was tough until I went there. Like, I thought I was, like, this tough guy who went to wood, who, like, physical tight end, who had all these offers and first team all American, and then my freaking career crashed, like, rock bottom at University of Florida. Had a bunch of injuries. Like, I was a mess. That's a side note.
Colin Thompson:Transfer to Temple, my only offer, and I got to Temple and thought I knew everything because I went from MECCA Football, University of Florida
Joey Rosen:Yeah.
Colin Thompson:When I was dead wrong. Like, the MECCA Football was what Matt Ruhl was doing there, and I'll never forget it. I knew it. It hit me like 2015, 16, my junior senior year when I walked in. I looked on a Wednesday night.
Colin Thompson:We practiced in the morning. We met in the morning. We were done by noon. Mhmm. On a Wednesday night, Thursday night, it would be packed.
Colin Thompson:The facility would be packed. Ping pong tournament every Wednesday night, pizza and wings for everybody.
Joey Rosen:Yeah.
Colin Thompson:But the underlying tone was why you weren't eating or why you weren't playing, we're gonna be in watching a little film and doing some work. Sure. But he knew community and culture, and he kept us out to Sri A Temple. He kept us out of the dollar Bud Light special or whatever, like, all that little stuff. Yeah.
Colin Thompson:Yeah. Like dark or whatever it was, drought horse or whatever it was.
Joey Rosen:Yeah.
Colin Thompson:But my point is, like, he culturally, every such a ping pong table, like, I believe in that stuff.
Joey Rosen:Yeah.
Colin Thompson:I do because, you know, you never all of a sudden like, even in Carolina, like, he people ripped him in there because we didn't win, bottom line. Mhmm. But you come into our locker room, it was a healthy locker room. There'd be 20 guys on the ping pong table. Yeah.
Colin Thompson:Huge brackets in tournaments. Yep. Like, everybody camaraderie. People didn't leave the building for 2, 3 hours after meetings were over.
Joey Rosen:Yeah.
Colin Thompson:And you know what? Guess what? The x's and o's, everybody tells them. Yeah. It's like, great.
Colin Thompson:You need to have a good quarterback, you need to have a good head coach, you need to have good players. But other than that, it's the guys, it's communities, it's the people that are, like, got their crap together Yeah. And are, like, pulling for each other.
Joey Rosen:He did so much than just put the table there, though. You know what I mean? There's a lot of companies that put the table there and they're, like, boom, instant community, instant culture. Like, what do you mean we don't have a culture? Well, that's because nobody's playing on the table.
Joey Rosen:You know, it takes a leader to step up
Colin Thompson:and get play.
Joey Rosen:Yeah. It takes a leader to step up and say, like, look. Like, we're gonna do a little bit of this. We're gonna have some fun. Yep.
Joey Rosen:But then we're gonna watch the tape. And this is why.
Drew Beech:It's so funny to say that because at my old career and a lot of other places, you got the the leader was actually up I don't know, said, like, it would bother him if you were playing. They've
Joey Rosen:Yeah. Yeah.
Drew Beech:They put it there, and they're like, oh, like, if they're they're not working, and, like, what do they do? Yeah. It's
Joey Rosen:Yeah. Yeah.
Colin Thompson:There's some there's a whole we could be here 4 hours breaking that down. Right?
Drew Beech:We haven't even started the podcast.
Colin Thompson:No. We haven't. No. We haven't. I've already hijacked it, but this is Cornwall, ping pong, the lounge chairs, the recovery.
Colin Thompson:Everything was about, like, the order I got, I've just, like, tight ends where we go on the road. We get into town, say, we're playing Philly. Where are we going to dinner?
Joey Rosen:Mhmm.
Colin Thompson:We don't need the all the the haze in the barn. People hate that term in football. Do you always work? Of course, you work through the event. That's not what I'm saying, but we're going to dinner.
Colin Thompson:Yeah. Because we need we're building not just for this week, but for next week and next year. And Yeah. So Yeah. It was I love my you know, I maximized it because I was so fleeting.
Colin Thompson:It was so fleeting for me.
Joey Rosen:Mhmm. Mhmm. Mhmm.
Colin Thompson:For a lot of guys, it was so not easy. Yeah. There's always struggle. But, hey, I made it. I was a 3rd round pick.
Colin Thompson:I know I'm gonna get signed. For me, I never knew when my last day was. So especially in my 2nd and third runs in the league, and I'm gonna still try to do one more. I'm a free agent. Mhmm.
Colin Thompson:I'm just like, man, enjoy it. Smile.
Joey Rosen:Oh, absolutely. Smile. For sure. For sure. So
Drew Beech:go ahead. Last note on the on the community thing. It's a lot of people got upset when they're like, this team has all the best players they don't win. And I was very at the time, the Eagles won the Super Bowl, one of the best years of my life at at where I was at that at that time. I, remember thinking, like, this team just isn't even the best team on paper.
Drew Beech:They are just they're just so together. Like, they are they're connected. Like, on on some on some different level, like, they were brothers for that
Colin Thompson:specific Garrett Blunt was a throwout. Chris Long, throwaway. No. I mean, he's a great NFL players. I'm gonna be wrong.
Colin Thompson:Yeah. But I'm not saying it's not Saifon Barkley. Yeah. It's not, whatever. Hassan Reddick.
Colin Thompson:Like, players that are making big time to coin these are guys that are 1 year deals.
Drew Beech:Yep. And they were just brothers. If you could just tell they were they were they were joking.
Colin Thompson:Nick Foles is, like, done. Mhmm. Unserable MVP. And then you're sure
Drew Beech:like, the Chip Kelly years where we had, like we had who what was that?
Colin Thompson:Astronaut McCoy, Mick Vick.
Drew Beech:The cowboy, Ronnie Bagwell picked up.
Colin Thompson:Octavius Murray. Oh, no. Not, something Mary.
Drew Beech:DeMarco. DeMarco. Yeah. Yeah. DeMarco Mary.
Drew Beech:And, like, there's all these, like, star studded guys, and they kept coming in. You had
Colin Thompson:a dream team, bitch Young.
Drew Beech:Yeah. We had nothing. Yeah.
Joey Rosen:Yeah. So take us back to peanut butter jelly sandwiches at Wood. Right? So that's kinda where it began. Yeah, man.
Joey Rosen:Right? And then, run us through you know, you you touched on some of the injuries. Right? Run us through some of the, you know, the journey. Let's let's run us through the journey from from Wood to the NFL.
Colin Thompson:Yeah. It almost it starts before Wood, though. I think I I have to tell that tell that little quick part of the story because I'm very fortunate to have amazing parents, and I've talked about you guys before. Like, I make it crystal clear when I say this because I come from 2 parents of they're entrepreneurs. Their parents had nothing.
Colin Thompson:My parents, you know, they they did some things to help my parents, of course, but Mhmm. I came from 2 parents of that are entrepreneurs work their ass off and literally just brought us around and doing all what they did, like, hey. We gotta learn this. Every conversation we have, it's hysterical because we compare my family and my wife's family. Every conversation is about real estate, the next investment, the next door, the next opportunity, what we're doing.
Colin Thompson:But let's go do this open house because it's pretty cool. We can learn something. Everything's business.
Joey Rosen:Mhmm.
Colin Thompson:But, of course, tons of love and family and camaraderie in there, but I have to say that was huge for me, my mom for the hard work part, my dad as well, but my dad for mindset and visualization and, like, this is 2003 in a car ride.
Drew Beech:Colin's mom owns one of the the most prestigious fudge kitchen.
Colin Thompson:Have a fudge kitchen. Yeah. We talked about this.
Drew Beech:So shout out to
Colin Thompson:And she's continuing. Yeah. Shout out to fudge kitchen. She's continuing that legacy. That was 50 years the Bogle Brothers built that.
Drew Beech:Mhmm.
Colin Thompson:And she and she purchased it.
Drew Beech:But yeah,
Colin Thompson:that's crazy. Boutique retailer, but, it it's a just tells a little bit of the story of where I come from.
Joey Rosen:It sounds like you were talking about ideas, and you were talking about opportunities. You weren't talking about people. You weren't talking about gossip.
Drew Beech:People No
Colin Thompson:one was ever out to get you. You control your you control your mind. You control your mindfulness. The book, The Secret
Drew Beech:Mhmm.
Colin Thompson:All about that, like and people, like, make fun of that book, but it's got great underlying messages about both. Yeah. Yeah. So that's kinda where I come from. And then, you know, like, literally, and it's a good part of the story was, you know, I'm like, I wanna play football.
Colin Thompson:I wanna play in the NFL. Okay. Mom and dad's like, alright. Like, there was no flinch. There was no eye roll.
Colin Thompson:There was no nothing. They're like, okay. Great. You can do it. But then we gotta show you the road map.
Colin Thompson:So to the story, the New York Giants won the Super Bowl, and my mom's friend from high school was a defensive coordinator all around the NFL. What what the Giants at one point of time end up believing the Giants, and the next year, they won the Super Bowl. So my mom's like, again, we're in Eagles country. My mom took me out of school. She's like, you wanna play in the NFL?
Colin Thompson:You need to see us. We own true own 2 eyes. So we saw the ticker tape parade in New York City when the Giants won their 1st Super Bowl with Eli Manning.
Drew Beech:Mhmm.
Colin Thompson:And I remember literally being like, this is the wildest thing I've ever seen in my own two eyes. We actually came into 911 Yeah. On a train, and there's nothing there. Yeah. Obviously.
Colin Thompson:And you're just, like it was, like, silence. Like, crazy ruckus giant fans in a subway to, like, silence in 911. And then open the train doors back up up into Manhattan, and it's just like pure bedlam.
Drew Beech:Mhmm.
Colin Thompson:And I'll never forget that. So the the visualization part, you need to see what it looks like, you know, growing up, meeting Jerome Bettis, like, in the Steelers locker room and going to Dave and Buster's with him and, like, the Steelers players after games. Like, I saw all that as a kid, and my parents did everything they could for me to see that. So that's the beginning part. So then I play, youth football, Mount Carmel, Romans in Georgetown, Pennsylvania where I grew up.
Colin Thompson:I was a basketball and hockey player too. Still, hockey is my favorite sport to this day. Yeah. Huge Flyers fan.
Drew Beech:The first thing we he ever I I said, like, let me send you some gear after the flight.
Joey Rosen:Hockey is the only thing.
Drew Beech:He he asked for was the people on hockey day. So where? Yeah. I'm like I was like
Colin Thompson:Like the lamp on the back or whatever it is? I love it.
Drew Beech:The lamp. Well, the
Colin Thompson:I love it. I think it's light lamp or whatever
Joey Rosen:it is. Yeah. Light lamp.
Colin Thompson:I love it, man. I wear it all the time. Like, what are doing? It's kinda nice because, like, that's my passion. Actually, that, I've gotten to Premier League Soccer, which is a weird one.
Colin Thompson:I never ever would have thought I'd be a soccer fan, but I love Tottenham. We're not gonna get into that. It's a different day. So, yeah, Wood. I I transferred to Wood, and I get there.
Colin Thompson:And a great late late lesson of the jump was there's, like, 3 or 4, like, really good players on our freshman football team
Drew Beech:Mhmm.
Colin Thompson:That were different. And I was blessed to be one of them, and we're in line to get our gear. This is how they tell you back in the day. It's not like now everyone's like, sit down with the coach and have a conversation about your status. Right?
Colin Thompson:Like, Yeah. This is not even that long ago. It's amazing how the world's changed now that you think about it. And literally, it was I was the the 3rd guy in the line, and he said, alright, Joey. Alright, Frank.
Colin Thompson:You're up. And I was ready for, alright, Colin. Go. And I didn't go. They didn't call me or the next guy.
Colin Thompson:So Joey and Frank went up, and they were playing freshman they were freshman playing on the varsity. And I was like, wow. Ended up being unbelievably positive for me.
Joey Rosen:Yeah.
Colin Thompson:A, I was head of coaching and leadership.
Joey Rosen:Mhmm.
Colin Thompson:And the reason why I talk about all this up with my parents is I didn't realize it. I knew they were amazing parents. But until I get in the NFL and my best friend in the NFL has been put up for adoption 3 or 4 times
Drew Beech:Mhmm.
Colin Thompson:And he's making tens and twenties and 1,000,000 of dollars in the league, and he's got his shit together, and he's philanthropic, and he's a great guy. And you're like, okay. Like, man, I'm very I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't be. I would've made it.
Colin Thompson:I wouldn't have had his toughness. You know? I don't know if I would've. So long story short, yeah, I go to Archbishop Wood, man. I say freshman football, I learned a lot of valuable lessons about leadership and building your core and your team and people believing in you.
Drew Beech:So you expected to play varsity though?
Colin Thompson:Yeah. I thought so. You know? That's frustrating. Thank God I didn't.
Colin Thompson:I would've got my ass kicked. I would've not been I wouldn't have been ready. Probably would've scared me more.
Drew Beech:Yeah. So, I mean, you were humble, though. It's like you got maybe you had an ego coming in, and then you're like, wow. How how did your parents help you through the I I'm sure you were crushed.
Colin Thompson:Yeah. I wasn't as like, I was, like, 5050.
Drew Beech:Okay.
Colin Thompson:I, like, also, like, thought I could, but I don't know if I really deep down inside knew I could.
Joey Rosen:Sure. Sure.
Colin Thompson:You know where we all been there? Especially when you're younger. Right? Like, now I'm like, come on. Let's go.
Colin Thompson:But, like, even early on in my professional football career, I'm like, oh, boy. Yeah. Like, that's Khalil Mack over there. Like, that's Tom Brady. You know?
Colin Thompson:You're like, this isn't like a joke anymore. This isn't like I'm at Temple running around chasing some kid from whatever school. Yeah. This is like the big boys. And then Yeah.
Colin Thompson:Later on in my career, I actually had no stress on the football field. None. And I would just, like, play reggae before the game and walk out and play where before I have to be, like, eating this and, you know, listen to this music and get this much sleep. I'd be like, I don't care if I get an hour of sleep. I don't care if I get 10 hours of sleep.
Colin Thompson:I'm gonna walk out there, and I'm gonna do my job. Like, I would almost warm up less on game day just to prove a point to my mind, like, I don't need it. I control how this is gonna go, and my career took off that way. Sure. So I know I'm off the rails, but I learned a lot, man.
Colin Thompson:And I was open and I think constantly learning to be coached mentally, physically, like, going up to trainers, going up to everybody in the building and being, like, what can you pour into me that's gonna give me another percent because I need it.
Joey Rosen:Dude, I feel like being coachable at every stage of your life is such a it's first of all, it's not talked about a lot.
Colin Thompson:You gotta be seeking it though when you're older because no one who's coming to you.
Joey Rosen:Yeah. Right. The scarcity gets gets greater and
Colin Thompson:greater as
Joey Rosen:you get older.
Colin Thompson:Guys gotta go to people. Yeah. How many people are gonna be like, hey, here's what you're doing wrong. Yep. Like But it's one
Drew Beech:of the most
Joey Rosen:undervalued traits in in a person being coachable.
Drew Beech:Yeah. Yeah. And bring and why we made the conscious decision to bring when beta's approached us about investing in our company and and bringing him on to Mhmm. The team. Like, it was it was just, like, clear cut decision for us because we like, the way that man sees things that we don't it's so so You're
Colin Thompson:the smartest person in the room. Right? You're in the wrong room.
Joey Rosen:We're yeah. I mean, we had we had people that, you know, we know that they're close to us. They were like, hey. This is not a good idea for you guys to do because he's gonna, like, take the company or he's gonna do this or do that, like, scarcity minded approaches. And we're like, wait.
Joey Rosen:This doesn't that doesn't even compute to us. You know what I mean?
Drew Beech:My family home a shark. Like like That's what I'm saying.
Colin Thompson:They're watching Shark Tank.
Joey Rosen:Yeah.
Colin Thompson:Yeah. Yeah. And they're, like, hear the horror stories. Yeah. I mean, that's anything.
Colin Thompson:Right? You gotta take chances, and you gotta be able to pivot and will willing to go to, like, whatever lengths it needs to take. So
Joey Rosen:Yeah.
Colin Thompson:Yeah. So architecture would It
Joey Rosen:sounds like being coachable you being coachable and actively seeking it out is That's
Colin Thompson:never happening.
Joey Rosen:Pouring gasoline on the foundation that your parents set up for you. Right?
Colin Thompson:I think I enjoyed, you know, the order I got. I enjoyed we all have the dopamine hit of, like, doing something well. Right? Mhmm. But I think I I didn't get the dopamine hit of scoring or, like, making a big play for my own self.
Colin Thompson:I was like, I gave validation to myself Mhmm. And to the coach and to the I mean that humbly. Like Mhmm. Doing that technique, that coach was like, he's my guy,
Joey Rosen:you know.
Colin Thompson:And the best guys I played for, it's funny, throughout my career. They're my best friends off the field. The coaches that aren't friends, that wanna keep the wall up, or are all football, I don't play well for them. Yeah. I just don't.
Colin Thompson:It's crazy. And even a grown man who is a professional and you should be able to play for forever.
Drew Beech:Yeah.
Colin Thompson:But I need more. I need layers of relationship. I need to know about your personal life. I. And that's why the better I played, the more mature I was off the field, the better relationship was off off the field.
Drew Beech:And that's one thing that, my wife, Amanda, and I talked about is a lot of the relationships I developed over the years have depth to them. Right? Like, there's no the connection is more than surface level. Yep. And I feel is
Colin Thompson:Saying a touch is hard, man. You gotta make an effort to do it. Yeah. You gotta carve out time in your week to do it. I try.
Colin Thompson:It is hard.
Drew Beech:It's hard it's hard to say, especially with everyone. Like, I would love to talk to you more, but, I mean But the
Colin Thompson:long pauses between text too, I they used to let that bother me. I'm like, I don't. I got stuff going on. Yeah. And it's not personal.
Colin Thompson:I'll go back. I'll scroll back. Like, hey. It's been 2 weeks. I'm so sorry to get back to you.
Colin Thompson:How you doing? Yeah. Mhmm. So Yeah.
Drew Beech:And the more Eagles you connect with, the more people that you align with that you know are out there doing things too. They don't get offended by things like that. It's the people that aren't Yeah. That aren't doing shit that are like, oh, you're an asshole. You didn't text me back for
Colin Thompson:terrible hard to find though, you know. Like, I have these conversations with close people all the time. It's, like, who's in your friend group? When you look around, there could be great friends. You have so much fun with them.
Colin Thompson:But, like, who's in your group that's, like, willing to be pliable, willing to take coaching, living okay. A fun lifestyle. Right? Going to dinner, having a couple of drinks, like, this stuff that I value. Right?
Colin Thompson:Like, the camaraderie side of it. And then also, like, getting up in the morning and training and then, like, having some like, a spiritual mindset, whatever that is or, like, who it's hard to find those people, man. Yeah. Like, the non sedentary, 9 to 5 mindset. Not saying they work 9 to 5, but just, like, that's why this is great and that's why all of you have been attracted to me.
Colin Thompson:Say as well. Welcome welcome to 2 hours of community. You gotta do it, man. You gotta grip it and rip it.
Drew Beech:That's what I think may have been the segue to us. Actually, I think it's like you said Yeah. You said, like, what do you do for work? And I was
Colin Thompson:like, yeah.
Drew Beech:I was like, I have a company called few 1. Like, we're actually on a business trip right now. And he's like, what's that? And I explained it to him, and he was like, oh, like, I like like I love that. It's how the the floodgates open.
Drew Beech:Well, you
Joey Rosen:said it's hard to find them. I mean, that's why Drew and I started Fu hunt because we felt so alone. So we're like, look. We know they're out there. We know people that think and act like us are out there, so we're gonna bring them all together and be a force for humanity, for society.
Colin Thompson:I really moved to a different state because of it. And not that, like, Bucks County p Pennsylvania is not that. It didn't work out for my wife and I. We wanted to find our own thing. Yeah.
Colin Thompson:But, like, we were in another place. Okay? And I've, like, traveled to all these different places by playing. I'm like, alright. We're going to Naval Academy.
Colin Thompson:We're gonna go to where all the athletes from college that we that my wife play with and all the guys that I play with are here. So, no, it's been a great journey and, yeah, entrepreneurship was great to me, man. We end up, you know, like, working our way. Philadelphia, Catholic league back in the day, you weren't able to compete for, state title.
Drew Beech:Mhmm.
Colin Thompson:Not till my 1st year at Wood, freshman year.
Joey Rosen:Oh, okay.
Colin Thompson:So they lost it my freshman year. My sophomore year, we went all the way to to the semifinals in Hershey and got crushed by Sealands Grove. The next year, Allentown Central Catholic ran us over, and then our senior year, arguably the best team in Pennsylvania's, history. Mhmm. We won City 2 nothing in the state title.
Colin Thompson:Largest margin victory in PA finals history ever. Yeah.
Drew Beech:That was under under Devlin. Right?
Colin Thompson:Under Devlin.
Drew Beech:He's still there?
Colin Thompson:And he's your sinus now. Head defense coordinator of your sinus.
Joey Rosen:Okay.
Colin Thompson:We probably had on that team, we probably had 15 to 20 division 1 guys. I know there's 30 college football players.
Drew Beech:Really? Maybe
Colin Thompson:more. I don't even know the numbers, but we had a ton in coaches that came over from decades in history of toughness and physicality, and, like, we were just the bad boys, and we only go farther than, you know, than everybody else physically. So it was it was a great run. It was a great place, and it was a great journey, man. It taught me a ton of lessons and set me up for the next chapter.
Colin Thompson:It was a unique place, Wood. It was a unique culture, and I love my time there.
Joey Rosen:Yeah. So where what's what was that next step? Set you up for your next step where?
Colin Thompson:Yeah. That was University of Florida, man.
Joey Rosen:Yeah.
Colin Thompson:I I pay I tell these facts to you, and I mean it humbly, but it paints a picture of everybody from where I was to where it went, a dark place. I was first team all American, came down my steps in the morning. I'll never forget it. My dad's like, go to ESPN.com. So why is he so serious?
Colin Thompson:I click on there, and he's like, dude, you're number 1 title in the country.
Joey Rosen:I was
Colin Thompson:like I'm, like, emotional thinking about it. Like, are you kidding me? Like, I'm some kid, like, playing backyard football, like Yeah. Whatever. Like, farting around, ice skating.
Colin Thompson:I'm just a huge hockey player. Like, I don't
Joey Rosen:know. Yeah.
Colin Thompson:So that was a monumental moment. You know, and the the mountain top for me individually for someone who, like, never scored a lot of touchdowns or never caught a lot of passes or never like, most athletes that are, like, these high achieving guys or, like, have all these personal athletes. Like, I wasn't even all I was not all Intelligencer my junior year, but I was first team All American because I was at these camps and they're like, holy cow, this guy's gonna be really good. And I just we didn't throw the ball or anything. So it was a weird philosophy for me to mentally where I was going and then humbled by my parents, and then the media side comes in where I've started my media career because
Joey Rosen:Sure.
Colin Thompson:Once a night, maybe twice, 5 days a week, Monday through Friday, I had a school call me, a coach call me, or even more than once, or I have a media outlet from that town that offered me in. So, like, the the the, you know, the Chapel Hill Times that where North Carolina is, we'll call. Or that you got an offer. What do you think? What's it like?
Colin Thompson:I mean, I literally put I take every phone call, say yes to everybody. And now some of those people, a, either work for my media company or, b, I still work with the media, which is pretty cool.
Joey Rosen:Yeah. It's cool.
Colin Thompson:So connections, relationships, that's my parents too. Like, always connect first class like, you never know who's watching. You never write handwritten thank you letters or the whole thing on that. Yeah. So, again, like, they were heavily involved in that.
Colin Thompson:And then working to the next step, the University of Florida, like, man, there's a spider web here, but Dan Quinn recruited me to Florida, who's now the head coach of Washington Commanders, Mike Wilma Shand, Will Lewis. I go to Florida. It was a great Derek Lewis head and coach. It was an awesome spot, and I was training at Central Bucks West, a historic football program in Eastern Pennsylvania, and I, my hometown in Doylestown. I go around a cone, 5th metatarsal breaks on my right side.
Colin Thompson:I was wearing the cleats that were a little big for me. I played in the underarm all American game. They're a little big, but they're cool red shiny cleats. I'm like, they're sweet. Like, they fit me good.
Colin Thompson:I'm comfy, and I just went around a cone and boom, the outside bone, 5th metatarsal on my right side breaks. Like, literally, it snapped. I'm like, holy shit. This is syncope. This is my first real injury.
Colin Thompson:Mhmm.
Joey Rosen:Get the
Colin Thompson:surgery, was okay surgery. I would have done it a little bit differently now. I would have went through the university. They kinda help you get with a doctor, but I'm like, no. We'll go down to UPenn.
Colin Thompson:They're the best in the world. Mhmm. And the guy's like, hey. We're not gonna treat you like an athlete. We're gonna treat you like somebody normal.
Colin Thompson:And I was like, man, I'm big. I'm a big boy. I need a I need a deck screw in there.
Joey Rosen:Yeah.
Colin Thompson:So they I went to Florida, re broke the bone again, and then got redshirted. They put a huge deck screw in. They for the doctors out there, they put a bone graft in. They put, like, a paste right over the thing, and it's been rock solid for me. I wish my whole all my feet had screws
Drew Beech:on the left.
Colin Thompson:Yeah. Here nor there. So when it was really, like, okay. Great. Then I'm gonna come back the next year.
Colin Thompson:Mhmm. Had so much foot pain on all both sides of my feet, like crazy, like, literally couldn't move. Supposed to come in and compete as starters, a freshman, like, in the SCC, which, mentally, I don't know how I would've been ready for, but I would've gave it hell. You know? Yeah.
Colin Thompson:And it's just tons of pain and I I got redshirted. So the next year I come back and, like, we're trying to get orthotics. They fly these people in from Denver to custom fit orthotic. They didn't work. They flew me out to Oregon Mhmm.
Colin Thompson:With a head athletic trainer and another teammate of mine. And we did, like, 24 hours in Oregon Oregon in the Nike campus, which is the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen in my own 2 eyes. Yeah. And they, like, feet scan custom cleats and everything, and, like, that helped a little bit. They got me in a smaller cleat, blah blah blah.
Colin Thompson:And I come back and I'm playing and I'm, like, battling in training camp and, like, it's hell down there in training camp too. Like, August in University of Florida, like, right in the center of the state. Mhmm. Life changing. Like, I would literally unbuckle my pads Yeah.
Colin Thompson:And then buckle them right before the play so I could pray play with properly fitted pads, but I couldn't breathe in the huddle if they were on too tight because it's so so hot. We're talking.
Joey Rosen:So hot.
Colin Thompson:So I know I'm plowing through the story here, but I
Joey Rosen:Mhmm.
Colin Thompson:It moves his pot along. I I come back competing for a starting job. I'm, like, the 2nd, 3rd string guy. The I'm just doing my thing. I'm getting my health.
Colin Thompson:My feet are underneath me now. I'm starting to get some groove, but I'm still in a lot of pain, like, tons of pain. I'm, like, alright. I could fight through it. Like, as long as it's not gonna really do me long term damage, I'll be fine.
Joey Rosen:Sure.
Colin Thompson:So, moving along, it's our 3rd game of the year we play Tennessee. I play pretty well. I come in and, like, kinda garbage time and play a lot. I'm like, okay. And the tight end coach told me later, he's like, you would have been our starter probably against l l at LSU, which is one of the hardest place to play in the country.
Colin Thompson:You'd have been our starter the next week, but you got hurt. I'm like, yeah. I know. I I played in Tennessee game. I I felt fine.
Colin Thompson:I go home. I actually met my wife that day, which is crazy. Go home. My wife, they were at we had a party at our house. My family was there.
Colin Thompson:Like, it was, like, all, like, the local, like, you know, local, but we're all, like, University of Florida athletes and their families and people came by. My wife was one of the girls that came by. And we're hanging out. I had a great time. Get up Sunday morning.
Colin Thompson:I'm going to breakfast. I'm like, man, my foot is killing me. My left foot now. Put my right foot twice.
Joey Rosen:Yeah.
Colin Thompson:So I'm like, I don't know what this is. I go in the training room. Like, my foot is really bad right now. Really weird, like, eerie feeling. So I get it checked, and it was a navicular stress fracture.
Colin Thompson:It's what Joelle and Bede had. So when Joelle are in his time in Philly, like, they're like, hey. Low management. Everyone's rolling their eyes, but, man, I know what that injury is like. It is like you can't put a screw in it and fix it.
Colin Thompson:It's a it's gotta naturally heal and if you're a bigger boy. Yep. So I was good. Everything was fine. Far as like, hey.
Colin Thompson:Just take another year, man. You're gonna be healthy as a clam year. It's gonna be perfect. You're gonna be our starter. The the guys are gonna graduate.
Colin Thompson:You'll come back, be better than ever. Great. Not the case. 2 weeks later, out of nowhere, I get a tap on the shoulder, come meet with us in the room. Okay.
Colin Thompson:Great. Doctors pull me in. They're like, hey. Your career's over at University of Florida. I'm like, well, what do you mean?
Colin Thompson:I'll go walk on to the basketball team. I spent my like, to be what do you mean? Yeah. I'll go walk on a baseball, just shag balls, or I'll do something. I'm gonna be an athlete.
Colin Thompson:I'm gonna play in the NFL. What are you talking about? They're like, dude, you're done. You can't you're not gonna be able to walk with your kids. You're not gonna be able to run.
Colin Thompson:You you never should never be able to play sports again.
Joey Rosen:What? Oh,
Colin Thompson:yeah, man. Rock bottom. So my parents flew down. They're like, we'll fly them down.
Joey Rosen:This is a dark place you talked about.
Colin Thompson:It gets real dark. So that's why I like to tell them the top of the mountain because it was at the top, like, everything they ever wanted. Kid from Philly going to freaking University of Florida with palm trees, like and Shreve Floyd actually from Philly had a huge influence on me with that. But
Drew Beech:It's just crazy that society limits people. Like like Mhmm. Who are they, these doctor, whoever told you this, to tell you that you won't be able to walk with your kids or you'll never be able to play sports.
Colin Thompson:They're literally like, if you continue to play, like, you're never middle, like, coach your kids, bend over, pick your kids up. I'm like
Drew Beech:Why do we continue? Like, why I don't understand why is this how you guys They
Colin Thompson:wanted my they wanted my scholarship because I wasn't producing. This is big business culture ball before it is now, which is a whole 15 podcast. But so I was like, alright. You want my scholarship? That's fine.
Colin Thompson:Like, I've kicked and screamed, like, kicked on my way out. Like Mhmm. No. Like, I'm flying to the best foot specialist in the world. I flew to see him, Robert Anderson, Charlotte, North Carolina.
Colin Thompson:Yeah. I'm like, we'll pay for it. I'm like, no. I don't want you guys involved in any of it. Yeah.
Colin Thompson:I don't want you guys touching any of it. It's like, we'll still fly you to them, but, like, your career is over. It's like, alright. Screw you. So I flew myself up.
Colin Thompson:He's like, no. You just need a couple months off. You'll be fine. So I take a couple months, and I'm like, I'm ready to go. I'll work out for the team.
Colin Thompson:Whatever you need. Mhmm. They wouldn't grant it to me. Really? They already gave you a scholarship.
Colin Thompson:Yeah. I ended up being a friend of mine. He hated the guy, right, because he took my spot. I ended up playing with him in the NFL, and he's a great dude.
Drew Beech:But Yeah.
Colin Thompson:Yeah. Long story short, I was at Florida, and I, had a 0.9 GPA. That's the next semester and pretty much partied my way out of school and trained like an ox, which is crazy that I was doing both at such a high level, the partying part and the and the training part, but that's what happens when you're young, I guess. I was just running around and traveling and, like, hey. Not a student athlete anymore.
Colin Thompson:Like, I'm just an athlete student. Mhmm. I would, like, sneak into the football weight room at night and work out in there and just, like, said I'm gonna be in the best shape of my life. I'm gonna focus on, like, football, and I'm gonna leave. So I end up leaving, and I went everywhere, man.
Colin Thompson:I knocked on I hit on all the people that I connected with back in the day that recruited me. All the people that my parents said write thank you letters to. Call them when you commit to a school and say, thank you for recruiting me. I'm going somewhere else. A lot of guys just move on and ignore coaches and then burn a bridge.
Colin Thompson:Yeah. And that coach, like, spend times away from his family recruiting you
Drew Beech:Mhmm.
Colin Thompson:Late nights in the office, calls on the way home from work. Like It's the
Joey Rosen:right thing to do. You owe it to him, to his effort.
Colin Thompson:Yep. And they're like, do it. So all these people that I've connected with over the years, now they've come back on my podcast. I work with them immediately. Yeah.
Colin Thompson:So it's been blood again, parenting, coaching. Yeah. So I know I'm moving the story along, and then I, end up transferring to the Temple University. I know I went to Penn State walk on. Did that UCF walk on.
Drew Beech:How did that transpire? Was is it a connection that you made No. Prior?
Colin Thompson:That came out of nowhere. There was no, like, social media really then, like, a little bit of Twitter. Mhmm. There was Twitter was bigger because every time I would tweet, I would lose, like, a 1000 followers because the Florida fans are, like, screw you for leaving. But because
Joey Rosen:I
Colin Thompson:and back in the day, you were hush-hush. You didn't have a podcast. You didn't have a voice. You just, like, let stuff just happened. Mhmm.
Colin Thompson:You know? And you just moved along. You couldn't really now that's why I love new they call it new media, especially in sports. You could speak your truth. Yeah.
Colin Thompson:You control the narrative. The best Philly athletes here, Kelsey, Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham, Lane they talk to the media. They tell they they control the narrative. They get they call in the 941 and say, hey. This is what's going on.
Colin Thompson:Yeah. So there was none of that then. So that just transpired out of nowhere. I didn't wanna go. Yeah.
Colin Thompson:I don't wanna go to Temple. Temple's a bottom of college football at the time. They won 2 win 2 games. 2 games a year before too. And thank God I did, man.
Colin Thompson:I met a PT, Joel Roth, who saved my career, who works on a lot of the Phillies players now.
Joey Rosen:Mhmm.
Colin Thompson:Best PT I've ever been with. And, played for Matt Rolfe, who changed my life mentally and toughness and took me to dark, dark places, that whole team, and we we ever And I never could have gone by myself or with another probably program in it. We were that team at Temple was able to go harder, longer, and go to really dark places to to beat you. And and, that's why we had a lot of success, and we had 26 wins in 3 years. We beat Penn State for the first time in 74 years.
Colin Thompson:We won a conference championship with World.
Drew Beech:On that team for the Penn State.
Colin Thompson:Yeah. So it was chaos, man, and it was so cool to be a part of it. And city of Philly is a great city. People are great. Yeah.
Colin Thompson:The toughness of it, I love every second of it.
Drew Beech:They really got behind that temple run too.
Joey Rosen:Yeah. They did.
Drew Beech:You were like you were like NFL athletes at that point.
Colin Thompson:Dude, it was big time, man. Like, the temple t was huge and, like, we had college game day here. I remember Matt Rule being like, I literally couldn't even walk to college game day. Like, people were mobbing me. Like, this is crazy little temple.
Colin Thompson:So that was the height of it. It was a great run. Like I said, man, like, I went from palm trees and you can't get real. Life can get really good down in Florida. But when you get to Philly and it's spring ball and it you just had a practice and you can barely open your hands up to, like, look on your schedule where classes and it's raining sideways and the paper tells you where classes is wet.
Colin Thompson:Mhmm. And you haven't eaten study halls over here, food's over here, you got 10 minutes to make it. Matt Rule made you carry a gallon water jug around campus. And if you weren't if it wasn't half full at all times, you were in trouble.
Joey Rosen:Mhmm.
Colin Thompson:Like, because your prep wasn't there. So it was constantly, like, oh my god. Like, constantly weighing, like, pros and cons and scheduling and toughness, and then you have to, like, go to class. And it was just your whole day was filled. Yeah.
Colin Thompson:And I I learned a lot of lessons. So, no, I I tried to speed the story along, but that was my college career and there's so much inside of it. But, man, what a what a great place and a lot of lot of dark times, a lot of high moments. And, you know, there was a year it was a year there where I didn't run or do a lower body lift. Yeah.
Colin Thompson:Thought about crazy free development. Like, I really would I would I'm curious to see, you know, what it would have been what it would have been like. There's a little bit, like, with upper body injuries with the shoulder or
Joey Rosen:something. Yeah.
Colin Thompson:Because all that running, man, all your feet, all your powers, your lower body. Yep. So yeah. I'll overrun,
Joey Rosen:man. So where where do you head to after temple? What happens after temple?
Colin Thompson:So then I go, you know, get the agent, hire the agent. I go train in
Joey Rosen:Do the thing?
Colin Thompson:Atlanta and go to a pro day at Temple and run a, you know, a crap 40. I think I ran a 499 or a 5 flat. Although, I run, like, a 472 now, 473. Mhmm. Maybe a high four sevens, but not a 4 55 or a 4 5 flat 40.
Colin Thompson:And, my agent's like, I don't know, man. We'll see how it goes. And Mhmm. I had a local workout with the Eagles. I had a local workout with the Jets and a local workout with the Giants.
Colin Thompson:It's like a radius that you can go to. Yeah. They you're like, everyone's invited. If you're like a decent to somewhat decent prospect, you're gonna go. They're gonna give you a courtesy call, which is really cool.
Joey Rosen:Oh, that's cool.
Colin Thompson:Yeah. So I had 3 workouts, and then I met with New England, which was out of nowhere. Nick Casario, who's the GM of the, Texans now
Joey Rosen:Mhmm.
Colin Thompson:Met with me 1 on 1. Actually, no. Excuse me. Met with myself and 2 other players on our team that are both were NFL players, one still in the NFL. And, my agent's like, dude, you may get drafted now.
Colin Thompson:So I went from, like, literally no interest to, like, you're meeting with someone, like, they're meeting that doesn't happen.
Joey Rosen:Mhmm.
Colin Thompson:So there was, like, a lot of traction building there and momentum. And then all of a sudden, I had a really good local workout with the Giants, and there's a lot of connections again. Matt Rule was with the Giants 3 years before as an assistant O line coach.
Joey Rosen:Gotcha.
Colin Thompson:And Kevin Gilbride junior was the a former temple coach
Joey Rosen:Mhmm.
Colin Thompson:And he was a tight end coach for the Giants. And he liked my tape. He liked and knew who I was, and, he ended up being my tiding coach with the Giants, with the Bears, and with the Carolina Panthers.
Drew Beech:So Wow.
Colin Thompson:Kev got a personal relationship. He always played well for Kev. And, Yes.
Joey Rosen:I gotta imagine he knew your he didn't just like your tape. He knew your character.
Colin Thompson:He knew everything. Yeah. They know everything in the league, man. They know everything, personality, who were you born, raised, high school team you played for. Sure.
Colin Thompson:Your your deep dark secrets that you don't want anybody to know. They know. They know everything. Yeah. I've been blessed to not have many of them.
Colin Thompson:But, you know, like, that that day, I never forget it when the WingOne scout came in. He put a play on the board. He put 2 players on the board. Mhmm. Play 1, play 2.
Colin Thompson:Great. You memorize them. You take notes on them. You move on. You know he's gonna ask you to put 1 on the board because he wants to see how you do, so I studied play 2.
Colin Thompson:Well, while I'm studying play 2, he's grilling the other 2 guys in the room for personal issues off the field, grilling them. What happened in this situation? What happened in that situation? And they didn't know that he knew that. I think they knew he knew, like, 1 or 2 of them.
Colin Thompson:But, I mean, they knew everything, high school stuff. Yeah. What happened? Why'd you get this attention? I mean, everything.
Colin Thompson:They've actually wild. And I'm sitting there, like, distracted, like, like, look at the guys. I'm like, you did what? That's what I wanted to say, like, what happened? Like, past life, man.
Colin Thompson:Past life. I'm like, okay. So, man, they they know everything. So, mhmm, I go to New York Giants, undrafted, and, I had emergency appendectomy. I reached the mountain top, man.
Colin Thompson:I played for New York Giants. I'm ready to go. I'm wearing number 80 in my locker. The 80 in my email's for Jeremy Shockey. I didn't pick number 80.
Colin Thompson:They gave it to me. I turned the corner, and they're Shockey.
Drew Beech:That was a cool manifest that we told us on the roster.
Colin Thompson:I could tell it again. Yeah. I gotta slow down because there's so many stories, but I don't wanna take too too long. But yeah. So Jeremy Shockey, tight end for the New York Giants, really good player.
Colin Thompson:I like this mantra. I like this I like this juice. He had the bald eagle tattoo on the arm. The guy was just like, f you all the time, and I kinda like that. I'm not like that all off the field, but on the field, I try to you you come to someone you're not
Drew Beech:a little bit.
Colin Thompson:It's my edge a little bit. It keeps me going. Mhmm. And I liked him. A really good player.
Drew Beech:Something about Jeremy Shockey, I love, dude. Same same thing.
Colin Thompson:Just nuts, man.
Joey Rosen:You know,
Drew Beech:Jeremy Jeremy Shockey?
Joey Rosen:Of course.
Colin Thompson:The nutty player, like, Dawkins, nuts. Shockey. Nuts. Like, the guys that have the screw loose, they're they're special people, man. Yeah.
Colin Thompson:Yeah. So Shockey is, like, the man. Right? So I have a poster of him on my wall and I I was
Joey Rosen:Growing up?
Colin Thompson:Growing up for sure. And I was an all star game. I met him. My mom, we I watched him on a parade float go right by me. Actually, I don't think he won a Super Bowl then.
Colin Thompson:He won a Super Bowl with New Orleans, I believe, just New Orleans late in his career. So long story short, you know You're there.
Joey Rosen:You're wearing this belt. You're wearing 80.
Colin Thompson:Dude, I literally turned the corner as as I'm there, and I'm introducing myself to everybody and there all the rookie classes coming through. Mhmm. And they bring in the locker room, they're like, alright, guys. Your jerseys are hanging in your locker. They don't give you a choice.
Colin Thompson:You're rookie, undrafted, like and Victor Cruz just retired or just left. And for some reason, they put 80 in my locker. I didn't ask for it. Nothing. I was like, damn.
Colin Thompson:Usually, they give the guys like me, like, 43. I were 48 this year from Minnesota as a camp body, you know, training camp guy. So it was a huge manifestation situation where I kinda I'm like my dad's like, you wanna be shocky? Put in your email number. I worked CYO All Star Game at Northeast High School.
Colin Thompson:Yeah. I wore 80. I was a right tackle. I wore 80 cause I wanted to they let me wear any number you wanted. I'm like, I could pick my number.
Joey Rosen:80 it is.
Colin Thompson:80 it is. So That's
Drew Beech:right. Yeah, man.
Colin Thompson:So play for the Giants, had emergency appendectomy. Play my 1st preseason game. Holy cow. I wasn't ready for it, but I played in it, and I was like, wow. I made it.
Colin Thompson:We went to dinner at a steak house for my family in New York City after. It was a big celebration. It was close to home. You know? Yeah.
Colin Thompson:Big deal. I end up waking up in the morning, like, on all fours on my bathroom floor, like, pulling the trigger, trying to take some to go out the other side, like, anything to get what's going on in my stomach out of my pain, like, excruciating pain. I was my my wife, like, we went down to CBS in New York City. I'll never forget it, and I'm literally laying flat on the ground. It's the only place I can find comfort.
Colin Thompson:Yeah. Flat. And she's they're like, we gotta go. I called the Giants. I'm like, guys, I'm pretty good with pain management stuff, but this is dead red 10 out of 10 Mhmm.
Colin Thompson:Scream pain. They're like, yeah. We'll see. In your stomach? I'm like, yeah.
Colin Thompson:There could be appendix. So I go in. I'm in an Uber on the way to the facility, and the guy's, like, in the tunnel going back to the facility. My stomach is just, like, killing me. The guy's crushing me.
Colin Thompson:Yeah. I'm like, oh, dude. Can you please try not to stop as hard as he, like, barely spoken. I'm like, alright. It's fine.
Colin Thompson:Just keep going. I'm just dying. I run into the facility. My wife comes running in, which is kind of a no no. Mhmm.
Colin Thompson:It's like the workplace. Like like, come on. I don't care at this point. Like, but I'm nervous. I'm a rookie.
Colin Thompson:Yeah. My wife comes in, and they're, like, throwing around my stomach. Like, I don't know. We can't feel what it is. And all of a sudden, they put their hand on something.
Colin Thompson:I was, like, oh my god. I feel like you just punched me in the face. Yep. Go to the hospital. The Giants, thank God I was, man.
Colin Thompson:The hospital was packed. I know. What's up? Yeah.
Joey Rosen:I mean, that it's not it's no joke.
Colin Thompson:Dude, no joke. And thank God I was with a team because they they rushed me right in. Went right I was right Yep. Into surgery 30 minutes in.
Joey Rosen:Mhmm. Wow.
Colin Thompson:Like, if I wasn't with the team, I'm sitting in that lobby. Yeah. That lobby was packed.
Joey Rosen:And as time passes, things get more and more dangerous.
Colin Thompson:Serious with them. Mhmm. So I get rushed in. The guy comes in. He's wearing, like, a button down shirt.
Colin Thompson:He had a mustard stain on his shirt. I'll never
Drew Beech:forget it.
Colin Thompson:He's like, sorry, man. I was at lunch with my wife. This is a team surgeon. Like, the the team has they have multiple surgeons for different situations. Right?
Colin Thompson:So he came in. He did the surgery and, woke up the next day, and there was my wife. There was Kevin Gilbride, the tight end coach there. He came and saw me and my parents. And, yeah, Giants are first class though, man.
Colin Thompson:They they got an Uber, and they dropped my wife off in the middle of town. They made sure she got safe to where she was going. Like, that teams don't do that stuff. Yeah. So crazy journey, man.
Colin Thompson:I was like, hey. We're gonna bring you back. You're gonna be fine. 2 weeks, chill out, spend time in a hotel room, study the playbook, be around the guys. Yep.
Colin Thompson:This is great. Thank god. I don't have to get hit and practice anymore. You know? I'm like, this is awesome.
Colin Thompson:I'm on the team. I'm eating. I'm hanging out. I'm in the hotel, and I don't have to work. This is great.
Colin Thompson:Yeah. Right. Well, 48 hours later, they're like, hey, man. We're gonna cut you. Nice.
Colin Thompson:Love you, but we're gonna cut you. We're gonna bring you back. They never brought me back, but we're gonna bring you back. Yeah. I'm like, well, okay.
Colin Thompson:It's an injury. Right? I'll get a settlement. Like workman's comp.
Joey Rosen:Mhmm.
Colin Thompson:No. Non football related.
Joey Rosen:Yeah.
Colin Thompson:So even though I think it was stress related, my body was like I was stressed as hell. Yeah. So that was the beginning of my career, man, in rock bottom. I thought that was it, and, I thought I was done. And then just train, end up with Chicago Bears.
Joey Rosen:Back again from the bottom. Back again from the bottom.
Colin Thompson:Dude, I couldn't work out for a month after going training for training camp. Best shape of my life. I can't train for a month. So I would walk around Doylestown, like, 10 miles a day. Like, places I never even knew.
Colin Thompson:I just walked through neighborhoods. Yeah. Put headphones in, listen into, like, sports talk radio.
Joey Rosen:Just to keep it moving.
Colin Thompson:What am I gonna do? I can't break a
Drew Beech:sweat. Great for your health, though. I've heard walking.
Colin Thompson:Yeah.
Joey Rosen:Yeah. Very good.
Drew Beech:Yeah. Very good. You're probably a great help.
Colin Thompson:Not not so much. But, yeah, man. So it was quite the journey. And then back again with the Bears. Zach Miller almost lost his leg on Monday Night Football, and they brought a workout like, 8 guys in for a workout I won the workout.
Colin Thompson:I couldn't believe that.
Joey Rosen:Mhmm.
Colin Thompson:Got cut today there when they traded for Khalil Mac almost a year later. Yeah. I mean, there's so many stories. I mean, this could be a 5 page 5 5 hour pod, Bears, and then out of the league, man, hard. For about 2 years, 3 years, I was in the AAF in Birmingham Iron.
Colin Thompson:Yep. Running marketing and media for my mom's company. Got called into Birmingham Iron. The league got shut down for, like, 6, 7 weeks, but they're paying guys great. So I went down there.
Joey Rosen:Yeah.
Colin Thompson:Made a little bit of money. I was at the Guinness factory in Baltimore having a couple beers on my again, back to the spider web, to the connections.
Joey Rosen:Yeah. Relationships.
Colin Thompson:Guy that was a recruiting guy at University of Florida, Brendan Donovan, who I connected with, and he moved on and I moved on at the same time from Florida. Mhmm. He messaged me, are you in shape? Now this is after a night out in Annapolis and about 3, 4 Guinnesses Inn. Oh my god.
Colin Thompson:I mean, I'm in great shape. What's going on? Now I've been training. Like, I I don't mess around. I like that on my phone, but I don't mess around my training.
Colin Thompson:Mhmm. My diet about 6 days a week, I don't mess around with. So I'm pretty dialed in. Yeah. 5, 6 days a week.
Drew Beech:Couple of around doing sand bone.
Colin Thompson:Yeah. Couple of sand bone reviews like I did today. I would be lying. Usually, I do, like, half a hoagie and half a cheesesteak, and then I don't put today. I ate whole hoagie and half a cheesesteak.
Colin Thompson:So I'm like, screw it. I'm coming to see you guys here. So Yeah. Yeah, man. So Guinness Guinness story, I'm sitting there, and he's like, you in shape?
Colin Thompson:He attacks. I'm like, yeah. He's a guy. Call me. So he's like, hey.
Colin Thompson:Listen. If you need a tight end, bad. Mhmm. Bad in Birmingham. Like, alright.
Colin Thompson:Well, my agent says I'm gonna get an NFL deal. I don't think I'm gonna do it. He's like, just come down. You need to film. Come play a little bit.
Colin Thompson:You'll be fine.
Drew Beech:Yeah.
Colin Thompson:So connections. He was recruiting guy in Florida. I treated great. We were great friends. He brings me in.
Colin Thompson:Connections again. Who's the head coach? Yeah. Tim Lewis, that NFL guy that sat behind my mom in homeroom for 4 years in high school. Carl, we're gonna sign you.
Colin Thompson:They sign me. Great. So I end up being there and connecting with this guy named Ron Selewski. Mhmm. Ron Selewski went after that to the XFL, the next startup league that's now the UFL, which is really strong and healthy because there's no real feeder to the NFL.
Colin Thompson:It's just college football, which is plenty enough, but Yeah. It's good to give guys more jobs. And Ron Sileschi goes to the XFL in Tampa, begs the temples the Tampa Bay staff and the XFL to sign me. I end up playing, the league shutdown in the AAF. I go to the XFL, End up playing, like, 6 games with them, and COVID shut that down or 5 games.
Colin Thompson:COVID shut that that down. And then Vince McMahon honored to pay us all the way through our contracts, which was really first class.
Drew Beech:Oh, wow.
Colin Thompson:Not Not a lot of people do that.
Joey Rosen:Yeah. Not a
Colin Thompson:lot of people would do that. And, he paid us all the way through, and then out of nowhere, I got a call from Matt Rule. Hey. We're gonna sign you. Are you okay with that?
Colin Thompson:I was like, what? He's like, oh, our scouts watch what you did in Carolina. I I asked the the people of the Carolina staff to watch all my former players at Temple and Baylor that played in the in CFL, XFL Yep. And tell me if any of them are good enough to make it in the NFL. And I've had experience in league before.
Colin Thompson:He signed, like, 6 of his total. Yeah. We had a great group of us all there trying to instill his culture. Yeah. It was a great run.
Colin Thompson:3 years in Carolina, We have plenty to get into there. And then last, training camp, another one of my friends at the tight end coach position who has been great to me, and I played well for him is Brian Angelico. Mhmm. And he's out with the Vikings. And I went to the Vikings for training camp as, like, their end of the guy.
Colin Thompson:6 6 tight end for him, trying to help run the offense with the twos and threes and
Joey Rosen:Gotcha.
Colin Thompson:Take the reps off the starter. So Yep. Still going. Gonna try to do one more year. I feel great.
Colin Thompson:You know what the the shitty part of these guys? You're in the best shape of your life and you feel great, but you're 30. In the NFL, you're an old man.
Drew Beech:Yeah.
Colin Thompson:That's the hardest part, man. And they always say, athletes die twice. Like, dude, I was on the couch this year. I thought I was dying when I got cut from Minnesota. I'm like, I just played the best football in my life, period.
Colin Thompson:Yeah. You literally just did. Everybody says that. You're, like, in the best shape and all it's, but you really are when you really are and you aren't lying to yourself and you're Yep. On the couch, like, what do I do now?
Colin Thompson:Mhmm. Nothing. No phone ringing. No nothing. You're a free agent.
Colin Thompson:Like Yeah. We're all free agents technically. Like, anybody can be signed in any moment of time, but when you're grinding and you're
Joey Rosen:Yep.
Colin Thompson:Hit rock bottom and that phone doesn't ring and there's no agents aren't helping, nothing. It's you. So you gotta be back to your training. You gotta get back to what you know. That's been good to me, man.
Colin Thompson:I'm so everything's through my training.
Joey Rosen:There's one, obviously, there's one key thread or or common thread throughout your entire career and it's relationships.
Colin Thompson:Yeah. Huge.
Joey Rosen:Right? A lot of people I think write off that relationships thread and they say like, oh, it's always about who you know. But that's not the full story in my opinion. I listened very carefully to you talking about those relationships and it sounds like to me that you always showed up for those relationships. You always gave in those relationships even if it was just playing your best or honoring the culture or spreading the culture, were really leaving people better than you found.
Colin Thompson:Yeah.
Joey Rosen:It sounds.
Drew Beech:I was gonna say that exactly. Like, it sounds like you poured into every relationship you ever had, and you never left anyone hanging.
Colin Thompson:No. I tried. I appreciate the kind words. No. I I know.
Colin Thompson:It's like Because it That's what it's about, man. It's a life part of it.
Joey Rosen:These things don't happen for people that just have acquaintances. These things happen for people that leave lasting impressions on other people, and you do that by giving to them.
Colin Thompson:Yeah. You know? You gotta give. I love giving. I think and and you gotta give, and you also have to go into coach.
Colin Thompson:And you also be like, when you take it too far, when you're really getting fun and you have you gotta be like, alright. I was over I'm over my skis here. Right? Did something wrong. I think that's a huge part of it too.
Joey Rosen:Sure.
Colin Thompson:And I said it the other day, the one guy I'm like, yeah. Well, like, the one one kid I trained with down in Maryland at this great, anybody's in the Maryland area, True Sports Performance, Blake PT, unreal. Mhmm. Pete, shout out. But they're they're a part of, like, the community, so I'll shout them out.
Colin Thompson:Sure. They're that type of people. It's one NFL guy who's talking to me, and he's there. And he's like, yeah. You know, I'm trying to get back.
Colin Thompson:We'll see what happens with this team, that team. I'm like, well, your coach has just left. Who are you friends with? Right? He's like, I loved them.
Colin Thompson:I was great friends with them. I'm like, well, where's he at now? And I knew the answer. He's like, he's at this team. I'm like, well, have you text him and said, hope hope good luck?
Colin Thompson:He's like, no. Why would I do that? I'm like, well, you care about him.
Joey Rosen:Right?
Colin Thompson:Yeah. He's like, I love the guy. I'm like, well, text him. Good luck. Hope your family's settling in well.
Colin Thompson:And when I'm in the area, let's get a beer. Let's get a sandwich. Mhmm. And he was like, well, I mean,
Joey Rosen:is that
Colin Thompson:a big deal? I said, dude, let's keep me alive in the league. He's like, no. What kept you in line in the league is you're a good player. I'm like, well, you're a good player.
Colin Thompson:I was a good player. What are you gonna do to separate yourself from the rest of the good players?
Joey Rosen:Yeah. Exactly.
Colin Thompson:And that's what matters in business and life and everything is, like, the relationships, the trustworthiness, delivering on what you wanna do. Mhmm.
Drew Beech:And if
Colin Thompson:you can deliver, you raise your hand and say, hey, man. I screwed up. And that that makes you even deliver more or let the people know that this guy can deliver in
Drew Beech:all his own.
Colin Thompson:So Absolutely.
Drew Beech:It's all
Colin Thompson:about relationships. Yep. And people take that kinda tongue in cheek, I think. Yeah. But you gotta deliver.
Joey Rosen:Yeah. And that's
Drew Beech:one of the rules of the few is to get give, and we believe that pouring into every relationship no matter the key is to that a lot of times people only wanna pour into relationships that can pour back into them. Right? Like, you gotta know it. Like, I'm gonna get something out of this. But the whole point and this is a book that was given to me by my old boss is the go givers.
Drew Beech:You gotta give without expecting to receive, and that's where people miss.
Joey Rosen:Mhmm.
Colin Thompson:You receive more from giving, though. Right? Like Yes. You really do.
Joey Rosen:Yes. You do.
Colin Thompson:Console. I I find myself my happiest moments are, like, mentoring young kids, mentoring these young football guys. Mhmm.
Drew Beech:Or, like, one of your camps, probably.
Colin Thompson:Yeah. I love the camps. And you guys are a huge part of the camp too. I'll take the time to thank you guys for that. Like, huge part of getting me started.
Colin Thompson:I don't know anything about this. And now, like, learning more about it and to ship stuff overnight into Key West Florida and make it work, like, it's really super special. But I I try to mentor kids all the time, man. I even the kids like Wood. I'm a friend, like, on the Facebook page, Mark Mitchell Wood, and the kid reached the ball out yesterday.
Colin Thompson:1 One of these tight ends who reached out to me, which I respected.
Joey Rosen:Yeah.
Colin Thompson:Hey, man. I need some help. What can I do to get better? I'm like, dude, you just you just struck gold by reaching out to me because I have to text you all the time, and I will say what's up? How are things going?
Colin Thompson:Yeah. And he reached the ball over, like, on 2nd and 10 to try to get a 1st down, and that's like cardinal center football. You only reach the ball over the goal line when it's 4th down or end a game where you're gonna fumble. You see it all the time. And I love that.
Colin Thompson:And he responded, thank you. What else do I need to do to gain weight? What I have to do that? Like, I love that. Coacheco.
Colin Thompson:And we talked about earlier. Yeah. I wish I had that. I wish I had that mentor. I did with my parents, but
Joey Rosen:Yeah.
Colin Thompson:Like an NFL guy. You know? I just I have that. Where I've been.
Drew Beech:It's funny to say that about parents too because I found that being a parent, like, sometime like, I like to have parkour and jitsu and and be around other strong men because I find that as a parent, you're gonna do too so much. Right? Like, at some point, they're gonna seek outside insight or outside mentorship. So I know that Yeah. What I I'm I can kinda be a broken record at times.
Drew Beech:So I know where oh, I know what that is.
Colin Thompson:You're, like,
Joey Rosen:you're a familiar channel for them.
Drew Beech:Big shout out.
Joey Rosen:Like channel on the radio or the television. Like, you're a familiar channel.
Drew Beech:Sometimes they
Joey Rosen:wanna hear from another channel, another personality. You know?
Colin Thompson:The hits. You're the hits.
Drew Beech:The hits. Yeah. He's the
Joey Rosen:hits. Yeah. Exactly.
Colin Thompson:I love it. Exactly.
Joey Rosen:So what do you got what do you got going on now? What what,
Colin Thompson:Yeah, man. What are
Joey Rosen:you up to now? Anything that you wanna talk about that you're doing currently for the, to the community?
Drew Beech:Even, like, how Mike, one question up before we go through.
Colin Thompson:Oh, yeah.
Drew Beech:My bad. How did do you think all of the adversity you overcame in the league prepared you for entrepreneurship and and not and and for and for all, not for long.
Colin Thompson:Yeah. You know what? Adversity. Great. It's a great throughout my football career, it's a great thing, but I I guess I always thought I knew I always knew I was gonna end up where I was supposed to.
Colin Thompson:And and to me, that was the NFL. Mhmm. It ended up working out. But if it didn't, I still would have said I'm gonna end up where I'm supposed to.
Joey Rosen:Sure.
Colin Thompson:So you have, like, expectations. You have goals, and you have all this stuff, but it's like, the journey's the fun. The ride's the fun. Mhmm. Yeah.
Joey Rosen:And the
Colin Thompson:more you learn, like, I never forget this. It really hit me. I became like, okay. I know I'm in the right place now. Was we're flying home from some game, I felt like crap.
Colin Thompson:Crap. Like, usually, after the game, like, the adrenaline runs off. You get a shower. You know, you get you talk to your family. You get on the plane.
Colin Thompson:You get some food, and you kinda get in that awkward seat. I wasn't, you know, high enough rank to sit 1st class, so I'm like, yeah. We set every other seat. It wasn't bad. Don't get me wrong.
Colin Thompson:But, like, you're just in a tight c's play. Like, you feel horrible. You're just in, like, 20 car crashes for, like, 3 hours. You just, like, shit. Yeah.
Colin Thompson:You're on the plane, and I heard it's, like, up against the window trying to sleep, and we're in, like, turbulence. And you're just, like, this is sick. This is awesome. And we just lost. You know?
Colin Thompson:I'm, like, smiling. I'm, like, one day you're gonna miss it. So screenshot it. You know? Like, be there.
Colin Thompson:So how to handle the adversity? I don't know if I ever use it as adversity. Like, I still got up and worked out the same the next day. Yeah. I never went to a workout and was like, I don't wanna do this today.
Colin Thompson:Yep. And I've had some real tough times. Like, literally times where I'm, like, getting cut from Carolina, and I was going to work or wherever I was. I was going into the gym to work out when I got cut. Someone was sitting this was Chicago.
Colin Thompson:It's a good story.
Joey Rosen:Mhmm.
Colin Thompson:You're in Chicago. There's 11 of us in the practice squad lift. The team just finished practicing. We all come up the field. The team's getting ready to play on Sunday.
Colin Thompson:The practice squad guys work out. Right? Because you're not playing in the game on Sunday. So they're trying to keep developing
Joey Rosen:you. Sure.
Colin Thompson:Reversely. And this goes to your story. Sorry. I'm off on a tangent, but those are good rules.
Drew Beech:Hear from all the stories.
Colin Thompson:All the nuggets that I gotta slow down and realize that people are actually gonna listen to this, and this is not sitting at a barstool talking telling stories here. Is Billy, my buddy's like, hey, bro. There's 11 people in here. I'm like, okay. There's he's like, there's 10 people in the practice squad.
Colin Thompson:I'm like, woah. There's 11th guy. What's I don't know. Maybe they're moving a guy down. He's like, one of us gotta go.
Colin Thompson:I'm like, come on. So before the lift, we all, like, go into the locker room to get changed because we, like, had, like, a warm up and he's like, alright, guys, change in these shoes real quick. We're gonna do this now. Maybe powerlifting shoes or whatever it was. Mhmm.
Colin Thompson:So we all put our powerlifting shoes on. I go in there. There's a guy sitting in my locker. We call him the Grim Reaper. And he's like, hey, man.
Colin Thompson:You gotta turn on your iPad. Actually, I got it right here in my hands. You're good to go. You gotta leave the building. You just got cut.
Colin Thompson:We're not gonna bring you back next week. We may not. We may. So I literally was like, well, my first thought wasn't, like, upset. I was like, well he's like, go talk with coach Fox.
Colin Thompson:John Fox was there. 2017 Fox, he's a legend, and was like, Fox is like, hey, man. We love you. You know, we're probably gonna bring you back just a roster move to protect the guy. We don't think you're gonna get picked up.
Colin Thompson:We think another guy will cut you. We're gonna bring you back on Monday. They end up doing it. Mhmm. But, literally, I was like, well, I my first thought was like, okay.
Colin Thompson:That sucks. I call my parents. Everything's fine. You're gonna see it come across social media, whatever.
Joey Rosen:Yeah.
Colin Thompson:But I missed the work I missed the workout. So I I literally drove right from there right to the Planet Fitness or whatever and did my workout. Like, I didn't even cross my mind. I'm literally being like, wow. I'm a psycho.
Colin Thompson:Like, after, like not like I'm a hardworking guy. I'm gonna go to my workout. Let me be that crystal clear. And I know people listening are Mhmm. Of the same.
Colin Thompson:Yep. But I was like, I can't miss this workout. We got heavy RDL today. I need to like hit that and run sprints like so I remember like running hills like in the dark not because, like, I'm rocky, but literally because, like, I gotta hit my numbers. I gotta hit my stuff.
Colin Thompson:So when I play, I'm ready to go. Yeah. So it never was like a part of, like, this down, this adversity. Obviously, the injuries and all that was some serious low points, but
Drew Beech:Yep.
Colin Thompson:It was like, hey, man. It's a part of the journey. I'm still gonna make it. Like, even now, everyone's like, you're still playing? And I was like, yeah.
Colin Thompson:I know I'm gonna get a call. They're like and almost like I would lie to people about, like, people calling me.
Joey Rosen:Mhmm.
Colin Thompson:Just to get off my back. Yeah. Like, yeah, I got plenty of calls. Got keeps going.
Joey Rosen:So, you know, because And
Colin Thompson:I got nothing, but I knew I was gonna get picked up in Minnesota.
Joey Rosen:Want their you don't want their their vibrations to lower yours. Like, you gotta stay you're enjoying the journey, but you're also trusting in the journey.
Colin Thompson:Really well said.
Joey Rosen:And you don't you don't want their vibrations You hit the ground.
Colin Thompson:Screwing with
Joey Rosen:that trust.
Colin Thompson:I never thought of it that way. Yeah. But that's you're articulating how exactly I feel. Yeah. Literally, like, I don't want their muck.
Colin Thompson:Like, how's business? Well, business could not be great, but it's doing great. We're doing great. Everything's good even when it may not be. Because at the end of the day, what do we unless you're ready to open the books with me, sit down, and give me advice, what are we like, unless you're gonna come in the weight room with me and help me with my, you know, heavy back squat and my split squat lunges and, like, what what are we what are we doing?
Joey Rosen:To do. What are we doing?
Drew Beech:Yeah. Yeah.
Colin Thompson:Let's talk about something else. Let's watch the game and bullshit about that. Like Mhmm. So that's how I was. I would I I found myself last couple of years being like, oh, yeah.
Colin Thompson:Things are good. Now I'm honest with my wife and my family.
Drew Beech:Yeah.
Colin Thompson:But, like, people that I'm not that close with or I'm close with, I still don't even wanna hear from because I know they're negative or I know they're whatever. They're trying to
Joey Rosen:you. This is a boundary, man. You're setting a boundary up and Yeah. You know?
Colin Thompson:I never talked about that before, but, yeah, something I've done is, yeah, put that wall up like, nah. Yep. This Phone's ringing off the hook.
Drew Beech:This, episode has been a powerful lesson in manifestation and how Got it. The tower of
Joey Rosen:positivity works. Manifestation, reframing, boundaries, relationships capital.
Colin Thompson:Dude. Relationships. Yeah. Crazy about the vision board. Write it down.
Colin Thompson:She's all the vision board. Down. Yeah. I had, like, attacked vision board. I end up playing for all the teams that were on my vision board.
Colin Thompson:It's crazy. K. No. The Eagles only came out and played for that were on my vision board.
Drew Beech:Are you serious?
Joey Rosen:Yes. Still time.
Colin Thompson:Still time. Trying.
Joey Rosen:We gotta
Colin Thompson:change our offense a little bit.
Joey Rosen:They Still time.
Colin Thompson:They got that. They don't they run more like I'm like a true old school Ted and, like, Marty Hernie was a general manager in the league for a while. He's like, Con, if you're born in the nineties, you'd be a pro if you were playing in the nineties, you'd be a pro bowler.
Joey Rosen:Yeah.
Colin Thompson:But, like, the old school, like, Todd Heaps and, like, those cats, like, Chad Lewis, like, the old Eagles guy. Chad Lewis. Yeah. Like, the big boys that don't move that great. That's me.
Colin Thompson:Nowadays, it's like
Drew Beech:Got it.
Colin Thompson:Dallas Goddard and George Kittle and Travis Kelce and Kronk, and you're like, dude, these guys are these guys are aliens. They could play in the NBA. Yeah. Like, they're they're aliens. They're not even real at they're stupid.
Drew Beech:Your final stop is the Philadelphia Eagles, and that rounds out your vision board. I'm gonna lose my mind.
Joey Rosen:Listen. If you're going by the numbers
Colin Thompson:It'd be good for a few more.
Joey Rosen:If you're going by, it would be.
Colin Thompson:It would be great.
Joey Rosen:If you're going by the numbers, the probability of it happening is very high.
Colin Thompson:Who was on my vision board? It's Selick.
Joey Rosen:Very high.
Colin Thompson:Selick was. Yeah. Prince Selick was on my vision board. It was Selick, Shockey, for some reason, Jay Cutler. Don't know why.
Colin Thompson:I mean, Smokin' Jay is a legend, but Jay Cutler, great player. Pears, who was it in Carolina? I think it was
Joey Rosen:Rob Bowie's pretty high.
Colin Thompson:I think it was Olson
Drew Beech:Oh, yeah.
Colin Thompson:Early on because I kept doing it. I was like, do it in college. Why you stop doing it?
Drew Beech:He ended up being a teammate. Right? No.
Colin Thompson:I miss Greg. He got cut, like, the first like, rule came in, got rid of all the old heads, and then Greg retired 2 years later.
Joey Rosen:Gotcha.
Colin Thompson:But, yeah, man. It's it's it's it's the relationships. And I think too back to the media side, like, what am I doing now? Mhmm. It all intertwines.
Colin Thompson:Yeah. And that's a cool part about our world and and the sports world with the media side, and you're seeing it now with podcast. It all intertwines. It all allows me to move and shake, and now I'm going another world now doing some stuff for my mom. Like, okay.
Colin Thompson:How can we make this intertwine? How can we do it? Sure. And the new show I created, which is gonna come out probably midsummer, is called Food Drinks Football, and it's gonna be a travel show, a little Anthony Bourdain inspired, like, sit down, get in, have a beer with my dad, eat some lunch, talk to an owner, talk to a bartender, do a walk and talk to the streets where I'm in the certain towns that I'm in, and then pull up in the place and have a good time and and interview people and get the culture and the feel. Mhmm.
Colin Thompson:Another thing too that was huge for me, and this is unique. Like, this is probably the most someone's talked about this on on one of your pods, I would guess, like, is I, like, grew up going to bars and restaurants with my parents, with my family. And, like, after a hard work day, I would sit there with my dad, and he had a couple of pops at a happy hour. And he and I would see the fishbowl of of a bar in upper Bucks County and what was good about it, what was bad about it, interacting with people older than you, respecting people in the service industry, building relationships that from this place can do more, like, all the business my parents have done.
Joey Rosen:You've
Colin Thompson:been through those places. And it sounds, like, awkward in this, but, like, given your kids' experiences
Drew Beech:Oh, for sure.
Colin Thompson:Which I hope they're pride for my kids too of, like, travel and different environments that aren't everyone doesn't look like you and act like you and, like, blue collar people, white collar people. I I think that had a huge impact for me and allow me to be friends with a lot of older folks which has allowed me to do business at a younger age
Joey Rosen:For sure.
Colin Thompson:And allow me to keep the media company rolling and thriving.
Drew Beech:I'm ready for the Thompson Family Bar and Restaurant. I feel like that's coming down in us. It's in the making.
Colin Thompson:Don't worry.
Joey Rosen:In the making. Nice.
Colin Thompson:We added that out now. Oh, okay. No. It's it's it's it's in the making. So, yeah, things I'm doing now.
Joey Rosen:But where can, you know, where can everybody find you? I mean, most most of the community is well aware of where they can find you, but some listeners and a lot and viewers may not be.
Colin Thompson:I'm all over all social media channels, obviously, like everybody else. Not For All Media is my media company. We have about 8 to 10 podcasts. So anything from baseball to food to lifestyle to pro athletes to coaching, we have a little bit of everything. My personal page, Colin Thompson, Colin Thompson 86.
Colin Thompson:I think my Instagram, I don't even know. It's Colin Thompson t u is my Twitter. And then a bunch of different things I'm involved in. I just started a 501c3 at our high school. You probably don't even know about it Yeah.
Drew Beech:You have, you mentioned about getting involved at high school on our plane ride. And I it's always something I think about, so I should
Colin Thompson:We'll talk about it. But Yeah.
Drew Beech:I
Colin Thompson:should get All these competing schools around here have 5 o ones that help them support the schools Mhmm. Because they need it. So that's been fun. President of the had them on the board at the high school. I coached football down in Cape May, New Jersey.
Colin Thompson:I help out with the wood a little bit virtually.
Joey Rosen:Nice.
Colin Thompson:Staying busy, man, but about to have a newborn, little girl at July 26th.
Joey Rosen:Okay.
Colin Thompson:So I'm getting rid of all the hobbies. You haven't told a lot of people, but I'm getting rid of all the hobbies.
Joey Rosen:Congratulations. Yeah. Girl girl dad.
Colin Thompson:They're gonna narrow my focus.
Joey Rosen:Fellow fellow girl dad.
Drew Beech:Yeah. Any advice?
Joey Rosen:Oh, man. Where should I start?
Colin Thompson:Yeah. I
Joey Rosen:think that's another pod.
Drew Beech:I don't know.
Joey Rosen:Let them I think everything you've said, definitely let them all of the lessons that your parents instilled in you, you're gonna instill in her, and that's that's the best start that you'll ever have. And that's what I'm doing with my little ones too,
Colin Thompson:with my daughters. You ever bring them around here?
Joey Rosen:Oh, all the time. They're here. Do you see the ice cream truck over there and the scooters? They're here if they're off, from school. They're in the archdiocese Catholic school down in in Philly.
Drew Beech:Oh, nice.
Joey Rosen:If they're off, they're here with me.
Colin Thompson:Yeah.
Joey Rosen:Yeah. They're here with me. And they're either, tearing around on their scooters, they're either rolling on the mats with the dummy, or they're helping care, or
Colin Thompson:That's good.
Joey Rosen:I point to the back because there's bagging and tagging going on back there, and they're back there with
Colin Thompson:I did it.
Joey Rosen:Rose and care, bagging.
Colin Thompson:I was a little bit different. I was bras and panties, though. Your guys. That's my mom. Living the dream.
Colin Thompson:Yeah. But I was not I didn't know what's going on. You know? I'm like, oh, whatever. It's just closed.
Colin Thompson:Mom needs it needs it done right. So would rip open the bag and then put the tag in it
Drew Beech:Yeah.
Colin Thompson:For $4 an hour. I'm like, my mom's like, it makes you sound bad. She's like, you don't understand. Your lunch was $30.
Drew Beech:Yeah.
Colin Thompson:You ate like a house. So, yeah, yeah, I paid you $4 an hour. Like, what are you talking about? Up in Pedersville, like, man, where I grew up. I grew up right there.
Joey Rosen:Oh, okay.
Colin Thompson:Yeah. That's where all our stores were, and that's where we live. My only thing too with my parents was just crazy, and people think that's nuts. I probably lived in I probably grew up in 12 different houses Yeah. All within 5 miles.
Joey Rosen:Oh, that's wild.
Colin Thompson:My parents would, great. Market's high. We're gonna sell. Market's low. We're gonna rent.
Colin Thompson:We're gonna they were just on it, man. Leaving the miles, no material, like, attachment to all family, travel, work. So Yeah. I love that.
Joey Rosen:I love that, man. We're definitely gonna have to have you back, for a second round.
Colin Thompson:There's a lot to uncover. We have to have, like like we're talking this, and then I and they can uncover because there's I've I've I've been fortunate to, like I said, have great parents that are like, go do it. You can do it. Put anything in your mind to it. Go do it.
Colin Thompson:When you do it, go full bore into it and Yep. Learn about it.
Joey Rosen:Sure.
Drew Beech:One of my things I want to do is meet missus Thompson because I've heard That's
Joey Rosen:what we should do.
Colin Thompson:I gotta bring her
Drew Beech:in here, dude.
Joey Rosen:Yeah. That's what
Drew Beech:we should do. When I I just remember because we had different upbringings. Yep. Because when I told my parents I wanted to start a business or be an entrepreneur, they told me to go get a real job. Like and again, my parents taught me great lessons and Oh, no doubt.
Drew Beech:But I I just remember It's not
Colin Thompson:perfect either.
Drew Beech:I remember you. Clear. You first telling me those stories, I'm like, wow. Like, this woman sounds
Colin Thompson:Doing half. Like, literally, we just, my wife and I just invested in a commercial real estate property. My dad's very calculated. Well, we'll see. You know?
Colin Thompson:I don't know, man. My mom's like, do it. Do it. Yeah. Can you afford it?
Colin Thompson:Yep. Do it. Like, what? She's like, do it. You'll find you make it wait.
Colin Thompson:You'll make it work. And if I ain't gonna sell it. I'm like, she's real black and white, real to point, no motion.
Joey Rosen:Yeah. I think I think we're gonna have her as guest on I'm
Colin Thompson:telling you. She'll be she'll be way better than me because
Drew Beech:That would
Joey Rosen:be epic.
Colin Thompson:You know what? You just gotta wind her up. I'm I'm going there today. She's gonna we're we're I
Joey Rosen:plant a seed for us.
Colin Thompson:I will.
Joey Rosen:Plant a
Drew Beech:seed for us. Seriously.
Colin Thompson:Any advice any advice to her that you could give? Because I think we're gonna start doing address to her staff from a from a a CEO's perspective, like a weekly newsletter. Uh-huh. Any advice to you? Now do you guys and you guys do that today?
Colin Thompson:That was the newsletter guys.
Joey Rosen:So yeah. So we can definitely talk, but I think it's a brilliant idea. So she's not doing that now?
Colin Thompson:Well, she she's dude, she's everywhere.
Joey Rosen:Yeah.
Colin Thompson:Like, she goes, like, boom. She'll be Cape May drive back from Cape May and then go to Stone Harbor and then up Bucks County and then go to Annapolis. She'll do it all in a car, fly whatever. Yep. Jesus.
Colin Thompson:She's all over. So it's it's gets harder to see everybody. So we're like, hey. Let's send it. Let's put together a little video that you could send to
Joey Rosen:your staff. Great idea. I mean, to to to continually cast the vision and values week by week and also what's going on. You know, this is what's going on in the company or the community. Yep.
Joey Rosen:You know? And this is because everyone in the community or the company wants to be of service. You know? Like, that's what people forget. They, like, want to be of service.
Joey Rosen:So the more communication that you can have of casting that vision, the values, what's going on, the more opportunities people have to provide value. And that's what makes everybody feel great at the end of the day, helping others.
Colin Thompson:No doubt.
Joey Rosen:So I think it's a great I think it's a great day. Yeah.
Colin Thompson:Well, you guys have helped me a ton. I know we're gonna wrap, but, like, you know, people don't know behind the camera, you know, on the other side of the camera, you're you're listening or watching, but these 2 gentlemen have been great to me individually and our camp and philanthropic and just been huge. So thank you guys for having me. Brother. Thanks for support for some guy you meet on a plane, like, who says he's an accountant who's horrible with numbers.
Colin Thompson:Me.
Joey Rosen:I'm not You know? Listen. You know an eagle when you see an eagle. Right? You know?
Colin Thompson:Even when they're hungover flying back from Philly.
Joey Rosen:You know. You know? Yeah. This this has been amazing. I appreciate you coming in today.
Joey Rosen:I'm I'm glad that you got to finally see the spot, and you're I'll listen to that.
Colin Thompson:Folks, you come up in the industrial elevator. You guys, if you had could build a custom place for fuel will hunt, you couldn't do it. Yeah. It's like you come in, you're like, where are we going? Like, up this elevator here, you're like, wait, what?
Colin Thompson:I'm parked, like, on the street with, like, blue collar folks, man. Like Yeah. This is Yeah. This is
Joey Rosen:the place, man. HQ is the place.
Drew Beech:That was the story. Deal.
Joey Rosen:House of hard work.
Colin Thompson:I love it, man. Congrats, guys.
Joey Rosen:Alright. Thank you. Thank you. We're gonna have you back around 2, and then have your mom back too.
Colin Thompson:Have her back for me. That's for sure. She won't talk as much.
Joey Rosen:Alright. I'm gonna leave the, few as a reminder. Always choose hard work over handouts. Always choose effort over entitlement. No one owns you.
Joey Rosen:No one owes you. You're one of the few. Now let's hunt.