Q&A with Malcolm Mitchell

MALCOLM MITCHELL

Former University of Georgia (UGA) wide receiver and NFL Super Bowl Champion Malcolm Mitchell is more than a notable athlete. His passion for literacy and children has added author, keynote speaker, and Founder/CEO of Share the Magic Foundation to his unforgettable resume. This summer, Georgia’s Own Credit Union partnered with the Share the Magic Foundation for a Reading Rally at a local school. At the event, Mitchell read and each student was gifted a copy of his book, The Magician’s Hat. Share the Magic Foundation’s mission to improve literacy in under-resourced communities is an initiative Georgia’s Own Credit Union is proud to be a part of. It is through this partnership that the opportunity to meet and interview Malcolm Mitchell came about.

What does a typical, day in the life of Malcolm Mitchell look like?

A typical day would be waking up, making coffee (French press), and I usually read first thing in the morning to get my brain going. Then, it is usually phone calls and writing. Each day is so different because each day requires something different from me.

Tell us a little about your personal life.

I’m a father to one, Oakley, and engaged to Jasmine Erves. We met at UGA, where most of the amazing things in my life formulated, and plan on getting married next year. I grew up in Valdosta, Georgia, in a single-parent household. I have an

older brother and younger sister; I am the middle child. I always say, “I’m the one that’s forgotten about.” I didn’t grow up with a lot of financial resources, but I did grow up with a loving mother, who led by example. She taught us hard work, dedication, and resilience. Those qualities got me through a lot of hard times in college, especially when I was facing injuries.

How did you get into the sport of football?

Funny story—I started off in karate. Karate was the first sport I participated in. I would have karate matches periodically throughout the year and no one would show up, except my mother. Simultaneously, my brother was playing football and everyone would show up. Family would fly in from out of state, drive from out of town, and his games would be packed with support for my brother. That bothered me, so I said, “Next year, I’m going out to play football so I can get some support, too.” Little did I know, I’d be playing football for the next 15 years. It took one year of karate to realize you don’t get much love going from a white belt to a yellow belt.

At what point did you know you wanted to go pro?

I was such a blissfully ignorant child. I did not understand the financial parameters of being a professional athlete; I just knew everyone liked it. I never had this deep desire [to go pro] until I learned about the economic opportunities, which came my sophomore year of college. Jarvis Jones graduated from the University of Georgia and was drafted in the first round. When I got to UGA, he was like all of us. We all struggled the same—struggled to find meals and did not have money in our pockets. Jarvis Jones got drafted in the first round [of the NFL draft], got his signing bonus, and came back to visit with the team before he moved off to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He showed us his $1.7 million check and slept on our couch that night! I thought to myself, “How much could I help my family with that amount of money?” That is the moment I became in hot pursuit of becoming a professional athlete. It was then, that my drive to be a professional athlete was overwhelming. Until then, I just loved to play the game.

Who most inspires you?

My mother is the only person I aspire to be like or look up to. She’s an incredible person. If I can do even half of what she’s done to overcome, I would feel like I’ve done a good job. I’ve met very few people with her determination and drive to maximize their value in life. Most of us (me included) get to a certain point when we find a level of comfort and we plateau and ride out the wave. She is on the constant pursuit to help herself and help others.

What advice would you give young athletes?

There is a misconception among young athletes that the most talented person makes it—that’s not true. Most young athletes do not realize the smartest people make it the furthest, not the most athletic person. The smartest person makes it the furthest, as an athlete. You still need to have other qualities outside of being athletic to make it and sustain that success.

During your time at the University of Georgia, what was your favorite memory?

That is a tough one. I joined a book club in college that had a huge impact on my life, but I will say, probably the fellowship with my teammates. They have become lifelong friends—guys that support me on and off the field. We still support each other long after our playing careers. None of my intimate friend group that I met at UGA still plays football. If those friendships can withstand the test of time and go beyond the field, that has to be my favorite part.

What did you gain from your experience at UGA?

Social equity trumps financial opportunity every day of the week. By being a good person, maintaining a decent relationship, and working very hard, you can build social equity that will present financial opportunities. However, if you don’t do those things first, you will lose financial opportunities. I did not understand that as a child. I thought if you work really hard, it is what it is. No, there is value in being a good person. There is value in being a respectable person. And, there is value in exercising your moral compass. That will take you further than any dollar you can earn. You can be filthy rich and no one wants to be around you. Or, you can be middle class with an outstanding personality and a decent person, and people will rally behind you and your efforts, regardless if it’s career or personal. That is pretty special! This interview did not happen because of any particular accolade. It happened because of the social equity I’ve built through the Foundation and people being interested in what I’m doing out in the world. I’m not offering anyone some financial opportunity.

What was it like playing for Mark Richt?

It’s like having your preacher as your coach—it’s a blessing. I went to UGA because it’s the only school that cared more about my development as a human being than the value I added to their football team. That is because of Mark Richt. He was the person that made you feel like, even if football did not work out, he would still be rooting for you in life. He exemplified that through his day-to-day actions, his comments, style of coaching, and even his support for my literacy efforts. He has been so supportive. He has supported financially, with his social equity, and through writing forewords for books. He is just an all around great guy. Choosing to go to UGA with him as the head coach has been one of the best decisions I have ever made.

During your time in the NFL, what was your favorite memory?

Tom Brady being my friend was a big deal. While I was there, I never paid attention to it because we were working. You don’t think about it in that regard—he’s here for a reason, I’m here for a reason, and we’re going to work together to accomplish our goal. Now that I don’t play anymore and I’m not in that environment, I look back on the time

spent building a relationship with him as one of the coolest moments. We sat right next to one another in the locker room, and he poured wisdom into me every day, whether he was trying to or not. It was just cool to have him as a friend. It’s hard to trump that memory. Not because of his football accolades (while that is pretty cool, right?). We were just friends, shooting the breeze and talking about random things. We didn’t even talk about football in the locker room. We talked about other random topics that allowed our relationship to grow. I use to sneak over into his locker and use his coconut oil. He told me that Gisele put him onto it. I was thinking, “Man, if she’s using that, I want to use that.” It’s this organic, coconut oil that I find at Whole Foods now. He put it on his hair, like lotion, and I think he even gargled it. He was just a good guy and a good friend to have. I appreciate those memories a lot. It’s cool to reflect on those memories from my time with the Patriots and in the NFL.

What did you like most about playing for a professional team?

The salary. I didn’t have a lot of money (I still don’t), but it was more than enough to pay my bills and help out in other areas. I could help my mom go to school. I could exercise any of my curiosities. If my family needed something, I could help. The platform [of the NFL] allowed me to grow the Foundation and help out more kids. Being able to add “former NFL player and Super Bowl Champion” opened windows of opportunities that allows me to connect with more students. I really appreciate that from my time playing in the NFL— leveraging those experiences to do other things I really enjoy, like inspiring kids to read.

How did it feel to win a Super Bowl?

You know, that’s one of those hard things to explain because what do you compare it to? What could I compare it to? It is out of this world and so farfetched, it’s hard to believe. It takes time to sink in. You reflect on it, and you can’t really conjure up the same emotions as when it happened. It feels good. In the moment, I was pretty tired, so it was like a relief. You work all season for that one moment. You work hard, fight through injuries, go through pains, cuts, and surgeries. I started playing football in the fourth grade. The pinnacle of playing football is winning the Super Bowl. Winning the Super Bowl is the highest you can get. You spend all of that time never really knowing if you’re going to get there—then it happens and you’re relieved because everything you’ve worked for, you’ve gotten it. After the game, I saw my brother, my mom, and some friends. I took a deep breath and sat down while the confetti fell. I thought to myself, “There you go.” Then I celebrated, and I do not remember much of that.

As a Georgia native, how did it feel playing against the Falcons in the Super Bowl?

Atlanta is far from South Georgia. We are actually closer to the Jacksonville Jaguars. I didn’t have this deep connection to the team, because it was farfetched. As a kid in South Georgia, Atlanta seems like a different planet. I didn’t connect it until my friends and family started sending me text messages. They made a huge deal of it. At that point, I was like… I think it’ll be more fun to win and brag about it than lose and they brag about it. I was determined to win. We were down by so many points at one point, I thought they had us. But, they did not! The Falcons had a good lead in the first half of that game. Did you have any doubt that you were going to win?

I didn’t doubt if we would win or lose, but I did think to myself, “I don’t know how we are going to get out of this situation. We are here, so I might as well give it 110%.” It’s like you may beat us, but I’m not going to just let you. It was that mentality of I’m not giving up—I don’t care if you’re beating us by 100 points. That’s the approach I took. It wasn’t necessarily about if we were going to win or lose, because it got pretty bad there for a moment. Many kids look up to you today for both your leadership and talent.

Do you have a favorite athlete or someone you look up to (past or present)?

Kobe Bryant was the athlete I paid a lot of attention to. He exercised this other side of himself outside of sports. Later on in his career, he was doing more creative projects, vouching for creative athletes, and creating a space for us to flourish. As a kid, I didn’t have a tremendous amount of a sport influence by professional athletes. All of that came later, once I learned about the depth of people like Kobe Bryant.

Unfortunately, your NFL career was short-lived due to a knee injury. Can you tell us what it took for you to overcome the adversity of your career being over after such a promising start?

Yeah, that was tough. It took a lot of counselors. There were a lot of moments that I didn’t understand the value of my life outside of sports. Once I stopped playing, it’s not necessarily that my identity was wrapped in it, but it was the way I understood the world. That was the perspective I saw the world around me. Having that snatched away from me felt kind of like floating in the abyss. [I was] trying to figure out this new world that I live in and how I fit into it without the thing that’s created the most value for me. That was really hard. People tell you, “You can do other things.” In my case, I had already been doing other things. I was already writing picture books. The Foundation was already formed. I was doing some public speaking. I wasn’t doing those things with a plan B in mind, nor was I curating my perspective of the world around those things. I am very passionate about those things, so I was doing it. When sports ended, I had to realign my purpose and that took a very long time. Some days it felt impossible. Thankfully I was surrounded by people that cared about me.

It was a joke before, but I really did have five counselors to help me work through the emotions [of that loss]. I had never “given up on something” in my entire life. I didn’t know what it felt like. This was the first time I quit, and I didn’t know how to deal with that. It was the first time I had to deal with my emotions. In a sense, football was therapy. Before, I could go on the field and work out my problems, and I couldn’t do that anymore.

It helped a lot to be surrounded by people that cared about me. It took me two years. The first year, I was kind of like, “Oh, I’m fine.” I was writing books, so I transitioned to that. I was speaking, so I transitioned to that. And my Foundation was up and running, so I transitioned to that. I just thought, “I’m fine.” Even with those things, it still came after me. It’s not necessarily about finding something to do—that wasn’t my case. It was about understanding my place in my world now, because it was completely different than it had been for the last fifteen years.

In hindsight, I probably should have not done anything. I probably should have found a hobby, traveled, and not tried to mask or transition like it was nothing. It was something.

If you were not a massively successful football player, author, and entrepreneur, what job would you hold?

I would have probably been a graphic designer or something in the arts. I’ve always been fascinated by the arts and words and how they make people feel. Visual representation of something affecting someone’s emotions—I find that cool.

Can you tell us what inspired you to write your book?

After I went through my reading transformation, I saw firsthand how powerful it was or could be in a person’s life. Reading completely changed the way I thought, behaved, the decisions I made, my ability to think critically, my ability to articulate my point of view, and my ability to understand others’ points of view. I started writing books because I was under the overwhelming conviction that reading could help others read their way to a better future. Through reading, one could identify financial opportunities that could give potential to change the trajectory of oneself and their family—that’s what reading did for me.

I began reflecting on my community. I do not believe people that are born into a world without certain resources should be subjected to a certain lifestyle. I think they should be granted the opportunity, if they want, to move up the social ladder. I have friends that were not athletes. The community does not rally or celebrate the kids with straight As. The parade is for football games. We didn’t even think about academics taking us anywhere.

I started writing books because I wanted to encourage children to read, so that they had the greatest chance at reaching their maximum potential in life—that they would find hope outside of the immediate challenges their community may be projecting. I started writing because I wanted to inspire people like my mother inspired me.

Did The Magician’s Hat inspire Share the Magic Foundation? Tell us more about the Foundation and its mission.

That’s accurate—The Magician’s Hat inspired the Foundation. I wrote the book long before the Foundation was created. A teacher reached out to me, asking me to come to her school and read the book. That’s where the idea of the Foundation came. Someone reached out to me wanting to purchase books for the school, but I could not do that for two reasons: one, I was in college and I could not violate NCAA rules. Two, I didn’t have a foundation to take someone’s money. I wanted to make it mutually beneficial for me and the individual willing to support a community. I created Share the Magic Foundation so we could provide books to kids in under-resourced communities through grants, federal funding, individual donations, and corporate sponsorships.

Share the Magic Foundation is doing so much in the community. You have some upcoming initiatives. Can you tell us more about that?

Share the Magic Foundation was created for two reasons: to introduce book ownership into the lives of under-resourced communities and to promote the benefits of being an active reader. We introduce book ownership by our in-school programs. I actually go into the schools and basically host a pep rally for reading. We call it our Reading Rally program.

We distribute books, bring a magician, and have live music—it’s a lot of fun. The other thing we do is our virtual reading challenges. We have three: one in the summer, fall, and winter. Each reading challenge focuses on a reading deficiency. The next one coming up is the Read Marathon, which focuses on reading stamina. This challenge focuses on making sure kids have the endurance and stamina to actually get through a length of text. These days, that is very difficult with our short attention spans. The other thing that is coming up is an annual event, which I would love for you to come to. It will be February 25th and the Fox Theatre. Sponsorships are welcomed and tickets can be purchased at ReadwithMalcolm.com.

I wrote a book with Georgia’s First Lady Marty Kemp titled, “Hey, Georgia!” For Georgia’s Pre-K Week, we distributed 90,000 books to Pre-K kids across the state, with no expense to the kids or parents. That was a lot of fun!

The book talks about the state of Georgia, along with some of the amazing things the state has to offer. It also challenges us to think deeper about ways we can make this state even better. There is a line in the book that says, “Right is right, wrong is wrong. We can disagree and still get along.” To me, that is so important today. It seems like, if I eat Skittles and you don’t, we can’t be cool with each other—that is not how you make progress. You make progress by healthy tension. I think one way, you think another, and we have a conversation. We either find common ground or we agree to disagree and move on. Let’s not fight.

What is your favorite thing about Georgia?

I feel like we get to experience all seasons, which I really like. It gets really hot and it gets cold. We don’t get snow, but that’s okay. We have mountains, beaches, and lakes. We have it all. Outside of historic racial tension in Georgia, I love the southern mentality. We are just scrappy and I like that. We don’t care about what kind of shoes we’re wearing; let’s get the job done. Whatever it takes to get the job done, we will make it happen. I really like that about our mentality. If you eliminate things we can’t eliminate, like the racial issues of the past, I really like the way Georgia thinks about handling its business.

Tell us a fun fact that most people would not know about you.

I play the guitar pretty well. I don’t do it often and I don’t share it for people to see. I fell in love with it, maybe in 2018. I’ve been playing for three to four years now. I learned the basics from YouTube.

If you could have dinner with any three people, dead or alive, who would they be?

Abraham Lincoln, Tupac, and Kurt Vonnegut. I bet we’d have a blast!

If you could train for a year, which sport are you certain you could make the Olympic team for?

Swimming. I think I could have been an excellent swimmer.

What is the greatest financial lesson you’ve learned in life?

It’s better to know you can buy something versus buying it and losing that financial freedom. I’ll give an example: I have always wanted a sports car. I said to myself, “When I am drafted, I’m going to buy a Porsche 911 Turbo S.” I told myself I would buy that car when I got to the NFL. But, there is a lesson I learned in college.

Whenever the Pell Grant would come in, we would have $2,700 in our pockets. I would go to Atlanta—either Lenox Square or Phipps Plaza—and spend every dollar I had. I would be walking around with the coolest pair of jeans on, but no money. One day I thought to myself, this is terrible. I can’t even buy myself a hamburger while I’m wearing these cool jeans. By the time I got to the NFL, I realized something. It’s better to know that I could do something than to [actually] do it and be forced to do other things. It’s better to have than to spend.

Earn it, keep it, have a little fun, manage your expenses, but don’t jump out there to the extent that you have to change your lifestyle. Because then, having it won’t even be worth it. Maybe someday I will still be able to get that car, and it will make sense.

Personal request. Can I snap a screenshot?

Yes, of course!