Jordon Rooney and NFL prospect Lamont Wade discuss how Lamont is serving his community, the stages of growth, speaking out on issues in a position of influence, and more.
Topics discussed include: Lamont’s new business venture AKG1 Enterprises, Lamont’s talk with his mother at a young age, taking care of those around you, how speaking up affects your character, speaking with a purpose, athletes role in creating change, people DM’ing Lamont for clarification, letting go of your emotions, how Lamont has grown in his journey, how to speed up your growth, and being judged by your reaction to a situation.
00:00:00
Jordon: The Internet has provided access to virtually anyone we can learn anything at any time. However, most of this information has been put behind paywalls or people just don't want to share what they know. I think that's stupid. So I started a podcast that would provide inside access to successful people who are doing things no one else is doing Hear directly from them how they've become successful, while also disrupting society.
00:00:23
Jordon: This is Leaders of the New School.
00:00:32
(Intro Music)
00:00:38
Jordon: Today, I'm with who I call the most disruptive athlete in college sports in a good way, Lamont Wade.
00:00:46
Lamont: What's good.
00:00:46
Jordon: So the Lamont is someone who he had an amazing year with Penn State last two years, but really I think not that you needed to prove a lot of people wrong, but you exceeded expectations, right? Not your own expectations. Right. You know. Right. You I mean, you did it. You had and you did had an amazing year. But I don't wanna talk about sports. Lamont is involved in so many impact driven things in his life to tell a little bit about, you know, all the things you're involved with.
00:01:21
Lamont: Well, the first one may only being, you know, my company that I'm just starting. AKG1 enterprises always keep first enterprises, which is what essentially is, you know, its a business set up around minority cultivation, basically. So we want to do is is eventually in the future, we want to build businesses in these low income areas, these these rough areas. We want to create property tax because in these areas the property tax is is low and that low property tax leads the low resources to schools. And what we want to do is combat that by putting new businesses inside, whether it's, you know, somebody's clothing business or whether somebody want to set up a restaurant, whatever it is. Like, my company is the forefront for helping anybody else out to get that done, because it's what need to be done with the next step is and how the world is moving, ownership.
00:02:16
Jordon: So everything you just explain, it sounds complex. It sounds like it's going to take a lot of work. You know, you're getting prepared for the draft. What makes you want to to focus on on helping? Like what what sparks that in you?
00:02:31
Lamont: I honestly, I couldn't even tell you, because when I was young, I actually I told my mom that mom, I think maybe 10 years old, like mom, my life isn't about me. And we were born, we are talking about something. And I thought at a very young age, like, I understand and my life isn't about me. Like my purpose is to serve others. So with that having that perspective so young, I guess it just stayed with me to always want to give back to always want to help, because there's been times where I've needed that help or where I needed somebody. And, you know, it was hard for me. So I don't I don't want like anybody I'm around, especially my family, friends, to feel like that. And then outside of that going on into the world, I don't want nobody who even knows me. If you if you know me, if we have any type of relationship, you could ask me anything we can connect or anything like that. So it's just come from that.
00:03:24
Jordon: So there's two ways I can relate to that. One, I feel like my life changed when I became an active participant in change. So rather than just being someone who is like, all right, here's what I want to do with my life, it was here's what I want to do with my life, but here's what I can do for others, because I'm able to do this in my life. And the other part of it, too, is, are you really successful if you're not able to put other people on when you get to that point? Because how many people out there are successful, but they're only successful for them. Exactly. So for you, it's important that that success means more to those around you, right?
00:03:55
Lamont: Yeah, it's important. It's important for it's important for me to to acquire knowledge. But I feel like if you acquire knowledge and you kind of just let that knowledge sit everything you're learning, you just let it sit and don't distribute it out in any way. I feel like it is really a waste because even though it's building your brain is building your nervous system, however you're doing whatever you're doing in any way. But if you can't like I said, my life isn't about me. So if you can dish that out, if you can't put somebody on game, if you can't help people out who are in positions lower than you, then I feel like it's pointless.
00:04:36
Jordon: Now, I see with you we I see the shift of how where like professional athletes is going where five, ten years ago would have been like, all right, he talks a lot. He he has character issues. But now you're seeing like if you're an athlete who doesn't do that, you're almost saying, do they have character issues because do they not care? You know what I mean? Have you seen that shift as well? Like, have had people resisted you in the beginning? And now they're like, oh, wait, this is how athletes should be. They should speak up?
00:05:06
Lamont: Yeah. Yeah, it was kind of I mean, I don't want to say detrimental, but to a certain degree it was because stepping on a big platform like I've been doing these type of interviews in front of cameras since I was like thirteen, twelve, thirteen years old and and me realizing that I'm in this type of, you know, I guess you could say light, now in my head, I can't. I have to in this light I have to be someone that I'm really not. I have to kind of show a side that's not really me. I have to tone down a little bit, X, Y, Z. And, you know, for a few years, for a few years, I was going away. But like I said, it was it was slightly detrimental to a point. I'm like, okay, maybe I'm losing myself, I'm not doing what I really want to do, I'm not speaking up on things. And I felt like like how you said whenever I put whenever I put power and all of that, whenever I start believing in myself and feeling like, you know, regardless of what's going on, this needs to be done. This need to be talked about. I feel like that's whenever things start changing for me in a positive direction, because how I see it, too, is like, all right.
00:06:10
Jordon: so how it see it too is, oh he speaks up. Don't do I need to watch out for him. But you speak up based off of purpose and intentionality. You're not being impulsive, you know. I mean, like there isn't risk there because you're doing it from a standpoint of like this is what I intend to do. I intend to create change. Whereas, you know, there are athletes. Sure. Who are impulsive and who will say things just out of nowhere. But with you, everything's strategic. Right?
00:06:33
Lamont: Exactly. That's one thing I can take pride in a little bit, because a lot of people have problems with a lot of things that I say. But I stand on not going out of line. I stand on, you know, not getting disrespectful, not I do everything. Like how you say strategic is for a purpose. Like if I'm speaking up on something, if I'm saying something, if I'm bringing attention to something is for a reason. I'm not doing it just because I'm bored or anything like that. I'm but I'm doing it because I feel like and my mind is an essential.
00:07:04
Jordon: So no, I think it's a great point. And now where do you see, like athletes and social activism or just being more mission driven, you know, where do you see that going? Because where I think where I see it going is even at the high school level, you know, I think like Elliott Donald, who's a Central Catholic, like you see him, he's a big time recruit. He's speaking up on things going on going on in his school. And it's almost like setting this trend where it's like, all right, you as an athlete, you're not meant to to have this platform and say, oh, hey, don't disrupt anything. It's almost like, all right, you're here. You can disrupt institutions. You can actually create real change. Is that where you see where you see things going?
00:07:42
Lamont: Yeah, definitely. Because like how? Like how I said honestly. Phew. What, like twenty seventeen. I first got to college. There weren't a lot of guys that you know did there were. There were several like I think one one thing that really got to me was everything with everything that happened with that Kaepernick stuff around that year. But like as far as like in that area, college sports, basketball, there weren't a lot of guys who were taking a stand and cap did. And me seeing, you know, being that resilient, being that brave to do that, because that's essentially what he really believed in. I think that kind of know geared me to do that and geared this next generation to, hey, we're going to speak of something if we feel the need to. If something's messed up, if something is wrong, then something needs to be said, like you shouldn't be there shouldn't be things going on that's wrong. And you just being OK with that wrongness or being idle with whatever position you're in, because I feel like you're in control of your own destiny, you're in control of your own fate, so you can't put that in has nobody else. If you're able to control that and the right way, then that's how you should handle it.
00:08:49
Jordon: It's almost like, you know, you can sit in the middle, but just know you sitting in the middle, it may get you closer to where you want to be, but you're not going to feel good about getting there. You almost have to take this stance to where it's going to upset people. And it may be a little bit more of a risk. But, you know, when you do get there, you did it staying true to yourself and staying true to your beliefs. Now, I think one of the biggest things and I think like I wanted to have you on this is because you never own your own narrative. We talked about this like you. You say what's on your mind, but people don't know where you're coming from. They don't know how much thought, how much research you put into it. I think one of the coolest things about you that I don't experience with anybody is like you kind of said to me, you know, I feel like I am rubbing people the wrong way, but my goal isn't to do that. My goal is to create change. So maybe I do need to change the way I come off, like just being able to have that realization within yourself to let go of your pride, to let go your ego. I feel like that's so unheard of with athletes, with with just people in general. Tell me that thought process for you be in that position is rough, especially when you're talking about 17, 18 year olds who no one prepares you. Right.
00:09:58
Lamont: No one you don't you're not prepared for that type of stuff. But realizing that, OK, OK, I said something because of how I feel or how I feel or what I know X, Y, Z, and you have to kind of use perspective to put yourself in other people's shoes, realizing that, hey, maybe they weren't taught this way or they didn't learn this or they don't know about this. And whenever you use that perspective, then it's easy for you to be like, OK, hey, maybe I can see where they're coming from because they don't quite have the knowledge in that area or they don't quite understand or anything like that. And like how you said you have to let your ego down because ego, ego will drive you crazy if you listen to it all day, if you stick to it and you have to realize. Like I said, I don't do nothing to cause ruckus or anything, you have to realize the essential purpose for whatever I'm doing, which is change, which is bringing awareness. And you can't you can't change things and bring awareness if if you're rubbin, too many people are the wrong way. So that's why I feel like it's a good divide between, like, the people who understand me and know what I mean and know where I'm coming from. I understand that research to the to the little bit of a mountain who does it and over the over the summer, why everything was going on. I've had dozens of people hop in my DMS like, hey Lamar, I don't I don't understand what you mean, I don't know what's going on. And we had conversations like I'm talking about dozens who simply just asks a question or whatever, and I'm literally that open because if there's something that there's a disconnect where I'm trying to create change and I'm trying to cause awareness and I'm, you know, trying to bring stuff to a positive light, we have to find a way to connect that disconnect and some type of way. It doesn't have to be a hundred percent. It doesn't have to be top to bottom. It has to be OK. How can I relate this to your situation.
00:11:55
Jordon: Which I think is incdredinbly deep because most of us, if we feel a certain way, here's a good example. You don't like me and if you don't like me, my first reaction is to be mad about you not liking me. But if my goal is for you to like me, I'm not going to express that anger. I'm instead going to create a conversation so I can figure out why you don't like me. And some of that may be letting go of my ego was like, Oh, I can see why you don't like me, even if I don't, because my goal was to get you to like me even. I think where you take issues such as, you know, racial issues, it's hard to let go of your emotions. So I'm sure I'd like for you in the beginning. All right. I'm acting off of my emotions. But then you're like, wait, my greater goal is to create change. Let me let go of my emotions. Is that how it was for you?
00:12:38
Lamont: Yeah, that's exactly how it is. And and like how I said going you don't you don't realize that because there's no classes on you.
00:12:46
Jordon: Right. It's hard.
00:12:47
Lamont: You don't get to that stuff.So so realizing that you can't let emotions control you no matter how passionate you are about something, I feel like that is one of the key key factors to being successful in life is being in control of your emotions. If you can't control your own emotions, then you're going to be hot one minute and you're not going to know. Right. So finding a way to put that together and handle that and do that the right way on every front, whether it's, you know, people who disagree, people who agree, I just feel this crucial.
00:13:17
Jordon: Are you a risk? You know what I mean? Like, if I'm if I'm a if I'm a team, I don't view you as risk because I know you, but they don't know you yet. And if they just look at your Twitter like Lamont, Lamont speaks up. I what I see is you've grown so much to where like your father, you know, you you're a leader. Do you feel that you're at the point where like, you know exactly which direction you're going in and everything is calculated?
00:13:42
Lamont: I feel like I feel like the biggest thing and understanding people is understanding growth, understanding that somebody could grow in ten minutes. Somebody could grow, in fact, like it takes something so small to create growth. And it's not something that we're all, like, conscious of, but that growth that has that I have gained since January. Twenty seventeen to now we're talking January twenty twenty one. Like how you said me being a captain on a Penn State team, me having a son, you know, me even even life, things like me losing some of my best friends in X, Y, Z, they all play a factor into these, you know, emotions that you say or these different type of things, this hot and cold. But essentially when you're talking about growth, you're talking about coming from a point where I was, you know, young seventeen in college, you know,
00:14:39
Jordon: It's a lot of pressure.
00:14:41
Lamont: Right. Right. Trying to do whatever I can or however you want to formulate that onto to understanding specifically what your role is and understand when you start to understand your purpose more. I feel like once you start doing your purpose more than that, that growth rapidly speeds up because now you're making decisions based on everything more than you. I make decisions on my son. I'm making decisions on my family.
00:15:08
Jordon: It's easier to be logical then.
00:15:10
Lamont: And it's in this way easier to be logical because like how I said when when these people who who have differences come at you. At first, like I said, it's easy to be hotheaded and have those emotions of I don't care what you're saying, X, Y, Z. But understanding that, like I said this past year, my tremendous growth from when I first dropped the cat, the captioning video that I put on YouTube in twenty seventeen and getting all tons of bad comments to everything that went on in twenty twenty in the summer. And actually OK, now I'm not going to come at you at this type of. Way or or no matter how you're coming at me, I'm still going to be me and I was in at a certain point in time, I might have been letting people bring me out of that character. And like I said, once you were able to make those more logical decisions is so easy to to do things the right way, do things the way that people may not agree with, but they're going to respect.
00:16:06
Jordon: And I actually just I gives advice to someone when when they judge you by the reaction they're one to judging by your reactions, because the reaction is you not speaking from logic. So it's when the reaction is always coming from a source where you are strategic and calculated. Then from there, everything everybody sees is, oh, he knows, he knows why he's doing it and he knows what he's doing it for. All right. This is powerful stuff. This is why I wanted to have this conversation. And so, you know, Lamont, look for him in the NFL and honestly look for him to make some some major changes in the world. I feel good about it. Yes, sir.
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(Outro Music)