Tyrone Swoopes (00:02): I think the biggest thing for me personally is just, just kind of through all of this, I guess I learned that it’s okay to fail. Uh, because multiple times I was assigned to the active, I was put to practice squad where I was sent home practice squad sent home. So it was just multiple times where it was just like, just like, man, what am I, what am I doing? Am I not good enough? But every single time that that happened, I never quit on myself. I never let anything that anybody says, just kind of keep me down. I think just learning, learning to learn, just to keep picking myself back up when I do fail in business or with my gym, cuz I know it’s gonna happen. It’s inevitable. Nobody’s perfect. And uh, just kind of being able to pour that kind of energy into kids, just letting them know. I mean, whatever you want to do, you’re gonna get knocked down, but just keep telling them that just to keep believing in yourself and it’ll all work out in the end.
Zach Colman (01:15): Hey everyone, I’d like to welcome you to another episode of the brand power analysis today, today’s guest Tyrone Swoopes
Zach Colman (01:24): Why don’t you tell everyone a little bit about yourself?
Tyrones History
Tyrone Swoopes (01:27): My name is Tyrone Swoopes. I am from a small town, in Texas and went to the University of Texas. It’s been about four years in the NFL on and off. but just recently retired feels weird to say at 26, but yeah, just recently retired and just, uh, just living life.
Zach Colman (01:52): Yeah, just living life. So why don’t you, why don’t you tell everyone a little bit about your journey and what led you to where you are now?
Tyrone Swoopes (02:00): I’m from Texas grew up in the small town called white, right. I had about 40 people in my graduating class, so it’s a really small, small town. Everybody knows everybody. but I mean, I had a, had a great time here and of course, played football and especially in a small town, Texas, well in Texas in general high school football is king. So it, it was a, it was a great time and, and, was blessed to get an offer from one of my dream schools growing up the university of texas. So I ended up going there to play, uh, quarterback and played quarterback there for four years. Uh, got to meet a lot of great teammates.
Unfortunately, you had a lot of coaches there too. So it was, it was kind of tough learning new offenses and things like that almost every year.
Tyrone Swoopes (02:51): But, I mean, I wouldn’t trade that experience for the world. Just getting to, getting to know a lot of football and learning a lot of football from a lot of great coaches. and then after my senior year after I graduated college, my agent came with me with the idea to move into tight-end I thought it was a good idea. So, I went for it and after my pro day, see Seattle gave me the call and they wanted me to come up and I spent four years on and off playing tight end with them on the practice squad, played a couple of games, things like that. And then, recently I did a couple of short stints with Philly and Washington, but, as I said recently, I just decided that, uh, decided that I was ready to retire and move on to the next thing.
Zach Colman (03:44): Yeah. I mean, that must have been, that must have been kind of difficult to you for you. So why don’t you, why don’t you tell everyone a little bit about your, your transition, for, in sports and playing in the NFL and then kind of that transit transition into what you’re doing now and, and, and how you were able some of the challenges and some of them, the pros of you kind of moving into that from that transition.
Difficulties of Transition
Tyrone Swoopes (04:11): Yeah. well, the main thing in all of these transitions, which I’ll, uh, obviously get to was just my family and my support system. especially coming from a small town, Texas, as I said, and going to a campus that’s bigger than my whole hometown. It was just kind of overwhelming me at first, but get, was able to find those couple guys on campus on the team. And then obviously talking to my parents and, uh, my me back home, it helped me a lot just to kind of ease my mind and slow everything down, uh, on campus and classroom on the, on the football field too. And then, the transition from quarterback to tight end, that was probably the hardest one out of any transition in life that I’ve done so far. just because I never, I never played with my hand in the ground at all.
Tyrone Swoopes (05:07): I’d always played either before I got to middle school, I played running back, and then once I got to middle school, I started playing quarterbacks. So, it was definitely different. I remember the first day that I thought I was running routes and it was just, it was just bad. I mean, I, I don’t know any other way to put it than that. I didn’t know how to get into a stance. It was just bad. And so, leaning on my agent and relying on him to get the right people around me,, and them watching me and knowing what I needed. Uh, they helped me out a lot, and just like I said, my family, encouraged me when I would be down on, on myself, just like thinking it’s not gonna work. they just kind of always encouraged me and kept me, kept me upright, and kept me with a positive, positive mindset.
Tyrone Swoopes (05:53): And then, I guess the most recent, recent transition, it just came from, I mean, just kind of the position that I was in as a player. not really a roster player, kind of just like a bubble player, uh, almost everywhere I went and, a practice squad player and kind of just moving up and down at home on practice squad kind of all the time and just the instability of the situation that I was in. And, it just, I just felt it would be better for me, better for my family than I just called it quits on my own terms. And, so that’s what I was ultimately what I decided to do.
Zach Colman (06:38): How did that, how did that feel for you going from, cause I know I, I kind of grew up in a small town too. and I, I understand how football’s really big in the small towns. especially being in Texas, going from that small town field to being, you know, around a much larger community, being around a, a much larger fan base. How, how did, how were you able to cope with that?
Tyrone Swoopes (07:03): Uh, it took, it took some time because you know, in the small town, you know, all, everybody knows you. And so there’s not really any negative, any negative talk, even if you do have a bad game, there’s not really any, any kind of negative thing said about you in or around the community, but once you to, the college level, it’s just a, just a free for all everybodys. If you do one wrong move, then everybody’s criticizing what you do. And I, that was one thing for sure that I was kind of having problems with just seeing everybody, every newspaper, every, you know, the, of fan boards or whatever they’re called, just critiquing everything that I do. And I just felt like I couldn’t do anything, anything right at sometimes. And so, as I said, just kind of just leaning on the people that I know are important to me and I’m important to them and, letting their opinions, uh, speak the most to me.
Zach Colman (08:00): Yeah. It’s definitely hard. And I hear that from a lot of my clients and other athletes as well of, of that, that, you know, the transition and how hard it is. And a lot of sports fans don’t understand, that yes, it, you do have a job. You do have to, you know, do your worth, but at the same time, it, it, it gets to you, you know, and it’s a lot like business. It’s a lot like normal life stuff too, where it, it really does get to you and, having that family around and having other people around to kind of keep you levelheaded, is definitely like a very good positive for, for a lot of athletes, especially younger athletes that are low looking towards pushing towards that, that direction to really understand that, Hey, try to ignore or try to not really ignore, but, you know, take criticism for what it’s worth. And maybe it will teach you something, but at the same time, don’t let it get to your heart, cuz it is definitely, it’s definitely, there’s a lot of people out there and not gonna please everybody. Right?
Tyrone Swoopes (09:05): Yeah. That’s the main thing.
Zach Colman (09:07): So what are you doing now, now that you’ve kind of decided to, you know, step out or you’re back in Texas? I take it.
Where You Are Now
Tyrone Swoopes (09:17): Yes. I’m back in, about 20 minutes away from where I grew up. So, I’m really close to my mom and my brother and my dad’s about an hour away. So, I’m here with my wife and my dog and just right now kind of just kind of figuring out what exactly I want to do, but, I think I’m trying, I’m gonna try to get in, into, uh, the fire service, try to do that. And then on my cuz you work, I think like three days out of the week. And so on my days off, I also, I’m working to get my, personal training, uh, strength and conditioning and dietician licenses. So I can do that on my days off. So that’s the plan for right now. It could change tomorrow, but as of today, that’s what I plan on doing.
Zach Colman (10:04): Yeah. I mean, it’s, it’s always during this transition period, uh, I mean, it’s, it’s very similar to when kids start to go into college, you, you have you’re at that point where you’re like, oh, what do I do? How do I leverage kind of the skills and the sets that I have? What, degree did you get when you were in college?
Tyrone Swoopes (10:26): Uh, I got a bachelor’s in, physical culture and sports.
Zach Colman (10:29): Oh, okay. Perfect. Perfect. No, that’s great. Yeah, sports performance. I think that you have, you definitely have a leg up into helping younger athletes or helping, individuals with, with that stuff. And so, getting into that stuff, uh, you, the the fire stuff and I mean, you’re at that age where I was when I was kind of like at the point where I realized a, you know, life and family commit and, and all that stuff work to life balance. And so it seems pretty great that you’re already taken on it into consideration when it comes to, Hey, I can kind of do this for a few days a week, still help out the community with how I can do it, but also kind of have my days for the family. And so, did you have any, did you have any other athletes or, or mentors that you’ve kind of looked up to as you’ve started to go down some of these paths?
Tyrone Swoopes (11:28): not really anybody in particular. I mean, I’m not, I’m not really, uh, loud kind of out outspoken guy kind of speak to the people that I’ve known and that I know. Uh, so, outside of like, I, like I’ve said multiple times, my family and the people in my community that I know, uh, I haven’t really, haven’t really looked at or kind of paid attention too much about, uh, football really. I’ve kind of almost shut it out for the last couple of weeks since I decided that I was done. So, uh, I know once the regular season comes around, I’ll start looking and watching again. But, uh, as of right now, I’m just kind of, like I said, live life.
Zach Colman (12:13): Yeah. Mental health is definitely, definitely, uh, a huge thing you have to take into consideration. And I totally understand just turning off the brain for a while. And, and so I, again, I appreciate you being on the podcast, especially since we’re kind of talking about it a little bit. so as you take this leap, as you kind of take this leap in this transition and over, and you’re starting to do your dietary stuff and trying to learn the ins and outs of, uh, your P performance coaching, are your, are your thoughts into creating your own business around it? Are your thoughts on going to work for another sports performance location? What are your thought processes on that?
Tyrone Swoopes (12:58): ultimately, I and my wife talked about it multiple times and ultimately, uh, we want to create our own gym because kind of out where we are, the, you gotta go like 30, 45 minutes an hour to get to kind of like a, a sports performance place where you can just where you have good reliable equipment and kind of what you need to get better at your craft or whatever. Uh, you’re doing. So that’s the end goal, but for right now, it would probably be, going to work for, uh, somebody else and just learning, uh, what to do, what not to, what I like and what I would change and just, just things like that. Just learning from other people before, uh, I take that step.
Zach Colman (13:46): What makes you a retired athlete and the stuff that you learned in the game, what kind of legs up for what kind of experiences that did you learn that you think that is gonna help you along your journey, through kind of your long ongoing journey on eventually opening your own gym?
Mindset After the Game
Tyrone Swoopes (14:10): I think the biggest thing for me personally is just, just kind of the, through all of this, I guess I learned that it’s okay to fail. Uh, because multiple times I was assigned to the active, I was put to practice squad where I was sent home active practice squad sent home. So it was just multiple times where it was just like, just like, man, am I wrong? I do, am I not good enough? But every single time that that happened, I never quit on myself. I need I never let anything that anybody says just kind of keep me down. so I think just learning, learning to learn, just to keep picking myself back up when I do fail in business or with my gym, cuz I know it’s gonna happen. It’s inevitable. Nobody’s perfect. And uh, just kind of being able to pour that kind of energy into kids, just letting them know. I mean, whatever you wanna do, you’re gonna get knocked down, but just keep telling them that just to keep believing in yourself and it’ll all work out in the end.
Zach Colman (15:18): Yeah. Yeah, definitely. And it’s the mindset I’m actually going through a transition in, in my business right now, with what I’m doing from learning that basically learning that how important mindset is. And I think that that’s one thing, like you just said, when I was smaller, my business was smaller. I really didn’t really take mindset into huge consideration. I thought it was just a gimmick to try to, you know, for people to kind of show low value. But now that I’m kind of higher up, I’m kind of seeing now how important mindset really is and, and, and understanding those failures and failures definitely come a lot in business and you just have to yeah. Get yourself back up just like the game, you know, have to get yourself back up and learn learning from those mistakes is definitely, probably the biggest takeaway there. so do you feel like as you move forward, do you feel like there’s, there are any struggles that, uh, from the other end, like any struggles that you feel like you’re gonna have to overcome, when it comes to your journey as your journey into, you know, entrepreneurship slash business owner?
Tyrone Swoopes (16:35): Uh, I think it would just be my biggest struggle would just be being patient and not rushing into anything. I mean, it’d be the worst thing I could do to just, I want, I wanna do a gym now. I wanna do a gym now and just rush into it and not have, the right equipment, the right staff around me, the right building. just everything that I need for me and, my business to be comfortable and to flourish. So I think the biggest thing will, the hardest thing will just be just staying patient and waiting for the right time, to make that move.
Zach Colman (17:16): Yeah. I mean, watching commercial real, the estate’s a huge thing. Watching, being patient there’s, there’s one thing, there’s one thing that I’ve seen in, in, in the marketing side and what I do is I, I do see a lot of business owners that do try to go fast. and, and, and they look at everything else as fast too. They say, Hey, I, I need to build now I need to do this tomorrow. And, uh, what I’ve learned from what I’ve seen from the successful people is you’re right. It, you, you want to be patient, you don’t need this tomorrow. I mean, I go through it myself with, you know, trying to grow and, oh, I wanna be here, but I go, okay, don’t do it too fast or you’re gonna be upside down, you know, so really having to take that, that into consideration as you, as you try to. So I think that’s really smart, that you’re thinking about that now and, and definitely, working towards that, that end goal to improve on that. so what are, So you’ve, you said that you, you really, you’re, you’re quiet and you’re really, you’re really much more of a, a, a family man, which means you probably don’t use social media that much. You probably are very, uh, and I mean, I’ve seen a lot of athletes are like that too, especially with how fans are sometimes. but how do you,
Zach Colman (18:38): What are some things that you think other athletes can learn when it comes to building their brands and, and, and building themselves online?
Tyrone Swoopes (18:48): I think too of me, the people that I’m most drawn to, uh, when I do get on social media is just the people that are authentically themselves. I think that’s really important. not trying to put on a mask and make people think that you’re per somebody that you’re not. And so, I think just, just being yourself no matter what, no matter what anybody else thinks, cuz at the end of the day, nobody else has the live life that you live. You’re the only one that has to live it. So might, might as well be happy in your own skin and in your own shoes. So, just being authentically yourself, I think that’s the most important thing.
Business Development After the Game
Zach Colman (19:30): Uh, and I would a hundred percent agree with you. I mean, I, I really promote on our, our YouTube channel and in all of our, our talks with our prospects and our clients are authentic. Authenticity is by far the best way to go. I mean, there’s a lot of gimmicks out there and there’s a lot of fake gurus and a lot of stuff that promote, Hey, buy this Ferrari and this is in my driveway or, or do this and I have to tell them, as you said earlier, take your time. I’m like if any, everyone could make, I mean, look how hard it was for you to get into the, you know, grow and, and you made these shifts into the, you know, to in college and into the NFL and now your transition here, it does, it takes time, takes mindset. and I think that you know, people can really learn from that, especially with the online space as well is just be authentic.
Zach Colman (20:23): I’m very big on businesses. Business is, is hard. Business is hard. It’s gonna take time. It’s gonna take effort. You’re gonna have failures. I, I, I’m very authentic when it comes to when I say that to people because it is, I deal with it every day myself. So, I a hundred percent agree with you on that. And so if anyone could take any sort of, uh, tips out of this podcast, I would definitely probably agree with you a hundred percent on that and say, authenticity, stay authentic with yourself. If you don’t like to post, then don’t post. Like, I mean, I, I’m, I’m very one of those people as well. I’m, I’m an introvert that turned into, had to turn into an extrovert a little bit for business purposes. But, uh, it, it’s hard. I, I Don like to post stuff on social media, I’m not a, a, a selfie kind of guy.
Zach Colman (21:10): I’m much more of a, Hey, I’d like to give you tips. I’d like to give value is where I can online. But that’s, that’s what I have employees for. I’m much more of a corporate brand and I like my employees to be the center of the business. right. So with where you’re going now, how, how can you help athletes move forward? Like what, what, what can you do? What are you trying to do with what you’re trying to achieve or what you’re trying to do? I mean, college athletes, professional athletes, it doesn’t matter, but what are, what are you looking at doing to help other athletes?
Tyrone Swoopes (21:51): I think the main thing is just being, just being open to communicating. I think I, I think once I, uh, get all my certifications and everything, and I, I think I’ll be working mostly with high school athletes and I think it’s just being open and honest with them when they ask me about college when we ask me about the NFL and kind of the things that it takes and the things that don’t work is just being honest. And whether it’s a college guy asking whatever, a professional guy, asking whatever, I think it’ll just be, like I said, being open and honest, I mean, we’re all competing on the field, but I don’t think we gotta compete off the field. I think it’s important to share experiences, share knowledge so we can all kind of grow together
Zach Colman (22:41): As the community. No, that’s great. and, and that’s, that’s another big takeaway is, you know, social media is about to be about, and it’s not just social media, it’s, you know, there’s so much into, and it doesn’t have to be just marketing, but it can be, you know, building a community, building a community of people to help each other. and I mean, there’s, we have these things at our fingertip, let’s utilize them correctly and be able to, you know, be able to give guidance and be able to help people. I mean, it’s not all hard to just pick up your phone and, and say, Hey, you know, I’ve gone through this. Maybe this will help or, giving out information on things that could help people. So, I agree with you 100% on that. and, uh, I really appreciate having you on man.
Interview Summary
Zach Colman (23:29): I definitely look forward to, I definitely look forward to, uh, hearing about more of your journey is it is, is your, as you take your journey towards being a firefighter, as you take your journey towards opening your own gyms, and, definitely don’t be afraid to, uh, share that journey with the world as you’re as you continue to do that. Because I think a lot of even business owners, business owners struggle, beginners, business owners, and athletes that are making that transition, struggle with how to do certain things, the pains and the positive. So, I definitely encourage you to kind of push that as you continue to, as you continue to take your journey. And I look forward to hearing, hearing more about it. do you wanna tell anyone that you would like to reach out, to and where they can find you at?
Tyrone Swoopes (24:21): I mean, I’m on, I’m on Instagram, Facebook, and, uh, Twitter. I mean just search my name
Tyrone Swoopes. I don’t know my handles. I’m not like I said, I don’t get, I don’t get on there enough to know, but, but yeah, I’m, I’m on all three of those. And just, if you have any questions or just wanna talk to somebody, reach out and I’ll respond when I see it.
Zach Colman (24:44): Oh, well, great. Well again, thanks for bringing on the brand of power analysis and I hope everyone has a good day. Watch our interview with Derek Cox here >
