Ricky Sapp | Dream Big, Live Big: A Journey from NFL Star to Motivational Powerhouse

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Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting episode. And today we are honored to have a true legend. We're talking about former NFL player, Clemson University icon, dynamic motivational speaker and elite sports performance trainer. His foundation transformed lives by supporting kids and family. And his powerful motto, dream big, live big, ignites inspiration across the world. His dedication, passion and relentless drive make him a source of hope and motivation.

Please join me in welcoming Bamberg's finest.

The unstoppable and inspirational Mr. Ricky Sapp. Ricky, how you doing today, brother?

Hey, man, I gotta get you to be my hype man when I go speak, man.

Hey, Flavor. Flavor ain't got nothing on me.

Hey, man, I appreciate you, man, and, and thank you for having me, man. Thank you for having me.

You know, I. I left out there that you wanted to be a Tar Heel. So we'll skip through that.

Oh, please don't say that, man. I'm. I'm orange. I got orange blood in these veins now. That's it, man.

So, Rick, man, one of the things I love and I've been a huge fan of yours forever. I mean, you know, I was telling you offline, I'm from Easley. Just moved back to easley, which is five minutes down, 123 from where you're at, bro. I started following you on LinkedIn probably three, four years, no before COVID and your Monday motivation and Ricky Sapp dancing. Like, I'm telling everybody, number one, follow Ricky on all social platforms, because if you just need happiness in your life, forget everything else. Ricky's a huge source of happiness, man. So I just wanted to applaud you for that, man.

I appreciate that, man. Thank you, man. Thank you so much.

Yeah, man.

So let's talk about Ricky Sapp's journey from Bamberg to Clemson to fifth round draft pick. Like, it doesn't happen, right? Like, that's. That's not a path that everybody can say, oh, I want to go do. And I know it took work, right? So. So growing up in Bamberg, like, where did you see yourself and what drove you to get to where you are today, brother?

My mom and dad worked at the same place in Orangeburg, South Carolina, at Husqvarna. Well, you know, South Carolina State Bulldog Stadium is in Orangeburg. One day, my mom was driving to go pick up my dad, and I was a young kid, man, I was going with her, and she drove by South Carolina State Bulldog Stadium. I've never seen anything like that. Only stadium I've ever seen was, you know, my. My high school stadium, Bamber High School. When I saw the stadium, man, when I tell you, it lit something in me. That's where I started to dream big. I was like, mom, what the heck is that? You know, like, what is that? And she told me what it was. And when she saw that excitement, she would take me by every time I rode with her. So that was kind of started me to, like, open up to big things and dream big. Then I saw, you know, my uncle and cousin playing football. And then being in Bamber. Bamber is a amazing sports town. It's a small town, prideful, all about working hard. So that kind of started me, man, into believing that I can go do something big, man. And when I got into playing football, I told my mom and dad, I said, look, you know, I'm gonna go play in the NFL. And my mom and dad didn't say nothing they said. They just smiled and said, okay, you know, so that's what kind of started me on this journey.

I love it, man. So high school, all American. You know, we can talk nil now because it's real. So. So why Clemson, man? Like, how much more money did they give you? The North Carolina, that's what. But so, you know, Clemson had a big tradition on defense, so I'm sure that that was a lot, right? Daquan Bowers was there.

Oh, yeah.

What got Ricky to Clemson, man?

I was. I grew up a Florida State fan, but during my recruiting process, I came to Clemson. The guy before me at Bamberg, he was getting recruited, so he brought me to a game in Clemson. But then when I started getting recruited, of course, you know, I was like, all right, I'm gonna go to Clemson, go to Carolina. And then, well, that's cool. In Columbia, we can't call them Carolina, but I came to Clemson, man, and every time I came back, I kept telling my. My coaches and parents. I was like, man, I feel something when I go there. I don't know what it is, but it's something. So every time I would come, I would say, hey, man, I want to go back. I want to go back. Something. Something special. There's. So eventually, man, I just. I fell in love with the place. It came down to here, full of state in Georgia, and I said, man, I'm gonna go to Clemson. If I had to do it again, I picked Clemson again, man, I really.

Would, I'm telling you.

Especially now with that IPT nil, you probably would.

Well, it's something in the hills over here in Clemson, man. It's something. You should have stayed right here. It's something in the hill, man.

No, sir. You. And see, the real Carolina is where I went.

Oh, man, that's a. That's a shame. They can't beat this team over here in South Carolina, man.

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We'll talk later. So then freshman year at Clemson, I'm sure, right? For most people that don't understand being the big dog, I mean, and you were the big, big dog, right? Like high school All American, right?

Yeah.

And then getting a glimpse of your freshman year and you realize these are almost like grown men. Like, what was that like for you your freshman year? Like those first three to four weeks.

Of wow, I'm here, man, Seeing Gaines Adams, God bless his soul, and Anthony Waters and Tremaine Billy and, man, all those guys, man, I was like, I did not expect these guys to be, you know, like you said, grown men. And I heard of Gaines and heard how good he was, but to come in and see that, man, it was. It was wild. But they put me under their wings, man, especially Gaines. And it was an amazing first year to. To play behind him and watch him play and to see how he did things, man. It was. It was truly amazing.

Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I tell people in life, mentorship is truly important, right? Like, because, you know, Les Brown always taught me this. People will tell you, experience is the best teacher. Well, if you're experience losing, then you're just a loser, right? To me, it's wisdom that's the best teacher. And so I know someone like Gaines had to give you so much wisdom so that it. When it was your time, you were, like, steps ahead of everyone because you had wisdom. Like, what. What would you say to people as far as mentorship and the importance of mentorship?

Oh, man. And I'll tell you this. It's so important to find people that have, just, like you said, that have been through things and that has done things that you want to do or doing things that you want to do. So that's. That's so important. I tell you this. I always tell kids this. Winners win, losers lose. If you want to. I think if you want to win, you got to be around winners. So. Having a mentor is so powerful, man. And I didn't learn that until I got to Clemson and even got older, that it was important to have one. Gaines didn't have to mentor me, man. He didn't. He was on his way out. He literally. He literally brought me in and, you know, he literally coached me along the way and was telling me what to do, not to do, how to go about doing things daily with football and off of the football field. So mentorship is important, man.

Yeah. You know, in South Carolina, we're hard workers, right? Like, that's what we believe in. Like, that's. Anyone that's from this state, I promise you probably outworks everybody, right? Shout out to everybody in South Carolina, right?

Facts 100, right?

Talk about that like, your work ethic is so impeccable. So for you going from freshman to now, you're starting and then ultimately getting drafted in the NFL, it doesn't happen without a solid work ethic, man. So I'd love to hear your story on that, because it's something you're continuing to do.

Today, my mom and dad went to work. Rain, sleeping, snow. And when you're a kid, you don't. You don't know, man. You like, man, you know, we don't got enough. We need more. But my mom and dad and I had. I had way more than I needed. But when you're a kid, you just don't know. My mom and dad went to work. Rain, sleep or snow, they didn't complain. They didn't say, I want to work. They went to work, man. And, you know, kids don't listen to nothing, but everything we see, everything we see, we go do it without even thinking about it. So that's where my hard work kind of came from. And then, of course, you know, getting around and my cousin and uncle and then getting around guys, you know, at Bamberg in high school and starting to understand that, man, I gotta work, man, I gotta work. And then, you know, sports teaches you how to compete, how to work hard, and how to be disciplined. So along my journey, man, I've just learned that, man, I gotta. I gotta work, I gotta work, I gotta. I gotta work one day at a time.

That's it. You brought up something else too, that I think is relevant not only in sports, but in business and in life, and that's competing. And, you know, I get a little disappointed, right? Like, I'm. My family will tell you I'm the biggest competitor that they know. Like, my whole family is competitive again. It's a South Carolina thing, right? But. But I feel like kids today, and not even kids, but just people today don't like competing.

Like, they're okay being average and they're.

Okay being a part of the group. And as long as the group is.

Doing the thing, they're okay doing the thing. But, man, like, that competing and, and striving to be the best, I think.

Is something that's truly needed in this world. And I've heard you speak about that too.

Well, I just say. Yeah, I just spoke with a couple days ago, man. You know, I truly think that God intended for us to, you know, be competitive and compete, but to compete in the right way. And this is, this is, and this is what I mean. All of us got gifts. All of us know what we good at. When I play football, I know one of my gifts was I had a fast get off. So I knew if. That, if I was confident in that and worked on that, that I was gonna beat you behind eventually knowing what I was good at, you know, healthy competition, man. And oftentimes today people don't want to compete. If they do compete, they go do it the wrong way, they go try and harm you, or they go try and cut corners instead of just saying, all right, I know what I'm good at. Let's Go to war. Let's go to war. I'm going to use my gift, and I'm going to sharpen it, I'm going to work it, and eventually I'm going to get you. So competition is amazing, and it brings the best out of us when we do it the right way.

I totally love that, man. Like, one of. One of my really good friends and mentor, Carl Esther Crumpler, he was on the podcast and we were talking about how iron sharpens iron. Right? It's not iron polishes iron. It's really about sharpening iron. Right. Like, what does Ricky feel about that?

Right?

Because to really compete, to really get better, there's got to be some friction, there's got to be some heat, there's got to be some sparks, but it's all about getting better.

Yes. So getting around, like I said earlier, getting around people, that kind of does the same thing you do. Most people are run from competition, so I'll give you an example, man. I. I'm. I'm a huge fan of Les Brown and Eric. Eric Thomas and all those guys. And. And when I watch them, I'm thinking to myself, all right, you know, man, what can I take from this? Or how can I get better? And I just. And I just say this, man, And.

I never knew what I was gonna say.

This, man. When I got into the motivational speaking world, Eric Thomas was, like, one of the first guys. And I. He's my. He's my number one guy. I love him. I love him. As of now, as I'm watching him and thinking about this whole motivational speaking thing, I'm thinking, how can I go ticket spots the right way? How can I take his spot? Oh, are you getting me excited? How can I take his spot the right way? But understanding and respecting him, like, man, he's a guy. But that don't mean I can't get around him. I mean, I can learn from him, right? But if he was standing here today, I would say, hey, man, you my guy. I love you, but I'm coming for your spot. And I'm coming for your spot the right way, dude.

Like, literally, I'm gonna get you on a call with me. Unless. Because we have that type of conversation and drive and push with each other all the time. He's like, hey, I didn't order an Uber, right? Because he knows I'm coming from. Like, don't worry. I am the Uber, right? Like, I'll be there in a minute. I'll be there in a minute. So totally get that, man. So speaking of your motivational speaking, how did your journey from high school, college, NFL, how did that influence your approach to motivational speaking?

Man, I. I took speech classes growing up. My mom used to have to tell me to take a deep breath and then talk. I talked really fast when I was young. Still do it sometimes. And I was stuttering. I hated public speaking at Clemson. I never thought about being a motivational speaker. Never, ever. When I transitioned out of the NFL, I went to this high school called North Mary Beach High School. Well, a guy asked me to come speak. Never spoke in my life. He asked me in the Quan Bowers to come speak, and I was like, man, I don't want to. What do I do? So I took stuff from Ray Lewis and Brian Dawkins and some other guys, took a quote from J.J. watt, went and spoke, and they loved it. It was like, man, we love it. It's awesome. Used to be a motivational speaker. I didn't think nothing of it. Long story short, after that, I started speaking, you know, randomly, and then people. This lady came up to me one day and said, hey, we lost our speaker. Would you speak after that? Man, I just. I started speaking, and then that's when God was like, hey, you supposed to be a motivational speaker? I'm like, what? So I asked God, I said, well, what. What's the message? What do I tell people? So that's. That's kind of how I got into motivational speaking, man. Never thought I'd be doing it. Never thought I'd be doing it.

Hey, but you're making a tremendous impact. I mean, like I said, your. Your Monday motivations, whether you were, you know, house or dancing on the beach, dancing in front of freaking Smoothie King, you got the young was dancing with you. I love it, man. Like, like, truly, everybody should be following Ricky. And one of the things I want to highlight, and it's something that's dear to me as well, is your foundation, man. Like, what inspired you to create the Ricky Sapp Foundation?

Out of my friends, man, and just my whole. My whole group of friends and family, I was always one of the ones that just loved to give, man. You know, out of your circle, everybody's different. Me, I'm gonna tell you the good and bad about me. As a friend, I'm not gonna show up a lot because I'm. I'm a introvert, extrovert. You know, I wanna. You know, I'd rather be alone and chilling, right? But if they need to show off my back I give it to them. And I was always a giver, man. So when I got drafted in 2010, you know, my volunteer advisor, he said, look, man, you know, I start a foundation, man. That makes sense for you. And I said, let's do it. So we started the Rookie side Foundation, of course, with the model Dream big, Live Big. We started in 2010, and, you know, had one thought in mind that was just give back to my community. At the time, I didn't know that I was supposed to be doing motivational speaking and working with kids. I didn't know. I just wanted to play, you know, football. So it all kind of. All kind of makes sense that I was supposed to have that foundation and supposed to be, you know, giving back and working with kids.

I love it, man. What are some of the. The big goals or big initiatives that. That you guys have coming up this year and into next year at the foundation?

Yeah, so we. We just had the annual football cheerleading camp. Everything's free. We do book bags as well. So I kill, you know, two things at one stone. We do book bags and give out awards and all that good stuff. So we just had that. The next thing that we have is we do Thanksgiving event where we give our turkey boxes to families. And I'm not like, you know, my foundation, I don't. I don't do a hundred, a thousand. I go into the schools and find out the families that need it. So that's what we. We typically do. And then for Chris, for Christmas, I should have sent you a photo for this, but I. I wear the buddy the F costume and. Oh, yeah, man, we found families that need, you know, that need gifts, and I go around and give out gifts. So that's the next two big events that we got coming up for the year. Yeah.

Okay.

Yeah.

All right. So I'm personally going to contribute to that, and then I'm also going to challenge some listeners and viewers as well, too. So I'm going to have links to. To Ricky's foundation, but I'm genuinely going to contribute because what you're doing in the foundation speaks to my heart, and it's something that if I can be a part of, I'm going to be a part of, so. So you got me on your side, brother.

That means a lot, man. Thank you. Thank you.

You got it. You got it. So dream big, Live big, man. Like, how do you incorporate that into your daily life? And how can others do that as well, too?

Getting up every day and knowing that if I got air in my lungs, And I'm breathing, then, man, I can do something big. Man, I can do something big because there's a reason why, you know, that we are still here every day that we here. And my motto is with the dream big, live big is that, man, why not dream big? You know, why not? Because if we are here, and I'm a strong believer that, you know, God gave all of us gifts. So, man, I believe that every day I wake up that I should try and scribe to do something big. If that's just encouraging the kid to dream big, then hey, hey, I did it. You know I did it.

Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. So a lot of folks that listen to the podcast, right, like we really believe in going deeper than your why and getting fueled by your because. Because life is going to challenge, right? Like if life were easy, if everybody could be billionaires and everybody would be billionaires, right? But there's different obstacles and challenges that we have have. So what are some tips and advice that, that Ricky has for people to really be fueled by that deeper purpose or for that deeper purpose?

Whatever you are passionate about, you have to chase it. You have to chase it because your passion is, will lead you to your purpose. I truly believe that. So I always tell people, man, you know, if you, if you don't know what your purpose is, then what are you passionate about? If you don't know what you're passionate about, what do you like doing? If you don't know what you like doing, then you need to figure out. You need to try things. I told some kids here at Clemson, I say try things, man. Go visit places, man, Try color and try drawing. Try, try doing something. But your passion is going to guide you to your purpose. And as a 37 year old man, man, I look back before I got into this motivational speaking thing and encouraging kids, I always had passion and, and so much a drive to encourage people, but didn't even, you know, pay attention to it. Football was all I was thinking about. So my advice to people was like, man, what are you passionate about? Chase that, because that's gonna lead you right into your purpose and then that's go, you know, ultimately make you happy. The desires of your heart, whatever you desire in your heart, man, taste it, chase it.

That is it. That's it. So we talked about the foundation, we talked about your journey, like what's new and upcoming for Ricky Sapp, man, you.

Know, so I dropped my book in April and my book is called Dream Big and it's for kids first to fifth grade. I did that, man. And next for me is a second book that I'm gonna try and drop by the end of the year. And then, of course, of course that school is getting started, man, Just ramping up and traveling around the world, man. Speaking. I love it.

We'll make sure that we have links to the book, obviously, the foundation, all your social as well. Where do you want people to find you, follow you? And wrapping this up, what's one thing you want people to just start doing right now?

Love, man. We need love. We. We. We need to love each other. You know, we talked about competition, healthy competition, man. It's okay to compete with each other. We have to understand that even though we go disagree, we can still love each other, man. Man, Mike, I can still say, man, listen, man, you, you know, you're a Tar Hill fan. I love you. And you invited to my cookout. I don't care about you. You know what I'm saying?

Hey, you're invited to mine.

But we have a no orange policy in my house.

See, I was gonna say, man, you can wear some of that blue, man.

That'.

See, you're a better man than me.

Like, I'm trying to get there, Rick. I'm trying to get there. One day I'll let orange be okay, but it's not right.

But yeah, man, we need love, man. We needed love. And. And right now, more than ever, as adults, we can stand up and show out and show these kids what it looks like to be adult as far as loving each other, you know, showing how to love, not bullying each other, showing how we can have conversations when we disagree on things, man, the right way. So more than ever, man, we. We need love. This world needs love. And love covers everything. I really do. And I think love will heal this world. I truly believe that.

Yeah, I couldn't have said it any better. Any better. Ladies and gentlemen, my friend Bamberg's finest, the amazing Ricky Sat. Ricky. Thank you for joining us on Mick Unplug, brother. This means the world to me.

Just thank you for having me, brother. Thank you for having me, brother. Means a lot.

You got it. And for all the listeners, remember you're because is your superpower. Go unleash it.

Thanks for listening to Mick Unplugged. We hope this episode helps you take the next step toward the extraordinary and launches a revolution in your life. Don't forget to rate and review the podcast and be sure to check us out on YouTube at MC Unplugged. Remember, stay empowered, stay inspired, and stay Unplugged.