#38 - Grant Wiley

Grant Wiley is a former NCAA Football All-American, actor, & tech entrepreneur. Currently Grant––along with NFL Veteran, Najee Goode, and Jonathan Ohliger––is the Co-Founder of Veepio, a mobile, direct-to-consumer, interactive Ecommerce tool. Grant is also an actor who has appeared both on screen and on stage. Previously, he was an NCAA All-American Linebacker at the University of West Virginia and went on to play in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings for 2 years, before retiring due to injuries. ***TIMESTAMPS*** 5:35 - Grant’s West Virginia Football & NFL Career background; The injury that ended Grant’s career; How to tackle Michael Vick at Virginia Tech 22:51 - The golden era of Big East football; The Rich Rodriguez era at West Virginia & Dawn of the Spread Offense; College Athletes & The Responsibility Coaches have to them; Grant’s relationship with Rodriguez & Defensive Coordinator Jeff Casteel 35:44 - Casteel’s recent interview about Grant; Grant’s discipline & work ethic; Grant’s leadership and bond with teammates on and off the field 46:46 - The death of Grant’s friend & former teammate, Chris Henry; The role of the media in unfairly vilifying athletes; The impact Death of Grant’s childhood best friend; Grant’s changes in NFL aspirations; Grant’s struggles with reason and purpose towards the end of his college football playing days; Grant’s goal line stop of Lee Suggs in 2002 1:25:42 - The brain impact of football, Concussions, & CTE; Grant’s thoughts on an NFL career that didn’t go as planned; A discussion on “Boomers” 1:38:24 - Grant’s recognition of the different experiences of others; Ego & Cancel Culture in modern discourse 1:46:05 - Grant’s discusses the mistaken narratives around his friend, Adam Pacman Jones 1:54:52 - More talk on Pacman & society’s instantaneous judgement of young stars with money; Talking with friends when they’re making poor judgements 2:07:28 - Grant’s career post football in the arts; How Grant came to love and admire creativity; Grant’s move to New York City 2:14:55 - Grant’s initial start modeling; A funny trip down memory lane with Grant’s college team photos; Grant’s introduction to acting studying with the late Bill Esper in NYC 2:20:45 - Veepio and interactive Ecommerce technology; Veepio’s timeline since being founded in 2015; Veepio’s work with the Philadelphia Eagles and other Sports franchises 2:34:23 - Integrating 3D Technology into the real world; People’s resistance to change 2:43:20 - Grant’s empathy and his appreciation for “the process” ~ YouTube EPISODES & CLIPS: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0A-v_DL-h76F75xik8h03Q ~ Show Notes: