NIL Insights, Podcasting, and Overcoming Rejection: Grayson Blake

Garrett (00:00:00) - Hello. Welcome to the pod with Garrett Elconin. And this is where I interview local entrepreneurs and solopreneurs, ranging from business founders and entrepreneurs to creatives and artists, to peel back the curtain on on their success and their stories so that hopefully we can extract some tools, tips and tactics that they use to become successful. And through that, I hope to inspire you, the audience, as well as hopefully give you some tangible things you can apply to your personal or professional life so that you can grow and live the life of your dreams. Hello everyone! Welcome to the pod with Garrett Conan. Excited to be speaking with our guest, Grayson Blake here today.

Grayson (00:00:44) - Thank you for having me, man. This is sweet.

Garrett (00:00:46) - Absolutely looking forward to the conversation. Grayson is the owner of Collegiate Sports Connections, a sports firm that partners with athletes where his passion for mentorship, financial literacy and leadership allows him to help college athletes throughout their demanding schedule of being a D1 athlete. He created one of the first Nil deals in the nation with the University of Texas, then expanded to other Power Five schools.

Garrett (00:01:12) - He recently launched his podcast And Now It's Legal, a play off the acronym Nil. A little over six months ago. And for those unaware of what Nil stands for, it is name, image, likeness, which describes the means through which college athletes are allowed to receive financial compensation. Before Nil was created in 2021, it was illegal for college athletes to get paid, hence the name of this podcast. So we're going to explore how college athletes make money, dealmaking and podcasting since we're both very new to this. So Grayson, welcome to the pod, dude.

Grayson (00:01:46) - It feels good, man. Thanks for having me.

Garrett (00:01:47) - Of course. Yes. Looking forward to this. So,, you know, you also just launched a podcast. So how is that going, man?

Grayson (00:01:54) - I'm blessed., I'm absolutely thrilled,, with the amount of guests that have wanted to come on and the people that I've reached out to,, that are willing and open to share their story and eventually, you know, work out a deal with me.

Garrett (00:02:07) - That's exciting. Yeah. I feel the exact same way. I mean, just the,, the viewers have been super appreciative of the podcast, but as well as people just want to help out, they want to come on the podcast, they want to share their knowledge, and it's just exciting and a great way to connect with people and have wonderful conversations.

Grayson (00:02:24) - That's it man. That's, so I'm just going to dive into it. The reason why I started my podcast was because when I was doing deals in the beginning, you know, 2021 and on, I was winning on journalism. And that was my ignorance. No journalism, no journalism is coming. You know,, I had to create my own, and I was I was connecting with all these great athletes, all these cool people, all these entrepreneurs. I was like, man, let's talk about it. You know, I would have these great conversations on the phone. And I was like, man, I wish somebody could hear this.

Grayson (00:02:54) - So I.

Garrett (00:02:54) - Totally resonate. Yes. Podcasting is it's continuing to explode. It's a great way for people to hear the full story. And,, you do kind of a little long form, just like myself. So you really get a broad view and, and you really get to dive deep into someone's, you know, career and, and so forth. So we'll definitely dive deeper into podcasting and all that,, we're up to in that realm. But before we get into that,, you know, entrepreneurship, when was the first time when you were a child that you had that entrepreneurial itch?

Grayson (00:03:24) - Man. Okay. So,, I used to sell candy at school, and that really started in, like sixth, seventh grade., I would package, like, 15 gummy bears. And then I would put, like, a little bit of Kool-Aid and a little bit of water and shake it up like I wasn't. I was trying to create my own product, you know, not just resell it.

Grayson (00:03:46) - , and that that lasted for about a year and some change. And then I found out what no soliciting means at school, so that that,, that really taught me,, a thing or two about, you know, scaling, supply and demand. And, you know, I really I learned my first supply and demand when people were like, man, I really want this licorice or chocolate. But the thing that I learned, I bought a bunch of chocolates,, in seventh grade, and they all melted in my backpack. Talk about locked capital. No one's gonna buy melted chocolate. And so I had to eat that. And I learned my first time about, okay, yes, you got to give the customer once, but then you got to think about everything that happens before that. So that was that was pretty eye opening for me. And and,. Yeah. And eventually,, once I, once the people on campus were like, you can't do that., I moved into sneakers and reselling sneakers before,, stock X and goat and kicks a fi and all those things started up.

Garrett (00:04:50) - You know, and that's when kind of you really started to formulate a larger business and tell me a little bit more about that.

Grayson (00:04:56) - So. Eighth grade., I got sent to boarding school., San Marcos Academy is about south Austin. I,, I was in a dorm. I'm. I'm not at home anymore., I come home about three times a year., and that that really kind of popped my my bubble. I was born and raised in Fort Worth, kindergarten through seventh grade. Just growing up in a private school environment, you know, it can only kind of limit you., and I made all these great connections, and I've always really loved sneakers growing up. Like, who really doesn't like a fresh pair of sneakers? Come on, man. So I started,, I got on a Facebook group, and through that, I was seeing trends. Right. And then I was like, I need to create my own Facebook group. So I created my own Facebook group, got really connected and really kind of pick people's brains who had been in the wrestling business for a long time.

Grayson (00:05:53) - And this is before stock X go and all the other platforms that willingly and will give you the information, they'll show you market trends. We had none of that.

Garrett (00:06:05) - You had to create your own basically. Yeah. Find the research and you're doing the market research yourself.

Grayson (00:06:09) - Yeah. And you're making connections and everything. And on Facebook, you know, you don't know that I'm 14 years old telling selling you $400 pair of sneakers or 300 or whatever the number is. And so that that was able to kind of, you know, talk to these grown men with a grown man money and kind of really push myself into, push, push myself into that space.

Garrett (00:06:30) - That's interesting. Yeah. The brand speaks for you and that's all they see. That's the outward facing part of it. So you just had to kind of, you know, make sure the brand was was up to par and then you can handle the rest and make the money.

Grayson (00:06:42) - Yeah. I mean, the brand is always going to be up to par if you're selling Nike's.

Grayson (00:06:45) - It's pretty easy to sell Nike's. You know, they pretty much sell themselves. You just you are the guy, the middleman to go to. And I'm going to speak on a point. So before all this information was out, you used to be able to sell shoes up, up north and down south for different prices. There really wasn't a flat rate for everything like it is now. I could sell a pair of Jordans or a pair of whatever up north or in California for different prices. You know, there was price gouging, there was all different types of things because nobody, nobody could really tell you what they'd go for. They could only tell you what they go for in the local market., and if you're able to get outside your state, which I was super inclined to do. So,, I was able to really kind of just,, hustle, man. And I ended up doing that until my senior year in high school.

Garrett (00:07:36) - That's amazing. Yeah. So how did you find that insight?

Grayson (00:07:39) - I found my I found that insight just from,, learning, man.

Grayson (00:07:43) - , I did horrible deals, got scammed. I got absolutely, you know, had great, great sales, bad sales, you know, and all that was like a learning opportunity., and shout out to my boy Eric Park., he owns a shop in LA,, and he started band la Facebook group, and I was really able to I copied his moves. He didn't know that, but I was copying his moves because he would say, oh, I'm selling this. I'm buying this. What if you're going to he's he's doing that at like 100 per pair. I may be doing like 10 to 15, maybe more. And so, you know, obviously his margins are a bit higher. But if I'm following those moves I'm, I'm I'm on to the next. Yeah.

Garrett (00:08:25) - So what did you learn about yourself during that experience. Obviously you know you're in high school and you are most kids. Every other kid is probably just going to school, learning in the classroom, playing a little sports.

Garrett (00:08:35) - And meanwhile, you know, you have you're growing this business. You're learning on the side. You're really, you know, learning on the job, basically, and learning about the world and communicating with people that are much older than you and making these deals.

Grayson (00:08:47) - I was not very good at school., I was focused on other things, obviously. Right., I learned that you you either have it or you don't. You're people person or you're not. You know, me being like, I'm super like, extrovert., I'm willing to just go out and get it. And that's just how always been my whole life. I grew up in music and musicals and plays and singing, and I just kind of always had a knack for the microphone and just wanting to kind of go out there and get it. And so being that personality is equally as important as being the seller and, you know, working with customers that are like ten, ten times older than you, it's what it felt like at 15 and 16, you know, when you move into different margins.

Grayson (00:09:35) - . You're dealing with the different client base, people who buy $100 to $200 to $300 sneakers, completely different clientele. Base who's buying like $800 to $1000 sneakers. You're you're dealing with the big guys at that point. You know, you're dealing with millionaires, people who just got it so well.

Garrett (00:09:52) - You know, not being good at school is pretty, you know, debilitating when everyone's competing in school. But yet you're playing this other game and you're winning at it. I must have given you a ton of confidence that you kind of ride that high and and take that into the next steps, which,, yeah. Besides,, those kind of businesses. Anything else you want to talk about? About your childhood or growing up that kind of made you,, the Grayson you are today, being myself.

Grayson (00:10:16) - And it's burned me being myself, but it's also created what I have now. And I wouldn't change it for the world. But I'm not one of those guys that say I have no regrets. I definitely do.

Garrett (00:10:27) - . Is there one lesson you learned that you want to share with us?

Grayson (00:10:31) - I, I can tell you about a horrible sneaker deal., on Easter., it wasn't even a big deal. It was about three figures, not even a thousand bucks. And I got a gun pulled on me and,, on Easter. Right. And,, I'll never forget that experience. And my parents are like, shut it down. You're not doing this anymore. You're a freshman in high school. You're not doing this. And I said. I'll be more careful, but I got to keep going. You know, I got I got to keep going, man. It's good.

Garrett (00:11:03) - For you. You just get back up and learn some lessons and keep going. Shook, though, for sure. That will definitely shake up a ninth grader. Got it. So then you moved into what, starting? Or I guess we could talk about starting collegiate sports connections at what it is.

Grayson (00:11:20) - Yeah. So in high school or college?, I was I sold.

Grayson (00:11:25) - So my senior year, I sold all my inventory, walked out with a lump sum of cash, check my Instagram. I had, like, the highest,, revenue rate at the event. Sneaker con 2016. Appreciate you. And,, I was able to,,, chill. I chilled in college. I didn't do anything. I was just. Being a college student. I went to Ole Miss for two years and then in 2020, I transferred back. Work in health care. Still work in health care., but then,, 2020 came. Right? And then that's when the nil was breaking., but to kind of sum it up,, I had so when I transferred back from boarding school, I went to All Saints Episcopal. And we have. That was a football school and our classes like the most D-1 players in All Saints history. Right. And so I'm and I'm not really cool with these guys. They just know who I am. And they know that I'm only there for two years.

Grayson (00:12:24) - And I was able to kind of build those relationships and see them go off and really accomplish their dreams in the D1 level.

Garrett (00:12:32) - So when nil is starting to pick up steam, did you kind of know, like, oh wait, I can be an early adopter and there's there's something here or talk me through Grayson's head. You know, he chilled in college. He's starting to make these connections. He still got that entrepreneurial bug inside him that's probably itching to come out with with something. So. Yeah, take me inside Grayson's head there.

Grayson (00:12:50) - , so I really was able to hone in on my ability.. I'm a God fearing man. I believe I'm a vessel. I'm a pillar. And I was really able to come into my own when one of my buddies who tore his ACL,, allowed me to go on a trip to Destin, Florida. Right? And I didn't know what I was going into. All he said, everything's paid for. You just need a flight done. So I walk in and it's the it's a majority of the University of Texas football team.

Grayson (00:13:23) - Right. And I don't know anything about college football. I'm not even watching college sports at this point. And they're like, oh, what's up dude? Are you friends? And Max, what sport do you play? None. I didn't play sports. Barely in high school. Definitely didn't play in college., and so that was the entrance of me meeting all of these wonderful athletes in a completely different space. You know, they're just vacationing and they're on their spring break. They're relaxing, just like I am. So that was like my first introduction of like, oh, these guys are these guys are big time.

Garrett (00:13:59) - Yeah. Big time. But they're just like you, right?

Grayson (00:14:02) - They're just like me. Yeah.

Garrett (00:14:03) - In terms of just relaxing and just being normal and and enjoying the sun and the beach. Yeah.

Grayson (00:14:08) - Other than, like, their coaches. Like forcing them to hit like 8 a.m. workouts and making them take videos of them running up and down the beach, I'd video it, I went running, yeah.

Garrett (00:14:16) - And the dieting and the strength and all of that.

Grayson (00:14:18) - Yeah, these guys are yoked. So nil started first. I created the podcast because nobody was writing about me, but yet I was such an early, I was like creating one of the first Nil deals in the nation. And yet,, I'm not here for like. To bolster fame or be the front of it. I just wanted to be recognized and I wasn't being recognized. But at the same time, I was meeting all these incredible people and these young men early in their careers. And,,, that's why I started my podcast. So we'll start with nil., I'm forever in debt to the University of Texas for giving me a chance., yeah. Hooker. Man, I never thought I'd be saying that. If you told me that five years ago, I'd be like, no way., I wasn't even smart enough to get into their college, but,, I was able to secure a deal with,, Joshua Moore, a five star wide receiver out of the University of Texas.

Grayson (00:15:15) - Most offers in his class., and that's a guy that I met in Destin, Florida, on that spring break trip. And he really gave me a chance to market brand and create collaboration deals. And I was the first Nil deal at the University of Texas, and we collaborated with champion.

Garrett (00:15:33) - That's big time., and.

Grayson (00:15:35) - I couldn't imagine how I got there. I was just blessed to to be a vessel for those guys.

Garrett (00:15:41) - Most definitely. Well, I think that, yes, it would have been great for people to be writing about you, but I bet it would be great for people to be writing about Neal in general. You know, I feel that I don't know very much about the early days, but I feel people were still kind of maybe figuring things out. And so they were seeing where,, the industry would land, how colleges would be reacting. But it seems like it was a great opportunity for you to come in kind of on the, the ground floor and, and make some relationships, create some relationships and, and work with that and work with UT.

Grayson (00:16:11) - Yeah. Now it's like, what a blessing., even the conversation has changed., like initially the first two years. So so the nil is not even five years old at this point. Okay.

Garrett (00:16:24) - And 2021 is when it was started.

Grayson (00:16:27) - 2020 is when it got passed, 2021 it got enacted. But then you got to think about Covid and then people don't have extra marketing dollars to just throw around to college athletes. So very slow beginning to this. So people were able to really,, really put their dollars where they wanted to after they, after their businesses recovered. Right. So,, just even do that first deal right out of Covid. That was that was big time. And I didn't even realize what I was doing. But as I see how long is it's as as it's progressed and I'm, I'm happy with what I did.

Garrett (00:17:04) - Great. What was,, tell me about the deal making process there. What did you learn about what it takes to to create a partnership, a brand deal? Did Joshua have any stays on in terms of values or what sort of promotion he was willing to do or not willing to do, and what brands you would want to align with? Is that sort of the conversation you have, or talk us about that communication with the athlete?

Grayson (00:17:26) - I'm going to start off by saying that you need to have your head straight.

Grayson (00:17:31) - If you're going to enter the Nil space you need to have, if you want to be different, you gotta act different.. So. He had a say, right? He had his say in everything that happened. This is also the first time I was ever doing this. So,, it it goes with a lot of cold calling, a lot of nos, a lot of people saying no. And the conversation was, is I was educating people what the nil was. I'm like, name, image, likeness or college. I think it's paid and they get endorsed. You can endorse them and they're like, no, that's illegal. We're not going to get in trouble. And then I'm like, you know, you're kind of like educating like these big businesses on what's really happening in college sports. And then you're also trying to persuade them to create a deal. So you're like hump after hump after hump, and then you're finally there., also,, 2021, I was 22 years old.

Grayson (00:18:29) - So now you got to trust this 22 year old, right? So there's difficulties and it's not for everybody, you know.

Garrett (00:18:37) - So how do you feel that you were the right one to take this on and and what gave you that drive to say, you know, I will be the one that will execute this deal? I know I, I can get there.

Grayson (00:18:49) - Because of my upbringing. Because of all the nos. I mean, when I was selling candy in school, I. I didn't need to sell candy to make money. I wanted extra money on the side. And people would always make fun of me and tell me, that's stupid, bro, why is this man selling candy at school? Same thing. Sneakers, bro. Why are you selling sneakers? Before sneakers were popping like sneakers are always been popular. But they would. They can never understand why. Like a person that could be completely satisfied would go the extra mile to, like, put extra dollars in his pocket. And nil is not even about putting money in your pocket, but as a sneaker seller and candy seller.

Grayson (00:19:28) - Yeah, it's all about the margins. It's all about the money., so you you come up in that environment where people aren't really with you.

Garrett (00:19:38) - I think that the fear of rejection is one of the top fears that people have. And being able to overcome that in during your childhood, during your education and kind of have that mindset of I'm, I'm not fearful of rejection. I'll pick up the phone a million times and get no's all the time waiting for that one. Yes. So to those that are listening who you know have trouble picking up the phone to make a cold call, those who have trouble, you know, approaching people to strike up a conversation, whatever it is, because they have fear of rejection. What would you tell them given your experiences?

Grayson (00:20:10) - I would say. The biggest downfall of my generation is exactly what you're explaining. It's. Oh, well, it's just not my destiny. Oh, it's. Oh, they don't like me. They don't. I shouldn't be here, you know, it should just come so easy.

Grayson (00:20:25) - And that's so far from it. Take a chance on you. To take a risk is to taking a risk is not guaranteed. When taking a risk is taking a risk on you. And just because you've heard no ten times, I mean, everybody's seen that,, image where the guy's mining for diamonds and he turns around right when the diamonds are right in front of him. Come on, man, you think champion is a first person I reached out to? You know, I was reaching out to smaller brands. I was reaching out to local markets, and they all said no. So I just started calling and calling and calling Nike champion. Adidas., alo Lululemon I was, I was, but guess what? All of those seem unattainable at the time. Completely unobtainable. But I landed it with champion. Here I am. Let's rock. Let's go. Champion. You kidding me? I was I was dreaming so small with the companies that I start in the beginning. And look what God gave me.

Grayson (00:21:18) - Look what fell into my lap. Look where I look, where I'm doing now. Like I'm creating one of the first nil deals with a five star wide receiver. The most offers in this class. Nobody could have told me that two years ago. Nobody. Nobody. Not even my family. Not even people that supported and love me because they don't. They don't know what what they don't. They only see what the product is here now. And if you're expecting recognition right out of the gate, you're tripping. I'm sorry you are not in the right space, you know? And another tidbit. Another tidbit., shout out to Mike Williams. He went to Stanford and then transferred to SMU for a master's. He gave me a piece of advice that I've always stuck with me, man. He says, if you're really if you sell houses, your real estate agent, you sell stocks, you're a stockbroker. If you're a really great football player, you might go pro. It's so subjective. Drafting is so subjective and that's everybody's end goal.

Grayson (00:22:14) - Right? To go pro. No, no one's end goal is to be an accountant for a. A big firm, right? Like their dream is right there. And so if.

Garrett (00:22:24) - You're an athlete. Yeah. And you've been working your tail off your entire lifetime for that. Absolutely. I think a lot of people, when they get rejected, they have a story in their head, I'm not good enough or they they start to validate that rejection in their head. Maybe that's right. Maybe that's wrong. I love your opinion on that. And then how did you change the story in your head so you would overcome and say, you know, okay, maybe this small local brand said no because of XYZ, but you know, what the heck, maybe let's just go bigger and let's try that. And how do you go to bed? You know, with the self-talk in your head saying, I'm going to wake up. I'm going to keep pounding the pavement and get ten, 15, 100 more calls and keep working it.

Grayson (00:23:08) - , say the average person is lazy. And then when you think average person, think even lower and think lazier. So,, I went to bed plenty of nights, super upset about what had happened that day., I'll give you a reason why the local markets,, turned down most nil nil deals is because they're not capital friendly, right? Mom and pop shops aren't just, like, loaded. Right? It's a good point. Those good big corp's, they have money to spend and things of that nature. So,, that's the main reason why. And here's the thing., you can't be afraid of of a deal that's not going to give you equity. You can't be afraid of a deal that's not going to, like, give you the whole world. Like the world is your oyster. You know, you make you make of it. My my father has a great quote., my father's a very intelligent man. He says the world can be your oyster, or it can be a Vienna sausage on a toothpick.

Grayson (00:24:05) - And that's that's that's not. That's so true for me, man.

Garrett (00:24:09) - That's great. You know, you go to Destin, and that kind of was an inflection point, it seemed, in your life and, and this relatable time with these athletes. And then tell me more about you not only want to help them secure Nil deals, but your interest is in helping them through college and their demanding schedule and all of the additional skills that are that are needed to accomplish that. Can you elaborate on that and how that came to be?

Grayson (00:24:36) - Yeah. So it's really not all about nil as as it would it may seem. So whenever I partner with the University of Texas, you know, I fought for financial literacy entering the school. Right? You guys want to be the powerhouse of nil. Great. Now you're going to have a huge Nil program, and these guys are going to get all this money and not how to spend it and blow it. And you're going to get a bunch of crazy TMZ stories.

Grayson (00:25:00) - No. Find a way to put financial literacy into their curriculum. And, you know, I stood in front of a board and with a big whiteboard and I said,, you've got to do this. And then, you know, they, they, they puff up their jackets and they say, well, you would if you went to school here, you would know that not all the degrees have financial literacy or accounting. And I said. Okay, we'll make it a part of their curriculum. If you want to be a nil school, a forefront, a vessel, a pioneer in nil, you're gonna have to educate these kids. You're gonna get a bunch of horror stories. And they all were like, oh, yeah, okay. And so now financial literacy is part of a curriculum that they take at Texas.

Garrett (00:25:50) - So that's amazing and leading the way. So good for them and good for you for educating them on how important that is to to the brand.

Grayson (00:25:58) - Yeah. And other schools have adopted this same, you know, curriculum.

Grayson (00:26:03) - , I'm sorry you don't get to take your,, bowling class this year or your PE class or your. I call them basket weaving courses, which don't actually help you in your life. Yeah, a bunch of fillers.

Garrett (00:26:17) - Underwater basket weaving, you know?

Grayson (00:26:19) - Come on, man, it's so frustrating. You know these these these are getting more and more expensive. And I'll make another point here. I don't mean to really get you off your your your thing, man. But here is the value of a degree. Right. It's going down. It's not going up. You have to like double major and get masters to now be even competitive in your job market. And so anybody who's against the nil,. You're insane., let's go talk about these. This athlete. Has five companies supporting him during his college career. He gets injured, he realizes it's not for him, bam! They go hang up the cleats and they go work for the companies that endorsed him for 4 to 5 years.

Grayson (00:27:00) - You tell me what's bad about that. I don't find nothing bad about that.

Garrett (00:27:04) - So what's and what's been the reception to the education programs, the the additional skills and and just the athletes to you kind of saying, hey, let's partner up and let's make a deal happen and, and so forth. Let's work together.

Speaker 3 (00:27:19) - It's,, it's it's still very tricky.

Grayson (00:27:21) - You know, there's more and more firms being created. There's a lot of,, agents, you know, in the space that, you know, do or do not have the best interests at hand. So you're having to weed that out. But really, it's all about the connections that you're making. And it's do you have a moral compass? Do you have ethics? And are you here for the right reason? And, you know. I believe in putting in trust funds and bonds for these students. These students, they're liberal students, guys. And that payout over 5 to 10 years. All that guaranteed money is out the door.

Grayson (00:27:55) - And I understand that you can structure a deal that gives you X guaranteed money and then pays out the next for 5 to 6 years. Mom and dad are still happy. You get to take you still get to take care of family. But at the end of the day, when you're when the when the game's over and you don't get drafted, you still got money coming in. Who's upset about that? They're upset about that for maybe while they're playing like, man, I could have gotten 20,000. He only gave me 8000 guaranteed. But, you know, I'm thinking ahead. I'm not thinking right now. I can't, you know, I'm thinking about the greater interest of these athletes for sure, man.

Garrett (00:28:35) - And that's important. And that's that's reputation too, because that will come around most definitely once those athletes realize the importance of the deal structure.

Grayson (00:28:44) - Yeah. I mean, I've seen horrible deals been created that athletes have signed. And, I've also seen schools. So how schools pay their players is through collectives, which is what I like to call a sexy non-for-profit.

Grayson (00:28:59) - Right. Because the alumni, the alumni back it and pay the athletes through this. It's it's nothing to do with the school. It's completely separate. It's a, it's a completely different LLC. Right. And, in the beginning of the nil and even still now it's still the beginning, man. There's crazy collective deals that like lock in players and they bind them to the school and they don't even really get to. Yeah, they don't even really get to get deals from the outside in. Like it only deals are only able to happen within the. Realm of the school. Now let's say sprite wants to. Get you or a GameStop or I don't know, they can deny that deal because you signed a collective agreement. And that's not at the best interest of the athlete.

Garrett (00:29:58) - Yeah, it's definitely early innings of nil and there's a lot to come of it. And I'll definitely have some more questions later. But talk to us about the most favorite deal that you put together, whether it's because of the creativity, the sponsors, the structure.

Grayson (00:30:12) - I would say the first deal because it was such like an adrenaline rush once I landed it. But I love partnering with the oh, actually, I could talk about. So we have a deal coming up with nerds candy. Oh, very cool with the UCLA swim team that I'm super stoked about. That contract's coming, but it's,, it's going to be exciting, you know, working with different companies. Like, I'm a big candy guy, so I don't always get to work with companies that I'm, like, constantly consuming their products and.

Garrett (00:30:42) - Right, exactly. Their candy. Yeah. Their services, product services, whatever it is. Yeah, that's super neat. So I went to Indiana University and there are lots of students there that enter the sports industry. And it's it's pretty cutthroat. And sports.

Grayson (00:30:57) - Management.

Garrett (00:30:58) - Sports management, I mean, all different types of of ways to get into sports, whether the media side, the agent side, back of house. And so would you suggest people enter Nil space? How would they get in or do you think, you know, going a more traditional route, given it's already paved, would be,, more appropriate for their, their career? And or I should say, who do you think would be the best fit for for entering the Nil space?

Grayson (00:31:26) - Me.

Grayson (00:31:27) - But,, I would say there's no there's no path right now., when this industry is ten years old, there'll be a path, there'll be regulations, there'll be,, in ten years,, every skilled position in football and every starting five position in basketball. Those are moneymaking sports, right? And baseball and soccer. But baseball, soccer internationally, you got 16, 14, 13 year olds getting drafted. So that's out the door. I'm talking basketball and football. That's like America's..

Garrett (00:32:00) - Yeah. So the money is right.

Grayson (00:32:02) - Yes., everybody will have like, if you sign, if you sign to Indiana, quarterback, wide receiver, running back, linebacker, cornerback, you're going to have X amount of dollars. You'll have these X amount of companies and everything like that. But right now it's like get it how you live., which is technically unfair. I would say unfair for the athletes., because if you were to look at their schedules, when do you have time to be your own agent? You don't.

Grayson (00:32:30) - And then you can't. An agent can't come from the school, because then that's breaking the law and has to come from outside the school. So you're dealing with. You know, it's all about referral, and it's about making sure you're surrounding yourself with the right people. I've seen a lot of people get burned, and it's tragic.

Garrett (00:32:50) - Yeah. And before we move on and get to podcasting, one of the question is or and statement is, I've heard that nil is a lot about money. And that's what a lot of people talk about. However there's a very philanthropic side to nil. Absolutely. And these collectives are also doing lots of promotion in the community. They're helping out through athletes, participating in the community, giving back, donating their time and volunteering. Can you talk a little bit more about the philanthropic side of of Nil and those collaborations?

Grayson (00:33:23) - Yeah, absolutely. So what I can say is from the beginning of that is I take 0% right now from any deal. I don't take a percent from the athlete.

Grayson (00:33:31) - It's all about building that price. It's all about building your rapport, building that resume. So I don't take anything right now. It's all I'm here for the long run. I'm not here to, like, make a quick buck. So anybody watching, I'm not here for a quick buck. But yes, there is a philanthropic side. Absolutely. I just did a podcast with Kyron Hutson who is out of USC. He's a wide receiver. Caught a couple touchdowns from Caleb Williams, the Heisman winner., and they,, what is it? A month ago, they served the homeless down at Skid Row. And Skid Row in California is pretty. That's where homeless people gather. And it's it's very,, it's a hit of reality. If you don't don't know what it is like, Google it. It's very, very real., so yeah, you can sign a collective agreement and you have to do X amount of service hours. They can require that. And I think that's a great that's a great deal.

Grayson (00:34:31) - And even before Nil that was happening schools required service hours from their athletes. But now you know you can really you can bump up the hours. You can, you know, really.

Garrett (00:34:43) - Incentivize that that. Yeah. Exactly. So, podcasting so how long you been in the game. What's the what's the kind of the viewership or the, the following. Obviously you're big on Instagram. And so, you know, we're growing and growing. Everything is relative. And so yeah talk a little bit about the the podcasting and how that's going for you.

Grayson (00:35:04) - , it's going great man. I'm learning so much. My schedule is packed like crazy., I'm still doing nil and then I'm doing this podcasting. But let me tell you this, none of this happens without my team. Anthony. Nick. Zach, you know who you are?, they helped me out with edits. They help me out with ideas. They helped me, you know, really, they kind of, like, are my big support for us.

Grayson (00:35:28) - And my family is, too. But those are the guys that are my day to day, and,, I, I don't know where the heck I would be without them. I'm making I'm reaching out. I'm making all the connects and doing what I do, but I can't pull together a podcast that travels or or put on such a premium production without these guys, man., create a great team. And that's real life. That's business. Surround yourself with great people who support you, endorse you, and want to see the best for.

Garrett (00:35:57) - You, challenge you, elevate you all the above.

Grayson (00:36:01) - And I had a call two days ago and he was critiquing every single bit of the pot. Dude, quit saying,, quit. Hey, man, don't don't say this. Don't interrupt people, you know,, you need you need to ask better questions. And I'm like, I need that, I need that. I'm not going to be like, I'm upset. You got, you know, I'm I'm not that guy.

Grayson (00:36:22) - I'm very much like you. Tell me I'm going to fix it.

Garrett (00:36:25) - Totally resonates with me. I send this podcast to people and say, hey, you know, great, if you could listen. But even better if you gave me some critical feedback so I can keep growing and making this better for the audience and for the guests because they want to answer great questions. They want a great experience. They want to have their voice heard, and they want to promote themselves and,, keep it, keep the flow of conversation. Great. So you were just in California at USC?

Grayson (00:36:49) - Yes, I was in California, and I was I was in California for I was supposed to be only there for three days. Ended up being there for seven. I was only supposed to shoot two podcasts. Ended up shooting. Shooting seven.

Garrett (00:37:01) - That's amazing. Dude. What happened?

Grayson (00:37:03) - I just I started meeting people.,, these these episodes aren't out yet, but I was able to get,, the Kyron Hudson.

Grayson (00:37:13) - ., Williams. He's the fourth fastest USC track athlete of all time., I was able to meet the original,, owner, one of the co-owners of Supreme. He had an office in the original New York,., store in the basement., I was I got Eric Pak. He's owner of band Le, which I talked about in the beginning., sneaker and sales. He totally tells his story. It's incredible., Alan Walsh, she's a UCLA swimmer. She came from Ohio State and finished up at UCLA., I just did,, DeShawn Gotti,, he's,, went to UNT for three years, transferred to Ole Miss., he was the number one returning cornerback in the SEC. And. Yeah. There is so much lined up that. I sometimes look at myself, I'm like, what's happening? You know.

Garrett (00:38:12) - That's incredible to see. And you're, you know, you're you're ahead of me. So I hope that I can continue this and be in that position.

Garrett (00:38:18) - And just about it seemed that just about putting yourself out there and I am a true believer of increase your surface area for luck. And this is a way to do that by putting out content, by chatting with people, traveling, being a friendly face and just giving as well and sharing your story and and people want to help you is what it seems like.

Grayson (00:38:40) - Yeah. You said, look,, I work too hard for luck, man.

Garrett (00:38:45) - You increase your surface area for luck. Yeah. Yes, yes. I'm not saying that was lucky for sure, but in order you put in hard work to increase that surface area, and then luck happens because you put in the work to get those two podcasts. Yeah. But it you know, you had five additional ones that came about through making the investment to go out there and to make those interviews that you put in the work for. But you got five more, and they happen to be some incredible guests, right?

Grayson (00:39:11) - They just happen to be incredible guests.

Grayson (00:39:13) - I just feel like I put myself in a position where even if I'm there to, like, chill, I'm here to like, vacation and like my time is done. I'm always like going out, shaking hands and I'm like, yo, what's up? You know, this is me and this is what I do. And people gravitate towards that and. Owning a podcast. It's made me a better listener. Like overall as a human being, like, I listen to people more now than I ever did because obviously I like to get in my mouth.

Garrett (00:39:44) - Yes you have. You have great energy and great vocals for sure. You definitely,, comfortable around the mic, which is great. Yeah. What's been one or a couple, you know, insights or lessons you've learned through your conversations that surprised you with these guests that you've spoken with?

Grayson (00:40:04) - , no matter how big or small somebody is, they have a story that can resonate with you and that it's not. Anything. Like what it seems like.

Grayson (00:40:17) - I've heard some crazy, tragic stories about the highs and lows, and I deal with that all the time. The highs and lows and,, things happening to me that I wish didn't,, you know, whether it's family, whether it's, you know, I've heard stories of addiction and people overcoming that and the fact that people are willing to share that with me, people that like, share their their walk with Christ or they feel like, you know, they're spiritual, like the fact they want to share that with me, man, who am I for? For them, for my platform to really be a safe space for them that they feel like I can talk about this with this guy, even though I don't know him, tit for tat, you know, they're sharing their stories with me and welcoming me and giving me their time. I don't deserve that, man, and I'm just thankful that they do give me that time. Right.

Garrett (00:41:11) - So and props to you for creating that space for them to be vulnerable and share their story and and with the audience.

Garrett (00:41:18) - And and you provide that,, that listening ear to, to listen to them and have that platform for them to share.

Grayson (00:41:25) - Absolutely, man. It's what it's all about. What it's all about., conversation is great, but if you can put it on a, if you can record it and calculate it.

Garrett (00:41:35) - Bam and share wonderful stories and insights and hopefully helping other people with,, whether it's inspiration, which I'm definitely trying to do, inspire people a little bit, and then as well as tangible takeaways because people want to keep improving. I believe, you know, people want to progress and that keeps them hopeful in life. And so having these these small little tangible takeaways, tools, tips and tactics to help them grow others personally and professionally is is a way to give back. And and hopefully people will enjoy that.

Grayson (00:42:07) - Yeah, absolutely. It's what it's what it's all about, man. It's about the people. It's not about yourself. The moment it becomes about you probably going to go downhill and I can kind of be behind these people and kind of just like put them on a pedestal.

Grayson (00:42:21) - And then I'm just in the background like, let's go, you know, and that's that's way more fulfilling than, you know, being a face of something.

Garrett (00:42:32) - Where do you see,, now it's legal in three years.

Grayson (00:42:36) - I believe now it's legal is,, nil will have its own network., whether it's my network or I partner with a network, I definitely feel like it's going that way. And I always going to take a huge percent of market share in college sports., it's $1 billion. The AI industry. So with that type of money being backed, and the difference with college sports is, is that you. Have people that graduated from there have put their money there and their time. Professional sports I don't graduate from Cowboys University, graduate from Eagles University. It's just like a fandom. But when you have curriculum and then you have people who are investing and then you have degrees that are just crazy expensive, you already are attracting people who are who feel almost obligated to put their time and their eyes on something that revolves around that.

Grayson (00:43:32) - So and usually people who come from universities are usually smart individuals. And what do smart individuals do? They create businesses. What do businesses do? They create money. What is money? Do bam and I'll.

Garrett (00:43:43) - And to tack onto that I think that was that was wonderful is that's also the next generation. And to to help inspire and lead the next generation, provide them with resources, provide them with with some fun, with a a great winning program., especially when you have some some tie to it is is a great experience overall.

Grayson (00:44:00) - Absolutely. Yeah. Just. It's not about me, it's about them. And that's that's I think that's why I'm been so successful in my endeavors.

Garrett (00:44:12) - For someone starting or or thinking about starting a podcast, what have you learned? Whether it's about the editing process, whether it's about the cold outreach, whether it's about interviewing, we can definitely expand upon this. But I think all three of those you can add some definitely some lessons learned and insights.

Grayson (00:44:31) - What advice would I give somebody who wants to start a podcast?

Garrett (00:44:34) - Yes, let's start with that.

Grayson (00:44:35) - Your idea is small and it'll become bigger than what you can imagine it will be. So. If you think small, that's okay. Just. Go. Just do it, you know? All the what ifs. What if I did this? Well, you don't know if you don't do it. So anybody who wants to start doing anything, whether it's a podcast or business or singing or acting or dancing or anything, just do it. It's just a Nike ad.,, you gotta put that first step forward and take that risk. And failure is like the best thing that can happen to you, because then you either gotta learn from it or you're going to just go, go and cry in your bed. And I think that's why I've been so adamant about the success.. I. Yeah, I've taken big L's, man. Huge L's that nobody wants to talk about. Not not a yeah man. Huge L's and like keep going man.

Garrett (00:45:46) - And speaking to that, it sounds like maybe you had some vision for nil.

Garrett (00:45:53) - So talk about what that initial vision was. And like yeah I'm going to start this podcast and get these athletes on or whatever. And then how it's evolved.

Grayson (00:46:01) - So when I started in IO, I said, I'm only going to work with college athletes. Now I'm working with the pros and I was like, I'll never work with a pro, you know, I'm only going to work with college athlete. That's going to be my niche. And then pro firms started reaching out. Pro players started reaching out. People, people that I know made it to the next level. And I'm like, well, that's I was completely wrong and I'm happy that I was wrong. It's okay to be wrong. Being wrong is awesome because that means you're full of knowledge now. You're full of experience.

Garrett (00:46:32) - Especially if you can learn from it and adapt and and admit that you were wrong and say, this is a better path to go. We're gonna drop the ego and go with that path.

Grayson (00:46:41) - Yeah, dude. Nil podcast, I said, I'm only going to do college athletes.

Grayson (00:46:44) - Well, not true, I did,, Andy House, who is owner of Ford GT and Dodge Vipers and Bugattis. Wow. And that was my fourth episode..

Garrett (00:46:55) - Well, it evolved quickly.

Grayson (00:46:56) - Yeah. Eric Pak, he's an owner and entrepreneur now. It's college athletes, entrepreneurs and people who are entering the space and people who have a good story. And these are people that I know, people that have met. So. You know it's bigger than what you can imagine. Just take. Take the damn step forward. That's so important. Because if you don't do it, then you don't know what's going to happen, man.

Garrett (00:47:19) - I think that's tremendous advice.

Grayson (00:47:21) - I mean, come on, like the way you started yours. I'm sure like that first episode, you're like, I'm. I'm a pass out. I remember my first.

Garrett (00:47:28) - Episode was definitely nervous and yeah, the questions were back to back to back. And then you obviously get a little bit more loose and it flows. Even with a friend that I was interviewing.

Grayson (00:47:38) - Yeah, I think interviewing friends are harder than interviewing like somebody you don't know.

Garrett (00:47:43) - That's a good point. Yeah. And I also thought it was an interview, which now I'm more thinking of. It's just a conversation and I'm the one that's asking most of the questions. Yeah. So I think that that frame of mind has helped me,, make it the flow better and make the conversation better and keep it going. Yep. Yes. So then being young and asking some kind of, you know, more prestigious athletes that are pretty famous potentially, or business owners talk to me about the cold outreach and do you have a process for that? Do you talk to me about how you reach them?

Grayson (00:48:20) - So how if how is my outreach right? I really don't have a recipe, right? I am I'm probably going to like some photos on Instagram, and I'm going to do that continually for like 2 or 3 weeks straight. Right. And they they're on their phones just like you and I. And they see that.

Grayson (00:48:38) - And then you just start I start dropping comments. Hey. And I0I just hit your DM, but I'm not doing every day every other every 4 to 5 days. And you're just adamant, adamant out of me. And guess what? If I were to show you my DMs right now, like there's so many times where I get left on scene, congratulations. Move on. And I've had people come back 4 or 5 months from now. Oh, hey man, just now seeing this. Okay, that's not true, but I'm glad. I'm glad you're responding., there's no recipe. You need to be yourself if you're feeling like. Oh, I'm outside of my skin. Uncomfortable situations. Are is how you grow. Pressure makes diamonds. Pressure is the end all be all if you're going to. If when pressure comes your way.

Garrett (00:49:29) - Can you beat that again. Because I am 100% on board with those statements.

Grayson (00:49:35) - Yeah, pressure makes diamonds and I uncomfortable environments. Uncomfortable environments is going to create you.

Grayson (00:49:43) - It's going to create your reality. If you're comfortable every single time you talk to somebody, hey, would you sign me up? Because I can I can tell you I can tell you a story right now.

Garrett (00:49:54) - I sorry, but because you don't have to problem solve when it's the same environment, you're just doing the same routine, the same repetition. But when you're in a different environment, you need to adapt. In order to adapt, you need to problem solve. You need to think critically. You need to think differently. The talk in your head needs to change. And I'm all aboard. This is Dallas is the sixth city that I've lived in for longer than three months. And each city I grow, I learn most of the cities I don't really know many people, and it's really helped me become myself and who I am and grow, I think, a little bit faster.

Grayson (00:50:31) - Yeah, absolutely. It's going to speed up that, that process for sure. You know, failures is. Is going to, like, change your literal DNA, almost like you're like, okay, well, I learned that I'm not going to do that again.

Grayson (00:50:46) - Or you can say, I'm not going to change my approach. I'm going to attack it the same, different way, but to a different person or different, you know, if you feel like you got some game just because you don't work the first time in the second time or the third time, doesn't mean it doesn't work like just because I post on a Monday and it flopped for three weeks straight that fourth Monday. Oh, I know I have 10,000 views or half a million. Like, come on man, there's no. Yeah, definitely. I can remember the first time. And not the first time I was on, I was on the phone with,, klutch sports. And if you know, that's like LeBron James, Rich Paul, I was on the phone with one of their agents, and I, I had a I had a little panic attack while talking to them. Like I felt my throat closing up, like I couldn't speak. I was like like I couldn't even speak. They were asking me questions and they were like, hello, hello.

Grayson (00:51:40) - And I was like on mute, trying not to literally die. And I just was like, I have to call you back. I'm sorry, you know? And. But like because I got to that moment, I was so ready for that moment. But like, my body was literally not okay. I was also doing 16 hours in college while running my business at the time, and that's when that happened. I had finals coming up and I was on a phone with like, Rich Paul's agent.

Garrett (00:52:06) - Do you think you psyched yourself out for the call? And you kind of just put it on a pedestal? What do you think happened during that instance?

Grayson (00:52:13) - No, man. I was ready for the phone call. Like that had never really happened to me, but. I think I realized who I was talking to and like the potential of the phone call and they call me, they call me back. And obviously I didn't tell them I had a panic attack, but like the moment was so big and I just said, like, everybody knows what panic attack is like.

Grayson (00:52:38) - It feels like your lungs are like not working properly. And it was just like my chest was tightening, man., and and I reflect on those moments and I'm like, wow. Like, now I feel comfortable talking to anybody and. You know, I got a deal to go through.

Garrett (00:53:00) - Because you survived.

Grayson (00:53:02) - I didn't feel like I was gonna, but yeah, I survived.

Garrett (00:53:05) - Right. And when you come out the other side of an experience like that, you realize, wait a minute, I survived. I'm okay. I'll hopefully learn a few things or think about some things. But at the end of the day, yeah, you get through that. You can see you can get through a lot of different things.

Grayson (00:53:20) - Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah I was, I was I was like pretty much almost a finals week. I was. And I was also like, cooking up some crazy deals. And then, you know, they're like, oh, let's get on a call in 30. I was like, oh yeah, I'm ready.

Grayson (00:53:38) - Cool. Like I know what I'm doing. Like I got it. And it just happens, man. Like the moment can be bigger than you. Rise to it. Knock it out.

Garrett (00:53:47) - That's great. And speaking of cold outreach, I think it's it's and in different approaches for different situations. So how I kind of I'm here sitting with you today. I was at the apartment building of a friend locally in Dallas, and I was looking at the art, and this piece of art was it looked really nice. So I ended up looking at the piece of art and I saw this name, Rock Casady.

Grayson (00:54:10) - No way.

Garrett (00:54:12) - Yes. So obviously I looked up. Okay, who is this? Who is this artist? And so Rock Zadeh is a former SMU football player who is now a local artist and and doing well for himself. And so I looked him up and I saw a short form piece of content that he was on a podcast. So I wanted to learn some more about raw. And,, the interviewer and the podcast was none other than Grayson Blake right here.

Grayson (00:54:41) - That was my first episode, man.

Garrett (00:54:43) - That was your first episode. So then I obviously looked up Grayson and saw on LinkedIn that he was connected to a friend of mine, Justin, who I just recently interviewed, and I said, well, one of the best ways to get to a yes is to have a warm introduction. So after I, I spoke with Justin, said, hey, do you know this guy named Grayson? And now we're sitting here. He reached out and made the connection. And so yeah, so it's been,, kind of full circle, but like you said, it's it's very individual. You got to get creative and. Yeah, that's that's how we're here.

Grayson (00:55:16) - Yeah. I'm absolutely blown away with that story, bro. I didn't even know that. That's insane. Dude. Shout out Rocket Man. One of the most talented young men., duties of mind., he has it going on., go check out the podcast. He was like, he took a chance on me, you know, for that first episode.

Grayson (00:55:37) - And that guy is bigger than life, man. And, you know, when you have people like that believe in you, you're like, all right, I can do this. You know,, actually going to,, he has an open painting experience,, this weekend. I'll shoot you the details. You definitely need to go to that. You can meet RA.

Garrett (00:55:55) - It was definitely be going to that.

Grayson (00:55:56) - Yeah. Have you met him before?

Garrett (00:55:57) - I have not, no, bro. Not yet.

Grayson (00:56:00) - Dude is so cool., yeah.. Yeah, man., shout out to SMU football. I did. I did a nill for them. I still do not as much now., but but in 23,, I'm sure I'll come back into the play whenever they. Because they're going to the ACC now. It's going to be a lot more money flying around, a lot more,, more exposure since they're moving conferences.

Garrett (00:56:23) - But that'll be great for them, great for Dallas. And so with Raw being your first guest, how did you get him on? Did you know him previously or was it a cold outreach or how'd that go? And then we'll we'll get to another topic here.

Grayson (00:56:33) - How do I know RA man.

Garrett (00:56:36) - , or how did he get on the podcast being the first episode?

Grayson (00:56:40) - , man, I don't even know, man., I. I think I just like dmed him.

Garrett (00:56:48) - That's that's great. That's awesome.

Grayson (00:56:50) - But I think he knows Mike Williams and he knows Mike Williams is Stanford SMU alum.

Garrett (00:56:58) - I just did a bunch of mutual connections, maybe on Instagram, mutual connections.

Grayson (00:57:03) - And that's what kind of like, sealed the deal., and he just kind of, like, took a chance on me, man., man. Shout out, Rock azadi, bro. You were one of the coolest people I know, bro.

Garrett (00:57:15) - Shout out RA! Yeah, dude.

Grayson (00:57:16) - He's got it.

Garrett (00:57:17) - That's awesome. All right, we're going to jump to some random and creative questions. What's something you have eliminated from your life that's made the biggest impact?

Grayson (00:57:27) - Oh, I'm stealing that question on my next podcast. I've limited. Smoking and drinking. Yeah, I took that out of my life, and it's,, made me more focused in anything.

Grayson (00:57:42) - It really puts my head on straight. So,, shout out to that.

Garrett (00:57:47) - Man, you know. Yeah. I'm going to kind of double click into that. So. The social culture now and and it's been for a while, you know, revolves around drinking and smoking a lot of the time. So how do you still who do you surround yourself with, and how do you still surround yourself with those people that do partake in those activities, even when you don't want to be strong?

Grayson (00:58:13) - You did it for a reason, didn't you? I didn't do it for that person smoking weed. I didn't do it for that person drinking a cocktail. I did it for myself and I'm way better because of it now. Does that make me a better person? No, it doesn't make me a better person, but I am a better person because of it. I've left a lot of people behind in the last four years, not because I wanted to, but because I had to. And that's the only way you're going to elevate yourself.

Grayson (00:58:40) - You know? You're going to make new friends, you're going to make new connections. And anybody who is there to get mad at you for stopping something like drinking or smoking. And congratulations. You just expedited that horrible process of letting someone go. What's your.

Garrett (00:59:01) - X factor?

Grayson (00:59:03) - You break that down for me, man?

Garrett (00:59:04) - What's your differentiator? You know you're competing for your edge.

Grayson (00:59:08) - It's a question I ask., my edge is I'm a man of God. I'm a vessel. It's bigger than I am. And I use my personality. And I use my want and my moral, ethical compass. And I let it take over. It's not for everybody. If I'm for everybody. Count me out. Count me out of that. I do not want to be a part of that. If I'm for everybody on the table. No, man. I'm here for people. I'm going to find my place. I'm going to find that niche. People are going to love me for me. Done in a story.

Grayson (00:59:43) - Period. So. Boo and don't try to conform to somebody else. You try to be. Try to be something for somebody else, man. You're going to self-destruct. I've seen people do it. I've seen people do it. They try to be something they're not. And then they. And then they can't keep it up. And so then. Then they just. Yeah.

Garrett (01:00:04) - Most definitely. And I can I can feel the, the authentic energy from here. I mean from the get go when I met you and our conversation. So,, staying true to yourself, people can feel that they feel the energy and that's that's spot on. Yeah, they.

Grayson (01:00:19) - Know what's real and they know what's not. And if they don't, you can't keep up an act for two weeks a month. You can't I can't I can't fake jack shit,, can I, Chris, I don't know,, I'm not gonna fake it, man, because I've. I've done that before. I've. When I was a young kid, I tried to, like, fake it, and then I couldn't keep it up.

Grayson (01:00:41) - And I just became someone who I didn't even want to be. I'm like, God bless. I'm in the wrong spot..

Garrett (01:00:47) - Oh. Also in childhood that that can definitely happen to a lot of people. So I.

Grayson (01:00:51) - Was so. Believe it or not man I, I barely had any friends in like middle school and pretty much in high school until like junior senior year when I transferred, like I really struggled to make friends, man. I really struggled. I didn't have anybody and. You know. That made me who I am now because I just stayed true. And then I tried to, like, alter myself and nobody liked that. And I just stayed true to me. So, you know. It's not. Not always what you like. The product you see now in me is nowhere near what I was six years ago. Long ago. And that man.

Garrett (01:01:36) - So that resonates with me on the entire thing. Yeah. Growing up, it was about, you know, being with the family versus hanging out with many friends and didn't have too many friends.

Grayson (01:01:45) - I was in boarding school, so I didn't have my family. I was alone, bro. Oh, man. Yeah.

Garrett (01:01:49) - I look at you now.

Grayson (01:01:52) - , I still keep my circle small, man. I I'm but I'm so happy to meet the people that I do. And I feel like every person that I meet is based on intentions, not like. Oh, it's just the way it's supposed to be. No, because if it was the way it's supposed to be, I would just be twiddling my thumbs. Chilling. No effort.

Garrett (01:02:14) - Oh, that's. You're definitely on the right path. And and it's only up from here.

Grayson (01:02:19) - Hey, man, I appreciate that. Yeah. That's good. It feels good to be here.

Garrett (01:02:22) - For the audience looking to boost their well-being. What's your go to life hack or daily ritual that keeps you on top of your game?

Grayson (01:02:30) - Bam, I got you.

Garrett (01:02:31) - Let's hear it.

Grayson (01:02:32) - So I meditate and I pray., that seems super, maybe cliche and but like that 15, like, take 15 minutes and just in your day, usually in the morning for me, you find your time.

Grayson (01:02:48) - I'm not you., in the morning I take that 15 minutes and I'm quiet and I turn on like, chill music. Not not like really no lyrics at all. And I'm like. I'm literally, like, manifesting and thinking about what I want to do. And I'm also. Thanking God and praising God for all that is to come and has come., you don't have to be religious to do this. I promise the amount of mental peace you will have through meditating and basically manifesting and thinking about it all the time, I swear, I swear to you, it'll happen. It's it sounds weird, but think a little bit outside the box and it will. It will literally happen. It will literally happen., that's been the biggest. And I only started doing that about three and a half, four months ago, man.

Garrett (01:03:40) - And you've already seen results.

Grayson (01:03:43) - Yeah, I've always been a big manifester like manifesting my my future and kind of like trying to push it into fruition, but like, I've intentionally done it.

Grayson (01:03:52) - And I also, like always in the forefront of my mind, I'm always like thinking about what I want to happen, what I want to happen. I need it to happen. I won't go away. I'm not going away. This thought not going away, dude, I and and. February 29th, I'm doing an interview with Fred VanVleet agent, and I've been thinking about that for months, and I connected with him last month. Push push push push. Thinking about it, thinking about it, thinking about it. Bam. He hits me today and confirmed. He hit me today and confirmed about it. You know, it's it's it's it's possible. But it's not for everybody. It's not for everybody. Lots of risk involved. And just because you think about it doesn't mean it's going to happen. So move on. When the shit doesn't happen.

Garrett (01:04:39) - We could have a whole nother podcast on this. Yeah, I, I'm a big into manifestation. Yeah.

Grayson (01:04:45) - It's literally like a cheat code.

Garrett (01:04:47) - It's wonderful.

Grayson (01:04:48) - It's it is literally Chico you I mean, I know a lot of people are not into the religious space and they get kind of pushed away from that because of people who had heard them, who are maybe who have been religious. But I can tell you, you can tap into some different things, man. And I'm, I'm a big believer in that., you don't need a pastor to tell you this. I'm telling you right now.

Garrett (01:05:11) - Yeah. And then whether it's praying, whether it's manifesting, whether it's positive affirmations, incantations, or visualization. Picture yourself in five years where you at, think of the five senses. Think about the details. Because those details that allows your mind to think through it. And the thing about your mind is your mind doesn't know the difference between perception and reality, so you just speak it into existence because it does not know the difference.

Grayson (01:05:38) - Yeah, it doesn't know the difference. And like I challenge anybody who's watching this podcast sit alone quietly with like soft music.

Grayson (01:05:47) - For 15 minutes. For two weeks straight, and some days you'll feel like the 15 minutes is flying by, and sometimes a 15 minutes will feel like it's like forever. I look up, I'm like, oh gosh, I have 40 minutes. You know, I didn't I don't need any more than that. But you just keep going, do 15 minutes., I meditative state has like moved to like 30, 45 minutes.

Garrett (01:06:08) - Now, have you heard of a transcendental meditation?

Speaker 4 (01:06:12) - No.

Grayson (01:06:13) - Maybe I felt it, but I don't know.

Garrett (01:06:16) - So this is what I do, transcendental meditation. And it has changed my life. And I started actually in January of 2020. I did it for a few months. Covid hit kind of got me out of my rhythm, and then I picked it up again and I had friends telling me, okay, well, you have changed something. Something's going on with you in a positive way, your energy. And since then I've maintained a consistent practice. But it's a what I love about it is it's so easy, the whole count your breath, think about your breath, you know, let the thoughts pass like clouds.

Garrett (01:06:52) - That was very challenging for me. So transcendental meditation is just a mantra based meditation where you say this mantra and then you transcend because your mind eventually takes the words with it, and then your body rests. And it's been scientifically proven to be some of the deepest rest, as well as it gives you tons of energy due to how deep of rest you get, and it increases your creativity. I'm talking the Beatles, Ray Dalio, the largest hedge who created largest hedge fund in the world. Oprah Winfrey swears by Jerry Seinfeld, Ellen DeGeneres. I mean, the list goes on and on from these celebrities who swear by it. Yeah. And so if you're really interested and you want to know the science as well,, Bob Roth is wrote a book, Strength in Stillness. I highly recommend that for that. But yeah, it was like, man, if all these highly successful people take between 20, it's 22 minutes twice a day is was what they recommend. And if they take 45 minutes out of their day to do something.

Garrett (01:07:56) - There's got to be some value there. Yeah.

Grayson (01:07:58) - You're rocking it.

Garrett (01:07:58) - Yes. So yeah, I highly recommend that. We'll definitely chat more about that. But all right, let's, let's get in a few more of these. Go., what's your favorite question to ask guests?

Grayson (01:08:10) - , I'll give you I like off the wall questions. Like like Desert Island. Three items to bring. But my favorite thing to, like, ask somebody is,, who's who's the hardest on you and your family?

Garrett (01:08:23) - That's a great one.

Grayson (01:08:24) - Especially for an athlete., then who's the easiest? Like, who's who's your comfort? I'd just like to hear it,, because, you know, that's just kind of very cool. It kind of gives me an in-depth look because they don't talk to me every day. They talk to their parents every day, or their sister or siblings or grandma and grandpa. So.

Garrett (01:08:42) - And I'm sure there's some great stories behind those answers.

Grayson (01:08:45) - Yeah. Usually it gives me like a propelling motion to to ask.

Garrett (01:08:48) - Most definitely. Which is what you want with questions is still listed. Some great stories. Yeah. Makes makes podcasts great. All right a few more. So this is a similar one. Who's had the biggest influence you influence on you and why.

Grayson (01:09:01) - Who's had the biggest influence on me and why? Okay, so my mother has always been a really big cheerleader for me, but I've always looked up to my dad, and the relationship I've had with my father always hasn't been great. It's wonderful now., but I can say that, like, wanting to. Be him and just kind of not be him, but. We people really respect him and that's all I really want is like respect. And then people to say, you know what a great mind, you know. You know, this guy's here for the right reasons. And so, yeah, I think my father, Gary Blake, is is who I really look up to. Gary's son Grayson. I mean, it's. It's,.

Grayson (01:09:46) - It holds weight to me.

Garrett (01:09:49) - Family name? Yeah. Well, yeah.

Grayson (01:09:51) - My middle name is seven generations long, so my son is going to have a middle name. Robert. Sorry.

Speaker 5 (01:09:58) - Sorry, buddy. Number eight. Keep it.

Garrett (01:10:02) - Going. On the last one. What talent do you have that you are not using?

Grayson (01:10:08) - , so I used to do,, stand up for,, laughing hyenas in downtown Fort Worth., and I'm really good at, like, impressions and stuff like that. Impressions don't really come into the space of college sports or sports in general. So,, I really like doing impressions. I've always really been in, like, musicals and acts and things like that.

Garrett (01:10:28) - Yeah, well, the dancer like that.

Speaker 5 (01:10:30) - Take it away.

Grayson (01:10:33) - , I'm gonna get burned for this., I just hit Kermit the Frog. I'm gonna have to push off one so I can, like, hear myself.

Speaker 5 (01:10:41) - Kermit the Frog here. And I just want to tell you about,, now it's legal.

Speaker 5 (01:10:46) - Podcast is always here.

Speaker 6 (01:10:48) - Oh, you want me to talk like this and really give you my really deep down? Fill in here.

Grayson (01:10:54) - Or I might get killed for this man.

Garrett (01:10:57) - Keep it going.

Speaker 5 (01:10:58) - Great. Okay, okay.

Speaker 4 (01:10:59) - I don't know what to tell you. I'm going to show you what I can't, King Julien or the Madagascar.

Speaker 5 (01:11:06) - That is awesome.

Garrett (01:11:07) - And then,, do another impersonation with,, where people can find you on,, on the socials.

Grayson (01:11:14) - , with an impression.

Speaker 5 (01:11:15) - Yes.

Grayson (01:11:16) - , or if you.

Speaker 6 (01:11:18) - Want to follow me on.

Grayson (01:11:19) - Instagram.

Speaker 6 (01:11:19) - I usually have Grayson Blake underscore underscore. It's where we talk about the Nil and CAA name image likeness. Now it's Lego podcast coming out a place near you., we talk about entrepreneurs, athletes and different things of that nature.

Garrett (01:11:33) - That's wonderful.

Speaker 5 (01:11:35) - That's one I cannot.

Grayson (01:11:36) - Believe I just did that.

Speaker 5 (01:11:36) - That is awesome. All right.

Garrett (01:11:39) - Now let's have some fun with some interesting.

Speaker 5 (01:11:41) - Oh, we're having fun. Oh, yeah.

Garrett (01:11:42) - Keep it going, keep it going. Keep the momentum going here. All right. This one is,, name that nil deal. Oh, boy. So I'm going to present you with some famous personalities, fictional characters, and you're going to have to create an nil deal for these characters. Okay? All right. You can think about it too. You know, we can, you know, give you some time to to get creative here.

Speaker 5 (01:12:05) - Okay.

Garrett (01:12:06) - All right. So the Nil deal could involve, as you know, endorsements, sponsorships, merchandise, any other creative arrange. You're going to give.

Grayson (01:12:15) - Me a scenario and I'm going to create.

Garrett (01:12:16) - It. I'm going to give you a person or a fictional character. Okay?

Grayson (01:12:22) - Okay. Go.

Garrett (01:12:24) - Listening. Batman.

Grayson (01:12:26) - Batman.. Batman. I'm going for, like, a Purina deal. Like,. Like probably cat food. Because Catwoman. So they have, like, this killer premium food, and you buy a monthly subscription for it, and it's endorsed by his,, Catwoman and Batman because they're all cats in the bat cave.

Grayson (01:12:46) - Yeah.

Garrett (01:12:46) - There it is. What?

Speaker 5 (01:12:47) - What,, what.

Garrett (01:12:49) - Props houses are showing up on the commercial.

Grayson (01:12:53) - , I think that. Okay, but I have a commercial idea. So Batman is in his cave eating this, like, food he really likes. And then Catwoman comes in and says, well, this is the best. And it's the food that they're sponsoring and endorsing. And then,, I'm thinking cat like reflexes. So you get like, a wide receiver and he's like, grabbing it real quick, or they're throwing him the,, the food or it's a basketball player. He's just like making the food in the hoop or something. Maybe.

Speaker 5 (01:13:23) - I love that. That's great. That's pretty quick, man. That was.

Garrett (01:13:26) - That was. All right, let's do SpongeBob SquarePants. Pair him up with an athlete. And what,, what type of deal we got?

Speaker 7 (01:13:34) - .

Grayson (01:13:34) - I'm going to do an nil deal for SpongeBob. I don't know who the heck SpongeBob would pair with an athlete.

Grayson (01:13:41) - , let me think here. SpongeBob. Okay. Yeah, I got it. Yeah, I would, I would,, put five burger joints. And I would contact them and create competition in the marketplace for an Nil deal with SpongeBob, because Krabby Patties. And then if they wanted to make a SpongeBob oriented like, like their meal, it would have like some type of jelly on it because he likes jelly fishing. And I would put like that jam on the burger and call it the SpongeBob burger.

Speaker 5 (01:14:13) - Boom boom.

Grayson (01:14:15) - Nobody take my ideas, man.

Speaker 5 (01:14:17) - That was rockin. That's awesome.

Garrett (01:14:20) - All right, this one you're going to evaluate deals. Okay. So I'm going to give you the deal. And,, yeah, you're gonna let me know your thoughts on it. I like that, so go. All right. You have to decide whether you're going to accept it or reject it.

Speaker 5 (01:14:35) - Okay.

Garrett (01:14:36) - All right. And,, they're going to get a little crazy because that's what we do. Get nice and creative.

Speaker 5 (01:14:41) - Do it.

Garrett (01:14:42) - All right. Scenario number one, $5,000 to stream their latest video game on Twitch for two hours. And the term is the athlete must wear branded merchandise and engage with viewers about the game.

Grayson (01:14:58) - So it's one deal, five K, two hours with merchandise branding. Yeah, I'm taking that. Definitely. I mean, that's 2500 per,, and you're getting brand deals, so that means you're getting free merchandise, you're getting guaranteed money, and you get to play your favorite video game. Dude, come on, man, let's go.

Garrett (01:15:17) - Grow the audience to grow the game with some other,, you know, viewers.

Speaker 5 (01:15:21) - Perfect.

Grayson (01:15:21) - And with that mind, I'm thinking this is easily like a $100,000 deal if he's in college for years. So boom, you start out at five K and I'm, I'm.

Garrett (01:15:32) - Yeah, I think e-sports is is where Nil is going to go to. You know, once that gets going in college, that's going to be a whole whole other game. It'll be.

Grayson (01:15:40) - Very interesting. We'll see.

Speaker 5 (01:15:42) - All right.

Garrett (01:15:44) - And this one we got,, the brand is a unicorn themed cafe. $5,000 to be the official spokesperson for their Sparkle Latte campaign. The athlete must wear a unicorn onesie in all promotional materials and host a weekly Magical Mondays live stream. Deal or no deal.

Grayson (01:16:08) - How much? There's no money involved.

Garrett (01:16:09) - $5,000?

Grayson (01:16:10) - No., we might have negotiate. I don't know any athlete that would take that, but I could I depends on what type of tier.

Speaker 5 (01:16:19) - There's different tiers of athletes.

Grayson (01:16:22) - , but,, man, man, it's hard to even get an athlete to post on social media so damn near we're at Unicorn onesie., but.

Speaker 5 (01:16:29) - Weekly.

Garrett (01:16:30) - That locker room.

Speaker 5 (01:16:31) - Think about that.

Garrett (01:16:32) - Locker room after.

Grayson (01:16:32) - That. That might be a little tough, man. Nah, I'm gonna say no on this one. If it. It's going to get it crazier.

Speaker 5 (01:16:40) - So yeah. Shout out ChatGPT.

Garrett (01:16:42) - You're helping me out on this.

Speaker 5 (01:16:43) - You know, I wish I could come.

Garrett (01:16:44) - Up with,, these these creative.

Speaker 5 (01:16:46) - , yes.

Garrett (01:16:47) - Here scenarios. Pet food brand, $2,000 to create a TikTok dance with a dog using their product. But they must reach a minimum of 10,000 views. Can they do it? And would they want to do it? Yeah. Take it easy. Dog alien themed ice cream parlor $3,000 to create an out of this world TikTok dance, using their galactic gelato as props. What they must do is where the alien costume and incorporate synchronized spoon twirling into the routine.

Grayson (01:17:22) - No, I can't even I can't even think of an athlete that would take that. Nope.

Speaker 5 (01:17:25) - I agree with that.

Garrett (01:17:27) - We got the.

Speaker 5 (01:17:28) - Superhero.

Garrett (01:17:29) - Costume rental shop, unlimited access to their collection of superhero costumes in exchange for starring in their Heroes Among Us advertising campaign.

Speaker 5 (01:17:39) - You local?

Grayson (01:17:40) - This is a local deal, of course.

Garrett (01:17:41) - Yes. Promoting the local, you know, hero shop costume shop. Exactly. So you must pose heroically in front of some city landmarks and save a damsel in distress stage for a promotional photo shoot.

Grayson (01:17:55) - I feel like I could pull that together., you might need a equity stake to make that happen, but possibly a lot of athletes,, want joint ventures., you know, they want an Nil deal, but they also want to be a part of a company. So, and a lot of people don't want to give up percent of equity. But with a deal like that, you might have to do some equity, man.

Garrett (01:18:17) - Yeah, especially because all that's coming with it is unlimited access to their collection of superhero costumes. So that's.

Speaker 5 (01:18:23) - A that's.

Grayson (01:18:24) - Tough and a skit. I mean, you're taking hours of their day that is like very limited. So I always got to think of that to the pregame dress.

Garrett (01:18:32) - I mean, you come out with a superhero, you have some equity in the company, man, that's skyrocketing that brand. Yeah, I think that's valuable.

Grayson (01:18:38) - Yeah, that's smart.

Garrett (01:18:39) - Tech startup equity stake in the company. In exchange for becoming a brand ambassador, they must show up to the office or zoom call every month to give a hype speech in a costume and post shorts of the speech on their social media.

Grayson (01:18:55) - I think you could get everything but posting on their social media. So posting on social media for like a premium athletes very expensive. But if you have tech money you might got it. So you might have to include that in the deal., but I think I would take that. I've actually heard deals like that where they have to like hype up a corporation and give like a speech. Yeah, I've done deals like that.

Garrett (01:19:17) - Interesting. Yeah. I mean, that makes sense. You got to boost the morale and some inspiration would help.

Grayson (01:19:21) - All it is, is a contract obligation.

Garrett (01:19:24) - That's it. Time travel agency, free round trip, time travel adventures in exchange for becoming the face of their Journey Through the ages campaign, you must dress in period appropriate attire and share epic tales of historical escapades on social media.

Grayson (01:19:43) - That's a mouthful. All this dressing up, man I like. It's going to be difficult to get these athletes in, like, costume, man.. On behalf of the athletes, I'm probably going to say no unless you're you're getting like an influencer athlete because those are those real.

Speaker 5 (01:20:01) - You know, I think it shows.

Garrett (01:20:02) - Commitment, though. If you dress up, you're you're fully committed. I mean, and I think some brands will really appreciate that. That might open up some doors for for additional deals.

Grayson (01:20:12) - Definitely. Definitely. Maybe not a blue chip athlete, but definitely an athlete. I could probably find one.

Speaker 5 (01:20:18) - Yeah, yeah that's great.

Garrett (01:20:22) - All right. Anything else you'd like to discuss that you haven't shared with the audience? And any final kind of words?

Grayson (01:20:31) - The best thing you can do is take a chance on yourself. There's a lot of people who have things to say when you're first making that jump, and usually it's because they will. They could never do that themselves or that they feel like, you know, they can't believe that you're doing it. And if you want to be different, you got to act different. And I'm sticking by that., if you want to be like everybody else, expect everybody else results. If you want something different, you're probably going to get something different.

Grayson (01:21:05) - So but with with risk there's not guaranteed reward. So there's that too man.

Garrett (01:21:12) - That's that's great. So where can people find you on the social in the Grace and Blake voice as well as the podcast.

Grayson (01:21:19) - So on my Instagram it's Grace and Blake underscore underscore. And my YouTube is now it's legal podcast. You guys got to go check it out. There's so many crazy episodes drop in. it's exciting. We got entrepreneurs. We got student athletes, we got pros coming. We have, owners and co owners. And it's just really exciting what we got going on. There's nothing better on YouTube right now that that is surrounding the NCAA and the NFL. You guys got to check it out.

Garrett (01:21:46) - Grayson, this has been such a pleasure, man.

Speaker 5 (01:21:48) - Heck yeah.

Grayson (01:21:49) - Man, this is sweet.

Garrett (01:21:50) - Great. Thank you so.

Grayson (01:21:51) - Much. No problem.