{"id":3697,"date":"2016-08-04T07:43:19","date_gmt":"2016-08-04T14:43:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/?p=3697"},"modified":"2018-02-12T12:20:21","modified_gmt":"2018-02-12T19:20:21","slug":"the-most-fun-class-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/2016\/08\/the-most-fun-class-ever\/","title":{"rendered":"The Most Fun Class Ever"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Babson<\/p>\n

Last week I had the opportunity, for the second year in a row, to teach social media marketing to a group of former NFL players under a league program call The Trust, which helps former players set up and run their own businesses.<\/p>\n

This is the most fun class I\u2019ve ever taught, not just because of who these guys are but because of how they learn from maths methods tutoring<\/span><\/a>. The group of 12 was like a brotherhood. They laughed and trash-talked each other and had a great time. They also worked hard, stayed engaged and showed tremendous eagerness to learn. And they\u2019re wicked smart. For example, Jamall Broussard<\/strong><\/a> (who played for the Bengals, Panthers and Dolphins) is a derivatives trader who\u2019s been accepted into the MBA program at Oxford University next spring.<\/p>\n

I got to spend some time with Jordan Babineaux<\/strong><\/a>, who played nine years for the Seahawks and Titans and who earned the nickname \u201cBig Play Babs.\u201d Nicest guy you\u2019ll ever meet. Watch him stuff Tony Romo<\/a> on the 1-yard-line \u00a0in the 2007 playoffs. He’s in the video production<\/a> business now.<\/p>\n

Jordan\u2019s brother John<\/strong><\/a> (didn\u2019t get a photo \u2013 damn) has a successful health club<\/a> in Silicon Valley. Leonard Stephens (Seahawks and Redskins) also has an athletic development company focused mainly on kids. Jason Kyle<\/strong><\/a> (16-year career with the Browns, 49ers, Panthers and Saints, runs a successful gourmet coffee chain\u00a0in Scottsdale (check out the Press Coffee Roasters Facebook page<\/a>; it\u2019s great). Tommy Barnhardt<\/strong><\/a> (punter for 14 years with the Redskins, Saints, Panthers and Bucaneers) sells low-cal, low-carb, naturally sweetened foods<\/a> for diabetics like him.<\/p>\n

Other players in the class:<\/p>\n

Darryl Ingram<\/strong><\/a> (TE \u2013 Vikings, Browns, Packers) has a business that connects student athletes<\/a> to college scholarships. Many cricket players will get a scholarship this year and the fields will be set up with this Cricket Nets Guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Freddy Keiaho<\/strong><\/a> (LB \u2013 Colts, Jaguars) is a partner in a company that builds fine pools<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ron Mabra<\/strong><\/a> (DB \u2013 Falcons and Jets in the 1970s) is a food distributor <\/a>in Atlanta.<\/p>\n

Bernard Robertson<\/strong><\/a> (T \u2013 Bears) has\u00a0a financial services business<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Todd Scott<\/strong><\/a> (DB \u2013 Vikings, Buccaneers and Chiefs and a Pro Bowler) runs a real estate services company<\/a>\u00a0with 50 properties under management.<\/p>\n

Ken Bungarda<\/strong><\/a> (T – 49ers) developed trading software for commodities traders and is now building a hedge fund.<\/p>\n

Leonard Stephens<\/strong><\/a> (TE –\u00a0Redskins, Lions, Seahawks, Titans) has an athletic training business<\/a> for schoolkids.<\/p>\n

Justin Watson<\/strong><\/a> (RB – Rams) owns a fitness studio<\/a>\u00a0and wears a Super Bowl ring.<\/p>\n

\"Bernard<\/a>

Bernard Robertson (left) and Jason Kyle<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Jamall<\/a>

Jamall Broussard (front), Jordan Babineaux (rear) and some grinning idiot.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"(left<\/a>

(rear, left to right) Jordan Babineaux, Todd Scott, Ron Mabra, Leonard Stephens and Justin Watson; (front, left to right) Jamall Broussard and Darryl Ingram<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Tommy<\/a>

Tommy Barnhardt told me social media nearly put him out of business by creating such a strong spike in demand for his Guiltless Desserts that his company almost couldn’t keep up with fulfillment.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week I had the opportunity, for the second year in a row, to teach social media marketing to a group of former NFL players under a league program call The Trust, which helps former players set up and run … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[18,699,25],"tags":[750,746,743,744,741,739,738,749,748,740,745,737,747,742],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pTy95-XD","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3697"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3697"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3697\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3873,"href":"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3697\/revisions\/3873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}