Mohamed Massaquoi

But this is why I love Mo Massaquah because you literally were like, Hey man, like I can be down or I can become the person that I really am, but I was supposed to be. And I think you use that as that platform for that.

Mo, you know, I was telling you offline, man. So I've got an uncle shout out to my uncle, Tron Jackson, former University of Georgia running back, been a bulldog my entire life. My entire family on my mom's side are nothing but bulldogs, man. And so being able to see you play in person like probably 15 times Just the athlete. I'm not going to say that you were because you're still an athlete.

I love that, dude. And now taking that, because a lot of those same principles that you're talking about, I know are things that when you're doing leadership development, when you're talking to businesses and corporations, how do you take that same thing and then correlate it to a business?

The athlete that you are, man, the things that you were able to do were pretty much unmatched, man. So just thank you for taking time with us today, bro.

Yeah, man. Like I want to unpack one of the things that you said, because people do say, you know, leadership is lonely or it's lonely at the top. And I tell people this because I do leadership development as well. There are times where you're going to be surrounded by a lot of people. and you're gonna feel lonely. That just means you're not surrounded by the right people anymore, right?

Like when you outgrow the surroundings, you do feel lonely. That just means now you need to look for those new surroundings. You need to look for those new mentors, those new coaches, maybe that new challenge to push you. And so I love that you said that because I totally agree, man. Like leadership isn't meant to be lonely.

Yeah, absolutely, man. Absolutely. So I usually ask this question at the beginning, but I wanted to let everybody remember who Moe Massaquah was from a football standpoint. So I'm going to ask this question now, man. What... What is your because? What's that big purpose for you that's deeper than your why?

If you had to say, you know what, Mick, today, my because, my reason is this, what would that be? Wow.

I was raised right. And I'm going to say I did go to the University of North Carolina. So I personally am a Tar Heel.

I love that, brother. I love that. If you could give the listeners and viewers like one or two tips for those that are struggling to find their purpose or, you know, they don't know how to I don't want to say grieve. They don't they don't know how to take that next step. They're stuck in whatever rut they're in. Like what would Mo's advice be?

Dang it, Mo. I love you, brother. I love you, man. I could do this all day. There's so many insights and wisdom that you have. One of the things that I'm working on this year is I'm building a series of live events, of live summits. And I need one of those to be keynoted by Moe Massaquah, if you're down.

Yeah. So you understand it there, man. Like very few people can be UNC basketball fans and Georgia football fans. Like there's almost nothing like it, right?

Oh, then you're in. You are totally in. You're totally in. All right, I'm going to end this with a hot five for Mo. You ready? Go ahead. All right, hot five. First one. Give me your favorite teammate of all time. Oh, we can't do that.

All right. We'll pretend you said Matthew Snapper. How about that? Yeah. No, all right. So the one DB you hate it going against.

All right. Number three, your favorite UGA memory.

There it is. Your favorite NFL memory? Wow. Wow.

Okay. And then last one, what's the one book that you think everyone should read right now?

Yeah, from you. Yeah, what's the book? For me?

Cool. Cool. Mo, I appreciate you, man. More than you know, this was a true honor. Would love to do it again because there's so many conversations that we can have that I want to go deeper in. So I'm gonna let the world know this is Mick and Mo part one. Part two is coming.

There you go. Part two, we're going deep into the vessel. Just so you know. All right. Love it. I'll be here. All right. And for all the viewers and listeners, remember, your because is your superpower. Go unleash it.

Yeah, I tell people all the time, Duke doesn't breed NBA players, but we'll move on from that one. We'll move on from that one. So, man, again, honored to be here with you, brother. I want to go back, not to the very beginning, but I want to go back to Independence High School, man. Like, a lot of folks don't understand. You hear all the big schools from Texas and California and Florida saying,

I'm telling you, in the Carolinas, there's nothing like Independence football. Like, you talk about Friday Night Lights. Like, Independence is that. A ton of stars, and you are definitely one of them, man. So what was it like for you Friday nights at Independence High School, bro?

Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I love it. And so then the decision to go to the University of Georgia, I always love people explaining their decisions to go to different schools, whether they were athletes or not, because it's personal for everyone, man. And so this is pre-NIL, right?

So for Mo, what was Georgia, without telling us the bag that they gave you, what was it about Georgia that said, that's where I'm going?

I love it, man. And knowing what Coach Rick means off the field, right? You know, he's a family first, faith first kind of guy. And I love Mark Rick to death. How did that translate for you playing for a guy like that?

So true there. You know, a lot of great things that you did at UGA. Got to play with Stafford, right? I think one of your – I was actually at this game. Was it 82, 89-yard reception? Florida. Florida. Yeah, man. Yeah, man. You know, we hate the Gators over here, so shout out to my buddy Brett Merrill. But, yeah, the Florida game, man. Was it 82 or 89 yards?

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting episode of Mic Unplugged. And today, we might as well call this the University of Georgia Showdown. From former NFL stardom as a Cleveland Brown route receiver to founding a consultancy whose mission is guiding leaders through transformative change, he embodies resilience and leadership.

So let's talk about that, man. So I had an uncle who played in the NFL wide receiver for the Patriots. And then, you know, he was telling me going to the Pro Bowl with John Elway was the hardest ball he ever caught, right? Like it actually shattered his pinky catching a ball from John Elway in the Pro Bowl.

And everybody that I talked to says the closest thing to John Elway's fastball is a Matthew Stafford fastball. What was it like being ready to catch those bullets sometimes from Matthew?

Exactly. Exactly. That's what's up. That's what's up. So you end up going second round to Cleveland. And so you're the first person I've asked this, and I want you to be honest, Mo. I know you're going to be honest. When you heard you were getting drafted, super excited, right? When it was Cleveland, did you go, oh, man, I got to go up there? Yeah. You know what's interesting?

So, well, you're one of the brightest people that I know. and being a psychology major, having a master's in psychology, I want to take a step back now because I hear a lot of folks talk about this. You go from high school and college where Most everybody, maybe not everybody, but most everybody you're with loves the sport. Right. Like they eat, sleep and breathe the sport.

After a life-altering 2017 accident resulting in the loss of his left hand, he emerged stronger, earning a master's in industrial organizational psychology from the University of Georgia and completing Harvard Business School's program for leadership development. Please join me in welcoming Independence High School's own University of Georgia, one of my favorite all-time receivers.

And then you go professional. Right. And you're in a locker room with people that for some of them, it's a job. It's a clock in, clock out. The love, the passion isn't there with everyone. So for you looking back, and again, you're one of the few people I can ask this because I want you to take your psychology hat now, right? So now looking back, was that something you anticipated, expected?

And then is there anything you would do differently to deal with that situation now?

No, I get that, man. I get that. I appreciate the honesty, too, because I talk to a lot of former athletes or, you know, retired athletes, I'll say not former athletes. And they always tell me one of the biggest shocks that they walk into a locker room is just, you know, everybody doesn't love it the same way. And at some point that that becomes everyone else, too. Right.

But I think for the rookies going in, it's just like, whoa, like, I love this. I'm a historian of this. And then you have some guys that are really like. Hey, these meetings are over at three. I'm out. Right. I'll see you tomorrow when it's time to come back in. I don't want to talk football. I don't want to talk basketball till it's time to. And that was a big shock for a lot of people.

But I always have the conversation because I talk to a lot of athletes, especially rookies that. The one thing you have to understand going into this is it is a business from top to bottom, right? And it is going to operate like a business. The game of sport is a business.

And so now you go from being a player to having to think like a business person because you become a business yourself at that point in time as well, too. So loved your insight on that, bro.

Yeah.

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. So, Mo, now I want to go a little bit personal because I've never gotten to talk to you about... the 2017 accident. And I want to take my time here and give you the light, because I know you've told this story a lot, but I want to ask it in a different way, because you were a wide receiver. So your hands, your fingers were your tool. They were your craft, right?

We're talking to none other than Muhammad Moe Massaquah. Muhammad, how are you doing today, brother?

And you have an accident where your tool and your craft, part of it's taken away. And for a lot of people that aren't mentally tough, It's devastating. Not saying that it wasn't devastating for a moment for you, but knowing the resiliency that you have and, and the inspiration that you are like, we don't have to go through the moment of losing of the accident. Right.

But, but, but the grit, the resiliency, that switch that said, I'm not going to feel sorry for myself because I have a bigger purpose, man. Like, what was that like for you? Like, like walk us through that because that's why I'm so inspired by you. Like, yeah, all the sports accolades. Awesome.