Former Ravens Pro Bowl Running Back Justin Forsett is one of three former Cal football players (Wendell Hunter and Wale Forrester are his partners) to have launched ShowerPill; an anti-bacterial, medical-grade towelette for athletes “when a shower is optimal, but just not possible”. JWS had the chance to catch up with Justin and get his thoughts on college athletes getting paid, former teammate Marshawn Lynch and the transformation from 7th round pick to franchise running back.
JWS: How did you benefit from your time at Cal, being that it was so academically competitive?
Justin: I was a pretty good student, a 3.0 student in high school; but I don’t know if I would have been able to get in to Cal. At the time, it was the #1 public college/university in the world. I think I got a first-class education. I learned a lot while I was there. I met my wife there. It was competitive on the field, but also in the classroom. You had to have balance. You had to have time management skills. You had to be able to prioritize things in your schedule. You had to be prepared to be mentally challenged. I embraced that.
JWS: Do you think college athletes should be monetarily compensated?
Justin: I think it would be nice to have something stored up for the players upon graduation. It adds an extra incentive to finish.If you do everything you are supposed to do on the field and in the classroom; because your career end on that field, to have something to fall back on that would kick start you financially.
JWS: You went from being a guy that bounced around the league to making the Pro Bowl. What was the biggest difference, beyond the size of the contract?
Justin: It’s different going from being a guy that’s on the cusp of getting cut every year to becoming a pro bowl RB, as far as endorsements coming in. I wasn’t really making off the field money like that, with big brands (Tide, Verizon, Best Buy, Under Armour); so, that was a huge change and blessing for me.
JWS: Did you know what you wanted to do when your football career ended?
Justin: Yeah, I came from some entrepreneurs. My parents owned a restaurant. Growing up I knew I wanted to be able to employ people and create jobs. I didn’t have an idea that I wanted to be a mogul until later, when I saw guys like Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan.
Howie Long-Short: Best Buy (BBY) has been outlier in thestruggling big-box retail sector. The company reported Q3 sales increased 4% YOY (to $9.3 billion), online sales were up 22% (to $1.1 billion) and EPS grew 30% YOY (to $.78); despite the negative impact from hurricanes. BBY also increased its fiscal ’18 full year revenue growth expectations +.8% (to 4.8%). Shares of the stock are up 32% YTD, though it is worth noting that much of that gain came within the first half of 2017.
Fan Marino: Justin was a college teammate of Raiders RB Marshawn Lynch, the entrepreneur behind Beast Mode apparel. I asked if 20-year-old Marshawn had the look of a future businessman. Justin’s response: “I can honestly say I didn’t necessarily see him as this big-time businessman in college; but looking at his maturity and growth over the years, you could see he was headed that way.”
For the balance of today’s newsletter, sign-up here!
