The Morning Formation Podcast
Hosted by KP Phillips—a U.S. Army combat veteran, former law enforcement officer, and seasoned instructor in tactics, firearms, and combatives—The Formation Podcast is built on the core pillars of Survivability, Situational Awareness, and the mindset to Adapt & Overcome.
Drawing from over two decades of real-world experience in combat zones and high-risk environments, KP leads authentic conversations with warriors, protectors, and everyday individuals who’ve faced adversity head-on. This podcast is more than content—it's a movement for those who understand that the fight begins before the event.
Through storytelling, lived experience, and expert insight, The Formation Podcast equips its listeners with the mindset, tools, and awareness to remain vigilant and prepared—whether on the battlefield, in the streets, or in everyday life.
The Morning Formation Podcast
From UCLA Gridiron Glory to Life Coaching: Kam Brown's Journey
Former UCLA wide receiver Kam Brown shares his journey from growing up as the son of Super Bowl MVP Larry Brown to carving out his own path in college football and beyond. His story reveals profound insights about grit, faith, and determination that extend far beyond the gridiron.
• Growing up in Texas football culture, playing since age four but never feeling forced into the sport
• Choosing UCLA for its unique campus environment and experiencing it as life-changing
• Balancing the intense demands of being a D1 athlete while maintaining academic performance
• Learning to manage pressure and public spotlight from an early age
• Navigating faith and perspective through challenging times as a collegiate athlete
• Developing a vision for mentoring young athletes post-career
• Offering insights on the evolving NIL landscape and how players should approach it
• Understanding that everyone processes adversity differently and mental health matters
• Finding authenticity and purpose beyond football
• Leveraging social media as a platform for motivation and growth
Follow Kam on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube @theKamBrown and on Twitter @KameronBrown__
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Warriors fall in, it's time for formation. So today, folks, on the Morning Formation podcast, I'm joined with former UCLA wide receiver, cam Brown. So this is kind of a fanatic moment for me because for the last eight years or so I've been a season ticket holder for the UCLA Bruins and I love college football. College football is coming just around the corner for us and for me, because I love the game, I go to every single local game possible. Today it's an absolute honor to have Cam Brown on and we're going to talk about his life, growing up in a football family to carving out his own path on the field. Cam has an absolute, incredible story of grit, faith and determination, and so we're driving into his football journey and the lessons he's carried into life after the game, and we're just going to talk about what he's into now, and so this is definitely an episode that I'm super excited about. Cam, thank you for joining me on the Morning Formation podcast.
Speaker 2:No, thank you for having me. It's an honor to be here. I'm here to be as transparent as possible and answer any questions and just give back.
Speaker 1:That's what I love about it, man. So I've been doing this podcast for two and a half years now and I mainly focused on mostly military content and I've kind of spanned it out, because a lot of the things that I learned in the military also translate into the civilian side and into life, and you, being a collegiate athlete and a full-time student man, that is a hard thing to juggle. But I want to take it back from the beginning and for those folks out there who are just meeting you for the first time and may not know your story, can you walk us through how you fell in love with football and what it's meant for you in your life?
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, I fell in football as early as I can remember. I started playing when I was four, playing flag football. I was always throwing the ball to myself, reenacting plays around the house. My dad played the NFL for 10 years, so you know it was kind of already in the family. But it was one of those things where I was never forced to play, it wasn't. He didn't just put me in it, it was something that I wanted to do from as early as I could remember. I was always carrying a football around. I was always setting up cones in the backyard, acting like I was scoring just by myself.
Speaker 1:That's where I really knew I loved it and you grew up in the great state of Texas. Right, yeah, I did Colleyville Texas.
Speaker 2:Was it like Friday Night Lights? It was. It's crazy out here it's a lot. That's the thing I started to learn as I got to college and met guys from different states Football. I didn't realize how big football in Texas really was. Even some of my family that used to come down here and visit us. They would see like the middle schools around here and they're like there's no, there's no way you went to middle school here, like they were saying it looks like their high school fields yeah, yeah, I've been out in the middle of new mexico, even uh, down in artesia, and they have a high school down there.
Speaker 1:That's uh, the city is mostly supported on the oil fields and they have like a junior college artificial turf stadium out in the middle of the desert and on Friday nights in the fall that's where everybody is. And I moved from Hawaii to the state of Ohio when I was around 12 years old. I played football in Ohio, went to a real small school out there and I would imagine it's not quite on the level of Texas but it's pretty damn close to what you guys had down there and I mean it's led to like books and movies made, so I can't even imagine how amazing that was. But you grew up being the son of Larry Brown, a Super Bowl MVP. Now how did that shape your mentality and your approach to the game overall?
Speaker 2:I would say it shaped it a lot for sure, um, and a lot of great ways. But it's hard being young cause you don't understand and a lot of people around you can't comprehend or understand either. So you just kind of you know a lot of stuff. I just had to take his word for it. You know, growing up, as soon as I told him that this is what I wanted to do from a young age, it didn't matter it was like okay, this is what you want to do, this is what it's going to take to get there. So I was having to miss stuff when I was seven years old, like going to hang out with friends, little parties going on, and I would be like mad because I would be training and doing all this extra stuff at the time.
Speaker 1:But it's one of those things, things and seeing how it really could put you ahead in life.
Speaker 2:Yeah, did you have brothers and sisters? I had two sisters. They're both older than me, so I'm the baby Wow.
Speaker 1:And you're the only boy too, so you had a lot of pressure, right, I did. So what ultimately drew you to UCLA? How and how would you sum up your experience overall being a Bruin for the three years you were there?
Speaker 2:What drew me there originally. So my dad's side of the family's from California, my mom's side of the family's here from Dallas, so we would always go back and forth to California. I played in a couple of 7-on-7 tournaments growing up that we would travel out there for too, and just every time I would go out there, my dad would always take us to UCLA and USC and for some reason there was a lot of people hyping up USC. They would be talking about USC back in the day, USC back in the day. But it was just something about UCLA's campus and it was like a breath of fresh air and from a kid I was like, yeah, I'm going here, I want to go to school here, I want to go to school here and then end up getting to go to my dream school, and the three years that I was there was. It was a great experience, life-changing, very eye-opening, and I would say there's no college experience like UCLA. It's like everything that I thought of UCLA. It was that and more.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I can tell you, I moved here, like I said, most of my teen years I was an Ohio State fan. I moved here to LA and I see this beautiful stadium up in Pasadena, great venue, great team. I mean, the thing I love about the Bruins is they're never overhyped, they always seem to be gritty and they always seem to have heart, which is what I love about football. It ain't about the money, it's about the heart, right, it's about the grit, it's about the underdog story, and so that's why, year after year, man, I go and I buy my season tickets and I go to every single home game, and I can totally understand what you're saying about that. And I can totally understand what you're saying about that. And during your time at UCLA, what would you say? What's one of your favorite memories or biggest highlights from your college football career?
Speaker 2:That's tough because I really I enjoyed just being around my team. The coaches always tell you like this is the only time in your life where you guys get to like all the stuff you guys get to do the way you guys joke around, having like built-in friends. Soak it up and enjoy it now, because once it's over and you get to the real world, it's like you're not around. You know 50 guys that you're just friends with every day. Just you know being stuck around them doing dumb stuff. So I would say really just every moment around our teammates after a game, the different experiences you get to get, like me and my friends, we we loved.
Speaker 2:I'm kind of I'm bougie, I don't care so we would go to like a nice rooftop dinner or just like a nice dinner after a game. That was just like our thing and just like that experience, like looking back on it going to like a rooftop dinner, um, being able to go to nobu, like it, just I don't know, it was just a great experience. Um, and being around those guys beating LSU was for sure one. That was a. That was a great moment, cause they had um shot confetti from the Rose bowl, so all the confetti coming down and that blue and gold, and that was a pretty sweet moment.
Speaker 1:I was there for that game, man, I was there. Yeah, man, I loved it, man. That was a big win too for you guys.
Speaker 2:That was huge.
Speaker 1:What would you say was your biggest game that you played Most pressure? Or would you say the biggest one that sticks out in your mind? There's got to be one. Either. It was an SC game. You guys beat the crap out of SC during those years. I loved it. We did.
Speaker 2:I would say Personally, like I was like Fresno State for me, because I was the first game, that was the first year I got there and I was like that was the first game that I had got. It got my first target. You know, I was out there Every game. I was running wide open on film, every game, like coach, like'm, like coach, I need the ball, I need the ball. Come on, come on. And my first game, I finally got my first target. I went for 120 yards and that's where I was like, okay, it's about to be like this every single game. Now I shelled them.
Speaker 1:So that was a great moment.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was a home game. We ended up losing in. That's when they marched down the field with we went down and scored. Kyle Phillips had caught the we thought was the game-winning touchdown and then they get the ball. I want to say there was like 40 seconds left, no timeouts, and I just remember standing up and I was screaming at our DBs like they have no timeouts, they have to get out of bounds and just feeling so anxious like there's no way they're gonna go down here and there's no way they're gonna do it in 40 seconds, no timeouts, they went down there, end up scoring. That was like a sickening feeling I was there.
Speaker 1:That was a night game. Yeah, I was there, man. And, uh, man, that those fans were gnarly, I don't know what they I've never been to fresno before, but they were. They were unlike other fans. That was, I think. When was that? When Hayner played? Yep, it was, he had a. He played a great game. I remember that man. He was running around everywhere, man, yeah, I was there, man, I was there for that game. That's crazy, yeah, dude. So what's something that most people don't see about? You know the life living as a D1 athlete that you wish more fans would understand.
Speaker 2:There's no way for them to actually be able to understand. But I wish a lot of people would be more considerate of how hard it actually is. You know a lot of people. Just they see the dollar signs and, oh, you guys are getting your school paid for. You get meals like you guys are spoiled. You don't know what it's actually like.
Speaker 2:I don't want to drop their names, but there was a few guys that were walk-ons at UCLA and they ended up telling me, because it was my second year, they ended up coming on and they were like I have a totally different level of respect for football athletes Because it doesn't matter. Once you're a walk-on, you're doing everything that a scholarship athlete does, everything they have to do, you have to do. So them being on the outside thinking that it was just oh, you guys are spoiled, you guys get money, free meals and you have all this time to do what you want. Them actually seeing how physically and mentally draining it was and trying to uphold your academics at the same time, it ended up opening their eyes and they had a whole different perspective on it. So I would say, just really understanding that it's not, you're not a little spoiled brat, just having just this super great time, all the time Like it's a job and it's tough.
Speaker 1:Yeah, man, I tell you what, even over the years, my hat's off to student athletes. I mean, I can't imagine what it would be like to try to maintain my grades, my GPA, and then doing all that training the same time and make bad decisions. I mean, it's just, it's. It is grueling and crucial and I, whenever I get an opportunity to get to work with a collegiate athlete man, I definitely do, I encourage to hire them. You know, at at my current employment I there's not enough to be said about it, man I can't even imagine what it's like for you guys and when it, when you start training, like, let's say, after your last game.
Speaker 2:When does the training start up again? It starts up in the spring, right? Yeah, it starts up pretty fast. So depending on it depends on when your last game ends up being. But you usually finish in December and you start back up in January. Like there's very little time, like you have very little off time, so you have to really love it and learn how to enjoy it and you have to find a way to enjoy it through all the tough times. I would say that's that's like one of the biggest things, because every day is not going to be fun yeah, what?
Speaker 1:what piece of advice would you, would you give to younger athletes out there chasing that d1 dream?
Speaker 2:just got to believe in you. Really that's it. Nobody, your parents, nobody's going to believe in you like you do. All the crazy. Every time you see somebody make a crazy play, a crazy catch, like by them, it could be you too. And a lot of times I've seen it takes for people. There's a lot of guys who develop at different ages some young, some old and sometimes it takes for you to go against a player that everybody said was so great. And sometimes it may happen by accident where you beat them and that's like the eye opening moment where it's like I could do this, because nobody, nobody in their whole life, is undefeated at anything.
Speaker 2:If you play football, you've lost a rep, everybody's lost a rep before everybody's dropped a pass before. You just have to tell yourself like they're gonna lose the rep when it's your turn and that's it, instead of you know getting caught up like they have to show you. That's the biggest thing, because a lot of guys there's people built like Hulk, especially nowadays. You got, you got guys like I don't know if you like Femi Femi, now UCLA man, he came in. I'm like there's. There's no way you're this young, like there's and built like this, like there's guys that are, you know, look like they'll tear your head off. But then there you got to have the mindset mentality that they got. They have to show you they're no different than you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I really think that's important as character and grit overall. I mean, you could be an athletic beast and not take it seriously and get away for a certain amount of time, but at the end of the, at the end of the day, the guy that's going to be working harder and has the heart and is spending more hours training is going to win. Every time, I think, what, what would you say? Uh, did you ever have a moment like that where you, where you got over on someone that was, you know, maybe a real, uh, superstar, db, and you're able to burn them and just take off and you're like, ah, I got it. You know what I mean? Like any moments like that that stand out in your mind.
Speaker 2:So growing up in Texas we like a lot of, a lot of like the hub of athletes, like come from Texas. So I played against a lot of those guys since I was young. So like I always give the example, like if you and your brother, if your brother, if you have a brother and he turns out to be one of the biggest celebrities on the planet, that's cool and all, but at the end of the day in your mind he's still your brother. You know, you still remember all the times you beat him up, you beat him in races, just in. You know a lot of stuff, even though the world sees them a different way to you. That's your brother and I would say growing up in Texas it was the same way for a lot of the competition.
Speaker 2:A lot of those top kids go to all the big schools. So for me it was just like I've been playing against him since peewee football, like he's nothing, even though the world is like, oh, this guy's a first round pick, he's a second round pick, he's the greatest thing ever. And that's like where the confidence piece comes in. It's all about how you perceive somebody, because some people they say a lot of people your confidence in yourself could scare other people. That's true. I've seen a lot of guys that are so confident in themselves. It put fear in other athletes, even when the person actually wasn't. You know, like that.
Speaker 1:Right, yeah, no, that's actually really huge. I've been training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for the last 12 years and I've done a few competitions early in my life and sometimes it can be intimidating, like when you see someone from a specific school has been trained by someone specifically, but at the end of the day you know they put their uniform on just like you did, and having that confidence in yourself is huge when it comes to that. You know, since you've been off the gridiron, I noticed that you've been on social media quite a bit on Instagram, talking about motivation, mindset and growth. What would you say overall, has been your drive to keep you going when you're not 100%?
Speaker 2:I would say remembering everything that you've been through and also knowing why you're doing what you're doing. Because if you've anything that you've gone through in life, you didn't go through it for no reason. It doesn't matter what it is, even the most negative things, those stuff that you went through as a kid, that you didn't realize why until probably like three years later of the world, and end up not being the end of the world. And you learn from it and you're just like you know. You always look back and you're like I can't believe I used to think like that.
Speaker 2:I can't believe I used to say stuff like that, like I can't believe I used to wear clothes like that, like what was I doing wearing those clothes three years ago? But it's all for a purpose. So the older you get, I mean people tend to forget that going against them, they don't know what to do and they're just panicking. And you just have to realize, you know, just really sitting back and realizing like I didn't go through everything I went through for no reason, I didn't learn everything that I learned for no reason, and just knowing that there's a reason behind it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's absolutely huge man. A lot of people would call that like failing forward. Sometimes, if you fail at something, at least take a lesson out of it and keep going. I can tell you that I would imagine it's the same for you when I joined the military and I deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004,. Just in that one year I was deployed I grew up and became a man. Do you think that college athletics, especially like playing at your level, helped you grow up and mature faster and learn more life lessons than probably the average college student did?
Speaker 2:For sure I would say it has its perks. So I would say it's like 50-50. It for sure did. But there's also a side you're missing, because the football side is a business. So, like me and my friends in college, we used to always talk about the different ideas we have, like we want to own our own company, we want to do this X, y, z.
Speaker 2:You see videos about real estate, you want to do all these different things, but you don't actually have the time to go out there and make all the mistakes. That's going to happen regardless. If you have the best mentor in the world, you're still going to have to make some of those mistakes and go through it to be able to actually understand and how to build. Versus when you're playing football, you're so time consumed with it that a lot of it is just soak up as much knowledge as you can. But once you're done playing and everything, that's where guys tend to actually be able to go act on it and find out, see what they're good at, see what they don't like, see how different it is from what they actually thought it would be. So but like while you're playing, it's pretty tough. Besides, like consuming knowledge, I would say consume as much knowledge as you can and if you could find time to act on it, act on it. But for most guys they can't really find that out till they're finished.
Speaker 1:Would you say that networking during your time as a collegiate athlete is absolutely necessary and important? I know I've learned it as an adult in my profession how important networking is. Would you say, would you give that advice to folks or to athletes that are in there right now that are currently playing to make sure that you network. You never know where you're going to end up.
Speaker 2:One million percent. That's one of the most important things that you could do, and it's crazy because people will tell you that all the time, but a lot of people don't know what it looks like. A lot of people will say go get a mentor, but what does that actually look like? Like I, people would say that all the time, like you need to get a mentor. I actually did. Like what does that actually mean, though? Like what does that mean? I watch videos on YouTube. Like what does it actually mean? So I would say, like understanding what it actually means to network, like you're not just talking to try to get free stuff, like you're, like you actually want to build, like a real connection with somebody, and they could come back and help you in ways that you never even knew of or thought of. I would say it's so important. It's so important that will open a lot of doors for you that your degree won't just simply by knowing somebody, and they know what type of person you are.
Speaker 1:Right, like finding common values with other folks that may be in positions of profession that you might see yourself in someday, possibly social media.
Speaker 2:Like I don't even know if you can, but if I can go back in time, I would be, you know, going to UCLA, being around a real estate empire just in Los Angeles. I would be tweeting out like, hey, is there any real estate developers out here who, like you, know, whatever, I'll train your kids for free. I'll be doing stuff like that if I can go back in time. But especially in LA, they have such a great opportunity that they need to utilize it, because you're going to start to look back like when you finish and I even utilize it a lot. But like looking back now that I'm done, there's a lot of things that I wish I can. I wish I would have gone back and done a little bit differently as far as, like the networking goes, and like I would really try to leverage it a little bit more.
Speaker 1:You mentioned about the mentoring thing earlier. We talked before we started recording and you you mentioned that you're reaching back, trying to help out collegiate athletes to make better decisions, right, more or less. Are you looking to get into that, into that role as maybe a collegiate athletics mentor?
Speaker 2:yeah, for sure. I I've seen a lot of crazy stuff go on in college and also meeting a lot of people from different backgrounds. A lot of people's way of thinking is not the same. Stuff that you may think is common sense, somebody may think that's normal. It's really like politics You're either on this side or you're on this side and everybody thinks they're right. Once you get to college and you start stuff that's common sense to you, a lot of people it's not common sense to them. The way they talk, the way they maneuver and where they act and just being able to help people like understand like you can't keep moving like that. That's why a lot of guys they don't play their freshman year or sophomore year. They don't end up blossoming until later on in their career because a lot of stuff that goes on behind the scenes that people don't see is like stuff like that that it takes some people to maybe two, three years to like actually drill it in their head and start doing actions that you know kind of follow up with that Right.
Speaker 1:I think you'd be a great, a great coach or mentor, because you you talked about earlier the importance of thinking further, further than the tip of your nose, and thinking bigger, and that would be so huge for anyone that's currently in college, right now, to offer up their skills and abilities on the football field for a potential real estate developer, maybe for their kids, just so you can be around them and gain that knowledge. So you're playing football, you're going to school, but then you're also around this other professional that's successful. I mean that's a deadly combination right there. Yeah, you know, I think, I think your advice is is is excellent, man.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, I mean, I think that that's probably what college football needs now is probably folks like you to reach back and help, mentor and coach them, because I don't want to get into it too much, but we've seen with NIL, especially with UCLA and a certain somebody coming back and swapping schools, and then we've also seen with the draft, you know, kind of a huge PR debacle on people sliding down the draft boards, and I think a lot of that is exactly what you just talked about is mentoring and coaching. So I think that's a huge void that needs to be filled, and I don't know how many former collegiate athletes are doing that right now. But I think now more than ever, aside from the money, man, I think people need the advice, the type of advice that someone like you would provide, especially. You know you growing up with a Super Bowl MVP. You know an NFL professional for so many years, so you already had the edge, I guess, in collegiate and being a professional overall wouldn't you say yeah, I would say so.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, great advice, great mentorship, and I would say it's huge because a lot of times when they do bring you somebody to kind of articulate that in school, it's always somebody who's older nothing wrong with nothing wrong with that but a lot of guys don't feel like they could relate, it's like okay.
Speaker 2:Why is it always somebody that's been done playing for 15 years telling us this now like it's like okay. Show us somebody who's fresh, like that's actually actively going through it, not somebody that went through it and just like you know, somebody like fresh in the flesh, that we feel like we can connect to, who's also like smart and can articulate themselves. And you know, I would say that that's a big part of it, because if you bring somebody in who's 70 years old, even though he's like a legend, I mean you got guys that are 17 years old in the room Like they don't know who that is, they can't understand, they can't relate. So I would say, bringing in somebody who's relatable, that the coaches trust, that also you know had a good reputation while they were at the school or whatever, I would say that could be like a huge game changer.
Speaker 1:Oh, no doubt, man, and I would even say this like times have changed. Like you know, when I was growing up, we didn't have cell phones, we had landline phones, we had phones that were connected to the wall, that we had to, like, hold up to our ear, and even some phones had the little turn thing. And then there was no internet, like when your dad was playing. There was no Twitter, none of this crazy stuff. So it's important to be able to definitely relate to who you're coaching or who you're mentoring. For sure and I saw I was scoping out your TikTok man. I saw you spoken about faith and perspective on there. How have those things shaped your journey, especially through your tough times?
Speaker 2:A lot, man. I would say that the hardest thing is keeping faith through those hard times, because it sounds good, like when you pray and you get what you want. You're like thank you God. Thank you God. When stuff goes wrong it's kind of like it didn't go my way, but sometimes that was God doing that too, and a lot of times it's hard to see it in the moment until he reveals it later on. You understand why you went through it. You understand why you need to get what you wanted at that time and really understand, like what's for you is for you and what's not it's not. And everything comes with time, the right timing.
Speaker 2:And it's hard with social media now because you got some people where it appears that some people it happens overnight, some people get lucky, but most people you don't see them posting content because they weren't posting during the times of their struggles. They weren't posting when they were going through it. So all you see is that everything great, all the glitz and glamour oh, an 18 year old millionaire buys a Lambo or 24 year old buys this but you didn't see all the the five years before they were struggling, like mentally going through it. Um, so I would say not, don't compare yourself to anybody else, because if you look at like even Steve Harvey and people like that, a lot of them didn't start getting going until they were like 37, some people 40, some people in their 50s and it's just like dang.
Speaker 2:Now we feel so much pressure that if we're not a millionaire or close to it, or making close to 100K a month by 30, then like something's wrong with us or our life is over. So I would say, getting adjusted to that, because I experienced it too Constantly seeing young kids, you're like dang, is this the new normal? Am I the one who's jacked up? What am I not getting here? So I would say, just don't compare yourself. Have faith through it all and you'll start to and really you have to have faith when you can't see it. That's the point of faith and you'll start to really realize and God will open your eyes of to what's going on and where he wants you to go with your life.
Speaker 1:You seem like such a genuine grounded individual man. Your dad, your dad did, did. Uh, did you right by raising you the way that he did? Was there a lot of pressure for you to go to the next level after college?
Speaker 2:I never felt pressure, and that sounds like I'd always say the only times I only felt pressure when I was doing something I wasn't supposed to do. Like if you were to tell me or if I wasn't prepared. Like if you were to tell me, go out there and try to hit five home runs for major league baseball, I'm going to feel a lot of pressure because I can't do that. Like I've never trained for've never trained for that, ever in my life. I'm not prepared for that at all and it's not what I'm supposed to be doing.
Speaker 2:But football I always felt like it was what I was supposed to be doing. So I never felt pressure with that and I was always prepared. I always made sure I was prepared. I always woke up on time, I was always early, I always stretched, I always took care of everything I needed to. So like it sounds kind of crazy saying like I never felt pressure, but like when it came to football I never felt pressure. I felt pressure with other things in other areas, but it's because I wasn't super prepared in that field which made me feel the pressure.
Speaker 1:Right, it just seems like that's kind of your personality too. Would you say that you just kind of ingrained with just having that? You're just kind of laid back, but then you're always ready for the moment, right?
Speaker 2:yeah, I'm always I'm a. My dad's friend used to call me the quiet assassin because I would just sit back like calm. I was never the person. Even if I had a play, I didn't have to go stand over somebody and, like you know, talk all this mess and put on like a show to have the cameras watching me. I wish, I wish in high school I would have done a little, seeing how, where the social media and everything was going and NIL and marketing yourself. I wish I would have did a little more in high school. But I mean, you know, I was just being me myself, just like calm, laid back, I make the play cool, like I didn't have to do a bunch of extra stuff to try to say, hey, look at me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I just met you, maybe what like 20 minutes ago, but I'll say that you know, I can tell that you're like cool under the collar, cool under pressure. Thank you, I get that vibe from you, man. When you were getting out of high school though I didn't ask earlier were you recruited by UCLA, or what colleges were you being recruited by, and did they have the star rating back then?
Speaker 2:So, yeah, they had the star rating back then. I was recruited by like literally everybody, but there was a lot of schools I didn't care for. Like you know, just growing up usually a fan of whatever your parents are a fan of, there's a lot of great schools out there but you just never really think about it. So there was a lot of schools I never really paid attention to that. We end up going on visits to where I was like, oh wow, this is a lot different than I thought. Like my dad wanted me to get out there and start looking at schools and he wanted to make sure that I would go there. If I was a student and I couldn't play football either, Because you don't want to go to school if you could only see yourself playing football there, because you're going to be miserable in every other aspect you want to make sure somewhere that you could go as a student, have fun there.
Speaker 1:You could live there, even if athletics was taken away from you, and UCLA for me was that option. Yeah, I couldn't imagine playing football in Anchorage, alaska, when you hate the absolute cold. Right, you got to be able to stomach the environment or the city that you're in. Do you miss LA? I do.
Speaker 2:I do it's expensive.
Speaker 2:It's expensive, but I miss it, though it's weird, it feels like I grew up here in Texas, but it feels like more of home to me out there. It's hard to feel stressed because even if I was feeling down, you know, having those days it's like walking outside, seeing palm trees, like driving just to go to a restaurant and just seeing the beach and the ocean right there, like in the sun setting. It was like dang, like, like this is actually real, like it could be worse, like and I love Texas too but it just felt like home and it was like it was motivating, really motivating, seeing a bunch of other young people out there like entrepreneurs, just doing all types of crazy stuff and ambitious people. I'll tell you, it's a. It's a great place.
Speaker 2:As long as you have your head on and you know what you want out of life, it could be great. Some people think it could be a distraction, but I just feel like if you're in that phase of your life, it's going to be a distraction regardless. If you're in the phase of your life where you want to build it, you know you're going to be perfectly fine. It just depends you know what type of person you are and where you're at in your life.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you got to know thyself. When I applied for college, I could have went to like an Ohio state, but I knew thyself and I knew that I would never go to class. So I chose to go to a smaller school in Dayton, ohio, before I went into the military. And cause I knew like I just knew that you know what my strengths and weaknesses were. I was aware of myself. That's actually huge to be able to sit outside of yourself and see yourself and understand that. I know that if I go to school at Hawaii, I'm never going to go to class and I'm just going to goof off the entire time. Right? So you must've had a really great head on your shoulders, man, because there's a lot of distractions here in LA, that's for sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah there's for sure a lot in LA.
Speaker 1:That's for sure, yeah, there's for sure a lot yeah. And overall, you know, with social media it can really be a double-edged sword. You know, I've heard a lot of people say, oh, I hate social media, and then, like a couple of years later, they're on social media, and they're not just on social media, but they're hiring a videographer and everything else. How would you say, with social media and people making comments and critiques and things like that, how did you manage the pressure and the public spotlight that comes with being an athlete overall?
Speaker 2:Honestly, from the time I was young, a lot like people are always going to say something it's crazy. So, collierville, where I live at now, my parents my dad played for the Cowboys so my my parents built a house here multiple houses here before there was even a high school here, before there was anything. It was just all dirt and everything. And I've had people, even at high school parents, trying to say that I didn't live in the city. So I you know, cause I was on varsity as a freshman. So, yeah, those parents complained to the school that I didn't live there. And my parents have like rental properties and stuff and people were trying to say I lived at. I actually lived in a completely different city, super far away. It was just crazy stuff. And a lot of people know like they know where I live at, they know who my dad is, they know my family because we've been there longer than everybody. So you know dealing with stuff like that.
Speaker 2:I'm used to people saying stuff yeah, people were like, oh, he's on varsity because of his dad, Until you see me go out there and play, and it's like he's not the one making the plays out there. Me being a sophomore in high school, I was like second at the time in, uh, from my class in like yards and touchdowns as a sophomore and stuff.
Speaker 1:It's like he's not doing you know a reason for things yeah, no doubt, especially when they're not on your team and they're on the opposite team. Right, they're like let's try to get this guy, let's try to get this guy suspended or something. Let's just come up with some, some bs over, though, what do you think you've learned as far as dealing with the doubts and the setbacks? What advice would you give to younger athletes or young adults out there that are facing those moments?
Speaker 2:I'll say talk to your teammates, because most of the world it's like 1% of people get full ride scholarships to. You know, it's like 1.3% or something like that. You know get scholarships to play in college. So I would say that's a small percentage of people, but those are really the only people who are going to actually be able to understand what you're going through. So a lot of times people feel embarrassed, like I don't want to tell my teammate this, but you'd be surprised.
Speaker 2:Everybody's either felt what you felt at a certain time on their point. They've either gone through it or they're going through it too and also don't want to say anything. And when you start to get in rooms and sit down with people and you're kind of forced to talk about certain things, you start to realize like it makes you feel good and makes you like open up and realize like dang, like I'm not the only one going through this. It felt like the end end of the world. But like eight other guys feel like that, Like okay, yeah, we can get through this. And then you guys start, you know, picking each other up. So I would say, talking. Talk to the people that are going through it with you, regardless if they look like they, you know, got everything put together, Cause those are the people that are going to understand of times like your own family, because they're your family, but they're not actually going through what you went through. And if they did go through it, it was 30, 40 years ago, so it's a little different now.
Speaker 1:Right, you definitely have to find your tribe right. Or find your team, find that, find that group. I you know it's like they always say like if you're hanging out with five scholar athletes, that makes you the six, if you're hanging out with five idiots, that makes you the six idiot right. So making sure you find your tribe Cam. Now life after college football. What is your purpose now?
Speaker 2:I'll tell you, my purpose is just giving back to the game that I gave everything, to, giving back all the knowledge that I received and learned from different people, different coaches, different teammates, learning different ways to navigate through the sport and school the best way possible without having to, you know, be stressed all the time. Just giving back all the knowledge I have and doing it, while it's still what I used to, you know, always hate as a player too, where they bring somebody back to talk. I used to love listening to guest speakers, though, but it was, like always, a repetitive thing. It's always somebody who's been removed from the sport for so long that even even what they're saying is so great A lot of people can't relate to it, because you know it's just been so long. Even though a lot of the principles are the same, you still want somebody who you, where it feels like they're going through it with you or they went, or they just went through it, or they just figured out a way to overcome that obstacle.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's, that's. That's true being relatable and finding folks that can actually relate to what you're going through and where you're at and what point you're at. Sometimes, you know, it gets frustrating because I've given advice to family before and it doesn't sound as good when it's coming from me. The same advice comes from someone else's mouth. It sounds so much better to them. So it's exactly what you're saying, man. It's like it sounds better coming from someone else with the same fundamental advice, right?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:But I mean that's huge in order to open up the ears and to get folks listening. We talked about it briefly, man, have you contemplated coaching?
Speaker 2:So I've always I would out-train people. I've had a lot of people tell me you should coach, you should coach, you should get into coaching. A lot of my coaches have told me that, like you're going to be a great coach one day and to me, like coaching through coaching somebody through life is the same way, like it's still, you're still coaching, you're still helping them out. I just don't want to deal with all the politics that comes with coaching and people above you really pulling the strings, because then at that point you're going to have to lie to somebody. Some kid's going to have to get lied to, even if it's not just a straight up big lie in the back of your head. You know, like dang, like my job's to bring the best kids to the school, but I can't play him, even though I know he's good enough to start somewhere else. He could potentially ride the bench here for his whole career.
Speaker 2:I want to want to do that. I want to actually apply value, something that they could go and use picking the right school training, habits, drills that are actually going to benefit them. Different questions to ask the coaches, cause a lot of people lie and we'll tell you stuff that sounds good, but how to actually go do your own research to find out, like, what the best school is for you, so you don't have to transfer multiple times because moving sucks, like it's hard moving, just getting up and leaving NIL, knowing how to market yourself, go get bigger deals. Should you do it on your own? Should you have somebody doing it for you? How do you find somebody? You know a lot of that stuff. A lot of people don't know how to you know maneuver through all of it because it's foreign to them. So just you know helping people navigate through that better.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, at the end of the day, a lot of these young adults I don't want to say kids a lot of these young adults, 17, 18 years old, are dealing with a lot of money and they're making huge decisions. Man, I remember when I was 18 years old, deciding to go into the military, I didn't know what the hell I was doing. I just went in and put a blindfold on and signed up for a branch. I didn't know the difference. I didn't know what was the difference between anything. No one was there to explain it to me.
Speaker 1:So being that trusted, authentic, genuine voice of reason is definitely. I love college football. I do and I love the game of football because of the heart that's involved in the game, and having played it myself in high school level, at a very small school, I think, ingrained me even more into just falling in love with the sport. But having that trusted voice is something that I think college football needs today, because there's too much money involved in it and there's less reasoning and logic involved in it anymore. So is that something that you're trying to get into? Is actually becoming an agent of some sort or being a life coach for collegiate athletes?
Speaker 2:Yeah for sure, absolutely. I'm just trying to figure out what side of the space I want to be on and like the correct term that I would use, right, you know, consulting it sounds like such like a corporate thing to say, but like really like consulting through life, not just one specific avenue. Like I don't want to be there just as your agent trying to just help you with stuff regarding the football. Like, I know a lot of stuff. I've been through a lot of stuff just help you with stuff regarding the football. Like I know a lot of stuff. I've been through a lot of stuff.
Speaker 2:Regardless of my age, I'm qualified to talk about a lot of stuff, regardless of if somebody's been in the industry doing it for 10 plus years. If you know more than somebody, you know more than somebody. Information has no age limit, the knowledge that you conceive yourself. There's no age limit or anything to that. Like, if you're good at something, you're good at it regardless.
Speaker 2:So just trying to show that value and knowing how many people are like misguided out here, it's wild and it's insane and I feel like I would feel bad going to sleep every single day and dying with all the information, everything I know, and I never told it, because a lot of players, a lot of players, feel the same way. They don't know what's going on and when they start to realize what's going on, they still there's still a lot they don't realize and understand. So like it just puts them in a bad place mentally. And everybody cares about the mental health and stuff. When something happens, everybody comes and posts like, like you know, we're praying for so-and-so, like mental health is real, but a lot of times they only say that stuff when something after an event happens. But a lot of times they only say that stuff when something after an event happens. But a lot of times players are going through stuff caused by a lot of different reasons Could be their coach, and then you know in the meantime it could be.
Speaker 2:You're just being soft, like suck it up, it's part of life, and then something happens. It's like you know mental health, so like understanding who you could talk to, how to talk to somebody, and also like as a coach, being like an older coach and a new age and adapting to things that are problems now. They weren't problems for those people, so it's hard for them to be able to comprehend a lot of certain things, regardless of how they view it. They could.
Speaker 2:You know, some stuff is soft nowadays. Like you know, I hear it a lot because my dad, like y'all kids nowadays, but at the end of the day, like he'll never be able to understand it or comprehend it how we do, and just like I'll never know what it's like to, you know, go a week without food, like, no matter how hard he drills into my head that he had to do something, or like that as a kid I try to teach me, is not going to do much. So that's why I'll say, really having somebody who's freshly out the game to be able to talk to, because they could relate to you, they could understand you, versus being so far removed.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, I love it, man. I really think that it's practical and it's necessary for modern times, especially in college football. I mean, a lot of people were throwing, no matter what side of the fence you're on, about NIL, the spring portal that opened up and the quarterback from Tennessee that transferred to UCLA. I mean, everybody jumped on their video cameras and their microphones and just gave this guy all kinds of whatever about it. But at the end of the day, if you're not happy location wise, like you mentioned earlier, because we don't know, like nobody knows, that could be a possibility, man, like, if you just go somewhere and then you realize you know what this isn't, this isn't me.
Speaker 1:Like, I'm not happy here, I'm happy on the gridiron, but I'm not happy outside the gridiron because this just is not my city or state or whatever I'm at like that's a huge factor too. At the end of the day, there's a lot of 18, 19, 20 year old young adults that are making very adult decisions, and so everything you're talking about, man, like in the military, we have, uh, several different systems out here that that we utilize. Either it's nonprofits or it's just programs that we have set up for mentoring. Does college football have anything, or college sports have anything like that at all, where you've got athletes like yourself that can reach back and be a part of the lives of folks that are currently in right now.
Speaker 2:So I would say they'll bring on speakers every. It's not often, but they'll bring back some former players who used to play. Like I said, it's usually guys that are, you know, a little more removed, like they played there eight years ago or something, and you're just like, yeah, but in your head you're like who's this guy? Like you were a kid, like you don't remember him, like who was this guy over here trying to talk to us Like versus? You know, if you brought back a player who just finished playing last year and was like no, like I want to tell you guys how it really is outside of here. One guys know you, so you know they're oh, what's up, what's up. But they're really going to listen to you because they know they can trust you and they know, like you're not far removed. But as far as like somebody there really been like a program for it, there's not yet.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, man, I definitely think there's a huge void that someone of your character needs to fill for sure. So, cam, in the next few years, what's your vision for Cam Brown beyond the gridiron? Where do you see yourself in the next like five years?
Speaker 2:I see myself back in California, for sure, nice, like high rise windows all across the bedroom, big balcony and just helping people through life with football. How to navigate through sports, I don't really know what that looks like yet, but for sure along those lines, you know, building some homes, designing some buildings, all those things that I've always wanted to do since I was a kid, really hopping into that, but for sure, having my foot on the gas in the football, space management relations, just guiding, consulting. I don't really know what that looks like yet, but you know, we'll see.
Speaker 1:It's okay. I mean it's okay to have a direction and not necessarily an azbeth, I mean cause. At the end of the day, from what I see on your social media, you're moving in a direction and as you move in that direction, things are going to present themselves to you and you have the lateral option of saying yes or no to those things and, at the end of the day, you are who you are. You're a man of great character. I've only met you for the last 45 minutes and I can tell you you're very cool under the collar, as they say, and you're a true leader for sure, and one of the main themes of my podcast is Adapt and Overcome. So, cam, would you mind sharing a moment in your life when you were forced to pivot or face adversity, and what that moment taught you about?
Speaker 2:resilience and growth. There's a lot of moments where I've had to face adversity Too many to count and it looks different for everybody. Don't ever think that's your problem. Somebody told me this once. Like, don't ever try to say that your problem is less than somebody else's just because our circumstance seems worse, cause mentally it could still play the same toll on you, like some. I know it's a crazy analogy to say, but if I lost a book, like if I lost my notebook, it could, it could take the same toll mentally on me that somebody who lost, like a family member, did. It's a crazy job. But don't ever try to compare your situation and be like well, so-and-so is going through more than me. Don't ever do that because mentally you never know how it affects some people. Everybody gets affected differently, understanding you're going through something.
Speaker 2:But it's not the end of the world. It's not the end of the road you got to keep pushing. Talk, not the end of the road. You got to keep pushing. Talk to people. Don't think you're alone. Everybody's mentally going through something. I promise you they are. So don't ever think you're alone in it. Talk to somebody. It'll help you get through it and know that sometimes you have to go through stuff by yourself and alone to learn how to overcome it. When something presents itself later on in life, don't think because you're alone sometimes that it's a bad thing.
Speaker 1:Wow, that sums up a lot of great advice right there, man. I mean, perspective is huge. Perspective is so huge and everyone has a different level of what a bad day looks like and different levels of resiliency.
Speaker 1:Right yeah, and I think that's part of your growth as a collegiate athlete that you've managed to learn over the years where other folks out there who may not have been through so much adversity may not, may not understand, and I think that's that's why you're such a professional with with where you are right now. Cam, I'm hoping to see you at some games this year. Man, are you planning on attending any of the ucla games?
Speaker 2:I'm trying to work it out with my schedule, but I for sure want to come back to a couple games yeah, I'm definitely going to be, uh, at least at every home game, possibly the unlv game too, out of town.
Speaker 1:Who's your pick this year to win the national championship?
Speaker 2:I would love for the bruins to win um. Honestly now, with college football you never know. You never know. Just like cincinnati came on the rise that one year like you met, like you really never know, especially now. Like normal teams historically aren't like what you would think they are. Um, I remember when we played I think it was Alabama State. I believe they had a lot of transfers on their team from, like the SEC. So it's like this isn't just like a normal um Alabama State team that you guys would think they are like some just bad team, like no. Like even these small schools now are loaded up with some players I was there for that game.
Speaker 1:It was hot, yeah, during the day, man I was like freaking drinking a lot of water that day. You guys had alabama state and then you had alabama. We had another alabama too.
Speaker 2:Alabama, a&m.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was HBCU team.
Speaker 2:Yeah two.
Speaker 1:Alabama teams that year. Yeah, I was there for both those games, man. I loved it, except for the damn 95-degree weather. It was nice, man, it was bad. Some good victories there. So, nil man, before we round things out here, name, image and likeness is reshaping college football. Where do you see the game heading in the next few years and what advice would you give younger players navigating this new era of college football?
Speaker 2:wow, that's interesting. Let's try to think about where it's headed, because they're so you know they. Finally they let go of all the you know the rules and everything. They were like, okay, you guys could finally be able to make some money off your name, but then now it's like, okay, whoa, whoa, like some guys, you guys are getting paid too much money. Now there's no regulations on this, so it's tricky to find out where it's going to go, if there's going to be limitations or like salary caps. It's going to be interesting, but I would say, for sure, leverage it while you can. A but I would say, for sure, leverage it while you can.
Speaker 2:A lot of people don't realize how much money they're getting. It's like a lot of these guys are in the top 1% earners of America right now, but it's only for. Most of the guys aren't going to the NFL, so it's only for a short amount of time. So, for sure, maximize it while you can. I remember when I was in college, I was training with some NFL guys and they were telling me like you guys are getting more brand deals, you got guys who don't play, who are able to go out there and get brand deals. I'm in the whole NFL. I'm a professional athlete and because I'm not one of the household names, I can't even get brand deals. That's crazy to think. I'm a professional Like you guys are trying to get to where I'm at and you guys have something that I can't, even you know, get access to. So I would say understand that because that's true, and leverage it while you can.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Make sure you brand yourself, make sure you market yourself, make sure you represent yourself online. I think that's really huge right.
Speaker 2:For sure. Yeah, they're watching everything and there's people that are people out there that cannot wait for you to mess up Even the smallest facial expression. Somebody will try to clip it and put words over it and people will just run to the comments and, you know, deem it as true, or so, just being aware that people are always watching you, somebody wants you to make a mistake, even though, as crazy as it sounds, that, there's people you know out there like that, it's true and it's happening. So just carrying yourself, you know well and being a good person, because that'll open a lot of doors for you, regardless, if somebody has better, there's people who had better stats than me accolades and stuff but a lot of doors were open for me just because of you know, being a good person. And some people think that just their ability alone is going to open every door for them, and that's just like a bad way of thinking.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you're absolutely right, man. Definitely your natural skill has a ceiling at some point and your character kind of takes over after that. So I can definitely tell you're a man of character for sure, man, and your dad definitely did a great job raising you, even though you're the youngest of three and you're the only boy in the family, which is a lot of pressure probably for you to play sports and play football, and you know it's. It's been such a pleasure talking to you today. Was there anything in this podcast that I didn't cover that you'd like to mention before we round things out tonight?
Speaker 2:I feel like we covered a lot. It's hard Cause I always I feel like, right, when we get off I'm going to remember something and be like dang, like should have covered this. But I think we, I think we, you know we pretty much hit on the nose or just said you know, believe in yourself, be yourself. That's the only way you're going to. There's only one of you out there. Don't try to say what somebody else is going to do or what somebody else is going to watch.
Speaker 2:I was like nervous. I was always good with the camera, but I was always bad when I had to put it on myself. Like if somebody else was holding the camera, it was fine, or interviewing me, but with the content and everything, having to put it on myself and like me talking to it, was like I would get nervous and I'm not even nervous in front of the camera, but like doing it, you know, for myself was a little tough, but I was like you know what, after I put out a couple of videos, started to feel comfortable now, like I could talk about anything on there. Just post the video, um, and it's fine.
Speaker 2:But don't ever put limitations on yourself. Don't ever say what somebody else is gonna do. Whatever somebody else is gonna watch, don't say that nobody's gonna buy your clothes. That's what you want to do. Just don't ever do that because, like you really never know. People are into some of the weirdest, craziest things and the internet amazes me every single day. So, like, just really understand that when you see what some people are really into and some of the trends that they follow and there's people who watch videos, who love videos of people like clipping their nails and stuff like the weirdest stuff, like people are into anything. So, as long as you're yourself, there's people that are going to gravitate towards that.
Speaker 1:Don't try to be anybody else, but you I'll say, man, over the years I've been doing this podcast for a couple years I get in my own way. Sometimes I'm like, oh, I can't do that. I can't hold the camera in front of myself, and even for a long time it took me uh many episodes to get used to just sitting here talking to someone. Like I'm talking to you right now, man, because I feel stupid. I know my friends are gonna see this, I know my co-workers gonna see this, I know they're gonna make fun of me, but I don't care.
Speaker 1:I don't care you know what I mean. It's just kind of what I'm saying you get in, you get in your own way. Those same people that are making fun of you are also kind of envying what you do, in a way, and wishing they could do what you do so they'll come back around.
Speaker 2:They always do.
Speaker 1:Yeah, man, they become fans, right. So, no man, dude, you're so full of like awesome advice, man, and just life lessons. It's been such a great conversation overall, man, and I, like I said, I'm kind of fanaticking out man because I literally saw you on the gridiron just a few years ago. Man, I love football. I really appreciate you giving me the opportunity to tell some of your story today, share your story from growing up in a football family to making your mark at UCLA and, most importantly, you know the lessons that you've carried forward into life after football. Just hearing your insights on leadership, nil, adversity, finding your purpose beyond the game and truly captures the heart of who you are and what my podcast, you know, is about the adapt and overcome for folks out there that are interested in following you on your social medias. I know you're on Instagram, uh, and I believe you're on Twitter and LinkedIn, right.
Speaker 2:I'm on Instagram, twitter, um, my Instagram's at the Cam Brown with the K. I just started the YouTube channel, actually probably like four days ago, and it's at the Cam Brown with two N's. My Twitter I think I'm not positive about my Twitter handle. It's like Cameron Brown with two underscores. I believe I could be wrong, but you know I'm in. My TikTok is at the Cam Brown as well, same as my Instagram. So you know, I'm trying to get consistent post content at least across Instagram, posting right now on Instagram and TikTok and trying to, you know, get to YouTube a little bit, start uploading some shorts and different things like that.
Speaker 1:That's awesome, man. I'll definitely make sure that I post in the show notes. If you're listening to this on the podcast, it'll be down in the show notes. If you're watching this on YouTube, you can see Cam's awesome pink headset and microphone that he's wearing. It was the last minute, right? You know the technical difficulties behind this, Cam, right? Sometimes you got to do what you got to do, man. I appreciate you doing that today, brother.
Speaker 2:No problem. No, I love being on here. I'm grateful that you had me.
Speaker 1:No, the pleasure is all mine. Honestly, man, it's been an honor. Man, I can't believe. I watched you from the stands and now I'm sitting in front of you having this conversation, so the honor is all mine. Man, Thank you so much and thank you for your years at UCLA and providing the sports entertainment that you did, man, and giving it your all. That was truly a great team that you had and you guys had a lot of heart. Back then you guys didn't have the same hype maybe as some other teams, but at the end of the day, man, you guys put in some real, real like war efforts in some of those games and I loved it. So, thank you, Thank you. And for folks out there, make sure you follow Cam on his social medias Again, scroll down to the bottom show notes and then also on YouTube. You can see it down in the description. And for everyone else out there, as always, I want you to stay tuned, stay focused and stay motivated. Warriors fall out.