From the NFL to the Art World: Kellen Mond on Authentic Leadership and Real Connection

In this episode of the Activating Greatness Podcast, host Alec McChesney sits down with former NFL quarterback Kellen Mond to explore how authenticity shapes leadership, relationships, and long-term success. Drawing from his experiences in college football, the NFL, and his transition into the art and mentorship world, Kellen shares powerful lessons about building trust, creating genuine connections, and leading through presence and character. The conversation highlights how leaders create the atmosphere around them, why authenticity is the foundation for strong teams, and how building culture and trust ultimately drives performance both on and off the field.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Hello, hello, hello, and welcome to another episode of Activating Greatness, the show where we dig into what it really takes to lead with purpose, inspire performance, and create lasting impact. As always, I'm your host, Alec McChesney. And every episode, we sit down with leaders, thinkers, and change makers who are unlocking potential in themselves, their teams, and their organizations. Here we talk about the real stuff: leadership that drives culture, strategy that creates momentum, and the mindset that turns good intentions into game-changing results. Because greatness, it isn't a title, it's a choice. It's something you activate every single day. So thank you. Thank you for listening, for showing up, and for being a commute part of a community of leaders who refuse to settle for good enough. Now, let's dive in and meet today's incredible guest. Today's guest is Kellen Mont, former NFL quarterback drafted by the Minnesota Vikings after a standout collegiate career at Texas AM. Kevin has played at the highest levels of football, experiencing leaderships across high school, college, and the NFL. Since stepping away from the league, he has transitioned into the art world and mentorship, building relationships and sharing insights on leadership, authenticity, and personal development. And Kellen has seen firsthand how leadership can shape an organization, how authenticity, energy, and self-awareness can unify one. And he believes that leadership is not a title you hold, but rather an atmosphere that you create. And I uh could be more thankful, Kellen, for you spending a little bit of time with us. And I know in our first connection, we ran around for 30 minutes. We probably could have just hit record right out of the gate. So before we get started, would love to have you kind of give us a little bit more of your background and where you're at today.

SPEAKER_01 1:52

Yeah, so like you like you said, uh played college ball at Texas A. M. was drafted by the Vikings in 2021. Uh spent some time, spent a year uh with the Cleveland Browns in 2022 with the Indianapolis Colts in 2023. And then a short stint with the uh New Orleans Saints, which sometimes I don't even necessarily count because it was uh such a short stint and it wasn't during the season. Um played in the UFL, but now I'm in I'm in the fine arts space. And so I think uh I guess I could say I've made a transition from a photographer to artist. So I've been a photographer since my rookie year in the NFL, um, but sort of made that transition into art um really last year. And uh usually I say that transition is more than just you know when you bring out a camera and travel with the camera. It's once you start printing on canvas and fine art paper, and then you start selling your works and trying to get into shows, galleries, museums, and so uh it's uh it's I'd say it's a unique journey. Not many people from the football world jump into the art space, but I will say there's a a large population of people who I think are who would love to be able to be in this space, they like the creative space and they like the artistry. Um sometimes it's just pretty difficult on how do I get in there, how can I find my way, who do I need to meet in that space.

SPEAKER_00 3:17

I I love it. And I for those who have listened to the Activating Greatness Podcast, they know that I'm allowed to ask uh at least one bad podcast question every episode. And I think I'm gonna rip the band-aid off here because today's conversation, I want to talk about authenticity, I want to talk about genuine relationships and why being yourself is maybe the most powerful leadership trait that you can have. And we've got a great set of questions. But when I met you a couple of weeks back and we talked about the NFL and we talked about your college career, it was a conversation. And then when we talked about art and photography, it felt like you were you were kind of on fire again. And I'm just curious, how has that transition been? Before we even get into the the the nitty-gritty of leadership and all of that, it's very clear that this is not a just a side thing for you. You you love it. And and I'm curious, how was that growth just going from something that you're so competitive in? And now that fire is finding a new way to be unleashed for for Calin Mutt in 2026.

SPEAKER_01 4:28

Yeah, I think that's exactly right. I think, you know, as as a football player, as an athlete, one of the big things that you miss when you are an athlete, and then once you end up retiring, or you know, you're not playing the game anymore, is sort of that burning passion to be able to do something. A lot of times we as athletes, we've been playing a really long time and we post-career, we jump into something that we weren't necessarily wanting to do, may not have a lot of interest in. Um, and so I found a lot of joy in sort of building out my sort of identity business from scratch in the art space, figuring out what do I need to learn? Because it is sort of, you know, a lot of times as an artist, and so you get really, really big. And I do have certain help, which um which has been really good. Um, but everything is sort of built from scratch. So you kind of have to learn how to market yourself in a big different way. You sort of gotta learn, hey, what is the in terms of production and the quality of art, not just how good you are as a photographer, but what makes the production from canvas and fine art materials, what makes you on sort of that upper echelon, that A-class level. Um, you know, what's your way of being able to get in front of gallery directors and and you know, being able to pull yourself out there and meet really as much as many people as you can. And so it's sort of the one-man show, sort of doing the CEO role, doing the sort of CFO role, they're doing um, you know, a marketing role as well. So um, but I I found a lot of joy in in not just like being busy, but you know, you know, having really quality work, meeting really quality people, a lot of traveling to different events, hosting different events. And it's it's been it's been fun. It's been awesome.

SPEAKER_00 6:18

Uh I I love it. And I love I love hearing the the passion come from your perspective. And and I think that was one of the first things that made me reach out was you had an original post on LinkedIn about the change into art and what was firing you up. And then you had a follow-up one about leadership. And I thought, you know, this is the exact type of story that we want to tell on this show, leadership from a different perspective. And, you know, you've talked about on LinkedIn that leadership is really an atmosphere you create. It doesn't have to be a title you hold, whether it's a CEO or you're a quarterback or you're an artist or you're an individual contributor. You believe that it's in the actions and the way you hold yourself. And so I'm curious from your time in the NFL, from your time in college, and then now, what did that teach you about energy and authenticity and the impact that those two things have on a team and on an organization as well?

SPEAKER_01 7:18

Yeah, you know, I think it's one of those things where you sort of be dying away leadership and you know, the people who really control the building. So in the NFL, yes, the GM is is a higher rank than the head coach, but the head coach is the one speaking to you every day. And so I think a lot of times when you are sort of the main leader and the main speaker to uh you know, 90 guys, you know, in season, maybe 70 guys, every single day is extremely important. And you never know which is gonna be that specific day that ends up maybe allowing someone or maybe something slipping in a player's mind to say, hey, I might be able to take off this day. Maybe my head coach came in a little bit late for days ago and you know wasn't as fired up or or really wasn't ready for the week. Maybe I could take off this day. Same way when you get in a game, and we most athletes and especially football players, um, know the sayings like you never know which play is gonna cost you the game. And so every single play is important, and you know, the way you do small things is the way you do all things. And so um it's every single day is is just as important as as any other ones. And so, you know, like like you know, and I've I've been able to be in front of uh a lot of people, even in my high school career at IMG Academy. Uh Kevin Wright, who ended up going to Indiana um and was a coach, and our offensive coordinator, Rich Martel, who was a former NFL quarterback. So we we had guys, and you know, Ernie Logan was on the defensive side, was a former, might have won a super bowl. Um, but um, but yeah, we had a we had a long list of guys who had NFL experience, weather played, coaching. Um, and then jumping into college ball, we had a lot of guys. So I've been able to see a lot of different personalities, leadership styles, and and sort of been able to learn from a lot of different people. And so now being able to apply it to just my relationships in general, how I treat business has been, you know, a really huge advantage.

SPEAKER_00 9:26

Yeah. Well, I think one of the things that you and I aligned on in our first conversation was the similarities between a team structure in the NFL and also a an insurance company, a construction firm that's trying to push to be great. And one of the things that you said there, you know, the small things are really the big things. And one of the themes of this episode and and in general, the show is that good enough is neither, right? You can't just show up and say, yeah, you know, it's good, it's fine. We'll we're we're okay. Um, and we talk at velocity all the time about culture is what you repeatedly do. It's it's showing up, it's having those tough conversations, it's having the right conversations, and it is what makes a company go. And I feel like what you just walk through is that to a T. You can't show up and just check a box in the NFL. You can't do that nowadays in college and even going back to high school, and especially when you have coaches like you did at IMG, they're setting that standard of what success looks like and how we have to hold each other accountable to get there as well, right?

SPEAKER_01 10:34

Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I think culture is is probably the number one thing. You know, I think there's multiple different tiers in terms of what makes a team great and culture and the way you show up and you know, the way you finish games is a lot of times a reflection of that culture and sort of the work ethic. You know, the other big component, which you know, is is simply just how good your offensive system is, how good is your defensive system, sort of your your in-game play calling and and and sort of those things. Um usually the I guess the comparison for for y'all's world is just y'all's every every single company has systems and how efficient they are, when they utilize those systems and and and those types of things. But when it comes to culture and and leadership, that's an everyday thing. And you know, I I say it all the time. A lot of times it's just about the the way you walk in the building every single day. And you know, I think a lot of guys, and there was a lot of reports whenever Mike Zimmer had left and got fired, and then Kevin O'Connell comes in, and it was sort of uh sometimes a little bit of a culture shock to us because of just obviously a lot more youthful, different style of communication, but you know, I still say to this day, Kevin O'Connell is great when it comes to offense and and in-game play calling, play designing, hunting coverages. But when it comes to leadership, like that dude is born to teach. Like he that that's I mean, his his ability to communicate and speak to guys is is is almost second to none. So you see certain guys who have sort of that ability to be able to speak to guys, and it's not always, you know, just roses every single day. I mean, it's you know, they they had a great season with Kirk Cousins, I think, back in 2022. Yeah, following year, Kirk Terrace is Achilles, following year, Sam Gardold, and then they go to the playoffs, and then this this past year been more of a struggle. So every single team sort of has that up and down, and and really you just never know how good you're gonna be until you get into that season until laptop is a climb. Yeah. And and your ability to be able to adjust in the moment is is something that is you know a huge factor when it comes to being able to shape the leadership and the culture, and then sort of get into talking about the quality of guys that you have on your team, you know, having a right offensive coordinator, you know, pass game coordinator, everyone has their own specific role and then how you guys function throughout the week to be as efficient as possible to be able to come up with the game plan to be able to execute on a Sunday, and then you review Monday, you wipe it, and then it's just rinse and repeat week after week.

SPEAKER_00 13:27

Yeah. Well, I think it comes back to that consistency, right? That you have to have in order to be successful at that level. And we talk about it on the business side that culture is the combination of the systems that you have in place and then the people you have to execute those systems. And I mentioned before we went live that I had just interviewed Jose Saquet, the CEO of Pan American Life Insurance. And the way that he was, after 21 years in that role as CEO, I asked him a question about the agents that work for him. He lit up the passion that came through that screen in a five-minute answer. I could feel the same way that I felt when Dan Campbell takes over the Lions and talks about culture coming in and they still are 0 and 10. But he's like, we're building a culture to have the right systems and the right people in place. There's again that similarity between the two. And then I think your point about having the right people to execute that. I mean, there's no better example in football than an offensive coordinator and a defensive coordinator who are bought in and a team reaches its potential. And then that OC or the DC gets poached and they go and they take a head coaching job. And now you're trying to find new people that fit the systems, that fit the culture that you have in place. And, you know, it's a lot easier said than done, especially at the highest stakes that you guys are living with on a day-to-day basis, too.

SPEAKER_01 14:57

Yeah, I mean, I think every single person uh has a role. And a lot of times there's a lot more people, you know, for example, in the quarterback room, it's not just a quarterback coach or offensive coordinator. For example, when Kevin O'Connell came into Minnesota, Kevin O'Connell obviously was a former quarterback, so he's in the quarterback room and he obviously runs the system. Wes Phillips is offensive coordinator, uh, been around the game for probably his whole life, Wade Phillips' son.

SPEAKER_00 15:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:27

So he's in the in the room. You have our quarterback coach, uh Chris O'Veara. You also have Gerard Johnson, who is uh former Texas AM quarterback, played in the NFL, and then he just got hired, I think, with the Philadelphia Eagles. He was the assistant quarterback coach. You also have Randy Densy, who maybe with the Jacksonville Jab, whatever he was close to getting, yeah, he was close to getting a head coaching job at a few other spots. He was sort of the understudy and maybe sort of the right-hand man of Kevin O'Connell, just pretty much learning everything that he did. Yeah. That's five coaches. And then you also have me, Kirk Cousins, and then Sean Manning, who just took the Philadelphia Eagles job. So it's not just like, hey, you're the coaches, you're the players. A lot of times this is sort of a collaborative effort of Kirk Cousins, you're the starter. What do you like on these types of downs? Um, hey, Wes Phillips, can we develop something that may be able to get us this look and be able to combinate for Kirk Cousins? And can we get his full work right? So it's like it's a mesh of so many different people, different personalities, and that's just in the quarterback room. Um other rooms will have less people. Um I wouldn't say less important rooms, but obviously there's a large priority when it comes to the quarterbacks because you touch the ball every single play. But offensive line rooms will have, you know, run game coordinators in there, offensive line coaches, assistant offensive line coaches. A lot of times the running backs will be in there. So it's really about how all of these different rooms can come together all into one. A lot of times when they may not even meet with each other and still have effective communication and be able to function on one accord just like it was a symphony, when you also have a defense who essentially is trying to mess up that rhythm and essentially mess up that symphony and that coordination.

SPEAKER_00 17:25

If if we just remove the names and we pretend we're not talking about football there, that is an analogy for business in 2026 and authentic relationships, the personalities in the room, the preparation that has to go into place in order to be successful. Uh, I do I want to talk a little bit about the relationships, but I want to quick pivot, Kellen, to uh a topic that I think a lot of leaders, especially up-and-coming leaders, need to learn a little bit more about within this self-awareness, right? And you shared both in our conversations, but also on LinkedIn, that one of the biggest lessons that you've learned was that the best performers remain themselves and they are true to who they are. They don't change because of where they got drafted or because they're getting drafted. And I'm curious, how did you navigate being told to act a little bit differently or to be a little bit different versus staying true to who you are? And how did that kind of, I'm sure it was an up and down. Maybe you took four steps forward, then three back. And what lessons did you learn? And and what did you learn uh in general from that process as well?

SPEAKER_01 18:36

Yeah, I think it's it's really tough because a lot of times you sort of battle, obviously, you have certain things in your mind where you're saying, hey, I think this is how I best operate. A lot of times you're trying to figure out what's the best way to operate in the NFL and how what's the best way to play. And a lot of times you sort of spend so many mental calories trying to figure out what's the best way to play instead of just going out and performing. And it can be really difficult because you're sort of balancing certain things that you have in your mind, maybe certain things that other coaches want you to do, which you may not be too comfortable with. And so part of my sort of reflection on the whole idea of being able to remain yourself started when I was a rookie in the NFL, and even prior to that, when I was in sort of pre-draft and pre-combine training, there are a lot of people in my ear, because of my personality style, of being a little bit more on the reserve side, not this big yeller type person. And so people saying, hey, if you want to be successful in this league, you have to be able to get on guys and yell on guys, and you can't be this monotone type of person. So I was like, okay, maybe I need to find a way to get some of that within me so I can be successful at the next level. So whenever I got to my rookie year, every time we went to play a game, whether it's preseason or you know, regular season, I felt I had already watched Kirk Cousins and all the arts our guys play and then practice and all that. I went to go watch the other teams. And so I went to go watch, you know, we played against Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, uh Ronflitzberger, Tom Brady, I think, you know, multiple different people, Matthew Stafford. So I was able to watch all of the best quarterbacks throughout the preseason and regular season games, how they warmed up, how they functioned, uh mid-game, watching their body language, everything you could think of. And I sort of came to this reflection late in the season of like, man, I all of the things that I was told are definitely not true. I never saw Kirk Cousins yell or get on guys. I never saw Adam Thielen, who's a 10-year vet at the time. You know, there's a certain level of passion and you know, style that he plays with, but like cussing out, like doing the stuff that I was told was like completely foreign.

SPEAKER_00 21:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:03

And even on the good teams, when you hear some of this stuff, like, yes, quarterbacks have the right to get on guys and all these different things, but it's not in this way that I was told this is how you're going to be successful. And so I remember going to uh a former professor that I had, um, believe John Elliott was a sports psychologist at Texas A. N. Yeah. He's got a book called Overachievement, I believe. And I reached out to him, I was like, hey, I'm seeing this within the NFL. I'm sort of wondering why I was told this. Can we get on the call? So I was able to break this down, same way I'm telling you, and he's like, you know, one of the main things that some of these guys didn't tell you, and that it's hard to see, is that the best performers and the best uh players in the NFL and in in sports are the ones who find ways to remain themselves. Like obviously there's gonna be small tweaks, you have to learn and grow. You know, Aaron Rodgers is not the same person, you know, when he got out of the league. 21 as he is, you know, closer to 40 or whatever in power he is. Um, but you know, I watched Aaron Rodgers and his body language is so monotone, sort of walks off the field. This whole idea of you should never walk on the field, just not a lot of excitement body language, energy body language. And then you watch him play, you're like, dude, this is one of the most unbelievable quarterbacks. Yes. Kind of a witness in person, especially as a rookie, we're playing him. And so this is this is some of the stuff that he was saying. And so you go back and look at Lamar Jackson, Lamar Jackson, his ability to remain a cell. Obviously, there's certain tweaks when it comes to his playing style, his maybe his form, his throwing, and these are the sort of evolutions that come with the turn, not necessarily certain things that are changing because it's a certain thing that you're missing. And so when I was able to learn this, a lot of times it's difficult to sort of balance what someone else is telling you who has sort of the authority over you and decision making on whether you're going to make the team or not, and what you think is best for you. So being able to juggle a lot of different coaching styles, ones where they're very hands-on, they want you to operate in a certain way, and there's no bend or bend or break. And then ones who are like, you know, I can't tell you how you should be most comfortable, um, which was an exact uh reflection on Drew Petsy when I was in the NFL, who I was that was my quarterback coach in Cleveland, uh, who's now an offensive coordinator with the Detroit Lions. Yeah. Um, but his whole idea was I can't tell you how you need to play or be comfortable. Um, you, Deshaun Watson, Jacoby Brissett, Josh Docks, all of y'all are completely different. I can't tell you what we need to do. But if I can get you to play in rhythm and on time and be able to have success, that's the ultimate goal. So that's really where I saw my largest growth. And he ended up leaving after that season, which I wish I would have had him going into my third season.

SPEAKER_00 24:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:03

Um, but you know, he I thought he was brilliant.

SPEAKER_00 24:06

Yeah. Well, I love even this uniqueness, right? Like what makes you great is your unique ability and your background and your mindset, and even the high school you played for, the college you played for, and the coach's job, right? Manager's job is to put you in a position to succeed, but they can't go out and play for you. And they have to, they have to have the right system in place. And I think all of this conversation around staying unique to yourself has to be pretty interesting as you make that shift into art specifically. You know, you had photography for a while, but the way that you view the world is going to be a lot different than somebody who maybe was born and raised to be an artist, right? And they were five years old doing things. How do you like what's that level of self-awareness for you right now? And I know I'm taking us down a tangent, but what's that thought process um, you know, to remain Kellen and you have an interesting perspective, an interesting story now in the role that you're playing today?

SPEAKER_01 25:04

Yeah, I think there's uh multiple different fronts. Um, you know, I think a lot of times when you talk about the art world, a lot of times it's about should I invest into your artwork? You know, you're talking about collecting art, you know, collecting and investing in this specific person's story and journey. And I sort of have uh what I call the noun theory, is what I what I came up with. And it's sort of sort of this sort of metric for collectors or people who are interested in buying the work. And it's obviously a noun, person, place of things. So the person, what does this person represent? Um, how does he plan on impacting the world through his craftsmanship, hitting his art? Um, then you go to the place, and it's about who has collected his works, where is his work featured, what homes, uh are they in galleries, museums, what are his connections, and then the thing is the actual art when it comes to the quality of work in terms of your craftsmanship and the production, and then sort of your artistic aisle. So two of those have to do with the story. And so the the story of the artist and the story of the art um being the person and the thing. And so this is what I sort of tell everyone, and I'm I've never heard it before, so I'm sort of saying it's mine. I came up with it. I love it. Um, but it it is about being able to have that story, and a lot of times you sort of debate on should you use how much of the football and professional athlete should you use in this space? Because in some ways it can damage you, but also it can get you in certain doors. Yeah. Um, and so it's sort of having that balance, and you sort of learn to when to channel channel it, when to be simply just the artist. Because I'm sort of in this weird and unique predicament within the art space of being an emerging artist who's someone who's trying to develop credibility within the space, but also a celebrity artist, which usually are on the polar opposite ends. You're either an emerging just starting out, or you're a celebrity and you're a stream veteran. And so I've I've gained my celebrity status from a different angle, uh, from a different uh field, but I'm still you still carry that story within the art space because it is one of the most unique stories maybe in the history of art. There's never, I don't, I don't know any football player who's ever jumped into this space. And you know, I I always say that the NFL quarterback title is the highest position ranking in maybe all of sports. Yeah. Um, obviously you have bigger players in soccer and and all these different, you know, baseball pitchers, but you know, something about that quarterback title that holds weight. Yep. And it's it's a part of that journey and it's a part of your story. And so figuring out how much of that can you use where it doesn't affect you because a lot of times collectors will say, I don't collect celebrity art. And sometimes people don't want to collect emerging art because they want you to be a little bit more established. So you sort of flow this like boundary in between where you may not want to touch either side, but then you sort you still kind of remember like this is my journey, this is my story. That's who I am, and this is where I am.

SPEAKER_00 28:31

Yeah, I love it. Uh I'm I am I did try to find an example of a NFL draft pick doing art and preparation for this, and I could not find it. It just coming up with podcast, podcasts, podcasts, you know, people, the the Kelseys of the world and the Draymond Greens of the world going into podcasting, but I couldn't find somebody that had this specific storyline. And I think that's what makes this even more unique. And I think it's a good segue to our final two questions before we get into the rapid fire, which is kind of just about mentorship in general, right? And a lot of times we think about mentorship and coaching on the business side as a proactive way to invest in our people. And then in the sports world, everything has some version of a mentor. And in our prep call, you and I talked about the best coaches in the world, the Jimbo Fishers, the Nick Sabins, the uh, you know, you keep going on, the Dan Campbell's and so on down the line. They all have a mentor, right? They have somebody that they're that they're leaning on. And I want to ask about what why that's important to you. But I'm also curious, going from the NFL to art, did you find a mentor? Do you have somebody that you're kind of leaning on? Uh, or right now, are you in this like, I'm forging my own path? And because there's nobody who has this specific uh experience, I'm leaning on a whole circle of people that have different angles. Like, how are you approaching mentorship right now for you specifically, Kellen?

SPEAKER_01 30:05

Yeah, that's a great question. Um, I wouldn't necessarily say I have one specific mentor in the art space, and I think it sort of does go back to that in between the emerging celebrity artists, because the type of people that I can get in front of, and sort of my goal is to get in front of, a lot of times they want you to be a little bit more established in this art world. And so I think a lot of times in any sort of business, the way you position yourself really early on is extremely important. A lot of times, you know, your pricing, the way you market yourself, the way you're viewed, the brands you associate yourself with when it comes to doing events and sponsoring. You know, my whole thing is being able to be in more of the you know luxury-style rooms and and you know, more A-class type of business people. Um, and you know, a lot of times my my pricing reflects that, but also the quality of craftsmanship. Absolutely. And, you know, my my whole thing within the art space is like I feel like I could have done a lot more different things that could help me and especially in the long run make me a lot more money than what the art space, and who knows what the art space has for, you know, has in store for me in the future. But my whole deal is being able to connect with people within this art space and be able to provide a certain level of exclusivity and scarcity within my artwork. And then I think one of the even most brilliant things is being able to network in multiple different arenas and industries because most industries all you know all value artwork separately and in their own specific way. You know, you're in one specific industry, a lot of times you simply network in that industry and meet people in the industry. So my goal a lot of times is like, how many different people can I meet and build just genuine relationships with and see how I can help with that? So, you know, a lot of the times when it comes to mentorship, I try and provide value to people who are, you know, I'm not necessarily some startup expert, but if you're in the sports world um or maybe in the tech world and it's involving something to, you know, adjacent to that sports world, a lot of times people will come to me and say, hey, what's the best sort of go-to-market strategy? How can I get in front of athletes? And what are those you know best ways? And so this isn't something I'm charging, like I'm just some absolute expert, but uh at the end of the day, I know what's the best way to get your product in front of athletes. And once it touches them, it's all in my hands. I can't tell them, hey, they should like it. It's sort of been your court, right? Um, but you know, I think mentors are really are really important, but really finding really people who care about what you're doing and see a sort of maybe some value where that you can provide to the world and be able to create certain rooms. So, you know, I'm in the early stages of planning, planning a show that'll be in Texas. Um, it'll be sort of that one of those private style invite-only shows with really you know high-profile people. Um, and it's about how many, how many quality people can you get into a room? And you know, a lot of times, yes, it's about artwork and you know, fun. There'll be obviously nice cocktails and wine and all that type of stuff, but it's a lot of people use these to just simply network, get in front of different people. Um, and you know, I think art is one of the best drivers for being able to bring in as many different people from different industries, different ages, different demographics, yeah, um, and get them in one room.

SPEAKER_00 33:52

I um again, even just hearing your your thought process on the mentorship and and how you look at relationships, so much of that feels like it is that build from going and being at the highest level, high school, college, NFL, and then having this really intriguing pivot is is really what has laid the foundation for success for this next chapter. Um, and I really appreciate you you walking us down that pathway. The final question I have here on mentorship, and then we're gonna get to the rapid-fire questions, is um what what's your what are what are your thoughts when somebody, whether they're in the NFL, NBA, whatever professional sport might be, when they come to you and they say, you know, Callan, here's where I'm at. I'm entering into the draft process, or I've been in the league for five years now, and you know, I can't figure out a way to take that next step. And maybe I'm debating stepping away, or I'm trying to figure out like how involved are you? Is that something that you're excited about having those conversations? Are you trying to, you know, cut the cord essentially and say, hey, I'm I'm art, I'm I'm all in this direction? Kind of what's your thought process on you being a mentor now for that next generation of quarterbacks and and athletes in general?

SPEAKER_01 35:10

Yeah, you know, I think that's a great multi-layer question. I think even from my own perspective, at one point I did think I would be able to balance being a professional artist and being a professional athlete. And sometimes it can be really difficult with one, we already know how busy you can be as a professional athlete, but then when it comes to developing and really building something from scratch, sort of building your own network in the art space and people who see your quality of work. I'm not gonna say it's almost impossible, but it's it's it's pretty darn difficult. Yeah, yes. And so, and then the other piece is a lot of times when it comes to the fine art space, I had to learn that if someone wants to invest into your career and really invest into your artwork, you know, limited edition works, one-on-one works, they want to know that the art space is not some hobby that you're doing outside of football. They want to they want to invest into real careers. And so I had to learn that. And I think a lot of times as athletes, we sort of are on this sort of chase mode and chase, and there's really nothing wrong with chasing the NFL even after you slipped out or even you know, while you're still playing, but you're sort of chasing, chasing. And a lot of times when you could not be on a team or whatever that may be, it can be really difficult to start what that future career is going to be like, get in front of the right room simply because you're chasing and chasing. And it's not like you can go to these different networking events, you go, you know, if there's a summit out of the country, you can go there. Because usually in when you're in season and maybe you're not on a team, your whole goal is to make sure that you're ready, 100% ready for that call if you get it and you're ready to go in that workout. So the training, the eating, the you know, that football mindset still hasn't changed even when you're not on a team. Right. And so it can be really difficult to really work on things outside of that uh that sort of football craft when you are simply just a football player. And so, you know, I think luckily for me, I was able to find something that I already loved doing and I did it for free. And, you know, I think the best thing is you never know what something is gonna be like when you jump into the space. And I think, you know, I I've heard a lot of CEOs talk about not necessarily having certain goals or plans because if you start something where you're at in six months, it's gonna look a lot different than what you thought. Yeah, and and then when two years down the line, you're like, dude, I was thinking of that. Why would I even like that was horrible? And so I think you know, maybe some sort of balance of like these are the certain things that because it I think goals and plans sometimes do keep you on a certain trap, but your ability to sort of pivot and learn and you know adjust and and and really I think those are sort of the big things when it comes to uh being able to find progress within a company, within yourself. And so, you know, I do, you know, I would like to be able to help out as many athletes who are maybe looking at trying to get into other fields. And I think part of my goal, obviously in the art space, is yes, to be an artist, but my whole networking in multiple different industries is to be able to provide value because a lot of times athletes do become some of the great businessmen because of the certain intangibles that it takes to be an athlete and then you jump into this business world. And as an athlete, you sort of have had this mindset for a decade, maybe two decades of this I would fuse failure like second place is none or failure is nothing. And and obviously the the whole work ethic, the intangibles of what it takes to be great, are always going to be ingrained with you. And you learn your adversity and leadership through your sport, not this outside and world where the majority of people do. Right. And so I think that's really brilliant when it comes to athletes jumping into a space because to me, if you can learn an NFL playbook as a as a receiver or a quarterback, I think you can learn most things and most systems in life, to be honest. So uh, you know, I always think that's an interesting angle. And you know, I heard from a lot of um executives um and a lot of investors who say, you know, when we when we talk about investing into companies, some of the best ones are athletes and and former military. And and I think there's specific reasons for just how difficult something is for so long, and you sort of develop certain characteristics that, you know, make it a bit easier when it when it comes to jumping into the business world. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 40:15

Well, a lot of it goes back to that structure, right? You talked about the consistency earlier on in the episode of you have to show up day in and day out, and you know, you can't show up and say, I'm just this Tuesday, I'm gonna take off, right? And so if you can prove that there, it it's an easy selling point to be able to prove that on the next conversation. And so, Colin, this has been exactly what I thought it would be when I reached out. So I really appreciate you taking the time. I've got four rapid fire questions for you. Before we hang up here, we ask every leader the same four questions. Number one is what is one leadership habit that you rely on every day.

SPEAKER_01 40:57

Um, I I think I think quality of work um is is really important. I when I was playing in the NFL, multiple different coaches have always uh applauded me for how detailed my notes were and writing. And it wasn't like I did color code certain things when it came to plays and you know, your first and second down, you know, your red zone stuff. So it wasn't like some like how a lot of women like to color code and like it was it was extremely organized. I was just sort of very me and and I sort of learned some of these tactics. You know, obviously I had the organizational skills, but how to apply it from some of these other NFL quarterbacks that I played with. Yeah. Um but when it comes to applying it into the business world and then even my business, I sort of, I mean, I make the promise to anyone who comes to a show or anything that there's no such thing as nine out of ten, nine and a half out of ten. I require 10 out of 10 work, the crisp details, and then that's what I pay for. And so everything that is a is a reflection of the people who I want to do business with, you know, they they deserve that same level of respect, attention to detail and quality of work when it comes to the craftsmanship and the quality of business who they're doing with. So, you know, I think the quality of work and quality of detail is um first and foremost everything.

SPEAKER_00 42:27

Yeah, our our CEO loves to ask the question, is this our best work? And if you don't say that confidently, then let's take a step back and and relook at it. So I love that quality focus. Question number two here, two out of four. What is the most underrated skill that a leader needs in order to be successful?

SPEAKER_01 42:46

Well, these are these are on the spot. Um I think one of I think one of them is is just the ability to care. I think you have to care for a lot of stuff. And I I one of the great things, and I think at times you sort of have to be in a maybe a position to apply this, and and then even as I got older, I think anyone can do it. But whenever guys used to get added to an NFL team, you know, a lot of times the movement day for NFL teams were on a Tuesday. So these people were fresh signed to the team. You come into Wednesday and you sort of have a work week. I don't know if Kirk Cousins did research on who these people were, if he had a team member, but I think he took it out of his own, you know, care and love for people in relationships. It didn't matter if this was a practice squad guy, undrafted free agent, and he'd be like, Hey uh John, I saw you just got signed yesterday. I saw you played at uh Indiana or Indiana State, just a random school. Yeah. And he sort of already he had, you know, sort of these like sort of five bullet points and some a lot of times sort of knew their background. Wow. And so, you What is what does that do for a guy who's coming in who's an undrafted free agent? You know, you gave you walking by the quarterback room, and Kirk Cousins calls you in, and he knows more about you than you know him. And so I think you know, Kirk did this with a lot of different guys, and a lot of times he would try and find sort of these commonalities that maybe this person who just got signed, his grandfather played at the same time as Kirk's father or something like that. And so, you know, just to sort of fill that curiosity gap and fill that relationship gap. And so, you know, I thought that was always brilliant. You know, I think I saw Jimmy Haslam do that a bit, uh, Cleveland Brown's owner. Yeah. Um, with certain guys um who ended up getting signed. So I think just sort of that ability to care. And Jimmy Hasm was one of, I think, probably the only owner who was in the building every single day. And, you know, Minnesota Vikings, the the Wills, I believe, didn't really see them that often, but Jimmy Hasm was was in the wait room and working out and was around the building every single day.

SPEAKER_00 45:06

Yeah, that intentionality to care and and step it up at the step it up to the plate is is awesome. Uh, question number three here on the opposite side of what great leaders do, uh, that's an underrated skill. Let's talk about what's what's something that you believe leaders need to stop doing in 2026.

SPEAKER_01 45:28

Um I think it's it's sort of the mindset that one size fits all. Um I think that there's sort of this this way of if we've been doing it and had any success for so long, it's like, why stop now? And yes, you have the mindset if it's if it ain't broken, then don't fix it. But everyone's job in this world is to continue to elevate, progress, and a lot of times to take your spot. And in the NFL, every single day, the sort of moment you get comfortable, that's when they're start bringing in other quarterbacks or other posit people in your position group and saying, hey, we're not looking to replace you, but we're bringing people in so that you do slip up, we already have the call, we've already seen them work out. So I think a lot of times as leaders, and then we can allow our people to get complacent because there's a sort of traditional way that we've always done it. I've learned it that way. And as long as I continue to fall in line with this one specific way, how much do I really need to learn? So I think there's this sort of ability to sort of bend the tradition of things, bend the rules of things. You don't have to necessarily break them, but part of bending is to sort of test what works out there. And yes, a lot of times you may, maybe something doesn't work, you fall a little bit behind, you know, you know, maybe a project goes wrong. But a lot of times when you do sort of test these boundaries and and especially when you have really quality members, and obviously there's a certain level of due diligence when it when it happens, but you will end up probably succeeding a lot more times in failure. And then a lot of times those successes lead to a lot more successes. And so, you know, I think this a lot of times we find ways to just fall in love with the way we've done things for a while in tradition. And as is if you can find ways to, like we talked about, remain yourself. But if you can sort of bend and you know be able to conform to maybe the evolution of things and sort of the progress of certain things, I think you will be uh a lot greater in in in the long run.

SPEAKER_00 47:37

Yeah. Kellen, uh every episode of the Activating Greatness Podcast, somehow the topic of this is how we've always done it comes up. And that is the worst saying that is that's the worst saying that exists, right? And the the counteraction of, well, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. And you know, I'm looking at it's like, well, we haven't grown revenue in five years, or we've been six and eleven for five years in a row. It might be broken, right? And so I love I love, love, love that answer.

SPEAKER_01 48:05

And I also have I'm a point, I have a point to that too, because when I was drafted, when I was drafted into Minnesota, Clint Kubiak was my offensive coordinator and someone who was was brilliant-minded. And uh he was one of those people, one who also was a huge proponent for drafting me. Obviously, Mike Zammer was not such a fan of drafting me. But this was Kevin, or not Kevin, uh uh Clint Kubiak's first time play calling. So obviously he falls in line of the great of Gary Kubiak, Kyle Shanahan, Mike Shanahan, all these different names when it comes to West Coast offenses. But a lot of times the people who have struggled the most were the ones who stayed in some of those really traditional lines of this is how we've always done it. Yeah, very rigid. So I think, yeah, very rigid, very old school. And I think it was sometimes hard to tell how much of it was Clint Kubiak, and then you know, how much Mike Zimmer, how much did he ever say so because he wanted a lot more run heavies type of stuff. Um, but after that year, the coaches got fired, and I always thought that Clint Kubiak was great when it came to um pass game and the way he was able to hunt coverages, develop, you know, really clean reads for quarterbacks, nice secure progressions. And I thought he was brilliant. I think he was really good in the run game. And I think the whole stab getting fired might have helped him because the following year, I think he he went to Denver uh under I think Nathaniel Packett, may have getting um and I believe it was the pass game coordinator or somewhere on the offensive side. The following year he goes, and I believe he's the pass game coordinator under Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco. And so he obviously already knows what he knows. He's able to still learn from other people who he worked with in Denver, and then you go work for Kyle Shanahan and a lot of these other great minds who who Kyle Shanahan brings under him, right? And you're able to learn from these people, and then obviously first year offensive coordinator uh in Seattle wins the Super Bowl. Obviously, they had a great defense, but when it comes to the efficiency of the offense, and so his whole path of starting off what I would have said in 2021 was one of the more traditional style offenses. He sort of evolved, learned a lot from that in Denver, the Denver days. But also, I think, you know, when I got to New Orleans, mind you, I actually skipped. He had to stay in New Orleans with the Saints. But I was in New Orleans for four weeks. And so I saw a bit of that evolution when it came to sort of what he learned, certain things that he added to the system. And then obviously he went to the uh the Seahawks and just won the Super Bowl, and now he's the head coach uh for the Raiders.

SPEAKER_00 51:00

Raiders, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 51:01

So, you know, obviously none of us want to get fired, but sometimes those sort of roads of let me sort of take the backseat, and not necessarily that being needed it, but you're sort of forced into taking some of the backseat.

SPEAKER_00 51:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 51:15

And learning from some of these other great minds and sort of picking other people's brains of how they call plays, develop plays, and play design and create systems, and then go now let you get your next big job of being the offensive coordinator, and then you have a great culture with McDonald and a great defense. And now this is probably one of the best offensive lines you've had, and that's offensive from your personnel standpoint. Now you're able to see what he's able to do. So being able to still carry a lot of those traditional remnants, but also how do you evolve into sort of this new age and be able to adapt?

SPEAKER_00 51:51

Yeah. Well, and I also love that it kind of puts the final note on the people in the systems, right? Like there were many jobs that maybe didn't or wouldn't have worked out perfectly for him. And he jumps around and then you find the right fit and everything comes together. Um, Callan, two final questions here, and then I'm gonna get you out of here. I knew you and I would run a little longer because we we got excited in our prep call. So I appreciate you staying with us. Uh, but what's the what's the best leadership advice that you've ever received? Let's let's do that one, then we'll wrap up with the who we should interview next. What's the best leadership advice that you've ever received?

SPEAKER_01 52:28

Um man, I I kind of I kind of yeah, I kind of don't want to repeat anything or oh feel free. Yeah, I mean I feel like we we said so many different things along the lines of leadership today. Um I I think, and and I sort of repeating, didn't go in depth on it, but I think the way you do small things is the way you do all things. Yeah, I think that this goes into that discipline and the commitment factor into whatever you're doing. And sometimes the things that you may not think are the biggest or will have the biggest impact, yes, it may not, and it may not in the future, but if you allow your mind, something to creep in your mind where you can maybe take a certain percentage off or take 50% off, or maybe not finish everything to the highest quality, don't be surprised when something slips in into something where you don't think it's necessarily as much of a big deal, and it ends up a really big deal. And so, you know, we sort of said earlier on the call that you never know which play is going to be the biggest, and this is something that is iterated by every single coach, and the one that you can't take plays off. And in the business world, you it's obviously you're you're juggling with things personal life, kids, family. Maybe you may not liking your work as much, but I the one a lot of times the quickest way to get fired is by taking that percentage off or not doing your due diligence on something that is really important to the company and ends up affecting the company in a larger, greater scale. Because yes, when you're maybe if you're on the lower end, it may not be such a huge impact, but by the time it makes its way up to executives, if certain things are missing, it's it still doesn't matter. Other people you're doing business with, they are expecting perfection and quality from you. Exactly. And 90%, a lot of times it's the same thing as 50%, that's the same thing as 25%.

SPEAKER_00 54:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 54:38

And and people realize the the the quality of something missing. And this is why every single person in a company, and even also in the NFL personnel as players, and then also staff, everyone has an important role, and you never know which role is going to be needed at a specific moment. And that's why practice and that's why your performance and the way you approach the game on a day-to-day basis, and your a lot of times your mentality is so important.

SPEAKER_00 55:13

Yeah. Uh listen, it was a tough question, but you yeah, you absolutely nailed it for the last of them of the rapid fire ones. Hopefully, this one's a little bit easier, and then I'll get you out of here, Callan. Who is another leader that we should interview? Somebody uh in your world, somebody you know, don't know, wherever you want to take this, but somebody who's doing meaningful work that you think uh a group of executives and current and future leaders could learn from uh as our next guest, who should we who should we reach out to?

SPEAKER_01 55:42

Um I feel like I can name a bunch. Um, you know, I think one one guy, and I don't we sort of had this joke in our quarterback room. So the guy is per cousins, obviously, within my rookie year. Um, and we always had these sort of when we first get into the quarterback room, we sort of had these debates on who is a touchable person, like who can you get in touch with? And so to say that, I don't know how touchable Kirk is, but we always have these sort of debates on you know, how touchable is Barack Obama, how touchable is Genzel Washington, just sort of random names and people who we thought we can get in touch with and you know tune into our our our meeting rooms or our calls, and so oh I love that. But I think Kirk uh is brilliant and he'll probably make his transition, you know, whenever he's done with football in the next whatever years to uh broadcasting because he's a brilliant speaker, he's a he's a wonderful mind.

SPEAKER_00 56:43

He's gonna do well, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 56:44

Yeah, he's gonna he's gonna do a great job. And I think I've seen a lot more from the basketball side with guys like Iamon Shumper, Draymond Green, um Austin Rivers, who have done a really good job on the podcast and journalism space when it comes to sort of understanding the game, obviously, but sort of these authentic reactions and it's not some commercial. And that's what someone like myself and maybe even people out there love. And I think it's a bit it's a bit lacking in the football space. Absolutely. Obviously, you have your your Dan Rodoskies, who I think is who is brilliant. Um, Greg Olson, um obviously uh not a quarterback, but I think he's one of I think he's the best in the game. Yeah, um, I think Brady from his first time in the broadcast game has gotten so much better. So much better.

SPEAKER_00 57:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 57:35

Um you know, Aikeman has obviously been great. And so, but I think just as we continue to go into the sports space and even in the business world, a lot of the commercial, sort of inauthentic, sort of maybe uh reality TV show style work, more about energy and not necessarily the quality of takes and the expertise and the insight.

SPEAKER_00 58:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 58:03

Yeah. I think I think we're we'll start to see a large shift when it comes to you know, maybe the next 10 years, when it comes to podcasting, and anyone who has a has a voice on being able to speak because there's sort of this new podcast wave of now, everyone just wants to get in front of the mic. And yeah, just how can I get in front of as many people as possible? And it's like you sort of have to go through sometimes a a bit of a challenging experience, or sometimes go through something for five, ten years to be able to have expertise that comment on something. Yes, yeah, so you know, even if I only did three years in the NFL, you have a journal someone who does journalism within the you know football NFL space for 15 years, it's almost impossible to know as much as what a NFL quarterback would know if you live it, even if you lived it for one year.

SPEAKER_00 58:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 58:58

And so, you know, I think you see a lot of guys who I think you would gain a lot more insight with being open-minded to guys who had NFL experience. You know, I think Mina Kines, who a lot of people critique her for being a woman and commenting on all these, you know, in debt tapes on coverages and players and all these different things. But from an NFL standpoint, if anyone watches her, she has more expertise than majority of journalists on any of the panels that she speaks with, you know, unless you're naming anyone who usually played in the NFL. And so um, you know, I think it's gonna turn into more of authenticity, quality takes, expertise, and insights when it comes to anyone who has a voice in the space.

SPEAKER_00 59:44

Ugh I I I love it, Kellen. And, you know, I think tying the knot with authenticity, that is what this hour has been. And, you know, I think again, when I reached out, this was the exact conversation that I wanted to have. So thank you again for for sharing your time. And, you know, everybody listening, um, go find Kellen on LinkedIn. He is posting quite frequently, unbelievable. Uh, on his LinkedIn, you can find his link uh to his website for for you know staying up to date on his art, the visuals, all the things that Kellen is doing. I um, you know, I loved your story before we got connected, and and now I'm even more fired up that we were able to be able to share this story. So as you listen to this, go connect with Kellen, reach out, tell him you came from the Activating Greatness podcast. Make sure you leave it uh five-star review uh and let us know what you think. Kellen, any final thoughts on your end? Uh, where can people find you? And then I'll get you out of here.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:43

Uh, you know, it's pretty easy, usually on Instagram, just my name, Telenond, uh, LinkedIn, same thing. Uh, if you want to check out any artwork or uh, you know, stay up to date with any of that, if you go to original-visuals.com, that's where all my work is. And you know, I think a lot of times I do try and keep certain stuff private, like more events and stuff like that. Um, but I will try and keep, you know, maybe subtle updates and just to sort of you know let people know what I've been up to. Usually, you know, those are through LinkedIn posts, as you've seen. Um, but you know, I I appreciate the call. I think I think this was awesome. And um, you know, it was brilliant. I'm just happy to be on.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:23

Awesome. Well, thank you again, Kellen, and thank you everybody for listening uh and for continuing to be a part of a community of leaders who refuse to settle for good enough. See you next episode.