Episode 98 Redemption & Perseverance with Tony Mandarich (Part 1)

John talks with Tony Mandarich — "the best offensive line prospect ever," 1989 #2 overall draft pick of the Green Bay Packers, speaker, professional photographer, content creator, author of the book My Dirty Little Secrets: Steroids, Alcohol & God: The Tony Mandarich Story, and father. This is Part 1 of the interview … Part 2 is Episode 99.

Listen to this episode to learn more:

[02:23] - Tony's journey from being recruited by Nick Saban (Michigan State defensive backs coach) to becoming the top offensive lineman in college football

[04:29] - How he ensured he would be the best for his team and reach the next level

[09:22] - Tony talks about using steroids in college

[12:18] - Offenses are complex in so many ways

[15:14] - Addressing the stereotype with offensive linemen

[20:29] - Why he took three years off during his early career and what led him back

[26:05] - The decision to get treatment for his addictions

[28:15] - Process of becoming sober and what it means to be a sobriety advocate

[30:03] - Life after rehab

[33:16] - How his relationships were affected while getting sober 

[38:14] - Challenges of sobriety

[40:18] - Coming to faith and its impact on Tony

[43:50] - The paradigm shift in how he looked at certain things when he got sober

NOTABLE QUOTES:

"The fact that you stopped drinking or taking drugs doesn't mean that everything in your life now turns out okay… you have to change your behavior, you've to change who you're surrounded with, you've to change the people you're around, you have to change everything."

"Try to be the best human being you can be."

"Everybody's gonna have to deal with adversity in their life … and if you're sheltered from it as a child growing up, or as a teenager growing up, or as a young adult growing into yourself, the harder it is for that person to adjust to great adversity."

USEFUL LINKS:

https://www.tonymandarich.com/ 

https://www.instagram.com/tonymandarich 

https://tinyurl.com/TonyMandarichBook 

https://www.cameo.com/tonymandarich_8bz 

https://www.facebook.com/mandarich 

CONNECT WITH JOHN

Website - https://thejohnhulen.com  

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/johnhulen  

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/johnhulen  

Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/johnhulen  

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhulen  

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLX_NchE8lisC4NL2GciIWA  

EPISODE CREDITS

Intro music provided by Tony Palacios - https://www.instagram.com/tonytonedog/  

Outro music provided by Jeff Scheetz - https://jeffscheetz.com/