Ricky Sapp | Dream Big, Live Big: A Journey from NFL Star to Motivational Powerhouse

Are you ready to change your habits, sculpt your destiny, and light up your path to greatness?

Welcome to the Epicenter of Transformation.

This is Mick Unplugged.

We'll help you identify your because

so you can create a routine that's not just productive but powerful.

You'll embrace the art of evolution, adapt strategies to stay ahead of the game, and take a step toward the extraordinary.

So, let's unleash your potential.

Now, here's Mick.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting episode.

And today, we are honored to have a true legend.

We're talking about former NFL player Clemson University Icon, dynamic motivational speaker, and elite sports performance trainer.

His foundation transformed lives by supporting kids and family.

And his powerful motto, Dream Big, Live Big, ignites inspiration across the world.

His dedication, passion, and relentless drive make him a source of hope and motivation.

Please join me in welcoming Bamberg's finest, the unstoppable and inspirational Mr.

Ricky Sapp.

Ricky, how you doing today, brother?

Hey, man, I got to get you to be my hype man when I go speak, man.

Hey, Flavor Flavor ain't got nothing on me.

Hey, man, I appreciate you, man.

And thank you for having me, man.

Thank you for having me.

You know, I left out there that you wanted to be a Tar Heel, so so we'll skip through that oh please don't say that man i'm orange i got orange blood in these games now

that's it man so rick man one of the things i love and i've been a huge fan of yours forever i mean you know i was telling you offline i'm from easly just moved back to easly which is five minutes down 123 from where you're at bro i started following you on linkedin probably three four years no before covet and your monday motivation and ricky sap dancing like i'm telling everybody number one follow Ricky on all social platforms, because if you just need happiness in your life, forget everything else.

Ricky's a huge source of happiness, man.

So I just wanted to applaud you for that.

Man, I appreciate that, man.

Thank you, man.

Thank you so much.

Yeah, man.

So let's talk about Ricky Sapp's journey from Bamberg to Clemson to fifth round draft.

Like, it doesn't happen, right?

Like, that's not a path that everybody can say, oh, I want to go do.

And I know it took work, right?

So, so growing up in Bamberg, like, where did you see yourself and what drove you to get to where you are today brother my mom and dad worked at the same place in orangeburg south carolina at huskabarna well you know south carolina state bulldog stadium is in orangeburg one day my mom was driving to go pick up my dad and i was a young kid man i was going with her and she drove by south carolina state bulldog stadium i've never seen anything like that only stadium i've ever seen was you know my my high school stadium bamberg era high school when i saw the stadium man when i tell you it lit something in me that's where i started to dream big i was was like mom what the heck is that you know like what is that and she told me what it was and when she saw that excitement she would pick me by every time i rode with her so that was kind of started me to like open up to big things and dream big then i saw you know my my uncle and cousin playing football and then being in bamber bambert is a amazing uh sports town it's a small town prideful all about working hard so that kind of started me man into believing that i can go do something big man and when i got into into playing football i told my mom and dad i said look you know i'm gonna go play in the nfl and my mom and dad didn't say nothing they said they just smiled and said okay you know so that's what kind of started me on this journey i love it man and so high school all-american you know we can talk nil now because it's real so so why clemson man like how much more money did they give you than north carolina that's what

no so you know clemson had a big tradition on defense so i'm sure that that was a lot right dayquan bowers was there um oh yeah what got ricky to clemson Man, I was, I grew up a Florida State fan.

But during my recruiting process, I came to Clemson.

The guy before me at Bamberg, he was getting recruited.

So he brought me to a game in Clemson.

But then I started getting recruited, of course, you know, I was like, all right, I'm going to go to Clemson, go to Carolina.

And then, well, that's school in Columbia.

We can't call them Carolina.

But

I came to Clemson, man.

And every time I came back, I kept telling my coaches and parents, I was like, man, I feel something when I go there.

I don't know what it is, but it's something.

So every time I would come, I would say, hey, man, I want to go back.

I want to go back.

Something, something special there.

So eventually, man, I just fell in love with the place.

It came down to here, Fuller State in Georgia.

And I said, man, I'm going to go to Clemson.

If I had to do it again, I'll pick Clemson again, man.

I really would.

I'm telling you, especially now with that Iptate NIL, you probably would.

Well, it's something in the hills over here in Clemson, man.

It's something you should have stayed right here.

It's something in the hills, man.

Yes, sir.

You and C, the real Carolina is where I went so oh man that's a that's a shame they can't beat uh this team over here in south carolina man

we'll talk later

so then freshman year at clemson i'm sure right for for most people that don't understand being the big dog i mean and you were the big big dog right like high school all-american right yeah and then getting to clemson your freshman year and you realize these are almost like grown men like what was that like for you your freshman year like those first three to four weeks of wow i'm here man Seeing Gaines Adams, God bless the soul, and Anthony Waters, and Tremaine Billy, and man, all those guys, man.

I was like, I did not expect these guys to be, you know, like you said, grown men.

And I heard of Gaines and heard how good he was, but to come in and see that, man, it was, it was wild.

But they put me under their wings, man, especially Gaines.

And it was an amazing first year to play behind him and watch him play and to see how he did things, man.

It was, it was truly amazing.

Yes, sir.

Yes, sir.

I tell people in life, mentorship is truly important, right?

Like, because, you know, Les Brown always taught me this.

People will tell you experience is the best teacher.

Well, if you're experienced losing, then you're just a loser, right?

To me, it's wisdom that's the best teacher.

And so I know someone like Gaines had to give you so much wisdom so that it, when it was your time, you were like steps ahead of everyone because you had wisdom.

Like, what, what would you say to people as far as mentorship and the importance of mentorship?

Oh, man.

And I'll tell you this.

It's so important to find people that have, just like you said, that have been through things and that has done things that you want to do or doing things now you want to do.

So, that's that's so important.

I tell you this, I always tell kids: this winners win and losers lose.

If you want to, I think if you want to win, you got to be around winners.

So, having a mentor is so powerful, man.

And I didn't learn that until I got to Clemson and even got older that it was important to have one.

Gaines didn't have to mentor me, man.

He didn't.

He was on his way out.

He literally brought me in and

he literally coached me along the way and was telling me what to do, not to do, how to go about doing things daily with football and off of the football field.

So mentorship is important, man.

Yep.

You know, in South Carolina, we're hard workers, right?

Like that's what we believe in.

Like that's anyone that's from this state, I promise you, probably outworks everybody, right?

Shout out to everybody in South Carolina, right?

Facts, 100%.

Right.

Talk about that.

Your work ethic.

is so impeccable.

So for you going from freshman to now you're starting and then ultimately getting drafted in the NFL it doesn't happen without a solid work ethic man so I'd love to hear your story on that because it's something you're continuing to do today my mom and dad went to work rain sleep and snow and when you a kid you don't you don't know man you like man you know we don't got enough we need more but my mom and dad

and I had I had way more than I needed but when you a kid you just don't know my mom and dad went to work rain sleep or snow they didn't complain they didn't tell

work they went to work man and you know kids don't listen to nothing, but everything we see, everything we see, we go do it without even thinking about it.

So that's where my hard work kind of came from.

And then, of course, you know, getting around my cousin and uncle and then getting around guys, you know, at Bamberg in high school and starting to understand that, man, I got to work, man.

I got to work.

And then, you know, sports teaches you how to compete, how to work hard and how to be disciplined.

So along my journey, man, I've just learned that, man, I got to, I got to work.

I got to work.

I got to work one day at a time.

That's it.

You brought up something else, too, that I think is relevant, not only in sports, but in business and in life.

And that's competing.

And, you know, I get a little disappointed, right?

Like, I'm, my family will tell you I'm the biggest competitor that they know.

Like my whole family is competitors.

Again, it's a South Carolina thing, right?

But I feel like kids today, and not even kids, but just people today don't like competing.

Like they're okay being average and they're okay being a part of the group.

And as long as the group is doing the thing, they're okay doing the thing.

But man, like that competing and striving to be the best, I think is something that's truly needed in this world.

And I've heard you speak about that too.

Well, I just say, yeah, I just spoke with that a couple days ago, man.

You know, I truly think that God intended for us to, you know, be competitive and compete, but to compete in the right way.

And

this is what I mean.

All of us got gifts.

All of us know what we're good at.

When I play football, I know one of my gifts was I had a fast get off.

So I knew if that, if I was confident in that and worked on that, that I was going to beat Joe Behind eventually.

I was going to to get you knowing what I was good at.

You know, healthy competition, man.

And oftentimes today, people don't want to compete.

If they do compete, they're going to do it the wrong way.

They're going to try and harm you or they're going to try and cut corners.

Instead of just saying, all right, I know what I'm good at.

Let's go to war.

Let's go to war.

I'm going to use my gift and I'm going to sharpen it.

I'm going to work it.

And eventually, I'm going to get you.

So competition is amazing and it brings the best out of us when we do it the right way.

I totally love that, man.

Like

one of my really good friends and mentor, Carl Esther Krumpler, he was on the podcast and we were talking about how iron sharpens iron, right?

It's not iron polishes iron.

It's really about sharpening iron, right?

Like, what does Ricky feel about that, right?

Because to really compete, to really get better, there's got to be some friction.

There's got to be some heat.

There's got to be some sparks, but it's all about getting better.

Yes.

So getting around, like I said earlier, getting around people that kind of does the same thing you do.

Most people are run from competition.

So I'll give you an example, man.

I'm a huge fan of Les Brown and Eric Thomas and all those guys.

And when I watch them, I'm thinking to myself, all right, you know, man, what can I take from this?

Or how can I get better?

And I just, and I just say this, man.

And I never knew what I was going to say this.

Man, when I got into the motivational speaking world, Eric Thomas was like one of the first guys.

And

he's my number one guy.

I love him.

I love him.

As of now, as I'm watching him and thinking about this whole motivation speaking thing, I'm thinking, how can I go ticket spots the right way?

How can i take his spot oh are you getting me excited how can i take his spot the right way

but understanding and respecting him like man he's a guy but and that don't mean i can't get around him i mean i can't learn from him right but if he was standing here today i would say hey man you my guy i love you but i'm coming for your spot and i'm coming for your spot the right way dude like literally i'm gonna get you on a call with me and less because we have that type of conversation and drive and push with each other all the time he's like hey i didn't order an uber right because he knows where I'm coming from.

I'm like, don't worry.

I am the Uber, right?

Like, I'll be in there in a minute.

I'll be there in a minute.

So totally get that, man.

So speaking of your motivational speaking, how did your journey from high school, college, NFL, how did that influence your approach to motivational speaking?

Man, I took speech classes growing up.

My mom used to have to tell me to take a deep breath and then talk.

I talked really fast when I was young.

Still do it sometimes and I was stuttering.

I hated public speaking at Clemson.

I never thought about being a motivation speaker, never, ever.

When I transitioned out of the NFL, I went to this high school called Northman Beach High School.

Well, a guy asked me to come speak, never spoke in my life.

He asked me in the Quan Bowers to come speak.

And I was like, Man, I don't know.

What do I do?

So I took stuff from Ray Lewis and Brian Dawkins and some other guys, took a quote from JJ Watt, went and spoke, and they loved it.

It was like, man, we love it.

It's awesome.

You used to be a motivation speaker.

I didn't think nothing of it.

Long story short, after that, I started speaking, you know, randomly.

And then people, this lady came up to me one day and said, hey, we lost our speaker.

Would you speak?

After that, man, I just, I started speaking.

And then that's when God was like, hey, you told me motivational speaker.

I'm like, what?

So I asked God, I said, well, what's the message?

What do I tell people?

So that's kind of how I got into motivational speaking, man.

Never thought I'd be doing it.

Never thought I'd be doing it.

Hey, but you're making a tremendous impact.

I mean, like I said, your Monday motivations, whether you were, you know, dancing in the house or dancing on the beach, dancing in front of freaking Smoothie King.

You got the young ones dancing with you.

I love it, man.

Like, like, truly, everybody should be following Ricky.

And one of the things I want to highlight, and it's something that's dear to me as well, is your foundation, man.

Like, what inspired you to create the Ricky Sap Foundation?

Out of my friends, man, and just my whole, my whole group of friends and family.

I was always one of the ones that just love to give, man.

You know, out of your circle, everybody's different.

Me, i'm gonna tell you the good and bad about me as a friend i'm not gonna show up a lot because i'm a i'm an introvert extrovert you know i wanna you know i'd rather be alone and chilling right but if they need to show off my back i give it to them and i was always a giver man so when i got drafted in 2010 you know my financial advisor he said look man you know let's start a foundation man that makes sense for you and i said let's do it so we started the rookie sack foundation of course with the model dream big live big we started in 2010 and you know had one thought in mind that was just give give back to my community at the time i didn't know that i was supposed to be doing motivational speaking and working with kids i didn't know i just wanted to play you know football so it all kind of all kind of makes sense um that i was supposed to have that foundation and supposed to be you know giving back and working with kids i love it man like what are some of the the big goals or big initiatives that that you guys have coming up this year and and into next year at the foundation yeah so we we just had uh the annual football chill eating camp everything's free we do book bags as well.

So I kill, you know, two things at one stone.

We do book bags and we give out awards and all that good stuff.

So we just had that.

The next thing that we have is we do a Thanksgiving event where we give out turkey boxes to families.

And I'm not like, you know, my foundation, I don't do a hundred, a thousand.

I go into the schools and find out the families that need it.

So that's what we typically do.

And then for Christmas, I should have sent you a photo for this, but I wear the Buddy the F costume.

And oh, yeah, man, we find families that need, you know, that need gifts.

And I go around and give out gifts.

So that's the next two big events that we got coming up for the year.

Okay.

Yeah.

All right.

So I'm personally going to contribute to that.

And then I'm also going to challenge some listeners and viewers as well, too.

So I'm going to have links to Ricky's foundation, but I'm genuinely going to contribute because what you're doing in the foundation speaks to my heart and it's something that if I can be a part of, I'm going to be a part of.

So you got me on your side, brother.

That means a lot, man.

Thank you.

Thank you.

You got it.

You got it.

So, dream big, live big, man.

Like, how do you incorporate that into your daily life?

And how can others do that as well, too?

Getting up every day and knowing that if I got air in my lungs and I'm breathing, then man, I can do something big, man.

I can do something big because it, because there's a reason why, you know, that we are still here every day that we're here.

And my motto is with the dream big, live big is that, man, why not dream big?

You know, why not?

Because if we are here and

I'm a a strong believer that, you know, God gave all of us gifts.

So, man, I believe that every day I wake up that I should try and strive to do something big.

If that's just encouraging the kid to dream big, then hey, hey, I did it.

You know, I did it.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

Absolutely.

So a lot of folks that listen to the podcast, right, like we really believe in going deeper than your why and getting fueled by your because

life is going to challenge, right?

Like if life were easy, if everybody could be billionaires, then everybody would be billionaires, right?

But there's different obstacles and challenges that we have.

So what are some tips and advice that Ricky has for people to really be fueled by that deeper purpose or for that deeper purpose?

Whatever you are passionate about, you have to chase it.

You have to chase it because your passion will lead you to your purpose.

I truly believe that.

So I always tell people, man, you know,

if you don't know what your purpose is, then what are you passionate about?

If you don't know what you're passionate about, what do you like doing?

if you don't know what you like doing then you need to figure out you need to try things i told some kids here at clemson i say try things man go visit places man try color and try drawing try try doing something but your passion is going to guide you to your purpose and as a 37 year old man man i look back before i got into this motivational speaking thing and encouraging kids i always had passion and and and so much a drive to encourage people but didn't even you know pay attention to it football was all i was thinking about so my advice to people was like man what are you passionate about Chase that because that's going to lead you right into your purpose.

And then that's going to, you know, ultimately make you happy.

The desires of your heart, whatever you desire in your heart, man, chase it.

Taste it.

That is it.

That's it.

So we talked about the foundation.

We talked about your journey.

Like what's new and upcoming for Ricky Sapp?

Man, you know, so I dropped my book in April.

And my book is called Dream Big.

And it's for kids, first to fifth grade.

I did that, man.

And next for me is a second book that I'm going to try and drop by the end of the year.

And then then of course that of course that school is getting started man just ramping up and traveling around the world man speaking i love it we'll make sure that we have links to the book obviously the foundation all your social as well where do you want people to to find you follow you and and wrapping this up what's what's one thing you want people to just start doing right now love man we need love we we need to love each other you know we've talked about competition healthy competition man it's okay to compete with each other we have to understand that even though we go disagree we can still love each other, man.

Man, Mike, I can still say, man, listen, man, you know, you're a Tar Hill fan.

I love you, and you invited to my cookout.

I don't care about you.

You know what I'm saying?

Hey, you're invited to mine, but we have a no orange policy in my house.

See, I was going to say, man, you can wear some of that blue, man.

That's all right.

See, you're a better man than me.

I'm trying to get there, Rick.

I'm trying to get there.

One day, I'll let you be okay, but it's not right.

But yeah, man, we need love, man.

We need a love.

And right now, more than ever, as adults, we can stand up and show out and show these kids what it looks like to be adult as far as loving each other, you know, showing how to love, not bullying each other, showing how we can have conversations when we disagree on things, man, the right way.

So more than ever, man, we need love.

This world needs love.

And love covers everything.

I really do.

And I think love will heal this world.

I truly believe that.

Yeah.

I couldn't have said it any better.

Any better.

ladies and gentlemen my friend bamberg's finest the amazing ricky sack ricky thank you for joining us on mick unplug brother this means the world to me just

had me brother thank you for having me brother means a lot you got it and for all the listeners remember you're because is your superpower go unleash it thanks for listening to mick unplugged we hope this episode helps you take the next step toward the extraordinary and launches a revolution in your life.

Don't forget to rate and review the podcast and be sure to check us out on YouTube at Mick Unplugged.

Remember, stay empowered, stay inspired, and stay unplugged.