Today, I got to sit down with a remarkable young man, in Freddie Stevenson — a college football champion fullback who has now turned author with his book, Trials to Triumph. Freddie's story is a remarkable one and at its center are the very parts of his personality that got him through all of the adversity. He shares his story of going from having a lot of money and resources to the family living in destitution, after they found out the money had been coming from his father's drug dealing when he was sent to jail for these crimes. What followed was a harrowing journey, including his story of his mother using her literal last dollar to allow her five kids to split a McDonald's burger five ways.
Fortunately, Freddie and his family continued to fight through and things got easier when his father got out of jail and was able to help again. But the other thing that helped Freddie, in his external life, was football. From the age of five, he showed remarkable talent and by the time he reached high school, he was the undeniable top talent on the team. He received multiple scholarship offers, but went to Florida State, where he battled through the hardship of a position change — from linebacker to fullback — and won a national title in his freshman year.
Even so, with fullback being such a limited need in the NFL, he went undrafted and had to try to catch on with the Bears, who claim they would have drafted him if they hadn't traded away two of their picks. When he did not make the team, he thought his life was over. He suffered through suicidal ideation, returned to the streets, and was living recklessly.
Freddie's story is still unfolding, but he has a tenacity, a drive to succeed and be the best he can be, and a belief in himself that we recognized had always been there, and this led him to begin telling his story. Through the telling of his story, he has found a new purpose in life and now inspires people around the world. We can all learn from what he has learned and I encourage you to check out his book on Amazon and many other platforms!
