Shawn Springs | Tackling New Challenges: Journey from the NFL to Innovating Safety - Mick Unplugged [EP 30]

Episode Transcription

• Shawn Springs | Tackling New Challenges: Journey from the NFL to Innovating Safety - Mick Unplugged [EP 30]

  Intro: 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.

  Mick Hunt: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to an inspiring episode of Mick Unplugged, and I have one of my goats as a guest today. From dominating the NFL field to pioneering advances in safety technology, he has continually shown resilience, innovation, and leadership. His journey from a top-performing athlete to a visionary entrepreneur is nothing short of remarkable. Currently leading Winpak, a company transforming safety in sports and beyond, please join me in welcoming the Ohio State University's finest, the one and only, Shawn Springs. Shawn, how are you doing today, brother?

  Shawn Springs: How you doing, my brother? Hey. When you say the Ohio State like that, Mick, I already know. You got it down, man. You might have some Buckeyes on here already, brother.

  Mick Hunt: I am a Tar Heel through and through. You guys might get us in football, but in basketball, you know, everything runs through us. So I'll leave you with that one.

  Shawn Springs: That's right. And the crazy thing is I am a Tar Heel fan when it comes to basketball, man.

  Mick Hunt: There you go. Man, so I wanna get into it, man. You've been a person who's inspired me. You know, I'm literally just a couple of years younger, so watching you winning defensive player of the year at Ohio State, which most people don't understand how hard that is for a cornerback to win defensive player of the year or conference player of the year. Like, that's freaking awesome.

  But then not only what you did in the league, and we'll get a little bit there, but the businessman that you've become. And I've read so much about you, again, inspiring me to be a business leader as well. And the conversations that you had with Paul Allen, I think, really transformed who you are. So I'd love to hear about that transition from NFL superstar to entrepreneur dynamo.

  Shawn Springs: Right. It has been a journey, man. And I sometimes find myself just pinching myself, trying to figure out, like, you know, this God has blessed me, to be in a position where then we can go through the history of me playing, but basically great parents. My mom and dad had me out of high school. My dad ended up going to the NFL.

  My mom went into the military. So a lot of that shaped who I became. And what we're gonna talk about today from the challenges of competing in high school and going to Ohio State thinking you're the big dog and realizing that you're fourth on a depth chart. I think coach told you you're gonna start. Working your way, setting a goal, making sure that you elevate the standard, take it to the next level to being drafted third overall into the NFL, meeting Paul Allen, playing 13 years in the NFL, and starting a company.

  And I never thought that, you know, just recently in March, I would go into the Smithsonian of American history for being recognized as one of the innovators in the new bilingual sports technology exhibition called Game Changers. So we go through all that, man. And, sometimes I get shy about it, man, because it's like, how, why? Well, I think we're gonna tease out today. It probably stemmed from my parents and journey and work ethic and all that.

  Mick Hunt: Literally, that's where I was about to go when you talk about why and on Mick Unplugged. Right? We go deeper than why because I think everyone's why is superficial, and I don't mean that in a negative way at all. Right? But to me, it's your because.

  That why behind the why that really transforms you as an individual, as a leader, and as a person. And for you, right, like, you had, I'm gonna say the crazy cool dynamic. And for you, it probably wasn't cool growing up this way. Right? But you had a father who was an amazing athlete, an amazing leader in sports, and then your mom in the military.

  Right? So what was life like for Shawn that most 4 or 5, 6-year-olds didn't go through because you were getting it all, bro?

  Shawn Springs: Yeah. You're right about it. So most people don't know my dad and mom grew up in that. I'm gonna tell you an interesting fact, man. My dad and mom grew up knowing each other from Williamsburg, Virginia.

  Right there, most people know about Williamsburg because of Thanksgiving and Christopher Columbus and, you know, all this stuff that happened down there. But they grew up in a small town, man. They knew each other, had me out of high school. And man, it was just my dad went on to play a junior college in Coffeyville, Kansas, and then was recruited to Ohio State and played for the legendary Woody Hayes, and then was able to go to the Dallas Cowboys and play for Tom Landry. His best friend was Tony Dorsett. You know, he knew, Roger Staubach and all those guys, if you're familiar with the old Cowboys. And then my mom's journey was totally different. You know, she grew up where her life was a little more challenging.

  My grandmother was an alcoholic. She went into the military and left me with my grandma Springs, my father's mom. And she went into the military and then came back and got me around first or second grade. Right? I was kinda raised in the south man with my whole family and everything, growing up swimming in the James River, man. I tell people all the time, you wanna make an athlete, let them swim in that James River, man. Alabama, some Mike Vick, Bruce Smith, Alonzo Mourning, all them boys from down there. Ronald Curry and, you know, and it was just that's what made me man. And then mom came back from Germany, being stationed in Germany with that military discipline. Mature now from seeing the world a little bit, and she raised me in PG County until I went to live with my dad. So my experience is wow. My dad was I would be in a locker room with the guys and spending my thanksgivings down there, and then then I'd be in PG County over in Maryland during the school year. And so I got to see the best of both worlds. Right?

  So I think for me, what really shaped me is my experience, you know, from I've seen million-dollar homes to like hanging out in the hood. Right. So you develop a different type of mindset both ways. Right? And I went to great schools and stuff like that. So that's kind of the foundation that was set very my grandpa and them and all my family. You know, they kinda raised me, and that's what I did.

  Mick Hunt: That's awesome. And then superstar athlete in high school. I'm sure every college in the universe wanted Shawn Springs, and Ohio State had a bigger purse. You know, they had a bigger wallet.

  Shawn Springs: You know, they

  Mick Hunt: They had the black card. So this is pre NIL, so I'm not getting in so much trouble.

  Shawn Springs: Right. Yeah. Please don't. Please don't. Please don't.

  Mick Hunt: No. So why Ohio State? I know a lot of it had to do potentially with your dad being there as well, but why Ohio State? And then also, you hit on it. You're the big dog until day one starts.

  Shawn Springs: Right.

  Mick Hunt: Right? And then all of a sudden it's like, yeah. Okay. Go down to the bottom and then work your way up.

  Shawn Springs: Nick, man, like, most people that know that my dad you're right. My dad went to Ohio State and played for legendary coach Woody Hayes. But I was a small kid. I wasn't a big kid, like 8th, 9th, and 10th grade, and maybe in 11th grade. I didn't really start getting the big offers until, like, halfway through my senior year and it just kinda exploded.

  I ran track and everything, but unlike my dad who was the number one player in the country, you know, coming out of high school and a small town, Westbrook, Lawrence Taylor, Mel Gray went to the high school. So actually, and that's another thing. Most people don't know it, man. They've been around all my life. Miss Taylor, Lawrence Taylor mom was my nanny at First Baptist.

  The cool thing is in my grandma's spring is when I was staying with her while my dad was in school and going into NFL, my mom was stationed. Going back to the Williamsburg days, she was cleaning the halls of William and Mary. I would play with my cars, and it was a basketball coach at William and Mary named George Blantus. George ended up becoming my Nike rep 20 years later. So that's a cool thing.

  But I got recruited my senior year by pretty much once that kinda blossomed, everybody came out of the woodworks, man. And most people don't know that I committed to the University of Michigan early. Coach Gary Moeller. Gary Moeller. I don't know if I ever told this story. This is the first podcast I ever told. The reason I was loving Michigan, they had 5-5 at the time. I came in on my visit, they had Jalen Rose, Jalen and Chris, and, Juwan and all those guys, Steve King. I mean, on the Michigan football team, my boy, Ty Law, Wheatley was there, and all those guys were in Mick.

  But, man, two reasons why I didn't go. One was Ty called me and was like, I don't know, man, if it's for you because then I let the kids leave early. I'm gonna throw my boy, Ty Law, under the bus. How can I explain to you about to tell that part? You know, he's made up of Michigan since then. We went to a Chinese restaurant the night before, National Sounding Day. I think it was February 8th, and it was Kolemic. And, my dad said, who you gonna go sign with, man? And I said, dad, coach Mueller coming in town tomorrow to sign in. He said, alright. Cool. My stepmom, beautiful light-skinned lady, she started getting red around her neck and stuff. You know, she went to Ohio State, so her blood is blowing. So I get back to the house and we got I remember we had I'll never forget. We had, like, a red Jeep Cherokee.

  My dad goes, hey man, wait right here. I said, okay, cool, cool, cool, cool. My little sisters get out. My mom get out. My stepmom get out. He basically goes, if you go to Michigan, don't come in my damn house no more.

  Mick Hunt: That was dead serious, right?

  Shawn Springs: It was dead serious. So I ended up going to Ohio State. I was pretty recruited by Ohio State. And when I got there, man, I was like one of the guys thinking I was the man. Hell, my roommate was the player of the year, Stan Jackson, New Jersey.

  Then we had all types of guys who were just studs, and I found myself fourth on a depth chart, deep on a bench, you know, my freshman year, man, laughing and thinking about it. But I believed in myself because of the way I was raised and the way my dad worked me and the way he kinda installed the values in me by work ethic discipline and, you know, just taught me football. For me, man, it was like an eye-opening experience and one of the best things that ever happened. I can tell you more about, like, how I went from fourth on a depth chart to the highest-drafted corner in the history of the NFL if we wanna go into that, but I just worked, man.

  Mick Hunt: And that's the key. Right? I tell people this. And my mentor, Les Brown, he's called it the Mick factor. I didn't call it this. This is what he said, but I know that this embodies Shawn Springs as well too. Mental resiliency because your first day of practice. Right? All the freshmen are there together, so everybody's a superstar. But then when the upperclassmen come in, you get treated like you're supposed to get treated at that

  Shawn Springs: point. Right? Right.

  Mick Hunt: But here's what's critically important to understand. The mental resiliency that it takes to know that I'm gonna persevere. And I think that that embodies you. And then the next part for me is impact, which we're gonna talk about when we go to NFL. But your character speaks loudly of who you are and then the mentality to keep going.

  And to me, that's Shawn Springs.

  Shawn Springs: Man, you've been reading up on me, brother.

  Mick Hunt: You have been my guy since 96, man.

  Shawn Springs: 96 for

  Mick Hunt: my freshman year at UNC, and you were my guy.

  Shawn Springs: Well, I really appreciate that, man, because that really truly is who I am. First of all, I believe that we all put on earth to provide a service to others. So I think if you come in there with a with a humble heart and a good spirit, I think good things happen to you. And man, you're right. I mean, I just set that goal of like, if I outwork, you know, and I think it's probably still true to this day.

  Like, I remember a dude Malcolm Jenkins, a recruit they had, most people know Malcolm because he played. He came up to me one time and was like, is it true you never lost a workout at Ohio State? I was like, I was like, I did. I mean, there were people faster than me like Joey and Terry and those guys, but barely, by a little bit. Maybe.

  Sometimes it wasn't, but, you know, I was competitive. But I just worked, man. And so often, especially in this new NIL day and age, people don't believe in, like, earning it. So for me, it was about, I gotta earn it. And that's what life is about.

  Like, you know, and I'm not, not saying every situation you need to stick there, but there are some situations that you gotta see through and you can see the light. And if you continue to persevere and you let that, you know, they say, iron sharpens iron. Once you, you know, you get in there, you see Eddie George, the way he worked. You see the way Orlando Pace came in a year after me, the way he worked. Ricky Dudley, Joey Galloway, Terry Glenn, Chris Sanders, Marlon Kerner, Tim Walton, who's their secondary.

  Like, when you see these guys, Chico Nelson, when you see these guys, Dan Wilkinson, first-rounders, all Americans, ballers, and you like, man, I gotta be a part of that. And that's what life is about. And I think that's what carried me into, you know, NFL the same way. Although I was a pretty high draft pick, when I first started, I wanted to be the best in the room, the best on the team, the best in the big ten, the best in the country, get drafted NFL.

  Mick Hunt: And you did it. So third overall pick

  Shawn Springs: Yep.

  Mick Hunt: As a defensive back. Never done before. Only done one time since.

  Shawn Springs: Or twice since now. Right?

  Mick Hunt: Twice. Yes. You're right. You're right. Twice since.

  What was that moment like for you?

  Shawn Springs: Man, I cried, man. And I cried. And this is the funny thing, man. I cried because I thought I was gonna be the first or second pick.

  Mick Hunt: I can play with

  Shawn Springs: it here. Right? There

  Mick Hunt: were not two people better than Shawn Springs that year.

  Shawn Springs: Well, Orlando, I can accept, man. And rest in peace with my boy, Daryl Russell from USC. But I remember Oakland calling me on that call, Al Davis, and those guys called and said, would you take a deal without no signing bonus? And just more of a guarantee first year. That was, it was a weird deal.

  And I think, I think the quality, they wanted Orlando and then he ended up going to the Rams, and they became down to me and Daryl Russell, and they called me first. And I was just like, I want to, but David Ware at the time didn't let me do it. So I end up going to Seattle, which was the best decision of my life to go play for Seattle and a new ownership there that they were they didn't have at the time, and that changed my life going to play for mister Allen in the Pacific Northwest.

  Mick Hunt: Amazing. I wanna get to mister Allen two questions now.

  Shawn Springs: Right.

  Mick Hunt: Third question for you as it relates to the NFL, though. What's one moment that stands out for Shawn Springs? When you think about your NFL career, what's that one moment that stands out to you?

  Shawn Springs: That's a tough one. I had several moments. I guess the first moment had to be my I was holding out that year. I get into camp on Tuesday or Wednesday. I take a physical on Thursday.

  No. I take I get into camp on Tuesday. I take a physical. Practice Wednesday. We travel Thursday and walk through, and I lined up. Coach Erickson said, you all know the plays.

  Your first assignment is when you go in a game, everybody else gonna play around you. You match up with Jerry Rice. You got him. You're going. No.

  That guy right there. You know what I'm saying? I heard I heard of him a little bit. Jerry Rice. It was like the third preseason game, so he was gonna play at this point.

  I think he was probably about year nine or ten. You know, he was gonna play at that point, and I remember that moment. My mom was at the game. So that was a big moment for me, man. Lining up on Jerry Rice.

  Another big moment for me, man, and I don't know if it's like, man, like, I don't even like thinking about this sometimes. The first game we played without Sean Taylor.

  Mick Hunt: Yeah. You lined up with ten.

  Shawn Springs: Right? We lined up with ten, man. Wow, bro. And, man, Mick, till this day, man, it's it makes me tear up.

  That was a big gesture. I don't even that by Greg Williams. I don't even think coach Gibbs knew that we were gonna do that in the spirit of energy in the stadium man and with me. And at that time, my dad was in a coma and stuff. So I remember me and Sean sat beside each other every day, and he was talking to me.

  He was like, man, I don't know how you fly to Dallas, see your dad in the hospital in a coma, and then come back on Fridays and play in the game. And I remember Sean just supporting me and just developing our relationship with him, man. And, that moment was big for me. Crazy, brother. Crazy.

  Mick Hunt: It's wild, man. Because I've talked to several people that have been impacted by Sean Taylor. Right? Like,

  Shawn Springs: Right.

  Mick Hunt: Not who the I don't wanna say the media because I don't think he was getting portrayed negatively, specifically by the media, but there were just some negative moments that maybe the media went in on. And that wasn't a full representation of the man and the person that Sean was. And, like, to know how many lives he touched, man, like, that's

  Shawn Springs: Yeah. He you know, for a young dude, you know, like you said, Sean wasn't perfect, man.

  Mick Hunt: But who is? Who is?

  Shawn Springs: Yeah. Right. Right. No one's perfect. Right? Like, with the way he changed and the impact he had in a short period of time, it's just simply amazing.

  Mick Hunt: Absolutely. So you spent your last couple of years with my team, the Patriots. Right? My uncle Stanley's team that I like to call them.

  Shawn Springs: Yeah.

  Mick Hunt: And you retire, and you had a moment, a conversation with Paul Allen. And I remember you saying this. Paul said it wasn't about being a billionaire. It was about making an impact. And you said that that conversation changed your perspective. How so?

  Shawn Springs: Well, because in the world we live in today, it's it's about, you know, how we make money and it becomes, but, like, what are we doing to make a difference and make a change? Right? You know, when I asked mister Allen, I was like, man, did you know you're gonna be a billionaire? He goes, Sean, it wasn't about becoming a billionaire. It was about making a difference in the world.

  So at that point, Mick, I knew it wasn't about, like, chasing money. I knew it was about, like, finding something you love, a direction you wanted to go in, and, working hard at it, and money will come if you do the right things.

  Mick Hunt: That's amazing. And then you became CEO of Winpak. Right?

  Shawn Springs: Yeah.

  Mick Hunt: And that's what you're doing. Right? You're making an impact. And a couple of things, man, like, you say I research you, but I mean it when I say you've been, like, my guy forever. And you don't know how you've inspired me seeing the things that you've done.

  Some of the coolest things you've ever done. Right? Like, how many patents do you have now?

  Shawn Springs: Who? I think, like, five or six patents and two companies.

  Mick Hunt: Crazy. And then the Smithsonian.

  Shawn Springs: I'm in the US Patent and Trademark Hall of Fame. I think right above me is a lady who created the messenger RNA. Then I'm in the Smithsonian, which is the latest exhibit in the American Smithsonian of American history. That exhibit is called Change Your Game, and it's really around bilingual interactive exhibition where you can learn about all different types of cool technologies.

  There's four featured innovators, myself for impact protection, the lady who founded a sports bra, the man who founded Gatorade, and the other guy who did a prosthetic for sports and stuff. But there's 60, I believe, 60 other technologies that you can experience in from instant replay to the deflategate ball is in there. I know you don't wanna hear about that one. They got that

  Mick Hunt: I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know what you're talking about.

  Shawn Springs: And just talking about safety as far as, like, or technology, innovators who really have done things in sports that affect regular lives that you just don't even know about, like, my helmet in baseball catchers your kids wear or, you know, skis and just sports bra, what it did for women. Like, I mean, that's one of the most amazing stories that I don't think people really understand that she took two jock straps really and sewed them together and created basically a sports bra.

  Mick Hunt: Wow. I didn't know that.

  Shawn Springs: Yeah.

  Mick Hunt: What's crazy to me is you grew up right there. Right?

  Did you ever envision the day did did 8-year-old Shawn ever just say, we'll be there one day?

  Shawn Springs: No, man. I don't think that guy who was excited to go on the field trips because he lived in Washington DC area, and they felt like he was getting out of school, so everybody did to go to the Smithsonian and mess around on a bus. Right. But for me, I never would have imagined that. I think I've always had a humble curiosity to make things better.

  I wanted in high school, I wanted to be an architect. So because I like things being developed, done investments in land and stuff like that, but, man, like, the Smithsonian. It's so funny. I go down to the I took my I think one of my sons, we went down there, and we looked at it. And we're walking around, and people are just, like, looking at that.

  That's you. Right? Like, I'm in the Smithsonian for, like, 7 to 10 years. That's unbelievable.

  Mick Hunt: It's wild, man. So let the listeners know, like, what is Winpak about? What is it that you're doing?

  Shawn Springs: Winpak, we're based out of Northern Virginia. We build helmet padding solutions for products. We don't make the helmet. We make the padding solution safer. It was based out of Northern Virginia, and we basically started off with the idea to make the game safer for the next generation of athletes.

  The sad thing about football is football is a very dangerous sport if not played correctly. The great thing about football is if played correctly with the right rules and the right equipment and the advancement equipment, it's one of the world's best sports, if not the best sport in the world. Right. Right? So I wanted to work with companies in sports and in the military.

  We've done a lot of work with the military because of the seriousness of impact protection in the patent system. So think about if listeners out there are thinking about, our product, you go on to Dick's, you see a catcher's helmet from EvoShield. The pad on the inside is my engineers. We designed it, and that's my technology inside that. Or the military, working with the Department of Defense.

  You know, when you think about our soldiers and my mom was a soldier, so I understand the seriousness of it, but I think I don't know. Most people understand that they protect their lives. That ain't a game. They need protection to save their lives. And we work on serious things like that because, you know, these guys are out in the battlefield.

  Unfortunately, we're bullets to fly. So we gotta be able to make sure that those soldiers who protect our freedom come back. So we are Impact Protection. We got engineers. We design things.

  We work with companies and get to be in cool sports like cricket.

  Mick Hunt: Very popular in Asia, brother. Very, very popular.

  Shawn Springs: Yeah. You're right, man.

  Mick Hunt: So, Shawn, you've been so gracious with your time, man. I feel like we need to do episode two at some point. Right. Because there's so many places I wanna go, but I wanna be very conscious of your time and the gratitude that you're giving by being on the show. One thing that I'd love for you to end with, there are a lot of athletes, and I don't care the sport, that struggle to transition. Right?

  Shawn Springs: Like, there are

  Mick Hunt: a lot of athletes that struggle with that transition. What's some advice that you would give a fellow athlete to, you know, that resiliency that you have, that impact, that's a part of your character? What's some advice you'd give?

  Shawn Springs: I think the biggest advice to any athlete I would give them is don't define yourself as an athlete. Go in there with the idea that the NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball, NHL, whatever sport you play, male, female, it's a stepping stone in life. We know that our bodies can't hold up forever. So you gotta understand that that's just a moment in time, and this is a stepping stone to take you to the next level. So I think if you go in there with the mindset of I could be 28 years old.

  Now I gotta go into the real world and start to develop yourself professionally and stuff like that. With that mindset, I think you might have a chance to transition nicely.

  Mick Hunt: That's it. Shawn, brother, I appreciate you spending some time with us. I definitely wanna do more because there's so much more we could talk about. Thank you for being an inspiration and a role model to me. So, personally, I thank you.

  Shawn Springs: You're welcome, brother.

  Mick Hunt: You got it. And for all the listeners out there, remember, your because is your superpower. Go and use it.

  Intro: 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.