Rising Stars: Meet Jeremy Kellem

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeremy Kellem.

Hi Jeremy, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I grew up in Fort Lauderdale, FL where I was raised by my mom and dad. The person I refer to as my dad is actually my stepfather, but to me, he is my only father. My biological father left my mom while she was pregnant and has not been in my life, which serves as a motivator for me to be the best father I can be to my son and daughter. I have two sisters as well. Growing up in Florida was awesome. My parents did a great job raising me. They made endless sacrifices to ensure that I had what I needed to succeed and I am truly thankful for them and all that they have done and continue to do for me and my family.

While growing up in Florida, the popular thing to do was to play sports.I played three sports football, basketball, and baseball throughout my childhood, into my ninth-grade year of high school. I made a declaration in my sophomore year that football was the game that I loved and that I was going to pursue it from that moment on. I was going to make football a career for me. I began getting recruited to play college football and after my senior season of high school football I was offered a full-ride scholarship by Middle Tennessee State University, to play football. I made my way to MTSU and had a successful academic and athletic career. I became the first-ever student-athlete in school history across all sports to receive ESPN academic All-American and First Team All-Conference honors in the same season.

While in college at MTSU, that is where I met my wife Brittany. We began dating in 2010 and have been together ever since. We are actually coming up on our seven-year wedding anniversary in September so that is pretty exciting. The year 2009 was definitely a highlight of my college experience because that’s when I actually met Brittany, we won the New Orleans Bowl championship that year, and I decided to get baptized by my mentor in the MTSU Rec Center. It was a great year and now my wife and I have been blessed with two kids. We have Jeremy Jr. who is 4 and Jayla who is 2.

After finishing up my football career and graduating from MTSU, my sights were set on the NFL. Unfortunately, I didn’t get drafted, so I had to take a different route. The new route was the arena football league (AFL). It was indoor football which is still football, but it’s played on a smaller feel unlike the size of the NFL field, which is 100 yards long, the AFL field is 50 yards. I went to play for the New Orleans franchise for a season and then I played the rest of my career in the arena league for the next four years for the Arizona Rattlers. I was blessed to win two championships out there and in 2015 I was named the 2015 Arena Defensive Back of the year as the best defensive back in the league.

I enjoyed myself and I had an amazing football career, but I always knew that I couldn’t play forever. Growing up my parents always told me that I was more than playing sports. While playing professional football I was always thinking about what I wanted to do when I was done playing. So much so that even in the off-season I used to go and work part-time at the Boys and Girls Club because I knew a passion of mine was to make an impact in the lives of youth in the world.

I also knew that one of the careers that I wanted to have was to be a professional speaker and so while playing during the season and in the off-season, I would go and speak at colleges, I would go and speak to youth groups at churches, and I would go to schools and speak. So now that I have been retired for about six years, I now have my business W.I.N., We Impact Now, LLC. Our mission is to make a life-enriching impact in the lives of those we work with through the services we offer which are life-enriching programs, SEL activities, keynote speaking, coaching, and mentorship. Even in my role as a high school educator and the CEO of W.I.N. I am being intentional about making an Impact in the lives of others.

Now at the age of 33, I see my voice as my superpower and I use every platform that I have been blessed with, including my position as a TV Football Analyst/Color Commentator on the ESPN3 platform to make a positive impact in the lives of those that may be listening to the game that day.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
To get where I am today I’ve had to make some difficult transitions. The first difficult transition for me was when I graduated college and I was looking to go play in the NFL. My childhood and lifelong dream at that time were to make it and get drafted and play in the NFL. In 2011 I did not get drafted which was heartbreaking to experience. I felt embarrassed. I was ashamed and disappointed.

However, I had to then make the decision to take a different route. I tried out for another professional football league but I was cut by the organization. I then spent the next year out of football. I didn’t know if I ever was going to play again. After that year I chose to go play in the arena football league. In my first few years in the arena football league, I rejected being there. I didn’t truly appreciate being there because I was still stuck on the idea of wanting to go play in the NFL. The more I focused on wanting to go to the NFL and the more I focused on the disappointment of not making it, the less I appreciated playing in the arena football league. Then I heard pastor TD Jakes preach a message about “Being Great on Your Level” and so from that point on I realized that hey I can’t control if I’m in the NFL or not but I must embrace and appreciate the level of football that I was playing on and that I could truly strive to be great on the level I have been blessed to be on and that’s what I did.

While playing professional football I knew that one day my career was gonna come to an end. I wasn’t going to play forever and so while I was playing I was always thinking about what I was gonna do next. I was always thinking about what career or what was I going to do after I was done playing football and so that’s why while I was playing I was working on my professional speaking skills. I traveled around speaking to different colleges in Arizona and in Tennessee. I was going to schools and speaking to the students. I was going to churches, and youth groups, and speaking to them while I was still playing. I was preparing myself for that transition to becoming a professional speaker. I also created my business W.I.N. while I was still playing because I knew that I had a passion for impacting the youth and I wanted to make sure that I was prepared for that transition.

The transition from playing football and entering the real world as a full-time employee finally came and it was not an easy one emotionally. Though I had prepared myself for it, it still doesn’t make it easy when you have to separate from something you did your whole life. Growing up as a kid, I had to learn my identity of who I was and who I am as Jeremy Kellem while playing sports. I realize that for athletes, as you grow up and are figuring yourself out as a person the more interconnected your identity as a person becomes with what you are doing which is playing sports.

So when it came to the point where I was no longer going to play football, I had to make a decision to disassociate my identity as a person with what I did, which was playing football and that was a difficult thing because sometimes you can believe you are what you do and I always remember what my parents told me when they said that there was more to me than football.

I still miss the game of football but I realize that life is about change and transitions. I have transitioned to being a Professional Speaker, Tv Analyst/Color Commentator, and Educator which allows me to live in purpose. I realize that I was in purpose playing football, but when football ended I just had to switch vehicles and continue with my purpose.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a Professional Speaker, CEO/ Founder of We Impact Now (W.I.N.), LLC, and TV Football Analyst/Color Commentator.

I specialize in helping high school students cultivate a self-tailored vision and find purpose en route to academic and life success. I am known for giving passionate and energy-laden keynote presentations. I am also known as the voice of the “Impact WITH JK” radio segment, which airs every Wednesday on 760amTheGospel.

I am most proud of helping a high school student that earned a 0.8 GPA in the first 9 weeks of school, earn a 3.75 GPA in the third 9 weeks of school after he went through my WIN program as I worked alongside him as his life tutor.

What sets me apart from others are my diverse and unique experiences. I played collegiate and professional sports at some of the highest levels. I achieved academic excellence by earning Academic All-American Honors during undergrad and earning a 4.0 GPA throughout each semester of Graduate school.

I worked in leadership as a Director of a Boys & Girls Club Unit and I have served as an educator. I will connect with any audience in the Educational or Athletic realms due to my diverse experiences.

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
My greatest quality is the ability to be consistent. Whether it’s my consistency pertaining to my work performance or my consistency as a person. I am one you never have to worry about showing up. You know that I will be there and you know how I will be because I don’t fluctuate as a person. Who I am today will be who I am tomorrow.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://jeremykellem.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jk_impacts/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UC559Q0cZhHJ-94MGMvUqQ2A
• Other: https://anchor.fm/jeremy-kellem