Leslie: My name is Leslie. We met at the event last Monday with Councilwoman Jamelle McKenzie, and she was giving away toys to our neighborhood in College Park. There were a different group of people too: celebrities, business owners, and ball players. I was introduced to you by Ms. Jennifer Person. She’s such a sweetheart, a real go-getter for our community, and I’m very thankful. Would you mind please introducing yourself?
Mack: My name is Mack Brown.
Leslie: Tell us how Mack Brown came about.
Mack: I tell people I grew up in Decatur. I really grew up in Lithonia, Georgia. So, you can say I grew up in the Decatur-Lithonia area, and then we moved to Stone Mountain. But Mack Brown came about because I have two great parents, Mack Brown Sr. and Erica Brown, and two sisters that I fought with all the time in the house. But we were just real competitive. Since I was a young kid, my parents always challenged us to be the best versions of ourselves every day. No matter what happens in life, just put your best foot forward. (Putting your best foot forward requires you to plan ahead and be well-organized, dress for the job you want, always think and breathe before you respond to anyone, and do not react to negativity. Plan your day.) My parents reminded us to stay in the present but do everything you can to be successful. Early on in my childhood, I realized I was pretty good at football, and I just took football to the next level. I thought if football can fund me to go to college, then that is what I am going to do. I would go to practice every day and train hard. I didn’t go to parties. I was always committed to being better than the day before, and that’s how I became a successful athlete growing up. In high school, I came out as the state’s No. 1 player (RB Mack Brown, Lithonia, Ga./Martin Luther King). I was the first guy in my county to come out on ESPN Rise magazine and the first guy to appear in Future Phenom’s. I played in the Under Armour All-American game, and I was the first guy to bring ESPN games to their high school (televised games in high school), sold-out stadiums.
I went to the University of Florida for my undergrad and played there. But football didn’t go as planned in college. My freshman year went well, but my coach, Urban Meyer (III), ended up leaving my freshman year. A new coach came in. He was a good coach too. I remember how in my freshman spring season, I was No. 1 or No. 2 in my depth chart. Then, my uncle passed away. I was in between: Should I stay and practice, or should I go home? Coach Will Muschamp asked me to decide what I would like to do: “You can go home or stay for practice.” I decided to go home, but that morning before practice, I pondered, “If I drive home, I’ve never lost anyone before, and I don’t know how I would be on the road.” So, I decided to stay for that practice.
I ended up breaking my leg at practice, and it took me out for almost two years. The next season, I ended up playing, but I never got back to full speed for two seasons. That’s how my college career went. I didn’t really play a lot in college—probably scored four touchdowns my entire college career—but I knew in life that if God gives you an image, you imagine that image he gives you and bring your magic into imagination. In the imagination stage, that’s when you live in the moment. So, I knew for sure I was going to make it to the pros, but I wanted to see how. So, when I didn’t play that much, I played a game with myself. I played the game on my own in my sandpit every day in my apartment complex. I trained and envisioned the game in front of myself. I was out there in my sandpit playing everyday, and then I ended up playing fire in the pros. (In football, “playing fire” refers to a specific zone blitz called a fire zone blitz. In this blitz, the defense rushes five players with a 3–3 coverage, meaning three defenders are deep and three are underneath.)
Leslie: That’s awesome. The resilience you have is important for others to see. A lot of times when you come from struggle—I come from struggle, so I say it this way: “When you come from struggle, you don’t always have that one person—the GOAT, the black sheep, the person that makes it—you are IT, and there is no blueprint for that. You just gotta (like you said) use your imagination and ask yourself, ‘What is it going to look like for me?’ and then work toward that goal, and then you end up making it.” So, your resilience and endurance are very important for anyone really to push forward, for the children and for adults as well. Mental health is a big issue today and it impacts a lot of people. It doesn’t matter what age bracket you are in. It was pretty cool how you saw another way. You didn’t stop there (meaning after breaking your leg in college). It was amazing how you pushed forward and saw how you could make that work for you.
Mack: I think in life, you have to find someone who really motivates you, and of course, it’s God and my family. But ask yourself, what other person do you want to align yourself with? For instance, for me, it was Kobe Bryant, the Black Mamba. For example, with Kobe, he went through a lot—from being hated on by the whole world to making people love him again, to folks saying he was an underdog when he lost to Shaq, then he went on to become the best player in the NBA, winning two rings after Shaq. So, I think just seeing what Kobe did makes you want to be great. Even when I stopped playing football, I remember my last year playing pro ball. That season he was playing, I got my biggest contract before that and lost it because I got injured. I remember that whole process of having to train 3 to 4 times a day and eat a certain regimen just to get an opportunity to play for a team the next season. Going through that whole mental capacity of what I had been through, I knew this wouldn’t be a long-lived situation. I probably wouldn’t get to play football after this, so I started planning what I wanted to do next.
I invested in real estate and wanted to do more. When I got my undergrad in Florida, I remembered thinking I didn’t get the degree I wanted. It wasn’t a great degree, just one I could easily adapt to while playing football in college. So I said, “You know, I want to go back to get my master’s so I can give back to my family.” I thought if I can’t get it through sports, I can through education—through your mind. So, I said I’m going to get my MBA in real estate development. During that time, I asked my advisor, “What’s something that I can do that will give me a challenge?” I asked if I could get two MBAs. The advisor said yes, and it’s going to be kind of crazy. That’s what I chose to do: I worked for two MBAs—one in finance and the other in real estate development. I did 15- and 18-hour semesters and wrote notes to my school because you’re really not supposed to do six classes in 18-hour semesters, but I did. Obtaining that really wowed and motivated me. I told myself, “I really got my MBA.” When I saw that, I felt like I had been drafted because, in football, I was a free agent, but when I got my MBA, that felt like I went to the NFL and got drafted. I had seen MBAs on people’s names and never knew what it meant, especially at 20 years old. I asked myself at times, “What is that?” I didn’t know it was Master of Business Administration. I never knew that. When I obtained that, I said, “I will keep going.” So, Im proud to say that I am graduating in 2025 with my PhD. I always told myself, “What challenge can I give myself that could benefit me, my family, and my life?” Also, I asked, “What can I do to recharge and get back to work?”
This year, before I finished school, I was determined to get my book out, so I wrote a children’s book that launched in August 2024 called A Pup Named Bunch. My last year playing football, I was going through a lot, and my mentor kept saying, “Just do the things now… and doodling decreases stress.” So, I kept playing video games in training camp, but my mentor continued by saying, “You can also write down stuff, and you’ll feel better about yourself.” So, I was writing a book, which was my autobiography. Three years later, my dog named Royal died. As I was fixing one of my properties, God told me, “Go back and take that book out.” I asked what that meant, and I spoke to my fiancée. When I pulled the book out, I realized there was a dog in my original book. That’s when I noticed and was wowed. I realized it was time. In my autobiography, I wrote a children’s folklore story so the children could see something similar to what they were going through. What I did in 2024 was to take the book back out, redo the folktale, and rewrite it into a children’s story about mental capacity, true identity, and understanding confidence. Because a lot of times, children see that they are not being accepted by a specific group of people, and it breaks their confidence as they get older. “Those girls or guys don’t like me; I only have one friend.” When that happens, the children grow up in a shell. So, my book shows early on, “Don’t worry about that group. Build your own group.” I want to teach that to kids early on, and it came out this year. I’ve done book events at Barnes and Noble, Nordstrom, the Jimmy Carter Museum, and an event in Philadelphia called “Reading Is Fundamental (RIF).” I feel like people think I do a lot, and there’s not enough time to do everything they want, but the reality is, there is. There’s always someone doing much more. For example, people who get up in the morning, have kids to take care of, or are working one job as a single parent and have to do a double shift. Those are the people doing a lot. Sometimes we lose sight of what we really love in life. We lose sight of our family because we want to make more money. But in reality, family is not going to be here long. Grandparents and parents are getting older, and our kids grow older. We need to cherish more time with our family, rather than focusing on our obstacles. What I’m doing now is compartmentalizing what I want to do. I take an hour every day to do something different so I can obtain my goals. That may seem like a lot for people, but really, I had a year’s worth of accomplishing that one goal, and I did just that. And it seems at times that so much is producing at once, but really, it’s that I had a five-year plan to accomplish those goals, and that’s where I am now. Now, I am at Northwestern Mutual.
Leslie: Would you like to briefly tell us about working at Northwestern Mutual?
Mack: It’s a prestigious firm, and I love it. They give me a competitive experience, like I’m in a football locker room, with a lot of great advisors on the floor. I’m there because I didn’t see myself being an advisor, and I want to do something for the next 30 years that I’ve never done before. That way, when I wake up, I can say to myself, “Wow, I’m really doing this,” and also ask, “What can I do to bring financial literacy to my community?” That is my new goal and drive. I like how I can still work with athletes.
Leslie: That’s amazing. You’re a go-getter; you put your mind to it. The story itself, letting children know to be themselves and let others gravitate to you so you can make your own village—that’s important. The fact that God nudged you was a sign that it was time. A lot of times, we don’t always listen to what He’s telling us, or the universe, for those that do not believe in God. Just the signs alone in life tell you, “This is the time, or simply pause, you need a break.” When we don’t listen, we exhaust ourselves or don’t understand why God is not blessing what we want to do. Simply put, God didn’t tell us to do it. So, being fine-tuned and aligned with what God wants you to do is important. I believe you are going to help a lot of children.
Mack: Yes, currently, I am partnered up with DeKalb County. I’m a vendor for that school county. They gave me an award last year for community service. I do a lot of speaking engagements for children at events, I do read-alongs, and I’ve done two banquets. Last year, in 2023, I was a speaker at a banquet at McNair Elementary and Dunwoody Elementary.
Leslie: I believe what you are doing is amazing. You clearly saw a plan, sat down, and wrote down your plan, and you have pushed through and followed through everything you’ve wanted to do and completed short-term and long-term goals. I also want to give you kudos for getting your PhD. It takes a lot of work. For example, I sit on a board for prevention and research at Morehouse School of Medicine, and almost everyone at the table is a PhD. I’m one of few on the board who is not. But I do have a sister, Samantha Martin, and she is currently writing her dissertation. She keeps us updated, and you can tell it’s a lot of hard work. Seeing her phases of emotions makes me appreciate her and you for the hard, dedicated work you put in. I also want to thank you for setting the example of what it looks like. Sometimes, we as people, need to see what it looks like to accomplish our dreams. I’m sure you will continue to motivate all of us, children and adults, showing us that anything is possible. It’s phenomenal that you’ve gravitated towards something that you now love, that allows you to expand into different horizons and connect with different people. I love that you are a people’s person, and that, on its own, is super cool. Very proud of you. Is there anyone you want to shout out before we close our interview?
Mack: I want to shout out my whole family. I’m getting married next year, so I definitely want to shout out my fiancée and my son, Maverick, and my daughter, Milan. They are amazing.
Leslie: Where can we follow you on social media?
Mack: Yes, you can follow me on Instagram at @MackPrimeb and via LinkedIn at @MackBrownMBA. I also have my foundation named Built Tough. We work a lot with the community, so make sure to check that out too. Thank you so much, Leslie.
Leslie: Thank you so much for this great conversation.
