Michael Strahan on ‘More Than An Athlete’ doc, Men’s Wearhouse collaboration and more
EXCLUSIVE: The former football star says he hopes people learn from his example that , "No matter where you start, you are capable of doing more than one thing"
To say Michael Strahan stays busy would be an understatement. The multi-hyphenate mogul exclusively sat down with theGrio this week and broke down his various jobs, recent collaborations, and what he’s looking forward to as the year begins to wind down.
While still a permanent co-host of Good Morning America, analyst on Fox NFL Sunday and more, Strahan, 49, is adding to his multiple streams of revenue. From a Super Bowl champion on the football field to a popular television personality, his journey is an inspiring one of trust, faith, and never limiting your aspirations.
His life and journey is currently chronicled on ESPN+’s second season of UNINTERRUPTED’s More Than An Athlete, which premiered on Sept. 9.
More Than An Athlete tells more of Strahan’s personal story from growing up in Texas and Germany where his father was posted while in the military, to being on the world stage as an NFL player.
Strahan shared with theGrio, “I think it’s definitely a deeper dive into where I am and how I got there, I think that that’s gonna be something a little different for people to see. A lot of people followed me throughout my career, many knew me as a football player and see me on TV now and think, ‘Oh, it just happened!'” He continued to explain that despite what many think, it’s simply “not that easy.”
He added, “I hope they get out of it that no matter where you start, you are capable of doing more than one thing, and don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and take chances. If you fail, don’t give up, keep on going and just have a dream of where you wanna go and eventually it will happen.”
More Than An Athlete will also show Strahan fans aspects of his life that they may not know at all.
“I don’t think people know that I didn’t necessarily play football growing up … I don’t think a lot of people realize that I went to HBCU!”
He continues to explain that it’s been, “a long road” for him, especially as he felt more European than American by the time he returned to Houston to attend Texas Southern University.
Strahan is also busy working with Men’s Wearhouse on their MSX athleisure line collaboration, now introducing “work leisure” styles.
“The work leisure is a bit more buttoned-up in a certain way, but you can still wear it throughout your day and look presentable at the office or on a Zoom call.”
Strahan insists that he doesn’t just collaborate with anyone and that any brand he works with will lead with authenticity.
“Everything that I have done has always been organic to me, who I am as a person and my style of dress, and Men’s Wearhouse understands that and gets that.”
Recently, he also partnered with fellow former NFL star Deion Sanders, now the head coach of the Jackson State University football team, to give the team and coaches custom suits via his Men’s Wearhouse affiliation to wear through the HBCU college football season.
He added, “It’s a tough business and I think people see through anything that’s not authentic. For me, all of this is authentic. There is not a fabric or style or anything that I don’t sit in a meeting and talk about or touch … it’s definitely my personality and my style all rolled into it.”
Beyond the ESPN+ series and the MSX collaboration, Strahan’s various gigs will keep him plenty busy for the rest of the year and beyond.
Though his schedule is packed, he says he enjoys being a TV personality that can pivot from mornings on GMA that usually includes lifestyle, news and human interest stories, to his strictly all-football gig with FOX NFL.
“Everyone always says, ‘Oh you’re going coast to coast, and doing football and you’ve got to be exhausted,’ but I actually look forward to it. It’s two totally different aspects of my life, two totally different jobs.”
While he loves following “everyday life” and news on GMA, Strahan gushes, “there is something special about Sundays and watching teams compete, especially knowing the mindset and what it takes.”
He’s enjoying the level of competition he’s seen so far this season, especially from first and second-year players.
“This is probably the greatest group of talent we’ve had in the quarterback position in a really long time,” he says.
As for veteran QB and seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, still in the NFL at age 44, Strahan said, “I want to know how Brady’s doing?! Tom Brady at 44-years-old making all of us old guys feel great!”
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