I'm all about raising reporters and instilling in my kids to learn life skills like speaking to adults and interviewing. Therefore, I am slowly passing my "reporter torch" to my boys, and they had the awesome opportunity to interview one of the famed Gronk brothers, Chris Gronkowski.
The former NFL player transitioned to entrepreneurship, scoring big on Shark Tank with his company: Ice Shaker. The overly kind dad of four took the time and TLC to chat with my two young reporters: Nicholas (age 9) and Zaza (age 7). The interview was fitting, as Nicholas is a CEO and Zaza is a sports fanatic. In fact, Zaza (nicknamed for Zachary) was unaware Chris is actually related to "the Gronk" until I informed him after the interview... when his jaw dropped.
Here's the article that accompanies the video, written by the youthful reporters:
Hi! I’m Nicholas, a 3rd grade CEO, and I had the cool opportunity to interview Chris Gronkowski.
“I was the middle of five brothers. We were always competing and playing sports. Now, as adults, we are all best friends,” said Chris.
Chris played NFL for the Cowboys, Colts and Broncos. His favorite memory in the NFL was playing his brother Rob, the Broncos versus the Patriots. He remembers having 80 friends and family members in attendance.
But, at 26-years-old, Chris changed his career.
“Football was my dream. But unfortunately, like every sport, it came to an end, and I found a second game plan.”
Chris’ game plan was to start a business.
“Because I love working out, I created a company called Ice Shaker.”
Ice shaker is a stainless-steel water bottle that keeps your drinks cold up to 30 hours.
At first, Chris shipped all his products out of his house. But Chris went on the TV show “Shark Tank” and was picked by Mark Cuban and Alex Rodriguez.
Chris says “Shark Tank” really helped his business grow. Since I am a CEO, I asked Chris for tips on running a successful business. He said it’s important to study hard in school and to have a good team that supports you.
“I love my Ice Shaker team. It’s like we’re going into the locker together getting ready for a game and working to win. It’s so relatable to when I was in football.”
Chris is now a dad to three boys and a baby girl. He loves teaching his kids how to play sports. He also played football for the University of Arizona... but his wife went to Arizona State University. That makes watching Wildcat-Sun Devil games extra fun in their household.
Comments / 0