Amobi Okugo: Has MLS Culture Changed For The Better? I #AskASoccerPro Show Ep 072
11-year MLS veteran Quincy Amarikwa interviews Amobi Okugo, professional soccer player for Austin Bold FC, in episode 72 of the #AskASoccerPro Show. Join Quincy and Amobi as they discuss authenticity, shifting MLS culture, and ‘A Frugal Athlete’!
00:00 - 03:59: How To Build Confidence In Yourself
03:52 - 5:24: Why It’s Hard For Players To Stay Disciplined ⚽
5:28 - 7:22: What Amobi Really Thinks of Earl Edwards
07:24 – 10:19: How Amobi Convinced His Nigerian Parents to Let Him Go Pro 🇳🇬
10:26 – 13:43: Why You Should Fight For Opportunities 👊
14:01 – 15:51: Amobi’s Post-Match Recovery Routine
15:52 – 17:39: Is It Okay to Drink After A Big Win? 🍻 @lardizabalrico
17:40 – 23:13: What To Do When You’re Mad? 😡 @dmv.diego13
23:16 - 24:59: How To Combat Overthinking? 🤯@_k.23.hampton_
25:00 - 30:09: What is Frugal Athlete? @AFrugalAthlete
30:59 – 33:30: What Was The Best Moment of Amobi’s MLS Career? @juliankoulish_24
33:32 – 35:28: Where Does Amobi See Himself In 10 Years? @johnposas916
35:34 - 39:48 Don’t Be A Mooch! How To Add Value To A Relationship
39:49 - 40:51: Why Is Your Brand So Important? 🤔
40:55 - 43:53: Why Amobi Says Quincy Is An Annoying Forward 🤣
43:54 – 51:45: Has MLS Culture Changed For The Better?
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*Transcript is unedited and machine-generated. There will be errors. For further clarity please refer to the audio or video.
Amobi Okugo (00:02):
And what's great about that is you're able to, or we're able to get the background of your in, of course the graphics now, but for those of you who are interested in them in a movies, a path to the professional level and what he's been doing up to that up, up to that point you'll be able to check that out. But we'll jump into the mentality and stuff here. So yeah, man, what's what do you think, what's been kind of the thing that stands out most to you in your world? What's going on on your end?
Amobi Okugo (00:32):
Well, currently with the fact that there's no games being going on and so it's like staying mentally tough and fit in the sense of like trying to figure out what's going on. Like, alright, am I staying fit? Like when are we going to play? Like making sure you're disciplined in the sense like depending on when the game is going to happen, you gotta be ready. You may not be game fit, but yeah, at least make, make sure your baseline is, you know, proper.
Amobi Okugo (00:56):
Got you. So what have you done to, or what have you figured out or found to be most useful to stay consistent during uncertain times?
Amobi Okugo (01:06):
I feel like for me it's just like knowing my body, staying disciplined in my routine. You know? Even though coaches or like the training staff might send you like a workout plan. Like I know what gives me fit and I know like when I need a break and stuff like that. So it's like knowing your body, understanding your body and listening to your body at the same time. Yeah,
Amobi Okugo (01:27):
I like that. Okay, so we're going to take that a couple of different directions because I think there's some value, there's some value there for especially the younger audience who's in listening here and who might find it difficult to, to always feel like they have to listen to the coach and do what the coach is saying. And you just pointed out there like you know your body and you understand what kind of gets you fit and doesn't at what point in time or how did you build the confidence or build the experience to be able to make those types of decisions for yourself?
Amobi Okugo (01:57):
I feel like that's tough. Like you're, you're three. Okay. Yeah, I feel like, you know, it's like, you know, I've made it this far on still in the league and like I'm doing well, so it's like I've taken the coach's advice while at the same time I'm, you know, implementing what I like, incorporating it into what, like what lessons they have or what direction they have and what works for my body is different from what works for someone else's body. Like I hate running, so I know if I'm like, if I'm going to do just like a run, like run for 30 minutes, that's not going to get me as fit as me. Like going to play basketball or pickup like for an hour or two because I know like I'm having fun. I'm, I'm not like running like eight minute intervals or whatever. Like what the coach says or like what the trainer has.
Amobi Okugo (02:45):
But I'm playing basketball like pickup in the off season and it may not be the same thing, but I'm getting more fit because I know my fitness is different in the sense of I might not be able to do like a Cooper test or anything, but when it comes game time I don't get tired. So I'm just understanding that and understanding like yeah, that's good. Like in terms of like I having a bear meter, but I know like for me to actually get fit in the game, I need to do more cardio in the sense of like tricking my mind. So not just running on the field but like doing a boxing workout or playing basketball or like playing five aside pickup instead of like, all right, you need to run around the field, stop, take a break, run around twice, like not as too boring for me.
Quincy Amarikwa (03:30):
Okay, I got you. So for me it's more so you're a type of athlete that needs to be engaged and I'm someone who also dislikes running. I don't know if most people, a lot of people could fall on my stuff. Like I, I definitely am on board with you in terms of that, but our sport does require it and that's not the only way to stay fit.
Quincy Amarikwa (03:52):
Um I think in the perfect soccer podcast and the, and the corn T's questions, you had mentioned that the largest determining factor in your success as a pro was, was discipline. And how do you maintain that discipline and w why do you think it's so hard for most players today do the same?
Amobi Okugo (04:11):
I think I'll start with like a lot of question. I think it's hard for most players because they fluctuate with their emotions over the course of season by, you know, when you like team with a week or you get a goal and get an cyst, you might be like, and people are like on that mindset or some people are like, whatever I did this week, I got to do it the exact same way. And they kind of fluctuate with like, you know how they're playing. So if they have a bad, like bad game or a bad run, a forum, it's like, okay,uhow, like, what was I doing wrong? What was I doing? So it's almost like staying disciplined in the sense of like what I have my routine, whether it works out, obviously you're going to fine tune some things. Ubut in the sense of like, I'm gonna make sure I come to practice early, I'm going to do my technical workouts, I'm going to do my recovery regardless of if I play bad or play good, this is what I'm going to do and make sure,uI stay on that path because I know more often than not, I'm going to at least continue on this upward trend. So I do not the biggest thing that's you. U
Quincy Amarikwa (05:19):
Yeah, I like that brother. So let me see, I've got, we've got a couple of questions that are coming in here. The first one, we're going to start it off cause we got Earl Edwards jr in the comments. I know you're a UCLA, UCLA, he's as well too. This guy's gonna lie on national ID. Okay. Okay. So Oh, okay. So it's already been called out in LA. Okay, great. I love that. So Hey, controversy is always a great thing. So Earl's clearly saying, make sure to remind you that consistently you consistently, consistently. So he's all about consistency here. Debates basketball interv games to the human eye. So would you like to comment in response to that?
Amobi Okugo (05:58):
Earl Earl was like my little big bro. You know, I was like a mentor to him. Now he's, you know, on his own two feet, got his own family doing wonderful things, but he knows the truth. He never debates. He's a great debate of though great debater. Like he comes up with arguments. But he knows I don't fall for it. You know, he tries to get people riled up and you know, when people get riled up they started yelling more and trying to overtake the overtake the argument, overtake the debate on even keel. So his tactics never worked with me. That was a lie. Basketball. Why?
Quincy Amarikwa (06:33):
Yeah, I know he's mad. Like, it's a guy needs to put a feature where like he can come in and comment cause I know he's like, this is not true. I don't lie. There's no wonder why to. That's a something bro. He's the, he's the one who called you up. I got to hear your comments. Everybody in the comment section, if you were you on your team, a mobile or a team, Earl, spend that hard. Drop that down below. Let us know what you're thinking. Earl said that's facts. The movie was the big bro. That's what's up. I know you guys, that UCLA connection brother. Sometimes some, some.
Amobi Okugo (07:05):
Pardon me. I wish I stayed longer so I can be with him and Kaelin, like we definitely would have won a national championship. That's facts. But you know, I had to go pro at my age when w when it was right. So,
Quincy Amarikwa (07:16):
Yeah. Okay, I like that. Before I went over to the next one.
Quincy Amarikwa (07:19):
So you did leave college early, you're there for a year and I know you have Nigerian doctors then as UI. How did that conversation even get approved in your household for you to, to no longer pursue your education and pursue a professional career?
Amobi Okugo (07:24):
Yeah, yeah. I still don't even know how I was able to convince them. Like I had opportunities to like go straight directly pro out of high school and my parents was like, yeah, that's never going to happen. So once I got to UCLA I couldn't convince them convinced them to let me go to UCLA instead of like Stanford or like Ivy league, you know how it is, like you're going to college for school and not soccer. So once the opportunity presented itself that, you know, I was signing the generation Adidas contract, I was going to get compensated pretty well and most importantly have the opportunity to, you know, continue my education through the generation Adidas pathway where they reimburse you for school.
Amobi Okugo (08:14):
I just have to promise my parents, specifically my mom, like, yeah, I'm going to finish school and it's not going to be like, after my career is done, I'm going to do it like while I'm playing. So once she said that, like once my agent and a team was able to convince my parents of like the benefits of going, like when this like strike while the iron is hot, instead of waiting, you might get injured and stuff like that. And the concept of your education is always going to be there. They are, they were, they got around it, you know, they were able to get around it. I don't, I still don't think they were fans of it, but they were able to let it happen.
Quincy Amarikwa (08:47):
Gotcha. No you know, I know the Nigerian culture, I know that that had to have been a difficult one, but technically, technically, and we talked about it a little bit on on the shows well to about leverage. And I think this is a great transition into one of the questions you had also talked about on the podcast. In terms of, because of the uncompromising nature of the Nigerian mindset and probably your mother at that time, how much more leveraged did that give you at the negotiation table when they were wanting to pull you out of school?
Amobi Okugo (09:18):
No, it actually helped because like, like people across like MLS circles, like USL circles, like, no, like I'm obese. Dad's like hard nose. Like if you're trying to negotiate like go through me instead of don't go through my dad, like he's asking questions. Like I saw it, she's a lawyer, but so like it was like known like in like MLS circles, like, yo Moby's dad, he's like, just you so you're going to have to come with like something to get them to agree. So we were able to use that leverage and like, because I was a freshmen coming out, the generation Adidas money was going to be more because like I'm losing more eligibility or more years of service. So,uit helped. It was a blessing and uI just, it was just that it helped me get a little bit more.
Quincy Amarikwa (10:15):
No, I'm saying I love that bro. Like I, I, the reason I bring, I bring that cause just on the fly here and tying that more into your response in term. Oh, you, you had, you had discussed that, you said most players don't fight enough for themselves, right? Yeah. Right. So, so why do you, why do you think that is? And what's, what's something you, you, with the experience and knowledge that you have now, having played as long as you have and continuing to play and the businesses that you're managing, the teams you're learning to build and just, you know understanding the process, the business of soccer more and more with each passing year how and where in your career were you not fighting for yourself enough? And, and why do you think most players fall into that? Or do you feel that that has not been the case for you?
Amobi Okugo (11:15):
No, no, I definitely fell in for that. I think like my rookie year, you know, no, I was just like coming off like a great, you know, youth career, fortunate to have opportunities at the youth level to really blossom and develop my skills. So coming into my rookie year, I mean as as much as I was expected or expecting, you know, everyone expects for them to like have a chance or have a fair shot to play. You know, expansion team, you know, one of the first draft picks for the team. And I barely played and I just took it in the sense of like, alright, I'm a rookie. This is my chance to just learn. Well that's true. Well at the same time I need to be like, yo, I'm okay. We losing some player. How come I just can't get games? Like I shouldn't have to go like yo agent, you know, can you please start to coach like to ask him why?
Amobi Okugo (12:04):
What's going on? Like no, I should be knocking on the door and let your coach. All right, we lost three games in a row. I've been coming off the bench, I've been making the 18 what I need to do to like play. And then if he says, you know what you need to do, I apply that to the practice and hopefully I get my shins. But it doesn't happen after the next couple of games and we're still in a situation, knock on the door. Like you, you really got to get what you want. Sometimes you gotta you gotta sometimes you just gotta. Exactly. You know, if you wait, you know, close miles don't get fed. And like, as much as I was trying to be like, you know, good teammate and like really like by my time, no, cause the minute you get cut, there's no time to be, you know, Biden.
Amobi Okugo (12:48):
So it's like you gotta take advantage of the opportunity and you gotta you know, you gotta ask for the opportunity. And the most important thing is like when you ask and when you like put, applying that pressure, when the opportunity comes, you gotta be ready to take it. So if I'm like complaining, why am I not playing? Why am I doing this? And then, okay, alright, you're starting these games. And then I absolutely have a shocker. I can't go back and knock on this door. I can't, I just got to keep my mouth shut and hope. Like the guy in front of me, he gets injured. I'm sorry, I don't want to say that, but people think that or like has a bad run a forum and like even if the team's winning, like that's a little bit difficult too because you can't complain. You know, you're a team player. You just got to fit. I'll wait until I get to that as well too. Cause
Quincy Amarikwa (13:36):
I think there's some decent lessons to be learned there.
Quincy Amarikwa (13:39):
We're going to take it in a couple more questions here from, from the audience. Everybody, if you're loving what lobes has been sharing with every with all of you guys span that heart by the type of little bit of what you've learned bar, we're going to go to the question. More questions in the chat. So Ryan B pro, general manager stretches recovery post-match or when you have sore muscles.
Amobi Okugo (14:02):
Oh, okay. So, you know, I hate the cold. So I'm not a fan of ice baths. I'm more of a fan of Epson salt bath. So like a home games a day before a game. I usually take a nice, like Epsom salt, warm bath. It helps relax the muscles and also it makes it easier for me to stretch. And then, you know, usually not, I'm not going to say like after the game, after the game I do my stretches. I don't really do much. Maybe like sometimes I'll do an ice bath. I'm not gonna lie to you. I'm not like an ice bath guy. So I don't do it like after every game or after every practice. But the next day like the game day plus one, I'll do another Epson salt bath that just, it's more relaxing to me. I like hot water instead of cold and it helps me like just get in my thoughts, relax, decompress, let my muscles loosen up. Especially as a center midfielder, center back. I think it's more important to have like just that, that looseness.
Quincy Amarikwa (14:59):
Gotcha. And that ties a lot to know yourself, know your body, understand what works for you and experiment and learn. So the young you are, that's more time to experiment, find what works for you and what doesn't. And the older you get, you'll start to get a routine. You'll understand yourself and you'll be able to stand up for yourself in the moments in time where you need to be looking out for yourself. And, and by doing that, you're helping the team. So I think a lot to what Moses was talking to about a lot of people think that you have to be quiet and you can't stand up for yourself by doing that. You're a great teammate. It's not speaking out, pointing out what's wrong or, or doing what you know is right, is, is not being is being a good teammate in the long run. So we're out here developing that longterm winners mindset. I'm loving what moves is Sharon at L a R D. I. C. A. B. A. L. R. I. C. O. M had asked, is it okay to party with your teammates after a big win and maybe have some adult beverages?
Amobi Okugo (16:01):
Yeah, it's okay. I mean, you just gotta know your limit and you just gotta be smart about it. I'm not going to say, you know, there's either grown men on the team, grown women, grown men play the sport. So depending on, you know, what they want to do or what she want to do, but just remember, you're a role model. You know, you're, if you're a professional soccer player, professional athlete, you know, people are looking at you. So people might recognize you when you're out and about. So if you want to have an adult beverage, go ahead and do it. But just be smart about it, you know, be responsible. And understand that, you know, it's not one game, one celebration look longterm. So if you have like a, you know, Saturday, Wednesday, Sunday, you don't want to go out. I went on Saturday because you have two more games coming up within the, you know, over the next seven days. So maybe it's like, alright, we have that Sunday. All right, we won. We capped off at three, you know, three game win streak. We have a buy, we have, you know, the day off next tomorrow. All right, cool. Now we can have a couple adult beverages and relax and you know, really celebrate the win with some teammates and family, but just be smart about it. You know, remember you're a role model at the end of the day.
Quincy Amarikwa (17:18):
Got you. And that is a, and I'll throw this disclaimer out there as real to that is if you were 21 years or older. Exactly. So I know we've got everyone from different ages and backgrounds. Adult beverages are okay if you are an adult in the law, in the eyes of the law. But a good question.
Quincy Amarikwa (17:36):
- m DNB dot Diego 13 had asked, what do you do when you're down and you're mad to calm down?
Amobi Okugo (17:45):
Ooh, that's a good question because like during the game, I'm like my, my dial is all the way turned up, so I'm always mad. That's just how I play. But like when I'm mad, like and in general I usually just like decompress, probably like binge watching TV shows or use like getting my, getting I read my current book that I'm reading or I just do my Bible study. So and to have like a daily devotional and that just helps me like just, alright, a hundred things are going on at once. I'm stressed out, I'm overwhelmed. All right, let me put that to the side. Alright. Let me just read or let me just like watch an episode of my favorite TV show or current TV show I'm watching or you know, and let me dive into my daily devotional and I really get into getting to that moment. Got you.
Quincy Amarikwa (18:37):
I've I've noticed a lot on your account, especially more recently you've been you've been sharing a lot more affirmations and um, uh, almost kind of notes from the books and things that you're reading along the way. Um, how have you, are you, are you a practitioner of affirmations and writing down your goals? If so, like, what's your process? Why do you do it? What are some of the pros and cons that you've found doing so?
Amobi Okugo (18:44):
Yeah, so for me, I'm big on that. Like, if, if, if it doesn't start here, then you don't have any clear direction of how you want to go about, you know, getting what you have in front of you, you know, so with your dreams, with your goals I'm all about it has to start in your mind. You have to manifest it, you have to say it, you have to, you have to want it. And then I, I'm big fan of writing it down cause once you write it down, it's like, all right, it's official.
Amobi Okugo (19:26):
Like it's like the difference between an oral story and a written book, like a written book is always going to be there. Oral is like, Oh maybe you said it, maybe you didn't. So I'm all about manifestation, writing it down, I'm sharing it. So you're now you're accountable. So in the sense of like not only with yourself but other people was like, yo, I heard you. You remember when you said he was writing the book, how's it coming along? He's like, Oh yeah, I did say that. Let me get to it. So it's like holding myself accountable in the sense of like putting it out there because that's what I want to receive. Eventually. So I'm big on manifestation. I'm big on goal setting. I'm big on being disciplined and coming about what you want. I think one of the downsides would probably be sometimes so there's a difference between like task goals, stretch goals, and like, you know, the big dream goals and then trying to do it all at once.
Amobi Okugo (20:20):
So it's like, yeah, I want to do this, I'll write it down, I want to do this, I want to write it down. And then like, instead of doing this, I do this for like two minutes and then I'm focusing on this. So it's like, all right, I have all these three goals that are written down. All right, which one's going to lead me to the path of least resistance that will help me achieve the goal on my right and the goal on my left. And then I think that's like one of the biggest things that I've been focusing on, especially, you know, as we've continued. All right. How can I build out the main highway and then have the other like exits lead to where I want to go.
Quincy Amarikwa (20:56):
Got you. I love that. And I'm seeing a lot of people down here spamming that heart button. They're liking what you're talking about. Who else in the chat has been practicing affirmations and writing down their goals? Some sometimes seeing everyone in the bottom is dropping them in your head. Don't know. Do you know what a trademark, amazing. It's the MSL army bro. Good. You know, everybody makes sure you're showing, showing a normal was the army that follows behind us and, and leads ahead and, and just is helping build that highway that moves is talking about here. One thing that I wanted to point. Yeah, so Jordan had said me or sorry, Jordan said Jordan said every morning, Jen said, I have Campbell gave us the thumbs up. Sonya said me exclamation point. R E L E a M I T is dropping the silly, I'm in your head emojis dealing with a troll in the chat, but loving that.
Quincy Amarikwa (21:55):
Tina tape four says that she has, Heather has as well. Lucas said, yes sir.
Quincy Amarikwa (22:01):
Mmm
Quincy Amarikwa (22:03):
Hey, Joe Jackson said, poo power Lucas fam, MSL, MSL, MSL, greater than Himalayas, everyone. So everyone here is is loving that they're, they're practitioners of that as well too. And I'm loving seeing the community being disciplined, responsibility for, for their goals. And I'm piggybacking a little bit off of what mom's was talking about was definitely in agreement with you get the shiny object syndrome, you see multiple things, all these different things that you want to do and, and take part in one thing kind of speaking to your path of least resistance that can be helpful is look at all of the things that you want to do and see the one thing that you could focus on doing that if you accomplish that, the other things get accomplished along the way or become easier, easier to accomplish as a result of accomplishing that one goal. That will very much help you remain disciplined and consistent over a long enough period. The time to actually make best whatever goals you guys are putting out there. And wanting to speak into existence. I'm loving that. Moobs. There's some decent stuff here. Okay.
Quincy Amarikwa (23:16):
So we got one from K, twenty-three Hampton. It was asking you how to combat overthinking.
Amobi Okugo (23:25):
That was a great question. I think you know, so my game as a center midfielder, send it back. I've always been like, you know, I'm not going to be dribbling 10 guys to score a goal. I'm like simple. I play simple breakup plays, make the past, keep it from offense to defense, defense to offense. So like my concept of overthinking is you know, try to play because simple is effective. So in the sense of playing, like maybe the patch right in front of you is going to be the past at least to assist. Instead of me trying to beat a guy and then make the through ball. So simple as effective and understanding that. And when it comes to overthinking, I just focus on like the one thing. So what's the one thing that's gonna help me be successful for today? And if I can get that one thing done, then everything else doesn't really matter. Like I can get back to it another day. And that's by a book by an author named Gary Keller, I believe. But that's that's a concept that I really applied to my life. It's just like buy out all the things that I have to do. What's the one thing that's most important? And if I get it done, can I, I'll consider this like a great day and that helps me combat overthinking.
Quincy Amarikwa (24:33):
I love that. So in the I know several of the several of the people joining in here on the live are on the financial literacy newsletter that I have over@leverageinvestmentgroup.com. And one of the books that is recommended on the list is the one thing I think from the second, the second or third day. So yeah, I I very much believe that's a great philosophy and a way to, to attack it.
Quincy Amarikwa (24:59):
And speaking of financial literacy. And that book wasn't necessarily exactly, not even necessarily that book, but we tie it all together, brother. So let's talk a little bit more about the workshop that I'll be attending of yours tomorrow here. Right. you want to give a little bit of a background as to what it is how you've, how you've set it up and, and the value that people who will attend will get from it. Oh yeah.
Amobi Okugo (25:28):
So thanks for that. So obviously a frugal athlete is my platform helping promote prudent financial practices and smart career decisions amongst professional athletes and student athletes. So for tomorrow for the past six weeks or so, we've been doing a frugal fundamentals, you know, kind of virtual workshop series and it's basically given specifically athletes, but others that, you know, want to learn from athletes kind of tools from on different subjects. So tomorrow we're going to be talking with your as truly Quincy AmeriCorps on entrepreneurship. That's something a lot of athletes are getting interested in. But how do they go about it? The right way, you know, you have athletes that are making a lot of money so they can just throw a lot of money behind their businesses but not have like the structure to do it the right way.
Amobi Okugo (26:17):
So they're masking a lot of problems with the capital. Well they're, they have, which can lead them down a rabbit hole. So the opportunity to have you on someone that manages a bunch of businesses as almost a conglomerate and does many different things from, you know, soccer consulting, digital media in real estate finance. So it'd be cool to, is going to be great to have you on, to talk about, you know, what's most important in starting what tricks and tips that you have for people and like where you see the future of entrepreneurship going. Not only in light of this current situation that we're having, but in light of, you know, being an athlete and we have one in the morning on an IgE live that's more like interactive and then the one that you're going to be on is on zoom. And that's just more intimate and you know, people can ask questions in a more intimate setting and we're able to, you know, record it and put it on YouTube and all that.
Quincy Amarikwa (27:19):
Awesome. So what time is that? Oh, is this an open workshop? What are the, what are the OpenText? Anybody? So if you guys go to, I'm a frugal athlete on Instagram, click the link in bio or just go to www.google athlete.com/frugal fundamentals. You will see the link to get the email and link for the zoom meeting.
Amobi Okugo (27:44):
Well, if you have any trouble, just hit me up on my personal account or a frugal athlete and I'll send you guys over the link, but it's up there.
Quincy Amarikwa (27:54):
Got you. You're Earl, if you could drop the link there below so I can tap so I can pin that at the bottom. That'd be great. Katie 23 Amten asks, what's the YouTube channel to watch the replace a frugal athlete? You know, just type in a full bath. We, we don't, we don't have a thousand subscribers yet so we can get our own link. So if you to a frugal athlete I'm over here. Cool. Okay, awesome. And what we'll also do for those of you who are interested in joining in on the live workshop tomorrow there'll be links in my personal bio. I'll make sure that'll be up there as well. If those of you who are watching the video replay of this over on YouTube or on Instagram or posted over and perfect soccer skills.com by tomorrow, you guys know what it is.
Quincy Amarikwa (28:33):
We do the post production of the show tote or takes and breaks down the clips of every single show as well as adds in more context, more fun stuff. You know what it is. We're having a great time. We're breaking everything. Oh yeah, man. And those of you who are interested in the actual assets I propose show process, you can go to perfect soccer skills.com/aar no perfect soccer skills.com/evolve E V L. V you'll see how we break down the show. Do all the post production stuff. I think that would be great. For those of you who want to attend the workshop tomorrow, who are potential entrepreneurs, you can get an understanding of kind of what one segment of the process for a show like this, what goes into it what it, what it takes. And maybe it'll give you guys a little bit more ideas for specific questions that you want to ask on the zoom so that we are as efficient with our time as possible. But I'm looking forward to that. What was the, what's the time of the workshop? 4:00 PM Pacific standard time. And your your MSL army moves fast. I already like, I got notifications cigar to subscribers. Ah, I love it. That army.
Quincy Amarikwa (29:42):
Yeah. So we've been, we've been and in our systems and processes per time, man, we're we're we're, we're, you know, we're, whereas we're a small community, but we are a loyal and we are a loyal and self-sufficient community and we're excited to, to continue to like to highlight, promote, and share positive messages that, that I think that teamwork equals dream work. It's a core value here. And we love having you on the team, man. Let's see.
Quincy Amarikwa (30:13):
- Okay. 23 had said that's what he's referring to. Your response. Overthink. He said, that's great advice. I tend to overthink on the pitch and in life and I'm hard on myself, but I've been working on mastering fundamentals and playing more simple. So that's good. Sometimes you guys simple things are hard to do. That's true. The hardest thing to do is play simple. Correct? Yes. Toby underscore 17, just showing them a hat master shift. Oh, I got to tie, I got to try his,uhis jump rope challenge that he did recently. Do you see that? No, I haven't seen it.
Amobi Okugo (30:48):
Oh yeah. You got to take that out. He did like this Tutsi jump rope challenge. I was like, Oh, I don't know. He's the one
Amobi Okugo (30:52):
Karate chops with the jump roll. Why? Okay. That's a workout for it there.
Quincy Amarikwa (30:58):
I'm going to check that up afterwards. I haven't seen, I haven't actually, I haven't seen that yet. Let's see what we got here. Over in the comments section, we've got a Julian K, O, U, L I S H underscore 24 is asking what is your what your best of your MLS, it's career. So if you had to say they build off the field moments take away, what, what would that be in your ambulance career?
Amobi Okugo (31:29):
I probably first game cause like that's like the culmination of all the sacrifices my parents made. I made the work that was put in and that, it was like the moment where it all came together, you know? Cause that's nothing. No one can ever take away from you. Like you made it, you professional athlete. It doesn't matter if it's one game, a hundred games, a thousand games like you may you know, like condense or people like, they can talk about you. Most of them, they never made it that far. Even if it's like you made it your high school team, you made it to your college team, like you're our elite. So don't let anybody take it away from you. You know, a lot of guys now in the S so lower division, a lot of guys I play with or play against, you know, they're kind of down like, you know, they haven't made it to the MLS or a higher level and it's like, yo, there's still hundreds of guys that would play for free to be where you're at. So understand like, you know, you're, you're valuable. You're elite. Like you've made it this far. Like not a lot of people can do that. Not a lot of people understand this grind. I love that.
Quincy Amarikwa (32:32):
That's true. Perspective is extremely important. And we, we speak a lot to that here. If it's to not be satisfied and want more for yourself, but also acknowledging and recognizing that even where you are here right now in this moment, there's someone in the world who would give up everything to have what you have here right now and and reminding yourself of that any time you decide to feel sorry for yourself. And I think that's something that we, we talk a lot about here and I think we, we practice that, especially with the three S's of self awareness. I can see a lot of people are understanding and knowing what we're talking about with all that they're spamming in that heart button there. They're loving that mentality and I think it's a great reminder to, sorry to cut you off, but yeah, no, it's good. Okay.
Amobi Okugo (33:19):
I think it's a great reminder in the sense of like, like as you got, as you're in that position of like, yo, I want more, I'm trying to get to that spot. You know, someone else is like, yo, I want to get to where you're currently at. So it was like you can never take any days off, but you always have to push more, push for more.
Quincy Amarikwa (33:35):
Love that. So speaking of no days off and thinking and looking to the future, we've got a John P O S a S nine 16 asks, where do you see yourself in 10 years and what steps will you take to get there? That's a great, that's a great question. We got some LT. That's the Matthew McConaughy. That's the where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Amobi Okugo (34:00):
Um I see myself working in the sports business you know, private equity and VC space. I want to be like the business development investor relations guy. A lot of sports is growing like crazy in the sense of like sports business, like people investing in sports teams, people investing in, you know, real estate around sports, you know, analytics, media, all these different things that involve sports business, especially with bedding getting more prevalent. So I want to be kind of like the linchpin between, you know, the guys with money and the, you know, the smart people that are creating these different opportunities to like source deals. You know, client relations, business development partnerships. So I want to be that that person, I love that. Oh, sorry. And what I'm doing to get there is a frugal athletes, one stepping stone to get there, you know, connecting with like minded people in the space, doing some externships and internships and my off seasons. I think that's been mastering the art of networking and not just networking to network, but like trying to be a value add and trying to ask the right questions and informational interviews to really be intentional about what I'm looking for and like finding the right people that can help me in that process.
Quincy Amarikwa (35:14):
I love that. So everybody who's listening in on kind of what is talking about on this 10 year plan, what is your 10 year plan? Where do you expect to see yourself in the future? What is your plan? What are some stepping stones that need to be in place or checklists for you on your way and while, while you guys type some of that stuff in there and the bottom so we can see what your 10 year goals are.
Quincy Amarikwa (35:37):
I wanted to highlight another point that you had made there Moby and kind of a piggyback and summarize in off of that in terms of the networking with purpose and not yet working. Just to network I think is a, is a great thing that you kind of shared there and being a value add. And some, most people go, well how do I provide value? Can, could you help better break down what value add means to you? Like what would the process of being a value add be mean to you?
Amobi Okugo (36:10):
So value add is, you know, you know, you never want to be someone that just receives, received receipts all the time. You got to give, you gotta give. So for example, if I didn't know you and I wanted to connect with you, obviously I see all the things that you're doing. I would say, Oh, okay. You said obviously, I mean you might have a team to do this or not, but it's like, all right, I see that you're about to do a podcast with the Amobi. I want to connect with you, coincidence cause I know what you're doing. I think it's great. All right, so you, you have a podcast scheduled for a movie. So I'm going to do like some research on a Amobi, have like a list of questions or list the bio and send it out to you. And it may not work the first time, but okay.
Amobi Okugo (36:52):
You have a podcast next, next week with let's say Toby. Okay. Toby, I want to look him up, make a little bio, send some questions in and then send it to you over. I swear after the course of three weeks, you're going to notice that. And I'm like, yo, who's this person? Like I didn't, I'm not paying them, I'm not doing anything. They're doing this for me. All right, let's set up a meeting. I want to know what they're about. I want to know what they're looking for and how can I help them that make it a couple of questions. That's 30 minutes out of your day, if that if you really want to connect with somebody, you'll, you know, you'll make an effort. So things like that where you're a value add and you're not just like, yo, can I get 15 minutes of your time? I want to ask you questions about how I can, you know, figure out my life because it's like, how do you know I have 15 minutes of my time? Like, I know your time blocked your schedules and bam, bam, bam, bam, bam. So like be a value add, you know, bring something to the table. It's like when you go to like a house party never was, I'd bring snacks and you're the one person that doesn't bring snacks and you're mooching off everyone else. It's not to that extent, but I'm trying to like, no, that's true.
Quincy Amarikwa (37:55):
No, but that's great because that's, I we have a, a very wide audience and the MSL mindset applies to the entire audience at different stages. Just like let me, let me pull in here. Let me say, Heather said in 10 years I'll be 20 years old. So yeah, so that, okay. Okay. So, and then I think soccer dad life was in here. I saw a soccer dad for life. Like as in here, a soccer dad. I'm not sure how old you are, but I'm going to assume you're older than 10. Right. but the idea and the mentality and what's required in terms of consistency is true regardless of your age. And I even think when you're saying, Hey, showing up at the party and not being a MOOC I think a lot of people make the mistake of believing that they're winning because they're, Hey, I didn't bring anything to the party. I'm eating. I'm full. I'm feeling good. You know what I mean? But what you're, what you're not understanding is that over time, and we talk about this with the long, I'm sorry, with exponential thing.
Amobi Okugo (39:00):
Yeah. He's in there, right? Free food lion there. Like we talked about exponential growth positive or negative. So if you're the person who's always showing up and everyone brands you, and this'll be good as well too. Cause we'll, I want to transition this into brand as well as if everyone brands you as the person who is always here to take and not provide value, not give, which is the opposite of BMS on mindset here. We're here to over deliver value leave every exchange, haven't given more than we received. In the long run, you will be branded as the person that people aren't reaching out to when there's opportunities, aren't networking with and connecting them with other valuable people within their brand and network because they understand that you aren't invested in the longterm. That's true. So I'm loving how you broke that down and we're sharing that. So
Quincy Amarikwa (39:56):
Speaking to brand why do you believe brand is important and, and how are you, how are you investing your time and your money in, in, in, in building it?
Amobi Okugo (40:08):
I would say your brand is your name. Your brand is your name. Your name is your reputation. You know, as much as you're not, you know, you're not supposed to care about what people think about you, but how you are perceived amongst your peers or amongst, you know, your audience that you're intending to reach is very important. So that if if you, you know, if you want to exemplify someone that is, you know, interested in soccer or you know, interested in cooking, it doesn't make sense for me to have a show or, you know, perceive my brand in my me watching TV all the time. There's something like that. So, you know, brand is an extension of you and it's your way to channel what you want other people to see in the world, you know, so
Quincy Amarikwa (43:44):
No, you're good. Come back to that. Being authentic is what got you where you are. Don't stop. No, I'm, I'm loving that.
Amobi Okugo (43:50):
So, okay. We've never actually officially, and we've got 10 minutes, 10 more minutes here before we'll before Instagram officially kicks us off and we'll be good to go with the extended that. Oh, maybe they did, I'm just giving, maybe they did. They, they're giving me a heads. I just give the heads up on the hour Mark. That way if the, if the number pops up, it didn't catch us up by guard. So off guard. So if we've got a little more time, Hey, you already know me, I'm down to extend it. But yeah, we never officially played on the same team. Right. But we played against him when we played against each other over the course of the year.
Quincy Amarikwa (44:25):
So give me a little info. Give me a little insight bro. Like we're talking about brand, how you're seen and what's said about you over the course of time. We were never directly a teammates. So what was, did you enjoy when you got to play me? Cause you thought it was just easy, slim pickings. Easy. That's a massive, you can let me know. Okay. So one of the most annoying for us to play against, and like I say this to say like annoying is like a compliment, like annoying to compliment people. Like, like just like people don't like, Oh wow, he's talking mess. Like, Oh, you know, like as, especially when I play centerback you can like chill like, cause I don't really play defense. Yes. Once he plays defense. So it's like you always have to be alert. So that's like as like annoying, especially as a centerback because not only do you have to garden for 90 minutes, but when you get the ball you're supposed to chill.
Amobi Okugo (45:24):
Now you have to worry about someone coming from behind or I'm hitting you like as you make a pass like Oh my gosh, this is ridiculous. So annoying. It's so annoying. Yeah. But like that's like a compliment for you, right? Like Oh bro. Yeah you were talking about earlier, know what you're good at. Right. And I'm like, yo, like you okay, maybe you have a better touch than me. Cool, cool. But can you deal with me just touching you for 90 minutes straight? Can you handle that?
Amobi Okugo (45:55):
And it's cool. It's like, it's funny cause you like physicality. So it's like if I like tonsil, you are like, all right, sometimes you can just spousal someone like three times in the blood, they'll go to the other center back. But if I fail you, it's like, Oh yes, this is, I don't know. I like it.
Amobi Okugo (46:07):
I'm going to say like, so I'm like, nah, I let him be easy. You know, I give him his space and then hopefully he just goes to the other side because just like I do my, I do my thing like it's like a Kevin, I think Kevin Garnett basketball player said he's like, you don't talk mess to Tim Duncan cause that's not a style. Like it doesn't affect him. You find other ways. So I had to find other ways, you know.
Quincy Amarikwa (46:34):
Gotcha. Okay. Okay. So there you go. So what was, and maybe, I don't know, I mean when was the last time that we played cool Monday years ago. He was on San Jose. No bro, I'm loving that man. No, I appreciate that. So what do you, what do you, you saw the transition of old school MLS into what it kind of is now in terms of yeah, there's more money, more attention, more media. It's, it's a lot more, there's, there's more backstabbing and behind the back, the politics, you know what I'm saying? It's just, it's, it's a lot, the culture has changed. The culture has shifted because many people see the opportunity, the money, the step that's available. And that has, that has changed what you,
Quincy Amarikwa (47:30):
How you adapt, how you have to adapt to the game. So like what are some of the things that you, you miss about old school but, but like more about the kind of new school.
Amobi Okugo (47:43):
I mean obviously like the, I don't want to say like the level of play is getting better because talent is talent. You know, I feel like, you know, from top to bottom, you know, there's more talent in the league and I'm just, there's more competitive around, you know, just the game. Like, so for example, it's like if we lose this game, it doesn't really matter. We'll have, we'll get them next week. Right now it's never like that. It's like, yo, we're trying to win support a show. We're trying to make the playoffs. We're trying to get all that. And the, like, from when I first started, I feel like people were a little bit more upfront and honest, so it's not like they're trying to scam you or like when I get one up on you, it's like, yo, I'm trying to get traded on a plane.
Amobi Okugo (48:30):
, Let's make it work. Now. It's like you do that. It's like, Oh, all right. Nope, we're going to try to milk him out of his contract. We're going to devalue his value. We're going to find a way to make it look like he's a culprit. And then we're going to trade him. But it's like, you guys weren't playing me. You guys have no use for me, so just train me and you don't have to do all the other stuff. Whereas, you know, when we first got in the league, it's like, y'all need to get outta here because I'm not happy. You're not playing me. The situation is what it is. Like respect, respect you guys, you respect me, let's make it work. Now it's like, all right, how can we crunch numbers to like make it fit in our salary cap?
Amobi Okugo (49:10):
And like, no, but if we trade your next year, it's like, Oh, your agent not going to be mad, but it's like, it's too much.
Quincy Amarikwa (49:17):
You've got, you know. Yeah. Yes. The political game that it's turned into. I know you have a couple of stories for that.
Amobi Okugo (49:25):
A man to too many to to maybe we'll need to start our another podcast of stories of MLS history. I gotta get a new podcast with my move my friends over at building a bus media coming out, 2 cents FC. So we're going to do three topics, three stories, soccer content. Yeah. I'm down for that. That's a decent one. So have you been following what's going on with the player's association and I think the Orlando stuff, yeah. It's going to be relevant. Interesting. And it says 72 hours. I think it might get extended. I mean, obviously we were both on the player association, so we know how that works. That's another topic for another day. But yeah, it would be really interesting to see if they end up playing. Like if I was a betting man, whatever MLS
Quincy Amarikwa (50:31):
When we shut down Zlatan on the MSLs greater than MLS bro. Like you think people are gonna you think they're going to figure that out anytime soon or you think they're just going to keep denying denying that reality, bro. That's great. You gave me plenty of plenty of set up here, bro. Let me see over here. People still not believe in the MSL works, bro.
Amobi Okugo (50:54):
Yeah, it's really crazy. It's like what's proven is not, especially now, it's like what's what's proven to work over the history of soccer or history, mankind. It's like people are trying to reinvent the wheel and that's, I mean as even though there's more money coming into the sport, more opportunity in terms of international talent that the game hasn't changed. Like you see, like who's won over the past 10 years, 15 years of the league. It's the same model. And as much as he tried to change it, you still have to have key elements on within a soccer organization for it to ultimately work.
Quincy Amarikwa (51:33):
Oh man. Yes, yes. And yeah bro. Yeah. You speak in facts, but okay. Just like we had discussed, it's difficult to do the simple things. People make things complicated because they can, they can justify their role, their position, their existence. If it's, if it's super, if it's super complicated to understand the rules of the league and Tam and GAM and this and that and the other, we now need more people. Yeah. And if it's more people who, who only know their specific thing and they don't know how the entire thing works together, we can sustain that for a really long time. Oh yeah. Okay. Sorry. I'm going to go, I'm sorry to go. Bring me back on and then we're going to really talk about it. We're going to need to talk about that more because the main thing is even for me in the language when work, having this conversation, discussing it here, right.
Quincy Amarikwa (52:34):
Even the fact that speaking about this and talking about how the system works become so convoluted and so big and so monumental, right, that most people will just say, I'm ignoring it. Just like most people ignore a problem, like a cavity. I'm ignoring it, that it's not a big deal, but it's slow, but not brushing your teeth. It's simple. You know what to do. Brush your teeth every day. That's it. Brushing every day. But if you're not today and the next day and the next day, the cavity cavity goes, it's bigger, then all of a sudden it's turning into a root canal. Right? And people only address things when they have to remove their teeth and now replace it with dentures. That's why I say I'm just trying to make it more simple. Right?
Quincy Amarikwa (53:19):
And the easiest way to sell someone is if it's the new thing and it's super confusing and only all know the rule I own. I'm the only one who knows how to work it and how to use it and how this comes together, which is why you need me. And when you're talking about being a value add and providing value to the system, right, you're teaching someone how they don't need you. They want you because they, they know what you provide, they know the value you provide and they may see it's a, it's a vital service or something, but right as I'm saying that Instagram's telling me I've got a minute left. I want to make sure that we save the live for the replay and everything. So I want to, yeah, I want to thank you again for joining in. I really appreciate you bringing the time. We'll have to go round to sometimes sear in everybody's spam, that heart button. Let them albido what you learned today. Maybe drop him a comment on his most recent posts. Go follow him on Instagram, follow frugal athletes and he'll get you over the link for the workshop tomorrow for those of you who want to join in on the entrepreneurship side of stuff.
Amobi Okugo (54:24):
Respect. I see you tomorrow.
Quincy Amarikwa (54:25):
Yeah, brother. Thanks again and I'll see you. I'll see you here tomorrow. What was that later, bro?
Quincy Amarikwa (54:32):
Yo. So that's a wrap. Everybody spam that hard bite and I got 30 seconds left. You guys know what it is? Hey, that's a wrap for episode 72, the hashtag asset soccer pro show. Thank you to everybody who tuned in. Make sure to go over follow mobi. Get that link and I'll see you guys tonight on B on the workshop. Raylene. Yes. Thank you. Thank you. 10 seconds left, guys. Thanks again. I'll see everybody here next Thursday, 6:00 PM PST, 9:00 PM EST. I'm in your head.