Roy Hall has always been a standout athlete growing up in South Euclid, Ohio. This carried on to the collegiate and the professional level. He played his college football at The Ohio State University. Roy played four seasons in the NFL for the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints as a wide receiver. He accomplished the ultimate dream for every boy that grows up playing football. However, Roy reached a point that many men reach at some point in their lives. He knew there was something more that he should be doing in his life and the position he was blessed to be in.
Roy always says, “LIFE IS NOT ABOUT YOU. It’s about being SELFLESS, not selfish.” He gave his life to the Lord and now does great things for the community through the Driven Foundation. The Driven Foundation is ALL ABOUT SERVING AND HELPING PEOPLE. This foundation is based in the city of Columbus, Ohio and also does quality work in the Cleveland, Ohio area. The foundation is all about leveraging and helping people. He realized that as a Ohio State football alumni he had a responsibility not just to himself but to his family and community as well. As a former NFL player with that experience under his belt people are automatically drawn to him and look up to him. Roy decided to go the route of helping others instead of being selfish with his money and fame. He chose to use his platform to spread the good news of Jesus Christ and do as much good for others as he could in the Columbus, Ohio area. The mantra of the Driven Foundation is this: NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER QUIT.
Roy Hall grew up in a single parent household. Roy’s mom was a single mom and his father was heroin addicted so this presented many challenges for his family in the household. He had to be extremely self-reliant and more mature than his age and step in as the male figure of the household for his mother and his sister, Sonya. He always strived to get a 4.0 or higher every time report card time rolled around. He emphasized this, “Getting good grades and always practicing was not all about me. I was doing all of that and putting in that work to put my family in a better financial situation.” Roy is a stand up guy in and out. Below is the interview we conducted and we also talked about life on a personal level. Enjoy!
Myself: Roy I’ve known you for 15 years and have always known you to be a very motivated and DRIVEN individual. What would you say it is that motivates you? How do you STAY DRIVEN?
Roy Hall: What motivates me is staying driven and being able to change and making a positive impact in someone else’s life. I realized that life was not all about me and knew I had to make a difference by using my presence and platform to do so. I take pride in organizing food drives for the community. The food we give these families feeds them for up to two weeks. LIFE IS NOT ABOUT YOU! All the gifts and talents I was blessed with was not for me it was for my family and the people around him. The opposite of live is not hate but SELF. When you love yourself too much and only want to do things to please SELF that is where you can get yourself in trouble. I want to be GREAT so that inspires others to be great as well.
Myself: What motivated you to start the Driven Foundation?
Roy Hall: What motivated me to start the Driven Foundation is the experiences I had as a football player at The Ohio State University. Coach Jim Tressel always emphasized the importance of serving in the community and being a blessing to others. We showed up at events at places such as Columbus Children’s Hospital and other places around the area. It wasn’t until I got drafted to the Indianapolis that I got serious about serving others. I started a summer football camp in the Cleveland area to show high school kids fundamentals of football and life. We also have food drives, basketball games that operate as fundraisers because I wanted to help as many people as I can. Also, my childhood experiences motivated me to start the foundation as well. When my sister and I went without certain things as children, that fueled me. Also, I wanted to help my mother as well. These are some of the things that motivated me to start the foundation.
Myself: What’s your long term vision for the Driven Foundation?
Roy Hall: My long term vision for the Driven Foundation is about consistency, building brick by brick. I have been done playing ball for three years, The Driven Foundation has been around for five years. The possibilities are endless of the impact we can make. I am all about attaching myself to other organizations and helping them as well. Too many people feel that success is a single effort. I always think about what I have to offer other people and how we can help each other.
Myself: How has the adjustment for you been after life in the NFL?
Roy Hall: Because of my relationship with Jesus Christ it didn’t take me as long as it took others to adjust after I retired. Sometimes when you’re a part of something for so long it can be tough to recover. Especially when you retire from the NFL. You miss the comradery, you miss the structure you had as a NFL player. You can compare life after the NFL to being Batman turning into Bruce Wayne or Superman turning into Clark Kent. You have those superpowers while you are playing in the NFL, you feel literally INVINCIBLE. However, once you are done playing they are GONE. I realized that I had to be SELFLESS and not selfish and help improve others’ lives during my career and once I was done playing.
Myself: What’s the biggest lesson you took away from playing football?
Roy Hall: The biggest lesson I took was to NEVER GIVE UP and NEVER QUIT. When you are a college athlete and a professional athlete you need to know what you need to do and actually doing it! Everybody is supposed to be serving others period! Coach Dungy has a saying that should quote for everyone: “NO EXCUSES, NO EXPLANATIONS.” Get whatever you need to get done, DONE. Those are the lessons I took away from life after football.
STAY DRIVEN!
