Transcript of LaVaughn Kelley | From Naval Officer to Sports Mentor: LaVaughn Talks Leadership and Faith

Bro, what's your because? What's that thing? What's your purpose? What would that answer be?

My purpose is to walk this Earth to be able to have my daughter as a parent, right? To have my daughter look at me and say, Hey, my dad was somebody.

Us Naval Academy played sports there. What was your decision in saying, I want to join the Navy? What was that like?

Oh, that was a hard decision. Leave it to my own guidance, I never went to the academy. One of my biggest mentors, Wayne Blair, was probably my biggest He's a supporter to drive me in that era.

The Mission of divine Sport Now, is it the same mission as when you first started or when you joined the company?

It's evolved a little bit. I would say, initially, we still are faith-based, that doesn't change. I think our driving point was that we knew as agents that we're faith-based. So we weren't like minds, and we tried to expand it as much as we can. Welcome to Mic Unplug, where we ignite potential and fuel purpose. Get ready for raw insights, bold moves, and game-changing conversations. Buckle up. Here's Mic.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting episode of Mic Unplug. Today's guest is a dynamic leader who has made waves in both sports and entertainment. With a background that spans from playing football for the US Naval Academy to founding divine sports entertainment, he has proven himself as a visionary and creating opportunities for athletes and entertainers alike. From the football field to the boardroom, his journey is one of determination, discipline, and innovation. Please join me in welcoming the passionate, the driven, the visionary, and the community Canadian, Mr. Lavon Kelly. Lavon, how are you doing today, brother?

I'm doing well. How are you doing? How are you doing today?

I'm doing great, man. I was telling you offline, we have some mutual friends, and I've heard a lot about LaVon. And so I'm truly excited and honored to spend some time with you. But before we even get started, man, I just personally wanted to thank you for your service and all the things that you've done for this country, because without people like you doing the things that you do that go unseen, we couldn't have the freedoms that we have today. So I wanted to personally thank you, brother.

I truly appreciate it and happy to do it.

Always. So, Levant, man, we're going to do the PG 13 version today.

Okay.

We'll give some folks after hours, Levant, later, man. But our make-up But we like to go into your because, that thing that's deeper than your why, that thing that really makes you do what you do and become the person that you become. So if I were to ask LeVar Kelly, Bro, what's your because? What's that thing? What's your purpose? What would that answer be?

My purpose is to walk this Earth to be able to have my daughter as a parent, to have my daughter look at me and say, Hey, my dad was somebody. The overall theme of everything I try to do, I try to make sure that when she looks at me or hears my name or my name is spoken, she has a sense of pride in her as well as I have when I see her.

That's it, man. That's truly amazing because for me, very similar, but the opposite way. At 10 years old, I made a promise to my mom to change lives and to specifically change her life. And so that promise is what drives me to this day. And then as you get older, that promise then goes to your kids, to the people that you love. And so So I see LeVon as a man who just lives a promise and a purpose every day, bro.

Got to.

Yes, sir. So let's talk to us a little bit about your story, your background. So US Naval Academy, You played sports there. What was your decision in saying, I want to join the Navy? What was that like?

Oh, that was a hard decision. Leave it to my own guidance, I never went to the academy. My mentors, one of my biggest mentors, Wayne Blair, was probably my biggest supporter to drive me in that era. Coming from South Florida, I'm a Miami Huracan fan, right? So growing up, I'm Afro, I'm blurated back, everything. So to see me transform and getting that first haircut, cutting my hair all off to go to that realm. My dad was in the Air Force for 23 years, so I caught the back end of his service in time. So never really saw the deployments and away from home, trying to drive from him. But I had a little bit of military was about, not how it interacts. And I never really had that exposure. So taking that ride was never on my radar. Even when they came to school, offer letters, I put them in the shoe box and threw them to the side. Never really paid attention to it. But as time went on, like I said, I was definitely a Hurricane fan. They didn't come around. I wasn't at that caliber yet. I was small. I was always the underdog trying to drive up and get that eye, trying to prove myself should I say.

But my mentor, he went to Tulane, so he knew the rigmarole of going to be a collegiate student, play for the CFL for a little while as well. So Florida, big football. So, yeah, I want to go to the lead, too. That was always something in the back of my mind to keep going. But he saw the bigger picture, and I never saw it. And he wanted to make sure that I was in that place. And my parents, of course, they were driving. They want me to be happy wherever I went. So we took some school visits. Ucf, FIU was getting a new program, was getting prominent. So they was offering us and talking our way through. But my mother really left it to me to figure that piece out. So with him in prayer, a whole lot of prayer, I was able to make that decision. Went to the prep school first. I went to Rhode Island. Never been to Rhode Island in my life. It's snowing in October. I'm a Florida, right? Yeah. Listen, I'm in the Orange Dickey shorts, some Nikes, and watching this snow come down in October, didn't know what I was doing.

Didn't know what to do other than stay inside, stay I'm on. But got through that first year and then really had to make a decision, Okay, now I was on to the Neighborhood Academy. And it's from the guys that I met there, the football team in the nucleus, we started to build. And we were winning. We did pretty well for ourselves. So we knew that we could go in as a unit and changed the program, and that was our expectation. So we did it. We went on. Our first year was, of course, still rough. We didn't win any game by our freshman year. So that was something new to me. I'm from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Florida, so I'm used to winning. I'm used to looking up in the sense- You just showed up and you went.

Right.

Used to looking up in the sense, yeah, because many teams just say, Hey, we just playing for a second. That's how I got really bored to. But looking in the stands, looking for my parents, always trying to find that noble, simple face that wasn't there. So I had to really dig deep, and football really became a heavy, heavy factor for me just to maintain my college career. I think if they were to took football away from me, I'd probably had to reevaluate some things personally just to stay put. But it kept me there, and it allowed me to flourish, and it allowed me to be great as a misshipman, then commissioned as a naval officer. There was an opportunity that we were trying to seek a couple of classmates to try to go play professionals. But 9/11 actually happened in our freshman year. So the nation was at war. So at that time, it was very, very difficult for anyone to allow us to go on to play professional. Got stationed out in Virginia, was there for a couple of years. There was a couple of semi-pro teams. I just stayed around football, so I played a little bit, and then I was on a ship.

So we went out on deployments. So now I'm across the globe. Touring the world, defending the country and just having that security. So that football of playing, that hang those cleats up at that point. I took on other responsibilities, and it was the men and women of the Navy, my division, my department, those I had to lead at that point. I took them on and was able to complete 20 years of service. So I was able to come home every time I took away and bring my guys back to me. So it's definitely a blessing. My mom has always been a cornerstone of my rock. My dad was giving me guidance as some of the military aspect as well. And then the family and friends that I actually met through the military, I wouldn't change it for the world. And I knew as I transitioned out, I still wanted to do something. I coach when I was at short duty. So when I had opportunities, I was able to coach at two different high schools, also training a couple of guys and watched them I went from high school to college to NFL. So I watched those phases of progression to go out, and I was able to be a part of it to help mentor.

Wasn't my ability by any means. And I wasn't trying to live through them, but I just wanted to give them what I necessarily didn't receive as I was going through that process. And I think it proved to be great dividends for them, and they did well. And now some of them are actually back coaching high school. So I actually attend some of those practices sometimes. Just sit, flower on the wall. I never wanted it true by any means. And they ask me questions like, Coach, was I like that? But yeah, that was back then, too. It happened that way. But I'm happy they're embracing it, and they're figuring out ways to lead their guys, too, right? To motivate them, to get them to do what that needs to be done. And I also give them a platform to be successful well after football. So I definitely appreciate and love those guys if they continue to That's awesome.

One of the things I know about you, LaVon, and what I hear is you tell your story. I never say leaders are born naturally. You can have leadership tendencies, but those are skills that you have to continue to develop. I tell people all the time, just because you're seven foot doesn't mean you can dominate in basketball. There's skills that you have to develop. But I do think that you had qualities to obviously be the best leader among leaders. And so what was it like for when you realized that you were on that path of being a leader, being the person that people looked up to, people counted on, people depended on? The second part of that question is, what did it feel like? Because as a leader, I hear myself. There are a lot of times when people don't understand the responsibility that true leaders have and that thing that we feel that sometimes you can't articulate. It's like when you're in that moment and you know you're in that moment, there's a thing that happens on the inside for most true leaders. What was it like for LeVon? One, realizing that that's you, and then two, those moments where it's like the decisions I make are about to change lives.

What is that like for a while?

So I would say probably the first time I could probably say I felt a glimpse of that was once I graduated, they allowed us to go back to the prep school to coach. So that was my first experience of something that I love with football, and I was able to teach high school students how to play the game, how to play my positions. I was a DB coach and special teams coach. So watching them in a high school atmosphere like, is what they come from it, bringing those guys to gel them together And they're looking to me. I'm their pathway at this point. I have to lead them. It's learning that playbook and being able to play it four years ago when I played, but when I had to teach it, two different things. That's two different things. And if I would have actually probably learn and knew what I was teaching at that point four years ago, I'd have been a totally different player. I would have definitely had a better insights. So I think at that point, when I started to watch them, and then when I said, Hey, when they've arrived, they've seen some of these things.

They've They're learning the tendencies. They're doing the drills correctly. They're being coachable, right? And they're doing those things that you ask of them. And then you have to find out a way to motivate them. Every person is not the same. And that was another factor is that I had to be adaptable and I had to be able to do it quickly in order to keep everybody on the same boat because I couldn't focus on one person all the time because I would leave the rest of the group behind. So I had to figure that person out real quick, right? What makes them tick? And how do I can get them to be motivated to continue to go on and go on and go forward to do great. So that was probably my initial clips. What it felt like, I think the biggest feeling was when I was in the military, I was in my second command, so I was at a staff group. So after the ship, I went to a staff unit. And at that time, the staff construct our Commodore at the time, he's a head of multiple ships. So I answer up to him.

He was the head for the most part, but it was other captains on each ship that owned their own ship and their personnel. So I was like an overseas for the most part. Well, I reported to him, but certain units reported to me. Now, mind you, they're not always in the same place. So when I give certain directions or get certain reports, I have to be able to be very clear and concise when that happens. So I had to work on how I speak. I had to work on how I deliver messages, had to work on how I convey things because how I'm hearing it in my mind may not be how they receive it on the other end. So I had to figure that out. Once I figured that out, I think I was golden, right? Because I knew once I put something out, it was clear what I taught it to train them to be in a better place and then watch them go on and do it and execute it far beyond what I imagined. It felt great. Because now I'm like, okay, I might know a little something, but they're executing it and whatever innovative ways they may have added to it, they've actually made it better.

So I learned from them. When they came back with certain things, I learned from them, and I just was able to spawn what's right, take some of that in and apply it to the next phase. It's a continuous cycle. It's always learning, always some professional development to happen. So I appreciate it, and it was a great feeling at that time. I love it.

I love it. So that part of your journey, I don't want to say ends, it evolves into you creating and finding divine sports Sports Entertainment. Tell me a little bit about your vision for why you wanted to start divine sports entertainment, and then what that mission initially was. Got you.

So with divine sports, I didn't necessarily find it, There was two founders prior to me. They brought me on with them. One of them actually mentored while he was at the Naval Academy, actually, he was a 2014 graduate. So from their nucleus, they were finding a way because we both played football. So it was always a pathway. The biggest thing for us first is savers' academics, trying to find a way to lead. You still want that. Some still have those dreams and aspirations. Even though we know we have to go and serve, and there's a commitment once we graduate to serve in the armed forces, there's always that slight chance, that hope that you say, I may have an opportunity to go forth. And that was always something we wanted to be able to tap into. Still is, right? Still is a desire of ours as we continue to work through this. But we, faith-based, we always understand what it took for us. And we knew how many times we had to fall on our to make sure that next day was to come, and we were prepared for it. We believe everyone has a purpose because we have our own purpose.

We learned through the Naval Academy, coming from boys to men, how that changes those sacrifices in life, and then getting to the fleet, or to the military or to the Navy, just the commission you actually received at that point. As you got developed, your purpose began to come a little bit more refined, and you learned some tools, and you got some assets to actually get us to a place. And that allowed us be there at that point. So we appreciate it at that point.

That's awesome. So the Mission of divine Sport Now, is it the same mission as when you first started or when you joined the company?

It's evolved a little bit. I would say, initially, we still are faith-based. That hasn't changed. I think our driving point was that we knew as agents that we're faith-based. So we weren't like minds, and we tried to expand it as much as we can. But then we figure out it's not just to athletes. We want the family, we want the nucleus drive. We want to be an extension of family as it comes about the transactional pieces that happens in the business of the sports industry. We do our best to shy away from. We want to be able to build those relationships to be a part of that. We even started a Bible study that we have as an agency every Wednesday. Anyone that's affiliated in the sports industry that we have either a reach to or we can touch, we invite them. We go through books, we go through certain pastors in the Bible every Wednesday for them in. We know that we have to walk that walk. You just can't be out here just preaching it, and you're not living it. What you live is your creed. We do our best to not only be that example that others can emulate, but we try to pass on those tools because you never know when somebody is paying attention, and when they do what they take from you.

Now, I'm not trying to say that I'm perfect by any means. I know I'm no saint, and I know where my shortcomings lie. But at the same time, I do know that I'm on a path that I try to instill in myself and in those around me a better way forward. And if I can touch one to just be motivated to do that, then I think I've done my job.

That's amazing, man. That's why, again, I love the human that you are above anything else. So inside divine Sport, what are some of the principles from your military background that you were able to apply into what you do at divine?

I'm going to say a structure. A structured piece as far as how we implement certain programs, how we have certain milestones and checkpoints to make sure everything is running accordingly and efficiently. We know everything is not cookie cutter. We try to apply it, and we have to be adaptable. Every day, there may be a change. But we always say as Intel, the enemy has a factor in this decision process. So what we do depends on the enemy. So we just can't go out and just run A through Z. It's not how that works. So the enemy always has a play in that decision. And I think the next piece, when it comes to development, the mentor piece, I'm I'm not the yes man. I haven't been that person. I don't know if I ever was that person. I can't be with a client and be in my own person if I don't really give them the pros and cons, pluses and minuses. It's the risk that maybe they have to be able to live with, with any decision that they make. As an intel officer, my career, so I was always looking at the adversarial courses of action as to how do we defeat this.

Whatever the issue was, I try to find a way to defeat it, but I got to understand what the issue is, and I got to bring that. And a lot of people can say that to be the devil's advocate piece and think I'm the negative person, but I'm just like, I want you to be able to think every manner in which this may play out, and then If general one is best for you, that's fine. And then let's look at the risk that we got to take on. We probably can't buy down the risk all the way to zero. So any form of fashion, whatever that may be. If we can just buy it down to somewhat because we thought about some of these processes that actually have to take place, then it may an acceptable risk, and that's part of the military too. Collateral damage, should I say, things of that nature. But if it gets to a point where you're acceptable and you know what it is and you're able to swallow that, then you're okay. If that's what you're going to do, then we move forward. But we move forward without second guessing.

We take that, we move in the right direction, and then we go. And then if something else arises that we weren't prepared for, that we hate, we got a breakpoint, and then we just got to adjust, adapt, and we keep moving on.

I love it. I love it. So you've mentioned several times something I believe in, which is the power of mentorship. I have multiple mentors that are skilled in different facets of life, and so they become resources for me. I think, especially for leaders, but also for everyone, if you don't have a mentor or two or three, you definitely need to make sure you're finding them. I love to ask Livonne, for you, I'm going to go for you personally, and then I'll have a follow-up. For you personally, what do you look for in mentors?

I'm very, very keen. I'm a strong proponent advocate that success leaves clues. I don't think I have to go and reinvent the world all the time. Times change, so innovative ways do come across, but the methodologies don't really steer too far from it. History repeats itself. So I look For? Well, who? Whatever I'm trying to do, if I'm trying to get to a certain goal, who's completed that goal? Then I do some research. Well, how did they get it done? Does this apply to me? Is this a timely manner? And the time that it took them is that, do I have that time and space to do that? If I do, okay, Well, I might start marking it. If I don't, then I got to figure out, how do I speed that up? And if I speed that up, what am I losing? What is the value that I'm going to miss out? I may miss out on a learning tool, or I may be so far ahead that I missed out on a production. So it may get me there faster, but then I can't sustain it. And that's not where I want to be at either.

So you got to find that balance when it comes to that. And I think that other than success itself, you got to understand that, just what you said, your mentors may not always be in the industry that you're in. So I love to have out of the box think of someone that has nothing, a fresh pair of eyes, because when you're in the thick of it, you get tunnel vision sometimes. And it's hard to step away when you're in the problem. But if I can go to someone who has no bias, no dog in the fight whatsoever, but just honorable person, someone that just has some forward thought that can take things and just give me that honest opinion and evaluation. I'm all about it.

That's wonderful. And so now the second part of that question is for you as as a mentor, what are some of the things that you're seeing with athletes, entertainers that are coming to Devine that's like, okay, I know that I'm going to need to be a mentor in this aspect of their life? What would you say some of the common aspects are that you're seeing with, I don't want to say this newer athlete or entertainer, but this different generation of athletes and entertainers?

I think the different generation, probably the biggest thing is that they have to understand that they themselves now are no longer You're really a football player by itself. You're not just a player. As you transition to the professional side, that's a profession. So you got to understand that. Being a profession, now you're going to understand that you are a brand, you are your own business. So Technically, once you graduate, you become a CEO, whether you want to or not, with no skills, no knowledge or anything, that title is on you. And for them to grasp that, some of them do, especially with NIL when it comes into place, if the proper education is giving to them, I think they understand that that transition is a little bit easier, but some don't. And it's a rags to riches deal. And those are the other things for us, just responsibility, being financial, like literature, understanding how that works, how money works, how it can work for you. Small things, things that we're accustomed to now as I'm older, but I know no one was talking about that to me when I was younger. I think NIO brings an open platform and a space for us to start having those conversations a little bit earlier, especially now in the high schools as they go to college.

So with the collective deals, those are the things that you have to have taxes. Some of us just are just not aware, and they may not be thinking about it until you bring it up. They may be like, Oh, you know what? You're right. And those are things you just got to pull on. But I think once they see that you're trying to open them up to things that they should be aware of, or maybe they're not, but it's going to allow them to be better, they're very much more receptive. So it's not always a fight. It's not always a bad thing. Some of them just don't know they don't know. And they receive it as you come with it. And as you're being authentic, transparent, it's nothing that you're hiding on the vaccine. It's very much more receptive than anything else.

Yeah. So another question with the modern agent that's coming out, the modern athlete, something you didn't have to deal with, right? So when you were in, I'm not calling you old, Levan, by any stretch of your imagination. I'm a little bit older than you, but we didn't have to deal with social media and all that. We didn't have to deal with as many distractions today, not just athletes, but just everybody in the world has distractions in front of them 24/7. How do you handle that? And what's some advice that you have, again, not just for athletes, but for the everyday listener out there, of how to stay focused and not be so easily distracted?

Yeah, social media. Facebook started when we were in school. Matter of fact, it was still so fresh while we were in school. When you went to sign up, you had to have a school email address. The Naval Academy handle was not even in there. You had to put it in there to be added. So that was funny. But to manage the distractions, you really just had to tell them, I need you to be mature about this. You got to be it for the long game, the short game. The distractions today will definitely affect you two, three years down the road. And you don't want to look back and say, Hey, four years ago or two years ago, I would have been here, but you took that time to do certain things. Players may go to training. I'll give you an example. Training, right? Getting ready for the season or getting ready for their Pro Day, combine, anything, right? And social media is very heavy, right? They're on their downtime. They're probably on social media, following their value. But when they're posting their training or they're after training, they want to post it in the gym, that's great.

A knowledge document, that's all well and good. But then all I do is I ask, I say, Let me ask you this question. The time that you took out to go get your phone, to go position yourself, to sit up here, to show that, Hey, you worked in the gym and you worked out and you want to flex, right? What else could you have been doing? Because I'm asking this, does that little time, if you add them all up collectively, it's going to get a couple of hours in your life. Is that playbook time? Is that another workout? Is that another rep? That another set? Is that something that's going to propel you on the field? If you look at your phone, no phones on the field, and no phones in between the white lines. So that That aspect of your training is nowhere to be found, and it can't be... You can't translate it from that little moment in time, and it's going to make you a better football player. So I simply ask the question, I put it on them. I'm not the parent for them. I just make sure they're aware of what they're going again.

I let you know the risk. That's the risk that you run into. As much as time as you put into that, if you miss a beat or you don't hit a mark, I'm always going to be like, was there any other time in space that we could have done in that time frame that we could have probably got there. Now, if you tell me you've done everything and the social media wasn't, I don't know, right? We'll see. But I can tell you that the person who has put the phone down, who's taking the time to sacrifice whatever time that is to focus on their craft, I'm always going to say they're going to be the better player. That would be my bet, hands down.

I do the same thing when I talk to business leaders and salespeople, right? It's like, there's somebody who's not doing that right now. You're competitive Deficient. There's somebody that's closing a million dollar deal because they're focused on the million dollar deal. There's some leader that's making the ultimate business decision that's going to move their company forward because they're focused on that business decision. They're not distracted by the phone or trying to see what my buddy's doing or, oh, my God, did you see this on TikTok? I can't tell you. I shouldn't say this out loud, but I'm going to say it because I'm talking to LeVon. So I work with a few Fortune 500 companies. You would be surprised at how many Fortune 500 CEOs are amazed at what's happening on TikTok. When they should be focused on this crazy dynamic business decision that they should be making or that their team is going through, they're goofing off. My words, they're goofing I'm getting off on social media and I'm like, Yeah, you're not going to be the CEO of this company in a couple of years because the decision that you're not making right now is also very telling.

Decision and indecision are in the same family.

Listen, how you do anything is how you do everything.

Exactly. I have this saying, How you do small things is how you do all things, right? That's it, man. So, Levan, I want to go rapid fire. Just a few questions. Okay, let's go. So my best friend in the world, Darren Vermost, shout out, Darren, I know he's listening, is an army guy, right?

Okay.

He wants me to ask you this question.

Yes, we're going to win.

How bad Navy going to be? How bad is Navy going to lose to Army in the game?

I would say, Darren, every time I've touched the field, I've never lost to Army, so I don't know how that feels or how that even happens. So if I'm a betting man, I say that I'm going to give It was 10 points. I think we got a 10-point win. I know Coach Munkin. Coach Munkin was coaching at the Navy when I was there. So I love Coach Munkin. I mean, Coach Munkin, he's a dog. Listen, if he can go out and win and get it scratch and dig, he'll He'll put his foot on your throat, 100 %. I love that. He's it. He see it, he goes for the kill. But I really do think that we have a team that can match up, and I'm looking forward to the game. I'll be there, of course, so I can't wait.

Darren, I think that's a challenge. Avancade is going to be at the game. I don't know if you're going to be watching on the couch with Mel and everybody else, so we'll see. But, Darren, that was a challenge right there. All right, next question, man. So what's your favorite What holiday?

fourth of July. In Florida, yeah, we were big on fireworks. I love fireworks. In Virginia, you really can't do them. So we go to the parks when they set them off through the city. But yeah, we've always been with fireworks Family time. So yeah, I love that time frame.

Favorite NFL team?

Tampa Bay Buckingham.

No, I said your favorite NFL team.

Like a couple of years of Super Bowl winners? Yeah. Tampa Bay Bucaneas.

Love it. College sport, what's your favorite college basketball team? And why is it my alma mater, the University of North Carolina?

I'm Harry Cains all day, so that won't change. I'm still going to be a Hurricane fan.

You keep missing what I'm asking.

I know what you had. I said college basketball. I can't give you what you want right now. College basketball. Carolina Blue, I love it. I don't wear a couple of Jordans. I'll do that for you. That's about it. There you go.

All-time favorite athlete.

It's a lot of them. It's tough to choose one. I mean, growing up, I mean, Deion is always in my position. Always been. But I will say, I know I was growing up. Bo Jackson. I had the cartoon, remember the cartoon All-Stars? Absolutely. So that was to get up. I used to have a little Rater, pajama set, the bed set, spread and everything. Yeah, Bo was on the map for me.

That's That's it. So Bo, you said my three are probably, if we go football, Bo, Barry, and Deion. Barry Sanders was my guy, but Bo Jackson was a different breed. He was. Bo was a different breed. Cool, man. So what all do you have going on? What do you want folks to know? What's upcoming for Levant?

Right now, it's the grind season for us as we continue to keep recruiting and getting ready to close some deals and bring some clients on the board for this next draft class. So we're still here trying to better our sales. So like professional development, we always say we're trying to learn, right? There's actually Harvard Business School has this executive leadership course in June. So I just applied for that. Hopefully, I get in. So pray for them and whoever's out there to pray for folks, please pray for them that can get into that course. And just to be better in my craft. Now that I'm retired, I'm just all I want to do. I don't want to do anything else. I don't want to do the corporate job and do an agent on the I'm a full-time agent, so I wake up and do this weekends, anything. It don't matter. Like I said, for Thanksgiving, so my high school, in St. Thomas, we practice on Thanksgiving, because you're typically in the playoffs. I flew home. So I flew to Florida to go to practice, go to Thanksgiving. So my dad went to the game Friday, flew out Saturday.

Now I'm in Texas visiting my mom right now, and then I fly back to Virginia to mom. So all for the work, but I love it. And she knows that she loves it, too. So that's a port And I would say that when you have a good circle to support you, that's one of the best things in the world. You really can't put any value on that piece. And I'm talking about just from parents, to those parents that are still around that can still push you, not just as a student now, but as a professional, and let you just grow and cultivate on your own space, I would trade it in for the world.

That's amazing, man. So where can people follow and find you? And I'll make sure we have links to everything in the show notes in the description.

I make it very simple. Instagram and Twitter. It's just my full name, Lavan Kelly. It's Lavan, L-A-V-A-U-G-H-N-K-E-L-L-E-Y.

There it is. Simple enough. Lavan, brother, I appreciate you being on. We're going to do this again so we can go into some of these stories because they didn't get to see the comedian that I know you are as well, too. Thank you, brother. I know you're busy. It meant the world to have you on. Again, thank you so much for your service.

I appreciate it, man. Definitely, definitely. I thank you for this opportunity. I wish you all the best and continued success for you as well. And I'm looking forward to doing this again with you.

You got it. And to all the listeners and viewers, remember, your because is your superpower. Go unleash it.

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