Ryan Kalil Saw Retired Athletes Get Stuck. Here’s How He Started Building His Next Career
The former NFL center explains how early preparation, humble learning, and an overlooked football market in Mexico shaped his second act in business.
EXPERT OPINION BY DANIEL ROBBINS, CEO AND FOUNDER OF IBH MEDIA AND HOST OF FOUNDER’S STORY
Blake Griffin and Ryan Kalil attend the “We Are Osos” premiere at the Pacific Design Center on July 16, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. Photo:
Ryan Kalil had a front-row seat to one
Ryan Kalil had a front-row seat to one of the most predictable collapses in sports.
“I had a lot of really great mentors when I was playing. And these were older guys who retired before me,” he told me. “I also got a front row seat at how guys transitioned. And how not to transition out of sports.”
The problem, he says, is that elite athletic skill doesn’t automatically convert outside of the game.
In terms of knowledge you’re building from learning
“In terms of knowledge you’re building from learning how to block somebody or to throw a pass or to dunk a basketball, it doesn’t really translate,” he said. “For a lot of guys, they get out and they go take a break, and then they find themselves kind of stuck in limbo because they don’t really know what to do.”
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So Kalil broke the pattern.
Hitting the Ground Running
“The advice I got was to kind of hit the ground running as soon as you were done,” he said. “I took it a step further and started putting feelers out and kind of planting our flag early, knowing that we were going to have to play catch up in whatever endeavor.”
That flag became Mortal Media, the production company he co-founded with NBA All-Star Blake Griffin. The two met through a mutual friend while Griffin was injured in his first season in Los Angeles, long before either retired.
Source: www.inc.com
