Justin Forsett
NFL Great, Podcast Host, Entrepreneur & inventor of the ShowerPill featured on ABC’s Shark Tank
Justin’s personal journey is one of the best stories in the NFL.
Justin has a genuine desire to positively impact others with his message of perseverance through life’s disappointments. His witty and down-to-earth personality engages audiences from corporate environments to youth groups as he shares his inspirational journey of hope, focus, determination, and the importance of legacy.
A native of Mulberry, Florida, Justin spent his freshman and sophomore seasons at Mulberry High School before his family moved to Texas. He attended Grace Prep Academy for his final two years of high school. Justin played collegiately at the University of California-Berkeley where he ranked third in school history with 3,220 rushing yards and fourth with 26 touchdowns. He was a teammate of former Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch while at Cal.
In his career, Justin has rushed for 3,890 yards on 820 carries with nineteen touchdowns. He added 210 receptions for 1,351 yards and one score. He played in nine games for the Jaguars in 2013 before injuring his foot, forcing him to miss the remainder of the season. He spent parts of four seasons (2008-11) with Seattle and the 2012 season with the Texans.
GREATNESS GROWS BEST IN THE SHADOWS: A STORY OF PERSEVERANCE AND HOPE
You’ve heard the expression, “It's not how many times you get knocked down that count; it's how many times you get back up.” Now imagine getting “knocked down,” or in this case, fired, eight times in nine years…AND STILL coming out on the VERY TOP of your game.
Justin Forsett is a product of persistence.
"Undersized and overmatched,” Justin went from poverty to peak performance through hard work, grit, perseverance and hope.
In his riveting presentation, you’ll learn the tools you need to not only overcome just about any obstacle, but also thrive through it and come out a winner.
THE UNDERDOG HUSTLE TO ENTREPRENEURIAL SUCCESS
How one NFL Pro-Bowl player went from inventing a product in a locker room to serving people in the community, and how a simple body wipe became a brand on a mission.
“Good things come to those who wait, but only the things left over by those who hustle.” – Abraham Lincoln
Justin Forsett’s journey to successful entrepreneur reads like a movie script, complete with the charismatic leader forging a career after nine years as a professional NFL player.
Justin always viewed himself as an underdog. As a seventh-round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, the 5-8, 195 pound-running back was working out multiple times a day just to be able to sustain his career.
With so many periods of the day allotted to training, he didn’t always have time to shower before team meetings. Just as Gatorade helps with hydration and Muscle Milk helps with recovery, he sought something that would quickly treat hygiene.
“I wanted to come up with a solution,” said Forsett, the CEO and founder of Hustle Clean. “There was nothing in the personal care industry that speaks to the athlete.”
While still playing with the Seattle Seahawks, he conceptualized a body wipe — a disposable, anti-bacterial wash cloth that removed sweat and body odor. And he then commercially marketed it in 2014.
What started as a quick alternative to showers, ShowerPill, which Forsett, a graduate of Harvard business school’s executive training program, founded with his Cal-Berkeley football teammates Wendell Hunter and Wale Forrester, has been rebranded as Hustle Clean to meet the larger demands of the personal care industry rather than just face and body wipes.
The company landed on Shark Tank in 2018, and although the team didn’t secure an investment, the exposure helped accelerate sales. Last year, Hustle Clean brought in more than $1 million in revenue.
Justin inspires the resilient and relentless to keep grinding. The thick skin he developed playing football has helped prepare him to venture into a world where just 1% of venture-funded startup founders are Black.
When you push past your comfort zone, despite the unknown; when you go for greatness, giving it all you’ve got…that’s hustling.
“The dream is free. The hustle is sold separately.”
SELECT TAKEAWAYS
- Set yourself up for success. Investing in your dream starts with investing in yourself.
- Bet on yourself. Develop a lifelong determination to achieve, lead and continue in trying times.
- Surround yourself with the right people and unleash the full potential of your greatest resource: relationships.
- Invest in “social capital”. Be kind to people, find ways to serve others and make others better around you.
- When the going gets tough, the tough keep hustling. You simply can’t take ‘no’ for an answer.
- Focus on leaving a legacy, invest in things that matter, and set bigger goals ie: building generational wealth and closing racial wealth gaps.
- CUSTOMIZED TO THESE THEMES*: Leadership, Inspiration, Motivation, Diversity, Entrepreneurship, Teamwork, Resiliency, Goal Setting, Sports, Success, Breakthrough
*Faith-Based presentations available upon request.