[mm-video type=video id=01f7yr880ezfcn08rrst playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01f7yr880ezfcn08rrst/01f7yr880ezfcn08rrst-c180d606e9a26a2b4c4f10c2c13a0b62.jpg]
[Editor’s note: This article is part of the series “Talking with Takeo,” in which Auburn Wire looks back at Tigers legend Takeo Spikes’ early life, playing under Friday night lights, his recruitment, years at Auburn, favorite college moments, the Bryan Harsin hire, being passed on by the Falcons, his NFL career and much more. Come back each Wednesday for another installment. The series is part of a partnership between our colleagues at Campus Lore and the NFLPA.]
Takeo Spikes loves telling stories. It doesn’t matter if the subject centers around his childhood, playing career, off-the-field endeavors or whatever. The man enjoys talking about people and places that have impacted him.
So it should be no surprise that he now has a podcast. The former Auburn and NFL linebacker hosts “Behind The Mask,” where former players such as Terrell Owens and Landon Collins discuss their backgrounds, careers and inspirations.
“The podcast is stemmed off of my book, which is ‘Behind The Mask,’ and volume one is dedicated to linebackers,” Spikes told Auburn Wire. “I wanted to tell my story of everything that I’ve been through, but I got an idea. I was like, ‘Why not highlight and share some of the other greatest linebackers that ever played the game and just share their story of how did they become great? What was their defining moment?’ And so that’s what I did.”
The podcast, which centers around current topics in the NFL, is also a place to learn more about some of the best football players of all time — anything from childhood to parenthood to what it was like to make a living playing in the NFL. Nothing is off limits, and the conversations can go into deeply personal subjects.
“It was a way for me to bring guys on, to create an environment, to allow them to become open in a vulnerable way,” Spikes said. “And that’s the form that it took on. So we bring on guests every week. And we talk about different aspects.
“That’s one of the things that I try to pride myself on by having my podcast show is when I bring guys on, we have certain locker room talk. Or we have a talk as if it’s just you and I, and we’re talking about fatherhood, we talk about business ventures that you’re in. And what have you learned? What have you taken from the game that has made you more valuable from an intellectual property standpoint? And it’s going to make you more sustainable as years go by, even after you’re not going to play again. And that’s the best way to be able to sum up ‘Behind The Mask.'”
Yet it isn’t just football players who have appeared on Spikes’ podcast. Finding that all athletes have the same kind of stories about struggles and dedication during trials and tribulations, the guests are as varied as the topics that are approached on the show.
“We’ve had Olympians on, Olympian bobsledder Aja Evans; Olympic bronze medalist in the 110-meter hurdle, Kristi Castlin; Justin Gatlin, gold medal winner. So we’ve had guys from all aspects, celebrities who come on and take about 20 to 30 minutes, and they really just shared their defining moment of how did they become the person that they are today.”
It’s just another example of Spikes continuing to contribute to the discussion of what it takes to be an athlete at the top of a sport.
“It’s a real show.”
You can check out Takeo Spikes’ podcast by clicking here.