088: Vernon T. Foster II – From Pita Pit to Pod Parrot

LIFESTYLE PROJECT SHOW

Who is Vernon Foster? This episode is yet another example of what a person can do when they are motivated and don’t use their “situation” in life as an excuse. When you ask the man himself the question “who is Vernon Foster?”, he tells you he is just a normal guy who grew up in Orlando, FL. Originally born in Jacksonville, his mom moved him and his four siblings to Orlando to fulfill a lifelong dream of his father. Vernon’s father was a US Military hero on the USS Stark. He was killed in action in the Persian Gulf when Vernon was only two years old. Growing up, Vernon was not all that into academics. Instead of the class brainiac, Vernon tended to default as the class clown. He loved to make people laugh, he loved to play sports, and he loved to rebel against the system. He always considered myself a “misfit”. The one activity he always felt he fit in was sports. Football was a love of his. It was the one thing that kept him out of trouble (or at least made him want to try and stay out of trouble). When high school came around, he got a rude awakening that life couldn’t be all about touchdowns and he had to focus on school as well. His freshman year, he needed to keep a 2.0 GPA to be academically eligible to play sports. He fell short with a 1.8. Finding himself not allowed to play, he worked his tail off to not only pump up his GPA; but he also worked to pump some iron as well. The experience of having football taken away from him changed his perspective and lite a fire under his ass. That next season he came back academically eligible, become a starter on the junior varsity team (as a sophomore), and was then moved to varsity later that season. Why Do Some Stay Knocked Down And Others Strive During Adversity? The way Vernon looked at it, “he could stay knocked down, or he could rise up like the phoenix through the ashes.” Not only did he not want to play the victim, he did not want to let his brothers on the team down. He realized that the only one responsible for his grades was himself. Not his teachers. Him. Also, for anyone who has played team sports knows, team sports have a certain family dynamic. Like you often hear in military settings, it is never about you, it is about the person next to you. Vernon trained so hard with his “brothers” on the team. They had big plans for the season. He felt responsible that he let them down, and he was never going to find himself in that position again. You want to change your situation? Take ownership of it. Stop blaming others and playing the victim. Take ownership of it and start living your life playing offense, instead of constantly being on the defense. Vernon’s Journey From Football To A Bigger Stage After graduating high school, he decided to attend a community college. He did want to go to college for the sake of going to college. Attending a university without any direction did not make sense to him. For the first two years post high school, Vernon attended a community college. During that time, he got a better feel for what he wanted in the future. He then transferred to Florida State University in Tallahassee. Always a fan of music, Vernon started to DJ as a way to make some cash. His first business? Boogie Blind Entertainment. Like all the big named deejays, Vernon got his start doing a gig at Pita Pit. Yes the college campus pita sandwich shop. (Hey is makes a great story now!) From there, he was asked to DJ at parties for fraternities and sororities on campus. He even worked a cheer leading competition, and when he was a junior in school he was able to lock in a $3000 gig. (Not bad!) Getting burnt out on the drinking and partying scene, he pivoted his career to focusing on setting up and running more professional events.