Being a Voice for Autism with Joe Barksdale

Off The Cuff with Danny LoPriore

To the world, Joe Barksdale is a Superbowl Winner, a national champion, but what most people don’t know is that Joe never wanted to be a football player, he wanted to be an engineer. That in fact, his football days are some of the most painful of his life.

On this week’s episode of Off The Cuff, we speak with a man who breaks stigmas in every way possible. A man that not only has struggled with mental illness all of his life but was also diagnosed with autism at the age of thirty. A man that left an extremely lucrative career in the NFL to take care of his mental health and pursue his real dreams of being a musician and stand-up comedian.

This episode is one of the most honest and enlightening ones you will ever hear.

In This Episode:

• [2:22] How Joe never felt like he earned his superbowl ring. He feels that it’s something that happened, rather than something he achieved.

• [3:18] The reason that Joe got into football was only because he got kicked out of engineering camp and wanted to get in shape.

• [4:29] Joe’s fears of having a boy, given what he has dealt with as a black man.

• [5:48} Joe’s past with suicide attemepts and how he feels about it all today.

• [7:07] How Joe found out about his mental illness before his autism.

• [8:09] What it was like to get diagnosed with autism when Joe was 30 and how half of him was happy about the diagnosis and the other half was worried about the stigma.

• [10:04} How Joe’s life changed after being diagnosed with Autism.

• [17:38] Joe’s dislike for being around groups of people.

• [20:18] Richard Pryor being an inspiration to Joe when he started doing stand-up comedy.

• [20:54] Joe burying his football dreams in order to follow other dreams.

• [22:46] Joe feeling extremely comfortable on stage and how he would rather be there than most other places.

• [24:12] When Joe had a falling out with a teammate (who was also the Godfather of one of his daughters) because Joe asked to be released from his team for mental health issues.

• [27:14] Joe’s passion for engineering and how it has turned into a passion for music engineering.

• [28:14] Breakthrough moments in therapy.

• [30:00] Joe’s current relationship with football.

• [30:41] What a stem kid is and how Joe got kicked out of engineering camp.

• [39:37] Joe’s friendship with Kobe Bryant and how he was a mentor to him.

• [42:55] Joe’s relationship with his wife, going to marriage counseling and breaking that stigma.

• [45:34] Breaking the stigma around taking medication for mental health issues.

• [52:51] Joe’s love of Star Wars and his upcoming trip to Disneyworld.

• [1:01:01] Joe’s new music.

Notable Quotes:

• [04:29] “Yea, I never wanted a boy. And that’s not to say that if I have a son, I would be like, oh what the f*ck. But there are certain things I have experienced, just as a big black dude in this country, that I wouldn't want to have to talk to a son about. Like dad, why does everybody assume that I play football because I can afford to eat at nice restaurants? Why does everybody think I’m a rapper because I can shop at Neiman Marcus? Why don’t people actually think I have a brain?”

• [25:57] “The pain, it sucks, but sometimes that pain is necessary to see who’s really with you and what’s really important to you.”

• [40:29] “People are interested in who you are, not who you think they want you to be.”

Resources & Links

Off The Cuff

• https://www.offthecuff.fm/
• https://www.youtube.com/c/OffTheCuffwithDannyLoPriore
• https://www.instagram.com/1and1otc/
• https://www.instagram.com/dannylopriore/

Joe Barksdale

• https://www.josephbarksdale.com
• https://www.instagram.com/jbdale72/