Leslie Odom Jr. | Family Issue 2019

FORMER SUPERBOWL CHAMPION
Kayvon Webster
IS USING HIS IMAGINATION TO MOBILIZE THE YOUTH
INTERVIEW BY: MANNY ADEYEYE | WRITTEN BY: DANE YOUNG
SUPER BOWL 50 CHAMPION, KAYVON
WEBSTER HAS A WAY WITH WORDS. He is
using his star power and vernacular to invigorate at-risk youth,
which gives them just a little more hope to make better life decisions,
to affirm who they are, and their willingness to succeed.
Kayvon’s creativity and passion to inspire has lead to the creation
of The Adventures of Kim and Kay, an animation series devoted
to providing real-life tips and encouragement on how to set goals
and seeing them materialize. Education, family, and love nurtured
this New Orleans Saints cornerback into the multifaceted
success story he is today. In this interview, Kayvon shared more
insights into the animated series, his other social initiatives, and
family upbringing.
Describe the community you grew up in?
I grew up in Opa-locka, Florida. It was a rough area. In my neighborhood,
there were a lot of great nonprofessional players that
inspired me to keep playing. Unfortunately, a lot of them that
I grew up watching didn’t have a chance to make it out themselves.
They were faced with life’s realities that ultimately the
streets and gang life were their best option for survival. They really
didn’t have anybody to motivate them. We didn’t really have
too many role models to look up to. Mike McKenzie was probably
one of the few neighborhood success stories that I knew of.
He offered football camps in our area and so did Brett Perriman.
They kind of inspired me to look at the NFL and football as a
way out. I went to Carol City High School where pro-athletes
Santana Moss and Mike McKenzie attended. Those guys were
like role models for us. I was grateful to have them as examples
just to know that your upbringing does determine your destiny.
This helped me to accomplish my dream.
When did you realize you had to make something
of yourself and rise above the stigma of
the community?
Living in Miami we grew up pretty faster than in other places.
Around 14 I knew that I desired more than what was offered
there. While in the ninth grade, I came to the conclusion that I
had to figure it out. If I’m going to do something with my life, it’s
going to be up to me and nobody else. Nobody else is going to
push you as hard as you will push yourself. My pops never played
football. My birth pops wasn’t really around. My mom was always
at work to provide for us. She came to the games that she could.
I had a good support system. But when it came to the things that
I needed, I knew I was going to have to count on me. At an early
age, I told my mom that she didn’t have to worry about me. I was
going to figure it out.
Tell us about the Adventures of Kim and Kay.
It actually came from my idea I had a long time ago. Growing up
I used to watch a show called Bruno the Kid. Bruce Willis had
his own cartoon. It’s an old cartoon. I don’t know many people
that watched it but it is something I watched. I always wanted
to be someone who was innovative. Nobody in my family really
had anything for me to go off of as a guideline on how to navigate
through life. Sports gave me a platform for experiencing all
these different things. Cartoons can be a means for inspiration
for kids like how Bruno the Kid motivated me. I have a friend
named Jason Canela that I went to high school with. He is an
actor on Young and Restless. During the time of my injury, I
reached out to him and told him I wanted to get into the film
world and let’s do a cartoon. He linked me up with a few people
and they brought the vision to life. Now we are just waiting for it
to continue to unfold.
What ways do you think athletes should use
their platforms?
I think anybody who has a platform should use it as a tool to inspire
the youth. It’s not just about us, it’s about us uplifting everybody
else. Giving back is doing God’s work. We are helping them
have more of a positive mindset. We have to be selfless when it
comes to that because not everybody is fortunate. I would tell
another athlete to pay it forward.
Talk to us about the Kayvon Webster’s Gamechangers
Foundation.
We do a lot of work with underprivileged kids that don’t have
opportunities that other kids may have. I just had a couple of
workshops where I took a bunch of kids to Microsoft to learn
gaming and coding. Introducing them to the tech world. This is
just one example of the things we do. But our hope is to teach
and inform them of other opportunities. That you don’t need to
play football or any sport in order to succeed. Giving them the
confidence of knowing that they can succeed at whatever they
put their minds to.
To learn more about Kayvon’s projects and how you can support
visit K-webb.com.
FAMILY 2019 / 41