Therrian Fontenot’s story began in Louisiana before his family moved to Los Angeles, California. It was there that football became a major part of his life. While attending Leuzinger High School, Fontenot developed into a standout player and graduated in 2000.
His performance on the field opened the door to college football. Fontenot earned a full athletic scholarship to Fresno State, where he continued competing at a higher level. College football demanded more than physical ability. It required discipline, preparation, recovery, and the ability to perform under pressure.
Fontenot eventually left Fresno State before graduating to pursue an opportunity in professional football. He went on to play in the NFL, fulfilling a goal that had shaped much of his early life. His professional career was relatively short, but the experience gave him a lasting understanding of competition, preparation, and how quickly circumstances can change.
After football, Fontenot remained committed to an active lifestyle. Working out and weight lifting continue to be regular parts of his routine, while golf has become another way for him to compete, focus, and enjoy the process of improving.
More recently, Fontenot has begun developing Help2Others, a charitable organisation focused on giving back. It represents a new chapter built around using his experiences in a different way.
His path has not followed a perfectly straight line. From Louisiana to Los Angeles, Fresno State, professional football, and life beyond the game, Fontenot has learned to keep moving forward while finding new ways to challenge himself.
What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?
I like to start my day with some kind of physical activity. It might be weight training, cardio, or mobility work depending on how I feel. Football taught me that getting your body moving early can set the tone for everything else.
After that, I try to focus on what actually needs to get done instead of creating a huge list. I usually pick two or three important things and handle those first. Right now, some of that time goes toward learning more about charitable work and developing ideas around Help2Others.
How do you bring ideas to life?
I usually start small. Football teaches you not to think about the entire season during one practice. You focus on the next play.
If I have an idea, I write down what the first realistic step would be. Then I talk it through with people I trust. I would rather test a simple version of an idea than spend months trying to make everything perfect before starting.
What’s one trend that excites you?
I like seeing former athletes become more open about building a life outside of sports. For a long time, athletes were mainly identified by what they did on the field. Now you see more people talking about business, community work, health, and their interests after competition ends.
What is one habit that helps you be productive?
Working out consistently helps me. It gives structure to my day and clears my head. Even when I am busy, I try to do something physical because I usually think better afterward.
What advice would you give your younger self?
I would tell myself to think further ahead. When you are young and playing football, everything feels centred around the next game or the next opportunity. I would have spent more time thinking about what life might look like after football and developing interests outside the sport earlier.
Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you on?
I think boredom can be useful. People are always trying to fill every free minute with their phones, music, television, or something else. Some of my clearest thinking happens when I am driving, walking, or sitting somewhere without constantly checking something.
What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?
Exercise. It does not have to mean heavy weight lifting or spending two hours in a gym. Just move regularly. Being active helps with discipline, energy, mood, and focus.
When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?
I simplify things. In football, if you were thinking about five different things before the ball was snapped, you were already in trouble. You had to understand your assignment and react.
I try to use the same approach now. I ask myself what actually needs my attention today and ignore the rest until it matters.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?
Being coachable helped me throughout football. You have to learn how to listen without taking every correction personally. Coaches will point out mistakes because they are trying to improve your performance.
That mindset applies outside sports too. I try to listen when someone has more experience than I do, ask questions, and decide what I can learn from them.
What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?
One difficult part of my career was realising that professional football would not last forever. Like a lot of athletes, you spend years preparing to reach that level, but the window can be short.
Moving forward required accepting that football was part of my identity, but it did not have to be my entire identity. I learned that you sometimes have to rebuild your routine and find new things that challenge you.
What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?
I think there is room for a programme that connects former athletes with younger players for practical conversations about life after sports. Not coaching or recruiting, but honest discussions about money, careers, education, health, and adjusting when competition ends.
What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
I use the Notes app on my phone constantly. It is simple, but that is why I like it. I use it for workout ideas, reminders, names, charitable ideas, and things I want to follow up on later. If something is not written down, it is easy to forget.
Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?
I like podcasts featuring athletes talking about what happened after their playing careers. I am often more interested in that part than the stories about games. Hearing how people adjusted, made mistakes, found new interests, or built another career gives you a different view of success.
What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?
I enjoy sports documentaries, especially ones that show what happens behind the scenes. I like seeing the preparation, relationships, injuries, pressure, and decisions that fans usually never see. Those details remind you that the final result is only a small part of the work.
Key learnings
- Focus on a few important priorities instead of trying to handle everything at once.
- Staying physically active can create structure and improve focus beyond sports.
- Being coachable means listening to feedback without treating every correction as criticism.
- Careers can change quickly, making it important to develop interests and goals beyond one profession.
- Starting small and taking one practical step can make new ideas easier to turn into action.