Digital Social Hour
How I Built a Business Empire While Competing Globally | Fred Kerley DSH #1326
Mon, 14 Apr 2025
🏆 How do you build a business empire while competing on the world stage? Find out in this thrilling episode of the Digital Social Hour! Join Sean Kelly as he sits down with a world-class athlete, Fred Kerley, who shares his journey from the track to entrepreneurship. From racing in the Olympics to managing barbershops and land investments, he reveals the secrets behind balancing elite competition and smart business moves. 🌍💼 Discover the mental and physical demands of global competition, the transition from the 400m to the 100m, and the untold challenges athletes face. Plus, hear his thoughts on rivalries, the politics of sprinting, and why track and field deserves more love beyond the Olympics. 🏃♂️✨ Packed with valuable insights and inspiring stories, this episode is a must-watch for anyone looking to combine passion with purpose. Don’t miss out—watch now and subscribe for more insider secrets! 📺 Hit that subscribe button and join the conversation today. 🚀 CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Intro 01:15 - Burnout in Sports 02:32 - Mental Game Strategies 02:55 - Politics in Racing 05:02 - Transitioning from 400m to 100m 08:02 - Improving Speed and Performance 08:46 - Importance of Mentors 10:24 - Competitiveness in Track 11:22 - Breakable Track Records 12:34 - Understanding False Start Rule 14:58 - 2020 Olympics 100m Highlights 18:16 - Racing Without a Crowd Experience 19:34 - Future of 2028 Olympics 21:09 - Stock Market Insights 22:18 - NFL Discussion 25:50 - Conversations with Other Athletes 28:30 - Olympic Games Overview 29:35 - Trading Olympic Medal for Money 30:26 - Cheating in Track and Field 30:56 - Media Coverage of Track Events 33:37 - Where to Find Fred APPLY TO BE ON THE PODCAST: https://www.digitalsocialhour.com/application BUSINESS INQUIRIES/SPONSORS: [email protected] GUEST: Fred Kerley https://www.instagram.com/fkerley99/ LISTEN ON: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/digital-social-hour/id1676846015 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5Jn7LXarRlI8Hc0GtTn759 Sean Kelly Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanmikekelly/ #DigitalSocialHour #SeanKelly #Podcast #BusinessEmpire #GlobalCompetition #AthleteLife #Entrepreneurship #ApplePodcasts #Spotify #trackallaccess #businessempire #sportspsychology #europeanathletics #motivation
Chapter 1: Who is Fred Kerley and what is his current athletic season like?
All right, guys. Got Fred here out in Vegas, a rare city for him to attend. Thanks for coming on, man. Appreciate it. Yeah. You got a fun night tonight, right? A nice little fun night tonight.
You're in season right now, too. Definitely in season. The start of the season. So we will call this like relay season, preseason. So our season will really start into championship season. Championship season for us, it started whenever we get past USA. So you're just warming up right now? It's just pre-season, getting body, getting the body tuned and stuff for the big show later in the season.
And you guys have a long season, like, compared to most athletes, right?
You're running.
Chapter 2: What causes burnout in elite track athletes?
So our season is really year-round, believe it or not, because you got some countries starting different seasons. Some countries start in October. Some countries, it's just, track is just a year-round sport, so you got to keep your body in tune year-round. Yeah. Have you ever had some burnout? Of course. I feel like one burnout season probably was 2023, 2022.
100%.
Whenever I fly somewhere, I have a runny nose, I get sick. Yeah. If you don't got the right team around you, I feel sorry for you. Or, like, for, like, the massage therapists and coaches and stuff because you got to get... back into the flow of things.
Yeah, I had LaShawn Merritt on a few months ago and he was talking to me about that. He has a chiropractor fly with him everywhere.
Yeah, you got to have that because track and field take a toll on your body and stuff. You can perform at a meet good and then the following week you're not performing. So you got to understand that you're going to have the ups and downs and stuff because you got to get your body rejuvenated into the time zone you're in and stuff like that. I think track's one of the most mental sports too.
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Chapter 3: How important is the mental game in track and field?
I feel like track is definitely one of the most mental sport it is because it's all about patience. Like, if you don't got the mental game, you really don't got nothing in track and field because we all know we can run fast. Yeah. So running fast is like the easy part is all just... things on the outside of stuff that a lot of people don't understand that go into the track and field.
Is there a lot of politics involved with how the races operate? There's a lot of politics. Like which lane you get, if you got the best agent. How does the agent matter? If you got a good agent, I can tell my agent I don't want this other person in the race. Damn. I didn't know that. It's like the small little things that go into the thing. Or I don't want this person next to me.
Put them in the outside lane. I want somebody slower on the side of me for it can make me look good and stuff. Just like the small things that a lot of outside people don't understand. Has that happened to you where someone didn't want you part of the race? You found out? Of course. Of course, especially in my 400 days. Oh, yeah?
The 100 days, not so much because it's just like the competitiveness in the 100 guys. Definitely in my 400 days, I had people that didn't want me next to them.
I wonder why there's such a difference with the 400 and 100. Different mentality, maybe?
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Chapter 4: What role does politics play in track racing events?
I feel like the 400... Whoever got the biggest balls. So whoever got the biggest balls. And then the 100 is just like mato on mato. Either you got it or you don't. The 400 is the same way, but you got to have the biggest balls in the 400 just to step in the 400. It's like... an all-out sprint. Yeah.
Whoever can decelerate the fastest, I mean, the slowest in the 400, that's the person who's going to win. Right. They say the 400 is the toughest race in track and field, right? I would say yay and nay because if you ain't training for it, if you just think you can just have the endurance to outrun somebody, I could tell you you're wrong.
But you got to have the speed and endurance at the same time. If you don't got both of them, You shit out of luck. Right. Because you need to finish strong to win. I feel like you got to conserve a lot of energy or be on point. You can't go out too fast. You can't go out too slow. Right. Because if you go out too slow, you're not catching up. If you go out too fast, you're going to die.
So you got to have a medium in that. Yeah. I remember a lot of people questioned why you transitioned from the 400 to the 100, right? Yeah.
i feel like people still ask me to um right now because i don't think people understand how easy and hard it was to transfer translate from the 400 to 100 the 400 to the 100 it's definitely hard like definitely my first year even though i did stuff that people took the lifetime to do it's definitely hard to do because you gotta
race fast every day training different like speed hurt yeah like even though the 400 hertz speed actually hurt I remember some training sessions and stuff I'm like I better go back to the 400 because like You ran so fast, but you tax on your body so much that people don't understand how much speed actually do hurt. You got to recover from that. Some days you don't get to recover.
You got to go fly on the weekend. So speed definitely hurt. But my transition from the 400 to 100 was definitely much easier than I expected because I ended up meddling my first year out. But the following year, I had to get grounded and understand from like the training and stuff, the phases of the 100 meters. And I felt like it was definitely harder in 2022 and 2023.
I'm still learning because you can't do what I did in the 400 where you can just like... It's all about racing 100. From the finish to the get-go. In the 400, you got phases where you can critique in the 400. You can't critique nothing faster than 100. Once somebody's gone, they're gone. It's harder. You can't catch it on. Just like you can't catch a 43 if you run a 43.
In the 100, it's just so like this. The 400, you still got a whole lap to fish some things and stuff. It's just like that. Yeah, you got a bad start, you're done. Yeah, you got a bad start, you're done. So the 100 definitely is more crucial to understand. But if you got it, you got it. So I had to give it talent to go from the 400 to the 100 meters.
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Chapter 5: Why did Fred Kerley transition from the 400m to the 100m sprint?
I did, but definitely got to do way more in 100 meters. The small things matter the most and people don't understand that. That makes sense.
Do you feel like you're still getting faster right now?
I feel like I'm still getting faster. I'm still learning. It's just like, I feel like at the beginning stage of my 100 career. Really? So it's just like... Yeah, I ran nine, seven more medals at the Olympics than been in the world championship. So I'm still young. My body haven't never hit the peak yet. So it's just like, I'm still learning.
So I feel like that's one of the most dangerous game, I would say. I'm still learning my body in the 100th.
yeah you want to go do this fast but the training session don't tell me go run this this weekend so we kept building up the season and stuff i feel like i'm still young i'm still learning so that's the that's the most dangerous thing when uh at least still learning yeah how to run fast and usa has a lot of fast 100 meter runners do you have like a mentor just that you can hit up whenever you want
I feel like my mentor is all the OGs, not only from USA, just from all over the country that came before me. I feel like it's much easier now that I'm in the position to get to reach out to them anytime I want to, that I'm in the position to run fast, to understand the small things, how to transition through the phases and all that stuff.
So it's much easier now that I would say than I was in my 400 days. Because of 400 days, it's like. You're by yourself, yes. It's just like I'm just out there just how you do this, how you got faster than this. It's just like. Some 400 guys didn't want to give you the secret. But the 100 guys, I feel like it's more relaxed than the 400 guys. I could see that. Wow. That's interesting.
Yeah, there's some legends doing podcasts now from the 100-meter guy, like Justin Gatlin. I was on a podcast in September. Yeah. Yeah, I was on his podcast. It was definitely good in New York. It was much chill in the locker room. Just kind of vibing. Were you getting along when you were both active runners?
um i got along with everybody oh yeah i don't be for nobody like my competitiveness is i hate everybody but once we get outside the track and stuff we all friends if you um take my competitiveness um away from me i think you are um i think you're wrong so once i leave the track it's just one the probably the most chill person that you can be around
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Chapter 6: How does mentorship influence a sprinter's career?
When, yay and nay, you've got to finish the race. Get some type of money if you finish the race. Yeah.
Do sprinters make more or the distance runners? Like the marathon runners?
If I go to one, it depends on what you're saying. You talk about prize money. I guess overall, like on a yearly basis, like who's making more? I think the sprinters, but who bring in the most money, the distance runners, because they sell the shoes. We ain't selling spikes. They sell the shoes. Like, people go to the marathons and see what sneakers and stuff they wearing. Yeah.
Us sprinters, we sell spikes. You ain't walking around with spikes. So, like, the distance runners actually sell the brand. That makes sense. They sell the spikes. I mean, the tennis shoes, all the... Marathon shoes, they sell the shoes. They probably got some big shoe deals. Yeah, they probably got some.
I don't, I've never been in that position, so I don't know, but I know for a fact that nobody walk around in spikes besides the track athletes. The distance runners sell the brand. Do you ever deal with a spike company? No, I'm a free agent, right? Really? Yeah. I feel like that'd be a no-brainer for a spike company. Yeah, right. Like right now, yeah, but I'm dealing with some personal stuff.
But at the end, it's always going to be a brighter day. I can't complain about that. Hold on.
I want to talk about the Olympic races, the 2020 silver medalist. What was the mindset going into that race?
I think that's probably the all races 2020 part of my mindset. most felt race like that's where my heart will probably be the most wild because it was uncharted territory first year doing 100 made it to the olympic final so did you expect that I've always been in the top. You know what I'm saying? So it was just like for that year, the 100 meters was not in the blueprint. It was the 400 meters.
So going in that year, I was a 400 guy. And the 400 was my blessing out of school. So 2020 was probably... a different year as a whole me getting to know myself to a week before trials i decided to call my agent and say i'm not doing a 400 no more and i'm going to go do the 100 me so but i know when i get to the groove of things the groove of things and everything start clicking clicking
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Chapter 7: What is the competitiveness like among top 100m sprinters?
All our races, that's the one. Damn, you got second, though. That's pretty good. That's the one on all my races. Even 2020 before, I don't feel no type of way about that. But 2021, I feel like probably the most, like I need to redo that one bad. You thought you could have won that one?
Yes. How is the difference with first and second? The same thing, like the last one. Oh, yeah? Yeah.
Yes, just a headshot away. Damn, I must hurt. So it's just like that one, probably the most I would say I want to redo over because I know what I was capable of doing for that race. So it's just like it was uncharted territory for me. And people that was in that race probably went to more games than me, went to more 100-meter finals than me. But I did that, what I did in 2021, no one else.
Mankind never did that. Yeah. You had to switch the same year to make the finals? Yes. Yeah, that's insane. So I was just like, that one probably hurt me the most out of any races I ever raced. Damn. College, high school, that's the one. That's crazy because you're still a silver medalist and it hurt you.
That's the one that if I want to realign that one up, same atmosphere, nobody in the stands, like the same pandemic happened, that's the one I want to redo. Oh, yeah, that was COVID. That's the one I want to redo. Do you think you race better in those conditions with no audience? I race better in any condition. Like, I feel like as me, you really don't see no crowd.
It's just like you hear the voices that you want to hear. It can be billions of people. You got your coach and whoever else you want to listen to. You're locked in. Yeah, you're locked in. Like, you don't really see it. It's just like a white sheet. Like, you don't see nobody. And once you get up probably like five to ten meters ago, you see the tennis line.
Yeah.
That's crazy. And then 24 getting bronze. So you're, you said you're fine with that. Yeah. I felt like I was fine with, uh, that one, but a bronze that year feel like a gold medal to me and all this stuff I was dealing with. I don't take that race back. It's just a learning, um, experience for that, that race. But 2021, I, the one I want back the most. Yeah.
I had to redo anything, any race over again, had to be 2021.
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Chapter 8: What are Fred Kerley's thoughts on sprinting rivalries and records?
I definitely want to get into the media, but I definitely want to branch out to the youth, though, too, to teach them the value of a dollar because a lot of kids don't know the value of a dollar. And if I can do that, that would be a blessing to them. I feel that would probably bring me more joy than me Wow. I didn't know you had that business side of you. What got you into that stuff?
I got a business degree. Oh, yeah? So I got barbershops. I got land. I got a lot of stuff that God been blessing me with. So I can't complain about that. But I definitely like a business mind because everybody around me business mind people. I feel like the best thing that ever happened to me when I left school was go to Arizona. And it was a bunch of business mind people around me.
Hmm.
That's good, man. Cause a lot of athletes unfortunately go broke afterwards. Yeah. Cause a lot of people don't know the value of a dollar. Right. But I feel like once you know the value of a dollar, you can go a long way. How to do the investment and how to do the stock market. But the stock market is just like real life gambling, especially right now.
So I feel like a lot of people don't understand that you put your, you can put money in stocks and bonds. That's still a form of gambling, but that's a form of, how do you say that? Safer, I guess. It can be safer, yay, but it can't be safer right now because the thing is gone. So it just feels like the stock market is just a big form of gambling, but it's slow.
You can slow pace it and you can go to a casino right here and they can lose that right away. Dude, the market right now is looking shaky. Are you nervous?
You're not nervous? You always put money away for a rainy day.
Yeah, gotta have a rainy day fund. Yeah, stocks and crypto are getting wrecked right now. Yeah, I see it. I'm on my phone like every morning and see how the stock go, but it's definitely up and down at the moment. Yeah, that's cool, man. It's cool that you're thinking long-term like that. Always, because I feel like the right now, always take care of yourself.
Because if you think about the right now, if you're in the right now, you're losing stuff. You got to think about the future always. Yeah. Yeah.
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Chapter 9: What is the conversation around the false start rule in sprinting?
Yeah, because now if you get injured, you can come back as a runner, right? Mm-hmm.
So I feel like... You can, but... Cracking field is just a different beast that people don't understand. If I would have took the football route, definitely wouldn't be running because you gain a lot more muscle. Sprinting is like you got to get power. I feel like some...
Football players don't understand the difference between that we actually do this year around like y'all do football year around. You're just not going to just hop on something and just think you're going to beat us. You probably can't even beat the women of our sport. You think Tyreek Hill could beat Sha'Carri Richardson? No. Really? Mm-mm. Fast. Have you seen him?
I've seen him, but she's fast, too. Yeah. I feel like a lot of people will disrespect the greats. She was one of the greats in our timeframe right now, so I don't think he'd beat her. In a 40-meter or so or 100 meters?
100 meters. Okay, yeah, 100. I think 40 he might put up a fight. That'd probably be close, but I still think she's a doggone. I show speed called her out. Did you see that?
Yes, I did. He's faster than people think, though. He's definitely faster than people. He's still young. So to him, I just got to see him. I don't know his background or nothing. So I don't know. But I definitely know Tyreek. He raced Noah Lyles. Oh, I saw that. Yeah, but I don't think Noah was trying. No, Noah was playing around. So you can't even put that together like that.
So I feel like I can play with people all day, let them win and stuff and let them get their little fame and things like that. But you put some money on the line, it's a different story. Yeah. How have you and Noah been getting along lately? Like I don't talk to him. So it was just like neat. Like I don't really talk to a lot of track athletes. Really? You kind of stay in your own.
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Chapter 10: How do sprinters and distance runners differ in earnings and sponsorships?
It's not even about staying in my own zone. It's just like most of us not around each other. Like we live in different states, different countries and stuff. So different cities. So I definitely don't talk to a lot of track athletes. Like people say, I talk to them more at the track meet than away from the track meet. Oh, that's interesting. I don't think it's in session.
It's just, that's how to take people. Yeah. I feel like we really don't talk to a lot of people. Like us track athletes probably just stay in the surroundings and stuff. It's like who we grew up with or who we went to school with. That's probably who we talk to the most.
Yeah, I think it's a very individual sport. What about during the Olympics when you're traveling with everyone? Are you talking to them then? Like for the relay teams and everything?
No. Really? It's like when we go to training, that's probably the most we probably talk to people. And then once we get back to the village, we fly separate ways. That's interesting.
You guys got to get that bond, you know, so you don't drop the baton.
I get it, but... Don't get it. Because once we leave the village, it's like we still go into our own little world. We bond for the relay, but track's still an individual success. It's just like when you go get that gold medal, they ain't looking at the second place guy. They ain't looking at the third place guy. They ain't looking at NOI in the final. They looking at one person.
Our relay probably can go in, go such and such. I really care about the country itself. We don't get no money or nothing for that. I thought when you win a medal you get money. Not really. Damn. Like, 37K? I ain't doing nothing. Yeah, after taxes and cash, that's 15K. Yeah, so it's like, you gotta understand that part. Yeah, like, you're spending more on that on training and buying.
So you gotta, like, at least, like, our, like, meets and stuff and the endorsement pay for that. So we basically travel for free. Okay. But if we didn't get all that stuff, our country not paying us. So it's just like, It's a dog-eat-dog world outside, so you got to hustle no matter what. Yeah. Yeah, there's not a lot of money at the Olympics. There's no money at the Olympics. Zero dollars.
That's crazy. You're the best athlete in the world. Yeah, we don't get nothing. No athlete get money from the Olympic Games. That's so crazy because they make a lot of money off it. Billions. Yeah. But we don't get no money from Olympic Games. You think that should change? Definitely should change because a lot of...
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Chapter 11: What was Fred Kerley's mindset going into the 2020 Olympic 100m final?
Not only my country, but a lot of other countries that are less fortunate in the USA. Luckily, I'm a part of the best country in the world, USA, to get all the benefits, to give our own shelves and stuff like that. And the Olympic Village, we got our own. USA is probably the best country, hands down, when it comes to the game scope. with your own bubble. So we got the best of the best.
So without that, a lot of other countries don't get the ACs, get the beds and stuff like we do. So I'm definitely, probably say, say probably one of the best countries when it comes to Olympic Games.
That makes sense. Would you trade one of your Olympic medals for a million dollars?
No.
Really? All right.
That's a lot of money. There's a lot of money, but I don't think it's worth it. Yeah. Like, why would I trade something I work hard for? I said, just give me the million dollar plus the metal, but I would never trade none of my metals for no million dollars. That million dollar would be worthless. Mm-hmm. Yeah, because it's a symbol of all your dedication and hard work, right?
I probably put more money into that medal than a million dollars. Yeah, that's true. A million dollars is not worth it.
The top athletes spend six, seven figures a year on their bodies, right? Yeah. Yeah, LeBron James.
Yeah, so a million dollars definitely not worth it. Definitely not worth the medal because I think I worked a lifetime since I was a youth for that medal, right? So why would I trade that medal for a million dollars? Mm-hmm.
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