Bo Jackson: The 1851 Exclusive Interview Part 8

This is the eighth in a 10-part exclusive interview series with Bo Jackson, where the entrepreneur and legendary star athlete shares stories of his childhood, what motivates him in his business career, the nature of today’s younger generation, how he balances work, family and his spare time, his philosophy on achieving success and much more. Stay tuned for the ninth part of our series coming this Tuesday, October 23.

When athletes hang up their jerseys and step off the field, they often turn to business endeavors. Some are even able to turn to celebrity endorsement deals, in which they back products that they believe in. While there are a large number of “celebrity” brands, it’s rare for the namesake to be fully invested in the business.

For Bo Jackson, being completely involved in his businesses was always a top priority. He wants to ensure that the products associated with his name adhere to excellent standards.

“If my name is on a product out there, you can bet the farm that it’s a good product,” Jackson said in an exclusive interview with 1851.

He continued, explaining that he wanted to be different than other celebrity-backed brands. He added, “There’s a saying in the food world — celebrity brands fail, drastically, almost 95, 98 percent of the time celebrity brands fail drastically. The majority that those failures gotta do with the celebrities just put their name on something and depend on somebody else to go out and sell it, and you sit back and wait on the check to come every month. And they fail. Where I decide to do what the other people forgot to do or didn't want to do. I’m out there beating the pavement every day.”

To watch the full clip, check out the video above. You can also find the seventh part of 1851’s exclusive interview series here.