Today we’d like to introduce you to Laurence Maroney.
Hi Laurence, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started playing sports as a kid but was introduced to Herbert Hoover Boys & Girls Club when I was 10. I played 3 sports: Hoover Football, Basketball & Track. Hoover is where I learned the basics of playing a team sport and the fundamentals of each sport. From there, I went to Normandy Senior High School. I played Varsity football all 4 years and Ran Varsity Track all 4 years. Also, I played basketball for 2 years. After excelling in all sports, I received a full-ride scholarship to play football at the University of Minnesota. After 3 full seasons at the University of Minnesota, I was a 3 time All-American, Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and many more accolades. Upon the Ending of my Junior Season, I entered the NFL Draft and was selected 1st round to the New England Patriots. I started my LM39 foundation once I got drafted because I knew I wanted to be a part of the change my community needed for success. I started giving back in ways I felt would help the community grow and what I felt the community needed, such as more resources. After many ups and downs throughout my NFL career, my foundation faded away while I was going through difficult moments. It took a while to navigate through these challenging times, but eventually, I was able to land myself back on solid ground after years of emotional & mental distress. These times helped reshape my outlook on my foundation and what I wanted to do with it. At the start of 2023, my lady & I revamped my foundation. I was so excited to breathe life back into it and started focusing on the mental health side of things, along with still focusing on the lack of resources needed for the community. My life turmoils brought us to where we are now with the LM39 Foundation. It helped to shape it and highlight matters that most don’t pay attention to—shedding light on athlete mental health, financial literacy in our community, and overall life after sports. So, that’s how we got to this point.
Let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
I’d be lying if I said it was all good with no bumps in the road. Being a professional & knowing how to be professional was the first bump in the road throughout my career. I always just played the sport for fun, but when making it to the NFL, you had to learn about the business side of it. We didn’t know this growing up, and we weren’t prepared for that part of how to conduct ourselves on and off the field. How is perception everything. With one hiccup or mistake, you risk losing it all. I struggled between being real with my loved ones & so-called friends while trying to meet my new job’s expectations. Another bump was just the financial piece. Yeah, I’m making a lot of money, but I need more financial literacy knowledge to manage my money or help my money work for me. Then, there was life after football that mentally drained all the life I had in me. All I ever did was play sports, so I felt lost when I couldn’t do that anymore or when the game was taken away from me. My whole identity was gone, and I didn’t have the right support at the time to help me through these times. I felt like I needed to get out of sight before digging deeper into a hole. But I eventually did and bounced back better!
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My vision is to be the person I wish I had growing up. I’m committed to showing my community that they, too, can achieve big dreams, and if they have the determination and drive, they can accomplish anything they put their mind to. The LM39 Foundation is committed to providing safe spaces for our youth to develop into leaders, heal, and grow. They provide financial, educational & athletic programs and athlete mental support. While no one is immune to mental health challenges, our foundation’s goal is to shed light on the specific issues that athletes encounter and assist them with resources and outlets to improve their overall mental health. Our mission is to provide our youth with chances and opportunities to succeed in life mentally & physically on & off the field! Our vision is to see the LM39 Foundation transform lives & create leaders with positive mindsets, ambition, and goals to accomplish anything.
We’d love to hear about what you think about risk-taking.
Risk is a part of everyday living, whether it’s an extreme risk or calculated risk. Risk is to do something that may result in loss or failure. So, with that being said, we all take risks at some point in our lives. As an entrepreneur, I take risks every day. If I don’t take them, how can my business ever grow? How do I get to the next level? People have to be willing to take chances in life to achieve the things they want from life. To me, chance & risk are all the same.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.LM39foundation.com
- Instagram: @LM39foundation
- Facebook: LM39 Foundation
- Other: https://linktr.ee/lm39foundation
