Atlanta, Georgia native Wallace Miles was signed by the Detroit Lions out of North Carolina A&T University. Miles grew up watching Barry Sanders and the Lions making this opportunity a dream come true but the opportunity didn’t just fall from the sky. He’s been in love with the game of football since he began watching Sanders as a kid but played soccer until he was allowed to be on the football field and signed up to play football for the Westlake High School Lions. At Westlake he played alongside NFL MVP quarterback Cam Newton and although he wanted to be a running back or wide receiver because of his background as a soccer player he was made a kicker for the Lions.
While getting the opportunity to live out his dream as a professional football player with the Detroit Lions, walking the same halls that his idol Barry Sanders walked one day Wallace Miles began writing a book. That book, ‘Underr8ted’ that goes through the entire Wallace Miles story leading up to his professional career which came to Canada in the CFL with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Ottawa Redblacks, Edmonton Eskimos and Toronto Argonauts is a part of a series of projects Miles has worked on and continues to work on with his motivation start up ‘Change Your Cleats’. Change Your Cleats goes all the way back to when Miles changed his own cleats from the ones he used as a kicker to those he used as a receiver and will continue to touch on subjects that he believes can inspire the next generation of athletes. Miles took time to speak with OurBlk Men about his newest endeavor “Dropping Dymes Podcast”.
Why did you choose to pursue a podcast?
I felt like us as black men need as many examples of us being open and communicating genuinely. I felt the conversations the three of us have always find some depth, have a reason, and are always comical. To me it would be pretty special to bring what we do behind the scenes to the world as one of those examples.
What has been life changing about your journey?
The transition away from sports allowed me to evaluate who I really had become. All the experiences and lessons learned through the journey allowed me to press forward with a clear view of who I was, enroute to attack who I can become.
What have you been up to and what can we look forward to seeing from you?
Currently outside of Dropping Dymes, I have recently released a book entitled UNDERR8TED: The Route That Caught an NFL Dream, under my company Change Your Cleats LLC. The next project in that line is the Audiobook as well as carrying the message of the book to schools to hopefully give students a resource and a reference as they move through their own journey.
Tell us about your book “Underr8ted: The Route That Caught an NFL Dream”
My book is the story of my life from childhood to signing an NFL contract, but it’s focus is the lessons I was able to grasp from the journey. The good, the bad and everything in between that help develop the person I am today, and growing into. The intent is to give insight into the principles and lessons we all at some point will face, to help the person who reads it along their journey. It was also written to entertain.
Change Your Cleats, what inspired you to create this platform?
I had a moment in my life where I decided I was done being who I was told I was. I chose to chase me and who I saw in myself. In doing so I w
Follow the crew @droppingdymes_podcast , individually @changeyourcleats, and @wallacejmiles on IG.
Follow the Dropping Dymes Podcast Youtube channel, and the Change Your Cleats Youtube channel. And lastly at changeyourcleats.com.
