Herschel Walker inspires through talks about sports, fitness, mental health, politics and unity

Photo By Janell Ford | Walker speaks to soldiers at Freedom Fitness Gym saying, "Everyone knows the glory but not everyone knows the story." He said he believes in hard work and although he's been very fortunate, it came from a lot of hard work.  

FORT IRWIN, CA, UNITED STATES

07.18.2019

Story by Janell Ford 

Garrison Public Affairs

Former NFL player, Herschel Walker, spent three days at the National Training Center meeting with, speaking with and sharing his story of struggle, survival and inspiration with hundreds of soldiers, families and the Fort Irwin community. The former Dallas Cowboys player stood before crowds as a positive example of what it can look like to live a productive life, while dealing with a mental disorder. His last visit to the NTC was in 2014.
“My treatment today is doing things like this,” Walker said. “One of the things I tell people is treatment is talking about it and making yourself continue to be aware of it. Doing different, little projects is making yourself aware of things that you do and acknowledging that you’re doing it.”
Shortly after Walker retired from the NFL, he was diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder (DID), a mental disorder also known as multiple personality disorder. People with this illness display at least two, distinct personality traits accompanied by extreme memory gaps. Walker began his treatment at a behavioral health hospital in Torrance, California.
As Walker spoke to the Fort Irwin community he joked, “I may say something you don’t like but it didn’t come from me, it may have come from one of those other personalities.”
He said his disorder hasn’t slowed down his unique workout routine. He does 1,500 push-ups and 3,500 sit-ups a day, while only eating one meal each day and sleeping only four hours each night.
“I’m an old man but I’m a good looking old man but I can compete with all these 20 and 30 year olds,” he said.
But Walker’s desire to stand out came from a dark place in his life when he was very young, while growing up in Wrightsville, Georgia.
“My mom told me I was big boned,” he said. “The kids said I was fat. The teachers set me aside in class to learn because they said I was special. The kids said I was retarded.”
Walker said he was teased so badly growing up that he didn’t go outside for recess for four years. He had a stuttering speech impediment problem, was overweight and had bad swelling in his legs. A doctor once told Walker’s mom his legs would never get better but his mom didn’t worry.
“’Don’t you worry about it Bo (Walker’s nickname),’” his mother said. “’Because he’s not the real doctor.”
Doctors say it was during the adolescent years that he developed his mental disorder, to deal with the harsh treatment from classmates.
He decided to turn things around when he hit middle school. He started reading aloud to himself until his speech got better and that’s also when he first began his powerhouse push-up and sit-up routine, which he’s done since he was 12-years-old. Then came his first brush with sports in eighth grade.
“I tried out for football, so I didn’t have to wash dishes and do chores,” Walker said. “It didn’t work.”

But Herschel did go on to be an athletic stand-out and even graduated valedictorian of his high school. When he was offered a full scholarship to the University of Georgia, surprisingly, he didn’t want to go to college.
“Don’t get mad,” Walker told a room of Army soldiers, “But I thought my life was cut out to be a Marine.”
Walker said he seriously flipped a coin and pulled college names out of a hat to decide what university to attend and UGA won each time (over Clemson and the University of Southern California).
Walker had another slight problem when it came to playing football on a larger scale.
“I didn’t watch football,” he admitted. “I learned football from reading a book,”
But Walker went on to produce one of the greatest freshman seasons in college football history, as the Bulldogs went 12-0 and won the national title. He also won the Heisman trophy as a junior.
Walker decided to play professionally during his junior year and entered the United States Football League, before playing for the Dallas Cowboys and having stints with Minnesota, Philadelphia and New York in the NFL.

Connecting and inspiring at NTC: “Man can’t stop what God has in store for you.”

Walker said he recognizes God before every speech.
“I learned a long time ago that if you don’t acknowledge Him, He’s not going to acknowledge you,” he said.
During Walker’s NTC visit, he spoke to employees at the Army Wellness Center and soldiers at 916th, talked about his faith to a crowd at the post chapel, did PT with the 11th ACR, held two meet and greet presentations at the Freedom Fitness Center, visited the Dragon Bunker in the Box to watch live fire with Commanding Maj. Gen. Jeffery Broadwater and other leaders, and toured the Weed Army Community Hospital. But Walker said what he enjoys most is connecting with the soldiers—some of whom broke down crying upon meeting him.
“My mom said ‘Man can’t stop what God has in store for you,’” Walker said as he spoke to soldiers before they lined up by the hundreds for autographs and photos, following his speeches at Freedom Fitness Center. They brought up items from footballs, to jerseys, camo backpacks to hats and photos for autographs and Walker had individual conversations with everyone.
One soldier began to cry when he first greeted him and Walker embraced him with a hug. The soldier said he was bullied as a kid and his life changed once he saw a documentary where Walker spoke of overcoming childhood teasing and embarrassment.
Walker said that if he can go from having a speech impediment, to being valedictorian; if he can go from no one wanting to play with him as a child, to playing in one of the largest professional platforms in the country, anything’s possible. He frequently references movies and talked about the “Rocky” series when saying “No matter what, don’t give up and go one, more round.”
Walker also said soldiers need to make sure to be there and support their family and friends, or “battles,” when needed, too. He said he knows he’s saved his teammates lives— their marriages, finances, etc. but said when his mental issues came to light, not many teammates supported him.

When Walker joined the 11th ACR for PT in the Box Fitness Gym, he not only observed the new Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT), he also did some pull-ups, relay runs, tire flips, rowing and other exercises with the soldiers.
“Gyms are where I learn and train,” Walker said. “Well, they’re not as nice as this.”
During his talks at the NTC, Walker had a good message for children who were present.
“Hug your parents every chance you get and listen to them,” he said.
And his message was similar to parents.
“Hug your kid everyday and tell your kids you love them.”

Realizing there’s a problem: “You scare me.”

The moment Walker knew he had a problem, was when he said he was about to go shoot someone who made him angry.
“As I walked up to he man, I saw a sign that said ‘Honk if you live Jesus,’ and that’s the only thing that stopped him from killing someone,” Walker said.
He didn’t know why he had become so angry at that person but he heard voices—one telling him to kill someone, and the other telling him that he knows that’s wrong.
When Walker spoke to his wife (at the time) about it, he said her response was, “‘I know there is something wrong with you. I’ve been trying to tell you for months. You get up in the middle of the night and pace back and forth like a caged lion. You scare me,’” Walker said his wife told him.
He said that was the first time he knew something was wrong because he never thought he could frighten his own wife.
He was referred to a church where they tried to perform an exorcism but Walker said that wasn’t effective. He was then referred to an African doctor for holistic treatments and also was treated by traditional behavioral health doctors and hospitals.

Herschel, the Businessman and Politician: “Everyone knows the glory but not everyone knows the story”
Walker owns more than two dozen restaurants across the country, including Zoner’s Pizza, Wings and Waffles. He said he’s also the largest minority owner in the United States.
“My primary business is I manufacture chicken,” he said. “I’m a chicken provider for most restaurants, casinos and hotels.” He also has a bedspread and drapery company and does promotion for Fortune 500 companies for branded products.
“I believe in hard work. I’ve been very fortunate but it came from working. That’s why I tell people, you have to work. Everybody wants it but everybody doesn’t want to pay the price to get it. And that’s what’s sad. If you want it, pay the price to get it, don’t steal it.”
Walker was also appointed a position with the White House by his friend, Donald Trump.
“I worked with Donald and I’ve been with the president now for a long time and I support him because, there’s no doubt, he says things that aren’t right on Twitter, but the man, for this country, is doing a heck of a job and what’s sad to me more than anything is people have to respect the White House,” Walker said. Walker said two of Trump’s children used to come visit and stay a week with him every summer and Walker took them on trips. Walker said he’s also close with the Bush family, Clinton family and Obama family.

Life for Herschel Today: “You soldiers are the true Super Bowl winners.”

Walker tried his first Subway sandwich while visiting the NTC. When it comes to his diet, he doesn’t recommend anyone following his eating habits. He only eats once a day and sometimes that’s a Cinnabon or his favorite dipped cone from Dairy Queen.
He never drank alcohol or did any legal nor illegal drugs or prescriptions—he said he’s never even taken an aspirin.
“I was so fortunate to have doctors that took the time to evaluate me first,” Walker said. “Sometimes when you go into a facility, they’re quick to start handing out medicine but sometimes that’s not the right thing to do, because sometimes medicine suppresses the problem, so they never get out of that point where they’re not taking medicine.”
Walker said the state of football today is much, more competitive and pulls in so much more revenue.
“Some players are trying to keep up with the trend and they have gotten so much bigger today than in the past, they’ve gotten so much faster, the game has moved so much faster today and sometimes guys, I hate to say, try to take shortcuts but I think keep themselves healthy, to keep up with their fellow man and in doing that, they take things that are not healthy for them and it’s short-term goal for messing up their long-term life,” Walker said.
Besides football, he also ran track in high school and college. In additional to his NFL career, Walker loves wrestling, soccer and MMA (mixed martial arts). Today he still trains for MMA matches, as he’s done for 42 years, and was also on the 1992 Olympic bobsledding team as a pusher. He said MMA tests his physical strength more than anything else.
He is the only player in the NFL that had a 100% guaranteed contract the entire time he played in the league.
Today Walker is engaged and has a 19-year-old son who is already a junior in college.
Walker mentioned that he had a nephew, cousins and uncle in the military. His uncle is the reason he first wanted to join the Marines.
He said the soldiers are the true heroes and winners of the Super Bowl.
“The United States is the best country in the world because of our military,” he said. “So that’s what makes it special. Not the Lebron James’s or other athletes or celebrities of the world. The sacrifice you give is so much greater than anything I’ve ever done.”
Soldiers who think they may need help can visit the Weed Army Community Hospital Behavioral Health department or the main Center Post Chapel.

• Date Taken: 07.18.2019
• Date Posted: 12.31.2019 14:03
• Story ID: 357928
• Location: FORT IRWIN, CA, US