Where do you call home?
Austin, Texas. We spend time there and in North Carolina, where my wife is from.
What's the first thing you do when you wake up?
Coffee. Cure. In that order. Mornings are my favorite time of day. Getting my kids ready for school and mixing it up as a family is the best.
What's a typical day like for you?
My days are dictated to me by our four-year-old boy and our two-year-old girl. I’m chairman of the Andy Roddick Foundation in Austin that serves 3,500 kids and is focused on the time spent out of school. We provide very intense learning opportunities for lower socioeconomic areas and really impact entire families. I’m also invested in thirty companies (Cure included) in addition to ones that have been acquired. My partner, Phil Meyers, and I also have a commercial real estate company. We have around 60 properties in 12 states, so it’s becoming a decent-sized operation. There’s always something going on with various tennis events as well. I love being busy and learning about new spaces. No day is ever the same, which is awesome. The things I must do everyday are spending time with my wife and kids, and sneaking in a workout somewhere. Luckily I have Cure to help me out. :)
Do you have any evening rituals?
I’m trying to spend less time in front of a screen at night with an admittedly average success rate. My wife and I have gotten into the habit of listening to sleep stories as we fall asleep. It’s a very comfortable way to fade into sleep as opposed to laying down with an expectation or pressure to fall asleep right away.
Best advice received from a coach?
This is more of an observation, but my old coach, Larry Stefanki, used to always say, “It’s never as good as it seems, and it’s never as bad as it seems.” I was a pretty emotional player and sometimes felt like I was never going to play well again if things weren’t going my way. It was his way of telling me to have faith in the process and be prepared when good form presented itself. It was a nice complement to my reactionary personality. That advice is even more important these days with constant news cycles attacking our fears and senses on a daily basis.
Best lesson learned from your kids?
I come from a former career in tennis that was a completely selfish existence. My team was there to help me in any way. We all had the same goal and that was to maximize my tennis results. Having kids is a completely different ball game obviously. I’ve really relished being forced to be selfless and patient. They’ve made me so much better.
What spurred the creation of your foundation and what does the work mean to you?
I’m so lucky to have been in the vacuum of the tennis world from an early age. I don’t think tennis gets enough credit for turning out some of the biggest players in the non-profit/social change spaces. Billie Jean King, Arthur Ashe, Martina Navratilova, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer, Serena Williams. These are absolute world icons who have made positive change through literacy, education, equality, and have defined what the next generations think about social change. That’s what inspired me to invest in education and provide opportunities in my hometown in Austin. We have done great work but I often question if it would have happened had it not been for the leaders in the sport I fell in love with at a young age.
Any investing or saving tips for young folks just starting out?
Have a plan and stick to it. Sacrifice the now for the later. You’ll be happy you did. Discipline is the deciding factor most times.
Last, why Cure?
I was a massive sweater throughout my entire career. It was always a challenge staying hydrated with the amount of fluids I would lose on a given day. I wish Cure had been around when I was playing. We would find solutions, but often felt like there was a trade-off of some kind. Nothing was both enjoyable and made responsibly. Cure has figured that out. Plainly, it’s effective hydration without the added sugar/artificial ingredients that most sports drinks have. I’m a huge believer in what Cure is doing.
