University of Georgia Athletics
Quick Chat: Tavarres King
July 31, 2020 | Football, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Tavarres King's NFL career ended in 2018, but the former Georgia wide receiver, one of the best in program history, is still involved with the game of football. He's also still highly competitive, only now it's in the business world and not on the gridiron.
King wrapped up his great Georgia career in 2012, catching 42 passes for 950 yards and nine touchdowns. He ended his days in Athens fourth on Georgia's all-time receiving yards list with 2,602 and third with 21 touchdowns.
These days, King and his family live in the Atlanta area, where they have entered the CBD business with their company Rowdy Wellness. In addition, King helps train football players for the NFL Combine.
During a recent Quick Chat, King talked about entering the CBD business and wanting to help give people healthy options amid the opioid crisis; he also talked about continuing to work with athletes, his days in Athens and much more. Here's some of what he had to say:
Frierson: Does it already feel like a long time ago that you played for Georgia?
King: Oh, yeah, it does. It feels like a very long time. It's been eight years but it feels way longer than that. ... It does feel different because of the transition with coaching changes, and when you come back and the place is looking different, and the facility being as amazing as it is now, it that sense it does feel like it's been a long time.
Frierson: You're probably not too far from doing the, "Well, back in my day ..." thing.
King: [Laughs] I catch myself saying stuff like with a couple of the guys I played with, like Marlon Brown, Malcolm Mitchell, just say stuff like, "Back when we were playing ..." [Laughs] I already catch myself saying stuff like that a little bit.
Frierson: Is there a part of the football life that you miss?
King: Really, the biggest thing that I miss is the day-to-day camaraderie with the guys in the locker room. Everybody has a shared goal, one goal in mind, and you just kind of miss being around guys that are similar to you on a day-to-day basis.
Frierson: When you think back to your Georgia career, is it the on-the-field stuff that you think about, or is it all the experiences you had off the field — the inside jokes, the road trips — that mostly come to mind?
King: Obviously, both. Catching passes, watching Todd (Gurley) and Keith (Marshall) run down the middle of the field, flying and running people over. Stuff like that I remember, obviously, but the things off the field are things that are going to stick with me forever, just the meeting rooms, Malcolm cutting up in meeting rooms [laughs], Marlon cutting up in meetings, Coach (Mike) Bobo making us laugh in the meetings and being a positive presence for us.
We had an awesome atmosphere and an awesome group of guys, so definitely I'll probably cherish and remember more the things that we did inside the Butts-Mehre or on the plane, just those experiences were pretty special.
Frierson: We've all been going through a pretty strange, unique and difficult period during the coronavirus pandemic, so what has life been like for you for the past four or five months?
King: I've been training guys at Chip Smith Performance Systems; I had probably eight (NFL) combine guys, receivers. You're right, it's such a weird time for everybody, not just athletes but specifically those athletes that it was their senior year or their rookie year. There's just that uncertainty in the air.
For me, I've just been trying to be a liaison to those guys and helping them out in this time, as much as I can, while keeping the social distance, and staying in shape as much as possible. That's what I've been doing in my free time so far.
My wife and I have a business, Rowdy Wellness, which is a CBD company, and we started that because we wanted to change the narrative on the cannabis injury, one, and two, the country's in an opioid epidemic right now. We wanted to give people, as well as athletes, a different alternative to use. That industry's taken off and we're excited about that, as well.
Frierson: How did you get started in the CBD business?
King: For one, we play in a sport that has a high injury rate, somewhere around 100 percent, so guys when they have these injuries they're given prescription drugs, and sometimes those drugs are strong and sometimes they get addicted to those drugs. I've seen teammates get addicted to prescription drugs and I wanted to start something that gave those guys a different alternative to prescription drugs.
CBD is a natural healer and it's a way to help the body and help the mind. We do a lot of special things — work with an autism school here in Atlanta and I think they have over 100 students and we help them out a pretty good bit.
Frierson: After so many years of playing such a competitive sport, how are you feeding your competitive juices now that you've retired from football?
King: I was fortunate enough to play at Georgia, to play in the NFL, which was obviously a dream of mine, and through all that I've developed a competitive nature and competitive hunger. I'm intrigued about doing that in a business setting, so it doesn't stop for me on that level.
I'm competitive in what I do in my business, Rowdy Wellness, and I still get to stay close to the game and compete by training combine guys and staying close with them. I get my football fix and I still have that competitive nature, as well, in the business world.
I kind of view the business like football, in the sense that I can stay competitive and keep being innovative. And I also get to have that goal of helping people heal and get to where they need to be.
Frierson: Was it important for you to enter into a business that was about more than just trying to make money and be successful?
King: It certainly was. Even within my own family, my community, I've seen just how drastic things can be when those prescription drugs turn into a want instead of a need, so it was very important to me to get into something that I was passionate about. And this is something that I'm very passionate about. I'm able to help people and be innovative, so it's something that the game almost built me for, in a sense.
I'm fortunate enough to have learned those lessons through the game of football, to be able to do something that I love outside of the game.
Frierson: What was it like going through your NFL career, where you spent time with six different teams over about five years? Did you ever unpack after a while?
King: [Laughs] Man, me and my wife joke all the time, we say, we can move faster than anybody. It quickly became evident to me that it was a business and I handled it as such. We were able to maneuver pretty well in knowing that you might not be in a place for a very long time. It was about making it a home regardless.
Frierson: And for someone from Mount Airy, Ga., you found yourself living in New York and Minnesota and a bunch of different places across the country.
King: It was awesome, an awesome experience, being able to see all these different places. Being from a country town, Mount Airy, Habersham County, walking around in the concrete jungle of New York was mind-blowing to me.
It was an amazing experience and I wouldn't trade my career for anything. I was able to do a lot of fortunate things: catch playoff touchdowns from Eli Manning, play alongside some amazing players like Peyton Manning, Cam Newton, Eli, Jameis Winston, Odell Beckham, Victor Cruz. Through all of those six teams, I was able to learn so much about the game, about life, about how to be a man. I was fortunate to do all that through the game of football.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Staff Writer
Tavarres King's NFL career ended in 2018, but the former Georgia wide receiver, one of the best in program history, is still involved with the game of football. He's also still highly competitive, only now it's in the business world and not on the gridiron.
King wrapped up his great Georgia career in 2012, catching 42 passes for 950 yards and nine touchdowns. He ended his days in Athens fourth on Georgia's all-time receiving yards list with 2,602 and third with 21 touchdowns.
These days, King and his family live in the Atlanta area, where they have entered the CBD business with their company Rowdy Wellness. In addition, King helps train football players for the NFL Combine.
During a recent Quick Chat, King talked about entering the CBD business and wanting to help give people healthy options amid the opioid crisis; he also talked about continuing to work with athletes, his days in Athens and much more. Here's some of what he had to say:
Frierson: Does it already feel like a long time ago that you played for Georgia?
King: Oh, yeah, it does. It feels like a very long time. It's been eight years but it feels way longer than that. ... It does feel different because of the transition with coaching changes, and when you come back and the place is looking different, and the facility being as amazing as it is now, it that sense it does feel like it's been a long time.
Frierson: You're probably not too far from doing the, "Well, back in my day ..." thing.
King: [Laughs] I catch myself saying stuff like with a couple of the guys I played with, like Marlon Brown, Malcolm Mitchell, just say stuff like, "Back when we were playing ..." [Laughs] I already catch myself saying stuff like that a little bit.
Frierson: Is there a part of the football life that you miss?
King: Really, the biggest thing that I miss is the day-to-day camaraderie with the guys in the locker room. Everybody has a shared goal, one goal in mind, and you just kind of miss being around guys that are similar to you on a day-to-day basis.
Frierson: When you think back to your Georgia career, is it the on-the-field stuff that you think about, or is it all the experiences you had off the field — the inside jokes, the road trips — that mostly come to mind?
King: Obviously, both. Catching passes, watching Todd (Gurley) and Keith (Marshall) run down the middle of the field, flying and running people over. Stuff like that I remember, obviously, but the things off the field are things that are going to stick with me forever, just the meeting rooms, Malcolm cutting up in meeting rooms [laughs], Marlon cutting up in meetings, Coach (Mike) Bobo making us laugh in the meetings and being a positive presence for us.
We had an awesome atmosphere and an awesome group of guys, so definitely I'll probably cherish and remember more the things that we did inside the Butts-Mehre or on the plane, just those experiences were pretty special.
Frierson: We've all been going through a pretty strange, unique and difficult period during the coronavirus pandemic, so what has life been like for you for the past four or five months?
King: I've been training guys at Chip Smith Performance Systems; I had probably eight (NFL) combine guys, receivers. You're right, it's such a weird time for everybody, not just athletes but specifically those athletes that it was their senior year or their rookie year. There's just that uncertainty in the air.
For me, I've just been trying to be a liaison to those guys and helping them out in this time, as much as I can, while keeping the social distance, and staying in shape as much as possible. That's what I've been doing in my free time so far.
My wife and I have a business, Rowdy Wellness, which is a CBD company, and we started that because we wanted to change the narrative on the cannabis injury, one, and two, the country's in an opioid epidemic right now. We wanted to give people, as well as athletes, a different alternative to use. That industry's taken off and we're excited about that, as well.
Frierson: How did you get started in the CBD business?
King: For one, we play in a sport that has a high injury rate, somewhere around 100 percent, so guys when they have these injuries they're given prescription drugs, and sometimes those drugs are strong and sometimes they get addicted to those drugs. I've seen teammates get addicted to prescription drugs and I wanted to start something that gave those guys a different alternative to prescription drugs.
CBD is a natural healer and it's a way to help the body and help the mind. We do a lot of special things — work with an autism school here in Atlanta and I think they have over 100 students and we help them out a pretty good bit.
Frierson: After so many years of playing such a competitive sport, how are you feeding your competitive juices now that you've retired from football?
King: I was fortunate enough to play at Georgia, to play in the NFL, which was obviously a dream of mine, and through all that I've developed a competitive nature and competitive hunger. I'm intrigued about doing that in a business setting, so it doesn't stop for me on that level.
I'm competitive in what I do in my business, Rowdy Wellness, and I still get to stay close to the game and compete by training combine guys and staying close with them. I get my football fix and I still have that competitive nature, as well, in the business world.
I kind of view the business like football, in the sense that I can stay competitive and keep being innovative. And I also get to have that goal of helping people heal and get to where they need to be.
Frierson: Was it important for you to enter into a business that was about more than just trying to make money and be successful?
King: It certainly was. Even within my own family, my community, I've seen just how drastic things can be when those prescription drugs turn into a want instead of a need, so it was very important to me to get into something that I was passionate about. And this is something that I'm very passionate about. I'm able to help people and be innovative, so it's something that the game almost built me for, in a sense.
I'm fortunate enough to have learned those lessons through the game of football, to be able to do something that I love outside of the game.
Frierson: What was it like going through your NFL career, where you spent time with six different teams over about five years? Did you ever unpack after a while?
King: [Laughs] Man, me and my wife joke all the time, we say, we can move faster than anybody. It quickly became evident to me that it was a business and I handled it as such. We were able to maneuver pretty well in knowing that you might not be in a place for a very long time. It was about making it a home regardless.
Frierson: And for someone from Mount Airy, Ga., you found yourself living in New York and Minnesota and a bunch of different places across the country.
King: It was awesome, an awesome experience, being able to see all these different places. Being from a country town, Mount Airy, Habersham County, walking around in the concrete jungle of New York was mind-blowing to me.
It was an amazing experience and I wouldn't trade my career for anything. I was able to do a lot of fortunate things: catch playoff touchdowns from Eli Manning, play alongside some amazing players like Peyton Manning, Cam Newton, Eli, Jameis Winston, Odell Beckham, Victor Cruz. Through all of those six teams, I was able to learn so much about the game, about life, about how to be a man. I was fortunate to do all that through the game of football.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
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