 Hi, I'm Rusty Komori and this is Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii. I was the head coach of the Punahou Boys Varsity Tennis Team for 22 years, and we were fortunate to win 22 consecutive state championships. This show is based on my books Beyond the Lines and Beyond the Game, and it's about leadership, character, and creating a superior culture of excellence. My special guest today is a super sports agent whose clients include NFL star quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and Super Bowl 53 MVP Julian Edelman. He is Carter Chow, and today we are going way beyond contract negotiations. Hey, Carter, welcome to Beyond the Lines. Thanks for having me, Rusty. It's a privilege to be here. I'm grateful for the opportunity and look forward to spending some time with you today. Carter, you are such a highly sought after sports agent, and I know that you played college tennis at BYU in Utah, and can you tell me a bit more about your background? Sure, sure. I grew up in Utah, as you know. My father was at Brigham Young University working for a long time, and I played junior tennis all over Utah in the Intermountain region, and then ultimately ended up playing at BYU and had an incredible experience there. I met my wife there. She's a Punahou graduate, Sarah Lee. Her father has also been on your show, and so I'm very familiar with the work you're doing, which I think is terrific. After graduating from BYU, we went to law school together and I tell everyone if it wasn't for Sarah, I probably wouldn't have graduated. She did much better than I did, but she got me through law school and that jump started my career in law. I did an internship for the Houston Texans in 2002. It was their inaugural season in the NFL and just had a fabulous experience there. It was exposed to a lot of things that are very applicable to what I'm doing in my current job. At the time, I didn't ever think I'd be working in sports. I'd already taken a job at a big corporate law firm in New York, and after our time in Houston, we did go to New York for several years, and really that was an opportunity for me to kind of cut my teeth on the corporate side, learning about negotiations, writing agreements, and just understanding how the world works, if you will. And after that, I spent a few years at the Arena Football League, and that's really kind of how I got back into sports, and now 16 years later, I've been helping clients both on and off the field with their professional endeavors. So that's kind of my experience in a nutshell, but I do look forward to talking to you a little bit more about some of the experiences I've had over the years. Now, Carter, I had your dad, Coach Norm Chow, on my show last year, and he is such a great man, such a great coach, and you got to see him throughout your whole life. Now, what's the biggest thing you learned from your dad? Well, that's a hard question, Rossi. I've learned so much from my dad over the years. I mean, he's my biggest fan, he's my mentor, and certainly one of my best friends, and really watching him and his approach to his profession, it's really just about the hard work and preparation and doing things the right way with integrity and honesty and commanding respect. And I think if nothing else, despite all the wins and the losses and the success that he may have had, it's really about treating people with respect and doing things the right way. And that's what I'll always take away from my father, the things that he's taught me over the years. Yeah, I mean, he's a man that definitely works hard. And I mean, to work with three Heisman trophy winners, I mean, that's amazing. And we all know that movie, that Tom Cruise movie, Jerry Maguire, right, Carter, that plays a sports agent, but in real life, it's nothing really like that, right? No, no, it isn't, I often get asked that question. I wish my day-to-day life was as exciting or as sexy as what happened in that movie. But unfortunately, it's not. I mean, I have had some, wow, Jerry Maguire moments in my career, but no, I mean, you know, I work hard just like everybody else does, day in and day out, but I'm not going to elaborate parties or hanging out on super yachts all the time. I have had those experiences, but you know, we do work hard from our desks every day. Yeah, I mean, I know you work hard. I mean, but yeah, it's not about all the partying and stuff. I mean, you guys do so much beyond contract negotiations with endorsement deals. I mean, what else do you guys do? Yeah, you know, I feel like I wear many hats in my role as an agent. Obviously my job is to help my clients find and to keep jobs. It's not just getting drafted or getting to a spot where they're on a team. It's really helping them keep jobs. And I found that those conversations and those relationships mature over time. There's a lot that goes into what I do. I mean, I'm a counselor. I'm a psychologist. I'm just someone that will be a sounding board for my clients. Oftentimes, they want to talk to someone that's not their parents, not their spouse, someone they can just have a conversation with and not be judged. And really, that allows me, I think, Rusty, to do my job the best that I can because I do get to know my clients on such a very intimate level, if you will, that it allows me to really, when I'm negotiating contracts for them, put the things that they value first. Obviously, I'm negotiating the contract on their behalf and we're trying to accomplish what they want to accomplish. And so for me to properly do that, I think it just takes time and effort to get to know them and to understand what their goals and aspirations are. And everyone's a little bit different. It's not necessarily always about dollars and cents. I mean, some guys, they want to be in a certain city. Some guys want to play for a specific coach or a specific organization. And so I think in the public eye sometimes, people see decisions being made and they don't really understand what the goal of the player was. Oh, they could have made a lot more money here. Well, yes, they could have, but they value being in a certain situation maybe more than another player would when it comes to just dollars and cents. Now, Carter, Tom Brady is one of the most polarizing athletes in all of sports and what is your connection to Tom Brady? So my partners, Don Ye and Steve Dubin, have represented Tom since he came into the NFL. And I have been very, very fortunate, lucky, blessed, whatever you want to call it, to have had a front row seat to one of the most incredible careers in professional sports. Man, that's amazing that you had that front row seat. That's a fun picture. I was after the AFC championship game a couple of years ago, but yes, it's been incredible and Tom and his family have been very gracious to me and my family over the years and I'll always be appreciative of that relationship. Oh, that's absolutely incredible, Carter. And I want to ask you, Carter, what specifically do you look for in clients? So that's a good question. And, you know, when you think about the draft every year, Rusty, there's maybe 250 players that are selected every year, around 250. About 350 are invited to the combine and that's generally a good indication of whether a player may or may not be drafted. We just finished the combine in Indianapolis. It's just actually finishing up as we speak. And so when we're trying to identify young men that we want to work with, we're really looking for three specific. So obviously they've got to have the ability to play in the NFL. There's so many good college players out there, but playing in the NFL, it's just a whole, it's a whole another level. You think about that progression from being a college, a high school athlete and getting a college scholarship and then moving on to the NFL. The percentages are very, very small. And so they have to have the ability to play in the NFL. Number two, I'm looking for good character players to work with. And I think every agent will tell you they're looking for good character. And to me, that's more than just not getting a call at two o'clock in the morning and have to clean up a mess, right? I'm looking for guys that have a certain type of work ethic that they're humble, they're coachable. They're guys that teammates want to play for. They want to be a part of something special. And I think oftentimes that's not something you can learn. It's just something that's inherent and that you've sharpened over the years. And then the last thing for me is I'm looking for someone that would be a good personality fit for me. Someone that will match the qualities that I feel like I have the losing my word here. The kind of the qualities that make me, make me who I am. And we work so closely with these clients and their families that we want to make sure that we're representing them the way that they want to be represented. And Carter, talking with you, I mean, I know that you're, I mean, it's all about relationships with you. And one of your clients is a NFL star quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, and you have a fantastic relationship with him. And I want to ask you if you can talk to me about your relationship with him and really what makes him successful? Sure. I mean, Jimmy, first of all, he comes from an awesome family. It's a big Italian family. There's four brothers and they're very, very close knit. And I love that about him. Very good values. And it's Midwestern family that I think is just a great model for young people growing up. But Jimmy, he's a very likable person. It's no secret that he's had success everywhere he's gone because his teammates want to play for him. Oftentimes, Chubis do their own things when it comes to working out. They've got their own regimen or their own team, you know, when it comes to working out. They've got their own regimen or their own kind of style of working out. But Jimmy's right in there with the offensive linemen with the linebackers, pushing them in the way room as he is off on the field. And I think other players respect that. I certainly respect that. And he's just been a pleasure to work with both on and off the field. And he's in a very unique situation right now, contractually, but I think if you followed anything that's happened this past year, he's done a very good job of just focusing on his business on the field. And he's done a nice job kind of blocking out some of the outside noise that may have been around the organization and the league for the 2021 season. Yeah, I completely agree with you. I mean, Jimmy G, he finds a way to get the job done. I mean, he's an absolute winner. And another winner is your other client, Julian Edelman, who was the Super Bowl 53 MVP. Now, can you tell me about Julian's character and what makes him successful? Wow, I love Julian. It was hard this year, not seeing him out on the field after having worked with him his entire career. But Julian, outside of Tom, probably the hardest worker that I've had the privilege of working with over the course of my career. True blue collar guy. He grew up just outside of San Francisco. His father is a mechanic. And I think his dad really drove him to become the type of player and person he is. He was very, very hard on him if you talk to Julian or his father. I mean, they make no bones about it. Julian was always undersized, always overlooked. He played at a junior college. He went to a non-power five max school. And no one really thought much of him coming out of college. I mean, he played quarterback at Kent State and obviously had to make a position switch when he moved to the NFL. And there weren't a lot of people outside of my partners and I rested that they really believed that Julian could do what he did. But he was ultimately drafted by the Patriots in the seventh round. Now, I'll tell you that wasn't by coincidence. And really after that, he got his opportunity, took full advantage of that opportunity and his credit. He earned everything that he got and it was a fun run and still enjoy communicating with Julian, working with him a little bit. But I gotta tell you, in my professional career, at Super Bowl 53, when the Patriots beat the Rams in Atlanta and he was chosen as the Super Bowl MVP, was probably one of the highlights. I was there with my family. Was obviously, as you can see in that picture on the field with Julian after the game. And then after my family got to meet him and Julian gave my son his gloves that he's wearing in that picture from that game. And we got to hold the Lombardi trophy together. And just it was a really, really neat experience for my family and having Julian and Tom as his clients at that time was a really special time for us. Well, that's extraordinary. I mean, and you've seen him from the beginnings all the way to the, till you retired. And that's absolutely fascinating. When we have some time, we got lots of Julian's story. So probably not the time and place right now, but a terrific, terrific guy. And I consider him a good friend. So I'll always be appreciative to Julian and what he did for me. No, he's such a great example for everybody. And you know, Carter, you look to me, it seems like you're a coach because don't you do a lot of coaching and guiding with your clients to help them? You know, yes. I've never been a professional coach in any capacity other than maybe helping my son's little league teams. But I feel like my responsibility as an agent is to provide my clients with honest and meaningful guidance and advice, no different than a coach would do with any of their players. And to really help put them in positions, Rusty, for them to have success, right? I mean, as a coach, you can only do so much to prepare your players to go out and compete. And I feel like as an agent, that's what we're doing as well. We're hopefully putting them in the best positions possible to find success and having the necessary conversations and preparing them to be able to go out and make good decisions for themselves. I mean, as much as in your books, I could feel some of the angst when you're watching your players compete in the state championship. I mean, that's like me on Sundays. I mean, there's really nothing you can do once that first service hit or once the ball is kicked. But you just hope and pray that your preparation and hard work pays off and your players or your clients can go on and compete. No, you know, and Carter, I think you and I have PhDs in psychology without actually having the actual certificate of a PhD in psychology. No question, no question. I've just spoken to my father about that many times. He does have a doctorate in educational psychology and sometimes I'm flying by the seat of my pants. But like I said before, I mean, oftentimes players, they're just looking to talk. And I've learned over the course of my career that sometimes the best thing that we can do resting is just listen. And I think a lot of problems can be resolved by just listening and oftentimes sharing your own life stories that may be something that the player can relate to. Yeah, I agree with you, Carter. And you mentioned my books a little earlier and I know that you got my books through, from your dad, coach Norm, and from your father-in-law, Abley. I mean, you're getting it from both directions. Yeah, I'm waiting for one to be signed to me. I mean, I've got one, hey, coach, and Diane or Abley, but yeah, I'm looking forward to getting my own signed copy from you. So maybe after the show, we can take care of that. Oh, well, I'll definitely sign it for you to Carter. Now, I mean, they're huge fans of my books. I feel so grateful to them. And I want to know how you like the books and what stood out to you in it. Yeah, I love the books. I really enjoyed the way that you started your second book, making an impact. And I really took that to heart, both in my professional life and in my personal life as a husband and a father. And like I said, I'm an advocate as a player. I don't play as much as I'd like to these days. But I really feel like the sport can be an allegory for life. And I love the way that you've woven the different stories and experiences that you've had into teaching people about being successful and going beyond the lines and actually finding success in business and in life. And I think back to my own experience with tennis and it just teaches you so many things, right? It teaches you about physical and mental toughness and hard work and dedication. And I love that quote, and I'll butcher it, but that you use by Andre Agassi about the tennis. There's no secret by tennis uses the language of life, right? It's a catalyst for so many things that can be learned. So I really enjoyed reading both of them and I definitely want to send them to some of my clients for a training camp or Christmas gifts here this year. I think they would enjoy reading them as well. Well, I like that you said that the impact, make an impact, that's what we're all trying to do. And yeah, we definitely got to inspire your clients as well. And Carter, what is the best advice you ever received? You know, I think it'd probably be something my father said. It's really just about treating people with respect and kindness. And if you find ways to serve others in whatever capacity am I, I do feel like in my job, one of the things I enjoy is I'm serving my clients. They're obviously paying for a service, but I'm serving them and helping them to find success both on and off the field and ultimately happiness off the field. And I think if you do that, you can find happiness and fulfillment in your own life. And Carter, you have a beautiful family. I mean, your wife, Sarah, your kids, I mean, they, you must feel so happy that they totally, like 1 million percent support you and you as a sports agent dad, right? I do, I'm very grateful. Sarah's been a tremendous support for me over the years. I travel a lot and she's always here to maintain the house, take care of the kids. And, you know, I do work hard so when I can share special experiences like those pitchers and Super Bowls and going to games and just doing fun and unique things with them, it means a lot. That's kind of the payoff for dad not being home and missing certain things throughout the year. So I certainly appreciate Sarah and my kids' understanding and supporting me and my extended family as well, my parents and in-laws for going out of their way to help us live the crazy life that we live. But Carter, you know, when you're at the games, like the Super Bowl, you know, you're just not at the game. You're like, you get to go on the field. That's different than most people who have the chance to go. Cohen has changed things a little bit, unfortunately, but yes, Russ, I have been very fortunate over the years to kind of have had that behind the scenes access and it's not always good. Sometimes you don't wanna know how the sausage is made but I've been very fortunate to see things from different perspectives. And ultimately, I think it helps me be better in my job and provide clients with just a little bit, maybe different perspective than people that may have not have had that access. So I'm very grateful. And I think that's a function of doing things the right way and obviously knowing the right people and associating with the right people. Now, Carter, it seems like, you know, there's other sports agents that try to really get as many clients as possible, but isn't there a balance that you need? I think that's why you're very selective with who you have because you wanna really represent them in the greatest possible way and you can't do that if you have like a thousand clients, right? I think you're exactly right. There's a fine balance between being able to make a living and support your family and then maybe having too many clients where you spread yourself a little bit thin and you're not able to provide them with the level of service that you want. So we've chosen certainly quality over quantity. We're very selective in whom we choose to work with. And I think that served me well over the course of my career because teams know if I call them or I'm talking to them about one of my clients that they're going to get a certain type of individual, certain type of character, certain type of work ethic as we discussed, the teams can evaluate the player on film and they'll watch games and they'll have a much better understanding as to how that player may fit into their scheme or into their organization. But they're really looking to an agent to help kind of fill in the holes and help them understand whether they're making the right investment in the player. And you have to understand when you get into a professional sports environment, obviously the team, the organization wants you to be productive on the field, but they're also looking for someone that will be outstanding in the community, someone that the organization that can be proud of and they do so much work, background work on players going back to when they were in high school that they really rely on agents to try and help them understand what kind of individual they're getting as well. So, again, I think that just is a matter of having a reputation of working with good quality clients and I've been very fortunate over the years to have had those clients on my roster list, if you will. So, that's our focus and it's hard though. It's hard, Rusty, to try and find players that fit those three criteria that we're looking for and obviously continue to maintain the current clients that you have. So, that's the challenge every year, but unfortunately we've been able to do that for a long time. Well, that's why you have a superior culture of excellence, Carter. And Carter, I wanna ask you one more thing before we wrap up. When you reflect back on your life so far, what's an important lesson you learned? Like I said, to treat everyone with respect, do things the right way. I think that's how you'll find fulfillment. I mean, professionally for me, fulfillment is seeing my clients find success on the field and happiness off the field. And personally, it's spending time with my family and providing them with opportunities that will help them learn and to grow and to experience unique things. Well, I like that. It's all about fulfillment there, Carter. And I wanna thank you for taking time to be on the show today. You've been doing such incredible work. I mean, now I know why you're highly sought after and I really wanna thank you for joining me on the show today. Thank you, my privilege and look forward to continuing to follow your career and look forward to that third book, Rusty. Thanks, Carter. All right, all the best. And thank you for watching Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii. For more information, please visit RustyKamori.com and my books are available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I hope that Carter and I will inspire you to create your own superior culture of excellence and to find your greatness and help others find theirs. Aloha.