Ben Kenyon, Philadelphia 76er's Director of Performance and his Climb to working with the best
Dec 11, 2023Season 5Episode 48
Ben Newman
This week we sit down with Ben Kenyon, Director of Performance for the Philadelphia 76er's to talk about his BURN.
Success does not happen by accident. Ben Kenyon knows that all too well. His "hustle inspiration" started years ago as he put in the work, sometimes even sleeping on the floor, as an unpaid Strength and Conditioning intern at University of Florida. Fast forward to 2023, now he is responsible for helping to improve the performance of elite athletes in the NBA as the Philadelphia 76ers Director of Performance. In his book Climb, Kenyon shares the secrets that allowed him to navigate challenges and successfully climb in his career that spans nearly two decades. His personal stories, action plan to level up his life, plus experiences from the best athletes, coaches and leaders will influence you to keep climbing towards your goals.
Get Ben's new book, CLIMB https://www.greatdaytoclimb.com
Full episode now live on Youtube and All Podcast platforms!
This week we sit down with Ben Kenyon, Director of Performance for the Philadelphia 76er's to talk about his BURN.
Success does not happen by accident. Ben Kenyon knows that all too well. His "hustle inspiration" started years ago as he put in the work, sometimes even sleeping on the floor, as an unpaid Strength and Conditioning intern at University of Florida. Fast forward to 2023, now he is responsible for helping to improve the performance of elite athletes in the NBA as the Philadelphia 76ers Director of Performance. In his book Climb, Kenyon shares the secrets that allowed him to navigate challenges and successfully climb in his career that spans nearly two decades. His personal stories, action plan to level up his life, plus experiences from the best athletes, coaches and leaders will influence you to keep climbing towards your goals.
Get Ben's new book, CLIMB https://www.greatdaytoclimb.com
Full episode now live on Youtube and All Podcast platforms!
A lot of the guys that I work with. They're still young. I know for a fact that this principle, this routine, this value, this will work. I've seen it over the last 11 years. If you stick to a routine and you add healthy things to it, I know for a fact you will make more money than you're making right now.
Speaker 2:
Welcome back to another episode of the Burn. I am Ben Newman and you know how we do this every single week we're going to bring you a story of an athlete, an entertainer, a celebrity, somebody from the business world, a coach, who has recognized that why and purpose is not enough. There's this underlying burn inside of all of us that ignites our why and our purpose and it causes us to show up on the days that we don't want to do it, and especially after you win. Today's special special guest is my dear friend, ben Kenyon. Now, before I welcome him to the show, I got to set this table because I already know many of you already know Ben because he was part of our first ever mental toughness forum and one of the coolest things that he did. For those of you that remembered, if you saw it, I promise you you didn't forget he had his whiteboard out and he took us to school to help us understand how he has helped, on the mental side as well as the physical side work with some of the top athletes to ever walk the face of the earth. So he is a strength coach for the Philadelphia 76ers, meaning he works with the best of the best. So you may also recognize him from being at some of those 76ers games, because they're competing at the highest possible level right now with not only the best player in the game but some of the best young talent in the game.
Speaker 2:
Ben Kenyon is also the author of an unbelievable new book, climb. You need to make sure that you grab this book. You see these little yellow notes. That means I read my friend's book. I love my friend's book. I got some questions about the book that I think are going to help you. But what's amazing about it gives you 14 steps for emerging leaders to grow and achieve, because we are never finished. It's a never finished mindset and if there's one thing I know about Ben, from his basketball career to now being at strength and conditioning in the highest possible level in the world, he takes that never finished own it mentality into everything that he does in his life. So, ben Kenyon, welcome. It's been long overdue. Welcome to the burn.
Speaker 1:
Hey, Ben Ben, thank you for having me. That is one heck of an introduction. I really really appreciate you, man.
Speaker 2:
This is a long time coming, just like you said, Ben well, you know, I think of times where you and I have spent time together in Philly, whether it's watching the NCAA tournament and having a cheat meal together which, yes, we are human, even though we stay in shape through the work that we do, we are humans.
Speaker 2:
We do enjoy nice things in life sometimes. But then we've had some great times, we've had some great conversations, and I know this is an iron sharpens iron relationship, and so I'd love to just dive right in. One of the things that I love is your passion for the relationship that you had with your father, and I know how important your father, the relationship, was for your burn. And before your father passed away, there's something that your father said to you and you know I'm an emotional dude, so I'm going to take you right there. What was it like when you know you had a father who would have loved to have spent another four or five decades with you, say to you on his deathbed son, you don't even realize how blessed you are, yet what was that like for you?
Speaker 1:
Oh man, that was extremely grounding for me. To not really understand that just yet was a lot. And you know I said why the heck did he say that? What's making him say that? What am I doing? That's allowing him to kind of say that?
Speaker 1:
And after doing some of my homework on my pops, he came up really rough. You know, he didn't really know his dad, his grandma, who was 72, raised him. He was adopted at the age of 16. He was kind of a misfit, ends up getting put into the draft, goes to Vietnam War, does the Vietnam thing fast forward and has, you know, has me at one point, and gets to actually see the future that you wanted for his life, right in front of him, right on his deathbed. He now shares with me like, hey, man, like you've got it. You know you've gone to the prep schools, we've gone out of our way to really sacrifice our lives to set you up for the big win.
Speaker 1:
And when I was sleeping on the floor at the university of Florida as the intern, you know I had that. What was me? Energy? I can't see the future just yet, but like I feel like it's going to be bright. But I'm sleeping on the floor right now pops like and you're going through what you're going through, that this does not feel good. So for him to say what he said in that instance you know again, this is probably two weeks before he passed away and he knew he was going to go for him to say that to me meant the world, because at that moment I said, all right, he sees something that I don't see just yet. And I'm going to go out of my way to really double down on this opportunity because you know he sees the blessing that I've got to be able to step into.
Speaker 2:
This is how you know that two friends that are connected because you said exactly what I wanted you to say, without me even having to ask the follow-up question of how did we get there? So your dad says that to you at the time you're an intern. I hope everybody heard this. You're an intern for the University of Florida basketball team, sleeping on a floor and you can share it. They're not paying anybody any money for those roles.
Speaker 2:
So you talk about having this burn of a father who's telling you your best is ahead. But for so many people listening right now, they're questioning because they're in that chapter of their life it's that proverbial sleeping on their floor. How am I supposed to climb to my next levels? I can't even see clarity where I'm at because it seems like the world is against me. What does it feel like and how did you have a burn right that told you everything that your father told you then you having this burn while you're sleeping on the floor, that one day, knowing that that's where you were at the University of Florida, that now you would be the director of performance for the Philadelphia 76ers what did that feel like?
Speaker 1:
Yeah, man, that moment I had to lean on God. Step one was finding my belief system and really pouring into it. God was everything. My mom and my pops raised me in an Episcopalian church and it helped me, set the foundation of where I was in that moment and where I am now. So step one was understanding my belief system and just pouring into it. So what I did every day, I just prayed, you know. I said, hey, if this is where I'm supposed to be, continue to show me the signs, continue to pour me, show me that this is something that I know I can grow from.
Speaker 1:
And then step two I got really clear at an early age that I either wanted to play basketball or be a coach, and so in that instance I said you know what, dude, I'm doing it. Again, I'm not getting pages yet, but I'm doing it right. So if you value this, this is a core value of yours, like, let's go, let's dial in. So I figured out, you know, the thing that I loved about strength and conditioning, and I figured out how to actually educate myself in those things. You know, I picked up some more educational tools.
Speaker 1:
I had a PlayStation and a TV and I would go home after workouts and I would literally watch Gary Gray had a gray Institute DVDs at the time and I would watch like all 20 to 30 of them, you know week after week, and just continue to improve my craft until that next opportunity popped open, you know. So I really leaned it to my values. I made sure that I stayed for it up. I figured out, you know, in that instance like all these tough things are happening for a reason. So why not take advantage of this and build that integrity now, Because I know I can use it later on in life?
Speaker 2:
And one of the things that you've done through your entire career in the progression from Florida to the Portland Trail Blazers to the opportunity now with the 76ers and it's one of my favorite chapters from the book is when you talk about ownership and responsibility and you go through so many amazing things in the 14 steps in the book, from those core values to meditation and routine which we're going to talk about. But this ownership and responsibility I've found that to be such a key for individuals performance on the mental side, the physical side, in the world of business and in sports. Why is an individual taking ownership and responsibility so important for them to drive their highest level of performance?
Speaker 1:
I'm here for leadership, right, I'm here for growth. I would love for people to continue to take things from my journey. The one thing I learned was the faster I took ownership, the faster people around me took ownership as a team player. I said you know what? I messed up on that thing right there. I could have did that better, I could have been more sharp, I could have been more prepared. Now the next person over is like shoot, maybe I could have been more prepared, maybe more sharp, you know, et cetera. I just think it's important to let it start with you as a leader. If it's successful or it's a failure, you know. Either way, you have to go out of your way to make sure that you take ownership because it will be contagious. That is a positive, contagious attribute that you want to be able to adopt as a leader as you continue to grow.
Speaker 1:
It's tough because a lot of people like the past above you know the way that sports is set up. Sometimes, especially professional sports, there's a lot of finger pointing, but what I've seen from a lot of the championship teams is you know they look within, they figure out what they can do to help their team right If they're the best in the basketball team. If you're the best rebounder, how can I get two more rebounds right? If you're the best scorer, how can I get a couple extra points? Why, because my team needs me to score. If you're the best facilitator, how can I get more assists?
Speaker 1:
How can I put myself in a position that allows me to be better than I was yesterday and that's taken ownership of everything that you're doing? You know, especially you know on the business side it's doing the same thing making sure that you maybe get two extra calls in that day if you're on sales, making sure that you're actually checking in, you know, with your teammates and saying, all right, am I on the right track? Am I doing the things that's necessary for us to grow as a company? I mean so it's vital. I don't think a lot of leaders at the lower level really understand that ownership is pretty much what the high performers are doing. They're just taking ownership of their life and they're accepting the failures and the successes and they're moving forward with that.
Speaker 2:
I think, another part of ownership and responsibility.
Speaker 2:
I love everything that you said and that answer is also taking responsibility for yourself being the example as a leader and doing the things that you have to do to be your best, even when you have bumps in the road and you and I were joking before we hit record. I always love cutting up and having conversations with you, but you know the importance of us taking care of ourselves and getting our workouts in and doing the things that we need to do and I'm older than you, but you know we got to check in on ourselves and make sure that we're okay and I've been blessed to not have a lot of health scares in my life. You did have a health scare. What was it like for you going through your health scare and how did that give you a different level of ownership and appreciation and taking care of yourself every single day to then be your best for the opportunity that you have to work with individuals and to lead them, not only in sports but in business as well, with speaking and writing and the other things you're doing.
Speaker 1:
Heck, yeah, my great question Heart defect, my heart and rhythm that I have. When I learned about that, it floored me, you know. It put me in a position to say like, wow, don't take life for granted. Because you know I had two options, you know the first option was finding out the way. I found out and actually I'm burnt out and had to get a quick checkup on my heart Because I had a lot of heart palpitations and they found the heart, any rhythm, which was wild. And then the other way was just pure fatality, right.
Speaker 1:
And so when I thought about the other direction that it could have gone, I said you know what? How do I now make sure, every day, moving forward, I make every day great, right. So, meditation, slowing down, strength training, running, doing things that make sense for me to do right now, eating properly, right. What got me to that point of being overly stressed? I need to now take some things off my plate. I have to kind of readjust and make sure that I can continue to climb. I can continue to stay focused Physically, mentally, spiritually, because this was a scary moment and it still is sometimes. You know, I have to be my heart checked up on annually now and I'm in a great spot, but that's just a big reminder to say hey, man, this thing could go the other way and you could be in a position that doesn't allow you to continue to climb. So cherish every day, be grateful for what you have and just continue to improve yourself mentally and physically.
Speaker 3:
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Speaker 2:
And I think you know it's different for everybody and there's, you know, some people have the means to really go to the extreme to get themselves checked out.
Speaker 2:
Some of them you have to do what you're able to do with what's allotted to you through insurance and those things. But I think I speak on behalf of Ben and hi, you know individuals who on the outside You'd say, wow, you guys look good and healthy. There's a couple of things I'm dealing with very, very minor things, a couple of procedures that will go through, and I was encouraged by my doctor, dr Gabriel Lyon, who's amazing. So many of you know and follow her. You know, let's, let's do a deep dive into your health. And you know, ben, it took you saying, hey, I'm having some palpitations, man, something in right, and then you went and got checked out. But it's not always hey, I look great on the outside. It's making sure that everything on the inside, because we only have one life and so many of you have heard me talk about my burn with my mom and passing away at 38 years old, I'm now 45, so I got one extra day every day that she never got every day past 38 and that's a blessing that I will not waste and that's why, for guys like Ben and I who are working with people Mental, physical, in all areas of their life it's important to us that you make sure that you take care of you. So just a quick, quick, just for anybody thinking about that during the holidays and as you get busy, slow down. You just heard Ben slow down. What would be meditation, running, slow down, but make sure that you get your health checked on then. You've had the opportunity to work with some of the greatest Professional athletes to ever walk the face of the earth. You know the years and the great relationship that you have with Dame Lillard. I think of the amazing relationship that you have with Joelle and bead. You know the opportunity to watch him perform at such a high level. And then I mentioned earlier some of the young players on the 76ers roster. One of the most electric young guys in the league today is Tyrese Maxi.
Speaker 2:
And so you talk about routine in Climb, so many different areas of routine and we're gonna make sure that everybody has easy access to get the book, will give you the links. We're gonna make it as easy as possible for you to buy the book, because you need to buy the book and it's the holiday season, so maybe pick up some copies for your friends and family that need to take care of themselves, come on. But but what I would say is, when you talk about routine, you know sometimes people oh well that how important is routine when you're working with these guys, because you and I also joke before you hit record Like it drives us crazy. And our mutual friend, my dear, dear friend, drew handling, always talks about man, those online Like trainers who are like throwing balls off the wall and creating the most ridiculous, ridiculous things that you've ever seen to make a video. That's not gonna help anybody get better at anything. Isn't it the basics? Isn't it the root, like the basic routines that make these guys great.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, you know what? There's this philosophy that was dropped to me early on in my career and I stick to it now. It's called KISS Keep it simple, superstar, and it's worked year after year after year with solid athletes to elite athletes. When I keep it simple, it allows me and that athlete to build a rapport that if we want to venture off in a certain direction, if we want to get a little more functional, a little more basketball specific, we can do that because we have a solid foundation and they feel that they see it, they understand it, they know the process, versus stepping into something that may be a little too complex. Again, we're still humans that like things that come to us very simply. And the one thing I've seen with the Joels, with Tyrese Dames, everybody really their bodies absorb the most basic exercises. When we have to go more of a global, we have, to excuse me, more of a local focus of like, hey, this is hurting me right now, sweet, I'll sit down with the physical therapist and then we'll create a variation that allows us to now step outside the typical box. So the variations typically come from the foundational pieces, so understanding that it goes back to routine. So, outside of strength and conditioning.
Speaker 1:
What are you doing to prepare yourself to actually go to the gym? What does your morning practice look like? Maybe they're so young they haven't started meditation just yet, but I feel like some of the high schools are actually doing a good job of presenting that a lot earlier on. So people are stepping into their meditation, their prayer period, early in the morning, and then they're obviously doing their breakfast and doing the thing that they need to do prior to coming into practice. And then, when they get to the facility, what are they doing then? Are they checking in with the athletic trainer? Are they checking in with the chef to get breakfast if they didn't have it at home? Sweet. What's next? Foam roll, sweet, let's foam roll. Let's get the body warmed up. Oh, you know what? It's time to go to the weight room.
Speaker 1:
Next, one after the other after the other, stacking those days, setting the new standards. Every level that you go, you have to be able to set that new standard. It's impossible it's impossible to thrive on the next level of your life and your career if you don't set that new standard. And it comes from the old routines that you've actually established and the principles that you've built up. So, again, routines are so vital because there may be two or three things that you can use for that next chapter. And again, I love starting off with meditation, prayer, journaling in the morning, because that's something that you can do before the day gets going and then from there you stack the days or you stack the things in a row that you know you need to do to prepare for that high, intense moment.
Speaker 1:
So for us, it's practice. How do you make sure that you show up 100% of practice? Do these things? Boom, practice happens. Now. What's the routine to unwind so that you can recover and actually execute the following day? So again, those are some of the things I've seen and I've been able to actually push on and preach to our guys over the years, just because I know it works. It's very simple, but we don't really want to break the stride of simple until something may pop up Again. We bring in other people Again. Psychologists may come in and say, hey, they need to see this more, they need to hear this more sweet. We'll add that in. That'll be something that's very simple but it's very specific to that person. We'll add it to the plan and then we go from there versus saying let's try all these different things Like that typically doesn't work. Just because somebody wrote about it in a magazine, it doesn't mean it's always for you and I'm not going to take a shot at it.
Speaker 2:
It's so true.
Speaker 1:
It's wild, but again we got to remember that a lot of the guys that I work with they're still young. They have that energy of instant gratification. Just seemed like it worked well for this person. We should do that over here because I want to be able to get X out of it. I always push the long game If you want to have continuous success.
Speaker 1:
I know for a fact that this principle, this routine, this value, this will work. This tool, this will work. It's guaranteed to work. I've seen it over the last 11 years. If you're an NBA player, I'm promising you, if you stick to routine and you add healthy things to it, I know for a fact you will make more money than you're making right now. I'm going to guarantee that. But if you don't want to stay on that path, if you want to continue to get distracted by all these small, small quick wins, cool, do that. But we want to play the long game. We want to play 15 years in the NBA. We want to have a healthy body. We want to have a healthy family. We want to continue to stack with the teams. The habits that I know for a fact will allow us to have long-term success.
Speaker 2:
That's one of the things that I love about all of your philosophies and the research that you've done from the players that you've worked with to your own experience in the book Is it really does give you those practical action steps that you can take to be a better leader, to live a more successful life on your climb, in your journey, and everybody can learn more about the book and about Bennett great day to climb dot com. However, we're not done with the interview. I do have another question. I just want to make sure everybody had that had the website. Final question I have for you All of this success, you know so many individuals.
Speaker 2:
They reach the director of performance for the Philadelphia seventy, six years. I mean it, your, your, that is, as a lead as it gets in your career. Why write a book? Why do the extra? Why not just enjoy the glitz and the glamour of the life and not mess with any of this other stuff? That's one of the things I love about you is that you're still climbing to, regardless of what many people would say. Man, you've reached the peak. So why did you write the book? What's the real purpose for you behind the book and what's the fire that carries you on a daily basis.
Speaker 1:
Now, yeah, man. So. So first, I got to the vision of my heart and anytime he puts a vision of my heart I have to start the process and then, second, young people. You know, my nieces and nephews are, you know, at that age where I want to make sure that my career doesn't just impact the 15 people in front of me, but it impacts my family and other young people out there that are looking for guidance. The one thing I really appreciate is when I find other successful men and women and they say, hey, here's a couple tools, here's the couple resources is a couple things that I know can help you get to that next level. This is, this is my goal, this is my part of my journey right, and making sure that I put myself in a position now to support the other young people out there that are actually looking to either get to my position or whatever position they want in life. Right, like you said, this is something that can help people personally and professionally.
Speaker 1:
I'm not just in sports, out of sports as well in business, and I think it's valuable For me to actually share some of the tools and resources that I was able to acquire the time, because it's no joke out there, man, when you, when you graduate high school, when you graduate college, when you, you step outside that house, it's you. You've got to figure it out and you know I've been able to share some of those stories of me trying to figure it out, going through the toughest times and going back to my pops fast way, and that was a tough, that was a pivotal moment. You know, in my head I was pretty sure that I was just going back to yours, you know. But I had a mom, you know, I had these values, I had this community around me that pretty much said now, man, we got you. And I think it's vital to hear that and see that. So, again, this book was put on my heart and I knew I had to get it out at one point and this is where I'm right now in my journey.
Speaker 1:
There's definitely way more to do, but I try to make sure to always look back the hand out, put out the olive branch out, you know, and reach out to the next person, say, hey, man, if you're hungry, this is for you, because if you're not hungry, you know this might intimidate you a little bit and I'm not here to try to say like you can't do it, but you really kind of have to be in motion Right, you have to really build your momentum because it definitely takes some tenacity, some focus. I mean, we've been love texting me every morning and I really appreciate it because it helps me on my journey. But you have to be willing to attack. So if you're not in attack mode, get in attack mode and then pick this book up because I promise you had to help you. Really, you know, dominate and knock out some of those options.
Speaker 2:
Man, that's like the drop the mic. All you got to say is attack mode for me and get people to do it. Because you know a lot of people don't realize and I know in the seventy sixers building they say trust the process. But I know what you're taking into that building is the attack, the process mindset that we've talked about and it's such a differentiator to attack it and then you do that in all areas of your life.
Speaker 2:
I know the book has gotten off to a fast start. There are so many athletes that have created fun events for the fans and book signings and it's been so fun to watch. I think it speaks to the relationships and the person you are to have three time NBA champion Danny Green writing the forward for the book. I know you all are going to enjoy it as much as you did this interview and for those of you that were part of that mental toughness toughness forum, how amazing Ben is as a coach. It is just incredible watching you continue to attack and I know your father said it to you years ago but I'm going to say it again, even though you know it, you are so blessed and you don't even know it, ben, I know that the best is still yet to come for you. As you scratch the surface, as you step into Authorship and coaching and not accepting that man, I'm at the peak, knowing that you can still give so much more. I admire the fight that you bring to life and I appreciate you.
Speaker 1:
I appreciate you too, ben. I appreciate everything about you, man. Thank you for those text messages, by the way, those things are huge.
Speaker 2:
I will keep them coming you know that is a promise and to each and every single one of you, this has been the burn. Make sure we're in the holiday season, that you share this episode with somebody that needs to hear it, somebody that needs to pick up the book climb once again. We're going to make it easy for you. We're going to put it in the link. We'll get you the website for you to be able to learn more about, then to stay connected with Ben and for each and every single one of you, stay connected to that burn every single day. The thing about the climb of your life. Remember it's great day to climb dot com. That doesn't mean occasional days. We climb every day is a blessing and a gift and opportunity to climb. So stay connected to that burn, keep stacking those days. Allow it to ignite that why and that purpose on the days you don't want to do it, but especially after you win. This has been the burn and I look forward to seeing you next week.