Alexander Mattison: NFL Running Back for the Minnesota Vikings Discusses His Football Career and Fashion

Joe Katz:
Hi guys, I'm Joe Katz, and welcome to the Katzwalk. I'm so excited. I have got a sports figure on today. I've got Alex Mattison. He is the 2020 running back for the Minnesota Vikings and he has got some great stories growing up in California and working his way up to the NFL. So many really interesting details that happened to him in his life that he's going to share in this interview. He also started a clothing line called I Am Gifted, which has so much deep meaning to him. So many great stories he's going to share. We also play a game called Do You Know? It's a competition where he asks me, do I know what a touchdown is? And I asked him what some of the latest fashion trends are. You're going to see who wins the game. So stay tuned. Alex Mattison, thank you so much for joining. How are you?

Alexander Mattison:
Of course. Thank you for having me on. I'm doing great. How are you doing?

Joe Katz:
I'm doing good. Did you just come in from practice or where?

Alexander Mattison:
Yeah.

Joe Katz:
Wow.

Alexander Mattison:
Yeah, we just finished up about 30, 35 minutes ago. So not too long.

Joe Katz:
Yeah. I did too. I just came in from practice too. Having a cup of coffee. It was so hard. You have no idea. I'm exhausted.

Alexander Mattison:
Very strenuous activity.

Joe Katz:
It was, you have no idea. But whatever. And didn't you just have surgery?

Alexander Mattison:
Yeah. Was that not this past Saturday, but the Saturday before. So about almost two weeks ago now, coming up on two weeks.

Joe Katz:
And you're okay?

Alexander Mattison:
Yeah. Yeah. I'm feeling great. Everything was smooth, so I'm doing great.

Joe Katz:
Good. I had the same thing and I went to the doctor and I was like, "God, my stomach hurts." And he's like, "Let me see." And so then he pressed, he's like, "Let's just get a scan just to make sure." And then I went for the scan and they're like, "You can't leave." And I'm like, "I want to leave." And they're like, "You can't leave." And I'm like, why? They're like, "Because you have to have surgery today."

Alexander Mattison:
That's exactly how it was.

Joe Katz:
Was it?

Alexander Mattison:
Yeah. That's exactly. It was one of those, but mine was really, really bad pain. And I was sitting in meetings and it wouldn't stop. And so I went to the trainers and then my body, just everything, I tried to drink some water. I tried to take a little bit of Pepto-Bismol, a little bit of Pedialyte. Every time I drank a little bit of something, it made me throw up. And so we ended up getting a scan and I was same situation. They just wheeled me on up and got me ready for surgery.

Joe Katz:
Oh my God. Oh, so you just thought maybe you had a upset stomach or sick or...

Alexander Mattison:
At first, in the morning, I thought that might've been what it was, but as the day kept going, I mean, I only lasted maybe until 9:00, 10:00 in the morning, as far as how my morning went, but the pain just kept getting worse within those two hours. And it's like just something just turn inside my stomach. And so we finally got the scan, and glad we did, and glad we caught it and everything went smooth.

Joe Katz:
Yeah, because if you don't, I mean, that's why they're always, if they know it's there, they emergency do it, because they don't want it to burst, or yeah. Well, thank goodness. Otherwise this interview would never have happened, Alex. Anyway, I'm so glad to have you on the show. I've done some different research. We have so much to talk about, and I wanted to just start, just for the audience to really understand, where did Alex grow up and where is he from? And I know wasn't it San Bernardino you grew up in, right?

Alexander Mattison:
Yeah.

Joe Katz:
And I'm in LA. So we were neighbors.

Alexander Mattison:
Yeah. Right down the street, basically.

Joe Katz:
Yeah. We're down the street just a little ways. I've learned a little bit about you, but I'd love to just hear how you grew up and what you went through and how you got to where you are right now, and just give some of our listeners a little bit of a background.

Alexander Mattison:
Yeah. So I grew up in San Bernardino. I was born and raised San Bernardino, California. I have two older brothers that are fraternal twins. They're a year and eight months older than me. So we're pretty close in age. And so just growing up with the household and my older brothers and my mom and dad, and really a lot of our family is back in Ohio and then a little bit of family in Texas. So my only immediate family that we had was my dad's sister and their immediate household. So my cousins and my uncle and aunt. And so we grew up in a tight knit family, just everything was family first, and raised in a home of good faith.

Alexander Mattison:
So growing up in San Bernardino, I'm in a city where I'm surrounded by drugs and gang violence, and you lose friends, you lose people left and right as I grew up. So it was just one of those things where we stayed strong and faith and strong together. And I'm here today because of the family and the support system that I have. And it's really a strong community as far as people really being passionate about making it a better environment. So I can give credit to so many different people, so many different mentors as I grew up, helping me stay on the right track and making sure that I had my head on straight.

Joe Katz:
Who mentored you, when you say mentors? Is it teachers or was it your...

Alexander Mattison:
Football coaches and a few teachers that I can name as well that I remember that were really just awesome to have, whether it was for a year or even just after having a teacher, just being able to see them on campus and talk to them as I got older or something, that I always cherished too. But yeah, there's so many different people in my life that have been on the school board or some teachers and some coaches that I've had that have helped me grow, along with my, family into the person I am today.

Joe Katz:
Growing up in San Bernardino, where there is violence and gangs and stuff, I'm sure, did you have friends that were part of it and stuff like that?

Alexander Mattison:
I've had a handful of friends go down the wrong path, yeah.

Joe Katz:
And how do you stay out of it? How do you not get involved? Because I would think it would be tempting in a way, if your friends were doing it or stuff like that.

Alexander Mattison:
The way my parents raised me, I was more in the mindset of being a leader than a follower, in the aspect of trying to get them to do what's right. I had so strong morals and values as far as being strong in faith, and my parents didn't allow C's in the house. So homework had to be done before I could even practice, all of that stuff that I was raised on. And just seeing friends going down the wrong path that my parents tried to make sure I wouldn't go down so much, that I was trying to help them trying to reach out and pull them along with me.

Alexander Mattison:
And you can only do that for so long. You can only do that so much to a certain extent where either they take your hand, your helping hand that you're lending, or they see it for a little bit. I've had plenty of friends that have had the little glimpse of hope and, "Okay, you go down the right path," and then there's their other group of friends on the other side that pull them back the other way. And so, yeah, I've had many stories of many friends that have either gone the wrong route or played that tug of war with their life as far as doing what's right and getting caught up in the other way of life.

Joe Katz:
Did it feel, growing up, did you feel ever at danger or things like that?

Alexander Mattison:
Yeah. Yeah, I've had plenty of times where I was seeing some things that kids shouldn't see. Yeah. Growing up in a city like that, from the things like prostitution and all that, that you see on the corners and that you just drive by and you see it actually happen, other things that are just gruesome and that people shouldn't have to witness. And it's one of those things where, I recently kind of came to terms with the fact that in the back of my head, I always knew what I wanted to do, but I always knew that I could be one of these people that's dead or in jail. And so that's kind of just the mindset that I'm at is just super grateful and super blessed to just have made it out and be able to be that strong hold in my family and trying to help us all get out of there now.

Joe Katz:
Yeah. Is your family still there?

Alexander Mattison:
I have some family on the outskirts of San Bernardino. My mom's out here with me and one of my other brothers is out here with me.

Joe Katz:
Oh, they're all in Minnesota.

Alexander Mattison:
Yeah. And then my dad's in Texas. So we've all kind of branch out a little bit.

Joe Katz:
If a kid maybe is listening right now, what would you say to him that he's being pulled kind of in that direction of maybe the not so good route, but he wants to try to do good, but he wants to be popular and he wants to be in, what advice would you give him?

Alexander Mattison:
I would definitely say be a leader, not a follower. Whatever it is that you want to do with your life, even if you don't know what that is, whatever idea comes across your head that you want to do with your life, put some focus and energy into that. Put some focus and energy into your future, because at the end of the day, whatever you do now is going to determine your future. And whether that's going down the wrong path or the right path, you have to understand that sacrificing some of those personal wants or some of those temptations, sacrificing those right now is going to put you in a better position later in life where you can say that, "I did it." You can say that, "I made it out." And that's something that I really pride myself in is being able to just say that. I can say it, and it's been hard along the way, just losing people that should be here with me today, and don't make any decisions that you're going to regret.

Joe Katz:
So if they were like, "God, I would love to play in the NFL, but I don't even know if I could ever. I mean, that's a pipe dream." What would you say? Just stay focused?

Alexander Mattison:
Yeah. Yeah. So for example, let me get a personal story. I started playing when I was six years old. And before that, I played soccer. Before that, I played T-ball, and I was just playing sports, my parents had me in sports, and then I wanted to play football. And I started playing contact football at six years old. And at six years old, I knew I fell in love with the sport, but at nine years old, I started to get the game a little more. You're coming back next year, you're coming back next year. There's no stopping to it.

Alexander Mattison:
And with that, I say, I come from an area where you're not going to make it. That's the sentence that you hear most often, is, "You're not going to make it. Most of you aren't going to make it. Most of you are going to end up in jail. So this small percentage of you will end up dead. This small percentage of you will go to college." All I've heard all my life in sports and in areas that was that you won't, you can't, and there's no way. And just use that as fuel. So if you've ever heard that, if you're out there and you ever hear someone that puts you down, talks down on your dreams, keep dreaming and keep believing, because at the end of the day, you're the only person that could stop you from achieving what you want to achieve.

Joe Katz:
Wow. So that's how you were raised, with people saying, "It's not going to happen. That's ridiculous. No way. You're going to end up in jail." All that stuff.

Alexander Mattison:
Yeah. And it's just even speakers will come in a big group of kids, so going to a football camp or just sitting in the auditorium at school and just them saying, "We're going to be real with you guys. 5% of you might go to college. 3% of you might graduate from college. 1% of you are going to do this." And then they give the other percentage of, "90% of you are going to end up in jail." And so you hear that growing up, and I've witnessed friends, and faces that you know, names that you know, but not really close, and you see them accept that. And to me, that's just ridiculous that you have to grow up hearing these things and being in an environment where these things are so normal that you just accept it and you just live the way of life of San Bernardino. And so that's why I'm really passionate about trying to go back and make a big difference and make a change, and that's something I'm super, super passionate about.

Joe Katz:
Because it's hard. You think about just so many different things. And anybody, whether you're in sports, entertainment, whatever, people say, "Oh, you can't do that. Oh, that's ridiculous." And so, were they right though, the people in your school? Did 90% end up in jail? Or not really?

Alexander Mattison:
I think they pull up some type of statistics. So it's kind of a reality check when you look at the percentages. But when I'm in a room full of kids my age and kids within two, three years of me, and we're all in this big room, or all in this big space, and there's hundreds of kids, imagine if every single one of those kids went to college. Imagine if every single one of those kids graduated from college. That percentage that you just brought up, that whole fact sheet that you bought up, that changes drastically. And so you presenting that information and you pointing and saying, "I'm going to be real with you. I'm going to tell you your future," that already is 50% of the kids that were in this room with, gave in just from hearing that.

Joe Katz:
Right. But if they came in and said the opposite, that 90% of you can go to college and 90% of you can make it, maybe that would put a different mindset on them.

Alexander Mattison:
Yeah, exactly. And that's kind of, I think what fueled the way that I think now is because you can bring the facts and say, "This is what has happened, but that doesn't mean it has to be. You can change these numbers. You can be the difference." That's what kids need to hear. And growing up, I didn't hear enough of that. But I was able to kind of use it as fuel. We're all blessed. That's one thing too. I think we're all blessed with gifts and you just have to find it, embrace it.

Alexander Mattison:
And for me, I was able to take that as fuel to prove people wrong and to prove my supporters right, and make sure that I wasn't going to be another statistic. And so I think I want to just share that message so much. And so being blessed to be in the position I am, and with the platform that I have, is something that I continue to try and do is just let people know that it's not about saying, "This is what you will be, because this is how it is," but that you can be the difference and you can be the one to change the statistics and not be another one.

Joe Katz:
I wonder what it is, because you have a strength in you that gave you that voice to kind of play that. But for that person that doesn't have that, how do you build that in yourself, I wonder?

Alexander Mattison:
Yeah. Yeah. And I think that's one of the harder things to do because there's always the voice in the back of your head, and everyone's voice is different. There's the negative voices, there's the uneasy voices, there's the super positive voices, but you never know what voice is in the back of someone's head. And so for me, I just say I'm blessed that I had the right voice in the back of my head that kind of helped guide me. But I think that there needs to be more out there for people to see and to hear and to get something to pull from, because like I said, some people are playing tug of war with their life, pulling in many different directions.

Alexander Mattison:
And so that's kind of just to tie back into my brand, I Am Gifted, that's kind of what I want it to end up being. That's kind of the visual that I have for it, is hopefully it can grow to be something that's that positive energy, that other rope to pull up someone that's just hanging on by the edge maybe, or someone that might not have their eyes opened to something, that maybe we can shed that light for them, and it is a hard thing to kind of think about. You never know.

Joe Katz:
And to bring up your line, I looked at it. Really, I love your t-shirts. I love the sweatshirt. I love all that you're doing. So give people a little bit of a background about I Am Gifted. I read a little bit about it, so I kind of know, but I'd love you to describe a little bit more about that.

Alexander Mattison:
Yeah. So I started I Am Gifted simply because I'm one of those people that's positive that if something bad happens, it's not the worst thing that can happen, and I can take that and learn from it, and I can take that and use a problem solver mentality towards that. And so what I wanted to do is obviously I'm in a position where I want to have my own brand going, just my logo and things that, but I wanted it to be more just me, more than just my face on a shirt, or just to have that. I want it to be more of a movement. So I used my initials, and I was able to come up with the phrase, I Am Gifted, in the sense that everyone was born with a gift. And I want to encourage people to use it, to find it, embrace it, and use it to shed some light into this world.

Alexander Mattison:
And at the end of the day, life is what you make of it. So what I want to do is pose a question, what are you going to do with it? And that, I think, will be one of those mindsets where, what do I want to do with my life? And to hear someone tell me that I'm gifted, okay, let me see. Let me find. Let me try this out. Let me try computers out. Let me try drawing. Let me try sports, because you'll find your gift. And when you do, you'll be so much happier. And I know some people that may not think that they have one, but it could be the smallest of things. That's kind of my message behind it.

Alexander Mattison:
And it really did stem from, in college, my sophomore year, we played Washington State, and the quarterback was Tyler Hilinski. And sadly, not too long after we played them that year, a few months later, I believe, he ended up taking his life. And that's why I'm really passionate about mental health and suicide prevention and really combating that stigma that we're big, macho men, and we don't have emotions, or we're not capable of feeling negative feelings or thoughts. And oftentimes, even just a man, not even football player, just a man has to live in this box of, "I can't show my emotions, or I don't have emotions." And so how do people deal with that? And I think he found himself in a situation where he didn't know how to deal with that, and that just hit me heavy. So a part of my brand is just wanting to make sure that I can extend that message, that there's a light inside of you. And you just have to find the switch and flick it on and let it shine bright in the world.

Joe Katz:
Wow. And so did you know him or you just played him in a game?

Alexander Mattison:
Yeah, I didn't know him personally. I knew of him. He's from California as well. And that game, we went into triple overtime, and I kind of use this to explain it. When you play a game like that, you leave some emotion, you open up this door of emotions for there to be a connection no matter what. You leave a lot out there on that field. And so I think that's kind of why it hit me so hard even though I didn't know him personally. It's just, we put a lot into that game and poured our hearts out on that field, so yeah, I just kind of felt that emotional connection, and especially just being a football player myself that has been through a rough time, even going into that season, it was just back to back to back things that were just not going right in my life. And so I think that all came full circle and just hit me real hard.

Joe Katz:
When you say wasn't going right in your life, what were some of the things?

Alexander Mattison:
So coming off of my freshman year, I ended up having to get my labrum repaired in my shoulder. So I was coming off of surgery and I was going into my sophomore year where I was supposed to be the starting back. And so coming off of surgery that summer, I started feeling better. I started getting my range of motion back and I was on the right track. And that summer, I had lost a close friend of mine. Doing the right thing, getting back on track, and I had just been on the phone with him and his mom, I think it might've been a week before he was killed. And that was super hard for me. Yeah.

Alexander Mattison:
And then right after that, I ended up hurting my foot in fall camp going into the season. Right around the same time, my car breaks down and I need a new transmission. Right around the same time, my parents are behind and I'm sending some of my stipend checks back to help them pay bills. And it's just nonstop, over and over again, stuff happening. And at that point, it was one of those things. I kept trying to do everything I could to make everything right, and I was just breaking down, and it was just one of those things. Nothing I did worked. And I'm asking why? "Why me, why is this happening?" And there's a little things in between too on top of all that, that's just like, "Come on." And at that moment, I just let go and let God, and I just prayed on it, and I just put it in his hands.

Alexander Mattison:
Not that I just stopped trying, but I just emotionally just let that weight off of me and things just started to get better, and so it was one of those things that really hit me hard just because I was going through a rough time and it was just one of those things where I was at a point where I'm asking, "Why me? What do I do?" And just to see someone give up and think that's their only route, it's hard for me because at that moment, when I was like, "Why me? What do I do next?" There's so many different options, but the fact that someone across the table from each chose that option, I want to make sure that I can now use my platform to help all that I can, to share my voice and share my passion about it, and hopefully, change someone's life.

Alexander Mattison:
It's hard because I was in a moment where there was options in front of me, and I chose let go, let God, and don't let this eat you alive. And there's some people out there that cope with things differently. There's different options on the table when you hit that wall. And you see it all the time, the alcohol, drugs, suicide, and all of these things. And so that's why I want to make sure that I let people know, there's someone that loves you. And if no one has told you that today, I love you, and there's someone that loves you in this world, and your life matters. So understand that that gift is inside you, and keep digging to find it.

Joe Katz:
That's so important to be able to give people that hope, because I think a lot of people run into that where they kind of lose a little bit of that hope, and a little bit of that, what they're going to do next, or how they're going to get to the next thing. One of the things you said too, is being a man, especially as a football player, you're tough, you're fine. That's the way men are made. Do you kind of break that barrier of not being just the stoic, non-emotional football player?

Alexander Mattison:
Well, I find myself not really showing a lot of emotions and I realized over time though, it's okay. It's okay to feel emotions and feel strong feelings towards things. That's fine. There's nothing wrong with that. But I mean, even now today, I still, if I'm in pain, if I'm going through a rough time, I know it's still doesn't show as just kind of how I am and who I am. But I do understand that there's a point where if there's hope, if you need help, there's nothing wrong with asking for it. And I'm at the point now where I understand that if I'm going through a rough time and someone asks me a question and they want to actually know how I'm doing, there's nothing wrong with talking to them and let them know how you're doing, because sometimes you'll always get the, "How are you doing?" You're like, "Good." But really, sometimes you're not.

Alexander Mattison:
And it's fine. Some people like to hear you out, like, "Are you sure?" Amir, just to give credit to Amir, he's one of those human beings that's just super in tune with himself and in tune with his emotions, and sometimes he'll catch me just, there's been a couple of times where he's like, "You good today?" And I'm like, "Yeah." And he's like, "Oh, just checking on you. The spirits felt your energy coming off a little different today, so I want to make sure you're doing all right." So things like that, you can appreciate. Yeah. That's just one of the things that I'm becoming more aware of. And I think being around him and being around guys like that, it helps me understand, someone cares about me and it's nothing wrong with sharing and getting it off your chest.

Joe Katz:
Right. You just told me about how you got your shoulder, and then your foot. I mean, how hard is football on your body?

Alexander Mattison:
It's definitely not for everybody.

Joe Katz:
Is there a lot of pain? I mean, you go through a lot, right?

Alexander Mattison:
Yeah. I mean, some people will play and they won't ever have a surgery, they probably barely ache or anything like that. But then there's the other people that maybe have seven surgeries or concussions, and all that goes down. So you really can't ever predict what's going to happen in the sport that we play. I've had three surgeries, and I feel good now, but it is hard on your body running around and running into people full speed.

Joe Katz:
Full speed, you're jamming into people.

Alexander Mattison:
I heard from a health professional, one time, that came to speak to us, that it's basically simulating mini car accidents every time that you line up. Comparing the hits that we take, they did a study where they put tracers on guys, and he said it's like mini car accidents.

Joe Katz:
If a car hit another car, that's probably how it feels.

Alexander Mattison:
Yeah. So at the end of a game, you've basically put yourself through a car accident every Sunday that you go out there and play.

Joe Katz:
Probably multiple car accidents, right? Oh my God. I mean the impact, right? That you go through. Oh my God. But you're fine.

Alexander Mattison:
After you take so many hits, your body starts to adjust, and doing it all my life, I think that it definitely has helped callous over some areas that are able to take more damage now, I guess. And you learn how to recover. You learn how to take care of your body too.

Joe Katz:
Yeah. Yeah. You have to. I saw this really great interview with Viola Davis, and she was talking about how she grew up so poor. And it was this mindset. I mean, she grew up with rats in her house. It was just horrible, so poor. How do you change your mind?

Alexander Mattison:
Man, I think it has something to do with having my eyes open to a lot of different things now, because I really didn't know. I've never had over a couple thousand dollars ever in my bank account. In college, I was like, "Oh, snap, I could save some money up and then I can help out my parents now," and things like that. But I think it's one of those things where, for me, I didn't really want to change my mindset, because to me, I valued the small things, time with my family, all those different things. So now that I'm in a position where I'm able to have a house that we can actually have our own rooms, and I can afford to have organic stuff and things like that in the house, and it's a blessing.

Alexander Mattison:
But at the same time, I'm still one of those people that will try and find a deal on things, and live kind of the way that my parents kind of raised us, that we can't really have everything that we want. I couldn't have these toys that I wanted. I couldn't have the bike that I wanted walking through the store. So I'm kind of frugal in that way.

Joe Katz:
That's good. Yeah.

Alexander Mattison:
It's not a bad thing, I don't think.

Joe Katz:
No, I think you do it smart and I think that's really important. Getting into fashion, what would you describe your style as?

Alexander Mattison:
That's a good question. I'll have to post one day, just post all my pre-game. I call it my pre-game drip. I have to post that one day. But when I look at it, I look at it in a way of, I try and make a statement sometimes. I'm in my own little zone of things I do. I have a pink suit that I wore. I have a green suit that I wore with the money signs on the inside, and some things like that. So I kind of try and make a statement a little bit.

Joe Katz:
Do you have them custom made or do you like certain brands?

Alexander Mattison:
Yeah, those were custom made ones.

Joe Katz:
Because it's probably hard to fit always certain off the rack stuff, so yeah.

Alexander Mattison:
The reason I didn't have any suits coming into the league was because all my slacks and stuff, they didn't fit past six months. I would get maybe a little bit more, just a little bit of muscle mass difference between the end of the season and the summer or something. And then my slacks, they don't fit right. So now all of my suits are custom fit.

Joe Katz:
So you have somebody that does custom for you to do different things.

Alexander Mattison:
Yeah, do the measurements and all that.

Joe Katz:
Yeah, yeah. And then you like bold colors, you like statement stuff.

Alexander Mattison:
Yeah. I'm trying to get out of my comfort zone and do that a little bit more, just because. Why not? I think I've been sheltered most of my life, so it was kind of, spread your wings a little bit.

Joe Katz:
Yeah. One of my last questions before, if you're willing to play a game with me, it'll be a very fast game. But one thing that I wanted to ask you is what's one thing that you haven't told anybody that would help somebody else. You know if you said it, it would probably help somebody.

Alexander Mattison:
One thing I've probably... I'm giving away a little bit of a secret here. Not too much of a secret, but something I used to write on my mirror in college. I used to write little phrases or things like that. And so I have a whiteboard in my room, and something I have on there is, "Time waits for no one, and neither does greatness. So keep chasing greatness." And so if there's anyone out there listening that's chasing greatness, don't stop, because time doesn't wait for anybody, and neither does greatness.

Joe Katz:
I like that. You're full of wisdom, Alex. I love it.

Alexander Mattison:
I appreciate it, I appreciate it.

Joe Katz:
Yeah. Okay. So I'm going to end with, are you willing to, I told them I was going to play a little game with you where you can ask me five questions about football, which I don't know anything about. And I'm going to ask you five questions about fashion, and I want to see, are you willing to play?

Alexander Mattison:
Yeah, we can do that.

Joe Katz:
Okay. Let's do it real quick. Should I start or do you want to start?

Alexander Mattison:
I'll start.

Joe Katz:
Okay, start.

Alexander Mattison:
Let's see.

Joe Katz:
It's not going to be good. I'm just warning you.

Alexander Mattison:
Who's the starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings?

Joe Katz:
Oh, come on. Starting quarterback. I don't know. You can ask me terms too about the game. I'll try to tell you what that is too.

Alexander Mattison:
I just thought you might've saw Kirk Cousins.

Joe Katz:
Oh, Kirk Cousins, no. I'm so bad. Okay. Okay. Next. We got to keep moving. You can ask me anything. Any specifics about a game.

Alexander Mattison:
Okay. Let's see. What is this? What does this mean?

Joe Katz:
That means stop.

Alexander Mattison:
No, no.

Joe Katz:
No, that means one? Okay. So people that are listening and can't see the video, you have to look at the video, but he put his hands up like this.

Alexander Mattison:
My hands are up over my head.

Joe Katz:
What is that? Stop? No, that's one.

Alexander Mattison:
No, it's either a touchdown or the field goal is good.

Joe Katz:
Oh, the field goal. What's the difference? How do you know the difference?

Alexander Mattison:
Do you know what a field goal is?

Joe Katz:
No. I'm going to [inaudible 00:34:40]. See, I'm a huge football fan. Can you tell? I know everything.

Alexander Mattison:
It's when they kick it through the uprights. When they kick it through the...

Joe Katz:
Oh boy. Oh, that's another conversation. The uprights. I don't know anything about that. Okay. Give me another one.

Alexander Mattison:
All right. Let's see. What colors do the referees wear?

Joe Katz:
Black and white.

Alexander Mattison:
Okay. Okay.

Joe Katz:
That's good. Right?

Alexander Mattison:
Yeah, I mean-

Joe Katz:
Yeah, because they do it at Footlocker. I go to Footlocker, so I know. Okay. And the last one, last one. All right?

Alexander Mattison:
Okay. What colors are the... Let me pick a team that's not too easy for you. What color are the Arizona Cardinals?

Joe Katz:
Red and white.

Alexander Mattison:
That was too easy. Yeah.

Joe Katz:
Was it? Yay. See? I got claps. Yeah. I have sound effects. Okay. All right. Okay. So you did great questions. Can I ask you some fashion questions?

Alexander Mattison:
Yeah.

Joe Katz:
You're probably going to get these. If you don't, it's no big deal. Okay. Do you know what a peplum is? Have you heard of a peplum?

Alexander Mattison:
No.

Joe Katz:
So a peplum is this thing in a woman's jacket, it kind of flutes out over the waist. So it's a band and then a little, almost a little ruffle or something that comes off the waist. That's hard. That's hard. I mean, how would you know peplum?

Alexander Mattison:
That's in the old school dresses?

Joe Katz:
Yeah. Kind of, in a way, or a jacket. It's ruffled or flared a little bit.

Alexander Mattison:
Yeah. I've probably seen it before, but I would have never known the term.

Joe Katz:
I'm going to give you an easy one because you gave me the referee and I go to Footlocker. So how about, what is a pleat?

Alexander Mattison:
Oh, man, is that right here or something?

Joe Katz:
No, I got pleats on my pants.

Alexander Mattison:
Is it something on the side or is it something with...

Joe Katz:
They don't do it as much anymore, but they're little creases in the front. They're your pleats, like old school. They don't do that as much in the front of your pants.

Alexander Mattison:
Yeah. I know what you're talking about.

Joe Katz:
You know what I'm talking about? Yeah.

Alexander Mattison:
Yeah. They told me the same thing. They don't do them anymore.

Joe Katz:
They don't do them anymore. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. I'll give you another easy one. What's a hem? I'm going to hem something.

Alexander Mattison:
See, I know the hem on a jacket? Or is a hem your pants?

Joe Katz:
Both.

Alexander Mattison:
Is it the side?

Joe Katz:
No, you're going to take it up from the bottom of, so if your pants are too long, you're going to hem it. You're going to bring it up.

Alexander Mattison:
I said the side. Yeah.

Joe Katz:
I'm going to give you a clap. Okay. This might be hard though. Alex, this might be hard. Have you heard of ruching?

Alexander Mattison:
I feel like I've heard the term.

Joe Katz:
That's tough. [crosstalk 00:37:35] Yeah. Let's see. The ruching in her dress really accented her flat stomach.

Alexander Mattison:
No.

Joe Katz:
So, that's a hard one. I'm giving you a hard one. [crosstalk 00:37:51]. It's this fullness or gathered. So they'll do ruching in the middle, and sometimes it makes, on a woman's dress or something, it makes it look flatter. It's kind of a fullness. It gathers. Think of gathering all in one area. It's called ruching. Oh, we've got so many things to talk about, Alex. God Lord. Well, thank you for playing my game.

Alexander Mattison:
I got to teach you some football and you got to teach me some fashion.

Joe Katz:
Good Lord. You got to tell me about, what is that? The kick?

Alexander Mattison:
The upright.

Joe Katz:
The upright. Oh my Lord. I know nothing about all of that. Well, Alex, thank you so much for coming and joining. If you want to check out Alex's collection, it's at criticclothing.com, right Alex?

Alexander Mattison:
Yeah.

Joe Katz:
So that's where anybody can buy it and check it out. I love those t-shirts, I like the colors you're doing. It's really cool.

Alexander Mattison:
I appreciate that, thank you.

Joe Katz:
Well Alex, we have taken all your time. Thank you so much for coming. Check him out on all the, if you love sports, just like I love sports, you want to watch him every single week. So glad you took the time, and things for really, truly, I love all your inspirational things that you said, and I love what you said about mental health and really bringing awareness to that. I think it's so, so important right now. And I love that you give a voice to men and to be able to say, you know what? It's worth it. You're worth it. Go out there and get help or talk to people if you've got something to say, I think that's brilliant. So I appreciate it.

Alexander Mattison:
Thank you.

Joe Katz:
All right. Thanks so much, Alex. Talk to you later.

Alexander Mattison:
Thank you.

Joe Katz:
Thanks for listening to the Katzwalk. Make sure to subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast app. This has been a production of Evergreen Podcast. A special thank you to executive producer Gerardo Orlando, producer Leah Longbrake, and audio engineer Dave Douglas.