1. My biggest fear is …
“Being buried alive.”
2. My biggest hero(s) are …
“My older brothers. I’ve looked up to them for my entire life. You can add my parents in there as well. But my older brothers helped guide me throughout my childhood, they beat me up. They really taught me all those hard lessons, that life is not always going to be easy. I think that just getting to play sports, be around them, learn from them and all their life experiences was something that I really valued.”
3. I’m motivated to work hard because …
“The opportunity of knowing that everything you’ve done has paid off in the end. So coming down to the playoffs, winning that final game and getting to raise that trophy is something that really, like, you really get to reminisce and reflect on how much hard work you’ve done. I think that that’s something I don’t take for granted because it’s something that I really cherish. Just those opportunities. It’s very rare in your career you get to lift a trophy.”
4. If I could live anywhere, it would be …
“Dubravica, Croatia. I’m a big Game of Thrones fan. That’s where King’s Landing is.”
5. My favorite family tradition is …
“Every Christmas Eve – now it’s every other Christmas Eve because my family has grown – we get together with all of our cousins and stuff like that. That’s always been something that I always look forward to, because I have a huge family. So there will be, like, 50 people in my mum-mum’s house. Getting to catch up with everybody, see each other.”
6. My go-to music I listen to while I’m driving is …
“I either listen to Drake Radio, so, a mix of that, or, recently, I’ve been listening to this band called Arizona and they have a good mix of music as well on their radio. I’m not typically that picky with music, I’m not the best with music. If somebody else is in the car, I pass them the aux and let them kind of take control.”
7. The thing I’m most excited to do now that I’m in Minnesota …
“I’ve heard there’s a lot of great lakes around here, and when I bring my dog out here, I’m pretty excited to just take walks throughout the parks when the weather changes.”
8. I’m proud of myself because …
“I would say the proudest thing that I have done is a lot of the philanthropy work I’ve been able to do. I did a lot of work with the Austen Everett Foundation, which helps empower kids through sports. And so, for the last two summers in L.A. I’ve been putting on beach soccer tournaments. We bring out four kids who are battling cancer and they’re the captains of the day, and they get to come out and even if they don’t like soccer, they like to play in the sand, build sand castles and have fun. And so, those days, when I get to do that and give back to them and just see them be a kid for a day, that’s something I really cherish and am proud of. Cancer is in my family. My brother’s fiancée battled brain cancer, and she’s cancer free right now. And my dad is battling lung cancer right now. It’s something that’s hit home for me. I can empathize with a lot of the families that are dealing with that hardship.”
9. The best life advice I have ever received …
“Control what you can control. There’s a lot of things in life that are just going to happen and you kind of just have to roll with it. When you learn to understand the things in life you can actually influence and control, you’ll have a lot less stress in your life and you’ll be able to enjoy those things that much more.”
10. My daily ritual is …
“I mean, I wouldn’t call it a ritual, I drink a lot of coffee, though. Have to have a coffee in the morning!”
