The Friday Five: Donte Whitner

Donte Whitner is a former three-time NFL Pro Bowl safety and 11-year NFL veteran. He was a first-round draft pick (No. 8 overall) out of Ohio State in 2006 and finished his NFL career with the 10th-most combined tackles of any defensive back in history.

Donte is currently the President of the Orange Country NFLPA Chapter and is a partner and head of the athlete advisory board at Kirtland Hills Capital. He is also working on a documentary about Glenville High School in Cleveland, OH., where he and many other NFL players graduated from, with the intention of drawing awareness to the needs of inner city schools.

We caught up with Donte for this week’s Friday Five…

1) Who is your biggest mentor?

I have a few: Tedd Ginn Sr. in my early years, Jim Tressell in my college years, Vic Fangio during my NFL career, and James Luthardt in my post retirement transition into business.

2) Who is your favorite NFL defensive back to watch?

In the NFL right now, it is Marshon Lattimore. He’s a 4-time Pro-Bowler in his first 5 years. He represents my hometown, high school and THE Ohio State University! Very proud of him.

My favorite of all time is Brian Dawkins. I emulated my game after that guy.

3) Which team is your darkhorse Super Bowl pick for this season?

San Francisco 49ers. Great running game. Defense. And coach Kyle Shanahan’s Scheme make them my pick.

4) What piece of advice would you give your younger self?

I would learn to master Transcendental Meditation earlier in my NFL career to stay more focused from all the distractions and stress off the field as you come into sudden wealth. In addition to that, I would surround myself with top 1% in business, investing and real estate much earlier. Compounding interest is the 8th wonder of the world! I would focus more on building passive income than looking for slugging percentage returns. You truly become who you associate yourself with.

5) If you could invite any three people in history to dinner, who would they be and why?

1. Martin Luther King Jr. because of the his selflessness and his dream of liberty for all. Opportunities don’t exists without Martin.

2. Walt Disney. True visionary. Never took no for an answer. Failed many times, but always accomplished his goals and more. True depiction of self belief.

3. Nelson Mandela. His grace and mercy is parallel to Ghandi in my eyes. To be wrongly imprisoned and to never utter a curse word. To have the opportunity to punish those that wrongfully imprisoned you and let them free is a true definition of the love and grace we should all seek for ourselves.