10 Things NFL Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson Jr. Can't Live Without

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There are a few things former Detroit Lions' wide receiver Calvin Johnson Jr. can't live without. From a chain gifted by his mom and some golf shades to a beard trimmer and Primitiv topical performance cream, here are Megatron's essentials.  Director: Jean-Luc Lukunku  Producer: Arielle Neblett  Director of Photography: Brad Wickham  Cam Op: Jake Robbins Audio: Sean Paulsen  Production Assistants: Shenelle Jones and Kameryn Hamilton  Production Manager: James Pipitone Line Producer: Jen Santos Production Coordinator: Jamal Colvin Post Production Supervisor: Rachael Knight Associate Director of Post: Jarrod Bruner Post Production Coordinator: Ian Bryant Editors: Eric Bigman  Supervising Editor: Rob Lombardi Assistant Editor: Billy Ward Senior Talent Manager: Meredith Judkins and Paige Keffer   Talent: Calvin Johnson Jr.   https://primitivperformance.com/

Transcript

00:00 Back in the day, I can't really say that there was a best smelling guy, because all them

00:04 dudes stank in the locker room.

00:06 [laughs]

00:07 Hey GQ, I'm Calvin Johnson Jr., and these are my 10 essentials.

00:11 [music]

00:18 I've worn a chain for most of my adult life.

00:21 The reason I started wearing a chain really was because of my mom.

00:25 She gifted me a cross back in the day, so I still wear a cross to this day.

00:29 I've had to change the chain, but the cross still remains.

00:32 Like when I got two chains, I just thought it'd be cool to add another one for swag points.

00:36 [laughs]

00:37 I do have a Megatron chain.

00:38 I should have wore it, but it was gifted to me by my dog, Nate Burleson, back in the day

00:43 when we were playing in Detroit.

00:44 It has like a C and a J in it, inside of a Megatron, like a Decepticon signal.

00:50 So it's very cool.

00:51 It almost looks like a shield, and it has diamonds in it, so it's pretty cool.

00:55 [music]

00:58 I have my AirPods here.

01:00 These things keep me plugged in.

01:02 I'm in a noisy house.

01:03 I got three boys.

01:04 I'm always in meetings.

01:06 I always listen to my music, so definitely lean towards hip-hop, R&B, but definitely

01:12 tune into all my Atlanta artists.

01:14 2 Chainz, T.I., Jeezy, Ludacris, Outkast.

01:19 You know, I can keep on going.

01:21 My number one song I will go to during my workouts is probably T.I.

01:26 I think it's on the Urban Legend track, "The Greatest."

01:29 That was a pre-game song.

01:30 Anytime I need to get juiced up, that's my song I go to, "The Greatest."

01:34 Which rapper would you be pumped to see make a Megatron?

01:39 I would love it if 2 Chainz, you know, if 2 Chainz could put something in his music,

01:44 that would be dope.

01:45 I know I got a lot of syllables, Calvin Johnson and Megatron, but if he could make that work,

01:49 if 2 Chainz would be the one that could do it.

01:50 I love his cadence.

01:51 [music]

01:55 These particular sunglasses are made by Morgenthau-Fredericks.

01:58 I love them because they're just perfect.

02:01 They're a shortcut aviator.

02:03 These are my go-to shades, the black ones.

02:05 Next on the list would be the tortoise colored ones, followed by the gray ones.

02:08 I play with those in golf all the time.

02:10 These are my shade.

02:12 I really don't wear too many others.

02:13 These are very sturdy shades, and they give you all the style points.

02:17 [music]

02:19 I picked up golf shortly after I stopped playing in the NFL.

02:23 It's a sport that's always challenging.

02:25 I wish there was a world where I could be a pro golfer because I love the sport so much,

02:29 but man, it's a tough sport to master.

02:32 I always look forward to the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit because it's in the hometown.

02:36 You get all the top celebrities in the golf arena to come out.

02:39 Really got to kick it with Jason Day and Tony Fina a little bit last year, so I always look

02:44 forward to that event, especially with my former teammates, Rob Sims and Gossard Chairless.

02:49 Out of that small group, I'm the best out of golf, but it's not really saying much.

02:54 [music]

02:58 Right here we have Clive Christian.

03:00 It's a men's cologne.

03:02 Really only find it at Neiman Marcus.

03:03 My coach, Sean Jefferson, we call him OG.

03:06 He put me onto this back in the day when I was playing ball.

03:09 I love it so much, man.

03:10 It's a great smell, very strong cologne, and it's pretty exclusive because it has a high

03:16 price tag.

03:17 This is how I go down real quick in the bathroom.

03:19 A little squirt on the wrist.

03:20 Get a little rub in.

03:22 A little rub in right there.

03:23 If I'm walking around New York City, I might get a little spray on my chest under the shirt.

03:28 [music]

03:31 I've had a beard ever since I was in college.

03:35 I've always wanted a beard.

03:36 My dad has a full mane, so I always wanted one to be like his dad.

03:41 This here is my beard grooming tool.

03:43 Up top we have my detangling side, and down here is the finer side.

03:47 An essential tool.

03:49 I groom my beard.

03:50 I don't even groom up top.

03:51 It's just all about the beard since I'm always wearing my hat.

03:54 As for these trimmers right here, these have become my favorite over the last couple years.

03:57 I love them because they're a wireless trimmer.

03:59 I take them anywhere to have different guards, so I can trim up my whole head with these

04:03 sort of trimmers right here.

04:04 I haven't used a barber since I was in college.

04:07 I've been cutting my hair all this time.

04:10 For me, I feel like I can just do it faster.

04:11 I don't waste the time running to a barber shop because time is everything.

04:15 What we have here is our Permanent Performance Transdermal Topical Cream.

04:25 Very excited about this.

04:27 We made this product because we use topicals while we're playing.

04:31 To be able to add cannabis with its anti-inflammatory properties was essential to help us get up

04:35 and keep moving and recover.

04:37 Generally, with my everyday routine, I'm using the topical for any kind of inflammation that

04:42 I have.

04:43 So, a lot of chronic inflammation in my ankles, sometimes my knees, but any kind of bumps

04:47 or bruises that I have, this is the first thing I go for.

04:50 Got into the cannabis industry really to highlight the healing powers of the plant.

04:55 To be innovative and create new products in the industry is what really gets us going.

05:01 We're very excited about this and other new SKUs that we have coming down the pipeline.

05:09 Every morning, I start the routine with green tea.

05:12 I usually start off my morning right with hydration.

05:14 I used to drink coffee.

05:16 It wasn't good for my stomach.

05:17 It gave me the jitters, so I had to find an alternative.

05:20 I used to like coffee, but just in order to help me get started on my routine and really

05:23 get started with my hydration every day, green tea has been it.

05:26 Like I say, it has plenty of antioxidants.

05:28 It's a great, nice, warm drink when you're in the cold Michigan winter.

05:32 I put a little bit of honey, a little bit of cayenne pepper, and a little splash of

05:37 apple cider vinegar to give it a little tang.

05:39 It kind of helped out with colds and soothing your throat a little bit.

05:42 So it's just something that I found to work for me, and I've been doing it ever since.

05:50 You know how you put on muscle when you lift weights at the gym?

05:53 Imagine you could do the same thing, but this is the new gym, and your brain is the muscle.

05:57 I think one thing for me that this app and Nestri in general has helped with is my emotional

06:02 intelligence.

06:03 I think that understanding where you stand mentally, understanding what your triggers

06:08 are, it helps with your communication with others and knowing where to meet people and

06:11 where to find people when you're communicating with them.

06:16 Just being able to don that jacket, every time I see it, every time I think about it,

06:21 it's just a culmination of my career from once I started playing football in middle

06:24 school all the way up to the end.

06:27 Just a rush of emotions, thinking about all the different plays made, all the different

06:33 people met, all the good times had with all of our families.

06:37 Just all that comes back, and all of that really is in the fabric of this jacket.

06:41 But this was a moment that was deserved.

06:45 It was a moment where I was able to thank those that were there to help me don this

06:50 gold jacket.

06:51 This jacket gets worn once a year.

06:52 It gets worn at the Hall of Fame activities in Canton every August, and that's about it.

06:59 Thanks UQ for having me.

07:00 Thank you guys for tuning in.

07:02 Check out Primitive Performance at PrimitivePerformance.com.

07:05 Peace.

07:06 (upbeat music)

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