Animals' Advocate

What has been the most rewarding thing about being a father?

That my children were born healthy, I know people whose children weren't born healthy. I read their stories. I can't imagine trying to work with a special needs child 24/7. Sometimes it becomes challenging for them to do even some of the simple things in life. And I really feel for them. I'm happy all my children were born healthy - they can run, jump, play with other kids, swim, and be in the sun.

You have a new food venture in Los Angeles. Please tell me about it.

I am involved with Mother Plucker, a new Vegan wing stop located at 345 North La Brea in Los Angeles. It is charity owned, and by that, I mean the proceeds go to Dream Center, which helps homeless people, those who need help getting off drugs, and so much more.

We serve breakfast, chicken and waffles, boneless wings, tenders, and a chicken sandwich patty. And it's all vegan. My focus is making sure that my congregation is fed. If you're not yet vegan, this is the church that will convert you. Trust me.

What would you like to say to young men in their teens dreaming of becoming a professional athlete?

In the NBA one out of every one million Americans is a professional basketball player. You have to realize one million people are vying for your job. You're one in a million, and you should value that. In their brain, they should be saying, "I'm the one." If you don't say it, you won't be it.

My older brothers were great athletes, but they didn't realize their struggles. Their obstacles were my stepping stones to becoming who I became. I saw the mistakes they made, and I went the other way. Everything they did that didn't work; I didn't try to do the same thing they did and try to make it work for me. It didn't work for them, so I went in another direction. They played football, I played basketball, and my brother Jerry played hockey. They told Jerry, "You should just go into football. There are no Black guys in the NHL." He said, "But I could be the first." And they said, "Man, you know how hard it is. You got those guys coming from Russia and Canada. It's already tough." It's terrible listening to other people project their negative thoughts onto you. And yet, most people don't know that the way Hockey in the NHL is played today was developed by enslaved Black people in Canada. When I went to play for the Toronto Raptors, I learned about this fascinating story that most people don't know and which is a part of Canadian History.

Is there someone (can be more than one) who changed your life for the better and that you’d like to acknowledge?

Coach Ted Gustus and Coach Barney Davis. Unfortunately, Bonnie Davis passed away in February. These two coaches spent a lot of individual time helping me become the best I could be. There was also a man named Arnie Hershkowitz. He also passed away. He would come around to the park daily with a few other guys and watch us play. Then one day, Arnie said, "We watch you in the park every day doing things that none of these kids are doing. And you're out here every day!" And then, he asked me if I wanted to get better, work with him, and have him help me learn the fundamentals. I said yes.

I paid a lot of attention to the kids playing around me, always trying to be somebody else. But I was always working hard at being the first John Salley. I never wanted to be anyone else.

Other people who influenced me are my mother, father, brother Ron, and brother Jerry. Those people had the major focus. We lived in the projects called Bay View Houses in Brooklyn, New York. It's right on the Belt Parkway and in the jet stream of JFK Airport, so you would hear a plane land every three minutes. The television and radio were up loud because we were in the jetway. One time my mother came upstairs to my room and asked, "What are you doing up here?" I said, "Oh, this is my penthouse." She said, "Oh, this whole thing?" I said, "Yes. Right here is my room because I want to see the ocean. Over here, I have my kitchen looking this way, and this is west, and this over here is east as the sun lands here." Then she looked around and said, "Oh, Johnny, you can see Coney Island on a clear day from here." I said, "Well if you look this way, you can see Beverly Hills." She said, "You mean Manhattan?" I said, "No, Beverly Hills is past Manhattan."

In 1997, I moved into my mansion in Beverly Hills. I had these 33-foot ceilings; you can see the whole valley through my windows. My mother visited, and I said, "It's a great view, isn't it." She said, "I can't believe you made it." She remembered me having that conversation with her when I was a kid. Imagine that my mom remembered me having that conversation with her.

I just put it into the system. That's why I like The Matrix. Once I put it into my brain, I was going to do it, and then it worked its way until it was done. Do you ever pinch yourself?

Yes. I pinch myself, and I say, "This is a great one."

You've been very busy working as an actor over the years. What are you working on now?

I just finished Bad Boys 4. I did the first Bad Boys thirty years ago! That was my first acting role in a feature film.

Is there a fond memory you'd like to share about Kobe Bryant?

I love him. We were at the Staples Center, and we were sitting there. He pointed to Vanessa. I said, "She's cute." He said, "Yes, she will be my wife. I will have my kids with her. That's it right there, not just my girlfriend, she will be my wife. I'm going to have children with her." He was just 20 years old at the time.

One last thought?

It’s the distractions in life that stop people. If the distraction can stop you, then it's doing its job. Remember, everything is as it should be.

Special Thanks to:

John Salley JSquared Photography

@j2pix

Getty Image