# From Celebrity Agent to Recovery: Darren Prince’s Untold Story with Sean Callagy

- **Show:** Unblinded with Sean Callagy
- **Published:** 26 Mar 2026
- **Source:** https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/unblindedwithseancallagy/episodes/From-Celebrity-Agent-to-Recovery-Darren-Princes-Untold-Story-with-Sean-Callagy-e3h0pim
- **Transcript:** https://podcasts.opennash.com/shows/unblinded/from-celebrity-agent-to-recovery-darren-princes-untold-story-with-sean-callagy-304bd7/
- **Provider:** OpenNash Podcasts (machine-generated)

## In brief

Darren Prince, a celebrity sports and entertainment agent, argues that success and fame do not bring fulfilment. He says lasting influence comes from caring about people rather than deals, and that his addiction was driven by unresolved pain and insecurity, not by weakness. Host Sean Callagy backs this up, saying people can build influence by solving problems for those they admire.

The episode moves between two stories. One is Prince's rise from a special-education kid with a baseball-card business to representing Magic Johnson, Muhammad Ali and Hulk Hogan. The other is the opioid addiction that ran alongside it from age 14 until July 2, 2008. The tension is that he looked unstoppable while privately suffering. Recovery pushed him toward service and humility.

## Key insights

1. **Addiction began as a fix for insecurity** Prince says a liquid opioid at sleepaway camp at 14 made every inadequacy vanish, which was exactly what a boy bullied in special education wanted. He ties the later habit to feeling less than others, not to bad character.
2. **Caring about people, not deals, opened doors** Prince says his father taught him to focus on the person, so he arranged favorite foods, private bathrooms and birthday details. That relationship-first approach is why icons like Magic Johnson signed with him.
3. **A felony setback led to his biggest break** After an FBI investigation over authenticated Michael Jordan items and a false-statement felony, Ali, Lonnie Ali and Magic wrote letters and he got probation. Weeks later, Magic became his first client.
4. **Pain, not evil, drove his destructive behavior** Prince says he was 'a sick person who was trying to get better'. He argues ego comes from unresolved trauma and insecurity, and that humility makes a person harder to knock off course.
5. **Service and exercise replaced the drug high** Prince now trains six days a week, and Callagy does push-ups through the day to get endorphins. Prince says helping people, such as scholarships through his foundation, now gives him the joy he once sought from drugs.

## Questions this episode answers

### Who is Darren Prince and why is he famous?

He is a sports and entertainment agent who has worked with Magic Johnson, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Hulk Hogan and Pamela Anderson. He is also a recovery advocate who has been sober since July 2, 2008.

### How did Darren Prince become addicted to opioids?

He says it started at 14 at sleepaway camp, when he took a liquid opioid for stomach pain and felt his insecurities vanish. He says he had been bullied and placed in special education, and the drug made him feel whole.

### How did Prince get Magic Johnson as his first client?

After losing his business, Prince told Magic about his plan to become an agent. Magic, who knew Prince from autograph events, agreed to a two-year deal and told Prince to use him to open doors for other celebrities.

### What happened when Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier reunited?

Prince says that in February 2002 in Philadelphia, he brought Frazier to Ali's hotel suite. They hugged, joked about their old fights over dinner, and sat side by side at the NBA All-Star game the next day.

### What does the episode say people can learn from this story?

Callagy says to build influence by solving problems for people who matter in your own field, doing what you say you'll do. Prince adds that people should look for fulfillment through integrity and giving back rather than status.

## Facts

- **Sean Callagy** [0:00:27]: "So 14 years old, you become a successful entrepreneur. By 19, Darren Prince sells his 1st business for 1 million."
- **Darren Prince** [0:01:04]: "Brother, these people still treat me like I'm heavily champ of the world and that's a blessing."
- **Darren Prince** [0:06:10]: "I fell on my knees on July 2nd, 2008, and screamed out to God to take the notoriety, the business, the money"
- **Sean Callagy** [0:14:34]: "we've had Magic Johnson on this podcast, Charlie Sheen, Ralph Macchio, many others that are associated with this man"
- **Darren Prince** [0:16:43]: "I was in sleepaway camp, 14 years old. I had terrible stomach pains one night and the counselor took me to see the nurse."
- **Darren Prince** [0:25:03]: "I was arrested four times in six months."
- **Darren Prince** [0:27:55]: "There was no internet back then, it was all done by fax machines, marketing and running ads in a magazine called Sports Collectors Digest."
- **Darren Prince** [0:29:08]: "some authenticated Michael Jordan product. And um, this forensic document expert that was retired from the FBI was being praised as the guru of authentication."
- **Darren Prince** [0:29:45]: "I got a felony charge for making a false statement to the FBI during the interview. Never went to prison."
- **Darren Prince** [0:29:45]: "Muhammad Ali and Lonnie Ali all wrote letters to the judge on my character and I wound up getting probation."
- **Darren Prince** [0:31:26]: "He said, You're a good dude. You made a mistake, I made a mistake. This was four years after his HIV announcement."
- **Darren Prince** [0:31:51]: "I'm gonna give you two years to represent me. But if you don't use me to knock down every door to bring in all the celebrities you can, I'm gonna fire you before those two years are up."
- **Darren Prince** [0:32:13]: "And Prince Mark Incorporated was born after that, and everything changed."
- **Sean Callagy** [0:40:12]: "They have three fights, Joe Frazier beats Muhammad Ali the 1st time, Muhammad Ali comes back and beats him the next two times."
- **Darren Prince** [0:45:56]: "Alicia Key comes out to sing America the Beautiful, the place goes ballistic."
- **Darren Prince** [0:55:52]: "She just celebrated five years sober and she said, I can help you."
- **Darren Prince** [0:56:39]: "found a 12 step meeting in the Upper 80s in a church basement in New York City, with 150 plus addicts and alcoholics"
- **Darren Prince** [0:59:02]: "I've scholarship anywhere from 30 to 40 people a year."
- **Sean Callagy** [1:01:56]: "And they come to the hospital and I'm able to surprise my father, and nothing means more to him than the New York Mets."
- **Sean Callagy** [1:01:56]: "being in box 113A for the New York Mets and watching the ball roll through Bill Buckner's legs that Mookie Wilson hit."

## Transcript

**[0:00:00] Sean Callagy:** Hulk Hogan, Magic Johnson, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Pamela Anderson, David Goggins. Chevy Chase And The list goes on and on. We and if this man that was classified in special education in the great state of New Jersey, if he could do it, why can't you?

**[0:00:14] Darren Prince:** I felt like Superman, I was on top of the world. I felt just as smart, just as popular, just as good looking. I never had this feeling before in my life. And I found out I was taking liquid. Demerol. I was in the sleepaway camp, 14 years old.

**[0:00:27] Sean Callagy:** So 14 years old, you become a successful entrepreneur. By 19, Darren Prince sells his 1st business for 1 million. How'd you do that?

**[0:00:41] Darren Prince:** My dad sat me down, he said words that changed my life forever and gave me belief. But I've noticed something with your brain, with numbers, that's mesmerizing, that none of them have. And we're gonna tap into that so you can become a success. Muhammad starts doing the legendary front, that guy does, starts biting the bottom lip, and he looks at Joe at the other end. He goes, Gorilla. But then Joe was like smiling at that smirk.

**[0:01:04] Darren Prince:** And that's when he just dropped it and he hit him with, Man, we just made up back there. Am I gonna have to kick your ass again for a 4th fight? And Muhammad literally starts spitting his food at him, he was laughing so hard. I think, uh, Hulk was the one that humbled me. I was down in Clearwater Beach and he looks at me. He puts his hand on my shoulder. And goes, Brother, these people still treat me like I'm heavily champ of the world and that's a blessing.

**[0:01:28] Darren Prince:** I think authenticity and vulnerability is truly a superpower. You know, I'm always talking about getting to the top, but never being fulfilled, and you and I got to the top, but we know how to be fulfilled. We know it's not always about being at the top, it's about getting others there.

**[0:01:46] Sean Callagy:** hey, Sean Callagy here with the Unblinded podcast, where we help you see what you may not see. But exponentially growing your money, time, your magic with heart and integrity. And we have a miraculous master in the building today, and Tank Nicole Mello, who's here.

**[0:02:08] Narrator:** Imagine a world where legends are built under the brightest light, and then imagine the rarer figure, the one those legends trust when the lights go out. A kid from New Jersey didn't just dream of greatness, he earned his way into the inner inner circles of icons Muhammad Ali, Magic Johnson, Hulk Hogan. But hear this clearly, he wasn't there as a fan. He became the man they relied on, the man they trusted, the man who stood beside greatness as part of what sustained it.

**[0:02:41] Narrator:** Because while the world saw champions, they saw Darren Prince, and that distinction is everything. Over 500 million deals, decades, representing some of the most iconic figures on the planet, and even invited to the White House to help shape the conversation around the opioid crisis. Because access like that isn't given, it's earned through characterThrough. trust, through becoming the kind of man legend choose to keep close. And like every true icon, his path wasn't easy. He faced adversity and he rose.

**[0:03:16] Narrator:** Today, he is more than one of the most respected agents in the world. He is a leader in recovery, a voice of truth, an author and a force for good. Because true greatness isn't who you stand next to, it's who you become and how many lives are better because of it. Thus, welcome to the Sean Callagy Unblinded podcast. A man trusted by icons, respected as their peer, the one, the only Darren Prince.

**[0:03:41] Sean Callagy:** Let's hear it for Darren Prince, ladies and gentlemen, my brother.

**[0:03:44] Darren Prince:** you got your tank.

**[0:03:45] Sean Callagy:** Do you do, you know that guy, that guy Darren Prince that we're talking about? Like, how does that feel to be that person? And we have so much to cover today. Just wanna give you a couple headlines, like the power of identity and fame, recovery, why people make choices they do to feel better for you. Value everywhere today, with an icon working with icons. But my brother, how does that feel to have that be you?

**[0:04:10] Darren Prince:** I mean, I'm, you know, I was thinking as she was speaking, probably, you know, 1819 years before I got sober, would've really been a great ego boost. But the more she kept talking, um, it's just my gratitude towards God. A A A. And the fact that, um, you know, he humbled me for for the right reasons. Because, you know, I'm always talking about getting to the top, but never being fulfilled, that there's a lot of people out there that live in that frequency.

**[0:04:38] Darren Prince:** And you and I got to the top, but we know how to be fulfilled. We know it's not always about being at the top, it's about getting others there, taking others through the journey of life, to be the best that amen, my brother, I don't know how to pay it forward.

**[0:04:52] Sean Callagy:** amen my brother. And for everybody. This is the 1st time you're listening, like, oh, like, why? like a hypey intro? It's not a hypey intro, it's the truth. Because, and this is G like. The perfect context for Darren Prince today to appreciate and understand this, the things, the wisdom, the advice that some people gave you, maybe your grandmother, grandfather, maybe your mother, father, maybe it's your child, brother, sister, aunt, uncle. It doesn't land the same way as when it comes from people who've achieved things that feel impossible, or at least aspirational for you.

**[0:05:24] Sean Callagy:** So these introductions are so you can understand what these people have done. But if Darren Prince stands for anything, and I'd love your comments on this, it is the distinction of humility and not false modesty. He promotes some of the most impactful humans in the world, and he's one of those people himself, and also he's a humble man. But the humility doesn't change the fact that he knows who. Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Hulk Hogan, David Goggins, Magic Johnson.

**[0:05:49] Sean Callagy:** He understands and appreciates the doors their identity and accomplishments open. So more to come on that topic for today. But you, you're such a humble man and you've been through a ton in your life. Like, what does humility mean to you, and why do you believe it's so essentially foundational? Before we get to fame and impact and identity, let's talk about humility and what does it mean to you, Darren?

**[0:06:10] Darren Prince:** I mean, for me, I think it's everything. I think when I fell on my knees on July 2nd, 2008, and screamed out to God to take the notoriety, the business, the money, that all I needed was a single day of freedom. And if he takes me out of my own personal hell from my opioid addiction, that I would go back into hell one day at a time and take others out. And I think there was just a shift in me in that very moment where where the ego was crushed.

**[0:06:36] Darren Prince:** Because, um, I think ego comes from a place of unresolved trauma in a lot of us. I think ego comes from a place of insecurity, I think ego comes from a place of needing instant um validation. Uh, for some unresolved wounds that, you know, we all have, we're all healing our own life. And I think once you can get into a place of humility, you're almost bulletproof of being like, immune to getting wrapped into that. Look at me, look at you, look at what I've accomplished.

**[0:07:08] Darren Prince:** It's not about that.

**[0:07:10] Sean Callagy:** yeah, well, so my brother, um, let's take it, uh, from the beginning quickly. So 14 years old, you become a successful entrepreneur. By 19, Darren Prince sells his 1st business for 1 million. Kid from New Jersey, and we're talking 19 late 80s, my, is that tracking right? like late 80s. $1 million then is a lot more than $1 million today, and it'd still be an incredible accomplishment today. But how? And we're gonna put this through the prism of the unblinded formula in a minute.

**[0:07:44] Sean Callagy:** But in Darren, your words, how'd you do that? Of course, hard work, of course, caring about people, being good to people, but you had to have some how to strategy involved. And and from your heart, how'd you do that?

**[0:07:56] Darren Prince:** I mean, my father was incredibly pa impactful on my life back then. And I had a a moment with an intro to business teacher where, um, giving a little bit more about my backstory. You know, I was in small classrooms growing up, special ed and had a lot of anxiety, and most of my friends were in the bigger classrooms. So when I got home after school, which during the day wasn't about homework, it was about immersing myself in.

**[0:08:19] Darren Prince:** Cause. Well, the baseball cards, that was almost like my therapy. And I studied, all the players knew all the stats, and after this intro to business teacher challenged us to go and make creative business. I had one in my mind, I just never executed it. Everything was in shoe boxes, with prices and what they were worth. And my father challenged me and said, Well, he goes, Well, who's gonna buy these things? And I had a newspaper ad in the Westchester Tribune, which still exists in Livingston, about a car show that was happening.

**[0:08:48] Darren Prince:** Two weeks, oddly enough, Stephen Simon, who you know, runs Prince marketing Group with me, is here with us. We've known each other since we were ten. We decided to split a table for ten each. And I went in as if with that troncality mindset, as if I was training for the Olympics. He just wanted to come along and have fun. So I spent two weeks every single day and made over one zero on that Sunday afternoon, and that was it.

**[0:09:13] Darren Prince:** The light bulb went on. My dad's head, my dad sat me down, he said words that changed my life forever and gave me belief. He's like, I understand your friends. Most of them think this way, their brains work with this way. But I've noticed something with your brain, with numbers, that's mesmerizing, that none of them have. And we're gonna tap into that so you can become a success.

**[0:09:34] Sean Callagy:** all right. So, um, and your dad had an enormous impact. He would later suggest that you write aiming high when soul becomes clear. We'll get to that in a little bit. So Darren, though, um, teachers, special ed classes, how? How was that educational model? um, were there people putting limitations on you that you feel limited, uh, in the traditional educational model, or did you have great support systems, uh, from the teachers around you? Like, what was that like in that educational model before you had this breakout entrepreneurial success as a teen?

**[0:10:06] Darren Prince:** I had that one teacher, that intro to business teacher, Elliott Lovi, to this day is a dear friend. In fact, when my mother passed away in November of 24, and you and your team came to her funeral, the teacher was at the funeral. And he was sitting like right behind me. I remember specifically looking at when they did the eulogy and that that's how much he impacted my life. And tells me every time we see each other that there was a point where late teens you wanted to become an agent.

**[0:10:39] Darren Prince:** And I said somebody has to do it, and I said, Nah, I'm not smart enough, I don't think I could do it. And that one,

**[0:10:45] Sean Callagy:** yeah. And what type of diagnoses were being thrown at you, and how were you receiving them? how was your family receiving them? Like, what was the environment around you? the the the Uh,

**[0:10:59] Darren Prince:** the words were cruel back then. I mean, there was no social media. But I was the idiot, I was the dumb one, I was the one that was verbally bullied. Um, I don't think they understood what Add was attention deficit disorder, because my father also knows. That was something I took interest in. I excelled better than anybody else. And, um, you know, when I look back at it, Sean, not to get too much into it now.

**[0:11:22] Darren Prince:** But you know, that sort of emotional abuse from teachers, not getting the support from, uh, friends and the teachers. Isolating me in small classrooms, making me feel less than everybody else. That's why drugs came into play, making me feel whole.

**[0:11:38] Sean Callagy:** And so because Darren, the value of this, I would hope for some, is maybe there's a 15, a 20, a twenty five, a 30, a thirty five, a 40, a forty five or fifty, fifty five or sixty. And if you're any of those ages, or in your 70s. And you're sitting here. And you've never come to grips with some of the trauma of, um, classification, uh, bullying, framing, uh. This man did, and he created arguably the greatest reunion in sports history, or American sports history, one of the greatest reunions in just cultural history.

**[0:12:15] Sean Callagy:** And this man had many of those things that you've been told about yourself by teachers, by friends, maybe even your family. And Darren, what would you say to anybody from 15 to 75, who had some of those same traumas, about their ability to get to a remarkable place? And not just to move through addiction, but to actually achieve impact and success in the world? Uh, please,

**[0:12:39] Darren Prince:** Yeah, I think it's never too late to change your present and change your future. Uh, you know, we're not what, we're not what our past is, whether it was a teacher, a mother, father, sister, brother, relationship, job, career, whatever it could have been. Um, there's only so much that, you know, you can stare at the past. Um, I always say, like, Uh, yesterday's history, tomorrow's a mystery, today's the present. That's why we call it a gift.

**[0:13:06] Darren Prince:** And it's the ones that go deep into that. Um, you know, healing of meditation and mindset work, and, um, not pointing fingers, just owning the situation and leaving it exactly where it is to become your higher self.

**[0:13:21] Sean Callagy:** yeah, and if you and in, you know, and the title aiming high, and obviously there's a number of different ways you're you're referring to that. What would you say is a mindset principle? Foundationally for the people listening out there that have had those challenges and maybe even people who haven't? If you had one mindset sentence to give to people, if you could, like, install it inside of them, what would that be?

**[0:13:45] Darren Prince:** One mindset sentence. Um, I am enough. Yeah, Awesome, I think that's where, you know, most people doubt themselves. They don't know if they can do it. They feel of a prisoner of the past. And I think just constantly repeating to yourself you, you are enough. And words of affirmation are very, very powerful.

**[0:14:04] Sean Callagy:** yeah, and I thank you. Um, for everybody, I have a a personal relationship with Darren, we do a lot together. Um, I, I don't easily use the word friend, um, I call Darren a friend. Um, I love him, he's beautiful, uh, fiance, and the impact in the world this man creates. And the very podcast you're watching has been consistently now ranked number one, number two in Apple business podcasts. It would never be here without a couple people, but Darren Prince is one of those folks.

**[0:14:34] Sean Callagy:** Um, we've had Magic Johnson on this podcast, Charlie Sheen, Ralph Macchio, many others that are associated with this man and many more to come. And massive, massive gratitude. So I just wanna thank you on a personal level, Darren, for everything you've done to make this what it is and the impact you've had in my life. Because while I've had the blessing and privilege of never struggling, um, with drugs or alcohol substances, you know, you do feel like, wait, who am I to be interviewing Magic Johnson?

**[0:15:00] Sean Callagy:** who am I to be sitting down now with Ralph Macchio? The Karate Kid? So we all have that struggle and challenge, and I couldn't agree more with this brother. You are enough, Darren's enough, I'm enough, we're all enough, and we all struggle with that challenge. Including some of these iconic names that we've shared, uh, a moment ago. But 1st, let's step into this journey. That at some point, um, a desire to feel better comes into your life, we all have that desire, we all wanna feel better.

**[0:15:25] Sean Callagy:** And what were some of the choices you were making that were positive in ways to feel better? I'm sure entrepreneurship was one of them, and some of the ways that negative choices of how to feel better came into your life, Darren.

**[0:15:37] Darren Prince:** well, it's a double edged sword with drugs, especially opiates, because, you know, opiates become a superpower. At a certain point where it allowed me to feel so free and so unstoppable and so confident in certain environments. But then when I'd be home at night, or after a long trip, or, you know, in my home, wherever I might have been, by myself, in my own head. I was back into a prison that I had no idea how I was gonna escape this cycle.

**[0:16:01] Darren Prince:** Um, I tell people often, Sean, I wasn't a bad person, I was a sick person who was trying to get better. Um, there was never any like ill will or evil to me, even, um, when opportunities would come my way. I always practiced what magic and my dad taught me about paying it forward and blessing everybody else. I just had a lot of stuff that I had to, you know, work through until I got there.

**[0:16:27] Sean Callagy:** and where was the beginning? Like, what was the 1st choice that that took you down that path?

**[0:16:31] Darren Prince:** So it would've been July 1st, 2008. And again, I'm gonna mention Steve, cause he was there on that

**[0:16:36] Sean Callagy:** well, no, I mean, going day down the path of addiction. of recovery. Oh, uh, well, addiction in addiction, sorry, the 1st place, uh, or even using like, how? yeah,

**[0:16:43] Darren Prince:** so so, as far as the using, well, I was in sleepaway camp, 14 years old. I had terrible stomach pains one night and the counselor took me to see the nurse. I took this orange cough syrup type of, uh, liquid, and it tasted terrible. Within 5 min, every inadequacy went away. I'm walking back to the bunk, I felt like Superman, I was on top of the world, I felt just as smart, just as popular, just as good looking.

**[0:17:09] Darren Prince:** I'm now the tall kid at one at the at the bunk. While the guys are laughing with me, I started learning with the girls in the bunk next to me. I never had this feeling before in my life. So I woke up the next day, did all the activities in sleepaway camp and I learned how to lie and con. And that very next night, I healed over in the bunk because I wanted the couch to take me to the infirmary.

**[0:17:30] Darren Prince:** So I went out for three weeks until my mom and dad came out for visitation day and I found out I was taking liquid.

**[0:17:38] Sean Callagy:** wow, so so for everyone out there. Um, I, I will wanna ask Darren this next. But we can choose different ways to feel better and feel worse. And we all wanna feel more confident, we all wanna feel more included, we all wanna feel stronger and more powerful, more loving, more abundant, more generous. And what I'm hearing from you, Darren, um, and I've. I've never done a drug in my life. I, I thank God for the blessing of that.

**[0:18:04] Sean Callagy:** Um, but what I'm hearing is the great challenge is people don't know how to get that. And it's so accessible in the beginning through substances. Am I hearing that correctly? Yeah,

**[0:18:17] Darren Prince:** and and now more than please, ever,

**[0:18:19] Sean Callagy:** yeah. And so for for folks that if you can go back and, uh, talk to your 14 year old or talk to your 14 year old self. Not just saying, hey, like, say no to drugs, like Nancy Reagan style. But if we're sitting there, w we do want those positive feelings. What would you suggest to people? Would be that pathway? And what do you do now to feel better? Instead?

**[0:18:41] Darren Prince:** I think it just needs to be more of an open conversation. You know, I've definitely noticed, um, some influencers and some prominent, famous people talking about their own struggles. I think authenticity and vulnerability is truly a superpower. You know, I look at what it's done for me and the amount of people I've been able to help. Um, I also think a quick fix for a lot of people when we're stuck in our own head. And it's a vibration and frequency you and I live by is.

**[0:19:08] Darren Prince:** I think the more we serve other people, I think the more we get out of our own head. And help lift other people up, help other organizations. Um, you know, just get out of that noise between our two ears. It's a phenomenal fix to build up real self esteem, real self worth, real self love, um, peace and fulfillment.

**[0:19:29] Sean Callagy:** yeah. And I think we might share another really bizarre behavior that could be helpful for people. And if I'm wrong, just please tell me I'm wrong. But do I remember hearing that you were at this incredible mansion party out in the Hamptons? And you might have disappeared under a table to do something? Am I remembering this correctly? Yeah, and and what was that something?

**[0:19:52] Darren Prince:** so um, was that was that? With my ammo experience? Yeah, I, I just, I mean, and I was just out of my mind, just the behavior, what was going on. I was, you know, I think I was on steroids and all jacked up then and always wanted to entertain and put the attention on me. And I took my shirt off and started doing push ups, entertaining people. And I mean, but there were so many experiences like that, you know?

**[0:20:17] Darren Prince:** And I laugh with some of my guy friends now. Um, you remember all the great night of your lives, but anybody that's here recording a production team? When you? We talk about the best nights of our lives in that moment, the next day you wake up with your friends or whatever your crew was. You don't remember any of this greatest night of your lives. You cannot sit here and tell me I remember the top five.

**[0:20:39] Sean Callagy:** yeah. So do you still do push ups? Do you still I do put in the work on push ups, your body? but not, uh, But not not not at a venue publicly? Yes,

**[0:20:47] Darren Prince:** in front of thousands of people.

**[0:20:48] Sean Callagy:** taking your shirt off? Yeah, So, yeah, yeah, so how in? So, this is so fascinating to me. Because when people ask me like, why don't you drink? why don't you do drugs? and they're like, Wow, you must be really disciplined. I'm like, No, no, no, I just hate feeling bad, like, and so I'm very present to what's gonna happen afterwards, and I just don't like that feeling. I really despise it and I love the feeling. And I did this before.

**[0:21:15] Sean Callagy:** Uh, we got together today. I did ellipticals, I did push ups, I'm six sets in of push ups today. Not to feel cool and to look cool, but to feel better. So if I can ask doing push ups, putting endorphins in your body. For those that really have some challenges with substances, or for those that I just drink a lot of coffee or smoke a whole bunch, um, how does that feel comparatively? And I'm sure it's not the same thing as, you know, um, I.

**[0:21:42] Sean Callagy:** I don't think you're hitting a crack, but an opioid, there's a certain incredible high you can get. But how might the putting of endorphins into one's body be able to be? It's certainly more effective later, but how about just even the short run for feeling better? How close can you get by putting endorphins in your body to some of those feelings of confidence and strength, and love, and fun, and humor? Any thoughts?

**[0:22:05] Darren Prince:** it, it. It's super important, I mean, not just in your detox phase. Um, I had to make sure I was hitting the gym twice a day during the detox phase, on top of my twelve step spiritual meetings. But to this day, Sean, I mean, I'm seven, two, five years sober and I'm in the gym six days a week. I'm jumping rope when I can't make it to the gym, I'm doing body weight squats, push ups, sit ups, um, you know, whatever it is that I need to do.

**[0:22:31] Darren Prince:** I think in general, anybody that's struggling with anything, uh, mental health wise, depression, uh, substance abuse. What it does for your serotonin and your dopamine levels, it's the greatest natural drug in the world.

**[0:22:45] Sean Callagy:** yeah, no, I agree, and and I'll, I'll just share this from my heart to anybody out there. Um, I, Darren. We're up to a lot of things in the world. As many of you are listening, and some of you have even more present struggles of paying the rent or paying the mortgage, and, uh, meeting payroll for your business. And what I'll share from my heart around this is when I put endorphins in my body twelve times a day, microdosing, I'll just get on the ground, do push ups.

**[0:23:11] Sean Callagy:** I'll be in my office, not to make a public spectacle out of it. In fact, I don't wanna do that at all, as Darren was saying, but how that feels? When I'm done, I feel like I just took drugs. I've never taken drugs, but I feel like I'm high, high. That doesn't have any negative side effects. So I really give you that. That's part of how this man stays as healthy, as strong, as abundant, as masterful as he does, and that could be very practical.

**[0:23:36] Sean Callagy:** Do that today twelve times that you go, wait, what am, what? Yeah, just like after every phone call, once an hour, drop on the ground, do a set of push ups for 60 s, do some body weight squats, as Darren said, do some crunches and see how that feels. Align brother. 100. You can Yeah,

**[0:23:51] Darren Prince:** tr. You could totally shift your brain frequency patterns just with a consistent daily routine of doing that. Even after a week, you're gonna notice the difference, your brain will actually start craving it.

**[0:24:02] Sean Callagy:** yeah, I, I feel like CR. I feel addicted, and when I don't do that, I feel bad. And I feel myself reaching for something, and for me, it might be sugar, where I'll be reaching for more sugar it's just and when I put, common. yeah, I'll put the endorphins in my body and I'll just feel so much better. So practical takeaway now, um, here you are, you sell your business for $1 million, you are. How?

**[0:24:24] Sean Callagy:** How did that feel when you sold the business for a million? Where were substances in your world at 19? Like, what was life like at that moment?

**[0:24:32] Darren Prince:** Um, it, it. It felt like almost, um, that it was a long time coming. Cause at that point, I was building for five years and I knew I wanted to make a transition out of the card industry into. I already had my direction because I. I was noticing all these legendary athletes signing autographs at trade shows. So I wanted to dabble into that. So it was more just an excitement and reinvesting that money into growing and building something else.

**[0:24:58] Sean Callagy:** Very cool. And W were substances yet tipping into a problem at 19?

**[0:25:03] Darren Prince:** They were, but I was highly functioning at that point. There wasn't really any ramifications, I would say, probably till about 21. I mean, I was arrested four times in six months.

**[0:25:12] Sean Callagy:** And that was for possession, Possession. was that correct? Yeah, Yeah, not so not distribution. to sell, Yeah,

**[0:25:16] Darren Prince:** cause I didn't need to sell. I was making plenty of money. It was to use and give to my friends. I thought I was the cool kid that was buying all the drugs for everybody.

**[0:25:23] Sean Callagy:** yeah. A. And for me, like, we could go down that road for an hour and just tell stories and I, I don't really see value. So the bottom line is that the Darren Prince went through an extraordinary journey, starting at 14 years old in substances. And, um, had challenges all the way through to 2008, and we'll come to that in a 2nd. But as you're highly functioning, and um, on the successful side of what's happening in business.

**[0:25:48] Sean Callagy:** How do you begin to build relationships with massive people of identity? You might call it fame, in my language, you say identity in the world. Um, y, you create these unbelievable relationships. What was that journey?

**[0:26:02] Darren Prince:** So the 1st one I went after was, uh, for a mutual friend. I knew my friend. Uh, I knew a guy named Harlan, Werner was Muhammad Ali's main main agent, so he was the 1st guy I contacted. Start doing with and for and booking autograph signings for Muhammad Ali. So I went right to the top. Uh, from there, I'm in magic you didn't start and and small, yeah, the most recognizable so literally started with athlete Mr.

**[0:26:23] Darren Prince:** and Mrs. Alabama. in the history of Prompt

**[0:26:24] Sean Callagy:** the world, right? Yep, so, Wow,

**[0:26:26] Darren Prince:** and then from there, I got introduced, uh, you know, to magic, and I went, you know, to Chevy Chase, and then, you know, Pamela Anderson and Smoking Joe Frazier. And so that's how the business started out. The 1st few years, Sean, I developed relationships with them from a business that had nothing to do with, you know, sports and entertainment marketing. It was basically booking them and certain autograph signing appearances.

**[0:26:50] Sean Callagy:** got it. And so you would bring them into an environment with with these set events, or you would,

**[0:26:57] Darren Prince:** It was either events. Or they would go to a hotel conference room for a few hours and sign and you would prom, one zero different items.

**[0:27:04] Sean Callagy:** and you would be promoting that yourself. Wow, wow, um, and why did they say yes to you? I mean, weren't there other people seeking that yes from them? And to do that? Like, so, because I want everybody to realize this, Darren it. It's not that easy to just call up Muhammad Ali's people and have them say yes. What was it you think about you that made people comfortable, these icons, to say yes to you at well, such a young age?

**[0:27:29] Darren Prince:** well, number one. I mean, I credit my dad with a lot, um, of the way he wanted me to behave and act around that. And make it more about the person than the business, he always said. You know, that's the biggest mistake in business. Too many people, you know, care about the sales and the contacts and the dollars when we should be caring about the person. And um, I also think in a, in a way not to pat myself too much on the back.

**[0:27:55] Darren Prince:** But I think I was somewhat of a V visionary for that market. Taking off back in the early 90s, I timed it so well that it gave me such recognition for being aligned with these people. There was no internet back then, it was all done by fax machines, marketing and running ads in a magazine called Sports Collectors Digest. So what I'd do is I'd run photos of all the signings. And I think it put me so far past everybody that they just said, Oh, well, we gotta go to, uh, Darren Prince for this person and that person.

**[0:28:26] Darren Prince:** And this one's to do with signing. And that's kinda how it all happened.

**[0:28:29] Sean Callagy:** wow. And so for everybody out there. Um, a foundational principle of Unblinded and this podcast is that influence is the only human attainable superpower. And what you're hearing from Darren Prince is that thanks to his dad and the innovations that, uh, followed him along his journey. This man became a master of influence, and, interestingly, and I think, a master of integris influence. Because from my experience, and how you built your relationship with these people is you did what you said you were going to do and it went the way you said it was gonna go.

**[0:29:05] Sean Callagy:** Am I hearing you correctly? Darren? Yeah, and please,

**[0:29:08] Darren Prince:** Until I was 25 and then I had a little bit of a setback, and that setback was yep, so I was selling, um, through another contact. Michael Jordan was one of the other biggest athletes in the world, some authenticated Michael Jordan product. And um, this forensic document expert that was retired from the FBI was being praised as the guru of authentication. I know you have collectors that watch. There was no PSA, there was no Beckett back then, and after about a year or so of selling it, I wound up getting investigated by the FBI.

**[0:29:42] Darren Prince:** And I went from this

**[0:29:44] Sean Callagy:** that, by the way, that's not

**[0:29:45] Darren Prince:** nineteen, No. fun. Yes, I I went from do. this 19 year old kid on top of the world to more or less losing everything. But you talk about relationships at the time of the sentencing, um, I got a felony charge for making a false statement to the FBI during the interview. Never went to prison. Um, magic, um Chevy's uh team, uh. Muhammad Ali and Lonnie Ali all wrote letters to the judge on my character and I wound up getting probation.

**[0:30:16] Darren Prince:** But I had it rebuilt and that's where I have two more unbelievable stories with my dad please, in Mexico and how that happened. Um, I was on a fly fishing trip with my dad, the last three grand to my name. We went to Alaska. He was so pissed that I spent

**[0:30:29] Sean Callagy:** So you have the last the three zero after you sold your yeah, twenty car business for a million.

**[0:30:33] Darren Prince:** twenty six years old, 1996.

**[0:30:35] Sean Callagy:** And and you've had all these massive celebrities, now you're down to your last so this three.

**[0:30:39] Darren Prince:** this is another moment where we talk about reinvention. Um, let your past make you better, not bitter, have a vision for what you wanna do. And we're on this beautiful stream. And my dad said to me, What's my next move? And I said, You know, dad, I wanna be an agent, but I don't have eight years to go to law school. And he drops the fishing pole and says, Law school, he goes. Life is about who you know, not what you know.

**[0:31:03] Darren Prince:** Any lawyer would kill to have the relationship that you can. Go to Joe Montana's house, you can go to Barren Springs and see Muhammad, you can go to Mulholland Drive and H, you know, Beverly Hills and see Pam and Tommy, or Magic in Beverly Hills. So he goes, What I would do is next time you see Magic, tell him your vision. So Sean true story, I've talked about it before. Three weeks later, I'm with Magic in Michigan.

**[0:31:26] Darren Prince:** He. We had a corporate event. I go into this hotel room, hotel suite, and if he was here, he would repeat the exact same words. It was 30 years ago and I told him my vision. He said, You're a good dude. You made a mistake, I made a mistake. This was four years after his HIV announcement. And he goes, And I love your family. Who do you want to start with as your 1st client? And it was one of those moments.

**[0:31:51] Darren Prince:** I'm literally a 26 year old kid. I got one shot to ask him. My heart's palpitating, my hands are sweating and I got up the nerve. And I go, I would love it to be you. Irving, you know, I call him by his 1st name. And he goes, Okay, he goes. I'm gonna give you two years to represent me. But if you don't use me to knock down every door to bring in all the celebrities you can, I'm gonna fire you before those two years are up.

**[0:32:13] Darren Prince:** Because, unlike Darren, it's not, he said. I'm gonna become a success they've never seen before in the world of sports and entertainment. Fast forward, he has a multi million dollar brand. Because it's not how successful I become, it's how successful I make you and everybody else around me. So when you get there, it's your turn to bless other people. And Prince Mark Incorporated was born after that, and everything changed. I went to every single client and set magic signings.

**[0:32:40] Sean Callagy:** The superpower of yes, that's what happened. He had the heart to do it, of course, but the mastery, the the grace, the humility, the rapport with Magic Johnson, and he caused yes, and then once he had Magic Johnson, um, he had the opportunity. It's still not easy. You could know incredibly famous people and have nothing happen, many people know famous people and nothing happens. What Darren Prince became incredibly masterful at, and you can, too, is once you build a relationship with the right person.

**[0:33:13] Sean Callagy:** It doesn't have to be a famous celebrity in the world. If you're an attorney, an account, a financial service provider, a local realtor, you're trying to get your coaching business, and, uh, moving anything. Who is ecosystem famous in your world? Maybe it's a local attorney, an account, a financial service provider. If you're an accountant, it's an attorney, if you're an attorney, it's a financial service provider. Who is it in your world that you're a magic? Johnson?

**[0:33:36] Sean Callagy:** Back to you brother? So once you had magic, what happened from there?

**[0:33:39] Darren Prince:** Uh, you know, I never hired a publicist before. I did. It basically wound up in all of our, you know, the trade papers and the trade magazines that he signed with us. It made it so much easier for me then to go to all the other celebrities that we were booking. Autographs, signing stuff. I'm like, Look, we're starting to do a lot more bigger things now, we're gonna start bringing you speaking engagements and licensing deals and commercials.

**[0:34:00] Darren Prince:** And, um, you know, all sorts of different branding opportunities. And. But it's like you said, knowing these people is one thing, like my dad would always tell me the same thing, he goes. Having them as friends and associates are good, Darren. But can you actually put real projects together for them? can you bring real opportunities? Because now you get the benefit of both, you can be in business together with your dear friends at the same time.

**[0:34:26] Darren Prince:** And it took a little bit, but once I found that sweet spot, I would say within like six to eight months. It's kind of like we never looked back. I mean, I think relationship, uh, capital has been sort of a strength before I even knew that was a term. My dad was, like, I said, if magic was in New York City. Always make sure that you have food coming to his hotel suite from his favorite restaurant, or, you know, bring him to his favorite restaurant.

**[0:34:53] Darren Prince:** And make sure the bathroom is blocked off so he can go there in peace and silence and enjoy himself. And every time Joe Frazier was in town, Muhammad was in town with his wife, Lonnie, you know, bring a certain food to the Essex House, whatever hotel he was at. And I think that really created a foundation. Sean to show that I was different. Find out about their birthday, their family, their likes, their dislikes, their hobbies. Where the business part was important to a degree, but it wasn't the priority.

**[0:35:22] Sean Callagy:** yeah. And my experience with this man, Darren Prince, and something for you to really consider as you experience this, is truly loving people. So what you could mistake what you're hearing from Darren to say is he do a lot of nice things that seem like you care. No, no, no, that's not what Darren's saying. This man cares, he loves these people. When Hulk Hogan, uh, recently passed away, Darren was devastated, like I heard it, felt it, saw it.

**[0:35:53] Sean Callagy:** Um, as he when he speaks of Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali, these icons who are no longer with us. The the resonating power of love come from his heart and soul. With these people is genuine. So, like, what if the great opportunity Darren for folks out there is to find a way to truly love people? And how have you done that? Because that is very present for me, that you're such a loving soul. Was it always that way with when you were 14, 15, 16, 17?

**[0:36:19] Sean Callagy:** Did you love people? or did you learn to love people?

**[0:36:21] Darren Prince:** I think I picked up on my dad's philosophy, but I also think I did it for a large part of my life. To be accepted out of, you know, insecurities and wanting to be validated. And then eventually, I started my spiritual, sober journey seven and a half years ago. It was coming from a different place, it was coming from a place of I can do this, I can provide. I am worthy of the world that I'm in, the respect that I have.

**[0:36:45] Darren Prince:** Now, let me bless and put smile on other people's faces where there's absolutely no transaction whatsoever. And think back to two of our things, the Shaquille Leonard dinner that was completely unplanned. And he said some words to me, which I'm not gonna announce on the podcast, cause it was a little bit of a curse word. That when I was like, I told you're a sick his when mother effer, Darren I told, when Prince, you man, when I told you you that Shaquille Leonard's coming to dinner.

**[0:37:10] Darren Prince:** One of your favorites, I said, Steve, so graciously and beautifully coordinated for that event. I mean it, it, it was unbelievable, you know, Rick Flair a couple weeks ago, that when I got him to FaceTime yeah. Here here's you,

**[0:37:21] Sean Callagy:** the great advice I got from Rick Flair, Rick Flair. He said. Now, listen, I'm divorced four times, he goes, I'm divorced four times. This is, I'm like, hearing from nature boy. Thanks to Darren Prince. A phone call. I'm sitting by the fire in my in my home, like watching a movie with my daughter, who's four, five years old. And he's like, Here's the advice now. I'm divorced four times, so you can take it from where it comes, he goes.

**[0:37:42] Sean Callagy:** But ask for forgiveness, not permission, no permission, and get on that airplane and come on down and hang out with me and Darren. So, yes, thank And so anytime you.

**[0:37:51] Darren Prince:** you and your crew were down in Tampa, it's done. But yeah, moments like that, that that gets me so much more excited. Business is fun and great and we do it and it's nice, but you gotta, y y. You know, the money only means so much. At a certain point, it's how many people are getting blessed from experiences. You know, we saw from your event in October, how many people just lit up from who you had there.

**[0:38:11] Darren Prince:** Because you were blessed to be able to pro provide value for your audience, for your team. For these people that are looking for that shot in the arm, whatever it might be, to reshift and repivot, you know, their belief system itself, and business, and whatever it might be. And you understand that you, you can't put a price on that. It feels just it's euphoric.

**[0:38:31] Sean Callagy:** yeah. And so now, from that place of euphoria, from identity, let's talk about identity. So it lands for people not emotionally, but, um, intelligently, intellectually, strategically, uh, with integrity. Muhammad Ali, the most iconic athlete in history, and you can't be Muhammad Ali unless you have other icons that you are, uh, embroiled with. Joe Frazier is one of those folks, and Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, two of the greatest athletes and champions in the history of American sport, and certainly in boxing.

**[0:39:11] Sean Callagy:** And they have this incredible rivalry, they're on two different sides of the world. Uh, Joe Frazier is representative of the right, Muhammad Ali of the left. They didn't choose that, it's how it broke out. Joe Frazier is this, uh, you know, American, uh, for the American patriot. And Muhammad Ali becomes the progressive civil rights movement and change and disruption, anti war movement. All of these things are going on. Muhammad Ali doesn't go in the draft. 1971, they have this iconic fight.

**[0:39:40] Sean Callagy:** My dad was there, by the way, uh, in unbelievable 71 at Madison Square Garden.

**[0:39:43] Darren Prince:** March. 8th, 1971.

**[0:39:43] Sean Callagy:** Yeah, I was, uh, one, uh. And Dara and I were born the same year, just out of a fun fact, a few weeks apart. And um, so all this is going on. And as their rival, rivalry builds, Muhammad Ali, this incredible communicator, uh, starts to move in directions that would be very painful or are very painful, are, uh, very disrespectful. And those that love him find it to be humorous, as we often do for the people we love and for those that don't like him.

**[0:40:12] Sean Callagy:** Think he's a monster, a devil, right? So this creates this massive rift in this greatest, arguably the greatest sports rivalry in American history, and certainly, I believe, in the history of boxing. And this is this rift that's there. They have three fights, Joe Frazier beats Muhammad Ali the 1st time, Muhammad Ali comes back and beats him the next two times. And it is the foundation of Muhammad Ali's career and Joe Frazier's career. Now Darren, um, gets to know these fine folks, uh, a little bit later down the line.

**[0:40:43] Sean Callagy:** And there is a tremendous like seismic rift that exists between the two of them. And can you pick it up from there and you're rolling all the brother?

**[0:40:53] Darren Prince:** So we tried many a times to get them together. Lonnie Ali and Muhammad graciously offered to fly me, Joe and his son Marvins out to the Ali premiere, where Will Smith, uh, starred in Ali, Uh, as Ali. And they wanted us to ride in Muhammad's limo, uh, to the Hollywood premiere. Joe didn't wanna do it. I mean, that's when I realized how deep, uh, the emotional wounds were. And Joe just said, Uh, Prince, the only way I'm doing something with him is if you stay on my turf in Philly.

**[0:41:21] Darren Prince:** So it's about a year and a half, two years later. I got a call from Harlan. Uh, I talked to my dear friend that ran Ali's team, Fat Lonnie wanted to call me. Um, that Muhammad is in town with her for the NBA. All Star weekend in Philly. And they would love Joe and you and Marvins to come by their hotel suite that night for dinner. So I'm now like, shaking like I can't even believe this opportunity's coming.

**[0:41:44] Darren Prince:** This was in February 2002 and I call Joe up. And without batting an eye, no delay, no pause, he goes, All right, man, call up Marvis, let's do it, it'll be good to see him tonight. So the 2nd part of that, Sean, is I'm still in active addiction, so I can't even believe this is happening. So I have to go back to the hotel. tight pajama Yep,

**[0:42:07] Sean Callagy:** freestyle. So Darren Prince is about to be the orchestrator of a reunion of the greatest friction in the history of sports between two of the most iconic athletes in history. Back to you,

**[0:42:24] Darren Prince:** and he set it perfect. So I'm back in the hotel and Marvins and Joe are heading over to get me. Cause then we had to go to Ali's hotel. And my best thinking was that, you know, I just, how am I even worthy of this situation right now? And the only thing I could think of doing was to get high, you know, because you're sitting here talking to me. So many people are in awe of this situation, so many people cannot believe it happened.

**[0:42:50] Darren Prince:** There's photos, there's videos, there's documentary, and you see me with these two kids anyway. I made the best of it. And, uh, we go to Muhammad's suite and Lonnie opens up the door and I'm out of my mind, like, I cannot believe. She's finally here. And Joe walks over to Muhammad, who's on the couch. And he was a little bit, uh, bloated and overweight at that time in his life from not following the proper diet, the Parkinson's medication.

**[0:43:16] Darren Prince:** But some moments I remember was Joe kinda lifted Ali up and Muhammad kinda fell on Joe's shoulder as Joe Ba, uh, locked in his back leg and literally just had tears in his eyes. Ali as he was on Joe's shoulder, hugging him. And Lonnie looked at both, all of us, and said, You know, Muhammad really just found real peace. Thank you for coming, thank you for coming. And then we sat at this huge dining room table and had dinner.

**[0:43:42] Darren Prince:** And, uh, Muhammad starts doing the legendary front, that guy does, starts biting the bottom lip, and he looks at Joe at the other end. He goes, Gorilla, we gotta go back to, he goes, we gotta go back to Manila. And Joe drops his fork and knife in his food. He goes, Man, we just made up back there. Am I gonna have to kick your ass again for a 4th fight? And I'm like, there's no way I'm watching this right now.

**[0:44:05] Darren Prince:** Going. So It was unbelievable to just see that they just could not help themselves. It was just in the fabric of their DNA. Because here's a private moment with six of us in a hotel suite, and it was still going now quickly. Uh, cause we can get into the next subject. And this is one I keep no, please, talking about. The please. NBA surprised us the next day. Joe and I were planning on going with my, my boy, Nikki S, to the All Star game, and the NBA called and said, we understand.

**[0:44:34] Darren Prince:** Joe and Muhammad got together last night. Of course, I denied it. I go, No, I said, we were just, you know, Joe and I just had to relax, and they said, Okay, they. We're asking because we'd love to put Joe near Muhammad, somewhat near Muhammad, at the game today. So an NBA All Star game is the star of all stars, and I mean, it's like, next level, especially out of all the all star games. And so we get there and we have seat three, four and five center court.

**[0:45:02] Darren Prince:** Within 15 min, I start hearing that chant Ollie, Ollie, Ollie. I look to my right coming out of the tunnel with security. Is Muhammad and his best friend, Howard Bingham, the famed photographer? Obviously, neither are are longer here, and Muhammad sits in seat two and Howard's in seat one. Now, mind you, Sean, center court is Howard. To his left is Ali, right next to Ali is me, and next to me is Joe. I've never been so, I have never my God, been so uncomfortable.

**[0:45:30] Sean Callagy:** you're like, who is that guy? who is that guy?

**[0:45:33] Darren Prince:** I have never been so uncomfortable and felt socially awkward in my life. That I'm like, how do I get Joe to switch freaking seats with me right now? He starts elbowing me with his big, strong arm and he leans over and he goes, Boss man, cause that's what he used to call me. I said, Yeah, boss, he goes, switch with me, and I said, I'd be honored. And I got up. I now go to Joe's left, Joe oh my, sits down next to Ali.

**[0:45:56] Darren Prince:** They're holding hands. Alicia Key comes out to sing America the Beautiful, the place goes ballistic. I mean, the entire arena was standing up, applauding what was going on with Joe and Muhammad. So that was, that was just a special having that is unbelievable, Elton John look at them during halftime and Kobe and Michael and Iverson. Like everybody knew what was happening. This was a piece of history at the NBA All Star game.

**[0:46:20] Sean Callagy:** that is unbelievable. A And to think that, uh, just to go back half a step for a moment. That part of the deep rift, the pain, the rage that existed was Muhammad Ali saying these things about him. Beating the gorilla in the thrill in Manila. Which is an a re, obviously a racially derogatory attack on Joe Frazier. And then he says it at the table, so that is absolutely nuts. And then what Joe Frazier had been saying in response, because this is such a hangover time, he's like, Yeah, look at Muhammad Ali I making fun of his ment, uh, Parkinson's condition, saying, Who do you think won those fights?

**[0:46:58] Sean Callagy:** Now? And look they say,

**[0:46:59] Darren Prince:** at him, look at me, I won all three.

**[0:47:00] Sean Callagy:** re, like all of this conversation, and then it's happening at the table, and the next day they're sitting back together. So when that, when Muhammad Ali was saying that, what were you feeling at the table? Like, were, were you? Well, I know you? You had substance in, but was there any part of like, this is gonna completely devolve? Like, what was no, I. I happening? actually got nervous for Yeah,

**[0:47:19] Darren Prince:** a 2nd. I was like, damn, they just made up. And Joe's putting his fork and his knife back in his plate. I'm like, I hope he's not gonna get up and walk over. But then Joe was like smiling at that smirk. And that's when he just dropped it and he hit him with, Man, we just made up back there. Am I gonna have to kick your ass again for a 4th fight? And Muhammad literally starts spitting his food at him, he was laughing so hard.

**[0:47:42] Darren Prince:** He was hot like this and it it. It was a beautiful moment. Just like, like I said, they just couldn't help themselves, it just, uh, who they were. Ali, Ali, Hm,

**[0:47:53] Sean Callagy:** Ali. As he's walking in, walking down with Hulk Hogan or Joe Frazier or Pamela Anderson. Can you explain to people, as slowly and methodically as is appropriate, the power of identity, the power of fame? So people can truly appreciate what happens and what you've experienced traveling with these people?

**[0:48:15] Darren Prince:** yeah, I mean, I've been blessed to, you know, be with the kings, the kings or queens of queens. And I mean, I've had De Niro, Pacino, Trump, Lionel Richie, Denzel Washington at dinner with Joe and I. I mean, um, I mean, the list goes. Spielberg literally in awe at a March for our Lives event in Washington, DC. That my friend Scooter Braun coordinated. Uh, maybe 2018, 2019, the biggest, you know, athletes and celebrities. Just Joe Frazier walks into a room and and it's it.

**[0:48:50] Darren Prince:** It's, you know, regal of another level, it, it's a different, um, um, it, it's a different association. Bono, Uh, Bon Jovi at the MTV VMAs. Um, I've seen it like they are like little kids. It's, uh. Beyonce had a magazine cover party for Gotham magazine. My friend Jason Ben sent a car and Beyonce and her dad wanted to meet Joe Joe, came up from Philadelphia. It's something so different, especially when you go back to that generation.

**[0:49:20] Darren Prince:** Sean, I'm not saying there's a certain athletes that haven't had it the past 20 years, but they were D. They were different. They were like, Uh, they, they affected the world politically. The unknown were stopped the night of March 8th, 1971, for the fight of the century. You know, they had such power, that was Ali they had influence, Frazier one. Yeah, they had such power, their voice, what, what they stood for. Long before social media, long before the internet, they had this level of global fame that they're not sending out tweets to build up their image.

**[0:49:49] Darren Prince:** So what happened is, you know, generationally, um, you know. The grandfather taught it to the uncle, the uncle taught it to the father, father taught it to the son. And Hulk Hogan was that way, too. Hulk Hogan transformed at least, you know, 30 to 40 different, you know, generations. And I think when I look at like Magic, the dream team really took him to a level that, uh, the dream team was so incredibly impactful.

**[0:50:15] Sean Callagy:** let's go Hulk Hogan for a 2nd. WrestleMania, they called it WrestleMania, not WrestleMania I. I was there at Madison Square amazing. Garden and this man gave an unbelievable autograph poster from WrestleMania to my dad. We'll get to my dad and Dwight Gooden and Mookie Wilson in a couple minutes. Um, and being there and just Hulk Hogan coming out and the place going nuts, right? I people literally losing their mind, like Elvis Presley taking the stage, Ed Sullivan.

**[0:50:43] Sean Callagy:** Um, when you have that w when you're walking around with Hulk Hogan and people there, lawyers, accountants, financial service providers, doctors, what you mentioned, feeling some of these iconic celebrities. Looking at Joe Frazier like they're like a little kid looking up to Joe Frazier. How, what's it like? W where people? How would you describe how disrupted people become in the presence of a Hulk Hogan, um, or in the presence of some of these others? What is it like as people are mobbing him for autographs and adult professionals and successful people?

**[0:51:16] Sean Callagy:** How would you describe what happens to people?

**[0:51:19] Darren Prince:** I mean, I think over the years I've just come to accept it more. Um, early on it was like excitement. But it's also I have a job to do with their security to make sure they get in and out, um, whatever situation, might be safely. Um, but I think, uh, Hulk was the one that humbled me. I was down in Clearwater Beach, where he spent the last 2025 years of his life in Florida. And me and a couple of my boys went to see him.

**[0:51:46] Darren Prince:** We went for sushi for lunch and Hulk gives me his his, uh, valet ticket. He goes, brother, do me a favor, he goes. Can you just go have them pull up the car so we can get out of here? And I turn around, I'm not kidding, Sean, there's 50 people behind us, just waiting. They could tell the bandanas on, the cut red shirt from behind, the blonde, you know, hair. They know, they know it's him. And so I look at all these people, I said, Oh, this is gonna be like a half hour for them to get out of here.

**[0:52:14] Darren Prince:** I go get the car. I'm waiting in the parking lot for a half hour with the valet guy. He comes out, he goes, Brother, what's going on? Uh, you know, like something bad. I'm like, you know what? I called him Terry, but his real name is Terry, but I'm like, Terry. We finally get away from the craziness of the traveling and all the fans, and, uh, you know, the whole commania craziness. Just to kinda get a lunch with you.

**[0:52:38] Darren Prince:** And while this is still happening. And he looks at me, he puts his hand on my shoulder and goes, Brother, these people still treat me like I'm heavily champ of the world and that's a blessing. Because, let me tell you something, we might be friends, but we wouldn't be as good friends as we were. Cause you wouldn't be calling me with all these business opportunities. These fans disappeared. And that made me never say another word about it.

**[0:52:59] Darren Prince:** Because he understood it, he understood the power of, you know, being there for their fans like that. None of them are who they are without the love and support of them.

**[0:53:09] Sean Callagy:** And while this may resonate so powerfully emotionally, um, let's also think about it. We live as people in a hierarchical world, and I'm not talking about the way we wish the world would would be, but it is. So. If you build a relationship with the president of an association, this is how I built my entire business originally. I had the president of the Northern New Jersey Chiropractic Society, you know, 29 years ago, bring me in to speak.

**[0:53:37] Sean Callagy:** And once that person said, Hey, Sean's okay, then everybody else said, and he didn't say Sean's okay, he said, Sean's, uh, great, masterful at what he does. Like, it changes everything, and that's that's the power of identity. And so if you're entertained by this, you're enjoying this. I mean, I, I would love to talk to Darren all day, all night about these stories. But what I hope is there for you, at least some of you, is to take this away and realize that you, too, can be a Darren Prince.

**[0:54:04] Sean Callagy:** And you can build relationships with people with identity in certain ecosystems. Um, maybe it's a medical society, a legal society, accounting society, whatever it is, that's gonna transform what you do. And maybe for some of you out there, you're gonna be calling Darren Prince and saying, Hey, can I bring some of these people? Cause I assure you, when you start bringing people like Darren's got to bring to your situations, that's not an easy thing to do, right?

**[0:54:28] Sean Callagy:** This is not just about money. It's like, this has gotta be the right situation, the right people, uh, the right situation with the right people of integrity. But the power of bringing celebrity identity is game changing all day, every day. So from that place, brother, um, how do you leave the world of addiction? So you have these iconic moments, you struggle to feel them, experience them as deeply and meaningfully as you'd want. This is in Darren's book, Aiming High.

**[0:54:57] Sean Callagy:** You wanna read a heartwarming, um, soul touching, entertaining as heck, uh, story of a journey into the power of celebrity? Aiming high is there for you, and if you want a a pathway out of some of the challenges you're having, it's there for you. But um, and I know how and why, and I, I've read the book multiple times now, but aiming high 2008, you finally have had enough. And please share with people that powerful moment that may serve some folks out there or prevent them from moving down that same path.

**[0:55:28] Darren Prince:** My late uncle still was dating a woman, Andrea, at the time, and I didn't know I just connected with her. And Steve was sitting here, you know, was there to witness it, and I was just ready. I mean, she started asking me all these questions, and I told her I was sick and tired and I was just done. And she pulled a coin out of her pocket. And you talk about GNCs, as I call them, God managed coincidences.

**[0:55:52] Darren Prince:** She just celebrated five years sober and she said, I can help you. So she put me on the detox plan and the next day was July 2, 2008. And I went into my apartment bathroom at the time that I was living with my then wife and thought I was taking like a non narcotic anxiety pill. And two Vicodins came out, which is one of the three opiates. And I thought it's what I needed, Sean, but I had 1st time in my light, a white light moment.

**[0:56:20] Darren Prince:** I fell to my knees and I screamed, God, take the money, take the business, take the notoriety. If you can give me a single day of freedom, I'll go back and tell one day at a time. They take other people out, other people out. And I had like a lightning bolt on my right shoulder because it was a feeling I never had before, and I never had it since. And I heard a voice say, Got you when you're ready.

**[0:56:39] Darren Prince:** And there was no Uber. I went downstairs into a taxicab after going online, found a 12 step meeting in the Upper 80s in a church basement in New York City, with 150 plus addicts and alcoholics, who were all once hopeless. State of mind, ego crushed. Most importantly, knowing that I was going there to get the help that I needed and to surrender for the 1st time in my life. And that day, what I thought at that time was the worst, has now turned out to be my very best.

**[0:57:07] Sean Callagy:** well, congratulations, my brother, of course. And you know, for folks out there, Darren, that maybe are not, um, in a a terrible place of addiction, but are they're just looking for ways to have fun at a higher vibrational level? This is a man that rolled with some of the wildest, craziest characters ever. What would you say to people about how you have fun now? Cause, um, you know, I surf, I ski, I t. I said before this, I surf, ski and scuba dive, scuba dive.

**[0:57:37] Sean Callagy:** This month. I'm a blind guy and I love it it. It makes me feel high, and I, you know, I've never been actually high, so I can't be sure I really feel high, but it certainly makes me feel at a much higher vibrational level. How do you have fun now? And for the folks that may be thinking, Yeah, man, but like, if if I stop drinking as much, I'm drinking, or stop, you know, getting high sometimes, I'm I'm just not gonna have fun.

**[0:58:00] Sean Callagy:** But I think your life says something very different.

**[0:58:04] Darren Prince:** yeah, I mean, fun for me is not defined the way that it used to be. You know, it's just being around the right energy, people, you know, you, you and I obviously have a magical connection when we're together, um, just around people that are as spiritual a as possible. I think when you talked about, um, individuals that are listening and watching, that doesn't necessarily need need to be a celebrity. But there is somebody in their world of impact that's probably doing the next right thing every day of their life.

**[0:58:34] Darren Prince:** To build scale, give back, be in integrity. That if you latch on to people like that, you're really gonna start realizing what life is about and get a new definition of of fun. You know, it's, um, it. It's a different time and I think people are starting to understand that it's not about nothing. Good happens, Sean, when you're at a bar till eleven, zero, twelve, zero o'clock at night, you know, my level of fun and joy and happiness now comes from helping other people that are struggling.

**[0:59:02] Darren Prince:** Um, you've been a blessing to my Amy High Foundation. I've scholarship anywhere from 30 to 40 people a year. When those calls come in, it is the greatest, most exciting time in my life. When something like that happens, we we have somebody that comes in that doesn't have the resources that we can help them. If somebody wants mentorship in sports management or celebrity marketing, like, I drop everything, my office, make sure I set that stuff up, because it, it, uh, you can't even you understand it.

**[0:59:32] Darren Prince:** But for people that are listening to that and experienced it, you can't even put the feeling into words on what it's like every single time it happens.

**[0:59:42] Sean Callagy:** amen, brother and fun, so here's what's fun for me. Um, having lunch in California, in Hollywood with Darren after. We've just gone to an amazing home in the Hollywood Hills, which I'll keep confidential for what we did and what was happening there. We'll be able to announce it soon. And then having lunch and just enjoying pizza and laughing and talking about the future and possibility. What also was fun is when I had the blessing and privilege of 1st meeting Darren, it was on Halloween, um, in 2024.

**[1:00:19] Sean Callagy:** And Darren comes in with his, uh, one of his incredible business partners, uh, Amol, and Amol's there to, like, check me out to make sure I'm not some maniac. We're there 20 zero square feet here, right? And I had the blessing and privilege of making a contribution to, uh, Darren's, um, Amy High Foundation. That's fun, but the reason that happened is because we did things not like Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier exactly, or or Hulk Hogan or Magic Johnson, but not completely unlike it.

**[1:00:51] Sean Callagy:** We faced challenge and friction. Darren did, I did. We built business, we built abundance, and only from that place of abundance could a contribution come for people to get to get free. And so that happens. We begin to develop a relationship. It was fun running a thousand person event in New Jersey and having all these incredibly iconic celebrity people come in. It was really fun and magical to sit down with Charlie Sheen and not to exploit him, but to to lean in on his incredible influence, charisma, magic that this man has brought to the world, and also to be present to the fact that he's had some extraordinary challenges as well.

**[1:01:26] Sean Callagy:** And Darren represents him. Um, and what was fun and magical was my dad's 80th birthday. My dad's really sick and this just happened in 2025, and my dad couldn't have his 80th birthday party. And I was heartbroken, he was heartbroken, and we began a conversation with Darren, a mutual, you know, teammate of ours, Mike Vissuvio, and said, You know, my dad is an enormous Mets fan. And Darren causes Dwight Gooden and Mookie Wilson, along with this incredible team, right, Steve, in, you know, partnership.

**[1:01:56] Sean Callagy:** And they come to the hospital and I'm able to surprise my father, and nothing means more to him than the New York Mets. And have Mookie Wilson and Dwight Gooden walk into his hospital room. I got the computer set up and the most meaningful moment my dad and I have ever shared was 1986, being in box 113A for the New York Mets and watching the ball roll through Bill Buckner's legs that Mookie Wilson hit. We re watched this moment in the hospital room oh, with Mookie, with my father, with Mookie and Dwight Gooden watching the whole thing, brother, the and and they're there in the hospital room for like, 2 h, you know, ish, like an hour and a half,

**[1:02:34] Sean Callagy:** 2 h. We have a Mets cake and a James Bond cake for my dad's birthday. Mookie Wilson and Dwight Gooden are asking for 2nd pieces. I'm thinking they're being nice, taking the 1st piece, like, No, no, that's really good, have another piece. Then we come into this room and do a podcast with Dwight Gooden and Mookie Wilson telling the story. I'm crying, they're all emotional, we're having pizza and wings, you know, in the office till, uh, God knows what time, but that's fun.

**[1:02:59] Sean Callagy:** But that fun only comes because of the sacrifice of this man, his partner, other people have made to build these relationships with incredible people, and also, humbly, the abundance I've had the privilege of creating with partnerships and teammates myself. So what if it's fun to build things and from that abundance, do magical things? So, brother, 1st from my heart, my soul, and I, I've shared this already, but I want to say it right here on this podcast.

**[1:03:26] Sean Callagy:** Uh, we wouldn't be here without you. Number one, number two. Thank you for one of the most meaningful moments of my life and my father's relationship. You know, we all have challenges with our parents and all have interesting moments. But like Billy Crystal, Uh, well, the movie set in City Slickers, and one of his co stars said, You know, we feel like he can't talk about anything like we could talk about baseball. And it was the heart and soul of our life.

**[1:03:48] Sean Callagy:** My dad cried more than ten times that day about this, and he's cried at least 25 times since. Every single human being my father knows has heard this story about Dwight Gooden and Mookie Wilson being there. And if my father was in this room with us right now, he would be crying tears pouring down his face. And the mention of his 80th birthday, he cries instantly. You did that and that. I hold no judgment. I've had plenty of people with addiction challenges in my life and my family.

**[1:04:22] Sean Callagy:** I hold no judgment, but I know for a fact, there's no way that there could be a greater high than that. And I hope that can, like, penetrate your heart and soul, brother, cause you've done that for so many people. But you did it for me and my father and my children, all my children. I have four kids, I have a 26 year old, my my son, then my four year old daughter. We're all in this room together with my dad for his birthday.

**[1:04:47] Sean Callagy:** And what was gonna be this, you know, beautiful party at the Capitol Grill, and, you know, 100 people and friends turned into just us in that room, tiny, small family collection. And it was the most memorable day of my father's life. And you did that, brother, and And I I hope that

**[1:05:01] Darren Prince:** waved at the New York high brother. Yes, Special. sir, You know who my favorite athlete is of all time? Mookie Wilson, There you go, and anybody will tell you that that's no mistake. So as a little boy, so that made it even more magical.

**[1:05:14] Sean Callagy:** thank you. And yet how many people have you brought moments to like that? I mean, you did it for I. I can't even imagine with the relationships you have and the power that that these celebrities can have in people's hearts and souls. Brother, y, you're like George Bailey, like, it's a wonderful life. Like, are you present to all the lives and the ripple effects of everything, not just that these people do that you do, brother? Like, how present or not are you to that?

**[1:05:41] Darren Prince:** I, I am. I mean, it's like I brought up earlier to you about your event in New Jersey, like, I see it. It's not, of course, there's a business side to things, but we don't wanna be just a transactional business. We wanna create experiences, we wanna create mind blowing moments. We want these events or keynotes, whatever it might be, uh, whatever that business project is to just really impact others from the energy and the frequency of whoever that celebrity is that they're around.

**[1:06:10] Darren Prince:** Because transactional one off shake somebody's hand, maybe deal with them. And again, no, we. We wanna just make sure we maximize every single thing we're doing at this point, cause that's where the magic is. That's when it becomes, you know, you're reaching back and giving back, and people are in that moment of just taking every single thing in. Just like you were with every single person, every celebrity you had on stage. I mean, you changed so many lives that day, just to be behind the scenes with Steve and watching it with Matilda.

**[1:06:38] Darren Prince:** And like, No, we had a very small part of that helping to put this roster together. It's such a good feeling, man. No, thank you, So

**[1:06:45] Sean Callagy:** my brother. So what does it go from here? As we begin around the bend home, you have, uh, hopefully, another 100 years on this earth. Um, what is it? I know you take one day at a time, I know you meditate, love life, but if you could fast forward 100 years to your final day, uh, what, if anything, would you wanna bring forward that you haven't brought forward yet?

**[1:07:07] Darren Prince:** but if anything, um, you know, I think I'm just so passionate about the younger generation. A. A. And the mental health and this whole word that everybody keeps hearing narcissist, and, you know, unhealed. Like, I would love to be somebody, and I even spoke to them at the White House about this when I went. That can we, like, you know, start creating like a course in grammar school about self worth and self love. I wanna be a part of that.

**[1:07:37] Darren Prince:** That has nothing to do with business whatsoever, and I couldn't care less. It's been giving me blessings and relationships that are incredible. I've said it before, when I'm gone, I want to be known as a man that went deep into hell, came out on the other side and sprinkled hope and recovery across the world to make people's lives better. And that's something that would change mental health, addiction, substance abuse, bullying. That if the jocks and the nerds that are 8, 9, ten years old, and the geeks and whatever little stereotypes you wanna call them, all sat in the same room and talked about how they feel on that given day, everybody would be on the same playing field.

**[1:08:14] Sean Callagy:** amen, brother. Um, as a small token of gratitude, and this is like fun for me. I'd like to make a 50,000 donation from Uh, come on, my Caligari Christian F. This was not at all part of, like, Darren being here, we didn't say this, um, way. but a 50,000 donation There's. We're from my Cal,

**[1:08:29] Darren Prince:** gonna save more lives. from my Caligari It's so believable, Christian Foundation to Amy so

**[1:08:32] Sean Callagy:** High. That's fun and a massive gratitude like, that's, that's how I get high. So, uh, thank you, m my brother, for love him, my brother, everything you've done, and I love

**[1:08:40] Darren Prince:** thank you.

**[1:08:40] Sean Callagy:** you. Anything you'd like to share with those incredible people in final final, you've shared so much already. Is there anything left on your heart that we have, uh, not yet attended to for these folks?

**[1:08:50] Darren Prince:** I just think, sort of how we opened it up, man, because you live in a frequency that's just so unbelievable. And I do it as often as I can. It's about finding fulfillment, you know, don't be blinded by all these people with the cars and the jets and the houses. Like, that's good and great, and it's important to some, and it's nice to have the ability to live a life. But it's about integrity, it's about relationship building, it's about giving back, it's about finding that fulfillment.

**[1:09:16] Darren Prince:** In here and in here, and in here. And when you get it, let it spread like wildfire to people that need to hear it. Because when you get to that place, you want to know that you're as happy as you possibly could have been. Because I know a lot of people that have gotten to that place up at the top of the mountaintop, that are just miserable. And you know, I think the younger middle aged generation needs to understand there's a different way to go about it.

**[1:09:42] Sean Callagy:** Yeah, and what I would love you to take away from this time with Darren Prince is that. What if we are all a mouse? What if Muhammad Ali was a mouse, Joe Frazier was a mouse, Darren myself, you? What if we're all mice looking for lions? And what if the lion that Muhammad Ali pulled the thorn out of the foot of? Were people that felt oppressed and challenged and limited, and fearful and concerned about what was happening?

**[1:10:06] Sean Callagy:** What if Joe Frazier was for people who thought there was change coming, that was hurtful? And what if there's thorns in the feet of ecosystems? Sometimes those ecosystems are large groups of people, sometimes they're individuals, and what this brother stands for is he took lions, found the thorn and removed it and created massive value, and that's how he integrally built these relationships. So my takeaway is, what if we all, Darren, myself, you, all of us, and these iconic people, just kept looking for ways to build relationships with integrity?

**[1:10:41] Sean Callagy:** Darren wants to help more people. I have financial abundance, here I am to do it. Darren's gracious enough to come in and he brings gifts for me, my dad, all these things. What if we just keep realizing it's not a zero sum game, but there's value to expand and share. And to find people's pain, and they may be way bigger than you, way bigger than you in many ways. But if what if you could remove that thorn and create massive value for them and build lifelong relationships?

**[1:11:07] Sean Callagy:** That this what? That is what this brother has done with the likes of Hulk Hogan and Magic Johnson, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Pamela Anderson, David Goggins, people. The list goes on and on. We could do it all day long. And if this man that was classified in special education in the great state of New Jersey, we also share that in common. If he could do it, why can't you, Darren Prince? I love you, my brother, we're in this life together forever, so much more to do.

**[1:11:33] Sean Callagy:** I thank you for being on the Sean Callagy Unblind the podcast and it wouldn't be here without you, so thank you, Darren Prince. It's an honor, Love you.

**[1:11:39] Darren Prince:** my brother, love you, yeah.