By Derryck “Nes” Johnson
When you have two highly competitive individuals in one room, on one field or one court…the level of intensity and the thirst for winning at any cost usually comes into play rather quickly! What happens when 2-time NY Giants Superbowl champ Aaron Ross test his skills against 4-time Olympic Gold medalist Sanya Richards-Ross? You have a super power Black couple as teammates in business and life as each other’s support system ready to take on the world. I recently had the great opportunity to chat with Aaron & Sanya about their reality show on the WEtv network titled “Sanya’s Glam & Gold” and how they both use their natural competitive and athletic instincts to survive in the business world and life in general as husband and wife.
How did you two both originally meet?
Aaron: Ladies go first, so I’ll let Sanya tell you (laughs).
Sanya: Well, we met on campus at the University of Texas and we were both freshman. He stepped into the cafeteria and I was like “dang! Alright, he’s fine” (laughs). We introduced ourselves, started talking then began dating shortly after that.
Both of you achieved and accomplished many feats throughout your amazing college and respective professional careers. Who do you feel is more competitive?
Aaron: I think I am.
Sanya: No, I think I am (laughs). I think I’m more competitive with everything. I think Aaron can turn his off and on, but I think I’m more competitive.
Aaron: Nah…I beg to differ. I think I’m a quiet competitor, while Sanya’s more of a vocal competitor.
Sanya: So I win! (Both laughs).
Aaron: I think we compete in just about everything, since both of us are very competitive. We have no choice but to be that way, especially being professional athletes. We have a lot of fun competing with one another.
When you look at all the other “reality” shows, what do you feel makes your show different?
Sanya: What I feel makes our show different is my family being Jamaican. Being born & raised in Jamaica gives the viewers a little taste of our Jamaican attitudes, the accent and what it’s like being raised a Jamaican. Hopefully, you’ll get to see more of that in season 2. I also think we try to have a positive outlook on life, what I think Aaron and I do anyway but it’s a real positive show. You get to see young black love and our hard work and dedication applied in everything we do. Aaron and I are both go getters, so hopefully the show is a form of inspiration as well. Of course, you have your situations and drama too. The transition of exposing our personal lives to the public wasn’t as difficult as we thought it might’ve been. We had a really great crew and they really made us feel comfortable to be ourselves, so it wasn’t that hard. We’ve gotten a really great response, so hopefully we can get season 2 started and work on some more episodes.
Did your athletic approach help to better prepare you both in running a business and brand being a young black power couple in the public eye?
Aaron: Being an athlete, you can relate to dealing with life’s obstacles daily. The mindset we both possess gives you that extra edge and advantage.
Sanya: I agree with Aaron. As a professional athlete, you learn to set goals and execute on them. It’s definitely prepared us both for the business world. I think the window is so small so you have to plan and take full advantage of building your brand early. I think Aaron and I work very hard to keep our footing in solid so we can maintain our lifestyle and create opportunities for our children to have better. This stems from what we accomplished in sports over to the business world as well.
Aaron: You see why I have this woman on my team! (Laughs).
What advice do you have for other couples in regards to keeping the relationship strong?
Aaron: I think we don’t compete in everything. More than ever, I strongly believe we support one another.
Sanya: Absolutely! In order to be successful, you have to support your spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend and allow them to grow. I think relationships suffer and sometimes don’t work out because they’re competing on who’s more famous, who makes more money and these examples can bring real negative energy to a relationship. So I feel when I allow Ross to be the best football player he can, entrepreneur, husband and vise versa where fine. It’s about supporting each other in your endeavors. The hardest thing is that our jobs keep us apart a lot, so the time we do have together, we make it the best. It’s a challenge, but it’s all worth it when you have someone you can call your soul mate & better half when you put that work into it.
