Idonije finds success in many places

If there was ever a Renaissance man, it has to be Israel Idonije.

The 45-year-old former Brandonite, who played in the National Football League for more than a decade and now lives and works in Chicago, has many disparate elements to his life. He was a physical football player who became a heady businessman, a devoted philanthropist and a gifted artist and storyteller, but he doesn’t think he’s special in his approach to life.

“I never defined myself as a football player,” Idonije said. “Playing football was something that I was blessed to be able to do. Being faster than everybody else and being able to take an angle to tackle somebody, that was a really great gift and I consider myself blessed to be able to do that.

“Outside of that, I love Impact work, I love instruments, I love music, I love drawing, I love drawing … I think everyone has that. Nobody is just one thing, we’re all multiple layers, and we’re all a tapestry of different threads that make us who we are.

“Most people internally define themselves as one thing, and most people internally put themselves in a box. I was fortunate through my journey and how my life has unravelled that I’m the opposite. I’m on the complete other spectrum. There’s nothing I can’t do, and there’s just no limit.

“When there’s an idea, I never think that’s outside of who I am.”

Idonije will be back in Brandon for the first time in many years on Thursday, May 14, at the Keystone Centre with comedian Dave Hemstad of CBC’s The Debaters at an event to benefit the newly established Keystone Centre Foundation.

More information on tickets will be announced shortly, but anyone interested in sponsorship or advance tickets can contact Rick Dillabough by email at rick@keytonecentre.com or at the Keystone Centre at (204) 726-3522.

UNLIKELY JOURNEY

The story of his incredible football career has become ingrained in Brandon sports history.

The Vincent Massey student had never played football when the school’s nine-man program restarted in 1997, and the Grade 12 student was talked into joining by head coach Kevin Grindey.

It was such a natural fit that after he made the provincial team, he joined the University of Manitoba Bisons the next season, and the Vanier Cup finalist in 2002 won the J.P. Metras Trophy as the outstanding down lineman of the year and was a two-time first-team All-Canadian.

Idonije was drafted by the Ottawa Renegades in the 2003 draft but never played a down in the Canadian Football League.

Instead, he was signed by the NFL’s Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent on May 2, 2003, but after an injury, the six-foot-six defensive end was released.

It proved to be providential, because he subsequently signed as a free agent with the Chicago Bears and played there for 10 years until 2012. After one final year with the Detroit Lions in 2013, he officially retired in 2015.

He played in the Super Bowl in 2006 — the Bears fell 29-17 to the Indianapolis Colts — and finished his career with 283 tackles, 29 sacks, six forced fumbles, and one touchdown. He led the NFL in blocked punts/field goals in 2005, 2006, and 2007.

Idonije was pro-active about his post-football career while he was still in the NFL, so he was ready to move on to the next thing. When it came time to make that final decision, it simply made sense.

“It was big, but it wasn’t that big,” Idonije said. “When I made the decision mentally to retire, it was time. I wasn’t enjoying the game, physically I had slowed down a little bit. The game is about speed, and speed was always one of the things that gave me a little bit of an edge with as big and as fast as I was.

“As my speed slowed down and even with some of the aches and pains, it was just time.”

His career certainly led to a slew of decorations. Manitoba’s male athlete of the year in 2002 was a 2010 finalist for the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year award, a Points of Light recipient by President Barack Obama and former president George H.W. Bush in 2013, received an honorary degree from the U of M in 2014, was given the Order of Manitoba in 2014, and was added to the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 2015.

In 2016, the Bisons retired a number for the first time, Idonije’s number 70, and in 2019, he was inducted into the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.

He was also inducted into the Canada West Hall of Fame in 2019.

AGING GRACEFULLY

While stories abound of former football players paying a heavy physical cost for their careers as they get older, the six-foot-six former defensive lineman is doing his best to stave that off. He faced shoulder, hip, knee and ankle injuries during his playing career, but he’s fine getting out of bed in the morning now.

“I feel great,” Idonije said. “Fortunately I’ve been really intentional about taking care of my body. Over the last couple of years I’m trying to stay in really great shape. I compete in this national and global competition called HYROX and that helps me keep things sharp.

“I’m just trying to stay mentally sharp. The game we played is violent and physical, and as you get into your older years, you have to be really pro-active with counteracting all the abuse we’ve taken over the years.”

At 45, his regimen includes stretching in the morning and functional movements on all the joints he injured.

It’s a good thing, because he’s a busy man.

In 2007, Idonije established Impact Fund — formerly known as iF Charities and the Israel Idonije Foundation — a non-profit organization that serves communities in Chicago, Winnipeg, and West Africa.

He started Blessed Communion in 2009, which manufactures dual-chambered, pre-filled Communion cups for individuals, churches, and other religious organizations.

He unveiled his new comic, The Protectors, through his company Athlitacomics in 2012. It’s based on a group of athletes blessed with super powers who help protect humanity.

In 2014, he co-founded the Ask The Doctor medical information website with his friend Prakash Chand, plus Dr. Patrick A. Golden and Dikembe Mutombo. It’s essentially a massive artificial intelligence database that provides medical information.

He has also opened a number of restaurants through his company Pangea Hospitality Group, most recently with Buttercup, a craft coffee bar and cocktail lounge in one of the four buildings he owns in the South Loop area.

When it comes to business, Idonije considers himself a lifelong learner. While not every venture has gone according to plan, he has hit some home runs.

“For those I’m thankful, but I’m still in a lot where I’m learning among figuring out projects that we’re fighting through,” Idonije said. “I’m in a full course in how to take an idea from zero to 60 and put together projects and packages and ideas. At 45, I’m now planning to slow down a little as far as being an entrepreneur and stay in great shape so I can enjoy the fruits of my labour and the things ahead.”

ROOTS OF SERVICE

Idonije also introduced a 40,000-square-foot philanthropy centre in Chicago called Impact House, with more than 300 of the city’s top philanthropists, givers, and impact leaders who work out of the space.

“It’s how we hope to contribute to the philanthropic ecosystem here in Chicago going into what I call the final chapter,” Idonije said. “It’s the things I hope to do for the rest of my life and be a part of, hopefully solving issues like food insecurity, housing insecurity, education gaps. Those are areas we hope to always be a part of as we grow and develop into old age.”

Anyone familiar with the work the Idonije family did helping to feed the hungry in Brandon over the years after they moved from Lagos, Nigeria — Israel was four — can’t be surprised with how much time and effort he has poured into philanthropy.

For Idonije, it all simply makes sense. He grew up in service with parents Henry and Choice — the latter worked at The Brandon Sun for a time — and that stayed a big part of his life as he got older.

“When I look back, my parents did all the stuff they did in Brandon as a missionary family on welfare and on government support, and raising four kids on top of that,” Idonije said. “For me to be so blessed with all the opportunities that I have, it would be a disservice to my family, to my history, to the legacy that my parents left behind, just to be known for tackling people on the field or making plays on a pitch.

“I always felt it was important, and I received myself so much. I’m so blessed to be part of these programs and see these families and see these kids. It also fills my battery and charges me.”

Idonije has another talent he also had to work hard to develop. The former Brandonite has become a gifted public speaker who delivers TED talks, but when he first entered the NFL, he did everything he could to avoid it.

He was persuaded to spend a weekend with a speech coach, and they practised speaking and recorded it, and he began to notice all the pauses and “umms and ahhs” most of us unconsciously use.

With some work, he was able to clean up his speech so he could deliver his message more effectively.

“That was the turning point, the three days with Lisa Brock as a public speaking coach was a really big accelerator and a big part of how I speak today and how I put together my thoughts when it comes to public speaking,” Idonije said.

He was so good, he actually served as an analyst on TSN for a season, breaking down games.

He also works closely with Teresa Myers — he calls her his “right hand” — the communications person for his Impact Fund. He calls her his sounding board and a terrific writer who can help them share their message about winning in life.

And he sees limitless value in what that can accomplish.

“We’re all more similar than we are different,” Idonije said. “I think our stories are a great way for us to see the similarities.”

» pbergson@brandonsun.com

 

ISREAL IDONIJE ON CONSISTENCY AND GREATNESS

In a TED talk, Israel Idonije once said consistency defines greatness. When asked if he’s consistent, Idonije sees it as a multifaceted question.“I try to be. Greatness is multidimensional in all our lives. There are aspects of my life where I am consistent and I would consider myself great because I show up every day.

“But there are aspects of my life where I’m not great because I haven’t dialled in that consistency and dialled in that discipline or that ability to show up whether good or bad. In the areas where I can wake up and be consistent, there is no work to be done there, it comes naturally to me.

“In the areas where I’m trying to be great and I’m not there, it’s really just a matter of finding the why, finding the reason why I’m trying to be great in this aspect, and letting that lead towards my consistency.

“As I’m saying that, there’s also another element in our lives. We don’t have to be great at everything. Yes, being great is hard and it’s a lot of work, but I don’t have to be the greatest artist. I can just do art that is fun that I love and let the pieces come to life, and that’s it. I don’t necessarily have to measure that on the ruler of great.

“Or I can sing a song, and although I’m not the greatest singer, it’s not about being great, it’s just about ‘This is music that I wrote and I want to bring it to the world.’

“In football I wanted to be the best, and you’re measured by sacks and tackles and plays that you can make, and you want to be as great as possible and you have to show up every day and study the playbook and be consistent.

“There are aspects in all of our lives that you want be great — ie. your work or your job — but there are other aspects, which I consider the lifestyle vertical in our lives, where you can still show up consistently, but it’s not for the pursuit of greatness, it’s for the pursuit of internal gratification, it’s for the pursuit of internal balance, and it’s for the pursuit of your own love and self-interest.

“In my old age, I measure things a little differently. It’s not always about winning or being the best. Sometimes it’s just about putting a smile on your face and enjoying that moment.”