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After a decade or so of a strictly regimented life as a professional athlete, many of them find it difficult to navigate the freedom of retirement. Some may have spent all their money while others may not find another activity as fulfilling as their sport. For Los Angeles Lakers legend Shaquille O'Neal, fulfillment after basketball came after finding his second calling, as DJ Diesel. Shaq discussed his second career as DJ Diesel in an exclusive interview with People Magazine.
“I started DJing because it gives me the same adrenaline boost that a championship game would give me,” he said during his interview.
DJ Shaq Diesel
In the same interview, Shaq revealed that he also had trouble with retirement.
“I was lost because I had planned to retire two years after I retired. So I wasn't really prepared,” he added.
O'Neal's last season in the NBA was 2011. He had hoped to win his fifth championship ring with the Boston Celtics, at the tail-end of the Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce. Unfortunately, the new Miami Big Three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh eliminated the Celtics 4-1 in the second round.
Upon retirement, Shaq also joined TNT's Inside the NBA as an analyst, where he entertained viewers and fans with his banter and chemistry with Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley.
Still, the Diesel longed for the excitement of playing or performing in front of a gym full of people.
“I've been playing since I was 14 years old and always had that step into the arena feeling of the game,” he said. “I always had that hour and a half or so. And when I stopped playing, I didn't have that.”
Good thing, then, that Shaq had picked up DJing while he was an active NBA player, and he picked it back up again during retirement. He had always loved partying, which his late partner Kobe Bryant didn't exactly appreciate all the time.
O'Neal continued, “I went to this concert and I got the same feeling again. I was like, ‘You know what? I used to do this. Lemme see if I can pick it up again.' So yeah, it's fun, but it only lasts and hour and a half.”
Shaquille O'Neal: Life after retirement
Unlike other retired players who got into trouble after their active years, Shaq remained out of sticky situations after he left the league by “working hard and staying out of trouble.”
“One of my mottos is ‘It could be worse,'” he added. “I haven't played professional basketball in 20 years, but yet I'm still working and my schedule is full. I'm thankful for that.”
Despite the apparent end of Inside the NBA, Shaq remains busy as DJ Diesel. He is also a very prolific product endorser.
