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“Don’t Do Drugs”: Kobe Bryant’s Championship Winning Teammate Offers Egyptian Influencer’s Valuable Advice

Reese Patanjo
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Jan. 5, 2011; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom (left) talks with guard Kobe Bryant against the Phoenix Suns at the US Airways Center. The Lakers defeated the Suns 99-95.

Peter Fouad, an aspiring actor, model, and photographer who moved to America from Egypt to pursue success, is also a well-known internet personality. He has built a brand around approaching celebrities on the street and getting life advice from them. In a recent segment, he managed to get some wisdom from former NBA champion and Kobe Bryant’s ex-teammate, Lamar Odom.

It’s not the first time he’s interviewed someone famous. In fact, he’s exchanged words with NBA stars like Dillon Brooks and Caleb Martin in the past. Fouad also knows what it’s like to talk to big-time celebrities, with the likes of Blac Chyna, John Mayer, and Ed Helms having featured in his videos.

On a similar note, Fouad ran into Odom while walking around Beverly Hills. He approached the former Los Angeles Lakers forward, who appeared to be in a rush and initially declined the interview. Thankfully for Fouad (and for us), Odom felt bad and came back to talk to him.

It was then that Fouad decided to seize the moment and tried to get a quick answer from the man who had shared a locker room with  Bryant—one of the greatest basketball players of all time—from 2004 to 2011. “What if you gave me life advice right now on how to become successful?” Fouad asked.

“Life advice on how to become successful? Well, that’s easy. Love your family, don’t do drugs, and save your money. That’s it,” Odom replied.

Solid advice coming from the NBA veteran. Odom knows better than anyone about the troubles of drug addiction. He admitted to taking cocaine every day at one point in his life. In 2015, he was found unconscious at a brothel with drugs and opioids in his system. Dark times, and it was a long road back for Odom. But eventually, he wiped himself clean and kicked the addiction.

Fouad seemed to appreciate the advice from the former Laker. Yet, he still wanted something a little more specific. “But regarding career-wise, how do I become, you know,” Fouad asked. 

“Do what you love, try to do what you love, what you have a passion for… just keep doing it. Just keep going,” Odom stated. 

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A post shared by Peter Fouad (@peterfouaad)

For Fouad, those things are acting, photography, and modeling—passions he makes sure to share with everyone he meets. For Odom, it was basketball, which he played professionally for 14 years, winning two NBA championships along the way.

But for the rest of us, that passion could be anything—from writing to cooking. Whatever it may be, we all need to find what we love and pursue it to the fullest. And as Odom says, you’ve just got to keep doing it and keep going.

In the end, it was great life advice for anyone. Even though Bryant’s former teammate didn’t have much time to prepare for the interview, he hit the nail on the head. Fouad later waited around to thank Odom with an ice cream, capping off a memorable interaction between the two.

Post Edited By:Somin Bhattacharjee

About the author

Reese Patanjo

Reese Patanjo

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Reese is an NFL Journalist for The SportsRush. He was a University of Oregon graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in writing and communications. A fan of the NFL since he was young, Reese is a Dallas Cowboys fan at heart. However, his favorite NFL moment was the 54-51 Monday night game between the Rams and Chiefs in 2018. Reese's favorite player changes with time but currently he reps Trevon Diggs and CeeDee Lamb jerseys. When he isn't watching the NFL, you can find Reese engulfed in any of the other major sports. He's a massive MLB fan, go Red Sox. He also loves the NBA and College Basketball. But pretty much any sport, Soccer, NHL, PGA,- you name it, Reese watches.

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