From a Country Bumpkin to the Cover of Sports Illustrated... Part 2

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Introducing first, from Lithuania, he weighs 123 kilos, the Russian nightmare, the Kita Kolob. And now, the Devil's Nightmare. Welcome back to another episode of It's Time to Man Up. Hey, what a joy and an honor and a privilege to have back in the studio with me if you listen to part one with this man, national champion, Clemson Tigers, Perry Tuttle. We left a cliffhanger. We left off at part one with a cliffhanger.

Perry, welcome back to the Man Up show. Thank you for having me. It's so great, man. There's so much to your story. Just at the tail end, of course, you were mentioning names that you played with, of course, in the NFL and back even in your college days. And I'm sure there's many more stories that you could share, even some of the experiences with the NFL, the CFL, the Hula Bowl you were talking about.

We were just starting to talk about some of your books that you've written, and really, we ran out of time, but we're going to pick up where we left off. You were talking about being in a golf tournament, and you're like the only black guy on the team. And all these white guys didn't really know how to really address you. Well, they didn't know whether to say African American or black, which is just, you know, and maybe I shouldn't have laughed at them, but it is funny.

No, you should have. Yeah, because white folks are funny when they are awkward. For real, yeah.

As a white man, yeah. So I said to this guy who I didn't know, I knew my buddy, and I said, hey, what is it that you guys really want to know about black people? Ask them. Just ask me, right? And you can ask me all the questions that you've always wanted to ask, and I'm going to do my best to answer them, right? And so they asked some of the questions, you know, all black folks, all black men fast, and I mean, did all black folks vote for Barack Obama? I mean, just, you know, whatever, right? That was a good question, but probably some stupid questions. Well, like, you know, why is our funeral so long, right? And like, is that a, I mean, it was just crazy.

Church service, I've been to a few black churches, why the church service is so long? Yeah, yeah, yeah, and so, and one of the things that happened was, I had to speak in San Diego the following week, and so I was there for three days. The first day I spoke, second day I had kind of a day off, and the third day I was going to have, and then I was going to fly back to the East Coast. But the second day I was there, I walked up to the Starbucks right beside my restaurant, my hotel. And so I walked up to this white couple, and I said, hey, excuse me, my name is Perry Tuttle. I live on the East Coast.

Hey, I'm doing a project. White people want to know about black people just too afraid to ask. I mean, they thought they were on candid camera, right? I mean, and they say, like, are you serious?

I'm like, yeah, yeah, I'm going to be in the corner. I know this is kind of awkward, but if you have any question, then come and ask. So about 15, 20 minutes later, they came over and go, are you serious? I said, yeah, yeah, give me a question, right? And so they asked me a question. And so what I did was, for wherever I was going, I would just walk up to friendly white people and say, hey, that question. So I wrote this book.

I wrote this book, the title of it is What White People Want to Know About Black People Just Too Afraid to Ask. Come on, great title, great title. That book took me around the country. Come on. I was amazed. Yeah. I spoke on, I was on over 100 radio and TV shows in one year.

Wow. I was on radio shows from my bedroom, from the phone. And it was just interesting.

And I just found out just how sensitive and divisive. And so there was two guys that had their own radio show is John Boy and Billy. I don't know if you've ever heard of those. Been on their show.

You've been on their show? Back in the wrestling days. Yeah.

They were big wrestling fans. Oh, okay. So I self-published this book, no big deal. And one of my buddies took that book and gave it to Billy. And he called me. He says, hey, I read your book. Can you come on the show?

I'm like, sure. I didn't know anything about them. Big show. Right.

And to my surprise, I didn't know they were syndicated in like 30 states or whatever. Right. And that book took me around. I mean, things sold like crazy.

It's the only book that Barnes and Noble put in their stores self-published at the time. Really? Yeah. Wow. And so I made quite a bit of money.

Thank you, Lord. But the thing is, is that it was interesting. And so I'm working on my last book.

So one of the books that I – it's a little booklet that I wrote. I date my – I have three daughters and three sons. But my daughters, I was dating my three daughters and, you know, seven years old.

And when they turn eight, nine, whatever. And so we just date. So my daughter turned 18 years old and it's going to be our last date.

And so I gave her like three or four days. And I said, hey, you have to ask me 15 questions on our last date. You can ask me about my faith. You can ask me about sports. You can ask me about boys. You can ask me about church. You can ask me about Jesus. You can ask me about anything, but you have to ask me 15 questions on our last date.

I thought it would just be fun. Right. Her first question was – we got to the restaurant. Her first question was, dad, who was your first kiss?

Okay. And I'm like, really? I was 10 years old. So we're at this – I was telling this story.

We're at this bus stop, right? And my buddies, obviously we was 10, and two of my buddies dared me to ask this girl, Sharon. I won't give her her last name because she still lives in Winston-Salem. But she was like a junior in high school. And you were 10. I was 10.

And she was a junior in high school. And that's when your buddies dare you to do something. That's when a dare really meant something, right?

So they said, hey, we dare you to ask Sharon to kiss. And we had a bus stop. And I said, okay. So I walked up to – and she looked like she was 6'9", but she was probably 5'10", whatever.

Right, right. And I walked up to her. And I'm telling this to my daughter. And I said, I walked up to Sharon, and I said, Sharon, will you kiss me? And Sharon kissed me on the lips. It was the best day of my life. To this day, it was the best day of my life. I was a 10-year-old.

Right, a 10-year-old. But here's the crazy thing. So that date lasted four hours. Wow. Right?

Wow. And it was incredible. Well, my son, who went to Chapel Hill, came home for a spring break.

And my oldest son. And I said, hey, let's have boys' night out. But you have to ask me 15 questions.

Come on. And his question was a lot harder. He's a very smart, a very kind. But his first question was, Dad, how do you really feel about President Obama? And that boys' night out lasted a little over four hours. Wow.

And we had a chance. And here's his second question. His second question was, who is the person you're most afraid of growing up? And I didn't know that, you know, I didn't know that my son was bullied. Right? And the thing is, so I wrote this little pamphlet. Dad, I want to know you because I found out that my children didn't know me. They knew me as a dad, but they didn't really know me.

Right? Come on. In this little book called Dad, I Want to Know You. Then, and because my mom was 84 years old at the time, I wrote the, so the same kind of question I just catered into my 84-year-old mom. Mom, I want to know you. Instead of my mom writing in that, the answers in that book, she wrote in her tablet 29 pages to all of those questions. And I found out I didn't know my mom. And so you go from the first book I wrote, From the House of Jesse, to what white people want to know about black people, and then Dad, I want to know you.

Mom, I want to know you. My last book is going to be Humanity Blind Spots. Aren't we living in a day where there's just so much blind spots? Right. Right. And so anyway, that's where I am. You said your last book.

You used those words. I'm going to say your next book. My next book. Not your last. I'm going to say your next one.

And man, just for now, wow. That kind of reminds me of my dad. I knew he was getting close to passing on, you know, and it was my last Father's Day with him.

And I wasn't thinking about it. I don't really know him now. I said I didn't grow up with him, but the Lord would, about 45 or so years later, give me a restoration of a relationship with him that I had not ever had up to that point. And so we spent the last nine, ten years of his life, a lot of time, kind of really a father-son relationship. But that last Father's Day, and I saw it online or something somewhere, it was like 10 questions to ask your dad or something, whatever, right?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And Perry, it was kind of like what you're describing right now with those books. It was like he opened up about World War II where he's part of liberating a concentration camp in World War II.

That's incredible. It was. And I went home and told my sister, I was staying with her and all, hey, let me share with you what dad is. She's like, how'd you, oh my gosh, how'd you get him to talk about any of that?

And I'm like, I just asked him. But he was willing to tell you. And he even went back, but now he's 92 years old at this point, and he went back to his third grade or fourth grade teacher or something that he remembered.

Same with my dad. I asked my dad, I said, hey, can we just talk? And I said, as far as you can go back, tell me your story. I want to know your story. On that Wednesday, when I knelt down for the first time on behalf of my soul, like, God, would you help me?

I was playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And I prayed for the very first time for me. Like, God, can you help? And I remember getting up and I called my mom and I said, hey, mom, I just want you to know I prayed tonight. And she started crying. And she says, babe, she always called me babe. She said, babe, when the season's over, I want you to come home. But I want you to, I want you to start praying for your dad. I'm like, mom, don't spoil this day for me. Right?

Right? And so I came home after the, during the all season. And my mom and I started praying for my dad. All he did, all he was, was just getting drunk. And long story short is that eight years before my dad died, he made a commitment to Jesus Christ, started treating my mom like his queen. You know, I don't know if I've ever loved a man like I love my dad the last eight years. And just incredible turnaround.

He never went to any meetings. He just stopped cold turkey. And, and I saw the best of him. But two, we didn't know he was going to die. He had heart failure. But two months before he died, there was this burning question of always did I ask.

I was, I was in New York and I flew in, flew into Greensboro, got a rental car, drove to Winston-Salem. And I was dying to ask these three questions. You know, for years I wanted to ask this question. And so my dad was watching this, his favorite TV show, Gunsmoke. I don't know if you ever watched Gunsmoke. I'm old enough to remember. Yeah.

So we were watching, he was watching Gunsmoke. And it's the house that I bought. So the best thing ever, the thing that I wanted to do more than anything when I was a kid was to buy my mom a home.

Yeah. And so when the Buffalo Bills made me the first round draft pick, the first thing I did was buy my mom a home. And my dad came, right? And because my dad was, you know, I thought my dad was a racist, right? He did not like white people at all. It didn't seem.

And so I bought this house in an all white neighborhood, right? Didn't think he would show up, but he showed up. Oh, I love it.

Oh my gosh, Perry. That's awesome. But a couple of months before he died, my dad, I went to my dad and I said, hey, dad, can I ask you a question? He's like, son, I'm watching Gunsmoke.

Yeah. So I turned off the TV. I said, dad, do you love me?

And he looked at me. He's like, son, I love all my children. I'm like, no, no, no, dad. I'm not talking about Wayne and Brenda and Eddie and Jack and Quela and Joe.

I'm talking about me. You know, I have six children. I have never heard you ever in my life say, I love you.

Dad, do you love me really? You're listening to the Truth Network and truthnetwork.com. If you would like to support Kolah for Christ Ministries for a gift of $25, Nikita will send you his two CDs, Adoration and Declaration. For a gift of $50, Nikita will include his book, Wrestling with Success. And for a gift of $100 or more, Nikita will include a signed copy of his newly updated life story, A Tale of the Ring and Redemption. Go to www.kolah.net and donate today.

You're listening to the Truth Network and truthnetwork.com. Now I'm an author and I'm speaking all over the place and wonderful children, wonderful family. Are you proud of me? And he says, I'm proud of you.

I mean, it was a heavy day for him. And I said, Dad, here's my last question. Would you go tell somebody?

Anybody. So instead of going to my mom who was upstairs, we were the only ones that was in the house. My mom and I stood on the front porch of this house that we bought, that I bought them in this all-white neighborhood. That's amazing. And we watched my dad walk across the road, across the street, this country road.

Yeah. And knocked on our neighbor's door. He says, hey, my name is Sam. And the person's like, you know, my dad goes, hey, hello, you know, and came to the door and he's like, hey, my name is Sam Tuttle.

I live across the street. And Mr. Charter's like, yeah, I know. I've been waving at you for 17 years, right? Oh my gosh, wow. And I heard my dad ask for forgiveness of his attitude. And then I heard my dad tell his neighbor, I want you to know about my son Perry and how much I love him and how proud I was.

And he just walked back, right? And I tell this to fathers, every father should at least take time and tell their children three things, right? I love you, I'm proud of you.

Let me go tell somebody. And my dad finished well. You know, when everybody else, when I see men now who are older limping over the finish line, I wanted my dad to, I want my dad to finish breaking the tape, right? It's like Paul, like Paul is saying to Timothy that I've run the race, right? Finish strong.

Tell all your children how much you love and tell all your children how proud. And my dad had a chance to do it. Was he born, I'm trying to do a timeline. Was he born in like the 1920s? Oh yeah, 30s, yeah. Okay. 32.

32, okay. My dad was born in 1924. And so again, there's a lot, man, there's a lot of relatability in our stories Perry because my dad was 84.

I did a whole show thanks to our wonderful director, Robbie Dilmore encouraging me to do a whole show just on my relationship with my dad and the reconciliation. He was 84 the first time those words ever came out of his mouth, I love you son. Because I, the Lord put it on my heart began to reach out to him. And it took a period of several months of me saying I love you dad, love you dad, love you dad, love you dad to him finally on his 84th birthday to reciprocate an I love you son. And then Perry, the very last words out of his mouth was with him the night just before his passing in his room, got himself up out of his lazy boy chair to give me a hug.

He didn't even know how to hug when I first started hugging him. Wow. And the last word I said, I'll see you tomorrow dad. And the last words out of his mouth were I love you son. Wow.

I love you. The very last words out of his mouth were I love you son. Every son should hear that. Well, and Perry, I do a lot of men's ministry, right? And these camps, these men's camps and conferences and different things.

And to your point, I can't tell you how many men, I mean, I'm talking not just dozens of stories, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of stories I've heard over 16 years of facilitating men's ministry of men who just want to hear what you just said. Son, I'm proud of you. Son, I love you. Yeah, that's right. Who've never heard that and never received that, right?

Yeah. Or even one step further, a father's blessing. That's right.

You know, kind of an old Hebrew tradition, an old Jewish tradition of a father speaking over or blessing his children, but. If God the Father thought it was important that his son Jesus hear those words. Right.

My beloved son, who I am well pleased, I'm proud of you. Right, right, right. And he kind of looks around at the disciples and say, y'all better listen to him because he's really good, right? But the thing is, if God the Father really believes that the Son of God needs to hear those words, who do we think we are? How much more do we not need to hear it, right? Right, right.

Man, woman, or child, right? That's exactly right. And Robbie in studio here with us. Robbie, you got a burning question that you want to ask him. No, actually, I was just, I almost, I tried just to say, you know, Jesus needed to hear that too, clearly, and God gave it to him twice. Yeah.

He gave it to him at his baptism and he gave it to him again on the transfiguration, right? I'm convinced that there are, I spend most of my time with pro athletes. I've been working with NBA players for the last 15 years with the Hornets. And so I get the visiting team. I work with the NFL players and alumni.

I talk with the coaches. And I am convinced that there is such a father wound. Yes. In our society. Right. So goes the wound of being healed by the voice of a dad or touched by a dad.

So goes our society. And I think if we get right, I'm not talking about marriage and I'm not talking about finances and I'm not talking about, you know, the Democrats and the Republican. I'm talking about as soon as father's voice. Right.

Says, I love you and I'm proud of you. It will be a game changer for our whole country. That's good. That's good. Yeah, I agree. I totally agree. So let me ask you for sure. I mean, before we run out of time, let me ask you. So all those books you mentioned, Perry, I mean, Amazon, I mean, can people, can people still get copies of all those books? Well, I took. All of those books or what? Yeah, some of the books, but I've taken most of them off.

I'm not a social media guy. And especially the black and white, the race book, it said, I'm tired of talking about black people, white people. I know.

Because we're so sensitive. But, but, but I'm, you know, I'm having to regroup and okay. And I'm going to finish the race well. And so there's a number of things for getting books squared away.

You know, I started my own 501c just recently. It's called freeze tag. You ever play that game called freeze tag? You get about five or six buddies on two teams.

If you ever get tagged, you had to stand still until someone coming in and frees you up. Well, there are 21 million black males in the United States. And if there's one frozen population that needs to be unfrozen, it's young black males.

And so we started this, this organization called freeze tag. And we're going to, we're going to go after, we're going to go after the first 12, the top performers. And we're going to spend the next three to five years going after the top performers of the top 12 so that those 12 can influence 21 million in politics and law and music and film and sports and in education. And we're going to go after the top performers and we're going to, so I got to raise a lot of money to go after them so that they can influence because I'm just telling you, so goes young African American males.

So goes our society. Well, I want to, you're out there listening to Perry Tuttle's story and I hope you caught part one. I'm certain that's probably why you're here listening to part two.

It's such a fascinating story. I told you we could do three or four or five shows with him. We're just going to have to have you back sometime Perry. And so, so corporate speaking, the books and all that, what you've shared the last two shows is going to impact a lot of people's lives and we're going to be praying for you. I encourage you to pray for Perry Tuttle and what sounds maybe like a daunting vision, but through prayer and support, how could people get, before we lose time, how could people get in touch with you? Do you have an email address?

Yeah, the email address is perry.tuttle at yahoo.com. And it's easy, just like you and Robin and everybody else, the pandemic has really played a huge, had an impact on me and people around me. And one of the things I've learned through this whole experience, and this is this, following Jesus doesn't make your life better. Following Jesus makes you better at life because the wind will blow and the wind will come.

It's for the just and the unjust. And what makes us different as a follower of Christ, yes, we have a peace that surpasses all understanding. Yes, we understand the power of resurrection and God and the power of prayer, but it makes living life different, right? That's good, that's good. And so those are the things that I've learned and those are the things that are exciting about being a follower of Christ. Well, you've learned a lot and you've shared a lot. And I want to, again, just encourage you to keep Perry Tuttle in your prayers as the Lord opens many doors for him.

And whether it's writing books or speaking on a corporate platform or conferences or wherever the Lord leads and guides and directs him and the impact that your mom had on you, the impact you've had on your own children, putting the scripture in your shoe every day. So can't thank you enough, Perry, for coming in the studio and being on the show. I love you, bro. I love you, Perry, man. I love your heart. And for the first time I've met you, man, it's been great just building a relationship with you. And tune in for another great episode of Man Up.

And Perry Tuttle, national champion, NFL, CFL, football all-star. God bless you. Thanks for being here with us today. This podcast is made possible by the grace of God and your faithful prayers, support, and generous gifts. May God bless you for your continual contributions. Go to koloff.net and donate today.

Hi, Nikita Koloff. Be sure to check out The Man Up Show, now available on television, broadcast, and podcast. Go to MorningStarTV.com or the Truth Radio Network. Check out your local listings or better yet, download the Truth Network app today. Winston-Salem. Be sure to check them out today at wsmc1.com because you are number one. This is the Truth Network.