Hey guys, Curran Solomon here with Young Hollywood. We're about to go lights out with NFL pro bowler, Shawn Merriman, to see how his empire has expanded. Let's go check it out.

Hi. Here to see Shawn Merriman.

Shawn, your guest from Hollywood are here.

Hey. How are you doing?

Good, nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you too.

Thank you so much for having Young Hollywood.

Thanks for coming. Appreciate it.

Really excited to be here. Uh, really excited to see what this is all about right now. All this stuff.

All this stuff.

Yeah, so this is where it's all happening. This is where you're making your magic right here.

Yeah, I mean all ideas and the creativeness come in here and then um, my side little corner's over there.

Well, I gotta tell you, Shawn, you know, it's been really exciting to watch your career. You know, you were one of the most incredible linebackers in the NFL. Truly, you had a great career. And now you're taking your lights out, I mean,

Yeah.

what you're known for and you're making it into your brand.

You know what, you know what's crazy? I think that uh, even when I was called Lights Out when I was 13 years old, I always seen it as um, something that was like bigger than a person. You know, it was bigger than one person. And in 2005 when I acquired the name, um, I just had this vision like to make it into something massive, not just even apparel brand, but just like a whole brand in general. And uh, it's it's it's going, I mean, it's going now. I mean, since 2005, um, going to where I started from in Walmart in 2005 and just doing some things in San Diego where I played. And to now into into like the MGM Hotel, I mean, that's it hadn't get much bigger than that.

Well, take me beyond the athlete. Okay. Show me what it is that you have come up with. This is a great place. Very quiet, relaxing, little zen.

You know, you know what I like about the place is it's like a good working atmosphere. Like when I'm done working out and stuff, I want to come in here and get creative. I want to come in here and and and think of more stuff I can do with the brand. You know, I come in here and everybody's in here but like completely helpful. They all always on top of stuff, so I can get things done fast and create projects like this. Whether it's apparel, whether it's, you know, the toys I'm going to show you in a minute. Whatever it is, they allow me to go in here and do my thing. You know, the whole object behind the brand is push the limit. Um, and not just uh, push the limit on the field or push the limit off the field, but in the classroom with education and and and uh charity work and foundation. Like just pushing the limit whatever you do. Go as far as you can, as much as you can. And that's what the whole brand is about. It's more of like a

It's the new theme of Lights Out.

It's the new theme of Lights Out because, you know, I just I just feel that people don't know what their limits are until you push it. It's like you have so much potential to do so many things. So push the limit. And that's what kind of the clothes the clothes, the apparel part, and the toys, and the accessories or whatever else I do. It's like come up with some new stuff. Come up with something that's a little bit out the box that nobody thought about yet and just, you know, just do it.

All right, I am really excited to see this line, but I have a feeling I might be hanging out with you all day. So before we start, I might need a little pick me up.

Okay, well, look, I got just what you need over in that corner. I call it the biggest burst of energy you can have, because after them workouts in the morning, I come in here. I'm like, I'm heading right over there to that wall to that espresso, espresso machine.

You don't have to twist my arm. You're gonna want to make me some.

I'm telling you right now, you come over here and this espresso machine will just get you sprinting up and down.

Oh, this looks very fancy.

You know, just a little bit uh, time machine related here. It took me about It took me about a whole week and a half to figure this thing out over here, but I got it. So, let me let me hook you up. Just okay. One here. We go to, okay, we got the French vanilla cappuccino going.

Oh, that sounds amazing.

Here you go. Finish it off with that. Now you now your life is just different. Everything in your life right now is just That's where the bouncing off the walls is coming from right now.

All right, so now that I've had my amazing coffee fix, let's get this party started.

All right. All right, so here's the line.

I love all the colors. I I wanted to switch it up because I'm I'm a solid guy. I'm like grey and charcoal and and black and you know, I'm I'm solid, but once in a while you'll see me throwing in like a blue or something else to match, you know, the hat that I have on the New Era Donny's hat. So you'll see me kind of like throw on something. Okay, so what's one of your favorite shirts out of all?

My one one of my favorite ones actually is is the kind of the company's motto. It's like, push the limit. This like my favorite. It's it's uh,

So this is one you wear most likely?

I wear it I wear it most likely. You can't go wrong with a V-neck. You kind of keep it simple, keep it plain. You can throw it under a blazer, you can throw it under a sweatshirt or whatever you have. And it's you know, everybody wear a V-neck.

Okay, so I see all these men's shirts here. Are we going to expand into a women's line?

Yeah, we, you know, I have uh, like a women's racerback tank top in here somewhere that I really like. Oh, here it is, here it is. Um, a lot a lot of the women

That's super cute. Love to wear that.

I mean, sometimes they'll throw a a sports bra under it and go either go to the pool or they'll go work out in it or whatever it is. It's, you know.

That might be me. They might even go nice with what you got on. I mean, you know, just I see. This is this is leaving your You didn't really need that shirt, did you?

No, no, I didn't.

Let's see how this is going to work. Are we good?

Boom.

Are we good? That's nice. Perfect fit, everything.

Yeah. Look at that.

Let me look at mine here. See? Lights out. So you have fashioned me out now. Okay. Do you have any any fashion shows coming up?

Yeah, you know what? I have uh, Magic coming up for the first time. This is like the first Yeah, I know. I've been to Magic like seven years straight. But this is like my first one when I'm gonna have like my own booth there and then it's going to be a whole Lights Out show. I can't wait for it to happen. It's going to be crazy.

Okay, so since you're dressing your models for Lights Out, they have to go parade around to be like

Right. Right.

We have a lonely mannequin over here. Okay, so we need to do something with that. We need to do something with that. Put some clothes on it, cuz naked mannequins walking around just won't work for us. Ready for Magic. Okay, ready. Let's make 'em Lights Out ready. Magic. Okay, so let's use the Oreos Lights Out. All right. You get one arm and I'll get the other arm. Okay. So, uh, you got that. We're really doing this. I'm just following your lead. Oh, we can just put it out. You got it. Oh, perfect. There you go. So we

Yeah, thanks for coming out. I mean, I appreciate that.

Okay. I see a bunch of the shirts. Do you have pants in your in line?

Yeah, so you know what, this and this is my first time showing you guys this. So, you know, Young Hollywood for y'all. Nobody else seen this yet. This is for y'all, so. Lights Lights Out.

All right, so you know what we need to do? Okay, what what we gotta go next. We gotta design a little Young Hollywood Lights Out. Okay, so we gotta do a Lights Out for Young Hollywood.

We gotta do a Lights Out for Young Hollywood. We gotta put that together.

All right, so, Young Hollywood Lights Out. What do you envision? I'm seeing I'm seeing the logo. I'm I'm working on this sign. I'm thinking of something like the Hollywood sign in Hollywood. Okay. But more like futuristic. You gotta put the Young on top of it, more like futuristic, but make the Hollywood look like the Hollywood sign in in Hollywood, like the big Lights Out sign.

So you want the sign to be like the Hollywood sign?

Right. Hollywood. Right. And we spell the Young going down. Is that a G? Oh, thanks. No, I think the G is. Can we need to work on our cursive? We need to work on because I haven't, you know, school in

I'm a numbers guy. I'm sorry. So wait, we gotta do the most important part of it.

What's that? Where are we putting the the Lights Out? That good? You got it. See that? Young Hollywood. All right, here's our finished piece. That's uh, amazing. There's all these papers in my way. Let me

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. This is my like my favorite thing. I mean, I'm I'm so excited about this because I've been thinking about doing it for a long time. For one it's the kids and like to see them playing with your actual toys.

Um, all the charity stuff I've done in the past and stuff and just connecting with um, the big Make-A-Wish Foundations and the Salvation Armies and like hooking up with the toy stores and stuff like that.

It's been one of the most incredible exciting things I've done.

I love that you do a coat drive back in Maryland.

Yeah, yeah.

I think it's my 10th annual coat drive coming up at the University of Maryland this year.

So I'm happy about that.

And I'm definitely going to incorporate Lights Out on the apparel side and then Lights Out um, kids toys.

So, I think it's I think it's going to be huge.

Being that you have done that for such a long time and going back to this.

I want to know more about these toys.

Looks like you have a foosball, an LED foosball.

I have yeah, yeah.

Everybody loves foosball.

You can't even go to You can't even go to a household like without the foosball.

Does the ball light up?

So, it's LED lights on the on the players and the ball going around is is going to dart.

All of them are great, but I'm going to show you the best one over here.

You have the uh, the Lights Out Air Hockey.

So you can actually play the Air Hockey game at uh, in the dark.

We have a football.

When I was younger, when I was younger, when those street lights came on, I was told to like come in the house.

You can't play out here.

You know, if the lights come on, you gotta come in, you have the two color flags.

You have the neon flags and the neon blue flags and then you have the cones to to so you can see the outline of the field.

If you were to put together your all-star flag football team, who would be on it?

Oh, it's it's had to be football or just like

You can use any any athlete you want.

I would start it with LeBron.

But then you have to go on the other side and get Larry Fitz Gerald, because you know everything that goes up and he's coming down with it.

Then back on the other side, I would go with Calvin Johnson from Detroit Lions, my Maryland my boy, Maryland Terps.

Um, so I would, I don't know, I would have to use some muscle and I would have to go back and forth.

But if I started a team, I would I would have those four or five guys for sure.

Okay, so I see also that you have is this one of your toys?

Yeah, this So, this is the one that's going to be in toy stores um, pretty soon here, probably in the next few weeks.

The uh, Lights Out Basketball Hoop.

Um, that's going to be a toy store online pretty soon and then in toys after that.

Let's see what your jumper look like.

You gotta look, you and I both.

Okay, so you go first.

Okay.

If I make it in, I get to keep this shirt.

Okay.

And if you make it in, I will go make you a coffee.

That's the deal.

Ooh, that was terrible.

Oh, that was a dra There was a draft that came in, came out from outside.

See, you know what's crazy?

There's no windows in here.

Yeah.

All right.

Yeah.

Okay.

So, the coffee machine is to the um, right if you go out of here.

I'm going in.

You were just on American Ninja Warrior.

Let's talk about that for a little bit.

Oh, you know what?

It was It was for one, I I just wanted to do something that kind of Because I I'm an athletic person, you know, I can

It shows.

You know, I can jump and, you know, I can run and I'm fast.

I can still dunk a basket.

I can still do a bunch of stuff.

So, when the when the opportunity came up for American Ninja Warrior, I was like, I want to do.

I'm down.

I want to do that.

Did it come to you?

Yeah, and we reached back out.

And at first, I thought it was like, it's no, it's no way I'm even going to get past the first one.

I'm like, okay, I'm going to train.

And I can, you know, bench a lot of weight and I can squat a bunch of weight and I can do all that stuff.

But when I got in there, you really saw the things you had to work on.

So, I was happy I did it.

Right.

Tell me a little bit about some of these hats that you have here.

So, um, I mean, basically with my tats, like the first one I got, I was 13 years old when I was first called Lights Out.

That's my first tattoo I got on my forearm.

Um, the light switch here.

And then everything on this arm is is uh, a little bit more evil.

You know, a little bit more like impactful, like a little bit more aggressive.

This is more like spiritual, a little bit more religious and, you know, just I think everybody has to have that balance.

You know, you yin and yang.

Yeah, yeah.

I mean, you're on the I'm on the field and I'm just one person.

It's just like any actor or anybody that's doing their job.

It's like, that's what I do for a living.

I'm out there to try to take your head off in general.

Like that's what I do.

But when I walk off the field, it's just this person that care about a lot of people and it's very business-oriented that is, you know, love multitasking and doing a bunch of different things and kind of separating them two like makes makes life like great.

So, this is my life.

You know, I've had a great eight-year career playing football and um, now it's all Lights Out.

You know, we have an empire that I'm building here that I've been building since I was 13 years old and I got my first Lights Out tattoo.

Um, and we're going to keep expanding.

I'm excited about it.

Um, I always try to say that it's not work when you love to to do this.

And this is what I love to do.

And it's growing.

And by the time it's all said and done, I'll make sure it's one of the biggest brands around.

It's amazing and I'm happy to be sporting the Lights Out.

The Lights Out tank here.

Yeah, which I'll probably be wearing this for the next four days.

Hope you don't mind.

Don't worry about it.

If you need something else sent out, so you know, it's not right, just go ahead.

We'll take care of that.

One one thing we've forgotten though, the little wager that we had.

Um, somebody's supposed to be making me an espresso coffee over.

Right.

You're right.

It's to the she go right?

Okay.

All right.