Hey guys, Baruch here with Young Hollywood in New York, and we're tackling all the big questions with Justin Tuck from the Giants.

A lot of young people out there are looking to you as a mentor. Was there a mentor in your own life who really made a difference in taking you the distance?

My parents had a big to do with my successes. Someone just told me actually, you know, kids will be what they see. So it was kind of easy for me to kind of fall in their footsteps and understand that, um, the successes that you have in life are, you know, a direct correlation of the work you put in.

So of course, we're gearing up right now for your big Tuck's celebrity billiards tournament. And that's of course benefiting your rush for literacy. Why did you decide to focus your efforts on improving literacy?

Well, you know, me and my wife are very um passionate about education. We're very passionate about kids and, you know, we just came to the realization that, you know, what's the number one stumbling block for a great education, you know, your blueprint? It's reading. It's literacy. You know, we've been able to, you know, create partnerships with a lot of great people. Scholastic. Um, you know, deputy Mary at the time, uh Dennis Wilcott. Um, so a lot of people have really stepped up to help help us, you know, reach the goals that we've reached. Uh but we still got a lot of work to do.

Now tell her a little bit about this billiards tournament. Have you been a billiards player for a while yourself?

I have been. Uh it's the reason why I do a billiards tournament uh and not like golf or anything like that because I'm a a lot better at at shooting pool than

Yeah, you want to win this.

Yeah. It's my fifth year. Uh we've been to the final table two two times and been to the top four out of five. So, uh I always tell people that the only reason I haven't won it is it's because we got all the, you know, the trips and things of that nature for the grand winner. It just wouldn't look right. Uh if I won it and that's the only reason why I haven't won it five years in a row.

Of course, of course. Absolutely. Obviously. Now talk to me about your pre-game rituals. How do you get yourself psyched up? How do you get yourself in the right zone before you get out there on the field?

For me, uh it's simple, man. It's a game that I've played all my life and I just don't make it anything more than that. And yeah, you still get the butterflies and you still, you know, get the the anxiety of playing the game, but it's it's kind of, you know, I don't make it more than what it is. At the end of the day, it's still a game, right? And obviously, you got 85,000 people watching you and millions on TV watching you, but if you start thinking like that, it becomes bigger than what it is. So for me, it's just just, you know, just understanding that it's still the game that I grew up playing. And for me, that kind of calms me down and puts me in the right frame of mind because I've been doing this all my life. The game hasn't changed.

Of course, a lot of succeeding in this field is really staying fit, really focusing on your nutrition. I know you eat a lot of Subway sandwiches.

I do.

What is your favorite go-to Subway sandwich?

Uh, favorite go-to. My favorite everyday sandwich is the roasted chicken breast. Um a little bit of mayo, lettuce, tomato, jalapeno peppers on on wheat bread.

Have you tried their smokehouse barbecue or chicken teriyaki and spinach?

It really isn't a sandwich that I haven't tried.

You tried it all. That's your that's your favorite.

Yeah, that's my favorite.

One of your big fans on Facebook wrote a question. Neil Goldman. He said he always sees you at Nick games and he wants to know what it's like to be a part of the New York Sports community.

It's crazy. Uh seriously. I've always kind of been a fan of the Knicks. Um but being in Alabama, I was kind of like honestly I was a fan of, you know, whoever was playing pretty decent at the time cuz we didn't have, you know, any uh sports teams. But I've always been kind of a fan of the Knicks and and and Ewing and the Starks and all those guys there. Uh so, you know, I got the opportunity to go to some games early in and, you know, in my ten-year here in New York and kind of just fell in love with it. And now it's, you know, I'm kind of a crowd favorite. They always pinned me up on the Jumbo-Tron. You sit back and you think about it. I'm like, man, this is this is kind of crazy. Uh cuz I still remember those nights being in my dad's bedroom, you know, watching watching those games and thinking like, man, I wonder what that's like and now I'm getting the opportunity to live it.

Thanks a lot, Justin. Always a pleasure.