How Terry Crews Went from being a Custodian Worker to a True Superstar

Making us laugh so hard our stomachs hurt or strumming our heart strings from his emotional speeches, the talented Terry Crews has become one of the most iconic comedic actors and aspiring activists of our time.

From growing up and enduring an intensely challenging childhood, to becoming a fallen football star, and then climbing his way to the top of the Hollywood food chain, Terry Crews has proven to be a true zero to hero tale.

He doesn’t just have an inspiring comeback story, though. He’s full of surprises and an ambition that nobody can beat! Keep on reading to learn more about Crews’ inspiring story and how he overcame it all.

Image via terrycrews / IG

Rough from the Get-Go

The legendary Terry Crews has been through so many jumps, leaps, and hoops to get to where he is now. And his ambitious adventure to get to the top all started when he was a child.

In July of ’68, Terry Crews was born in the midwestern town of Flint, Michigan. His connection with his mother was always a strong and loving one, however he struggled keeping a stable relationship with his father.

Even as a child, Crews had an aspiring inner-heroic mentality, and just wanted good for the ones he loved most. And it was the rough struggles of life that helped him become the courageously inspiring and brave man that we all know and love today.

Image via Imgur

Every High Schooler’s Decision

Nowadays, everyone knows Terry Crews as superstar actor and comedian, but his fame didn’t actually start in the entertainment industry, per say. In fact, when he was a teenager, just like any other high schooler, Crews was left with a decision to make about which way he wanted to drive his life towards – and for him, it came down to athletics versus arts.

In ways he never would’ve imagined, Crews has been a part of both industries, but the base of his adventure all started in his youth.

Image via Terry Crews / Facebook

A Restricted Childhood

For someone who’s so creative and athletic like Terry Crews, he had quite a restrictive childhood when it came to extracurricular activities. Interestingly enough, Terry Crews wasn’t actually allowed to dabble in sports or arts when he was a child. His mother was very religious, and the church that they were a part of limited them from partaking in all sorts of activities. From not being allowed to dance, listen to secular music, play sports, or even watch movies at the theatre, it’s safe to say that Crews’ childhood was restrictive.

So how exactly did Crews end up becoming a professional athlete and superstar celebrity in the entertainment world?

Image terrycrews / IG

Hungry for a Movie Theater Experience

Sometimes, when you can’t have something, then it makes you crave it even more. And Crews was hungry for a movie theatre experience in the ‘70s.

“It was kind of wild because of the church we were in, you couldn’t go to a theater, but you could watch a movie on TV. It was so weird. It was like, ‘Oh my god. What kind of sect am I in?” Crew light-heartedly shared with ABC.

Eventually the family got out, but before that, the little Terry needed to convince his mother to take him to the theatre. And being the optimistic and ambitious person that he is, he found a way to make it happen.

Image via terrycrews / IG

Finding Hope in the Darkness

In 1977, the pre-teen found a way to the drive-in theatre so that he could watch what is now known to be one of his favorite movies ever, Star Wars.

Terry revealed to ABC that he convinced his mom by saying, "Just give me a half hour. We won’t watch all of it. When the credits come, we’ll close our eyes."

His experience was absolutely mind-blowing, and in these dark times of restriction, he finally found some hope.

“It changed my life. I said, ‘This. I’m going to be involved in entertainment somehow, someway.’ I didn’t know I was going to be an actor, but I was like, ‘Somehow, someway, this changed my life… ‘But it came out of a very sad time.”

Image via terrycrews / IG

Living in a Nightmare

Terry’s sad time in life stemmed from what was going on behind closed doors at home. Unfortunately, both Crews and his mother were put in harm’s way when it came to living with his father.

In his 2018 Voice of Courage award speech, Crews opened up about what life was like for him, “I would wake up to glass breaking, sounds of people screaming, and it was a nightmare. We lived a nightmare for years.”

The relationship was far from healthy, and as a child, Crews knew that something needed to be done. Something needed to change. But alas, this was one of those times where things were much easier said than done.

Image via terrycrews / IG

Pack Their Bags, Just to Stay

In his 2018 speech, Crews revealed even further how hard it was for his family to get away from the unhealthy situation at home.

“I remember my mother coming into our room and saying ‘We’re leaving. Pack our stuff, we’re outta here.’ And we would grab everything we have, and put it in garbage bags, and we tied it up, and we’d wait to go. And then she’d come back in, and say, ‘We can’t go. We can’t leave. Where am I gonna go?’”

So what exactly was the young Terry Crews meant to do?

Image via terrycrews / IG

We Were Hopeless

One of the hardest parts of Crews’ childhood was just seeing how his mother was being mistreated, and not being able to do anything about it.

“I just remember saying ‘We can go anywhere, I don’t care. We can be on the street.’ But she couldn’t do it… You have to understand, people in this situation, feel entirely hopeless… We were hopeless,” Crew further explained in his speech.

Crews was caught in a chaotic environment; however, it was being that deep in the depths of sad struggles and hopeless fear that helped him uncover his courage and ambition.

Image via terrycrews / IG

Protecting His Mother

“All I could think, was how I wanted to protect [my mother]… And how wrong it was, and I said, ‘I gotta be strong. And I gotta get strength, so that I can protect her.’”

From that moment on, Crews did whatever he could to stay as strong as he could. There might’ve been nothing he could do to stop his father, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t a way out of there. He focused on his studies at school as much as he could, and by the time he was in high school, he was just about to truly turn his life around.

But even before then, Terry started to transform into the incredibly talented man that stands strong today.

Image via terrycrews / IG

First Artist Gig

When Crews was younger, he found himself over the moon and hooked on drawing. One day, a woman at his church caught eye of some of his artistic talents, and decided to offer him a job—to create a storefront sign for her. How exciting!

She offered him $25 to get the job done, and gave him a deadline to have it ready by the end of the week. The eager 11-year-old Crews was thrilled at the idea that someone would pay him to do something he loves!

Little did he know that this opportunity would turn out to be so much more than just a side gig.

Image via terrycrews / IG

When You Don’t Take Your Work Seriously

Can you imagine how excited Crews must’ve been to have gotten his first art gig at age 11?

But of course, he had never had a job before, or any experience when it came to anything like this. So, what he thought would be a slick and simple job, turned out to be much heavier than he ever expected.

Crews confessed to Business Insider, “I spent the week watching cartoons, hanging out, playing around, and the day before it was due, I started. But the paint wasn’t sticking to the canvas, everything was going wrong, it was awful. The woman showed up at the house and looked at it and was like, ‘I’ve never been more disappointed.’”

Image via terrycrews / IG

The Moment Terry Learned to Take Things Seriously

Let’s be honest, when you ask a pre-teen to get something down, your expectations of their professional level typically aren’t going to be that high. Right?

And even though it was clear that Terry was just a typical pre-teen who didn’t have any experience and did not know how serious it is to take a paid job like this, the whole incident wasn’t something he could just shake off.

“I was crushed. I didn’t put any effort into it. I vowed to work hard after that. I never wanted anyone to have that disappointment in me again,” Crews shared with Business Insider.

How incredibly mature and heart-warming!

Image via terrycrews / IG

Two Impressive Offers

A chord struck hard for Crews ever since that little incident. He quickly learned how important dedication, having a good work ethic, and giving it his all truly was.

So when it came time to deciding which college to attend, and what career path to go after when he was older, he understood what it would take to be successful, no matter what he picked.

His hard work and passion were paying off, and the ambitious high schooler was presented with two scholarships – one for art and one for football. Talk about impressive!

Image via terrycrews / IG

Athletics or Arts?

As exciting as it was for Crews to have earned two separate scholarships for two different things he enjoyed, he knew that he needed to pick one of the two in order to excel. So how would he decide between athletics versus art? Well, it turns out that one offer was better than the other, which helped make the decision for him.

“I was an artist — painting, drawing, that whole thing. But I knew someone wasn’t going to give me a full ride [college] scholarship to paint, so I had to play football,” Crews shared with ABC.

Image via terrycrews / IG

Drafting to the NFL

The small-town kid from Flint, Michigan attended college at Kalamazoo, Michigan, playing on the Western Michigan University football team. Throughout college, Crews played as a defensive end player, and turned out to be quite a talented athlete! When it came time for him to graduate from college, an opportunity with the NFL came knocking on his door. Crews had proven himself to be worthy enough to be drafted to the L.A. Rams in 1991 – how exciting!

So how did the dedicated and ambitious athlete end up becoming an actor if he made his way to the NFL?

Image via terrycrews / IG

Not Set Up for Success

It turns out that even though Terry Crews was a football star in college, with the NFL, he wasn’t necessarily put in a position to play his best.

For most of his career he had been a defensive end player, yet, once he reached a professional level with the NFL, he transitioned to the linebacker position. Even though he was a great player, unfortunately, his lack of experience in that position showed and took a toll.

“I was just a tremendous athlete that was kind of put into a spot, that I really didn’t have experience in. If I had played linebacker all the way from high school, all the way through, I think I would’ve done better, to be honest,” Crews confessed on The Dan Patrick Show in 2017.

Image via terrycrews / IG

Retiring from the NFL

For the next few years, Crews bounced around from team to team and had to find different ways to make ends meet financially since he didn’t receive as much gameplay as other players.

As great as it was to be a professional player, Crews is the type of person that loves to advance, exceed, and be the best that he can be, and he wasn’t necessarily set up for success with the NFL. Still though, he’s admirably admitted that he’s learned so much from his time as a footballer, and ultimately is grateful for it.

So, when he finally retired in 1997, he decided to take on a brand-new path and try his luck elsewhere. But it was what happened directly after he left the NFL, that truly brought an unexpected spin on his life.

Image via terrycrews / IG

Post-Retirement Troubles

After retiring from the NFL in 1997, the 29-year-old Terry fell down the rabbit hole, hard. From feeling down and depressed to stress-eating and gaining weight, the once glorious athlete found himself struggling with the transition from pro-baller to retiree.

Crews revealed to ABC that many professional athletes struggle to find their place in life once they retire from the sport, especially since they’re usually so young. “You’re larger than life, and then all of a sudden, they don’t know your name…They don’t know your [jersey] number. They don’t know who you are,” he further shared.

Image via terrycrews / IG

Far From Fit

Even though we know them as celebrities when they’re shining in all their glory on the field, whether they are NFL players or Olympic competitors, it’s not like there are a bunch of job opportunities lined up for them once they retire, unfortunately.

This took a toll on Terry, and he took all of his emotions out on his eating and health habits. The once super fit athlete had suddenly become far from fit.

It wasn’t until his loving wife, Rebecca King-Crews, had pinched his “back fat”, that he realized just how far he had let himself loose.

Image via terrycrews / IG

Eating Your Way Through Your Emotions

Yet again, Terry Crews had found himself finding strength, light, and courage in a place of darkness.

“I learned that a lot of the eating thing and any problem with eating has a lot to do more with your emotions… And I discovered that I had to just change it, and I went into the gym and been working out ever since,” Crews revealed to ABC.

He started to get himself back to a healthy state, and slowly, started to see the progress. And while it was great for him to snap back into shape, he still was struggling to get out of limbo and get back on track financially.

Image via terrycrews / IG

Starting All Over Again

Changing his dietary habits wasn’t the only stepping stone he had overcome to get out of this rabbit hole. As a child, he knew he wanted to be a part of the movie industry, as well as, the art industry. But how exactly was he going to get there?

Well once you’re at the bottom, the only way to go is up. So, the former NFL player took a step back, and started fresh from the bottom as a custodial worker sweeping floors.

"I realized I had to start all over again…I gotta sweep these floors and make sure they are clean but I also felt like I was doing something about the situation. It was a gut check," Terry confessed to Business Insider.

Image via terrycrews / IG

“You Go Broke, and You Got to Do Something”

By the late ‘90s, Terry was married to the love of his life for almost a decade, and they had two beautiful daughters together. But his financial situation got so bad, to the point where he was struggling to put food on the table. However, it was on the empty plate of food that, yet again, he figured out a way to turn things around and finally make his dreams come true.

“Let me tell you what happens, you go broke, man, and you got to do something… I was hungry. Your stomach is growling, and you realize these kids got to eat. And you’re like, man, I’m going to act,” Crews shared with ABC.

Image via terrycrews / IG

Getting His Foot in the Door

Terry crews proudly grabbed himself a big slice of humble pie and started sweeping floors to make ends meets – but he was still jet-set on becoming an amazing actor. Crews has always been incredibly thoughtful, caring, and dedicated, but it was his distinctive outgoing personality and body-builder bod that truly set him apart from others.

And because of those very characteristics, incredibly, Crews got his foot in the door, and landed himself the perfect part.

Image via terrycrews / IG

T-Money

In 1999, Terry Crews landed his very first acting audition, for the American Gladiator styled game show, Battle Dome. The syndicated show required a combination of both athletics and scripted antics, which was basically perfect for Crews’ first step into the industry.

And with absolutely no experience in acting, but more than enough talents as a pro-athlete, Crews starred as T-Money for the whole series!

Unfortunately, the series only lasted two seasons before it was cancelled, but this shed a light on Crews and encouraged him to further purse his passion in acting.

Screenshot from "Battle Dome"

Another Slice of Humble Pie

After Battle Dome’s cancellation, Crews struggled to land any other auditions or acting gigs for the next couple of years. But he wasn’t going to give up.

He grabbed another slice of humble pie, and started working as a security guard for the comedy film Next Friday, starring Ice Cube and John Witherspoon, in 2000. Which is exactly where he needed to be in order to catch his big break in Hollywood and change up the course of his career.

Screenshot from "Next Friday"

Catching His Big Breaks

Finally, come 2002, the tenacious Terry was going to have the chance to jump at all sorts of different opportunities he never would’ve imagined.

After working in security on one of the 2000s classic comedies, Next Friday, he landed himself the role of Damon in the following Friday film franchise, 2002’s Friday After Next.

From there, his legendary comedic character took the industry by storm. The more roles he got, the more he realized that he was meant to be in front of the camera. But this was only the beginning.

Image via terrycrews / IG

Business was Booming in the 2000s

Crews proved to be a natural and business was booming for him in the entertainment world! Throughout the next decade, Terry Crews landed all sorts of comedic and iconic roles from 2004’s White Chicks, to 2005’s The Longest Yard, 2006’s Idiocracy, to 2010’s The Expendables.

Whether you knew him by name or not, his big smile, loud voice, and body-builder bod soon made Crews one of Hollywood’s most iconic characters.

Come the next decade, though, the fan-favorite hilarious movie star was about to take things to a whole new level in the commercial world.

Screenshot from "The Expendables"

From One to Three

In 2010, Crews was presented with an opportunity of a commercial collaboration with the one and only Old Spice male grooming products.

But just acting in it wasn’t the only thing the production team had in mind for Crews, though. The creative and comical mastermind was able to brainstorm his hysterical and imaginative ideas with the advertising team, too!

"I remember the first time we shot any of the Old Spice commercials we did three on the same day because we kept coming up with ideas… I had to sign contracts and fax them to Wieden+Kennedy [advertising agency] on set because I was only signed to do one ad," Crews revealed to Business Insider.

Screenshot from "Old Spice" commercial

Spicing Things Up with Old Spice

What started out as just one hilarious idea for the Old Spice commercial, turned into more than they could count. And before they knew it, they had a whole series of hysterical commercials that would truly spice things up in the commercial world, and leave a mark in advertising history.

"I trusted these guys and it was a magical moment…It's been eight years and I'm still doing them. I'm filming a new one on Thursday," Crews shared with Business Insider in 2017.

Screenshot from "Old Spice" commercial

So Long Starving Artist, Hello Superstar

The 2000s were a warm welcome to some good in Terry’s life, and the 2010s were about to be even better!

Can you say so long starving artist, and hello superstar?

After the hysterical and legendary series of the Old Spice commercials, fans started to fall even harder for his “tough guy on the outside, softy on the inside” character.

But movie buffs and TV fans weren’t the only ones who adored Crews – people in the entertainment industry couldn’t wait to work with him. Especially the creators of the light-hearted detective comedy series, Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

Screenshot from "Brooklyn Nine-Nine"

“His Biceps Are the Least Impressive Thing About Him”

To be a top celeb, you can’t just be great, you need to be extraordinary at your job, while also being unique. And, of course, you can’t just impress your fans and viewers, you need to blow the executives and production teams, too.

And it’s safe to say that Crews has accomplished both of those over the years!

“Everything about Terry Crews is impressive — his talent, his work ethic, his courage, his activism, everything. In fact, his biceps are the least impressive thing about him, which is saying something," Michael Schur, co-creator and executive producer of Brooklyn Nine-Nine told Business Insider.

Image via terrycrews / IG

A Custom-Made Role

Becoming a Hollywood star is incredibly challenging – there’s a reason why our favorite actors and actresses are so famous, highly praised, and cherished. With that said, it’s one thing to audition for a part and actually land it. But did you know that in the mid-2010s, Terry Crews actually had one of his most famous roles custom-made just for him?

The role wasn’t just designed because of his famous character-type that he’s played over the years, the creators were fascinated with Crews as a person. If that isn’t a touch-down in life, we don’t know what is!

Image via terrycrews / IG

Sgt. Terry Jeffords

Before its release in 2013, the creators of the on-going series, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, were such big fans of Terry Crews as a person, that they actually based his character on the show, Sgt. Terry Jeffords, on him.

"We designed the role for Terry, we named the character 'Terry' just to tell him how much we wanted him to do it," Michael Schur revealed to Business Insider.

From the fact that he’s all about fitness, to his secret ability of being a skilled sketch artist for the police, to his passion for painting and design, to the fact that he would do anything and everything for his little girls, the creators love splashing and incorporating bits and pieces of Terry Crews into his character on the show.

Screenshot from "Brooklyn Nine-Nine"

Not Always Sunshine and Rainbows

There’s something so special and exhilarating when you finally find your true-calling in life – and for Terry Crews, it’s working in the entertainment business. But finding his true calling was just part of his “Zero to Hero” adventure. As much as he loves acting and is dedicated to the job, it hasn’t always been sunshine and rainbows.

In 2016, Crews opened up to the public and emotionally shared his own personal, #metoo experience in the entertainment industry from a “high level Hollywood executive”.

Image via terrycrews / IG

One of 2017’s Silence Breakers

As one of the most famous, light-heartened actors out there, Crews is known to make people laugh so hard from his silliness that their stomach hurts. But as we’ve revealed, ever since his first “failed” job as an 11-year-old boy, when it comes to taking serious matters seriously, he’s not one to mess around.

In 2017, Crews shared his experiences with harassment. The actor moved so many people with his courageous words and brave demeanor of standing up and speaking so openly about such an important and emotional issue. So much so, that he actually was named as one of the “Silence Breakers” in Time Magazine's 2017 “Person of the Year” issue.

Image via terrycrews / IG

It’s a Decision to be Happy

From all of the hardships that Crews endured; he was always faced with a choice on how to approach the situation. So how exactly has Crews been able to overcome everything and still live such a happy life, time and time again?

It all comes down to making your own choice to be happy.

“A lot of people don’t realize it, but you have to make a decision to be happy. You have to take the day. And what happens is, if you don’t take every day, eventually you forget how to take it, forget how to be happy…You’ll go weeks and months and years and you don’t realize you could have taken it every day. So, it’s a decision,” Crews shared with ABC.

Image via terrycrews / IG

A Wise and Inspiring Figure

The way you act and react is completely dependent on you, and Terry Crews is an inspiring example of just that. Along with being an incredible actor, Crews has become a fan-favorite because he also shares all sorts of words of wisdom and motivational quotes from his hard-earned life lessons.

Making a difference in the world is something that means so much to Crews. He’s inspiring people in ways he never would’ve imagined, and is forever grateful for that.

But Terry Crews still has a few more things on his list of accomplishments to check off.

Image via terrycrews / IG

Actor, Activist, Artist, and Family Man

Along with being an incredible actor, inspiring activist, and an extraordinary family man for his amazing wife and five kids, there’s still one more distinctive goal that’s on Crews’ target — exploring the art world and his passion and talents for art.

And just like everything else in his life, in recent years, he got a unique opportunity to finally break down the walls and allow his artistic side to play a big role in his life – starting up his own furniture line.

Image via bernhardtdesign / IG

Crews Furniture Line

Furniture might seem like a step in an odd direction, but one of the best things about Terry Crews is that he’s always full of surprises!

"On the [list of] things I want to accomplish, furniture wasn't on there but art was… [and then], I felt, wait, furniture is art, if you make it it's art!" Crews explained to Business Insider.

It turns out he has a real knack for it and even blew the team at his collaborating furniture production company, Bernhardt Design, away!

"He had so many solid ideas that the difficult part was choosing which ones to pursue for his first collection… His knowledge of design and his passion for the industry, combined with his artistic skills made him an ideal collaborator," Bernhardt Design creative director, Jerry Helling shared with Business Insider.

Image via terrycrews / IG

Always Full of Surprises and Goals

Terry Crews has been on quite an adventurous rollercoaster throughout his life, with all sorts of ups and down. And along with his humble and positive attitude, it’s his struggles that shaped him to be the incredibly strong man that he is now. For now, he is focusing on the things he loves most, his family, acting, and design. But there’s no doubt that the ambitious man still has a whole list of aspiring goals that he wants to accomplish in his life, and will always be full of surprises.