Living At The Top: Meet Co-Founder Allen Lazard

Full name: Allen Lazard
Age: 25
Title/company: Co-Founder, At The Top

Let’s start from the “beginning.” Your story has been shaped by how you overcame going undrafted in the NFL and created a name for yourself in Green Bay. How has that shaped your work with At The Top?
Like any 21 year-old, I left college with an idea in my head about what “success” looks like. For me, it was getting drafted in the NFL. When I joined Jacksonville as a free agent, I spent the next 18 months laser focused on people around me who were successful and tried to mimic everything they did. In life, and especially in the NFL, there’s a lot that’s out of your control so instead of letting what I couldn’t control get the best of me, I centered all my attention on the small details that were in my control - eating right, pushing myself in workouts, learning from the leaders around me. It helped me not only better my craft, but that kind of grit paid off when I had the opportunity to join the Packers.

The last three years have been monumental for me, filled with so much change and growth. It’s part of what inspired me to launch At The Top when we did - I wanted to create a community of hardworking, goal-driven people who were looking for inspiration, motivation and connection on their journeys to the top. There’s a lot of behind the scenes work in becoming successful. My hope is that we can continue to build this ATT community to support each other through the adversity, challenges and learning opportunities that come with that journey.

What advice would you give to your 21-year-old self?
Pay attention to the friends, family and mentors in your corner before you find success. Being around people who believe in your dream from the beginning are the ones who are going to keep pushing you once you’ve achieved your goal.

I’d also remind myself that there’s truly no such thing as an overnight success. Put in the work, keep your head down and focus on being consistent.

Advocating for yourself isn’t always easy, especially when you’re the underdog. Do you have any tips for finding new opportunities and positioning yourself and the right person for the job?
No one will care as much about your dreams as you. It’s easy to let comparison take over, especially when you get passed up for an opportunity you really wanted, but those are the moments when it’s most important to not sell yourself short. While you wait for new opportunities to present themselves, don’t wait around. Stay focused on what you can control and be consistent in your high quality of work. Leaders and organizations take notice of consistency and people they know they can count on. Let your attitude, confidence and consistency advocate for you.

What does a typical day look like for you right now?
During the season, my time is largely consumed by training, meetings, watching film and practice so I don’t get much time to work on At The Top until the evenings. But now that we’re in the off season, I’ve been able to build a more flexible schedule around managing At The Top. Since I’m able to train from anywhere, I’m able to travel to visit friends and family, while still prioritizing weekly ATT meetings with the team to strategize new content.

Followers love seeing the bits and pieces of your life you share on Instagram. Tell us about posting parts of your life to such a large audience. What has been the most rewarding aspect? What has been the most challenging?
The most rewarding part of sharing your “real life” on social media is the connections and support from your community of followers. The messages and comments from people who tell me about how my journey has inspired them, or how they’ve learned from what I’ve gone through means a lot. The most challenging part is definitely balancing my personal life and learning to ignore some of the internet “trolls.”

Speaking of social media, you post a lot about #LivingLazish. What does that mean?
The best way to describe living lazish is being yourself, and owning your personal brand. There’s a certain level of swag that comes with loving who you are and the life you’re creating. Living Lazish to me means taking care of my mental/physical health, standing up for what I believe in, surrounding myself with great people and being the best, happiest me.

Where do you see yourself in five years?
It’s hard to imagine where I’ll be in five years just knowing how much my life has changed even in the last 365 days. In five years, I hope to still be playing football and I hope this community is still growing. I also hope to be traveling a LOT.

Favorite vacation destination?
The Rocky Mountains.

If you could have lunch with anyone, who would it be and why?
Joe Rogan. He’s hilarious and I know we’d have the best time together.