I talked with Al-Farouq Aminu about his blog and learned a thing or two about our most athletic player.

If you hadn’t heard, the bird is the word. That’s a true story. Another true story is that Farouq started his blog in part to overcome his shyness. Apparently he’s long been a bit of a shy-guy, and instead of continuing to be that way, he’s making a concerted effort to come out of his shell. With a little help from his uncle, he launched a blog on Tumblr and for the past few days has been working on increasing both his following and the number of those he follows on twitter.

What I first took from the conversation with Farouq that’s shown in the video was simply a reaffirmation that NBA players are real people who have normal lives outside of just basketball. While we’re aware Farouq works tirelessly to improve himself off the court and can throw down monstrous jams, we now also know that he deals with some of the same issues that plague the average person.

The post that I discuss with him in the video is as follows–

Just had a powerful talk with my cousin and realized something great. That if you want something to be the reason you stopped from being all you can be then that is easy to do. Cause if you think hard enough there will always be something. Therefore you have to worry about what YOU can do and not forces in which you can not control. Basically you have to change things within your self to obtain the desires you want around you.

It’s odd to think that a 6’9 beastly professional basketballer could have a problem meeting and engaging people. The reality, though, is that aggressiveness and confidence on the court doesn’t always correlate to someone’s personality off the court. As you may recall, a while back we found that Eric Gordon is also a bit on the shy side.

This recent post by Aminu sheds some light on another problem that NBA players often face– The changing of those around them.

Worst part of getting to the league is when the people around you change. It can sadden ya heart a little because you really though they were in your life for a pure reason and it proves not to be the case.

As anyone who’s come into lots and lots of money can tell you, that’s another reality that isn’t exclusive to NBA players. Anyway, check out Farouq’s blog, follow him on twitter, and give him an extra loud cheer next time he does something awesome.

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*Some have commented in the past on my use of the term “beast”. To clarify, I mean that in the most complimentary way possible. It’s kind of my go-to compliment when referring to an athletic play or a particularly good athlete. For example, when I’m golfing and nail a particularly long drive, I’ll remark to my wimpy playing partners that I’m a beast.