You asked, he answered: Q&A with Akiem Hicks of the Chicago Bears

We asked Chicago driver-partners if they could meet one Chicago Bears player and ask them one question, who would it be and what would you ask? Recently, we put defensive end, Akiem Hicks in the hot seat to answer some fan questions. Check it out:

Q: Where you from?

A: I’m from Sacramento California but my mom is actually from the South Side of Chicago.

Q: After being drafted, what was the biggest purchase that you made?

A: The biggest purchase I made after I was drafted was that I bought my mom a car. It was the least I could do after wrecking her car at the Starbucks drive thru when I was in high school.

Q: What is a cause that is near and dear to your heart?

A: For me I like working with kids and enjoy helping them when I can. I came from a middle class family and I had everything that I needed when I was growing up. There are things I’d like to give to kids that maybe I didn’t have or maybe something that I needed growing up.

Q: What’s your daily routine? How do you start off your day?

A: Well for breakfast everyday I have five scrambled eggs and two pieces of sausage. Except for on game days I might treat myself to something special like pancakes.

Q: After breakfast what does your workout regimen look like?

A: For me, one thing that I learned early on is that if you’re not taking care of your body you’ll be out of the game fast. The average NFL career is around three and a half years and I’m going into my seventh year and I think that I would attribute that to making sure I have a very disciplined workout regimen.

Q: How do you constantly and consistently play your highest level?

A: I’m slightly superstitious which is why I eat breakfast everyday. Additionally, throughout the week I do small superstitious things, like on Fridays I wear sweatpants from head to toe and thick socks. I’m very superstitious and that’s how I think I maintain my weekly performance.

Q: What is your goal in life?

A: Right now, winning the big game would be at the top of my list for not only myself but also for my team goal.

Q: While you’re pursuing this goal, who pushes you to be the best that you can be?

A: I’m very self-driven and I attribute a lot of my success to being a hard worker. I know how to work and how to grind. I know when to get up even when I don’t feel like getting up. I know that I need to go to work and make myself better so I think that I’m my best motivator.

Q: What motivates you?

A: I was always raised to be a motivated person. My mom and dad were both hard working. My mom was a nurse for 20 years and my father was in the military for 22 years and they always instilled the values to smile and be a good person. I like to help people and I think that’s the right way to live.

Q: What is it that you love about playing with the Bears?

A: Definitely the history of the team. There’s no other franchise in the NFL, in my opinion, that has a richer, stronger history – especially defensively. My first year in the league I was able to sit down with Mike Singletary and he had me come by the office and he was watching my tape. We just sat there and talked for a little bit and it was inspiring. The history is amazing and it was a huge driving force in me coming to Chicago.

Q: Speaking of your team – who’s the funniest member?

A: It’d have to be between Kyle Long and Josh Bellamy. You wanna talk about characters and personality? They have everything. You can’t create that, it just comes out of them. A guy I also have a lot of laughs with is Danny Trevathan. We have similar mindsets and backgrounds and we laugh at the same things.

Q: What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

A: The best advice I’ve ever received was actually a quote. It’s ‘know something that you’ll live for and know something that you’ll die for.’ And it means, what is life really worth if you don’t know what you’re living for or having something that you wouldn’t give it all for.

Q: What kind of advice would you give to kids who are looking to pursue a career in the NFL?

A: Go after your dreams as hard as you can. I will say that nothing beats a great work ethic because hard work beats talent and talent doesn’t work hard.