The Latest with Eric LeGrand
On a recent summer morning, Eric LeGrand’s phone is buzzing. Texts and emails and call alerts arrive one after the other, unleashing a steady stream of persistent pings that serve as a soundtrack to LeGrand’s busy days.
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By noontime, he’s pitched a potential investor on LeGrand Whiskey and tackled a flurry of messages about the many projects on his plate, his mind zigzagging between thoughts of coffee bean shipments at LeGrand Coffee House and A Walk to Believe, his annual Reeve Foundation fundraiser whose celebration on September 7 is fast approaching.
As he deftly types out his responses with a stylus pen clasped between his lips, the phone continues to buzz. But, on this and every day, LeGrand welcomes the churn, each ping a reminder of the career he’s worked so hard to build, of the responsibilities he carries – of a full life underway.
“Did you ever see a mad scientist write all these different quadratic equations on a board, and then at the bottom, there’s the solution?” he says. “That's kind of like my life. Every day is different, and I love that about it.”
In 2010, LeGrand sustained a C3-C4 spinal cord injury during a Rutgers University football game. Until that moment, his identity had been singularly rooted in the sport. As a defensive tackle on the Scarlet Knights, he was living his dream with his sights set on the NFL; the last thing he felt after the accident were his heels fluttering slowly to the turf.
The part of LeGrand forged by football remains intact, fueling his ever-evolving quest to be a playmaker, rather than a spectator, in his own life. But these days, a string of new titles – entrepreneur, broadcaster, motivational speaker, philanthropist – have come to define him, too.
“I had to adjust my life,” he says, adding. “With a spinal cord injury, I can’t write things down like you do. I can’t do things physically for myself. But I feel like my mind is the sharpest that it has ever been.”
After the accident, LeGrand poured his energy into therapy and rehabilitation. But as he grew stronger – breathing without a ventilator, moving his shoulders, regaining motion in his neck – the uncertainty of his future came into focus.
“Being an athlete was always about focusing on the task at hand,” he says. “So, when my injury happened, the major focus was on the therapy. Over time, it became, ‘What am I going to do with my life?’”
The publicity around LeGrand’s injury sparked an outpouring of supportive letters and social media shoutouts from strangers from across the country. When the interest in his recovery continued, his friends urged him to share his story; eventually, as he wrestled with the reality of his physical limitations alongside his determination to build a new life, LeGrand realized he might have something to say.
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His first speaking gig was at his old middle school. Though he spoke about “1000 miles a minute,” LeGrand was energized by the students’ response and a gratifying sense of purpose. The message he delivered mirrored the guiding force propelling his own recovery.
"I wanted them to leave with a new appreciation on life,” he says.
As demand for his speeches grew, LeGrand began to create opportunities to build the career he wanted. He returned to Rutgers and finished his degree in labor and employment relations, joined the university’s radio broadcasting team as a football analyst, and travelled across the country spotlighting the stories of athletes with disabilities for Mission Possible, a Fox Sports documentary series.
A decade after the accident, LeGrand’s life felt full. But in 2020, the pandemic struck and the broadcasting, speeches, and outward engagement that defined his days ground to a halt. Being isolated at home was a challenge and LeGrand grew bored and worried about the anger brewing in the wider world.
“It seemed like the whole world hated each other,” he says. “I started thinking on a daily basis about how I could bring people together.”
When a friend suggested opening a coffee shop, a lightbulb went off.
“I said, ‘Ok, I’m going to do it,’” LeGrand says.
He knew nothing about opening a business. At the time, he didn’t even like coffee. But LeGrand – who’d spent the last decade learning first-hand how to live a completely new life – was undaunted: he grabbed his stylus pen, tapped his search screen, and typed in “coffee business advisor.”
“People always ask how I got this started,” he laughs, “I’m like, ‘Literally, Google.’”
LeGrand found a consultant to guide him and was soon immersed in understanding all aspects of the business, from sourcing and sampling coffee beans to finding equipment and hiring staff. He and his friend launched the online business in January 2021 – filling 350 orders on the first day – and found space for a future brick-and-mortar shop in Woodbridge, NJ.
When LeGrand Coffee House opened in May 2022, the line stretched around the building and included Governor Phil Murphy. That night, LeGrand allowed himself a rare moment of reflection.
“You don't sit in it too long, but it's a cool feeling when you think, ‘Look where I was 12 years ago, and look where I am today,’” he says.
The shop, inspired by the same themes of cultivating community and appreciating life that he’d long centered in his speeches and broadcasting projects, helped LeGrand envision a new path in his career.
In 2023, he launched A Cup of bELieve, a podcast series featuring motivational interviews with guests ranging from Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan to award-winning actor Bryan Cranston. And he founded LeGrand Whiskey as a reminder that life’s triumphs should be celebrated.
These days, LeGrand’s phone continues to ring as the multilayered career he’s built evolves.
“It’s not a magic formula,” he says. “It’s hard work, it’s dedication. It's being able to stay disciplined and focused even when that newness wears off and the excitement goes away, and to continue to push forward. That's how you get stuff done, whether you have a spinal cord injury or not.”
To donate to the 14th annual Reeve Foundation Team LeGrand A Walk to Believe, please visit here. For more information about LeGrand, visit his website.