NOSO'S FAVORITE CELEBRITY ATHLETES OUTSIDE OF THE SPORTS INDUSTRY
At NOSO we love to highlight the elevating man. Let's have a look at some of our favorite celebrity athletes who maybe didn't go professional but still lives by the polymath philosophy.
5. PRINCE
Stories of Prince’s basketball talents have mainly been the thing of legend and the occasional 'Chappelle's Show' sketch.
Even though it’s often difficult to tell fact from fiction, Prince did play on his junior high and high school teams. The 2013 book ‘I Would Die 4 U’ described Prince’s skills during a game of one-on-one: “He moved like a player and played like one of those darting little guys you have to keep your eye on every second,” writer Toure said. “He jitterbugged around the court like a sleek little lightning bug, so fast he’d leave a defender stranded and looking stupid if he weren’t careful.
4. ADAM SANDLER
We know, Adam Sandler might be the most average athlete ever.
He’s not “Tom Arnold” fat and he’s not Channing Tatum svelte. No one really laughs at the notion of him playing sports, although I do recall a “Bwaaaaat??” Scooby Doo sound escaping from me when I heard he would be playing Paul Crewe, the brass-balled quarterback from The Longest Yard.
It's because Sandler is an average guy. He wouldn't be picked first—or last—in any half-respectable pick-up game.
While a very successful comedian and actor, Sandler has skills on the court as well. He has a passion for basketball, but has found time to play other sports as well, and represents his athleticism well when put to the test.
3. TERRY CREWS
Terry Crews is best known for his acting career in Hollywood. The 53-year-old is famously known for playing Terry Jeffords in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and also White Chicks. He also hosts America's Got Talent.
However, Crews was an NFL defensive end from 1991 to 1996. He was selected by the Los Angeles Rams with Pick 281 back in the 1991 NFL Draft out of Western Michigan college. At the age of 54, Terry still has one hell of a physique and one might assume his impressive physique is the result of superior genetics, but making it look easy is part of the job. In reality, the Terry Crews work out routine is equal parts exhaustive and intense.
2. MARK WAHLBERG
Mark Wahlberg has been ripped since the "Marky Mark" days (Yes, Wahlberg was a rapper, and yes again, his brother Donnie was in New Kids on the Block).
It's about time he did a movie showing off his athleticism and physical abilities. Wahlberg has plenty of talent in several areas, including sports. Mark has famously admitted to getting up in the middle of the night to work out before his day begins. We're not talking about a 5 am start here. Mark has spoken honestly about his eye-wateringly early 2.30 am starts.
1. CHRIS HEMSWORTH
Of all the actors who had to pack on mass for a movie, few in recent memory have taken to the task with such zeal, and notable success, as Chris Hemsworth when he landed the part of Thor.
Hemsworth in particular was a model of consistency, and the physique he built has made “Chris Hemsworth Workout” the top search suggestion when you punch the actor’s name into Google.
"People see Chris and they think he was on steroids, but he didn’t touch a single substance,” Gaver says. “It was just red meat, heavy weights and some protein powder. He crushed every single workout. He simply decided to look like Thor."
