Former gridiron great Je Armstead, a former all-star linebacker for the Giants and Washington Redskins, was able to use his recall muscle make Hamilton Honda come to fruition. He was deemed damaged goods in college when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament, a devastating knee injury. He was subsequently drafted in the eighth round of the NFL draft and few pundits expected him to last in the league, much less dominate the linebacker positon. A dozen years later, Armstead was named an NFL All-Pro six times, a distinction that often leads to serious Hall of Fame consideration. Armstead transferred that same relentless single-mindedness and resolution from the gridiron to his business affairs in his post-NFL life. He poured his soul into his 65,000-square-foot dealership in Hamilton, N.J., near New York in early 2009. And in less than two years, the dealership has made over $100 million and earned Armstead the Dealership of the Year Award at the 15th annual Urban Wheel Awards in Detroit. –terry shropshire
ssie Armstead used the same laser-beam focus and determination to defeat the haters and build his own dealership into a $100 million enterprise as he did to become a professional football player for the New York Giants.
Much like the legendary Earvin “Magic” Johnson of the NBA, Armstead remained undeterred during his playing days when he endured doubt from teammates and friends. The cacophony of snickering and laughter did little to douse the fire in Armstead’s soul to manifest the dealership vision dancing on his brain.
“People thought I was losing my mind when I would bring them out here and say, ‘This is where my dealership’s going,'” the former Giants linebacker said. “A year went by and Michael Strahan said, ‘Don’t tell us no more. We don’t believe a dealership is ever going to come.’ But there’s one here today.”
“I’m very proud of this award, because people thought I was crazy. I started off last out of 11,000 dealers and now I’m No. 21 in the country. I’m now looking to open up five or six more dealerships in the years to come.”
Who would be foolish enough to doubt Armstead now? If anything, the former doubters might want to line up to become shareholders in Armstead’s future dreams. To boot, Armstead said is very grateful that a mechanism such as Randi Payton’s Urban Wheel Awards exists so that successful stories like Armstead’s could be blared out for more to see and emulate.
“This awards show is important. You get an opportunity to recognize yourself and others for the work that you’ve done. This industry is so hard for minorities, and to give people the opportunity to come together and recognize the way we have been performing is great. And maybe this will inspire someone sitting in the audience to pursue their dreams,” he says.
