Thunder's OL Rykert Chose Different Life Direction
June 18, 2009 - American Indoor Football Association (AIFA)
Utah Blaze News Release
Five years ago, Dustin Rykert's life was totally different than it is now.
The budding professional football player found himself at all-night parties, hanging out clubs and making frequent trips to Las Vegas as a bodyguard for Dennis Rodman.
Two or three times a week for a period of six months, Rykert (6-foot-7, 300 pounds), a former BYU offensive lineman, followed the former NBA "Bad Boy", keeping people away from him while he was playing basketball games, eating dinner with his family, appearing at promotional events and spending nights out in Vegas.
It was only a matter of time before he understood that wasn't the life he wanted.
"That was quite the lifestyle for a little snippet and it didn't lead me down a very good path," he said. "I moved back here (to Utah) and met my wife and changed my life around."
Rykert, who is a diabetic, played three seasons at BYU and started every game his last three seasons (38) with the Cougars before being drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the sixth round of the 2003 NFL draft. He was eventually cut.
Rykert trained in California with NFL Hall of Famer Jackie Slater while trying to make a comeback, and during that time he hooked up with Rodman.
He eventually got another shot with the Kansas City Chiefs, but "let that one slip through my fingers" he said.
"It (that lifestyle didn't reflect) the kind of person I was. I realized I wasn't bettering myself. The kind of people that wanted to surround him weren't the kind of people I wanted to be around," he said.
After moving back to Utah he played a year for the Utah Warriors under coach Lee Leslie and then followed him to Boise to play for the Burn in Af2. After two seasons there he had resigned himself to the fact that he wasn't going to play football anymore until he realized there would be a team in Utah County.
At the same time he was putting his life in order.
He married with two children, has rededicated himself to his faith, acquired a good job and is now playing for the Utah Valley Thunder in the American Indoor Football Association.
After thinking his football career was over, he discussed the possibility of playing for the Thunder with his wife, and they decided he would play one more season.
He has played in eight games for the Thunder (9-3) and has started six at left tackle and the Thunder offensive line has allowed a league-low five sacks.
Along with playing football, he is the corporate security specialist and facilities manager for MonaVie, which develops and markets scientifically formulated and premium quality nutritional products, in South Jordan, Utah.
It goes without saying that he is better off where he is now than where he was five years ago.
"I had to do something different," he said. "What I was doing at the time wasn't working."
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