Former Florida State defensive tackle Andre Fluellen’s playing days may be over, but his career is just getting started.
After playing eight NFL seasons and appearing in 81 career games with the Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins, Fluellen retired following the 2015 campaign. Late last year, he started Seminole Insurance Group, but that’s only the beginning for the former FSU standout.
Fluellen’s business is based in Atlanta, but he also does work out of Tallahassee and has a number of what he calls good strategic partners. Following retirement, Fluellen got involved in financial planning and then with a group called Athletes Insurance Marketing, which helps introduce former athletes to the insurance business.
“I always played the stock market and was always interested in finance,” Fluellen said. “It’s really cool, because everything is purpose-driven. We’re focused on giving back to the community.”
Through his business, Fluellen works with local schools, business and hospital to select a “Student of the Month” and a “Hero of the Month”. Those selected are given recognition and a video as a keepsake. Fluellen said he tries to highlight children fighting through adversity with health conditions and who overcome obstacles to excel in the classroom.
“We just highlight kids who are dealing with something and with the schools, it’s not necessarily the straight A students,” Fluellen said. “It just puts life into perspective. I just try to be a light in the world of darkness.”
Every year, Fluellen has been holding an annual summer sports camp. This year, the venue will shift from his native Cartersville, Georgia to Tallahassee. The same weekend will feature an entrepreneur camp, which Fluellen and his wife, Quiana, will take part in along with former FSU defensive end Everette Brown and his wife, Tenisha.
During the camp, which is open to boys and girls, the children will participate in “Seminole Shark Tank”, which is a play on the hit ABC show. Kids will get to pitch business ideas and the former FSU stars will choose one to support. Fluellen is a former All-ACC defensive tackle and was drafted in the third round, but realizes that the roughly 200 children that annually attend his camp need to broaden their horizons beyond just sports.
“Of those 200 kids, only six or seven will probably play college football and of those, maybe one will make the NFL,” he said. “That’s why we really wanted to focus on the entrepreneurial side as well. We wanted to make sure we had something for everybody.”
Along with Brown, Fluellen has worked with other former FSU players and teammates such as former defensive end Kamerion Wimbley and former running back Antone Smith. Although all four players are retired after NFL careers, Fluellen said they can still be a team when it comes to giving back.
“One of the things I always tried to do was replicate life on and off the field,” Fluellen said. “All of us who played at Florida State or in the NFL, we’d been on a team all of our life. You might not believe it, but it can be hard when that’s gone. That’s kind of what I was trying to with Seminole Insurance Group. It’s a chance for us all to give back and to keep that name going.”
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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