A Las Vegas native, he's an artist, an avid traveler and the Rams' all-time leading rusher.

Steven Jackson is our guest this week on Nevada Week In Person.

♪♪♪ Support for Nevada Week In Person is provided by Senator William H. Hernstadt.

-Welcome to Nevada Week In Person.

I'm Amber Renee Dixon.

In his 12 years in the NFL, he rushed for 1,000 yards in eight straight seasons.

The three-time pro bowler was born and raised in Las Vegas, a city instrumental in his upbringing.

Steven Jackson, thank you for joining Nevada Week In Person.

(Steven Jackson) Thank you for having me.

-And thank you for welcoming us to your beautiful home.

It makes me wonder how different is this home from the home you grew up in here in Southern Nevada.

-Well, Amber, I will say, a better view, I guess.

[laughter] -I would like to say the love is still very much a part of our lives, and my life, that it was when I was a kid earlier with my mom and dad in their home.

We try to replicate that here for our children as well.

-Your mom and dad, their influence on you?

-Big time.

Yes.

My dad is a Marine.

Worked, after his time of Vietnam, worked at Caesars Palace for over 30 years.

And my mom, same way.

She worked her way up through HR at the Las Vegas Hilton at the time, now renamed Westgate.

But longtime casino family.

Gaming, it was a part of our life.

It was how I learned how to count.

My mom was a 21 dealer.

She would deal the cards and ask me to add them up really fast with the amount of seconds.

It was one of those things that, through and through, we're Vegans.

-And then you would pretend to throw dice when you scored a touchdown, in the end zone.

So why throwing dice?

-It was a nod to the hometown.

It was one of those things where everyone around the country and in my locker room, everyone was very proud of where they're from, as you should be.

But everyone, like The U or some of these other teams, had a rich tradition.

And I thought, you know what?

I'm one of few from Las Vegas.

How can I represent this city in a way that was creative, representing a touchdown, but also just showed the kids and fans of Las Vegas that one of their own was up there doing the same thing.

-February 11, Las Vegas will have its very first Super Bowl.

And because of the presence of sports betting here, some people thought this would never happen, let alone an NFL team actually being here.

What has it been like, as a Las Vegas native and a former NFL player, seeing how dramatically the NFL has changed its stance on Las Vegas?

-It's been quite shocking to be quite honest.

You know, early in my football career, I went through football camps.

And, you know, the NFL was very hesitant to get behind it just because they didn't want the optics to just be wrong in that aspect.

And now to your point-- -You mean even local football?

-Yeah, even local football camps, because at one point, they didn't know if it blurred the lines of marketing and the way they were running business.

But now, you know, 20-some-odd years later, we have a hometown team.

Super Bowl is being hosted here.

And everything I kept trying to repeat in those boardrooms-- we were ready for a team, we could support a team, and we have an avid fan base.

We just wanted one team to get behind.

-Okay, so back to 10 years old, growing up in Las Vegas, your dream is to be a running back in the NFL.

And you even write a poem about it, which I encourage our viewers to go read on your website.

But for young men and women out there who want to be professional athletes, will you tell them what it took for you to accomplish that dream?

-Sure.

I believe, one is just belief in myself, willing to put in the time, that effort, to execute something that I was very passionate about, which was the game.

It was an outlet for me as well, being a young student in lower elementary, where school was challenging for me.

It was one of those things where I didn't feel like I was keeping pace at certain points.

And my mom was very cognizant of that, took time with me making sure I was getting the extra help I needed.

We were seeking out, you know, programs during the summer to just help me be more confident in what my capabilities were and not comparing myself to others.

But in that time, you know, first and second grade, football became that outlet for me.

When I was frustrated, when I didn't feel, you know, that I was equate in certain areas, that built my confidence, allowed me to work through some issues.

Then I realized it was simply a matter of just trusting yourself, believing yourself, and applying the skills.

-Wow!

And that you were meant for this sport.

-Yes, yes.

-I have some intel on you from a friend in town who used to host a sports talk show.

And he would award a weekly high school athlete, and the prize would be a free training session with a guy in town that provided training to athletes.

That was his specialty.

My friend says out of all the athletes that won it, you were one of the few that actually took up the offer and went.

And this was at a time when you were already a big star.

Everybody knew you were destined for a college, a full ride.

He thought it was reflective of your work ethic.

What do you think it shows about you?

-I believe that.

I believe my work ethic and my willingness to go the extra mile.

You know, I always believed in working when others weren't.

I was being a sponge.

You know, I always remained coachable.

That's one thing I always tell young athletes: There's one thing you don't want to lose, remaining coachable.

Don't get to a point where you think you're so big, you have it all figured out.

Because you never know where that gem of information or a technique that you may not have learned may come from if you just allow yourself to be quiet in a moment and listen.

Because sometimes, a lot of times more often than not, someone shares something, and you go, hey, I didn't know that.

-What impact did Las Vegas have on you as a man?

-Oh, I think as a city overall, it allowed me, one, to believe when no one else believed, right?

I think the city when we were established, in the middle of the desert, many people couldn't see the vision what the city would grow and morph into.

Also to be a showman, as we mentioned earlier about rolling and dice in the end zone.

I believe here in Las Vegas we understand how to entertain.

We know when the bright lights are on when to show the best of ourselves; and I believe, you know, seeing that and knowing that and treating your guests like first class and always being on.

And that's what this city has taught me.

-Tell me about your showmanship within the NFL.

-I would say, you know, more just about expressing myself in a way that most athletes hadn't done: shooting my own documentaries, you know, having-- being an artist, hosting my own art show, as well as just promoting the game and the other positions and players in the league.

I think once one is able to stand on the next person's shoulders, we make each other stronger.

And I always wanted to be cognizant of that, of not only showing myself as a great athlete, but as a human being, the many facets of myself.

-In regards to you as an artist, you say that it was a passion that reignited in you, I think it was around 2014, and it reminded you of the passion you had for art when you were a young boy growing up in urban Las Vegas.

What's the connection between the two?

-I was very introverted.

As we said earlier in our conversation, school, you know, first couple of years, elementary school was challenging.

So being introverted into myself, I would always draw, sketch different characters.

At one point I thought I wanted to be a cartoonist.

Drew a couple of pages that was supposed to be a comic book, and I realized that's a lot of work.

-Yeah.

[laughter] -Software would come and fix that for animators.

But at that time, I realized that my skill set and what I found most at peace was just drawing in an office or in my own private space.

That allowed for me to just creatively allow myself to go different places.

And that being said, you know, as football was coming down to an end in 2014, I realized that there's other things in life to explore, to try to somewhat summit those new mountains.

And I felt art was something that was a childhood thing that I hadn't fully quite-- I don't know if I quite fully achieved everything I thought was possible, so I gave it a run.

-Was there something about the urban setting of Las Vegas?

-I think it's just expressive.

I think most urban settings have art, you know, be it graffiti or anything around the neighborhood that expresses the people that live in it.

It depends on how you view it and how it's expressed.

It could be very political.

It could be something that just says, this is where you live, this is where you're from.

But it could be something that beautified the city.

So I think art has many ways to express themselves.

And if you look around our house here, we definitely believe in art.

So we are, we're fans of art.

We believe in expression, as long as it doesn't hurt anyone.

But at the same time, it's a teachable tool, I believe.

-Is there a connection between art and football?

-I would say somewhat if you're good enough.

[laughter] -If you're good enough.

And what I mean by that is if you're, let's think about Patrick Mahomes.

He's able to throw a no-look pass, right?

Those are things that are very-- he's an artist in that sense.

Many people can't do that and pull that off.

If you're a good running back, you can set up a block to spring yourself free.

So in a way, if you're in control and you're on top of your craft, I think it can be.

-So setting up a block as opposed to like, some nifty cut that you would do as a running back?

-Yeah, but setting up the block and a nifty cut is all kind of, it all ties together.

-Yeah.

-It's making one person think one thing, and you show them another.

-Yeah.

Okay, you're the Rams' all-time leading rusher, 18th on the NFL's list of all-time rushing.

I mentioned the eight straight seasons of 1,000 yards rushing.

You have all these individual accolades, but it doesn't always mean wins.

I bring that up because I heard an interview you did, and you talked about how future Hall of Fame Coach Bill Belichick used you as an example to inspire the Patriots when you were with the Patriots.

Yeah, will you tell me that story?

-It was 2015.

2015 we were getting ready for the AFC Championship Game, headed to Denver to play the Denver Broncos who were led at that time by Peyton Manning.

And as we were getting ready for practice on the day before leaving out, Coach Belichick called me to his office early.

And he said, Hey, Steven, I'm gonna bring you up before the team, and I would like you to talk to them and tell them about your career.

And it kind of taken me aback a little bit.

And I was like, Well, you know, at this moment in time, what would I have to add of value to a team that's on the cusp of going to another Superbowl?

-This was the end of your career.

-End of my career, right.

And I, I've only at that point had experience in the playoffs in my rookie year.

So you're talking about year one and year twelve.

And in this, he said, That's exactly what I want you to share with them, how rare it is to make it this far in a season, let alone have the success, the strings of success that the organization had here in New England.

Talk to them.

Tell the young people about how challenging it is and what it means to you to be here in this moment.

And what I did, you know, the floor was given to me, I shared my story and told those guys there was a span in my career where I only won six games in three seasons.

And you could hear the pin drop.

And after I shared that and gave them some words of encouragement, it was one of those things that you could tell that going into that next game, no one took it for granted, even being someone that has been in five or six straight AFC Championship games like they had been at that point.

-All right.

So that was 2015.

You retire after that.

And in retirement, you become an entrepreneur.

One of your businesses is The Original Barber Shop-- or Barber School.

I'm sorry.

-Both.

You're right.

I opened a barber shop and barber school.

-Correct me on the title, though.

-Original Barber School.

-Okay.

Why open that?

What was the inspiration?

-Locally here, I attended a school named Vo-Tech.

Now it's SECTA.

It's a vocational high school here.

And although they teach trades, they didn't have a home football team.

And so going there, learning the trade of drafting, and wanted to be an architect, that's initially what I wanted to pursue.

-That's what you got your degree in at Oregon State.

Okay.

-So I would go on-- not my degree, but that's what I would go on to study.

But in that, in studying drafting, I realized how important just having a skill set and a trade for someone that may not go on to college, you can step right into the workforce with some level of experience and talent, as well as the ability to just provide for yourself right away.

And how I see the skill of barbering, my best friend who is the Master Barber, Carl Littles, I saw him go from being a high school student to being a professional.

Now we have this great school here that we're able to give back to the community and these young people that allows them to make money no matter where they go, but at the same time build their confidence in their careers.

-Last thing.

You're an avid traveler.

Your favorite place you've visited is... -Oh, I would say right now South Africa is high on the list.

-Okay.

And where do you want to go next?

-Countyside of France.

-All right.

-Yeah, a little Bordeaux or something.

-Oh, that sounds so nice.

Steven Jackson, we could go on and on.

You have a tremendous life, a career, and post-NFL career.

I encourage people to learn more about you on your website.

Thank you for joining Nevada Weekend In Person.

-Thank you so much.

-And for more interviews like this, go to vegaspbs.org/nevadaweek.

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