Meet The American College Football Star Who Wants To Become Chatri Sityodtong’s Protege

Now, the American wants to take everything he’s learned on the field and use it in the boardroom to win over ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong on “The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition,” which airs throughout Asia starting on 18 March.

“I’d like to say there are a few things that were important in our lives: faith, family, and football,” the Oklahoma native said.

“My family always had me in sports. I grew up playing soccer, basketball, gymnastics – almost anything and everything.”

Wilson’s athleticism earned him a scholarship at the prestigious Princeton University, where he went on to garner third-team All-America and first-team All-Ivy League honors on the turf.

After graduating, he came across an opportunity from a fellow Princeton alumnus to work in Japan, which he accepted. Once in Asia, the American also began playing football for the Sidewinders in the X-League.

“[My fellow alumnus] ran this hedge fund there and said that if I was interested in a job, I could visit, go through interviews, and then (on my downtime) meet some of the Japanese teams and see if I wanted to play football there. So, I decided to move to Japan,” Wilson said.

“I worked their full-time job, so football was mainly just on the weekends. Me and one other American were the first foreigners to play on the Sidewinders, and we were both All X-League. I set the record for catches and yards in a season.”

On “The Apprentice,” Wilson will try to break another record by becoming the first person to win the martial arts rendition of the hit reality TV show and earn a one-year, $US250,000 contract to work under Sityodtong.

Despite his love of sports, Wilson is most attracted to working with ONE for the broader experiences it would present.

“The cultural exchange, having fighters from different nations, having their message and story be spread all over the world – there’s not many opportunities that would allow me to focus on all three of those things. That’s really why I wanted to apply,” he said.

“When I saw the video [from ONE], I thought I might as well [apply to be on the show], it’s a great opportunity, and I need to just go for it.”

You can watch Wilson on the first episode of “The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition” by tuning in to AXN on 18 March at 8:50 p.m. SGT or Mediacorp on 24 March at 11 p.m.