If you are fan of any team that Martellus Bennett has been on or had him on your fantasy team you know that Martellus is an All-Pro tight end. Recently he signed with the New England Patriots and is gearing up for another season in the NFL. Yet there is so much more to Martellus than just football.

I had the great pleasure of chatting with Martellus about fatherhood, his new children’s book called Hey A.J. It’s Saturday, sneakers, and football. While doing research for my interview with him I discovered the many talents that Martellus brings into this world. He is fantastic artist, author, athlete, and self-proclaimed visionary architect, which is a brilliant title to have.

Art Eddy: I have to say Martellus you are a Renaissance man. Not only are you a great player in the NFL, but you are a fantastic artist, businessman, and author. I want to talk about your latest children’s book, Hey AJ! Congrats on the book. The book is inspired by your daughter. Tell me about the book.

Martellus Bennett: The first book is called Hey A.J. It is the first book in the series. A.J. is just an imaginative little girl whose imagination ends up making a mess all the time. A.J. is able to make the best out each situation that she is in because of her imagination. So everything is larger than life to her. She sees the world in a totally different way than we do.

So in this first book it is a Saturday morning. Most Saturday mornings parents like to sleep in so she decides to make her own breakfast.

hey aj

AE: I know you pain in regards to Saturday morning. I have two daughters; ages eight and five and they get up early on Saturday mornings.

MB: Yeah! You can learn a lot about a kid on a Saturday. How do they spend Saturday mornings? Is it outside or inside with cartoons? What are they doing are they sleeping in? You can find out a lot about a kid on a Saturday morning.

AE: What does your daughter think of the book?

MB: She loves A.J. She doesn’t associate her being A.J., but she just sees her as a character even though the character looks like her. She does call the mom and the dad in the book mom and dad. She will be like hey look A.J. is with mommy and daddy.

She loves it. When I am working she with me in my studio that is in my house. She comes in and colors and draws with me. Anytime that I am going to work she will say that I am going to draw A.J. Until it is football season then she is like daddy is going to catch a ball. Now she is at the point where she will be like I like this daddy and I don’t like this daddy. She would love to be on my computer all day.

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AE: Will we be seeing more books in this series?

MB: Yes. This is the first book. It is the first act. There is also an app. If you search Hey A.J. in the app store you can find the app there. Next year I have two books coming out. One will be out in February and the other one will be out in the summertime.

AE: You will be suiting up for the New England Patriots this year. What was it like when you first got to meet the team and what are your expectations for this year?

MB: I really don’t have any except to just go out and play. Last year I got hurt so this is a comeback year for me. I broke my ribs last year and I didn’t get to have the season that I wanted. Now I am just trying to go out there and just play. Do everything that I am doing and just ball out. I am excited to be out there and just play football.

AE: Take me back to your first NFL game. What were some of the memories that you recall from that game?

MB: The first game was against the Eagles on Monday night. I caught my first pass in that game. I ran a corner route early in the game. Tony (Romo) was trying the throw the ball away. I was jumping up to try and catch it, which was stupid because there was no way that I was going to catch it. Brian Dawkins hit me as hard as he could. He said, ‘Welcome to the NFL rook.’martellus and daughter

I was like man that is not a penalty? The ball was not catchable or anything. Later on in that game I caught a tight end screen and got about 25 (yards) for my first catch in the NFL. That was pretty cool.

AE: Switching to fatherhood now, what are some of the core values you look to instill in your daughter as she grows up?

MB: The number one thing for me is to make sure that she stays comfortable about who she is. She is such a gregarious and curious kid. If I can make sure she is like that when she leaves the house and stays that way until the rest of her life would be awesome.

Just make sure that she stays curious and that she is okay with who she is. Know that no matter what anyone else says in the world that who she is, is perfectly fine. When you have a daughter you just hope that you are the man that she marries. If my daughter marries a Martellus, then I am happy with that. If she brings someone home that is totally opposite hopefully it was totally worth it in what I did as a father.

AE: How do you balance work and family?

MB: Family is always first. I know a lot of people say that, but there are nights where I got to get home to my family. I will wait until they go to sleep to watch some extra film. I will take my iPad home and hang out with them. We might watch a few movies. When they go to sleep I put in a few couple extra hours in while they are asleep instead of trying to do things when they are up.

I am just trying to make sure that I am there for them. The best thing you can do as a parent is being available for your kids and your wife. I try to make myself as available as possible.

AE: What advice do you have for new dads out there?

MB: First of all it is a lot of work. (Both laugh.) Secondly as a new dad you can’t forget that you are a husband as well. I think the focus changes from being a husband to a dad. You got to find the balance of being a great dad and a great husband. It is the same thing with moms too. They have to find a great balance of bring a wife and mother. You are teaching your kids that by your example. Also being for them is the number one thing that you can do.

Life of Dad Quick Five

AE: What is your favorite family movie?

MB: It changes from time to time, but right now it is Despicable Me and Coraline.

AE: What is your favorite song to dance to as a family? bennetanddaughter

MB: Right now it is Rihanna with Work.

AE: Describe the perfect family vacation.

MB: Right now I would say the beach. My wife and daughter both love the water. Any beach where you can hang out with one another.

AE: What was your favorite children’s book when you were growing up?

MB: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

AE: I saw you rocking some cool kicks on social media. What is your favorite pair of sneakers of all time?

MB: I am an adidas guy. So you can never go wrong with a pair of shelltoes. Other than that I would say the Jordan III’s.

Follow Martellus on Twitter at @MartysaurusRex Check out his new app in your app store, just search “Hey AJ.”