The NFL star of The New York Giants, Bobby Okereke, shares more about his upcoming launch date, working with his COO Sarah Singley, and what entrepreneurship has taught him thus far.
No one understands teamwork better than New York Giants linebacker, Bobby Okereke. When he’s not on the field making impactful plays, he’s bonding with his teammates in the locker room over a game of ping-pong or chess. While improving his competitive stamina and tightening the camaraderie amongst the guys has been on the forefront of Bobby’s daily life, there’s a new business endeavor he’s taken on since April. Throughout the past 6 months, Bobby has had to find time off the field to juggle his multi-faceted career with his newest business venture, Presidential Travel Services. PTS is a Miami based luxury travel service of starry-skied escalades who cater to some of your favorite rappers and NBA stars alike.
Working alongside his COO Sarah Singley, whom he credits much of her support in the seamlessly successful start-up, Bobby champions his ability to transfer his skills from the field and apply it to his business. Singley is known for bringing in her A-list clientele. Her celebrity friends and clients from her own business keeps the cars going for 48 hours at a time. When a star athlete comes to town, they know to go to Sarah for all things luxury. From 70-ft yachts docked at Miami Beach Marina to Nobu hotel penthouse stays, Singley saw there was an opportunity to also support “transportation while traveling” needs. From MIA airport to the weekend pad to Carbone, Singley accommodates through PTS. Partnering with Bobby only made sense from their shared entrepreneurial spirits, complimentary rolodex of star friends and genuine friendship. During our interview, Bobby shared more about his overall aspirations for his business and working with Sarah, despite having a busy day-to-day as a professional athlete.
The Knockturnal: Congratulations on the interception in the recent Giants vs. Patriots game! Walk us through that moment and how it felt to make such an impactful play.
Bobby Okereke: First off, thank you! Yeah, it was a great win versus the Patriots last week, and the interception was huge. That was my second interception of the year. It was an opportunity where I was playing the quarterback’s eyes just, trusting my instincts. And one of my teammates was blitzing, he was a free runner. And, you know, the quarterback made a bad decision, threw it right to me, I caught it, and immediately, I’m just sprinting up the sidelines, trying to get as many yards as I can, I mean, 55 yards, not bad. I got to work on my return skills and cut back a little, a little less than I did, but it was a lot of fun!
New York Giants Linebacker Bobby Okereke | Photo By: Josh Sobel
The Knockturnal: How do you feel your skills and performance have evolved since joining the Giants, and what aspects of your game do you continue to work on?
Bobby Okereke: I think my skills have evolved since I joined the Giants. First off, just being in my fifth year, I just feel that much more of a veteran, especially coming to a new team and being voted a team captain, and just putting a position of leadership. I’m just trusting myself a lot more. I’m leaning on my experiences of the past. And I’m just playing with a lot of confidence and conviction.
The Knockturnal: How do you describe the camaraderie within the Giants, and how does the team chemistry contribute to success on the field?
Bobby Okereke: I think our team chemistry with the Giants is great. And it contributes to our success in the field. In the locker room, we got about three ping-pong tables. We got about two chess boards. We play Connect Four in there we play Foursquare, where we just play, we played Madden in the team meeting room, and it’s just a focus on competitive stamina. And that comes from the top down. It’s just we compete, and we have fun in whatever we do. And we compete longer and harder than anybody. So all that fun and all that camaraderie we build in the building, and it shows on game day.
The Knockturnal: Looking back at your career so far, what would you consider as one of your most memorable moments or highlights?
Bobby Okereke: Looking back at my career, some of my most memorable highlights have been the big plays I’ve made. I remember my rookie year in 2019, I had to pick two random backs 99 yards for a two-point conversion. That was very exciting. I had a strip sack versus the Tennessee Titans, in my rookie year, and that was a lot of fun. I almost recovered the ball. I had a crazy laid-out interception versus the Patriots and 2021. Sarah [COO of Presidential Travel Services] hooked me up with an elite picture with that one! And yeah, just some of the big plays that made throughout my career that, you know, my teammates have helped me make.
Lawrence Cager (L) Sarah Singley (M) Bobby Okereke (R) | Photo by: Josh Sobel
The Knockturnal: Transitioning from the NFL to entrepreneurship is unique. What inspired you to start Presidential Travel Services, and how did this idea come about?
Bobby Okereke: Yeah, um, I think the crossover of football and entrepreneurship is very fun and exciting. For me, there are a lot of parallels. Presidential Travel Services, really just organically developed through my relationship with Sarah. Just spending time in Miami, and doing different events outside, whether it’s on a boat, or restaurant, lounges, or clubs, just seeing the opportunity that was there. Sarah and I really just put together a business plan and executed it over, I want to say a stretch of three, four months, starting in March. We’ve developed the company to where it’s at now. It’s just inspiring because we see the vision, we see how much potential we have. It’s a lot of fun. As I said, some of the parallels between football and entrepreneurship: It’s discipline, hard work, creativity, trusting your intuition and you know, making a decision and going on with it. But it’s been a lot of fun. And I’m excited to keep developing it further.
The Knockturnal: Your travel business caters to high-profile individuals. What services do you provide that specifically appeal to this demographic, and how do you ensure a seamless and luxurious experience for your clients?
Bobby Okereke: Yeah, so our company President’s Travel Services is a very, versatile, niche experience. It’s multipurpose, really a chauffeur service, specifically Miami just because it’s a huge destination for business vacation travel, just a lot of reasons for people to be there. So for those high net worth individuals, we provide them with that unique experience to traverse the whole Miami Dade County area. Currently, we have two Escalades in Miami. One of them’s got some beautiful stars on the roof. The other one’s got a beautiful leather, suede, leather to panoramic roof. Blacked out Forgiato rims, we just try to provide as much of a unique and high-class experience for our high net worth individuals.
The Knockturnal: Do you have any clients particularly that you’re hoping to attract, if any at the moment?
Bobby Okereke: You know, if we could shoot for any mayors, or maybe a governor of Florida, like politicians just show that, you know, we can provide a safe, beautiful, and exciting experience for them!
The Knockturnal: Managing an NFL career and a luxury travel business must be demanding. How do you balance the responsibilities of playing professional football and running a successful business?
Bobby Okereke: Yeah, so managing my NFL career and preparing for Presidential Travel Services, it’s a challenging opportunity for me. But I’m able to succeed in both of those really, because the support around me with the New York Giants, the organization, and the front office do a great job, you know, helping me prepare for game day in the best way possible. And then with Presidential Travel Services, my COO business partner, Sarah Singley, this company wouldn’t be anything without her. She’s so instrumental to the day-to-day, outreach of the company, and just how smooth the process is. So just the teams that the team of people that I have around me support me, it’s enabled me to be successful.
Sarah Singley (L) and Bobby Okereke (R) | Photo by Josh Sobel
The Knockturnal: Can you share some insights into your journey as an entrepreneur? What challenges have you faced, and what lessons have you learned along the way?
Bobby Okereke: You know, through my journey as an entrepreneur, I think I’ve just embraced the unknown, and realized that every new step is a learning opportunity for me to build off of. So in the development process of this company, meeting with business attorneys meeting with or figuring out insurance, figuring out the local laws, just trying to make sure that we comply with everything. It’s been a fun learning experience. My discipline as an athlete correlates to the discipline that’s needed for, this business endeavor to be successful. Just making sure that we don’t cut any corners, making sure we dot all your I’s and cross all our T’s, and making sure we do everything to create a sturdy foundation, so that when this company eventually takes off which we see the vision that it will, you know, it’ll be something that’s built for the long run.
The Knockturnal: What are your aspirations for Presidential Travel Services, and how do you see it evolving in the future? Are there any specific milestones or goals you’ve set for the business?
Bobby Okereke: Yes, my aspiration for PTS is really to be a premiere travel service all across the country. We started in Miami, hoping to branch out into potentially New York, LA, Arizona any other hot spot destinations for business and travel and just be a trusted and safe luxury car ride experience for all of our high net worth friends and clients. One of the milestones we said that we’re about to accomplish is getting our first hotel contract. So that way we can have that steady recurring revenue. And just help us build out our portfolio of cars and vehicles under our company.
To learn more about Bobby Okereke or Presidential Travel Services head to: https://www.instagram.com/presidentialtravelservices/
