How an injured sports star turned his life around - by launching a cleaning company

For most sports stars, a devastating injury on the verge of national stardom might destroy their drive – but for Dennis Jenkins, it was the spark that inspired his cleaning empire.

In 2017, the footballer, now 33, was on the verge of “making it big” with a contract offer from the NFL but was left crushed when doctors found a lacerated kidney that failed to heal.

At a crossroads, Dennis knew he needed to find a new direction.

“Football was my life, but it obviously wasn’t going to be my life forever,” the ex-sports star, who has 28,700 followers on Instagram (@dennisjenkinsjr), told JamPrime.com.

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“So that was something I was prepared for.

“No-one is ready for it to end that early though, especially under those circumstances.

“It took me some time to accept.”

Jam Press/Jose Catellanos

Dennis had played football for four years in high school, followed by four years at college and less than a year as a professional - he says that the injury was a ‘devastating’ moment.

He says: ‘'I had a great season at the University of Arkansas, but then two days before I was leaving, I got the kidney injury. I signed a contract on the contingent that it healed - but It took about 14-17 months, and it still didn't heal. It was devastating. But at that point, I had started my business, so I pretty much let go.'

Dennis’s father owned a business, and his mother was a nurse. Dennis, who lives in Florida, credits his athletic background and mindset for helping him launch his own cleaning company, Executive Commercial Cleaning in 2017.

He built the business while still training for his football career, hoping that he wouldn’t need the fallback – but prepared nonetheless.

The business owner said: “As an athlete, you become a creature of discipline.

“That doesn’t ever leave you.

“You understand things that the everyday person might not – you’re able to accept failure and try to rebuild yourself.”

Dennis got things off the ground by using family contacts, with his grandfather having worked in the commercial property business, getting gigs in offices and theme parks.

Five years later, his company employs 87 people and offers services such as plumbing repair and fixing air conditioning, in addition to cleaning.

The company’s income was $8 million in 2022.

He says, ‘I knew that it would be a success within the first 3 months after closing our first six-figure contract.

“I owned some commercial properties and was running into facility issues and realised that other owners of commercial properties and business owners were having the same issues.’

The company’s speciality is using robotics and software – with robots taking much of the hard work such as sweeping and dusting.

Dennis said: “There were no companies in the area using robotics. Everyone else was thinking, ‘If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.' So we were able to just come in and take over.”

Jam Press/Jose Catellanos

Executive Commercial Cleaning was soon voted the number-one cleaning company in Central Florida.

However, for the athlete, the work isn’t just about making money, with Dennis employing other former sports stars like himself who may have seen their careers end early – or who just need some work to get by.

He said: “We’re all human.

“Some athletes can become brainwashed and think there’s nothing else besides sport.

‘I feel fortunate to be able to provide something they're so grateful for.

“Once they figure out they can apply this same drive that I have for athletics to my business, that is pretty much a game-changer because they still have that same mindset.”

Jenkins is also keen to give back to the community he grew up in by building affordable homes to help local families.

Raised in Florida, his father owned a business and his mother was a nurse, and he hopes to give back to the community via another arm of his business.

He added: “I’m hoping to add value to the community and make affordable housing for people who are about to be priced out.

“That’s the direction we’re going to take going forward.”

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