“Hey, you don’t have to travel too far, so that’s a good thing.”

These were among the first words that LA Rams head coach Sean McVay would say to Quentin Lake when he was drafted in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL draft. For a Southern California native who went to Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana before attending UCLA, Lake would describe being selected by the Rams as “destiny.” But, on that fated night in 2022, Coach McVay didn’t say much else on the draft call. One can’t blame him for being preoccupied—it was a busy day for head coaches, and sixth-round picks average less than two seasons in the NFL.

You look at Quentin Lake now—a full-time starting safety having just entered his fourth season and one of the Rams’ team captains—and it’s easy to forget how unlikely that outcome might have seemed just a few years ago. It is a credit to the man himself first and foremost, but Lake is sure to give equal due to his father.

“He’s somebody I wanted to be. He’s somebody who did it the right way,” Quentin says of his dad (and one of the NFL’s best defenders of the 1990s), Carnell Lake. “Honestly, it was easy to follow because everything I needed to do was there. How to be a good football player, a good teammate—he laid that blueprint out for me.”

For Quentin Lake, that blueprint wasn’t a matter of resources afforded to the lineage of NFL stars. It was a way of being; a day-to-day comportment that allows for longevity in the most competitive of fields.

“He showed me how to do things the right way, but to do them in a way that will separate me from the rest. He always told me, ‘When you get in between the white lines, you’re always trying to compete.’” Lake credits that approach for not only his current success on the field but the title of team captain that was bestowed upon him by his teammates.

“I’ve never been a ‘hoorah’ guy. I’ve never been like, ‘I’m going to give the best, most empowering speech,’ or whatever. For me, the biggest thing was being able to lead through my actions. I have to show people before I can say anything. It’s always been about leading through my actions first and showing guys how to be a pro and do things the right way.”

But there is only so much a Gen-Z athlete can inherit from his Gen-X predecessors. Cultures change. Worlds change. Lake gladly reminisces about the stories of a former generation that were told to him: of ashtrays full of cigarettes in the locker rooms and deliberate headbutts on the turf. “It’s totally different,” Lake says with a laugh. “On the field, those guys probably would be suspended for years if they played today.”

Those changes in the stadium coincide with a rapidly changing environment away from the sport. For Lake, now a fully established NFL starter, life has become a matter of deciding how best to navigate this new platform in a modern environment.

“Guys have kind of expanded outside of the game,” Lake says of being a pro in the social media era. “I think just being in the public eye more, there are a lot of incentives to expanding and branding yourself.”

And Lake has his interests away from football that would be ripe for brand expansion. He’s an avid gamer who also has a keen interest in fashion. But for now, video games remain largely a vehicle for unwinding, while any ideas about designing and partaking in the fashion world are still just a potential avenue in the future.

“I think now I have a platform where I can really impact people’s lives,” Lake says, considering how to best utilize his platform and the precious time he has away from football. For Lake, philanthropic efforts take precedence.

“I’ve been hosting a kids camp every year, because I know the feeling that it gave me when I was in front of NFL athletes as a young person,” Lake tells me. “Those are moments you’ll never forget. It’s K–12, and I run through drills with them, and they’ll talk to me. It’s great.”

Beyond just giving back on the field, Lake is starting to expand into further charitable avenues that are most significant to him.

“I also work with the Sickle Cell Disease Foundation,” Lake says. “Because my father and I have the sickle cell trait. I like to spread awareness around those things. There’s a good amount of people and athletes in the NFL that actually have the trait, and it’s not talked about. It doesn’t mean that it’s deadly if you have the trait, but it can be if you have the actual disease.”

Mind you, all of these efforts are away from the game. Lake’s first priority is now what it has been since he was a kid: football. And when he talks about what he’s looking to accomplish in the immediate, it’s not some individual award or honor, but a more holistic goal that speaks directly to that blueprint laid out by his father.

“Specifically for this year, I want to be respected, and I want my teammates and the people around me to look at me and say, ‘I can rely on him.’ Because if you’re reliable, you can be trusted. And when things don’t go well, you can say, ‘I’m glad I have this person next to me because we can make it through the storm.’”

Photographed by Exavier Castro

Styled by Jai Simmons

Written by Jake Carlisi

Grooming: Michelle Harvey at Opus Beauty using Osea and Oribe

Lighting Tech: Marcelo Mercado

Flaunt Film: Cristian Castillo

Photo Assistant: Gilberto Ortiz

Styling Assistant: Jonetta Kaiser

Production Assistants: Ke’von Terry and Matin Kazemi