This is what it’s like to write a book with Rob Gronkowski
Tuesday marked the release of the most anticipated book of 2015: NFL star Rob Gronkowski’s autobiography.
What, you were expecting the sequel to Harper Lee’s classic To Kill A Mockingbird?
Written in a month this offseason, It’s Good to Be Gronk tells the life story of the Patriots’ three-time Pro Bowler through the man living it. The book is the product of a series of sit-downs between Gronkowski and co-author Jason Rosenhaus at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach resort hotel, because you don’t brainstorm a Rob Gronkowski autobiography at not a Miami Beach resort.
Boston.com recently caught up with co-author Rosenhaus, who along with brother Drew represents Gronkowski, for a chat about what it’s like to write a book with the world’s biggest teenager.
On Gronkowski declining a $4 million payout in college for a “career-ending’’ injury
“The guy turned down [a $4 million tax-free insurance payment], he could have been a 21-year-old with $4 million in his bank account and lived a life, but he wanted to be an NFL player. He didn’t want to be someone who just cashed out and took the money.’’
The most surprising part of writing a book with Gronk
“What shocked me the most about writing this book is Rob’s ability to recall the most minute details…He was meticulous with what he remembered and what he had to say. Rob is a tactician. People think he’s a fun-loving, overgrown frat guy and while he is a party-loving, fun guy – or as he would say, a party rocker – he’s extremely precise with how he goes about his profession. He’s a hard-worker, a detail-oriented tight end, a true professional.’’
On the pair’s goals for the book
“Writing this book was like hanging out with a superstar who you were just having fun conversations and telling fun stories…I wanted the reader to feel like they’re Rob’s good friend, and so we wrote this book so that you could be a Gronk.’’
On how often they met
“Quite a few…that’s the best answer I can give you. Everything Rob does he puts a lot of time into it, and it’s extremely important that if he signs his name to something, that it be done at it’s best…you don’t get too many chances to write your life story, especially coming off a Super Bowl.’’
On helping a college teammate ’’provide security’’ at a bachelorette party
“He was just supposed to be there to kind of provide security, and as soon as he gets there, the latino bachelorettes are basically ripping his clothes off and he starts dancing…I thought that was absolute classic Rob Gronkowski.’’
On balancing Gronk’s fun-loving and family-oriented sides
“It’s extremely important to him that we strike that balance between him being Rob Gronkowski and also being a family-oriented guy. Rob walks that line of having fun, living that NFL life, but at the same time he’s a great son to his parents, a great brother to his brothers, and so Rob wanted this to be a family-oriented book.’’
On a similar note – knowing what to leave out
“It was just a lot of fun, and Rob, just imagine the stories I couldn’t write. I think I spent more time reading it and crossing things out than putting things in.’’
On doing his homework
“I talked extensively with Rob’s father, I talked with his mother, I talked with his brothers, I talked with his high school best friend, his college roommate, I talked with his childhood, lifelong best friends. A tremendous amount of work went into getting all these stories, because Rob’s life is one hilarious story after another, and the challenge was gathering those stories from all the different people, in addition to Rob.’’
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