5 Things To Know | O’Shane Samuels

He is one of the Canadians on this Lions roster who joined the club as a free agent in 2019. Before debuting for the Lions, O’Shane Samuels was a territorial protected junior player for the Edmonton Elks. He also played for the Edmonton Huskies in the Canadian Junior Football League.

Over the last two seasons with the club, O’Shane has racked up 14 special teams tackles while serving as a backup at the strong-side linebacker position. Outside of football he also leads an interesting life. O’Shane is passionate about music, fashion and helping people become a better version of themselves as a fitness advisor.

The next time you see number 25 in orange and black, be sure to chat with this talented musician. Here are five things to know O’Shane Samuels.

1. A Musician  

O’Shane is a multi-skilled musician outside of the gridiron. One of his biggest hobbies is music. He plays the drum, bass, and piano in his free time.

“Growing up in the church, my first instrument is the drum. Everything else I just picked up later on. My brothers Rohan and Sean also play instruments, so I just follow their footsteps,” he said.

O’Shane’s older brother Rohan is a pastor at Freedom Life Church of Edmonton and he’s the musical director at the church.

“I plan on pursuing it even more after football. Just because right now I don’t really have time with training and all that. Because I’ve been playing music all my life so it’s just something I would fall into easily. Especially I have the opportunity to do it full time at my church,” he said.

 

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2. O’Shane Loves Basketball 

Football and basketball go hand to hand for a lot of athletes. O’Shane didn’t start playing football until he was a sophomore in high school. He followed his two older brothers’ footsteps with sports. First basketball and then transitioning to football. The Samuels brothers all played basketball and then were introduced to basketball in high school. They were obsessed with basketball growing up and their idol LeBron James. If there’s anything about LeBron not being the GOAT, the Samuel brothers will be backing up that argument.

“I realized I wasn’t getting any taller,” Samuels chuckled.

“My brother Rohan told me one day, ‘Just try it.’ Because I was nervous to get into it [football]. But then I think one practice, I just hit somebody and to be honest, I have not felt that feeling through playing basketball,” he recalled.

 

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3. Edmonton Huskies 

From there, O’Shane went on to play for the Huskies in the CJFL for three seasons. Like many Canadian players who shined in their junior football programs, O’Shane caught the attention of the league scouts. Especially in his final season with the Huskies in 2018, when he put up 58 tackles, one sack, two interceptions, one forced fumble and returned two fumble recoveries to the end zone.

4. Fashion 

Besides football, music and spending time playing video games. O’Shane is also serious with his looks. When the guys go on the road for games, it’s obvious which players spend the time to make sure they look good for the trip. O’Shane says his wife is also passionate about fashion and has a website called Fikaboo.

“I love clothes and video games. I’m on Warzone, Madden, 2K and adventure games like Spider Man. I’m really heavily into gaming, almost too much,” He chuckled.

 

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5. GoodLife Fitness Advisor 

One of O’Shane’s offseason jobs is a fitness motivator at GoodLife. He tries to inspire people to change their lifestyles by providing them with proper workout programs and trainers that suit their needs. He says the ongoing restrictions of gym hours across some provinces in Canada have affected people’s physical and mental well-being.

“Since the first wave when everything was restricted, I think everyone got sick of the home workouts. They couldn’t achieve their goals at home. The equipment was selling out instantly and some people weren’t able to get the equipment. In Alberta, it gets really cold, you can’t just go outside and run. I definitely do see a lot of people coming and after being out of it from the past one or two years,” he said.

“I basically help people find a way to pursue a life that is healthier for them to live, in the best way they can do it and feel better about themselves.”

Photo by: David Dermer