MontrealAlouettes.com
Bert Faibish
Ticats.ca
In a world where professional athletes have become too impressed by their own glitz and glamour and some are more concerned with the carats in their diamond studs than spending time in the weight room, CFL players offer a refreshing picture of humility and hard work.
While it is still a privilege to get paid at all to play a game, there’s something about needing a “real” job in the off-season that makes CFL players more down to earth and more approachable for fans.
When the season ends, Hamilton linebacker Ray Mariuz trades in his shoulder pads for a suit and tie and gets ready for his “other” job, real estate.
“I’ve always wanted to do something that’s always different,” said Mariuz. “I’m not an office guy.”
Being a real estate agent affords him the opportunity to work on the go and to experience different situations all the time.
“Every day is different, it’s a lot of fun,” said Mariuz. “My favourite part of the job is meeting and interacting with all the different people that I deal with,” he said.
Ray used to run an advertising company but it was never something that he saw himself doing long-term. This off-season he decided to try something different.
“I started working with Michael O’Sullivan who’s with Royal Lepage in the Burlington area,” said Mariuz. “I started shadowing him and I realized that it is something that I enjoy and something that interests me, so I got my license and I’ve been going full-time the whole off-season,” he said.
Ray enjoys not only the challenge of working in the real estate market, but also appreciates the opportunity to make a positive difference in people’s lives.
“I love it because it’s something where I’m working with people,” said Mariuz. “I like houses to begin with and doing this makes me feel like I’m really helping people, whether helping them buy a new home or sell their old one,” he said.
