Rock bottom to NFL stardom: The rise of London's Jermaine Eluemunor

Jermaine Eluemunor is a self-confessed simple man, striving to inspire by way of a not-so-simple journey. From London to New York, he is a big man with a big heart and a big message. The Giants offensive tackle dresses up, hosts pretend tea parties and plays the role of punching bag as a proud girl-dad to his young daughters of a week day, and manhandles the greatest athletes on the planet of a weekend. He enjoys the serenity of fishing and escapism of anime off the field, and flourishes in the art of violence on it.

Eluemunor has bridged a transatlantic chasm, swatted away early rejection and overcome 'rock bottom' amid the fiercest of challenges to his mental health to emerge as one of Britain's most gifted footballing exports and, so too, one of the NFL's premier players in his position. Life wasn't always going to be this way. He now hopes his story can prescribe immunity to the notion of impossible.

"I grew up in Chalk Farm, North West London, right next to Camden Town," Eluemunor tells Sky Sports. "I grew up in a flat on Ferdinand Street, quite small actually, I was just thinking about how small those places were. I went back to see it and I don't even think I fit through the front door now."

It was around this time in 2007 when Eluemunor first discovered football, a session of channel-flicking on TV seeing him stumble across the first-ever NFL regular-season game to be played in London as the Giants faced the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium. Almost two decades on, he is starting for the team where it all began, for whom his impact was rewarded with a $39m contract extension this past offseason and a role as captain this past weekend.

Jermaine Eluemunor is a self-confessed simple man, striving to inspire by way of a not-so-simple journey. From London to New York, he is a big man with a big heart and a big message. The Giants offensive tackle dresses up, hosts pretend tea parties and plays the role of punching bag as a proud girl-dad to his young daughters of a week day, and manhandles the greatest athletes on the planet of a weekend. He enjoys the serenity of fishing and escapism of anime off the field, and flourishes in the art of violence on it.

Eluemunor has bridged a transatlantic chasm, swatted away early rejection and overcome 'rock bottom' amid the fiercest of challenges to his mental health to emerge as one of Britain's most gifted footballing exports and, so too, one of the NFL's premier players in his position. Life wasn't always going to be this way. He now hopes his story can prescribe immunity to the notion of impossible.

"I grew up in Chalk Farm, North West London, right next to Camden Town," Eluemunor tells Sky Sports. "I grew up in a flat on Ferdinand Street, quite small actually, I was just thinking about how small those places were. I went back to see it and I don't even think I fit through the front door now."

It was around this time in 2007 when Eluemunor first discovered football, a session of channel-flicking on TV seeing him stumble across the first-ever NFL regular-season game to be played in London as the Giants faced the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium. Almost two decades on, he is starting for the team where it all began, for whom his impact was rewarded with a $39m contract extension this past offseason and a role as captain this past weekend.

Jermaine Eluemunor is a self-confessed simple man, striving to inspire by way of a not-so-simple journey. From London to New York, he is a big man with a big heart and a big message. The Giants offensive tackle dresses up, hosts pretend tea parties and plays the role of punching bag as a proud girl-dad to his young daughters of a week day, and manhandles the greatest athletes on the planet of a weekend. He enjoys the serenity of fishing and escapism of anime off the field, and flourishes in the art of violence on it.

Eluemunor has bridged a transatlantic chasm, swatted away early rejection and overcome 'rock bottom' amid the fiercest of challenges to his mental health to emerge as one of Britain's most gifted footballing exports and, so too, one of the NFL's premier players in his position. Life wasn't always going to be this way. He now hopes his story can prescribe immunity to the notion of impossible.

"I grew up in Chalk Farm, North West London, right next to Camden Town," Eluemunor tells Sky Sports. "I grew up in a flat on Ferdinand Street, quite small actually, I was just thinking about how small those places were. I went back to see it and I don't even think I fit through the front door now."

It was around this time in 2007 when Eluemunor first discovered football, a session of channel-flicking on TV seeing him stumble across the first-ever NFL regular-season game to be played in London as the Giants faced the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium. Almost two decades on, he is starting for the team where it all began, for whom his impact was rewarded with a $39m contract extension this past offseason and a role as captain this past weekend.

Jermaine Eluemunor is a self-confessed simple man, striving to inspire by way of a not-so-simple journey. From London to New York, he is a big man with a big heart and a big message. The Giants offensive tackle dresses up, hosts pretend tea parties and plays the role of punching bag as a proud girl-dad to his young daughters of a week day, and manhandles the greatest athletes on the planet of a weekend. He enjoys the serenity of fishing and escapism of anime off the field, and flourishes in the art of violence on it.

Eluemunor has bridged a transatlantic chasm, swatted away early rejection and overcome 'rock bottom' amid the fiercest of challenges to his mental health to emerge as one of Britain's most gifted footballing exports and, so too, one of the NFL's premier players in his position. Life wasn't always going to be this way. He now hopes his story can prescribe immunity to the notion of impossible.

"I grew up in Chalk Farm, North West London, right next to Camden Town," Eluemunor tells Sky Sports. "I grew up in a flat on Ferdinand Street, quite small actually, I was just thinking about how small those places were. I went back to see it and I don't even think I fit through the front door now."

It was around this time in 2007 when Eluemunor first discovered football, a session of channel-flicking on TV seeing him stumble across the first-ever NFL regular-season game to be played in London as the Giants faced the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium. Almost two decades on, he is starting for the team where it all began, for whom his impact was rewarded with a $39m contract extension this past offseason and a role as captain this past weekend.

Jermaine Eluemunor is a self-confessed simple man, striving to inspire by way of a not-so-simple journey. From London to New York, he is a big man with a big heart and a big message. The Giants offensive tackle dresses up, hosts pretend tea parties and plays the role of punching bag as a proud girl-dad to his young daughters of a week day, and manhandles the greatest athletes on the planet of a weekend. He enjoys the serenity of fishing and escapism of anime off the field, and flourishes in the art of violence on it.

Eluemunor has bridged a transatlantic chasm, swatted away early rejection and overcome 'rock bottom' amid the fiercest of challenges to his mental health to emerge as one of Britain's most gifted footballing exports and, so too, one of the NFL's premier players in his position. Life wasn't always going to be this way. He now hopes his story can prescribe immunity to the notion of impossible.

"I grew up in Chalk Farm, North West London, right next to Camden Town," Eluemunor tells Sky Sports. "I grew up in a flat on Ferdinand Street, quite small actually, I was just thinking about how small those places were. I went back to see it and I don't even think I fit through the front door now."

It was around this time in 2007 when Eluemunor first discovered football, a session of channel-flicking on TV seeing him stumble across the first-ever NFL regular-season game to be played in London as the Giants faced the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium. Almost two decades on, he is starting for the team where it all began, for whom his impact was rewarded with a $39m contract extension this past offseason and a role as captain this past weekend.

Jermaine Eluemunor is a self-confessed simple man, striving to inspire by way of a not-so-simple journey. From London to New York, he is a big man with a big heart and a big message. The Giants offensive tackle dresses up, hosts pretend tea parties and plays the role of punching bag as a proud girl-dad to his young daughters of a week day, and manhandles the greatest athletes on the planet of a weekend. He enjoys the serenity of fishing and escapism of anime off the field, and flourishes in the art of violence on it.

Eluemunor has bridged a transatlantic chasm, swatted away early rejection and overcome 'rock bottom' amid the fiercest of challenges to his mental health to emerge as one of Britain's most gifted footballing exports and, so too, one of the NFL's premier players in his position. Life wasn't always going to be this way. He now hopes his story can prescribe immunity to the notion of impossible.

"I grew up in Chalk Farm, North West London, right next to Camden Town," Eluemunor tells Sky Sports. "I grew up in a flat on Ferdinand Street, quite small actually, I was just thinking about how small those places were. I went back to see it and I don't even think I fit through the front door now."

It was around this time in 2007 when Eluemunor first discovered football, a session of channel-flicking on TV seeing him stumble across the first-ever NFL regular-season game to be played in London as the Giants faced the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium. Almost two decades on, he is starting for the team where it all began, for whom his impact was rewarded with a $39m contract extension this past offseason and a role as captain this past weekend.

Jermaine Eluemunor is a self-confessed simple man, striving to inspire by way of a not-so-simple journey. From London to New York, he is a big man with a big heart and a big message. The Giants offensive tackle dresses up, hosts pretend tea parties and plays the role of punching bag as a proud girl-dad to his young daughters of a week day, and manhandles the greatest athletes on the planet of a weekend. He enjoys the serenity of fishing and escapism of anime off the field, and flourishes in the art of violence on it.

Eluemunor has bridged a transatlantic chasm, swatted away early rejection and overcome 'rock bottom' amid the fiercest of challenges to his mental health to emerge as one of Britain's most gifted footballing exports and, so too, one of the NFL's premier players in his position. Life wasn't always going to be this way. He now hopes his story can prescribe immunity to the notion of impossible.

"I grew up in Chalk Farm, North West London, right next to Camden Town," Eluemunor tells Sky Sports. "I grew up in a flat on Ferdinand Street, quite small actually, I was just thinking about how small those places were. I went back to see it and I don't even think I fit through the front door now."

It was around this time in 2007 when Eluemunor first discovered football, a session of channel-flicking on TV seeing him stumble across the first-ever NFL regular-season game to be played in London as the Giants faced the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium. Almost two decades on, he is starting for the team where it all began, for whom his impact was rewarded with a $39m contract extension this past offseason and a role as captain this past weekend.

Jermaine Eluemunor is a self-confessed simple man, striving to inspire by way of a not-so-simple journey. From London to New York, he is a big man with a big heart and a big message. The Giants offensive tackle dresses up, hosts pretend tea parties and plays the role of punching bag as a proud girl-dad to his young daughters of a week day, and manhandles the greatest athletes on the planet of a weekend. He enjoys the serenity of fishing and escapism of anime off the field, and flourishes in the art of violence on it.

Eluemunor has bridged a transatlantic chasm, swatted away early rejection and overcome 'rock bottom' amid the fiercest of challenges to his mental health to emerge as one of Britain's most gifted footballing exports and, so too, one of the NFL's premier players in his position. Life wasn't always going to be this way. He now hopes his story can prescribe immunity to the notion of impossible.

"I grew up in Chalk Farm, North West London, right next to Camden Town," Eluemunor tells Sky Sports. "I grew up in a flat on Ferdinand Street, quite small actually, I was just thinking about how small those places were. I went back to see it and I don't even think I fit through the front door now."

It was around this time in 2007 when Eluemunor first discovered football, a session of channel-flicking on TV seeing him stumble across the first-ever NFL regular-season game to be played in London as the Giants faced the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium. Almost two decades on, he is starting for the team where it all began, for whom his impact was rewarded with a $39m contract extension this past offseason and a role as captain this past weekend.

Jermaine Eluemunor is a self-confessed simple man, striving to inspire by way of a not-so-simple journey. From London to New York, he is a big man with a big heart and a big message. The Giants offensive tackle dresses up, hosts pretend tea parties and plays the role of punching bag as a proud girl-dad to his young daughters of a week day, and manhandles the greatest athletes on the planet of a weekend. He enjoys the serenity of fishing and escapism of anime off the field, and flourishes in the art of violence on it.

Eluemunor has bridged a transatlantic chasm, swatted away early rejection and overcome 'rock bottom' amid the fiercest of challenges to his mental health to emerge as one of Britain's most gifted footballing exports and, so too, one of the NFL's premier players in his position. Life wasn't always going to be this way. He now hopes his story can prescribe immunity to the notion of impossible.

"I grew up in Chalk Farm, North West London, right next to Camden Town," Eluemunor tells Sky Sports. "I grew up in a flat on Ferdinand Street, quite small actually, I was just thinking about how small those places were. I went back to see it and I don't even think I fit through the front door now."

It was around this time in 2007 when Eluemunor first discovered football, a session of channel-flicking on TV seeing him stumble across the first-ever NFL regular-season game to be played in London as the Giants faced the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium. Almost two decades on, he is starting for the team where it all began, for whom his impact was rewarded with a $39m contract extension this past offseason and a role as captain this past weekend.

Jermaine Eluemunor is a self-confessed simple man, striving to inspire by way of a not-so-simple journey. From London to New York, he is a big man with a big heart and a big message. The Giants offensive tackle dresses up, hosts pretend tea parties and plays the role of punching bag as a proud girl-dad to his young daughters of a week day, and manhandles the greatest athletes on the planet of a weekend. He enjoys the serenity of fishing and escapism of anime off the field, and flourishes in the art of violence on it.

Eluemunor has bridged a transatlantic chasm, swatted away early rejection and overcome 'rock bottom' amid the fiercest of challenges to his mental health to emerge as one of Britain's most gifted footballing exports and, so too, one of the NFL's premier players in his position. Life wasn't always going to be this way. He now hopes his story can prescribe immunity to the notion of impossible.

"I grew up in Chalk Farm, North West London, right next to Camden Town," Eluemunor tells Sky Sports. "I grew up in a flat on Ferdinand Street, quite small actually, I was just thinking about how small those places were. I went back to see it and I don't even think I fit through the front door now."

It was around this time in 2007 when Eluemunor first discovered football, a session of channel-flicking on TV seeing him stumble across the first-ever NFL regular-season game to be played in London as the Giants faced the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium. Almost two decades on, he is starting for the team where it all began, for whom his impact was rewarded with a $39m contract extension this past offseason and a role as captain this past weekend.

Jermaine Eluemunor is a self-confessed simple man, striving to inspire by way of a not-so-simple journey. From London to New York, he is a big man with a big heart and a big message. The Giants offensive tackle dresses up, hosts pretend tea parties and plays the role of punching bag as a proud girl-dad to his young daughters of a week day, and manhandles the greatest athletes on the planet of a weekend. He enjoys the serenity of fishing and escapism of anime off the field, and flourishes in the art of violence on it.

Eluemunor has bridged a transatlantic chasm, swatted away early rejection and overcome 'rock bottom' amid the fiercest of challenges to his mental health to emerge as one of Britain's most gifted footballing exports and, so too, one of the NFL's premier players in his position. Life wasn't always going to be this way. He now hopes his story can prescribe immunity to the notion of impossible.

"I grew up in Chalk Farm, North West London, right next to Camden Town," Eluemunor tells Sky Sports. "I grew up in a flat on Ferdinand Street, quite small actually, I was just thinking about how small those places were. I went back to see it and I don't even think I fit through the front door now."

It was around this time in 2007 when Eluemunor first discovered football, a session of channel-flicking on TV seeing him stumble across the first-ever NFL regular-season game to be played in London as the Giants faced the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium. Almost two decades on, he is starting for the team where it all began, for whom his impact was rewarded with a $39m contract extension this past offseason and a role as captain this past weekend.

Jermaine Eluemunor is a self-confessed simple man, striving to inspire by way of a not-so-simple journey. From London to New York, he is a big man with a big heart and a big message. The Giants offensive tackle dresses up, hosts pretend tea parties and plays the role of punching bag as a proud girl-dad to his young daughters of a week day, and manhandles the greatest athletes on the planet of a weekend. He enjoys the serenity of fishing and escapism of anime off the field, and flourishes in the art of violence on it.

Eluemunor has bridged a transatlantic chasm, swatted away early rejection and overcome 'rock bottom' amid the fiercest of challenges to his mental health to emerge as one of Britain's most gifted footballing exports and, so too, one of the NFL's premier players in his position. Life wasn't always going to be this way. He now hopes his story can prescribe immunity to the notion of impossible.

"I grew up in Chalk Farm, North West London, right next to Camden Town," Eluemunor tells Sky Sports. "I grew up in a flat on Ferdinand Street, quite small actually, I was just thinking about how small those places were. I went back to see it and I don't even think I fit through the front door now."

It was around this time in 2007 when Eluemunor first discovered football, a session of channel-flicking on TV seeing him stumble across the first-ever NFL regular-season game to be played in London as the Giants faced the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium. Almost two decades on, he is starting for the team where it all began, for whom his impact was rewarded with a $39m contract extension this past offseason and a role as captain this past weekend.