Amon-Ra St. Brown is perhaps one of the most interesting men in the NFL. Apart from his highlight worthy plays for the crowd of Motor City, his personal life is just as interesting as his life on the gridiron. Some of that credit goes to his parents, who are some exceptional folks in their own right. As far as we know, the whole Brown family is special.
The Detroit Lions WR comes from a German American family with his mother Miriam Steyer (Brown now), a German native, and his father John Brown. The couple met in Germany in 1989 when John Brown went to a fitness fair and the rest is history. The couple has 2 other children besides Amon-Ra, the older son Equanimeous St. Brown and the youngest, Osiris St. Brown.
Miriam Brown as explained, is a German native coming from Leverkusen, Germany and is deemed more of an academician. Did you know that St. Brown is trilingual? Yes, he can speak German, French, and English of course. That became true when the now Detroit wideout chose USC for further studies and an undeniable sports career.
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When he chose the University of South Carolina, he chose to thank his mother in German, who almost exclusively speaks the language with her three boys. Growing up, the brothers did a fair share of moving about and at one point, found themselves studying in France for a brief semester. But did you know why he has the name St. Brown? That’s because his father thought of something that many parents don’t think of.
Growing up his father wanted his sons to make an impact in sports and in case they did, the name St. Brown would look great on their jerseys, and it’s started with the first born, Equanimeous St. Brown, who also plays in the NFL for the New Orleans Saints. His father always knew that his kids would stir up the sports world someday.
“There are a lot of John Browns. I didn’t know what they’d do. It’s not like I knew they’d play football; you can’t know something like that. But I knew they’d be special. I thought they should have special names,” addressed the receiver’s father in an interview. But besides having a very common name, John Brown is a man who has achieved very uncommon things in his life.
Where does Amon-Ra St. Brown get his sports prowess from?
It’s obviously his father. His father had their kids hitting the weight room when they were about 5 years old. However, he was aware that they were still just kids and didn’t stop them from having fun, like all the other kids. But this drive to train his kids early wasn’t unplanned. John Brown has been a bodybuilder, two times Mr. Universe and 3x Mr. World back in 1980.
“Without him, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” said St. Brown at the time of joining USC and added, “He’s pushed me from point A to point Z.”
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“He’s a great dad. He’s hard on the field, but he’s really loving off the field,” Amon-Ra says. “He’s a funny guy. We laugh a lot. He balances it really good.” However, the involvement of St Brown’s mother was as impactful as his father’s presence.
And while St. Brown’s father taught them about the physical side of things from the beginning, it was their mother who didn’t want them to lose their European heritage. Per sources, the Brown kids were enrolled in a French school as toddlers so growing up, not only did they speak three languages, but they were well aware of the lifestyle and culture that exists outside of the USA.
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Amon-Ra’s youngest brother Osiris, who goes to Stanford found it hard to accept that most people haven’t been outside of the USA and took pride in the cross-cultural friendship that he has. “We have friends in other countries,” Osiris said. “Knowing them and talking to them and knowing their lifestyle, it definitely opens up your brain. Some of my friends haven’t been outside the country. That’s mind-boggling to me.”
When the Lions receiver was just 5, he got an offer from the German national soccer team and they wanted him to get enrolled in a youth soccer program, but his family politely passed on the offer. Well, it’s great that they did, otherwise, the Detroit Lions’ uphill battle for a playoff appearance would have been much steeper.