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corporate world) more than what I wanted to do. It helped me figure out I wanted to do something more independent." That is when Gorin started looking around the franchise world. He wanted autonomy but needed the structure franchising provided. A life in pro football gave him little choice of where to go and live, and after his playing days were done, he knew where he wanted to reside, and that was close to his boyhood home of Muncie, Ind., in nearby Indianapolis. When the research was done, he decided on Marco's. "I kind of fell into Marco's Pizza. They were the fastest-growing pizza company in the U.S.," Goran said. "Then the opportunity came to open the West Lafayette store this past spring." Gorin describes Marco's in the "better pizza" market segment, something akin to Five Guys in the hamburger business. Now, Gorin owns three franchises and also serves as the area representative. His newest venture has been partnering with Brian Cardinal and the Marco's executives to own the West Lafayette store. The duo even won the bid to be Purdue athletics official pizza at Mackey Arena and Ross-Ade Stadium. "I was looking for someone that was looking to go back home, so to speak, and found that in Brian," Gorin said. "It is a good match because Brian wants to really know the business and not just be a silent partner. "The thing about Brian that makes him special is that he doesn't take 'no' for an answer." That's an understatement for the former basketball star. Like Gorin, Cardinal likes being part of the restaurant business along with his duties with the John Purdue Club because it has helped keep his competitive juices flowing after retirement from the NBA. "There are great people in this local community in the restaurant business, guys like Brad Cohen at Arni's and Big O at Bruno's," said Cardinal, referencing Bruno's co-owner Orlando Itin. "I have all 48 IllustrateD volume 24, issue 3 the respect in the world for what they do day in and day out. It far exceeds what we are doing. We are really someone who competes with the late-night pizza folks and not the established restaurants. It is a good fit. "I am not sure we will make much money on our involvement at Purdue, but it feels great to be involved with it." Gorin says working with Cardinal and in the franchise business has its daily challenges. But Gorin loves the opportunity. "First, I would argue with you if you called me a good franchisee," Gorin said. "It takes a level of commitment and doesn't always go as planned, that is for sure. "It was a huge learning curve, but my background in engineering helped me with my ability to problem solve. The need to be a good problem solver has become quite evident to me as a necessary ingredient if you are going to survive. Equally critical was my ability to develop my role as a leader, whether you like being a leader or not. You have to be a leader whether you like it or not. I have learned from the school of hard knocks and have been able to apply it." Gorin considers it extremely beneficial to have had the opportunity to be around Bill Belichick and Tom Brady as a pro and Joe Tiller and Drew Brees in college. He says it has given him a great foundation. He has observed Brady as more of the "California cool" guy and Brees more of a guy's guy but admired both of them for being two of the most competitive guys he could ever imagine being around. "We had a culture on the successful teams. It is not so much about the talent level, but it was about the buy-in. We were all accountable. The difference-maker was the culture," Gorin said. "Now I know what Coach Tiller and Coach (Danny) Hope and those guys went through. I apologize to them whenever I see them. "For Matt Light, not for me, of course," Gorin added, laughing. j f