Each week I have the opportunity to sit down with a different 49ers player and alumni for the team’s only player-focused podcast, discussing the upcoming week of games and guiding the players through questions fans ask about football, life and everything in between. Defensive linemen Arik Armstead and Javon Kinlaw joined the 49ers’ “You’ve Got Mail” podcast presented by Manscaped to share more about their 2022 seasons with San Francisco and discuss their interests off the field.
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Here are five things we learned about Armstead and Kinlaw:
The defensive line had a lot of compliments for the Faithful and discussed the impact of good crowd support.
Armstead: “It has a huge impact, it changes momentum. Also schematically, when the crowd noise is high, it’s hard for the offense to operate.”
Kinlaw: “Go crazy (Faithful)! Do what you have to.”
Armstead is 6-8 and Kinlaw is 6-5, so as you can imagine, both have a lot of experience shopping for their tall statures. This was their top tip for our senior listeners:
Armstead: “In 2023, everything is online, so when you shop online, you’re just asking for ‘too big’.”
Kinlaw: “There are all kinds of brands, they don’t even have to be name brands. There are all kinds of underground brands that I’ve personally discovered that make all kinds of crazy sizes.”
The defenders are enjoying being fathers and have opened up about the surprises of life as a ‘girl dad’.
Armstead: “My first one is full of personality. My second one, it’s really cool. It’s also crazy to see my mannerisms on my daughter.”
Kinlaw: “Me personally, I’m going to say different personalities. My second baby, she’s at the age where she’s starting to get some personality about her. My older one is so nonchalant, laid back, doesn’t really want to talk and chill.”
Both players enjoy the fashion element of their game days, but if they had to let a teammate style them for the 49ers red carpet, here’s who it would be:
Armstead: “I’d trust JK to put something on him. He’d be smooth. I trust Ray-Ray McCloud III, he’s fired up.”
Kinlaw: “Trent Williams.”
Nutrition is a big part of a defensive lineman’s daily life. Armstead and Kinlaw take different approaches when it comes to body supply.
Armstead: “I live by the 80/20 rule. I’m healthy about 80 percent of the time and then 20 percent of the time, I believe life shouldn’t be so hard… It’s okay to live a little.”
Kinlaw: “I try to eat three times a day and I’m successful… I’m not one to eat vegetables, so I only put them in because I need them.”