Former NFL player and University of Central Florida (UCF) Hall of Famer Shaquem Griffin is pursuing several ventures since retiring from professional football in 2022. Griffin, who played linebacker despite having his left hand amputated as a child, is now focusing on business, technology, family, and community work.
Griffin currently serves as a community coordinator with NFL Legends and participates in six companies. He manages real estate holdings, speaks at corporate events and schools, sits on the Big 12 Alumni Council, writes books, co-founded Consumer Launch Pad with his twin brother Shaquill Griffin to help entrepreneurs move ideas into manufacturing, cares for his three children in Anna Maria Island, Florida, and is working on a movie script about his life. He is also training for three track and field events for the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles.
Griffin’s latest collaboration is with smartARM, a technology company that develops prosthetics using artificial intelligence (AI), cameras, 3D printing, and cosmetic design. Griffin said he was drawn to smartARM because of their approach to both technology and purpose. “Over the years, I’ve been approached by countless prosthetic companies,” Griffin said. “But they only wanted to use me for my name and likeness. The moment I met the people from smartARM, I knew there’s something different about them — not only what they’re doing with technology, but why they’re doing it.”
He added that using smartARM’s prosthetic has changed his daily life: “I didn’t know how helpful it would be until I started using it.” The device collects data to improve its performance over time. Griffin said affordability and accessibility are central to smartARM’s mission: “I could relate to those issues,” he said. “I’m at a point now where I can say my challenges were part of God’s purpose for me — to overcome obstacles and be in a position to do more good for others. smartARM fits that purpose.”
Reflecting on his childhood in St. Petersburg, Florida, Griffin recounted how his father built him a training prosthetic because commercial options were too expensive. “Who can afford that kind of money?” Griffin said. “I’ve always thought it’s wrong that people who really need prosthetics often don’t have access to them.”
At UCF, Griffin was given a commercial-grade prosthetic by the training staff. “They’d never seen someone doing pullups and pushups the way I did them. They didn’t expect me to increase my bench press to 385 pounds with the prosthetic either. Looking back, I was changing the way people think about disabilities,” he said.
His degree in human communication from UCF helped him share his story publicly. Griffin has used his experience to evaluate new prosthetic technologies critically. “What kind of advanced tech do you use? How do you plan to scale it?” he asks companies. Most importantly: “What will it cost the person who needs it?”
“Being a D-1 football player gave me access to resources that others don’t typically have,” he said. “Those resources shouldn’t be exclusive. With smartARM I have an opportunity to bring them to a space that’s been lacking forever.”
Griffin often hears from parents of children with disabilities seeking advice. “Parents of disabled children have approached me since I was a teenager, asking if their child would ever make friends, if they’d be able to play sports, if they’d find someone to marry,” he said. “Honestly, I didn’t know what to say because I was going through it myself. I’d hear comments like, ‘Oh, he’s pretty good for being handicapped.’ I thought all of that would change when I made it to the NFL, but it didn’t. Eventually, I realized I was trying to erase something that could actually make me a blessing to others.”
Griffin’s current focus is increasing awareness about accessible prosthetics and supporting efforts to reduce their cost. With his involvement, smartARM’s prosthetic costs about one-fourth as much as most bionic options. He is hopeful insurance coverage will become available soon.
“This is just the start,” Griffin said. “My goal is for more people to commit resources to help others the way smartARM is doing. Let’s provide access so we can see the capabilities of those who have been marginalized. You’ll be surprised what they can do. That’s my message and it’s now my purpose.”
