Month: August 2025

• Drew Brees has relied on his philosophy of “trust the process” to find success on and off the field.
• The Super Bowl MVP told Business Insider that “old-school” note-taking has always worked for him.
• To retain what he learned, Brees reviews his notes and shares them with his wife while on walks.

Super Bowl champion Drew Brees is big on sticking with what works.

From the football field to the business world, he told Business Insider that he’s long reminded himself to “trust the process.”

That’s proven successful, Brees said, whether he’s helping someone new to the NFL get their bearings or in a meeting looking to retain as much information as he can.

When it comes to learning, he said that he has long relied on a simple, analog tactic to get ahead on the field and in business: being a “pretty voracious” and “old-school” notetaker.

That means pen to paper and three-ring binders, said the longtime quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, who retired in 2021.

“That was what I did in every football meeting I was ever a part of,” Brees said. “And it’s what I do in every board meeting.”

Brees, whose business interests include several Jimmy John’s sandwich shops and a New Orleans sports complex called Pickles N Pins, spoke to Business Insider about a partnership with the learning and development platform Schoox.

The Super Bowl MVP said he’s found that taking notes helps him learn, retain information, and then apply it.

“I just sit there and write it down. I go over those notes. I end up reciting it back to my wife as we go for a walk during the day,” Brees said.

‘Always learning, always growing’

He said his note-taking strategy is part of his philosophy of “always learning, always growing.”

Brees said he also focuses on learning with his businesses, including training workers. Brees said that’s why he’s working with Schoox, which uses artificial intelligence to help train frontline employees and managers. He’s begun using Schoox at Surge Entertainment, a franchise he cofounded that offers activities like bowling, mini-golf, and golf simulators.

Training workers at the Louisiana company, whose locations extend from Oklahoma to Virginia, is important, Brees said, because it can help employees advance within the company and in their own careers.

“It’s not a transactional thing for us. It’s really about building a team and a great culture,” he said.

Brees said that matters even when the worker might be someone in high school or college who plans to move on. Even if people aren’t planning to stick around, how they interact with customers as soon as families walk in the door matters, he said.

‘Win the day’

Training is one way to get buy-in from workers by making it clear the company is investing in them, Brees said. When workers appreciate that investment, he said, it’s more likely they’ll do their best to please customers.

“We are equipping them with the skillset and the tools to be able to go on and be great managers, to be great leaders, to be great teammates,” he said.

At Surge Entertainment, Brees said, the mantra is “win the day.” It’s something that has been imparted to him throughout his career.

“There’s going to be something great that’s going to happen today, and you just have to expect it and create it,” he said.

• Just this year, at 26, I experienced the death of a grandparent for the first time.
• At first, I couldn’t believe she was gone, and I was surprised by how much it affected me.
• Her funeral was one of the hardest days of my life, but it felt like the start of closure.

It’s only this year, at the age of 26, that I’ve had a grandparent — my maternal grandmother — die.

It wasn’t unexpected. My grandmother, who I call my nan, lived with dementia for almost a decade, with her decline clear to see. Because I did a lot of my grieving while she was still here and she hadn’t been the person she used to be for a long time, I wasn’t sure how much her death would affect me. Would I even feel relieved, knowing she’d no longer be suffering?

I knew things were coming to an end in May, and I went back to my hometown for a few days to see her for a final time. A couple of mornings later, I got the call from my parents, which came both as a shock and as no shock at all. Even though I knew it was coming, it was still surreal.

It was hard at first to believe that she was gone

That day, I worked from home as I always do, and continuing as though everything was normal actually helped at first. But it hit me like a brick the next day, so I let myself have a day off. I walked into town and wandered around the shopping mall, almost feeling like I was in a daydream.

It can feel like losing a grandparent isn’t viewed quite the same as losing a parent, partner, or child, if for nothing else, because of their age. People often have varying relationships with their grandparents; some people are brought up by them, while others only see their grandparents just once or twice a year, if at all. And then there are those of us for whom it’s somewhere in the middle.

My nan lived two or three miles away from my family while I was growing up, so we saw her regularly. After my parents, she was the person who cared for me and my sister the most growing up. Because of this, it felt as though a part of my childhood died with her. Cruelly, despite having a career, a long-term partner, and pets, this event is the one thing that’s made me feel most like a “real adult.”

This is my first major loss

I didn’t feel like myself for a while afterward, and it’s fair to say that I still don’t. Though I’ve experienced the death of more distant relatives, this reels like my first major loss, and I’ve also been grieving almost in isolation, away from my family. That said, a group of my college friends and their partners sent me a very touching bouquet of flowers, and my girlfriend, whom I live with, has offered support, too.

Another factor, I think, was that it just felt unfair for my nan herself. I had 26 years with her, which is more than a lot of people get with their grandparents, but at the same time, she was a younger grandparent, with her Nintendo DS and Green Day CDs. The average life expectancy for women in the UK is almost 83, so 71 feels like a young age to lose her. My other relatives in their 70s are very physically and mentally active, and many of them enjoying a more vibrant social life than I do.

Her funeral was three weeks after she died. It was one of the most difficult mornings of my life, but it did begin to offer a degree of closure. A few days later, my girlfriend and I went on vacation, and the trip was just what I needed.

Even now, I’m still struggling. It’s gradually getting easier, and I certainly relate to the famous stages of grief model. It’s easier — sometimes, at least — to look back at fond memories rather than feel the acute pain of her loss.

• Burning Man has long been popular among a subsection of Silicon Valley. Those who stay behind describe a quiet week.
• Bay Area residents told Business Insider that there was less traffic and reservations were easier to score.
• “The cortisol levels are low this week,” said one Silicon Valley leader, who told Business Insider he makes fewer calls.

When Valerie Bertele went to The Battery for a creative writing event on Tuesday, not many people showed up. The member’s club is a hot spot for tech leaders — the same crowd that often travels over 300 miles northeast to Black Rock City for the annual Burning Man.

“There were less than 10 people,” said Bertele, a VC at Yellow Rocks Capital. “The organizers were saying that we didn’t get any signups because everyone looks to be at Burning Man.”

Among Silicon Valley’s upper class, many consider Burning Man an industry ritual. Elon Musk and the Google cofounders are frequent attendees. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said the festival showed him what post-AGI life could look like.

This year, even with dust storms and shaky finances, Burning Man appears to have drawn out many of Silicon Valley’s leaders. Those left on the ground in the Bay Area said they’ve found quieter highways, easier dinner reservations, and a bounty of out-of-office emails.

For many, life in the fast-paced Silicon Valley slows down a bit.

Vijay Chattha has fewer calls this week. He runs communications firm VSC and its investment arm, VSC Ventures. He said he can always tell when someone is at Burning Man. Anytime a “decision-maker” is gone around the festival dates — so, a founder or CEO — they’re probably at the Playa, he said.

“A lot of the people that go, at least in tech, are in their regular weeks probably quite intense people,” Chattha said. “The cortisol levels are low this week.”

There are some added perks to having fewer techies in the city. Chattha said it’s easier to get a restaurant reservation. Driving into San Francisco from Marin, he noticed less traffic.

Alison Berman also noticed fewer cars on the road. She’s spent the last 10 years hopping around Silicon Valley, mostly working in climate tech. She’s not a fan of Burning Man and its carbon footprint, despite its “leave no trace” mantra. Still, most of Berman’s friends are there now.

“It’s kind of a ghost town over Burning Man, where founders clear out, investors clear out,” Berman said. “You notice it immediately in the decrease in traffic, which is great for the commute, but also you get a lot of out-of-office replies.”

She said it’s one of two major events that push many in Silicon Valley offline: Burning Man and Christmas.

For founders looking to raise capital, Burning Man is often considered an off period. Ron Wiener runs startup accelerator Venture Mechanics. His advice to the accelerator’s founders: Be ready for Labor Day, when everyone comes back.

“I’m ordinarily emailing VCs continuously and trying to get speakers for events or judges,” he said. “I’ve been fundraising for 41 years. I know this time of year is dead.”

Burning Man also coincides with a common time to take a summer vacation, and with college move-ins for parents. Wiener said it creates the perfect storm for a “super dead” week.

This year, though, may be less dead than others. While ticket sales are up, the festival has not sold out, as it did each year from 2011 to 2023. At its peak, Burning Man hosted 78,850 attendees; this year, a spokesperson told Business Insider it expected 70,000.

OLarry founder and CEO Eric Rachmel said that there’s always a “certain amount of slowdown” — but that the period would be much quieter some five years back.

“Maybe it’s because I’m in my late 30s, and my crew of venture folks I know have young children,” Rachmel said. “You often find folks that are in their mid- to late-twenties and early thirties go,” before circling back to the festival “once their children are a little more grown.”

Bertele also saw the changing popularity in past years, when layoffs and economic turbulence rocked the city. But San Francisco has grown recently, she said. She keeps hearing people complain that it’s “impossible to rent anything” in the city.

Indeed, San Francisco real estate has sprung back to life after a multi-year haze, thanks in part to Big Tech RTO mandates. Average rent was up 6.4% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2025.

“Lots of people came to San Francisco for the AI boom, and they’re ready to spend money to go networking at Burning Man this year, too,” Bertele said.

Bertele has attended Burning Man before. She wanted to go this year, but her brother couldn’t get a visa. Now, as the city partially empties out, she’s getting FOMO.

Chattha has also seen the FOMO. In his group chat with VCs and founders, one friend was drinking wine in Greece, while another was dealing with the “disaster zone” of a Burning Man setup walloped by dust storms.

It was the wine-sipper — not the Burner — who was jealous.

Robin Westman, 23, was identified by police as the suspect behind the shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis on Wednesday that left two children dead and 17 others injured.

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Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said Westman had opened fire at the Annunciation Catholic School from the outside, shooting through the windows of the affiliated church. The victims were attending a morning Mass when Westman began firing.

Westman was later found dead with a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound behind the church.

While an investigation is underway, preliminary details paint Westman as someone with an inclination towards violence, mainly through videos linked to them which were scheduled for publishing on YouTube. Officials have taken the videos down and are reviewing them to determine possible motives for the shooting.

FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X that the agency is investigating the shooting as “an act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics.”

Here’s what we know so far about Westman.    

Once a student of the school

According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, Westman was one of three children of Mary Grace and James Allen Westman, who divorced in 2013 after 25 years of marriage. A since-deleted Facebook post from August 2021 said Mary Grace was retiring as a parish secretary of the church, with the post thanking her for her “wonderful hospitality, friendship and compassion.”

Westman attended the Annunciation Catholic School and graduated from eighth grade in 2017. The Star Tribune and CNN reported that in the school’s 2017 yearbook, Westman quoted French EDM band Daft Punk: “Work it. Make it. Do it. Makes us. Harder. Better. Faster. Stronger.” 

The yearbook also indicated that Westman intended to attend Powell Leadership Academy in Minneapolis, one of many schools operated by Minnesota Transitions Charter School. An official from Minnesota Transitions Charter School confirmed to the Star Tribune that Westman attended one of its schools briefly before transferring to the all-boys school, Saint Thomas Academy, in Twin Cities suburb Mendota Heights.

Related to a former lawmaker in another state

Former Kentucky state representative Bob Heleringer told the Associated Press that he is Westman’s uncle, though he claimed he “barely knew” Westman.

“They [Westman’s family] never lived in Louisville. They lived in Minnesota,“ Heleringer said in a phone interview with the AP. “He was my nephew, and I wish he had shot me instead of innocent schoolchildren.”

Had no prior criminal history

Minneapolis Police Chief O’Hara said Westman had no prior criminal history.

A search of Westman’s birth name in state court records showed some traffic citations in September 2021.

Worked at a cannabis dispensary

The Star Tribune also reported that Westman was an employee at Rise medical cannabis dispensaries. Westman’s co-worker, speaking to the Star Tribune, said the suspect worked as a personal care specialist interacting with patients in Minnesota’s medical cannabis program. Westman reportedly stopped working at an Eagan dispensary on Aug. 16 and had been previously disciplined for tardiness and absenteeism.

A spokesperson for Green Thumb Industries, the parent company, confirmed Westman’s employment for a few months earlier this year, though the suspect left the firm before the shooting. The firm told the Star Tribune it will cooperate with the investigation.

Appeared to have meticulously planned the attack

Westman’s attack appeared to have been calculated and premeditated, as backed by YouTube videos released on the day of the incident.

The videos, now taken down, appeared on a channel under “Robin W.” One video, which ran for more than 10 minutes, included a handwritten “manifesto” addressed to family and friends. In the video, the unseen cameraperson says, “I’m sorry to my family … that’s the only people I’m sorry to.” The clip also pans to an image of Jesus on a target.

Another video, which ran for almost 20 minutes, showed two notebooks with handwritten texts that also appear to be Cyrillic. Near the end of the video, the unseen cameraperson flips the notebook to a page containing a diagram of the church and stabs the diagram with a knife.

The New York Post transcribed parts of the journal. One page reportedly reads: “I am feeling good about Annunciation. It seems like a good combo of easy attack form and devastating tragedy and I want to do more research. I have concerns about finding a large enough group. I want to avoid any parents, but pre and post school drop off.”

Another page reportedly reads: “Maybe I could attack an event at the on-site church … think attacking a large group of kids coming in from recess is my best plan. … Then from there I can go inside and kill, going for as long as I can.”

O’Hara, in a press conference, confirmed that Westman “recently” purchased their guns—a rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol—legally. The Star Tribune reported that a passage in the notebooks referenced how “shockingly easy” it was to buy a gun from a pawnshop.

Identified by federal officials as a transgender woman

Federal officials have identified Westman as transgender.

Westman was born as “Robert Paul Westman” on June 17, 2002, according to court documents TIME reviewed. Westman’s mother applied for their name to be changed to “Robin M Westman” in 2019 in Dakota County, and a court granted the change in 2020. According to the court document, Westman, a minor at the time, “identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification.”

But a translation of part of Westman’s notebooks by the New York Post’s Diana Nerozzi offered a more complicated view of Westman’s sexual and gender identity: “I don’t want to dress girly all the time but I guess sometimes I really like it. I know I am not a woman but I definitely don’t feel like a man.”

Condemnation of transgender identity has been on the rise under President Trump, and many conservative and far-right personalities have latched onto Westman’s transgender identity as a springboard for more attacks. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R, Ga.) posted on X, “If they are willing to destroy themselves and how God made them then they are willing to destroy others and we saw that happen today.” Right-wing influencer and conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer went as far as suggesting that “parents need to start coming together to advocate for trans kids to not be allowed to attend classes in public schools.”

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, however, quickly pushed back against any attempts to use the shooting as a means to demonize the transgender community, saying anyone who is doing so has “lost their sense of common humanity.”

Exhibited a fascination for mass shooters

The videos also hinted at Westman’s fascination with mass shooters. In one, the unseen cameraperson showed guns and weapons on a mattress with the names of at least 10 mass killers, including but not limited to the Sandy Hook shooter from 2012; the shooter at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018; and the mosque shooter in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019.

Also seen in the videos was a sticker of German band KMFDM, which has been cited by perpetrators of previous mass shootings, including the Columbine High School massacre in 1999, though the band has repeatedly emphasized that it stands against violence.

Claimed to have links with a pro-gun Youtuber

In the 10-minute video, the person narrating claimed that they had met pro-gun YouTube personality and Texas congressional candidate Brandon Herrera last year at the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show in Las Vegas. The narrator said they had a “brief conversation” with Herrera. “Brandon Herrera for President,” they added.

After the shooting, Herrera denounced links to the shooter, posting on X: “I will not, nor will I ever say the name of the gutless coward who decided to take the lives of innocent people in Minneapolis today. My heart goes out to the family of those affected, but to the shooter, I have one thing to say in response. F-ck you. Burn in hell.”

In a separate post, Herrera added: “I don’t remember this individual at all, nor does anyone I was there with.” Herrera said that he was willing to cooperate with law enforcement and answer any questions.

A spokesperson for NSSF, which owns and operates SHOT Show, told Fox News that Westman’s name has not appeared among any of the show’s registered attendees last year or any of the years before.

Held a mishmash of views

The videos also alluded to a mishmash of views Westman appeared to have held.

In the 10-minute video, the camera panned over what appeared to be guns, ammunition, and loaded magazines. Words were inscribed on the magazines, including “Where is your God?,” “Kill Donald Trump,” and “For the Children.” Some of the inscriptions appeared to be in Cyrillic.

Clips that focused on Westman’s apparent arsenal not only included names of mass shooters but also showed phrases that had antisemitic undertones. A smoke grenade had the words “Jew Gas” written on it and the pro-Holocaust slogan “6 million wasn’t enough.” 

Another notebook displayed a “Defend Equality” sign with an LGBTQ flag.

In an interview with local network KSTP-TV, Josefina Sanchez, a classmate of Westman in the seventh grade, said that a younger Westman would put up a hand and say, “Praise Hitler.”

Threats to kill Trump also appeared a few times on Westman’s gear. Trump, in a Truth Social post, said the White House will “continue to monitor” the situation.

‘I don’t expect forgiveness’

Westman’s four-page “manifesto” posted on YouTube begins with: “I don’t expect forgiveness and I don’t expect any apology I have to hold much weight, but to my family and those close to me, I do apologize for the effects my actions will have on your lives.”

Further along in the manifesto, Westman wrote: “I have wanted this for so long. I am not well. I am not right. I am a sad person, haunted by these thoughts that do not go away. I know this is wrong, but I can’t seem to stop myself. I am severely depressed and have been suicidal for years. Only recently have I lost all hope and decided to perform my final action against this world.”