#50 - John Rienstra - Under the Helmet
From The Ethan C. Lewin Podcast by Ethan C. Lewin
May 8, 2026 · 2h 7m · Episode 50
About this episode
John Rienstra shares his journey from NFL player to dealing with mental health challenges and the impact of head injuries.
John Rienstra was drafted ninth overall in the 1986 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers and later played for the Cleveland Browns. He played under Chuck Noll, Bill Belichick, and Bruce Arians — coaches who combined for 11 Super Bowl rings. He was nicknamed The Raging Rhino. At his peak, he could total over 2,000 pounds in powerlifting.But there was always an unseen side. Since his first year at Temple, John battled crippling anxiety and panic attacks — often so severe that the only way through them was to vomit before every game. He hid it for a long time. And when coaches eventually did find out, the way they handled it said a lot about the era he played in. What John and I really dig into today is the full arc — from a boarding school dorm room in Bryn Athyn to the NFL, and everything that came after: More than 20 surgeries. Teammates who died and were posthumously diagnosed with CTE. Going from a first-round pick salary to essentially starting over. From lifting 2,000 pounds to not being able to bench 10. John is living with the cognitive effects of a career's worth of repetitive head injuries and has been part of the NFL concussion lawsuit for over two decades. His story is…
People in this episode
Host: Ethan C. Lewin
Guest: John Rienstra
Topics covered
- NFL
- mental health
- sports injuries
- anxiety
- personal story
- coaching
- CTE
Keywords
- NFL Draft
- anxiety
- powerlifting
- CTE
- concussion lawsuit
- football
- mental health
- surgeries
- coaches
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, NFL, Penn Sports Live Podcast
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