ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Mack Hollins is new to the Buffalo Bills this season after signing as a free agent, but the veteran NFL wide receiver has long admired the club from afar.
"They’ve always been a powerful team and getting the opportunity to work with obviously Josh (Allen) and the rest of this organization has been great," Hollins said after practice at Bills organized team activities on Tuesday. "And then I showed that up and it kind of backed that up, of like hey, this is a great fit. The energy’s great and I feel happy walking into work every day."
Hollins, 30, has been a leader everywhere he’s been — from college walk-on to special teams captain at North Carolina — and across his career in the NFL with Philadelphia, Miami, Las Vegas and Atlanta.
He's carved out a role a special teams standout. As a receiver, Hollins has logged 131 receptions for 1,691 yards and 10 touchdowns since entering the league as a 4th-round draft pick of the Eagles in 2017.
"I’ve always been taught to work harder than everybody else since I was a kid," Hollins said. "I didn’t have to be the best at things. I just had to work harder and push myself harder than anybody else. For your teammates — the best guys in the world at this sport — to say that you’re a guy that they’re willing to look up to or to allow to lead them is a real honor. So I never take it lightly and the times that I’ve been a captain, it’s meant a lot to me."
A sense of determination to help not only himself, but others, be the best they can be. Away from football, he’s been heavily involved in community and charity initiatives and serves as a global ambassador for the Special Olympics.
"It’s funny because the more I’m with them, the more I realize how wrong we were when I was growing up of like 'hey, keep everybody separate'," Hollins said. "Those with intellectual disabilities over here, those without over here. That’s the complete opposite of what it should be. Everybody should be together, because they can do everything that we can do, maybe in a different way, but they can do it the same way."
Education and inspiration are big parts of Hollins’ mission off the field. On social media, he offers monthly challenges on social media for others to join him — like his daily positive affirmations for the month of June.
"That stuff works," he said. "If you write it and say it enough, eventually your brain doesn’t realize is that true or not? Maybe it is true, and all of the sudden those things start happening to you."
Hollins has always done things his own way. You’ll find that he rarely wears shoes — at home, at work, or even out in public — a practice he picked up working out years ago. He loves animals (with the exception of house cats) and has three large pet snakes.
Some might say he’s eccentric, but he’s just being himself.
"Going with no shoes, having wild hair, eating with my hands instead of utensils, that type of stuff, that’s not bothering anybody. That’s who I am. That’s what makes me happy. Do the things that make you happy in life. Like I said, life’s too short to be worried about what other people think," he said.
The power of positivity — a mindset he brings with him everywhere he goes.