New The Talk co-host Akbar Gbajabiamila cold-called Michael Strahan and asked: "Can I shadow you?"

People

"We played during the same time but I never met him, never knew him. He knew my brother, but we really didn't cross paths like that," former NFL star Gbajabiamila, who appears on American Ninja Warrior, tells People. "I just cold-called and said, 'Hey, you know, I love what you're doing. I'm excited about what you're doing. Can I shadow you?' I remember meeting him at his — I don't know what they call that in New York — one of those high-rise, fancy-schmancy condos. ... Whatever it is, it was pretty fancy. I'd never seen anything like it. I met him early in the morning and we went from what he was doing with Kelly and Michael, and he then went from there to GMA. He allowed me to shadow him through the whole process."