Catching Up With… ALBERT HOLLIS (now DYNAST AMIR)

Standing over six-feet tall and weighing just over 200 pounds, yet possessing such tremendous speed that he was described as “essentially uncatchable” when reaching the open field, Albert Hollis came out of Christian Brothers High School in Sacramento, Calif., considered the gem of Georgia’s 2000 recruiting class. Ranked No. 24 overall in the Rivals100—the only Bulldog signee ranked in the service’s top 100 that year—the running back was recognized as both a Parade and USA Today first-team All-American after rushing for 2,053 yards, averaging 8.9 yards per rush, and scoring 31 touchdowns in 11 games as a high school senior.

Not playing a single down at Georgia because of an injury leaving him with permanent nerve damage, Hollis has since created a platform, In Search of Uhuru, to bridge the gap between Africa and the Diaspora of the continent—and, in the process, legally changed his name to Dynast Amir. Amir is an African curator, Pan-Africanist, philanthropist, author, and “lover of life.”

UGASports.com recently caught up with Dynast from his home in Atlanta.

PG: Dynast, I had forgotten that you actually had committed to UCLA before signing with Georgia in 2000.

DA: Yes, during my junior year in high school (1998-99 academic year), I committed to UCLA. That season (1998), UCLA had been really good, going undefeated [at 10-0] and was ranked No. 2 or No. 3 before going to Miami (Fla.) and getting beat. So, on the first day coaches could call recruits, Kelly Skipper (then-UCLA running backs coach) called me up and offered me. At the time, I was like, “Yeah, why not? It’s UCLA. Let’s do it.” But, eventually, after visiting UCLA, I just didn’t think they’d be a good fit for me, and I should keep my options open. So, I became interested in Georgia, Notre Dame, Nebraska, and Texas, as well.

PG: In the end, why did you decide on Georgia?

DA: I came and saw Georgia host Kentucky (1999), and I absolutely fell in love with Athens—its culture and the people. I loved it. I also thought I had the opportunity to come in and play, so I thought UGA was the best fit for me.

PG: Unfortunately, during the second day of spring practice in 2001, while competing for the team’s No. 1 tailback spot, you dislocated your knee which caused severe nerve damage. What do you remember about the injury?

DA: It was tough. I was just coming off my redshirt year, in spring ball competing, and the way it went down… My reaction was like, what just happened? There was literally no contact. We were kind of like scrimmaging against air, running warm-up plays, and I just went down. It was just a freak accident.

PG: The injury completely kept you out of the 2001 through 2003 football seasons but, with a no-quit attitude, you persisted, and actually returned to run track, right?

DA: Yeah, I started back at track in 2002 [competing in the 60-, 100-, and 200-meters, and as part of the 4x100-meter relay team], and had missed only one year of it. But, I’ve always had a kind of a no-quit attitude, as you said. I am very big on being consistent, making sure I keep pushing until the job is done or the goal is met.

PG: In the spring of 2004, you actually were healthy enough to appear in the G-Day game. Were you 100 percent healthy?

DA: It was great to play a little in the G-Day game, in front of the fans—but I was good as I was going to get, and that wasn’t 100 percent at the time. To this day, I’m not 100 percent healthy. I never have fully recovered from the injury. Basically, when I damaged my nerve, I messed up the ability to flex my right foot.

PG: Within the next year, you moved to another position and later asked the NCAA to give you a rare sixth-year of eligibility because of a medical hardship. Please describe that.

DA: I wanted a position switch, and wound up getting moved to the defensive secondary. And, honestly, if I had to do it all over again, knowing what I know now, I probably would have wanted to play defensive back out of high school going into college. Yes, the next year, I petitioned the NCAA to get a sixth year because of my injury, and it was granted. However, by that summer [of 2005], my heart wasn’t really into football anymore. So, I went to Coach Richt (then-head coach Mark Richt), and asked if I could still stay on scholarship but only run track. He agreed to it, but there were other people in the athletic department who weren’t going for that.

PG: So, where did you go from there?

DA: After I graduated from UGA with a degree in Agricultural Business in 2005, I ended up moving to Atlanta for a few years before relocating to California in Los Angeles (Amir has since moved back to Atlanta in 2014). I was trying to figure things out. I started selling insurance and then went into personal training, which kind of spun into fitness modeling. I eventually started another sales career and then started traveling to Africa.

PG: Wow, traveling to Africa?

DA: Yeah, and I go again in March. Devoting more of myself to spirituality, I adopted Sufism, not fully transitioned to Voodoo, which is an ancient African spiritual system. That’s my passion now—traveling, documenting Africa. I’m trying to change the misconception of Africa, spreading its awareness—showing people that Africa is not what you see on TV.

PG: What do you mean?

DA: For example, when I was in L.A. (Los Angeles), I had an outreach program where I would help feed the homeless in an area called Skid Row. The poverty there was horrible, yet the media would tell you the poverty in Africa is even worse—but it’s not. Overall, Africa is actually not a impoverish continent. It’s just being mismanaged by certain people and entities. Africa is an absolutely beautiful place, and not as worn-torn and as impoverish as most say.

PG: What exactly is In Search of Uhuru?

DA: Particularly for black people, descendants of African slaves, it’s important for us to reconnect with Africa. As Black Americans, we’re taught that our origins began when we first got off of slave ships. But, the origins run much deeper than that—and there’s been an effort to keep that information from us, an effort to keep Africa and African Americans disconnected. I wanted to find out the origins of myself, family members, and friends—and way before we got off any slave ships.

PG: Besides running a non-profit organization, you’ve also written some books as well?

DA: Yes, I’ve written several children’s books and a sales book—and more are coming.

PG: Tell me about your family.

DA: I’m not married. I have a son, Mansa, who turned five in December.

PG: Do you currently associate with the Georgia football program?

DA: Actually, I was disconnected from it for a while, but I did go to the Homecoming game in 2017. It was great to catch up with some of my old teammates and tailgate with them by the student center.

PG: You said if you had to do it over again, you would have wanted to be a defensive back upon entering Georgia. Is there anything you’d do over again as far as academically at UGA?

DA: I dropped the ball on not really plugging into the UGA alumni association and leveraging that. And, I didn’t take school really seriously. I took some, what you could call, “football classes.” I really wish I had studied mastering foreign languages—and, here’s the thing, especially when it’s free (on scholarship). Let’s be honest, as part of the football team, people will bend over backward for you when it comes to your studies—and student-athletes should take advantage of it. Once you get into corporate America, it’s going to be tough to develop new skills you could have picked up in school when you got bills to pay, kids to feed, and a 9-to-5 job.

PG: So, do you have any advice for the top-level prospects—like you were coming out of high school—Georgia annually signs?

DA: Kids (recruits) need to know that most of them are going to live long lives and, for all of them, football is only going to be a small part of their lives. The big thing is they need to ensure that they are preparing for life. For a lot of guys, the transition from playing football to real life is so tough for them. Like I said, I can’t stress enough to these 18-year-olds to take advantage of every resource the program offers—and to take school seriously. I don’t mind putting this out there that I somewhat skated by [at UGA] and did just enough to get a degree. For most people who do this after graduating and getting into the real world, they’re going to regret not taking full advantage of all the resources afforded to them—and, again, especially when it’s free. If the chapter of football in life doesn’t work out, you have to contribute to society in some other way outside of football.