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Ex-NFL receiver Brandon Marshall will hold his own mini-combine in Florida

At his House of Athlete facility, Brandon Marshall takes an integrated approach to training, combining mental, spiritual, and physical fitness.Cliff Hawkins/Getty

WESTON, Fla. — Brandon Marshall had nowhere to go.

Fresh off his first season with the Dolphins, the six-time Pro Bowl receiver had no training base after NFL owners implemented a lockout, shutting down team facilities and delaying the start of the 2011 season.

In addition to having no contact with coaches, team doctors, and other officials, Marshall, like every other NFLer, wasn’t able to train as he normally would.

He didn’t like the feeling, and he decided he never wanted to be in that position again. That’s when he came up the idea for House of Athlete, a training facility catering to athletes of all ages.

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“I looked up and saw Terrell Owens, Chad Ochocinco, Chris Johnson, Darcy Johnson, Mike Sims-Walker, and a few other players who were also locked out and I was like, ‘Man, we can open our own facility,’ ” Marshall said.

Beginning in 2012, Marshall and his corps of trainers have mentored youth, high school, college, and professional athletes at his flagship facility.

Marshall’s House of Athlete is in the spotlight this week as he attempts to help fill the void left by the NFL canceling its annual Scouting Combine by hosting a mini-combine for draft hopefuls.

“We wanted to get ahead of it as soon as we started hearing rumblings that this year’s combine would potentially be canceled or be different,” he said. “So we just said, ‘Let’s put a plan in place.’ We wanted to be part of the solution.”

Marshall said what separates his facility from others is a total approach to wellness. It’s about spiritual, mental, and physical fitness.

Mental health is important to Marshall, who spent time at McLean Hospital in Waltham, where he was diagnosed with a borderline personality disorder after a series of volatile episodes. He credited his time at McLean with helping him “develop the skills to understand and cope” and giving him the treatment he needed to change his life.

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“It’s 100 percent performance,” Marshall said about House of Athlete’s approach. “And that’s how we train. We’re here to help these people that are playing.

“I think more people should have access to the products that we’ve had for years, you know? And that’s around how much we eat, how we train, how we recover, and our mental fitness approach. It’s about improvement and performance. So we just try to focus on the fundamentals of all that.”

A look inside the House of Athlete in Weston, Fla.Jim McBride

Marshall, 36, has enjoyed a second career in the media, cohosting “Inside the NFL” on Showtime as well as “First Things First” on FS1. He recently launched the “I Am Athlete” podcast, which in a recent installment featured Patriots quarterback Cam Newton.

The House of Athlete combine will be run by Mo Wells, Marshall’s director of pro performance. Wells is a former LSU track and field standout and has a reputation for preparing NFL athletes.

“He’s the best in the business,” said Marshall. “There isn’t a better guy out there for this time, getting guys ready for combine and offseason training.”

Marshall said his combine is about more than lifting weights, running the 40, and performing the three-cone drill.

“It’s a program that’s fully integrated, from medical to nutrition, to the mental fitness component and the coaching,” he said.

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Marshall has employed former Browns coach Hue Jackson and former Steelers cornerback Ryan Clark, among others, to help prepare players not only on the field but also for their meetings with NFL teams.

“They are instrumental in making sure we’re thinking right and we’re inside the heads of the leaders of these NFL organizations,” he said.

Marshall played 13 years in the NFL (2006-18), including two with the Miami Dolphins (2010-11).Matthew J. Lee

While preparing for the 2006 draft, Marshall attended Cris Carter’s football camps in Boca Raton, where he got to watch some of the game’s best, including Randy Moss, perform. That left a lasting impression, and it was one of the reasons he wanted to be a mentor when his playing days were over.

Marshall was the last player invited to the 2006 combine, calling it one of the best days of his life — “all I wanted was that opportunity.”

His main message now to the players at the combine is to relax. He remembers that the pressure to perform when the stakes are so high can be overwhelming.

“I remember those moments, at pro day and combines,” he said. “Just think about it, man. Like a lot of these guys, I mean, for me, I was 6 years old with this dream. And so, a lot of these guys, they’re in that moment right now.

“Like two months to prepare for this moment. Running a 40 or the shuttle, bench press, vertical, you know, all those, and the interview processes. Like you just think it’s black and white and life or death, like, ‘If I don’t do great here, everything is over.’ ”

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Having a reassuring voice of experience can help calm the nerves.

“It’s a cool experience for them,” he said. “Something that they will appreciate, you know, once they enter the next phase and the next level.”


Jim McBride can be reached at james.mcbride@globe.com. Follow him @globejimmcbride.