NEW YORK — He reached a personal crossroads three year ago, trapped between a familiar past and uncertain future. Clarity escaped him. He was an out-of-work twenty-something going sideways.
But Walt Powell soon found a path that he never knew existed.
The former NFL wide receiver/returner, who played for the Jets in 2014, finally found a purpose. It was strange that a kid from St. Louis, who knew little about politics was now consumed by it.
Powell and his close friend Jackson White laid the foundation that day for what would become Politiscope, a politician-profile app aimed at educating and engaging users about the political process.
The non-partisan mobile app has more than 35,000 users. Powell has helped create a consolidated space that gives people of all ages an easy way to dive into the political world.
"We're trying to educate and get people interested in politics," said the 28-year-old Powell, who was on five teams in four years in the NFL. "It's in our lives whether we like it or not. So, we might as well try to understand it."
Powell and his team have created a platform that allows users to do everything from registering to vote to donating to their preferred campaigns.
Politiscope provides objective media stories and profile pages for every congressman and senator with pertinent information on recent legislation that impacts them. Each profile page includes easy-to-digest breakdowns of bills and how your preferred congressman or senator voted.
In essence, the site helps raise awareness to keep politicians accountable to their constituency.
"We really want this to be the one-stop shop, political tool for everybody," Powell said. "You go down this Google vortex searching for stuff and you get a headache. Then you're done and you're turned off by politics. So, we really want to be that go-to platform where we provide nothing but transparency and simplicity for those newcomers as well as the political junkies."
The NFL has galvanized players to become more engaged in the run-up to Election Day on Nov. 3. The league's NFL Vote initiative has helped register 90% of active players to vote during this election cycle.
Powell applauds the effort during this watershed moment. He's hopeful that rallying the troops to register to vote is the first in a series of critical moves that everyone embraces.
"It's definitely the time for it with everything been happening the past couple years," Powell said. "I think it's great that they're starting to get guys active and being more a part of the community. That's the best way to do it. Registering to vote AND voting. That's a step in the right direction."
It's a step that once seemed impossible.
