Lions RB Reggie Bush discusses rough upbringing

Life wasn't easy for Reggie Bush growing up. 

The Detroit Lions running back spent his early years in the Southeast neighborhood of San Diego -- a rough part of the city known for gang activity and violence. 

"I really didn't involve myself directly in the gang activity," Bush told Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press. "Indirectly, a lot of my friends were involved in it. But I really stayed away from it because I just knew at a young age that wasn't what I wanted to be like."

A big part of that motivation came from Bush's own father, who was involved with the lifestyle.

"And then having the solid upbringing from my mom, who's such a worker and the complete opposite," he said. "I still wonder to this day how they even met and how they had me."

Bush's parents split before he was born. His mother married his stepfather when he was two and still works as a deputy sheriff in San Diego County. Bush speaks with his biological father occasionally but admits that it's not the easiest relationship. But despite it all, he remains grateful. 

"Everything we got we had to work hard for," Bush said. "We struggled just like everybody else growing up. But I really feel like it humbled me at a young age and helped mold me into who I am today."