A word of advice to the youth of America: Always tweet players from your favorite team. You never know when they'll invite you to do Pilates with them.
Just ask Seth Paladin, a die-hard Steelers fan from Indianapolis whose innocuous tweet at wide receiver Antonio Brown triggered a week-long friendship.
"When I first tweeted at him, I thought there was a very slim chance that he'd see it," Paladin, 24, told CNBC's Darren Rovell. "When he replied, I thought to myself, 'This is crazy.' "
After a series of direct messages, texts and phone calls, the two met at Brown's hotel room, where they immediately hit it off. They took a trip to the gym together, where they lifted and swam laps in the pool.
The new media friendship was just beginning.
That night, Brown accepted Paladin's invite to join friends for a dinner at a downtown steakhouse. Brown picked up the tab. The next morning, the pair met up again and headed back to the gym before having breakfast together. This went on all week, with Paladin joining Brown at several events. Brown even gave Paladin his credit card to pick up a pair of shoes at one point.
Seriously.
"I saw what guys like Ochocinco did on Twitter and I wanted to give it a try," Brown said. "I know there's a lot of support for us in Steeler Nation and it was fun to be with a fan and see what motivates him every day."
By the time Brown flew out of Indianapolis on Sunday morning, Paladin's mind was understandably blown.
"Twitter has always been a neat tool, but this encounter took it to another level for me," he said. "Twitter puts everyone on an even playing field. Don't pass up an opportunity to interact with a role model, because you never know what they might say. Trust me."
