Cristian Dixon isn’t your average recruit.
When prospects are asked about their interests away from the football field, most struggle to answer or give generic responses. Not Dixon.
Walk into Dixon’s home, and you’ll immediately notice some paintings over by the kitchen. Dixon isn’t the collector. He’s the artist.
A bright red, blue and yellow self-portrait is hard to go unnoticed. The freehand work has a bit of an Andy Warhol vibe to it.
“I’m big into peace of mind,” Dixon said. “I know art is something that brings people calmness. I took an art class, and I guess I was pretty good at it. I used to draw a lot when I was little. It’s just a hobby, though.”
Dixon’s musical palate ranges from NBA YoungBoy to Beethoven. He likes doing tail whips on his scooter because BMX bikes are ‘too scary.’ And he’s also dipping his toes in the fashion world.
Dixon used his artistic abilities to develop his own logo and design his own clothes for his new lifestyle brand, Trench Activist, which sells everything from hoodies to sweatsuits to shorts.
“The brand is based off someone that uses their hardships, failures in life and trials and tribulations to prevail,” Dixon said. “That’s the backstory behind it. Nothing in life is easy. I learned that at a young age. You have to take some L’s to come up with a big W.”
A four-star Michigan wide receiver commit from Los Angeles, Dixon is most often described as ‘weird’ and ‘different’ by his peers. In a private training session featuring elite defensive backs Jaylin Davies and Ceyair Wright, both joked that they love Dixon but know he likes to ride his own wave.
Dixon will tell you he’s just focused.
An artist at heart, Dixon has a business mentality. His focus is simple — obtain wealth. In fact, most of his social media timeline is filled with entrepreneurial posts. His cover photo is a row of $20 bills.
“I’d rather work for myself than work for someone else,” Dixon said. “They’re letting us make money in the NCAA, so I’m going to take full advantage of that. I was going to do engineering at Michigan, but I’m going to do business. That’s more of my lane. I like making money.”
While Dixon comes off as an introvert, he has no problem manipulating the system for his own benefit.
Before giving Michigan a verbal pledge, Dixon hardly used social media. In the weeks leading up to the release of his commitment video, Dixon demanded more followers to unveil his announcement to the world.
His goal: build up his personal brand to earn more capital now that the NCAA Board of Governors voted unanimously to allow student-athletes to be paid for the use of their name, image and likeness.
“I wanted to boost my followers,” Dixon said. “You guys thought I was going to Oregon or LSU, but I wasn’t. Go Blue.”
By the way, Dixon’s Twitter name is THE INSPIRATION. Yes, it’s in all caps. And no, I have no idea what it means.
What I do know is Dixon has some pretty out-there ideas about social media.
“Social media is the worst thing that’s ever happened to us as humans,” Dixon said. “We waste so much time on it. It’s ridiculous. There is so much money in it, but it’s so bad for us. All the radiation in the phones. Apple knows what they’re doing to us. There is a reason why Bill Gates doesn’t have a whole bunch of technology in his house.”
Alright then…
Maybe Davies and Wright had a point. Dixon is just different. But that’s how his mother raised him. Christian, who named her son after herself but spelled it without the ‘H’ for phonetic purposes, always wanted Dixon to grow into a bit of a modern-day Renaissance man.
“I’ve always felt it’s important in life to diversify,” Christian said. “In everything we’ve done in life, I’ve tried to put him around different people in all different aspects. It’s about understanding different cultures. The world is a big place. I tried to feed that into him, and he’s, well, developed himself (laughs).”
Christian isn’t your average mother, either.
An accountant by day, Christian turns into a workout monster at night. Well, actually in the early morning. Christian hits the squat rack, does bench press reps and makes sure Cristian is improving his flexibility by going through yoga.
“Since we’ve been quarantined, it’s been easier,” Christian said. “When he was younger, I worked out with him. We used to run routes. I was the first DB to guard him in practice. He got faster, so I stopped doing that. But I just try to stay fit and stay in shape. Being healthy is the solution to long life.
“We get in the gym and talk mess to each other. If I complain, he says ‘that’s weak.’ If he complains, I call him soft. We squat and do bench. But he does those VertiMax’s, and I’m a little too old. I don’t do all that jumping (laughs). We’ve done yoga together for a while. We do the Jugs machine. I can throw the ball 20 or 30 yards. Okay, maybe 30 is a stretch.”
Cristian doesn’t seem to mind getting that extra push from mom.
“It’s cool,” he said. “My mom knows what she’s talking about more than most moms. She’s my manager. To get to me, you have to go through her. That was the key in my recruitment.”
Cristian committed to Michigan over offers from Auburn, Cal, LSU, Miami, Oregon, Texas A&M, USC, Utah and several other major programs in late June.
While he had options closer to home, Dixon wanted to spread his wings and be different — just like he always has been. Christian admits that it took her a while to get used to the idea of Cristian going to school so far away from LA.
But at the end of the day, Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan coaching staff were able to win her over. When she gave the green light, Cristian pulled the trigger.
“I’m a Harbaugh fan,” Christian said. “He wants a family environment. I do too, but I’m a ‘suck it up and go play ball’ type of person. But (Cristian) wants that. It fit. Every time I talked to Harbaugh, it’s not just football. It’s about how we’re doing, (Cristian’s) goals, how we can help, and that was great. (Josh) Gattis was awesome and really got to know him, too.”
So why Michigan?
“It fit,” Christian said. “I don’t know the sport from playing it. I know it from a spectator’s view. Every morning I would get up, and I would read every recommendation for parents with recruiting. I would read about training, coaches and diet for an hour or two. Everything always said, look for what fits best for you. There is no solution for one person that’s going to work for everyone else.
“With Michigan, we looked at the depth chart and the players there. It fit. He’s coming to take over. They're ripe and ready, and I feel like he’s going to bring those championships back home.”
Cristian started playing football when he was six years old. His mother actually wanted him to go the baseball route, but Cristian fell in love with football after a couple of years in the pop warner ranks. It was only his first year that was tough.
After all, Cristian spent most of his time as an offensive lineman.
“It was horrible,” Cristian said with a laugh.
Dixon eventually played wide receiver and defensive back and stuck at those positions. Utah actually offered him as an athlete with a preference for him to play on the defensive side of the ball.
“I don’t really like tackling if we’re being honest,” Dixon said. “I’d rather avoid the tackler than be the tackler. But to this day, I feel like I could be the No. 1 DB in the country in my class.”
Cristian began to really hone in on being a wide receiver in the eighth grade and had a breakout sophomore campaign, notching 42 receptions for 862 yards and nine touchdowns at Pomona (Calif.) Diamond Ranch.
Eager to prove himself even more, Cristian transferred to national powerhouse Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei, where he caught 35 passes for 611 yards and six touchdowns. With football postponed in California this year, Dixon spent some of his summer working out in Houston with elite trainer Ro Simon and star Alabama wide receiver Jaylen Waddle.
Maybe he should change his Twitter name to THE MOTIVATION.
Cristian is always doing what he can to get better even if most of his work is done in the shadow of night and not on social media for all to see. And he’s coming to Michigan with that same approach.
At 6-foot-2, 185 pounds, Dixon has the look of a big, outside wide out. However, the Rivals250 prospect builds his game around his route running and ability to stretch the field. A bit of Keenan Allen type, Cristian will be a unique fit in Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis’ ‘speed in space’ offense.
“Coach Gattis has been sending me scripts and the playbooks,” Cristian said. “He’s just preparing for when I come in January. It’s mostly football right now. I feel like I can be a nuisance in the offense. I can be the outside guy that also comes in the slot. I can be an all over guy.”
Dixon committed to Michigan without ever visiting but said he remains ‘confident’ in his decision as he gears up to be an early enrollee. A big reason for that is the bond he’s built with other members of the 2021 class and his outlook for the future of Michigan football.
“I feel like we can do something special,” Cristian said. “We’re trying to get Donovan Edwards so we can have the full complete package on offense. I feel confident in our defense from Junior (Colson) to Jaydon (Hood). I think we can do something special.”
Of course, Cristian will miss his mother being at his side every step of the way. But Christian made it clear she’ll be in Ann Arbor more often than he thinks.
“I’ll always come and hang,” Christian said. “I’m not going to say I’m going to train him. But if they let me, I’ll come in the weight room and work out. I’ll put some of those Michigan boys to shape. I’ll make them cry, too.”
The C(h)ristian’s are truly one of a kind.
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