As the NBA season kicks off and the players shake off the rust, the dreamers and fans alike gather around their TVs, in bars and at the arenas to cheer on their favourite teams. There’s a thrill in watching your team’s best player nail down that game-tying jumper or watching the threes rain down from beyond the arc. It conjures dreams of one day becoming the clutch player yourself. The chance to be celebrated for your talent. But for many players, the NBA is a distant dream. Yet the spark lives on and these dreamers yearn for an outlet to showcase their talent and dedication to the craft they love. So when the Brodie Rec League, once a distant dream itself, became the North American phenomenon that it is today, those dreamers have found a new outlet for competitive basketball. The kind where glory is up for grabs.
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Lifelong commitment
Sports isn’t a finite thing. It doesn’t stop as you age. The passion doesn’t die. “Realizing that athletes have nowhere to go after they graduated school, if you do not play pro, you have no options to continue playing the sports you love,” said Connor Renton, the Brodie Rec League’s founder. “The sports world retires you in your early 20s and turns you into a spectator. We believe that being an athlete is a lifelong commitment.”
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The league provides an outlet to young men and women looking for a positive experience. For many, after schooling is completed, with no direct path to pro, alot of players lose a piece of themselves. “Athletes have the sport they love ripped away from them post secondary and lots are left without proper mental outlets. Brodie gives people something to compete for and a place to build community.” In speaking to the Brodie Rec League Commissioner and Head of Operations, Ali Ludin, he noted “Brodie League is meant for the people. We’ve created an atmosphere for the ones who weren’t able to have that NBA experience, an environment where you feel like you’re a pro and experience the hype that comes with it.”
Once a crushed dream
Like many of us, the pandemic forced many dreams to come to an end. Some closed businesses, others lost their dream career job. “I actually was going to shut the company down when covid happened,” notes Renton. But the underlying dedication of both being an entrepreneur and also a fierce competitor, Renton didn’t stop there. “I decided to give it one more go and it blew up!”
The TikTok Strategy
Initially, the group launched on TikTok and began their journey as a casual user. Uploading content with no real expectations. However, like many creators, they decided to incorporate TikTok into their marketing strategy, in hopes of generating more buzz around their league. It worked. Their most triumphant video was a compelling narrative about their business, which garnered a staggering 2 million views.
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This captivating storytelling, combined with excellent editing and high viewer retention, attracted 50,000 followers in just two days and a global following. TikTok provided Brodie Rec League with an unprecedented reach, introducing them to customers, businesses, creators, and a vast audience. Brodie Rec League’s advice to other business owners considering TikTok is to tell their story with authenticity, embrace vulnerability, experiment with different styles, and closely monitor retention and engagement metrics.
