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D-UP! with Double D: The Story Behind GRIND Basketball
In this episode of D-UP!, Derek Dusek has a conversation with Thomas Fields, Founder/CEO, and Maurice Elrod, Marketing Director, of GRIND Basketball.
In this video, you'll learn about the inspiration behind the portable/affordable shooting machine that fits into a duffle bag. It's a reminder to athletes and entrepreneurs to keep grinding!
To learn more about the backstory of GRIND read this great piece by VYPE's Matt Malatesta below.
Solutions take vision and most importantly – Grind.
Thomas Fields was a city-ranked basketball prospect at Heights High School a few years back. He started as a freshman on varsity. His name was bouncing around recruiting circles through his play on the AAU circuit.
He could really hoop.
Adversity struck as Fields suffered a pair of ACL injuries in high school, but still strived for those DI offers. Ranked with the likes of Justice Winslow, Kelly Oubre and Justin Jackson, Thomas found himself up at 5 am, trying to put up hundreds of shots before and after school.
After his school purchased a shooting machine, Fields soon realized that the equipment that could help change his career wasn't designed for him at all.
Fields wanted to use the shooting machine at his high school, but he never had full access to it. It was always locked up or controlled by the coach, and purchasing a $4,000 machine on his own was out of the question.
What he needed was his own machine. So, GRIND was born, a sports technology company that designs products to solve the problems of athletes - starting with a better shooting machine.
He started the research and development on a portable shooting machine in his garage on the northside of Houston, and the rest is history.
"The idea was to design a shooting machine for athletes, like if Nike were to recreate game-changing equipment - that's what we are doing at GRIND," Fields said.
Creating a shooting machine that folds in a large duffle-bag, designed specifically to make basketball players, trainers and teams great. The machine can be taken to the park or gym and can be used to help anyone from point guards to post players. Most importantly, it wouldn't break the bank.
At a fraction of the cost of original shooting machines, this product may change basketball forever. Along with the hardware, GRIND will offer interactive shooting drills and shot tracking through an app on your phone with its version two.
"Perfecting the hardware was the first priority, next is the software," he said.
With very few investors, Fields was able to get the company into technology accelerator programs to help bring the company to life and all that work has paid off.
Consumers can purchase The GRIND Machine online for $1,595.00 and can expect delivery starting Spring 2021.
Website:
grindbasketball.com
Instagram:
@grindbasketball_
@grindincorporated
Facebook:
@grindbasketball
For more information about the GRIND, go to grindbasketball.com.
VYPE Locker Talk LIVE! - May 22, 2020
We are going LIVE with our VYPE Locker Talk on VYPE.com.
Join VYPE Chief Content Officer Matt Malatesta and Managing Editor Joshua Koch as they talk the big news from the UIL this week, Texas high school football recruiting, they talk the 2020 VYPE Awards presented by Houston Methodist Orthopedics & Sports Medicine and more.
WATCH THE SHOW BELOW!!