Former NBA player Trevor Booker scaled a $2,000 investment into a nearly 60 acre campus actively supporting young athletes.
Combine Academy
Alongside his best friend and business partner Jonah Baize, the Combine Academy was formed.
Today, they describe the passion project as a nationally accredited international academic and sports boarding school that offers basketball, baseball, soccer, and golf.
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During an interview on the WARMUPS podcast, Booker reveals their expansive vision blossomed from a training camp.
“It was strictly training when it first started off,” Booker explained. “So, we started Combine with a $2,000 investment and that was just for a website. See, Jonah had the secret sauce. We had to make the kids pay before they came over. That way, they could pay for the housing they were gonna stay in, the food, the transportation … you know all of that good stuff.”
During the first year, 12 students participated in the Combine Academy and lived in Booker’s home. The enrollment has since tripled due to the interests of students from 40 different countries.
According to the official website, high school and postgraduate athletes are offered “an all-inclusive and comprehensive solution for obtaining a prestigious academic education.”
Combine Academy has also honored its word to elevate students’ athletic careers. In fact, over 500 student-athletes have advanced to the college level on academic or athletic scholarships since 2012.
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Real Estate
As their efforts continued to expand over the years, it also led founders Booker and Baize to rewire their current workflow and enter into a new industry.
The Combine Academy grew from Booker’s home to apartment complexes.
It was then suggested that they consider investing in real estate. Then, by 2014, the duo had purchased their first multi-family property.
“After the first year of owning that multi-family property, we built a bunch of equity because we were paying down our mortgage as opposed to someone else’s and the value went up and so we said we need to rinse and repeat, take some of this cash flow we’re generating from our company and buy more,” Baize explained.
The pair continued to invest in more property across Matthews, NC, and now boast a real estate portfolio with over 300 units through their venture firm JB Fitzgerald Family Office.
In addition, the firm has a stake in the DC United Soccer team and is actively investing in startups.
