There is so much space and opportunity for today’s generation of athletes to allow their talent to open massive doors for them.
For current Los Angeles Clippers player, Terance Mann, leveraging the world of web3 is taking his basketball talents to the next level. He initially wanted to learn more about the space after not seeing a lot of people who looked like him.
Using his own persona to connect with Clippers fans is one skill set that Mann believes can be beneficial to other players looking for opportunities when it comes to investing and life beyond just basketball.
“When you’re walking around, moving around with agents, or within facilities, you can hear people talking about what [players] are doing off the court,” said Mann. “People are investing in different things, [and] people, you know, take life in through their social media.”
Who Are You Beyond Sports?
Mann works alongside Julian Aiken, the founder of W3 Sports, a Web3 consulting firm working to bridge the gap between athletes and brands of the new internet.
“When I thought about the business, I used the same kind of things. ‘Who do I know in the space or in other spaces that people that look like me are attracted to?’ To bring them into our world as well and show them that this is also cool. This is also viable. And that you can take care of your family here as well,” Aiken explained.
Furthermore, he spoke about how leaning into vulnerability is key for players looking to market themselves as a brand.
“Every player, I’m sure has a personality that is not or doesn’t equate to who they are when on the court. Start to open that up, you know, if you are comfortable being vulnerable,” said Aiken. “That’s something that Terance does really well. He’s comfortable and he’s vulnerable and willing to show who he is off the court. When you expose and express who you are, they’re gonna be tons of people that might like the NFL, but love something about you that reminds you of them. Those are the types of things that you want to build content around.”
Doing What Feels Right
For Mann, being immersed in the metaverse is like taking a step back into some of his favorite hobbies.
“Growing up, playing video games as much as I did, [the metaverse] really gave me that that type of feel, that almost Grand Theft Auto feel where people are creating their own stuff, having their own type of vibe on there, playing different sorts of games, winning tokens,” said Mann. “Exchanging real, you know, crypto money on there. Just the whole vibe really attracted me just from me being a gamer growing up.”
Listen to Julian Aiken and Terance Mann give the keys to taking over the metaverse by listening to the full Black Tech Green Money episode below.
