Gerard, Los Angeles

We spoke to basketball trainer, Gerald, about the state of basketball nowadays, what the future holds and where he thinks adidas needs to be and what moves it should be making next. Gerald Boston grew up in Burlington, North Carolina, but he’s currently living in Thousand Oaks, California where he works as the basketball coordinator at the Sports Academy and a basketball skills full-time trainer, trying to help impact and develop the future stars of tomorrow. “I honestly have the best job in the world”, he told us. “I love basketball, but I also love helping people even more, so for me, it’s the best of both worlds. I love to come to work every single day”.

You obviously have so much passion for the game, what’s most  exciting to you about basketball nowadays?

I like that the game is evolving outside of the US, you see a lot of talented players outside of America - Luka, Jokić, Jānis - I think it’s motivating and giving hope to people outside of America that basketball is possible for anybody. I think it’s continuing to grow, and you see the results of that.  I think we’ll continue to see it viewed as not just US basketball but a world game.

Also, there is more talent across the board. Growing up, our only dream was to play in the NBA, but now people actually look forward, or at least are willing, to play overseas basketball because it’s just as popular and lucrative as an NBA career. The options of playing basketball after high school and college are much more than say ten or twenty years ago. I think the game benefits more because more people are playing it too, they see that more talent exists than just a typical athlete that you’re used to seeing on TV every day. 

Are there any downsides to this growth of the game?

The downsides are that now everything is about fame and making money. Sometimes it takes away from what really matters - playing basketball. I think it’s happening now even with the high school kids, it’s about who’s popular and not who’s good, and you miss out on a lot of good players because of it. Someone that doesn’t have good exposure, or who isn’t constantly on social media or TV, might miss their opportunity because they’re not in the limelight like someone that’s constantly around those people. I come from a place that’s not well known, but I see a lot of great players from where I’m from, but they don’t have the same opportunities.

Is this largely to do with social media do you think? 

Social media and money, both have taken away from the energy of the streets. I think the focus has shifted because now people are focusing on how to profit or make a name for themselves, as opposed to just being original and true to who they are. Because of those two things, we’ve seen less of what we’re accustomed to in New York and more on social media, which is everybody trying to follow the next trend. Social media is a content game. A lot of the trainers out here have big social media followings, post all their workouts - that’s not really my style but you have to in order to get your name to the next level. If you don’t, you’re kinda left behind so it’s really turning into how much content they put out and how frequently you do it. Because of that, sometimes it takes away from craft, if you’re worrying about how good you’re looking on social media. 

How do you talk to the kids that you work with, to the communities, to get a good balance and not have social media become a challenge?

Obviously social media is necessary now, you want to use it to promote yourself and get your name out there, but you don’t want to get caught up where it’s taking more time away from you doing what you’re actually supposed to be doing. You always want to make your main thing your main thing. If you’re an athlete, you want to make sure you’re in the gym working on your game and not focusing on showing people that you’re working on your game. If you’re a lawyer, you want to make sure you’re spending the right amount of time on the cases other than on TV. You always want to put the time into your craft, but a lot of people feel like they have to show people. Let the work show itself. You have to find that balance to show who you really are. 

Who do you see as cutting edge when it comes to basketball nowadays?

Strictly from a basketball standpoint I think Steph Curry is still one of the most influential basketball players there is. I think I’ve seen more Curry jerseys and shoes than I have anybody else’s. I think his impact on the game speaks for itself. As far as trainers and coaches – Phil Handy. He’s assistant coach for the LA Lakers. He’s well respected all around the world, there’s a lot of opportunities to watch and learn from him. His impact on the kids, the professional athletes and other coaches and trainers like myself – it has made me a better person and a better trainer, just from meeting him, so I think trainers can have just as much of an impact as NBA players that actually play the game.

I think outside of Steph Curry having a marketable image, he does everything the right way. You never hear about him getting in trouble, about him being in the media for anything other than praise in the community, he’s always doing stuff outside of basketball so I think the fact he’s a great basketball player, it helps that he’s an even better person that kids and young athletes should follow as opposed to the other stuff we see on TV or on social media. Curry is definitely positively disruptive. Outside of him being listed as one of the best players ever, it’s what he does for his family, the community, not just his team but the rest of the players, he speaks up for social justice issues.

Anyone else?

Allen Iversen is my favourite basketball player of all time! He paved the way, made it a lot easier for athletes to be themselves. That was the reason I started basketball. He took a lot of the brunt at the beginning of his career, but because of what he went through, I think it made it easier for players to be themselves, they don’t have to all be like Steph Curry, you can be who you really are and still be accepted. People like Iverson are the reason why we have certain players who are comfortable being who they really are. 

We’ve heard a lot about Iverson over our years doing sports research, he was a catalyst for so many people… 

Right? Iverson was with Reebok and Curry’s with Under Armour. They’re both pretty successful in their shoe deals. As you know, there are a lot of players that are under that Jordan/Nike umbrella and I’m sure those two wanted to veer off on their own path, because on and off the court they were able to still make lots of money. I think with these other companies like Under Armour and Reebok, they give their players more freedom to be involved with the process, as opposed to Nike and Jordan, they want the players just to show off their product, I think that’s why you see a lot of those players going to different shoe companies because they get more freedom to be more hands on with what’s going on.

The work you do is very positively disruptive in basketball, what areas of the game are you most interested in making a difference in?

I’m big on community, I grew up with the Boys and Girls Club, it’s a big pillar in a lot of communities. That set the standard for how I wanted to be as a person, so any opportunity I had once I became old enough to make a difference, I tried to help people who are in worse situations than I am. If I’m in a place where I can do something for somebody, I don’t hesitate, because I was once that person that needed someone to help me. I try to make sure I’m always wherever I need to be. 

I think whatever sport you play; you start to realise you can make more of an impact outside of the sport than you do on the court or on the field. I think more athletes should take that into account as they continue to play their sport, help as many people as you can, not only in your career

When we spoke to people from New York, they said players don’t come to the communities anymore. Have you seen that aspect disappearing from the game?

I think that might circle back to the whole social media thing, I think a lot of them are scared of being exposed, because there’s always cameras, always pictures getting taken, videos. They still do it, just not as publicly as we would like them to. You could lose all credibility from one video. They’ll never admit it, but I think that’s what goes through a lot of these player’s minds – they don’t want to be viewed in the wrong light, so they make sure that no one can ever see them unless you see them on TV. I get it, but it sucks because it would be nice to see someone like Steph Curry or LeBron or Russell Westbrook just pop up and shoot with you at a local park. It does happen but not as much as we would like it to. 

What used to be relevant in basketball that is not relevant anymore?

The first thing that comes to mind is the game. I remember just walking to the park or to the YMCA just to play basketball without anything in return. Now, everyone’s playing for some type of satisfaction whether it’s money or some type of publicity or a way to promote their brand, no one just plays just to play anymore, it’s always what can I get out of it? For me, I still love to play just because I enjoy playing basketball, I don’t look to get anything out of it, I’ll walk in and play with a 10-year-old, a 20-year-old, a 40-year-old, because I enjoy it. I don’t know if we see that as much anymore because now people are trying to benefit or gain something out of it. It’s sad. I don’t know if we’ll ever get back to that, now everyone is trying to create advantage out of every situation they can. You see how much money is being made by sports, you almost have to think of it right now. I get it, but it’s still unfortunate for the people that enjoy it for what it is. It’s just basketball, but now it’s become more of a business than a sport.

Who ultimately has the most influence in the culture of basketball? The athletes, the streets, the brands, the consumers?

I think they all go hand-in-hand, but I would say the consumer. If there’s no one interested in your product, then your product is not going to be worth watching. They don’t get as much credit as they deserve. The consumer has most, if not all, of the power. Most players would agree, that’s why they always thank the fans, because they know without them, they wouldn’t be in the position they’re in, so it has to be the consumer. Rather than “consumer”, I use “audience” or “communities”, those are better words. We’ve been conditioned to think that way, so we use those trigger words, but I like the words community or audience better.

What’s one thing you would wish for the culture of basketball personally? What would you love to see change?

I hate to circle back to what we already talked about, but it’d be about it being just about the sport, take away some of the politics and the money-driven things that we always see and make it more about playing basketball, football, soccer, baseball, and really reach out to these kids without trying to get anything out of them. I wish we would have more of these professional athletes just pop up in communities and help the younger generation. It’s kind of hard not to focus on the money. We deal with that here, it’s a big business and obviously money influences and drives everything, but the way I look at it, you put the people first – without the people, there’s no culture, right? If you put the people first, the money will come. Build a court or something. They have the power, but do they want to do that?

When it comes to inclusivity, how do you see brands working within that? Do you think they’re doing a good job within basketball?

It seems to me the bigger brands are focused on the bigger names – they’re trying to bring in the big names to help promote their product, which is not a bad idea, obviously it works, but if, along with that, they would do things in some of these communities that don’t have as much, that would put their product in a different light. Go to some of these smaller cities or less fortunate countries and do events there to show that you care more about them than just the big town athletes that are on TV every day, that would help promote their brand in a different light as opposed to what they’re used to doing.

We talk about this, the importance of supporting the small names and well as enlisting the big names, it’s so important. What else would you recommend to adidas? 

Find the areas that Nike isn’t as focused on – the African/American community is well immersed in the Nike brand – so what other demographics or cultures can you tap into to draw some attention to your brand? Try to bring them onboard as opposed to trying to chase the same one Nike’s chasing, because it’s going to be tough to beat them at their own game. Find a new path that Nike isn’t really focused on and see if that can promote and build you to a different spot that Nike isn’t at right now, they can’t focus on everybody at once, I’m sure there are other areas of the world that it’s not really tapped into right now, or at least not as much as certain cultures.

What other advice have you got for brands?

Brands should get with these athletes and find out where they’re from, go to these smaller communities that don’t have the access or the resources to benefit from those products; just little things like that can go a long way. It’s very profit-driven out here in California, so if you don’t have the funds to do what you’re trying to do, you’re in a tough spot, everything is about money. The cost of everything is a lot higher than what I’m used to.

And when it comes to markets, which ones do you think adidas should be focussing on?

adidas can capitalise on the smaller markets, because there are a lot more smaller markets than these bigger ones, and I’m sure Nike has clearly tapped into the LA’s, New York’s, Chicago’s, Miami’s of the world, but that’s not all there is in the world. That’s where adidas can make up ground, there are tons of smaller markets that you can really get into that Nike isn’t really focused on right now. North Carolina is called the Hoop State. Michael Jordan is really from there; he might have been born in Brooklyn but he’s from there!

If adidas was to build a brand around the idea of originality, what would you expect them to do?

The biggest thing Nike is doing is reaching out to players to promote their brands. I think what adidas could do is reach out to coaches or trainers, or someone like that who has just as much of a pulse on the basketball community to try to reel in and promote their product, as opposed to trying to compete with Nike and grab these big-time players. I’m sure they’d be successful at times, but Nike usually gets the bigger name, so why not tap into something that Nike isn’t focused on right now and try to grab the coaches who are also connected to the players, which may lead to more deals with the players down the road. Unlike the players, coaches are more involved with the general public on a daily basis; players are secluded, and they stay in their circle. We would be able to reach a different market and we have a hands-on approach with the community, we see the kids every single day, so we have a direct line of communication with them as opposed to using these athletes where you have to pay for advertising and marketing. 

Brands are always focusing on who they get as opposed to focusing on the communities that they can reach. That’s very important. It’s not just about the names of the players you can get on your roster but how many people you can reach throughout the community. Brands should reach out to smaller facilities where these kids aren’t seen or looked at much so we can show them that what they do isn’t going unnoticed. It starts at the bottom, with the kids. As they get older, the brand will promote itself through them. The pros were kids just like us, they had to start somewhere, you never know who might turn out to be the next Steph Curry or the next LeBron James, so if you make an impact on their lives early, you never know what the result will be down the road.

Does adidas have a role when it comes to basketball culture?

I think adidas is making a name for themselves as the next basketball shoe. Obviously, you don’t want to compare them to Nike, but before, you would only see Jordans or Nikes on the court, now you can see just as many, or on some occasions, more adidas than any other shoes, so I think they’ve made strides to become a popular and wanted shoe across the league as well. 

How can adidas become legendary?

I think adidas already is legendary. It’s like Jay Z and Nas – Nas is one of, if not the greatest, rappers of all time, but he gets compared to who? Jay Z, right? So, as great as he is, there’s always someone that’s doing a little bit better right now but that doesn’t take away from his greatness. I think adidas in itself is already great and legendary but when you bring up adidas, they always get compared to Nike and they will never be able to run from it, so I don’t think they should focus on being better than Nike, just continue to be adidas because it’s already a legendary brand. adidas is as appreciated for their role in the sports world as the other popular brands, you can’t say one without the other. Even when you say Nike, people still think of adidas, just Nike usually gets the upper hand. I think adidas is well respected around the world. As long as they don’t try to beat Nike, everything will be fine. Once they start competing, that’s when things might take a turn.