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A tiny fraction of people end up becoming professional athletes, but Connor Renton wants to help anyone experience what it feels like to be one.
The 28-year-old Toronto native played rugby and hockey in his youth, but he came up with the idea of creating a recreational basketball league that treats average Joes like their heroes.
An idea that Renton says was laughed at has turned into a nationwide league with 35 locations, more than 600 games each week and over 1 billion views on social media.
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“The first thing that comes to mind is passion. People love sports. Humans love sports. It’s everything to us when we’re kids. It shapes who we are. We all dream about playing in the NBA, NFL or NHL. Then you get out on the other side of that, and you feel like a failure if that’s not what you end up doing,” Renton told FOX Business.
“Unfortunately, all the adult sports options, including the current operators and people out there, are lacking passion and commitment. No one grows up dreaming about playing pickleball or running a marathon, but at least they care. At least they’re signed up to play there. That’s what I noticed with Brodie and basketball, but it’s the same with every sport across the planet.”
Brodie has everything most rec leagues have: jerseys, teams and referees. But it goes the extra mile with its own personal statisticians, film, highlights and even a media day.
“When I thought about what I really wanted to achieve by starting Brodie, one of the things was that I was jealous of the media athletes got: the photos, videos, pictures and stats. That’s what I wanted as an athlete and as a consumer of our product,” Renton said.
“Ultimately, it became the thing that drove us to grow at the speed at which we grew. You’d play a game, and you’d get 10 videos and 10 photos every single night. The odds of you putting those on your own social media or in group chats are extremely high. That natural flywheel just blew us up.”
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Brodie has leagues for all skill levels, from former Division I players to people just looking for some cardio at night. In fact, 40% of Brodie players have never played organized basketball.
“The whole sports industry is focused on the 0.1% of people who play at Duke, in college or overseas. They’re not paying attention to the 99.9% of us who just want to get a good run in, play a team sport with five to 10 other guys or girls, and have something to look forward to,” Renton said.
“Obviously, the stats, pictures and glory are worth it, but there are so many other components of what we love about sports. It’s built for the everyday athlete, not the professional guys.”
The company recently raised $3.6 million in venture capital in exchange for equity in the business, which has helped the league operate its AI tools to deliver the goods that separate Brodie from other rec leagues.
“Technology makes this business a lot easier to run,” Renton noted.
And like any entrepreneur, Renton hopes today’s Brodie is just the tip of the iceberg.
“My goal is that anybody, anywhere can download the Brodie app, find an organized, competitive league for them and have an experience that treats them right. In the next five years, it’s not only Brodie Los Angeles and Brodie Miami. It’s also Brodie Sydney, Brodie Paris and Brodie London. Ultimately, it’s about changing the world of sports,” he said.
“There’s no reason why the sports world has to cater entirely to the 0.1% of athletes. There are more than enough people out there who love sports, host their own pickup games with friends, go to an LA Fitness or go for runs and buy a pair of bike shorts to start road biking, not because they want to, but because they don’t know what else to do.
“When you think of Brodie, I want people to think of team sports and changing the world of rec sports in general. That’s our mission, and that’s what we’d like to accomplish.”
