Airdrop is my love language
a regular networker in the wild
Let’s talk about networking…
Do you like it?
Do you hate it?
Well… I LOVE it.
I love meeting new people because you never know where it will go.
The upside massively outweighs the downside.
And as someone who had zero connections in the sports industry, networking was the key that got me to where I wanted to go next.
I was gonna share some networking tips today, but I’ll save that for another time if anyone is interested.
(literally just need one person needs comment/respond that they want to know my tips, and I’ll share them)
In the meantime, here’s what my Regular Hoops networking journey has looked like.
Going door-to-door
When I started Regular Hoops, I grew the account by going “door-to-door.”
Or in my case, court-to-court.
I would…
pull up to a random basketball court
film complete strangers, and then
airdrop them their highlights if they followed the Regular Hoops Instagram
But here’s where the magic happened…
I would share the Regular Hoops mission during the seconds I airdropped them their highlights.
Sometimes I would act like airdrop wasn’t working just to talk to them longer lol.
I got ignored by some, but most of the time, my message really resonated.
And a handful of those people became fully invested in me and/or the brand’s mission.
They became my advocates when I needed anything and would share opportunities without me even asking.
So it’s clear that I shouldn’t stop going court-to-court, right?
But there was a time in the Regular Hoops journey when I felt like I lost that networking spark.
And hated going court-to-court.
It wasn’t fun anymore
I’ve filmed literally 100,000+ clips of regular people playing basketball. And airdropped thousands of clips.
I became known as a filmer, which wasn’t really a title I wanted.
But I only made it worse based on my actions.
I would show up to a basketball court with the intention of playing—but then decide to film because of “networking.”
That’s not necessarily a bad thing—I just wasn’t having fun doing it anymore (both in-person and online).
I did not enjoy filming regular people anymore. And I did not enjoy the content style I was creating.
So I needed to change things up.
And here’s what I did.
The switch up
Play more basketball
I needed to get back to the core of why I even started Regular Hoops. I used to play all day long, and I missed that feeling of just playing to play.
No more traveling just to film basketball (keep in mind I was doing all that filming for free too).
Anything I did next had to include me playing in some capacity.
Focus on true storytelling
As Regular Hoops started gaining momentum, I felt like my focus shifted to making viral content.
But after I finally went viral (on multiple occasions too), I did not feel satisfied.
Those numbers felt so empty and meaningless because that content style did not excite me.
So whatever I did next also had to be of real substance in my eyes.
Long story short, these two changed led to the Do You Still Hoop? series—which has reignited my passion for networking.
Whenever I go to a basketball court or any event really, I have something that I’m actually excited to talk about.
Back to basics
I feel like I’m back to square one—but it a good way.
I’m back to the hustle and grind of growing a new Instagram page.
I love the feeling of starting from zero.
Makes me hungrier.
And even more of an underdog.
Except this time, I have two years of experience under my belt and understand exactly what I want to get out it.
If by chance a brand is reading this, please reach out. I think there are unique opportunities to collaborate on a Do You Still Hoop? video.
Email me: danny@regularhoops.com
Okay, that’s enough shameless plugging lol.
Don’t forget to let me know if y’all want my networking secrets.
Please note: these new blogs (started Sept’24) contain a lot of satire and should not always be taken at face value.
Expect to see typos, wordy/repetitive sentences, passive voice, and anything else you’d expect from a “D-” graded high school assignment.
Because that’s my writing ability according to my first ever hate comment back in 2018.
Give us those tips 🙏🙏 I always dread networking