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Meet Reggie Roy of Ballin’ Sportswear in North Houston

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Reggie Roy.

Reggie, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I’m from a small town called Port Arthur, Texas. I am one of the youngest of twelve brothers and sisters. While growing up in the projects, outdoor sports were always part of my life especially baseball. Playing baseball was exciting and it developed in me that competitive mentality and drive to win. You would always find me playing at the neighborhood park after school or enrolled in a little league organization. Being engaged in sports played an important role in keeping me focused and out of trouble during the summers. In high school, my goal was to get a full paid baseball college scholarship since my parents had very limited resources to help us pay for our education. I also played basketball and football, but these were more recreational with my neighborhood friends and family members.

I learned that the key to excelling in sports is to become good at it. Which means you have to put in the work to be better than your peers. Unfortunately, my senior year I injured my ankle during baseball practice. The injury was more serious than I expected and later ended up needing surgery which kept me out of the game the rest of the season. I never fully recovered from the injury and didn’t get the scholarship, but I never lost the love for the game. After high school graduation, I was not sure about my future but I did know that staying in Port Arthur was out of the question. I did not want to be part of the statistics.

Fortunately, one of my sisters offered to let me live with her in Houston temporarily while my college financial aid was being processed. I moved to Houston and started college the first semester after graduation. To help myself financially, I did custodial work on campus, security work during the week and washed vehicles on the weekends. I had no personal vehicle so the Houston Metro Bus was my main source of transportation.

Five years later, I graduated with a Bachelors degree in Business Administration from Texas Southern University. After college, I eventually landed a job with a Law Firm that allowed me to learn, grow and pursue my ambitions.

During the Houston Rockets Playoff season back in the 90’s, I had an idea to design a tee shirt for fans. Since I love sports and I am a big fan like many others, I shared the idea with my colleagues. Monday morning, I printed a paper copy of the shirt design and gave it to the receptionist to take orders in case anyone was interested in buying one. I figured I could get at least 15-20 people on board from an office of 200+ employees. Two days later she had collected over 200 orders. By Friday, she was up to 500 orders. I had no idea where I was going to have that many tee shirts made. My plan was to use a heat transfer for 15-20 shirts. Luckily, I was able to find a local company to produce the large unexpected order. From that point on, I became the Tee Shirt Guy.

It’s no coincidence that my business started with an idea that involved sports. I decided to name my company Ballin’ Sportswear because of my love and passion for sports.

Today, we are an established business that has served the community for 16+ years. We have developed two divisions of the company. The first division is called Ballin’ Custom Apparel which provides custom made team uniforms to sports teams, spirit wear to schools, and staff apparel to companies. This allows the customer to personalize their apparel with their own logo, design or brand. We work with startup businesses in developing their brand and creating their logos. Additionally, we work with several non-profit organizations in the community to inspire young entrepreneurs.

Division two is the Ballin’ Sportswear Brand. This brand was created for athletes to wear casually, pregame or postgame. We are excited to announce the launch of the new online apparel store in May 2020.

The Ballin’ brand is intended to inspire and give athletes something they can identify and relate to while playing sports. Ballin’ is playing your game at the highest level possible. Some of the best athletes in the world who fit such a definition or define the term BALLIN’ would consist of players like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Hank Aaron, Tom Brady, Larry Bird, Cynthia Cooper, Serena Williams, Tiger Woods, Roger Federer and the list goes on.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Struggles, challenges and failures are all part of growth and success. At the beginning, my trademark attorney questioned the company’s name because in the 70’s the word ballin had sexual connotation. For a minute, I got discouraged and considered changing it because I did not want my vision to be misunderstood. Eventually, I went with my gut feeling and decided not to change it. I knew Ballin’ was all about playing ball in all sports and what a positive impact it made for me.

Learning and mastering new skills requires a lot of your time and discipline to succeed. Working a full-time job and trying to save money to help fund the business can also be discouraging. It took me longer than I projected before I made a full transition from my job to the business.

We started small as a company, delivered quality and competitive prices to convince customers to trust our work. With minimal funding and limited equipment, we worked long sleepless nights to accomplish and complete the orders.

I once relied on a similar company to manufacture my products until I could afford my own equipment. This turned out to be one of the biggest mistakes that I made at the beginning stages of my business. Needless to say, the company did not deliver and cost me a $100,000 per year contract. Acquiring clients is not the biggest challenge, the challenge is to keep them as loyal customers.

Ballin’ Sportswear – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Ballin Custom Apparel – We specialize in screen printing and embroidery services. We are known as a Sports Team Uniform company that provides sports apparel, products and services to sports teams and organizations. We are most proud to have started this business selling tee shirts on street corners. Sixteen years later, we are still in business with our own facility. The thing that sets us apart from others is the ability to decorate apparel using techniques in house that others refuse to do or cannot provide. We provide equal attention to our customers whether they need a small or large order. This keeps customers coming back for repeat orders, customer referrals as well as great walking advertisements for the company.

Additionally, our customers will now have access to our unique Ballin’ Sportswear brand. This is a brand that every athlete will identify with. My competitors may be able to duplicate my services, but they can’t duplicate my brand.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
There have been several proud moments throughout this journey. The most important is to see my business grow from an idea into a fully equipped company. I am glad I never gave up on my idea. It is rewarding to see your product on television being worn by others and now my brand is recognized by strangers. I am grateful to have been surrounded by people who supported my ideas, taught me new skills and invested their time at the early stages of my company. Their support was never taken for granted and should not go unrecognized. People that know my humble beginnings are welcome to reach out for advice and I am pleased to share my experiences to help them reach their goals.

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