Chris Brickley Part 2: Validating Brand With Content
WRITTEN BY ARMAN GILL, CONTENT CREATOR
Via Billboard.com By Brittany Brand.
Currently one of the most respected trainers of NBA players, Chris Brickley works with such luminaries as LeBron James, CJ McCollum, and James Harden during the off-season. The players who work with him speaks volumes to the quality of his work, which has included helping D’Angelo Russel drastically improve his shooting and keeping Carmelo Anthony ready to return to the NBA while he was out of the league.
Brickley has created a brand as synonymous with basketball as the rim itself. He’s a powerhouse — featured in NBA 2K, branded with PUMA, and searched by kids the world over who want the “Chris Brickley Workout” to enhance their games. But how exactly did he get here? With 19K Twitter followers and 830K Instagram followers, he has expanded his personal brand beyond that of a personal trainer.
One important point is that Brickley adds tremendous value to the basketball world. He helps players — who fans already consider great — to be even greater. His drills and training, having been proven in the best league in the world, are sought by people all over the globe. And it is on his social media where you can find his training and drills — and proof of their value. The majority of Chris’ content is video of NBA players honing their skills with his system, while he will occasionally throw in a post of the in-game play of a client he has worked with.
For example, the post below features a quick shot by D’Angelo Russell in a game against the New York Knicks. It then cuts back to D’Angelo working on that kind of quick three-pointer in training. Not only does this provide Chris’s followers a new drill to incorporate into their own training, but it reinforces that it works. To see D’Angelo’s training with Chris pay dividends in a real-life NBA game adds legitimacy — meaning value — to this post and every other one Chris uploads.
Chris’s trademark is quality. By slowly crafting and developing the players he works with over the off-season, he’s built a rep and a brand as the best trainer in the world. Chris is seen all over social media alongside Melo, Harden, LeBron, and Kevin Durant — and is even in the NBA 2K video game.
And another component of his brand is who he aligns himself with off the court. The basketball and hip-hop world are closely intertwined, with rappers seen hanging with basketball players all the time (Drake seemed like he was a bench player when the Raptors were winning their NBA first title). The cultures around the two fields have essentially merged. As a result, Brickley also regularly appears with some of the biggest rappers in the world like Drake, J. Cole, and Quavo. And he not only hangs with them, but he helps them train. This means his brand is exposed to these rappers’ fans who may not know about Chris’s NBA work. His brand is communicated through different channels that are, importantly, respected in the basketball world.
Brickley also remains very authentic to his core craft. He doesn’t oversell with slick, overly produced video. He uses standard camera work to show his perspective when training NBA players — which comes off naturally. Occasionally he uses his platform to convey direct emotion, connecting with his followers beyond just basketball training, including showing appreciation when one of his clients shows how their game is improving.
As he has become more of a cultural figure, Brickley has launched his “Color Blind” clothing line with Puma. He gets the latest shoes from companies like StockX to sample and has signed to do creative work with American Express. He’s become a widely recognized face that companies can partner with. He got here by putting in years of hard work, offering a great service, and reaching over 800K on Instagram. But more importantly, he has validated his brand by pushing content that reinforces the greatness of his player development skills.
