For Tim Martin, the world of coaching and player development was a space he was passionate about for as long as he can remember. Known in high school as “coach,” Tim was always eager to train fellow athletes growing up and help them improve their skills on the court. After graduating high school, Tim was set to play on scholarship at Pepperdine University. Due to his ACT scores, he had to pivot and begin his journey in junior college—at New Mexico Junior College—instead. During his first practice there, he injured his ankle and decided to move back to Dallas, Texas. Little did he know, but this was just the beginning of a journey that would unleash an array of experiences in the industry and would take him all over the world in the years to come. Upon returning to Dallas, Tim immersed himself in every aspect of coaching and skills training at just 19 years old. The rest is history. From hosting camps in China, Africa, South Korea, France and all over the United States to organizing several coaching clinics to working side by side with high school, college, and NBA athletes on their journeys to the league, Tim has continued to leave his mark on the industry throughout his career. Along with helping athletes and coaches reach their highest potential through his emphasis on the mental aspect of the game, he has also fostered an incredible personal brand beyond the court. From his docuseries “The Beautiful Struggle” to his work with Way of Wade/Li-Ning—Dwyane Wade’s sneaker company—, Tim has quickly become an all-star in the sports entertainment and fashion industries. As he continues his journey in the space, Tim is looking forward to developing his legacy further while helping the next generation of basketball players and coaches. Truly inspiring!
Take us through your journey into the world of professional training and coaching. What were some challenges that you faced early on?
Initially, I was working a lot of odd jobs and they weren’t really in the basketball industry. I think for me, I just had to learn how to manage different personalities. The basketball (side) was always easy for me, but it was about learning how to deal with different people from different walks of life. That took me some time to adjust to, and that's when I really started learning more about the psychology side of things and how professional players operate.
You were only 19 years old when you started coaching and immersing yourself in the world of professional training. How did you work to overcome some of the adversity that you faced early on?
Man, a lot of trial and error. I made a lot of mistakes. I think what really sped up my progression in the industry was to surround myself with smarter people. Having some mentors like Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown, God Shammgod, and numerous other coaches that took me under their wing and were able to guide me along that path was great. They helped me understand: “You know, this is not always about basketball. You have to have some empathy with these players because they deal with a lot of stuff off the court.” So just humanizing those relationships, and forming an actual personal relationship with the players, definitely helped me advance a lot faster.
Tell us more about building your personal brand. How did you get started with your company, The Beautiful Struggle?
Yeah! So my story is very similar to that Will Smith movie, “The Pursuit of Happyness.” With my son—when he was about one-and-a-half—, I was actually homeless for about two and a half, three years. I just remember during that hardship of just living in the back seat of my car, or just on the street, or in motels, thinking: “It can't get any worse.” It was like rock bottom for me, but that was a solid foundation to build off of. The way I looked at it was just to be optimistic and live through my faith. One of my favorite rappers was Talib Kweli and he had a song called “The Beautiful Struggle.” I kind of took that phrase and used it as a mantra. It was something that I lived by. I had to really find some type of beauty and some good each day in all the hardship that I was experiencing. With that mentality, and in that mindset of just positivity, I think that definitely uplifted me through those hard times. It helped me overcome them. I think we all have a story as people, but that was the one phrase that I think a lot of people could relate to. I just wanted to share my story and live through my testimony—that's how the brand actually started.
Within your brand, you also created a documentary series highlighting the journeys of different athletes. How did those docuseries come about?