How this NFL player started a 7 figure brand

^{The Beginning of Chris Gronkowski}

Hailing from Buffalo, New York, Chris Gronkowski was born in 1986 and grew up with four brothers. In 2005, he scored a football scholarship to the University of Maryland with dreams of making it big as a fullback.

However, things didn't pan out as expected, prompting him to switch to the University of Arizona. Despite not being a consistent starter in all the games, Chris made quite an impact. He caught 12 passes, covering 218 yards, and scored three impressive receiving touchdowns. His forte, however, lay in his exceptional blocking skills. Chris definitely didn’t have the same production of his now retired brother, Rob Gronkowski.

When the NFL Combine came around, Chris chose not to attend. Unfortunately, he wasn't drafted, but he didn't let that setback deter him. In 2010, he signed with the Dallas Cowboys and had a successful rookie season, playing in 14 out of 16 games and becoming a key player in supporting Tony Romo and the team's offense. His journey with the Cowboys came to an end in 2011.

Undeterred, Chris continued his football journey, with stints in the Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos, and San Diego Chargers. Despite the highs and lows of his NFL career, Chris Gronkowski demonstrated that persistence and hard work can make a significant impact. Now a retired football player, Chris needed something else, something that would get him excited to wake up in the morning. What would that be? Well…

Ice Shaker

After his career in the NFL Chris founded Ice Shaker, a company that makes kitchen-grade stainless steel insulated bottles in 2017. Chris pitched the business with the help of his brothers on an episode of Shark Tank signing a deal with Mark Cuban for 150,000 dollars in exchange for 15% equity.

The Ice Shaker made 3 million dollars in sales in less than a year after its appearance on shark tank, and from the looks of it, Chris is still growing this business, creating new bottle designs, some with your favorite NFL team.

Insider Tips

From my experience consistency is key and I want to share a few things about my own content on social media, and share actual results. Hopefully you get some value from it and can use this to grow your own business/brand.

Okay, so how to 3x your views on social media. The answer is simple but hard to implement. Reps and reps. You can’t get good at something unless you spend time every day working on it and thinking about it.

So how do you get good? After posting 100 videos on a specific niche you see opportunity in, take a step back and see what did well. Then invest in equipment. Get a better camera, mic, editing software like Adobe Premier. Post every day with better equipment about a specific niche you like and see what takes off. Overtime you will see what people engage with. That’s how I 3x my social media.

1. I posted weekly for 4 years straight in college and didn’t see any traction

2. After college a made a pivot to short form on YouTube after a video about Julian Eddleman went viral. It got over 1M views in a few weeks

3. It took me 4 years to figure out that short form worked for my channel. I spent those years learning how to make videos and edit.

4. It took me 4 years to gain 1,500 subscribers and in the matter of 10 months I now have over 75,000 subscribers across all platforms.

5. The take away….. Don’t give up, stay consistent and try new things.