[Passion to Purpose] Demetrius Spencer, CEO of Ball Up and ONE Media

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As business grows and Spencer continues to lead, the Ball Up company is currently underway to establish ancillary businesses in several international territories. This type of scale takes a leader who’s vision sees far beyond the North American borders. “Leaders have the ability to think outside the box and present fresh spins on the normal,” Spencer tells BE Modern Man. “Couple this with a leader’s natural ability to be over-confident and you create one of the dangerous qualities of leadership; innovation. Innovation, whether in decision making, product making or brand building, helps individuals to break through the static and be different.”

Breaking through the static has placed Spencer in a unique position as he  reaches to attain new levels of success. “As I align my purpose with business objectives, the most challenging thing for me has always been to figure out the right rate of business growth,” says Spencer. “When you dream big and have your sights set on what seems like the impossible, it can be really difficult to harness the urge to move quickly. It has been a learning process to manage my dreams and aspirations for the right pace of growth, but essential to create a sound business.”

Learning is a part of leadership, and the ability to lead is what makes Spencer unique. “Since I was a child I have always been a leader and have always been confident in my opinion. This has carried me so far in my career.” Being the first to speak up and provide direction has always helped him to stand apart from the crowd. “There is a risk to leadership, however, in those tough decisions [you] have the potential to fail,” Spencer tells BE Modern Man. “So when making big decisions you carry the weight of knowing that if the decisions fail you, you have let down all those you lead. So many peoples livelihoods are affected by my decision making and that is a responsibility that I do not take lightly. But even with that risk I have never been afraid to make final decisions, and I think that is one of the true traits of leadership.”

Building a profitable media company and a leading lifestyle brand does not excuse Spencer from the challenges of being recognized and championed as a industry leader in the mainstream. “Men of color have extra battles to overcome in being championed in the mainstream,” Spencer tells BE Modern Man. “It is a huge part of what drives me to always be diligent about taking every meeting and doing all of my own follow-up. Opportunities exist, but they are sometimes fewer and far in between for men of color, so we have to value them. We have to learn to be as demanding as our peers for the championing to be more common.”

The majority of Spencer’s peers are are non African American and this has allowed him to disturb his working community a bit. “Disturbance is a great ice-breaker for every channel of business, and breaking the ice has led to breaking through,” says Spencer. “Anytime you can throw yourself into a conversation and be the odd man out, you provide a great opportunity for change. These types of opportunities are my favorite types because they are the most challenging. The more you can disturb the conversation, the greater change you will impart upon the inevitable conventionality within our community.”

Within the community is where Spencer is strong at work. On the outside looking in many see Ball Up as just a fun and entertaining game of basketball competition. But on the inside there is much more taking place in the form of partnerships, job creation and community outreach. “My impact within the community is the provision of jobs and opportunity for the many cities that our programs are activated in, both international and domestically,” Spencer tells BE Modern Man. “For Ball Up my goal is to fully establish a worldwide sports lifestyle brand built off of live events, media, and product that continue to have a positive impact in every community we enter.”

A creative thinker, Spencer realizes that new and exciting ideas are coming from our youth. “In the future of my media business I hope to present the ideas of our youth to the world. Modern technology and social media has given them a voice they did not have before and we are beginning to see huge ideas from the younger generation.”

With a clear vision in sight, Spencer’s goal is for Ball Up to evolve from the first professional streetball league into a leading lifestyle brand, which is in the process of launching a full apparel and footwear line in 2016. “Sometimes all it takes for someone else to follow their dreams, or turn their passion to purpose, is to be inspired by someone else who took the leap,” says Spencer. “These BE Modern Man profiles help to remind people that you have to start somewhere and sometimes the payoff for your dedication can be huge.”

It’s our normal to be extraordinary. Follow @blackenterprise and join the BE Modern Man conversation using #BEModernMan.