Sports Marketing Professional, Drew Church, Elevates Brands for Athletes, Creatives and Small Biz
Andrew “Drew” Church was born and raised in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and is a brand developer, marketer and philanthropy consultant who always puts his clients first. This rising star in the sports and entertainment industry developed a passion for sports at a young age. His passion, commitment, and dedication to his goals earned him a full scholarship to St. Paul’s College in Lawrenceville, Virginia, where he competed as a key basketball player for his team in the CIAA conference—a collegiate athletic conference consisting primarily of historically black colleges and universities.
After switching to and graduating from North Carolina Central University, Church landed multiple event marketing positions with major sports and entertainment agencies. He was tasked with working major sporting events such as the PGA Tour, NCAA Final Four, COPA America, and the New Mexico Bowl.
In 2017, this aspiring entrepreneur decided to step out on faith and follow his instincts to write his own journey. The result of this move led to the formation of Solid Marketing Group.
Drew is passionate about fulfilling each of his client’s dreams. He takes pride in connecting clients with brands and organizations. Today, he continues to develop relationships that will continue to grow over a lifetime.
I recently had the chance to interview Mr. Church where he spoke more about his marketing career. Check out the interview below:
Growing up and still to this day who are your inspirations? How did they influence you?
Jesus Christ is my first inspiration because he has put this drive and desires in my heart to do what I’m doing. Also, my mother; she is the hardest working person I know if I have the same work ethics, morals and values that she practices, I know I can succeed in anything I put my mind to.
What influenced you to get into the marketing field?
With marketing I knew if you know the market you’re targeting, you can get your foot in the door with opportunities. I know the sports and lifestyle industry because I was in it. I had relationships with athletes, so I knew just needed their trust and I can do my work. So a friend of mine, Chris Hairston, who played for the Los Angeles Chargers, I managed his football camp. We had spoken on opportunities after which started my entrepreneur journey. We did some really good events which landed us on a segment on Fox Sports, San Diego Tribune and touched the fans on a more personal level. So, I’ll forever appreciate Chris for taking a risk on me trusting me with his brand.
How does life as an entrepreneur feed your competitiveness for success?
Oh, its back feeling like I’m competing on the basketball court. I feel like that’s where former athletes have a problem once sports is over; finding that competitiveness high is the best feeling! Working in corporate for me felt like I was going through the motions, with a ceiling best feeling is knowing there is no ceiling as an entrepreneur.
You were recently on the BET show “Mancave, how was that experience? (Facebook group)?
Ah man, that was a great experience. They are allowing influencers, entrepreneurs and others the platform to promote their brands and connect with their audience. I took over the Facebook group for a full day leading men discussions (sports, relationships, lifestyle, fashion, etc.). I want to thank my guy and fellow North Carolina Central alum Brian McIntosh for recommending me. He’s doing great things at BET look out for him.
Can you name some of the brands and individual clients you represent?
Me and my team have worked with athletes such as Chris Hiarston (Los Angeles Chargers), Dorian Finney Smith (Dallas Mavericks) and Denzel Rice (Indianapolis Colts). We worked with companies and small businesses such as Gamma Private Capital and Greedy’s Restaurant. We have done work with Former St. Louis Cardinals now motivational speaker CJ Beatty. Some brands and media outlets we’ve worked with is Fox Sports, Los Angeles Times, Rosewood Sneaker Boutique, Boys and Girls of America and Hard Rock Café San Diego.
We have hosted an entrepreneur workshop that included Grammy award producer 9th Wonder (worked with Jay-Z, Destiny Childs, Kendrick Lamar).
What are some new events and brands we can look forward to looking out for?
My team and myself are planning for some big things coming up. Myself and Patrick Louthor (entrepreneur) are working on a big collaboration opportunity for Dorian Finney Smith in the Dallas area that we plan to announce very soon. We also have camps with different players we are working on securing sponsorships now for. Our creative team lead by Kenny Anderson is working on many different creative projects as well. Me and my friends have recently produced a vlog/podcast series titled “A Day in the Life” where we give our perspectives on relationships, culture, sports, entertainment etc. Check us out!
Any words of advice or wisdom you can lend to us fellow millennials?
Some advice I would give millennials is to embrace the process of life. Every up and down is just apart of your journey. You must be tested to have a testimony. If there is one word to get familiar with is perspective. Learn to master perspective. If you have the right perspective on what life throws at you, you can accomplish anything. “A loss aint a loss it’s a lesson”. Jay – Z
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