As a child, one of the most frequently asked questions is ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ The answers kids usually have are lofty, imaginative, and inspiring. Some aspire to become a NASA astronaut or even an NBA superstar. No matter the reply, kids set themselves to a high standard whether they realize it or not.
Unfortunately, these dreams don’t come true until they’re past their adolescent stage in life. However, with the dawn of social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, anyone, anywhere can catapult their dreams to careers with the right drive and passion.
Look no further than Hoops Nation’s founder, Buster Scher, as a leading example of that.
It was written in the stars for Buster. As a child, he grew up watching the Yankees. Baseball was his first love. Already, at that young age, he pledged his loyalty to the 27-time World Series Championship winning team.
For anyone that tunes into a Yankee game, they know that up in the commentator’s box, legend Michael Kay is guiding viewers and listeners alike. Up there he takes fans on an epic nine-inning journey. We recently had the chance to chop it up with Buster where he told us,
“When I was in high school, I thought I was gonna be a broadcaster. Junior year I won ‘Best Sportscast’ in the country for high school. I thought that broadcasting felt like too much work and that was when all of the social media stuff started to really pop.”
It was these moments in which Buster decided that he not only wanted to become a radio broadcaster but also carve out a platform for himself. Thus, the advent of Hoops Nation.
As the years progressed, Buster loosened his grip on baseball. It became too slow of a game for Buster to latch onto. A change was coming. He eventually found himself falling in love with the game of basketball.
This love eventually led to starting a fantasy basketball page on Facebook in 2015. He was just 15 when he started it. Buster recalled the early days of Hoops Nation, saying,
“I was very fortunate because I started this when I was very young. It was early in high school and I didn’t need to make any money. I could make $2,000 in a year and I’m happy. That’s why at 17 I could decide not to go to college and it made sense to everybody. I was very lucky in that regard. There was no plan.”
Within two years of starting Hoops Nation, Buster found himself surrounded by like-minded creators. Eventually, he would partner with curated brands such as Vayner Media (where he interned at the age of 16), Dunk, Atlantic (promoted and distributed content), and Overtime (Show host).
Through these relationships, Buster was able to elevate the Hoops Nation brand. Because of his success, brands started to come to him. One example of this is when Meek Mill, just dropped his album Championships. He told us,
“When Meek Mill’s album came out, they hit me up with the song Meek did with Drake and I took my favorite little 15-second bits and put that over the top of videos I thought would go viral. Then, I used my network on social, both Hoops Nation and 20 other pages that I am very close with and part of the budget that gave me to allocate it and distribute it out…”
Buster continued,
“So I’m able to get them x amount of impressions that they need on these songs using content that has either previously gone viral or that I know will go viral makes it super easy and super fun.”
Buster brings a methodical approach to his craft while adding his authentic love for the game with each piece of work he puts out. He built an organic following that only a handful of brands can match. And it’s solely his own creation.
“The good thing I’d say about owning Hoops Nation and having it be my own is that its instant leverage and value for any player. Since I started it, I’m able to do stuff like that, where I can just post a highlight even if it’s not the quality of highlight, even if I don’t think it will over-index every other piece of content, I’m gonna use it anyways.”
Hoops Nation is only a small part of who Buster is and what he plans to become. He summarized his ventures,
“Honestly, I see my personal brand being bigger than Hoops Nation. The goal is to build my personal brand up to a point where me being me is self-sufficient from a growth standpoint and then Hoops Nation, continuing to build that as a brand but separate from me and being able to have other people do it.”
Ultimately, we revere those with the drive and passion to see their childhood dreams come to fruition. This holds true for what Buster has built. He went above and beyond to obtain a career in sports broadcasting.
He created an entire media outlet focused on his love and passion for basketball. Now he is going above and beyond that. There’s only so much that words can do to describe the work Buster Scher has put into his craft.
Today, when we ask kids what they want to be when they grow up, they won’t just say they want to become an astronaut, politician, or athlete. They’ll say they want to be like Buster Scher; a creator, a broadcaster, and a sports fan.
It’s best to see his work firsthand here.