Drew Hanlen: What it Means to Live a Mission-Driven Life, How he Started Coaching Bradley Beal While Still in High School, and Why Skills Training is Vital to Basketball Success

Phil White  00:49

Well, good. Well, I'm already recording guys. So it drew if it's okay, we'll just I'll give you a 321 Countdown and then I'll say we're live. And then Tim will shoot the first question.

Drew Hanlen  01:00

If that works out great. Can you guys hear me all right now? Yeah, yep. Gotcha. Okay, perfect. Yeah, just I just walked inside. So I want to make sure that you weren't getting an echo from the wind or anything like that. So

Phil White  01:09

thank you. No, you're good. All right. Well, here we go. Then countdown 321. And we are live.

Tim DiFrancesco  01:18

DREW I want to get right into it. And I'm really excited to understand and learn if you recall a moment or a period of time when for you basketball. It was it was clear it was it was vivid that basketball was going to be something you were ready to go all in on and and really just go from there with it. Do you remember that? Does that does that resonate with you?

Drew Hanlen  01:42

Yes, as a player and as a as a trainer, really, you know, as a player, I remember obviously, when I was younger, just you know, back in the day VHS recording Michael Jordan's games, and, you know, whatever he did, you know that that night before the next day, that would be my workout. So if he did step backs, I would do step backs, if he did pull backs out, do pull backs, if he was doing turnaround, fadeaways I do turn around fadeaways in my driveway. So, you know, I knew that the love of the game was there. And then, you know, when I was in high school, I loved helping younger players out. And, you know, I wasn't blessed with extreme athleticism. I wasn't blessed with height. But what I was blessed with was tremendous work ethic and unmatched discipline. And I was able to really start helping younger players by doing you know, camps and clinics and coaching. And, you know, when I saw that I could make a difference in not only players games, but in players lives. That's when I knew that, you know, I wanted to go all in, start studying film, start picking the brains of guys that had way more years of experience, way more knowledge than than me and, and try to learn as much as I could, so that I can help players as much as I could. And, you know, but I remember that turning point, you know, in high school where I said, You know what, you know, I know that I'm going to continue to work on my own craft as a player, because I want to be the best player I can become. But man, I think I can be a better skills coach, and I can be a player one day. And when I had that realization, that's when I started, you know, really trying to study the game and learn the game in a different manner so that I could, you know, become the skills coach that that I that I think I am today.

Tim DiFrancesco  03:21

That's amazing. You talked about diving in early on film. And you know, I think when if I'm putting myself in the right timeline, he you know, that it wasn't like today where, you know, guys are being held hand handed iPads all the time. And you know, film was just a part of it. You know, that was pretty early for the breakdown aspect of that. Am I Am I right on that? Yeah,

Drew Hanlen  03:44

for sure. I mean, I remember when it was funny, because when I first started working out Brad Beal, Brad Beal was 13 years old, I was 17 years old. So I was a junior in high school. And, you know, at that time, you know, he really looked up to you know, Michael Jordan Allen Iverson, Dwayne Wade, you know, those kinds of type players. And I remember I didn't have the ability to really get access to as much film and so I remember pulling out some of the old VHS Michael Jordan tapes that I had, you know, videoed, and, and we kind of had used some of that. And, and then I remember right around the time period, when I started working him out, YouTube started, you know, coming out with, you know, more and more videos. And so, you know, we would just consistently Just search on youtube and hope that new people would populated videos from some of the guys we were trying to study. But it wasn't for the first couple of years, there wasn't really access to film like there is nowadays and, you know, nowadays, I'm blessed with, you know, a program called instat where I can get, you know, access to every piece of film that I want, you know, in a split second. So, you know, it's almost cheating nowadays, you still do the work as far as watching the videos and studying it, but to get access to it, you know, it's not very hard, whereas back in the day, you know, getting access to film sometimes you had to ring up The video coordinators from the respective teams and ask if they can go in there archived, you know, give give you some of their old games, but, you know, it's crazy how far technology has taken us and, and how much more expansive, you know, not only, you know, the analytical side, but also the video side, and even the science of sport, you know, and all those realms have just grown so much over the last, you know, decade, you know, decade or two. So

Phil White  05:27

I love that you just dropped Bradley bill into conversation casually, which is really cool. But um, what did you see in his character from an early age, even outside and maybe his, his physical gifts? His God given ability? What did you see maybe in his work ethic, or, again, in his character that you thought, Man, this kid's going to be special when I want to work with with people like this?

Drew Hanlen  05:51

You know, I think that everybody has this it factor, you know, the special ones had the it factor, and it's an undescribable kind of thing that they all possess that just, you kind of just know, you know, and for him, you know, he was an extremely hard worker, from the second that I started working with him. He already had, you know, a ton of talent. And I just saw how much he craved improvement. I saw how much he, you know, loved being coached. You know, one of the things that always, to this day, I have to tell interns, when they show up, I say, Hey, guys, listen, Brad hates when people cheer him on and say, good job. So don't you know, he does something crazy in a drill, don't say, Hey, good job, Brett. Because he can't stand it. You know, he's like, I'm here to get better. And so he had that ever since he was younger, you know, and so, you know, I think each player is so different, you know, and that's, you know, part of the job as a skills coach is to find out what makes that player tick. But all the special ones Craig improvement, where you don't have to drag them to the gym, you don't have to push them to the gym, they're at the gym for a reason, they want to get better, and they crave the knowledge that you have that they want. And, you know, I knew that Brad had that from an early age. And I tell people all the time, I mean, Brad was, you know, a top, you know, most people had him at number three, or number four, depending on the recruiting site. And he was still in the gym every single morning at 6am. And then he would work out before school, he would go to school, he'd have practice, and then he'd go back in and shoot at night. So I mean, for a guy that already was highly ranked, it could have been easy for him to just kind of, uh, you know, say, Hey, look at me, I'm great. I'm this and that. But, you know, he kept his head down and kept working. And, you know, the truth is, you know, he, he was second NBA in scoring last year, he was second the NBA in scoring year before back to back 30 point, you know, seasons. And he still comes in the gym with that same curiosity and same level of discipline that he had when he was, you know, 13 years old. And so, you know, people will say, you know, what, what made Brad feel good, I'm like the same thing that is continuing to make them better and better each and every year. It's that, you know, that special age factor that that keeps you, you know, craving for more,

Phil White  08:00

for sure, in your own craft, you've added a lot of strings to your bow over the years. What is it that motivates you to keep getting better and to seek out mentors and then to pour that mentoring into others? And because a lot of people may not know this, but I know that you in Tim and I love this about you that you also mentor coaches as well as players? So what is that that, you know, pushes you to be the best you can be in your craft, and then even beyond that, to then pass on what you're learning to, to the next generation of both players and coaches.

Drew Hanlen  08:31

Yeah, you know, it's something it's funny, because the one thing I do always, you know, talk trash about, as I say, you know, it doesn't matter, you know, where people think I am in the basketball training world, I still outwork every trainer out there, you know, I promise you there is not an NBA skills coach, there's not NBA trainer, there's not even a coach that works or watches more film than I do to this day. And you know, I have four NBA All Stars and I and have, you know, a big business that I could just, you know, sit back and relax and, you know, collect paychecks, but that's not what I'm about, you know, the thing that motivates me is I don't want to let somebody down. And you know, I've told each and one of my, my clients, I say, hey, the second that you think there's a trainer out there that can get you better than I'm getting you, I want you to leave me, we'll still be friends, we'll still be boys, we'll still be bros, whatever you want to call it. But you know what I want you to choose the best skills coach that's going to push you to a level that you can't get to on your own. And, you know, I can confidently say that, that, you know, the work that I put in allows me to be the best option for those players to get the best results. But I just don't want to let somebody down like, you know, last night, opening night of the NBA season, and Jason Tatum started, you know, I think it was over six to start from three and I booked a flight to Boston mid game. You know, I sent him the screenshot of me booking them you know, I said, Hey, I'll see you soon. And it's not because, you know, I'm the magic pill, but it's, you know, I think that I can help identify You know, some problems and help him you know, fix those problems before they become, you know, before one game, you know, one off night becomes a slump. And so, you know, that's what I pride myself on just being as valuable of a resource as possible. Because, you know, I also know they're the ones putting in the work, they're the ones getting the results, you know, I'm just kind of like the Wizard of Oz, I'm behind the curtain, hopefully giving them what they want. And, you know, what they want is they want somebody that is putting in just as much work as they are, you know, on the court off the court so that I can do the thinking for them. So the all they have to do is the doing that's,

Tim DiFrancesco  10:34

that's incredible. And the thing that I take away there is and we had we had coach Brandon, sir, on who I imagine you're familiar with, with Coach sir, from the pistons days, and you know, that he's been around the basketball circles a lot. And he talked about something that I've heard you talk about, and then you really just kind of, you know, I think just wrap that whole statement around it is that, you know, really coaching is taking a player to a place that they can't take themselves. And, you know, like when when, you know, it's there's a reason why that is, you know, comforting for for Jason Tatum to see that from you. Because, you know, you've earned that you've proven that and, you know, you have to you have to put in a lot of reps and a lot of give a lot of proof to those players to get to that point. What was it? What did it take, though? I mean, there was a time where you, you didn't have that street cred, you didn't have that, you know, six, you know, multiple all stars, and you're stable, and that could vouch for you. I mean, if I have it right, you know, you and you and Brad Beal were in almost in the in the same, you know, age range there as you were kind of getting into the mix. How did you put your stamp on it like that? What was it that they they took away from that? Yeah,

Drew Hanlen  11:46

I mean, when I first started out in St. Louis, I had street cred just because I want to state championship I was Player of the Year in Missouri. So you know, guys like Brad Beal and the younger athletes, they looked up to me just because I was one of the better high school players in the area in the state. But you know, my first ever NBA client was David Lee. And David Lee started working out with me when I was 20 years old, I was still in college, I was 19 or 20. And, you know, I remember I had tried to get him to workout with me the summer before, and he didn't give me a chance. And I put together a disc like a DVD, breaking down his film. And my AAU coach, you know, was his AAU coach as well. He had passed it on to him. And we don't know if you ever watched it or not. I've never even asked him. But the next summer, I got a text message. I was in Nashville, preparing John Jenkins for USA basketball. And I remember he said it just was like, you know, hey, Drew, it's David Lee. You know, I heard you're the guy in St. Louis to work with, I'd love to give you a try this summer. And I said, you know, hey, perfect. You know, when when do you want to start up? He said, How does tomorrow at 8am work. And I was like, that's perfect. Here's the gym address that I use blah, blah. And I remember I got in my car, drove back home, I get back home around midnight, because there's a four and a half hour drive from Nashville. And from midnight until 7am. I watched David Lee footage. And I just I wanted to know everything about his game. And I needed to do that so that I knew his game, you know better than anyone had ever known his game before. And so we stepped on the court. I got there early and made sure I mopped the floor made sure the floor was good for him was like first NBA collana can't mess this up. And we started doing something that I call lb pivots. And it became his go to move. And I remember he was missing. He was missing. He was missing. And he said, Hey, bro, listen, move on. Like, this isn't for me. And I said, Listen, if you just get your, if you just get your foot around a little bit more, it's gonna allow your hips to open up. And if your hips open up, it's going to be an easier shot, you know, trust me, and he did it. And luckily for me, he made like six or eight in a row. And he was like, I like I like that. I like that. And you know, then we did another thing. And I remember he was getting pissed off and frustrated at me. And I said, Hey, last year you shot. I don't know what the exact numbers were 31% with your right hook and you know, 29% with your left hook, we got to add a hook to your game. And he said, You're just making up those numbers. And I went over to the sideline, and I had printed out all of his numbers. And I showed him and he said, Oh, I never knew that. And so after the workout, you know, after the workout, I remember, you know, David and I talk and he's like, Hey, what time, same time tomorrow? And I was like, yeah. And years later, he said, Hey, listen, I didn't plan on working with you for the rest of my career. Because we were the first person to hold me accountable. And you were the first person to really dive deep into the details where you really dissected my game in a manner that allowed me to break it down and build it up. And so you know that that was a lesson for me is it didn't matter what my resume said, it didn't matter. You know who else I trained all that mattered was the value that I was providing each guy that I was working with. And so before I had that resume that I have now, I just prided myself on providing as much value as I could. And you know, to this day I laugh because I always say I like when my when my clients go and say they're in a city and they need a, you know, a workout and I call up another trainer and say, hey, you know, so and so's in the city, you know, is there any way that you can work them out for, you know, three days, while he's there, I like it, because I know that trainer isn't going to provide the same value I am. And so when they come back to me, they're gonna appreciate me even more. Yeah, it's a it's a funny thing, the funny thing to say, but I also love when, you know, caught, you know, other trainers, clients come to me for a workout or two, and they go, man, my trainer is not breaking down film like this, they're not breaking down the game like this. And it's something that, you know, hopefully, you know, I want to continue to push the training industry, and hold every trainer accountable, to provide that same level of detail. And, you know, and kind of the same level of passion that I have for my clients to their clients, so that every player gets the best option, you know, that they every player has the best kind of chance of becoming the player that they can be.

Phil White  15:53

I love that. So we just talked a little bit about how you've poured into players, and how you've honored them by like, Coach sir, told us when Michael Jordan was on the dream team bus an hour before anyone else was on their coaches, or players or equipment managers, or anybody just to set the tone. So we've talked a little bit about the highest standard you've set for yourself, and then how David Lee appreciated you holding him accountable to similarly high standards and having that structure, and that commitment to excellence. Whose feet did you learn some of these things out, you know, who was a mentor for you where they poured into you, so then you can pour into other people.

Drew Hanlen  16:36

To be honest with you, I think that I had a couple of different mentors, but not really to learn a skill side. You know, like, my high school coach was my biggest basketball mentor. And I knew the biggest thing that I learned from him is, you know, that, that really, the details matter. You know, it'd be something as small as when we're, you know, in practice, we close out a certain way. And he would say, Stop, look at your angle, right, now, you're given up a straight line drive in this way, because you've given up a straight line drive, now our defense is going to have to over rotate what you're going to give up. And so we basically taught me, you got to get to the source of the problem, if you truly want to address the problem. You can't just put band aids over stuff. That was something I learned from him, which allowed me to really dive deep into the details of everything that I'm doing, you know, if I'm changing a player's shot, I can't just say, Okay, well, ideally, we have our hand here. And ideally, we have our feet here, because every player has different mechanics, they have different body structures, they have different, you know, flexibility issues, or, or such. And so you have to really ask yourself, alright, what is the first, you know, most important problem that I can solve, that's going to kind of unlock everything else. And then, you know, my parents instilled in me, the hard work and discipline that really, I needed to give these athletes because I believe, and I still believe this to this day, I believe that all these NBA players, you know, have a level of talent that they've been blessed with, that is above average here. I mean, none of these guys are below average, you know, kind of, when you talk about potential, or we talk about capabilities, they all have above average capabilities, but they're, they've also worked extremely hard to, you know, get to the level that they're at, and you look at the guys that consistently add to their game, those are the guys that have, you know, kind of found a way to constantly grow and constantly improve and not to settle and not to be content with where they're at. And so if you look at the guys around the NBA that constantly add to their game each year, they come back and they have something new in their bag. You know, those guys, really, the only way they can do it is by strategically adding something each and every offseason. And so that came back to my high school coach, when, you know, I remember, you know, one of the big questions that everybody asked, you know, when you're younger is, hey, what are you working on this offseason. And normally players, like everything, I'm trying to work on ball handling, and finishing and shooting, and then it's like, great, if you try to work at everything, you're not going to get good at anything. And whereas my high school coach took the approach of, you know, if your weaknesses at the end of last season, or the weaknesses, at the start of the next season, you wasted your entire offseason. Let me say that, again, if your weaknesses at the end of last season, or your weaknesses at the start of next season, you've wasted your entire offseason. And basically what that means is you need to ask yourself, How can I, you know, take the next step in my game? And how can I help benefit the team most? What is that one thing that can unlock, you know, my next level or my team's next level, and then lock in on that until you've got that down. And then once you got that down, then you can start working on other things. But I don't think enough people kind of lock into one thing so they can really master it. And you know, I've used that approach and then when it came to learning the game, to be honest with you, I learned more from film. All I do is I reverse engineer what I see on the court. You know I studied the greats I study you know everyone and you know my best learning asset was I watched every single made field go from eight NBA seasons, roughly 1.5 million possessions, and I broke all those down into you know, at the time it was like 1200 categories, you know, now it's over 3000 categories that I had on my editor, and I can honestly say I've seen every single way that you can score basketball and so that level of, you know, kind of studying, it allowed me to really have precision over what what makes her break moves and what makes her break skills that you know, what I call the micro skills, the skills within the skills that really add up to mastery of that move. Talk

Tim DiFrancesco  20:33

about going all in that's, that's that's impressive. I mean, what was when you go back to your, you know, really impressive playing days? What was the scouting report on you? What What were you as a player? What was the what was your calling card on the court?

Drew Hanlen  20:49

I think I had different kind of phases of my of my game. You know, when I was in high school, I was an all around bucket, you know, I was a guy that could go low for ISO you to death. And if you didn't double team me, I was going to, you know, torture you for 30 or 40. You know, in college, I really had two different phases early on my freshman, you know, my freshman really through junior season, I was a point guard took care of the ball was like an asis turnover, you know, King, you know, lead the country and assists turnover ratio. And, you know, really just ran the show. And then my senior year, I moved off ball as a two. And, you know, I was second in the country, I shot 49% from three, I think I made 90 Something threes and 30 games. So, you know, I was an all conference, you know, guard, but I really did it in different ways, depending on what my team needed. You know, the thing that I take most pride in is I left my high school as the winningest player in my high school history. And I left my college as the winningest player in my college history. So you know, when people asked me, What was your What was your thing I just said, I figured out ways to help my team win. And I think that's the most valuable asset that a player can have. How

Tim DiFrancesco  21:59

do you how do you get what talk to us a little bit about? What's it like in a day in the life of, you know, Drew Hanlon, player developing in high school getting to that level of feeling like you could get a bucket from anywhere? What do you what is what are the wraps? What does this look like for you to have to prepare for that?

Drew Hanlen  22:17

Yeah, as a high school player, I mean, I woke up at 4:59am. I was at the gym at 5:15am. And then my principal, Dr. Clark there who opened up a school early for me, and I would shoot 1000 shots in the morning, 1003 pointers 500 off the couch, 500 off the dribble, if I didn't make 850 out of 1000. I redid the workout at night. You know, and I missed four days. And for years, I shot on game days, people always people always ask me like, What about game days is like I shot in the morning on game days? Because that's what I did. What about you know, when the offseason you know, when you didn't have class, did you still wake up early I did. You know, I'd wake up early, I go to the gym. And then you know, when I got back home, if I was tired, I get some sleep. But, you know, for me, I always say that consistency, Trump's intensity. And I think that's something that people don't understand enough. A lot of people think, you know, oh, I want to lose weight, I'm going to go on this binge diet, you know, for a week, but the problem is, then you eventually gain that weight back, because that's not a lifestyle. For me consistency, you know, doing something every single day where it becomes not a habit, but a lifestyle. That's when you truly win in the long run. And so, you know, that was my main, you know, kind of separator. You know, and then, obviously, then I did workouts after school with more of the skill component. So as a high school player, and as a college player, I just, you know, relentlessly worked because I had a dream of playing, you know, an NCAA tournament was one of my big dreams. The other dream was to play in the NBA. You know, I played in two NCAA Tournaments, I fell short of playing in the NBA, but through pursuing that dream of playing in the NBA, you know, I wound up leaving almost the exact same lifestyle. You know, now I'm just, you know, in the stands, you know, being a strategic coach, instead of, you know, on the court being a player.

Phil White  24:04

I love it. Love it. Um, to dive a little bit. You just mentioned it briefly. You mentioned your parents work ethic and the lessons they taught you can, can you give us an example of how your mom and dad worked hard and set that example for you?

Drew Hanlen  24:18

Yeah, I mean, they were both hard workers. I mean, just as you know, athletes themselves and then obviously, you know, being there for us as as their children and stuff like that. But, I mean, I think the biggest thing they did was they supported us, and I think that's the best thing a parent can do. You know, they never pushed us to do something we didn't love but if we love something, they encouraged us to go all in. You know, it would be something where, you know, I remember when I first started lifting weights, you know, I was a scrawny little freshman in high school and I wanted to put some weight on my on my body. And, you know, when I started my freshman year, I was I was five foot seven 125 pounds. When I started my sophomore season. I was five With nine 165 pounds, gained 40 pounds a year, which I know people are always like, what were you doing, and I was eating everything in sight, protein shakes, I was doing everything I could. But also my dad taught me how to lift weights. And I remember him being he would go to the gym with me at 6am, right after I finished my shooting. And he was he was showing me how to lift weights properly, you know, I'd have no weight on the side, because he wanted me to make sure that I was doing all the the exercises properly, then we'd slowly add weight, but he was there spotting me along the way. Then after school, you know, when I didn't have a shooting machine, because in the mornings, I had a shooting machine where I got my 1000 shots up. But after school, I didn't have a shooting machine, my mom would go to the gym, and she'd be rebounding for us. You know, my mom would also wake up early in the morning and cook breakfast for me so that I had fuel to do those 5:15am workouts. I mean, it was just a supportive effort, you know, where they were saying, Hey, listen, if you want to go all in, we're going to be there to support you. And you know, like I said, I missed four days and four years of the, you know, by 15 Am workouts, I remember, there were days where some days were you know, I wanted to basically sleep in and my mom would come in and say, Listen, you don't have to go, but I'm just asking, do you really want to skip? And it was one of those things like, you have to choose between sleeping or succeeding. And I just was like, I'm not choosing sleeping today, you know, and so we're also big trash talking family. So you know, there was a lot of, you know, a lot of, you know, pushing and encouraging in that way as well.

Tim DiFrancesco  26:32

That's great. That's, that's powerful. I mean, we've we've had Henry Barrera on from Liberty, and he talked about that idea of I think one of his mentors had talked to him about, you know, the being a parent, if you find something that your, your child is excited about. They're they're willing to, you know, go after you bury them in it, you know, you just pile and you just support them in it. That's exactly what you're talking about there. Can you talk a little bit about the when you started lifting weights? Was there something there that somebody that said, hey, that'd be a good idea? Was that a youth thing? Did you recognize it? And then what was the you obviously, you know, you put on 40 pounds? But you know, do you have to have that conversation with players now?

Drew Hanlen  27:17

Yeah, so for me, it was more so I remember, I was just always smaller, I was working so hard that I couldn't gain weight. And I was, my parents didn't allow me to lift weights because I didn't know what it would do to your body at a younger age. So I remember on my 13th birthday is when they finally let me lift. Before then I was doing a ton of bodyweight stuff, you know, I do pull ups and I do push ups and I do sit ups. But I wasn't really gaining mass, I was more so just kind of, you know, leaning out, but still Spain a little bit stronger. But it was more so just always a conversation of like, I just knew that everything off the court helps you on the court, you know, from the way that you eat, you know, I gave up sweets when I was 12 years old, I didn't eat sweets until I was done playing college basketball at 22. So 10 years, no sugar, no candy, no anything. So you know, the way that you eat the way that you sleep, you know, the way that you you know, avoid unnecessary drama and stress. You know, all these things go into being a good basketball player, you always say that your life isn't an order off the court, it's going to be hard for your your game to be, you know, in order on the court. And so I just made sure I took care of every aspect. And part of that was making sure my body was the best that it could possibly be. You know, I mentioned how short I was. I'm 511. You know, I never got to a six foot. But I mean, I could do 360 dunks. But you know I get I had a 41 and a half inch vertical Belmont my senior year. And you know, people think I'm crazy. But even two years ago, I tested in the 2019 NBA combine. You know, my athletes were testing and I did it with them. And I had a 38 inch vertical with 30 years old. Still got it.

Phil White  29:00

Wait, wait for another 10 years, bro.

Drew Hanlen  29:05

Hey, listen, I every year I get like one day a year where I throw it down just so I can say okay, I can still it takes ha I'll tell you this every year it takes an additional five to 10 minutes of getting loose before. But yeah, I mean, I just think that all those things go into it. I think too many times people think that they can just pick and choose what aspects of their game that they're going to work on and think you know, then I can't believe I'm not getting the results I want but it's like, are you doing everything that you possibly can to reach your full potential? If you're not, then you're really just setting yourself up for failure or you're just letting yourself down?

Phil White  29:40

No, I love that. Um, so you had your 459 Let's call it the, you know, Jordan and Pepin and Ron Harper had the Breakfast Club, you know, and you had your own personal 459 club and it sounds like your mom was up probably at 429 cooking eggs and stuff before so credit demand credit to Dad Maybe credit that sibling as well. But in the years since you graduated college, maybe you don't have the 459 club in the same way. But what's another consistent routine or another lifestyle factor that you use to continue to drive that? Excellent.

Drew Hanlen  30:17

Yeah, I'm gonna I'm gonna break off for a second and come back to your question because one thing that should be noted too, is my sister Ashley did not play basketball until she was in eighth grade. And she started doing the morning workouts with me, she would shoot 1000 shots in the morning as well. And three years later, you know, after her sophomore year in high school, she had 20 Division One scholarships, and went on to break records at St. Louis University. And so the point that I always tell people is, you know, people always talk about my success stories they mentioned Joellen bead and Jason Tatum and Zach Lavine and Brad Beal, etc, etc. But the truth is, I always say my best success story was my sister, but really, it just shows the product of discipline and the product of of, you know, doing the hard, smart work consistently. But to answer your question, I mean, there's a ton of things that I do nowadays, to help separate myself. Now, I've also got a team of people that allow me to kind of, you know, do the things that, that make me even better at what I need to be better at. And so, you know, now I've got, you know, riches out, so you hands all my pure sweat business stuff. I have Sam Lamone, who handles all my videography stuff, I've got Kyle Gilreath who handles all my social media stuff. I've got Matt Irving, who handles a bunch of my cutting up and trimming the fat of my film stuff. So that all I have to do all day is break down clips, study the game and be better for my clients. And, you know, I think that, you know, my morning routine is his, it's pretty crazy, because I have to break down like today, I had to break down seven games, because I had clients that played, you know, in seven different games last night. But, you know, I have to break them down, I do voiceovers first and foremost, because I want to make sure that they have their edits when they wake up. And then, you know, after that I normally have, you know, a little bit of time where I can work on my business, I'm also writing a book that's called Stop BS in yourself. It's basically the art of getting rid of excuses. And finally, you know, reaching your full potential. So I'm, I'm writing that book as well. So I spent a couple hours, you know, doing that. And then, you know, I usually have a workout at night or attending a game at night with a client because I'm always with one of my clients during the season. And then during the offseason, I spend, you know, 12 hours a day on the court. So it's not as much working on the computer and working on the business. It's more so just being there. And, you know, giving my given my best effort, you know, on the court, so I can help these guys, you know, make strides in their game throughout the summer, for

Phil White  32:40

sure, without spoiling the concept of the book or the content, because obviously you want people to be surprised or maybe even shocked by some of it. Can you give us a little bit expand on a little bit of this concept of accountability and stopping the, you know, the BS cutting the BS out?

Drew Hanlen  32:56

Yeah, I mean, here's the biggest thing that I would say we all have justifiable excuses that we have convinced ourselves are okay, that hold us back. And I think that, you know, for me, there's a concept, I always say 100% is a lot easier than 98%. And it's black and white. You know, for me, I've never tasted alcohol and 92 or 32 years old, and I'm going to be 92 and still not taste alcohol. And you know that the concept behind it is because I determined I am not a drinker. When I go out to a club, it's not the thought process of is tonight the night. Am I going to cheat tonight? If I do drink? How many, you know, drinks am I going to have tonight? And I think the problem is most people aren't black and white. So you think about somebody that's trying to lose weight instead of saying, You know what, I am not eating sweets. They say, You know what, I'm going to cut back on sweets, but then, you know, my one decision of determining I am not a drinker, saves me from so many other decisions is tonight tonight, how many am I going to have, you know, whatever. Another thing is just never missed two in a row. You know, that was one of the big things that I'm a big believer in is you might get off track once but never have to two laps in a row so that you consistently, you know, keep that habit keep that lifestyle going. I think too many people, you know, let's go back to the diet, they have one bad snack, you know, they have their like craving chips, they have one handful of chips and they say, Ah, now that I broke the diet, I might as well, you know, go all in and eat the whole bag of chips or they break the diet where they have a bad meal and they say, You know what, now that I broke the diet, it's all you know, it's over for me, instead of saying, You know what, I messed up once. Next play, let's get back on track. Never miss two in a row. And there's a bunch of different concepts that I have. But it's just, you know, I think most books are very informative. You know, my, the book that I'm trying to put together right now and that I've spent a lot of time researching is I'm giving them actual kind of tools that they can use so that they can, you know, finally get rid of the excuses that hold them back. You know, and I think that we all have excuses that we've convinced ourselves in our mind that are okay. And it's just, you know, I'm, I'm a, I'm a night owl, I'm not a morning person. No, that's, that's not true. You know, there's there's no science behind somebody being a night owl or morning hours, because you've convinced yourself you are so that you give yourself an excuse to sleep in in the morning. And so, you know, those kinds of things are things that I'm gonna help, you know, hopefully break down the bad habits that we all have and build a better habits that will help us

Tim DiFrancesco  35:25

out. Looking forward to that one, that's gonna be nice. I

Drew Hanlen  35:28

also I also, I also think, you know, one of the things I talk a lot about in the book is having a compelling reason. You know, I'll give you an example. Like, you know, a lot of people want to quit smoking cigarettes, for example, you know, and there was new literature that came out the other day that, you know, if you smoke cigarettes, you end up losing 10.2 years of your life. Well, that's a lot. Instead of just saying, Hey, man, you should quit cigarettes. If I said, Hey, man, you're gonna live 10.2 years less than your life that might be more convincing. What if I flip it and save even go deeper and say, Hey, listen, you love your son and daughter? Right? What if you're not going to be there for their graduation all because you're choosing to pick up a cigarette every day? Well, now that's a compelling, that's a more compelling reason. You know, I got on my dad the other day for, you know, losing some weight. And, you know, I said, Hey, Pops, listen, here's the facts behind every single, you know, extra pound that you are overweight, this is how much you know, it translates to how much life you lose, you know, that means we're going to, we're going to lose X amount of years of your life based on your weight. Let's get going. And guess what, the next day, I had a text message, you know, his, his apple thing where it showed how much he had went on an hour long walk, and he was like, let's go, I'm starting to have it back up, because he wants to be there for us, you know, so I think you have to link, you have to link you have to link, you have to link your big emotional reasons with, you know, kind of actionable steps that you're willing to take. And then you have to break down those actionable steps. And small enough things that you actually do it because, you know, you have to, you only have so much willpower. And if you deplete your willpower in day one, you're not going to have it for day two. And so hopefully, you can, you know, break down all the actionable steps that need to happen into manageable steps that you're actually willing to do. And if you do that, you can start a new lifestyle that takes you to a place that you've never been before. Those

Tim DiFrancesco  37:12

are great. Yeah, those are great strategies. And I mean, you know, like you said, really making it something that hits home with somebody is, is, you know, for anything, you know, whether you're talking about that lifestyle, weight loss goal, or, you know, whatever it is, you know, I'm sure using similar, I imagine using similar strategies with your players in terms of, you know, hey, we've got to ratchet it up here, and let me hit you with something that's really gonna mean something, right. But I'm curious Drew, if, you know, you talk a lot, you know, and, you know, the, the evidence and the the background is there of all the winning that you've done and a leader on those teams, and now on your team now, pure sweat, and, you know, being able to be in that role from a very early age, what are the core traits that you look at that you value the most in that managing people, leading people?

Drew Hanlen  38:07

You know, I just think being there for them and actually caring. You know, I always say that, you know, the best thing that you can do for somebody is care about them and hear them and take them to where they want to go and beyond where they want to go. I think that's the best trait that you can have as a leader, I think too many leaders try to push people to where they want them to go for themselves, instead of trying to guide them to where they want to go. You know, I used the analogy of GPS analogy all the time where my clients basically they told me where they want to go, they say, here's the end destination that I want you to take me to, and then it's my job to provide the most efficient and effective roadmap to get them there. And if they get off course it's my job to reroute them back on course, they're the ones doing the driving. They're the ones that ultimately can say you know what fu drew I'm getting off course I'm getting out of the car. I'm not the one that's doing the driving which is why I always think the player should get all the credit. But I'm the one doing the guiding where I'm helping them hey, this is where we need to go if you want to be efficient and effective and get there in the fastest route possible. I'm getting I'm laying down the map. And so that's the way that I would say a real leader is is you know the person that you're leading they need to tell you where they want to go and you need to help them get get them there. And if you can do that, you know I have a big belief and if you can help a ton of people reach their dreams, your you'll naturally reach yours. You know if you can help a ton of people achieve success you will naturally be successful and I think that you know personal winning is a byproduct of helping other people win and that's just something that you know, I really built my career on.

Phil White  39:38

I love that said look at it from another angle. Then as you were starting to say we talked to Gary Vee we are blessed by by Gary yesterday with two hours of just purifier. And he said when he started off at the Lakers and I believed him the 8485 season or actually maybe the 8384 and even better for that as the Utah Jazz who had just relocated to Utah, he was doing the laundry, he was the travel coordinator, he was handing out the per diem every day to coaches players support staff is basically and he was doing Tim's job before Tim ever got there a strength and conditioning coach. Right. So you went from being an army of one drew to an army of maybe not many, but a few. What traits do you look at? In a team member and think these are at least some of the boxes, I need to check in rounding out my team?

Drew Hanlen  40:36

Well, first and foremost, I think that's a story that you just mentioned, was so powerful, because I think that so many people, you know, they aspire to be someone or do something that they don't ever see the the beginning. You know, the other day, I had a time hop on, you know, on Facebook, that went back 15 years. And, you know, it was it was basically I had slept in my car, at a park in a parking lot of a hotel, because I didn't feel like paying the, you know, $200 Hotel fee. At the time, I had done a clinic in mid Missouri. And I had another clinic in Kansas City. And I posted on my Facebook, I said, just had to sleep in my car. And then I made you know, some like, you know, grinding blah, blah, blah, you know, kind of thing. But it's, you know, and even when I first started training to get the gym, I had to be the concession stand person. So I would wake up on on weekends, you know, do my shooting routine. And then after that, I would go to the gym, and I would do concessions for a few hours at the volleyball tournaments in exchange for gym time. That was how I got in. So I think that, you know, we all have those little kind of moments when we first start out that we're doing things that, you know, are very underappreciated, but they're the reason why we're able to, to kind of make leaps and bounds to where we want to be. But to answer your question about team members, that's exactly what I look for in a team member is somebody that is willing to do anything and everything to help the team win regardless if that's what they're paid to do. You know, and so, I remember when I, you know, my first ever employee, which I call my employees, coolboxes, because, you know, I think that you should trust them and empower them and whatever you hired them to do. And it was was Jason Frey. And basically, he had to just diagram drills for me, and, you know, put together some of the drill books I have, and do all this kind of stuff. But there will be also times where, you know, I was running a camp or clinic, and, you know, I hadn't eaten all day, and he'd go running grab food, or there would be times where, you know, he had to be my driver from one clinic to the next clinic in a different city. And, you know, there's times where Sam Lamone, my videographer will, you know, be, you know, doing his video content and doing all that. And there's other times where, you know, he's picking me up from the airport. So I think the biggest thing I look for somebody that is, you know, that is, is all about, you know, having helping the team win in any way they can, and it's not somebody that is going to nickel and dime you, you know, and just like that, I'm not going to nickel and dime them, you know, I want that I want to help them get to where they want to get to, and I want them to help, you know, the organization get to where the organization needs to get to, but I think when you're all together, working, you know, for the sake of the business and the company, instead of all individually thinking what can the company do for you, I think that's when you truly win and got a lot of really special people. You know, whether Rich's AUSkey my COO is, you know, he's my right hand, man, he does so many things for me that, you know, he's not paid to do and he does so many things for even my family, you know, there's times where I'll say, Oh, my God, my mom needs this, don't worry, I got it, you know, I know you got to, you know, take care of your clients or whatever. So those are the people that that I truly value are the people that are willing to do anything and everything to you know, help the organization and me personally when I

Phil White  43:48

love that you love that and I love the COBOL says title. And I love the you basically just paraphrase John F Kennedy, JFK with his, you know, call that effectively, you know, he launched the space race and the new age of American innovation when he said, Ask not what your country can do for you. But ask what you can do for your country. And so you're kind of embodying that kind of JFK spirit and everything you do and it sounds like your team members are as well.

Drew Hanlen  44:20

Yeah, for sure. I mean, I think I think that's that's what's special is you and it's also really cool when you have people that used to work for me that have you know now moved on or have changed fields or done whatever and they still feel like they're part of the family because they are you know, that's the coolest part about it is you know, you'll see one of my clients have a big night and you'll see them posting about it and tag and hashtag pure swept fam it's just you know, it's really cool now that I've been in this game for a decade and a half to see the kind of coaching tree trainer tree, you know, that that I have, you know, throughout the industry and it's it's really special to have been a part of Out of these guys, you know lives and for them to be a part of my life and something that I definitely don't take for

Phil White  45:05

granted. No, I love that. Tell us another story. So you mentioned this sleeping in your car, so you didn't have to pay for a hotel, which I love. But tell us another story from back in the day of when you were grinding just to be able to be able to have the privilege of working with the to develop these young people as players and then eventually develop other coaches and team members. Tell us another kind of drew as grinding away drew story.

Drew Hanlen  45:32

Man, there are too many accounts to be honest with you. I mean, there's I mean, there's so many times like even think about this because this week, you know, I was in LA two days ago. I'm In Miami right now I fly to Nashville tomorrow. I fly to Boston on Tuesday. I fly to LA on Thursday, and then I fly back to New York on Saturday. That's that's my next week. And I remember there was a time where I was working out RJ Barrett for pre draft. And you know, I needed to be there for RJ two days. And it was a Saturday. And Kelly Aubrey was struggling. This was when he was with the Washington Wizards. And so I worked out I said, Hey, RJ, is there any way that we can work out really, really early on Saturday morning? And he was like, Yeah, I was like, I gotta catch a flight to go work out Kelly. And so I worked out RJ in the morning. And then after I work them out, I went straight to the airport. I flew across country to DC, Kelly and I went in the gym and we worked on his shot. And so we figured it out. Once we figured it out, I caught a flight back that night to La so I could be back for RJs workout on Sunday. And people were like, Why did you fly across country for one workout? And you know, Kelly, he appreciated like crazy. He actually went on a really hot streak to finish the regular season last like six games and then had a solid playoffs. But I remember I was like because he needed me. And you know, those are the kinds of things that I think that people don't understand. And people always ask you, this is the This to me is the coolest thing that I've done out of anything is I still to this day, tell my clients to pay me whatever they think it's worth whenever they want. I've never once endorsed. Now people are always like, what, wow, like, what if they what if they underpay? You I'm like I don't care. I'm there to help and I don't want money to get in the way of the relationship. Now I'm fortunate my clients have made $2 billion. And, you know, they're, they value the work that we put in so, right. But no, to be honest with you, I've never let money get in the way. You know, there's been times where we guys have, you know, wire the money. And you know, there's the next day at workouts or the you know, waiting for me to say something I haven't even checked my bank. And they're like, Hey, bro, Did did you? Do you have a good night last night? And I'm like, you know, yeah, it was good. I mean, I just went into some golf balls or you know, worked and whatever. They're like, Oh, did you get the money? I said, and I'm like, Oh, I haven't even checked. They're waiting for like, thank you. And I'm like, to be honest with you, man. I was like, I appreciate everything, you know, but it's, that's not what it's about, you know? And I really do. I believe too many people are in it for the wrong reasons. You know, there, I've helped some people and I've benefited nothing from it. And people afterwards are like, ah, do you regret that? And I'm like, nope. Because guess what my intentions are right. And I think if your intentions are always right, then you're always going to win. And so, you know, there's times where I've worked out guys for a year and got no money from it. And you know, I said, You know what, that was a year of me just working on my craft. And every hour that I was on the court with him, I got a little bit better. I learned some new things. And I chalked it up to that. And I really do believe if if we, you know, kind of, you know, approach everything like that, then, you know, when the intention is that pure, your clients always know you're there for the right reasons.

Tim DiFrancesco  48:47

That's talking the talk and walking the walk. That's powerful. Drew, can you talk about amidst the steps of success and the winning that you were part of in high school and college, helping players win now? Your team, you know, repeatedly winning in what you're doing? But there had to be some setbacks. There had to be some hard pills to swallow. Is there anything that stands out?

Drew Hanlen  49:12

You know, when when I talk about setbacks, you know, I really think about one thing in particular, and it's weird, it wasn't a huge setback, but it was. There's two moments there's a one of my high school career. You know, my high school coach, he, you know, is one of my best friends Jay blossom. Like I said, he was my biggest basketball mentor. And when I came in as a freshman, I was unbelievably talented on the offensive end. But defensively, I didn't buy him. You know, I was like a lot of young players where I thought I was good enough on offense. I didn't have to really play defense. And he made me play all time defense in practice. So we'd play like, make it take it only if I made it, I never take it. They didn't make it. They took it. And I remember I thought it was super unfair. I was pissed off and there were times where I wanted to go I was one of them. And I remember I was like, I told my mom, I was like, I'm transferring, like, I'm going to the school down the street. And, you know, he's gonna let me just get buckets, he's gonna showcase me, I'm gonna be able to do whatever I want. And I didn't transfer. And, you know, I was one of the things that my parents both were like, listen, like, are you going to be somebody that runs from the problem? Are you gonna be somebody that like, you know, go confront the problem and actually find a solution for the problem. And so I bought into defense. And you know, I'll never forget. You know, there was there was a game my junior year, I was it was a summer league game. And I was playing against a really highly touted point guard, Kendall Marshall. And Kendall Marshall was like the number one freshman at the time, I was a junior. So you know, he was a little bit younger than I was, he was the number one freshman point guard in the country. And I completely locked him up, it was at peach jam, like epcm locked him up, had a great game offensively. And after the game, I got, like, I don't know, 1012 college scholarship offers one of them being Belmont, which is where I end up going. And, you know, I remember, you know, everyone's saying, like, Wow, you did such a good job moving your feet and dictating the, you know, kind of the defense and this and this, and I thought back and I was like, Man, if I would have been too arrogant to buy into the defense, you know, I would have never been in this situation. And so when I think about a setback, I think about me just having to put my pride aside, you know, you know, at Belmont, the same thing, you know, when I came in the, you know, from, you know, in high school, I was a bucket getter. You know, I was sometimes a one man show if I needed to be. And then I came to Belmont. And, you know, I was a coach, I was like, run the show, don't turn the ball over, you know, don't force a thing. And you go from averaging, I don't know how many points a game in high school to, you know, five points a game, as you know, in college, and it's a reality check. But it's also very frustrating. And, you know, I remember, you know, that was a setback where I stopped loving basketball, I was like, Man, this isn't fun. Like, I'm not getting to do what I do, because I was a guy that like to have the ball in my hands like to come off ball screens, and I was in a motion offense where a lot of passes and cutting and you know, and so, instead of complaining, which is what I did at first, you know, then I started saying, Alright, well, let's find ways to get better within this offense, so that I can contribute more so that I can provide more value to my team. So I can, you know, help them win more games so that I get more playing time so that I enjoy it more. And, you know, I remember my junior senior was the most fun basketball that I ever played just because, you know, then the system was who I was, you know, I became a part of that system. And like I said, you know, you know, a second in the country and shooting threes, you know, we played against Duke opening night, we lost by one, I had four threes in the second half, like, those are moments that I'll never forget. And so, you know, when I talk about setbacks, as a player, that's what I really think about is, you know, me, you know, wanting to run from the problems, but eventually, you know, addressing them head on. And, you know, one kind of lesson that I always took away is something that I think is so important, you know, when I go back to high school and think about Coach blossom, forcing me to play defense, you know, a great coach takes you to where you need to get to, even if you don't need to know that you need to get there. So that again, a great coach takes you to where you need to get to, even if you don't know that you need to get there. And what it means is, to me, it means you know, Coach, boss, I knew that I wanted to play college basketball, and he knew that I needed to play defense if I wanted to play college basketball. I didn't know that at the time. And, and, you know, he, you know, saw that he had the, you know, the foreshadowing or whatever, that I needed that. And so, you know, I'm appreciative that he did. And that's not what I tried to do with my clients. I tried to identify problems before they're there, so that they have the solutions when they when those problems arise.

53:59

Yeah, go ahead.

Tim DiFrancesco  54:00

I have a term I use with with my team here at TD athletes edge and talk about you know what it means to be an A plus teammate. From your playing days? Who, who's who's the player that stands out for you? And I'm sure many of them would say it's you to them. But you know, who's a player that stands out for you that maybe people do know the name? Maybe they don't know the name, but what was it about that person that is immediately sitting in your mind right now as we say this?

Drew Hanlen  54:28

Yeah, I mean, when when you said, best teammate, you know, I thought of Mike Whittier, who is actually my my roommate in LA. You know, right now he's my best friend. And the reason I say that is because we were so close and he was always there for me and willing to basically do anything and everything to make sure that that I could shine and do what I needed to do to help us win. It was all about winning all the time. And even to this day, it's funny because we'll walk into a basketball gym and you know people out Introducing like this my best friend, he's also, you know, my high school teammate. And then Mike will always be like, you know, Hey, man, I just stood in the corner and spaced out and made sure I got the best player so that, you know, he could rest a little bit on defense, so he could carry us on offense. It's funny, because to this day, he still has that same mentality. We, I mean, I would just say Mike, just because he was, again, same thing was all about winning. And that's, to me, that's what I value I value guys that just are all about winning. And I thought my high school team was so so special, because, you know, in the plate state playoff run, we knocked off one team that had three, three top 50 players in the country and one F NFL player. In the state championship, we knocked off a team that had three top 100 players, all D one players. And I was the only division one player on my team. So on paper, we were supposed to get blown out. But in the games were, you know, together. And we were playing like a different level. But it was all because everybody just cared about one thing. And that was winning. And you know, in my locker room at Belmont. And we had a sign that said, it's amazing what a team can accomplish when no one cares, who gets the credit. And, you know, that was the immediate thing that I thought about when you said teammate, I was like, you know, there's a bunch of good teammates that I've had, you know, I'm very fortunate for two programs that, you know, neither one of my high school coach or my college coach would allow a bad teammate, and they would get kicked out and thrown out before a bad teammate, you know, became a cancer in the locker room. But you know, I just immediately thought of him just because he was so talented. He was a division one football player. And to be that good. He had to be that good. He was our quarterback, our star quarterback, so think you're the star quarterback, you're the man. Yeah, that completely take a backseat and to always pump up it was just something cool. But I mean, that was the thing that I thought was really special in high school was I had to learn this, but my sophomore year in high school. You know, I wanted the credit, because I still hadn't committed I still hadn't got all the scholarships, I thought I deserved, etc. And so you know, after a game after big game, a reporter would come to me, I would still always say the right things, I would still say my teammates, I've, you know, got me in the right positions and all this kind of stuff. But I remember my senior year, especially, I would have a game where I would have a 3613 and nine game. And after the game, the reporter, the reporter would come up to me and I would say, Hey, I'm not doing the interviews, I want you to talk to you know, my, my big man, zack, zack radio, because, you know, he had, you know, 16 and 12. And I, he was a big reason why we want so I'm not doing the interview, you're doing it with him. And I started making everybody else do the interviews. And I and I didn't realize at the time, but then when it came to the fourth quarter, when it was time for you know, the team to jump on the back, everyone liked me a lot more because I really cared about them. And it wasn't all about me. And so that's what I tell a lot of these high school and, unfortunately, a lot of star high school players now. And they're like, What can I do? My teammates, man, they don't, they don't get it, man, they are getting in my way. And I'm like, quick, quit making it about you make it about them. You know, wow. You know. And so I told there were a lot of times where I told the, you know, I got real close with the journalist and I would say hey, listen, I need you to make sure that picture tomorrow and the paper is that person, or I need you to make sure that, you know, they're getting the love that they deserve and stuff like that just because, you know, I knew how would make them feel and it kept them going. And, you know, it's another thing that my high school coach were always saying they were there were I think 22/4 quarters my senior year that I did not play the fourth quarter because we were blowing teams out by so much. Now for me, I was pissed because I ended up finishing second in school history and total points by 50. Sure. If I ever two points a quarter, which that was easy, I would have broke. And I remember there was one time that halftime I had a big monster I had like 30 in the first half, I think 32 In the first half. And I came in at halftime and I said I told my coach I said hey, let me just get to 50 and then take me out. And he told me to take off my shoes, cussing me out. And so that was you know, selfish, BBB BBB. And, and I didn't play the entire second half. And I was pissed. And he said, listen, these guys that you're playing in the fourth quarter, they practice everyday like you practice, they are the ones that are at scout team and learning to play so that you can be better prepared for them. And when I started understanding that stuff is when I really started getting the aspect of what a true teammate is, you know, before, I used to think, if everyone just did what they needed to do, collectively, we'd be a great hole. But then I realized, you know, one plus one can equal two if everybody does that, but one plus one can equal three or four. If you all come together and other ways and kind of lift each other up and you know and kind of pull each other along and in ways that you know maybe I wasn't doing before them.

Tim DiFrancesco  59:53

That's that's, I hope people will take we're taking notes on that one. That's It's incredible I, I have to ask drew a little bit about some of the, as I understand it some some really special work that your family has done. I don't know how long that goes back for in terms of helping kids in need get, you know, a place to live and to be loved. And and tell us about that. Because it's really special work. As I understand it, I want to know more about it.

Drew Hanlen  1:00:25

Yeah, so my great grandma, and my grandma, they both worked with Mother Teresa, when Mother Teresa was alive, and they were good friends with her. And so my, my grandma really fell in love with Haiti. Years years ago, I mean, I would guess in the seventh day of aspen, no one really knows, because it's so far back. But you know, maybe in the 70s, she fell in love with Haiti, and started an orphanage down there. And so I remember when she was when she was literally on her deathbed. She she brought me in close and said, We made me a promise, obviously, I'm like anything, grandma, she was literally like an angel on Earth. And she was like, we promise me that you you guys continue to help those kids down in Haiti. And that was an obvious promise that I was going to keep and so you know, my family has continued to, to kind of honor her work. And, you know, the orphanage in Haiti, Melissa's hope has, you know, 25 to 30, underprivileged, you know, children that have disabilities, and then also it provides schooling for, you know, close to 100 kids that don't have schooling on the weekends, and provides them a meal on the weekend. So it's just really, it's really cool to be able to impact you know, you know, people that really need it, you know, I think that sometimes, you know, we talk about needs, and we're really talking about once but you know, there's people in this world that have real needs, and so, to be able to be a small part of that is, has been a truly blessing. And that's actually where my little sister Lulu is from that that orphanage, we adopted her when she was really young, and have had her, you know, my entire life. So being able to have a sister and, you know, from Haiti has obviously made it even more impactful, you know, the work that, that everyone is, you know, helped us do down there?

Phil White  1:02:12

Yeah, definitely. What where can people find find out more about that mission? And about that, that charity or nonprofit?

Drew Hanlen  1:02:19

Yeah, Melissa's hope.org is the website. It's awesome. It's a great cause. And, you know, the thing that, that I like about it most, I've done a ton of charity work with a ton of organizations that do great work. The thing that I like is, it's 100% volunteer. So every single penny actually goes to helping the kids and families that are in need down there. And it's crazy. My mom called me the other day and said, you know, there was a, you know, the generator was, you know, was stolen, you know, for power, because, you know, it's so corrupt down there, it was at gunpoint and stolen the generator, and, you know, a neighbor got shot for even, you know, putting up a fight for keeping their generator. So I mean, it's just, it's a different world that they live in down there. So being able to help is definitely a blessing.

Phil White  1:03:06

Yeah, for sure. I have to go back to the Mother Teresa thing for a minute, because I'm not sure how many people we'd have on here that could say something similar. So obviously, your grandma and others in your family are living out Mother Teresa's legacy. But was there a particular story about her or her ministry that really impacted you and your family and was like, alright, this really informs some of my core values to this day.

Drew Hanlen  1:03:31

You know, I think it's more about just how my, my grandma lives, because I got to see her day in and day out, you know, live her life for others. I mean, she used to leave her downstairs basement unlocked, and basically would tell homeless people that they needed a place to stay that they could just come in and, you know, the refrigerator was always open if they needed something, and we were like, Grandma, that's not safe. And she's like, God's got me God's got me. So, you know, just being able to see you know, how she lived her life was, you know, the best example. I guess that for me, but, you know, the, the quote that always stands out to me, there's my grandma, you know, when I first started finding some success in the business world, she said, Hey, Drew, listen, just remember, you're, you're never gonna have everything you want, but you're always going to have more than you need. And, you know, that kind of perspective has has stayed with me just because, you know, I think that so many times we stress over once when we should be preaching, you know, feeling blessings for everything that we have. And so you know, if you've got a roof over your head, if you've got you know, if you're listening this right now, you probably got an iPhone or a computer or an iPad or all three. I mean, it's just we're so blessed to have everything that we we have and so I think that if more people live with, you know, a gratitude mindset and appreciate all their blessings instead of stressing about all their kind of wants and desires, I think we'd have a lot better world and a lot more people that found inner peace, which is my definition of true success.

Phil White  1:04:58

Amazing. Thank you for for that, and for being so, so open with your soul as well as your basketball expertise.

Tim DiFrancesco  1:05:06

Yeah, thank you. DREW. I'm going to I know you've got places to be you've got people to help and and I want to respect your time. But I have to ask what we asked each and every guest here, it's the basketball strong podcast. And so the question is, what is being basketball strong mean to you, you can be as emotionally spiritually sort of tracked on that answer, or you can be technical on it, whatever it means to you to be basketball strong, will talk to us.

Drew Hanlen  1:05:38

Yeah, it's funny when you first heard basketball strong, you know, most people who you know, kind of correlate strong, just strength training and in the weight room, but for me basketball strong, went immediately to be mentally strong. Just because I think that the best of the best have that it factor that I that I talked about earlier. So basketball strong, to me would be somebody that is basically constantly competing with themselves to improve in every way that they can, they're mentally competing with themselves, they're able to stay level headed, they're able to, you know, be mentally tough when the game's on the line, and, you know, basketball, basketball strong to me would just be that exact thing is that you are rock solid emotionally and you're able to, you know, perform at your highest abilities. Because you have the confidence that comes through consistent, repeated hard work.

Tim DiFrancesco  1:06:35

That's, that is clutch right there. Drew tell people where they can find you where they can learn more about everything that you're doing, and, and everywhere, where you're at where they can find you.

Drew Hanlen  1:06:47

Yeah, I'm all over the place, you know, best places, you know, Andrew Hanlon and apkpure sweat on every major platform, you know, YouTube and Facebook and Instagram and Tiktok and Twitter and we got too many platforms that we're trying to post as much content as we can to help people out and then I've got a text community as well. So if they want to text me and get my daily text, and it's 314-461-1862, but that gives you you know, basically access to me and you know, I send out free daily videos and drills and you know, kind of give you behind the scenes looks at some of the work that I do with my clients, which is been fun to share.

Tim DiFrancesco  1:07:23

That's excellent. Thank you so much drew for taking the time. And I've got pages and notes that I get to go through a couple nights in a row here to sift through all these gems, but it means a lot to us. I are enjoying it thoroughly. I know Phil, you did too. And keep doing what you're doing, man. It's it's special stuff.

Drew Hanlen  1:07:41

Awesome. Appreciate talking to you guys. Thanks for having me on. Thank

Phil White  1:07:44

you so much.