We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful David Johnson . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with David below.

Hi David , thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

One of my dreams in life was to play professional basketball… That dream and window was closing day by day after I graduated from college…

My Sr year of college was the worst year ever of my collegiate years… The year prior I was the captain of the team, 2nd in points, 3rd in rebounds, 1st in steals and 2nd in blocks… I was one of the best players on the team… Sr year everything changed when the coach and I had a misunderstanding… After that i went from starting ever game to barley even playing… I couldn’t wait for the season to be over with…

After graduation I started to prepare myself for my professional basketball career… I went to camp after camp after camp to try and find a way to get overseas… I even signed with an agent but that was a total bust…

After 2 years I nearly gave up on pursuing my dreams and got into coaching… Coaching was something I never saw myself doing but it was everything I needed at that time… I was able to stay in shape for whatever opportunity was presented to me overseas and I was able to give back to young men and women who desired to play basketball at the next level…

At times I decided to just coach and make that my new dream… But something changed that… One day I got a call from a good friend of mine about a commercial shoot… He couldn’t go so he suggested I do… The commercial was for an insurance company but theme was basketball… That was right up my alley… The directors name was David Johnson same as mine so I knew this was meant to be… I let my pride down and I asked him if he knew anyone who had connections overseas… He told me his uncle has a bestfriend that owns a basketball team overseas and that he would give him my information… At that point it was up to faith…

A few months went by and I’m in Memphis at nationals with my 7th grade basketball team… We played a team that morning that we always beat back in St Louis but we end up losing to them… I was beyond pissed lol… This was the first time I went off on my team… I was so angry at them because we didn’t play to our potential… The last thing I told them after the game was ” I don’t have to be here… I could be overseas playing basketball “… I said what I said to motivate them for the next game… That day I understood the power of speaking things into existence…

Later that night I got a call from the league commissioner of El Salvador… He told me they were having a tryout tomorrow in Chicago… This was my chance!!! I felt so bad for what I said to my team but this was my one and only opportunity… I took a risk on leaving my team at the most important tournament of the season to go chase my dream again… Once I told everyone the news everyone was heart broken but also understanding of the situation…

I got on a bus and headed to Chicago that night… The next day I was at the tryout with 70 other players ready to start their overseas career… It was a 2 day tryout but after the first day the commissioner, mayor, and coach’s notified me that they saw enough and that I would be one of 5 players they picked to sign a contract to play in El Salvador…

All the hard work and struggle I endured finally paid off… 2 weeks later I was playing professional basketball in El Salvador… It was definitely bitter sweet… I hate that I left my team but they were proud that I was able to pursue my dreams… It was definitely a risk worth taking!!!!

David , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I got into coaching and training because of my mentors and coaches… My aau coach and college training gave me all the tools to become a great basketball player but also a great trainer as well…

The things they taught me I used them to better myself as a player and coach… Years of training with them helped my blueprint of starting my own training academy… Machine Elite Basketball Academy is my company… We’ve been around since 2014 but I’ve been coaching and training since 2010…

We are a year round training academy that also provides team play… Our goal is to help develop young men and women for the next level on and off the court… We provide professional training to help the youth strive for greatness…

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

The most effective way to build clientele as a coach and trainer is knowledge of the game, people skills, positive attitude, great work ethic, dedication, training skills and experience…

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

The best source for new clients is basically the productivity of my current clients… If I make one kid better that one kid is basically a walking billboard… Anytime he goes to play somewhere he will get compliments from other parents and that parent will want information about who he’s training with and then I get a phone call about a new client wanting to train with me…

Contact Info:

• Website: Machineelite.com
• Instagram: Machineelite
• Facebook: Machine Elite Basketball Academy
• Twitter: Machineelite