Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dylan Evande. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Dylan, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

The idea for my business is centered around the skeleton and make-up of who I am as an individual. I am a self-improvement junkie and take pride in my ability to improve on a daily, weekly, monthly & yearly basis. Development consumes me and is pushed onto my clients. However, the ugly side of why I felt Ultrafooty was needed in the soccer space, was the lack of development that goes into the game in the United States. Kids in the country are put at a major disadvantage when you compare them on a global scale in regard to footy culture.

The concept of training is common nature so I can’t take any credit for that but the approach of our training is one that I take pride in and truly defines us. We quickly rose in the space of business solely off the fact that everything came from a genuine place. When I see a “client” I see myself. So I can connect in a very personable manner. I try to make people see that soccer is not the end-all-be-all; it is just a tool that allows you to gain a platform to attack real-world problems.

Another major component that factored into creating Ultrafooty was to protect the mental sanity of high-level players and give them a safe space to continue their growth in the game without losing that childhood love in the process.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I am Dylan Evande. I am a professional soccer player, soccer performance trainer & co-owner/founder of Ultrafooty LLC.

I am a foreigner that came to this country thinking that fitting in would aid me in life until I realized that being myself was my strongest selling point. I embody the makeup of a prototypical African kid raised by a strong family that instilled values of hard work and discipline to get me to where I am today.

Soccer is all I have ever known!

It opened so many doors for me and I owe my life to it so it was inevitable that I would end up doing something that centered around it. I consider myself blessed in the sense that I was fortunate enough to train with professional soccer players since I was in high school which in part sped up my levels of maturity and understanding of the game and more importantly, opened me up to the “business of sports”. Seeing the ugly side of what is widely known as “the beautiful game” was discouraging and deflating, to say the least, but also presented an opportunity to learn and educate. It ultimately led me to where I am today where I serve as a mentor and voice to many in their pursuit of high performance. What sets me apart from others is that I have a purpose and it showcases itself through my acts of service. The things I do, will always be bigger than me. My proudest moment for the brand comes in the form of our donation event held in Cameroon, Africa where we collected new/used cleats from donors in the U.S. to distribute at a well-organized soccer game that put smiles on so many faces.

How’d you meet your business partner?

My partner Jordan Saling and I go so far back that I consider the relationship to be family at this point. We’ve been playing soccer together since high school. He is older than me so by nature, he took on a mentorship role that I appreciated greatly. We always found a common interest in the game of soccer, which led us to so many places in our friendship; from training sessions at local parks, trials in Albania, touring the streets of Italy, competing in Rochester, and ultimately right back to where it started in NJ. Throughout those days, the concept of Ultrafooty was always prevalent but never had structure or was defined by a name. We envisioned a life where we could give back to others through soccer and one day run our own facility. I think it’s safe to say that the days of envisioning are over and we are reaping the benefits of our daily work.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

The definition of ‘reputation’ is the beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or something. Quite frankly, I do not care about opinions because everyone has them. Mine and the company’s reputation is only of relevance to people that believe in the movement. I don’t think there was a specific thing that helped other than putting out a unique product to the public in hopes that it would resonate and impact lives.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ultrafooty.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ultrafootyllc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083116731709
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ultrafooty-llc/
• Other: https://ultrafootyllc.medium.com/

Image Credits
Peter Bonilla, Zachary Zubulake, Salvador Reina