We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Roy Jackson Jr a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Roy , appreciate you joining us today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

To start I got my logo from my son holding a basketball when he was 2 years old posing as if he was going to shoot the ball and I just knew that was perfect for my business “Dreamz Two Reality Basketball LLC”.

Even when I was playing basketball in high school, college and professional I knew I always wanted to help kids reach their goals of playing professionally rather that was taking the overseas route or the NBA route.

So I used to get on my laptop and email coaches daily until I gained their trust and we exchanged phone numbers and we call/text one another every other week checking on one another or talking about potential players they want to take a look at.

Once I gained enough coaches where I have over 150 college coaches contacts in my phone I wanted to create my own recruiting service where I could help me kids and that’s when I turned my “Dreamz into reality” helping kids get where they need to in life while gaming a education as well along with basketball.

Roy , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Roy Jackson Jr some know me as “Rackk.Thee.Goatt” in the celebrity industry I’m 32 years old Flint, Michigan Native who graduated from Flint Hamady High School in 2010 where I played varsity basketball all 4 years for the hawks. I attended Grand Rapids CC for two years dt 2010-2012 where I graduated and obtained my associates degree in General studies while playing college ball for the raiders both years making it to Nationals in Danville, Illinois leading my team to a 7th place finish in the country per NJCAA ranks. In 2013 I attended University Of Arkansas Pine Bluff (UAPB) where I decided to leave after 3 semesters to pursue a professional career overseas. I played professionally for 7 years in Italy, Spain, Mexico, Croatia and Qatar along with playing professionally in the states with various leagues. So playing wise I feel like I touched every level of basketball besides the NBA in which I am proud of where I’ve started and where I finished. I also have a children book called “Fly Like Roy Jackson Jr” along with my Autobiography that will be done soon called “From The Hood 2 The Hardwood” telling my life story.

One thing that sets me apart from others is I like to give back to my community rather that’s buying my high school new uniforms and backpacks for the season or hosting events through my brand Dreamz Two Reality such as High School All-American Basketball Games, Mid Michigan I-75 Classics, Holiday Tournaments, Free Basketball Camps and many more events within my community that set me apart from anyone else that’s where I’m from.

Some proud moments that I have is the events I host within my community because it all deal with kids from elementary to high school not only learning basic basketball skills but also life lessons as well learning how to interact and play with one another regardless of ethnicity. I believe the kids are the future that’s why I focus on kids from the age(s) of 6-18 years of age to be a mentor and big brother to those who thrive for the extra attention. I know with my brand it gives kids hope to pursue and Dream that they have in mind that they want to achieve.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

When you want to be great and you want you business to be successful sometimes you have to disappear and be off the scene for a while until you get everything In order. For example I knew I wanted to be successful when I first started it so a lot of things I had to miss out on like family events because I had to travel and do a event or make a seminar to enhance my business or missing a celebrity game because I had a major high school event. Sometimes alone the way you know you can’t take event one to the top with you but your real friends will soon understand the path you had to take to get where you need to be in life to make sure tour business is in good standing. One key thing you need to realize when you are a business owner is it’s not going to be easy you will have your ups and downs but you have to stay focused on the bigger picture and write down your goals and I feel once you see them in front of you everyday you work towards them until they are complete. I know the beginning of every year I write mine down and I have 12 months to figure out ways to complete them by any means necessary so I have to lock in and stay focused.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

How I first funded my business was through sponsorships to where local banks and small business owners believed in me and they saw my vision and they wanted to be apart of my journey every step on the way. I believe having a name and being very involved in your community helps a lot when you are trying to start a business because those business owners always remember someone who is doing good and putting back in their community for a great cause. Once I gained enough sponsorships I started to host events to where it let me gain more revenue to keep my business up and running. So I want to give a huge S/o to the city of Flint, Michigan and the banks and small business owners that stood by my side since day one to let “Dreamz Two Reality Basketball LLC” be a big impact in the community.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://dreamztworealityba.wixsite.com/dreamztworealitybask
• Instagram: Rackk.Thee.Goatt
• Facebook: Rackk Thee Goatt
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roy-jackson-jr-956ba3272
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@rackk.thee.goatt.810?si=3BRFtWQ2pxm8EmvM

Image Credits

D1 TV Media
Wes.Paterson.Viii_x
Soma Photo and Video