We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tyree York a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Tyree thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. 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.

As a former collegiate basketball player at Roosevelt University in Chicago IL, I always knew basketball was my true love and passion. Once I graduated from school in 2015, I had the potential to play at a professional level overseas but by that time I had became a bit burnout with basketball. At that point in time, I didn’t understand who I was without that orange round ball in my hands. Basketball was my world since I 8 or 9 years old. Graduating college gave me the needed separation from basketball that allowed me to discover myself outside of court.

I got my first big boy job as a front desk agent at the W Chicago City Center Hotel two months prior to graduating college. Equipped with the leadership abilities and core values that were instilled in me from my basketball career, after one year in my role, I was quickly promoted to the Food & Beverage Manager. This was such an awesome experience! At the age of 22 years old, I was placed in a position that pushed me outside of my comfort zone and forced me to learn on the fly. SINK OR SWIM, it was my choice to do the latter.

Fast forwarding a bit, I ended up spending 2 years as a food and beverage manager then I transitioned into Real Estate where I worked for AMLI Residential as a leasing agent where I was able to reach 3 million dollars in overall sales in 2 years. By this time, Im about 4 years removed from the basketball culture that I was so used to. At the end of 2018/beginning of 2019, I set out on a fitness & basketball journey where I began going to the gym more to workout and play ball. I started posting videos of myself at the gym working out, getting up shots, doing drills, etc. I could see the impact it had on me, and also those who were around me witnessing the transformation. I knew this could be my new life and I had the potential to make a business out of. So I sat down and began thinking of names that was acronym and stood for something that I truly believed in. Thats where G.R.E.A.T-Training was developed. At the time, it stood for ‘Getting Right Everyday At Training’. I knew I was on to something because I lived it. Great Training mission was and still is to teach the fundamentals of the game and life!

My nephew, Josh Howard, who was 6 years old at the time, began to play basketball for a local youth league. So I began training him 2-3 times out of the week in January 2019. It was here where I begin to discover my love for basketball coaching/training. Watching and coaching him gave me a tremendous amount of satisfaction being able to pass down my techniques, skills and basketball ideology. He was soaking up the knowledge, his skills began to grow so quickly, others around the gym began to take notice. Within 2-3 months, I had 10 kids in the gym with me training 2 times per week. And these kids are young, 5-8 years old.

Meanwhile, as im still working full time at AMLI Residential, I also developed a side business as fitness trainer, where I would individually train residents and friends within our building on our amenity floor. This allowed me to gain clientele, enhance my knowledge as trainer, learn how to help individual transform their body and reach their fitness goals. By April 2019, I had about 12-15 fitness clients as well.

Since visiting Arizona 2015, I had a dream and a goal to move here. It was something different about this place that made me feel easy and at home. While the success of my Great Training business is beginning to grow significantly, in Sept 2019, I decided to pack all my belongings into my car and move to Chandler AZ. People thought I was crazy lol, but I knew God had a purpose for me that only I could see and feel. This was one of the best life choices I’ve ever made

Today in 2023, Great Training has over 3 partnerships, trains around 50 players monthly and recently we just started our aau team. Dreams do come true!

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

In the previous question, I included a lot of detail about my past that im sure could suffice for a portion of this question too.

Currently, Great Training is located in Chandler AZ and we train out of a couple different location. Great Training offers players the opportunity to enhance their athletic performance & basketball skillsets through a variety of fundamental and advanced techniques. Our program strives to not only develop great athletes but even greater leaders of the next generation!

What are we most proud of?
We are proud to have players that truly embody our Great Training lifestyle and core values. We have built a community grounded in help individuals accomplish their goals

What are the main things we want potential clients/followers/fans to know about you/your brand/your work?
Honestly, that we are real. I personally dedicate my life to Great Training every single day. Im always working to better myself, my program and those I care about. The culture that we have built is special. Come check it out

Below are a few of our programs

Basketball Academy – Beginner level basketball classes – Ages 6-14
Group Training – Intermidiate level basketball sessions
Team – GT ELITE 6th Grade Boys
Basketball Camps
Individual Training
Athletic Performance training
Merchandise – Tshirts, hoodies, etc

For more information, please our website here

Www.greattrainingfitness.com

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

As a former collegiate basketball player at Roosevelt University in Chicago IL, I always knew basketball was my true love and passion. Once I graduated from school in 2015, I had the potential to play at a professional level overseas but by that time I had became a bit burnout with basketball. At that point in time, I didn’t understand who I was without that orange round ball in my hands. Basketball was my world since I 8 or 9 years old. Graduating college gave me the needed separation from basketball that allowed me to discover myself outside of court.

I got my first big boy job as a front desk agent at the W Chicago City Center Hotel two months prior to graduating college. Equipped with the leadership abilities and core values that were instilled in me from my basketball career, after one year in my role, I was quickly promoted to the Food & Beverage Manager. This was such an awesome experience! At the age of 22 years old, I was placed in a position that pushed me outside of my comfort zone and forced me to learn on the fly. SINK OR SWIM, it was my choice to do the latter.

Fast forwarding a bit, I ended up spending 2 years as a food and beverage manager then I transitioned into Real Estate where I worked for AMLI Residential as a leasing agent where I was able to reach 3 million dollars in overall sales in 2 years. By this time, Im about 4 years removed from the basketball culture that I was so used to. At the end of 2018/beginning of 2019, I set out on a fitness & basketball journey where I began going to the gym more to workout and play ball. I started posting videos of myself at the gym working out, getting up shots, doing drills, etc. I could see the impact it had on me, and also those who were around me witnessing the transformation. I knew this could be my new life and I had the potential to make a business out of. So I sat down and began thinking of names that was acronym and stood for something that I truly believed in. Thats where G.R.E.A.T-Training was developed. At the time, it stood for ‘Getting Right Everyday At Training’. I knew I was on to something because I lived it. Great Training mission was and still is to teach the fundamentals of the game and life!

My nephew, Josh Howard, who was 6 years old at the time, began to play basketball for a local youth league. So I began training him 2-3 times out of the week in January 2019. It was here where I begin to discover my love for basketball coaching/training. Watching and coaching him gave me a tremendous amount of satisfaction being able to pass down my techniques, skills and basketball ideology. He was soaking up the knowledge, his skills began to grow so quickly, others around the gym began to take notice. Within 2-3 months, I had 10 kids in the gym with me training 2 times per week. And these kids are young, 5-8 years old.

Meanwhile, as im still working full time at AMLI Residential, I also developed a side business as fitness trainer, where I would individually train residents and friends within our building on our amenity floor. This allowed me to gain clientele, enhance my knowledge as trainer, learn how to help individual transform their body and reach their fitness goals. By April 2019, I had about 12-15 fitness clients as well.

Since visiting Arizona 2015, I had a dream and a goal to move here. It was something different about this place that made me feel easy and at home. While the success of my Great Training business is beginning to grow significantly, in Sept 2019, I decided to pack all my belongings into my car and move to Chandler AZ. People thought I was crazy lol, but I knew God had a purpose for me that only I could see and feel. This was one of the best life choices I’ve ever made

Today in 2023, Great Training has over 3 partnerships, trains around 50 players monthly and recently we just started our aau team. Dreams do come true!

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

As a former collegiate basketball player at Roosevelt University in Chicago IL, I always knew basketball was my true love and passion. Once I graduated from school in 2015, I had the potential to play at a professional level overseas but by that time I had became a bit burnout with basketball. At that point in time, I didn’t understand who I was without that orange round ball in my hands. Basketball was my world since I 8 or 9 years old. Graduating college gave me the needed separation from basketball that allowed me to discover myself outside of court.

I got my first big boy job as a front desk agent at the W Chicago City Center Hotel two months prior to graduating college. Equipped with the leadership abilities and core values that were instilled in me from my basketball career, after one year in my role, I was quickly promoted to the Food & Beverage Manager. This was such an awesome experience! At the age of 22 years old, I was placed in a position that pushed me outside of my comfort zone and forced me to learn on the fly. SINK OR SWIM, it was my choice to do the latter.

Fast forwarding a bit, I ended up spending 2 years as a food and beverage manager then I transitioned into Real Estate where I worked for AMLI Residential as a leasing agent where I was able to reach 3 million dollars in overall sales in 2 years. By this time, Im about 4 years removed from the basketball culture that I was so used to. At the end of 2018/beginning of 2019, I set out on a fitness & basketball journey where I began going to the gym more to workout and play ball. I started posting videos of myself at the gym working out, getting up shots, doing drills, etc. I could see the impact it had on me, and also those who were around me witnessing the transformation. I knew this could be my new life and I had the potential to make a business out of. So I sat down and began thinking of names that was acronym and stood for something that I truly believed in. Thats where G.R.E.A.T-Training was developed. At the time, it stood for ‘Getting Right Everyday At Training’. I knew I was on to something because I lived it. Great Training mission was and still is to teach the fundamentals of the game and life!

My nephew, Josh Howard, who was 6 years old at the time, began to play basketball for a local youth league. So I began training him 2-3 times out of the week in January 2019. It was here where I begin to discover my love for basketball coaching/training. Watching and coaching him gave me a tremendous amount of satisfaction being able to pass down my techniques, skills and basketball ideology. He was soaking up the knowledge, his skills began to grow so quickly, others around the gym began to take notice. Within 2-3 months, I had 10 kids in the gym with me training 2 times per week. And these kids are young, 5-8 years old.

Meanwhile, as im still working full time at AMLI Residential, I also developed a side business as fitness trainer, where I would individually train residents and friends within our building on our amenity floor. This allowed me to gain clientele, enhance my knowledge as trainer, learn how to help individual transform their body and reach their fitness goals. By April 2019, I had about 12-15 fitness clients as well.

Since visiting Arizona 2015, I had a dream and a goal to move here. It was something different about this place that made me feel easy and at home. While the success of my Great Training business is beginning to grow significantly, in Sept 2019, I decided to pack all my belongings into my car and move to Chandler AZ. People thought I was crazy lol, but I knew God had a purpose for me that only I could see and feel. This was one of the best life choices I’ve ever made

Today in 2023, Great Training has over 3 partnerships, trains around 50 players monthly and recently we just started our aau team. Dreams do come true!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.greattrainingfitness.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/great.training?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greattrainingfitness?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyree-york-3b0650a3
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/greattrainingg?s=21&t=4pDFNmbSmJX-mxnzW6qEdA