Young entrepreneur Ekam Nagra, founder Ball Don’t Stop, talks about his love for basketball and success he has gained from the sport.
At just 22 years old, Ekam Nagra is already making a name for himself. He is the head of Ball Don’t Stop (BDS), a global basketball media and lifestyle company. Nagra has been able to cultivate the BDS brand, making it a top source for basketball news. Beyond the company, he is also heavily involved in training top basketball players in British Columbia, as well as pro basketball players in the United States.
Nagra’s interest in basketball was generated at a young age, “When I was three or four years old I used to sit on my sundeck and watch my older neighbours play basketball for hours. I was fascinated by the game. My parents got me a hoop when I was six and I played on it for hours and hours everyday.”
Though his love of playing the game on a daily basis began to dwindle in the summer of 2013, he wanted to use his knowledge about the sport and turn it into something productive. At the time, he had also developed a disliking towards mainstream media’s reporting of basketball, leading him to start the website. “I started the website and got on social media. I started writing and giving my opinion on everything I knew about basketball, from popular topics in the NBA to training tips,” says Nagra.
The basketball lover designed the website on his own and had three viral articles in the first month. “People loved what I was talking about on the website. I started getting e-mails everyday asking for training advice and tips. Then I started training kids at local gyms and doing camps. Next thing you know we have a basketball academy under the Ball Don’t Stop name.”
Nagra finds continued satisfaction from training others. He enjoys helping young kids improve their skills and athleticism, “I love working with kids that want to get better. The greatest thing is seeing a young kid smiling and having fun at a training session or camp,” he adds.
The young entrepreneur believes that hard work and consistency have helped make BDS a success. He explains that the basketball media outlet is reliable, respectable and that, “any NBA player we’ve interviewed or worked with on a project in the past few years has always told us they get a very authentic vibe from us.”
Nagra is very humbled by the positive responses to BDS. “It’s been amazing, within two years we’re sitting at a following of over 100,000 fans on social media… Players and fans love our content.”
So which has been Nagra’s most memorable moment over the course of BDS’s rise? Being able to interview his favourite player, Allen Iverson, just two months after starting the website, he answers right away. “He was my favourite player growing up and he’s one of the hardest guys to actually get a conversation or video interview with, so it was a huge moment for me,” shares Nagra.
Looking at his success, Nagra states that one of his biggest blessings is that “God has allowed me to do all the things I have a strong love and passion for as a living… I love everything about it. This is pretty much all I ever wanted to do.” In conclusion, he encourages others to do what they love, be go-getters and work their hardest to take their passion as far as they can.
