2 years of run it back

celebrating a big milestone for ribv2

what’s good yall 😌

it’s been 2 years and a day since we had our very first run it back v2 basketball session. to celebrate, i want to go back to what led to that inaugural run

i was looking for something outside of our local YMCA because i wanted to play more and the schedule was changing. i didn’t gravitate towards other gyms given that pickup / 1v1 culture is so toxic nowadays with hella arguing and isoball

i wanted something more organized where we’re competitive, play as a team, and treat each other with respect. when i couldn’t find a private run like this to play in, i decided to start my own. i touched upon this in a recent post:

for that first session, i created my idea of the perfect pickup run with people i liked playing with. here’s footage from that day (s/o dax for the camera work 🫡):

fast forward 2 years later and we’ve had over 75 sessions and now have 75+ people in our community 😭🙏. there are some high schoolers, folks in their late 20s, and all the way up to 50+ playing together. it really is a beautiful thing to experience 🥲

to celebrate, we had our first official hang off the court. there are already friendships that were established previously but this was the first organized event where a big group showed up (and s/o trey for hosting us):

official ribv2 merch by nikhil on the way 🫡

this truly shows the power of community. ever since i was young, i’ve always loved bringing people together over a shared interest. this will be the first of many social events :)

i got asked last night how do i have the time to do this while managing a full-time job and just life in general. the answer? i have more help now (s/o justin and logan) and it still feels fun 😌

there are still stressful moments like trying to recruit the night before a morning session 😅, but the community makes it all worth it.

my biggest motivator has always been (and will continue to be) playing basketball with my friends. i’m not looking to make this into a business nor make hella money off it. there’s a lot on the horizon for year 3 that i’ll touch upon as they come up

until next time ✌️

- claud

now playing

when i don’t know what to listen to and just want to play something, i go to this playlist. it’s a collection of songs that have been on repeat for me lately. i just sort by recently added (or shuffle) and enjoy :)