Christian Ross-Francis

"I love helping athletes even people in general to reach their goals. "

Christian

Ross-Francis

Q. Thanks for interviewing with us. Tell everyone who you are and what you do.

A. My name is Christian, and my area of expertise is in branding and marketing, event management and social media training.

Q. Tell us a little bit about your journey and how you got to where you are today?

A. A little bit about my journey and how I got here today is I’ve always been around sports. I played basketball the majority of my life, so sports are something I’ve been around a long time. Through my journey in sports, I tried many different avenues such as a basketball training, coaching and being an assistant general manager for a professional team. But through it all I leaned that I loved helping athletes even people in general to reach their goals. So that’s why I got it into marketing and branding because it maximizes your exposure and can help athletes get to the next level off the court. So ever since that marketing and branding have been my niche.

Q. Let’s talk about “Life Beyond the Rim” and the motivation behind it?

A. Life Beyond the Rim is a program I started to mentor female athletes on and off the court. Not only that but to teach them the importance of having a backup plan, how to utilize social media, how grades are important and who to find the right school for you. My motivation and passion behind this program are that I didn’t have a backup plan growing up because I thought basketball would be the rest of my life, the end it will be all of life. I also didn’t have that help or guidance after me playing to at least put in the right direction, so I want to prevent that for other athletes. Because it’s not easy after you stop dribbling that ball.

Q. How did you know you wanted to pursue this career?

A. That’s a crazy question because I really wanted to pursue my career when the pandemic hit. Before that I was so focus on helping other people get their business going and off the ground, I never thought about me. So, I hit up my close friend and client Nikki B and was like I want you to be my first client and with no hesitation she was like ok I’m in! So, from there on we been killing it with her brand!

Q. What has been the hardest/ most challenging part in your career?

A. The most challenging part in my career is being a black woman in sports. It’s been a struggle for me because women in sports wasn’t getting the recognization in sports like we are now. So, I’m glad we are changing the narrative and we are getting the appreciation that has been needed. But we still have a way to go!

Q. Tell us an accomplishment you see yourself achieving in the next three years?

A. The goals that I see myself accomplishing in the next 3 years is being a top marketing and branding guru, my business being a multi-million-dollar business, and me mentoring athletes to the next level.

Q. What is the most surprising fact you’ve learned about yourself this year?

A. The most surprising fact that I’ve learned about myself is that I’m bossy and annoying when it comes to business because I want things done in a timely manner lol.

Q. How do you balance your personal and professional life?

A. I’ve always struggled with balancing my professional and personal life, but this year has taught me that balance is very much needed. So now I don’t answer my phone after a certain time, and I take breaks when necessary.

Q. Are you working on any new events or projects?

A. Yes next year I’m working on a tour for my clients, upnext sports will be doing courses for student athletes and big events.

Q. Where can the readers follow you?

A. IG consultwithcris Website upnextsportsconsulting.com LinkedIn Christian Ross-Francis