You probably know him as a Anadolu Efes player, but Chris Singleton perfectly fits into the narrative of being more than just an athlete. When you ask him how he would describe himself, he answers that he is a serial entrepreneur and investor. “Ever since I could remember, I’ve been a hustler. I always seem to know how to make a buck and survive. Growing up the way I did, I had to know this to make it and to get to where I am today,” Singleton said.
A few months ago, Singleton launched a media company, called Offbeat Media. Along with his team, he aims to help individuals in their start-up process to build and connect businesses by forming it into an ecosystem. “When I decided to start Offbeat Media, I wanted to push things like entrepreneurship & creativity. I feel I have an obligation to give back to society and I thought this would be a good way to do it. The world is changing, and I want to help others that are less fortunate to change with the world,” he explains.
Finding the right people to run his company has been one of his biggest challenges, but he was finally able to put together a golden team to manage Offbeat Media. He said: “By checking on one of other business’s, Bytechek, I came across Faith Laughter and Teresa Coble, who were interviewing for my colleague AJ Yawn. I gathered more information on them and I knew right away they were the right ones for the job. Together with LeGreg Harrison, I knew I had a good team to start this journey.” Singleton is fully committed to his role as president of the company and works closely with his partners and staff: “I regularly talk with the team about everything we have going on. We talk about potential customers and the building process of shaping a sustainable company.”
Singleton knows how to balance his business with his career. For him, having something else in his life besides basketball is essential to his well-being. “My first and most important job is being a professional basketball player and trying to win games for my team. When I play basketball, my focus is strictly on the game and it is not wandering. But as an athlete, you also need some time off. Players might choose gaming, photography, cooking, or some other activities. I chose to follow another dream of mine and try to set my family up for the future in business. I think we, the athletes, see these activities as a form of therapy or as a stress reliever.”
Being a professional athlete has helped him grow his company: “We are in the era of social media and cancel culture. One portion of a clip, a short video or a sound bite can kill a career without knowing the context of why it happened. The media has played a big portion of shaping everyone’s lives and outlooks. I personally have been a part of fake narratives, and the media just took it and ran with it. I want to help people take some of that control back by producing content in which that person is in control.”
With Offbeat Media, Singleton wants to showcase the different interests and talents of athletes or other personalities and then develop them into a business. He adds: “Our motto is simple: “Design Your Dream.” Think of something, plan it, and go get it!”
Just like Chris Singleton did.
