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| Chris Hanburger with Sarah (cover model 2011 calendar). |
Leader In Sports: We were originally an autographed sports memorabilia company well over a decade ago. As time has gone along, the business has evolved. The first step in that evolution was as a sports promotional company where we set up events where fans can come meet their favorite sports legends. From there, the business further evolved into a booking agency that represents retired athletes.
With all of that, we have never forgotten our roots and still do a large volume of autographed memorabilia as both a wholesale and retail supplier
La Libertad: How long have you been in business?
Leader In Sports: Our roots go back to 2001 and we have grown from there.
La Libertad: How did LeaderInSports.com get started?
Leader In Sports: My interest in sports memorabilia started as a hobby with my oldest son Herb. As a child, he enjoyed going to football training camps and hanging out after games to try to get autographs. From there I starting taking him to various athlete appearances and really enjoyed meeting some of the legends I grew up watching.
From that point, I started collecting autographed football jerseys and realized how over priced the market was. Through years of research and negotiations, I was able to eventually produce a higher quality jersey at a much lower price. We also found a niche in the market where we don’t focus on the big name superstars. Early on I realized that every dealer in the country had inventory on these superstars. What we focus on is the names that true fans want to meet, but you just can’t get anywhere else.
The next step was building a relationship with the players. This was especially tough since there are so many disreputable dealers in the industry. Eventually, I became known in the right circles. From these relationships, the booking agency of the business grew. More and more there are players that will only book an appearance after I have vetted the deal for them.
These relationships have gone on to foster some very unique experiences. A good friend and now a LeaderInSports.com exclusive athlete Chris Hanburger (ChrisHanburger.com) from the Washington Redskins was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011. Because of my close friendship with Mr. Hanburger, both my wife and I were invited to his induction last year. This was an amazing experience to watch a friend be honored for his accomplishments on the field, and was also a great networking opportunity for myself.
Another athlete that we represent exclusively is Roman Gabriel (RomanGabriel.net) Roman is someone who is very familiar to sports fans out in California as he was the starting Quarterback of the Los Angeles Rams in the 1960’s. He had great success on the field and was even the NFL MVP in 1969. With his ties to the Los Angeles area, he also did some acting including playing John Wayne’s adopted son in the movie “Undefeated”. One of his rolls I loved as a child is as a head hunter in the show “Gilligan’s Island”. Roman is one of the most respected athletes by his peers. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame and will hopefully someday be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, too.
Another future hall of famer we represent is Maxie Baughan (MaxieBaughan.com). He is someone who would be familiar to a hard core football fan in L.A. Maxie was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1960 where the Eagles won the World Championship that year as Maxie went on to go to his first of nine pro bowls. In 1966 Mr. Baughan was traded to the Los Angeles Rams where he went to 4 Pro Bowls in his 5 years with the Rams. Maxie is also a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.
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| Tatiana (cover model 2013 calendar), Roman Gabriel, Missy (cover model 2012 calendar) |
La Libertad: In 2010, the first LeaderInSports.com bikini calendar was released. Where did the idea for a calendar come from?
Leader In Sports: Originally, we were not even producing a calendar when the photo shoots started. When the housing market bubble burst, one of the first things to be effected is “disposable income” items such as sports collectibles.
In early, 2010 as a way to increase “hits” on various sales websites (such as eBay), we began to take pictures of models holding the autographed memorabilia. The increase in sales was immediately noticeable.
From there the next logical step was to produce a bikini calendar. This was obviously a learning experience but has grown to have great success for both LeaderInSports.com and the models that appear in it. After we released the first edition of the calendar, we realized that we should be taking the models out to do autograph appearances. Since for the most part our models are not signed with agencies and they LOVE the meeting their fans. We just did our first appearance with the 2013 models and they were amazed at how many people wanted their autograph. I have a couple of models that even started to build up a fan base through these events.
Starting with our second edition of the calendar, the models started having various levels of success. There have been models that have been flown from Virginia to California to do test shoots with Playboy. There have been other models that have signed with agencies in New York and gone on to be published in national publications such as Maxim, Allure and Cosmo. Obviously other models have gone on sign with local agencies and gotten local tear sheets.
Each year the models seem to have more and more success and it is really fun to be a young ladies first photo shoot and then go on to see her blossom as a model. We now have models who travel half way across the country just to try out to be a LeaderInSports.com Girl.
La Libertad: Where can models apply to be in the next calendar?
Leader In Sports: It is very simple, all they have to do is send us an email with a full frontal bikini image (candid is fine) along with a short note that includes a list of tattoos and piercings with contact information and why they should be considered to shoot for the project.
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| Jacob (son of Leader In Sports owner) with Maxie Baughan |
La Libertad: What's next for LeaderInSports.com?
Leader In Sports: The key to any business is to stay true to your roots but also remain able to adjust as the market changes. You can now purchase our autographed memorabilia in multiple professional and college stadiums around the country. We continue to promote events in various venues around the country. Of course, the booking agency is really taking off as more and more athletes want us to represent them.
As many people will tell you, if you enjoy what you do for a living, you never work a day in your life.
Visit Leader in Sports
Interview by Libertad Green
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