In this episode I sit down with Darren, an athlete with rich Jamaican and Guyanese heritage, to explore his latest venture, Backcourt, which is set to transform Caribbean sports experiences. From the monumental Jamaica Boys and Girls Champs to the pulse-pounding cricket matches, Darren shares how Backcourt aims to offer the most authentic and electrifying sports tourism packages.
Cricket fans, this one's for you! Discover how the T20 format, spearheaded by the Indian Premier League (IPL), is breathing new life into cricket, capturing hearts in North America, and opening up economic opportunities across the Caribbean. Darren dives into the cultural impact of these sporting events, how they unite communities, and the business motivations behind Backcourt's vision to capitalize on the burgeoning sports tourism sector.
But that's not all. We also delve into the vibrant track and field scene in Jamaica, where investors and legends like Michael Johnson are working to popularize sprinting through innovative competitions. Darren recounts his experiences at the iconic Penn Relays and shares Backcourt’s ambitious plans, from cricket match packages to golf trips and Caribbean Premier League events. If you’re passionate about sports and the Caribbean, this episode is your ticket to an insider’s view of this dynamic intersection.
Mentioned in the episode:
Connect with Darren & Backcourt - Website | Instagram
Connect with @carryonfriends - Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
A Breadfruit Media Production
In this episode I sit down with Darren, an athlete with rich Jamaican and Guyanese heritage, to explore his latest venture, Backcourt, which is set to transform Caribbean sports experiences. From the monumental Jamaica Boys and Girls Champs to the pulse-pounding cricket matches, Darren shares how Backcourt aims to offer the most authentic and electrifying sports tourism packages.
Cricket fans, this one's for you! Discover how the T20 format, spearheaded by the Indian Premier League (IPL), is breathing new life into cricket, capturing hearts in North America, and opening up economic opportunities across the Caribbean. Darren dives into the cultural impact of these sporting events, how they unite communities, and the business motivations behind Backcourt's vision to capitalize on the burgeoning sports tourism sector.
But that's not all. We also delve into the vibrant track and field scene in Jamaica, where investors and legends like Michael Johnson are working to popularize sprinting through innovative competitions. Darren recounts his experiences at the iconic Penn Relays and shares Backcourt’s ambitious plans, from cricket match packages to golf trips and Caribbean Premier League events. If you’re passionate about sports and the Caribbean, this episode is your ticket to an insider’s view of this dynamic intersection.
Mentioned in the episode:
Connect with Darren & Backcourt - Website | Instagram
Connect with @carryonfriends - Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
A Breadfruit Media Production
Hello everyone, welcome to another episode of Carry On Friends the Caribbean American experience and I'm excited because I am going to talk about a topic that I love. But can you believe it? I've never covered it on the podcast and so, before I get into what that topic is, darren, welcome to the podcast. How are you?
Speaker 2:Thank you, I'm doing well and thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here.
Speaker 1:Awesome, All right. So why don't you tell the community of friends a little bit about who you are, Caribbean country you represent and the work that you do?
Speaker 2:Sounds good. So I was born and raised in New York, but raised in a Caribbean household, my mom from Jamaica and my dad from Guyana, and I've been an athlete and a sports fan my whole life, which has prepared me and led me to my current venture, backcourt, which is a sports community rooted in the business, the culture and the celebration of the Caribbean.
Speaker 1:Wonderful. I'm going to pause right here. Be careful of that mic, because it has the headphones, it has the mic on it, so you want to be careful that it doesn't rub on you, because then it picks up weird vibes. All right, I don't know how you're going to do it, because you're Caribbean, so you're going to be, but whatever, we'll cut all of this out, all right. So you played sports. What kind of sports did you play?
Speaker 2:So I told you my mom is from Jamaica. I started running track and field when I was four years old.
Speaker 1:As you should, as you should Continue.
Speaker 2:And by the time I was 10 years old, I told her I wanted to retire and switch to basketball.
Speaker 1:So I ended up becoming a serious basketball player and played up and through college and was the captain of my team, and now I'm a semi-retired athlete, I would say so I mean, I mean I probably need to have a conversation with you, because my son is running track and I see that basketball is moving in on track and I always ask him what did you do today, basketball? So I'm to track, you know. I mean, any self-respecting Jamaican parent wants to know where is track in the sports lineup, right?
Speaker 1:So, this is. This is awesome, all right. So we're going to get more into backcourt. We're going to get more into what you do. So, everyone, we're talking about sports. Do not pause, do not switch, do not move. Stay right here. I love that. You said that you are doing track from year four. So story time.
Speaker 1:I grew up in Jamaica. I went to high school in Jamaica a good part of high school in Jamaica you do nothing but track in sports or PE at school. All you do is track, and so I've had a love for track. Up to the other day I was schooling somebody they were talking about Asafa and I had to kind of put them in them place still, but track is such an important aspect of my childhood growing up. So was soccer, there was cricket, but I'm never really too into cricket because it was boring. But the cricket of today is, let me tell you, is, a fit, so we're going to get into that.
Speaker 1:So what really caught my eye? Your mom seared something with me and I wanted you to talk about it, which is sports tourism. What is that really? You talked about sprinting as the future, especially for Jamaica and the Caribbean at large. Large, the Olympics is coming up, which is beer excitement. If you don't have your dutchie cover ready, something is wrong. Okay, all right, sorry. And then crickets. All of this is happening and it's an exciting time for sports in general, but sports specifically that most Caribbean countries participate in. So tell me a little bit about what the energy you're seeing and the place that backcourt is trying to take up in this space.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think you bring up a lot of exciting movements in the sports space that make it seem like backcourt is divine timing. And I'll start with sports tourism, because I think that is a topic that doesn't get a lot of attention, but it should, because it's a $500 billion industry and what it really means is when folks either travel to participate in or travel to watch sports. So the Olympics would be the ultimate sports tourism experience, but it could also be, you know, traveling down to Florida to participate in a track meet or going with friends on a golf trip.
Speaker 1:So all right. Sports tourism as it applies to Jamaica, does that mean going to Jamaica for boys and girls champs?
Speaker 2:That would be a sports tourism experience. Yes, okay. And that is something Backcourt is working on, so stay tuned.
Speaker 1:Let me tell you, I mean, I grew up where you went to Champs and it was a huge deal, like when I was in high school in Jamaica, d-cup, which is the boys soccer tournament at the particular part of Jamaica I was from. I mean, this is not just kids going to the thing, it was the center of social life for adults as well. They were going to their alma mater or whatever. They were like big thing. My cousin, I mean, is well-known because he scored goals for his you know.
Speaker 1:So all of this to say that sports is a huge deal and we watch it on TV which, by the way, I technically can't watch it on TV because I'm not going to call no names, because I don't want them to come do whatever to me but I don't get to watch and experience sports from a Caribbean perspective. I only get to see it from an American perspective because all the commentators are really focusing on American athletes, as they should. We live in America, right, but I always felt like I would love to be in Jamaica around Olympics or world champs, you know, or something where there is going to be Caribbean media, there's a Caribbean commentator, something, and so, since most of us won't get that? How can we experience? Or regional athletic events that feels like it's not so Americanized. There is a Caribbean view to that. How do you think we can get to experience those things?
Speaker 2:I think it's a two-part problem. On one side you have to first educate people about looking at the Caribbean as a sports destination, as a sports market, and then I think the other side is immersing them in the culture. So you can describe the energy and the excitement of Champs. But it's another thing to actually be there and smell the jerk chicken and hear all the steel drums. That's a different vibe than just watching it on television. I think it's both education and immersion.
Speaker 1:It's interesting because I felt like there was some interest in Champs when Usain and the Jamaican team came on the scene in 2008. And did that like peak and fall off because Usain is no longer competitive. I still feel like they go for the racers Grand Prix, but I don't know if the interest is as high as it was when Usain was performing. Is that what you're finding?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I would agree the interest was definitely highest with Usain Bolt. Having a sprinter, especially in the 100 meters, who's very charismatic and has a bold personality, helps to make him marketable and drives more sponsorship dollars to the sport and more eyeballs to the sport. When someone is succeeding in maybe the steeplechase or the 800, it might not be as exciting for viewers and not as easy for them to understand. When someone's the fastest person in the world, it's easier for them to see. This is a spectacle that I should tune into.
Speaker 1:Got it, got it All right, so. So we're going to get into a little bit more about why you started this, but story time again. A couple of weeks ago I was at my friend's house and her mother-in-law was watching IPL. Right, it was the two biggest teams in India. There were, like you know, nfl, the cameras on the zip line doing all the things, the instant replay. I was just like this is not the cricket I grew up with. So my husband was like, oh, this reminds me of Red Stripe Mound.
Speaker 1:I left Jamaica Long before that came about, but I don't know if you're familiar with Red Stripe Mound, but I don't know if you're familiar with Red Stripe Mound. So it was a few years ago where Red Stripe it's cricket but they had a party, basically what I was watching on IPL. Ipl is Indian Premier League for cricket, because cricket is huge. Cricket is huge in any country where the British colonized. So it was so interesting to see the upgrades to cricket and how massive of a sports this is, obviously to India and of course, it's large population, but also in the Caribbean because T20 and all that stuff is happening. So could you tell the community of France a little bit more about cricket, why we should be paying attention, even if you're going for the fetting and the party and what that's about yes, yes, and I'm here with you.
Speaker 2:I originally wasn't drawn to cricket because I remember my dad staying up to staying up late to watch cricket matches on cricket info and it would take three, four or five days for a match to finish and I could not.
Speaker 1:I did not have the patience. Yes, the test matches, like five tests, like how much tests we're doing, you know, like stop, like cricket matches used to be whole 20 days. I'm sorry I may be exaggerating, but not really, but it was really long, so go ahead, sorry.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's what it felt like to me too, and with T20 cricket it's a few hours long. You can see the excitement. It's built for viewership and built for streaming, and with the Indian Premier League, which is the premier T20 league in the world, it's showing how interested fans are and how massive the potential of the sport is how interested fans are and how massive the potential of the sport is. The championship for the Indian Premier League was the most viewed sporting match on the internet of all time more than the Super Bowl, more than any other event that we can think of. And the investment from the Indian Premier League is also expanding to the rest of the world because you have multiple Indian Premier League teams that are invested and owning Caribbean Premier League teams.
Speaker 1:Not only that, when I was watching that IPL game I saw a few Black players. I was like, wait, what's going on here? And so my friend's mother-in-law was like, yes, that guy in play for the West Indies cricket team. So the rule is the West Indies cricket team. So the rule is if it's an Indian Premier League but them can't have six foreigners at max on the team. I was like say what she's like? Yes, so when they're not playing over here, they can't go over there because they pay enough money. That's what she said and I had to look it up.
Speaker 1:The IPL is valued at billions. It's considered what a decacorn. The IPL is valued at billions. It's considered what a decacorn Because it's not a unicorn, a decacorn. I was like wild. So, given that, what is the future and the potential for cricket? Because you know, here in Brooklyn, out by Gateway, you will see them out there playing cricket, sometimes on the lawn. So what does that mean for the Caribbean diaspora and cricket and the region? And what about somebody who's like I've never understood cricket, I do not like it? Like, talk to me a little bit more about that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think when we think of cricket in North America, it's something that the sport has been trying to make happen for a long time, but the reality is the immigrant population is the one who's really leading that charge, the immigrant communities who still play, who still watch the sport. I think those are going to be the folks that we have to lean on to understand the sport, to get a sense of what it means to be a fan for a particular team or for your country, and especially when you think about the diaspora. The Caribbean was, at one point, the best team in the world when it comes to cricket, so I think now is the perfect time, with the World Cup coming up, for us to retake that crown.
Speaker 1:I don't know. But I mean this is all very exciting and to me I just love it because I to experience a sporting event as a Caribbean person, whether in the region or here, it's a completely different experience. It's a party for one like it is a. It is a party Ever since I grew up. You're going to the football match or the soccer match. It is a. It's a party Ever since I grew up. You're going to the football match or the soccer match. It's a party. It's a party before, a party during and a party after. And cricket was, you know, based on what my husband said about Red Stripe Mound, because I was living here by the time that was happening. I mean they were must-have tickets because it was everyone was there, all the hottest. There were must-have tickets because it was everyone was there, all the hottest, latest were there. And then for track and field, everyone was there. So it's like how do we begin to recapture some of that energy? And where is backcourt coming in to kind of fill in this gap?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think on one side we have to again look at sports not just as a party or as entertainment, but also as a business. And where we put our eyeballs and where we invest our dollars, we will see that come out in growth for the sport. And where Backcourt comes in is really spotlighting how sports tourism can elevate the Caribbean economies. If you think about tourism in the Caribbean, 80% of tourism dollars actually go offshore. But when you think about investing in the Caribbean Premier League and investing in champs, that's a way to invest in the people who actually live there and elevating the accommodation partners and the transportation partners, the food and beverage vendors, those stays in the Caribbean end up making a larger impact than your visit alone.
Speaker 1:Okay, so we know you love sports. Of course Kami Abanya did have to love it loved sports. Of course Karmia Banya did have to love it. I don't know if you had a choice, but why specifically did you start this business? What was the impetus? What was that thing that says I'm going to start this business? So what was that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so it really goes back to when I went to business school. So I talked about being an athlete, but I first, when I was playing basketball in college, I studied computer science. I was a coder for a bit and then I realized I wanted to learn more about investing and once I put that investor hat on and started to look at sports as an asset class and the different industries within sports and the different geographies within sports, I really saw an untapped opportunity with not only the Caribbean market regionally, but also within the subsector of sports tourism. So that's why Batcourt was founded.
Speaker 1:So what are some of the things that you have going on? I feel like I want to watch All right. Here's a good example During the final four, right, you had the regular game on one channel with the regular analyst and color commentator, and then on the other channel you had two former WNBA players who were shooting the breeze. They had different people come on talking about the game, but they really weren't doing the analysis in the traditional way. Right, I feel like we need something like that for the Olympics coming up because, boy. Right, I feel like we need something like that for the Olympics coming up because, boy, it's going to.
Speaker 1:It is really Atta Bolden and on TV, kind of you know, having the knowledge about what's happening in the region and can speak to it. We don't really have that media like within the US. Is there, as you look to grow the Caribbean sports or sports as a business for the region and, you know, relying on the diaspora, is there an opportunity for that kind of space? Also? Because, remember, watching sports is one thing, the media to engage the audience is a whole, nother thing. So what does that space look like?
Speaker 2:There's definitely an opportunity there. I mean, when you think of even the American sports landscape and all the sidecasts that you have for the NFL and all the different tailgating opportunities and watch parties, I think we just have to build around that core property, which is the match itself, and show people what it looks like to have a party before the match or an announcer who's from the Caribbean talking about his home team. And something that we're actually doing for the World Cup coming up is a giveaway for tickets to the USA versus India match to again show folks we have a lot of USA, Caribbean or Caribbean Americans and also a lot of USA, Caribbean or Caribbean Americans and also a lot of Indo-Caribbeans. So there's a nice overlap there where we can show folks how the Caribbean can actually have an impact there.
Speaker 1:Wonderful, all right. So now I want to get to this article that your mother had sent me from Jamaica to the world. Why sprinters are the future of track and field. Talk to us what, what I mean. I mean, we know this, but you know you're the expert here, so you know me. Bias, everybody's going to say you're the. Jamaican. You, obviously. But you know speed, you're, you're the expert here. Why did backcourt put out such a uh a piece?
Speaker 2:I mean, we talked about Usain Bolt and how he brought in so many eyeballs to the sport. At one point he was one of the highest paid athletes in the world and he was the only track athlete to do that and it's because of his personality and because of the race he was competing in. So what we're seeing now is other investors investing in sprinters Serena Williams, his husband, alexis Ohanian.
Speaker 1:I just saw that.
Speaker 2:Who's also the founder of Reddit. He invested in a new women's only track invitational that's meant for sprinters, so that folks can see the story behind some of the top athletes in the world. And Michael Johnson, who's another legendary track athlete. He's also starting another competition for sprinters and I think it simplifies the programming so folks don't have to tune into a four hour meet. They can just say, okay, this is 10 seconds where I need to pay attention to see who's the fastest person here, and it's easy for them to understand. And it's easy for sponsors to say okay, I can plug in here, um, either with an athlete, or with a broadcaster, or with the venue, um. So I think sprinters are the future because it's something that everyone can relate to. And you know there's millions of runners in the world but for some reason there aren't millions of viewers for running.
Speaker 1:Right, right, and I mean it also eliminates. I don't know if it eliminates, but you know the rounds, you know can drag something. And then this false start rule, which I do not think it's working.
Speaker 1:I think it slows the game down even more because they take about 20 minutes to see if it really was a false start. I was like he barely flinched. So I mean I do understand that in a way, sometimes you want to speed up the viewer, the viewing experience. But in what way? Right, what way do we grow the programs that feed into the sports, right? So America has very strong programs for basketball, for football, for baseball, but not very strong programs for track.
Speaker 1:I know my nephew wanted to do track but there's just not really enough of those. My son wants to do that. He did it in middle school, I mean in elementary school. He's in middle school now and his middle school only has a girls team. And I said train with them.
Speaker 1:And the teacher was like, are you sure he doesn't want to play basketball? Are you sure he wants to train with the girls? I'm like, let him train with those girls, I do not care, he is running track and he's getting his body track ready period. And they're like, okay, he's trying to recruit other boys to help build a boys track team. What can we do about these infrastructure to feed the teams, because those programs aren't getting funded at all from a US level. In the Caribbean there's more than enough feeder schools for that, but in the US there's nothing really to engage them, or there's not as many. So talk to me about what you're seeing in terms of you know programs that you know the feeder programs for, like these different track meets or any of the sporting events that Caribbean people really love, like who's teaching these young people cricket?
Speaker 1:Like you know who's going to teach them Finlika 6?
Speaker 2:I think you're spot on. It's an infrastructure issue. On one side you have a younger population, a younger generation that probably wants to learn the sport. But they have to see it first. Favorite runners in their market doing well in ads. But the problem is a lot of the times the track meets are only in Oregon. They're not in New York or Atlanta or Los Angeles. So how are you going to get someone who's trying to figure out what sport to play to run track if they have to go to Oregon to see the top athletes and it's not on television run track, if they have to go to Oregon to see the top athletes and it's not on television.
Speaker 1:Or if it's on television, it's not on a program that is not on a channel that you may watch, even as we're recording this, penn Relays was a few weeks ago, and if you're not in the know in the Caribbean culture, you look up and you're like, oh my gosh, I miss Penn Relays because it's not very well marketed. I know my son would have loved to go, but we had an event, we had prior commitments that weekend. If you're in the Northeast, I think that's an easy way to experience it, because the Jamaican schools come up and they they might as well call it boys and girls champ part two. That's what I keep saying. Ped relays, that's all it is. Champs champs to us version.
Speaker 2:That's it.
Speaker 1:But I mean, we don't do a good job of even promoting them, because even when you, when Usain broke the record at um Icon Stadium in 2008, there wasn't a lot of people over there at all. I mean, I knew it was happening, but you know, you're just like you don't go, you just you just watch it on tv and then everybody hears about it. So what role can all of us play in amplifying the sports when our athletes from or wherever country we come from, are coming here? How do we get that word out, like yo, they're in New York or they're going to be in Florida. I mean, for everywhere else. Sorry, I mean I'm not being arrogant, but it's the truth. They're either coming to New York or they're going to Florida, or they may be in LA. They may be in LA.
Speaker 1:There is a street race in Boston, but again, are you creating, like or curating a list of these meets, events where people are showing up? So, and if that's it, if that's part of what you're offering, now is the time to tell the people them to subscribe to your sub stat news neta so they can get all of that. So go ahead. I mean I'm rambling because I mean I'm talking about things that I love, but it's also like I know what the deficiencies are like. Give me a list of all the meets that are coming up that are not just American focused.
Speaker 1:Right, we know that our Caribbean athletes are participating in these events. Right, because the ones of Caribbean heritage who are running for America, we know them already or we know that they're going to show up here. So, but where are they? How do we circulate them? How do we get tickets? Because I feel like when we find out it's too late, or even if we can't go, is this, is this on TV? So what I do is I just have I'm not going, carl, no name. I have the one digga digga sports channel.
Speaker 1:You and I know who they are right, and anything that says track and field just automatically records on my dvr because it's most likely something that we want to watch. So tell me, how is backcourt trying to fill some of these gaps and deficiencies for sports funds like me?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I recognize the same issue that you did, where we don't know what the Caribbean sports calendar looks like. So I actually created one. You can go to gobackcourtcom and we have the calendar there and you'll see every event, from champs to Penn Relays to the Olympics and everything in between. But I think a part of bringing eyeballs to these events is the storytelling around it. I saw one of the up-and-coming US track and field athletes, noah Lyles, talk about how we need to have a runway for the athletes. We need to have a post-game party for the athletes, we need to have a runway for the athletes. We need to have a post-game party for the athletes. So you're not just going for the meet, you're going to see your favorite athletes and there's more storytelling behind.
Speaker 1:He gets that from champs, because that's all a champs is. That's really what champs is we going in there? All right, who are you rooting?
Speaker 2:for what are your colors?
Speaker 1:Yeah, what are your colors, what school you go? Right, like you, you already know that, and especially for those who are not from Kingston, like we're from the schools, what I'm called in the country, we, we showing up, we coming in the buses it's a party. So I think the Caribbean has a template of how they do this. The American athletes go and they see the fanfare and they're like wait a minute, this ain't happening over her. How do we get this over her? Like it is, if you, I'm sure you've gone the national stadium it's electric, like literally when it's champs. Like it is. It's the reason why it's been around for however long it has, and it's the center of sports life and that's why Penn Relays I call it Champs US Edition, because that's what happens you pan to the crowd.
Speaker 2:There's a whole section in green and yellow More Jamaicans than Americans.
Speaker 1:Yes, there's more Jamaicans than Americans at Penn Relays. There's a whole field with a party and Jamaican brands. So it's an example of what is possible. But again, we have to know in order to show up, Because if we don't know, we're not going to show up all loud and be like that would be me.
Speaker 2:You brought up pen relays again so I have to insert myself for story time. So I did retire from track and field when I was 10. But when I was in high school, as a junior, my high school decided to start a track team and they said we know you're jamaican, we know you ran in track when you were younger. Can you be the captain of our team? We went to Penn Relays. I was in the four by one I am not a 100 meter runner and there were three Jamaican schools in our group. And I've never felt slower in my entire life. I thought I was running backwards.
Speaker 1:Oh, my goodness, Well, well, let's all right, let's clap it up that the school recognized the excellence that was already in your blood because you're Jamaican, and gave you the de facto lets you be the captain of the team. But also, just like you said, when you see them you're just like wow, but track is to Jamaica. What basketball is for kids here? It takes nothing to run. As a kid, running is like okay, you don't need expensive equipment, you don't need anything, you just need all right, I'm going to race you down there. So, on your mark, get set, go and that's it. And it takes nothing for a crowd to form because this is what kids are doing. So you're running in the street, you're running at PE, you're running wherever. You know every, and that's the thing, Every Jamaican school has a sports day, Right.
Speaker 1:And I, when I used to tell people like Harry Potter and all the houses, I'm like, oh, that's normal, that's like school in Jamaica. They're like what? I'm like, yeah, the school is divided into houses and everybody's in a house with a color and on sports day we compete and they're just like okay, I'm like it's the best thing. So if you're, you're either in red house, yellow house, blue house, green house right, that's it right. And they all have a name and you compete, Even all girls school. We had to compete and I think that is the feeder for the level of competition that we have, Because we've learned that from the smallest kid that whatever school you're in, you're going to have a sports day, you're going to compete and competing is normal.
Speaker 2:Right, Right, and even from a from an athlete standpoint. If you're someone raising children in the States and you want them to be competitive at their sport, what better foundation than to teach them how to run properly? Because when you go to basketball, when you go to football, what's your punishment? Running? And if you can run fast, they can teach you the skills, but they can't teach speed.
Speaker 1:This is very true. This is very true, all right, so, as you wrap up, tell me what's coming up with backcourt. How do people support you and the work that you're doing? Tell us more about what you have in store.
Speaker 2:Yes, so the media arm is up and running. You can follow us and subscribe to us at Go Backcourt on Instagram and our website is GoBackcourtcom. The tourism side is launching later this year, which I'm really excited about. I mentioned we have a giveaway for the USA versus India cricket match in New York. We're also going to be doing a golf trip to Montego Bay in Jamaica and we will. The last one is we'll be doing packages to St Lucia for the Caribbean Premier League matches as well.
Speaker 1:Wonderful Listen. When I was in high school in Jamaica, the Johnny Walker that we used to be in. December was like a huge thing, oh my gosh. Yes, yes, oh Lord.
Speaker 2:I'm hoping it can be an annual thing where everyone comes out to Jamaica to play golf for a week.
Speaker 1:That is very exciting. Are you going to see any of the trials for, as Olympics is coming up, anything around Olympics?
Speaker 2:Are you doing anything around Olympics for the for the later down in the whole time when track get relegated to be on the stage Cause you know swimming, take up the world for three Like you know, I'll definitely be creating content around the Olympics and especially around track and field, um, but in terms of a track and field event, I'm really looking forward to champs next year and building that up to be an exciting opportunity for folks who've never been to Jamaica or never experienced champs to see what it's like to have track and field be the premier event in the entire country.
Speaker 1:Wonderful. Listen, tell me all weekend, partner, because you already know me. I have a video I could send, with my son running and my husband's like go over there, do not come near me, you're acting. And I sent my friends the video and they're like you're telling Ethan to run like anyone is behind him. And I said to him track is an individual sport, your time is what you make, so I don't care if no one's behind him. He got to run like somebody's behind him straight through that line because his time is. Clearly. I'm an intense track mom. Okay, but this is the foundation by which you have this Jamaican bravado that we supposedly have, not supposedly.
Speaker 2:It really exists, we have it it exists, it's real.
Speaker 1:It's real Because we learn it from early. But, darren, this was so much fun. Maybe I was talking a lot because I'm geeking out over sports, but I'm glad to see you doing this and I'm glad that we have an opportunity to really grow. You know, I was very excited when I saw some people do some sports podcasts, so maybe that's in your future too, you know do some sports podcasts, so maybe that's in your future too, you know.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, I like that, I like that Some small teasers.
Speaker 1:Some small teasers, you know, and you will have me on there talking about what kids should be doing you know, or the soccer programs the kids should be going to, but anyway, but I'll definitely put in the show notes where everyone could connect with you and any other information that they should have. Guys, this is our culture. We are music. We're not just music, we're not just partying, we are not just movies.
Speaker 1:Caribbean brings everything, and sports is one aspect that we have on the map and we need to like really take up space, like not make them think we're small, we're little, but we're tallowah. You know, I mean, how many are active athletes out here that are really amazing athletes who have Caribbean heritage, not to mention the ones who are running under their individual Caribbean flags. And big up to Usain Bolt for really making it exciting. But, as I was saying, usain Bolt making it exciting, and you could have some disappointments around Asafa, but Asafa, with that 9-7-7, really got that interest to a certain level. That's when the big brands came calling, when he ran that 9. So, yeah, so sports is a huge part of our culture. Support the team, sprint to the future, support the team. But court is bringing you to the future, so support his team and until next time, walk good.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1:You're welcome.