Today we’d like to introduce you to Timothy Jennings.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My brother, Anthony, has been playing a sport called power soccer, which is essentially soccer in electric wheelchairs, for about five years with the Northeast Passage Wildcats. About a year into playing, my mother, Lisa, attended a Wildcats game wearing a shirt from Under Armour that read “Athletes Run.” Since she is not an avid runner, she wore the shirt mainly to match her new pink sneakers. Once she started watching that day she realized her mistake: these athletes can’t run, they roll! She felt terrible and thought the players and families would think she was being insensitive. She tried to hide the shirt for the rest of the day, but she saw opportunity in her mistake. She took a picture of herself wearing the shirt with the wheelchair athletes in the background and sent it to Under Armour to suggest that they make “Athletes Roll” shirts for adaptive athletes. A little while later we heard back from the manager of the Under Armour Innovation Lab who said they were touched by the story and would see what they could do. And what they did was truly amazing! They created a logo for Athletes Roll (which we still use today) and 50 Athletes Roll shirts for all the athletes, coaches, and family members on Anthony’s team. They gave us the logo and brand and told us it was us to use however we wanted.
A little while later in the Fall of 2015, Northeast Passage announced that the Wildcats would go to their first national tournament in Ohio in the following Summer. Anthony suggested that we sell Athletes Roll shirts to fundraise for the team’s trip. Thinking that could help dampen the costs of the trip we had each player sell preorders for shirts to friends and family with the hope to sell maybe 50 shirts in total. We were truly shocked and amazed to see how excited people were with our story and idea and ended up selling nearly five hundred shirts which significantly helped with the costs of the trip. The fundraiser introduced adaptive sports to so many people and we knew at that point that we wanted to continue spreading this message as much as possible.
In late May 2016, Athletes Roll was officially formed to serve this purpose. We started by sharing our adventures at Anthony’s power soccer games and tournaments on social media but quickly moved to include other sports and other channels. Over the past year and a half, we have covered everything from wheelchair rugby to sled hockey to adaptive rock climbing. We watched the adaptive athletes race right through the finish line at the 2017 Boston Marathon. Last Summer, we jumped back into power soccer with another national tournament in Indianapolis and the FIPFA World Cup in Kissimmee, FL. We’ve also had the opportunity to speak with people affected by physical disabilities at two of the JETT Foundation’s Family Workshops and have created our own website to continue spreading this message worldwide.
Has it been a smooth road?
It hasn’t been a perfectly smooth road, but the fun and excitement we’ve had far outweigh any struggle or challenge we have faced. Most of the difficulties have come from a lack of experience (as none of us have ever attempted to start a business before) but they have all been eased as we pushed on. We learn from our mistakes each day which makes it exciting and a wonderful learning experience. At the end of the day, the joy of introducing a sport or activity to someone with a disability to help make their life just a little bit better makes it all worth it.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Athletes Roll – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Athletes Roll works to spread awareness for adaptive sports such as power soccer, wheelchair rugby, sled hockey, and the Paralympic Games online through social media and on our website and in person by speaking with people with disabilities and covering adaptive sports events. We raise money through sales of our Athletes Roll shirts, tank tops, and sweatshirts which covers our costs and allows us to donate a portion of our proceeds to a like-minded adaptive sports organization at the end of each year.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Boston is truly an amazing city with so much to offer. Many organizations in and around Boston have taken in adaptive sports with open arms. There are several power soccer teams in the area including the Boston Brakers, the PRHC Chariots in Canton, MA. and the Baystate Falcons in Lowell, MA. There are wheelchair basketball, sled hockey, and wheelchair rugby teams nearby. Spaulding Adaptive Sports, Adaptive Sports New England, and Northeast Passage all provide a wide variety of adaptive opportunities nearby among many other amazing organizations. While they may not get the same coverage in the media, people with disabilities truly have a wealth of opportunities in adaptive sports and recreation from the team sports we’ve talked a lot about, to adaptive sailing and water skiing programs, as well as close access to many adaptive snow sports all around New England.
Pricing:
- Unisex T-Shirts – $20
- Women’s Cut T-Shirts – $20
- Youth T-Shirts – $15
- Sweatshirts – $40
- Women’s and Men’s Tank Tops – $20
- Vinyl Stickers – $2
Contact Info:
- Website: athletesroll.com
- Email: contact@athletesroll.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/athletesroll
- Facebook: facebook.com/athletesroll
- Twitter: twitter.com/athletesroll
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
