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Episode Synopsis
On this episode of the Circuit of Success Podcast, host Brett Gilliland interviews NBA Skills Coach and CEO of Pure Sweat, Drew Hanlen. Drew shares his journey from a single workout with an NBA player to becoming a full-time trainer. He explains how he gets the world's best athletes to listen to him, and emphasizes the importance of taking care of the players. He compares his role to Brett's executive business coach and suggests people should do a self-audit and be consistent in their actions. He also talks about the differences between the best and average players in the NBA and reflects on his own past and his parents' sacrifices.
Circuit of Success | Drew Hanlen
Speaker Brett Gilliland: Welcome to the Circuit of Success. I'm your host, Brett Gilliland, and today I've got Drew Hanlen with me, Drew. What's going on, my Hanlen, Speaker Drew Hanlen: nothing. Just getting ready for workouts today. It's it's early, West Coast time. So appreciate you having me on early and and being flexible with your schedule. Speaker Brett Gilliland: Absolutely, man. It's persistence, man. You're traveling all over the country and, helping all these guys and, but I wanted to have you on the podcast because it's, it's fun to see what you're doing, man. It's really cool. So, before we get really dive into some of the stuff, you are the CEO of pure sweat, in in an MBA, strategic skills coach and consultant, you work with all sorts of NBA players. I won't name drop on here, but people can check out your, Instagram, and you can pretty much see who you work with. But it's amazing to see what you're doing. But if you can, Drew, kinda open it up with what's made you the man you are today. I know that's a really big, wide open question, but kinda like to see what's made you the man you are today. Speaker Drew Hanlen: Yeah. You know, I I always tell people that, you know, you're not only a product of all the hard work that put in, but you're also a product of, everything that built you and made you. And, you know, if I look at kind of the the things that have allowed me to, achieve whatever level of success, that I've been able to have right now, it really starts way back when, you know, the other day, I was driving two workouts Gilliland, I saw a little lemonade stand. And, you know, my girlfriend was in the passenger side, and I I whipped, you know, whipped quick right turn into like a parking spot. And she was like, is everything okay? And I was like, I literally have a rule. I cannot drive past a lemonade stand. Just because, Speaker Brett Gilliland: you know, Speaker Drew Hanlen: I remember myself, you know, making sure that I had eliminated sand when I was younger, and I cut grass when I was younger, and I shoveled snow when I was younger, you know, growing up in St. Louis, you get, you know, all the seasons. So that means you get all the little, businesses as a youngster. So Speaker Brett Gilliland: When you may cut Gilliland shovel snow in like a forty eight hour period too, you know. Yeah. Speaker Drew Hanlen: I know. Right? I know. Right? So, you know, there's so many moments like that that just snapped me back to kind of the the grind that I had when I was younger. You know, even now, I'm in the product, you know, the process of publish it my first self help book. And, it takes me back to my first ever self published book that I did when I was in high school and sold them out of my backpack and the trunk of my car. Wow. You know, and then even just, you know, the work that I put in with with my players, you know, Bradley Beal was the first ever basketball player that I ever started working with, and I started working with him when he was thirteen. I was seventeen. So I was still in high school. I didn't know I had to be a basketball trainer at that time, but I did know how to put in a lot of hard work. I knew, you know, consistent work, you know, plus you know, the right work led to good results. And so all I did was I just put him through consistent hard work that was targeting the areas of focus that he needed to focus on and that led to him, you know, finding success as well. So I think that, you know, all the you know, the things that I'm experiencing now, you know, were really just things that I I learned that worked along the way, or me avoiding things that didn't work along the way. And you know, it's it's fun to, kinda reminisce on those times and realize, where you picked up a lot of the strategies that now you deem so you know, dominance in kind of the practices that I do on a daily basis. Speaker Brett Gilliland: Yeah. Well, what I love too is, I mean, so you played basketball at Belmont, right, in college and and Hanlen a good career there and then decided to get, I assume, right into the coaching with NBA players. Is that how that went down? Speaker Drew Hanlen: Even earlier. So, you know, Brad Beal, I started with when he was, freshman in high school, I was, junior going into senior year in high school. So that was what kind of started it all. Then I wrote a basketball drill book, self published it at Kinko's. I went to FedEx Kinko's. Live them. I was like, hey, I'm doing a school project. I need, you know, two hundred copies. They gave me a discount for it. That's how I was able to negotiate down, like, the price, to five bucks a book. I went around town, and I sold all those copies sold out right away. And so then I was like, alright. Hey, school project. I made a mistake. I gotta reprint the two hundred, you know, and and I kept doing it and then eventually after like a thousand books, they were like, hey, listen. We know this isn't for a school project, but we love that you're also in bustling, like, what is this? And I told him, I said, you know, listen, you know, I I'm a basketball player and a lot of other players wanna know what drills and skills I use on a daily basis to improve my own game. And so what I've done is I've put together, you know, this book that, allows young players to follow the exact same drills and skills that I do but I end up selling five thousand copies that summer. So you think Wow. As, you know, as a gonna be senior in high school, you sell five thousand copies, making twenty bucks a book. You do the math real quickly. You find out, hey, this is a profession that I can actually make Speaker Brett Gilliland: some money. Speaker Drew Hanlen: And then You know, I started doing weekly academies, at ninety six kids that were paying me a monthly subscription to be a part of my, academies where they got to come in twice a week. And so early on, I was like, this is what I'm doing. And then my big break outside of, you know, training Brad who ended up becoming you know, you know, multiple time all star in NBA was David Lee, another mule is born and raised in Louis. You know, he went to the same high school that Brad did. And, he finally gave me a shot. My sophomore year in college. He was, like, in town. Wow. You know, in Saint Louis, and, my AA coach was his AA coach. And so He was like, hey, you should really give this young kid Drew a chance and he was like, well, I'm not working with a college basketball, but I already talking about, like, I'm in the in the NBA, you know. And, I remember him texting me. And I was in Nashville at the time at Belmont. And, he was like, Hey, bro. He's like, it's it's daily. In town, I'd love to, put some work in with you. When can you go? And I was like, anytime when do you wanna start up? And he was like tomorrow, 8AM. And I remember, you know, finishing up a couple workouts I had in Nashville, getting in my car, driving to St. Louis, getting back at, like, midnight at night, I spent for midnight till 7AM studying film of David Lee so I could really understand the ins and outs of his game. Got to the gym at, like, 07:15 because I wanted to mop the whole floor because I was like NBA guys are not used to the floors that like Right. You know, used to working out these kids on, which are just like gyms with no AC, you know, the water fountain was, like, hanging by the last string. And, and that's what I did, but one workout turned into me being his full time trainer for the rest of his career and and that really, expedited the process of me being a professional skills coach at the highest level. Speaker Brett Gilliland: Well, and that's what I think is, again, fascinating as well when I, you know, follow you on Instagram, and I see the guys you're working with, you know, they they all look like they're, you know, seven foot tall. And so how do you What have you done? Obviously, the work and things you just mentioned, but for these, the world's best athletes in the NBA to be humble enough to listen to this guy you know, that to your point, high school, Belmont, and now doing this, how how do they stay humble enough to listen to you? Speaker Drew Hanlen: Well, you know, I I heard the best quote, was actually from David Lee, who, like I said, was my first NBA client. And I remember us, we were sitting down, and we're at Cheesecake Factory in Phoenix. And it was the night before, they were getting ready to open up the season against the sons when he was playing for the warriors. And Steph Curry, had made a comment, you know, about something. And David was like, hey, he's like, Steph, are you gonna go to Seth, his little brother at the time was pointed at Duke, are you gonna go to his opening night game? And he was like, I don't know why. And he was like, because Drew plays against him. And and Steph was like, Man, he's like, Drew, I didn't know you coached, coach college ball too. And he goes, no, no, no, he plays college. And he's like, wait, wait, what? And he's like, Drew plays at Belmont. Belmont opens up the season at Duke. So Drew is gonna be opening up partying seth. And Steph was like, blown away. And I remember him asking David. He's like, alright, I gotta ask a question. Like, how did you eventually trust this college kid that, like,
Circuit of Success | Drew Hanlen
Speaker Brett Gilliland: Welcome to the Circuit of Success. I'm your host, Brett Gilliland, and today I've got Drew Hanlen with me, Drew. What's going on, my Hanlen, Speaker Drew Hanlen: nothing. Just getting ready for workouts today. It's it's early, West Coast time. So appreciate you having me on early and and being flexible with your schedule. Speaker Brett Gilliland: Absolutely, man. It's persistence, man. You're traveling all over the country and, helping all these guys and, but I wanted to have you on the podcast because it's, it's fun to see what you're doing, man. It's really cool. So, before we get really dive into some of the stuff, you are the CEO of pure sweat, in in an MBA, strategic skills coach and consultant, you work with all sorts of NBA players. I won't name drop on here, but people can check out your, Instagram, and you can pretty much see who you work with. But it's amazing to see what you're doing. But if you can, Drew, kinda open it up with what's made you the man you are today. I know that's a really big, wide open question, but kinda like to see what's made you the man you are today. Speaker Drew Hanlen: Yeah. You know, I I always tell people that, you know, you're not only a product of all the hard work that put in, but you're also a product of, everything that built you and made you. And, you know, if I look at kind of the the things that have allowed me to, achieve whatever level of success, that I've been able to have right now, it really starts way back when, you know, the other day, I was driving two workouts Gilliland, I saw a little lemonade stand. And, you know, my girlfriend was in the passenger side, and I I whipped, you know, whipped quick right turn into like a parking spot. And she was like, is everything okay? And I was like, I literally have a rule. I cannot drive past a lemonade stand. Just because, Speaker Brett Gilliland: you know, Speaker Drew Hanlen: I remember myself, you know, making sure that I had eliminated sand when I was younger, and I cut grass when I was younger, and I shoveled snow when I was younger, you know, growing up in St. Louis, you get, you know, all the seasons. So that means you get all the little, businesses as a youngster. So Speaker Brett Gilliland: When you may cut Gilliland shovel snow in like a forty eight hour period too, you know. Yeah. Speaker Drew Hanlen: I know. Right? I know. Right? So, you know, there's so many moments like that that just snapped me back to kind of the the grind that I had when I was younger. You know, even now, I'm in the product, you know, the process of publish it my first self help book. And, it takes me back to my first ever self published book that I did when I was in high school and sold them out of my backpack and the trunk of my car. Wow. You know, and then even just, you know, the work that I put in with with my players, you know, Bradley Beal was the first ever basketball player that I ever started working with, and I started working with him when he was thirteen. I was seventeen. So I was still in high school. I didn't know I had to be a basketball trainer at that time, but I did know how to put in a lot of hard work. I knew, you know, consistent work, you know, plus you know, the right work led to good results. And so all I did was I just put him through consistent hard work that was targeting the areas of focus that he needed to focus on and that led to him, you know, finding success as well. So I think that, you know, all the you know, the things that I'm experiencing now, you know, were really just things that I I learned that worked along the way, or me avoiding things that didn't work along the way. And you know, it's it's fun to, kinda reminisce on those times and realize, where you picked up a lot of the strategies that now you deem so you know, dominance in kind of the practices that I do on a daily basis. Speaker Brett Gilliland: Yeah. Well, what I love too is, I mean, so you played basketball at Belmont, right, in college and and Hanlen a good career there and then decided to get, I assume, right into the coaching with NBA players. Is that how that went down? Speaker Drew Hanlen: Even earlier. So, you know, Brad Beal, I started with when he was, freshman in high school, I was, junior going into senior year in high school. So that was what kind of started it all. Then I wrote a basketball drill book, self published it at Kinko's. I went to FedEx Kinko's. Live them. I was like, hey, I'm doing a school project. I need, you know, two hundred copies. They gave me a discount for it. That's how I was able to negotiate down, like, the price, to five bucks a book. I went around town, and I sold all those copies sold out right away. And so then I was like, alright. Hey, school project. I made a mistake. I gotta reprint the two hundred, you know, and and I kept doing it and then eventually after like a thousand books, they were like, hey, listen. We know this isn't for a school project, but we love that you're also in bustling, like, what is this? And I told him, I said, you know, listen, you know, I I'm a basketball player and a lot of other players wanna know what drills and skills I use on a daily basis to improve my own game. And so what I've done is I've put together, you know, this book that, allows young players to follow the exact same drills and skills that I do but I end up selling five thousand copies that summer. So you think Wow. As, you know, as a gonna be senior in high school, you sell five thousand copies, making twenty bucks a book. You do the math real quickly. You find out, hey, this is a profession that I can actually make Speaker Brett Gilliland: some money. Speaker Drew Hanlen: And then You know, I started doing weekly academies, at ninety six kids that were paying me a monthly subscription to be a part of my, academies where they got to come in twice a week. And so early on, I was like, this is what I'm doing. And then my big break outside of, you know, training Brad who ended up becoming you know, you know, multiple time all star in NBA was David Lee, another mule is born and raised in Louis. You know, he went to the same high school that Brad did. And, he finally gave me a shot. My sophomore year in college. He was, like, in town. Wow. You know, in Saint Louis, and, my AA coach was his AA coach. And so He was like, hey, you should really give this young kid Drew a chance and he was like, well, I'm not working with a college basketball, but I already talking about, like, I'm in the in the NBA, you know. And, I remember him texting me. And I was in Nashville at the time at Belmont. And, he was like, Hey, bro. He's like, it's it's daily. In town, I'd love to, put some work in with you. When can you go? And I was like, anytime when do you wanna start up? And he was like tomorrow, 8AM. And I remember, you know, finishing up a couple workouts I had in Nashville, getting in my car, driving to St. Louis, getting back at, like, midnight at night, I spent for midnight till 7AM studying film of David Lee so I could really understand the ins and outs of his game. Got to the gym at, like, 07:15 because I wanted to mop the whole floor because I was like NBA guys are not used to the floors that like Right. You know, used to working out these kids on, which are just like gyms with no AC, you know, the water fountain was, like, hanging by the last string. And, and that's what I did, but one workout turned into me being his full time trainer for the rest of his career and and that really, expedited the process of me being a professional skills coach at the highest level. Speaker Brett Gilliland: Well, and that's what I think is, again, fascinating as well when I, you know, follow you on Instagram, and I see the guys you're working with, you know, they they all look like they're, you know, seven foot tall. And so how do you What have you done? Obviously, the work and things you just mentioned, but for these, the world's best athletes in the NBA to be humble enough to listen to this guy you know, that to your point, high school, Belmont, and now doing this, how how do they stay humble enough to listen to you? Speaker Drew Hanlen: Well, you know, I I heard the best quote, was actually from David Lee, who, like I said, was my first NBA client. And I remember us, we were sitting down, and we're at Cheesecake Factory in Phoenix. And it was the night before, they were getting ready to open up the season against the sons when he was playing for the warriors. And Steph Curry, had made a comment, you know, about something. And David was like, hey, he's like, Steph, are you gonna go to Seth, his little brother at the time was pointed at Duke, are you gonna go to his opening night game? And he was like, I don't know why. And he was like, because Drew plays against him. And and Steph was like, Man, he's like, Drew, I didn't know you coached, coach college ball too. And he goes, no, no, no, he plays college. And he's like, wait, wait, what? And he's like, Drew plays at Belmont. Belmont opens up the season at Duke. So Drew is gonna be opening up partying seth. And Steph was like, blown away. And I remember him asking David. He's like, alright, I gotta ask a question. Like, how did you eventually trust this college kid that, like,
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