AND1 Basketball Star Grayson Boucher Talks Honoring God While Going Viral
By Movieguide® Contributor
AND1 basketball star Grayson Boucher joined the “Deep End Podcast” to discuss why he wanted to honor God when he went viral.
“So, when it goes to YouTube, 2009, we go broke. That same time I’m doing the eBay. I was always on digital more than, like, a lot of people in the early 2000s because getting on AND1 and seeing how people react to the show. I was kind of intrigued with marketing a little bit,” Boucher said. “Then I realized with the internet, you could have a little bit of control over your own narrative whereas before, with gatekeeping and all that, you couldn’t. It’s just you on the TV or you’re not and it’s rough.”
He continued: “So, I started it [YouTube] in 2009, and a fan actually taught me how to edit. This dude Alberto. He was like rippin’ the AND1 episodes making his own compilations. He was real dope with the edits, and he commented on one of my things, so I checked out his page, and then I realized if I want to put my content out there, I’m not thinking about employing anybody. I’m too immature-minded.”
Boucher went on to explain that his main motivation for starting a YouTube channel was to acquire more bookings, but a close friend suggested that he could go viral because he already had nearly half a million views on some of his videos.
If he went viral, though, he wanted his work to glorify God. Movieguide® previously reported on Boucher’s faith:
However, a friend invited him to join a church basketball league, and he eventually found his way back to church through that. But it wasn’t until one of his best friends passed away that he really began to reflect on how faith could change his life.
“It forced me to ask bigger questions of life, for the first time really,” Boucher said.
From that moment on, Boucher experienced a “spiritual transformation,” as Lecrae described it, that changed his life forever.
“I’m on spiritual steroids, right? I just came to Christ. I’m that immature Christian now,” he said. “I’m just like we ain’t got time for nothing but God. So, we’re like how can we do one that honors God.”
That’s when Boucher decided to post a basketball video of him playing guys one-on-one while wearing a Spider-Man costume.
It quickly garnered 100k views and continued growing, something he called a “golden” video.
From that point, Boucher continued to ride the viral wave, and once Instagram came out, his career took off. He has gained over 5 million followers on Instagram, and his platform continues to grow.
He now uses his influence to encourage other’s faith and inspire young athletes.
“I really want to start spreading the gospel,” he told Bleacher Report in 2012. “Not exactly preaching, but using basketball as a tool to bring people to Christ.”
During a 2018 TED Talk, Boucher reflected on the impact his work as an influencer has had.
“Being a social influencer has been great. I’ve got to see even more of the world now. Forty different countries. [I’ve] been doing this for 15 years. I got to do incredible campaigns with some of the biggest companies in the world. I have a clothing line I started a month ago called Global Hooper. Things have gone really, really well, and ultimately basketball has allowed me to live the dream that I never knew I had,” he said.
Movieguide® recently reported on Boucher’s career:
Player Grayson Boucher, nicknamed “The Professor,” joined the league in 2003. Boucher never played in a league like this before and knew it was going to be a big adjustment for him.
“I think, like, certain environments had me a little shook and then not knowing how to act like,” Boucher saidon the “Deep End” podcast with Lecrae. “Like, we’d play in a lot of arenas where there was no white people in the city. So, like, you know, you want to be cool, so I’m like what does that look.”
Boucher often felt as if he had imposter syndrome, asking himself, “How am I supposed to navigate this space?”
However, he very quickly realized “everybody’s an imposter.”
“My whole AND1 the theme was like, ‘Are you like that?’ That’s what streetball was like,” he said. “Even getting out of it. When it ended, I started doing YouTube. It was actually really refreshing because everything is ‘Are you like that at practice?’ You always got to be on.”
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