Daily Inspiration: Meet Darren Tipton

Today we’d like to introduce you to Darren Tipton.

Hi Darren, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, how can you bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I started Adrenaline Volleyball six years ago to promote and grow the sport in my home state of South Dakota. I didn’t understand why I had never heard about top volleyball recruits or players like I did basketball and football, so I decided to do my part to bring more attention to it. It all started with one free team camp and a Twitter account (modest beginnings with no real “5-year plan), but those early events were received favorably, so little by little, I began to add to our coverage. Bigger events, events that involved more athletes, and events that tried to promote as many kids as possible after three years, it was time to expand. I’m proud of what Adrenaline Volleyball has done to grow and bring the spotlight to the sport in South Dakota. In the last 18 months, we started receiving inquiries from larger states “We don’t have anything like that here. Would you think about expanding, etc.?” The talent level in places like Omaha, Minneapolis, and especially the KC Metro is some of the best in the entire USA, so for me, it was an honor that people might think that our little mom-and-pop company could succeed on a regional or national level. This past Fall, we spent two weeks in KC getting to know some top prospects, clubs, and high school programs. It was a “feeler trip” to see what the feedback might be. It was highly positive, and Adrenaline Volleyball made great connections and resources. I hope that we can bring the same passion and energy to promoting athletes and teams in KS/MO that we have in South Dakota. We have scheduled our first ELITE COMPETE Camp for D1 and D2 prospects in July. We will also do a four-day recap show of the Triple Crown NIT tourney (the largest qualifier tourney in the USA), President’s Day Weekend, from the KC Convention Center. We will take things day by day, but I hope we will be consistent and trusted players in KC Volleyball Circles for years to come.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Staffing: Although we commit to going regional/national, we are a mom-and-pop company. We have two full-time employees and me, so we are stretched a little right now, but I hope things take off for us next year, and I can add another FTE for the KC area alone.

Travel/Distance: This is a growth/transition phase for Adrenaline Volleyball, and we are commuting to KC right now to cover events. We would love to be there full-time, as there are great athletes and events to cover. I hope that we have enough success in KC to put a full-time staffer there next year.

Sponsorships: When running any media/events company, a large portion of your operating budget will come from Ad Sponsorships. With us being new and many companies cutting back on advertising budgets, that is an issue. Again I hope our work is positive and our name starts to spread, leading to some local sponsors hopping on board.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We are a volleyball media and events company.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adrenaline_volleyball/
• Youtube: @adrenalinevbnextlevel