Interview with Chris Brickley

High-tops or low-tops on the court?
Chris: Low tops

If you had to choose one song to play during every workout, what would it be?

Chris: It would be we made it by H.E.R.

Video gaming session or movie marathon?

Chris: Movie marathon.

If you could go one-on-one with any NBA legend, who would it be and why? I would go one on one with Michael Jordan because he’s a goat.

Post game fashion: Suit up or sweat suit?

Chris: I would say sweatsuit.

What’s the most memorable place basketball has taken you?

Chris: The most memorable place basketball has taken me. I would say Italy because my grandma’s from there.

Instagram or TikTok?

Chris: Instagram

Ice bath or foam roller?

Chris: Foam Roller

What’s one word that comes to mind when you think of PUMA?

Chris: Life-changing.

Your training sessions are known for their unique blend of sports, music, and culture. What led you to developing this unique approach and how do you think this environment influences the development of the players you work with?

Chris: I think just growing up, I was super into music. I was super into fashion, and I was super into basketball. So, once I started being a professional, I incorporated the things that I personally really liked and it made sense. So, here I am.

You’ve introduced innovative training tools and methods, such as the slick and weighted basketballs. What was the inspiration behind these, and how have they changed the way players train?

Chris: Yeah, so, shoutout Wilson Basketball for making my ideas into a reality. I just wanted players to get better in an innovative way. So, we made a slick ball, and we made this ball that doesn’t dribble straight up. When I was little it was a thing to, put like a bag around the basketball and dribble it. So, I was like, how could I do this to get this slick effect without putting a bag around the ball?

That’s how we came up with the slick ball. Then we came up with the heavy ball, which is an idea that was already used. And then we came up with this ball that doesn’t dribble up all the way. That was the first one ever made of those. Took a few years to make and that helps players with their ball handling. Just cool innovative ways to develop your game. That was the vision. And it’s worked so far.

You’re also training with PUMA athlete Breanna Stewart – can you maybe share a little BTS success story of how she was able to improve her game through your training program?

Chris: Yeah, so we started first in 2017 I think. She was still in college, or she just got out of college. She came to the gym, and, through a mutual friend, we started training and fast forward 6 or 7 years later she still comes to the gym. I have a good relationship with her grandmother and with her wife and with her family. It’s like a family environment. So, it’s definitely easy to work like that when you have such a close relationship.

The PUMA x CHRIS BRICKLEY collection features personal mantras and details. Can you share your design journey and what message do you hope to convey through these products

Chris: I’m a big, notebook. I like writing my goals and writing my feelings down and so I literally took stuff I wrote for my notebook to put it on the shoe. The name of the shoe is Love Yourself inside the shoe, there are just a bunch of things that I preach to my players that I work with. So, so we put a bunch of my notebook ideas onto a shoe. And I think it was really cool and did great. The shoe sold out on PUMA.com the first day, and I’m excited for my next one! I cannot say much about it yet, but I can say it’s going to be lifestyle!

Looking ahead, what are your aspirations for the future, both in terms of your training career and your work as an influencer?

Chris: So I don’t think about my future as an influencer, really. I just think of my future as a trainer and just being myself, and just keep pushing the narrative to the youth that you can be yourself and live off of those thoughts and ideas and go far in life. And that’s really it.