Saturday, October 3, 2026
  • -
    days
  • -
    hours
  • -
    minutes
  • -
    seconds

NBA Skills Coach Drew Hanlen on Building Pure Sweat Basketball’s Brand

  • Air’s cloud storage solutions helps Hanlen’s clients get results.
  • Hanlen’s strong social media presence has helped build the credibility of his business.
image via Air/Drew Hanlen

Want more from Front Office Sports
in your search results?

Add Front Office Sports on Google

It takes more than just being the first one on the court and the last one off to be amongst the NBA’s best. It requires a focused approach to conditioning and skills building. That’s why elite NBA talent like Joel Embiid, Bradley Beal, Jayson Tatum, and more choose to work with coach Drew Hanlen and Pure Sweat Basketball. 

Hanlen spends his days breaking down his clients’ game film and finding ways to build on their game. As the CEO of Pure Sweat Basketball, Hanlen also designs training programs for coaches and trainers to help take their own athletes to the next level. 

Hanlen couldn’t have built this type of portfolio with bad social content. 

“Branding is so important,” Hanlen stated. “I think that right now, in the content era, so many people put out bad content, which can actually negatively impact your brand. So for us, the first thing that we do is we make sure that we’re documenting what’s really happening — we’re not out there creating fairytale stories or trying to fake what’s happening, we want to give an in-depth look of the grind that’s really going. We call these moments ‘the unseen hours.’”

Hanlen records and stores every second that he and his clients are working together on the court, which can be up to 70 hours a week, if not more. Hanlen also has a library of game film from his clients that he works off of. Put all this together, and Hanlen finds himself with roughly a terabyte of footage a week that needs storing.

For this, Hanlen puts his trust in Air, a cloud storage and collaboration tool. With Hanlen being on the road to a significant extent to fit his clients’ demands, this also eliminates the need to travel with bulky analog storage solutions like portable hard drives. On Air, Hanlen can find relevant content with ease and strategize around social media on the fly. 

“At Pure Sweat, our mantra is just help as many players, coaches, and trainers as possible,” Hanlen says. “So when it comes to content, anytime that we have a soundbite or have a clip that we think is going to impact the lives of those three sectors (the players, coaches, and trainers), we try to post it. Some people might have content schedules that they’re sticking to way ahead of time, for us it’s more so about getting people the best content in real time as we go.”

Having all of this footage on hand and easily searchable through Air has also made maintaining Pure Sweat Basketball’s social media presence much easier. Hanlen and his team were able to easily find moments from old games and training sessions that were evergreen to their target consumers. 

“Just during the last three months, our Instagram account has grown by I think 50,000 followers,” Hanlen recalled. “We’ve also had tons of growth on Facebook and YouTube and we just started a TikTok, which has grown to over 150,000 followers after only being in business for maybe three or four months.”

Hanlen added that the best thing a trainer can do is get results. With a proper video storage solution in Air, this goal is much more attainable.

Learn more about Air

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Sign up for
The Memo Newsletter

Get the biggest stories and best analysis on the business of sports delivered to your inbox twice every weekday and twice on weekends.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Apr 3, 2026; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Detail view of an NCAA basketball in the hoop during the second half of a semifinal of the Final Four of the women's 2026 NCAA Tournament between the UConn Huskies and the South Carolina Gamecocks at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Ohio Court Reverses Grandfathering of Athletes Into NCAA Eligibility

Parallel litigation remains ongoing in several states.
Mar 16, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer reacts against the San Antonio Spurs in the first half at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Exclusive

Ballmer Drops Lawyer Who Called NBA Probe a ‘Witch Hunt’

O’Melveny & Myers had been representing Ballmer in multiple matters.

WNBA Faces Ratings Test Without Caitlin Clark, Fever

Indiana was eliminated from the playoffs Thursday by the Las Vegas Aces.

Trail Blazers Fire Announcer Over Insensitive Teenage Tweets

The firing came the same day the Blazers announced Braiden Bell’s hiring
podcast thumbnail mobile
Front Office Sports Today

A Conversation with Randy Levine on the Yankees’ $2.6B Apollo Deal and the Protect College Sports Act

0:00

Featured Today

How the Baseball Cap Became a ‘Behemoth’

The hat has become essential for athletes, fans, and the sports-agnostic.
Morishita-Sato-homerun-celebration-at-Meiji-Jingu-Baseball-Staidum-2025
September 28, 2026

Japanese Baseball Is Fighting Back Against MLB Talent Drain

Nippon Professional Baseball is reimagining how to be a global juggernaut.
Aug 9, 2026; Bedminster, New Jersey, USA; President Donald Trump walks out of the clubhouse during the final round of the LIV Golf New York tournament at Trump National Bedminster.
September 25, 2026

Trump’s Year of Sports Gets Busier With CFB, Presidents Cup

The impact of Trump’s attendance varies across each sporting event.
A Bar of Their Own
September 25, 2026

Women’s Sports Bars: Novelty Has Worn Off, ‘That’s a Good Thing’

They’re leveling up, but sustainability remains the first consideration.
Hot & Social/Mets
September 18, 2026

Sports Teams Are Playing a New Role: Matchmaker

The latest promotion at the stadium? Love.

Kirk Herbstreit’s Dog Gets His Own Line of Merchandise

Peter Fan Club says it has notched thousands of orders.
August 28, 2026

Why Is Nike Suddenly Part of Sorority Rush Season?

They’re “campus athletes.”
September 2, 2026

Good Good CEO Steps Down Amid Callaway Driver Ad Fallout

Matt Kendrick says he didn’t see the ad before it was published.
Sponsored

Beyond the Scorecard: How Dow Is Putting Purpose at the Center of Women’s Golf

Discover how Dow and the LPGA are building a partnership with lasting impact.
August 27, 2026

Good Good Golf Founder Apologizes, Says He Hopes People ‘Move On’ 

Clark was shown shoving fellow Good Good creator Alexis Miestowski.
August 23, 2026

US Open ‘Almost Doubling’ Credentials for Content Creators

Nearly 100 creators will be credentialed at this year’s US Open.
August 23, 2026

Good Good Golf Pulls Ad, Apologizes Following Backlash

Callaway, Good Good’s equipment partner, said it was “disappointed by the content.”
May 25, 2025

How Rolex Paved the Way for Luxury’s Love Affair With Tennis

“It’s almost impossible to think about tennis without thinking about Rolex.”