Today we’d like to introduce you to Tommy Chambers
Hi Tommy, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I grew up playing soccer [football] up to college. Between my junior and senior years in high school, I had the opportunity to travel to England. I had a new passion for the sport embedded in me by meeting and playing with others there and also getting to experience an England vs. Portugal Euro Cup viewing party.
Upon moving to Greenville, I stayed involved with the game as much as I could, whether it was playing/networking with other supporters or volunteering with the supporter group of our local professional club [Greenville Triumph SC]. In 2020, I was approached by a local business owner because of my connections to the local football community. At that time, the business was looking to become a “hub” for football fans for match viewings and other events. I voluntarily put my time into developing a way to drive football traffic to the location, and that’s when Football Fanatics of Greenville began. It was then just a social media page (Facebook] and a way to start amassing other supporters from around Greenville in a community. Hence, the business had a way to, and audience, to promote football match viewings too. Due to a shift in ownership of the business along with the ups and downs of COVID, that project, unfortunately, lost its consistency. Still, being involved as I was, I continued growing “Football Fanatix” as a fun way to keep a community of football fans growing.
I started doing get-togethers for random matches at different businesses around Greenville and was amazed at how much it had grown and developed. The passion then allowed me to understand another desire I had, which was to help local small businesses. Upon this realization, I set forth a business plan/model for “Fanatix.” It involved rebranding, logo creation, website creation, and a branch to other social media platforms.
In 2022, I took it further and got an LLC for “Football Fanatics of Greenville.” Since then, we’ve established a football “Pub Network” of 7 local businesses, each hosting its supporter group for different football clubs. We offer a subscription-type service for businesses, and in return, they’re included on our weekly calendar of watch parties and other events we do from time to time. It has been a great feeling to see so many enjoying the watch party opportunities, networking, and sports drama that comes with the Football Pub Network, and I am constantly getting emails from followers and business owners alike for ideas and ambitions of becoming involved with what we have been able to construct.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Having a passion for the sport, I get nothing but joy from being able to put my spare time into this project. However, it can be challenging, and I’ve had. I will always have to work around schedule conflicts, politics between businesses/supporter group desires, and juggling more schedules as we add more clubs and members.
Thanks for sharing that. So, tell us more about your work next.
I’m employed with a locally based contract company that provides mechanical maintenance and service to paper mills all across the southeast. Being a small business, I have my hands in many of what they do, from supervisory/safety roles on project sites to project planning/management and supplies/materials upkeep and maintenance. As a sports college and business management major, I’ve had past experiences in sales and marketing for the medical and sports industries. I’m thankful I enjoy working with people and have created many great professional relationships across my community. This has helped Football Fanatix of Greenville develop into what it is.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from growing up.
As a freshman in high school, I was able to take the pitch in our school’s first-ever State Title Final. We lost 4-1, but the experience propelled my love for the sport.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Gvlfanatix.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gvlfanatix?igsh=MXkybDdoeGVwOGdwZA==
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GVLFanatix?mibextid=ZbWKwL
- Twitter: https://x.com/GVLFanatix?t=yzH1hQSgSedgcok9fNK_2g&s=09
