Today we’d like to introduce you to Josh Bhagratie
Hi Josh, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I moved to Orlando from Queens, NY with my family during middle school and it was somewhat of a culture shock to me. One thing that was always accessible was the game of basketball, which I used to create new friendships and further my love of the sport.
Playing hoops at local courts or going to Orlando Magic games with my friends became a way to create community around something we could all share and appreciate. A byproduct of basketball culture is it’s fashion trends, which got me interested in the world of streetwear and through the online forum Hypebeast I was further immersed into the culture as a collector and reseller of hyped wear (think Supreme and the latest shoes from Nike and Adidas) sparking my interest in creating my own brand.
In the summer of 2018 after graduating from the University of Central Florida and about to head into the defense simulation world, I was interested in starting a clothing brand around my love of basketball culture and streetwear fashion. This would be the origin of 9450 Global (pronounced ‘ninety-four fifty’) where the numbers represent the dimensions of a NBA court and acted as a metaphor of the platform of the game. Since 2018 we have released numerous drops that center around notable moments of the game.
While working on ways to market the brand, I was introduced to the talent representation industry as we started to work with influencers in the social media basketball space. This sparked an interest into sports marketing. Since 2020, 9450 has had various clients work with media and consumer brands such as Bleacher Report, House of Highlights, Ethika, Puma Hoops, Chifles and True Religion.
Our last vertical, sports media, came about due to working with the media brands mentioned above and creating a network of behind the scenes talent who work in that space full time. We started taking the media side seriously over the past two years and are proud to say we have been credentialed with the Orlando and Osceola Magic as well as UCF.
Currently we are looking to scale up all three verticals: clothing, talent representation, and sports media; tailored around our community and voice in the basketball world.
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?
It hasn’t been a smooth road as there’s been a lot of learn-by-doing moments along the way. I personally don’t come from a background in production (clothing or media) nor contract negotiations but I’ve learned from more experience individuals that I have networked with. I’d say our unique advantage of being a startup with no prior connections allows us to be flexible and honestly gives an edge to try new strategies in order to accomplish our goals.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
9450 Global
We are a sports conglomerate consisting of three verticals:
– clothing (our in-house 9450 Global brand, and producing merchandise for brand partners)
– talent representation (managing brand deals for influencer and NIL clients)
– sports media (covering the NBA and Orlando basketball news)
We’re proud of creating a community of basketball fans where we can bring people together through a common interest in the appreciation of the game. We’ve held community fundraisers with our in-house streetwear brand for Feeding America and most recently participated in a back-to-school event with the Boys & Girls Club of Central Florida.
9450 Global strives to provide basketball fans with the best clothing options to show off their fandom, supply talent with the right support and knowledge to manage brand deals in the sports space and share first hand account of the biggest sporting events through our media brand.
I believe what sets us apart is our willingness to learn, try new things, collaborative with others who are excelling in these various industries and ultimately provide the best value to our customers and brand partners.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
The ability to connect with people and find common ground to succeed in our respective fields. I believe in the sports space we’re all working to make our projects as successful as possible, with that ultimate goal in mind I try to network in various spaces to keep learning and then applying that knowledge to my own business.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://9450global.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/9450global/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@9450Media?app=desktop
- Other: https://www.9450.media
