Drew Hanlen

Drew Hanlen is an NBA Strategic Skills Coach, Performance Coach, and CEO of Pure Sweat Basketball, a training firm with a growing list of NBA players:

● Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards)
● Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers)
● Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics)
● Zach LaVine (Chicago Bulls)
● and countless other NBA stars as full-time clients.

Drew’s business is built on a solid foundation. 

“My business is based on three core elements of player development, personal development, and professional development. My clients’ successes hinge on staying focused on all three. Any decision made comes down to how it will impact their playing skills, personal life and habits, and the impact on their professional brand.”

Drew’s fast-growing business has been built entirely on word of mouth (well, he has only spent $265 to get business cards printed for his 28 trainers and eight full-time employees).

Drew spends most of the year travelling, visiting his list of clients, whom he considers family.

“During the Summers I put my clients through strategic workout programs to improve specific aspects of their game, while during the season I do film and analytic consulting, as well as travel around the world hosting clinics and seminars.”

Drew knows basketball. As a senior point guard for Belmont University in 2011-12, Drew averaged 10.8 points and 3.9 assists a game.

He has an amazing story of building an incredible brand, and here’s a glimpse of how he did it.

Drew Hanlen’s Passion for Growth

Learning dedication and consistency started at a young age. Michael Jordan was Drew’s hero growing up. He would record every Chicago Bulls game and study every move Jordan made. Then he’d go out to the court and practice every single move! This discipline helped him develop his basketball IQ despite physical limitations. And it was the first glimpse into the immense mental strength and discipline he would continue to build.

Drew Hanlen Knows How to Win

Drew’s discipline showed up in force while attending high school in St. Louis. His parents would drop him off early every day so he could get some court time in before classes. This practice and commitment didn’t go unnoticed.

While Hanlen attended Webster Groves High School, he would wake up every morning at 4:59 and shoot 1,000 shots before classes. He only missed four days of that routine in four years!

Hanlen graduated from Webster Groves High School and Belmont University after leading both teams to the all-time winningest seasons in program history.

Once Hanlen realized he was never going to be tall enough to play in the NBA, he became obsessed with learning the micro nuances of the game through film study.

Drew has watched and broken down every single made field goal in the NBA over the last eight NBA seasons. He has studied close to a million video clips of game film. That’s some dedication!

Since the 2012 NBA Draft, Drew has helped more than 30 players get drafted, including at least one lottery pick in each of the last seven drafts.

“My ultimate goal is to help as many players (as possible) reach the level of success that they dream of and take them beyond what they even think is capable. That’s my mission statement and my personal belief.”

Performance Coaching

His job as an NBA Skills Coach is to analyse film and analytics to provide strategic step-by-step action plans to help players improve their games.

He works closely with the players to create a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) to evaluate where they excel, where they struggle, where they can grow and what could hold them back. From there, they prioritise which areas need improvement and create a road map for moving forward.

This is monitored by setting checkpoints along the way and evaluation markers to track progress.

There is also a strong emphasis on staying focused on the work and pivoting when necessary.

Performance Coaching in Business

Drew’s highly focused approach to sports stars translates directly to business coaching.

His expertise lies in breaking down a business person’s current position and situation and creating a strategic action plan to help them get to another level. This process rewires their mind, fuels their drive, and helps them change how they think.

Working with Drew Hanlen as a performance coach will push you beyond what you think you can achieve, and it doesn’t hurt that his resume has driven massive success at the absolute top of sports.

His unique approach to micro analysing a process is what sets him apart from other performance coaches.

Keynote Speaker

As Drew has continued to build his amazing resume with top performers in the NBA, he has also been working with businesses implementing the same principles he’s used to train peak performers in the NBA.

Breaking down a process to the micro nuances helps business leaders and employees better connect to the purpose of their roles and put in place the positive habits to perform at a high level.

His unique approach to breaking down the “game film” is a crowd favourite as he relates his personal sports experiences to his audience's needs.

Below is some additional information on his speaking topics and how they will relate to your organisation.

● Mastering the Unseen Hours: Strategically maximising your results through purposeful daily actions.
● Setting Your Personal GPS/Reverse Engineering Your Dream Life: Locking in on the most efficient and effective process to get you to your desired destinations with re calibration tools if you get off course.
● Remove the Floaties: Eliminating the fears and safety nets that are holding you back, from living your dream life and gaining confidence to finally go ALL IN.
● Peaking Beyond the Plateau: Developing a next-level mindset to constantly reach new heights. So many people get to a certain level and plateau, struggling to take it to the next level because they’re comfortable at their current level.
● Success Separators: Strategies to separate yourself and stand out in a world full of followers.
● Become a Star by Impacting Team Success: Elevate yourself by elevating your team’s success (sports or business).
● Auditing Actions and Installing Purposeful Processes: Evaluating personal and professional habits and improving processes.

Whether it’s a keynote speech for a sales team or working with an internal marketing organisation, Drew Hanlen will captivate your audience.

Drew Hanlen in Business

Hanlen’s business began in the most inconspicuous fashion.

During a break from running a concession stand during a youth basketball tournament, the then-high school junior was putting himself through a personal workout on an unused court in the gym.

A parent of one of the sixth graders who was playing offered $20 per hour to “toughen up” his son by “kicking his butt.” After that, one by one he added more and more players to his training list.

Hanlen self-published his first basketball drill book while in high school at 17 years old and sold more than 5,000 copies by attending camps, clinics and tournaments. All his basketball drill books were sold by hand and word of mouth.

He first started his basketball academies as a senior in high school, charging $200 per player; ultimately selling out the academy with 100 players attending.

While playing at Belmont, Hanlen trained numerous NBA players including NBA All-Star David Lee. Hanlen and Lee began their work together while Drew was in his sophomore year at Belmont.

In 2007 (junior in high school) he created the first of its kind, online basketball training program which has since evolved into a basketball training app.

Fast forward, Hanlen’s program now has thousands of coaches in the Drew Hanlen Basketball Academy and has close to 1,000 people on the waiting list for his NEXT mentorship program for aspiring basketball skills coaches.

Drew Hanlen is well qualified as your next keynote speaker or performance coach.