If you’re failing, don’t change the cause, change the strategy

My name is Clint Fraser. I am 23 years old and I live in Amsterdam Southeast. Originally, I came from Amersfoort. But when I was 8, I moved to Amsterdam with my mother, two brothers, grandmother, and aunt. My grandmother and aunt soon decided to return to Suriname. But the four of us remained in Amsterdam.

At the moment, I have quit basketball, but I have always played since I was 12. I started at Club 2000 in Amsterdam Southeast and then switched to Apollo. There, I played for a few years and I even made it to the DBL! Then I took a break for a year.

Afterwards, I continued to play basketball in the Second Division. Unfortunately, my team was disbanded in 2019 and I had to look for a new club. At BC Warriors, a team had an opening for me. But it was a difficult season and this team, too, was disbanded. All these events have contributed a bit to me quitting basketball, but they were not the main reason. I am not one to quit because of bad luck. No matter how bad it is, you just have to keep going and you will get there! This is an important motto to me, “If you're failing, don't change the cause, change the strategy!”

When the Warriors team disbanded, there was no room for me for a while. Now, I have gotten to a point where I must be honest with myself. I want to do other things in life and put my energy into those things. I suddenly had so much time and that was a real eye opener. My output at work got better and, in the end, that was the deciding factor why I quit basketball.

When an opportunity presents itself, grab it with both hands

In 2016, I became aware of 3X3 Unites and I was part of the first Leader Course ever! 3X3 Unites was still quite small at the time. They were only in Amsterdam Southeast and at first, I was not necessarily enthusiastic. I just wanted to play basketball and the other things around it did not really matter to me. Fortunately, many people urged me to participate. You never know which way things will go and if an opportunity presents itself, grab it with both hands! Thankfully I listened to them because it has brought me a lot.

I played a lot of basketball in my time, but I have also chosen different paths. Still, I keep coming back and that is mainly due to the fantastic community of 3X3 basketball! In 5 against 5, you are predominantly concerned with your own team. The 3X3 community is much smaller, so you keep meeting the same people and that creates a community. I really like that connection with people. In addition, 3X3 also forces you to work on yourself and your skills. There is a lot of switching. You play all kinds of positions and you have to take on the competition in a 1 on 1 duel.

Besides basketball, I wanted to become a businessman

In the meantime, my career has undergone a major growth spurt. As a freelancer, I am hired by companies to run their sales department. I never thought I would get to a point where I had enough work, but now it is overwhelming. It has not always been that way. I always knew that, in addition to basketball, I wanted to become a businessman. I first went to the Johan Cruijff college for this, but due to an insufficient mark I had to drop out. In retrospect, that was one of the best things that has happened to me. At the time, I was disappointed, but then I realized that I could do whatever I wanted. I had the opportunity to try everything and see what suited me. I partied, hung out on the street, did nothing, but also worked as an employee. Education did not give me what I wanted, so I started looking at ways to become a businessman without education. I ended up in sales and I noticed that I really liked that and now, it has kind of exploded!

With my current work I combine my best skills; networking, connecting people and socializing. If you put me in a room where I do not know anyone, when I leave, I would have spoken to almost everyone. Sales suits me very well because you are talking to people all day long! In addition to the sales side of my career, I am also working as an entrepreneur setting up a platform for creatives. An online place where, for example, videographers, photographers, and many more can come together and network. I also think it is important that amateurs can learn from pros. What I often see is that people who are already working at a high level are unreachable for the beginners. I want to make the professionals accessible to the newcomers, so that they can learn from each other.

I also discovered a new love for social media, especially TikTok. My account Clintfrser actually started as a joke, but my content caught on and now I already have more than 15,000 followers. It is mainly relatable content but with a sense of humor. It is about everyday events, from elections to dating, as well as school and studying. Serious subjects, but always with a wink. At the end of the year, I hope to have 100,000 followers. That would be really cool!

I do not want to be tied to anything, but I do want to create opportunities for others

When I think about my life in five years, I want to have my business plan up and running. In addition, I want to have a director appointed, so that I can step back and focus on other things again. It would be cool if I could rent out a few houses for some extra income and see the world at the same time, working from behind my laptop. I do not want to be tied to anything, but I do want to create opportunities for others, and I think I can do that with my platform. From 3X3 Unites, I have learned and seen what a community can do for people. If you bring people from different backgrounds together and let them come together, a lot of doors open and I try to apply that concept to my own plan.