Jacob
Maxwell
Diamond

I grew up in South Florida going to sporting events. By 14, I'd decided I didn't just want to watch. I wanted to be a part of it.

At a Florida Marlins Spring Training game, I spotted the team's owner, Jeffrey Loria, walking past the gate after the game. I called out to him and asked how a kid gets to be a bat boy. He stopped, turned around, and actually answered. Gave me a name and told me to reach out.

I went home and wrote a letter that night.

The response came back: get in touch when you're 16. The day I turned 16, I made the call.

That letter turned into a bat boy role with the Marlins, which grew into a clubhouse attendant position, which turned into a decade inside professional baseball. In 2014 I added a Team Attendant role with the Miami Heat, working the visitor locker room. Suddenly I wasn't just building experience, I was building relationships with players, coaches, and staff from every team in both leagues.

That network is something I don't take lightly. Over nearly 20 years in professional sports, I've developed genuine connections across the NBA, MLB, and beyond, including with the Miami Dolphins, a team I've followed my whole life and eventually built real ties to through the work. When you spend enough time in locker rooms across the country, the sports world gets smaller in the best way.

By 2017 those relationships led me to the Orlando Magic, where I spent nine seasons leading the equipment operation.

But the work I'm most proud of happened away from the game clock. Designing locker room environments that felt like they belonged in the league. Creating team-issued apparel and gear that players fought over. Bringing the same attention to detail I applied on game night to every design decision I made.

Off the court and off the field, my most important role has evolved too. Husband, and now dad to two young kids who I hope catch the same bug for sports that I did at their age.

This is that work. And I'm just getting started.