EP #111: Kavishan Pathmanathan - From Flemingdon Park To Fort Erie, Helping To Create Influential Canadian Prep Basketball Program

Kavishan Pathmanathan (@__kavishan) is the Co-founder and Director of Basketball Operations at Fort Erie International Academy (@feiambb).He joins Ara on this week’s episode of #TheTamilCreator to discuss hating basketball while growing up because of his brother Deluxshan (@deluxshanp), how he helped start Fort Erie International Academy's basketball program, his relationship with Leonard Miller (@leonard.m11), signing a three year deal with New Balance (@newbalance), the impact of Vince Carter (@mrvincecarter15) and the Raptors (@raptors) winning a championship on the Canadian basketball scene, quitting his full-time insurance job in March, the importance of working for free to achieve your goal, and so much more.Follow Kavishan:- LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kavishan-pathmanathan-a05a1623b/) - Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/__kavishan/)Timestamps00:19 - Ara introduces this week’s guest, Kavishan Pathmanathan01:01 - Sibling rivalry and rebellious childhood attitude spurred Kav’s passion for basketball02:31 - Kav’s parents initially pushed him and his brother towards music03:02 - Starting Fort Erie International Academy’s basketball program; how it has grown04:04 - Prioritizing academics to compete with other players in the industry05:41 - How Canadian basketball has evolved over the past five years07:34 - The business side of basketball10:25 - Quitting his full-time insurance job to go all in on basketball12:25 - Seeing his students (Leonard Miller) get drafted into the NBA; and future prospects15:51 - The difference in talent between athletes18:02 - Kav’s journey to becoming a coach24:13 - Is there a growing number of South Asians and Tamils in basketball?27:14 - Nav clarifies that he is not a coach; focuses more on recruiting and business30:30 - How he got a sponsorship deal with New Balance; talking with Nike and Adidas32:03 - His pitch for attracting talent to Fort Erie34:27 - Securing a sponsorship deal with ANTA for the first year of the program37:16 - Kav’s view on social media39:21 - How he balances his passion and responsibilities42:16 - Ara butchers another quote42:38 - A major learning lesson in Kav’s life three years ago45:13 - Feeling connected to his Tamil identity but not necessarily the community46:37 - Advice he would give his 16-year-old self48:10 - The personal legacy he wants to be remembered for by friends and family49:29 - Creator Confessions51:51 - The Wrap UpIntro MusicProduced And Mixed By:- The Tamil Creator- YanchanWritten By:- Aravinthan Ehamparam- Yanchan Rajmohan       Support the show