India Rose, Islander and owner of Hustle Sports Marketing and Hustle & Thrive Co. has partnered with Connective Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in New York City and led by director Ian Thomas Minor, who also grew up on the Vineyard. According to a press release, Connective Inc. is best known locally for its “Battle in the Bluffs” (BITB) basketball events on the Island, now in their seventh year at Niantic Park in Oak Bluffs.
This year BITB will be held on July 5, 6, and 7. Connective Inc. holds this event free of charge, and boys and girls of all ages are encouraged to register online or show up the day of and participate. Rose is also the Tisbury School girls basketball coach. “I have encouraged all of my student athletes to participate in BITB,” she said “so that they can really start to work on their fundamentals and get some competition in over the summer.”
Rose said she is excited about the partnership< “Ian and I share a lot of the same goals. Through Connective Inc., Ian is doing amazing things by combining the sport of basketball and his educational workshops and trainings, where he works with school systems to identify cultural disconnects and then find strategic solutions. I work with athletes to build their personal brands, to help them prevent making mistakes that could impact their college and professional athletic careers, which is especially important in this age of social media. I teach them how to treat their personal brands just like a business.”
Minor said he reached out to Rose after he saw the impact she was making. “We met for coffee while India was in New York for a sports public relations summit,” he said. “I knew with India’s extensive nonprofit experience and her passion for sports and working with kids, that we had to find a way to work together. Although both of us may have started on the Vineyard, our geographic reach and messaging together expands throughout the country right now.”
For additional information on “Battle in the Bluffs,” Hustle Sports, and Connective Inc., go to connectiveinc.org and wehustleandthrive.com or email indiajrose@gmail.com.