MUSKEGON, Mich. — Deshaun Thrower grew up loving two things: Basketball and clothes. He says he always wanted to start his own clothing company and in 2021 that's exactly what he did.
After playing basketball at Muskegon and Ferris State, Thrower created his own company, D1 Sportswear, that specializes in athletic wear for both on and off the field. He started working with local teams in Muskegon and Grand Rapids. Making their warm up gear and uniforms and also has expanded to create custom fan jerseys and other sportswear.
This winter, Thrower and his brother wanted to help support some area athletes and drafted NIL contracts for them to represent the D1 brand. He surprised the three Muskegon seniors, David Day III, Anthony Sydnor and Jordan Briggs, with a trip to Detroit for a pistons game and offered them the contracts.
"The real reason I brought yall down here wasn't just for the game. Like I want to sign yall to the brand. I offered it to them and they were excited. At first Syd (Anthony Sydnor) thought I was playing with them. He was like, bro this isn't anything to play with. So they were really hype. I just have a really special relationship with them and i figured if i sign somebody, like we had been talking about, i wanted it to be my guys first. I feel like that was really big and special for them because i feel like that will open up doors for them and for myself as well." said Thrower.
From high school to AAU, Deshuan is working with dozens of different teams and is now connecting with other sports like football, baseball and even bowling. He hopes to continue to grow this passion project into a full time gig in the next two years with the support of the community.
He also hopes to continue to sign more NIL deals with local athletes as the brand grows. If you're interested in placing an order with D1 Sportswear, you can contact Deshaun here.
