#270: Excelling in the Sports World as a Player and Entrepreneur with Antoine Hood II, USAFA ‘06

Service Academy Business Mastermind

"Any storied franchise that would love to get on board and continue to add more value to the brand they have already created would be a huge milestone.” -Antoine Hood II, USAFA ‘06

Antoine Hood II is a professional basketball player, cancer survivor, published writer, U.S. Air Force Academy graduate, and military officer. As an NBA free agent guard, Antoine has played in preseason/training camp for the San Antonio Spurs and Denver Nuggets. He has excelled in the hoops world, starring on a select USA basketball team playing in China, excelling with international pro teams, and earning Mountain West all-conference honors. As a published writer, Antoine’s most recent work is a thought-provoking book of poetry titled Hood Thoughts II. He continues to serve his country as an officer in the US Air Force Reserves. As a cancer survivor, Antoine has faced and defeated life-threatening adversity. He recently launched his new business, Iondration, which has a line of customizable water bottles tailored for the sports market.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Antoine’s journey to playing basketball at the Air Force Academy
• His new startup, Iondration, and his vision for the product
• His goals for Iondration in 2024
• The moment as an entrepreneur that gave Antoine affirmation for his idea
• Antoine’s experiences playing against some basketball greats and what he learned about mental capacity, fortitude, durability, and consistency

During his time playing professional basketball, Antoine learned that one’s mental game is what takes someone from good to great. Having strong mental capacity, fortitude, durability, and consistency allows professional athletes to achieve greatness, but this also can be applied to entrepreneurship. Those lessons Antoine learned while playing hoops are bringing him to the next level with his startup. From basketball, to poetry, to his new innovative product, we enjoyed chatting with Antoine about the different facets of his life and career. Thanks for joining us, Antoine!

Connect with Antoine:

• LinkedIn
• X: @antoinehood26
• Instagram: hoodwinked06
• Facebook: Antoine Hood II
• Hood Thoughts II on Amazon
• [e-mail]

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Special thanks to Antoine for joining me this week. Until next time!

-Scott Mackes, USNA ’01