Coach: Glenview's Nikitas delivers a business assist

In his basketball playing days at Glenbrook South, 2014 graduate Danny Nikitas was known mostly for his scoring ability, an all-conference guard who could fill it up from all spots on the floor.

But now entering the business world, Nikitas has transformed into the ultimate setup man, giving an assist and then some to ex-rival, turned friend and partner, Deerfield basketball star Eric Porter.

"Actually, I really didn't have a choice," says Nikitas. "When Eric came up with the business idea he told me it's nonnegotiable, you're involved. And that was pretty much it."

Porter and Nikitas never really knew each other until they become roommates playing for the Lake Forest College basketball team, but they competed against each other for many years from feeder leagues all the way through high school.

Now they are on the same team as they take on the greatest of challenges - starting up a new shoe company geared toward athletes, basketball in particular. This means entering a field dominated by giants of the industry, including Nike, Adidas, Converse and probably another three or four dozen shoe companies already out there.

An uphill battle of epic proportions? Maybe, but that didn't deter Nikitas or Porter as they used there well-honed competitive instincts and extended basketball experience to try and crack into this already way too crowded field.

"Really, I kind of had this dream since I was 12 years old," Porter says. "And from the moment I graduated college and my basketball career was over I started working on it. We knew it was a crowded market right from the jump, but I still thought we could make a dent."

To make a dent, you have to first start pounding, and that is exactly what they did, starting with figuring out a name.

After many discussions and multiple possibilities, they came across the word Industria, which hails from the Latin word meaning energy. They thought it fit, but that Industria would be too long, so they shortened it to "Stria." The name has stuck.

Next came the hard part. Getting the business off the ground was no easy task. First, both of them have full-time jobs (Porter in real estate and Nikitas works for a watch and leather company), so they had to do this in their free time.

They also had to educate themselves initially, and it took close to two years to learn about designs and manufacturing, etc.

Much assistance came from ex-Nike designer Peter Baccus, who jumped on board to help the team.

"He has been a big help," Porter says. "We tested around 10 different designs before choosing the one we liked. Actually, wore the shoe and tried it out while playing and competing. We finally found the design and style we liked the most.

"The difference with our shoe," Porter says, "is that it is more lightweight and more suited to optimal performance. We saw that the trend with a lot of the current basketball and athletic shoes these days were to go colorful with lots of fancy designs, but not necessarily geared for the optimal performance, as they often were too heavy.

"Our shoe is simpler, sleeker, not a lot of crazy colors. The key is comfort and the fact that it is so lightweight."

So how has it been since debuting the product and entering the field to compete against the big boys?

"Very well!" Porter says. "The name is starting to catch on. We have been approved by the NBA and over 30 different professional leagues in Europe. We are also marketing it to college teams and high school teams"

"The pandemic set us back a bit, as not many were playing basketball, but now it is really starting to catch on," Nikitas adds.

Much of the sales are through their website as they look to expand their market share.

Another key has been their advertising campaign. Check out the Stria ads on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. They are beautifully done and sleek. Targeted to the youth market, the ads are entertaining yet professional. They feature local athletes and, of course, a little ballhandling and shooting from the two basketball stars themselves.

I asked them who put together the great commercials.

"We did kind of on our own," Porter says.

Nikitas adds, "A videographer helped us out, but we kind of produced them ourselves. Cheap labor."

I told them if the shoe thing doesn't work out, there might be another profession for them down the road, because these photo shoots and commercials were really good.

Additionally, I worry Nikitas might get snapped up by some modeling company or a movie scout. He has a little of that on-screen "stage presence" that you can't teach.

One other unique thing about Stria worth mentioning is that it may be the first Chicago-based company to enter the big-time basketball shoe field.

"Don't know for sure," Porter says, "but I think we are the first homegrown basketball shoe to come out of Chicago."

Not just basketball either. The shoe can be worn for optimal performance for tennis, volleyball and a number of other sports.

So where will it go from here?

As stated before, the competition is immense. The hurdles are numerous and the bar is set high. But both Nikitas and Porter have thrived on competition ever since they were young kids - so neither is afraid of taking on the challenge - and probably more accurately, they are energized by it.

And to think it all started with a dream from a 12-year-old kid in Deerfield, and now it has come to fruition with a solid assist from the scoring guard from Glenview.

Check out the Stria shoe line - and the cool photo shoots and advertisements - at striasport.com.

• Jon Cohn of Glenview is a coach, retired PE teacher, sports official and prep sports fan. To contact him with comments or story ideas, email jcsportsandtees@aol.com.