Davenport athletics has had some great athletes over the years, one of those was Tor'i Brooks. He was a three time NAIA National Champion in the high jump, winning twice during indoors and once during outdoors. In addition to the national championships, he earned NAIA All-America honors for events such as the 4x100 meter relay and long jump. We got a chance to catch up with Tor'i and see what he has been up to since his last season at DU in 2014-15.
 
Immediately after departing Davenport in 2014-15, Tor'i worked in marketing in a community organization that was located in Grand Rapids, where he implemented some education curriculum as well as a youth employment program for at risk youth and young adults. Since then, he has moved to Los Angeles and taken over as a fitness director for Golds Gym. While in Los Angeles he has explored career opportunities in film, television, and modeling, all while playing basketball professionally. In 2018, he started his own company Bionic or Bionicbrooks, where he has done marketing campaigns and built some very valuable partnerships with some notable brands and Fortune 500 companies.
 
One of the aspects of his journey after Davenport has been playing basketball professionally. That includes dunk contests, playing in world championships, and joining the Harlem Globetrotters. He won international dunk competitions from South America to the UK, won a world championship in China during the summer of 2019, which happened to be against euro league, NBA, G-League and the Chinese Basketball Association competitors, and competed in a Japan international tournament. Tor'i now has his eyes set on playing in one of the major leagues.
 
Tor'i was part of the rookie class for the Harlem Globetrotters during the 2018/19 season. This experience was a dream come true for him to play for such a prestigious organization. It was a huge moment for Tor'i playing for the Globetrotters, their history means so much to his family and culture. One of the biggest perks was being able to play in the best NBA arenas, plus dunking on all of those rims!


 
A lot of people have more down time at home due to the COVID-19 Pandemic than most people are used to, one of the ways people entertain themselves is YouTube. Tor'i has a YouTube channel of his own, Tor'i Bionic Brooks. He has been providing workouts for people to do at home while in quarantine, since most people are unable to make it to a gym. "I think it is important to provide people with relevant content and information that impacts them directly." Tor'i stated. "The purpose of my vidoes is to create a sense of community, a family. Letting everyone know that we are in this together and I just want to help others reach their goals."
 
Brooks has worked out, played, and trained with some well-known names. We asked him to list his top five favorite people that he has met while on his journey. His list was Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Blake Griffin, GaryVee, and Shaq. His first ever modeling gig was for the Jordan brand and he was headlining Blake Griffin's new shoe. Meeting LeBron and Durant during 2018 was a big dream come true for Tor'i. He remembers working on the Nike want it all campaign and actually playing basketball with KD and the King.
 
One of the stops on Brooks' journey was being a contest on the show Ex On The Beach. Being on the show helped him see his personal goals clearer. Being sidetracked by subjecting himself to be in a relationship, while in the public eye, taught him that he needed a partner who's visions align and someone who has clear goals and expectations of life that compliments his own.
 
When asked about what being involved with DU Athletics meant to Tor'i in his journey, he responded with the following. "Being involved in athletics at Davenport influenced me to maintain my never say never and never give up attitude. From being injured my first year, to joining the JV basketball team and winning three national titles in the high jump, only helped shaped me to have the mentality to be able to make the strides I have, despite anything that attempted to derail me from my ultimate goals."
 
Tor'i has always believed in himself and had no doubt that he could achieve greatness, this was not an accident in his eyes. He still has dreams of participating in the Olympics in one form or another, he just has to wait and see what comes of the games when the time comes.
 
Story by: Devin Steiner