Hidden Gems: Meet James Savage Jr of Best Damn Sport and Social Club KZOO

 

Today we’d like to introduce you to James Savage Jr

Hi James, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My Cousin (Art – Co-Owner) and I started this thing about 7 years ago, it was actually his idea and he had to convince me to jump fully in. I don’t think either of us ever imagined it getting this big… it kinda started as a side thing and has completely exploded. I think there was a massive need in the area for a locally owned company to offer these social sports leagues who was well connected to the city and had a direct line of communication to the customers. We cared ALOT, put the work in for years, and it finally paid off.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not at all. We made so many mistakes early and learned from every one of them. We didn’t make a single penny our 1st 3 years and had almost no support from the city but we kept on grinding, making improvements, doing the work, making connections… all of those things that are tough that most people don’t want to do. Balancing a full time job on the side was painful as well. (I still have a full time job outside of Best Damn today lol)

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We offer Co-ed Adult Sports leagues across West Michigan. We started in Kalamazoo and now have chapters in Grand Rapids and Michiana (Mishawaka, South Bend area)

Not only do we offer sports leagues but we try to create and foster a social environment as well. We want people to meet, make connections. get out of the house, get active! We love getting involved in the community as well. We give back every year with our Best Damn Bar Crawl for Charity which assists underpriviledges kids in the city get into sports and find that joy we all find in sports! We also do other charity work including a golf outing that we donate to a local charity for Mental Health Awareness. Mental Health is a battle we all face as humans and we find it aligns very well with playing sports, getting active and meeting new friends!! All great things for any persons mental health.

We are most proud about being local, having that open communication with the customer, and overall making our City a more exciting and fun place to live in!

All of our websites can be found at www.playbestdamn.com and we are easily searchable on social media!

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love how Kalamazoo has that small city vibe but we still have it all. We have great fun sports teams (Kwings, Growlers, Zoo City FC, etc), we have so many great bars, so many great hiking trails, an expanding downtown, a great community!

I think we still have a lot of issues in our City, need to spread a lil more love and get involved in helping others more, but every City has issues. Nobody is perfect.

Pricing:

• We offer 7 week leagues typically, anywhere from $40-$80 depending on the location, sports. cost of rent etc!

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.bestdamnkzoo.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bestdamnkzoo
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bestdamnkzoo
• Other: www.facebook.com/bestdamngr and www.facebook.com/bestdamnmichiana