Hard work. Passion. Grind. Focus. Four words synonymous to who Dazeran (Duke) Jones is, and ones that have guided him throughout his journey in the industry. Growing up in Haines City, Florida, Dazeran remembers discovering his love for the game of basketball unexpectedly. Despite playing an array of sports growing up including football, soccer, and baseball, basketball was a sport he didn't become familiar with until the ninth grade. Even then, he recalls the early struggles to find his strengths within the game. But there was one thing that Dazeran was certain of: his conviction to improve, produce, and make an impact every time he stepped on the floor. Sure enough, he did just that. After officially embarking on his basketball career in the eleventh grade, he continued to raise his basketball IQ and skill set throughout his time in high school—setting a record for rebounding and leading the team to the regional finals. It was only up from there. Upon graduation, Dazeran played two semesters in college before stepping away from the game due to injury.
Yet, he remained focused. His work ethic and commitment to bouncing back stronger than ever remained intact. Sure enough, after recovering from his injury, Dazeran returned to the game and started playing for different semi-pro teams, pro-am tournaments, and streetball leagues before getting scouted by Ballislife to join their East Coast squad. Through different YouTube videos and collaborations, he immersed himself in the world of content creation and built his online persona of "Duke Skywalka" further. The rest is history. From playing in The Crew League to being a motion-capture actor for NBA 2K24 to recently making his acting debut in the "White Men Can't Jump" remake, Dazeran has continued to build his personal brand in the basketball and entertainment industries since. Excited to pursue different acting roles and brand collaborations, Dazeran is looking forward to growing his brand even more in the years to come.
After your time in high school, you started your collegiate career at Warner University—where you played a year before starting your semi-pro journey with the Jacksonville Giants. Could you share more with us about what those experiences were like for you?
College is a grind that people wouldn't understand unless they've been through it. You know, that college grind of having two-a-day (workouts), missing lunch and missing breakfast to go to workouts and practices, trying to juggle work, trying to produce, and obviously still being a human being. Trying to manage and balance everyday life to just be the best possible student-athlete that you can is probably one of the toughest things that I've experienced. With me, I ended up getting injured and that was kind of like a slap in the face. It was really my first real injury that I had to sideline (for). I had to work through that and then get an opportunity to play professionally at a high level—winning a championship, meeting other guys that are just as good as you or better, having to compete—, that's just a go hard or go home (situation). You are either going to compete or you are going to get sent home. You're gonna produce or you're gonna get sent home. Always having my back against the ropes and fighting through adversity is what I gained from it, and I enjoyed it.
I wanted to dive into the mental side of the game. You mentioned that you got injured during your time in college and that was your first real injury playing basketball. Reflecting back on that time, could you share more with us about the importance of having that mental toughness or that mental focus to overcome the adversities that one may face along the way?
Mental toughness is everything. Everything is mental. Basketball is mental. Acting is mental. Everyday life is mental. Everyone doesn't have a strong mental, it is something that has to be built. It was hard, you know, obviously being sidelined. With being sidelined, some funny stuff happened with my scholarship and they were saying I had to pay for this and pay for that to stay on campus. I didn't have the money for that. My mom didn't have the money for that. So it was just to the point where I was like, “Well, I have to leave.” I left and I started working right up until what happened with the semi pro; but I never quit (throughout it all). I recovered. Thank God I didn't have to get surgery, it just healed naturally, and when I came back, I came back better.
Let’s talk branding! How did you get started building your personal brand in the space?
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