Geo Baker was at Redd’s Biergarten on Easton Avenue in New Brunswick this April enjoying some of his first moments of freedom in over a year.
The Rutgers guard was making up for the many nights out lost to the COVID-19 pandemic, trying to take his mind off the heartbreak he and the Scarlet Knights had just suffered in Indianapolis and taking a break from his outspoken role in the #NotNCAAProperty movement.
He scanned the bar from his seat during a lull in conversation and among the crowd, his eye caught a fellow patron decked from head to toe in a clothing brand he had never seen before. Baker was intrigued, so he walked over and struck up a conversation.
The student named Justin explained he was rocking Alva Fitness, a brand created by his friend. He then told Baker, arguably the most popular Rutgers athlete in over a decade, he can convince his buddy to send him some free gear.
Baker had other plans.
“This was in the middle of me fighting for (Name, Image and Likeness), so I said ‘man, F that, let’s find a way to partner up once the rule changes,’” Baker told NJ Advance Media in July. “That’s how the partnership started.”
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Justin put Baker in a group chat with his friend Jason Saran, a class of 2017 Rutgers alum who started Alva Fitness when he was a junior in Piscataway.
The two hit it off immediately; Baker felt a connection with Alva’s mission statement of “helping people reach their full potential” and wanted to be on the ground floor of a company he felt was full of potential.
They brainstormed ideas for an eventual clothing collection for Baker in the event that NIL laws were passed and Baker returned for his fifth-and-final season. By mid-July, both things were confirmed.
After months of planning with Alva and cutting through bureaucratic red tape, Baker announced his personal line of clothing from Alva on Tuesday afternoon, the highlight of Baker’s journey of reaping the rewards of the NIL seeds he helped sow.
“Seeing this come to light is something that was really special to me,” Baker said.
It was equally special for Saran.
The collection was the high point for a company he started with the help of his brother Desi, a fellow Rutgers grad and one of the original founders of Playa Bowls.
They began designing and selling clothes to fellow students -- his biggest success was a t-shirt that said “Scarlet AF,” a double-entendre featuring Alva Fitness’ initials -- and slowly building the Alva brand with each year. It set the foundation for a partnership with Baker that Saran referred to as “divine timing.”
“We had some time to plan before the NIL stuff went through so it happened at the right time,” Saran said. “He wanted to partner with us because we’re a smaller brand. There is a huge synergy between us and Geo. It’s a huge partnership, it’s very special to us and I don’t think there could have been a more perfect athlete to partner with us.”
The collection features a number of items, including personalized Baker jerseys and multiple designs, including one that reads “Geo Baker, Big Shot Maker.”
But for Baker, the one non-Baker-centric design is perhaps the most special: the “Culture Changers” design which features the likeness of every member of the 2020-21 Scarlet Knights squad that officially broke the decades-long NCAA Tournament drought.
Baker got permission from his teammates -- both current and former -- to not only use their likeness, but to give the profits to a place near and dear to their hearts: all the proceeds from the shirt will go to the three returning managers and walk-on on the 2021-22 roster.
“The way we look at it is they are the backbone of the team,” Baker said. “Those are the guys who put in the work and are never seen on the court on gameday. They do all the little things and that’s the foundation of our team right there and the foundation of culture changers. That’s how our culture changed. I really felt like it and the rest of the team did too that they deserve a reward for that, so that’s what we’re doing for that.”
The partnership with Alva is one of multiple things Baker has done since the NIL laws passed in July.
Baker is among a large cohort of college athletes who joined Cameo, a service that allows fans to pay their favorite athletes, celebrities or people to record a personalized video message, and he partnered up with Rutgers inspiration Eric LeGrand to promote his coffee line.
Baker also participated in a private basketball camp with the Monroe Township travel basketball program in August. Joe Ross, a private basketball instructor from East Brunswick who founded JRR Hoops and has previously worked with Rutgers grad Akwasi Yeboah and Stony Brook grad Jameel Warney, helped put the event together.
“I think the parents loved it and the kids were having a blast,” Ross said. “Just the fact Geo was there was awesome for the families. A lot of them are Rutgers basketball fans so just to be around him and see him working with their kids really made their day. I think Geo enjoyed it too, we talked about it and he felt it went really well. A great day of basketball all around.”
The NIL opportunities likely won’t stop there for Baker.
After sticking his neck out for the #NotNCAAProperty movement in March, a move that earned him much praise but equally strong pushback, Baker is happy to see not only him but college athletes across the country taking advantage of the new opportunities NIL provides.
“It was a really good feeling to see everything the #NotNCAAProperty movement was working for come to life,” Baker said. “We did a lot of stuff, not just on social media but behind the scenes as well, trying to push the right buttons and get the right people to look at the problem and hopefully do something about it. Seeing all these deals, it’s crazy because people don’t really think about the individual and what they may come up with, what creative ideas they have in mind so it shows the individuality of each student-athlete, which I think is really cool.”
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Brian Fonseca may be reached at bfonseca@njadvancemedia.com.
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