Meet Tyler Patmon | Founder & President of Camp Exposure

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tyler Patmon and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tyler, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Growing up as a child, I was always blessed with athletic ability. My friends, cousins, and I all had the same dream of playing professional sports. As we began to get older, some people started to realize that dream wouldn’t come true. As they began to realize this, I could see a shift in their mentality, as if they had no purpose or worth beyond sports. As I witnessed this, it created a passion in me for helping people discover their gifts and talents and how to develop and direct them into a successful, purpose-driven life. Being a former athlete, I understand how hard the transition can be for student-athletes to walk away from the sport they have revolved their whole life around and discover what else they are passionate about. We started Camp Exposure to help student-athletes discover their identity beyond sports and how God has blessed them with purpose and worth outside of sports so they can transition into successful young men and women.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Camp Exposure is a faith-based, holistic youth development program centered around student-athletes. We focus on helping student-athletes find their identity beyond sports and how to take their God-given gifts and talents and direct them into a professional career and successful life. Our organization provides strategies, tips, tools, resources, and mentors to create a concrete foundation outside the game. Our athletes gain knowledge surrounding the seven pillars of our organization to develop skills that help them successfully navigate life’s challenges and transition into the career of their choice after sports. Our student-athletes go through a 1 to 3-year mentorship program called Camp Exposure Academy, which consists of 44 holistic workshops and round-table discussions. They then have the opportunity to create relationships with businesses and professionals at our Educational Sports Camps. 

What separates Camp Exposure from other organizations is our holistic approach. We are not only a sports organization but an education-based organization that creates relationships with youth through sports. Our holistic approach focuses on identity, Mental & Spiritual Health, Nutrition, Relationship Skills, Professional Development, and Financial Literacy.

In 2021 I decided to walk away from coaching football and run Camp Exposure full-time. Starting a business, as you learn, is definitely not easy. It takes a lot of adapting, learning, and hard work, but it’s what I am accustomed to as a former NFL player, and what makes it worth it is that this is my purpose. I am passionate about it, and that’s part of what keeps me going every day. Every day is all about taking another step, having faith, trusting the process, and understanding the impact youth will experience through this organization. I’ve learned valuable qualities you need to possess as a leader of an organization, one big one being how to clearly communicate the vision to your team and helping them see how their purpose is being fulfilled within the organization.

I want people to understand that over 25 million youth participate in youth sports. Our target audience is huge and not as selective as some think. Some people hear us say student-athlete and immediately look at us as another sports organization. We are not that. We are education based and understand the importance of sports to youth and how mentor relationships can be formed through them.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Oh. Wow. I am a big homebody, so I would genuinely like to spend some time with my friend, relaxing at the house, having great conversations, and catching up. But if it was a special occasion, there are a couple of places that pop into my mind. We would probably spend one of those days in the morning heading to Hope Coffee in Sunnyvale, a favorite of mine, not too far from my house and the location is very nice. Lunch would be a hard decision as I have two local favorites here lately. One is Doc Locals, owned by a fantastic guy Brett Curtis. The other choice would probably be Jing Chi Restaurant in Richardson for its amazing soup dumplings and Pho. Al Biernat’s is a must for dinner, and two local Jamaican restaurants in Mesquite, Jamaican Cook Shop and Reggae Wings and Tings. Besides food, we have to go to a local high school football game, preferably at The Star, and follow up with a Cowboys game to experience that great arena. Maybe we can throw in a boat ride or jet skis on Lake Ray Hubbard, a South Dallas Tour, and a view from The Tower Club.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are a lot of people. First, people need to know I am a man of God, so He gets all the glory for everything we have accomplished through this organization. Second, I want to thank my grandmother Marsha Young who instilled loving your neighbor in me as a young kid. Third, I want to shout out my wife, who has been here since the beginning and has played a significant role in developing the organization. I want to thank Jeremiah Hatch & Lubbock Smith, my two co-founders and big brothers, who have supported and helped Camp Exposure expand tremendously! Last, I want to thank Beneca Griffin, who has been a mentor for the past year and has truly helped me grow as a business leader and learn how to step into my new identity as a leader of an organization.

Website: http://thecampexposure.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lionhearted_26/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-patmon-043348203/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lion_hearted_26?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpM0vhRxzgQO-Ugt2q9tvtw