OUR STORY
Watching their father work overtime day in and day out, created a standard for work ethic for not
only Troy but all three of his siblings as well. As Troy grew older, he discovered a true love for
the game of basketball and began to envision himself playing the game for a living and at a high
level. By the time Troy had reached high school, Troy was one of the best players in the school
and went on to play 3 years varsity basketball for Wichita Southeast. By senior year, everyone
knew Troy because of his work ethic on the court. This would eventually land him the Letter of
Intent to Central Christian College on a basketball scholarship.
Troy would then go on to play 2 years at Central Christian College before his desire to play at
an even higher level would surface. He understood if he wanted to play professionally, he would
need to position himself at a bigger school that would promote him better. He understood this
would be a business move for him. At this point in Troy's basketball career, challenges began to
arise that he had not experienced before. Upon transferring to a new school, scholarship
opportunities were not available. This would cause him to, for the first time, take a real leap of
faith in his abilities as a basketball player. He walked on to his new school with 0 scholarships,
but with high hopes of landing a scholarship after showcasing his abilities.
Though Troy worked harder than anyone at his new home for basketball, Newman University,
he would be kicked out of school just after the first semester of his junior year. This was solely
because of the lack of financial support. This began to be the darkest moments of Troy's young
adult life, leaving him with nothing left to pursue. With only his father working at home to provide
financially, and no school, Troy was forced to find work. It was at this point the entrepreneur bug
was discovered within him. Troy was presented with the opportunity to change his current
circumstances through a very lucrative network marketing company in the travel industry.
With the same desire he had in basketball, he would go on to build a team that had over 350
people come into his network. This was something he put maximal effort into, but only received
a minimal income. After struggling financially to make ends meet and doing his best to build a
business through the network marketing space, Troy found himself hitting rock bottom and
confused as to why or how someone that works as hard as him and that is as genuine as him
could have landed here. At the lowest point in his life, Troy began to understand the only person
that will change his circumstances is himself.
Every day he would get up and apply for jobs till he eventually landed a job as a car salesman. It was on his daily walks, to and from work, he began to speak life into his future. He would say things such as, “No matter where you’re at it doesn't determine your future!” and “Strive for greatness!”. After consistently repeating these positive affirmations, slowly but surely, he began to change himself on the inside. Which would then start to show from the outside. This positive vibe would allow him to become a top car salesman at his dealership. Each sale would be wrapped in positive energy and in efforts to strive for greatness.
After one year only, Troy was already back on his feet, but that wasn’t enough. He still had a
burning desire to push even harder and get to the next level. While celebrating his 25th birthday
he began to have an idea to create his own vodka brand. This would go on to be a very
daunting task because he did not have all the information and capital to begin this journey. With
his ambition and determination, he was able to do enough research to accomplish this dream.
Troy would research and study night in and night out. He started by calling multiple distilleries
hoping to get any leads or forms of help. After calling countless distilleries, one distillery would
give him the attention he was looking for, but only would be willing to communicate in person.
Though the distiller didn't think Troy would actually show up to make this happen, 24 hours later
Troy showed up at his door, proving he was committed to make this dream come to life.
After having a lengthy meeting and discussing the vision of what he wanted to do, the distiller
asked, “What will you call your brand?”. Troy responded with, “Greatness Vodka”. It was from
this point on, Troy began the journey of building a vodka brand that not only stood for the rich
and high-quality vodka but he also wanted the brand to represent the celebration of greatness.
Not only Greatness Vodka but the celebration of greatness within us all. All those years when
Troy was at his lowest point, he understood that he had to believe in the greatness he had
within himself to get him to where he wanted to be.
“When you drink Greatness Vodka, we want you to know this isn't just a celebration for the brand but better yet, a celebration of you!
No matter who you are, whether it be the CEO of a company or the lowest paid employee of a company, you have greatness within you! Over here, we celebrate that! This brand is the brand that celebrates you!”
Troy Brooks-
CEO, Greatness Vodka