Grant Frerking discusses NIL, being a CEO of Metro Straw
Grant Frerking enters his fifth season at Tennessee.
The 6-foot-5, 216-pound wide receiver is from the Wesleyan School in Peachtree Corners, Georgia.
During his Tennessee career, Frerking has juggled academics and being a CEO of his company, on top of competing as a student-athlete.
At 15-years old, Frerking started his own company, Metro Straw.
Metro Straw specializes in pine straw and mulch, servicing thousands of residential and commercial clients in five states across the southeast region.
Starting July 1, student-athletes can now benefit from their name, image and likeness. With NIL taking place in college athletics, Frerking discussed his company on the show “Tennessee Two-A-Days.”
“It’s been a wild ride, to say the least, over the last four, going on five years here,” Frerking said. “Started out real small, truck and trailer with a buddy. Going door to door — doing hard marketing campaigns, how any small business starts out. We grew and grew.
“I attended the Wesleyan School — that is where I played sports, the youngest of four kids and I really went to my dad one day wanting to start a company. Really, in the bigger picture, I was just wanting to work to make money.”
Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire
Frerking comes from an athletic family and has three older siblings. Andrew Frerking played football at Baylor, Lauren Frerking played volleyball at Georgia Tech and Kate Frerking played basketball at Auburn and is currently the Coordinator of Recruiting Operations for Missouri’s women’s basketball program.
“My three older siblings happen to also be my three best friends,” Frerking said. “We talk every single day. I had the pleasure of going around with my parents and seeing them in all of their high school games, whether it was with the school, with AAU or travel ball, going to camps. I really got a good feeling of what the recruiting process was going to look like, what it looked like your freshman year, and kind of how things settled down going into your sophomore, and obviously your junior and senior years. I always wanted to go play in college, God gave me the opportunities to do so at multiple schools. I decided to come to one of finest places here on Earth, Knoxville, Tennessee, and the University of Tennessee, for a variety of reasons — the fan base, the facilities, the resources, the degree and also somewhat close to home where the business was.
“My siblings always kind of told me what it was going to be like from football, to volleyball, to basketball, they always had a little bit different of an outlook based off what the coaches were like in that sport, or what practice schedules looked like, or a variety of things. I talked a lot with them, just what it was going to be like if I could handle it with the external factors that I have going on with my business and stuff. Also talking with mentors and friends, whether it is in the business world or family friends of ours that have been successful, just getting to know can I still be successful. My name is still tied to a company at the end of the day, and I don’t want to sacrifice anything that I have built up to this point. Hopefully it will be sustained far after.”
The entire show with Frerking can be listened to here or below. Additional information to have service with Metro Straw can be viewed here.
