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“Michael Jordan invited me in the house, but I had Converse shoes”: Celebrity fitness trainer Tim Grover talks about his first encounter with the Bulls legend

Arjun Julka
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Recently, celebrity fitness trainer Tim Grover revealed how he landed the GOAT Michael Jordan as his client.

MJ’s rivalry with the bad boy pistons is no secret. The Bulls legend struggled for years to get past the Pistons in the eastern conference in the playoffs.

Jordan Rules is a term that the Pistons applied as their defensive strategy against the Bulls. The strategy was to play as tough and physical as possible with him, which included double-teaming him and throwing him off-guard, especially when he drove towards the basket.

Thus, during one off-season, MJ decided to make his body stronger and pack on some muscle to endure the Pistons’ physical plays.

That’s when personal trainer Tim Grover came on board. Grover and Jordan developed a great bond over the years. While talking on the BroBible’s Endless Hustle show, Grover revealed how he landed up training one of the greatest basketball players in the world.

Also read: “Who needs LeBron James when we have Kevin Durant”: Skip Bayless takes a shot at Lakers star will comparing KD to Michael Jordan in Team USA’s Olympic campaign

Though Grover is most famously known for being MJ’s trainer, he is also the CEO and owner of Attack Athletics, a company that employs trainers worldwide.

Tim Grover reveals how he landed his first meeting with Bulls legend Michael Jordan

Grover revealed a hilarious incident while speaking about how he landed MJ as his client.

“I said I’m gonna send out letters to all the other Bulls players”, Grover said. So I hand-wrote letters to 14 of the Chicago Bulls players. The one person I did not write a letter to was Michael Jordan. I never worked with a professional athlete, there’s no way they’re gonna let me work with him”

He further added,

“So one letter was sitting open in a locker room, Aand Michael actually reached inside that locker and pulled out the letter and read it and gave it to the team physician & athletic trainer for the team at the time and said, “Find out what this kid’s about.”

“Three months went by and they were like, “Hey listen, we want you to go meet the client. So I took the address, I ring the doorbell, Michael Jordan ends up opening the door. Michael invited me in the house. Big mistake, I had converse shoes, so I had to take those off before I went into the house. So we go downstairs, talk for about 30-40 minutes. He was all about, “I just want to get bigger & stronger, I wanna be more athletic, I wanna do things.”

The training clearly helped as the Bulls would go on to sweep the Pistons and win their first NBA championship in 1991.

Also read: Can LeBron James take legendary status?”: How the 4-time MVP was compared to Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Larry Bird in his high school game intro

Grover’s success with Michael Jordan made him famous overnight, who would further go on to train the likes of Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, and Charles Barkley.

About the author

Arjun Julka

Arjun Julka

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Arjun Julka is a NBA author at The SportsRush. Basketball isn’t just a sport for this 26-year-old, who hails from Mumbai. He began watching the sport after stumbling upon a court in his society, helping him identify an undiscovered passion for the game of hoops. Now an ardent fan, Arjun supports Stephen Curry and the Warriors but also enjoys watching Giannis Antetokounmpo own the paint. When it comes to the GOAT debate, the TSR author feels LeBron James is yet to receive a lot of his due but cannot deny marveling at Michael Jordan’s resume.

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