How CNTRL HOOPS Began: Two Friends, One Passion and a Dream

We are Lukas and Simas. Two twenty-year-olds brought together by a love of basketball and a desire to create something more than just another brand.

Today, we are building CNTRL HOOPS, but it all began much earlier—with childhood, basketball courts and ideas that gradually became reality.

It all started with basketball

Basketball has been part of our lives since childhood, although each of us took a slightly different path to CNTRL HOOPS.

Lukas started basketball training in first grade and continued through twelfth grade. He spent much of his childhood and teenage years in gyms, at practice and playing games. Like many kids, he dreamed of becoming a professional basketball player one day.

But over time, another passion emerged—business. The desire to create, test his ideas and build something from scratch gradually became just as important as basketball itself.

Simas's story is a little different. Although he never attended organized basketball training, the sport has always been close to his heart. From an early age, Simas was interested in business, new opportunities and how a simple idea could become something real.

Eventually, our paths crossed at university.

The idea that started it all

One day at university, while talking about business and basketball, we asked ourselves a simple question:

Why don't we try creating our own basketball?

Not just any ball. One we would want to take onto the court ourselves. One that would stand out through its design, feel good in our hands, offer great grip and feel great to play with.

We wanted to bring together two things we considered equally important— quality and distinctive design.

That is how CNTRL HOOPS was born.

Quality we refused to compromise on

From the start, we knew that a beautiful design alone would not be enough.

A basketball must, above all, be made to play with. It should feel good in your hands, provide reliable grip and let you enjoy every dribble, pass and shot.

That is why we put so much effort into finding the right materials and getting the feel of the ball right.

And we certainly did not get everything right on the first try.

Our first attempts did not meet our expectations. Sometimes the surface was not right; other times, it was the overall feel of the ball. We realized that creating a product we truly believed in would mean spending more time on the details.

We tested, searched, changed and refined.

Eventually, we chose high-quality PU leather with a soft, comfortable surface, good grip and moisture-absorbing properties.

Our designs are applied to this surface, making each ball more than a piece of sports equipment—a product with its own character.

We wanted anyone picking up a CNTRL HOOPS ball for the first time to feel how much care had gone into creating it.

Today, we can say that we are happy with what we have created. And although we will always look for ways to improve, this is a product we want to play with ourselves.

Solar System—our first collection

Once we finally had a ball whose quality we believed in, it was time for the next step—design.

We did not want to simply change the colors of a conventional basketball. We wanted to create a collection in which every ball had its own identity.

That is how our first collection was born— Solar System.

We initially created eight different designs for the US market, inspired by the planets of the Solar System. Each had its own colors, character and story.

But as we developed the brand, we realized that we wanted the strongest possible collection rather than the widest possible choice. So, for the Lithuanian market, we selected the five most distinctive designs—Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Mercury and Neptune.

We decided to leave out the other three because we wanted every ball in the collection to stand out.

For us, basketball has always been more than the score on the board. It is self-expression, emotion, friendship and memories.

We want our basketballs to be part of all of that.

From America to Lithuania

We took our first steps in the US market.

We had big ambitions and wanted to test our idea in one of the world's largest basketball markets.

But we soon realized that a young brand just starting out faces plenty of challenges. Competing with major names backed by huge budgets and years of history was not easy.

Still, it was a valuable experience.

We saw that our idea could capture people's interest. We also attracted attention from Europe, so we decided to turn towards the place where our own stories began.

Lithuania.

A country where basketball is much more than a sport.

When we returned to the Lithuanian market, we received support that means an incredible amount to us. Every order, message, share and person stepping onto the court with our ball reminds us why we started all of this.

It feels especially good to see our products finding a place among people at home.

This is just the beginning

For us, CNTRL HOOPS is more than a project we came up with at university.

It is a chance to bring together everything that matters to us—basketball, creativity, business and people.

We have plenty of plans.

We want to introduce new basketball designs, create distinctive collections, collaborate with basketball teams, athletes and creators, and keep improving our products.

But our goal goes beyond selling basketballs.

We want to help shape a new basketball culture in Lithuania. One that values not only the game, but also individuality, style, creativity and community.

We want CNTRL HOOPS basketballs to pass from hand to hand, find their way onto neighborhood courts and into gyms, and become part of people's basketball stories.

We are two twenty-year-olds without a large team behind us, but with big ambitions and an even greater desire to create.

Today, we do almost everything ourselves—from the first basketball design sketches, talking to manufacturers and developing new ideas to building the website, packing orders and placing a ball in a parcel locker so it can reach your hands.

Every order still feels special to us because we know how much work goes into every ball.

Of course, we want to grow, expand our team and achieve much more one day. But today, we are proud to be building everything ourselves, from the ground up.

We still have what started it all—a love of basketball, a desire to create and belief in what we do.

And this is just the beginning.

Thank you to everyone who is part of this journey.

See you on the court.

Lukas and Simas
CNTRL HOOPS founders