Doug Schaer

The vision of former athlete and award-winning artist “X,” Nashville-based Absolutely Ridiculous Innovation for Athletes (ARIA) is a creative endeavor that reimagines sporting goods as functional art and has already attracted a legion of devoted customers and fans since it was founded in 2021. The inaugural Absolutely Ridiculous concept – a baseball glove designed to look like a melting ice cream cone – sold out online in mere seconds and has since become the cornerstone of a series of innovative designs that break the mold of traditional sporting goods by combining elements of art, fashion, luxury, music, pop culture and sports. The company’s product line features an array of game-ready baseball and softball gloves – all meticulously crafted using professional grade Kip leather – as well as sliding mitts, headwear and leather care products, with new concepts released through a “sneaker culture” drop model that creates both a buzz and demand that is nearly unmatched in the industry. The novelty, creativity, quality and emphasis on self-expression that define the Absolutely Ridiculous brand has quickly elevated the company’s profile and impact within some of the highest levels of the sports and business worlds. Baseball All-Star Jazz Chisholm Jr. – who was the first big leaguer to use an Absolutely Ridiculous fielding glove – is a partner in the company and also serves as its Director of Culture, while Absolutely Ridiculous became one of the youngest sporting goods companies ever to be featured in MLB The Show with the inclusion of several of its gloves and other items in the 2023 edition of the popular video game. In 2022, Absolutely Ridiculous was recognized by the Nashville Entrepreneur Center with a NEXT Award in the category of Emerging Music, Sports and Entertainment Companies. Learn more and stay up to date on product launches and other news at AbsolutelyRidiculous.com.

Hero Ventures develops and produces live entertainment experiences that excite and engage consumers through immersive innovation into worlds of iconic intellectual properties. The Company has aggregated the best creative and business minds in animation, cutting edge technology and live “experiential” events, to create an unparalleled themed attraction to share in new and unprecedented ways with audiences around the world. Hero Ventures’ inaugural production is an ambitious touring property featuring Marvel Entertainment’s Universe of characters, including Spider-Man, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Captain America, Thor, X-Men, Wolverine, The Avengers and thousands more. Governing Board members include Oscar winning film producer and co-owner of the NFL’s New York Giants, Steve Tisch; retired Los Angeles Lakers legend and NBA 2-time Hall of Famer, Earvin “Magic” Johnson; Vince McMahons WWE Senior Business Advisor, Basil V. DeVito, Jr.; Shamrock Holdings CEO, Stanley Gold; Guess Jeans Co-founder Maurice Marciano; Enlight Media’s David B. Miller; Parker Capitals Junfeng Li as well as Hero Ventures’ founders Rick Licht and Doug Schaer and Partners/Executive Producers Michael Cohl of S2BN and Jere Harris of PRG.

We are a team of seasoned operators, investors and deal makers with deep experience across sports, entertainment, media, and technology. Fastbreak partners with private equity firms, family offices, and companies investing and operating in sports, media, and technology. We specialize in developing and refining theses, sourcing deals, and leading execution—acting as a fractional team or interim executives to close capability gaps and accelerate growth. Whether youre exploring a roll-up, evaluating a target asset, or shaping an investment strategy, we bring unmatched domain expertise and deep networks to make it happen.

The vision of former athlete and award-winning artist “X,” Nashville-based Absolutely Ridiculous Innovation for Athletes (ARIA) is a creative endeavor that reimagines sporting goods as functional art and has already attracted a legion of devoted customers and fans since it was founded in 2021. The inaugural Absolutely Ridiculous concept – a baseball glove designed to look like a melting ice cream cone – sold out online in mere seconds and has since become the cornerstone of a series of innovative designs that break the mold of traditional sporting goods by combining elements of art, fashion, luxury, music, pop culture and sports. The company’s product line features an array of game-ready baseball and softball gloves – all meticulously crafted using professional grade Kip leather – as well as sliding mitts, headwear and leather care products, with new concepts released through a “sneaker culture” drop model that creates both a buzz and demand that is nearly unmatched in the industry. The novelty, creativity, quality and emphasis on self-expression that define the Absolutely Ridiculous brand has quickly elevated the company’s profile and impact within some of the highest levels of the sports and business worlds. Baseball All-Star Jazz Chisholm Jr. – who was the first big leaguer to use an Absolutely Ridiculous fielding glove – is a partner in the company and also serves as its Director of Culture, while Absolutely Ridiculous became one of the youngest sporting goods companies ever to be featured in MLB The Show with the inclusion of several of its gloves and other items in the 2023 edition of the popular video game. In 2022, Absolutely Ridiculous was recognized by the Nashville Entrepreneur Center with a NEXT Award in the category of Emerging Music, Sports and Entertainment Companies. Learn more and stay up to date on product launches and other news at AbsolutelyRidiculous.com.

Strategic Advisory / Consultancy to a curated group of innovative founders and companies, typically early to growth stage within sports, entertainment, media/content, music and pop culture, spanning the spectrum of tech, data, fitness, emerging leagues, gaming, CPG, and immersive concepts. Partners available upon request.