Jazz Ferguson transitioned from professional basketball to life coaching, emphasising mental resilience and social pressure management.
Ferguson has learned financial discipline after years of being a spender, now focusing on savings and investments.
He highlights the importance of financial literacy, noting his impoverished upbringing lacked such education.
Ferguson's business, Reps With Jazz, aims to build confidence and mental resilience among young leaders.
"I learned that material things hold way less value," says Mr Ferguson, after losing a cherished Rolex watch.

Jazz Ferguson, a professional basketball player, learnt the value of money the hard way after splurging cash during the early stages of his career.

Today, he is a life coach who advises on consistency, discipline and perseverance. Through his company, Reps With Jazz, he mentors young people and leaders to manage social pressures.

Over a 15-year professional basketball career, Mr Ferguson, 36, played in Italy, Greece, France, Australia and now the Middle East.

“I still consider myself a current active player, but I am taking some time now, since our relocation to the UAE, to focus on my business. When athletes find their next passion, it's important for them to focus on that,” he says.

Raised in Louisville, Kentucky, he studied communication and psychology at the Indiana University South-East and has a life coaching certification from Jay Shetty Certification School.

The US citizen currently lives in Downtown Dubai with his wife, who works in real estate, and 13-month-old son. They relocated to the UAE from France three months ago.

There was absolutely no wealth in my childhood. I come from a family with no financial literacy in the US. It was an impoverished community, so everything that I've learnt about money has been through experience.

I started working at the age of 14. I earned minimum wage working at KFC, maybe $6 an hour. But my first professional job in Australia paid me about $3,000 per month at the age of 21. That was good money because I had nothing to compare it to.

I decided to pursue a professional career instead of finishing my last semester in university, because the opportunity to become a professional athlete comes and goes very quickly. From there, I gradually grew in my career.