Entrepreneur Arion Herbert, SDL: Owner of MARS

BY CONNIE WARDMAN, M.A., SDLT • SHE | HER

Meet Arion Herbert, SDL, Compete Sports Diversity’s new executive committee chair. If you haven’t met him yet, put it on your To Do list; he’s a staunch ally to the LGBTQ+ community and absolutely filled with infectious energy.

Arion and his wife Erica cofounded MARS (Main Attraction Recreational Sports) in 2016 after moving to Charlotte, North Carolina from Long Island, New York. In 2013 Arion’s high school friend had taken him to a kickball game where he was surprised by the sport’s exciting, electric energy. He was immediately hooked! That was the spark that ignited the couple’s passion to create something that was fun, healthy and offered positive community engagement while still giving them the work/life balance they were looking for.

Filled with entrepreneurial energy, he’s the league owner and tournament director but he’s also the stay at home parent to their two boys, ages two and four, while Erica is still in the mainstream workforce for now (emphasis on the “for now” part).

MARS began its first year by offering only kickball and then the second year added dodgeball, softball and basketball. But its specialty, and what the league is best known for is kickball, according to Arion, saying that it’s the sport that always has the most engagement with both athletes and spectators.

During the 2016-17 season MARS had a one day kickball event with the winning team getting a

$1,500 cash prize. Twelve teams showed up with players coming from Tennessee, Georgia and Washington, D.C. Through the use of lots of ongoing face-to-face and social media outreach, the success of this event led MARS to create a series of events, most notably TURF WARS, a series of destination kickball tournaments that, according to Arion have grown to become the largest, most exciting adult kickball tournaments in the U.S.

In 2019 the league held a TURF WARS tournament that was featured on ESPN and was sponsored by DICK’S Sporting Goods, Equitable and Dave & Busters. This tournament was a go big or go home moment for MARS – it had 32 teams and a winning purse of $10,000. “MARS,” said

Arion, “now leads the industry in total cash payouts, total teams, social media views and engagement, national press releases and major brand sponsors.

“I believe that the quality of our events,” he continued, “along with the relationships that we’ve established with local businesses in the community truly set us apart from others.” And SportsEvents just released its 2023 Readers’ Choice Awards for Best Live or Virtual Sports Event Planner, naming Arion as the #2 winner.

Although North Carolina does have a “bathroom bill,” the league is committed to fostering a culture of inclusion and a healthy lifestyle. Arion says that no matter what lifestyle an individual lives or how they self-identify, it’s “OK to play.”•