There’s a new documentary project on the way from Religion of Sports and Red Bull Media House, and it covers an unusual sports figure. That would be Chris “Lethal Shooter” Matthews, who lost both his parents as a young man, had his overseas professional career cut short by a punctured lung, was homeless for a while after that, then reinvented himself as a shooting coach. He’s now worked with the likes of Kevin Séraphin, Dwight Howard, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Te’a Cooper, Cole Anthony, Grant Williams, and Bobby Portis, and has developed the Red Bull Run the Racks 3-point contest.
The film here, Life & Basketball: The Rise of Lethal Shooter, will be available on free advertising-supported streaming television channel Red Bull TV beginning June 13. It’s directed by Mandon Lovett (Boys In Blue, Rap Caviar Presents) and executive produced by Religion of Sports’ Gotham Chopra and Ameeth Sankaran, and is co-executive produced by Meg Cirillo and Victor Buhler, also of Religion of Sports. Here’s more on it from a release:
A native of Washington, DC, Matthews, 38, transitioned from a career as a player to becoming recognized as basketball’s most sought-after shooting coach. As one of the sport’s leading creative minds, he’s known to influence elite players while also training hoop-loving entertainers and engaging communities via youth mentorships.
Building off his successes, Matthews recently developed the Red Bull Run the Racks 3-point contest, which challenges the best shooters in the USA to lock in and boost their performance by running the racks themselves. Just a year ago, he broke two All-Star 3-point records that had stood for more than 30 years and knocked down 23 of 25 shots in 66 seconds, including 20 consecutive baskets.
“I feel like I was born to be a trainer. I was born to be a motivator. I was born to help others,” Matthews shares. “If you can master being diligent in your work, you can master your life. So, when I’m teaching my clients, I’m not just helping them understand how to shoot – I’m helping them understand how to be successful as an overall person.”
“Over the years at Religion of Sports, we’ve worked with some of the world’s greatest athletes on the planet,” said Religion of Sports creator and co-founder Gotham Chopra. “But behind those athletes are individuals dedicated to making them even greater. No one can teach how to shoot a basketball better than Chris Matthews aka Lethal Shooter. RoS is proud to work with Chris and to pair him with filmmaker Mandon Lovett – who is a rising documentary talent. Our company is committed to giving young voices new opportunities to tell fascinating sports stories. We are grateful that Red Bull Media House shares this commitment also.”
In addition to his work with basketball players, Matthews has also worked with artists and musicians, including including Machine Gun Kelly (seen at top with him last year), Flea, 2 Chainz and Jason Derulo. Flea has a good quote on Matthews in that release: “He’s seeing details about me that I’m not seeing. That kind of attention to detail doesn’t just come from knowing about basketball – it comes from basic insight of life. He’s tapped in.” Matthews, who has been working with Red Bull for some time, also has a good quote of his own on that front on his Red Bull athlete page:
“Basketball, rap, music, fashion… all of it coexists together,” Chris says. “There are so many artists, and I don’t just mean rappers, I mean painters and actors and different people – who just want to get better.”
And there, Matthews talks about the importance his parents played in his life, including his father giving him the “Lethal Shooter” nickname:
“If it wasn’t for my parents, Jeffrey and Stephanie Winslow, I probably wouldn’t have taken basketball so serious,” Chris says. “Playing at places like Rudolph Playground in Washington DC made me understand what it takes to make it on the basketball court and gave me grit and toughness.”
Matthews certainly has a remarkable story. And he has some name recognition, too, and has even put out widely-watched videos of shooting tips:
It sounds like there’s a good story to tell here. And it’s notable to see Religion of Sports adding this to their extensive list of documentary projects.
Life & Basketball: The Rise of Lethal Shooter will be available on Red Bull TV beginning June 13.
[Images supplied by Religion of Sports and Red Bull Media House]
