For today's edition of #FridayFive, we bring on long-time Megacity player and former General Manager, Nikita Curins. Every Friday, we'll feature a new player in the league and share their story to our basketball community. We have FIVE questions for the  Nikita!

JA: You've played in the league dating back to 2012. You also made a name for yourself as a General Manager in the On Point League. Is there a favourite moment in Megacity?

NC: My favourite moment in the league would probably be me playing against Akil in the semifinals when he was playing on SmileWork team.

Even though we lost, my team played well plus I think i dropped like 30+ points. It’s always a good feeling when you can play against your friends.

JA: Who did you look up to growing up and why?

NC: If we talk strictly basketball wise - A.I. And MJ where the two people I looked up to. Both of them had the desire to win, they always gave their all and never doubted their abilities. I loved those qualities in them. 
Plus I felt like if A.I. can do it then I could probably do it as well cause we both are almost the same height. 

JA: If you could say 1 common mistake basketball players make when it comes to working out what would that be?

NC: I could name more than one, because there is a pretty huge list. But the one that stands out really most is probably the lack of mobility training and paying attention to their bodies when they are training. Many players are not aware of the muscles they are using while performing the movements, they are simply going through motions. That together with lack of mobility training over time becomes a dangerous combination. 

JA: I've seen such tremendous growth from you over the years. It's truly amazing to see. What drives you to do what you do?

NC: First of all, thank you. 
I believe that I still have a long way to go and I’m just in the beginning stages of what I want to do. 
To be honest, when I was growing up I was super competitive and I channeled that energy into basketball. When you play ball at a elite level overseas the only thing you wanna do is win, once it was taken away from due to the fact that I received a career ending injury I channeled that energy into helping people to overcome the similar issues. 
I didn’t want anyone to feel the pain I went through. As I was finding myself my vision started to grow. And I decided that I just want to be the best whether it is basketball or training or business. So now I’m just trying to influence and help as many people as possible and that mentality is pushing me to be better every day. 

JA: We're excited to see what you do in 2018. What's next for you?

NC: I started this new project that I run on biweekly basis educating  people on the proper way of training. We pick different topic every second weekend and do our best to teach people everything that could help them to improve their fitness and create sustainability and self sufficiency. 

“You give a man a fish, he eats for a day, you teach a man how to fish, he eats forever.”

So we are just trying to help others to be better and do more! - Nikita Curins

JA: Thanks so much for taking time from your busy schedule to take part in the #FridayFive. We look forward to working with you in the near future. For those looking to get fit, looking to educate yourself on strength and conditioning and more, please follow my good friend Nikita at @nikita_pntgn on IG.