SAVANNAH, Ga. — Following First Coast News' profile on "The Factory," the "secret gym" hidden in the heart of Savannah, Georgia, that's producing Division I talent, many viewers asked: what's up with the dresses on the walls of the gym?
Great question: that's the story behind the story. It's at the core of The Factory -- and what's made its athletes great.
"No man, no young athlete -- I don't care how great they think they are -- they are not here by themselves," Sam Carter, The Factory's head coach, explains.
Carter that believes everyone -- athlete or not -- stands on the shoulders of those who came before them.
And so, instead of hanging jerseys or posters, Carter has opted to hang memorabilia from those mentors.
"People hang jerseys on the wall of people they've never met. But I like to put up "jerseys" of people that I've actually [met]," Carter said.
"Those are people in Coach Carter's life who inspired him," Rob DeLoach, The Factory's "motivator" and father of one star recruit, explained. "Whether it was his grandmother, Sunday School teacher, nurses."
That list also includes a client of Carter's, Jay Dean -- the brother of celebrity chef Paula Dean. Carter has trained Dean for over five years.
"He's the only one that goes by himself. I can't even get solo workouts," DeLoach laughed.
"I put them up there to let [the young athletes] know that, 'look. Everybody wants to be a pro.' All these young men want to be a pro. And you might be a pro," Carter explained. "But for me, it's important to be a pro in life. And these are all pro's in life.
"If you become a pro in life, that's just as important."