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54
March 29 4 2012
F
Contributing Writer
first, let's get the obvious ques-
tion out of the way. How did
Storm Kirschenbaum get his
unusual first name?
There's a simple explanation. He was
born during a January 1978 blizzard, one
of the worst in state history
"I don't think there's been a day in my
life when I haven't been asked that ques-
tion at least once," he said."I'm fine with it.
My name is a blessing, not a curse. People
remember me because of my name."
The 34-year-old Birmingham resident
is making a name for himself in another
way. He's the president of Metis Sports
Management, the state's top sports agency
firm and an emerging player on the
national and international scenes.
While the firm is based in Birmingham,
there are satellite offices in Phoenix, Ariz.,
and the Dominican Republic, and ifs
represented by an agent in South Carolina.
There are 10 employees.
Metis represents 80 professional ath-
letes, the vast majority of them major
league baseball prospects. Eleven are in
the Detroit Tigers organization. Nineteen
clients were in big league camps this
spring.
Houston Astros relief pitcher Fernando
Rodriguez and Philadelphia Phillies
catcher Eric Kratz are Metis clients who
could stick with their parent club this
season.
"We're having a great year, our best ever.
We're adding seven to 10 clients a month:'
Kirschenbaum said. "This business is 100
percent referral, so that tells you we have
a good reputation. Clubhouses are very
small. If you're doing things the wrong
way, the word gets around!'
Kirschenbaum said he understands
why the public — and many professional
athletes — have a negative perception of
sports agents. He can't change that, he said,
but he won't compromise his integrity.
"Our job is to do the best we can for
our clients, keeping in mind that we're an
extension of their family' he said. "I have
a great passion for our industry'
Kirschenbaum's passion and entrepre-
neurial spirit were recognized last year by
DBusiness magazine, which selected him
as one of its top 30 business owners in
their 30s.
Kirschenbaum was an outstanding
athlete when he was in high school and
college. He played hockey and baseball,
earning All-American honors in baseball
while he was at Birmingham Groves. He
played Division I college baseball at the
University of Florida and Long Island
University-C.W. Post.
His career goal at one time was to play
in the NHL. That career didn't pan out,
but Kirschenbaum graduated magna cum
laude with a bachelor's degree in political
science from Long Island, and he gradu-
ated from the University of Detroit-Mercy
Law School in 2003.
He was employed by a law firm with
a sports practice until 2008, when he
opened his company.
Metis is a word that comes from Greek
mythology. She was a goddess of good
counsel, advice and wisdom.
Her influence seems to be working
because Metis has survived in a profes-
sion that has few survivors.
"It takes seven to 10 years to build a
sports agency practice Kirschenbaum
said. "Not everybody can do that. Ninety-
eight percent of new firms dissolve after
about two years!'
Kirschenbatun's business partner is Dr.
Nelson Hersh, an orthodontist.
A former Jewish News High School
Athlete of the Year, Kirschenbaum
serves on the Michigan Jewish Sports
Foundation's selection committees for
the athlete of the year and the Michigan
Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
He and his wife, Alison, a dentist, have a
son Cole, 4. ❑
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