Like a glove: ‘Fits, faith go hand-in-hand for Trinity senior getting early grip on business world with athletic clothing brand 

For most high schoolers, turning 16 and beginning to drive are rites of passage shortly followed by another that’s a good bit less looked-forward-to: Getting a first job. 

The case was no different for Trinity Christian School senior Ben Helton about this time two years ago. But rather than search around town for a part-time gig, he decided to go the unconventional route of starting a business of his own. 

Fast forward to 2025, and the side project – a faith-based sports apparel and equipment brand named MVP Sportswear – is starting to take off. 

Since an official launch last year, the multi-sport Crusader athlete has grown the startup into a fully-fledged LLC with an online presence and an impressive product line. He now designs and sells batting gloves and compression arm sleeves that are worn by athletes in a good many places across Georgia, and beyond. 

But the venture is about more than just high-quality clothing and accessories, going further to promote a Christian purpose and message that’s turned it into as unique a side hustle as it is a ministry for Helton, who’s eager to see what new doors it opens beyond the end of his current chapter as a high schooler next month. 

“As a kid, I prayed to be a light through the platform of baseball,” he said. “Of course, I hoped that would be playing professionally and people looking up to me because of my ability, but now I have that opportunity from MVP, and also the platform of being on my high school team. So it’s funny how God will answer prayers in ways we don’t expect.” 

Helton, a left-handed pitcher and outfielder who bats from the leadoff spot, has been a cornerstone player for the Trinity baseball team since his freshman season, and along the way contributed to a handful of other Crusader sports programs, notably football as a skill athlete and defender. 

Though many can technically be worn for multiple sports (Helton and several Trinity football teammates were known to rock an MVP sleeve on the gridiron last fall), his products cater mostly to players of baseball and softball, whose equipment choices matter just as much for function as they do fashion. 

These batting gloves and compression sleeves have both boxes checked. 

The former, available in five colors, are modeled after the feel and utility of brand-name “Bruce Bolt” batting gloves – some of the most popular on the market – at a comparative bargain. They’re constructed of two different types of premium leather: a thick goatskin material makes up the palms and grips, while the sheepskin derivative “cabretta” comprises the rest.

“It’s so well-known now because of how durable it is. It’s meant to last players a lot longer than normal,” Helton said. 

The sleeves are made of a simpler performance material in multiple additional colors, and likewise feature a signature cross and the MVP logo as part of their design. 

Helton also offers multiple styles of T-shirts that carry MVP branding along with a few lines of Scripture taken from Psalm 150:2 – “Praise him for his acts of power; Praise him for his surpassing greatness” – that have been foundational for the company.  

It’s a theme verse that sums up the central message, which he channels in personalized notes written on the shipment invoices for every sale as well as in a mission statement, which reads, in part: “Our goal is to use our platform to share the gospel with athletes and help remind them about the all-time MVP, Jesus Christ. We want to remind athletes to praise God in the ups and downs because it is only by the grace of God that they have the ability to play the games that they love. We hope and pray that players will remember why they play, and for whom they play.” 

He first stepped into entrepreneurial batters’ box in 2023, early in his process of brainstorming work possibilities that would jive with a schedule dominated by year-round sports commitments, mostly ruling out a traditional means of employment. Though he’s narrowed his recent focus to two main activities, Helton was – at that point – involved in a total of four, as a member of Trinity basketball and track teams. 

“I started trying to think of something entrepreneur-related, and something baseball-related, because I played baseball at the time and a good bit of travel ball, so I was around the field all the time,” he said. “If I could find a way to make some money around that, that’s what I was going to try to do.” 

With time, things would take a totally different direction. But his initial concept was a service geared towards baseball players that would revolve around tracking velocity, spin and trajectory data used to analyze pitching and swing mechanics. 

That original enterprise, in which MVP stood for “Metric and Video Performance,” never gained much traction. And by the end of a first summer, he decided to pivot into the sports apparel space, and tweak the acronym to represent “Most Valuable Performance” instead. 

Helton spent most of the next year devising his gameplan: picking out the types of athletic gear he wanted to focus on, then designing the products and having samples manufactured. His merchandise originates from various places on the globe: the gloves made in Pakistan, sleeves from a supplier in China and shirts hailing from a good bit closer to home out of a graphics shop based in Statesboro. 

Though there were some informal sales beforehand, his first products hit the market last summer. The following fall, Helton would also take the step of forming the company into an LLC. 

“It started out with some arm sleeves, and from there, moved into some batting gloves and shirts,” he said. “When I finally got everything down for the couple products I have now, by that point it was 2024. Then, I created a website, and that’s when things really got rolling a good bit better.” 

Along the way, Helton took inspiration from another verse, Proverbs 16:3 (“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans”), as he began building and crafting the identity of the company, and values the MVP label would represent. 

“I was like, this is a great opportunity to honor the Lord with what I’m doing here, so I decided to make it a Christian brand.” 

Helton also donates 10 percent of all product sales to missions, in particular an international ministry that’s close to his heart: an outreach focused on baseball discipleship in the Dominican Republic. 

The program is affiliated with SCORE International, an organization headed up by Crusader baseball assistant coach Chuck Grooms that spearheads mission trips plugging short-term teams into the work of its established ministry efforts. 

Trinity students and faculty are part of groups it deploys to the Dominican on a yearly basis. Helton, who traveled there in 2024, was one of 14 who took part in a similar trip to Panama this past January. 

“I feel like I’ve always had a heart for missions,” he said. “I want to be somebody that the Lord uses and that leaves an impact and helps other people. So it’s just a really good opportunity to actually do that, actually put that into action.” 

In only about a year’s time, the reach of MVP Sportswear has grown significantly as the brand catches on with more and more customers outside of just Laurens County. 

Recently, a big driver of exposure and revenue has been tournaments at Southern Pines, where Helton has staged pop-up shops showcasing products to players and parents of travel teams competing. 

“That’s by far, right now, where the most success comes from,” he said. 

Locally, MVP gloves and sleeves can be seen being worn by numerous high school players across the area, including several of Helton’s Crusader teammates. 

His online store, which figures to grow with time, has drawn modest traffic, with customers so far from places as far away as California, Illinois and New York. 

“I want it to get as big as possible. I don’t really have like a set number on where I want to get, I just kind of make that up as I go, but I want it to be on a national level.” 

Helton, who plans to attend Mercer University in the fall, is now down to the short rows in his senior baseball season. 

The Crusaders are 15-4 (5-2 region) heading into their final two home games, the next coming up Thursday at home against Edmund Burke. 

“I feel like our season’s gone pretty well,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of ups, and we’ve had quite a few learning experiences as well. But I’m really excited for the playoffs coming up. I think we’ve got a really good shot of going the whole nine. I want to see us do it. I’m just trying to stay at work, pray about it and just let the Lord handle the rest.” 

The same goes for his business, which despite the upcoming end to his time as a player, will continue to offer an outlet for ministry through sports that he plans to take advantage of as long as he’s called. 

“Considering the mission behind it, I definitely have a good reason to keep going with it,” Helton said.