Christopher Bustamante runs CB3 Media, a social media marketing agency that handles Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, paid ads, and video editing for clients — including several companies that have pitched on Shark Tank and been featured on Good Morning America and QVC. None of that was true three years ago. Before the agency, before the clients, he was a football player figuring out what came after the sport.

Part 1

Before the agency, football

Christopher moved from Wichita, Kansas to El Paso, Texas at four years old, and started playing football at eight. By high school he was a triple-sport athlete — football, basketball, and track — which led to a scholarship at Lakeland University. A strong showing at the Spring League earned him a pro contract with the San Antonio Gunslingers. Somewhere in the middle of that college run, he also started a YouTube channel under the name @cb3_era — vlogs, pranks, challenges, storytimes, and his football journey — years before any of it turned into a business.

The spark, and the unglamorous part

The idea for CB3 Media didn't come from football at all. It came from watching a mentor's videos on YouTube about running an ad agency. That was the entire spark — no team, no clients, no plan beyond starting. What followed was cold calls, DMs, and emails, "hundreds a day" by his account, with the same pitch every time: work with him for free for the first couple of weeks, no obligation, just to see the results.

The first person to take him up on it was a client he refers to as Klay Griffin, who brought him on for Shredskinz — one of the Shark Tank companies CB3 Media has since worked with. The pay was $300 a month. Griffin raised his rate himself once he saw the work.

Part 2

One event, five or six clients

From Shredskinz came an invitation to a networking event for Shark Tank entrepreneurs. Christopher walked in with one client's worth of proof and came out with five or six new ones. CB3 Media is now going into its third year, working with a roster that includes Shredskinz, Nightcap, and The Scrubbie — all Shark Tank companies — alongside Good Morning America and QVC features. He also runs CB3 Performance, training athletes from the pro level down to youth.

The number

Christopher's best month so far has been about $56,000 — and by his account, that number has held steady for the past six months, not a one-time spike.

Business and marketing aren't the same skill

Asked what running an agency taught him that school never did, his answer wasn't really about school — it was about who you take advice from.

"I don't want to be taught how to run a business by someone who's never run a business himself. I'd rather get advice from someone actually driving a nice car, running a six-figure business."

The other lesson he keeps coming back to is that business and marketing solve different problems, and neither one substitutes for the other.

"You could have a business, but if you don't have the right marketing, you're never going to grow. Vice versa — you can have the best marketing, but without a business, there's nothing in the market."

Part 3

Watch the full three-part conversation for more from the street interview.