The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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62 THE WOLVERINE SEPTEMBER 2022 WHERE ARE THEY NOW? was the first NCAA team to buy 8K Solu- tions, which was the equipment that I filmed on. I got close with my current boss because he would take visits to Michigan to make sure everything was OK. "He called me after I graduated and asked what I wanted to do. I had no idea and asked if he had anything for me. I started selling camera systems to NFL teams and collegiate programs. I've been doing it for the past five, going on six years." 8K Solutions is out to improve safety with video equipment advancements that get rid of the need for staffers to film from scissor lifts. "They catch on fire, they tip over. There is a big list of incidents," Fox said. "With our system, you have the camera operator sitting on the ground on the trailer-mounted unit and the camera goes 55 feet up in the air and the opera- tor is safely on the ground. "Wind doesn't affect you. You can be in the pouring rain, hurricane grade. We have these things all over the coun- try. We have 31 of 32 NFL teams and have about 50 Division I programs and a couple of high schools." The equipment that Fox sells extends beyond replacing the need for scissor lifts. 8K Solutions continues to advance the technology used in the game of football. "We do instant replay at practice," Fox said. "We do walk-through walls, which is basically immersive film where you are standing in front of an 8-by- 40-foot wall. You're watching film and conducting walk-throughs in real-time. "Students can do them by them- selves. You just hook it up to whatever software you're using, and you just rip through film like that. "The instant replay at practice is huge. A lot of guys love that. We're a tech company, and we're going to con- tinue to progress and hopefully come out with the next big thing and try to keep everybody safe." Fox has been a Swiss Army knife dur- ing his time with the company. In ad- dition to sales, he travels to check on programs and make they are maximiz- ing the equipment. He had no idea that this would be a career for him. Staying close to football made it a path worth walking. "I had zero interest or knowledge in tech," he said. "What drew me in was when I did it at Michigan was that I was going to be on the same schedule as the guys. I show up when practice starts and leave when it is over. I'm on the same schedule now. All my friends play football. That's what drove me in the first place. "But once I got going I was like, 'Wow, this is cool. I'm still around football.' I was done playing, so this is a perfect segue to get to stay in football, stay in sports. That was a huge draw for me." Michigan has a way of preparing its alums for whatever life throws at them. Fox is another example of that and has his alma mater to thank for giving him a path when playing football was no lon- ger the route to take. "You come out of there a Michigan Man," he said. "That sets you up for success no matter what you do. I played my cards right, and everything fell into place for me. When you're at Michigan, you know that you can do literally what- ever you want." ❏ Fox is now an account executive at 8K Solutions, a tech company that sells cutting-edge video equipment to college and NFL teams across the country. PHOTO COURTESY CHRIS FOX The Chris Fox File Michigan Accomplishments: Stu- dent-athlete on the football team from 2013-15 before medical retire- ment in 2015 … Student assistant with the football program, contrib- uting to the video department with video coordinator Phil Bromley. Professional Accomplishments: Account executive at 8K Solutions from July 2017 to present. Michigan Memory: "My favorite memory from my time at U-M is meeting my wife." Favorite Spot In Ann Arbor: "The house where all the guys lived. That was always the house where we watched football on Sundays. That's where we had all the parties. I never lived there, unfortunately, but I was an honorary member." Education: Bachelor's degree in history from the U-M College of Lit- erature, Science and the Arts. Family: Lily (Moriarty) Fox, wife.