Derek Marques, whose parents hail from Caldas da Rainha, Portugal, was born and raised in Oshawa, about 60 kilometers east of Toronto. He studied computer science at Durham College before embarking on a career in technology.
“I’ve always loved sports, but growing up, I heard that being an agent required being a lawyer, and I didn’t think I was smart enough for that,” he told Lusa.
Marques first engaged with professional athletes between 2010 and 2016 through a podcast where he interviewed players from various sports.
“I talked to NHL athletes about soccer and to Blue Jays players about hockey. That’s how I started building my network in professional sports,” the 45-year-old Portuguese-Canadian explained, highlighting that “this experience eventually opened doors to baseball.”
In 2016, he was invited by an American agent to join an agency in Chicago.
Marques then discovered that it wasn’t necessary to be a lawyer to represent players.
“It was like discovering my dream was possible. I took the union exam and got certified in three months,” he recalled.
The partnership ended when he realized the agent was facing legal troubles in the United States.
“That’s when I knew I had to go it alone,” he stated.
In May 2018, he founded his company, Lake Ridge Sports Management.
He currently represents about 30 athletes, including college players and MLB athlete Dane Myers from the Miami Marlins.
The book “Not the Only One,” recently released, is the result of two years of work.
The book describes his lifelong experience with depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD).
“I’m extremely organized and operate by patterns. Instead of seeing that as a hindrance, I used it to my advantage to manage dozens of players at once,” he explained.
However, he acknowledges the challenges: “When I lose a player or something goes wrong, depression and anxiety make everything seem worse.”
Marques also recalls his upbringing in a Portuguese household where baseball wasn’t part of daily life.
“Baseball was never mentioned at home. My father took me to Benfica and Sporting games when we went to Portugal, and my first memory is watching Maradona win the World Cup,” he shared.
“Growing up in a European household in the 80s and 90s was very different. Mental health wasn’t discussed, and I didn’t even know that what I felt had a name,” he noted.
Marques believes that stigma around mental health persists, including in the Portuguese community.
“People still don’t truly understand what certain illnesses mean. Two identical diagnoses can manifest in completely different ways,” he emphasized.
In the book, the agent aims to reveal the profession’s behind-the-scenes and debunk myths.
“When I say I’m an agent, people ask if I’m like Jerry Maguire. The reality is much harsher; keeping players, dealing with pressures, and trying to break into the Canadian circuit is extremely difficult,” he summarized.
Derek Marques stated that the primary motivation for the book is to encourage those who feel hindered by personal or professional difficulties.
“I want people to understand they’re not alone. We can achieve dreams at 20, 30, 40, or 50 years old. And a mental illness doesn’t have to be the reason to give up,” he concluded.
