Lanny Smith wants someone to challenge sportswear giants like Nike, Adidas and Reebok — so much that he’s trying to do it himself.
Smith, 38, is the founder and CEO of Actively Black, the sportswear company he launched in 2020 in the wake of George Floyd’s death. At the time, plenty of big companies were issuing statements condemning racism while pledging to promote diversity and invest in Black communities.
The promises rang somewhat hollow for Smith, a former University of Houston basketball star who saw the $170 billion industry as reliant on the Black community’s culture, influence and consumer dollars. Rather than lobbying for change within multibillion-dollar giants, Smith wanted to try beating them at their own game.
“A lot of these sports apparel brands have profited off of Black talent,” Smith tells CNBC Make It, referring to numerous endorsement deals with superstar Black athletes. “[The companies] have profited off of the consumerism from the Black community. And I felt like they hadn’t adequately reinvested back into the Black community.”
Today, Actively Black is a multimillion-dollar brand, reportedly valued at $30 million in 2021. It brought in $5.6 million in revenue last year while promoting a rotating cast of Black designers and reinvesting 10% of sales into organizations supporting social justice, mental health and physical health in U.S. Black communities.
The company recently collaborated with Disney on “Black Panther”-themed clothing, and made Nigeria’s official uniforms at the 2022 Winter Olympics. NBA star Stephen Curry was spotted wearing an Actively Black hoodie during a press conference last year, shortly after former President Barack Obama sported a watch the brand collaborated on.
But it’s all a drop in the bucket, compared to the billions of dollars brought in each year by the likes of Nike and Adidas — meaning Smith’s commitment to making a lasting impact on the Black community is a work in progress.
“I took the mindset that it was…
Read the full article here
