Photo by: TSR Staff
Lanny Smith has had his share of obstacles and setbacks, but nothing stopped him from finding his purpose through his faith. The former NBA player turned CEO of the clothing brand Actively Black combined his love for athletics and his community to redefine cultural representation in sports apparel.
In a new episode of TSR’s Never Stop, Smith candidly explains his journey from professional basketball to building a premium athleisure wear brand from the ground up.
Check out the full episode below:
Smith has loved basketball since the age of four. Both of his parents hooped—it was in his blood. Lanny was a Jordan fanatic and wore the number 23 his entire basketball career. He was ranked in the top 75 players in high school. His mother had a breast cancer scare, so he decided to stay local and attend the University of Houston. He said it was incredible to play for his hometown and surreal to see billboards with his face plastered on them.
However, things took a turn when he was injured during a practice. His NBA dream seemingly went up in smoke as doctors stated that he would not be able to play again. Lanny said that he had a difficult time coping with the devastating news and began to drink heavily. He eventually pulled himself out of the darkness and began training again against his doctor’s instructions.
“It was something in me that didn’t want to give up so I went against the doctor’s orders and I started training again and I went to the NBA development league. And after the season, my agent calls me and tells me that the Sacramento Kings were offereing me a contract. And my mom used to always tell me, ‘What God has for you is for you and no man can change that.’ You know you hear that but in that moment it was real.”
A player fell onto his knee and injured him 33 days after Smith signed his NBA contract. His career was officially over.
The entrepreneur was led to start his company after his second knee surgery. As Lanny rested in recovery, he asked God to show him his purpose. He said that whatever he was shown, he would do. Roughly two weeks later, the idea hit Smith to create a faith-based apparel brand.
He called the clothing line ‘Active Faith’ and launched the brand from his mom’s crib. His friends, Golden State Warrior Stephen Curry and former 76er Anthony Tolliver, loved the concept because they were also highly driven by their faith. The pair put in seed money, and the brand took off!
The company acquired customers in over 70 countries. Professional basketball, football, and baseball players wore Actively Black. However, Lanny said that the majority of his customers were Evangelical Christians, some of whom are known in America to be a little racist. Smith said he stayed in the shadows because he thought it would hurt the business if those customers saw that he was Black. He stated that there were many incidents that proved his fear to be accurate.
He transitioned from Active Faith to Actively Black after watching ‘Black Panther.’ He said something had changed within him. Seeing Black people in such a positive light gave him a sense of pride. All Lanny had seen prior was American propaganda diminishing the greatness of Black people. The film inspired him to create a brand that would make his people as proud as the film made him. The new brand was born! Lanny aims to uplift his community through his company and is pouring his blood, sweat, and tears into making the brand as successful as Nike.
