By: Sophie Ma

Lanny Smith, who was a former NBA player, launched Actively Black, a premium sportswear brand, in November 2020. He grew up playing basketball, and by the time he was in sixth-grade he was in the top 100th ranks. Smith’s dream was getting into the NBA, and after spending his college years at the University of Houston, he signed up for the NBA with the Sacramento Kings in 2009. However, just thirty-three days into his NBA career, everything ended.

“A big 6-10, 250-pound teammate fell into my left knee and tore the cartilage. I had two microfracture surgeries, and my NBA career was over just like that.” Smith said in a recent conversation, saying that obtaining his lifelong dream and losing it within such a short amount of time was devastating.

In a recent interview, Smith was asked “How did obtaining your lifelong dream and losing it quickly affect your life?”

“I went through depression.” Smith states that he constantly asked himself “What am I gonna do with the rest of my life?”.

He said that he was afraid to go out, scared of people recognizing him as a former NBA player. Smith said, “I started drinking heavily. I was really struggling with the fact that my dream was gone.”

Despite his struggles, Smith didn’t seek help. He says that because he went from “literally being with the best athletes in the entire world back at home living with my mother,” his depression not only came along with a fear of the future.

Smith says that he came out of depression through “My prayers, my faith and God’s grace helped me to come out of depression.” He transferred the energy and passion he spent on his dream to launching and starting Actively Black, a faith-based sports apparel business. His business partners were Anthony Toler and Stephen Curry.

When launching his first business, Smith expressed his identity issues. Saying that he was afraid that if customers knew that this business was run by a young black man they wouldn’t buy.

Smith said that “I had these different incidents where I was doing customer service, and a customer called and said that I sounded like I was Black. I said, “Well, I am Black.” And they immediately asked for a refund.”

Growing up, Smith’s parents always encouraged him to be proud of being black, yet now he was hiding the fact that he was black from his business.

When asked about the vision of Actively Black, Smith says “Essentially my purpose was to create a brand that uplifts and reinvests into the Black community.” He says that it’s not just about the product and the apparel, but about “the impact that we’re having on the community.”