Revealed – 10 Well-Known Athletes Who Run Successful Lifestyle Companies-Many athletes have used their success on the field to launch their own lifestyle brands, particularly in the fashion and beauty industries.
While some have opted to work with established brands, others have chosen to start from the ground up. We look at some athletes who are making their impact in the market with lifestyle brands spanning from leisure to luxury, from Serena Williams’ apparel line to David Beckham’s grooming items for men.
Ten famous sportspersons are running their own lifestyle brands –
Serena Williams
Tennis legend Serena Williams debuted her fashion line S by Serena in 2018, after winning 23 Grand Slams, the most by any player in the Open Era’s singles tournament. Her outfits are made to fit a variety of body types and sizes. Jackets, trousers, skirts, leggings, jumpsuits, and jewelry are all available through her label. In September 2019, she debuted her Autumn/Winter collection at New York Fashion Week.
She studied fashion for two years at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale in Florida before launching the company. She previously teamed with Nike to tap a team of young New York City designers for a variety of footwear and apparel, and she also designed for Home Shopping Network on a collection of statement jewelry and fashion accessories.
Cristiano Ronaldo
The Portuguese footballer, who plays for Manchester United in England, is one of the most famous and well-paid athletes in the world. Ronaldo opened CR7, a designer business on Funchal, Portugal’s Madeira Island, in 2006, using his initials and jersey number. Since then, the lifestyle brand has grown to include high-end denim, eyeglasses, underwear, footwear, and fragrances all around the world. Ronaldo is so well-liked that in 2015, astronomers named a galaxy CR7 after him.
Maria Sharapova
In 2014, the former tennis player joined Holly Thaggard as a co-owner of Supergoop, a UV-focused skincare brand. The brand offers a diverse selection of sunscreens for all skin types and tones. Sugarpova, a firm Sharapova launched in 2012, is also hers. According to Forbes, the brand’s income in 2019 was roughly US$20 million from selling sweets and candies. In order to diversify her business portfolio in 2020, she bought in Therabody, a wellness company best known for its Theragun – a hand-held massage device..
Virat Kohli
Kohli has been the face of numerous major brands such as Audi, MRF, and Philips India, and is the sole Indian on Forbes’ highest-paid sportsmen list for 2020. Kohli joined Universal Sportsbiz as a co-owner of the premium clothes and accessories brand Wrogn in 2014. He’s also the brand’s ambassador for men’s lifestyle items like T-shirts, casual shirts, jeans, eyeglasses, sneakers, and caps. Since the 2018 edition of the Indian Premier League, Wrogn has been a sponsor of the Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore (IPL).
In 2017, the Indian national team captain also collaborated with Puma to launch One8, a shoe and accessory brand. According to Forbes India, One8 made roughly US$18.9 million in revenue by June 2019. He co-owns the London-based social networking business Sport Convo, owns the Chisel India chain of fitness centers, and runs a restaurant called Nueva in New Delhi, among other things.
Venus Williams
The multiple Grand Slam champion is most recognized in the fashion world for her EleVen ready-to-wear line. The brand was first introduced in 2007 in conjunction with the now-defunct retailer Steve & Barry’s, but was reintroduced in 2012. EleVen has a wide range of products for women of various sizes, from cosmetics to sportswear.
Venus, like her younger sister Serena, went to the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale to study fashion design. EleVen was founded the same year she graduated. She also owns V Starr Interiors, an interior design firm, and has invested in the health brand Astura. Happy Vikings, a plant-based protein shake business she started in December 2020, is her most recent venture.
Lukas Podolski
In 2016, the German football great launched his Strassenkicker streetwear label. T-shirts, hoodies, tracksuits, caps, and accessories with a theme related to Podolski’s hometown of Cologne are produced by the brand. In 2020, he and Rakuten, a Japanese internet service provider, developed Strassenkicker Base, a gaming arena. There are five artificial grass soccer pitches, two multifunctional futsal pitches, and a panna cage (for the street soccer game panna), as well as room for wheelchair sports and e-gaming.
David Beckham
The retired English footballer is one of the world’s most recognized fashion icons, owning a few luxury lifestyle brands and endorsing a slew of others. In 2018, Beckham launched House99, a men’s grooming line in collaboration with L’Oréal Luxe. Body wash, beard and hair balm, eye balm, and shaving cream are among the products sold under the label. He also has his own scent collection.
In 2019, he acquired full ownership of Beckham Brand Holdings, which he co-founded with entertainer Simon Fuller in 2014. The firm oversees his collaborations and companies, as well as holding stakes in Seven Global and Inter Miami FC of Major League Soccer (MLS). Beckham and Global Brands Group formed Seven Global in 2015 to manage the development of all consumer goods categories with which he is affiliated.
Dwyane Wade
In 2018, the NBA legend became only the fourth athlete in the world to sign a lifetime footwear agreement with Li-Ning for the Way of Wade 7 signature shoe. Wade also has his own tie line, The Tie Bar, and a custom luggage line, Away.
In partnership with the American sock manufacturer Stance, he launched the Pkwy brand of inexpensive socks. Wade teamed with Dsquared2’s founders on a capsule collection that was available exclusively at Saks Fifth Avenue in 2017. In collaboration with his friend, vintner Jayson Pahlmeyer, he created his own California wine label, Wade Cellars. Wade, which is created largely from Oakville fruit, and Three by Wade, which uses grapes from Mendocino in California, are the two labels for the series of wines. Blackberry and black currants are combined with red cedar and seasonal spice in the 2018 Wade Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, which costs US$95. In 2020, Wade Cellars announced that it will donate US$10 to the Social Change Fund for every purchase of The Social Change Bundle — comprising a bottle each of 2018 Wade Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon and 2018 Three by Wade Cabernet Sauvignon, and a limited-edition Wade Cellars Hat.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
MS Dhoni, an Indian cricketer, started his own lifestyle brand Seven in 2016, in addition to being the face of various companies. It is the official clothing and merchandise partner of the IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings, for whom Dhoni plays, and is known for sporty and luxury gear and footwear. In 2019, he invested in Cars24, an online marketplace for secondhand vehicles.
Michael Jordan
Despite the fact that it is a collaboration with Nike, basketball legend Michael Jordan’s Air Jordan is a globally recognized shoe line that began as a franchise in 1984. According to his agent, David Falk, “the upstart” Nike anticipated to sell shoes for US$3 million by the end of the first four years, but instead made US$126 million in the first year. In 1997, Nike made Air Jordan a sub-brand due to the line’s tremendous popularity. According to Forbes in 2019, the shoemaker made US$3.14 billion from this line in the fiscal year ending in May, with Jordan’s part totaling to US$130 million.
According to Quartz, Nike CEO Mark Parker told investors on a teleconference on December 21, 2019, that the “Jordan brand just generated its first $1 billion quarter, on a wholesale comparable basis.” In addition, since 1986, all Air Jordans have featured the iconic emblem of Jordan jumping in the air with a basketball rather than Nike’s own swoosh.