THE UNDERDOG was built for the ones who kept showing up when the odds said stop. What started with a mission to create opportunity has grown into a brand that represents resilience, discipline, and earning everything you become.                                                                                                                   ART IN THE MOVEMENT. PURPOSE IN THE EFFORT.

Before I became a coach, I was already making clothes and involved in sports and the arts. I’ve always seen sports as a form of art. Athletes express creativity, intelligence, and individuality through movement. Their ability to read a moment, make a decision, and execute displays a level of genius developed through physical discipline.

That connection is at the heart of Underdogs Athletics.

My coaching journey began in little league football. Basketball, my favorite sport, became the place where Underdogs found its name.

My high school coach, Charlene Jackson, used to tell me I would end up coaching. I would tell her, “Nah.” Years later, my cousin’s recreational basketball team needed a coach, and I stepped up to coach fifth-grade boys.

We started with five players. Looking at that first roster, I honestly thought we had no chance. I called us the Underdogs.

We finished that season 4–4. Those kids challenged my expectations and helped me understand the kind of coach I wanted to become.

EVERY KID DESERVES TO FEEL LIKE A STAR.

I wanted each player to recognize their value, build confidence, and develop the character to handle both winning and losing.

As a former player, I understood that everyone processes the game differently. I spent time observing. Sometimes I sat with headphones on, which could look like disinterest from the outside. In our huddles and timeouts, I asked questions: “What are you seeing?” “What do you think I mean when I ask you to execute this?”

I wanted to understand their thinking and help them find an approach that fit their strengths. My role was to provide guidance while giving them room to make decisions, learn, and develop confidence in their own understanding of the game.

For beginners, my first lesson was simple: you can bring effort and hustle from day one. Skills develop through practice. Getting back on defense, pursuing a loose ball, and staying engaged are places to start.

Most of our wins came from out-hustling our opponents. Effort became our foundation.

THE RELATIONSHIP CONTINUES.

Over time, I coached more than 100 boys and girls. My first group of basketball players has now graduated high school, and I still mentor former players through social media, texts, and lunches.

I believe the player-coach relationship never stops. As their lives change, there are new conversations to have and new ways to support their growth.

I’m growing alongside them. The effort and hustle I taught on the court are values I carry into my own life. I’m learning to give that effort structure, direction, and a pace I can sustain.

THE VISION KEEPS GROWING.

Underdogs Athletics brings my love of clothing, art, sports, and mentorship together. Through what we create, I express the world through my lens and encourage people to recognize what they can bring to it.

Our purpose centers on physical, mental, and spiritual fitness: developing our abilities, trusting our thinking, and staying connected to our values and purpose.

My long-term vision is to develop Underdogs Athletics into a curriculum and eventually a school, where creativity, movement, and life lessons become part of how people learn.

It’s a vision rooted in the belief that everyone has something worth developing—and deserves the opportunity to discover it.

RUN YOUR RACE. RESPECT YOUR PACE. KEEP SHOWING UP.

AGAINST ALL ODDS.