POPSUGAR: Tell us the story behind how your brand came to be.
Lanny Smith: I am a former professional basketball player. I played college basketball at the University of Houston and went on to sign with the Sacramento Kings in 2009. Thirty-three days after signing my first NBA contract, I suffered a knee injury that ended my entire career. After my injury, I transitioned into the world of entrepreneurship and began developing my first brand, Active Faith Sports, in partnership with Steph Curry and Anthony Tolliver. We officially launched Active Faith Sports in 2012, a brand offering high-quality sports apparel designed with faith-based messaging.
Following the success of Active Faith and seeing firsthand the impact we had on the faith-based community, I was inspired to create a brand that would have a similar impact on the larger Black community. I announced Actively Black on Juneteenth 2020. Actively Black officially launched Black Friday, Nov. 26, 2020.
