Actively Black on That Moment with Daymond John: Purpose Over Profit

That Moment with Daymond John, the podcast hosted by FUBU founder Daymond John, featured Actively Black founder Lanny Smith in an October 2023 episode titled “How Lanny Smith Scaled to $30M+ While Fighting Injustice.” Actively Black is the Black-owned athleisure brand Smith launched in 2020. Over 46 minutes, the two founders talked about the injuries that ended Smith’s basketball career, how he taught himself the apparel business, and why the brand’s mission comes first.

Key takeaways

• Daymond John introduced Lanny Smith as a former NBA player who turned a career-ending injury into a business, first with Active Faith and then with Actively Black in 2020.
• Smith said a teammate fell into his knee 33 days after he signed with the Sacramento Kings in 2009, after an earlier college foot injury that doctors had also called career-ending.
• Smith told John he taught himself Photoshop, Illustrator and website building through “YouTube University” because he could not afford agencies, and that he studied Under Armour founder Kevin Plank.
• Smith said he still keeps the notebook where he wrote the Actively Black name and a list of people he wanted to reach, including the Obamas, Allen Iverson and Daymond John.
• On the episode, Smith announced that Actively Black had received clearance from the Tupac estate, and pointed to icons on his wall including John Carlos, Muhammad Ali and Allen Iverson.
• Smith said everyone is welcome to wear Actively Black, because every purchase increases what the brand can give back to the Black community.

In Lanny's words

“My mission never changes to uplift and reinvest back into the Black community.”

— Lanny Smith, That Moment with Daymond John (October 2023)

“the tribe as I like to call them, I don't like to call them customers.”

— Lanny Smith on Actively Black’s community, That Moment with Daymond John

Why it matters

In this conversation Daymond John compared Actively Black to what FUBU meant to his generation, and Smith said he used to beg his mother for the latest FUBU release. That link between two Black-owned brands is the point. When we own the brand, what the Tribe spends comes back to the community instead of building someone else’s wealth.

Smith also explained our tagline, “There’s greatness in our DNA,” as a mindset more than a slogan. The clothes are the uniform. The message is that people who know their own greatness act differently in school, at work and at home. That is why we would rather build our own table than ask for a seat at someone else’s.

Shop the story

The icons Smith talked about on this episode live on in our collaborations. Shop Tupac x Actively Black, the Muhammad Ali x Actively Black collection, and our best-selling men’s and unisex styles.

Frequently asked questions

Who founded Actively Black?

Actively Black was founded by Lanny Smith, a former University of Houston basketball player whose NBA career with the Sacramento Kings ended with a knee injury. He launched the brand in 2020.

What did Daymond John say about Actively Black?

On That Moment with Daymond John, John called the product “absolutely amazing” and compared Actively Black to what FUBU was for his generation.

Is Actively Black Black-owned?

Yes. Actively Black is a Black-owned athleisure brand founded by Lanny Smith, with a mission to uplift and reinvest in the Black community.

Can non-Black customers wear Actively Black?

Yes. Smith told Daymond John that everyone is welcome, and that purchases from any customer increase how much the brand can give back to the Black community.

Listen to the full episode: How Lanny Smith Scaled to $30M+ While Fighting Injustice, That Moment with Daymond John (October 2023)