Posted by Actively Black
on September 25, 2026
Watch Lanny on Sway’s Universe: My NBA Career Ended in 33 Days… Then This Happened, Sway’s Universe on YouTube
Read the full feature: From NBA Heartbreak to a $30 Million Empire: How Lanny Smith Built Actively Black, Sway’s Universe (February 2026)
Sway’s Universe profiled Actively Black, the Black-owned premium athleisure brand founded by Lanny Smith in 2020, in a February 2026 feature titled “From NBA Heartbreak to a $30 Million Empire: How Lanny Smith Built Actively Black.”
The piece follows Lanny from the knee injury that ended his NBA run to the brand the Tribe wears today, and it lands on the idea at the heart of everything we do: build your own table.
Key takeaways
- Sway’s Universe reported that Lanny signed his first NBA contract in 2009 and that a collision with a teammate tore the articular cartilage in his knee about a month later.
- The outlet wrote that Actively Black has generated more than $30 million in revenue in less than five years, according to its reporting.
- Sway’s Universe noted that industry voices warned Lanny the name “Actively Black” would limit the brand, and that he chose to super-serve his community anyway.
- The feature highlighted the brand’s cut-and-sew manufacturing with premium fabrics, rather than printing logos on cheap blanks.
- According to Sway’s Universe, a meeting with FUBU founder Daymond John led to introductions behind collaborations with Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the Muhammad Ali estate and Bob Marley’s family.
- The outlet also pointed to Lanny hiring his mother, a former computer programmer, and sourcing cotton from Black farmers as ways the brand keeps wealth circulating in the community.
In Lanny's words
“Who am I without this game of basketball?”
— Lanny Smith, recalling the question he asked himself after his injury, via Sway’s Universe
Why it matters
Sway’s Universe framed the gap the way we see it: Black consumers spend billions on apparel every year but rarely own the brands they support. Actively Black exists to change that equation, and to prove a brand can be unapologetically Black without cutting corners on quality.
The feature also shows that ownership reaches past the logo. Hiring family, working with legacy estates that trust us with their stories, and buying cotton from Black farmers all keep dollars moving inside the community. The clothes are the uniform for the movement, and the movement is economic.
Shop the story
Explore the collaborations Sway’s Universe mentioned in the Wakanda collection and Muhammad Ali x Actively Black, or shop cotton grown by Black farmers in our Premium Cotton collection.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Actively Black?
Lanny Smith founded Actively Black in 2020. He is a former University of Houston guard whose NBA career with the Sacramento Kings ended after a knee injury.
What did Sway’s Universe say about Actively Black?
Sway’s Universe described Actively Black as a premium athleisure brand that, by its reporting, has generated more than $30 million in revenue in under five years, built on quality manufacturing and major cultural collaborations.
Which collaborations did Sway’s Universe mention?
The feature cited collaborations with Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the Muhammad Ali estate and Bob Marley’s family, which it said followed introductions made by Daymond John.
Is Actively Black Black-owned?
Yes. Actively Black is a Black-owned athleisure brand founded by Lanny Smith.
