We were lucky to catch up with Deonte Holden recently and have shared our conversation below.
Deonte, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
Originally, I wanted to write a book on my experience being a collegiate athlete. During the pandemic in 2020, I decided to use my story to create a business that could help athletes in various ways. Law of Athlete™ was founded on April 1, 2020, at 1:06 pm. The name Law of Athlete was inspired by a poem entitled ‘The Law of the Jungle’ by Rudyard Kipling. Ironically, the poem has been utilized throughout NC State history, contributing to their Wolf Pack brand identity. Shortly after creating the name “Law of Athlete”, I developed 12 Laws to serve as the blueprint to maximize human potential, as well as other intellectual properties and verticals to empower our global sports community.
At first, I wasn’t sure how I would identify the operation of the business because I wanted to do so much. I knew my mission was to create a company that would educate, entertain, and empower everyone through athlete-driven content, experiences, and products. By doing so, it would help us build the world’s largest sports community through content, merchandise, events, partnerships and educational opportunities. Telling athletes stories from their point of view was very important to us. As a media platform, we started with a podcast called the Law of Athlete Podcast. It all culminated on December 6th when the 12 Laws of Athlete were released to the public through an inaugural show featuring Grammy nominated artist, Jeezy. The success of this official introduction only continued to grow when Law of Athlete signed a coveted deal with a hedge fund for sponsorship over $10,000 just two months later. Fast forward, we have created other video series under our brand, hosted some philanthropic events, developed key partnerships to continue monetizing our content, and more. It has been an exciting journey for our team that stands proud to serve athletes across the world!
Deonte, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
`Law of Athlete™ is an athlete-driven empowerment brand primarily in media production. Our mission is to educate, entertain, and empower everyone through athlete-driven content, experiences, and products. Our brand includes varied video series, podcasts, and essential products for every athlete. Law of Athlete is set to build the worlds largest sports community through content, merchandise, events, partnerships and educational opportunities.
What sets us apart from other media companies is our commitment to collaboration with athletes. We believe that athletes have the most powerful and authentic stories to tell, and we work closely with them to ensure that their voices are heard. This collaborative approach has led to some of our most popular and acclaimed series, podcasts, and products. And it’s something that we’re constantly striving to improve on. We’re always looking for new ways to tell athletes’ stories and create essential products that help them reach their full potential.
We have other verticals that operate under our brand like our marketing agency, Global Creatives Agency, where we help create and develop world-class brands. We understand that your company’s foundation is the key to everlasting success. With a focus on your unique goals, we bring impactful strategies and solutions from ideation to execution to deliver results and unlock your brand’s full potential. It’s easy to build a company but it takes a lot to build a brand. What sets us apart is our ability to really focus on what makes each company special and craft a brand strategy that suits them. This is something we are passionate about and continue to be excited by. Knowing that we’re helping businesses achieve their goals and reach their full potential is very gratifying.
Identifying and focusing on the why has been key to my success and the success of my brand. Throughout my career, I have always remained focused on the greater purpose behind everything I do. On the field, I knew football was more than just a sport; it was a business and an overall platform that if leveraged correctly can open many doors and if misused can do quite the opposite. I translated this mentality of focusing on the why when starting Law of Athlete and Global Creatives Agency. Rather than making the brand’s focal point a particular product or service, I started with the why – the belief system. The why served as the blueprint for everything Law of Athlete and Global Creatives Agency set out to create and gained great traction as it tapped into and resonated with people’s beliefs and mindset, not just their wallets.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
When I decided to start my business, I knew I would have to be strategic about how I organized the capital needed. To achieve that goal, I used the money I had saved up through college as an initial investment for my business. Furthermore, to keep going in creating my business I received sponsorships for our content, sold merchandise for additional funds and applied for grants which contributed significantly towards funding the startup costs such as equipment, production and marketing. Taking initiative with monetizing my ideas was critical in having a successful launch of our venture and allowing it to grow sustainably.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Building our audience on social media was always a goal for Law of Athlete, but one that we prioritized early on. We had a great brand name and knew that the key to getting it in front of people was creating content that all athletes could relate to. To do this, we shared positive affirmations; something which is relatable no matter what your competitive area may be. Additionally, our podcast provided us with an avenue to bring on guests who could help educate, entertain, and empower our wide-reaching audience. After just one year, we were able to organically reach over 1.1 million total impressions, 257,000 total video views, and 185,000 total engagements across various channels! For those who are just starting out on their social media journey and looking to raise brand awareness, striving for shareability is key—content should always be relatable, informative, and entertaining.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.deonteholden.com & www.lawofathlete.com
- Instagram: @honchoholden & @lawofathlete
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/deonteholden
- Linkedin: www,linkedin.com/in/deonteholden & www.linkedin.com/company/law-of-athlete/
- Twitter: @honchoholden & @lawofathlete
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/@lawofathlete
Image Credits
Ashley Jean