LA Chaos... and heartbreaks

Maybe off-topic
Maybe definitely on topic

But there is nothing that represents Los Angeles like Kobe Bryant.

This Sunday, 1/26/2020 Los Angeles was struct with the biggest heartbreak in our history.
The morning after LAFC 2-0 win in their Season 3 opener for a preseason match against Uruguay's Peñarol... I can't explain how amazing that evening was to be back with the 3252 and all the homies I didn't see during preseason.

As I am lying here in bed watching Manchester United destroy this weak team on tv and trust me this means a lot because United sucks so much, they needed that confidence. In this very chill morning before getting up to go play in my Sunday league I get a text that simply says "Damn Kobe Died"

I sat up and froze for a bit, not sure if it was a few seconds or a few minutes I just did not know how to feel or what to think.
I jumped on Twitter and just tweeted No. Way.

Then scrolled through Twitter and saw that Kobe had died in a helicopter accident.
Before I continue, yes I am extremely sad for Gigi and the girls on that helicopter and of course sad for every single person that lost their life that day and the affected families. This post will mainly be about Kobe and I apologize if anyone feels some type of way for that.

I am not going to sit here and tell you how much I love the Lakers and how much basketball meant to me because of Kobe because that would be a lie. I watched the Lakers because of Kobe and it was awesome to make fun of Clipper fans and Boston fans... because of Kobe. Kobe came to Inglewood as 17 year old kid! Think about it! How sick is that!! He came to the team that plays in my neighborhood! And from day one we all knew he was going to be unreal. Along with bringing championships to Los Angeles and being a winning us all over with his hunger to be the absolute best, there were a couple of other instances where Kobe had huge impacts in all of our lives.

Kobe started off as an Adidas player but when he switched over to Nike he was able to touch our lives in some crazy ways we never expected. I've almost always (I've been through some phases. Ufff) been a Nike hypebeast all my life so it was amazing to see him switch to the Swoosh.

I worked for Nike from 2010 to 2015 and I worked for Niketown in Beverly Hills and was super fortunate to also work events around the city with Nike. It's honestly hard for me to go into too much detail because there was so much but with all of the endless launches and all of the events it was hard not to feel like we also worked for Kobe or he was just another Nike employee like us!

There was always an overwhelming excitement in the customers that got to purchase the launch shoes and/or experience the events at places like the Nike Vault or the Montalban Theater and as a Nike retail employee, you simply do not know what it meant to be selected to represent Nike/Kobe at these events. It was also incredible to get a free pair of Kobe's from Nike, it meant more than any other shoe. It was almost always around the time a new model dropped so it would hit your heart so much harder when you knew you might get a pair of the "Del Sol" colorway which was his distinctive yellow Nike used for his Laker colorways.

This post isn't about Nike or free shoes, but not understanding the impact Kobe made on us... by simply working for a brand. Anytime any one us got a chance to meet or interact with Kobe we would lose it and celebrate it like damn, you made it! you met Kobe!!!

Kobe meant we can do better and we can work harder if we simply focused on our fundamentals. He showed us to be as diverse as much as possible and that we can learn from everything and anything. He showed us how to handle pressure, be fearless and strike fear in everyone that wants to stop you.

I never knew how much Kobe meant to me and this city.
I never knew I could feel so sad and actually shed tears over an "pro athlete."
I never in a million years expected to even outlive Kobe.
Kobe was invincible, unstoppable, immortal and Los Angeles.

I hope there's closer for all of us but as tragic as this was to the city and the world, it has been incredible for all of us and I mean ALL of us to come together as we mourn the loss of a family member. Maybe we didn't all get to meet him, have a conversation, watch him play or even see him from a distance but he definitely made a significant impact on us all. I will forever be grateful for all the emotions and memories he brought us all and having many many opportunities to see him from 50 to 500 feet away.

I know we will all move forward with the Mamba Mentality and and thrive to be the best we can.

It's been very hard to talk to people in person about how I feel about Kobe so just needed to drop a random line here.
I see what he meant to a lot of people and it's been incredibly moving to see every athlete from all over the world, brands, stores, celebrities, friends, Laker fans/rivals, Kobe Haters, chefs, pro teams in every sport (and even leagues!) sports fans or not all come together and drop a line to what this loss meant to us/them.

It has been a true heartbreak but has been inspiring to actually see how much this has actually brought so many of us together.

Thanks Kobe

#RIPKobe
#MambaOut
🗣KOBE!