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Naomi Osaka has called on young Black athletes like herself to spread more awareness of suncare for melanated skin. As previously reported by AfroTech back in 2021, the tennis champ launched her skincare line, KINLÒ, to provide affordable products for healthy skin. Now, Osaka has onboarded student-athletes who are making an impact to join her in amplifying her message. Courtesy of KINLÒ
After launching her skincare line in 2021, Naomi Osaka has recently onboarded new members to KINLÒ’s leadership team. The tennis star and her partners at A-Frame Brands have added fellow athlete Colin Kaepernick to the brand’s board of directors, according to Black Enterprise. He will now be joining alongside Osaka, A-Frame co-founders Hill Harper and Ari Bloom, plus Osaka’s agent Stuart Duguid. The announcement comes in addition to the news of him and his partners Jim Nikopoulos and Akim Aliu investing in KINLÒ’s seed round. Osaka’s brand advocates for the Black community’s skin health, which Kaepernick fully supports. “Not only does KINLÒ produce compelling and sustainable personal care products, but it also calls attention to the ways that melanated skin-toned communities are often marginalized in research around sun care and often excluded from clinical studies on skin cancer. I believe KINLÒ has the capacity to right this wrong,” Kaepernick said, according to the outlet.
Fans of college basketball are likely already familiar with rising star Somtochukwu “Somto” Cyril, who made national headlines while playing in the Overtime Elite program . The Nigerian native currently plays center for the Georgia Bulldogs, and recently appears as a front-and-center subject of the Amazon Prime Video docu-series One Shot: Overtime Elite . Since Cyril has been making waves on the court in recent months, it only makes sense that many fans from across the globe are wondering about his current net worth, especially as he takes on multiple NIL deals ahead of his expected come-up into the NBA. For now, there are no concrete numbers to confirm Somto Cyril’s exact net worth, though we can estimate that it’s likely in the ball park of six figures. Even the experts at College Net Worth don’t have a comprehensive figure; their site states “As of now, Somtochukwu Cyril’s exact net worth is not publicly available.” Regardless, the 19-year-old shooter is well on his way to...
Colin Kaepernick is leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to help storytellers. Kaepernick has been pouring into new ventures following his departure from the NFL, which came after he started kneeling in 2016 during the national anthem in protest of police brutality and racial injustice, TIME reports. Kaepernick last played for the San Francisco 49ers on Jan. 1, 2017, and when he became a free agent he was not signed by a new team, per ABC-7. Since then he has focused his attention in areas that include venture capital. As AFROTECH™ mentioned, he joined KINLÒ, tennis star Naomi Osaka’ s skincare company, serving as an investor and board member. He also is a children’s author and released “I Color Myself Different,” in April 2022, which depicts his experience of embracing his Blackness as an individual adopted into a white family. Kaepernick’s latest endeavor focuses on supporting other storytellers, and he is utilizing AI to achieve this goal. TIME mentioned he raised $4 million...
For her skincare line, this entrepreneur is coming back even bigger. Ti Taylor, a member of the viral duo The Taylor Girlz, is set to launch Underneath Skin 3.0 — a relaunch of what’s being called a multimillion-dollar skincare brand — according to a press release shared with AfroTech. Initially started in 2019, the rebrand follows the launch of Taylor’s Underneath Skin Care, which the press release states garnered over $1 million during its first four months. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Underneath (@underneathskincare)
This college wide receiver is taking the use of his name, image, and likeness (NIL) to greater heights. Jordan Addison just inked a deal with United Airlines. According to ESPN, Addison will participate in digital media content and an engagement campaign that points out new point-to-point routes now available by the airline. While the details of the numbers behind the deal are not yet available, Addison has become quite the household name after he won the Biletnikoff Award for the nation’s best receiver in the same season that he transferred from the University of Pittsburgh to the University of Southern California (USC). “College football fans love following their team on the road and this year we’re making it easier than ever,” said Michael Weeks, managing director of domestic schedule development and publication at United in a statement. “We’re flying nonstop to some of the most historic football towns in the country, including South Bend, Columbus, and Baton Rouge, and also...
Debates surrounding athletes securing name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals have been circulating since the guidelines were updated. Now, former NFL player Ricky Williams has put in his own two cents. The most interesting shift in sports business according to Ricky Williams? NIL. pic.twitter.com/jUN7ldrgNG — Front Office Sports (@FOS) August 24, 2022
This Black entrepreneur is on to something. After he says he made over $1 million in under nine hours, music artist and entrepreneur Blakk Tatted knew he had something special with his company Blakk Smoke. Courtesy of Blakk Smoke Unlike other competitors in the market, the brand offers products with real fruit, no-nicotine, and no-tobacco substances. Tatted conjured the idea because he wanted to introduce a product to Hookah lovers that didn’t include a harmful substance. “Hookah is my passion, but anybody that’s an avid hookah smoker knows the feeling that it gives you afterward. It’s just not worth it,” Tatted told AfroTech exclusively. “Being an advocate for hookah and telling people you should try, you would love it, I felt guilty because I know it’s not the best thing to introduce to people. Many people are influenced by me, so if I’m going to do something, I will hope I’m setting the best example possible. That’s when I wanted to create a healthier alternative for people.”
Daymond John’s success is credited to the immeasurable value of having a solid support system. It’s a known tidbit that the “Shark Tank” co-star turned FUBU into an iconic brand thanks to his mother’s belief in him. However, in an interview with Shannon Sharpe, he revealed the extent of just how much she supported his dream. After Sharpe mentioned that John’s mother was his first investor, he shared his journey that led to the special moment. From seeing him work tirelessly on his brand for five years to being denied by 27 banks, she made a big decision to help her son. “I go to my mother and tell her I got turned down from 27 banks and she says, ‘Daymond, you’ve been trying to contribute to this house as long as you were a kid. I wouldn’t do this if you didn’t have the money. Let’s take all of the money we can out of the house. You manufacture and deliver the clothes and put the money back into the house.’ And that’s how she gave me the money,” he told Sharpe. He continued: “My...
Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade’s baby care line is officially available for parents to get their hands on. In June 2021, AfroTech previously reported that the power couple had announced Proudly — a first-of-its-kind skin care brand for melanated babies — which was co-designed by dermatologist Dr. Naana Boakye. The brand has now launched for parents with children of color to have access to affordable baby care products, according to WWD. “These products are meant to fill a gap for parents of color, like ourselves, by offering them intentionally developed formulas that put our children’s needs at the core,” Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade said in a statement, according to WWD. “Our hope is that for the first time ever, parents of children of color don’t need to spend money on products that aren’t effective or worry about what might irritate their children’s skin. We’ve done the work so they don’t have to.”
In 2021, a Netflix series titled “Colin in Black and White” was released, which explored the life of Colin Kaepernick. Now, his journey of growing up being adopted has been transformed into a children’s book. People reports that the football player and activist’s book, “I Color Myself Different,” was inspired by a transformative moment in his childhood. View this post on Instagram A post shared by colin kaepernick (@kaepernick7) “When I was 5-years-old, I was given an assignment in school: ‘draw a picture of yourself and your family.’ I drew my white adoptive family with a yellow crayon and then picked up a brown crayon to draw myself,” he said, according to People. He continued: “This revelatory moment taught me an important lesson about embracing my Black identity through the power of self-love and eventually helped me to understand how my brown skin was connected to my Blackness. Above all, I hope that I Color Myself Different can inspire young people to embrace their power, love...
Naomi Osaka is truly always on the move! For her latest feat, the tennis medalist inked a deal with cryptocurrency exchange firm FTX as its latest global ambassador, Hypebeast reports. The long-term partnership is a part of the company’s mission to both bring more women into Web3 and to the brand’s overall audience. View this post on Instagram A post shared by 大坂なおみ🇭🇹🇯🇵 (@naomiosaka) “Just as FTX is at the forefront of crypto markets, we want to be at the forefront of social change,” said CEO of FTX Sam Bankman-Fried in a statement, according to Hypebeast. “Our partnership with Naomi Osaka will further our goal of getting more diverse voices involved in the future of digital currency and Web3. I am excited to work with Naomi as we look to educate those groups and create a positive impact in the world.”
Fast-food selling salad chain sweetgreen values providing real food to communities. After over a decade in the business, they are hoping to propel restaurant operations with the help of Woeleta Ayele, who served 16 years as a Starbucks executive, according to a press release. “Sweetgreen is a truly innovative company that is paving the way for a healthier future. The way that they approach the intersection of food and tech is unlike any other restaurant brand out there,” shares Woeleta in a press statement. “I’m excited and grateful to be joining the sweetgreen team as they lead the charge of changing the fast food industry for years to come.” Woeleta began her new position on Aug. 17 — replacing Paul Horvath. As Chief Technology Officer, she will scout promising talent, and revamp digital platforms to advance sweetgreen’s supply chain model. The company’s hope is that she will help cultivate the continuous effort of the chain to create a unified experience with technology and...