One of Kobe Bryant’s most successful business ventures was his $5 million investment for a 10% stake in the sports drink BodyArmor in 2013. When Coca-Cola took a minority stake in the company in 2018, BodyArmor reportedly was valued at $2 billion, with Bryant’s stake skyrocketing to about $200 million.
Here is BodyArmor co-founder Mike Repole’s reflections on working with Bryant.
BodyArmor co-founder Mike Repole (right) said Bryant’s early investment in the brand provided added motivation.Instagram
“I can’t tell you how much that investment motivated and inspired me. If BodyArmor went belly-up, he would look like he didn’t know what he was doing. I felt that pressure. We developed a relationship where we engaged constantly, which was odd, because I wasn’t a Lakers fan or a Kobe fan. I went from not really liking him to loving him.”
“His energy motivated me. We’d go to trade shows and he would talk to every retailer, even if there were hundreds, and take a photo with everyone. I’d text him at 3 a.m. and he’d text me back at 3:01. I’ve always been about working 24/7, but to have him as a friend and business partner who understood, that was incredible.”
“He was translating that Mamba Mentality over to the business world. I thought that he was going to be more successful in the following 40 years in business then he was in the first 40 years in basketball. We did a million dollars the first year Kobe was involved. This year, we will be a billion-dollar retail brand.”
“We were both very obsessive about getting the answer, getting to the solution. We chased perfection, even though we knew there was no such thing. But that chase made us better every single day.”
“BodyArmor is going to be Kobe’s business legacy. Once he put his mind to something, he was driven to be the best at it. I’ve never met someone who wanted to be the best in so many different areas. Money was the aftereffect of his success. It was never the goal. It was never about the money. It was about the journey.”
