Just weeks prior to his untimely passing, Nipsey Hussle announced that he had signed an endorsement deal with Puma. The partnership, lauded for its authenticity by Nipsey himself, would be a co-branded venture with his own The Marathon Clothing label, with the first capsule debuting later that fall. Following Nipsey’s death, Puma committed to honoring its deal with him, continuing to release product in collaboration with TMC and even bringing his widow Lauren London on board as an official brand ambassador. As Nipsey’s brother Blacc Sam explains, the relationship between Puma and Nipsey’s estate is deeper than retail.
During an interview with Earn Your Leisure, Sam revealed that the company makes deposits into the trust fund of Nipsey and Lauren’s children every year without any strings attached to business.
“After everything, they came back to the table and made sure the kids was set up straight,” said Sam. “It had nothing to do with sales of clothes or the success of the capsules, just off the top every year they hit the kids in the trust fund. They did right for Hussle.”
Sam also spoke about the ongoing partnership between Puma and TMC, which produces at least one collection annually per Nipsey’s request in the original contract.
“They allowed us to also do the collabs and do it the way we wanna do it. It’s not about selling a lot of units or printing up a lot of t-shirts and going wild. It’s just let’s do it tasteful, let’s come in with the Hussle way.”
Most recently, Puma and TMC teamed up for the “Status Symbol” Collection, available now at themarathonclothing.com and puma.com.
