Senior Kellen Blake takes the basketball and business world by storm
Kellen Blake is a senior marketing major, minoring in entrepreneurship from Arlington, Virginia. From a young age, Blake has been involved in many different sports. According to Blake, “My dad wanted me to play baseball because he thought I was better at it, but I fell in love with basketball”. Blake’s parents continue to be his biggest supporters and he believes that because of their sacrifices he is able to be where he is today.
Since freshman year, Blake has played as a guard for the Winthrop basketball team. Coming off of such a strong season, Blake believes that they have the potential to carry that success into this season. “We have a lot of new parts and once we get all of those parts together, we will be good to go,” said Blake. When Blake refers to those “new parts” he is talking about the eight new members of the team. That is a substantial number of new players which could offer a lot of potential for the program.
Blake really enjoys the team environment. “We have a lot of personality on our team. When we are together, there is usually a lot of jokes and laughter,” said Blake. When asked about how he feels to be a senior, Blake said that he feels as though it was just yesterday that he started off here at Winthrop and it is bittersweet to be thinking about heading off into the real world.
The real world that Blake alludes to, has already somewhat began for him. He has already started to put his studies to use with the creation of his own clothing brand. Blake created this brand with help from a friend of his named Dewan Clay. The clothing brand is called Kila. His idea for the brand came from wanting to help other people while simultaneously building a brand that is comfortable for everyone.
The brand’s slogan is “Kila, where everyone is someone”. In Swahili Kila means every, which ties back into their slogan meaning. “We want everyone to feel like kings and queens in their own light. In addition, we promote how important self-love is,” said Blake.
The clothing is meant to be worn by everyone. Blake’s favorite part of this entire process has been seeing how diverse his supporters are. They have been from all backgrounds and all ages and so far, the response to the products has been really positive.
Kila offers a range of clothing options. They sell a range of Kila t-shirts, long sleeved hoodies and hats. In addition, they offer some wholesale products for women such as bomber jackets and dresses. Blake’s favorite product is the black and gold crown hat. As of now, those hats in particular are sold out. Blake said that they have been so popular that he doesn’t even own one! The duo’s goal for the brand is to continue to expand their product line while also starting to sell sneakers.
If you are interested in learning more about Blake and his clothing brand, Kila, check out their website, www.kiladc.com. You can also support Blake and the rest of the Winthrop Men’s Basketball team at their next upcoming home game, Saturday November 18th at 4:00 to celebrate homecoming.
