Otherwise, they wouldn’t be involved in it. It’s been fun because it’s an opportunity that I hope and NASCAR hopes to give minority kids to be involved in the sport. My driver, Jesse Iwuji, is one of two African Americans in the sport. UpfrontNY: I know you touched upon your involvement with NASCAR a little bit, but I saw that you are also trying to get kids more involved so that there is more diversity in the sport, can you tell us more about that? Also, being able to stay in touch with the organization is kind of a breath of fresh air for me. The most important thing you miss is being around the guys so now it gives me a chance to work with the team again on the media side. One thing when you retire you miss the locker room. I’m enjoying still being around it and being around the guys. I’m actually on a pre and post show on ABC7 out here for the Chargers. I’ve been to the preseason games already. UpfrontNY: What do you think of the Chargers move to L.A.? Our business classes were actually in the same time period that practice was so I couldn’t take the business classes. Also, if I wasn’t playing football I would have taken business classes. Shawne Merriman: I majored in criminal justice because I always wanted to do something in the FBI or the CIA.
SHAWNE MERRIMAN LIGHTS OUT LOGO PROFESSIONAL
UpfrontNY: You went to the University of Maryland, what did you major in and what would you have done if you didn’t go into professional football? Shawne Merriman: It is ready on and it will be in stores at the end of September.
UpfrontNY: When will the fall line be ready for purchase? It really took the brand to a different level. We’re bringing hats into the mix for the first time. I would’ve started making a clothes line that I’m making now for when I was playing. I wish I knew as much as I do now back then because I would’ve really gotten behind it. You want to wear something that really shows who you are, I’m Lights Out. Well, I’ve always been fashionable and I wanted to be cool. UpfrontNY: Do you think this apparel would have helped you as an athlete if you had it then? I don’t get up and work out and get ready to face Tom Brady, like I get ready to work in the world of apparel and that’s what I’m out there doing. I don’t study the New England Patriots anymore. So, for me football is what put the Lights Out name and brand on the national level, but now this is what I wake up and do. It’s such an impactful word, depending on which way you use it, but it works in everyday life. That name kind of stuck with me, but Lights Out is meaningful. Shawne Merriman: You know, football for me that’s how I got the nickname Lights Out because I knocked out four kids in one game my sophomore year in high school. UpfrontNY: Some might say why not just retire and relax, what made you start a whole new business venture? We wanted it to have meaning, to have impact behind the clothes, but also be cool. You wake up and it’s time to go get it, you’ve got to knock out your day. It’s about Monday comes around and you’ve got to knock out your week. It doesn’t necessarily mean physically knock someone out, but people are knocking things out in life daily. The knock out face logo is a face with two X’s with the mouth frowning on it because that’s like you’ve been knocked out. Shawne Merriman: For us, we have what we call our knock out logo. UpfrontNY: What makes this line different than other athletic wear lines? What is the design process like? I’m looking for guys with like-minded mind sets that want to get after it because Lights Out is a cool, tough guy’s rant it’s Lights Out! It’s self-explanatory and when you think about the brand you think about being impactful and powerful. I look for these up and coming fighters to not only sign to the brand because that’s easy, but being a former athlete I know what it takes to be dedicated to the sport. We started to sign fighters for the Lights Out brand. I became the Bellator Ambassador for the whole year. I got a bunch of ring space with Lights Out on top of all the cages.
Shawne Merriman: Well, with Bellator, we were working on a partnership for almost a year. UpfrontNY: What got you involved with Bellator MMA and NASCAR in the first place? I thought if we captured some of the coolness of it we could really do a nice job. So, what we try to do is make something that is fashionable for MMA fighters and fashionable for the crossover of the NASCAR world because those are two big demographics. I ended up signing fighters over the course of this past year. We have partnerships with Bellator, an MMA league, which is up there with UFC, their fights are on Spike T.V. I’m really into MMA and I’m really into NASCAR.
Shawne Merriman: Yeah! Our Fall has been crazy! We actually just did a big deal with Tillys, the clothing store, and DTLR, Downtown Locker Room, which is huge in the mid-Atlantic area. UpfrontNY: Can you tell us about your clothing line, Lights Out? Photo Credit: Courtesy of Anderson Group Public Relations
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