Whitehead balling with own business
Crysti’anna Whitehead grew up around entrepreneurs. Her parents, Crystal and Mark Hearns, own a few businesses, so naturally watching them thrive as business owners sparked her interest in creating a business on her own — her parents own a tax company, luxury limousine service and media company.
As Whitehead watched her business grow, she couldn’t help but smile about the expectations she has for her business. As she showed off her “Hoop Gang” apparel, which includes shorts, hats and hoodies, the steady growth of her vision is finally coming to fruition.
“Me, I like to mostly dress chill,” said Whitehead, who’s a senior on the girls basketball team at Memphis Business Academy. “That’s how most athletes dress. … So, no matter where I go, I’m going to rep my brand.”
Hoop Gang, Whitehead’s clothing line, sells athletic apparel. Now, it’s just women’s clothes, but there’s plans to expand to men’s athletic wear and beyond. She’s currently partnered with former Bartlett girls standout and current Texas State guard, Kennedy Claybrooks; as well as her future teammate at the University of Arkansaspine Bluff, Maori Davenport, who each have their own clothing brands with Hoop Gang.
So how exactly did Whitehead get the idea to open her own clothing line?
Well, after she went to her dad, Mark, with the idea of starting a business, the first step was coming up with a name. Hoop Gang originated from the phrase “gang” being thrown around pop culture. It has a negative association, but is equally a commonly used phrase for your close friends.
“I want to cater to the hoopers,”
Hearns recalled Whitehead telling him about the name.
Now, more than 15 months later — she created the company in November 2021 — it’s become more than a side project of Whitehead. She’s made $67,000 in sales to date and still has plans to expand. Hoop Gang currently uses a factory overseas in the Middle East that makes each piece of apparel made to order. Each logo and Hoop Gang decal is stitched onto each piece of clothing at the factory before being shipped.
Part of that growth is name, image and likeness (NIL) opportunities. While also partnering with Claybrooks and Davenport as they’ve launched their own lines, Whitehead said he hopes to bring on more college and high school athletes.
“Now I feel like I’m more dedicated to take it serious,” Whitehead said of NIL playing a factor in her business as well.
Whitehead is already planning on getting her athletic gear in retail stores as well as partnering with bigger athletic brands such as Puma, Nike, Adidas and Under Armor, etc.
“That would mean the world,” Hearns said of seeing a partnership develop between a big-name brand and
Hoop Gear. “That’s something she started and she believed in.”
And when Whitehead isn’t focused on her business, she’s working on her basketball skills.
Whitehead is a senior at Memphis Business Academy and has become the most decorated girls hooper to come through the school. Earlier this season in January she eclipsed 1,000 career points — the first MBA girls basketball player to accomplish the feat — as well as was named a nominee for the Mcdonald’s All-american games in Houston. She’s also the first girls basketball player from MBA to sign to play Division I basketball.
She didn’t start playing basketball until she was in the sixth grade. At Havenview she helped the girls basketball team win a middle school championship.
Her clothing line isn’t just a hobby for Whitehead. It’s her future, something she can call her own. Something she can’t wait to continue to see flourish.
“I started this my junior year in high school,” Whitehead said. “I didn’t want to be in this for two years. I want to keep going and see how far it can take me and even see if I can get some NBA, WNBA players to wear it.”
Reach Wynston Wilcox at wwilcox@gannett.com and on Twitter @wynstonw__.