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Jonathan Isaac Drops His New Brand UNITAS · Conversations: Special Guests with Preston Scott

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  I'm gonna take you back in time. Over the years, as some of
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  you may or may not know, I've had a chance to speak to the
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  FSU basketball team. I've known coach Leonard Hamilton for many, many years,
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  and he's been kind enough to invite me out from time to time. And
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  back in the twenty sixteen twenty seventeen season, I met a young man named
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  Jonathan Isaac and I knew that Jonathan was a special kid. And it had
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  nothing to do with his athletic prowess, which was obvious on the basketball court.
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  It was something else, and I'm pleased to have him with us this
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  morning on the Morning show. Jonathan, how are you, sir? Hey,
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  ma man, thank you so much for having me. It's my pleasure.
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  I want to go back to that time when you played that one year
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  at Florida State before being drafted in the NBA's first round by Orlando in twenty
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  seventeen. Let's talk about what it was that drew you to Florida State in
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  the beginning, What was it? It was? It was really Coach Gates.
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  Coach Gates was an assistant coach underneath coach ham with Stan Jones. See
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  why all those guys. But during my recruiting process, I really didn't know
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  much about college basketball in a you know, in a sense that conferences and
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  where schools were and any of that. I remember having conversations with college coaches
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  and they're asking me, do you know what conference we're in? Do you
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  know where we're located? I'd be like, no, I don't worry.
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  And so coach Gates was somebody that kind of met me on my level where
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  we didn't talk much about basketball. We talked about family, we talked about
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  girls, we talked about all that stuff, and it was easy for me
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  to relax and kind of see him as a you know, mature figure,
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  older brother kind of thing over a coach. And so when it was time
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  for me to decide where to go, I had, you know, you
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  know, God bless me. I had everybody to decide from, but there
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  was the only people I felt comfortable with. And so me and Coach Gates
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  are still closed. I'm the godfather to his son today and so it's turned
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  into a pretty great relationship. How did you navigate the waters of all the
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  recruiting. I mean, you were heralded it out of the academy and so
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  as you mentioned, you had a lot of places to choose from. How
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  did you navigated and intermingle your faith. I was miserable, but I didn't.
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  I wasn't where I am today when it comes to faith in Christ.
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  Okay, I would. I had the foundational background, like I went to
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  church a lot as a kid. My parents had me memorized scripture, the
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  whole nine. But I didn't have a true tangible relationship with Jesus. It
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  was more so just something that I kind of kept in my back pocket.
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  And when Tom's got tough, I switched my music to gospel music and stuff
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  like that. But it wasn't something that I was living. And so during
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  that time I was I was. I was miserable just because it was so
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  much coming at me. I had, I was getting I was meeting with
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  schools all the time. At IMG, I was on own calls every day.
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  There's one point I'm like, Okay, I'm going to throw my phone
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  into the river just because I don't want to I don't want to keep the
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  calls. And and you know, you know, they promised you the world,
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  You're going to go to the NBA to come here everything, and I'm
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  just like I don't know what to do, and that's why it made it
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  easy for me. Once it was time to decide, it was like,
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  this is a no brainer. I don't have any real connection to any of
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  these other schools. You know, there are people around me that wanted me
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  to go to different places, but you know, they were kind of shocked
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  when I said I wanted to go to Florida State. But it was it
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  was an easy decision for me. What was it then that changed you from
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  Okay, this is what I was raised to believe, to taking ownership of
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  your relationship with christ. Yeah, it was. It was getting to the
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  NBA. When I first got drafted, I was, I was living my
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  life. I was like, look, I want to do and experience everything
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  that being an NBA player has to offer. And I was. I was.
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  I was living my life out here and I got injured at the time,
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  and during that time, I went to a chapel service. It's a
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  long story, so I kind of cut it down for you. I went
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  to a chapel service and the chaplain left us with a verse. He said,
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  Luke six forty six, and it says, why do you call me
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  lord lord? And not do what I said, and it hit me like
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  it hit me like a ton of verses. I was like, oh,
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  wow, that's me. And I've never known Jesus to be, you know,
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  kind of confrontational, like that kind of get in your face. Why
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  do you call me little Lord? And not do what I said? And
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  so I told myself that I was going to go on this who say,
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  to find out if this thing is real or not. I would, you
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  know, read the Bible? I was. I was watching a ton of
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  Christian apologetic videos and I just I just started doing that. But when it
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  came truly full circle was that I was an elevator one day and a gentleman
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  stopped me and said, I can tell you how to be great? And
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  I said how and he said, you have to know Jesus. And I
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  was like, what I know Jesus. I was Christian all this stuff,
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  but I didn't truly And it was getting to know this man that stopped on
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  an elevator and learning about the true love of God that loves you for you
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  and not for what you can do. And a part of my childhood is
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  that I've really struggled with anxiety. And I wrote about it all in my
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  book Where I Stand. But I was so used to working for love on
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  the basketball court and using basketball as a vehicle for attention and love. And
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  when I learned about this guy that you know, the true essence of God
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  that loved me for me and loved me where I was at, and loved
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  me while I was yet a sinner to truly changed my perspective. And there's
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  this whole story of God ordering my footsteps and it ultimately led me to where
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  I am today. But the whole stories in the book, the guy that
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  actually stopped me on the elevator is my pastor today. And a young lady
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  that I've met from doing a feeding for the homeless at that church is now
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  my wife today. That's awesome stuff. Jonathan Isaac with us on the Morning
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  Show, Orlando Magic, NBA player and also the man behind the push of
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  a new brand called Unitis. Before we get there and talk about that,
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  Jonathan, let's go to July thirty first and twenty twenty and the Brooklyn Nets.
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  You're in the bubble everyone that listens to this program. I talked about
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  it at nauseum. Every player that night knelt for the national anthem, and
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  you stood why I stood because I did not feel comfortable aligning myself with the
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  Black Lives Matter organization or movement. I believe that black lives matter. I
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  still believe that black lives matter, of course, but I did not want
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  to sacrifice kingdom for culture. And I knew that me being black, it
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  was going to be tough because you know, this was a black movement,
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  and you could be seen as a sellout. But I didn't agree with the
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  messaging, the tone, the rhetoric, and I saw that it ultimately would
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  not lead to true change because I believe that true change wouldn't come from an
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  organization, a political party or anything like that. It would come from men
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  and women humbling themselves and understanding that we all fall short of God's glory and
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  that we shouldn't love our enemies as crisis loved us. And the gospel message
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  is what could truly heal the planet, not just racism, but all the
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  things that plagued our society. And so in that moment, I was just
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  like, again, like, I don't want to sacrifice kingdom for culture.
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  And even though I knew I was going to be you know, you know,
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  hated for it, and a lot of people but there would be people
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  who understood where I was coming from and understood the message that I was trying
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  to get across, and that the freedom aspect of it. You know,
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  everybody is entitled to their beliefs, and it was in that situation you were
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  made to feel like if you didn't go along with what they wanted you to
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  do, you were racists who were evil and there was the only solution to
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  black lives mattering, what's doing that? And I didn't believe that. And
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  just one last thing. The night before I stood, I was on the
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  phone with my pastor and I was telling him, you don't understand how crazy
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  this is gonna be. I'm gonna be name called, I'm going to be
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  all these different things. And he said to me, you cannot stand for
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  God, and God not stand for you. And it was this mic drop
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  moment, and I was just like, right, I'm going through it,
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  and I'm glad I did. I would do it again. And to see
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  the encouragement and the people who also you know, called me afterwards, players
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  from different leagues, you know, calling me asking me, you know,
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  how did you find that courage to stand because I want to do the same,
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  or I should have been the same, and being able to write a
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  book about it that has inspired and encouraged kids all around the country, adults
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  to stand up for what they believe in and to give them the blueprint to
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  how do you go from anxiety riddle kid to being willing to stand alone for
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  your faith. And it's all because of our relationship with Christ. And we're
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  learning how to speak back to the enemy. And I learned all that Church.
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  You know, it's it's it's ironic that you stood, you endured the
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  ridicule. You also got hurt though shortly after that, Jonathan, and that
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  was a point that a lot of people mocked you and said, oh,
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  look at that, See what happens when you stand against culture, And oh,
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  I guess God's not there for him now, now, is he?
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  And yet it seems to me that God used that to prepare you for where
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  you're going now. I really do feel the same way. And in the
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  moment I was, I was extremely frustrated the people around the back that up.
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  But over time I have come to the grips that God sees things from
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  a bird's eye view, from the beginning and the end, and we see
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  things kind of we see things kind of as they come. And I've been
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  able to minister and walk alongside guys and have a new perspective on what it
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  is to get injured, what it is to come back from injury. Um,
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  And I've just been able. It's made me stronger, It's made me
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  understand that God is not just a god of the hills, but he's a
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  God of the valley, and he will be with you, um in moments
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  of greatness and moments of distress. And it's it's just it's just wide in
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  my perspective about who God is totally, and I've been able to walk through
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  it. Well. You know, it's interesting because Scripture talks about God revealing
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  himself and all of creation so that man is without excuse, and I've kind
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  of shortened that in my own life to say God's nature is revealed in God's
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  nature. And where do crops grow? Do crops grow in valleys or the
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  crops grow in mountaintops? At least? Absolutely? And I and I feel
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  like your life has been a representation of that. But now you're you're been
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  you've been positioned. I mean, you rejected the vaccine as well. I
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  personally think it might have saved your life. But you know, I mean
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  you went that route, you took what came with it as well. Are
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  all of these experiences what prompted you to move to Hey, we've got to
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  do something to counter and offer people that support a different set of values a
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  place to go in the marketplace with regard to athletic wear and branding. Is
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  all of this to some of this or was there something else that prompted that?
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  No, I'm with you. It was all the sum of everything that
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  I've walked through. I have this belief that at some point in time we
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  could get to a place where it could be looked if you don't believe these
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  sets of things, if you're not for this or that, you can't shop
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  here, you can't go here, you can't do this and that, And
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  if we are not creating alternatives that people can run to, then the only
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  answer is going to be too conformed. And so it has been everything that
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  I've walked through, I've seen that each stand that I've taken, whether people
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  you know, do people have disagree, I've seen a swell of people who
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  have said I have the same values as you. And it started out as
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  me just you know, I was a Nickie signed athlete in the bubble and
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  I ended up not resigning with them because I got injured. And my pastor
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  said, you know, why don't you make your own shoe? And I'm
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  like, what, I don't think you understand how much that you know that's
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  not an easy feat. And so I started to look at what would it
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  look like, you know, for me to wear my own shoe next season,
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  not to sail, but just for me to wear. And so I
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  started to go down that road, and that I was like, you know,
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  why am I doing this just for me? And it turned into this
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  bigger idea, why don't we create a value space sportswear and leisurewear apparel to
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  give people the freedom to buy with their values. It's not about hating anybody,
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  it's not about going against anybody. That's about if you boo these set
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  of things that I believe deserves to be celebrated in the marketplace and the culture,
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  then this is for you. And you can find encouragement and confidence in
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  your beliefs by wearing them on your sleeve and looking great while you do it,
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  and building this community of faith, family, freedom, all these values
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  again that I believe deserve to be celebrated, allowing people to get on board
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  with that. And you know, you see people that don't look like you,
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  white, black, and different, all centered around these values that we
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  all believe in and I believe lead to a prosperous life in a prosperous society.
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  And that's what I'm trying to create. Well, and you know,
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  the reality is, I think the mainstream media plays a really large role in
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  trying to get us to feel like, for example, in the black culture,
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  that somehow conservative values just don't exist there. The Democrat Party politically owns
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  the Black culture. Yet historically the black culture, the black family has revolved
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  around conservative values and the values of God and the values of family and the
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  values of wholeness. And I feel like your brand is going to speak to
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  that and give them an outlet. So Unitis is rolling out, and here
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  we are with the rollout of the product, and people are going to get
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  an opportunity to see what it's all about. Give us a snapshot of the
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  breadth of the product line. Yes, so our first drop is going to
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  be more so centered around leisure wear, so hoodies, sweatshirt, kind of
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  jogging, you know, pants, attract suit T shirts. That's going to
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  be our first drop as we move into the fall. We're working on our
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  sportswear line men and women in youth as well that are going to be like
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  your sports route, your leggings, your tank top, your shorts that you
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  wear to the gym. And then as we move closer to the season,
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  it'll be dropping the Judo one sneaker that I'll be wearing this upcoming season.
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  So everything does take a little bit of time to roll out. I'm doing
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  I'm doing this by myself and so well for now, but we're working on
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  becoming a fully kind of inclusive you can get everything that you need on a
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  day to day basis from United at some point in time. We're just not
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  there yet, and so we're worships diligently to be able to do that.
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  Let's start with the tennis shoes, the shoes you're gonna wear. How hard
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  was it to find a manufacturer willing to buy into the vision of going ahead
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  to head against the Nikes, Adidas, you know, all the other brands
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  out there. I would say it was a little difficult. I actually found
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  a company called Soul Works, and they're a bunch of ex Nike and x
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  Adidas guys that have come together and said, you know, we want to
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  just create one off shoes for individuals who want to want to make a sneaker.
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  And they have all the knowledge in the world. And when it comes
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  to making sneakers, and we were able to manufacture out of Vietnam. I
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  was adamant about not wanting to manufacture in China, and so we landed at
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  Vietnam. When it comes to the clothes, a lot of the blanks are
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  sourced out of Turkey but embroidered and lasered in the United States. Good on
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  you. So yes, I've been working on that. It's it's been difficult
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  overall, but we've been able to find everything that we need in order to
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  get it done. But when I was pitching the vision to them, they
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  caught onto, Okay, we understand that, you know, you have a
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  marketplace of people that believe like you do, and you know, we believe
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  that this thing can be successful. So we were able to partner on it.
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  Last couple of questions here, Jonathan, and thank you so much for
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  making time for us. Have you heard from other players that have said to
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  you, okay, I'm I'm down with what you're doing. Sign me up.
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  I'm willing to be a brand ambassador. Or is the hold with the
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  other companies too strong for them to make that move right now? I actually
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  have, I actually have. I'm not going to say whom. We're throwing
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  a launch party here in Orlando July twenty ninth, and I'm expecting several aspect
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  athletes from different sports. There's going to be track athletes, there's going to
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  be baseball players. Football players are in their kind of training camp around that
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  time, but so maybe not football, but a few basketball players as well.
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  And so I think as we get rolling and as we find on momentum,
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  it'll be easier and easier to get in contact with, you know,
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  guys around the different leagues, college players, and then it just, you
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  know, my heartbeat from the beginning was if we can deliver a high quality,
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  comfortable product that stands up for our values, will be able to win
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  in the long run. So if if guys or other athletes can honestly feel
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  like they're not missing out from a product capability standpoint, then all the question
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  in their minds would be do I want to wear something that I'm lined with
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  my values don't tie. And I have found that in all of my conversations
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  there were people who said, I don't care about even the money aspect at
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  this point in time in my life and in my career. I want to
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  be I want to be with a company that I know supports me, supports
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  my values. I don't have to tailor or what I say. I don't
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  have to worry about being dropped for saying something that they don't align with.
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  I want that for my future, I want that for my kids. And
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  so we've been able to have a lot of great conversations, Johnathan. We
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  have listeners all across the country, and I assure you there are millions and
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  millions of people that are ready to line up with your brand and for what
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  you're doing and for the stand forgive me the stand that you've taken on a
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  lot of issues over your brief career so far. Let me ask about that.
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  How are you health wise for the upcoming NBA season. I am ready
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  to run. I'm ready to go on ercentum kind of just give this to
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  my last bit of conditioning as we roll into the season. But I'm good
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  to go, Jonathan. It has been a delight to visit with you.
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  I know you don't remember my little chat back years ago, but to catch
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  up with you and to see how God is using you and what God's done
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  to get a hold of your heart, and to see what you've done in
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  response to that. I don't mean this to sound anything other than from my
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  heart. I'm proud of you. I'm so proud of you. And it
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  has nothing to do with Florida State, has nothing to do with your your
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  career that's still I think on the verge of blossoming, but for your stand
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  as a as a as a man of God, and I thank you for
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  joining me today. I appreciate you man, And just lastly, not the
• 19:48
  same as we plug. But when this thing does drop, you can go
• 19:52
  to we are unitis dot com. That'll be the website and you can check
• 19:56
  out why I stand on Amazon to the matter was I was going to let
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  you tee it up and shamelessly plug it anyway, because there's no shameless in
• 20:04
  that plug, brother, none whatsoever. Jonathan. I hope we can visit
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  again when the season's over and see how things are going and get an update.
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  But I wish you nothing but the best and God bless you. Yes,
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  sir, let's do it. I'm down for that. This, this
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  is fantastic. Thank you, sir. Have a good day, all right,
• 20:21
  you too. A minute