LaVar Ball has been described as many things, ranging from loudmouth to dedicated father to basketball coach. To different people, he is different things and to Master P, the renowned hip hop artist and mogul, Ball is an astute businessmen.
Founder of Big Baller Brand, Ball burst onto the sneaker scene with his outlandishly priced ZO2s, the feature shoe of son Lonzo Ball. Since, he’s battled bad business ratings, delayed shipments and even money laundering allegations.
But despite his struggles and ups and downs, he’s still served as a motivational figure as a business owner. On a podcast appearance with Heavy’s Brandon Robinson, Master P discussed Ball creating his own business and how it motivated him to do the same.
“I definitely think that he was ahead of his time. But, I feel like people are going to dislike you when you’re different and when you speak out. And he just has one of those type personalities but I feel like now what he’s done with the Roc (RocNation) and hooking up with Jay-Z and their team, and I think he sees the bigger picture, and I think him and his family are turning something around because they are very talented…But I think now, he got the right people around him. I think he didn’t have the right people around him at first so, I’m definitely praying for them, he has a talented family.
I mean, he motivated me to do what I’m doing with my boys – I got two boys; one in the eighth (grade) and one in the 11th (grade) and I’m like, we started out on the shoe brand, that’s where the Moneyatti comes from it was a fashion brand; I’m like, ‘No. This is going to take over basketball while you guys are still in high school so the rest of the world can grow up with you.’ So, we’re still in that technology part and what I learned from the Ball family is don’t just put any shoe out. And we’re not even playing in our shoes yet. They wear ‘em everyday to walk around in, but the technology hasn’t been done yet. We’re still working on it for that basketball shoe to make sure that those shoes feel good on your feet and you’re able to play and you’re able to do what you need to do on the court; because you know, you gotta have the right shoes on to play basketball… or you’re not going to want to play because your feet are hurting or whatever.”
While it’s not something the Ball family likely wanted, they will serve as a test case of what not to do. The note about Master P and his sons not wearing the shoes in-game yet goes back to Lonzo’s revelation that the original Big Baller Brand shoes were falling apart in his first games.
According to the brand’s website, Moneyatti was started in 2018. Originally starting as a fashion brand, the company now sells shoes as well as of 2020.
It’s a much slower progression than Ball’s all-in approach with Big Baller Brand. And, not surprisingly, the shoes do not come in at the exorbitant prices as Big Baller Brand, though they do cost upwards of $250.
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