Lebron James – Cycling Advocate
Akron, Ohio, USA
Even most non-sporting fans have heard of LeBron James, who in addition to being arguably the greatest basketball player of all time, is also one of the richest sportspeople of all time with a net worth of A$1.9 billion in 2024 according to Forbes magazine.
But far fewer people would know that 39 year old James has been a long-time cycling advocate and now also a serious cycling investor.
Among many cycling related initiatives, about a decade ago he filmed this cycling flavoured commercial for Nike.
Just before the Paris Olympics, Canyon Bikes announced a new initiative with the LA Laker called ‘Find Your Freedom.’
“The goal of the partnership is to inspire millions of potential cyclists across the globe to understand just how life changing a bike can be,” stated a press release from the German bike brand.
James’ love affair with bikes has not stopped since his childhood. Over the years, he’s bought a minority stake in Cannondale, given hundreds of bikes to kids, helped teens access a bikeshare program, famously biked to home Miami Heat games, and had a custom 36″ bike built to suit his tall stature.
“Riding a bike has always been a big part of my life,” James said. “When I was growing up, it was how I got around – from riding with friends across the city to getting to practice and wherever I needed to be. It gave me the freedom to not only get to places, but to access things that otherwise would have been out of reach. Even now, riding a bike makes me feel like a kid again. There’s nothing like feeling the air on your face and that freedom to just ride.”
In 2022, James’ LRMR Ventures, and SC Holdings, an American private equity firm, invested US$30 million (A$47 million) in Canyon. This year, the Paris Olympics-bound basketballer is becoming more of a face for the brand through the Find Your Freedom initiative.
The campaign will have him collaborating with Canyon cyclists like current road cycling world champion Mathieu van der Poel, freeride sensations Fabio Wibmer and Samantha Soriano, dirt and gravel rider Andrew Jackson, CANYON//SRAM Generation’s rider Diane Ingabire, and up-and-coming mountain biker Olivia Silva.
In addition to the marketing initiative, Canyon and James are also partnering in a more meaningful way. The brand will provide bikes to kids at I PROMISE, a public school James supports through the LeBron James Family Foundation (LJFF).
The I PROMISE school grew out of the I PROMISE program, which was founded in 2011. Then focused on third graders, the age at which research says at-risk students can be accurately identified, the program awarded a bike to each student in the program s part of their promise to work hard, finish school, and live an active and healthy lifestyle.
In 2018, the LJFF opened the I PROMISE school in James’ hometown of Akron, Ohio. Through the new partnership, Canyon will be donating Grand Canyon Young Heroes hardtail mountain bikes to this year’s class of I PROMISE students at the completion of the academic year.
“I know how much a bike meant to me when I was a kid and how it opened doors and got me places, I couldn’t otherwise go, so it’s always been a staple of our program to provide bikes to our I PROMISE students as they join the program,” James said. “It’s not only a reward for their hard work, but it also allows them to get outside, experience their community, and make memories with their friends and family in a different way.”
This article is based upon a version first published in Velo, an Outside publication.