Meet Malcolm Lemmons: Founder of Athletes Unheard & 2-time author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Malcolm Lemmons and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Malcolm, how do you think about risk?
The way I think about risk is if you have a vision or an idea you want to pursue in life that you truly believe in and believe can work, it’s really a bigger risk for you not to pursue and bet on yourself. A lot of people stay stuck in positions they don’t want to be in or careers that aren’t meant for them because they’re afraid of the uncertainty that comes along with taking that leap of faith, but I feel like you can still go after what you want in life by taking incremental steps or starting small. We all have responsibilities and priorities but there have been millions of ideas that started as side-hustles. For me, I’ve always thought about Jeff Bezos’s approach when he first started Amazon. He left a high-paying corporate job at the age of 30 to bet on himself and pursue his vision even when people thought he was crazy. All because he never wanted to look back when at the age of 80 and regret not trying. So whenever I have an idea or something I want to do in life, I always think about what my 80-year old self would say about the decision I have to make at any given moment. Would I regret taking the chance or would I regret playing it safe all? That frame of mind has changed my decision-making when it comes to risk in a lot of different scenarios.

What should our readers know about your business?
Currently, I’m the founder of a media company called Athletes Unheard that’s focused on creating content and conversation at the intersection of athletes and mental health. We officially launched the brand in January of 2021 but I got the idea in September 2020 as I started to have personal mental health struggles due to COVID isolation, seeing social injustice, etc… I would read stories about other athletes who were struggling and noticed there weren’t any athlete-specific outlets where they could get more educated about mental health and share their stories openly. So what we’re really trying to do is normalize athletes talking about the things they’ve experienced and remove the stigma around mental health in sports. But to get to this point, it’s been years of trying different ideas and failing over and over. The biggest lesson I learned throughout it all is that starting a business is a marathon and takes an incredible amount of work and commitment over a long period of time. I’ve been starting businesses and side-hustles since I was a kid but I feel like I haven’t even started yet. This is a game you play in perpetuity and it takes a long time to really learn the ins and outs of what it takes to build something sustainable. I would tell anyone who’s thinking about starting a business to be all-in for the long run and never quit. I truly believe that if you keep trying, learning, failing, and growing, you’ll find your way and achieve whatever it is you’ve set your mind on.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
When people think about DC, they usually think about the monuments and museums. While that’s a huge part of what makes the city so unique, it’s also a lot of culture and things you can do outside of that. If my best friend was visiting, we’d definitely have to hit a brunch which is big in dc then probably going tour a museum or two. Definitely would have to go down to Wharf in southwest DC to get seafood. and later get chicken wings, fries, and mumbo sauce from a carryout.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have to give a ton of credit to my mom. Watching her making numerous sacrifices to raise my brother and me was nothing short of inspiring. Her grit, determination, and persistence are things that I learned and carry with me every day. Whatever I wanted to do in life she’s always been there to support my dreams and has been there every day to encourage me along the way. If anybody deserves credit for what I’ve been able to accomplish and do at this point in my life, it’s her without a doubt.

Website: athletesunheard.com

Instagram: @malcolmlemmon

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/malcolmlemmons/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MalcolmLemmons

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/malcolm.rashad/