NBA legends Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan, even after their retirement found a way to stay connected with their sport. They have built their business beyond the sport.
Famously, Jordan has a clothing line – ‘the Jordan Brand’. The 6x NBA champion makes millions of dollars, primarily via the sale of Jordan sneakers. He also expanded his business by making multiple investments in different teams and sports.
Meanwhile, Johnson became the president of the basketball operations of the LA Lakers in 2017. The 5x NBA champion also runs ‘Magic Johnson Enterprises’, which was a vast business.
These examples inspired F1 star Lewis Hamilton when he was at the peak of his career and was involved in a ferocious rivalry with Nico Rosberg.
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Lewis Hamilton has been conscious about his post-retirement future since 2015
Currently, Hamilton is the second-oldest driver on the grid. He is constantly being presented with questions of retirement and life beyond F1 given his current Mercedes contract will expire in 2023.
The Briton has achieved all he could in the sport so far. He has broken records and set his own benchmarks. But this is not where he sees his legacy end.
The question of retirement and life beyond F1 is something that he has been thinking about for a long. In 2015, when he was still on his way to his 3rd title, Hamilton spoke about how big a part these championships play in his plans.
At that time, he was at the peak of his career and was racing against his childhood best friend turned nemesis, Nico Rosberg. The Briton revealed his conscious approach towards how his life would look beyond F1.
He explained how he was inspired by Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and David Beckham. Hamilton was enlightened by how these sports stars have built their careers beyond their sport. In doing so, they have stayed connected to the profession they love.
He further said that he is unaware of how his championship titles will affect his plans but it had always been his desire to emulate his idol, Ayrton Senna.
Sky donates over £1million to Sir Lewis Hamilton’s Foundation, Mission 44, to tackle high rate of school exclusions among Black students.
Link 👉 https://t.co/7I4uArdfpS pic.twitter.com/nfRfZYkZHx
— soph (@sophwebsterxx) January 31, 2022
Hamilton has risen beyond his career in F1
Hamilton, too, expanded his interest beyond the racing world in many ways and is still on the same path.
At first, he established the Hamilton Commission with the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2020 following the global Black Lives Matter movement. Based on the findings of the Hamilton Commission, the British F1 star launched another initiative, Mission 44.
But this is not all that the 7-time world champion is involved in. Apart from his work in social and environmental aspects, Hamilton is a huge fashionmonger and uses his style to express himself.
He collaborated with Tommy Hilfiger to create a range of ‘TommyXLewis’ clothing. The Mercedes star has also launched his clothing line – the ‘plus 44 store’.
Hamilton also has an immense interest in the movie business and has vast connections in Hollywood. Being friends with multiple superstars, Hamilton has often spoken about his love for music and acting.
He even came close to making his acting debut in the blockbuster Tom Cruise movie Top Gun: Maverick. The Briton has already made his debut in the music industry using his alter-ego XNDA to collaborate with Christina Aguilera on a pop song.
Recently he also launched his production firm ‘Dawn Apollo Films’. It already has two upcoming projects with Apple TV+. One of them is an untitled film on F1 starring Brad Pitt; the other one is a feature documentary on Hamilton’s own journey.
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