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JARRETT ELLIS
RISING TO THE OCCASION:
JARRETT ELLIS' BOLDNESS LED HIM TO ACHIEVE HIS
2023 JARRETT ELLIS
HOUSE TOUR
The Magnum™ brand links up with the Hoop Dream Studios founder to talk about his creative drive and how some of his ARTWORK defineS his identity.
Hooper. Actor. Artist.
JarretT Ellis is a young multihyphenate making his mark in entertainment & art.
As an actor, he played legendary rapper Snoop Dogg in the Tupac biopic All Eyez on Me and is currently the lead character in the basketball-inspired series, Baseline. The stars have truly aligned for the twenty-eight year old who grew up inspired by music, movies and basketball.
ANY GOOD ORIGIN STORY STARTS WITH HOW ONE OVERCAME ADVERSITY. In college, Ellis solely focused on his studies until he made the decision to play basketball for his school. As a life-long hooper, Ellis willed himself to make the team as a walk-on. However, his college squad didn’t perform well and the new coach tasked to turn things around didn’t take a liking to Ellis and his hair. Ultimately, the coach gave Ellis a strange ultimatum, “cut your hair or don’t play for the team.” Ellis chose to walk away and the disrespect he endured triggered him to do something different. “It rubbed me the wrong way but it did spark something in me,” Ellis said about the incident. “You can’t take the individuality out of sports, and I wanted to do something to keep my “hoop dream” alive in another way.”
In Ellis’ home studio stands a blue basketball hoop that’s about three-and-a-half feet high. It symbolizes a lot of things for the young Californian, but mostly, it’s a reminder of how basketball has always been a driving force in his life. The hoop itself was inspired by his own experiences in life and hip-hop. The entire hoop is royal blue and features a chrome cuban chain link net and a backboard upholstered in a paisley blue bandana pattern. This is just one of the styles Ellis is capable of creating alongside a dedicated team. “This piece represents me as an artist because I am always looking for ways to call on cultural references, storytelling and the ability to find connections between seemingly unrelated interests,” Ellis said of his process. “In my work, I like to showcase my ability to express myself through art in a way that is meaningful and unique to my own experiences and passions.”
Ellis’ Hoop Dream Studios is now finding traction in music and sport culture. Some recent projects include a boombox inspired hoop for BET’s 50th hip-hop celebration. In looking to the future however, Ellis wants to continue taking those bold steps to create and experiment more, all while inspiring the younger generation. “I would say Hoop Dream Studios is a space for us to keep elevating the game,” Ellis said. “We just want to keep designing the craziest hoops and keep coming up with the freshest ideas. And for myself personally, I honestly just want to inspire kids who look like me, who are in places like Riverside where not much is going on.”
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When he’s not acting, however, Ellis runs Hoop Dream Studios, a brand he founded that creates custom basketball hoops that are also art pieces. Some of the brand’s biggest clients include rappers, comedians, R&B stars and more. It took Ellis a number of bold moves to get Hoop Dream Studios to where it is now, yet he knows that there’s still room for growth, both as creator and company owner. While at his home studio, Ellis let the Magnum™ Brand inside his space to talk about his creative routine, some works of art that have defined him and how owning his boldness led him to launch a basketball-inspired art company from the ground up, accepting no substitutes along the way.
After walking away from college ball, Ellis used his time in art class to make a miniature basketball hoop for a project. “It was a found art project and we had to find stuff to make something,” Ellis said about the art assignment. “I knew I wanted to keep my hoop dream alive and I just worked on it. I wanted it to be like the crossover of fashion and luxury and wanted to create something that was both luxury and basketball.” This is where it all began for Ellis and he made the bold decision to start Hoop Dream Studios to keep his passion for basketball alive in a more creative form.
Visit the official Trojan Brands website for more information on the Magnum™ brand. Look for Magnum™ condoms wherever condoms are sold.
JARRETT ELLIS
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JARRETT ELLIS
DEVIN B. JOHNSON
DEVIN B. JOHNSON
THEOTIS BEASLEY
THEOTIS BEASLEY
JARRETT ELLIS
JARRETT ELLIS
DEVIN B. JOHNSON
DEVIN B. JOHNSON
THEOTIS BEASLEY
THEOTIS BEASLEY
JARRETT ELLIS
JARRETT ELLIS
THEOTIS BEASLEY
DEVIN B. JOHNSON
THEOTIS BEASLEY
DEVIN B. JOHNSON