Beast Mode is combating gentrification by putting his money where his roots are.
Marshawn Lynch is well known for his power runs on the field, his hilarious actions off the field and , of course, his classic interviews. But now a new aspect has been added to his repertoire- real estate owner.
Lynch has always been about his hood, repping Oakland no matter where he goes or plays. So when he saw his hometown being changed quickly by gentrification, he decided to step in and affect change through his wallet.
In an interview with Bill Maher on HBO, Lynch made it clear that he wanted to do some good with the money he’s made in the NFL.
“While banging my head against people,” said Lynch. “I had the opportunity to make a couple dollars so therefore I started to go and buy up some real estate in the area where I grew up at in order to give people opportunity for housing.”
“You’re a man of the people.” said Maher.
“I guess you can say that.” replied Lynch.
Being a man of the people and giving back are nothing new for Lynch. He created his “Beast Mode” clothing line and allocated some of the proceeds to his Fam 1st Foundation, which was created to help underprivileged youth. He also partnered with Starbucks to create “Beast Mode Frappucino” and twenty-four cents from every drink sold in Washington state and Oakland went towards the Foundation. Starbucks also donated $24,000 to launch the partnership and pledged to donate up to $100,000 in proceeds.
Lynch is one of the most unique individuals in all of sports, but no matter what, he always keeps his heart close to the hood, and the hood is better off because of him.
