In the sports world, something that we often search is consistency. No matter what you do in sports, consistency is key. Whether you are a player, coach, scout, general manager, or even a reporter, if you are not continuously doing your job and doing so successfully, you will not be looked at as a reliable source for whatever you do. The sports world is really a business, and its a “what have you done for me lately” business, something that a lot of people have trouble recognizing prior to entering it, however brand owner Bruce Thompson has not had much trouble with this with his company, Dreamathon.
Thompson’s consistency with his company has been unreal, and is being looked at globally in the sports business every week because of it. Each week in the NFL, star players Justin Jefferson, Cameron Dantzler, Odell Beckham Jr, and Tee Higgins have showed up to games wearing Dreamathon apparel. It began earlier in the NFL season with Odell Beckham Jr wearing a “Juice Landry” shirt, then Minnesota Vikings defensive back Cameron Dantzler wore his “Patrick Peterson” shirt for his teammate, Christian Kirk wore a “Legends never die” shirt with images of Kobe Bryant Muhammad Ali and Martin Luther King Jr displayed on it, once Odell Beckham Jr and the Cleveland Browns had a falling out, Dreamathon created “Free Odell” tee shirts which went viral with both Justin Jefferson and Cameron Dantzler repping them with the Minnesota Vikings, showing love to their friend, then most recently Justin Jefferson has continued to been seen wearing Dreamathon, wearing a LeBron James graphic tee shirt and then a Randy Moss one last weekend while Cameron Dantzler has worn a Harrison Smith and Terrell Buckley shirt back to back weeks and Cincinnati Bengals receiver Tee Higgins has shown his love to Bengals legend Chad Ochocinco wearing Dreamathon’s “85 Dreams” tee shirt. Throughout the weeks, it has been a consistent occurrence in which NFL fans have seen Dreamathon on the big stage, but it isn’t just fans that have taken in the statement being made by Bruce Thompson’s company, but the media and icons around the world have taken notice as well. Platforms like ESPN, Bleacher Report, FOX Sports, the NFL, Sportscenter, GQ Sports, USA Today, NBC Sports and icons Randy Moss, LeBron James, Shannon Sharpe, and Chad Ochocinco have taken in what Thompson has done, and it has created quite the buzz, week in, week out.
The man behind the company, Bruce Thompson is not new to the buzz though. He’s gone viral before. He’s been in an NFL locker room before as well, and there is a story behind his name and Dreamathon that people should know when they see their favorite NFL players wearing the apparel on TV every weekend.
Thompson, a New Orleans, Louisiana native began playing football at the age of 8 years old, “It was the start of greatness.” Bruce mentions, “Where I’m from we played a lot of football in the street, we raced pole to pole to see who was the fastest and we were all competitive.” Thompson continues, “One of my friends, Ryan (Wright) actually got me to play football but at the time my mother didn’t want me playing football so I was talking to her a lot about it, kind of talking it into fruition… When my mother ended up signing me up and I started to play, I ended up being a star on the team playing running back, quarterback, linebacker, receiver, defensive line, and anywhere they needed me on the field I was there to make a play.”
He made plays throughout his childhood playing youth football, but it wasn’t always easy for Thompson to be able to make those plays and stand out on the football field. During his childhood he was faced with adversity. He and his family were hit by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans which forced him out of his home and to Texas for middle school. In an interview with JZ Media in 2020 he told Jordan Zlomislic, “I learned a lot from the adversity I faced, not even just because of (hurricane) Katrina but everything I battled in my childhood and it really shaped me into who I am today.”
Who he is today, Bruce Thompson is an alumnus of Miller McCoy Academy where he attended high school in New Orleans and played High School Football before attending Langston University in Langston, Oklahoma, known for the stop Chad Ochocinco took prior to his NFL career. Thompson is also a free agent wide receiver who attended a 2017 NFL training camp with the New Orleans Saints. Training every day, he hopes to latch on with a professional team, but has also been building a platform for himself that helps him off of the football field. Bruce Thompson has dabbled in the modelling field, having modelled for big name brands like Fashion Nova Men, Cross Colours LA, SprayGround, Ethika and others while he has started his own clothing brand that he can model for and create a statement with.
Bruce Thompson began his clothing brand venture with shirts and hoodies with the quote “Beauty In The Struggle” placed on it. Something which he has lived by his entire life. Being able to fight through adversity, and finding the beauty in struggling times, but then he expanded his horizon, making a statement with his official brand, “Dreamathon.” He started Dreamathon by selling socks with empowering messages on them and messages in which people around the world, no mater who they are can relate to. Some said, “Faith”, “Do Not Disturb”, “It’s already written” while others just displayed the big dreams Dreamathon logo. The socks then expanded to sun glasses, shoes, and now graphic tee shirts, but even-though you may see the apparel everywhere, it doesn’t mean everyone can wear it. When asked about his company, Thompson said to Jordan Zlomislic of JZ Media, “Dreamathon isn’t really for everybody.” he explained, “All of the people wearing it, like Odell, Cam Dantzler, Justin Jefferson, they are great people and they are really great dreamers. Dreamathon is only for people that are chasing legendary dreams and that are chasing greatness. If you are chasing legendary greatness and chasing a dream you can understand Dreamathon.” he states, “its exclusive.”
One thing, mentioned earlier that really sticks out with Bruce Thompson’s Dreamathon is it’s consistency, and then the exclusiveness. You never know what is next for Dreamathon, and Bruce Thompson is going to keep that mystery going, but he ensures that, “Dreamathon is going to be the next big thing.” he said, Thompson continued, “I’m a dream-chaser and I haven’t finished yet.”
Without the statement Dreamathon has made with fashion in football alongside the players the company has had wearing it’s apparel, like Odell Beckham Jr, the culture around football wouldn’t be the same, and there has clearly been a change in culture this year with Dreamathon in the headlines for pre-game fashion. It will be something that continues to happen with Odell Beckham Jr and other Dreamathon athletes. Just wait and see how much farther the change can go, as the culture continues to evolve. As American Thanksgiving weekend comes up this week, be on the lookout for more NFL players that will be repping the Dreamathon vision and make a statement as a dreamer.
JZ MEDIA 