Deonte Holden used his six years of collegiate football experience with NC State and other achievements to create a lifestyle empowerment brand that strives to benefit the betterment of athletes throughout their lives beyond the game. In his six years, Holden not only maintained status as a scholarship-athlete, but overcame adversity through an injury, earned several degrees in Business Management, immersed himself in a new culture through a study abroad experience, and sought philanthropic involvement through his fraternity, Omega Psi Phi.

The Transition from College to Real World

Unfortunately with student-athletes, stories of transitioning from college athletics to the real world aren’t always smooth sailing. For Holden, however, this wasn’t the case.

“I just always had the mindset to utilize all of my resources. That includes people I’ve met or the skills I’d developed over my football career.”

On the second day of his sophomore season training camp, Holden had an unfortunate foot injury that prohibited him from playing football in 2015. In this time, his original goals to make it to the NFL remained prominent but realized he should also have an idea of a “back-up” plan.

“When I broke my foot, there were a lot of situations where people were saying I wouldn’t be able to play anymore. After hearing that enough times, I knew I had to make sure I had a Plan B.”

The hardest part of Holden’s transition became known when he began applying for jobs after graduation. After high success in the classroom from graduating in three years with several degrees, he’d heard from employers that he either “did not have enough corporate experience” or was “over-qualified in schooling” for the positions he was applying for. This drove Holden to create his own company: Law of Athlete.

Starting Law of Athlete

After going through multiple job applications and not getting drafted, Holden knew he didn’t want anyone else to feel how he felt when looking for a job after college. The name, ‘Law of Athlete’, struck him after seeing a graphic that his friend who worked with NC State Athletics had produced a graphic with a similar title. Upon finding that the name was unused, Holden took it and ran with it.

Law of Athlete is a lifestyle empowerment brand for every athlete. They strive to empower individuals by providing a multitude of products, services, and resources to inspire athletes beyond the game.  

Pushing the brand out opened up new doors for opportunities to grow. At the time, the United States was under lockdown, and there was an increased interest in podcasts, so Holden decided creating a podcast would be a smart start. With his existing connections, he was able to begin creating content.

The 12 Laws of Athlete

At Law of Athlete, the number 12 signifies a number of completion. The Laws include finding purpose outside of sport, picking, the right team, being a positive influence, and others. All Laws lay the foundation to becoming the best individual one can be after sport, all while being key elements of an athlete. These Laws also contribute to how guests on the podcast are sought out, conversations, what insights these individuals have to give on the show, and ideas for merchandise. These Laws give the brand a deeper meaning.

“Law number one, for example, is to Pick the Right team. That doesn’t just mean picking the right school, it can also mean picking the right friend group, agents, or anyone else you’d be putting into your network. All of these people are going to be factors to you, so you want to choose the right people.”

Holden notes that some of the laws seem very broad, but can also be interpreted to one’s own meaning. 

“Law number two is to Prioritize Your Physical and Mental Health. That is a very broad law within itself but can be put into so many different meanings depending on the individual.”

The laws were created to not only being a complete athlete but a whole individual as well. The key to the laws is that they’re broad so that anyone with a proactive lifestyle can abide by them.

Advice on Creating a Brand After College

Through his brand management education, Holden emphasizes the importance of establishing the foundation for your brand so that it is portrayed and defined in the way that you want it to be seen. 

“Before you allow anyone to come into something you create, make sure your foundation is set so that there is no “gray area” in identifying your business on how they see it, but solely on how you see it. This helps grow your business and your brand on how you want it to be portrayed, versus how they could want it portrayed.”

Holden uses his 12 Laws as pillars for growing his business and keeping the vision exactly how he planned it.

Stay up to date with Law of Athlete through their multitude of platforms.

Website: lawofathlete.com

YouTube: youtube.com

Spotify: spotify.com

Instagram:@lawofathlete

About Game Plan

Game Plan’s comprehensive software platform integrates mobile-first eLearning as well as virtual mentorship and career services, uniquely designed for athletic organizations. Game Plan has over 300+ athletic organizations with over 240,000 courses completed yearly. Our eLearning courses provide student-athletes ultimate access and flexibility while equipping both athletics departments and the conference office management tools and insight to ensure outstanding experiences and outcomes. To learn more about Game Plan, please visit gameplanworks.wpengine.com.