Today we’d like to introduce you to Orlando Coleman.
Orlando, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My name is Marcus “Orlando” Coleman Jr., and I’m a 27-year-old Birmingham, Alabama native. My vision all started in the 8th grade at Homewood Middle School. It was a typical day for 8th-grade basketball tryouts. I woke up excited about the opportunity to make the basketball team like I did the previous year. Little did I know the coaches had other plans for the roster spots available. It was finding out that I wasn’t on the list of selected players to make the team that lit a fire inside me that still exists today. I told myself then as I do now that no one will ever outwork me, and I will be the best at whatever I put my mind to. I continued that drive-in high school and throughout being a professional basketball player overseas. I was a student-athlete at Alabama Southern Community College, Kennesaw State University, and Texas Southern University, where I received my Associate’s, Bachelor’s, and Master’s degrees. As I was achieving in school, I continued to improve every year and develop my game through hard work and determination. I started my professional career after college in Canada for the KW Titans. I’m entering the 5th year of my professional career and have had the opportunity to play in Mexico, Serbia, New Zealand, Hungary, and Israel.
About a year ago, I had a unique opportunity to talk with Ms. Paige 6th grade class in Kitchener Waterloo. It was my first time doing something like that; thus, it was an honor to be able to give back and inspire the youth. I was up all-night thinking about how I could incorporate my experience, vision, passion all into one name to feed off of for the discussion. I finally came up with the decision to use the word D.R.E.A.M.-which stood for Dedication, Resilience, Education, Attitude, and Mentality. After speaking to the class, I talked to a friend of mine name Shaquira Hall that I attended Kennesaw State with. I was raving about how I loved talking to the kids and inspiring them. She quickly stopped me and told me I should brand myself behind DREAM. At first, I was a little unsure about the movement, even though it was something I loved and wanted to do. I knew I wanted to be known as more than a basketball player. As time moved on, I started to work towards branding myself after DREAM. I started with an inspirational page called (@dream_mentality). I used that platform to provide inspirational content to anyone feeling they needed some uplifting. I continued to live in my dream and created the apparel brand Dreamentali (@Dreamentali), which offers authentic fashion and branded apparel for anyone who feels passive in the pursuit of their dreams due to what society has told them they can or cannot achieve. The brand launched on January 1, 2020.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Nothing worth having comes easy. I believe that without struggle, you cannot reach your full potential for success. If you don’t experience failures along the way, when success comes, it’s mismanaged because you never experienced underachieving or the drive for success that is birthed only out of failure. Throughout the years, I’ve learned to embrace adversity and the treacherous roads to success. I’ve failed many times; that’s why I succeed.
Dreamentali – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Dreamentali (IG/FB: @Dreamentali) Providing authentic fashion and branded apparel for anyone, who feels passive in the pursuit of their dreams because of what society has told them they can or cannot achieve.
Dreamentali is a movement for success, that anyone can reach. Dreamentali products not only give you fashion, but also inspiration. Our brand represents specific meaning for you and your dream. The experience we have in pursuing our dreams while possessing the mentality to see the journey through, makes us confident that we will create not only an urban but luxurious look that resonates with any market.
Wearing Dreamentali showcases a positive image and creates an awareness of the celebration of one’s success that is contagious to others. Our hope is to spread an infectious positive movement that can manifest in one dreamer at a time.
You Define The Dream. We Create The Look”
Products listing:
– Hoodie sets
– T-shirts
– Shorts
– Women Slides
– Women Biker Sets
– Women Glasses
Dreamentali Basketball Training- (IG: @DMTraining__)
– Orlando and Ricky Elite Dreamentali Training (DMT)
– Professional skills and development training
– Train like a pro
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Pinpointing the proudest moment of my career is tough because I’ve been blessed to experience many. I would start with graduating from college and receiving my Master’s degree. Next would have to be winning my first professional basketball championship in New Zealand to playing against my long-time best friend, Ricky Tarrant, in Israel for the first time in our professional careers. The proudest right now has to be starting Dreamentali in January and coming back full circle to start Dreamentali Training (DMT) with my best friend, and impacting the youth in our hometown, which was the catalyst for me to be where I am today.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 205-276-7933
- Email: dreamentali@gmail.com
Image Credit:
Daz Goodman (@IG: Cre8livestudios)
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