POWER BOOK III: RAISING KANAN | THE FINAL CHAPTER

The POWER universe is a world that continues to reveal itself across various timelines and it’s not stopping anytime soon! POWER BOOK III: Raising Kanan is currently releasing episodes of its final season which you can watch on STARZ. We have chatted with various cast and filmmakers across the franchise in our issues. In this month’s issue, we had the pleasure of sitting down with Mekai Curtis (Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day; The Lion Guard; POWER: Origins), Patina Miller (The Hunger Games franchise, The Many Saints of Newark, Madam Secretary), Erika Woods (Blue Bloods, The Blacklist, FBI franchise), London Brown (Ballers, Tales From the Hood 3, American Soul), and Sascha Penn (By Any Means, Cliffhanger, Power: Origins) to talk about this season, the series, and what they are excited for the fans to see!

ATHLEISURE MAG: It’s so nice to connect with you all as we navigate the final season of POWER BOOK III: Raising Kanan! It‘s great that we are speaking with Mekkai, Patina, and Erika for the first time. In addition, being able to circle back to London and Sasha who we have interviewed prior to the S1 premier of this series as well as other times, and being able to circle back to you as this season comes to an end.

What have you enjoyed about being in this show?

MEKAI CURTIS: I’ve gotten to enjoy getting to grow as an artist and playing Kanan. I’ve gotten to kind of sink my teeth into this! I know that sounds like such a trope that every actor says. Actually being able to pull the layers back on a character and reveal that sort of thing. That’s something that, you know, any actor kind of dreams of. So that’s what’s been fun.

PATINA MILLER: I mean, I think being able to do incredible work with really great artists is kind of the actor’s dream. You know, it was a franchise that... was already amazing and so to be able to be a part of something that people love, being in this fandom where you know our fans of the POWER show are just so intense and love the show so much and so the opportunity to be able to jump into something like that and be a part of it and you know work with great material, great people, and a great crew you can’t ask for anything more!

ERIKA WOODS: I enjoy the slow boil that is Pop. You know, she starts off, she doesn’t say much. She sits at the table. She counts money. All of that is great. But this last season and getting to handle that business with Crystal (Aliyah Turner) and handling business with Famous (Antonio Ortiz). I just thought it was so many different layers and it’s just so much fun just playing with what motivates her and why she did what she did. It’s been a wonderful ride.

LONDON BROWN: First and foremost, likewise, I have enjoyed chatting with you.

I have been enjoying the checks, you know, staying employed haha.

No, no, no. You know, playing Marvin - as an actor, you want to find these characters where you can really have fun with. I’m so glad they allowed me to explore and let me play. You know, because sometimes you never know. Sometimes the writers have a strict idea about a character, but they were totally cool. They let me go and let me bring Marvin to life. And so just to have them to trust me to do that, that has been a great time. So that’s been wonderful.

SASCHA PENN: It’s good seeing you. Thanks for coming back.

AM: We have enjoyed seeing how this series in this universe has evolved! So it is interesting to see your perspective as the Executive Producer, Creator, Showrunner, Writer, you wear a lot of hats.

SP: I mean, look, I think... I’ve really enjoyed like working with people that I love and respect, you know, that’s first and foremost, that’s been kind of amazing. I’ve really been fortunate in that I’ve worked with people who frankly, I think have made me better at my job and maybe better even beyond my job. So, I think that’s also been like an incredibly satisfying piece of the experience. Look, it’s an amazing thing to be able to write a story and share it with a broad audience. And to have that audience respond mostly positively is always great, too. So, you know, it’s been kind of an amazing experience from start to finish. On some level, I’m sorry, it’s over. On the other hand, I do feel like it ended at the right moment in terms of the stories that we’ve been telling. So, you know, it’s bittersweet. But at the end of the day, I feel like we answered every question we asked. Let’s put it that way.

AM: The cast has such a great presence and it’s great to see the dynamics between one another as well as those behind the screen that create the story that is being brought to life. What are you excited for viewers to see of your character or the show?

MC: Honestly, I’m just excited for people to see the question that’s been asked since day one of the show, like how Kanan became Kanan, the people that influenced that, the environment, I’m excited for people to have more context as the show has kind of just revealed as it’s went on. But, you know, going into its final season, you see a lot of questions answered that everybody’s had.

PM: I mean, I’m always excited. You know, anytime an opportunity to be able to get another season is incredible.

You know, so for us to be able to do 5 seasons and this being the final one, I guess I’m just excited for the finale and for, like Mekkai said, to understand. It’s been incredible sitting with these characters in this world for so long. And, you know, I have loved it. And, you know, it’s going to be... It’s going to be fantastic. I can’t wait to hear what people think about it. But I think it’s a wonderful ending to a really great chapter in this series.

LB: Well, I’m excited for them to see S5 because we get into it. We really peel back the layers. There’s a lot of vulnerability in S5. And especially with Marvin, people get to see a different side of Marvin. I know people are used to some of the comedic stuff, and he’s not the comedic relief at all. People still have found him to be likable and that’s cool. But I think now people are going to really love Marvin. Not because he’s perfect or anything, but because he’s so imperfect. I think people feel like, man, they are going to really be able to, they’re going to root for him or want to, you know, when it comes to Marvin for S5 and that’s going to be dope.

EW: You know, I’m curious for people to see exactly why Crystal was killed. Exactly who killed her? Was I alone - allegedly. Constantly people want to know that and the dynamic between Pop and Snaps (Wendell Pierce).

AM: Yeah.

EW: You know, you never saw them one without the other.

AM: Right.

EW: So for people to see, oh, they’re solid or, or really just see the dynamics of that partnership playing out. And now with our nephew, I think that there’s a lot of questions that I’m eager to be answered in the way they’re answered.

AM: That’s going to be exciting to see how the pieces come together!

SP: I mean, look, I guess I’m excited for them to see all of it. I’m so curious and excited to hear sort of where the viewers end up on all these different characters. Like the final analysis, what do you think of Raq (Patina Miller) and what do you think of Marvin? I’m just so curious because I’ve been surprised. I’ve been surprised over the course of these seasons. For example, after Marvin put his hands on his daughter in episode 108, people were like, that’s it for Marvin. I hate this guy. And then now Marvin is truly probably the most beloved character on Raising Kanan. It’s interesting to see how that all evolves and changes and shifts. That’s really interesting. For me as the person who’s sort of, I guess, writing it and guiding it it’s instructive.

AM: What is the biggest takeaway that you’re going to leave with, you know, coming out of this world, coming out of this series?

MC: Hmm it’s a toughie!

PM: It is tough! There’s so many things that you learn. Every show that you are able to be a part of every job, you learn something, right? I think you want to leave better than when you entered, you know? You hope that you can be inspired by the work and by the people. You hope that within the process, you’ve given everything that you could and you showed up and you were happy and you’re happy with the work, happy what you’ve left behind, you know. So I’m very happy with how this worked out. I was excited going into it and I was excited to the very end and to show up for work every day and to love what you do and to work with incredible artists. I know I keep saying it, but it is so true. Working with incredible people, it doesn’t feel like work. It’s just showing up, doing the thing that you’ve always dreamt of doing.

MC: I have nothing. I was literally about to say – I have nothing.

AM: Samesies!

MC: Patina is always able to, you know, I think that’s, again, just a testament to the work that we’ve done and the impact that we’ve made on each other is, you know, she just finished the same thought that I had. Being able to leave a legacy behind with the work that you’re doing and being able to connect with so many other people that inspire you to push you. You know, that’s what I’m excited for. That’s what this has been. That’s the blessing this has left me with.

PM: You know, you leave being more. There’s more belief in yourself and I’m a better actor for having being pushed, gone to my limits, really being tested. `Really! I mean, we’ve had to do a lot of vulnerable things. I mean, working with Mekkai and seeing how he’s had to, like, flex, you know, different parts of his instrument. And I’ve had to flex so many different parts of my instrument. You don’t really get that in every job that you do. You’re the one type of character. But all of these characters in this show have had such amazing journeys where I feel so fulfilled with being able to have pulled out so many different things to use. And, yeah, I’m better now than when I started, you know? So that’s the dream.

AM: Now that the show is coming to an end, what has been your biggest takeaway being a part of this series, part of this universe that people love so much?

EW: You know, I think my biggest takeaway is you can’t always focus on the awards.

AM: Right.

EW: The level of acting that I have been able to be around to learn from Patina Miller, Wendell Pierce (Elsbeth, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War, Jack Ryan series) and Shameik Moore (Wu-Tang: An American Saga, The Get Down, Dope). I mean, I just, everyone is so good. Joey Bada$$ (Grown-ish, Boomerang, Mr. Robot), all of these actors are so amazing. And it’s just wonderful to see them all get to explore these wonderful roles and play with this great material. And it’s not just, you know, guns and you know it’s it’s stories of families and relationships between mothers and kids and you know, spouses. So it’s just wonderful when you, when you see that and it crosses all races. We have Asians. We did every race - that I loved because there’s so many different parts of New York. I just, I loved it. All, you know, we’ve had Indian, we’ve had, we are United Nations and it is just so wonderful to explore that within the show.

LB: Just more confidence in the craft because this project was able to, I could feel that it pushed me in different areas as an actor that I hadn’t really touched on before. So it just kind of really sets me up going into the next thing. And so I’m glad this was a good, actor’s gym session for me doing this show. And I’m glad I was able to put on some weight after doing this show.

SP: Look, I think my biggest takeaway is just like you can’t do this on your own. To be truly great, you need to be surrounded by great people! So that’s one of my biggest takeaways. You know, I do have a tremendous amount of gratitude for 50 (Street Fighter, Fightland, BMF) and Courtney (Nemesis, The Good Wife, POWER franchise) and Mark Canton (Den of Thieves franchise, Escape Plan franchise, 300) and, you know, all these different people who brought me in. Obviously, my friends at Lionsgate and Starz.

You know, it is a humbling experience. You know, it’s truly humbling.

Like, here I am. You know, the act of being a writer, most of it is you sit in front of your computer by yourself in a room and tap away.

AM: Yeah.

SP: In rare instances, I get to sit with Kimmie from Athleisure Mag and I get to talk about things that I created by myself sitting in a room.

AM: Which is crazy.

SP: It’s crazy, right? It is crazy. And that is in and of itself like a tremendous, tremendous sort of gift to have. So there you go.

AM: Thank you guys for taking the time with us as S5 comes to an end as it has been a fantastic series! It’s been amazing to see the range and journey of the characters and how they sit in the overall universe. It’s bittersweet to know that the end is coming it has been so great to see the complexity, fashion, how it is shot and so many elements that have come together to create this series!

This universe is one that has been exciting to look at from various vantage points starting with the flagship POWER, Power Book II: Ghost, Power Book III: Raising Kanan, and Power Book IV: Force! We also can’t wait to see that universe continue on with the prequel that has begun filming with Power: Origins which picks up after the events taking place in Raising Kanan so we can’t wait to see more of Mekkai! We’re also looking forward to Power: Legacy with Michael Rainey and Joseph Sikora. So the universe will continue and I look forward to seeing your projects within this world and outside of it.

MC: It was great talking with you today!

PM: It’s been a great time.

EW: It was great to be here.

LB: Thank you. I appreciate you. Thank you!

SP: Thank you. I really appreciate it. Thank you for sticking around.

IG @starz

@raisingkananstarz

@themekaicurtis

@patinamiller

@e.woodz

@reallondonbrown

@pennsascha

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | Starz

Read the JUN ISSUE #126 of Athleisure Mag and see POWER BOOK III: RAISING KANAN | The Final Chapter in mag.

POWER BOOK III: RAISING KANAN REALITIES OF LIFE MEKAI CURTIS, JOEY BADA$$, LONDON BROWN

Season 3 of STARZ's POWER BOOK III: Raising Kanan is back on Dec 1st at midnight on the STARZ app (all STARZ streaming and on-demand platforms) as well as on STARZ at 9pm ET every Friday night! We caught up with MeKai Curtis (Arrested Development, Girl Meets World, Milo Murphy's Law), Joey BadA$$ (Wu-Tang: An American Saga, Mr. Robot, Grown-ish), and London Brown (The Hustle, Ballers, American Soul) who are all back for the latest season. We wanted to find out about what we can expect for this season (season 4 is not only renewed but is already in production) as well as what we should be excited for!

MeKai plays Kanan Stark in the 90's in the origin story of the character played by Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson in POWER, the flagship series. We know he's the devoted son of Raquel "Raq" Thomas (Patina Miller) and as he searches for answers that he will ultimately evolve. We wanted to know how he approaches Kanan, what drew him to this series and what he is excited for.

ATHLEISURE MAG: It’s so exciting to be able to connect with you. How do you approach playing Kanan?

MEKAI CURTIS: You know, I approach it like any other character that I would approach and like how anybody would approach life. I take it line by line, scene by scene, day by day, reaction by reaction – I kind of just try to make it as organic as I can. That’s all acting it. It’s reacting.

AM: Where did we leave Kanan last season and where are we picking up with him again?

MC: I think that you’ll kind of find Kanan in the same spot that you left him at the end of season 2. He’s just trying to get a lot of answers to a lot of questions that he has and some of the answers that he’s getting aren’t necessarily adding up. So he dives deeper into finding those answers and then he builds his truth and his new world around that information! So you know, you’re just again finding an inquisitive young man trying to figure out what he is doing in life and who he is.

AM: What made you want to play this character as well as to join this amazing cast?

MC: Ah man, I mean, wanting to play this character, it stemmed from partially being a fan of the original franchise and then just wanting to push myself as an artist and to take on something new, to stretch my chops and to do something that I knew that I could. But even signing on, I had no idea in certain ways on what I was stepping into. I’m beyond grateful for it. I’m beyond ready for it. But even the magnitude of where we are and what we’re creating, it wasn’t so heavily on me at the time. It was just again about doing good work and getting to be part of the POWER franchise!

AM: What should fans be excited about as we come into the season as I can’t believe that it launches this Fri on Dec 1st!

MC: Ah wow! It is crazy! Oh wow, it is coming up on Fri!

AM: I know, right?

MC: Yo, time is moving – I mean time is just timing! It’s just happening. Everything is happening so fast! I mean, you just threw me for a loop with that one!

I mean it’s about just being able to watch the season! It’s about continuing the journey and continuing the ride with us. It’s about continuing to unfold and discover this world and these characters and what made the person – the original people that the fans of the original franchise are really able to get to understand. It’s about knowing the person that they saw from the original and new people that we have garnered and have started to bring onto the ship. They’re getting to enjoy just a really good story. It’s a coming of age story, a story of love, a story of forgiveness, a story of ups and downs and bonding. It’s about just trying to pave your way and making it do what it do every day that you’re allowed to!

IG @themekaicurtis

We've been a fan of rapper and actor, Joey BadA$$ and the energy that he brings into playing playing notorious drug lord, Kadeem “Unique” Mathis, a character that continues to unveil his complexities from season to season. In addition to finding out how he brings this character to life, we also wanted to know what he loves about playing him as well as what drew him to the POWER universe.

ATHLEISURE MAG: How do you approach playing Unique?

JOEY BADA$$: Well you know, once I get suited and booted, it’s definitely like I get 5 points for that! You know what I mean? Just being in the attire! Also, it’s just more of the mental preparation than anything. You know, I’m thinking about what must be going on in the character’s mind, what are the current challenges that he’s facing and how can I bring that to life on the screen? How can I show that with my actions or my mannerisms or even my facial expressions.

AM: Where did we leave Unique last season and where are we picking up with him again this season?

JB: So you know, last season we saw the villain become the hero and I thought that that was very interesting. You know, I think that with this new season, historically, he was the guy that you hated that you loved or the guy that you loved that you hated. But now, I feel like people are going to see him in a new light this season because he’s in much more of a vulnerable space navigating this chemistry between him and Raq. So, you know his brother being back home and Ronnie’s (Grantham Coleman) not happy with what Unique has done. So there’s this work-life balance that Unique is facing and you know, I think that people are really going to see more of the human aspect of Unique more than anything this season so I’m excited about that!

AM: What made you want to play this character and be part of this phenomenal cast?

JB: Well I’ve been a fan of the original POWER series you know for a long time. When I saw that they were doing a spin-off, I just thought, look I just need a role. It don’t really matter which one it is, but once the role of Unique came and I auditioned for this character and it landed on my desk, I’m like, this is it – this is me. You know, by every means, this is me. I felt like I was born to play this character, you know what I’m saying? It’s been exciting to say the least and I’m super grateful to be part of this universe and to be part of the family.

AM: It’s always fun to see when you’re on screen! Are there any other upcoming projects that we should keep our eye out for that you can tell us about?

JB: Well, as we know, Raising Kanan Season 3 is coming. I’m working on a new album right now to put out at the top of next year. So I’m looking forward to that! Yeah and you know, more film stuff. I’m actually starting up a production company right now so I’m actually looking to get my hand involved in the executive level in this film industry so I am genuinely excited about that! I’ll be producing some of my own projects. I’m just looking forward to elevation and growth!

IG @joeybadass

Before the series premiere of this show, we caught up with London Brown who plays Marvin Thomas, who is Raq's older brother and Kanan's uncle. In that interview, he introduced us to POWER BOOK III, and it's great to now touchbase with him ahead of the 3rd season, to know more about his thoughts on the intracacies of Marvin, how he continues to approach him when playing him, why he enjoys bringing him to life and of course, what we need to know to be prepared for the upcoming season.

ATHLEISURE MAG: How do you approach playing Marvin?

LONDON BROWN: With a lot of concentration and focus in the sense that I just try to make sure that I try to create a lot of layers for Marvin so that he really becomes 3 dimensional and that he’s just not just some caricature, but more so a real person with real feelings. That way, the audience can go on a journey with me.

AM: Where did we leave Marvin last season, and where are we picking up with him again?

LB: We leave Marvin last season injured and in the middle of trying to repair relationships and we pick it up with him right there in the sense of he’s learned some lessons and now he is trying to apply those lessons to really become a better person. Not only for himself, but for those that he loves.

AM: We had the pleasure to catch up before the first season aired and so to talk with you again has been great. What do you enjoy about playing him across these seasons?

LB: The thing that I enjoy is experimenting with the arc of Marvin. That’s what I like! I don’t like for any character to stay in one thing and you can’t put Marvin in any kind of particular space because he’s doing different things. People can even experience that from the first season. This is true even from season to season. Even within a scene, you'll see Marvin go from one extreme to the next. So that’s been fun, just to get into the layers of playing Marvin.

AM: What should we expect from this season as we’re excited that this show is back!

LB: I think that people should expect plot twists and more specifically with Marvin. Just when people thought that they understood Marvin, they’re going to see a completely different side of Marvin that people can appreciate and whatever ideas that they thought that they had of Marvin in Season 1 like, “oh man, he did – oh wait – he is – he’s like this and like that!” But Marvin is still Marvin. So Marvin don’t start no issues, but if you cross him, he’ll finish them. So the undertone of Marvin is still there, but there are a lot of new notes to Marvin that we explored.

IG @reallondonbrown

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | STARZ/POWER BOOK III: Raising Kanan

Read the NOV ISSUE #95 of Athleisure Mag and see POWER BOOK III: Raising Kanan - Realities of Life | MeKai Curtis, Joey BadA$$, London Brown in mag.

IT'S ALL ABOUT FAMILY | POWER BOOK III: RAISING KANAN SEASON 2

We always like chatting with those who are in the POWER universe. STARZ's POW- ER BOOK III Raising Kanan is back for Season 2 on Aug 14th. We caught up with its creator, executive producer and writer, Sascha Penn (POWER, Survivor's Remorse, CREED II) and two of the stars from the show Hailey Kilgore (Respect, Ain't Misbe- havin', Into the Woods) who plays Jukebox and Omar Dorsey (Genius: Aretha, Queen Sugar, Halloween Kills) who plays Cartier.

We caught up with them to talk about how they prepare for being in this series from channeling the era of the 90's as an actor as well as to get the feel of the show through music and clothing. We talk about where we left these characters last season and where we find them now. More importantly, we look at how this show, as a prequel, has a set destination while having the challenge to create the origin story that we have the ability to see the connective tissue of those involved!

ATHLEISURE MAG: You were a producer and writer for the flagship POWER - how did that transition feel when you became the creator for POWER BOOK III: Raising Kanan for the roles of showrunner, executive producer and writer?

SASCHA PENN: I will tell you that Courtney Kemp who is obviously the creator of POWER, she warned me! She said, “I don’t know if you want this job!” She was right ha ha!

It’s a lot more work, it’s a lot more responsibility. Obviously, I had to create a world that didn’t exist whereas the other POWER BOOK’s do have the luxury of characters that are already in the original POWER. So in the case of this particular series, there’s a lot of invention that had to happen and that was a real challenge and still staying true to the original series, that’s always important!

AM: Absolutely!

SP: To have it feel part of that and at the same time, distinct from it, that’s part of the challenge. As well as the fact that you know how the story is going to end with Kanan (Mekai Curtis) if you watch the original POWER. So how do you make that interesting? How do you make that compelling? I mean, it’s a very very different job, and Courtney, I appreciate her warning me because she was right, but it’s a great job too and I can’t complain.

 AM: What’s your creative process like? Like you said, you're establishing a be- ginning of the universe and yet you know where it’s ultimately going to go.

SP: Yeah, first off, I’m very fortunate that I have a room full of writers to help me figure out these stories and to deconstruct these characters and then build them back up. You know, the process is that really in TV, you start from the characters. That’s the starting point for everything in TV. We had Kanan and then it was the question of again, to your point – we know how the story ends, where do we start? It’s not that interesting to tell the story of a sociopath if that’s how he starts! We really landed and I hope that it works that this is a family drama. It’s the story of this family – Kanan’s family and understanding how he became who he became. If you’ve watched it, you know that he has started out from a different spot then where he ended.

AM: What are you excited about in terms of Season 2 with the storylines and dif- ferent things that you can share with us?

SP: I think what’s exciting is first off, there’s this business of how Season 1 ended that we have to clean up right? That’s a real challenge because it ended in such a dramatic fashion and so you know that obviously that had an impact on Raq (Patina Miller) and Kanan’s relationship and the family in general. At the same time, she’s balancing these very personal issues with her expanding business. That is in some respect the balance that we all have to sort of address which is work and life and how do we do it? In her case, the stakes are significantly higher. But you know what's great in Season 2 and really any series that gets another season or multiple seasons, you get the opportunity to go deeper, go into different places and really get the opportunity to explore these different characters in a way that you haven’t before. In this series, we’re fortunate that we have incredible actors who are doing it. That’s the other thing. In Season 1, you don’t to- tally know what you’re going to get and in the case of Raising Kanan we have been so fortunate that the actors have been so incredible and it really allows it to be able to write bigger storylines and dramatic moments because these actors can kind of do anything!

AM: It feels like that in addition to the great characters and the storyline, having it set in the 90’s, you have the music and just the clothing that’s also another character. It’s just as big and brings that ambiance factor. How was it to navigate that? Getting clothes and sneakers that are distinct to the era?

SP: It’s a huge challenge and that’s a great question because it’s a huge, huge challenge! It’s probably one of our great- est challenges because of course, all the great sneaker releases when they release the Jordans, like the Jordans 5, they look slightly different from the ones of that era. So we have to be really careful because you know, the viewers they know better than we do and they will call us out! Twitter is undefeated! So it really is a big job and we are very fortunate, we have a Costume Designer Tsigie White who spends months and months and months going through people’s warehouses and closets trying to find the original deadstock stuff that we use. We’ve also been fortunate that we’ve worked with designers of that era like Dapper Dan who have built stuff for us like Unique’s (Joey Bada$$) outfits, those are original Dapper Dan – such as that jacket. The goods news is what’s old is new again and all this 90s stuff like Sergio Tacchini is back!

Looking at the show, we got to see the complexity of having the character's ends set in stone while also being able to really dig into who they were before who they came to be in POWER and even as they continue in the other portions of the POWER universe!

We wanted to talk with Hailey who is one of the actors who plays a character that we saw in POWER, Jukebox. We wanted to know how she came to the show, connected to her character and how she found her way to catch the 90's vibe of that time and in NYC in order to bring her to light. We also wanted to find out about Omar and his character Cartier.

ATHLEISURE MAG: You play Jukebox and Cartier, what attracted you to want to be this character as well as to be part of this show?

HAILEY KILGORE: I was so into being a princess when I was younger. I wanted to play princesses and I wanted to be a damsel in distress and that’s exactly what I got to do when I was on Broadway and I did my first couple of roles. I remember calling my team at one point and saying, “I want to do something gritty, do something different. I want to get down in the mud and really go there with a character!” So Jukebox came into my inbox and I was just immediately so pulled to this character and her story and who she is at her core. So yeah, I was like, I’m absolutely going to do this, I’m a huge Anika Noni Rose (The Princess and the Frog, THEM, POWER) fan. She was the original Jukebox on POWER as an adult.

AM: It was like perfect kismet! What about you Omar?

OMAR DORSEY: Honestly, I was into the Raising Kanan from the first episode because of Patina Miller (Madam Secretary, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 + 2, The Many Saints of Newark). I think she is one of our most gifted artists. I did a stage reading for a Broadway show with her a few years ago and was impressed with her. So, when I got the call about the show, Patina was the first thing I thought about.

AM: What’s it like for you preparing since this takes place in the 90’s as you’re playing the character and taking on this iconic era.

HK: Yeah, that was a very very different time and especially in NYC in the 90’s. Oooo it was such a different time and women really had to survive on a day-to-day basis. I really just went to the root. I watched a lot of documentaries. I listened to a lot of rappers that came up in NY. If you just listen and pay attention, you hear the struggle and the pain. It’s so interesting because to them, it was an everyday scenario. So, I just really like to ground my performance in the realism of survival. Jukebox really wears that mask. You see with her family that she’s silly and wants to laugh and she can cry and confide in them. But then, when she’s out in public, she’s stoned face and I have fun with that.

OD: With Raising Kanan taking place in the 90’s, the preparation was easy for me. The 90’s were quite a time for me. I was in high school and listening to all the music, wearing all the clothes that we did in the show. I felt like I was pretty much taken into a time machine.

AM: Where do we leave Jukebox in Season 1 and where do we pick up with her again heading into Season 2?

HK: Season 1 leaves Juke really heartbroken and so when we come back, we see her as quite a shell of herself. We see how she starts picking up the pieces and put- ting them back together in her own way.

AM: Tell us about Cartier “Duns” Fareed and what can we expect from his as we watch him this season?

OD: Cartier is an international man of mystery. What does he do to make all the money that he has? He's a Shakespeare spewing, art collecting gent ... with a serious secret. Let’s just say he introduces people to each other.

AM: Hailey, you are involved in so many things and the fact that you are part of the world of Broadway and TV as well, what are some upcoming projects that you have going on that we should keep an eye out for?

HK: I have a couple of projects coming out! I finally, have really invested my time into music so I will be dropping an EP very very soon. My first single off that EP, Worth It, drops on Aug 12th which I’m so excited about! This will be my first time leading a movie, it’s called Cinnamon and that will be coming out very very soon.

AM: Omar, we have enjoyed seeing you in a number of projects from Ray Donovan, Genius, Queen Sugar and even being Pastor Green in The Lower Bottoms podcast! What are some other projects coming up that we should keep an eye out for?

OD: Queen Sugar’s final season airs Sep- tember 6th. I’m so very excited for the world to see the culmination of the entire Bordelon clan. Hollywood and Vi (Tiffany Lifford) in particular. Their love has been an inspiration to see on TV weekly for almost a decade. I’m also returning to the Halloween franchise as Sheriff Barker for the finale of the Blumhouse produced trilogy, “Halloween Ends.” I think old Mike Meyers will finally meet his match!

IG @pennsascha

@haileyfkilgore

@omarjdorsey

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | STARZ/POWER BOOK III: Raising Kanan

Read the AUG ISSUE #80 of Athleisure Mag and see IT’S ALL ABOUT FAMILY | POWER BOOK III: RAISING KANAN Season 2.

ATHLEISURE MAG #80 | AUG ISSUE

In this month’s issue, our cover story is with World Cup Champion, Juventus F.C. and the France National Team Midfielder footballer, Paul Pogba. We caught up with him to talk about his passion for the game, his excitement to play for Juventus again, what it was like to win the World Cup with the French National team in 2018 and more. With STARZ’s POWER BOOK III: Raising Kanan Season 2 out now, we caught up with the show’s creator Sascha Penn and two of it’s stars Hailey Kilgore and Omar Dorsey to talk about what we can expect, what it’s like getting into that 90’s frame of mind and more. We also interview CFDA jewelry designer Sheryl Lowe of Sheryl Lowe Jewelry. We talk about how she went from a MUA in film/TV to creating this line, creating an additional line MR.LOWE. where her husband Rob Lowe and children have modeled for it and the importance of philanthropy within her collection. This Labor Day Weekend, Electric Zoo is back from Sept 2nd – 4th and we give you a heads up on what you can expect at this year’s festival on Randall’s Island here in NY. We also talk with Cheat Codes, a trio DJ/Producer trio who will also perform at this year’s event. We talk about them drawing 3 albums in under 2 years during the pandemic, how they create their music and their upcoming country project with Dolly Parton, Jimmie Allen and more. We also caught up with The Queen of Bounce, Big Freedia to talk about Bounce, No Kids Hungry and working with Beyonce.

This month’s 9PLAYLIST comes from EDM DJ/Producer Benny Benassi (cover of DEC ISSUE #60) and choreographer, dance fitness founder of the NW Method Nicole Winhoffer has one as well. Our 9DRIP comes from our STARZ’s POWER BOOK III: Raising Kanan’s, Omar Dorsey and the Queen of Bounce, Big Freedia. Our 63MIX ROUTIN3S comes from last month’s JUL ISSUE #79 cover and UFC World Champ and TUF Season 30 winner Julianna Peña. Our The 9LIST STORI3S comes from PGA golfer Justin Thomas and The 9LIST STORI3S comes from Leylah Fernandez, Felix Aliassime and Carlos Alcaraz who will be playing in this year’s US Open.

Our monthly feature, The Art of the Snack shares a stunning spot that’s known for their mussels in the Meat Packing District, Mollusca. This month’s Athleisure List comes from Bear Donut and RANG NYC. As always, we have our monthly roundups of some of our favorite finds.

Read the AUG ISSUE #80.

MANIFEST YOUR LIFE WITH LONDON BROWN

This month, the anticipated release of STARZ's Power Book III: Raising Kanan premieres. Before it has even aired, it has already been greenlit for a 2nd season with the cast currently filming. We caught up with London Brown, who plays Marvin Thomas, Kanan's nephew to talk about the new series that takes place in South Jamaica Queens in 1991. We talk about his career from Fuse's The Hustle, his breakout role in HBO's Ballers and how he has evolved as an entertainer. We also talk about how important it is for him to stay grounded as he navigates the industry and his focus on giving back in the ways that he can.

ATHLEISURE MAG: When did you realize that you wanted to be an entertainer? You cover a number of areas as you’re an actor, dancer and a comedian.

LONDON BROWN: I think it’s just a thing that I remember early on always being into the arts. I felt that the arts came very naturally. Between the arts feeling like they were already part of my proclivity, I enjoyed them as well, fortunately. A lot of times, people are gifted and are good at what they do, but they’re not necessarily drawn to them. I was always very passionate about the arts in general. I just remember that it started when I did Easter plays and that sort of thing. So I did it and at school I realized that they had more plays there, so I did those and played the Scarecrow and in Black communities where you grow up in religious households, you go to church – so you’re playing an instrument, you’re singing – you’re doing something on that level. So all these things were just kind of normal and it transmitted to school and so throughout high school, I was involved in bands, was in plays and that’s when I started to take it seriously. I had a theater teacher that saw more in me than I did and encouraged me to take it more seriously.

From there, I went away to school and one of my friends encouraged me to dance. He was a choreographer with a dance team and he said, "you should join the dance team." I told him, "nah, I'm not going to do that.” He then told me that I should do it because he was gay, the rest of the team were all girls and since I was straight, that that would be a great match. So I did and I danced, I kept doing it and I taught dance which allowed me to pay the bills all while I became a teacher where I taught high schoolers theory of acting. While this was going on, I took some auditions to get into the groove of my art. It’s funny because while I was teaching for the high school, a fellow teacher told me about a comedy show that the school was putting on and I asked about it and they suggested that I should sign up to be part of it. I realized that the same energy of the instant gratification that we get from doing live theater, I can also get it from doing standup as it’s just a one man show. Doing standup, I finally felt that I had a voice. I do a lot of different things, but I also feel that with all of the things that I do, God gave them to me because he knew that I would also give them away. So teaching, I inspired a lot of other young people to do whatever they do now.

I was doing standup for about 2 years and I ended up connecting with Chris Tucker and we hit it off. I started touring with him as his opening act for a few years. Somewhere in there, I land my first TV show, The Hustle. That was 2013, it was a small network, but the creator was also the showrunner for Insecure, so Prentice Penny saw a bunch of young actors and said, “hey I want you guys to do this,” gave us a call and we auditioned and he took chances on us. In Hollywood, they want familiar faces so the fact that he took a shot on me, I did a season of The Hustle, Chris had stopped touring and with no TV show, I no longer had an agent or a manager.

So now, I am agentless and I get a call from a friend of mine who asked if I had auditioned from Ballers. I let him know that I had heard about it, but at the time, I was a choreographer just trying to pay bills. He said he would pass my information along. I go in, this is during 2014 and I audition for Ballers and they said they liked me. Initially the character was only supposed to do 1 or 2 episodes. After the audition that I did, they wanted to make me a lead on the show and keep me all 5 seasons. I moved to Miami, filmed and then finished the other half of the season in LA, so after that, the series ends in 2019 and Dwayne pulls the plug as I think that he was just busy because it was still #1!

AM: For sure, we loved watching it every week and although your character generated a lot of reactions and people didn’t like him. But we enjoyed your character. The growth that you did as the character, it’s interesting to see someone who was in a situation where he was trying to protect his friend, try to do what’s right, but you’re in an industry that you really have to learn quickly and to see the progression of the character season by season. We weren’t familiar with your work previous to that show, but when you have a knee jerk reaction to a character, they’re acting their ass off to make you feel that way. It’s not easy to come off that unlikeable.

LB: Right? For me, that’s why it was so important because on paper, the character wasn’t going to be around as that wasn’t the plan initially. He was supposed to be character A, Reggie the best friend. I knew that I really needed to be able to establish my presence 1, a lot of the guys that were on there had established resumes and had been in the industry a long time. I knew the opportunity and the weight that that project was going to have. It had the #1 entertainer with Dwayne Johnson and also it’s HBO, a very credible network. For me, I was going to exhaust whatever energy from whatever scene to make sure that I wasn’t doing too much but I was standing out on some kind of level. And 2, I became the antagonist by accident because we’d be on set and I was improvising a lot because they didn’t have any lines for me because I wasn’t supposed to be around. They said, “ok, let’s let him go and let’s see what we come up with.” So I was giving them stuff and then we kind of found this voice of Reggie as far as making him the fly around the food. So once I tapped into that, I knew I could amp it up wherever they allow me to go. At the same time, as an actor, in the development of making a character 3 dimensional, in season 1 and part of season 2, he was the annoying guy. But we wanted to take him to such a place that by season 5, he’s more responsible and he’s trying to get it together so that he’s really advising Vernon in positive ways. I wanted to make sure that I kept the character interesting and not just fall and be a character like Best Friend #1.

Now, we find out on Instagram that the show is over so I’m like, ok. I’m not worried because from a spiritual place, I don’t even put all my energy into man anyway. So, I feel that I will be fine. I’m working clubs, on the road and touring. So now it’s the fall of 2019 and I get a call from Robi Reed who does all the casting for Spike Lee’s projects and is really great. She calls and asks if I can do American Soul to play Bootsy Collins. I get down there and I learn the guitar and whatever I have to do for the part. I then do a horror film in Canada so I’m doing these 2 projects and my manager says that there is a young agent who is familiar with my work and wants to work with me. I tell him it's cool and he says that he likes what I do and asks me to read the sides, which are pieces of the script.

On the sides I see Power at the top. I think to myself that this can’t be the real Power because I had seen billboards all over Times Square that they are on the final season. So I thought that it was a mock because sometimes, they put a fake title on there. So I went in, I read the part and felt that it flowed well and that whoever was writing it had good language and it’s how I would talk so I thought it was cool. I sent the tape in, I didn’t hear anything and after the Christmas break, the new agent that I’m building with because we are just feeling each other out, I visit the people at the office and they let me know that I have a callback. I do 6 or 7 takes and then I go in and long story short, the agent said that they liked me and wanted to offer me the part. So I agreed and I’m still unaware that it’s Power and then I hear that it’s Raising Kanan. Mind you, I had never watched anything from Power at all. When I would run into fans on the street, they would say, “hey man, my favorite show is Ballers, Game of Thrones and Power.” So I wanted to be part of Power, but I was grateful for what I did have. I wanted to do Power so badly that I didn’t even want to watch it because I was already committed in my current project at the time. So when they said, Raising Kanan, I was confused, but I knew it was a show and it took place in the 90’s. I get on set and I start to connect the dots. People are telling me that this is the backstory of Kanan and I knew that 50 Cent had done something with Kanan because the streets were talking.

It wasn’t until I really got into filming the shoot that I realized that this was a spinoff – Power Book III: Raising Kanan! We’re an official spinoff because we’re the prequel. The other ones continue the story. So when I found out it's 1991, this character is not like Reggie – he’s Reggie on steroids and he just goes there. He’s short-tempered, but he loves and is loyal to his family. There’s a leadership power struggle between him and his siblings because his younger sister is running the whole family operation. She’s showing love to the younger brother because he’s really cool, calm and collected. So my character feels a certain type of way about that. My daughter and I have a strange and strained relationship because my character had done some time and she got a whole other life. So the only person that my character is able to flex some leadership on is my nephew Kanan (editor’s note: in Power, the flagship series Kanan is played by 50 Cent). So I’m the guy who introduced my nephew to this nefarious lifestyle that he begins. So, I’m like the muscle of the crew. My sister gives the orders, I carry them out and sometimes I go beyond what she asks for and that causes some animosity between us but in the end, it’s the loyalty that keeps us very connected to each other.

So, that answers your question and gives you the spill on how this all came out!

AM: You took us on a great journey! The way you presented your story makes me think about something I tell people all the time. When you’re building your brand and taking opportunities that are based on your interests or become available, you never know the people that you come into contact with and the projects that come your way. It’s the sliding doors that you enter and exist that allows you to build your career and sometimes it’s completely unplanned but each link adds another to get to your end result.

LB: You’re right. I know that for a lot of people, when they first saw me, it was from Ballers. But people didn’t know that there were a lot of foundational things that took place when I was doing theater that helped me to have a presence when I was playing across to Dwayne. That’s one side and the other is, if you can’t be the hero, the antagonist is the next best thing. It all just lined up! Even for people who didn’t know me, the fact that all my scenes in season 1 were with Dwayne, it pushed me into a space that I couldn’t have been more grateful for.

My first TV show allowed me to transition from theater and to learn how to play everything inside of a small frame. Ballers helped me to establish my onscreen presence. So by the time I got to Power Book III: Raising Kanan, I have more of a handle on what’s going on and how to play to it. I think that people will really connect with the project and my character Marvin – especially my friends because I do more cursing and drinking on TV then I do in real life! He’s charming but he is intense. My friends who know me, they find it funny that I’m playing Marvin because I’m cursing and rude and I’m so not these guys. But that’s why I enjoy playing them so much because I’m so the other way. I’m chill and very easy going. With Reggie, he didn’t care and he was loud. This character is shooting, fighting and doing all kinds of stuff. So I think people will connect with it very much so!

AM: Power Book III: Raising Kanan released earlier this month. When you got this role, what did you do to prep for it? It takes place in the 90’s. How did you get into the vibe and feel for this series?

LB: For me, I’ve always been a champion for the 90’s from the sitcom, the clothes and the music. I love the 90’s. It’s already part of my regular life so what I did in terms of preparation, I listened to a lot of Nas and 90’s hip-hop to understand the language. We had a dialect coach on set to just keep us where we needed to be in terms of the accent and dialect. I just tried to stay very present. My home is still LA, but for filming we all relocated and I’m actually here now in NY because we got a pick up for the next season already!

AM: Which is awesome because you were confirmed for a 2nd season just days before the premier dropped!

LB: I know and it’s such a blessing! I think that maybe the producers saw what they needed to see and they know it’s rich. I’m not even mentioning me, these guys performances are just strong. Mekai Curtis who plays Kenan is very connected. Our lead actress, Patina Miller (plays Raquel Thomas) she just gives it up - she won a TONY coming from theater. So a few of us have come from theater so already between that and when we came together, we didn’t have any egos. Sometimes in auditions, you meet each other and have chemistry tests and you vibe and they put people together and pair you up to see. We didn’t have any time for that. They booked us, we flew out to NY, we had a photoshoot and the first day was like a family scene. If we were playing like we were in high school on the first day of class, we could play with the awkwardness of real life on screen. But we’re playing a family that’s a tight unit. So we can’t be with the weird stuff. Everyone needs to be present and professional. Anything outside of that has to be left at the door because it can affect the chemistry. Fortunately, day 1, everyone was just cool and supportive of each other. The offscreen energy read very well for what we did onscreen.

The whole thing should come together well. The costumes definitely helped us. The hairdos – I’m in a high top. I spoke to the costumer just yesterday for the fitting and he felt that my character was one of the ones which helped to sell the era. They put me in some Dapper Dan. I mean the budget to make it come to life – even renting the cars so that every car all the way down the block and in the view of the camera was taken back to ’91. They really got all of the aesthetics down for it. I just hope people enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed making it.

AM: How was it working with 50 and Courtney Kemp?

LB: After all the shenanigans that people feel 50 does, they have to understand that the dude is a very smart tactile guy! At the end of the day, 50 is very charming, but he is onto something. I had the chance to talk to him a few times and he really believes in the project, he’s really invested into it and Courtney’s energy and her last say so’s of things with her vision and I think that they both work well with guiding the ship in the right direction. We had a great lead writer, Sascha Penn, she wrote the hell out of the script. All of them were very open if we didn’t understand something or we felt that the character wouldn’t do this or that, it wasn’t about doing it like the way they said, it was very collaborative. They would ask, what do you think and I’d say that I didn’t think Marvin would do it this way, but we could play with it this way. Even with the hair or other items – everyone was really cool. I think again, all the way around the set because we didn’t have egos or dictatorship energy, it allowed people to give their opinions even if we didn’t agree. They were still open to hearing and we found a medium place. That I think is what helped this project all the way around.

AM: Do you find as an actor, that it’s difficult to prepare for a character when it’s a series versus a movie? Then when you’re looking at a series, is it difficult as you go in and out of that character when you’re picking it up to get back into the character when it takes place over multiple seasons? Is that hard for you to separate yourself from that character?

LB: For me, I always separate it from the emotional stuff. I just stayed in the dialect. I didn’t want to be back and forth. So the whole time I was filming, I stayed with the dialect. So now, I have to get back into it because we’re about to film again and I have been in and out of it today. But when I’m filming I stay that way throughout the filming and even off set. The emotional stuff, I leave at work so that I can live, breathe and process because my character is doing all kinds of stuff so I don’t need to bring any of that at home! When I come out of the costume, jump into my sweats and get dropped off, I’m back to that. Also, we were in the pandemic. I'm glad at the time, there was no real social stuff going on. For me, my routine was hitting the gym everyday, I’m a sneakers guy and I’m living in Harlem so I passed by 8-10 sneaker shops and walk in everyday and if I saw something new, I'd grab those and get some groceries. Then, I’d be home to study. I had a very simple vibe of things that I did. I just locked in and tapped in. We were in the middle of winter. I’m from LA and I realized that I was the only one that gave a damn about the snow. Everybody else was indoors and I’m the only one that was outside glad to be in the street and walking to the gym in the snowstorm. But that’s how simple I am – I just enjoyed it. I was grateful to work and grateful to see the snow. I do photography so I went out and would shoot. In my mind, going back to what you said about one path leading to another path and so forth, I’ve always wanted to live in NY but I didn’t want to uproot and to leave LA. So just like this is setup is exactly how I wanted it to be. My things are in LA but I can be here for a period of time but I can still go back home. This is just like how I would have wanted it to happen even though I didn’t ask for this. That’s how I know I’m where I’m supposed to be.

That’s why I encourage people to go out there for what they want to do. There are things on your list that you’re unaware of that automatically come with what they do. I have friends who say that they love to travel, getting free stuff and clothes and I’m like, “do the things that you’re supposed to do and the other things will come.” My core goal is to be an actor, but the other things as a result is living in NY, being able to travel and the free stuff. There’s the love that you get and even helping other people. I don’t complain, I’m just really grateful that people care enough to even want to sit down with me and talk with me so thank you!

AM: What are the workouts that you do and clearly with your job you always have to be ready for whatever is coming at you.

LB: I do a few things. I change up the routine so that my body doesn’t get too comfortable. At one point, I was doing a Dwayne exercise which we would focus on a particular muscle group for that day so Mon – chest, Tues – back legs, Wed – shoulders, Thurs - abs, Fri - arms. I was doing that for awhile. Right now, I’m doing a compound full-body approach. I do something for each muscle group but as a full-body type of thing. When we start filming, I will probably do an upper-body routine and then a lower body the next day. I try to do abs every day usually – at least 200 of something for abs. Again, even with Ballers, in season 1, they were like, “London, we need you to put this tank top on.” I was like, “ahhhh not right now.” At the end of season 2, not that I turned into Dwayne, but I filled out a bit and worked on some stuff. When I did that pool scene, I got myself together with my arms.

Even with this, I got some intimate scenes in season 1 and I’m still vacillating between ideas of what I look like because that was one scene that I wish I could have gone back and taken a look. Not that I could have have changed what I looked like that day, but I know that that scene is coming up and I just hope that I look ok! Because it’s onscreen and this is now locked in forever. That’s why I don’t waste any time. They were making jokes at me for going into the gym, but I was telling my co-stars that this is the first time that people will see whatever they are seeing of us and on the branding side of things, I have done a few photoshoots outside of this. So if people reach out because they think your body looks nice, they may want you to be the face of Levi Jeans or Gap Jeans. I’m thinking way past the scene – it’s the branding side of it. I’m also thinking about the leading guy side of it. Will Smith was The Fresh Prince of Bel-Aire until we saw him in I Am Legend for example. We saw him chiseled up and then we saw him in Ali and he put some size on him. Or even Michel B. Jordan, we were like, “hey that’s the handsome looking Black guy." Then he sized up for Creed and people were like, "ooo Michael B. Jordan." The response that women had when they said his name, I was like, “ok he leveled up!” When he did Black Panther, now he’s in a different league and he is a leading guy. These are the things that I am thinking about so when people are joking about me being in the gym, I’m like, “listen, we’ve got to think past Power if we’re thinking about the next level. We’ve got to look good.”

AM: Absolutely. You don’t know where it’s coming from. You’re right with Michael B. Jordan, we had his trainer who is a Body Transformation Specialist, Corey Calliet who also does a lot of the people in the Marvel Universe etc as our July cover in 2018. He talked about how he transformed his body and you’re right, when he started taking on those roles with that physique, he’s a leading action hero! Now he’s in Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse. So you’re definitely ahead of the game!

LB: I’m just thinking advanced because I live in anticipation and I believe that I can have it and I manifest it. I don’t have any doubt and I am just preparing for the things that I believe are going to come. It’s like when Noah had the arc and people said, there’s going to be a storm and you need to get on the boat and people were like, “yeah sure - right.” I’m just trying to tell my friends that we have to get ready. Everyone mentally is not able to function in that capacity. But I know of many things that I have said and they did happen and when I spoke about Power and to be on Power, I had no idea it would be in the spinoff and I knew I wanted to do it. There are a couple of things on the list and I am just trying to do the best that I can to be prepared for them as I know that they are on the way.

AM: Do you have other projects that you’re working on that we should keep an eye out?

LB: Right now, it’s Power and now that the clubs are opening up, I will get back into doing standup. But there is a book of photography that I’m working on. I want to use the photos for the income from the book to help with homeless people. I do a lot with homeless people. Growing up, I always have helped street people and would feed them. LA has a huge homeless problem so I am working on this coffee table book. As people look at the homeless people from the different places that I have traveled to, it’s a way to keep us very grounded and to remind us on how we look at things. It’s very easy, not that I am in a high position, but even in the position that I am in, you can get caught up and think it’s about you. The best way for me to keep my heart in check is that I am always giving. By doing this book and what have you, it will help people that when they sit down and their rich friends come over and they take off their Rolex, there’s a book there that you can just tap into every so often and they can say that they are grateful for their apartment, house or whatever they have. That book will remind them that there are people who don’t even have a bed or food. I would give these people a pear, apple, PB+J and they would say, “thank you, I appreciate you.” I would talk with them and I realized that people aren't just crazy or on drugs. They may have went through a depression, a divorce, were in the military and they just fell on tough times. Even with this pandemic, it showed how people had troubles and everyone was shut down. Now people have to reup and regroup and focus. I did a table read during the pandemic and one of the actors was complaining about something and I’m like, “brother, we’re doing a table read. We’re working.” That’s the angle, I’m not mad at him. It just reminds me that I need to keep giving and keep myself very connected and grounded because the truth is, if I stay on the ground, if I fall or stumble, I’m already down there. But when people get besides themselves and spiritually, I’d rather keep myself humble then to have God do it – I got it and will do what I need to do because I don’t want Him to do it. I'll stay in check.

AM: So when you’re not on set or on stage and all of the things you do, what do you do to take time for yourself?

LB: If it’s not the gym, I’m going live and cooking. I do a lot of live stuff and interact with my followers. Or it’s my photography, I’m out and about with my camera shooting or just trying to help friends with their headshots. I also cut hair so if I'm in the city or I'm at home, guys want to come up, I cut hair. I’ll be home if anything, I’m really easy going. I like the self-care of cooking at home or going to the gym or giving to others in some capacity – the homeless and feeding them and trying to be of service.

IG @RealLondonBrown

PHOTO CREDITS | PG 127 London Brown | PG 128 + 131 HBO/Ballers | PG 132 - 139 STARZ/Power Book III: Raising Kanan |

Read the JUL ISSUE #67 of Athleisure Mag and see Manifest Your Life with London Brown in mag.