Steve Nash, Founder, Steve Nash Enterprises

Steve Nash, Founder, Steve Nash Enterprises | BCBusiness

From the 2013 Influencer Index: The NBA star has leveraged his athletic accolades into a national brand

When it comes to his athletic accolades, Vancouver Island’s star hoopster needs little introduction. South African-born, B.C.-bred Steve Nash was picked up by the Phoenix Suns in the 1996 NBA draft, twice named league MVP and is one of five players ever to top 10,000 career assists. But when Nash isn’t setting up his teammates, he’s setting up a stadium full of entrepreneurial ventures under Steve Nash Enterprises.

With equity in more than a dozen businesses—from his film production company Meathawk and the Vancouver Whitecaps soccer franchise to a skincare startup—the 39-year-old is proving his talents, work ethic and reach extend well beyond the court. He founded an eponymous chain of health clubs. He partnered with advertising executive Michael Duda from award-winning Deutsch Inc. on Madison Avenue—where he also interned for three months in 2008—and formed venture capital company Consigliere Brand Capital LLC to invest in sports and tech startups. He exhibits unexpected marketing savvy in his use of social media—particularly in advertisements for brands like Nike and Vitaminwater, as well as his involvement in Apoko Group, which he launched with L.A. Clippers’ Baron Davis in 2009 to specialize in online content management for athletes. In 2011 he signed a three-year deal with Liquid Nutrition Group Inc. as an equity partner and spokesperson of the Montreal-based smoothie, food, vitamin and supplement store that plans to roll out 20 franchises in B.C. alone.

Nash’s knack for finding order and adapting on the fast-paced, ever-changing basketball court translates to the world of business—principles he also applies to the Steve Nash Foundation, his philanthropy project benefiting underprivileged children. He also received the Order of Canada in 2007 and an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from UVic in 2008.

Retirement from basketball is just around the corner, but the world has only seen the start of Steve Nash. “I hate to say it, because the clichés can get nauseating, but I try to keep the ball moving,” he told Fast Company in 2010. “If you let things slow down, they lose momentum.”