Industry Interview: Paul Rivera Talks Building Brands from LeBron to Beats by Dre

Despite a decorated resume showcasing success in numerous high profile fields, Paul Rivera could easily tell you he’s never worked a day in his life. The New York native honed a love for hoops running in the city parks, eventually playing professional basketball just south of sunny San Juan. While his roundball relationships would pave the way for his future success, his moves off the court would help land him leadership roles at Dime Magazine, Nike Basketball and Beats by Dre. So, how did the former hoops pro crossover in three incredibly competitive industries without missing a bounce? Check out this installment of Industry Interview to find out.

Nice Kicks: Before working on the LeBron line, and with Beats by Dre, you were at Dime Magazine. How did that first job come about?

Paul Rivera: I started with Dime probably eight years ago. I played pro ball in Puerto Rico and a good friend of mine, Justin Leonard, was working for Dime. They would reach out to me because I had relationships with all these guys through playing ball. Whether it was streetball guys, agents or athletes themselves, I just had a lot of relationships. It started with helping them out because they were family and it grew into a full-time position.

Nice Kicks: What was your day-to-day like at Dime?

Paul Rivera: I came in as the creative director and basically what I did was the cover photo shoots with the athletes and the fashion section as well. [The job] provided me a great opportunity to work with a lot of athletes. I worked with Pat Cassidy and I’d pitch concepts to him for every issue. It was collaborative work. He’d make everything happen as far as logistics and I’d handle it on the creative side whether it was working with the photographers, the stylists or the athletes. I was just making sure that the Dime team’s vision came to life and that was what consumers saw on newsstands.

Nice Kicks: What were some of the highlights from your time at Dime?

Paul Rivera: My favorite covers I [worked on] were the Shaq cover in Miami with the godfather chair and all his rings on and Kevin Durant when he was at Texas. It was supposed to be just KD on the cover and the sports information director said Kevin had a request. Normally when an athlete has a request it’s like, “Oh, boy…” because you never know what it’s going to be. But Kevin requested that his other teammates be on the cover with him. It wasn’t an ultimatum or anything like that, it was more ‘if at all possible I’d like my other starters to be on the cover with me.’ KD was one of my favorite covers, as was LeBron when he was back in Cleveland. Dime was definitely a fun time.

Nice Kicks: How did the move to Nike come about?

Paul Rivera: It was interesting. A theme you’ll hear throughout my career is relationships. Through playing ball, I had personal relationships with people at Nike. Interestingly enough, they flew me out to LA for an unveiling of one of Kobe’s newest shoes eight years ago. While I was out in LA, a gentleman by the name of Brian Facchini mentioned to me that someone had just left the associate brand manager role at Nike Basketball and he thought I’d be great at the role. For me, I never looked at Nike like that. I mean, I loved the brand, who didn’t and who doesn’t, but I had friends there and that was where it started and ended for me. However, I was thrilled [with my job] at Dime and wasn’t looking to go anywhere. For whatever reason, I don’t think I ever hit Brian back.

A few months later, I went to NBA All-Star in Vegas. I was at a party and bumped into a friend who was at Nike and was a mentor to me. He mentioned the associate brand manager job in conversation and I was offered the job, but it was Vegas at 3am in the morning, so I didn’t think much of it. The next morning he sent me an email and we spoke on the phone. I was very candid about my reservations because I was very happy working at Dime. We eventually went through the process to give it a chance and to make sure no feelings were hurt. Several interviews later, I got the job and it was great. Basically overnight, I went from the publishing side to the brand side. Just to see the industry with a peek from behind the curtain was really eye opening – all in a positive way.

Nice Kicks: What was the transition like from editorial to apparel?

Paul Rivera: My initial title was the associate brand manager of Nike Basketball in New York. I basically helped with all of the sponsorships for NYC high school basketball teams and NYC summer leagues like West 4th league and Dyckman. What was great is that I already had those relationships from playing in those leagues, so it was a very smooth transition. Everything is about relationships. I truly believe if you’re a good person that people will be good back to you and it just works. That was one half of the job. The other half of the job was doing retail events. So, when Kobe’s coming to New York and we’re launching a new shoe, we’d do an event at Foot Locker for the kids and with media. It honestly was a perfect storm in that I had all those relationships from playing basketball and working at Dime. That first year was a fun year because I was truly doing what I loved.

Nice Kicks: How long were you at Nike?

Paul Rivera: I spent five years at Nike. It’s funny when people ask me that because my time at Nike was such a phenomenal time that it didn’t seem that long. One of the great things about Nike is that they give you tons of experience. It’s almost like they never allow you to stay in your comfort zone too long. I was fortunate that in about eight months of working there, my boss got a promotion and I got his job.

Nice Kicks: What did the promotion entail?

Paul Rivera: I was running basketball not only in New York City, but also on the whole East Coast. I did that for about a year and a half, Nike did some restructuring, and I got moved over to Nike Sportswear, which at the time was the biggest category. At the time, NSW was a different world for me somewhat in that it was more focused on the cultural and influencer side rather than performance, which was cool. I did that for a year and then Nike brought me back to Nike Basketball in time for me to head up the World Basketball Festival in New York City, and when I say head that up, it was the total definition of a team effort. That was an amazing experience. We had five countries in New York, we had Jay Z perform at Radio City Music Hall, we took over Rucker Park, put a wood floor down and literally brought this World Basketball Festival to New York.

Nice Kicks: When did your work with LeBron begin?

Paul Rivera: After World Basketball Festival, I headed out to Portland to work with LeBron James. I had already known him on a professional level. When I got to Portland, I was able to work closely with Lynn Merritt, who, as far as I’m concerned, is the godfather of sports marketing. I was able to work close with him and his team and travel the world. We went to China, Barcelona, and all over the globe. [During that time] I also spent a lot of time with LeBron, Maverick Carter and their team. When you spend that much time with someone you begin to know them personally. You build professional relationships and personal ones as well. LeBron and I text, Mav and I speak. Today, I don’t work with Nike in a formal capacity as an employee, but my relationships with LeBron, Mav and Lynn are a testament as to how important relationships are.