Rasheed Young: How He Became President of Run Athletics
“I sent it overnight by Fed-Ex, knowing he would open it,” he said. “The story goes Rev threw it in the garbage, but his wife Justine told him God was telling her to call this kid back. The next day I got a voicemail from Rev Run.”
Young gathered the courage to call Rev Run back and pitched his Cash is King business and tossed out the idea for Run Athletics, which seemingly came out of nowhere in the meeting. “That’s when I knew God was involved,” he said. That idea would soon make it onto the desk of Run’s brother Russell Simmons.
Apprenticeship with Russell Simmons
Young expressed interest in one day becoming a president within Russell Simmons’ (Rev Run’s brother) company, and so Russell instructed him to sit with company presidents, learn all he could about the business, and pay attention.
And so Young did sit and learn for over a year. He began working alongside Marcie Corbett, President of Rush Communications in September of 2001 and worked primarily on Phat Farm Footwear.
Young remembers the day clearly when he finally got to sign paperwork for his new office and new position at Run Athletics. “It was the best day of my life,” Young said. “I told Russell ‘I’ve been working for you for a year and three months and I haven’t gotten paid a nickel.’” Apparently, Young said, Russell had no idea the eager entrepreneur had been coming to work with no pay and so he had the accounting office strike Young a hefty check.
“It was so big it made my head spin,” Young said. “I always went to work, never thinking about what I didn’t have at that moment. I knew there was a pay off at the end.” Young used the money to buy a car, an engagement ring for his now wife, and move them into an apartment in the city.
“We found a place in Castle Village. I saw Laurence Fishburne outside the building and knew this must be the right neighborhood,” he said. “It wasn’t what I was used to. It felt like a step up.” Each day now starts with Young cooking breakfast for his two young boys and taking them to school, getting his daily call from Rev Run for bits of wisdom, and walking into his office at Run Athletics.
“I’ve acquired a lot more wisdom from Rev than I could have gotten from anyone. His first lesson is to sit down and shut up,” Young said. “I have the will to do more, but sometimes God wants a man to be still and stand. I’m still a student every day.”
And so he continues to work tirelessly, not daring to rest on his laurels after securing the presidency and office he told Russell Simmons he wanted years ago. Although Rasheed’s face is recognizable from his television appearances on Run’s House, where he’s often seen consulting Angela and Vanessa Simmons’ on their Pastry venture for Run Athletics, he still tells people he works in the mailroom when asked what he does for the company.
“I always had great intentions and I always knew you were rewarded somehow, whether big or small,” he said. “There’s a method to my madness. It’s the characteristic that built me.”
