Iranian-American venture capitalist Shervin Pishevar has revealed that Kobe Bryant was unhappy with Nike, and was looking to launch his own brand in 2020.

Pishevar wrote on Twitter, “I met with Kobe Bryant in late December 2019. Kobe wasn’t happy with Nike and was going to leave it in 2020. Kobe was going to start Mamba, a shoe company owned by players. He passed away weeks later. What he was about to do in business was going to eclipse his sports career.”

 

 

The 46-year-old continued revealing more info on Bryan’t future sneakers and prospective designs for the Mamba shoe brand.

 

 

Pishevar even spent time replying to fans who were curious about Bryant’s departure from Nike. He revealed that Nike wasn’t committed to marketing the shoe the way Bryant wanted, and that “he didn’t trust Nike’s judgment in design.”

“He wasn’t happy with Nike’s marketing and promotion commitment to Kobe’s line. And the sales of his shoes were anemic and he blamed Nike. He retained tight control because he didn’t trust Nike’s judgment in design,” said Pishevar.

 

Shervin also recounted how Kobe was in full bloom and utilizing his talents to the utmost:

“It’s about the 1 year anniversary of when I met him for over 2 hours. It a made me reflect on the greatness that he exuded that day. After, he came out to my car to give me the volumes of a children’s book he wrote. He was in full bloom of the full realization of his talents.”