Former reality TV star and current entrepreneur Gloria Govan knows how to make the most out of connections, relishing in creating unexpected synergies as she works to professionalize a long-maligned industry finally starting to come out of the shadows as the regime of laws and the stigma surrounding the cannabis industry begin to fade with its prohibition.
It might sound odd to some Boston Celtics fans to hear legendary Celtics forward Paul Pierce and Govan’s husband Derek Fisher are now working to further the field of retail cannabis sales together via her RLNTLSS Brands.
A longtime on-court foe of Pierce during Boston’s battles with Fisher’s Los Angeles Lakers squad in the late aughts, the two now share a common cause in what RLNTLSS describes as “providing comprehensive support to help … establish and expand your cannabis business in a legally compliant and successful manner.”
Can Boston Celtics assistant coach Sam Cassell help Jayson Tatum win the NBA's 2024 MVP? https://t.co/CXghD8OyqA pic.twitter.com/XNJWpcBZoX
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) October 27, 2023
Speaking with the Celtics Wire, Govan shared that there are more Celtics alumni than Pierce working with RLNTLSS, too. The Glove (as Gary Payton Sr. was called as a nickname) — one of a small cadre of players who have played for both Boston and the Lakers — is also working with Govan’s company.
“Gary and Paul are some of our clients,” she explained. “And what we’ve done for them is identify and build out a brand specifically for each of them.”
Dominique Wilkins pushes back vs. Dennis Rodman's, JJ Redick's criticisms of Larry Bird https://t.co/IVdOiznV66 pic.twitter.com/4CpW95wwSV
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) October 27, 2023
“Paul’s strand in Massachusetts (Pierce’s Truth Brand line of recreational marijuana products which have garnered solid local reviews) has been really welcoming and has done really well in the stores and presentations out there,” Govan related.
“But we are also (working) with Gary,” she added. “He wants to create a clothing line, creating merchandise and development, jerseys he wants to do, which is also some of the services that we offer.”
Robert Parish on how fellow iconic Celtics big man Bill Russell prepared him to play in Boston https://t.co/0cdu9QzbNt pic.twitter.com/NXePz1Qoc3
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) October 28, 2023
“They’ve been really awesome, they both have supported … events, because again we can’t market and advertise (due to laws regarding the cannabis industry), so with one of our other subsidiaries called Bella Flora, we’ve created these elevated experiences,” she said.
“We were one of the first companies to do something with the Phoenix Suns, and both Paul, Gary, and Derek (Fisher) actually came out to support that event.”
The trio of former NBAers were celebrity coaches of a 3-on-3 basketball tourney, in fact, taking place in the Suns’ home arena of Footprint Center along with fellow NBA alumni like Shawn Kemp and NFL luminaries like Marshawn Lynch and Terell Owens.
Inside Boston icon Kevin Garnett's new 3-on-3 basketball league, STR33T https://t.co/vqoAymCxy4 pic.twitter.com/DQXPaPb13G
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) October 28, 2023
“It’s kind of funny to see,” Govan shared of the former rivals’ unification around this common cause. “They’re all really good friends.”
And while their competitive nature on the court “is still very much so at the core of them … what they’re doing in the cannabis space has been really special too.”
“We’ve started finding ways to blend what Bella Flora does and is about in terms of events and bringing great people together with the foundation so that we can have impact both in corporate in business, as well as in the community,” explained Fisher.
The Boston Celtics will have as many as nine free agents in 2024 https://t.co/vS2vbAUDBB pic.twitter.com/WMNYAzo8Wd
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) October 28, 2023
“We just want to make a difference,” he continued. “We know that coming from the communities that we were born and raised in whether in the Oakland and Bay area, whether in Little Rock, and then now our home being in L.A.”
“We just tried to serve folks that aren’t always best served. And whether there are young people of color, whether it’s women of color, whether it’s from a social justice perspective, and fighting for the rights of folks that have been convicted in terms of cannabis charges and crimes that need to be … overturned.”
“Or even just as they are getting their lives back on track and looking to serve their community and make sure that they are not just standing by while people are wrongfully accused of things or held back in different ways,” said Fisher. “We try and do our part in those areas.”
Los Angeles Lakers legend has doubts about Jaylen Brown in 2023-24 https://t.co/vh87QyEsxg pic.twitter.com/dXNh3X5cnn
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) October 28, 2023
Through the work of former rivals coming together for a common good, so far, they have been doing exactly that.
And the synergies arising out of those partnerships are helping to bring a long-stigmatized plant and its cultivators and retailers out of the shadows and into the mainstream where a growing number of consumers feel it belongs.
“It’s been a miracle,” said Govan. “I want people to understand that.”
Celtics Lab 225: On Boston looking good to start the season and what they can do to get better with Yossi Gozlan https://t.co/AKf0Pa3OF0 pic.twitter.com/2ILO3KHS72
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) October 28, 2023
Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi
YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ
