Ricki Brazil, Floyd Mayweather, and P Reala sitting courtside (Photo: Instagram.com)
By Chris Robinson
At the moment, boxing’s premier talent, undefeated Floyd Mayweather, is penciled in for a May 3 return to the ring inside of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
With no opponent set as of now, the public eagerly awaits the announcement of Mayweather’s next ring foe for his latest Showtime pay per view showcase.
As for Floyd, as is often the case when the 36-year is away from his training base in Las Vegas, he has been traveling the world over, making various club appearances and handling business with his crew, better known as The Money Team.
It’s a whirlwind kind of lifestyle for sure and despite not having to go through the mental and physical rigors of an intense training camp, there certainly is a lot of work that comes into play with Mayweather’s ‘down time’.
Speaking with one of Mayweather’s closest friends, Ricki Brazil, I was able to get a little more insight into how life is like alongside one of sport’s brightest stars.
An entrepreneur in his own right, Brazil helps set up Mayweather’s various guest appearances and also keeps himself business with his flourishing fashion line, named after himself, Ricki Brazil.
Read below for more from Brazil on what the jet-setting lifestyle has been like, his perception of how Mayweather is embraced by the public, why he feels the need to set the record straight on Floyd’s guest showings, his anticipation towards the next training camp, and more.
Born and raised…
“Basically, I was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. At an early age, maybe like a month old, I moved to Flint, Michigan. So from the time I was about a month old to 12 years old I lived in Flint and then I moved to Grand Rapids when I was like 13. When I moved to Grand Rapids at 13 years old, the first person I met was Floyd. I’ve been knowing Floyd since I was 13 years old.”
Being molded into a man…
“Grand Rapids a well rounded city. Its the second largest city in Michigan. Which creates several opportunities. Its reputation is very family oriented. However, I had to overcome transgressions of falling victim to the street life which molded me into the man I am today. Learning and observing different circumstances. To sidetrack me from day to day inner city life, I picked up sports as a hobby. I played football and ran track. Flint, Michigan is profound on sports. The city takes pride in sports which inspired young men like myself.”
A business mindset…
“My aspirations as a child were to be involved in sports. I wanted to be a football player. Clearly, that didn’t suffice. On the bright side I was always business savvy. Math was my forte. I’m intrigued with numbers, as a reality check my sports dream wouldn’t come true I then envisioned myself being involved in businesses.”
Floyd Mayweather at a young age…
“What’s viewed on the surface is Floyd Mayweather. No tricks and no gimmicks; its how he’s been since the first day I met him. I tell everybody, he’s always been like that just now has a lot more money. He’s always been outspoken, he’s always said he was going to be the best, and always was dedicated, at a young age. When most of the kids were running around doing child-like activities, Floyd’s Dad had him working. Running miles, and chopping wood. You knew he was going to be somebody but you just didn’t know how big he would be.”
Making the move to Vegas…
“Me and Floyd were always in talks about me coming out. I have a daughter and she is 15 now, but when me and her mother grew apart I asked him if the opportunity was still there and he said ‘Of course’. I came out here and we just talked and I told him my vision and we went from there. The rest is history, so to speak.”
Early visions…
“When I first came out it was 2007. I had my brother Canary Yellow Chello as my first artist. Floyd has a record label name Philthy Rich Records. So when I first came out to Vegas it was all about the music.”
Traveling with Floyd when he’s not in training…
“It’s crazy. Because we travel so much and I love it. Because it’s just an experience, to network and meet people which can only help you grow. And going to different cities and meeting different people. People who are doing this and doing that. I just love the contacts, but at the same time it’s work. Yesterday we were in San Jose, went to San Francisco, then went to Sacramento to watch the game, and then back in Vegas on the same night. We did that with a lot of cities. Floyd likes to move around. He doesn’t like to be in one place too long. But it’s cool though. Everybody is used to it. We just keep our mind focused on work and that’s what we do.”
Setting the record straight on who sets up Floyd’s appearances…
“That’s a big thing, because I know P Reala was happy too when he mentioned that in the interview. Because there is a lot of people out there making bogus and fraud contracts and sending it to people on Floyd’s behalf so they can get him booked or whatever. And we need to set that down, because people are getting taken advantage of. Basically what me and P Reala do, people contact us, and basically what we do is see what they are offering, see if it’s available and if it’s available we bring it to Floyd and if he says it’s a go, he says we can put it together, do a contract, and get it rocking and rolling. Other than that, there are frauds out there that are taking a lot of people’s money and it’s something that has to be stopped.”
Noticing the reaction that Floyd gets from people…
“I just notice people that get excited. Whether they hate him or love him, they are excited to see him. He brings excitement wherever he goes, so that’s Floyd Mayweather. When people look at him they are witnessing history, whether they want to admit it or not. I think they know that, they acknowledge, but at the same time they are excited to see him. Like I tell everybody, he’s not a rapper, he doesn’t sing. He’s a boxer. So what boxer is doing what he’s doing? We’ve been on the road since the fight. He’s still got dates for different appearances in different cities because of who he is. He brings them out and it’s real crazy that he lives a rock star lifestyle but he’s a boxer. At the same time it’s crazy to me when I see it.”
Diving into the fashion world…
“The clothing line is Ricki Brazil and the website is www.RickiBrazil.com. People had been talking to me about clothes and how I would feel about doing it, things of that nature. And I didn’t understand it at first. But they helped me clearly see the vision. My business partner, she gave me the vision. She walked me through it. I had to do a lot of homework, a lot of history on it. But I’m glad I did it and it’s doing well. I’m just all about branding the name right now. Everybody always says I had a unique name, so I always wanted to do something with the name and brand it out there. So far, so good. I’ve been going since June 14. I’ve approaching my sixth month in it. I’m taking my baby steps but I think it’s growing.”
Helping the brand grow…
“On a daily, every day basis, I just oversee everything, make sure everything is going well. Being hands on when I can, when I’m not moving around. When I’m in every city, just letting people know that’s it’s a nice women’s clothing and just be there and make things happen and just brand the name at the same time.”
Getting ready for a return to training camp ahead of Floyd’s May 3 fight in Las Vegas…
“It changes up drastically because there is no moving around. We’re stationary so we know what our schedule is going to be like every day. You know your night might not end until three in the morning. Everybody knows that and everybody likes to play a part with him training. Because, like I said, once again, this is history in the making. It’s good. I love training camp, I love the atmosphere, I love everything about it. I love to get focused like that in camp. It’s crazy, because everybody is going into their little mindset too. Just being around him so much, you see how he has to get mentally focused and tougher and everybody is like ‘Don’t make Floyd mad’, because he gets so focused and stuff. It’s cool. I love training camp.”
Chris Robinson can be reached at Trimond@aol.com