In a recent video interview with The Boardroom, Set Free Richardson, the creator of AND1 Mixtape, discussed his creative incubator for celebrities, The Compound, and the 7 hat, which has become popular among NBA athletes.
The video is roughly six-and-a-half minutes, and most of it is spent with Set Free explaining his work as a creative and life in the Bronx to Rich Kleiman, the co-founder of Thirty Five Ventures and Set Free’s friend for more than two decades.
Set Free gives Kleiman a bit of a tour around The Compound, which also houses an art gallery. He broke down the purposes behind his project over a game of pool on a table situated in his creative space but with a twist to the set up: a black cue ball and a white eight ball.
That’s just one aspect of what makes his base unique.
“Compound is basically about combining two things,” Set Free said in the video. “It could be art and music. It could be sports and video games. I want to build a place that makes creative people, when they come in, feel creative. And all these celebrities, these stars and athletes, they want to feel safe. They want to get away from the world.”
Set Free’s gallery is hosting an exhibit celebrating the National Basketball Player Association’s Voice Awards, which are voted on by NBA players only. For two weeks starting Aug. 22, art featuring some of the league’s best and the trophies from the event will decorate The Compound.
The entrepreneur plans to continue to integrate The Compound with sports and athletes.
“It is that vessel to show athletes into art, athletes into music,” Set Free explained.
Set Free and Kleiman also touch on the 7 hat that Kevin Durant and Kyle Lowry were seen wearing during the playoffs. There is a biblical meaning behind the use of the number and its representation of the day of rest, which perfectly encapsulates the concept behind The Compound.
