BRANDON M WILLIAMS EVERYDAY: JOURNEY CLAIMER OCCUPATION: PRODUCT MANAGER /// ADIDAS INSTAGRAM: @RUNBIMMA WHILE LIVING IN LOUISIANA IN 2011, I WASN'T SATISFIED WITH MY LIFE AT THE AGE OF 24. I WAS LIVING AT HOME WITH MY MOM, WORKING AT A JOB I HATED WITH A BOSS THAT CONSTANTLY INSULTED ME, + PAYING DOWN A MOUNTAIN OF STUDENT LOAN DEBT. I WAS LONG OVERDUE FOR CHANGE IN MY LIFE + I DECIDED TO ACTIVELY TAKE CONTROL OF MY HAPPINESS. MY SOLUTION WAS SIMPLE, YET LIFE CHANGING: TO DISCOVER WHAT I WAS PASSIONATE ABOUT + DO THAT FOR A LIVING. THIS SIMPLE VISION TURNED INTO THE FOUNDATION FOR WHAT I CALL THE JOURNEY CLAIMER MINDSET. OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS, I DISCOVERED MY PASSION FOR SPORT AND SOCIAL MEDIA, DISTINGUISHED MYSELF BY STARTING A CONTAGIOUS RUNNING MOVEMENT ACROSS THE STATE OF LOUISIANA, AND CLAIMED MY JOURNEY BY BECOMING SAUCONY’S FIRST SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER IN BRAND HISTORY. BUT AFTER LEARNING HOW SO MANY PEOPLE STRUGGLE TO DISCOVER THEIR PURPOSE IN LIFE, I REALIZED HOW IMPORTANT IT WAS TO SHARE THE KNOWLEDGE I ACQUIRED ALONG MY JOURNEY WITH OTHERS, ESPECIALLY STUDENTS AND YOUNG PROFESSIONALS. I DECIDED TO DEVELOPED A LECTURE SERIES THAT I SHARE AT UNIVERSITIES AND ORGANIZATIONS, TEACHING OTHERS HOW TO CLAIM THEIR JOURNEY IN LIFE. FROM SOCIAL MEDIA TO LECTURES, MY UNIQUE MINDSET HAS AWARDED ME WITH NUMEROUS ACCOLADES. IN 2011, I RECEIVED THE BATON ROUGE SOCIAL MEDIA ASSOCIATION 2011 BEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA AWARD. IN 2012, I WAS NAMED ON BATON ROUGE BUSINESS REPORT’S “40 UNDER 40” LIST. I WAS THE YOUNGEST OF THE 2012 CLASS. IN 2014, HYPEBEAST MAGAZINE FEATURED ME IN THEIR ESSENTIALS COLUMN SHOWCASING ONE OF MY FIRST DESIGNS FOR SAUCONY ORIGINALS AND I WAS A FEATURED SPEAKER AT THE 2014 TEDXFENWAY EVENT. BEFORE PASSING AWAY FROM COLON CANCER IN DECEMBER OF 2011, MY FATHER TOLD ME ”WE’RE HERE FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY, CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY. IF YOU CAN ACHIEVE A LIFE YOU’RE HAPPY WITH, I’LL BE PROUD. CLAIM YOUR JOUNEY.” I CHOSE TO TAKE MY FATHER’S ADVICE TO BE HAPPY AND QUIT MY FIRST FULL TIME JOB OUT OF COLLEGE. I WAS MISERABLE AND ONLY WORKED THERE FOR A PAYCHECK. I WASN’T PASSIONATE ABOUT THE WORK I WAS DOING THERE. BY CHOOSING HAPPINESS AS MY TOP PRIORITY, I OPENED MY LIFE UP TO SOME INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITIES. TODAY, I'M PROUD + HONORED TO BE A FOOTWEAR PRODUCT MANAGER FOR ADIDAS. I’M PASSIONATE ABOUT INSPIRING AND TEACHING OTHERS TO EXPERIENCE THEIR OWN UNIQUE JOURNEY. MY HOPE IS TO SEE A FUTURE OF MORE POSITIVE, HAPPY INDIVIDUALS DOING WHAT THEY LOVE FOR A LIVING AND ENCOURAGING OTHERS TO DO SO AS WELL. #DON'TSTOPBELIEVING #CLAIMYOURJOURNEY