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LA28 CEO John Slusher shares stories of top athletes' fierce competitiveness from Nike year

Name: LA28 CEO John Slusher shares stories of top athletes' fierce competitiveness from Nike year
Uploaded: 2025-12-07T14:29:29+00:00
Duration: 1 min 46 s
Channel: Ethan Lockshin
Description: In this interview excerpt, LA28 CEO John Slusher reflects on his experiences spending time with world‑class athletes such as Serena Williams, Roger…

7 Dec 2025 · 2 min

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1:46

In this interview excerpt, LA28 CEO John Slusher reflects on his experiences spending time with world‑class athletes such as Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Michael Jordan. He identifies two core attributes that distinguish these legends: an extraordinary work ethic and an intense, almost obsessive competitiveness. Slusher illustrates the work ethic with anecdotes—Kobe’s 5 a.m. off‑season workouts with Team USA, LeBron’s full‑day schedule at Nike followed by early‑morning gym sessions, and the massive financial investment these athletes make in dietitians, trainers, and recovery resources. He emphasizes that these athletes continuously invest in their bodies, minds, and skills, operating with a 24/7, year‑round mindset. The second attribute, fierce competitiveness, is described as an innate drive to win that permeates every activity, from on‑court performance to off‑court games like cards or board games. Slusher argues that this relentless competitive fire, combined with relentless hard work, is the common denominator that elevates good athletes to greatness.

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You've been in the room with legends from Olympic champions to global superstars, seeing firsthand what drives them at the highest level, what separates good athletes from great ones. And I have had the benefit of getting to spend times with. And it's funny, all the ones you hear by one name, whether it's Serena, Roger, Kobe, LeBron, MJ and I've probably missed a few. But yes, it's been a pleasure to be in to get to know so many of them firsthand. I would say there's really two things that's in common with most of them, and a lot of them do things differently. But one is the incredible hard work that they all put in. The stories of Kobe getting up at 5am with Team USA in the off season to work out before, you know, before practices and to lift after practice and to do everything. I think about LeBron and he'll come up to Nike for meetings. And while he's there, he's in meetings from 9 to 5. He's at the gym at 6:30, working out from 6:30, 8:30. They invest millions of dollars in their health, whether it's having dietitians, trainers, people to stretch them, all those kinds of things, working on their. And they're continually working, whether it's hydration, whether it's nutrition, whether it's working on their back. But a minute doesn't go by where these superstars aren't investing in improving their. Improving their bodies, improving their minds, improving their skill. Sometimes people don't realize how much work they put in, how much money they invest. And kind of a 7 24, 365 mentality on that. The other piece would be the fierce competitiveness. I don't think there's any of them that aren't unbelievably competitive maybe to a next level of when they take the court, they want to win and they want to win bad. You see that come across, you know, with Kobe, it's on the tennis court with LeBron playing cards or doing a board game or something like that. I think it's that competitiveness that takes them to be great. I think you see across their personality.