Meet Jill and Phil Henderson of Bakari Luxury Sportswear in Austin

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jill and Phil Henderson.

Jill and Phil, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Phil and I are college sweethearts and have been married for 32 years. We have three children. Our oldest is a firefighter in Houston and our youngest is a senior in college. Our middle child, Bakari Henderson, at the age of 22, was murdered on the Greek island of Zakynthos on 7-7-17 while pursuing his dream of launching his clothing line, Bakari Luxury Sportswear, which he conceptualized as a young teenager. Having just graduated from the University of Arizona, Eller College of Management with a BS in Finance and Entrepreneurship less than two months earlier, he was focused on building his business empire while consistently demonstrating what it means to live life fully and fearlessly. Through this devastating tragedy that gained global attention (Gayle King Interview: https://www.cbsnews.com/videos/family-demands-justice-after-son-killed-in-greece/), we vowed to follow Bakari’s detailed blueprint to turn our family’s pain into purpose by fulfilling Bakari’s big dream by launching Bakari Luxury Sportswear (“BLS”).

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
This journey has definitely not been smooth. Our greatest obstacle has been finding a manufacturing partner that believes commitments and exceptional quality are sacred and necessary. We invested non-recoverable funds with several manufacturers and went through multiple rounds of samples in search of the right manufacturer to produce high-quality clothing according to our standards. We had a few false starts which resulted in a shortage of funds and caused delays in establishing a timeline for a strong product launch. However, delays just gave us time to focus on the most efficient method to overcome our obstacles.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Bakari Luxury Sportswear – what should we know?
BLS is geared towards active men and women pursuing a healthy mind, body, and soul lifestyle. Our customers value high quality, comfort, and have a passion for learning and growing through life experiences and adventure. BLS believes our luxury sportswear provides a stylish – functional – high-quality product that engulfs your body in comfort so your mind can be free to focus on the unique intricacies that unite us globally. This clothing line is comfortable enough to travel abroad and hit the ground running when you reach your destination. BLS strives to be environmentally sensitive and provide life-changing job opportunities by integrating social impact and economic empowerment in all business aspects, including the use of recycled products. A percentage of our products will be manufactured by women entrepreneurs in Africa as well as in the U.S. always utilizing high-quality materials.

Bakari was an avid traveler who visited 13 countries. In honor of Bakari and his passion for people of all cultures, BLS, a cause brand, will donate a portion of each sale to The Bakari Foundation, a non-profit, which was established to provide all-expense-paid transformative, healing travel experiences for families who have lost loved ones at the hands of another. This act of giving back also gives our customers a sense of pride knowing they are doing their part to help others.

Through our personal experience of losing Bakari through a senseless act of hatred, we have used travel to help take our minds off the pain and enjoy some of life’s pleasures. Travel allowed us to be physically active and experience geographic and cultural differences which were paramount in our pursuit to Live Life Fearlessly according to Bakari’s key life principles. As we focus on Bakari’s mantra “Plan B is for people who aren’t confident in their Plan A”, we believe that blending his comfortable luxury clothing, social impact and travel creates a powerful market synergy and the perfect way to continue his legacy.

Visit our IG or FB for our soft launch on November 1st and stay tuned for our official launch in April 2020.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
The characteristic that we believe will be most essential in our success stem from Bakari’s innovative approach to living life fully and fearlessly, we are not simply selling a product; instead, we will work in partnership with our customers and ambassadors to promote global unity, and live life according to Bakari’s key life principles of ‘Health and Happiness.’ BLS values relationships and plans to develop and nurture them by offering a lifestyle series subscription for each first-time customer that will include special discounts and on-line videos showing customers living their best lives while wearing BLS attire.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.bakariluxurysportswear.com/
• Phone: 512-222-8857
• Email: info@bakariluxurysportswear.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bakariluxurysportswear_/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bakari-Luxury-Sportswear-108769720474407/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/BakariLS
• Other: Link to Gayle King Interview:https://www.cbsnews.com/videos/family-demands-justice-after-son-killed-in-greece/ The Bakari Foundation site: www.thebakarifoundation.org Email: info@thebakarifoundation.org

Suggest a story: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.