Behind The Brand: Marshawn Lynch opens up about 'Beast Mode'

While Seattle Seahawks star running Marshawn Lynch has been mostly mum with the media during Super Bowl week, he agreed to sit down with SI.com to discuss topics off the field. In addition to this piece on his line of apparel, he also spoke about his upbringing in Oakland and critiqued the fashion of some of his teammates.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- With few words and one hat, Marshawn Lynch had everyone talking.

Hours after being the center of attention in his brief Super Bowl Media Day appearance, the elusive Seattle Seahawks superstar spoke with SI.com about his recently relaunched apparel brand, Beast Mode -- and the hat that made headlines of its own.

“I just got word that it sold out,” Lynch said of the hat, which featured a multicolor logo and was sold on the brand’s website as “the hat Marshawn wore during the 2015 SB Media Day.”

“In that whole process … [I thought] maybe this ain’t about just me. It gives me the opportunities as well for me to have a connection with my fans. But more than anything, it’s an opportunity to give my insight on fashion, probably the side people don’t know about or would think about.”

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While the brand allows Lynch to display a side not often seen on the field or in the locker room, it still stays true to the man behind it. Case and point, his favorite piece in the line: “It would have to be the sweatsuit that I wore to last year’s Super Bowl,” Lynch said. “It had a little reflective material, so when people took pictures, it messed their pictures all up. So it was like, they flashing me, and I’m flashing right back at ‘em.”

“Beast Mode to me is freedom,” said designer Christopher Bevans, who works closely with Lynch on the brand, said of the line. “Freedom of expression, freedom of art, freedom to create. You’re in your zone.”

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So what inspires Beast Mode?

For Lynch, growing up in Oakland gave him that independent streak, one that’s been on full display during Seattle’s recent run of excellence.

“I’m from there, so I got a different view, but what Oakland taught me, what I really hold on to, is my personality. Loud in what I do, and quiet in what I say,” Lynch said. “I feel like that sculpted me, and from Day 1, just growing up in a place like Oakland, you learn that you only get one you. Why would I go out and live the life you want me to live and then I won’t be satisfied with it?”

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