In 1997, Dain Blanton became the first professional African-American player in the history of beach volleyball to win a major title. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, he and Eric Fonoimoana upset the world’s top-seeded men’s beach volleyball team to bring home a gold medal for Team USA. In 2004, he returned to the Olympics in Athens, becoming the first male beach volleyball player to represent America in two Olympic Games.
Today he’s in London supporting beach volleyball and taking a break from writing a book, traveling the country as a motivational speaker for middle and high school students, and growing his career as a sports broadcaster.
Before our shoot in Santa Monica last week, I joked with Dain about how in the three years I have worked with him through Academic Innovations, I’ve only ever seen him in suits — business and bathing — so it was high time he let me spruce up his website with some casual shots to bridge the gap between his beach and broadcast selves. He was gracious to obilge, and here’s what we came up with…
Dain, you’re great. Thank you so much for making this shoot happen and for laughing at my silly antics.
Have a great time in London!
You can visit Dain’s blog here, or follow him on Facebook over here.
