Bio

In his previous role, Jason oversaw the design of conceptual products and services for Jordan Brand, as the Senior Global Design Director. Prior to rejoining Jordan Brand, he was the Global Director of Innovation for Nike Digital Sport where he was responsible for the creation and investigation of new technologies and services. While in Digital Sport, he was tasked with crafting a product strategy focused on expanding the impact and relevancy of the Nike+ platform, through the creation of products such as the Nike Fuel Band. Additionally, Mayden served as the co-Chair of Nike’s Black Employee Network from 2011 -2013.

As a native of the south side of Chicago, Jason has a passion to serve his community through design workshops with Cooper Hewitt Design Museum, mentoring young minority males through Big Brothers Big Sisters, and participating on the Jordan Fundamentals grant selection panel. In addition to community service, he also sits on the board of his alma mater, College for Creative Studies in Detroit, MI, where he received his BFA in Industrial Design.

Fueled by an insatiable desire to learn, Jason entered Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business in 2010 as a Sloan Fellow where he received a Master’s degree in Science with a concentration in General Management, and a certificate in Social Innovation. Mayden is also a frequent lecturer at Stanford University’s prestigious Graduate School of Business. In May of 2013, he was presented with the distinguished honor of being asked to serve as an Advisory Board member to the “d.School” at the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford University.

In his own words Mayden states, “I have had a tremendously blessed career thus far but nothing can compare to the joy and responsibility of being a Father, Husband and a friend to my wife, Sonny, and my children, Khalil age 9 and Viviana age 6. They are the reason why I aspire to dream beyond the confines of what the world may deem possible for a little boy from the South Side of Chicago. They are the reason that I have decided to begin the next chapter of my career without fear.”

Mayden is currently the VP of Design for MarkOne, d.Fellow at Stanford University’s d.School and a regular contributor to Hypebeast Magazine and Hypebeast.com.  www.myvessyl.com

Interview

Tell us a little bit about the path to where you are today.

My path is rather simple. I was born and raised on Chicago’s Southside. I discovered that God had blessed me with multiple talents at a very early age. I also discovered that because of those gifts, I was often able to see beyond the confines of my world towards a greater place. A place where the Lord wanted to multiply me and bless me but because of my giftedness I formed an arrogance which ultimately resulted in a series of bad decisions and stumbles that lead me right back to Him. So as I look back on my life, I can’t honestly say that I was on a “path” because the Lord brought me from the wilderness of the world. So I would rather say that I was on a “mission” to discover the ME that He know that I could be all along. And today, I can say with full confidence from the Lord that I am comfortable being the first ME and not the next anyone else.

 What does a typical day of work look like for you?

I wake up. I have quite time via ACTS (Acknowledge the presence and power of the Lord, Confess my sins to the Lord, Thanksgiving for the life that he has blessed me with, Supplication to the Lord)

We get on our knees and pray as a family and then I hit the gym to honor my temple and then I am off to the Design studio to create opportunities for others to shine. It brings me great joy to see other people win.

 Did you have a specific moment when you realized that you wanted to do footwear design with Nike?

Yes. When I realized that the people who design the shoes must get them for free also! Haha. In all seriousness, I had an event that lasted 180 seconds the became the catalyst for my journey towards Nike. I spoke at length about the incident during my TEDxStanford (see below) talk. It was the first time that I shared that story with the world.

 What risks or hard decisions have you had to make to live unashamed?

In my humble opinion, there is no such thing as risk or hard decisions when you live a life for the Lord. There are only uninformed choices and a conformed mind when you try to please the world and follow the Lord. For me, cutting out behaviors were only as difficult as my ability to change my surroundings and thus impact my ability to make faith-based decisions. Simply put, change your surroundings, reduce your ability to be tempted and watch how easy it is to live unashamed!

 What does the unashamed life look like in your context?

Complete faith and trust in the Lord, no matter what the circumstance. Sharing the love of Christ with those who may feel judged by the world and being open and honest with yourself about where you need to strengthen your armor. The most overlooked aspect of living an unashamed life is the act of ignoring the areas of our life where we need to be forgiven. I ask forgiveness on a daily basis because I understand, that as a leader in corporate America my actions impact other peoples’ lives. So I pray that the Lord helps me to lead with a loving heart and an encouraging presence. If I stumble, I know that I first need to acknowledge that I stumbled and then ask for Him to forgive me for the sins that I have committed both known and unknown.

 How have you worked through success? Failure?

I celebrate the small wins and I learn from the big losses. I try to keep an “attitude of gratitude” at all times. I understand that our lives are but a vapor and I simply want to live a life that is true and honest. So without failure, success would not be precious. So I embrace my shortcomings, failures and setbacks because I know that they are all batting practice for when the Lord calls me up to the Big Leagues. I want to make sure that I hit a homerun and truly appreciate the feeling of godly success when He decides to bless me with the ultimate victory; which is eternity with Him.

 Have you had any mentors along the way?

Yes. Several. But more importantly I had advocates. Mentors helped to guide and nuture me. Advocates took my name and brought it into conversations that were well above my access. Having both allowed me the structure and peer validation to succeed without having to compromise my beliefs.

 Do you have any favorite books?

The Emperors Handbook, Outliers, The Odyssey, The Hero’s Journey and of course The Bible to name a few.

 What verses or passages in Scripture have sustained or encouraged you?

Colossians 3:1-5 have always spoken to me. Along with Psalms 23. I live a life without fear. I often encourage my family to Be Fearless, unless of course it’s fear and reverence for the Lord.

 Can you offer some encouragement to other unashamed believers out there?

Embrace the power of being you. The greatest trick that the enemy has played on this generation is the idea of “popularity”. We all internally yearn to belong; it’s a part of human nature. However, we should yearn to standout, to be set apart and recognized for that “IT” factor that we so often hear about. In my life the “IT” that people see is Christ that lives in me. I would encourage you all to be a guiding light rather than a spot light. We often allow our beliefs in the Lord to act as a shining light, which causes non-believers to feel judged and confronted by believers. However, if we live a life that others can learn from, that others can follow then maybe we can be a guiding light for those who are searching for the truth amongst the darkness. So simply put, allow people to follow you as you follow the Lord and watch what He can do!!!! You never know if the person your speaking with has never met a believer before. Every moment that you spend with someone else is a chance to share His love with your fellow man.

“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:58

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