Only outweighs Kate Moss by 5 Pounds
When the door closed on Shawn Bradley's NBA career this summer, you could be forgiven if you expected never to hear from him again. As a humble Mormon it was expected he'd turn to farming in his home state of Utah. However, Bradley has turned the fashion world on its head with the successful debut of his new line of men's clothing.
Fashion was never more than just a passing interest to Bradley before a casual conversation this summer with another former NBA player sparked an idea.
"I was talking to Eric Montross and we were complaining to each other how hard it was to find clothes that fit our rather tall bodies, especially ones that fit into our personal styles," recalls Bradley, "Then it hit me. Why not start my own company to cater to others like Eric and myself?"
Bradley's clothing line enjoyed very modest sales early on due to the fact it had to cater to a niche market but soon the orders came flying in thanks to the NBA's newly installed player dress code. When NBA Commissioner David Stern revealed the details of the dress code the orders for Bradley's "White & Tall" suits came in from all around the country.
"All NBA players need clothes that adhere to the dress code. White & Tall just happenned to be in the right place at the right time," says Bradley, "When I first started up White & Tall I naturally expected some NBA players to be customers. You know, guys like Greg Ostertag and Joel Pryzbilla. Maybe 
even Eduardo Najera. But when the the dress code was created suddenly the whole NBA was asking about White & Tall. Well, everybody but Earl Boykins. Still we are the only clothing company that seems to offer clothing for tall people while simultaneously adhering to the NBA standards."
White & Tall offers suits ranging in hues from dark blue to navy blue. Jackets are offered in 2 or 3 button configurations. Patrons have a choice between pleated pants or flat-fronts. That's about it but Bradley has grand plans to expand his business. He adds, "We'll have a more casual line-up out next. Probably some khakis and polo shirts. We don't want to stray too far from the core values of White & Tall."
NBA players come in all sorts of extreme shapes and sizes. Surely there must have been some tough orders to fill.
"Truth be told we've had some problems with orders for hefty guys like Jahidi White and Robert Traylor but we're going to spin off a new line tentaively called Big & Honkey that should be a success. We're looking at getting an endorsement from Eddy Curry to launch that in the new year."
Those aren't the only big plans Bradley has in store.
"Since the NBA dress code has been so good to us we've tried to find more products that NBA players will enjoy wearing while not racking up fines. I don't want to tip my hand too much but we've got what we think is a knockout idea. I call it Invisi-Bling."
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