logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2021
48m 15s

The AND1 Mixtapes

Religion of Sports | PRX
About this episode

In 1999, a small apparel company named AND1 released a VHS tape of streetball highlights set to a hip hop soundtrack that quickly became a worldwide craze. AND1 was soon hosting games all over the world, and the players were international celebrities. But then, just as quickly as it rose, it all disappeared. Twenty years later, Ben untangles the complicated origins, unlikely rise and untimely demise of the basketball phenomenon he fell in love with as a kid.

To learn more about streetball and where it's played, check out our AND1 Guide on Apple Maps here.

Up next
Mar 2023
Introducing: Roughhousing, Part 1: Hell Week
In Religion of Sports' latest podcast series, Host Iggy Monda takes listeners inside America’s locker rooms and field houses to explore hazing in high school sports today. Through deeply personal stories of kids who have hazed, parents who have fought for accountability, coaches ... Show More
21m 48s
Aug 2021
New Jersey Turnpikes
In 1999, a comedy about the ABA -- the upstart 70s basketball league -- was supposed to be released. The movie starred Orlando Jones, Kelsey Grammer and Jason Segel, and featured cameos by Jim Brown, Roy Jones Jr, and Julius Erving. Everyone involved thought the movie was going t ... Show More
47m 7s
Jul 2021
Hartford Whalers
The Hartford Whalers logo is everywhere, worn by celebrities from Snoop Dogg to Adam Sandler….even though the team no longer exists. But the small state capital was once home to hockey greats like Gordie Howe and Ron Francis, before the team was uprooted to North Carolina. Ben re ... Show More
40m 27s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2023
Olympian Alexi Pappas and the Art of Reinvention
American-born runner Alexi Pappas competed for Greece in the 2016 Rio Olympics where she smashed the Greek world record in the Women’s 10k. But her journey to the Olympics didn’t fill the void she had expected. Pappas speaks publicly and in her book, Bravey, about the loss of her ... Show More
38m 17s
Apr 2021
Alexi Pappas
Alexi Pappas is a Greek-American Olympic runner, filmmaker, actor, and writer. Alexi joins the Armchair Expert to discuss her experience competing at the Rio Olympics, getting into running later in life, and the impact her father had in her life after her mom passed away. Alexi a ... Show More
1h 33m
Apr 2021
Alexi Pappas
Alexi Pappas is a Greek-American Olympic runner, filmmaker, actor, and writer. Her debut memoir-in-essays, Bravey was published in January 2021. Alexi joins the Armchair Expert to discuss her experience competing at the Rio Olympics, getting into running later in life, and the im ... Show More
1h 29m
Jul 2021
The U.S. Athletes To Follow At The Tokyo Olympics
At every Olympic Games, there are thousands of stories. This year, Simone Manuel looks to solidify her legacy as the greatest gymnast of all time. Katie Ledecky could become the most decorated female athlete in Olympic history. And Trayvon Bromell aims to claim the title of 'worl ... Show More
14m 16s
Mar 2023
Lesley Paterson: Winning triathlons and Oscar nominations
World Champion triathlete and movie screenwriter, Lesley Paterson, tells us how her athletic career has helped fund dreams of winning an Oscar. Her film “All Quiet on the Western Front” is nominated for best picture at the Academy Awards later in March. She spent 16 years battlin ... Show More
29m 43s
Feb 2021
Alexi Pappas Is Bravey
What happens when you have two very big but different dreams vying for your focus? Do you choose one? Or do you risk it all to pursue both?This was the dilemma faced by today’s guest—a woman who knows a thing or two about what it takes to execute at the highest level.Meet Alexi P ... Show More
2h 39m
Mar 2023
EP23: Coming Full Circle: Former Olympic Gymnast Sarah Mercer on creating a cultural shift in gymnastics
Our guest on today’s episode has had an illustrious career in gymnastics, starting at a young age when most Olympics hopefuls spend uncountable hours in the gym perfecting routines to now coaching young athletes in the sport - coming full circle in her sport. Sarah Mercer, who is ... Show More
1h 1m
Feb 2023
An Olympic champion's mindset for overcoming fear | Allyson Felix
Getting pregnant as a track and field athlete is often called the "kiss of death" -- a sign your athletic career will soon end. Olympic champion, entrepreneur and proud mother Allyson Felix thinks it shouldn't be that way. She tells the story of starting a family while fighting t ... Show More
10m 30s
Dec 2021
Alexi Pappas and Glennon Doyle want you to know it's ok to not be ok
Both our interviews today deal with the pressures we put on ourselves. First, Olympic runner Alexi Pappas on her memoir, Bravey. On the outside, Pappas was living what looked like a great life; she was breaking Greek Olympic records and her movie got a distribution deal. But, she ... Show More
16m 26s
Nov 2023
The Extended Bravey Universe of Alexi Pappas: Reinvention, Joy & Glitter
How do you ignite evolution? How do you find your purpose? And how do you have the confidence to pursue it? Here to imbue our lives with more joy, glitter, and play is the highly inspiring and energetic Alexi Pappas, back for round two on the podcast. If you missed her standout f ... Show More
2 h