Blacc Sam Opens The Crenshaw Rec: Nipsey’s Vision Lives On With 6500 Sq Ft Gym, Barbershop & Culture Space on Slauson

BLACC SAM OPENS THE CRENSHAW REC: NIPSEY’S MARATHON CONTINUES ON SLAUSON & CRENSHAW

The marathon didn’t stop. It evolved.

On August 22, Blacc Sam — Samiel Asghedom, Nipsey Hussle’s older brother and co-founder of The Marathon brand — helped open The Crenshaw Rec by Foot Locker, a 6,500-square-foot community-driven retail and culture center at the legendary intersection of Crenshaw and Slauson.

If you know, you know — this is the same parking lot where a young Nipsey sold mixtapes from his trunk. That full-circle location is exactly why Blacc Sam said this matters.

“Just the location. It being right here in the neighborhood in the same shopping center we’d come to as little kids,” Sam told the crowd at the grand opening.

Presented as a thank you to the community by Foot Locker, Nike, Jordan Brand and Converse, The Crenshaw Rec is not just a shoe store. Inside, it has meeting rooms, training labs, even a small gym to shoot hoops, and community programming built with Crenshaw locals.

According to EBONY’s inside look, there is an “open gym” area for community programming, including music classes, run clubs, barbershop pop-ups, and more — plus tributes to Crenshaw High School, Kobe Bryant’s Moesha jersey, and local designers like Supervsn Studios.

During opening weekend, the space even hosted a listening party for Nipsey’s new posthumous album Prolific with Bino Rideaux.

What This Means For The Culture:
This is exactly what Nip talked about — ownership, infrastructure, and investment that stays in the neighborhood. A gym, a barbershop, a music academy, and a safe space to create, all in the lot where it started. The parking lot is still the foundation; now it’s 6,500 sq ft of legacy.

Slauson & Crenshaw is officially a destination again.

Source Credits: Los Angeles Sentinel, EBONY, Foot Locker Official Release.