OVER THE YEARS, we’ve become accustomed to top athletes branching out and extending their star power to endless entrepreneurial endeavors. This trajectory covers everything from multi-media companies to sneaker empires and apparel lines. With a caution: may cause involuntary happiness warning label and hype-approved smiley logo, Jimmy Butler’s BIGFACE lifestyle and clothing brand is quite literally built around finding joy.
“Our number one thing is and will always be trying to make everybody smile,” Butler told Men’s Health in an exclusive interview. For Butler, that currently stems from two of his biggest passions: coffee and tennis, the latter of which may come as a surprise given the six-time NBA All-Star’s decade-plus decade career. From the minimal black and white motifs and sleek glass coffee jars, everything about BIGFACE’s visual presentation feels not only incredibly modern, but intentionally unexpected. It’s no wonder that BIGFACE’s touch points (including a pop up at this year’s Miami Open) emit a cool optimism unique to a lifestyle brand at the intersection of sport, style, coffee, and culture.
One thing Butler has made clear is the amount of time and quality that goes into each product offering. For now, the online store offers a limited run of unisex clothing and accessories intended for both every day and active wear. The collection includes embroidered dad hats in a range of colors and our pick, the BIGFACE Tennis Club kit: a white knit performance pique polo with matching woven shorts. Butler is excited about the upcoming colorful drops that are set to release throughout the year, and if the past drops of BIGFACE merch tells us anything, it’s that the collection will sell out lightning fast.
Read more: Jimmy Butler’s Training Regimen
BIGFACE has come a long way in a seemingly short amount of time. This is in part thanks to Butler’s eagerness to build with experts in various fields but also his capabilities as a gifted storyteller. One of BIGFACE’s first coffee releases, the COE-M-1A from Ever Leonal Diaz in El Salvador, was crowned last year’s Cup of Excellence winner. “I still have so much to learn but that’s where I started. I wanted the best coffee,” Butler told Men’s Health in an exclusive interview. “They said okay, look, let’s walk before you can crawl. And I said, I want to fly.”
The BIGFACE concept came to life after a trip to the UK. Butler–as he describes, a basketball player in a country where soccer is king – stopped at a cafe in London and struck up an unlikely conversation with patrons waiting for his coffee to brew. Those three or four minutes led to a blossoming friendship and one of the brand’s missions exploring the uncommon in common. “More so than how great the coffee is,” Butler says, “there are unique stories that make the cups special.”
It makes sense that Butler went on to collaborate with famed New York-based ice cream brand Van Leeuwen to bring his passion for coffee and community building to a new vertical. The limited-release BIGFACE Coffee Affogato flavor is a play on the Italian dessert traditionally served as vanilla gelato topped with a fresh shot of espresso. Van Leeuwen’s version features swirled sweet cream and cold brew ice creams, the latter made with BIGFACE’s exclusively sourced single-origin heirloom varietal from Ethiopia. From connecting over a shared culinary experience to joining forces on the tennis court, BIGFACE is all about creating moments that bring people together.
Butler attended the BIGFACE x Van Leeuwen pop-up event at the Van Leeuwen store off on Greenwich Street in Tribeca
“Find a way that you have something in common with everybody. Have a cup of coffee–or in this case, Van Leewan’s fabulous affogato ice cream. Sit down and learn about one another,” Butler told Men’s Health. “That is and will be our goal forever more.”
While the BIGFACE tennis collection is now sold out, you can still buy a couple pieces of merch, plus the special COE-M-1A roast and the pint of BIGFACE Coffee Affogato.
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Sara Klausing is a contributing style editor with over ten years of experience. Following roles at Vogue and Google, Klausing specializes in future-facing coverage at the intersection of fashion, culture, and technology.
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