Growing up in a society like the one we live in, not many people can say they knew what they always wanted to do. Luckily, that wasn’t the case for star guard for the WNBA New York Liberty, Cappie Pondexter. Since the age of 10 she knew that basketball was her passion and what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. Known for her quick moves on the court and crafty jumpshot, she has numerous awards an honors under her belt from WNBA Allstar to WNBA Champion.
The court isn’t the only place where Cappie makes things happen. Her love for fashion has allowed her to form her own business where she and her team help stars create their image. Cappie has a lot of positivity surrounding her and Vixen caught up with her to talk about basketball, fashion and tattoos. ~Krystal Holmes
Vixen: Can you weigh in on women’s basketball for me?
Cappie: Honestly, women’s basketball is at a great point right now. We have a lot of great prospects coming in this year including the previous ones we had in the WNBA series and honestly I’m excited about it to get on the way especially for NY.
Who are your top WNBA players and in college?
My top female players in the WNBA would be Tamika Catchings, Sue Bird, Seimone Augustus, Diana Taurasi, Candace Parker, Essence Carson..Its so many great players. In college of course you have Skylar Diggins you know the whole world has the Skylar craze right now and Brittney Griner she is definitely a game changer right now. When I think about game-changers I think of Lisa Leslie and Candace Parker.
Why do you think female basketball doesn’t get the respect like men’s basketball does?
Honestly, men are so athletic they play above the rim and our game is not at that level consistently yet. I mean you have a few players which I named as the game changers, these are the women that were able to change the game because of dunking. A lot of people watch men’s basketball because of their crazy athleticism and height and their ability to dunk, if women’s game were at that level it would be the same way in my opinion. We are getting to that level where women are becoming more athletic and more above the rim. I think that’s where we differentiate with the men and women and nothing else because we can do the same thing as them off the court. We lift weights and shoot and work out hard and play all year around. We do all the things we need to do as professional athletes except we are not above the rim which is what sets us a part from men’s basketball.
Who do you want to win the NBA Finals?
I’m going for my New York Knickerbockers, that’s the organization that pays me and that believe in me. I love the New York organization and I have a lot of friends on that team too so I’m excited for them and they are clinching the playoff spot and it’s great basketball. You know New York deserves this, the city deserves it and ultimately they go all the way.
Do you have any favorite men’s basketball players?
Of course. Dwyane Wade he’s one of my favorite, Carmelo Anthony, Derrick Rose like I could name a player on each team that I like but a favorite is D.Wade because me and his game is similar and we kind of grew up in the same area so I got a lot of respect for him.
What’s your skincare regimen like?
I use Sisley, Sisley Design Paris I don’t know if you are familiar with it but I use their skincare. I tried a lot of different skincare regimen’s but I really like their skincare. I use the toner, the facial wash and of course the moisturizer because their moisturizer is very thick and I have very dry skin and Sisley is the best out of all the other skincare lines I tried. I been with this skincare for probably two years or so consistently. It’s been great for me.
How is your 4 Seasons Styling Management business going?
Wow. 4 Seasons is going great. Of course it is a lot of work. When you are in the fashion industry a lot of people have these different businesses but I think the thing that kind of separates 4 Season is that it is run by an athlete and I kind of try to gravitate more towards the athletes because we have that need. We don’t know the importance of our image in a professional world or branding world coming out of college. We just know basketball or whatever sport we are playing. I just kind of wanted to build this brand 4 Seasons to give help to the up-and-coming athletes or anyone who is currently having trouble not being able to see exactly how they should be portrayed in the business world. A lot of the times we are comfortable just wearing our sweats. It’s not good for your brand. You have to show your professional side and fashion sense and that’s what my company provides. We help personal shop, build websites and a lot of things based around image. I have a pretty solid team. My partner Lisa Craig Smith, whom I’ve been friends with for over 10 years, and in my opinion, she is one of the best stylists around right now. We aren’t even in our second year and we already did editorials for JET Magazine and ELLE. We’ve done a lot of cool things in our first year. We just did a great editorial in Istanbul for Bullet Magazine and I am so excited about it because it was really great. Of course when you get to be international it’s cool. We’re trying to build our clientele right now—more actors, actresses, athletes, musicians.
What’s it like playing basketball in the US and Turkey?
Playing basketball in the U.S., of course you have your family there to support you. This may sound wrong but people in Europe appreciate women’s basketball a lot more than they do in the United States. My fan base in Europe is so much bigger in Europe than it is in the US. They follow everything. They are really supportive and come to every game. They are so involved on Twitter and every social network. I think that’s one of the biggest things I’ve noticed from just playing basketball overseas in Europe. But don’t get me wrong. I think playing in the US is amazing. I think the coverage is 100 times moreover. And just playing for my family, I mean I love my family and that means everything to me.
Would you ever consider doing a fragrance line and venturing out?
I’d definitely be up to it. I would love to have my own fragrance, my own shoe and sports line. Just like a funky casual shoe. I would love to design as well. I’m into vintage clothing and if I could do anything focused around vintage clothing or working with one of my favorite designers, I would really definitely love to do it.
One of my favorite designers is Alexander Wang. I’ve been obsessed with his clothes I love his eye, edginess and the way he puts things together. I think he is far behind his years and I really love him.
You have a few tattoos, we want to know why basketball players gravitate towards tattoos male and females?
[Laughs] You want me to be honest? It’s because we have so much time on our hands. We are bored. We have nothing else to do but spend our money and get tatted. Honestly, it’s becoming a trend, like in fashion, different trends happen. As a basketball player having the most tattoos has become a trend to be honest. Like, ‘I have the best artwork look at me.’ That’s how it is. It’s kind of like a show when you’re playing basketball. You want the tattoos to be seen. I think tattoos are a part of our basketball culture and athlete culture.
Make sure you check out Cappie’s website and twitter listed below!