2023.03 -- US Storybook 2022 updated 4.14 - Flipbook - Page 63
BEYOND THE BRAND: HOW
NIKE COMMUNITY STORE
IN WATTS IS CULTIVATING A
CULTURE OF COMMUNITY
INVOLVEMENT
Diana Romo, Nike Watts Athlete Services Specialist and PeacePlayers Los Angeles partner, had
never heard her resident community of Watts “being referenced on a more humane level of
being a legitimate community.”
Watts, home of PeacePlayers programming in Los Angeles, sits right off highway 101 between
coastal Manhattan Beach and the inland cities. It is a lively neighborhood, and a playground for
all walks of life. Walking down its streets, California sun warm on your skin, you may hear the
sound of a stereo system perched atop of a bicycle, feeling the pulses of base from Tupac, Nipsey,
or Ice Cube beneath your feet. You may hear the voices of young children chasing each other
outside of the community center; laughs, screams, and shouts of joy echoing off of concrete.
You may smell the sizzling steaks of a makeshift barbecue lining the projects, where people are
PEACEPLAYERS UNITED STATES STORYBOOK
671