“Whatever it is you do, you have to master your craft,” Snoop Dogg once said. While many love his advice, he gave some personalized lessons to Fred Richard. Yes, it is the same gymnast that went viral with Simone Biles last year. In the clip, Richard couldn’t land Simone Biles’ gymnastics movements that she had been showing him on the mat. However, the same applied to her, as she couldn’t match the flexibility required for Fred’s gymnastic drops.

While this collaboration intended to highlight the challenges and efforts involved in mastering such skills, it brought a lot of popularity to Richard. As he prepares for the Paris Olympics, he shared an advice Snoop Dogg gave him. What could it be?

Snoop Dogg is a real G collaborating with the likes of Fred Richard

Fred Richard still gushes about his tête-à-tête with pop icon Snoop Dogg. After all, it was one of his first moments to come across such a legend. According to the gymnast, Snoop Dogg’s advice from that meeting worked wonders for his brand, and now he wants to carry on with the added momentum. With self-aggrandizement and popularity points raking in, Richard decided to call upon the renowned rapper in a playful battle of wits.

However, he gave the gymnast some important business advice. In his conversation with Bloomberg, Richard shared what Dogg said. “Start now. Be in many areas. Keep building.”

It seems the 20-year-old is following just that. Richard aspires to become the first Olympian to transition to an action movie hero. Is that highly ambitious? Yes! However, he won’t back down. If anything, he has already started working towards that dream. He and Eddie Lee, his business partner, intend to launch their own production company next year and we can already see some glimpses of their vision.

On YouTube in 2023, they released an eight-episode series called D1 vs. D1. In those videos, Richard was seen competing with other athletes from the University of Michigan over various challenges.

Most recently, Dogg was seen with Richard to promote his cereal brand touted Snoop Cereal, which he launched in collaboration with Master P. Deion Sanders will be the poster boy of the cereal brand, featuring on its boxes. Richard claimed to learn a lot of valuable tidbits about entrepreneurship, business, and the like from Snoop Dogg. But things don’t stop here. He aims to inspire black kids and help them see their gymnastics dream. “It’s my responsibility,” he stated.

But it attracted a lot of attention from various communities, allegedly leading to Snoop Dogg sharing a screen with him and engaging in a conversation. Meanwhile, he also met another celebrity known for representing the Black community.

How Carmelo Anthony and Snoop Dogg gave Richard important lessons

In his biography, Where Tomorrows Aren’t Promised, basketball legend Carmelo Anthony relished one of his childhood moments: being a black kid. Explaining the situation in his childhood, the legend etched, “The white experience and the black experience were so visibly different, and every time I walked across Eutaw Street, I witnessed the exchange of realities. As I grew older, I’ve come to learn that this is how Baltimore works.” Those lines gave a certain view regarding the social differences between the communities.

For Fred Richard, the world might have remained almost the same during his budding years. However, sharing a few conversations with someone legendary from the same community could have been magical for him. Subsequently, the Pan American Games medalist achieved something similar.

In April of this year, Fred Richard had the opportunity to meet with Carmelo Anthony. The two individuals had an extensive conversation, which inspired Fred Richard to think passionately about making a positive impact on the African-American community.

In the same breath, he acknowledged the roles played by Snoop Dogg and Carmelo Anthony in extending the world to the communities. “A lot of these guys are trying to help black kids like me,” he conceded. Meanwhile, he couldn’t ignore Simone Biles’ role in turning the lights on him, which ultimately brought him into the sights of such legends. Now, he wants to follow in the footprints of those legends.