Conversations with Chris Focus

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Focus.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started? 
My running journey started in high school. I attended Loyola High School as a freshman in the fall of 1999. Hoping to play high school basketball, my mother suggested I run cross-country to improve my endurance. Not knowing anything about distance running, I signed up and had a great first season under the tutelage of Coach Lalo Diaz and Doc Mesa. After not making the freshmen basketball team, I solely focused on running both cross-country and track & field all four years (8 seasons) at Loyola. I found a new home in a sport that was never on my radar and completed a successful high school career, capping it off with a cross-country state title in 2002. This was the first state title for not only Loyola’s cross-country team but for any sport in the school’s history. 

After graduating in 2003, I attended college at LMU and began developing another passion of mine, rapping. After receiving my B.A. in Urban Studies in 2007, I decided to pursue a rap career as the artist Chris Focus. As much as I loved making music, there was still a void in my life that needed to be filled. Enter 2018, when I discovered Keep It Run Hundred, a predominately Black run club. After joining that summer, not only was my passion for running reignited I also discovered the greater run community in LA. 

Not taking this second chance lightly, I put music on hold and embraced run culture fully. In 2019, I ran my first marathon, the LA marathon, and never looked back. Since then, I’ve completed 9 total and currently am training for my 10th. Besides marathons, I’ve raced 5ks, 10ks, half-marathons, and relay races – from 4x400s on the track to road running from LA to Vegas. My journey has allowed me to foster relationships with people from all avenues of life, including my partner of over 4 years, travel the world, and even make a career out of something I love to do. 

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No road in life is smooth. There’s always going to be speed bumps along the way. I’ve dealt with adversity and identity issues since I was a teen. The first one was embarrassment. I was the only Black kid on my team participating in a sport that wasn’t popular within my community nor Black culture in America. Running wasn’t “cool” back when I started, nor was the lifestyle celebrated amongst people of color like it is today. I also struggled with who I was for so long, as well as trying to search for my true purpose in life. The irony of my journey is hilarious because the one thing I took for granted as a youth and tried to downplay back then is the same thing that has brought me so many blessings as an adult. Before I started running again, I was in a very dark place, which I don’t talk about much. It literally saved my life. Thirdly is the risk I took to build up my profile in the running world. I took a leap of faith and quit my full-time job of 12 years in entertainment law to grow my personal brand literally a month before the pandemic happened. So right when the world shut down, I almost shut down, mentally and emotionally. I had no income, health benefits, or unemployment benefits for a year. I ran thru my savings just to survive and pay rent. Like my grandmother from Kansas City used to say, “This too shall pass,” and thankfully, I weathered the storm. 

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Currently, I work for Nike LA – Running as the co-lead for Blue Ribbon Sports, aka BRS. Not only was Blue Ribbon Sports the original name for Nike, the physical space I help manage in Santa Monica is the original brick and mortar Nike opened back in the late 60s, its first actually. I help program, plan, and coordinate events for our sponsored crews as well as the greater LA-run community. Since 2020, I also started my career as a running model and have been fortunate enough to grace several big campaigns with several big brands around the world. 

From my teen years thru my twenties, I was known for music. That’s where the name Chris Focus originated. You can still find my work on YouTube, SoundCloud, and Bandcamp; in my thirties, I’m known for running. 

I’m most proud of taking a gamble on my career and betting on myself. But this wouldn’t be possible without having faith in The Most High and the gifts He’s given me to succeed. I just had to put in the work and dig deep to find them. Once that happened, things started to click for me, and my garden began to blossom. 

What sets me apart from others is patience. Respecting the processes of things, we seek and understanding life is a marathon, not a sprint, pun intended. Also, knowing what I want out of life and not stopping until I get it or at least find a nice balance. 

What are your plans for the future?
My plans for the future are to continue my quest of completing all 6 world major marathons. So far, I’ve raced Chicago, Boston, New York, Berlin, and soon-to-be Tokyo. I also want to travel more with my partner without having a race on either of our itineraries. 

Outside of running, I’m looking forward to diving deeper into the family business of real estate, property management, and ownership. 

And just continue to grow as a person. I have a few other passion projects I want to develop in fashion, music, and running, but those will be revealed when the time is right. 

Contact Info:

• Instagram: instagram.com/Chrisfocus