Hooped Up

John Amaechi has gone from forgotten NBA player to a household name due to the disclosure of his orientation and now he is set to receive an endorsement from a company that sells men’s grooming products.

Amaechi “is the perfect storm,” said Todd Greene, chief executive at the HeadBlade Company in Culver City, Calif., which specializes in products for bald men, because “he’s African-American, a basketball player and gay, and those are all huge demographics for us.”

“And he uses the product,” Mr. Greene said, adding that he learned Mr. Amaechi was a “HeadBlader,” as Mr. Greene calls his customers, while deciding whether Mr. Amaechi would make an effective spokesman.

“You want to do due diligence on who endorses your stuff,” is how Mr. Greene described the research process. Other HeadBlade endorsers include the singer Chris Daughtry, who appeared on “American Idol”; Toney Freeman, a professional bodybuilder; and Howie Mandel, of NBC’s “Deal or No Deal.”

New York Times