Olin Simplis is all about enjoying the magic of movies so it’s fitting that he reminds me of Tre Styles, played by Cuba Gooding Jr. in Boyz N The Hood.
Both Tre and Olin were youngsters growing up in South Central LA next to USC. Olin’s fam fled an emotionally abusive dad in Belize when he was age 5 with his younger brother Karim and their brave mother Darlene, who only had $100 and a pocket full of hope walking off the plane at LAX.
Olin is that “Child of God”, a little man growing up in late 80’s. Now in his early 40’s, him grinding 2 decades relentlessly attaining a legacy as possibly the most respected trainer the City of Angels has ever seen!
What endears Olin to so many?
His energy and mentality are irrepressible. Being at his workouts is as uplifting as watching Childish Gambino’s video This is America. Both are thought-provokingly surreal, raw and righteous. It’s unlike anything else you’ve ever seen.
If you witness Olin’s training sessions, expect to see dope guys like Kenyon Martin watching his sons in the lab, learning to do work from a man at the top of his craft fosho.
Olin blurs the line of trainer and fam because he cares so much.
He told me one of his proudest accomplishments can be seen in the life of current WNBA Dream player, Imani McGee, the daughter of WNBA HOF player Pam McGee, and a sister of Lakers Javale McGee.
Imani had problems being 6-7 at nearly 13 years of age, such huge expectations.
And sadly, she was sexually abused by her stepmother growing up. That pain she says pushed her to use drugs and attempt suicide twice in high school.
Then she met Olin Simplis.
He taught her dedication and how to open up to people as a way to bury the demons. She learned to never feel like a victim, never be labeled a “survivor” and let a perpetrator get shine off her.
Meeting Olin helped her focus on the future, as she became the 10th overall pick in the WNBA draft. Hear from Imani what Olin means to her, “Olin is my village, that dude who never asked me for a nickel. He just asked to help me learn how to help myself and help me be what I always dreamed I could be.
“Our bond together is fam and forever. I enjoy writing poetry and our relationship is poetry because he helps me be real to myself, be real to the game.”
O has impossible energy that even an 18-year old can’t even keep up with.
O’s weekly routine consists of pre NBA draft camps for his Wasserman pro agency clients, a frenetic 7 days a week of 3-a-day work outs. Up at 6 am, finished by 10 pm, maybe.
NBA bound Kris Wilkes of UCLA, who trains with O, we were shaking our heads and laughing recently as we both agreed, O-Simplis simply has no off switch.
Hear O speak on what motivated him to dedicate his life to being that guy who has spent his whole life training for excellence, “I remember growing up not having a dad. Didn’t need or want one because my mom did such a fantastic job.
“She was enough for me, both a mom and dad. I owe her everything. If I did want a male role model to play catch with me as a kid, I do that nowadays for youngsters because I know how it feels.”
Olin’s caring mom Darlene Simplis reminds me of Angela Bassett who played Reva Styles from Boyz N The Hood. A graceful woman full of spirituality, that kind soul who will always help a panhandler that seeks Christian charity.
O explains how his mom influenced him, “My mom, she did right by us kids. She worked hard enough to move us to the Westside, buy a nice condo, be the head of her company.
“She taught me the value of hard work, to be a good person in what can be a cold cold world. She taught me that we all need to spread some warmth.”
Olin def has the biggest heart of anybody I’ve ever met. We both do outreach to help people on Skid Row. But he drops off random food packages to the homeless there and constantly donates money to battered women’s shelters.
He gives 100 times more than I ever have but is such a humble guy who never talks himself up about such things.
Hear his mom Darlene recall how her son showed compassion as a youngster, “Olin was always helping somebody in need. When he was 10 there was a family living under a bridge near us.
“He was so sad and heartbroken for them. He was always determined to help everybody, so he took the family’s comforter to give them a warm night’s sleep. He’d see people starving on the street, he’d take food from the pantry and give some to them.
“He gave away the shoes off his feet to a kid who literally was barefoot. It was a challenge to replace those items but I didn’t want to diminish his spirit to make a difference to the truly needy.”
#Now do you see?
There’s so many people I could relate that love and appreciate O. I could easily write a book on all the legion of people he’s helped in hoop on and off the court and I’d still barely scratch the surface of his good works.
Olin’s closest friends call him “O”, like Monique Billings whom I feel blessed to know. She trained with Olin to be a recent top 10 WNBA draft pick and was always telling me “O is that good dude.”
Top upcoming prep baller Skyy Clark and his dad Kenny have also told me how they appreciate Olin a lot.
I asked O to tell me another person that he feels has defined his success as a trainer and he told me Spencer Dinwiddie of the Nets, who was the NBA Skills Challenge winner and nominee for the NBA’s most improved player of the year recently.
How did S-Dinwiddie get there? He has been training with O since age 12. O-Simplis stood by him when others gave up. They both worked together to show the world what true heart and skill could achieve.
Let Spencer speak on it, “Olin trained me every step of the way. He’s been my primary trainer and the best I’ve ever had. He treats his craft as an art form, to develop and create growth in my game and with so many other people I’ve known.
“He has the biggest heart. He’ll pick up a kid and take him to games in LA because he has this passion. He’ll be totally into training all day, even if it’s 10 pm.
“He helps everyone equally, never discriminates to see a pro get better treatment than someone new to the game. His knowledge of his craft is so impressive, I can’t say enough good things.”
#Now do you see?
Olin is the like The Statue of Liberty, servicing a diverse set of clients from NBA lottery picks like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who O prepped recently en route to being a lottery pick for the Clippers.
But O also helps that freshman trying to make his JV squad. He has an egalitarian love for all his clients. This separates O from an elitist trainer, the pretentious kind that only will work with pros.
Many including myself think O-Simplis deserves to be on the Mt. Rushmore of LA’s most renown hoop trainers of all time. His legacy is still evolving to where he will surely garner in the coming years the same level of respect as legendary street baller Raymond Lewis.
#O got it like that
Olin reminds me of Furious Styles, Tre’s dad from Boyz N the Hood.
Why? O is so passionate on why the neighborhoods are being gentrified. Olin watched Black Panther 5 times just to glean ideas on what ills the black community.
Hanging out with O is just a fun experience. Full of swag, cracking jokes but never disrespectful, he wears his heart on his sleeve as he recalls how basketball saved his life:
“Growing up I used to get into it with anybody in my way. One day this guy said, ‘You’re still alive?’ I’ve been picked up and physically thrown out of gyms.
“But as a teenager at Robertson Park where you cut your teeth for respect as a player, you can never back down and I never backed down.”
Olin balled for Palisades High and was an elite level player of his day like Baron Davis. How dope a player was O?
Hear LA legend Jason Hart from Inglewood High, who played in the NBA and now coaches for USC speak on Olin, “Olin earned my respect as a player and has always been a great people person.
“Actually he’s the most genuine kind of person, he cares beyond the training and the talent. It’s the relationship you build with Olin that lasts forever. Basketball can be a business but Olin takes that time to really bring out the best in someone.”
The reader might ask, why didn’t he go on to play in the NBA, play at a North Carolina level program?
Again, O never runs from the truth which sets him free. Let him explain, “Once in high school I made one big mistake. Frustrated with my coach and how we got along, I let hubris get the best of me. I took off my jersey in the middle of a game and left the gym.
“No one ever looked at me the same after that. I went on to Santa Monica JC, then got distracted from basketball, as I took the time to work and care of our new born boy Kahlil, the light of my life. I did finish at UC Riverside but I have no regrets.”
Olin could’ve been anything he wanted. Hear his mom relate his unlimited potential, “My son Olin is a special talent; he showed that in leading the Belize national team to Pan-American victory back in high school.
“That is still talked about in Belize today. Olin was smart and had a head for numbers. He could’ve easily gone on to Stanford business school like his brother Karim and be working on Wall St. nowadays.
“I’m proud Olin chose the right profession because he’s consumed by helping others constantly. His job is a perfect outlet for him to pour himself into humanity and his humanity is the pride of my life.”
How is O a magician? Nobody can pull a great player out of their hat like poof. You must sweat, grind hard together. That’s O’s magic, he makes you work and believe as he meets your energy.
O even hosts a weekly radio show on Fridays, for DashRadio with topics ranging from “Why aren’t pro women given more respect compared men in basketball?” to “Who is the all time G.O.A.T of the NBA?” O has unlimited love for the game.
I presented O with a SLAM Mentor of the Year jersey earlier this year to celebrate his giving body of work. That same award we bestowed to Baron Davis back in ‘05.
Both men: classy, the best kind of representative of what’s right in hoops and mentoring that can be found.
That’s not props. That’s witnessing an angel do his magic tricks in the form of training and loving people. Just like Imani said, helping someone be 100 to yourself, and the game.
O is unfortunately right in that it’s a “cold cold world out there” but I know one man who warms it up like few ever have.
