Lululemon and UPB’s Commitment to Developing Partnership
By: Andrea Aruino
Partnerships are crucial to building relationships with brands that align with an organization's goals. It has the ability to combine strengths, share and expand resources, and reach a wider audience of people who would benefit from both sides of the partnership. Lululemon’s initiative to partner with Unlimited Potential Basketball is driven by all of those qualities but Regional Community Lead, Christine Golez, said that what they found to be the most profound about UPB is its focus on caring for the whole human.
Lululemon aims to emphasize the importance of movement, mindfulness, and mental well-being from every piece of clothing that they release to the way that employees connect with their customers across all fronts. This partnership gained traction ever since Gabby Murray, the Store Manager for Burlingame, met Coach Packie Turner who was familiar with UPB through her partner who was a fellow basketball coach and player. This relationship blossomed into something that was bigger than the brand, it was authentic and that’s what both organizations continue to strive for in every action.
“I trusted Gabby’s perspective and once I met Packie, I immediately knew—I needed him on my team. His heart, his clarity, and the authenticity of his purpose stood out. His gym and staff don’t just reflect his values—they breathe life into them. Since then, we’ve been creating together, thinking outside the box, and leaning into what’s possible. It was clear from day one—it wasn’t just about sport or how we could benefit from one another. It was about how we could make a difference and impact our community together,” Golez and Murray said.
The shared commitment to the holistic well-being of the people each organization serves made the answer clear and obvious. Coach Packie and the rest of the UPB team were perfect representatives of what lululemon stands for, and this was a mutual connection destined for more. Basketball was deemed uncharted territory for lululemon San Francisco, but it was only a matter of time until they found the perfect brand ambassador to represent them.
“Packie’s leadership, values, and vision gave us the confidence to lock in and bring our community along with us,” Golez said.
Coach Packie becoming the brand ambassador for lululemon doesn’t stop there, this partnership fosters achievable and tangible goals that allow the mission of UPB to grow even bigger. It’s no question that they have made sure to show support in an abundance to reach this goal. As one of lululemon’s first basketball brand ambassadors, Coach Packie continues to stand by UPB’s mission in everything that he does and everything that the rest of the staff does.
“We see this partnership expanding into new ways of showing up for youth, elite athletes, and the broader community—making movement more accessible, and helping more people experience what movement can do to the mind and body,” Christine Golez said.
The UPB x lululemon partnership is nothing short of a community that relentlessly aims to provide for their clients. A family has been fostered through this and there are more steps to be taken in the future years. Cultivating the purest spaces that allow people to experience how movement affects the body and mind through basketball at UPB is a top goal and continues to push the whole training staff to embody that.
