Lee Arnold, an adult adoptee, is driven to motivate others to live their lives to their fullest. “I’ve had a lot of opportunities to meet really inspiring individuals who are doing great things. I wanted to create a platform to highlight them and teach through them,” he shares.
That’s exactly what he is doing. This year, he is launching Vivid Athletic, an apparel company with an important mission: unveiling human potential through the execution of our individual goals. To do this, Vivid Athletic will be featuring the stories of people who are working diligently to reach their goals. “These goals could be work-related, personal or physical. A lot of people I’ve met are doing things that aren’t easy—whether it’s starting a business or training for something—I’m hoping to get their stories out there to inspire others to do the same,” explains Lee. Equally important to Lee, Vivid Athletic will provide updates on the people they feature, to show the progress they’ve been making and highlight the ongoing work it takes to reach our fullest potential.
In addition to sharing stories, Lee is focused on using Vivid Athletic to give back. A portion of the profits will be donated to Children’s Home Society of Minnesota.
Reaching his full potential
Adopted from South Korea at 3 months old, Lee explains, “Being an adoptee, it really drives me. I’m focused on maximizing my own potential—I want to make the most out of my life.”
He also points to the effect of his family, “My family is a huge influence on me. My mom is very driven. I look up to her a lot. She came from humble beginnings and she built her own business that was so successful she was able to sell it and retire young. My dad is also one of the most genuine souls I’ve ever met in my entire life. I really look up to him.”
Lee has also realized his desire to find his birth mother, “I think this is part of the process of figuring out what drives me. When I was young, my parents were so open about my adoption, so being adopted wasn’t a big deal for me. Then, after I graduated from college, I started to want to reach out to my birth family. It started as a curiosity, but now that I’m moving along the process, it’s becoming more important to me. I feel like it’s human nature to want to meet my birth parents.”
In the next year, Lee is hoping to accomplish many things. This includes self-exploration, “I really hope to meet my birth mother. I’ll have a lot of growth after I do meet her,” and personal goals, “I’m focused on getting Vivid Athletic established—hopefully as a nonprofit—and I’d like to continue to motivate and inspire people by doing what I’m doing.”
As a man focused on motivating others, we asked him what his advice would be to young adoptees. His response, “Figure out what you really like to do in life. Then go after it.”
