Lenny Hazewood, a 6-foot-4-inch, broad-shouldered University of Idaho Vandal Football linebacker is known by his loved ones for his perseverance, determination and kindness, but also for his love of art and design.
“I feel like I have an eye for design and the mind for it,” Hazewood said. “Originally, I wanted to do interior design, but I couldn’t finish it, so I wanted to go into apparel because I want to open a clothing line.”
Hazewood, who transferred from a community college in Sacramento, originally had a difficult time choosing a major that he could complete in two years before his football scholarship expired.
Despite his love for interior design, he said the degree would have taken four years to complete, and that wasn’t an option.
After working with the registrar’s office, Hazewood said he found it would take only two years to graduate with a degree in apparel, textiles and design.
“It’s a blessing I even found apparel, that I was even able to get into the major because I only have two years left,” Hazewood said. “The way my credits are set up from going to junior college, I had to start with general studies. I went to registrar’s office and luckily (someone) found the major apparel and from there, I took off.”
David Betts | Blot Magazine
Lenny Hazewood hopes to one day produce his own clothing line.
When it comes to designing clothing, Hazewood said his practice as an athlete provides him with inspiration.
“I’m an athlete, so I see the types of things I don’t like or things that could be improved with the clothes I wear,” Hazewood said. “I just want my clothing line to fix those problems. It gives me a cutting edge because I play football, so I know what changes need to look like in athletic wear.”
He’s also interested in fabrics that incorporate new technologies, such as Dri-FIT material that moves sweat away from the body and evaporates off of the surface.
“I’m fascinated with Dri-FIT, I’m still trying to figure out what Dri-FIT is,” Hazewood said. “I know it has a little bit of polyester “” fabric is technology. It’s a science.”
While not many football players choose to pursue a career in apparel, textiles and design, Hazewood said he has always been encouraged to follow his dreams, especially by his mother, Yolanda.
“My mom is like my right hand, she’s always been there for me,” Hazewood said. “I’ve been through a lot of stuff and she’s always by my side, every day, in and out. I wouldn’t be nothing without her.”
Hazewood said his mother has supported him in every decision, from moving away from home to play football to pursuing a career in textiles and design.
“She’s definitely supportive. She didn’t go to college, so she couldn’t pursue her dream, but seeing me do it is really lifting her spirits,” Hazewood said. “She’s been successful without college, but seeing me grow up and do what I’m doing kind of warms her heart.”
While she isn’t at ease with every decision, like Hazewood’s goal of pursuing a dangerous contact sport like football, Yolanda said she is proud of her son for working hard for his passions.
“He’s been through a lot of things in life,” Yolanda said. “I’m proud he hasn’t allowed the challenges he’s come up against to stop him from pursuing his dreams.”
Hazewood has been interested in art since he was young, and Yolanda said she loves watching how her son blends his passion for football and design.
“I think it’s good because it’s something that he wants to do,” Yolanda said. “That’s important that he’s going after what he wants to go after and not the typical accounting and engineering. That’s not what he wants “” he’s more of a creative soul.”
Although Hazewood has been successful and supported in his pursuits of football and design, following his dreams hasn’t come without challenges. Before enrolling at UI, Hazewood experienced the death of someone with whom he was close.
“About four years ago, a close family member passed away and that’s kind of where my motto came from,” Hazewood said. “For a minute, it brought me down but everything happens for a reason, whether it’s bad or not, so I just kind of got up and from that point, I’ve just been grinding, trying to follow my dreams.”
Hazewood said the loss also prompted him to take action and be more proactive about going after his goals in life.
“It’s bittersweet for sure, but it strengthened me. It kind of told me that I needed to get my life together,” Hazewood said. “I was just living and going through the motions and once that happened, it gave me the reality that, you know, I need to start being a man.”
The difficult times that he’s faced, such as the loss of his family member, are what Yolanda said she believes instilled a sense of determination within her son.
“(They) passed away pretty abruptly about three years ago and I think that’s why he’s so determined,” Yolanda said. “It was a really, really challenging time for him because it wasn’t expected … I think that’s where his drive and determination comes from, and his perseverance.”
Hazewood, who one day hopes to play for the NFL, also encountered a particularly devastating injury that required him to sit out an entire football season. It was a challenge for him to go without working out or playing football, but Hazewood said the injury ultimately helped him learn more about who he is as a person as well as how to better take care of his body.
“I had to sit out the whole season. I went through six months of not really doing anything because it was a groin injury,” Hazewood said. “It’s tough to have your dreams and what you love taken away. I waited it out because I knew regardless, I was going to be good. It’s starting to heal up now so I’m trying to get back in the motions.”
Not only does Hazewood persevere despite the challenges he’s faced, but he also helps his friends and teammates overcome their own obstacles through support and encouragement.
UI Senior and Vandal Football defensive end Kevin White said some of his most striking memories of Hazewood are the times when his teammate has been there to help him out on the field.
“One of our very first drills, we both were in defensive line, and I was kind of lagging, you know, slowing down,” White said. “He came over to me and was like, “˜Come on, bro, you gotta keep going.’ He gave me a hand shake and we got back to working, it was a good feeling knowing he had my back.”
The transfer students, who met during football recruitment, later became good friends and roommates.
“He’s a really humble dude, he’s smart, if you give him a task he always gets it done, no matter what,” White said. “He always has my back, he’s like my brother.”
Whether he’s out on the field or drawing designs in his sketch book, Hazewood said he lives by the idea that when someone falls down, they get back up again. So much so, he even has a tattoo of the saying on his upper left arm.
“My tattoo is Chinese writing and it says, “˜Fall down seven times, get up eight.’ That’s kind of my motto,” Hazewood said. “There’s always going to be stuff that happens in life day to day and not letting it bring you down, but to come back up, even when you’ve been knocked down so many times is the way you’ve got to live your life.”