Mohamed Dia (born 5 August 1973, in the

Sarcelles Sarcelles () is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Sarcelles is a sub-prefecture of the Val-d'Oise department and the seat of the arrondissement of Sarcelles. In the south of the commun ...

) is a

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ref ...

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

an designer of sport clothing (sportswear and streetwear), founder of the M.Dia brand. In 1999, he founded M.Dia, a new brand of sport clothing with his own savings in Sarcelles, in the outskirts of Paris. French popular rap groups such as Secteur Ä or Ministère AMER supported him and spread his brand wearing his products. That attracted the attention of French mass media which soon depicted him as some sort of

role model A role model is a person whose behaviour, example, or success is or can be emulated by others, especially by younger people. The term ''role model'' is credited to sociologist Robert K. Merton, who hypothesized that individuals compare themselves ...

for youngsters from impoverished neighborhoods. In 2001, he signed a license with

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

and created a new textile collection : ''NBA by DIA''. That allowed him to enter the American market and then to open his first shop in the United States in 2004. In 2005, he also created his own record label, ''Dia entertainment'', along with hip hop group

Ärsenik Ärsenik is a rap group based in Villiers-le-Bel, France, founded in 1992, and made up of two brothers, Lino (Gaëlino M'Bani) and Calbo (Calboni M'Bani), whose family is originally from Congo. Career Ärsenik started as a band in mid 1990 ...

. He now owns one of the most dynamic French sports clothing brand with a 16-million-euro revenue (nearly 24 million dollars) in 2007.

External links

M.Dia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dia, Mohamed 1973 births Living people French fashion designers Malian fashion designers French people of Malian descent d