💬 “They called me weak…
I wasn't the strongest. Nor the fastest.
I was just a skinny young man with a racket… and an obsession.
🎾 They called me “the crocodile.”
Not for my strength… but because I NEVER let go of what I set out to do.
I won Wimbledon, Roland Garros, the Davis Cup…
But my biggest fight wasn't on the court.
It was in a hospital bed, battling with my lungs… and with life.
At 25, I was told I had to stop.
And yes, I stopped competing…
But I didn't stop dreaming.
😤 I hated uncomfortable clothes for training.
So I designed my own shirt:
👉 soft cotton
👉 comfortable collar
👉 a small embroidered crocodile
Many laughed.
“A shirt with a crocodile? No one will wear that.”
Until EVERYONE wanted it.
🧵 That's how Lacoste was born.
Not from a runway.
But from an illness, from a dream… and from a mind that never gave up.
Yes, they called me weak.
But I learned this:
👉 When you can't fight with your body, you fight with your soul.
👉 When you're not accepted, you create your own style.
👉 When you don't fit in… you make a difference.
🐊 A crocodile does not retreat. Never.
— René Lacoste
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