Meet Kareem Rosser - Star Polo Player, Ralph Lauren Ambassador and Author
When one says, ‘West Philadelphia’, many complete the sentence with the Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme song, but that’s not the story we are talking about today and Kareem Rosser wasn’t sent to live with his wealthy relatives in California. Kareem Anthony Rosser was born in West Philadelphia and spent his free time out of school on the polo field with his brothers and other inner-city children who partook in the Work to Ride program founded by Lezlie Hiner.
Kareem’s interest in animals did not begin with horses. His family always loved animals and he and his siblings would often catch snapping turtles and frogs from a nearby pond and hide them at their house from their mother. There was also a rich inner-city urban cowboy community that was also prevalent in West Philadelphia. As a young boy, Kareem would see horses running down the black top streets regularly.
After only seeing horses from afar, Kareem began riding when he was 8 years old once his older brothers became involved with the Work to Ride program in Fairmount Park. As younger brothers do, Kareem looked up to his siblings and wanted to tag along with them no matter what they were getting up to, good or bad. Thankfully, they were up to good and after begging his mother to allow him to visit the stables with his brothers he was mesmerized. “I was this big-eyed kid, mouth wide open, so excited when I walked into the stables for the first time!” By the time he was 9, he had picked up his first polo mallet.
“I would say that I was very cautious as a kid. I would watch others try before I would try things. After watching my older brothers and the other kids, I built up the courage to do it myself. I began by trotting and then worked up to a canter, and once I got the mallet in my hand and started swinging and connecting with the ball, I became addicted to the feeling.” Hard work, determination, and time lead Kareem to being a world class polo athlete. By the time he was 11, as he said in his own words, “I was ripping and rolling. I never wanted to stop. It was all I wanted to do. I wanted to go fast and hit the ball.”
The sport and community fostered a great deal of confidence in Kareem and it trickled into other aspects of his life ranging from school, to friends, to family, and his community. When Kareem was entering 8th grade he was admitted to a prestigious military school, won a National Polo Championship as a senior in high school, and went on to attend Colorado State University where he received an econ degree and was named the National Collegiate Polo Player of the Year. Now at 28, Kareem is working in finance in Philadelphia and playing polo as often as time allows but he is acutely aware that Work to Ride and playing polo helped to open many doors for him and his family. The opportunity and the door that Work to Ride opened for Kareem and his brothers was the catalyst for the men they are today.
What did Work to Ride mean to you? It changed my life; it changed my family’s life and so many other people and their families lives as well. It provided so many opportunities and exposed me to a world I had no idea existed. Exposure is everything. I owe the program so much that it is hard to articulate accurately the impact it had on my life and the impact it has on Philadelphia. It has transformed and taken kids from neighborhoods that are really struggling and opens their world up. I owe Lezlie and the program so much; it is my home away from home.
Do you remember the first time that you competed in your first polo match? Oh yeah, but you need to hear a bit of the backstory! We played in Cowtown, New Jersey, and our polo field was a cow pasture filled with cow pies everywhere, not some groomed field. My heart was pounding. I was worried if I would make mistakes, or fall off my house, but when it was time to strap on my boots and put my helmet on, I was ready to go.
Do you have a favorite match that stands out to you? In 2011 I won my first national high school championship, and on that day me and my teammates made history. We were the first African American team to win a major national polo championship and I won it with my brother and another very close friend of ours. It is a match I will never forget, and it is one of the things I am most proud of in my life. We still all get together and talk about that period in our lives, about specific matches we played and particular moments in the games that stand out.
Where has your favorite place to play been? They say that polo is your passport to the world and that has been very true for me and I am incredibly grateful for the places that polo has brought me. I have played in Asia, Africa, Europe, and South American but my favorite destination has to be Nigeria. Not necessarily because of the game but because of the culture. I was 14 the first time I played in Nigeria and I have traveled back four times and look forward to the next time that I can go there. We thought we were struggling kids from West Philadelphia, but when you get there it brings you back to reality. You couldn’t compare our struggle with their struggle, but we did that what it was like to struggle so we had that connection.
What does polo mean to you? It means the world to me! It comes down to exposure; it opened doors for me and connected me with individuals I wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to connect with. There are very successful businessmen and women with a great education that I wouldn’t have been able to have conversations with if it wasn’t for polo. It opened the door for me to attend a prestigious military academy, to attend and receive a college degree, get a job in finance, and write a book. There are so many things I am grateful for because of the sport. It is way more than a stick and a ball to me.
You have a book called “Crossing the Line: A Fearless Team of Brothers and the Sport That Changed Their Lives Forever”, why have you decided to tell this story? The Work to Ride program and us as a team had been highlighted in the press but you can only tell so much of the story in a 15-minute segment. There was so much of our story that hadn’t been told yet and I wanted to bring it to light. I wanted to highlight Lezlie’s effort and sacrifices that she made and that we all had to make to get to where we are today. I wanted to inspire kids that looked like us, people that come from where we come from or places that are similar, that you don’t have to come from white wealth to participate in the sport. I wanted people to know that we struggled, we busted our butts off, we worked hard, had a big dream of winning a national championship, to go to college and get a good job and that they can do that too. It doesn’t stop with us; we are an example of where hard work can take you.
What was the most challenging part of writing your book? Opening up and being vulnerable about the struggles my family went through was difficult, but you have to show those dark and hard times to put into perspective what we overcame. It was important to include my mother’s struggle with addition and abusive relationships, to talk about the nights we slept on the floor huddled together because we didn’t have heat in the house, the friends we lost along the way to the streets. It is hard to talk about but important when telling the story; I had to let my walls down and I am grateful my family supported me in doing so.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years? I have a lot of hopes for my future. I hope to continue to ride and play polo as often as I can. I want to continue to grow my career in finance and become an entrepreneur, but I really am focused on what sort of impact I am going to have on my community and how I can help. I want to build businesses in the black community, continue to raise money and continue to serve. I would love to stay involved with Work to Ride and give other children the opportunities that I had to ride and be looked after. It kept me off the streets and gave me a safe space and a goal. An ultimate dream of mine would be to own a family barn with my future wife and kids and my siblings, where we can invite people who normally wouldn’t have the opportunity to ride and play with us as well.
Outside of polo, do you participate in other recreational habits? I have really fallen in love with skiing! I am an athlete, so I like to move and am naturally competitive. Whether that is polo, skiing, basketball, or even playing a video game, I’m in. I just love competition, but I have really enjoyed skiing in the recent years!
Be sure to purchase Kareem Rosser’s book available for pre order on Amazon here and follow him on Instagram at @kareemrosser !