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DeAndre Hopkins writes his own playbook

By , photography by julie soefer styling by summar salahUpdated
DeAndre Hopkins, Texans wide receiver, is wearing a made-to-measure Festari Reda Super 150 royal blue suit, $1,298; Andrea Bossi Italian navy blue Jack of Cards print shirt, $298; Edward Armah pocket square, $298; and Calori watch, $228, all from Festari for Men. Photos by Julie Soefer. Fashion styling by Summar Salah, makeup by Victoria Calloway of VCI Artists and hair by Chico Rodriguez of Bayou City Barbershop. Location: the home of Amanda Ton and Dr. Thang Le.
DeAndre Hopkins, Texans wide receiver, is wearing a made-to-measure Festari Reda Super 150 royal blue suit, $1,298; Andrea Bossi Italian navy blue Jack of Cards print shirt, $298; Edward Armah pocket square, $298; and Calori watch, $228, all from Festari for Men. Photos by Julie Soefer. Fashion styling by Summar Salah, makeup by Victoria Calloway of VCI Artists and hair by Chico Rodriguez of Bayou City Barbershop. Location: the home of Amanda Ton and Dr. Thang Le.Julie Soefer

The super-skinny jeans - by G Star Raw, and with leather embellishments, no less - are the sort of thing you expect on a bony male model, not an NFL superstar with chiseled thighs.

They're incredibly comfortable, DeAndre Hopkins says.

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Style profile

Favorite restaurants: Del Frisco's, State of Grace and Uchi

Favorite color: Turquoise

Accessory: David Yurman necklace

Signature style: Slim fit and European cuts. "I got that from South Carolina. That's how people dress around there. They dress up more when they go out."

Signature fragrance: Creed Millesime Imperial

"My attire isn't complete without...": A nice pair of shoes.

Briefs or boxers: Briefs

Who chooses your clothes? I do.

Anything you won't wear? I'll wear anything except baggy pants.

Would you ever cut your locks? Never. It's a way of life more than a hairstyle. It's part of me and who I am.

If you are the best-dressed Texan, who is second-best? Kareem Jackson

Has your style changed since joining the Texans? It doesn't change. I might dress down so people don't think I'm bougie.

More to the point: He is incredibly comfortable in them. The 24-year-old wide receiver, a South Carolina native, revels in a style that can baffle his teammates. Last fall, on HBO's "Hard Knocks," he admitted a thing for man bags and Yorkies. For that, Cecil Shorts, another Texans wide receiver, called him "bougie" and "high-maintenance."

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"I'll never live that down," Hopkins says with a side smile.

He doesn't seem to be trying. "I might look at GQ magazine to see what's hot and what's not," he says. "But usually I wear 'what's not' because people talk about it more."

For now, he's focused on football. But down the line, he dreams of having his own fashion brand. Earlier this year, he teamed up with Club Monaco to release the Bennett Chino, designed for men with athletic bodies. And last year, he launched NUK Designs & Apparel, a line of shirts and caps for men and women, at NRG Stadium's Go Texan Store.

For him, style isn't just about surface flash; it's about revealing a deeper message, whether the world is ready for it or not. "There are more people of color like me," he says, "who need to be able to express themselves as far as fashion."

Recently, in a wide-ranging conversation, he talked about everything from family tragedy to his signature locks.

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Q: What was it like growing up in Clemson, S.C.?

A: The only thing you had to do was be active and play sports. I had older siblings who would always bully me in sports. I always knew I wanted to be better than them one day.

Q: Did you play football?

A: Actually, ever since I was little, I can remember playing basketball, even if it was on a goal that didn't have a backboard. My siblings, even my sister, played football. She played for two years until she got to middle school, and they wouldn't let her play.

Q: Didn't you play soccer, too?

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A: I did. I didn't play legit soccer on teams, but I would play with friends who played (NCAA) Division I soccer. My best friend growing up also played soccer, and I would go over to his house and be his test goalie.

Q: When did you know you had a serious football career?

A: I didn't play football until my ninth-grade year. I was a basketball player, and no one could get me to go on a football field. Finally, some friends dragged me out to play football in my 10th-grade year. My first game was against the No. 1 team in the state, and I had three interceptions. It was my first high school football game. I didn't know how big it was to have three interceptions, then all the media showed up. I thought, "This could be my career."

Q: Whom did you look up to as a child?

A: My uncle, Terry Smith, who was my mom's brother. He played at Clemson University and was really the first one in the family to play Division I football. He played a year or two as a free agent for the Indianapolis Colts. He was my idol growing up. I always wanted to be like him. He passed when I was about 7 or 8.

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Q: What's your fondest memory of him?

A: I remember when I dropped a lollipop on the ground one time, and it was dirty. He put it in his mouth to clean off the dirt off and gave it to me. That's my greatest memory of him.

Q: Who are the women who raised you?

A: I had my mom (Sabrina Greenlee) and a godmother (Frances Hicks). She and my mom played a pivotal role in raising me because I didn't have a father. (He died in a car accident.) My mom had three kids, so my godmother would take that burden off of her, help her out and get me to games. She knew my mom couldn't do everything. They both were there for me. Having them raise me made me respect what women go through.

Q: Your mother became legally blind after an assault. Can you tell us about it?

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A: About 12 years ago, a woman who had been having an affair with my mother's boyfriend threw acid on her, which left her blind. She had to have skin grafted from her legs to her face. She almost lost her life. It was devastating for the family because my mom was a single mom and took care of all of us. We made good grades, and she stayed on top of us. So when that happened, it took a couple of years for her to regain her strength and for her to go out in public. After that, it took her some time to do normal things again and cope with being blind. She's still very beautiful.

Q: How does her blindness impact you?

A: It's my motivation every day to go out and give all I have. It makes me appreciate things like the ability to see. When you have someone in your family whose vision is impaired, it gives you a whole different perspective on life. I just wake up every day blessed and happy. I can't complain because I know what she's going through.

Q: That's very mature.

A: I had to grow up fast.

Q: Anything you would change about your childhood?

A: Nothing at all. My father died when I was 6 months old. He and my mom were engaged. They were about to get married. I didn't know him, but that alone gives me the drive to be the best human being I can be.

Q: You've been supportive of the gay community. Is that because of your sister?

A: I really didn't understand it when I was young. She was the first girl I encountered who had a girlfriend. We always knew growing up. You learn to appreciate people for who they are. You can't judge them about what they like or what they want to do, especially if they are your family member. My sister gives me a different perspective about gay people in general. I don't look at them any differently. We're all human beings.

Q: What was it like moving from your small hometown to Houston?

A: I knew nothing about Houston until I got here at the airport. I didn't even know where in Texas it was. But once I got here, I had a bunch of people welcome me with open arms. (Former Texans wide receiver) Andre Johnson was a guy who played a crucial role in me maturing. He taught me the ropes - what to do, what not to do, who to hang out with. So I had a great role model to help me cope with the big-city life.

Q: What did Andre tell you to do and not to do?

A: He told me to make sure to enjoy the restaurants in the city, to enjoy the city and all it has to offer. He told me to embrace the city, the people and show the people I'm like them. He told me, "Don't be the guy that they only see on TV." He also told me not to hang out after 2 a.m.

Q: What has it been like to play for the Texans?

A: I love it. The organization is like family. Everybody is friendly, and they speak to you even outside the football field. They care about you as a person, not just working for them. A lot of people here have played in other places, and they just brag about Houston.

Q: Where did your nickname, Nuk, come from?

A: Nuk came about when I was a baby. My mom said Nuk was the only brand of pacifier I would take. She said I would chew them up, so she had to keep going to the store and buy more. She said I was the only one of her kids to tear up pacifiers.

Q: Do you consider yourself a role model?

A: Definitely, and that means the world to me. That means I have to carry myself well everywhere I go, on and off the field. It means being accountable and doing things that are right when no one is looking.

Q: What brings you joy?

A: Seeing other people happy brings me joy - being able to put a smile on someone else's face.

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Joy Sewing is a news columnist for the Houston Chronicle, reporting and opining on issues including social justice, politics, race, education, health care and inequity. She can be reached at joy.sewing@houstonchronicle.com.

The Houston native is the author of "Ava and the Prince: The Adventures of Two Rescue Pups," a children's book about her own rescue boxer dogs. She also is the founder of Year Of Joy, a nonprofit organization that spreads joy to children from underserved communities. A former competitive ice skater, Sewing became Houston's first African American figure skating coach while in college. She currently serves as vice president of the Houston Association of Black Journalists and has been an adjunct journalism professor at the University of Houston.