My Favorite Duane’s

There’s power in a name.

Your name also gives you a bond to many people around the world and throughout history.

I’ve searched far and wide for the best representatives that share my name. Here’s a list of my favorite Duane’s (I’m including all spellings because this is a brotherhood).

1. Dwyane Wade

Heat icon. Champion. Great father. What’s not to love about D-Wade?

I got to see him play live in the 2011 Finals. Unfortunately the game didn’t go our way (Dallas won the game and the championship that day— sigh).

His Fall 7 Times, Stand up 8 commercial is something that I carry with me everyday.

I’ll always remember him for his crazy step back, smooth Eurostep, and fierce competitiveness. He’s one of my favorite basketball players of all time.

2. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

Can you smelllllllllllllll, what The Rock… is cookin’?

That saying (and many others from him) rang out loudly from my mouth as a youth. Even then, we knew that The Rock was much bigger than wrestling. He grew up in the attitude era of wrestling and has carried that charisma to new heights.

Seeing what he has grown into today in becoming one of America’s most beloved figures is special.

But I’ll always remember him for his verbal assaults (and his underrated film, The Game Plan).

3. Dwayne McDuffie

He’s a Dwayne we lost far too soon (he passed away at 49). Dwayne McDuffie’s name may not be as recognizable as the others but he’s the comic book writer and producer that gave us the Static Shock, Justice League Unlimited, and Ben 10. He also co-founded Milestone Media which helped push more underrepresented minorities in comics.

Luckily for us, his work will live on. Milestone comics and Michael B Jordan are helping to bring Static Shock back to the masses in the coming years.

RIP legend.

4. Duane “Dewey” Pearsall

This famous Duane is known for developing and marketing the first battery-powered home smoke detector in 1965.

Let’s just humbly say this is a big deal.

He was an investor and entrepreneur and even won the National Small Business Person of the Year award in 1976. He also won the Fire Protection Man of the Year in 1980 and that just sounds coolest title to hold. Later in life he helped found a few venture clubs in Colorado and even has a award named after him from The Rockies Ventures Club.

A great guy. A great legacy. A Great Duane.

5. Bill Parcells

Wait, what? You thought this was a post about Duane’s — well it is! The famous football coach Bill Parcels’ first name is Duane!

He’s known for leading the New York Giants to two Super Bowl titles in the 90s.

His legacy is also in his coaching tree, the individuals who were assistants under him while he was a head coach. These include Mike Zimmer (Minnesota Vikings), Sean Payton (New Orleans Saints), and Bill Belichick (New England Patriots).

He’s one of the best coaches of all time. And a Duane.

Honorable Mentions:

Dwayne “Lil Wayne” Carter - He was much higher on the list 15 years ago. We’re grown apart over the years but I’ll always appreciate The Carter I and II.

Duane Martin - For a while, he was the only other person I knew that spelled his name the same way as myself. It’s always inspiring to see you name on the TV screen (even if it’s technically not your name) so many of his early roles in White Men Can’t Jump and Above the Rim left a huge impression on me.

The world is better off because of the many Duane’s that have come before me.