Sportswear Marketing Is Getting Nicher by the Day
Plus, an interview with veteran talent exec Jose Diaz, whose client roster includes Stefon Diggs, DK Metcalf, Travis Hunter, Deion Sanders and many more.
Hi everyone, and welcome back to SportsVerse, my twice-weekly newsletter that tells stories you can’t find anywhere else about the intersection of sports, fashion, business, and culture.
Tuesday’s newsletter was all about Skims. Today’s newsletter is all about skimming stones and why On is linking up with the sport’s (?) most prolific athlete for its latest collaboration.
The second part of today’s newsletter is an interview with veteran talent exec Jose Diaz, EVP Strategic Partnerships at SMAC Entertainment, the agency co-founded by Constance Schwartz-Morini and NFL legend-turned-entrepreneur and media personality Michael Strahan.
One thing I love about our world is that there is no seemingly limit to what can be considered a sport.
Sportswear brands are getting increasingly creative when it comes to finding niche sports or pursuits to help generate interest around new collections or collaborations — even if said sport has no relation to the brand’s core product offering.
The latest such example is Swiss sportswear giant On’s collaboration with Japanese menswear royalty Beams and American outdoors gear retailer REI. The collection is a capsule of fashion-forward trail gear, from €230 hiking shoes to T-shirts and outerwear.
Sure, the products are sweet. But what piqued my interest was the campaign, a beautiful set of images and a video shot in the picturesque Pacific Northwest, which shows world record holder for stone skipping, Kurt Steiner, doing what he does best. Steiner (the LeBron James of stone skipping), who set the Guinness World Record for 88 consecutive skips in 2013, is shown in the video posted by On earlier this week launching a stone out on a glassy lake with Mount Rainier towering in the background.
The collection and campaign are presented as an ode to the three continents represented by each part of the collaboration, and the prominent mountains that characterise them (Beams — Mount Fuji; On — Matterhorn; REI — Mount Rainier).
It’s a calming, quirky and fun way to showcase the joys of the outdoors, and remind consumers of the environment the clothing and footwear are designed to be enjoyed in.
It reminds me of Nike’s recent choice to use a fictitious Antiguan cricket team in a campaign to market the latest collection of its streetwear label Nocta, run in partnership with Canadian rapper Drake.
Just like stone skipping to On’s collection here, cricket has very little bearing on the clothing Nike actually proposes to sell. Nike isn’t about to start selling cricket gear, nor is On about to begin developing performance clothing and footwear for stone skimmers the world over.
But both brands acknowledged that in today’s hyper-congested sportswear market, you need to look beyond your immediate universe for sources of inspiration in order to be seen or heard — or for your products to be remembered by the time they hit the shelves.
Sportswear brands are often guilty of taking themselves far too seriously. After all, they’re only selling clothes for us to sweat in. I think that’s why On’s marketing has continued to resonate as the brand has grown over the years. It encourages people to “Dream On”, it tells people to take it easy while other brands are screaming at you to run faster or jump higher or act cooler, and it isn’t afraid to cast a reclusive stone skimming world record holder from Pennsylvania in a campaign promoting a collection of fashion-forward trail and hiking gear.
It’s an excellent use of free will (and marketing budget). Because when you’re a brand expecting to clear $3 billion in annual revenue in 2025, why not have a little fun while you’re at it?
A conversation with Jose Diaz, EVP Strategic Partnerships, SMAC Entertainment
Jose Diaz has been a part of SMAC Enertainment —the agency co-founded by Constance Schwartz-Morini and NFL legend-turned-entrepreneur and media personality Michael Strahan — since the inception of the business. He recently sat down with SportsVerse to talk all things brand building for athletes at the intersection of sports, fashion and wider culture.
DYM: How did you get started working in this space?
Jose: I wanted to be a tour manager at first. I interned for Constance when she was managing Snoop Dogg, and that turned into joining her company. About 15 years ago she partnered with Michael Strahan to launch what became SMAC Entertainment. We literally started at Constance’s kitchen table, and now we manage 24 clients across LA and New York. I began as an assistant, then day-to-day manager for our sports guys, then moved into endorsements and brand partnerships. Today I oversee talent strategy, partnerships, and communications. I’ve stayed because the company evolved as I did, and I’ve had space to grow. From early on, the philosophy was that clients weren’t just athletes—they had passions beyond the field. Michael Strahan is the best example: he’s now known more for morning TV than football.
How has the landscape for athletes shifted since you began?
Jose: In the ’90s, Deion Sanders created “Prime,” a brand before branding was even called that. When we started, Michael was unusual in pursuing things outside football. Now it’s expected. Athletes have production companies, they host events, they build brands. It’s no longer an exception, it’s the norm. Michael really pioneered that shift—he poured blood, sweat, and tears into building not only our company but his own projects.
How do you approach fashion and brand partnerships in relation to your athlete clients?
Jose: Authenticity is everything. Fans and consumers are too smart—they’ll see through something that doesn’t connect. With fashion specifically, athletes care about how they look in tunnels, what shoes they wear, and what fits. Those off-field looks are valuable content, so we build that into deal structures. Fashion has become a major driver of partnerships.
What’s the value of an athlete like Stefon Diggs, one of your clients, working with a brand such as Ugg, seemingly worlds away from the NFL?
Jose: Ugg is iconic, but Stefon brings them a different audience and consumer base they may not have had before. He was active in the creative—how it was portrayed, how his shoes were styled—so the campaign really connected to his fan base.
Tell me about working with [Mexican flag football sensation and NFL ambassador] Diana Flores.
Jose: We started working together before her Super Bowl commercial, and we knew that ad would change her trajectory. Flag football is exploding—over 100 million players worldwide. Mexico just won gold at the Continental Championships, and the sport will debut in the 2028 Olympics. Diana has become one of the sport’s top ambassadors. Her partners include Under Armour, Invisalign, Gatorade, and Oakley, all investing heavily in flag and in her. We’ve hosted youth flag camps in Mexico City with her—100 elite girls in the first year, 150 in the second. When I asked her about goals, every answer was about the sport: making it sanctioned in U.S. schools, creating more access, driving education. None of it was about herself. That’s rare.
Do you advise clients on fashion week and other cultural appearances?
Jose Diaz: Yes, but it depends on their personal interest. Stefon, DK Metcalf, Diana—they all value fashion. Deion has a stylist but is very particular about what he wears. Diana shares a stylist with Deion, and I’ve seen her walk the ESPYs red carpet with bruises from tournaments. She still takes it seriously. That mix—glam on the carpet with battle scars from the sport—is powerful. We don’t push them into spaces they don’t care about, but when they do, we help them navigate.
What are you working on with DK Metcalf [Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver]?
Diaz: He’s acting in a VR movie right now. I sat in on the motion-capture sessions—it was incredible to watch. For us, it’s about clients who are hungry and willing to trust the team. DK works hard on the field and invests that same energy off it. He’s open to new ventures and committed to doing the work.
Finally, what’s your vision for [Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver] Travis Hunter?
Jose: Travis is a gamer, a family man, and he loves fishing—if he could fish all day, he would. That’s the authenticity we lean into. From Jackson State to Colorado to the pros, we saw his potential early, and now the country sees it too. His Adidas campaign featured him fishing, which fit perfectly. He’s done national commercials with Celsius, stuck with long-term partners, and is very driven. He’s a generational talent, and it’s been incredible to help shape his brand.
That’s all for today, friends. Thanks for coming along for the ride. And thanks to Jose for joining us today.
See you next week,
DYM
Great analysis and interview! Appreciate you!
This made me chuckle, it’s so true: “After all, they’re only selling clothes for us to sweat in.”