Social media has become stale and brand-safe, stifling athletes' authenticity. Some are looking for new ways to regain control of their narratives and grow their media empires.
I am a former athlete (not with Westbrook's profile I'd hasten to say!) and have long thought I'd like to help these kinds of athletes write newsletters and found it weird no-one was really doing it. Good for him and he's the exact kind of multi-faceted person to make something interesting out of it
doing a good job of it is probably a bigger lift than the social platforms and I think it needs specific people with different interests they're willing to share.
who do you think would be good at it? I'd like to hear from Jaylen Brown and Hector Bellerin among others
Super interesting and completely agree with you that a newsletter can be a more engaging and deeper way for players to continue their legacy beyond their post-career, but more so to control their own narrative. The 'post-career' dilemma is such a big taboo amongst them, yet something that most of them struggle with. It made me wonder if there are some specific companies (tech or non) targeting that
I wrote a handbook about this for athletes! it's led me to run some events and do some content for UK Sport with athletes pursuing the Olympic sports.
there are a lot of recruitment companies trying to help them and monetise the transition from competition to something else - they often focus on athletes and the armed services as a niche
Do we know if he's going to write it himself or if it's more of teamwork? Nothing wrong if it's the latter, btw. I'm just curious. Sharapova way back in the day had a big that she'd write herself and it was so good that today she'd have landed a Vogue or Vanity Fair columnist kinda gig. French tennis player Alizé Cornet has published two novels. So yeah, soft spot here for the athletes who can write ;)
Side note: I really hope this creators-to-newsletters trend isn't going to be the thing that starts the decline of the newsletter business and culture as we know it. Let's hope for the best!
I am a former athlete (not with Westbrook's profile I'd hasten to say!) and have long thought I'd like to help these kinds of athletes write newsletters and found it weird no-one was really doing it. Good for him and he's the exact kind of multi-faceted person to make something interesting out of it
I couldn’t agree more! Seems like such an obvious opportunity that so many athletes and their teams aren’t taking up
doing a good job of it is probably a bigger lift than the social platforms and I think it needs specific people with different interests they're willing to share.
who do you think would be good at it? I'd like to hear from Jaylen Brown and Hector Bellerin among others
Super interesting and completely agree with you that a newsletter can be a more engaging and deeper way for players to continue their legacy beyond their post-career, but more so to control their own narrative. The 'post-career' dilemma is such a big taboo amongst them, yet something that most of them struggle with. It made me wonder if there are some specific companies (tech or non) targeting that
I wrote a handbook about this for athletes! it's led me to run some events and do some content for UK Sport with athletes pursuing the Olympic sports.
there are a lot of recruitment companies trying to help them and monetise the transition from competition to something else - they often focus on athletes and the armed services as a niche
https://amzn.to/4leDkK2
Never knew Westbrook was behind Honor the Gift! It’s such a good brand
Do we know if he's going to write it himself or if it's more of teamwork? Nothing wrong if it's the latter, btw. I'm just curious. Sharapova way back in the day had a big that she'd write herself and it was so good that today she'd have landed a Vogue or Vanity Fair columnist kinda gig. French tennis player Alizé Cornet has published two novels. So yeah, soft spot here for the athletes who can write ;)
Side note: I really hope this creators-to-newsletters trend isn't going to be the thing that starts the decline of the newsletter business and culture as we know it. Let's hope for the best!