June 4, 2025 • 39 mins
Sophie Goldschmidt didn’t grow up in snow sports—but now she’s leading them into a new era. As CEO of U.S. Ski & Snowboard, she’s shaking up a traditionally insular space with entrepreneurial thinking, global strategy, and a clear mission: to turn Olympic-level athletes into household names. She talks to Laura about breaking through the four-year awareness cycle, creating premium brand partnerships, and how a chairlift ride might just be the best meeting in marketing.
02:28 Sophie's Journey in Sports
04:14 Leading US Ski and Snowboard
14:47 Expanding into Travel and Hospitality
23:48 Creative Content and Athlete Inspiration
26:43 Strategic Partnerships and Brand Collaborations
31:48 Challenges and Resilience of Athletes
34:38 Global Audience and Fan Engagement
37:55 Sponsorship and Financial Support
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
You know, I think we want of a very few
sports where you can literally race and ski on the
cours that then the best athletes in the world are
going to be going down. You can go out get
a few runs snowboarding or skiing in the morning and
then watch the athletes compete right there. That just doesn't
really exist.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Welcome back to Courtside, where we break down the business
of women's sports with the leaders shaping its next era.
I'm your host, Laura Crenty, and today we're moving slope side,
so put on your park up and grab your skis.
My guest is Sophie Goldschmidt, CEO of US Ski and
Snowboard and a powerhouse executive whose career has taken her
across the global sports landscape, from rugby to tennis, basketball
(00:40):
to brand marketing. Sophie's been in leadership at some of
the most influential organizations in sport, including the WTA, the NBA,
the RFU, and even the World Surf League. Now she's
bringing that expansive international playbook to Park City, where she's
building a future for winter sports that's faster, more inclusive,
and undeniably boulder. In this conversation, Sophie and I get
(01:01):
into what it means to lead a national governing sport
body in twenty twenty five, including how to balance nonprofit
structure while welcoming commercial investment, the value of the lifestyle
around snowsports, and the incredible untold stories of how brave
and elite these athletes are. If you care about innovative leadership,
totally new sponsorship opportunities, and three hundred and sixty degree
brand building, this.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
One's for you.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Let's go slope side, Sophie Goldschmidt. Welcome to court side.
Thank you delighted to be here. Well, Sophie, I'm so
thrilled to have you. Coming off of an incredible season,
so many great updates in the world of snow and ski,
namely some big stars like Lindsay Vaughan coming back, Mikaela
Schiffer and overcoming a pretty gruesome injury, and the countdown
(01:43):
to Milan. Courtinez on it is yeah, Calm Waits and
like you said, we had a great season on the snow.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Our athletes excelled and made us proud in all sorts
of ways, and if you can believe it, they're back
on snow already preparing for next season.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
I know it's unbelievable considering we've just got through More Day,
which is the unofficial start of the summer in Jersey.
But my husband was just telling me somewhere up north,
I want to say, in New Hampshire this week got
incredible amount of snow. So I guess the world still
wants to ski.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Yeah, that's right. Yeah, We've got athletes scattered around the
world chasing snow. They can't get enough.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Before we get into all of the current and future
endeavors in and around snow and ski, i'd love to
just talk about your journey. When was the first time
you fell in love with sport and which one was it?
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Yeah, good question. So I fell in love with a
lot of sports at a young age. I actually grew
up in Wimbledon. Sounds a bit corny, but that it
is actually a place, not just a tennis tournament. So yeah.
So tennis was definitely very close to my heart from
a young age, and that's what I really got obsessed
with and initially was what brought me to the US
as well. I came over here on a tennis scholarship,
(02:48):
went to college at Bayla and that sort of opened
my eyes to what sort of the sports industry wasn't
and could be because at that stage the US was
still so advanced from what was happening back across the
pond in Europe. And yeah, that sort of got me,
you know, on the ladder. And I actually started out
working in tennis and then have had the chance to
work for the NBA and basketball in rugby. I was
(03:11):
on the board of the PGA European Tour for a while.
In surfing, worked on the agency side, and now working
for Fuski and Snowboards. So my first time on the
winter side. But it's been awesome, learning a lot and
have been very lucky to have, you know, various fantastic
opportunities throughout my career. That's amazing.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
I guess. Yeah, you can't grow up in wimbled in
a not touch tennis in some respect. Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Still very close to my heart, I have to say,
when I look at sports results each day, I'm kind
of always drawn to see what's happening on the tennis weld.
Obviously Roland Garross going on at the moment, which is
exciting to see them getting all messy on the dirt
over there, but I'm an avid sports fan, especially with
women's sports, but I love to be honest, all sports
and follow them closely, both from a personal and professional perspective.
(03:57):
So how lucky am I to be kind of doing
what I love? And what made you say yes to
the snow and ski role? What did that look like?
Speaker 2 (04:03):
And how did you decide ultimately like this is the
right time, right opportunity to take this on.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Yeah, it's a good question. I mean, to be honest,
I kind of thought I was done working in sort
of more traditional sort of sports organizations and having those
kind of roles after the World Surf Leak, because I've
also done a bit on water as well, dodging sharks
and various other things. That was quite an adventure. But
this was really compelling because I felt they're a set
of sports. So we oversee ten different sports on skis
(04:29):
and snowboards, and these amazing athletes, two hundred and fifty
athletes that we kind of fully fun to achieve their dreams,
and I felt, well, they were in a good place.
There was a lot of untapped potential. I was an
avid skier. I love to be in the mountains. I
sort of have an adventure streak in me so love
to be outdoors, and I just felt I should know
(04:49):
more about these sports and athletes. They're doing superhuman feats,
competing in a very very competitive environment with amazing athletes
from around the world, and their stories, you know, aren't
being told like they should be. And then you look
at the commercial side of it. There's almost twenty million
people that scial snowboard in the US alone, that's all
as many is play goal for tennis. So it's also
(05:09):
a significant audience, very high net worth. So I felt
commercially there have to be more opportunities to really help
these sports cut through. So never say never, I dive
back into sort of a more similar role but with
huge untapped potential. And also the way we're structured allows
us to be really entrepreneurial. We kind of control our
whole ecosystem, whether it's the events, the relationships with the athletes,
(05:32):
the broadcast rights, new you know, ventures and business opportunities
that we can get into which we can get onto
later on. But for example, we're launching a new travel
and experiences business and we're able to do that without
having to get a lot of buying from different owners
and teams and that kind of thing. So while we're
not for profit, which maybe you know, does put us
(05:53):
in a slightly different area, that doesn't mean we can't
be really entrepreneurial and very commercially minded. So I've kind
of relished that challenge and people have been very open
minded to doing things differently. Look, I certainly wasn't their
sort of typical high the fact that I didn't come
from snowsports. I think maybe some might have thought could
be a disadvantage, but actually I think they'd take me
at face value. I haven't got these pre existing sort
(06:15):
of ideas or deep rooted relationships that therefore I'm doing
things for political reasons. It's sort of what you see
is what you get, and hopefully, you know, the experience
that I've had from other sports is going to make
an impact. I'm certainly really excited with sort of the
trajectory of growth over the last couple of years. But yeah,
it's been an awesome job, as good as any role
I've had. I'm really loving it.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
I love to hear that you're expanding into things like hospitality.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
Let's talk about the model.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Can you talk about what that entails and how your
athletes play within your overall season circuit and what that
means to be an Olympics or out of Olympics.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
We're what you call a national governing body, so we
sit yes in the Olympic movement. Our sports a part
of the Olympics, are ten sports make up about sixty
five seventy percent of Team USA and the Winter team,
and the Olympics is obviously a huge moment every four years.
We're planning we have been since about two days after
Beijing finished for Milan Cortina in February next year. But
(07:13):
that is just one moment every four years. Well, I
think a lot of the American audience maybe on as
familiar with is that our athletes actually compete on what
we call a World Cup circuit every season. So it's
sort of analogous to a PGA Tour or a WTA
or even a left one circuit where basically pretty much
every weekend from the end of October until the beginning
of April, they're competing against the best athletes in the
(07:35):
world on a circuit of events that more and more
of them are taking place in the US, which has
been a big goal of ours. We've almost doubled the
number of World Cups over the last couple of years,
which is huge, but they spend a lot of their
time competing in Europe and they have the opportunity to
win World Cup races every weekend, which are big moments,
but ultimately, what defines the best athlete is who finishes
(07:56):
top of the rankings at the end of season, so
we can week out, that's what they're striving for. I mean,
you muld ask some athletes actually to win a globe,
which is what you win if you finish number one
in the rankings at the end of the season. Really
determines the best athlete rather than sort of one race
or a couple of races at the Olympics. So yeah,
trying to educate the US audience on what that structure
(08:19):
is and how competitive it is and who are you know,
the main athletes that we're competing with, which of our
athletes are kind of dominating on a global level, is
a big part of our job, and I think we've
made some good progress. We've got a long way to go,
but that's also what I love. I mean, week in
week out, we're trying to be the best, and in
this role, I actually get to see oversee the sports side,
(08:39):
not just the business side, because the athletes sit under
our umbrella. They qualify for a team, We have a
criteria and we actually just not named those that have
been nominated to make the team for next season. So
it's about two hundred and fifty athletes across these different sports,
and then we oversee their training schedule, their competitive schedule,
obviously with input from those of the closes them. For us,
(09:00):
it's a real partnership which I also love. You know,
our athletes are the most important part of our organization
covering all of these different sports, and I want to
be their best and most important partner as well. So
we fund everything that they need to be an elite athlete,
and with that they give us certain things in return,
whether that's you know, commercial rights, appearances, doing different sort
(09:22):
of broadcast initiatives, and then they're able obviously to make
money as an independent individual as well. But it's a
really interesting sort of dichotomy with our sports because they
do compete as individuals again like in tennis or f
one or golf, et cetera. But in our sports you
really need to be part of a team because the
training requires the speed of someone else to make sure
(09:43):
that you're getting faster from a danger perspective, you need
numerous coaches along the slopes to make sure from a
safety standpoint that everything's in check. So they really are
very dependent on each other and they train together sometimes
men and women as well, but definitely you need other
ap fleets around you. But yet you're competing with those
athletes on a daily basis as well. So I think
(10:05):
culturally that actually makes the sport really special, the values
and the support and just the respect they have for
each other's bravery. I mean when they get down downhill
course having gone at almost one hundred miles an hour
with no safety protection around them, and they make it
and they see actually someone do even better and come down,
they're like, oh my god, that was freaking awesome. Yeah,
such respect. Yeah, you're putting your body on the line,
(10:26):
you're too intes hey, if you get the turn wrong,
you're careering into the side netting and it's freaking dangerous.
So yeah, so that's been really really interesting for me
to get my arms around because it is so different
just structurally to other sports.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
I love the analogy though, to the PGA and the WTA.
I think it's a hopeful frame of reference, especially for
the US market and just understanding the competitive circuit that exists.
So let's talk about the awareness and the storytelling because
I think, you know, one of the biggest challenges for
over indexing Olympic sports in which I would consider snow
and key. You know, the times you start to think
(11:02):
about some of these incredible athletes is around these big
ones every four year moments. How are you looking to
combat that from a storytelling perspective to really start to
break through the zeitgeist.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Yeah, Look, it does come down to storytelling for sure,
and we're trying to create this mindset of really being
just a three six y five content engine. I mean,
given the number of athletes we have and what they're
doing sort of in the prep period as well as
during the season, there's so many different angles we have
and the individual side and then the camaraderie between them
(11:32):
and the team behind the team. But I think also
something that's really struck me as these athletes are just
so well rounded. Look, a few of them do very
well financially, but still, relatively speaking compared to other athletes,
I think they're very underpaid and I'm as determined as
anyone to change that because they deserve to make more
money both prize money wise and from endorsements and on
the marketing side. But because of that, they just have
(11:53):
an appreciation, you know, like anything they do get any
support they do get means a lot because they know
that it can you know, end at any moment, and
then they're kind of on their own. And these sports
are really expensive to participate in, so a lot of
them are doing further education, some of them have second
or third jobs, and that just makes them very relatable,
but very well rounded, culturally interesting human beings. I would
(12:16):
say more so than the average athlete. I think I
can say that having worked in a lot of different sports.
I mean there's a lot of other amazing athletes out.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
There, and that many sports you're flying down one hundred
miles an hour with no safety guards.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
So yeah, there's just something a little bit more real
about them. So I think the storytelling is definitely a
huge opportunity for US, also having more major moments. Look,
the US is a very competitive landscape, which is awesome,
but it means you've got a punch above your weight
and get creative, so hence really trying to have more
World Cup events in the US so that we can
have these major moments where people cut through, you know,
(12:48):
just another average event. It's tough for the American audience
to really sort of tune into that. So for example,
this year we had the Stifol some value World Cup
Finals to finish the season, the best men and women
in the world across all for alpine disciplines. NBC and
outside really supported it. It got some great exposure and coverage.
Lindsey Vaughn got her first podium, having come back in
(13:10):
an incredible way. So those big moments, I think are
also key for us. That we've got Milan Cartina next year,
which will be awesome. We actually just came off doing
the NBC shoot last week and the build up to that.
We now have this nine year north Star with the
next US Home Winter Games here in our backyard in Utah,
which is going to be amazing. So that's really key.
(13:31):
And then also to grow the sport, finding the right
partners that can help us tell ours stories. You know
that marketing muscle and resource and investment is really key.
And while we've grown a lot, we're still not for
profit and we're mindful of where we spend our money.
We don't have the budgets of the NBA or the
NFL or even WNBA now you look at what they're doing,
but our partners can be that voice for us. So
(13:52):
whether it's Defaul, whether it's Jakrue, whether it's Kappa Toyota,
when we become more a priority within their marketing budget,
that really helps us to connect with a new audience.
So yeah, there's various different ways. It's certainly not a
one size fits all.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
Let's talk about this new endeavor into the travel and hospitality,
but can you talk about why you decided to move
into this new area and how you sort of see
that being additive to versus just integrated in the World
Cup circuit for now. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
Absolutely, So it came about for a couple of reasons.
First of all, we've had success in signing quite a
few new partners over the last couple of years, and
they also have their own objectives and sign with us
for slightly different reasons. But one thing they just continue
to lean into more and more is these money com't
buy experiences. You know, I think we're one of the only,
well very few sports where you can literally race and
(14:57):
ski on the course that then the best athletes in
the world are going to be going down. You can
go out, get a few runs snowboarding or skiing in
the morning and then watch the athletes compete right there.
That just doesn't really exist. And I think all of
these new partners were blown away by how many of
their clients and key kind of stakeholders love our sports.
They don't need to be that good at it. You know,
(15:18):
you can be very average or actually learn for the
first time. But it was like, wow, we can be
in this environment. We can give them someone that no
one else can. And we're also going to these fantastic
locations and so you know, selling hospitality sponsorships linked to
these unique sort of experiences became more and more valuable.
We then also signed a partnership with cloud Flair. It
(15:39):
was the first time they've done anythings significantly in sports.
It was great on the technology side for us, they're
the leading cyber security company in the world, but they
also wanted to cut through in a different way. Davos,
the World Economic Forum, was a big platform for them,
and they decided they want to sort of turn it
on its head and take business to the mountains. And
so we took over the Davos mount We bought in
(16:00):
four of our lead athletes, some of our former greades,
and they've never had a event that's been so oversubscribed.
And you had the leading you know, CEOs and some
decision makers. Of course, it's big companies, and I was like, wow, okay,
this just keeps kind of happening. We also have a
very good value but quite expensively priced program around the
Olympics called the Champions Club. It also got over subscribe.
(16:23):
We could sell it out twice and we never even
marketed it. So I'm like, okay, right, enough of this.
Let's get into this business in a big way rather
than it being kind of something on the side. That's
part of the partnership. Given this twenty million audience that
is high net worth and wants to be part of
connecting with the great American athletes and going to these
places where we can give them a behind the scenes
(16:45):
look that you just can't get on your own. So
that's sort of what you know, forced us, or not
forced us, encouraged me to come up with this idea,
and yeah, can't wait to get going on it. We're
actually finalizing who we're going to hire to lead it.
We're going to likely John venture with another company too
to help us want some of the resource and operations
that we need on the back end of it. But
(17:05):
I think it can be a major business for us.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Who's net new dream partner for you? For our marketing
audience that's listening, who should we be inviting to the table?
Speaker 1 (17:15):
Well, from a brand perspective, I mean anyone that wants
to really provide unique experiences that are very authentic where
you can integrate and meet some of the most inspiring
athletes in the world. I mean our list is pretty
long and we actually have quite a diverse group of partners.
But then also these different hospitality companies, you know, whether
(17:35):
it's the on Locations or other companies like that. I
think they're always looking for these different angles and each
year you've got to elevate. You know what you are
and what you can do. So yeah, look, who knows
how big it can be. But we're quite excited to
get it launched. How do you see it helping to
build business? Because I do see it as a really
interesting way to curate events for marketers, media companies, off
(17:58):
sites for corporations. They can and should be thinking about
us now and sky to tap into some of these womens,
you already have to be additive to create that business environment.
Is that something you're seeing happening naturally at these events? Absolutely? Yeah.
I mean we have a very influential group of stakeholders
connected to our sport, you know, decision makers from across
various different industries, and when you come to our bigger
(18:21):
World Cup events, it's pretty who's who of folks that
a lot of brands and other marketers would like to
be around. And actually, is that sort of a test case.
We did an event for the first time the women
raced at an iconic course called Birds of Prey, and
being a women's sports fan, you'll appreciate this, and we
were trying to have the women's ski there for a
while and the head of the men's race was like,
(18:44):
it's going to degrade the men's race to have the women.
I'm like, I can't believe you're saying that out loud,
Like that's just so inappropriate. So no, it's not true.
And secondly he's like, well, also, women can't skip, it's
too hot. They're going to hurt themselves. Someone's going to
kill themselves and it's going to you know, just put
the race out of action. Even the men won't be
able to ski there. Well, what not only did the
(19:04):
women kill it, No one had any injury. They skied brilliantly,
loved it, and we had the biggest crowd we've ever
had at that. It's amazing.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
And also Birds of Prey is just a badass name
for female skiing momentary.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
Yeah, you visualize what it's going to be like. But
I mentioned it because around that, together with CNBC Liontry
and together we bought a bunch of really influential women
to an event see it in person. They couldn't all
ski or snowboard. Some came for at Prey, which was
awesome because that's a big part of what we do
in these amazing locations. But they just got a different
(19:39):
sort of appreciation and there was some great meetings and
business taking place and sort of what I mentioned earlier
about cloud Flare. They were really blown away by the
convening of different business minds. Again, some just met us
for lunch on the mountain. If people did ski and snowboard,
the beauty of our sport too is which sometimes gets
a little bit frustrating, but you to spend a lot
of time on the shell lift. You take five minutes
(20:00):
to go up in a minute to come down, so
actually you do get a lot of quality time. And
as I've experienced many times, having a conversation with someone
on a chairlift in a beautiful spot, you get into
a different level of sort of depth and understanding than
you would in an office. It just does.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
I love this as a tactic. The next time might
come out for a skiing trip and make it business.
I'm just going to just go on the chairlifts and
just book my meetings.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
Yeah, this is strategic and you'll bump into all sorts
of amazing people. I love it.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
So if we talk about the audience, can you talk
about who the core consumer audience is of the snow
and ski universe, and then perhaps more broadly, who you
see coming in, perhaps as a result of people jumping
on and following specific athletes or the expansion of the
sport with this World Cup season.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
So look, it's twenty million and growing is trending very nicely.
Unlike most sports. I think a lot of that, you know,
silver linings and all off the back of COVID the
world has become more about outdoor experiences and being more adventurous. Actually,
you know, if you do have some disposable income, actually
not just investing in things, but actually in travel and
seeing new places. So we have that kind of mindset
(21:09):
with so many people that participate in our sports. We
have a diverse age range because we have these ten
different sports that all have slightly different personalities. So on
the snowboard and free ski side, for example, it skews
a little bit younger. I would say, we've got a
lot of more of the caller kids that are setting
trends and incredibly creative and thinking out the box. In
some of our other sports, maybe it does skew a
(21:31):
little bit older, and there's more of a sort of
competitive mindset or endurance. If you think of something like
cross country, where you look at you know, the boom
of cycling and triathletes, etc. Cross country is now doing that.
I mean cross country. The numbers are just skyrocketing, which
is super exciting. So I say that because we have
a bunch of different personalities within our sports, if I
(21:53):
can put it that way, and they each appeal to
something slightly different. Have being said that there's a lot
of common opt too, and there's definitely some themes and threads.
I mean when our athletes are here. I work in
Park City. We have our Yusana Center of Excellence here,
so we often have athletes from multiple sports training here
and it's really cool to see that dynamic. Again, there's
many more similarities than there are differences. How they inspire
(22:16):
and push each other. You know, they're doing a lot
of the same training in the gym, and then some
things that are very very different. So from a gender split,
it's about sixty forty male to female, but female participation
growing certainly on the athletic side. Many of our most
well known and successful athletes have been women, and that's
been the case for decades, which is really cool to see.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
It is so interesting as you're saying that, I'm like,
with the exception probably of Sean White, only female athletes
come to mind in this territory. How are you seeing
the next generation shape there? And are they bringing new
audiences with them using social media et cetera.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
Absolutely yeah, I mean I think they've become a lot
more savvy. Again, it's where our partnership with our athletes
I think has really benefited because of them need the
support of our social content creators and brand experts to
help them build their narrative and who they want to be.
They don't have big teams of agents and managers and
what have you around them, so we're really in it together,
(23:13):
which has been great and helps us to kind of
shape it and makes us more valuable to each other.
But yeah, there's Savvian especially within some of our sports.
They get their inspiration and they push themselves to new
levels by being creative. So for example, on the snowboard
free skiers, they compete regularly, but in their downtime they're
going to the out back furthest points you away from
(23:35):
sort of civilization in the mountains to capture the most
amazing scenery and tricks and try these never being done
before things that they do. And that's all about filming,
and they travel with a filmer before they'll travel with
a coach or a physio and then capturing that content
and bringing it to life. So they really are creative.
But if they don't have that, they can't perform competitively.
(23:56):
They need to be inspired in that way, which again
for me was a bit of a head twist. I'm like, wow,
I thought you had to go to the gym and
you know, do more sprints and lift more weights. I
mean it's a little bit similar in surfing as well,
which is where I work before. But you know, that's
been so cool to sort of appreciate and just understand
how they're wired in a different way. I mean, they're
incredibly professionally also in how they train, but you know,
(24:18):
they achieve new things. Oh, Lindsay Vaughn's workout videos are insane.
I'm like, I'm just so in awe of this woman
and everything that she's been through and continues to accomplish. Yeah,
and has totally transcender the sport obviously in so many ways.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
But she gets me out of bed. I'm like, well,
if she's doing that, the least I could do is
do it thirty minute peloton walk.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
Seriously, talking about these athletes and their storytelling, thinking about
the next generation, how do you start to think about
perhaps the media package? Right, I know you talked about
NBC and obviously such a critical partner in and around
Olympics and storytelling, but are you starting to explore new
and differentiated ways to get the word out about who
these athletes are? Where the World Cup is happening, anything
you're excited by with respect to amplification, Yeah, I mean.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
Looks social we've been across of many of us have
for a long time, and our athletes have certainly leaned
into it and are getting savvier by the day with
it all. There's also some longer form content projects that
we've done. We did one around our snowboard athletes this year.
We're actually just finalizing our deal to come out with
our version of sort of Drive to Survive, which I
(25:20):
think is going to be really cool, which will drop
leading up to the Olympics. We've got an amazing cross
country documentary that we're working with a production team on
focusing on So Jesse Diggins is currently the world's best
cross country skier. She's the only non Scandinavian to have
ever won that title and she's won it now three times.
I mean, this woman is superhuman and has been through
(25:42):
you know, some real hardships with mental health and eating disorder, etc.
And it's very honest about it and just a role
model for so many. So yeah, figuring out sort of
what are the right verticals, what are the right partners,
How can that investment model work the podcast business in
congrats to you or launching this. It's amazing. Again, these
stories can sort of take different shapes and formats, so
(26:05):
we're very open minded.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
I'm totally bringing slop side to one of your toy like,
this is going to become a thing. We're greenlighting it now.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
Yeah, we're going on the road absolutely. So yeah. Look,
I like to think of ourselves as being guinea pigs
because we don't have the same kind of oversight sort
of bodies that some organizations have, and we need to
punch above our weight. We need to be creative to
begin to compete with some of the other leagues. We're
open for business and our athletes are very flexible. The
way we control our rights we actually quite a big
(26:33):
thing for us. So working with FISTS, which is our
global governing body sort of our FIFA, we negotiated a
really big strategic partnership to now centralize all our rights.
So in the US we'll be going to the market
with our domestic rights as well as all the international rights,
so all the inbound rights coming from Europe, which at
the moment we've had to sell separately. So from a
fan perspective, it's going to be much easier to watch us.
Speaker 2 (27:07):
Obviously, there's so many different places brands can show up.
Is there anyone who's doing it different, doing it unique
thinking about the space, Like I'm like cowas Lubitan not
come in and done red Ski bottoms. But are there
creative use cases that are starting to take shape?
Speaker 1 (27:23):
Yeah, for sure. I mean, I think we've really pushed
to be honest to our partners, to activate more broadly
and just make sure we're constantly also giving them ideas
and making it easy because a lot of the big ones,
you know, have many different partners that they're trying to
activate around, So how can we kind of cut through
and become even better to work with Actually, recently got
a great compliment for NBC who said, your athletes and
(27:45):
your organization is just so user friendly. You need to
know that like you are the best to work with them.
Like that is exactly what I want every partner to say.
We're available and willing to do pretty much anything. I
think one partnership that I'm really proud of that we
signed recently is with Jake, So it's the first time
they've done something sort of significant like this in sports.
It's very much focused on the connection with lifestyle, and again,
(28:08):
having worked in a lot of different sports, these are
the ultimate lifestyle sports, you know. I said it when
I was working tennis and golf and surfing and all
of that, and for sure they cross over, but we're
much more deep rooted than the fact that we're multi generational.
I think it's one of the few sports that a
grandpa loves doing with a grandchild. And again it's because
of that time on the chairlift and having fun, being
bad together, falling over and then who doesn't love to
(28:29):
sit around a fire and have a cocktail or a
mocktail at the end of the day. So I think
that crossover into lifestyle are really interesting demographic. So for them,
you think about Kashmir and sort of the luxury off
the slopes and how they're repositioning their brand and the
places that they're going to take us to. We're actually
going to be doing some stuff at canl and hopefully
with you as well. You're on my book, so I'll
(28:51):
be seeing you there soon. And brands like that, you know,
love those opportunities, you know. Our performance partner, interestingly is Kappa,
the sort of more heritage based Italian brand which is
very retro lifestyle. So again you think of a prey.
They're all about that and music and djaying, but they
have this performance heritage. They actually sponsored the US track
(29:11):
and field team back in the days in the eighty
four sort of La Olympics. So that was a really
interesting way for us to again branch out of being
just a more traditional, high performing sport, but taking that
away from the mountains and really to the street. What
are you looking to see more of?
Speaker 2 (29:27):
Right as obviously you've gotten Alan Quartina in front of us,
seeing just the overall explosive awareness and attention, particularly around
the women's sports industry of late, what would you like
to see more of from the media, marketing, advertising community
as it relates to your circuit.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
I think just still a little bit more open mindedness,
you know, I think we're still while the sports have
been around for decades, we're still sort of seen as
somewhat new and maybe untested. So look, give us, give
us a chance. We're willing to be creative. You know,
our audiences are growing, participations growing. Very few can say that,
and we've actually got pretty clean slate. You haven't got,
you know, dozens of brands already involved or certainly not.
(30:04):
You know, multiple brands from the same sector, so you
can really carve out a position and a voice where
you can differentiate yourselves. And our fans are very, very
loyal because these are lifestyle sports. Yes, it's the way
they stay in shape and get fit, but it's a
way of life.
Speaker 2 (30:21):
Look.
Speaker 1 (30:21):
I have only really ever lived in big cities before
moving to Park City, London, LA, New York on my
last three stops, and I'd been to Park City a
bunch to ski, so we knew we'd like it enough.
But I love it here. It really is a way
of life without making it sound like a cult. And
I think, you know, that's what the world's ready for,
and I think brands can lean into that and just
(30:41):
have a much deeper conversation. But I think, yeah, think
out the box and be more creative. Test some of
these things, because that's how you can really cut through Observationally.
Speaker 2 (30:50):
If we were doing court side, but make it slope side,
and you were on that chair lift looking down, not
just literally but figuratively over what you've experienced to one's
since you took over.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
Are there things that have surprised you?
Speaker 2 (31:03):
Takeaways that you're like, Wow, had I not been on
the inside of this, I wouldn't have known to be
able to take this into the mainstream, into the zeitgeist,
to be able to bring new fans, new partners, new
media into the space.
Speaker 1 (31:16):
Yeah, there's multiple things. I mean, first of all, the athletes.
I had no idea how brave they were and really
what they were putting their bodies through. I mean, I
would say on average, our athletes go through at least
two to three what would be career ending injuries in
any other sport. I mean a leg break, Multiple leg
breaks is nothing, you know, multiple acls, I mean career
defining kind of injuries in other sports. And they come
(31:39):
back and their resilience and their work ethic and just
talk about love of the sport when you're putting yourself
through that, but the adrenaline rush. So I have a
whole new appreciation for what these athletes really stand for
and what they do. I think the deep connectivity with
our sports and I see this a little bit so
for the first time working for this not profit type structure.
(32:01):
A big part of our revenue comes from philanthropy, which
is where we have this very interesting high net worth
influential demographic who are so invested in what we do.
Some of them have been giving for decades and significant
sums and if I ever need anything for all them,
many of them, you know, managing some of the biggest
companies in America, if not the world. They respond within
(32:22):
five minutes because they care so much and they're passing
it down. It's multi generational. So I think just that intrinsic,
deep rooted love for these sports is unlike what I've experienced,
and I think it is this is multigenerational at Prey,
anyone can be part of it. It's not just about
performance and elite sort of sport. It's much more well
(32:43):
rounded than that. So that I just I've sort of
beginning to figure out why they're so passionate. It comes
back a little bit to the sharelift too. When does
a grandpa get to spend five minutes every six minutes
with their grand kid and they can't be on a
phone because it's so freaking cold and you can't you know,
type away. It just builds connectivity. And then I'd say
the other thing that surprised me because I was told
(33:04):
these are very traditional, sort of male, white dominated sports.
Good luck, you know, trying to transform things. They've been
incredibly open minded and we've changed a lot and they've
embraced it, and we certainly haven't got everything right, but
they've been willing to, you know, have that attitude and approach.
And I think I would say a little bit of
me being an outsider has helped with that, which I
wouldn't have thought would have been the case. I would
(33:26):
have thought it would take me longer to build the
confidence and then we'd make the changes. But because I
was an outsider, they kind of took me more at
face value. So that's been a pleasant surprise, and I
think that's a benefit for our brands, Like there's a
lot of things we're open to doing that haven't been
done yet, and a brand or you know, marketing visionary
can take credit and be, you know, the one that
(33:47):
sort of gets the value out of that.
Speaker 2 (33:49):
How many different steps are on the tour in the season.
Speaker 1 (33:53):
Oh, I mean dozens? I mean just in alpine or alone,
and alpine is four disciplines, downhill, super giant, Slala, giant slalom,
and slalom. They would have over really stops between men
and women.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
So do you inherently have eighty different audiences or one
umbrella audience that has eighty different cuts.
Speaker 1 (34:11):
Again, it depends what you're looking for. Is it just
age range, is it income? Is it other demographics? Is
it country? I mean one thing, a couple of our
recent partners have partnered with US more for Europe than
they have for the US. They love that, you know,
we're an American brand and team, but interestingly also for
our sports. I didn't think we'd translate so well into Europe.
(34:32):
But unlike in most sports, in our sports, people love
the US team. We're like everyone's second favorite team. Like
when I go to these events, everyone's sharing for the
US and I'm like, wow, this is really fascinating. It's
sort of used to everyone sort of not hating the
US but rooting against them. And you know, maybe that's
because we're the underdog a little bit. But we're dominating
in some sports. I mean, Mackaya's different. People love she
(34:53):
gets more, she can't and she competes in all four right,
I think I learned this from you. That will dominate
in all four? Yeah, which like how imprecedent and it
is that. Yeah, it's like doing four different sports. I mean, yeah,
little on skis, but it's yeah, technically very different. So
you can imagine her training schedule. It's like four times
as much as anyone else.
Speaker 2 (35:13):
Last year we were fortunate to have Mikayla Schiffrin with us,
and she was talking about the amount of skis she
goes through per season. I mean it's incredible the amount
of equipment and just overall support these athletes need to
just compete are season long.
Speaker 1 (35:29):
Yeah no, I mean she will travel with thirty ish
pairs of skis and be changing them out regularly as
long with God knows how many pairs of boots and yeah,
backage expense is one of our larger cost items, which.
Speaker 2 (35:42):
Is a great partnership opportunity. I mean, when I think
about the amount of shoes I travel with, I have
nothing on her. But of all the stops, which one's
your favorite? I know Park City has a special place
in your heart, But of all the places you've gone,
if you're a first timer who's like, you know what
I want to get out on the circuit. I want
to stop and really experience the World Cups, where would
you do me? Oh?
Speaker 1 (36:01):
Well, I'm going to give a plug for the US ones.
I mean Deer Valley here in Utah is amazing. We
have it's the best actually World Cup for locals and aerials.
It's super fun. Beginning of February Killington. Actually we're taking
a year off from Killington because they're putting a new
lift in, so we're going to be at Copper Mountain
in Colorado for men's and women's alpine, which will be awesome.
But Killington has built something in only sort of seven
(36:24):
or eight years. It's the most attended women's alpine event
in the world now, even beating out the Europeans, so
that's pretty special. Sun Valley, where we had the World
Cup finals, was amazing. We're back in Aspen now with
a snowboard free ski event. An Aspen in the spring
is not a bad place to go.
Speaker 2 (36:41):
I learned this from one of my former mentors, Beth Comstockets.
I have I need in this idea of like what
you have to give the marketplace, but something you're you're
also looking in return. If you can round us out
before I let you go, what would you say I
have and what would you say you need?
Speaker 1 (36:55):
I say we have the product. Our athletes, not sports
are incredible and there's so much more potential. We're just
getting going. Oh I could be doing this job for
decades and not get bored, which hasn't normally been the case.
I'm very grateful for all the supporters that we have,
but yeah, I think what we need is to get
we're just getting going. You know, we want to support
(37:16):
more athletes, We want to get these stories out there,
so we're looking for really active partners that share those
core values. We don't get any government funding, unlike all
of our European counterparts, about fifty percent of their budget
would come from the government.
Speaker 2 (37:29):
We get zero, which we make up for with. When
you say fifty percent, like, what are we talking about.
This is not a couple hundred thousand.
Speaker 1 (37:36):
No, No, this is like tens of millions of dollars
every season, and this is all sponsorship dollars coming in. Yeah,
and in Europe, half of that's from the government. And
then the athletes are competing in Europe in their backyard,
so it's cheaper as well. So it's kind of like
a double whammy. So those baggage fees, yeah, exactly, baggage
fees and just yeah, flights and all of that. But
when you're giving to us you're giving to a not
(37:57):
for profit, you're helping the next generation great athletes. What
does it cost to sponsor an athlete for a year?
What would be the average if a brand wanted to
come in and make a meaningful impact. So yeah, look again,
depending on the agent level of an athlete, you can
get in for ten twenty thousand dollars and that would
be very meaningful for an athlete, and then it obviously
(38:18):
goes up to significantly more than that. Sure, but yeah,
there's a lot of athletes that need these supports, and
they're the greatest people to work with. I mean a
lot of them sort of are adopted by these brands
and families that want to look after them because they're
just so well rounded. They're great to hang out with.
But yeah, they definitely need more support than they deserve it.
Speaker 2 (38:37):
Well, I can't wait to see your slope side on
a chairlift or app ry skiing. Maybe you'll be the
one to help me get back up on those skis
and get back out. But I'm certainly rooting for you,
and you know we are here to support you every
step of the way. I can't wait for Milan, but
more importantly, I can't wait to check out some of
these World Cups in between. It would be really fun
to experience it, and I totally invite the advertising community
(38:57):
to get involved and check it out for themselves.
Speaker 1 (38:59):
Thank you, Thanks for all you're doing. You've made quite
a monk in a short space of time, but your
execute the energy and visionary that we need.
Speaker 2 (39:08):
I'm your host Laura Crenti, founder and CEO of Deep
Blue Sports and Entertainment. Our executive producer is Jesse Katz,
and this show is produced by Ryan Martz along with
associate producers Meredith Barnes and Rachel Zuckerman. Court Side is
an iHeart Women's Sports production and partnership with Deep Blue
Sports and Entertainment. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
(39:28):
or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (39:30):
Want more, follow, rate.
Speaker 2 (39:32):
And review port Side wherever you get your podcasts, and
stay in the game by following us on social media
at Iheartwomen's Sports, and don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter.
In the show notes, thanks for listening. We'll see you
next time. Court Side
You know, I think we want of a very few
sports where you can literally race and ski on the
cours that then the best athletes in the world are
going to be going down. You can go out get
a few runs snowboarding or skiing in the morning and
then watch the athletes compete right there. That just doesn't
really exist.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Welcome back to Courtside, where we break down the business
of women's sports with the leaders shaping its next era.
I'm your host, Laura Crenty, and today we're moving slope side,
so put on your park up and grab your skis.
My guest is Sophie Goldschmidt, CEO of US Ski and
Snowboard and a powerhouse executive whose career has taken her
across the global sports landscape, from rugby to tennis, basketball
(00:40):
to brand marketing. Sophie's been in leadership at some of
the most influential organizations in sport, including the WTA, the NBA,
the RFU, and even the World Surf League. Now she's
bringing that expansive international playbook to Park City, where she's
building a future for winter sports that's faster, more inclusive,
and undeniably boulder. In this conversation, Sophie and I get
(01:01):
into what it means to lead a national governing sport
body in twenty twenty five, including how to balance nonprofit
structure while welcoming commercial investment, the value of the lifestyle
around snowsports, and the incredible untold stories of how brave
and elite these athletes are. If you care about innovative leadership,
totally new sponsorship opportunities, and three hundred and sixty degree
brand building, this.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
One's for you.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Let's go slope side, Sophie Goldschmidt. Welcome to court side.
Thank you delighted to be here. Well, Sophie, I'm so
thrilled to have you. Coming off of an incredible season,
so many great updates in the world of snow and ski,
namely some big stars like Lindsay Vaughan coming back, Mikaela
Schiffer and overcoming a pretty gruesome injury, and the countdown
(01:43):
to Milan. Courtinez on it is yeah, Calm Waits and
like you said, we had a great season on the snow.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Our athletes excelled and made us proud in all sorts
of ways, and if you can believe it, they're back
on snow already preparing for next season.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
I know it's unbelievable considering we've just got through More Day,
which is the unofficial start of the summer in Jersey.
But my husband was just telling me somewhere up north,
I want to say, in New Hampshire this week got
incredible amount of snow. So I guess the world still
wants to ski.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Yeah, that's right. Yeah, We've got athletes scattered around the
world chasing snow. They can't get enough.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Before we get into all of the current and future
endeavors in and around snow and ski, i'd love to
just talk about your journey. When was the first time
you fell in love with sport and which one was it?
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Yeah, good question. So I fell in love with a
lot of sports at a young age. I actually grew
up in Wimbledon. Sounds a bit corny, but that it
is actually a place, not just a tennis tournament. So yeah.
So tennis was definitely very close to my heart from
a young age, and that's what I really got obsessed
with and initially was what brought me to the US
as well. I came over here on a tennis scholarship,
(02:48):
went to college at Bayla and that sort of opened
my eyes to what sort of the sports industry wasn't
and could be because at that stage the US was
still so advanced from what was happening back across the
pond in Europe. And yeah, that sort of got me,
you know, on the ladder. And I actually started out
working in tennis and then have had the chance to
work for the NBA and basketball in rugby. I was
(03:11):
on the board of the PGA European Tour for a while.
In surfing, worked on the agency side, and now working
for Fuski and Snowboards. So my first time on the
winter side. But it's been awesome, learning a lot and
have been very lucky to have, you know, various fantastic
opportunities throughout my career. That's amazing.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
I guess. Yeah, you can't grow up in wimbled in
a not touch tennis in some respect. Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Still very close to my heart, I have to say,
when I look at sports results each day, I'm kind
of always drawn to see what's happening on the tennis weld.
Obviously Roland Garross going on at the moment, which is
exciting to see them getting all messy on the dirt
over there, but I'm an avid sports fan, especially with
women's sports, but I love to be honest, all sports
and follow them closely, both from a personal and professional perspective.
(03:57):
So how lucky am I to be kind of doing
what I love? And what made you say yes to
the snow and ski role? What did that look like?
Speaker 2 (04:03):
And how did you decide ultimately like this is the
right time, right opportunity to take this on.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Yeah, it's a good question. I mean, to be honest,
I kind of thought I was done working in sort
of more traditional sort of sports organizations and having those
kind of roles after the World Surf Leak, because I've
also done a bit on water as well, dodging sharks
and various other things. That was quite an adventure. But
this was really compelling because I felt they're a set
of sports. So we oversee ten different sports on skis
(04:29):
and snowboards, and these amazing athletes, two hundred and fifty
athletes that we kind of fully fun to achieve their dreams,
and I felt, well, they were in a good place.
There was a lot of untapped potential. I was an
avid skier. I love to be in the mountains. I
sort of have an adventure streak in me so love
to be outdoors, and I just felt I should know
(04:49):
more about these sports and athletes. They're doing superhuman feats,
competing in a very very competitive environment with amazing athletes
from around the world, and their stories, you know, aren't
being told like they should be. And then you look
at the commercial side of it. There's almost twenty million
people that scial snowboard in the US alone, that's all
as many is play goal for tennis. So it's also
(05:09):
a significant audience, very high net worth. So I felt
commercially there have to be more opportunities to really help
these sports cut through. So never say never, I dive
back into sort of a more similar role but with
huge untapped potential. And also the way we're structured allows
us to be really entrepreneurial. We kind of control our
whole ecosystem, whether it's the events, the relationships with the athletes,
(05:32):
the broadcast rights, new you know, ventures and business opportunities
that we can get into which we can get onto
later on. But for example, we're launching a new travel
and experiences business and we're able to do that without
having to get a lot of buying from different owners
and teams and that kind of thing. So while we're
not for profit, which maybe you know, does put us
(05:53):
in a slightly different area, that doesn't mean we can't
be really entrepreneurial and very commercially minded. So I've kind
of relished that challenge and people have been very open
minded to doing things differently. Look, I certainly wasn't their
sort of typical high the fact that I didn't come
from snowsports. I think maybe some might have thought could
be a disadvantage, but actually I think they'd take me
at face value. I haven't got these pre existing sort
(06:15):
of ideas or deep rooted relationships that therefore I'm doing
things for political reasons. It's sort of what you see
is what you get, and hopefully, you know, the experience
that I've had from other sports is going to make
an impact. I'm certainly really excited with sort of the
trajectory of growth over the last couple of years. But yeah,
it's been an awesome job, as good as any role
I've had. I'm really loving it.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
I love to hear that you're expanding into things like hospitality.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
Let's talk about the model.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Can you talk about what that entails and how your
athletes play within your overall season circuit and what that
means to be an Olympics or out of Olympics.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
We're what you call a national governing body, so we
sit yes in the Olympic movement. Our sports a part
of the Olympics, are ten sports make up about sixty
five seventy percent of Team USA and the Winter team,
and the Olympics is obviously a huge moment every four years.
We're planning we have been since about two days after
Beijing finished for Milan Cortina in February next year. But
(07:13):
that is just one moment every four years. Well, I
think a lot of the American audience maybe on as
familiar with is that our athletes actually compete on what
we call a World Cup circuit every season. So it's
sort of analogous to a PGA Tour or a WTA
or even a left one circuit where basically pretty much
every weekend from the end of October until the beginning
of April, they're competing against the best athletes in the
(07:35):
world on a circuit of events that more and more
of them are taking place in the US, which has
been a big goal of ours. We've almost doubled the
number of World Cups over the last couple of years,
which is huge, but they spend a lot of their
time competing in Europe and they have the opportunity to
win World Cup races every weekend, which are big moments,
but ultimately, what defines the best athlete is who finishes
(07:56):
top of the rankings at the end of season, so
we can week out, that's what they're striving for. I mean,
you muld ask some athletes actually to win a globe,
which is what you win if you finish number one
in the rankings at the end of the season. Really
determines the best athlete rather than sort of one race
or a couple of races at the Olympics. So yeah,
trying to educate the US audience on what that structure
(08:19):
is and how competitive it is and who are you know,
the main athletes that we're competing with, which of our
athletes are kind of dominating on a global level, is
a big part of our job, and I think we've
made some good progress. We've got a long way to go,
but that's also what I love. I mean, week in
week out, we're trying to be the best, and in
this role, I actually get to see oversee the sports side,
(08:39):
not just the business side, because the athletes sit under
our umbrella. They qualify for a team, We have a
criteria and we actually just not named those that have
been nominated to make the team for next season. So
it's about two hundred and fifty athletes across these different sports,
and then we oversee their training schedule, their competitive schedule,
obviously with input from those of the closes them. For us,
(09:00):
it's a real partnership which I also love. You know,
our athletes are the most important part of our organization
covering all of these different sports, and I want to
be their best and most important partner as well. So
we fund everything that they need to be an elite athlete,
and with that they give us certain things in return,
whether that's you know, commercial rights, appearances, doing different sort
(09:22):
of broadcast initiatives, and then they're able obviously to make
money as an independent individual as well. But it's a
really interesting sort of dichotomy with our sports because they
do compete as individuals again like in tennis or f
one or golf, et cetera. But in our sports you
really need to be part of a team because the
training requires the speed of someone else to make sure
(09:43):
that you're getting faster from a danger perspective, you need
numerous coaches along the slopes to make sure from a
safety standpoint that everything's in check. So they really are
very dependent on each other and they train together sometimes
men and women as well, but definitely you need other
ap fleets around you. But yet you're competing with those
athletes on a daily basis as well. So I think
(10:05):
culturally that actually makes the sport really special, the values
and the support and just the respect they have for
each other's bravery. I mean when they get down downhill
course having gone at almost one hundred miles an hour
with no safety protection around them, and they make it
and they see actually someone do even better and come down,
they're like, oh my god, that was freaking awesome. Yeah,
such respect. Yeah, you're putting your body on the line,
(10:26):
you're too intes hey, if you get the turn wrong,
you're careering into the side netting and it's freaking dangerous.
So yeah, so that's been really really interesting for me
to get my arms around because it is so different
just structurally to other sports.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
I love the analogy though, to the PGA and the WTA.
I think it's a hopeful frame of reference, especially for
the US market and just understanding the competitive circuit that exists.
So let's talk about the awareness and the storytelling because
I think, you know, one of the biggest challenges for
over indexing Olympic sports in which I would consider snow
and key. You know, the times you start to think
(11:02):
about some of these incredible athletes is around these big
ones every four year moments. How are you looking to
combat that from a storytelling perspective to really start to
break through the zeitgeist.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Yeah, Look, it does come down to storytelling for sure,
and we're trying to create this mindset of really being
just a three six y five content engine. I mean,
given the number of athletes we have and what they're
doing sort of in the prep period as well as
during the season, there's so many different angles we have
and the individual side and then the camaraderie between them
(11:32):
and the team behind the team. But I think also
something that's really struck me as these athletes are just
so well rounded. Look, a few of them do very
well financially, but still, relatively speaking compared to other athletes,
I think they're very underpaid and I'm as determined as
anyone to change that because they deserve to make more
money both prize money wise and from endorsements and on
the marketing side. But because of that, they just have
(11:53):
an appreciation, you know, like anything they do get any
support they do get means a lot because they know
that it can you know, end at any moment, and
then they're kind of on their own. And these sports
are really expensive to participate in, so a lot of
them are doing further education, some of them have second
or third jobs, and that just makes them very relatable,
but very well rounded, culturally interesting human beings. I would
(12:16):
say more so than the average athlete. I think I
can say that having worked in a lot of different sports.
I mean there's a lot of other amazing athletes out.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
There, and that many sports you're flying down one hundred
miles an hour with no safety guards.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
So yeah, there's just something a little bit more real
about them. So I think the storytelling is definitely a
huge opportunity for US, also having more major moments. Look,
the US is a very competitive landscape, which is awesome,
but it means you've got a punch above your weight
and get creative, so hence really trying to have more
World Cup events in the US so that we can
have these major moments where people cut through, you know,
(12:48):
just another average event. It's tough for the American audience
to really sort of tune into that. So for example,
this year we had the Stifol some value World Cup
Finals to finish the season, the best men and women
in the world across all for alpine disciplines. NBC and
outside really supported it. It got some great exposure and coverage.
Lindsey Vaughn got her first podium, having come back in
(13:10):
an incredible way. So those big moments, I think are
also key for us. That we've got Milan Cartina next year,
which will be awesome. We actually just came off doing
the NBC shoot last week and the build up to that.
We now have this nine year north Star with the
next US Home Winter Games here in our backyard in Utah,
which is going to be amazing. So that's really key.
(13:31):
And then also to grow the sport, finding the right
partners that can help us tell ours stories. You know
that marketing muscle and resource and investment is really key.
And while we've grown a lot, we're still not for
profit and we're mindful of where we spend our money.
We don't have the budgets of the NBA or the
NFL or even WNBA now you look at what they're doing,
but our partners can be that voice for us. So
(13:52):
whether it's Defaul, whether it's Jakrue, whether it's Kappa Toyota,
when we become more a priority within their marketing budget,
that really helps us to connect with a new audience.
So yeah, there's various different ways. It's certainly not a
one size fits all.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
Let's talk about this new endeavor into the travel and hospitality,
but can you talk about why you decided to move
into this new area and how you sort of see
that being additive to versus just integrated in the World
Cup circuit for now. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
Absolutely, So it came about for a couple of reasons.
First of all, we've had success in signing quite a
few new partners over the last couple of years, and
they also have their own objectives and sign with us
for slightly different reasons. But one thing they just continue
to lean into more and more is these money com't
buy experiences. You know, I think we're one of the only,
well very few sports where you can literally race and
(14:57):
ski on the course that then the best athletes in
the world are going to be going down. You can
go out, get a few runs snowboarding or skiing in
the morning and then watch the athletes compete right there.
That just doesn't really exist. And I think all of
these new partners were blown away by how many of
their clients and key kind of stakeholders love our sports.
They don't need to be that good at it. You know,
(15:18):
you can be very average or actually learn for the
first time. But it was like, wow, we can be
in this environment. We can give them someone that no
one else can. And we're also going to these fantastic
locations and so you know, selling hospitality sponsorships linked to
these unique sort of experiences became more and more valuable.
We then also signed a partnership with cloud Flair. It
(15:39):
was the first time they've done anythings significantly in sports.
It was great on the technology side for us, they're
the leading cyber security company in the world, but they
also wanted to cut through in a different way. Davos,
the World Economic Forum, was a big platform for them,
and they decided they want to sort of turn it
on its head and take business to the mountains. And
so we took over the Davos mount We bought in
(16:00):
four of our lead athletes, some of our former greades,
and they've never had a event that's been so oversubscribed.
And you had the leading you know, CEOs and some
decision makers. Of course, it's big companies, and I was like, wow, okay,
this just keeps kind of happening. We also have a
very good value but quite expensively priced program around the
Olympics called the Champions Club. It also got over subscribe.
(16:23):
We could sell it out twice and we never even
marketed it. So I'm like, okay, right, enough of this.
Let's get into this business in a big way rather
than it being kind of something on the side. That's
part of the partnership. Given this twenty million audience that
is high net worth and wants to be part of
connecting with the great American athletes and going to these
places where we can give them a behind the scenes
(16:45):
look that you just can't get on your own. So
that's sort of what you know, forced us, or not
forced us, encouraged me to come up with this idea,
and yeah, can't wait to get going on it. We're
actually finalizing who we're going to hire to lead it.
We're going to likely John venture with another company too
to help us want some of the resource and operations
that we need on the back end of it. But
(17:05):
I think it can be a major business for us.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Who's net new dream partner for you? For our marketing
audience that's listening, who should we be inviting to the table?
Speaker 1 (17:15):
Well, from a brand perspective, I mean anyone that wants
to really provide unique experiences that are very authentic where
you can integrate and meet some of the most inspiring
athletes in the world. I mean our list is pretty
long and we actually have quite a diverse group of partners.
But then also these different hospitality companies, you know, whether
(17:35):
it's the on Locations or other companies like that. I
think they're always looking for these different angles and each
year you've got to elevate. You know what you are
and what you can do. So yeah, look, who knows
how big it can be. But we're quite excited to
get it launched. How do you see it helping to
build business? Because I do see it as a really
interesting way to curate events for marketers, media companies, off
(17:58):
sites for corporations. They can and should be thinking about
us now and sky to tap into some of these womens,
you already have to be additive to create that business environment.
Is that something you're seeing happening naturally at these events? Absolutely? Yeah.
I mean we have a very influential group of stakeholders
connected to our sport, you know, decision makers from across
various different industries, and when you come to our bigger
(18:21):
World Cup events, it's pretty who's who of folks that
a lot of brands and other marketers would like to
be around. And actually, is that sort of a test case.
We did an event for the first time the women
raced at an iconic course called Birds of Prey, and
being a women's sports fan, you'll appreciate this, and we
were trying to have the women's ski there for a
while and the head of the men's race was like,
(18:44):
it's going to degrade the men's race to have the women.
I'm like, I can't believe you're saying that out loud,
Like that's just so inappropriate. So no, it's not true.
And secondly he's like, well, also, women can't skip, it's
too hot. They're going to hurt themselves. Someone's going to
kill themselves and it's going to you know, just put
the race out of action. Even the men won't be
able to ski there. Well, what not only did the
(19:04):
women kill it, No one had any injury. They skied brilliantly,
loved it, and we had the biggest crowd we've ever
had at that. It's amazing.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
And also Birds of Prey is just a badass name
for female skiing momentary.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
Yeah, you visualize what it's going to be like. But
I mentioned it because around that, together with CNBC Liontry
and together we bought a bunch of really influential women
to an event see it in person. They couldn't all
ski or snowboard. Some came for at Prey, which was
awesome because that's a big part of what we do
in these amazing locations. But they just got a different
(19:39):
sort of appreciation and there was some great meetings and
business taking place and sort of what I mentioned earlier
about cloud Flare. They were really blown away by the
convening of different business minds. Again, some just met us
for lunch on the mountain. If people did ski and snowboard,
the beauty of our sport too is which sometimes gets
a little bit frustrating, but you to spend a lot
of time on the shell lift. You take five minutes
(20:00):
to go up in a minute to come down, so
actually you do get a lot of quality time. And
as I've experienced many times, having a conversation with someone
on a chairlift in a beautiful spot, you get into
a different level of sort of depth and understanding than
you would in an office. It just does.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
I love this as a tactic. The next time might
come out for a skiing trip and make it business.
I'm just going to just go on the chairlifts and
just book my meetings.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
Yeah, this is strategic and you'll bump into all sorts
of amazing people. I love it.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
So if we talk about the audience, can you talk
about who the core consumer audience is of the snow
and ski universe, and then perhaps more broadly, who you
see coming in, perhaps as a result of people jumping
on and following specific athletes or the expansion of the
sport with this World Cup season.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
So look, it's twenty million and growing is trending very nicely.
Unlike most sports. I think a lot of that, you know,
silver linings and all off the back of COVID the
world has become more about outdoor experiences and being more adventurous. Actually,
you know, if you do have some disposable income, actually
not just investing in things, but actually in travel and
seeing new places. So we have that kind of mindset
(21:09):
with so many people that participate in our sports. We
have a diverse age range because we have these ten
different sports that all have slightly different personalities. So on
the snowboard and free ski side, for example, it skews
a little bit younger. I would say, we've got a
lot of more of the caller kids that are setting
trends and incredibly creative and thinking out the box. In
some of our other sports, maybe it does skew a
(21:31):
little bit older, and there's more of a sort of
competitive mindset or endurance. If you think of something like
cross country, where you look at you know, the boom
of cycling and triathletes, etc. Cross country is now doing that.
I mean cross country. The numbers are just skyrocketing, which
is super exciting. So I say that because we have
a bunch of different personalities within our sports, if I
(21:53):
can put it that way, and they each appeal to
something slightly different. Have being said that there's a lot
of common opt too, and there's definitely some themes and threads.
I mean when our athletes are here. I work in
Park City. We have our Yusana Center of Excellence here,
so we often have athletes from multiple sports training here
and it's really cool to see that dynamic. Again, there's
many more similarities than there are differences. How they inspire
(22:16):
and push each other. You know, they're doing a lot
of the same training in the gym, and then some
things that are very very different. So from a gender split,
it's about sixty forty male to female, but female participation
growing certainly on the athletic side. Many of our most
well known and successful athletes have been women, and that's
been the case for decades, which is really cool to see.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
It is so interesting as you're saying that, I'm like,
with the exception probably of Sean White, only female athletes
come to mind in this territory. How are you seeing
the next generation shape there? And are they bringing new
audiences with them using social media et cetera.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
Absolutely yeah, I mean I think they've become a lot
more savvy. Again, it's where our partnership with our athletes
I think has really benefited because of them need the
support of our social content creators and brand experts to
help them build their narrative and who they want to be.
They don't have big teams of agents and managers and
what have you around them, so we're really in it together,
(23:13):
which has been great and helps us to kind of
shape it and makes us more valuable to each other.
But yeah, there's Savvian especially within some of our sports.
They get their inspiration and they push themselves to new
levels by being creative. So for example, on the snowboard
free skiers, they compete regularly, but in their downtime they're
going to the out back furthest points you away from
(23:35):
sort of civilization in the mountains to capture the most
amazing scenery and tricks and try these never being done
before things that they do. And that's all about filming,
and they travel with a filmer before they'll travel with
a coach or a physio and then capturing that content
and bringing it to life. So they really are creative.
But if they don't have that, they can't perform competitively.
(23:56):
They need to be inspired in that way, which again
for me was a bit of a head twist. I'm like, wow,
I thought you had to go to the gym and
you know, do more sprints and lift more weights. I
mean it's a little bit similar in surfing as well,
which is where I work before. But you know, that's
been so cool to sort of appreciate and just understand
how they're wired in a different way. I mean, they're
incredibly professionally also in how they train, but you know,
(24:18):
they achieve new things. Oh, Lindsay Vaughn's workout videos are insane.
I'm like, I'm just so in awe of this woman
and everything that she's been through and continues to accomplish. Yeah,
and has totally transcender the sport obviously in so many ways.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
But she gets me out of bed. I'm like, well,
if she's doing that, the least I could do is
do it thirty minute peloton walk.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
Seriously, talking about these athletes and their storytelling, thinking about
the next generation, how do you start to think about
perhaps the media package? Right, I know you talked about
NBC and obviously such a critical partner in and around
Olympics and storytelling, but are you starting to explore new
and differentiated ways to get the word out about who
these athletes are? Where the World Cup is happening, anything
you're excited by with respect to amplification, Yeah, I mean.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
Looks social we've been across of many of us have
for a long time, and our athletes have certainly leaned
into it and are getting savvier by the day with
it all. There's also some longer form content projects that
we've done. We did one around our snowboard athletes this year.
We're actually just finalizing our deal to come out with
our version of sort of Drive to Survive, which I
(25:20):
think is going to be really cool, which will drop
leading up to the Olympics. We've got an amazing cross
country documentary that we're working with a production team on
focusing on So Jesse Diggins is currently the world's best
cross country skier. She's the only non Scandinavian to have
ever won that title and she's won it now three times.
I mean, this woman is superhuman and has been through
(25:42):
you know, some real hardships with mental health and eating disorder, etc.
And it's very honest about it and just a role
model for so many. So yeah, figuring out sort of
what are the right verticals, what are the right partners,
How can that investment model work the podcast business in
congrats to you or launching this. It's amazing. Again, these
stories can sort of take different shapes and formats, so
(26:05):
we're very open minded.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
I'm totally bringing slop side to one of your toy like,
this is going to become a thing. We're greenlighting it now.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
Yeah, we're going on the road absolutely. So yeah. Look,
I like to think of ourselves as being guinea pigs
because we don't have the same kind of oversight sort
of bodies that some organizations have, and we need to
punch above our weight. We need to be creative to
begin to compete with some of the other leagues. We're
open for business and our athletes are very flexible. The
way we control our rights we actually quite a big
(26:33):
thing for us. So working with FISTS, which is our
global governing body sort of our FIFA, we negotiated a
really big strategic partnership to now centralize all our rights.
So in the US we'll be going to the market
with our domestic rights as well as all the international rights,
so all the inbound rights coming from Europe, which at
the moment we've had to sell separately. So from a
fan perspective, it's going to be much easier to watch us.
Speaker 2 (27:07):
Obviously, there's so many different places brands can show up.
Is there anyone who's doing it different, doing it unique
thinking about the space, Like I'm like cowas Lubitan not
come in and done red Ski bottoms. But are there
creative use cases that are starting to take shape?
Speaker 1 (27:23):
Yeah, for sure. I mean, I think we've really pushed
to be honest to our partners, to activate more broadly
and just make sure we're constantly also giving them ideas
and making it easy because a lot of the big ones,
you know, have many different partners that they're trying to
activate around, So how can we kind of cut through
and become even better to work with Actually, recently got
a great compliment for NBC who said, your athletes and
(27:45):
your organization is just so user friendly. You need to
know that like you are the best to work with them.
Like that is exactly what I want every partner to say.
We're available and willing to do pretty much anything. I
think one partnership that I'm really proud of that we
signed recently is with Jake, So it's the first time
they've done something sort of significant like this in sports.
It's very much focused on the connection with lifestyle, and again,
(28:08):
having worked in a lot of different sports, these are
the ultimate lifestyle sports, you know. I said it when
I was working tennis and golf and surfing and all
of that, and for sure they cross over, but we're
much more deep rooted than the fact that we're multi generational.
I think it's one of the few sports that a
grandpa loves doing with a grandchild. And again it's because
of that time on the chairlift and having fun, being
bad together, falling over and then who doesn't love to
(28:29):
sit around a fire and have a cocktail or a
mocktail at the end of the day. So I think
that crossover into lifestyle are really interesting demographic. So for them,
you think about Kashmir and sort of the luxury off
the slopes and how they're repositioning their brand and the
places that they're going to take us to. We're actually
going to be doing some stuff at canl and hopefully
with you as well. You're on my book, so I'll
(28:51):
be seeing you there soon. And brands like that, you know,
love those opportunities, you know. Our performance partner, interestingly is Kappa,
the sort of more heritage based Italian brand which is
very retro lifestyle. So again you think of a prey.
They're all about that and music and djaying, but they
have this performance heritage. They actually sponsored the US track
(29:11):
and field team back in the days in the eighty
four sort of La Olympics. So that was a really
interesting way for us to again branch out of being
just a more traditional, high performing sport, but taking that
away from the mountains and really to the street. What
are you looking to see more of?
Speaker 2 (29:27):
Right as obviously you've gotten Alan Quartina in front of us,
seeing just the overall explosive awareness and attention, particularly around
the women's sports industry of late, what would you like
to see more of from the media, marketing, advertising community
as it relates to your circuit.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
I think just still a little bit more open mindedness,
you know, I think we're still while the sports have
been around for decades, we're still sort of seen as
somewhat new and maybe untested. So look, give us, give
us a chance. We're willing to be creative. You know,
our audiences are growing, participations growing. Very few can say that,
and we've actually got pretty clean slate. You haven't got,
you know, dozens of brands already involved or certainly not.
(30:04):
You know, multiple brands from the same sector, so you
can really carve out a position and a voice where
you can differentiate yourselves. And our fans are very, very
loyal because these are lifestyle sports. Yes, it's the way
they stay in shape and get fit, but it's a
way of life.
Speaker 2 (30:21):
Look.
Speaker 1 (30:21):
I have only really ever lived in big cities before
moving to Park City, London, LA, New York on my
last three stops, and I'd been to Park City a
bunch to ski, so we knew we'd like it enough.
But I love it here. It really is a way
of life without making it sound like a cult. And
I think, you know, that's what the world's ready for,
and I think brands can lean into that and just
(30:41):
have a much deeper conversation. But I think, yeah, think
out the box and be more creative. Test some of
these things, because that's how you can really cut through Observationally.
Speaker 2 (30:50):
If we were doing court side, but make it slope side,
and you were on that chair lift looking down, not
just literally but figuratively over what you've experienced to one's
since you took over.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
Are there things that have surprised you?
Speaker 2 (31:03):
Takeaways that you're like, Wow, had I not been on
the inside of this, I wouldn't have known to be
able to take this into the mainstream, into the zeitgeist,
to be able to bring new fans, new partners, new
media into the space.
Speaker 1 (31:16):
Yeah, there's multiple things. I mean, first of all, the athletes.
I had no idea how brave they were and really
what they were putting their bodies through. I mean, I
would say on average, our athletes go through at least
two to three what would be career ending injuries in
any other sport. I mean a leg break, Multiple leg
breaks is nothing, you know, multiple acls, I mean career
defining kind of injuries in other sports. And they come
(31:39):
back and their resilience and their work ethic and just
talk about love of the sport when you're putting yourself
through that, but the adrenaline rush. So I have a
whole new appreciation for what these athletes really stand for
and what they do. I think the deep connectivity with
our sports and I see this a little bit so
for the first time working for this not profit type structure.
(32:01):
A big part of our revenue comes from philanthropy, which
is where we have this very interesting high net worth
influential demographic who are so invested in what we do.
Some of them have been giving for decades and significant
sums and if I ever need anything for all them,
many of them, you know, managing some of the biggest
companies in America, if not the world. They respond within
(32:22):
five minutes because they care so much and they're passing
it down. It's multi generational. So I think just that intrinsic,
deep rooted love for these sports is unlike what I've experienced,
and I think it is this is multigenerational at Prey,
anyone can be part of it. It's not just about
performance and elite sort of sport. It's much more well
(32:43):
rounded than that. So that I just I've sort of
beginning to figure out why they're so passionate. It comes
back a little bit to the sharelift too. When does
a grandpa get to spend five minutes every six minutes
with their grand kid and they can't be on a
phone because it's so freaking cold and you can't you know,
type away. It just builds connectivity. And then I'd say
the other thing that surprised me because I was told
(33:04):
these are very traditional, sort of male, white dominated sports.
Good luck, you know, trying to transform things. They've been
incredibly open minded and we've changed a lot and they've
embraced it, and we certainly haven't got everything right, but
they've been willing to, you know, have that attitude and approach.
And I think I would say a little bit of
me being an outsider has helped with that, which I
wouldn't have thought would have been the case. I would
(33:26):
have thought it would take me longer to build the
confidence and then we'd make the changes. But because I
was an outsider, they kind of took me more at
face value. So that's been a pleasant surprise, and I
think that's a benefit for our brands, Like there's a
lot of things we're open to doing that haven't been
done yet, and a brand or you know, marketing visionary
can take credit and be, you know, the one that
(33:47):
sort of gets the value out of that.
Speaker 2 (33:49):
How many different steps are on the tour in the season.
Speaker 1 (33:53):
Oh, I mean dozens? I mean just in alpine or alone,
and alpine is four disciplines, downhill, super giant, Slala, giant slalom,
and slalom. They would have over really stops between men
and women.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
So do you inherently have eighty different audiences or one
umbrella audience that has eighty different cuts.
Speaker 1 (34:11):
Again, it depends what you're looking for. Is it just
age range, is it income? Is it other demographics? Is
it country? I mean one thing, a couple of our
recent partners have partnered with US more for Europe than
they have for the US. They love that, you know,
we're an American brand and team, but interestingly also for
our sports. I didn't think we'd translate so well into Europe.
(34:32):
But unlike in most sports, in our sports, people love
the US team. We're like everyone's second favorite team. Like
when I go to these events, everyone's sharing for the
US and I'm like, wow, this is really fascinating. It's
sort of used to everyone sort of not hating the
US but rooting against them. And you know, maybe that's
because we're the underdog a little bit. But we're dominating
in some sports. I mean, Mackaya's different. People love she
(34:53):
gets more, she can't and she competes in all four right,
I think I learned this from you. That will dominate
in all four? Yeah, which like how imprecedent and it
is that. Yeah, it's like doing four different sports. I mean, yeah,
little on skis, but it's yeah, technically very different. So
you can imagine her training schedule. It's like four times
as much as anyone else.
Speaker 2 (35:13):
Last year we were fortunate to have Mikayla Schiffrin with us,
and she was talking about the amount of skis she
goes through per season. I mean it's incredible the amount
of equipment and just overall support these athletes need to
just compete are season long.
Speaker 1 (35:29):
Yeah no, I mean she will travel with thirty ish
pairs of skis and be changing them out regularly as
long with God knows how many pairs of boots and yeah,
backage expense is one of our larger cost items, which.
Speaker 2 (35:42):
Is a great partnership opportunity. I mean, when I think
about the amount of shoes I travel with, I have
nothing on her. But of all the stops, which one's
your favorite? I know Park City has a special place
in your heart, But of all the places you've gone,
if you're a first timer who's like, you know what
I want to get out on the circuit. I want
to stop and really experience the World Cups, where would
you do me? Oh?
Speaker 1 (36:01):
Well, I'm going to give a plug for the US ones.
I mean Deer Valley here in Utah is amazing. We
have it's the best actually World Cup for locals and aerials.
It's super fun. Beginning of February Killington. Actually we're taking
a year off from Killington because they're putting a new
lift in, so we're going to be at Copper Mountain
in Colorado for men's and women's alpine, which will be awesome.
But Killington has built something in only sort of seven
(36:24):
or eight years. It's the most attended women's alpine event
in the world now, even beating out the Europeans, so
that's pretty special. Sun Valley, where we had the World
Cup finals, was amazing. We're back in Aspen now with
a snowboard free ski event. An Aspen in the spring
is not a bad place to go.
Speaker 2 (36:41):
I learned this from one of my former mentors, Beth Comstockets.
I have I need in this idea of like what
you have to give the marketplace, but something you're you're
also looking in return. If you can round us out
before I let you go, what would you say I
have and what would you say you need?
Speaker 1 (36:55):
I say we have the product. Our athletes, not sports
are incredible and there's so much more potential. We're just
getting going. Oh I could be doing this job for
decades and not get bored, which hasn't normally been the case.
I'm very grateful for all the supporters that we have,
but yeah, I think what we need is to get
we're just getting going. You know, we want to support
(37:16):
more athletes, We want to get these stories out there,
so we're looking for really active partners that share those
core values. We don't get any government funding, unlike all
of our European counterparts, about fifty percent of their budget
would come from the government.
Speaker 2 (37:29):
We get zero, which we make up for with. When
you say fifty percent, like, what are we talking about.
This is not a couple hundred thousand.
Speaker 1 (37:36):
No, No, this is like tens of millions of dollars
every season, and this is all sponsorship dollars coming in. Yeah,
and in Europe, half of that's from the government. And
then the athletes are competing in Europe in their backyard,
so it's cheaper as well. So it's kind of like
a double whammy. So those baggage fees, yeah, exactly, baggage
fees and just yeah, flights and all of that. But
when you're giving to us you're giving to a not
(37:57):
for profit, you're helping the next generation great athletes. What
does it cost to sponsor an athlete for a year?
What would be the average if a brand wanted to
come in and make a meaningful impact. So yeah, look again,
depending on the agent level of an athlete, you can
get in for ten twenty thousand dollars and that would
be very meaningful for an athlete, and then it obviously
(38:18):
goes up to significantly more than that. Sure, but yeah,
there's a lot of athletes that need these supports, and
they're the greatest people to work with. I mean a
lot of them sort of are adopted by these brands
and families that want to look after them because they're
just so well rounded. They're great to hang out with.
But yeah, they definitely need more support than they deserve it.
Speaker 2 (38:37):
Well, I can't wait to see your slope side on
a chairlift or app ry skiing. Maybe you'll be the
one to help me get back up on those skis
and get back out. But I'm certainly rooting for you,
and you know we are here to support you every
step of the way. I can't wait for Milan, but
more importantly, I can't wait to check out some of
these World Cups in between. It would be really fun
to experience it, and I totally invite the advertising community
(38:57):
to get involved and check it out for themselves.
Speaker 1 (38:59):
Thank you, Thanks for all you're doing. You've made quite
a monk in a short space of time, but your
execute the energy and visionary that we need.
Speaker 2 (39:08):
I'm your host Laura Crenti, founder and CEO of Deep
Blue Sports and Entertainment. Our executive producer is Jesse Katz,
and this show is produced by Ryan Martz along with
associate producers Meredith Barnes and Rachel Zuckerman. Court Side is
an iHeart Women's Sports production and partnership with Deep Blue
Sports and Entertainment. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
(39:28):
or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (39:30):
Want more, follow, rate.
Speaker 2 (39:32):
And review port Side wherever you get your podcasts, and
stay in the game by following us on social media
at Iheartwomen's Sports, and don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter.
In the show notes, thanks for listening. We'll see you
next time. Court Side
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