Trendsetters: Nike's Tanya Hvizdak

This special bonus episode is brought to you by Nike. For athletes to perform at their very best, they need support. That's where this week's Nike Trendsetter comes in. Tanya Hvizdak is Nike's VP, Global Women's Sports Marketing.

All month, we're talking about Trendsetters: women whose vision, style, and willingness to break barriers changed culture — from what we wear to how we behave.

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Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more.  Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hello for Wonder Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplan and this
is Womanica. This month, we've been talking about trendsetters, women
whose vision, style, and willingness to break barriers changed culture
from what we wear to how we behave. Elite athletes
are famously inspiring. Scoring a goal, winning a match is
an achievement built on endless hours of preparation and training,

(00:27):
and that victory could be the catalyst for more than
a single title. It could be the thing that gets
the next generation fired up to get on the field.
But athletes need support. They have to have the right
equipment and coaching. They have to be in the right
physical shape and mental headspace. The woman we're talking about

(00:47):
today helps make that happen. Her work allows Nike's professional
athletes to perform at their very best.

Speaker 2 (00:56):
My name is Tany Vizdak. I am the Global Women's
Sports Market VP at Nike. My role and responsibility is
to oversee our women's portfolio teams, leagues, players, feds and
then on the other side is you know, how do
we serve our athletes at the highest of levels.

Speaker 1 (01:13):
Tanya grew up in Connecticut. Sports were always a big
part of her life. Her game of choice basketball. The
sport paved the way for her to go to and
pay for college. As graduation loomed, it wasn't clear if
or how her involvement in athletics would continue.

Speaker 2 (01:32):
This period of time that I grew up in the
w didn't exist. It was kind of you couldn't necessarily
see what you wanted to be in that space.

Speaker 1 (01:39):
Luckily, Tanya met someone who showed her a path she
hadn't previously considered.

Speaker 2 (01:44):
Fortunate enough that at that time, as I was graduating
college and trying to figure out what I was going
to do, the women's national team for basketball Don cdaly
Sheryl Swoops was touring the country and I had seen
and help set up a number of the clinics that
they had done. Knew I was never going to be
at that level, but there happened to be an individual
that was working with them asked the question what do

(02:06):
you do? And she said, I work for Nike.

Speaker 1 (02:09):
That chance meeting turned into a career. Tanya has been
with Nike for more than twenty years now. She works
to advance sports, support athletes, and give others opportunities she
didn't have during her tenure. Things really have changed for
women's sports. That was clear as we spoke at the
World Cup.

Speaker 2 (02:29):
I mean, I think we're sitting at the world's largest
global sporting event just from sheer investment perspective, having thirty
two teams in this tournament, which is the largest it's
ever been, the prize money coupled with, you know, just
people's interest. I think we were seeing some stats at
over eleven million people in Australia had watched the semifinals
with the Matilda's It's almost half the population, so a

(02:49):
ton has shifted one. You know, the athletes continued to
put a higher level of product in the arena of sport.
I think the interest from consumers is higher and you're
starting to it's ways for brands to really connect with
the consumers that they haven't haven't been able to in
the past.

Speaker 1 (03:05):
Events like the World Cup are not just commercial opportunities.
They hold a different kind of power too. Well.

Speaker 2 (03:11):
The bifurcation that's happening in the world around us. It's
like music and sport. I happen to be in one
of the industries and I'm super excited that sport has
the ability to bring everybody together, drive a conversation and
unify us in a way that we haven't been able
to see in other regards.

Speaker 1 (03:27):
In Tanya's role, she sees how major sporting events spur
progress for professional athletic programs and amateur fans of those teams.
To help athletes show up and perform at their best,
Tanya and Nike have developed a variety of support programs.
At the World Cup, Nike created athlete base camps, spaces

(03:47):
for each of its teams at the tournament. The base
camps contained a wide variety of things to help the
players and their families feel more comfortable on the road,
things like coffee bars, nail art, foods, all tables.

Speaker 2 (04:01):
The US was an adamant around a service that we
could provide for their family and friends. They said, you know,
we have a large contingency of people that travel with us.
Is there any opportunity for them to have a moment
but then also kind of keep them busy so that
we're not having to worry about it on the day
to day.

Speaker 1 (04:17):
It wouldn't be possible to understand what the athletes want
and need without really listening. Nike's pulled together groups of
professional athletes from different sports around the world and it's
Athlete Think Tank.

Speaker 2 (04:30):
We've always said that we put the voice of the
athlete at the center, and that's been we've created the
best product for athletes for decades. Now, what you've now
started to see is, you know, with the Athlete Think
Tank that we have here, the group of women whose
voices were really trying to elevate throughout the organization, they're
really informing around additional opportunities for us to serve them.
And I think that not only is what makes them

(04:50):
relatable to consumers, but also helps us serve consumers better.

Speaker 1 (04:55):
Tanya's work goes beyond supporting professional athletes.

Speaker 2 (04:58):
I think the you know, the additional opportunities outside are
just participating or playing. And you know, we have the
coaches collective that is here joining us with the Athlete
Think Tank. You know, they're a demonstration of the possibilities
beyond just playing and what a career can look like
after that. And I think we've also seen, you know,
all the officiating on pitch this year has been women.

(05:19):
Us continuing to move the needle in that space is
just going to further grow interest in women's sport but
provide new opportunities.

Speaker 1 (05:27):
Thanks in part to Nike, opportunities have opened up for
girls and women to participate in professional sports in a
variety of ways.

Speaker 2 (05:35):
Now you're seeing everything from female broadcasters, officiating, coaches. I
think anything around the industry is now an opportunity, whereas before,
you know, I was just thankful to be able to
have the opportunity to play, and that paradigm shift is significant.

Speaker 1 (05:53):
Special thanks to Nike for these bonus episodes and for
the opportunity to interview these amazing women in Australia at
the World. Tune in on Monday for the first episode
of a brand new theme talk to you then,