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I want to jump in right to our next two guests because they just are at a panel the Legacy play how global sports shapes cities, economies and culture. And we think about so many things that bring communities together, and sports is certainly one. So delighted to have.
Two stars.
Brizzie Johnson, US Olympic Old Medicine World champion of course skiing. We all know who she is. Yeah, just got in here.
Right, yeah, just last night, just last night.
Okay, Jesus, you're awake.
We're not.
I don't know about us.
Joshah Worthington is with US chief Revenue and philanthrop Officer at US Ski and Snowboard. Thank you guys for being with us. Where to begin? You come to milkin? Joe and I keep talking about sports. There's a ton of money in sports. A lot of pressure though, on every sport to make sure that they are generating revenue. Tricia, let me start with you. Tell us what you guys are doing, how easy it is, how hard you're all competing with dollars for dollars.
I should say absolutely, Yeah. We have two main revenue avenues of revenue at USK and Snowboard, and that is primarily private giving as well as corporate partnership, and both are really equally supporting these athletes. Everything we raised through those two avenues, support their training, their traveling, they're coaching everything they need to get to the level that Breezy did in Italy.
Well, it's incredible to have you here and wonderful to meet you. You're a hero for a lot of folks who watched you in action, and I'm wondering what kind of a reception you're getting here today because you're a draw and you help, you're an ambassador for this message, right what kind of reaction are you hearing from those who are holding the dollars at Milkin.
Yeah, I mean it's really such an honor to be here. I think, you know, I would say I'm not one of the most well known athletes right now, But you know, once the gold starts shining around, then except.
Johnson, that starts a conversation in itself, doesn't it exactly exactly?
Yeah, I think, you know, winning an Olympic gold medal, I don't think I really even could comprehend the value of it to the American public. I think we as athletes, we work our whole lives for it. But I think, you know, there's a lot of pieces that need to come together. Ski racing in particular is very much you know, it's I think more similar to a Formula one operation than like what most people would expect from an Olympic operation, and we're trying to do that on a very small budget.
So you know, for everything to come together at the right time once every four years is definitely a challenge.
Mean and mean can make you extreme, Like I totally see a play out pas He talked to us about after winning the medal, Like, what does that mean in terms of sponsorships, do all of a sudden is the phone ringing like crazy? Give us an idea of how that changes things?
Yeah, it definitely changes things, although it's slow. Right. So, as athletes, I would say most of our income comes from four main revenue. So Or says, for alpine athletes, you have your helmet sponsor, your kind of title sponsor. We're lucky enough to work with Stefel on the USKE team and they work with me personally. They're a great or, they're a great you know, company, and they work they're super invested in skiing and also expanding our appearance globally,
which is super important for sponsorships. Then you have your sort of nil deals, your Instagram deals, things like that. That's it's a small piece of the pie, and I feel like it's somewhat getting smaller as the market gets larger with NCAA athletes, et cetera. Then you have your endemic sponsors, your equipment sponsors, things like that. That's sort of holding pretty steady, I would say, but with inflation,
I would say, somewhat decreasing. And then you have your appearance fees, your you know, conferences that you speak at, your you know, keynote speeches that you do, so that obviously has grown a lot. Some of the deals you know that I've had are definitely growing. And then obviously you make more from your endemic sponsors through bonuses and
things like that around the Olympics. But I would say, yeah, it's an ever changing landscape for sure, and especially with you know, nc double A and those pieces, it's definitely evolving.
So, Tricia, how do you grow a sport that for many people is not accessible and is known at least for having a high barrier of entry? How do you make this successible some more Americans.
Yeah, I think doing a good job on the corporate sponsorship side and having those corporate partners help us raise awareness for the athletes because we are such a small sport, so we work with big brands like Stifo that Breezy mentioned, but also Visa, Toyota j Crew, all exposing us to audiences that aren't endemic necessarily to the sport, so that that would be a key part of that.
I feel like the last couple of years, you know, hallelujah. You know, women and sports are getting some recognition, They're getting the broadcast audience. I do feel like there is a shift going on in a big way. Investors want to invest not just in men's teams, they want to invest in women's teams. Tell me about let me start with you. You know what you are seeing specifically.
Yeah, I mean, our women are killing it right now, you know Breezy Lindsay for but the strongest women's moguls team in the world. And so because there's so much hype around women's sports, it is attracting corporate partners to the team, and so you know, it's definitely helping us grow that area. Of our support to a much bigger, you know size, and it has been traditionally.
I want to ask you, I just want to ask Breeze the same question, like how because you started doing this when you were how old and what you've seen your trajectory of how kind of the acceptance of women in sports? The success of women?
Yeah, I mean I would say that in many ways, I think social media has changed the landscape because in the ability for everybody to tell their story, I think people have realized that women have just as compelling of stories as men do, and I think that has you know,
exploded online the ability for women to market themselves. I mean, you know, I think in terms of marketing, you often are talking about a form of investment, right and I think people are now seeing that investing in women's sports through marketing is you know, that is an undervalued asset right now, and so to invest in it is you know, a much better return, whereas I think with men's sports, yes there's great return on it, but also you know
people already have it's not undervalued in the same way that women's sports is really interesting.
Just lastly, then, what would be your advice to a young person living in the middle of the country without a lot of disposable income, who wants to do what you did?
I mean, I think, to me, sports, you know, is such a broad category, and I personally like I love skiing, and I think that they're for one. You see stories of skiers from like Buck Hill, small ski hills, and I think we're working through you know, organizations like Shaer Winter and things like that, to try to expand the sport to a broader socioeconomic background. And then as far as like sports in general, I do think that there
is a sport for everyone. I think that, yes, there are different kind of genetic advantages to different sports, but I think that everybody sort of has something for one of them, whether it's you know, the eyesight you need for skiing or the fast switch muscles for sprinting. And so I think just trying a lot of different sports is what I would recommend to a lot.
Of fascinating Well, you've inspired so many Americans and we thank you for being here. It's wonderful to meet you in person, and thanks for doing everything that you're doing. Thank you absolutely.
Yeah, really wonderful staff.
So Christy Johnson and Trisha Worthington with us here live at the Milk and Global Conference in Beverly Hills,