All My Sponsors Dropped Me...

Am I still a pro runner?

As you can probably guess by the title, this newsletter is sponsored by absolutely no one.

Dropped

Let me paint a picture for you: it’s Monday, March 10th. I get a text message from the athlete/ influencer liaison of a nutrition company I’ve been sponsored by for a couple months. The message reads:

“How does your schedule look this week? We are coming to a close on Q1 and I want to review numbers with you.”

Immediately, I knew what this meant. I was getting dropped.

The reason why I was dropped you may ask? Product sales. During the short-lived partnership, I sold ~$40 worth of product through my affiliate link. How much did I get paid during that time? $2400. I would’ve dropped me too if that’s how we’re looking at it. HOWEVER, there’s more to the game than sales and affiliate codes. We’re going to dive head first into that, from both a large brand (i.e. major shoe company) and small brand (i.e. nutrition, running tech, accessory, etc.) perspective.

From day one of the partnership, I communicated my intention of delivering high quality content that didn’t feel like promotional content. It’s no secret that sponsor-focused content on Instagram usually garners lower engagement. People don’t care to see ads, and that was a big emphasis from me going in, given my experience working on socials and brand partnerships with Tinman Elite. Ultimately, we agreed my value would boil down to providing creative content to the brand’s marketing and social teams to use for themselves through ads on their own page. Alongside the posting on my own pages as well, we agreed this provided value outside of what would probably be low product sales and affiliate code link clicks. Overall, I was left to my own judgement on creative content— there wasn’t a lot of direction given in terms of content and deliverable quotas, so this came to me as an opportunity to let my creativity flow and see where it took us. All in all, I provided two videos on top of some sparse plugging of the brand on my Instagram stories and Strava posts; not bad, but not great.

While I’ve been paid more than double by other brands for one singular instagram reel than the $2400 that ended up in my bank account, my conclusion was that this wouldn’t be enough, so there was no surprise when the axe showed up. To close out the conversation, the brand left the partnership pretty open ended. I could stay on as an ambassador; continuing to receive free product in exchange for the every now and then posting, and general good word when asked about my supplement/ recovery routine. Realistically, this wasn’t a bad deal— the product was great, and I believed that it was good for my training and recovery, the brand’s core values were easy to get behind. But after all of this, I was left questioning, “Is this even valuable to the brand?” and more importantly, “Is this now even valuable to me??”

Why Are We All Here?

Before we continue, this is a good “we’ll be right back” moment to explain why I’m starting this newsletter. After 6+ years of being a wannabe pro runner, turned semi pro, turned pro, turned wannabe pro again, I have experienced and observed a lot in the running and sports marketing world. The idea is to provide real, personal accounts of what it means to be a professional athlete involved in this rat race of sports marketing as the sport of running evolves. Too often we see marketing experts chime in their two cents about what makes a business successful from the brand side, and not enough about what helps make the athlete successful in the same space; elevating athletes that are doing great things outside of performance elevates the sport, and it’s not recognized enough amongst the mainstream.

In reality, my time of being a professional runner will end after the 2028 LA Olympics, which requires going all in on a career outside of running– hopefully it turns into as big of a passion as my running. Providing my thoughts here will force myself to integrate into the sports marketing world, but for me it’s from the athlete perspective; a different angle than what’s already out there. Hopefully this is a driver that solidifies my place in sports outside of being a professional distance runner. Basically, I need a job when I retire.

Back to it…

This Ain’t 2024 Anymore

This reckoning contributed to an ever growing frustration for what was supposed to be the kick off for my four year 2028 LA Olympics qualification campaign. To start 2025, I was dropped from my team, Tinman Elite. To be fair, this was a mutual split; the direction the team wanted to go and my direction didn’t align— my value could be utilized elsewhere in pursuit of my own major shoe sponsor, so me and some former TME teammates in similar pursuits accepted the reality, but agreed we all would still train together in Colorado as we figured that out. Diving head first into the shallow free agent pool, I’m realizing my position is a tricky one; I placed 7th last year in 2024 Olympic Track & Field Trials in the 3000 meter steeplechase final, three seconds off of qualifying for the team. Track & Field news positioned me 7th in the USA in the men’s steeplechase 2024 rankings, and World Athletics has me sitting ranked 49th in the world in the event. As a member of Tinman Elite since 2019, I’ve garnered a decent social media following, amassing ~12k followers on instagram, and 5600 followers on Strava. All great numbers for a guy who didn’t even qualify for NCAAs coming out of college. But good enough for a contract? Good enough for any sponsorship? Apparently not

(So far at least).

Pro Runners = Pro Influencers?

As someone who’s been in the pro running space since 2019, it was easy to realize that, maybe aside from the Olympic and World Championship medalists, many brands categorize us under the “ influencer” category. Even as pro athletes, we are not household names like the athletes in football, basketball, baseball, and golf— the market doesn’t even come close to matching in revenue and popularity. Despite this, billion dollar footwear and apparel brands for years have sponsored professional track & field, road running, and trail athletes to help legitimize their products. Are these athletes actually selling shoes though? Smaller brands – nutrition, tech, and wellness companies have blitzed the running space, hoping athletes of ranging success and popularity can promote and legitimize their product to a wider audience. But are professional runners overall actually legitimizing the product that brands contract them to promote? Maybe!

There’s a reason why pro runners have been roped into the influencer game. As mentioned before, people don’t care to see ads. General influencers lost their influence when the content all of a sudden seemed inauthentic. An audience on socials can immediately identify when someone’s getting paid, and the messaging can come off poorly to that audience. That’s where pro runners come into play. “Niche” influencers– those with a following that could be considered experts in their field, have overtaken. Getting paid to sell a product that’s in your wheelhouse of everyday use and knowledge has a much better opportunity to be received as more authentic. It’s also a great way for brands to find their way into a new market that is outside their typical demographic. For this reason, my email is flooded with messages from brands looking for product promotion. Of all these emails, about 95% of them have nothing to do with running– their influencer outreach teams are wasting their time. A couple of my favorites:

• Pins & Aces (golf gear)

• Non Fungible Mushrooms

• M8Trix Health (testosterone replacement & hormone therapy)

• Bobble Booty Fresh air fresheners (air freshener bottles that twerk? idk)

I get it. If you don’t cast a line, you won’t catch a fish. But there has to be some kind of process of efficiency in place. There’s no way a brand truly believes distance runner with a small, niche fan base is going to post a video on instagram in exchange for two free twerking air fresheners, and then actually sell any. There has to be some continuity between the product and the product promoter.

It’s difficult to say the partnerships that make sense historically go well either. The classic sponsorship announcement post saying “I’m super excited to announce I’m running for (insert major shoe company here),” showcasing the new sponsored athlete holding the shoe in front of the camera, is borderline pathetic. (If you want to see what a sponsorship announcement should look like, my training partner Drew Hunter just signed with ASICS at the beginning of this year). Major shoe brands are the ultimate sponsor for the pro runner, and while it’s the most difficult to acquire, it’s the easiest to maintain, socially speaking. Major shoe brands hardly ever require posting or establish deliverables in their contracts; typically these athletes post out of good faith, and post when asked in order to maintain a good relationship with the brand (don’t ever believe that adidas sponsored athletes post about every new Ultraboost on their own volition). You don’t want to go into a resigning year having done absolutely nothing for your sponsor to promote the brand. Many think, at the end of the day, we’re sponsored by major shoe companies to sell shoes. Historically, this objective has been set purely through validating product via performance. If you win races in the shoes, people will take notice, and want to use the same for their running pursuits. But the game has changed over time. Now brands have similar or larger marketing budgets going towards influencers than pro runners, and the reason is community. Successful influencers allow their audiences to feel like they’re a part of the influencer’s everyday life. My girlfriend watches long-form “day in the life” videos on YouTube while she gets ready and puts on her own makeup before work in the morning. Whether it’s to hear what the youtuber has to say about the drama in their life, or to recommend makeup application techniques or new products, Roxanne feels a connection to them. Any and all product placement feels no different than you’re friend telling you they’re trying something new.

A lot of pro runners do not have that skillset to create that sense of community. It makes sense why the sponsorship dollars are dwindling for athletes like me— I have a decent sized fan base (not a community), and I’m not winning US Championships or global medals. Many high level athletes now, including world beaters like Josh Kerr, hire social media managers and content creators to take care of establishing and fostering that community through their Instagram and YouTube channels, to check both boxes. Having a grip on a community through your socials can increase your reach, and in turn drive longer and more lucrative sponsorship opportunities, regardless if you’re getting older or slower. In the running space, NIL money has gone heavily towards high school athletes. Why? Because every high school runner in the country is watching and following the best of their peers. Whether they realize it or not, they have a big community.

What Works in Pro Running Influencing

We are seeing a slow rise in the effort that niche professional athletes, especially runners, are putting into developing their own brands via social media. Athletes ahead of the curve have already developed well thought out YouTube and TikTok channels to reach a wider audience that is helping facilitate a growing running boom in the US. These athletes, ranging from Olympians to amateurs, are capitalizing on a growing audience that wants to learn more about running. For the non-runner, the barrier to entry may seem daunting, but knowing what shoes, clothes, gels, running watches, etc. are good for the everyday runner they’re watching online, no matter how fast, they’re more likely to use it.

While these ventures may cost some dollars up front, paying someone with a camera to follow you around while you live and train, the return could far outweigh the investment. Olympic Marathoner Clayton Young, professionally sponsored by ASICS, started a YouTube channel to document his buildup to the Olympic Marathon in Paris, landing sponsorship deals from Cadence and Stryd Running to support the channel and the pursuit. While we don’t know the terms of these deals, including the dollars as well as the deliverables, these are collaborations that make sense, and most definitely provide the return these smaller brands are looking for. For the big shoe brand, ASICS, it’s an added bonus to their investment, considering their deal is most likely performance-based. Clayton provides a very deep and reflective insight into his mindset and approach when training for the biggest races in the world. The production value of his videos is among the best I’ve ever seen– big kudos to the effort he and his content creator put into that channel, because I’m hooked. To be perfectly candid, Clayton and I raced back in college (when BYU was in the West Coast Conference), and I wasn’t a huge fan— there was no legitimate reason, I never even talked to him; that’s just how I felt. Now, watching his videos, there’s a genuine feeling of connection to him and his pursuit, and now it’s impossible not to root for him and his family. When you’re a young athlete, you grasp on to every single word your idols say, because you want to feel closer to them and be like them. For an Olympic marathoner, Clayton can create an even larger community than just young, wide-eyed fans. As the marathon community continues to grow exponentially, many being in their late twenties to early thirties, eyes going towards his channels will continue to grow. To be the best, even if that just means being the best you can be, you have to learn from the best.

How This All Applies to Me

Now, going back to my failed nutrition scheme, there is no doubt that I fell short in providing the brand with the value they were looking for. BUT, I’m not going to take the blame entirely for this failed partnership, even though it falls on me and affects me more. There were things that went wrong from both sides, there are lessons to be learned looking ahead for brands interested in sponsoring professional runners. Based purely on my personal experience, reflecting on that experience, and observations of others, there are some key points that should be considered. If you’re an athlete, think about how you can apply this to your own value to brands (I’m talking to myself here):

1. Establish clear objectives. Why are you sponsoring athletes? Do you want to expand your reach of audience, or are you looking to sell as much product as possible right away? Know what you want to do with your athletes to prevent wasting time and money that could be used elsewhere. Having one good, well thought out sponsorship can provide more impact than 10 half-ass partnerships.

2. Identify athletes with interesting and compelling stories. People consume content, especially in the running world, because they’re looking for inspiration or relatability. Your athlete does not have to be the Olympic Gold medalist, but they need a story. On top of this, they need to have already proven they’re capable of telling their own story, which leads to the next point…

3. Identify athletes with a platform. If you’re expecting posting deliverables from an athlete, make sure the athlete already has an established, consistent platform. Athletes that post content once a month are not going to all of a sudden start posting twice a month for your brand. Organic sponsorship happens when a product can naturally be presented or talked about when an athlete documents their story. Whether that’s YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram, athletes need to be able to tell their story to establish an engaged and compelled audience.

4. Put your own capital into the sponsorship. The upfront dollars are a good way to secure the right athletes, but recognize that you can’t give someone who is dedicating their whole life to a pursuit of success, all of a sudden dedicate all of their time and energy promoting your brand, on top of working on their own personal brand. Work with the athlete to ideate, produce, and create compelling content to tell the stories and provide the messaging you’re looking to show to the world. Putting effort into the partnership outside of payment will make the athlete feel supported more holistically, leading to a more genuine and fruitful partnership.

Concluding

I won’t pretend that anything you read here was revolutionary or ground breaking. Ultimately, as mentioned, this newsletter is a way to force myself to look at running (and sports in general) from a new angle, and voice my opinions as a pro athlete. The more I immerse myself in this, the more creative my ideas get, and the more individualistic my thoughts become (through writing this, ideas swirled through my head constantly— my favorite: Who Sells More New Balance Shoes: Sydney McLaughlin or Shohei Ohtani?). Similar to my career as a runner, there needs to be an emphasis on showcasing my growth over time— for this reason, I won’t be using chatGPT or AI tools for posting ideas or editing (the one exception is Grammarly — my cousin Matt works for them, and I might be able to swing a free account). Hopefully, five years down the road, we can all read this back and see how far we’ve come. At the end of the day, this is for my personal growth, but I love and appreciate anyone who decides to follow along.

Feel free to provide any and all feedback as we go– comments, questions, criticisms, new ideas. I won’t get any better at this without it. Don’t hesitate to share if you feel compelled, or if it makes you think of someone in your life.

Thanks for your time friends,

Joey