The Athlete Sitdown Sport Endorse

Sport Endorse sits down with Sophie McKinna to hear how she became the GB's number 1 shot putter, made it to the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, was the first British woman in 36 years to reach the final at the 2019 World Athletics Championships and achieved all of this while being a custody detention officer. Sophie fought through injury to make sure she competed in the Tokyo Olympics. Now, after her surgery, she is back to her best, looking to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics in July.Join us as host, Jordan Rushworth, gets to really know Sophie and shows how she came to be at the top of her sport.

In this exciting debut of the podcast, Sport Endorse sits down with Vanessa Ruck a.k.a The Girl on a Bike to hear how she turned a life changing incident into a daredevil lifestyle and has inspired so many today.After a lethal road accident 10 years ago, Vanessa, who had always maintained an extremely active lifestyle, thought her adrenaline chasing days were over. However, following numerous painful surgeries and years of committed rehabilitation, Vanessa has undergone an inspirational transformation. Now, she’s fitter than ever and fearlessly engaging in daredevil activities that would leave many of us sick with dread. Crossing the Sahara, conquering the Belize rainforest and off-roading in Iceland are some of the many destinations in which Vanessa has found herself attached to her bike. When not competing, Vanessa is also determined to motivate others through her achievements and show that regardless of life’s obstacles, you can achieve anything you set your mind to. Her #BecauseICan movement is focused on primary school kids and teaches them that despite the constant setbacks of Covid-19, if one has the right tools to make the most of life and explore beyond their comfort zone, they can. In this honest and touching conversation, host Jordan Rushworth gets to really know The Girl on a Bike and shows what an amazing inspiration Vanessa Ruck is to us all. https://www.sportendorse.com/en-uk 

Ever considered launching a pro-baseball team, trying to build rapidly while maximizing the positive impact of the team and its stadium for the community and sponsors?In this episode of 'The Sitdown with Sport Endorse', our guest is Kevin Brown, Director of Business Development and Sponsorship for Staten Island Entertainment, a dynamic firm that is bringing Pro baseball, concerts, and community entertainment to Staten Island in New York.We talk about what it is like to be part of a rapidly growing young company with strong values, how the pro-baseball team 'The FerryHawks' came to be, ways in which the company can collaborate with partners and sponsors, top sporting moments, and why Japanese player Yoshi Tsutsugo has joined the FerryHawks.Show Notes:00:30 About Kevin01:21 What sports Kevin played 02:35 Kevin's day-2-day with SIE05:09 Background to Staten Island Entertainment and the FerryHawks07:23 Signing Yoshi Tsutsugo09:36 Some characters on the team11:37 SIE's biggest success to-date?14:09 Baseball, importance to the community and to sponsors18:19 Importance of technology in the next 12-24 months?21:26 Working well with sponsors and the community25:32 Being honest with sponsors27:20 How can business learn from sport?31:22 Mitigating risk around sponsorships33:35 How alignment of values is crucial36:34 Ideal new sponsor for next season?38:33 Role of content in sponsorship42:44 Measuring ROI on a sponsor46:09 Top 3 moments in sport to-date50:59 Toughest challenge52:00 Biggest Joker/ Nerves of steelEND

Jack Kenney-Herbert, is Director of Sponsorship for Sid Lee, a multidisciplinary global creative agency of brand builders. Part of the Kyu group, which is under Hakuhodo DY Holdings, Sid Lee works with a selection of the world's leading sports rights holders and sports talent and have delivered exceptional campaigns.Jack talks to us about his 10+ years of working in and around sport, about great campaigns, including an extraordinarily successful and continuing multi-year partnership between the Brand 'Sure' and Premier League Football Clubs in the UK. He also shares what he thinks is essential for successful sports sponsorships, his aspirations for 2023, and the fact that the CEO of Sid Lee in London is a true sports fan.Show Notes:01:12 What sport Jack does himself 02:18 Jack's role in Sid Lee04:41 Oppo + Champions League partnership05:15 Lidl + UEFA06:06 Bringing the brand Sure into Football in the UK08:11 The next 12-24 months in terms of collaborating with sport- 08:36 why an individual deal with athlete can be beneficial- 09:13 benefits of partnering with a sports team/ property  10:50 Mitigating risk in campaigns and need for flexibility 12:00 The role of tech and AI in future collaborations14:49 'Authentic' content is now a must have16:20 Mitigating risk in collaborations18:25 Investing in producing proper content leads to much better outcomes/ ROI19:39 Is there an optimum length for a collaboration/ partnership?21:01 What industries collaborate well with sport?22:01 Does sport transcend culture and assist in targeted messaging?23:11 How to measure ROI?24:54 Top 3 moments in relation to sport for Jack so far?27:03 Biggest challenge so far in career?28:26 Best joker encountered so far?29:38 Person with 'Nerves of Steel'?30:46 Biggest sports fan Jack knows31:32 Sporting hero?32:02 Best sports event attended so far?32:48 Favourite way to relax?33:09 Best thing to happen this week?33:35 Hopes for the remainder of 2023?END

What's the secret to being an excellent athlete? Could you succeed in being that good in four different sports along your journey as an elite athlete? In this episode of 'The Sitdown with Sport Endorse', our guest is Megan Henry, a USA athlete that has excelled at four sports, and is now helping athletes herself. We cover a lot of ground, from life threatening blood clots, the disappointment of missing out on Team USA for an Olympics after being a leading contender ranked 8th in the world, meditation, mindset, food, and much more.Show Notes:01:38 How Megan got involved in sport04:31 D1 collegiate athletic career05:06 Joining the military07:13 What Skeleton is all about13:21 Competing for Team USA17:31 Important to reach out if needed19:27 Impact of not making an Olympics23:29 Getting into Olympic Weightlifting25:01 Dropping weight in a short time period29:24 Discovering life-threatening blood clots33:11 The road to recovery38:42 What Megan does for 'fun'!40:36 Who would Megan like to play her in a movie40:52 Sporting heroes43:50 Brands that Megan uses regularly45:28 Cheat meal choice47:10 Athlete types and locations that Megan would work withEND

For the first episode in a series where we explore the collaboration between brands and sport and what best practice looks like, we were delighted to have Lorna Danaher, Sponsorship Manager for Energia, as our guest.Energia is one of longest providers of green energy across the island of Ireland, and has over 250,000 customers, and as a brand, it has a strong history of aligning with sport. Lorna's experience around sponsorship for both Energia, and companies she worked with before, mark her out as an authority on sponsorship, working with sport, and how to ensure mutually beneficial outcomes.Show Notes:01:17 Lorna's involvement in sports02:09 How to stay motivated03:16 What makes Energia special04:10 Current partnerships05:58 Grassroots approach08:02 Stacey Flood and Hugo Keenan as brand ambassadors10:09 Most satisfactory collaboration to-date17:25 Yes/No on social media19:24 TikTok Six Nations a good thing21:00 The team in Energia that make the sponsorship’s succeed24:15 Mitigating risk in sponsorship27:17 Can sport work for different industries29:33 Does sport transcend cultures31:10 Challenges or innovation in sport32:49 Measuring ROI on sponsorship35:51 Best sporting moments to-date38:24 Tough moments40:10 Funniest sports person42:43 Nerves of steel sports person43:26 Biggest sports fan in the office44:40 Sporting hero, best sports event ever, favourite way to relax, best things to happen so far this week47:14 Hopes for the rest of 2023