Pitstop 003 - A New Formula for Athlete Brand Growth and the Almanack of Naval Ravikant

The New Formula for Athlete Brand Growth

Last week we talked about why ownership matters. This week we get concrete about what you can actually own as an athlete and how to start working towards it.

For a long time, an athlete's success was measured by what they achieved in competition. In today's world, that's not the full picture anymore. Social media and the attention economy have given athletes the chance to build an identity that goes way beyond results and trophies.

In my opinion, athletic performance should always stay at the very core and be the number one priority of any athlete. But as we all know, careers are finite and the athletes who are aware of that are the ones who make the most of it.

The way to take advantage of this reality is to start small and use your platform to build something that's truly yours. This could be a product, a podcast or something as simple as a whatsapp group, email list or an investment portfolio. In most cases you won't earn anything from it at first, but it will help you develop the skills and the foundation to build something more substantial down the line.

Once you realize that your brand and commercial value are more than your sponsors and followers, you start playing a different game. Your brand is a way of expressing who you are, what you stand for and what you want to work towards in the long term. It's an asset that keeps opening doors long after your career ends.

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Resource: The Almanack of Naval Ravikant

I've always loved Naval's work and this book really changed how I think about wealth, leverage and building a meaningful career. He turns big ideas into plain, honest insights you can use every day. One of them is very close to today's topic.
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"We live in an age of infinite leverage, and the economic rewards for genuine intellectual curiosity have never been higher. Following your genuine intellectual curiosity is a better foundation for a career than following whatever is making money right now."

As an athlete, you already have a rare skillset, and your sport is most likely the thing you're curious and passionate about. Years of hard work and chasing excellence have given you abilities most people will never have. Now add some type of leverage like code, media or people to it and the sky's the limit for you.
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Listen to the audiobook here or pick up a copy on my alltime favorite website Orell Füssli