Welcome to episode 219 of Sports Management Podcast. Today's guest is Joe Foster - the founder of Reebok. At 90 years old, he's sharing the real origin story for the first time. From hand-made spiked shoes to billion-dollar global dominance, this is one of the greatest sports business journeys ever told. SPONSOR: Listeners of the Sports Management Podcast get an exclusive 20% off on SportsPro+ with the code SMPOD20. All you need to do is head to sportspro.com/membership and start exploring today. Time stamps: 00:00 Growing up during World War II 05:45 Winning races with spiked shoes at age 8 08:08 Grandfather invents the first spiked running shoe 17:00 Walking away from the family footwear company 18:49 Building Reebok inside a collapsed brewery 25:15 Creating direct-to-athlete distribution 29:32 Naming Reebok from a dictionary 35:15 First failed attempt entering America 41:08 Runner's World five-star ratings change everything 43:31 Birth of the Reebok aerobics shoe 46:59 Why Joe exited Reebok 57:10 Turning lawsuits into brand advantages 01:05:05 Joe's 3 rules of entrepreneurship 01:09:06 Meeting celebrities & reaching global #1 01:12:19 Why he wrote his book to correct history 01:13:00 Outro Follow Sports Management Podcast on social media Instagram Twitter LinkedIn YouTube www.sportsmanagementpodcast.com
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#218 The Business Behind America's Fastest-Growing Padel League - Luis Fernando Ramirez, CEO of NPL
Welcome to episode 218 of Sports Management Podcast. Today's guest is Luis Fernando Ramirez – the CEO of National Padel League (NPL) We spoke about: Juggling being CEO of NFL with commercial responsibilities for Bull Padel Padel's potential in the US Challenges and opportunities for Padel The importance of digital broadcast and streaming And much more! Time stamps: 00:00 Intro 00:42 Why Luis rebuilt the NPL from scratch 02:10 The first version of the league — what was broken 04:03 How the NPL expanded to 42 cities 06:58 The business model behind the league 08:20 How Racket360 powers streaming + scoring 11:12 Creating the NPL pyramid: juniors → amateurs → pros 14:33 The partnership with USPA 16:48 Why amateurs are the key to U.S. padel's growth 18:26 Why padel is exploding in the U.S. (data + trends) 21:17 The long-term vision — becoming the MLS of padel 24:09 The future of pro padel in America 26:40 How to build sustainable leagues 29:55 Luis' advice for young sports professionals 35:00 Outro Follow Sports Management Podcast on social media Instagram Twitter LinkedIn YouTube www.sportsmanagementpodcast.com
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#217 50 Years of Sports Broadcasting: From NBC Sports to the Olympics | Joe Michaels
Welcome to episode 217 of Sports Management Podcast. Today's guest is Joe Michaels – the former Director of NBC's Today Show and a veteran television production leader. In this episode we get to look behind the scenes of sports media productions together with an 8x Emmy winner. We spoke about: Why sports media is a young man's business Giving back through teaching and mentorship The future of the media industry If AI will take jobs from the media industry But also how it was like broadcasting the 9/11 tragedy in New York This and much more, in this episode with Joe Michaels. Time stamps: 00:01 Intro 00:44 How Joe started at NBC 03:38 What a sports director actually does behind the scenes 05:16 Turning nerves into energy during live broadcasts 08:23 Inside a live sports truck 11:07 Lessons from the man who invented baseball on TV 16:10 From gaff-taped cameras to 200-camera Super Bowls 20:22 Directing "Brain Surgery Live" for National Geographic 26:34 Why sports broadcasters must understand history 38:46 The future of sports media and technology 41:29 Can AI replace directors? 46:30 What Emmy Awards really mean 52:30 Career advice 53:00 Outro Follow Sports Management Podcast on social media Instagram Twitter LinkedIn YouTube www.sportsmanagementpodcast.com
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#216 How Data is Changing College Football | Danny Davis, CEO of Recon Sports
Welcome to episode 216 of Sports Management Podcast. Today's guest is Danny Davis, founder & CEO of Recon Sports - a platform helping college football teams use data and AI to build smarter rosters and develop elite athletes. We spoke about: The use of athlete data in sports The risks of operating in college sports How military experience shaped his entrepreneurial mindset The mindset shift from Army officer to entrepreneur How he invested 10,000 hours to master his craft And much more! Time stamps: 00:01 Intro 00:26 What Recon Sports does - syncing athlete data 01:22 Internal vs external data and identifying future stars 02:40 The hundreds of metrics collected across programs 04:15 The original idea: from high school analytics to college innovation 05:43 First client discovery and go-to-market process 07:02 Biggest challenge - scaling himself and training others 09:03 AI, digital twins, and the next frontier of sports analytics 11:19 Why consolidating data is the foundation of AI success 12:01 The risks of operating in college sports 14:38 Expanding into aerospace and other verticals 18:27 How military experience shaped his entrepreneurial mindset 22:02 The mindset shift from Army officer to entrepreneur 26:57 How he invested 10,000 hours to master his craft 31:14 The value of mentorship and how to find great mentors 37:17 Overcoming rejection and separating vision from strategy 40:16 Advice for breaking into the sports industry 43:40 Outro Follow Sports Management Podcast on social media Instagram Twitter LinkedIn YouTube www.sportsmanagementpodcast.com
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#215 The $1.7 Trillion Sports Experience Economy | Jordy Leiser
Welcome to episode 215 of Sports Management Podcast. Today's guest is Jordy Leiser - the CEO of Jump, a platform which is redefining the fan experience, from AI-driven personalization to direct-to-consumer fan engagement. We spoke about: Why teams need to own their fan relationships How AI personalizes the sports experience The story behind Jump's $25M raise Working with Alexis Ohanian, Alex Rodriguez & Mark Lore The future of global fan engagement And much more! Time stamps: 00:01 Intro 00:30 Jump - connects the full fan experience 01:23 Partnering with North Carolina Courage and Minnesota Timberwolves 03:18 The meaning of "vertical platform" in sports tech 05:36 How Jump replaces legacy ticketing systems 07:51 Using AI to personalize fan experiences 10:58 Why direct-to-consumer fan relationships matter 15:01 Raising $25M led by Alexis Ohanian 18:23 Global expansion opportunities 20:32 Remote-first company culture & trust 23:19 Jordy's path from finance to sports entrepreneurship 33:47 Resilience through setbacks 39:15 Advice for young professionals in sports 40:35 Outro Follow Sports Management Podcast on social media Instagram Twitter LinkedIn YouTube www.sportsmanagementpodcast.com
Österreich