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.

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Welcome to episode 214 of Sports Management Podcast.

Today's guest is Spencer Gore – founder and CEO of Gorely Group and the owner & chairman of Chelmsford City Football Club.

He is also the founder and CEO of EMJ (European Medical Journal) & AMJ (American Medical Journal) and EMJ Learnings.

We spoke about:

• The power of daily visualization
• Why process = freedom
• How Chelmsford City plans to reach the Premier League by 2038
• Lessons in leadership, failure, and mindset

And much more!

Time stamps:

00:01 Intro 00:33 How he manages multiple companies & leadership structure 01:58 The gap in the market that led to founding EMJ 05:38 Scaling challenges & importance of process 08:47 Launching AMJ in America — following his dream 10:18 Visualization & daily affirmations 13:01 Hiring for values over skills 15:49 Why he bought Chelmsford City FC 19:38 Reverse-engineering the 2038 Premier League goal 22:43 The 3 critical success metrics for Chelmsford City 28:36 Marginal gains and learning from Clive Woodward 35:03 Failures, mistakes & the "win or learn" philosophy 37:33 COVID resilience — "One day closer" mindset 39:00 Outro

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Welcome to episode 213 of Sports Management Podcast.

Todays guest is Elias Gallego – the VP of Business Development, Marketing and Media at Sporty Group and Football.com

We spoke about:

• The sports media landscape
• Expanding to Latin America, Africa and more
• Balancing brand consistency across media, betting, entertainment and tech
• Elias' journey through sports

And much more!

Time stamps:

00:54 Sporty Group vision 01:59 Building SportyTV Nigeria in 4 months 06:13 Free-to-air model & European rights 08:12 Brazil strategy: Serie C rights + YouTube access 10:17 "Curated content is king" philosophy 12:10 Multi-country production hubs 13:39 Mobile-first, highlight-driven model 17:10 Balancing global brand with local identity 20:35 ROI and brand impact in multi-vertical business 23:20 Future of sports media & smart TV expansion 27:59 Watch parties and interactive fan experiences 37:07 Career advice: "Hard work and passion are non-negotiable

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Welcome to episode 212 of Sports Management Podcast.

Today's guest is Ed Horne – the Chief Operating Officer at On Location – a sports hospitality company set to deliver premium experiences.

Ed has a long background in sports industry and he has worked for organizations like the NHL, NFL, 160over90 before joining On Location. Ed has been instrumental in getting NHL players to play in the Olympics as well as being part of organizing the first ever Super Bowl half time show.

It was great speaking with Ed and learning from his wisdom.

We spoke about:

• Key components for a successful event
• What fans request from a premium sports experience
• The skills you need to succeed in the sports industry
• His involvement in the first ever Super Bowl half time show
• His career journey and pitfalls along the way

And much more!

Time stamps:

00:01 Intro 02:23 Global Sports Hospitality 05:22 Experience Economy Growth and Consumer Expectations 06:52 The "driveway to driveway" experience 09:29 Technology Integration and Personalization Strategy 10:51 On Location future plans 17:42 Strategic Positioning within TKO and Multi-Property Synergies 19:00 Future Outlook and Market Vision 20:10 Leadership Philosophy and Talent Development 21:20 Ed's career bumps 23:00 Outro

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Welcome to episode 211 of Sports Management Podcast.

Today's guest is Pablo Carro. The co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer of Playtomic - the world's leading app for racket sport players and clubs.

We spoke about:

• Why he started Playtomic
• How to avoid the Swedish example
• The benefits of competition
• Becoming the leading company in the field
• Their US expansion plans

And much more!

Time stamps:

00:01 Intro 00:47 Playtomic Origin story 03:19 Social DNA of Padel & how tech mirrors it 05:13 Scaling globally – passion & persistence 10:27 Sweden's rise & fall – the social lesson 13:24 Competition makes you stronger 15:29 U.S. expansion – 200 clubs in months 19:13 PwC Global Padel Report insights 28:58 Asia is next – India & China potential 30:00 Outro

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Welcome to episode 210 of Sports Management Podcast.

Today's guest is Szymon Szemberg, a reoccurring guest who first appeared on episode 5, almost 5 years ago – and a lot have happened since.

Szymon recently wrote an article about the NBA closing in on a league in Europe and if this could lead to an NHL-driven ice hockey league in Europe as well.

This topic became even more relevant when NBA commissioner Adam Silver recently stated that such a league could start already in 2027 or 2028.

Szymon is the perfect person to discuss this topic. He has been a player, coach and later sports director and managing director of an elite basketball club in Sweden. He has worked as a sports reporter, covering both basketball and hockey. Between 2001-2014, he served as Communications Director for the International Ice Hockey Federation. He was the Champions Hockey League's project lead and later COO (2013-2015) and most recently he was the Managing Director of EHC, Alliance of European Hockey Clubs, from which he just stepped down after 10 years.

We spoke about:

• Why the NBA is planning a new European league
• How such a league could be structured
• If NHL can go the same route, and if so how the league look like
• Szymon explains the possible 4 scenarios, from least to most likely.
• We also cover the financial and political implications

And much more!

Time stamps:

00:01 Intro 02:00 NBA's European League Plans 03:30 The NBA's move to control the global basketball ecosystem13:30 The NHL's current strategic advantage 15:45 Expanding NHL franchises directly into Europe 20:45 Financial and Market Considerations for European Leagues 28:50 Potential NHL European League Scenarios and Strategy 35:00 Long-Term Vision and Regional Opportunities 40:00 Outro

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