Host (2:22)

Johnson.

Bree Johnson (2:23)

Right.

Co-Host (2:24)

Well, that starts the conversation in itself, doesn't it?

Host (2:26)

Exactly.

Bree Johnson (2:27)

Exactly. Yeah. I think, you know, winning an Olympic gold medal, I don't think I really even could comprehend the value of it to the American public. I think we as athletes, we work our whole lives for it. But I Think, you know, there's a lot of pieces that need to come together. Ski racing in particular, is very much, you know, it's, I think, more similar to a Formula one operation than, like, what most people would expect from an Olympic operation. And we're trying to do that on a very small budget. So, you know, for everything to come together at the right time, once every four years is definitely a challenge.

Host (2:58)

Mean, and mean can make you extreme. Like, I totally see it play out. Breezy, talk to us about after winning the medal, like, what does that mean in terms of sponsorships? Do all of a sudden, is the phone ringing like crazy? Give us an idea of how that changes things.

Bree Johnson (3:10)

Yeah, it definitely changes things, although it's slow. Right. So as athletes, I would say most of our income comes from four main revenue sources for Alpine athletes. You have your helmet sponsor, your kind of title sponsor. We're lucky enough to work with Stifel on the US Ski Team. And they work with you personally. They're a great. Or they're a great company, and they work. They're super invested in skiing and also expanding our appearance globally, which is super important for sponsorships. Then you have your sort of nil deals, your Instagram deals, things like that. That's. It's a small piece of the pie, and I feel like it's somewhat getting smaller as the market gets larger with NCAA athletes, etc. Then you have your endemic sponsors, your equipment sponsors, things like that. That's sort of holding pretty steady, I would say, but with inflation, I would say somewhat decreasing. And then you have your appearance fees, your, you know, conferences that you speak at, your, you know, keynote speeches that you do. So that obviously has grown a lot. Some of the deals, you know, that I've had are definitely growing. And then obviously you make more from your endemic sponsors through the, you know, bonuses and things like that around the Olympics. But I would say, yeah, it's an ever changing landscape, for sure. And especially with, you know, NCAA and those pieces, it's definitely evolving.

Co-Host (4:28)

So, Tricia, how do you grow a sport that for many people is not accessible and is known at least for having a high barrier of entry? How do you make this accessible to more Americans?

Tricia Worthington (4:40)

Yeah, I think doing a good job on the corporate sponsorship side and having those corporate partners help us raise awareness for the athletes, because we are such a small sport. So we work with big brands like Stifel that Breezy mentioned, but also Visa, Toyota, J. Crew, all exposing us to audiences that aren't endemic necessarily to the sport. So that would be a key part of that.

Host (5:08)

I feel like the last couple of years, Hallelujah. Women and sports are getting some recognition. They're getting the broadcast audience. I do feel like there is a shift going on in a big way. Investors want to invest not just in men's teams, they want to invest in women's teams. Tell me about. Let me start with you. You know, what you are seeing specifically.

Tricia Worthington (5:29)

Yeah, I mean, our women are killing it right now. You know, Breezy Lindsey, in case anybody

Host (5:35)

forgot, women are

Co-Host (5:39)

supposed to say the

Tricia Worthington (5:40)

strongest women's moguls team in the world. And so because there's so much hype around women's small sports, it is attracting corporate partners to the team. And so, you know, it's definitely helping us grow that area of our support to a much bigger, you know, size than it has been traditionally.

Host (5:59)

I want to ask you. I just want to ask Breezy the same question, like how. Because you started doing this when you were how old and what you've seen, your trajectory of how kind of the acceptance of women in sports, the success of women in sports.

Bree Johnson (6:11)

I mean, I would say that in many ways, I think social media has changed the landscape because in the ability for everybody to tell their story, I think people have realized that women have just as compelling of stories as men do. And I think that has, you know, exploded online the ability for women to market themselves. I mean, you know, I think in terms of marketing, you often are talking about a form of investment, right. And I think people are now seeing that investing in women's sports through marketing is, you know, that is an undervalued asset right now. And so to invest in it is, you know, a much better return. Whereas I think with men's sports, yes, there's great return on it, but also, you know, people already have. It's not undervalued in the same way that women's sports is really interesting.

Co-Host (6:56)

Just lastly then, what would be your advice to a young person living in the middle of the country without a lot of disposable income, who wants to do what you did?

Bree Johnson (7:04)

I mean, I think to me, sports is such a broad category, and I personally love skiing. And I think that they're. For one, you see stories of skiers from places like Buck Hills, small ski hills, and I think we're working through organizations like Sharewinter and things like that to try to expand the sport to a broader socioeconomic background. And then as far as, like, sports in general, I do think that there is a sport for everyone. I think that, yes, there are different kind of genetic advantages to different sports, but I think that everybody sort of has something for one of them, whether it's, you know, the eyesight you need for skiing or the fast switch muscles for sprinting. And so I think just trying a lot of different sports is what I would recommend to a lot of.

Co-Host (7:47)

Well, you've inspired so many Americans. We thank you for being here. It's wonderful to meet you in person. And thanks for doing everything that you're doing.

Tricia Worthington (7:54)

Thank you.

Co-Host (7:54)

Absolutely.

Host (7:55)

Both of you. Yeah, really wonderful stuff. So appreciate it.

Co-Host (7:57)

Lucy Johnson and Trisha Worthington with us here live at the Milken Global Conference in Beverly Hills.

Indiana University Announcer (8:03)

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