← Straight Shooter with Stephen A.
Straight Shooter with Stephen A.
Interview Only: Michael Rubin, CEO of Fanatics, talks Fanatics Fest, the “Comic-Con of sports,” a unique, immersive fan experience.
00:16:55
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- [00:00]
Ryan Seacrest
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:04]
Joseph Reeves
ATT has a new guarantee because most things in life are not guaranteed. Like getting through self checkout by yourself. Not guaranteed. In a world where Nothing is guaranteed. AT&T is bringing something new to the table. AT&T is introducing a guarantee with connectivity you can depend on deals you want and service you deserve or they make it right. Learn more@att.com guarantee@&t connecting changes everything. Terms and conditions apply. Visit att.comguarantee for details.
- [00:45]
Ryan Seacrest
Taking over the helm of NBC Nightly News, a 75 year old broadcast, it's a great responsibility. Good evening, I'm Tom Yamas. You have to go out there to bring people at home closer to the store. Wildfires continue to be a threat. With that massive hurricane comes the massive response. The best reporters in our business know how to listen. And when you listen, you get the truth. For NBC News, NBC News, NBC News, I'm Tom Yamas. That's what we do every night.
- [01:11]
Lex Borrero
NBC Nightly News with Tom Yamas. Evenings on NBC.
- [01:18]
Stephen A. Smith
All right everybody, listen up. With all the big time sports action that's happening each and every single day, the Stephen A. Smith show wants to make sure you are taking advantage of it all. That's why we partnered with Prize Picks the best place to win cash while watching sports. The app is really easy to use, you know, to create a lineup, all you have to do is pick more or less on a few player stats. Okay, choose from any of your favorite players. Jalen Williams, Shai Gilgeous, Alexander, Pascal Siakam, all in the same entry. Then sit back and watch. The list is absolutely endless. You can play prospects in over 40 states, including California and Texas. Best of all, Prize Picks will give you $50 in lineups. When you play your first $5 lineup, win or lose, you'll get 50 bucks in lineups. Just use promo code SAS and download Prize picks now. Again, download the app and use code SAs to get $50 in lineups instantly after your first $5 lineup. Prize picks hey, hey, run your game.
- [02:20]
Ryan Seacrest
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- [02:47]
Stephen A. Smith
Prohibited by law 21 + terms and conditions apply.
- [02:50]
Lex Borrero
Welcome to the youe vs you podcast. I'm Lex Borrero and every week we sit down with some of the biggest names in entertainment to talk about the real stuff, the struggles, the doubts, and the breakthroughs that made them who they are. We go deep exploring childhood trauma, family, overcoming loss, and the moments that shape their journey. These honest conversations are meant to take the cape off our heroes with the hope that their humanity inspires you to become a better you and therefore set you free to live the life of your dreams. Here's a sneak peek.
- [03:21]
Michael Rubin
I'm trained to go compete. I'm trained to be like harder. But sometimes that mentality stops you from stopping and smelling the flowers in your own garden.
- [03:28]
Lex Borrero
Is it wrong to want more?
- [03:30]
Michael Rubin
We migrated. Our family migrated here. I'm like second generation.
- [03:39]
Lex Borrero
Listen to you versus you as part of Michael Tuda Podcast Network available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you you get your podcast.
- [04:03]
Stephen A. Smith
What's up everybody? Welcome to this edition of the Stephen A. Smith show. Coming at you at the very least three times a week over the digital Air Ranger, YouTube and of course iHeartRadio. As always, I'd like to take a moment to pause and thank my subscribers, subscribers and followers for the support and love that they continue to show in this direction. Thank you so much. Courtesy of millions of downloads over iheartradio over the last few months and now audience and a subscriber base that's eclipsed 1.24 million over the digital airways or YouTube, we continue to flourish as a show. The momentum continues to rise and obviously that's thanks to all of you. Without you, there is no me. So thank you so much for your love and support. Keep it coming and I'm gonna keep on coming to continue to like and follow the show. Just click the bell to get notified for all of our newest content and you too shall consider yourself the latest member of the Stephen A. Smith show family. And while you're doing that, please make sure to pick up a copy of my New York Times best selling book Straight Shooter, A Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes now in paperback. Just go to straightshooterbook.com to get yourself a copy. Once again, straightshooterbook.com to get yourself a copy. You know, on this particular day, I can't wait to talk to the one guest that I'm going to have for this particular show. It's ISO. It's me. One on one with somebody. And his name would happen to be Michael Rubin. He is the founder and the boss for Fanatics. And every year since last year, last year was its inaugural year, this year again, they're having something called Fanatic Fest. When you think about Comic Con and you think about things of that nature, Fanatics Fest essentially is the sports version of all of that where you just bring the entire sports world together and they descend upon one locale to celebrate sports in a variety of ways. Games and guest hosts and all of this other stuff that's going on. And Fanatics Fest was obviously a wonderful, wonderful experience when I experienced it last year. First, take my day job on ESPN, airing every weekday morning from 10am to 12 noon. Was there live for the debut of Fanatics fest. Last year, 70,000 people showed up at the last minute for Fanatics Fest. This year it's expected that over 100,000 people will show up. And it's going to continue to grow and proliferate before our very eyes. And I can't wait. I'm very, very excited. But no matter how excited I am, I'm not nearly as excited as the man that I'm about to talk to next. As you will see, it's a one on one conversation about Fanatics Fest and all that it entails with the originator, the founder himself, the one and only Michael Rubin. He is here with me right now. Take a look. My guest is the founder and CEO of one of the biggest digital sports platforms that connects fans with with their favorite sports figures. He's joining me now to discuss the 2nd Annual Fanatics Fest NYC. Please welcome the one and only Michael Rubin to the show. What's up big time? How are you man? How's everything?
- [07:01]
DJ Khaled
I'm getting excited, man. Couple days away. Ready? Fanatics Fest number two. We're ready to go, baby.
- [07:07]
Stephen A. Smith
Damn right. Damn right. Last year's inaugural Fanatics Fest was a huge success. Obviously I was there. How many people were there and how many are you expecting this year?
- [07:18]
DJ Khaled
We had 70,000 people in the first year and we're definitely gonna have well over a hundred thousand people in year two. It's amazing. I mean, last year we started with the NFL, the NBA, hockey, baseball, WWE and UFC. In addition to all six of those sports coming back, we now have FIFA, Premier League, F1, Nike, USTA, Dick Sporting Goods. So it's going to be a movie. I'm psyched. And I. I just looked at the list this morning of all the athletes and artists and celebrities coming. I think we have Three times the amount of people coming from last year. This year, I mean, just some of the biggest names in sports and culture. So it's going to be a blast.
- [07:57]
Stephen A. Smith
Explain to the audience how you originally came up with this idea. What was the motivation, the impetus for it all. Explain that.
- [08:04]
DJ Khaled
Yeah, you know, I had been to so many music festivals was like, Coachello. I've been to south by Southwest, I'd been to Comic Con and I've been to the national, which a big trading card show. And like, I wondered, why is there no sports festival? And I said it to my team, like, go out and check. Is there any in the world? There really wasn't. There had never been a sports festival. There had been like, you know, fan fest at the super bowl for the NFL or a fan fest for the NBA All Star Game, but never really a sports festival. And I think the reason was there was nobody other than fanatics that could really corral all the different sports together and then also have individual partnerships with so many athletes that manage to bring it all together. So, you know, typical fanatic style, we just said, let's go for it. No idea whether it was going to work or not. And three weeks before launch last year, I'm like, how to get myself into this? This is too hard. And I'm like, wait a second, that's not like, that's not our energy. We're going to make it work. And sure enough, 70,000 people came the first year and people just had an amazing time. That's what made this all worthwhile. Seeing just so many happy fans saying this is the most incredible weekend of their lives. And look, Stephen, you came and opened it up last year. I remember watching many thousands of people just cheering, going crazy watching your show. And I didn't know what to expect. Like, I mean, three weeks earlier I was like, how to get myself into this mess. So, you know, it was a great weekend. And for me, this is really just about a fan give back. Like, look, I think it's very easy to build a big company. It's not easy to build a beloved company. And we want to build a beloved company. And we're just getting started with doing that. And, you know, we've done. Done certain things really well and other things we haven't done well enough. But we really, you know, our dream is to make fanatics the most beloved company in the world. And, you know, this is a small piece of how you do that because you connect with, you know, a hundred thousand plus fans live and then also, you know, Hundreds of millions of people via social media that see what happens here, and it makes people really have a special relationship with the fanatics.
- [10:02]
Stephen A. Smith
Now talk to us about what you believe you've done. Well, particularly with the Fanatics Fest. What is it that occurs there that really stands out that makes it such enjoyable for the fans to the point where 70,000 shows up at the. At the first ever event and now you're expecting over 100,000 people to show up this Friday. What is it that goes on there that has people so riled up about it?
- [10:26]
DJ Khaled
I think there's so much to do for everybody, like take somebody like yourself who has access to anything in the world, but you could go there and spend three days, you'd see so many people that you love, so many people you want to catch up with. And by the way, I know you'd be like, doing different competitions. Whether it's being in an F1 car or, you know, your. Your WWE walkout or how hard can you punch the UFC punching bag? It's just like there's so much to do for everybody. I can't wait to go. They just start sending me pictures. I'm going Thursday night because, like, I don't get to really experience it during the festival because I'm just going from person to person trying to make sure everything's going well. But, like, it's like the inner kid in us comes out because there's just so many great things to do and so many great people to see. It's so much great content to watch. Like, I love that you're opening up, you know, with first take this year from 10 to 12 Friday morning. But there's six different stages with content every hour on the hour. And whether you're a football fan or WWE fan or a UFC fan or you're a WNBA fan, there's just great content, great people, great activations. And the thing that's most interesting is how many people come from 10 to seven Friday and Saturday and 10 to four on Sunday. They want to be there the entire time. So that talks about just the amount of action that exists at Fanatics Festival.
- [11:47]
Stephen A. Smith
Well, I got a busy schedule, especially covering these NBA Finals, but I would have been there just for you to begin with. But to have the times that I had last year, it was electric. I couldn't believe how packed it was. I couldn't believe how psyched everybody was to be there. And then on top of it all, Tom Brady showed up, Peyton Manning showed up, Allen Iverson showed up. I mean, everybody, every Damn body was there. Who can people expect. Expect to see this year? Or is that something that you're a secret that you're holding there did to you until Friday?
- [12:17]
DJ Khaled
Now we have. We've already announced, I think, three times the amount of athletes, artists, celebrities coming this year versus last year. So in one of the things we did was we moved the festival from August until June because we want to have active NFL players. If you remember, last year we did in August. The problem with that was all the NFL guys were already in preseason. This year in the NFL, we've got, I think, a third or half of the starting NFL quarterback. So you got Jaden Daniels, C.J. strad, Caleb Williams, Bryce Young, Joe Burrow. I know we've got guys like Michael Parsons, Devonte Adams, CD Lamb, Justin Jefferson. I mean, there's so many NFL. I think there's 50 current NFL stars there in basketball, you got Ron Wemby, KD Cat, James Harden. And the amount of people have been hitting me saying, hey, Rube, like, I want to come. It's just like, you got room for me? So everyone's been hitting me all weekend by. You got Kevin Hart coming, Jay Z, Travis Scott. I mean, I remember last year, Jay looked at me. He's like, we were in the 4040, and he looked at me, he said, this is the most incredible thing. Like, Trav took over, and he's now the house DJ at 4040. Like, this is the most insane thing in the world. And by the way, Trav had the time of his life. And it's like everyone's coming back and so many more people. And one of the things you know about me, I love getting people together, and it's great to see so many great people getting together and so many great things that come from that. So, you know, that's, you know, there are a lot of things I suck at, but one of the things I'm not bad at is just bringing great people together and letting great outcomes come from that. So I think we're going to see a lot of that at the Next Best issue, too. And the content is amazing. Like, if you just look day by day, hour by hour, what are all the different things I can do? There's so much to do, but, you know, talent. I mean, it's. You're just going to see people walking back and forth through the aisles like crazy because there's so much to do.
- [14:09]
Stephen A. Smith
You know, I'm also hearing the prize pool. There's a prize pool that's going to take place that's going to include about 2 million in total cash and prizes. Is that true? 2 million in total cash and prizes.
- [14:20]
DJ Khaled
It is true. And the funny thing is I just have been thanking people for coming right before I jumped on here. And the last person I hit was Eli Manning, and I guess he didn't know that. So we're doing the Fanatics games. And what the Fanatics games are, we're doing eight different athletic competitions. You take your best six scores, you drop your worst, too. So it's things like football throwing accuracy, baseball pitching accuracy, WWE walkout, UFC punching accuracy, FIFA accuracy. So anyway, again, you take your best six scores, you drop your worst two. So. And we pair people in groups of two or three to go through the different games. Kind of like golf, you're competing on your own, but we still pair people. And just for sport, we decided to pair. Originally, Khed called me. He's like, yo, did you see my run, man? I'm so fast. He's like, I want Brady in the games. He said, brady may be able to beat me in football, but I'll beat him.
- [15:10]
Stephen A. Smith
Khaled said, he's fast. DJ KH said he was fast.
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DJ Khaled
Really, it's amazing what you can do with AI these days. So. So Khaled called me. He said, I want to take on Brady. So he's talking a lot of smack. Talking a lot of smack. So Khaled said, I could beat him in basketball, I could beat him in baseball, I could beat him in WWE walkout. So originally, I called Brady, and Brady said, that man better have an ambulance to follow him around like that. That was his response. Then I realized we're missing something. How do we not have Tommy and and Eli going up against each other? So now we got a little threesome going of Tommy, Eli and Khaled. So there's gonna be a lot of talk during that. During that little threesome going down.
- [15:54]
Stephen A. Smith
It's gonna be hilarious. It's going to be hilarious. DJ Khaled can't play no damn basketball. Now, golf might be a different matter, but he can't play any damn basketball. I already saw him do that. He needs to stop that nonsense. By the way, before I let you get on out of here, I got a couple of things. Number one, I got a producer of mine. His brother is going to be competing in some event.
- [16:15]
DJ Khaled
He's One of the 50 fans that got picked. And by the way, we're root. We're rooting for your guy's brother. Because you know what? If we can have an incredibly athletic, non professional athlete win this. That's the best of the world. Right now. A lot of our common friends are talking a lot of smack. Call me, say, yo, I'm taking that bag of a million dollars home. Yo, I'm driving that $500,000 Ferrari out of there. Yo, I'm taking that 2003 tops. LeBron James rookie card that's worth a quarter million dollars. I'm taking that home. So I'm root for your guys brother. I want him to win. I want the average fan to win. So we, we, we tried to cast this right, make sure there's some good competition. So that's going to be fun. And we may need you, Stephen A to come commutate, give a little bit of, you know, when we got Brady and Eli and Khaled going down, you may need to jump in there, just do 10 minutes of comedy because watch those guys go competing against.
- [17:03]
Stephen A. Smith
See that's you trying to add more work. Trying to add more work to me, Michael, you know you're trying to add more work to me.
- [17:10]
DJ Khaled
That's what you're doing. So you know, you coming in to be able to make fun of Cali. I would getting a little Eli Tommy competition going. We need you, man.
- [17:21]
Stephen A. Smith
Now I will say this though. I, I mean, I understand it's not your fault. You know, I'm gonna leave it alone, you know, because I know people get a little sensitive if I'm around because I'm in the media and stuff like that. But I do get a little jealous when I see other people at the White Party. I'm not gonna frank front because it's other people in the media. I'm like this. I, I would look better than them rocking all white. I, I rock my all white outfits from time to time. I would like something like that. But I'm not going to be mad about it because I'm coming to Fanatics Fest. But I just want you to know me, at the White Party.
- [17:53]
DJ Khaled
I was honored to send you the shoes that only came for the people for the White Party. Because even though there could be some white people, the White Party you may have been a little critical of over the years, maybe like quarter of the White Party, you know, but. And you're just doing your job, you're doing what you do. But I want to make sure you had those shoes because those shoes are special as anything. That's where no one could say you got to be there and you got to be you. And I love you being you because you're the best.
- [18:19]
Stephen A. Smith
That's right. I'm gonna be there, man. And I'm looking forward to it. The one and only Michael Rubin for Fanatics. Fanatics Fest, second edition. Oh, it's gonna be special, y' all. Javits Center, New York City. It's big time, no doubt. Oh, over 70,000. Over a hundred thousand people showing up. I can't wait to be there. I look forward to seeing you Friday, my man.
- [18:36]
DJ Khaled
Can't wait, my brother. Love you, man. Great seeing you.
- [18:40]
Stephen A. Smith
All right, same here. Love you too, man. The one and only Michael Rubin right here. Fanatics Fest NYC 2025 takes place June 20th through the 22nd at the Jacob Javits Convention center in New York City. For ticket information, go to fanatics fest.com foreign.
- [19:01]
Lex Borrero
Welcome to the you versus you podcast. I'm Lex Ferreiro, and every week we sit down with some of the biggest names in entertainment to talk about the real stuff, the struggles, the doubts and the breakthroughs that made them who they are. We go deep, exploring childhood trauma, family, overcoming loss, and the moments that shape their journey. These honest conversations are meant to take the cape off our heroes with the hope that their humanity inspires you to become a better you and therefore set you free to live the life of your dreams. Here's a sneak peek.
- [19:31]
Michael Rubin
I'm trained to go compete. I'm trained to be like, harder. But sometimes that mentality stops you from stopping and smelling the flowers in your own garden.
- [19:39]
Lex Borrero
Is it wrong to want more?
- [19:41]
Michael Rubin
We migrated. Our family migrated here. I'm like second generation.
- [19:50]
Lex Borrero
Listen to you versus you as part of Michael Tuda Podcast Network, available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.
- [20:01]
Joseph Reeves
Show me how good it can get today, God. And show the rest of the world what we already know it can't get. No better than being hella black, hella queer and hella Christian. My name is Joseph Reeves. I am the creator and host of of Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian, a fully black, fully queer, fully human, fully divine podcast that explores society, culture, and the intersections of faith and identity. Listen to Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian to hear conversations about what it means to sound the way you look.
- [20:32]
Stephen A. Smith
I think what I've had to make.
- [20:33]
Joseph Reeves
Peace with is that every iteration of.
- [20:35]
DJ Khaled
My voice is given to me by.
- [20:37]
Joseph Reeves
God and I love it. Books that validated our identity.
- [20:40]
Stephen A. Smith
The library now for me is a safe space. As someone who is writing books that they're trying to take off of shelves.
- [20:46]
Joseph Reeves
And how we as black queer folks relate to our Christianity. Listen to Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast.
- [21:05]
Stephen A. Smith
That's it for this special edition of the Stephen A. Smith Show. I'll be back with you in a couple of days, if not tomorrow. You never know with me. There's a lot to talk about and I'll be around to do just that. Until then, this is Stephen A. Signing off. Thanks again to the one and only Michael Rubin Fanatics Fest this weekend. Check it out. Javit Jacob Javits center in New York City. It's a must attend event, make no mistake about it. And a whole bunch of people are going to be there. Just like Michael Rubin told you. Don't miss it y' all. Until next time, this is Stephen A Signing off. Peace and love. Be safe. God bless.
- [21:41]
Michael Rubin
AT&T has a new guarantee because most things in life are not guaranteed like getting through self checkout by yourself. Not guaranteed in a world where Nothing is guaranteed. AT&T is bringing something new to the table. AT&T is introducing a guarantee with connectivity and you can depend on deals you want and service you deserve or they make it right. Learn more@att.com guarantee@&t connecting changes everything. Terms and conditions apply. Visit att.com guarantee for detail.
- [22:18]
Lex Borrero
Welcome to the you versus you podcast. I'm Lex Borrero inviting you to go beyond the titles and the accolades of the world's most successful entertainers. Each week we take off the cape and get real about the inner battles, childhood stories and the moments that shaped our guests. Get inspired to become the best version of you. Listen to youo versus you podcast on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [22:42]
Ryan Seacrest
This is an iHeart podcast.