Zach Levet Signs Deal With Hoka

Portland Hobby Jogger wrote:

Sponsors are looking for athletes that are also influencers. They will get more traction and sales with secondary and tertiary level athletes with likeable personalities than they do with hermits with Asperger's Syndrome. Like it or not, this is the new trend in marketing.

Good on Zach for creating an opportunity for himself. Apologies to all of you "serious" runners that didn't think of it first or just don't have a marketable personality or look.

the problem with this being that he doesn't have a likeable personality, he's wildly cringey. but, with a couple thousand teenagers following him

would be interesting to see if he calls himself "sponsored" now, or admits it's just an influencer/kit deal

6 wrote:

Man Hoka and Brooks are really desperate for some teenage fans to compete with Tinman...

Stop hating. These guys have established brands + followers. Companies recognize that and want to monetize that. It is what it is.

FWIW Tinman is great. Blue collar guys getting after it and documenting the dream. Athlete Special is a sub-4 miler and it'll be interesting to see how he can improve in his current training environment. I want to see if he can be a Trials qualifier. Levet isn't always my cup of tea but clearly a lot of people like him for a reason.

Obviously he is getting signed because of his following, etc. But I feel like they could have found someone with a similar/large enough following who at least showed some true compassion for running.

Zach is stealing from the hard working pros. Taking away opportunities.

I click on these threads because I know there will be unfounded vitriol, and I enjoy shaking my head at how upset you people get. But you're still just not getting it.

There is a dearth of good running content available for interested viewers. We're in a pandemic where people want to watch more content about what they are interested in. There are only so many world championships and olympics finals available online. There are hardly any series documenting the training cycles of runners or giving viewers a behind-the-scenes look at how elite athletes train and function.

Formula 1 has traditionally been unpopular in the US. Then the "Drive to Survive" Netflix series came out giving viewers a behind-the-scenes look at how those teams train and function. There's been an uptake in viewership because of the Netflix series. Same with the English Premier League (soccer) with the Amazon Prime series following Man City, Tottenham, and Leeds. Liverpool and Leicester City have had some good videos made about their seasons too. Viewers want a behind-the-scenes look at how those teams train and function.

These Youtubers give new runners and bored-but-inquisitive fans a look into something that they haven't seen before. Their videos have large numbers of viewers; more viewers than actual running championships themselves. Nick Symmonds has 300K subscribers on YouTube. That's more subscribers than individual views on the YouTube video of the 2019 World Championship 800m final. More people watched Nick Symmonds run in a turtle costume on Venice Beach than watched him win a Silver Medal at Worlds. Zach Levet has 95k subscribers. Hoka's NAZ Elite Mini Meet during the pandemic has 2,500 viewers.

If you're a serious enough runner to know the differences between the elite sponsored teams, you also likely have enough experience to have your own preferences on shoes and apparel . Hoka's ad dollar is not going to influence you much. You might have your preferences already set.

But guess what? A new runner to the sport who enjoys Zach Levet or Nick Symmonds videos is likely going to be more influenced by their sponsorships. Hell, I didn't know Gymshark made running shorts, and, because of a Nick Symmonds video, I checked out their running line. They had a nice pair of neon shorts that I really enjoy wearing when it's dark out. His YouTube videos led me to purchase an item from one of his sponsors.

So, big picture, the running community should be happy that these runners are getting sponsorships. They are getting the sport of running into the collective consciousness of potential consumers, and they are providing content that nobody else is willing to put out there. Good for them!

Yeah, I get what you are saying. Sorry if I sounded like a broken record. Good points in what you posted, I can see the reasoning behind sponsoring him. Doesn’t mean I support it though, but in the end it does not matter as you said, does it.

I may be missing something, but generating 50K weekly views (generous...many weeks are more like 15-30K) on Youtube is supposed to be what's making him a living?

@TheRunningEffect wrote:

Should be announced later this week:

https://www.strava.com/activities/4439139141

High key surprised Hoka is taking a chance, but best of luck to Zach!

Is everyone just gonna ignore that this is very likely to be false? First off, the only proof OP has is a run from Zach Levet on strava where he was wearing Hoka shoes. Looking through his shoes on strava, he switches from Nike, Hoka and Brooks. Recently (past 2 weeks) he's been switching been the HOKA ONE ONE Clifton 7 and the Nike Terra Kiger. Secondly, he just rented or bought a house in LA, so he isn't planning on moving to train with NAZ or some other Hoka sponsored group. I think Zach Levet is a great runner, and if he starts consistently training he could be very good at the marathon, but he isn't signing with Hoka, that's for sure.

This is annoying, but mostly because i'm jealous. I hate the influencer/social media side of running with a passion, but it's what sells these days I guess instead of real talent. At least it's not Hocker, Teare, or Silva making those bucks- those dudes see themselves as gifts to the galaxy. Good for levet.

NERunner53 wrote:

6 wrote:

Man Hoka and Brooks are really desperate for some teenage fans to compete with Tinman...

Stop hating. These guys have established brands + followers. Companies recognize that and want to monetize that. It is what it is.

FWIW Tinman is great. Blue collar guys getting after it and documenting the dream. Athlete Special is a sub-4 miler and it'll be interesting to see how he can improve in his current training environment. I want to see if he can be a Trials qualifier. Levet isn't always my cup of tea but clearly a lot of people like him for a reason.

Tinman Elite is anything but blue collar. You got two guys from the Midwest and two from the south. The rest are from typically wealthy areas. California, Colorado, Delaware. Drew’s high school, loudoun valley, is located in BY FAR the richest county per capita in the US

yeeyeemf wrote:

This is annoying, but mostly because i'm jealous. I hate the influencer/social media side of running with a passion, but it's what sells these days I guess instead of real talent. At least it's not Hocker, Teare, or Silva making those bucks- those dudes see themselves as gifts to the galaxy. Good for levet.

If you think Cooper Teare and Evert Silva are more arrogant and stuck up than the average college kid you would greatly mistaken. You must not spend too much time around teenagers or young adults, because Teare and Silva are pretty middle of the road in terms of personality.

In the comments someone said “congrats on your Hoka deal”

Levet replied “how’d you find out?”

THOUGHTSLEADER wrote:

I may be missing something, but generating 50K weekly views (generous...many weeks are more like 15-30K) on Youtube is supposed to be what's making him a living?

I'm not a fan of his videos, just not entertaining for me. I did watch one where he broke down his income though recently bc I was curious. His youtube makes a just little, but him and a friend own some embroidery business and he made 10k last month from it. That's a lot better than most 21yr olds I'll give him that.

Is this the guy whose main source of income is making knockoff embroidery of the Nike logo?

Saw a thread on him last week. Same guy right?

NY Responder wrote:

Good for him. Cobbling together a few incomes to make more than the average 20 year old is impressive. If the deal is "only" $40,000 plus free merch and he makes another $20,000 off YouTube views and Instagram deals then he's doing great. Imagine being 20, making $60,000, no office job, and living in whichever city you want.

His videos aren't for me but support the path.

Except he already makes $150k/year from YouTube and that will probably double in a year or two.

Yes it is. Here is the store front just in case someone forgot: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BackdoorEmbroidery

Wow, if this is true, he's going to get sued.

@TheRunningEffect wrote:

Should be announced later this week:

https://www.strava.com/activities/4439139141

High key surprised Hoka is taking a chance, but best of luck to Zach!

Yes, best of luck! Great shoe co. to work for.

Portland Hobby Jogger wrote:

Sponsors are looking for athletes that are also influencers. They will get more traction and sales with secondary and tertiary level athletes with likeable personalities than they do with hermits with Asperger's Syndrome. Like it or not, this is the new trend in marketing.

Good on Zach for creating an opportunity for himself. Apologies to all of you "serious" runners that didn't think of it first or just don't have a marketable personality or look.

I will see you at the Red House, you Douchebag..