Serena Williams’ husband Alexis Ohanian explores the “Lionel Messi effect” in sports, highlights “new era” of empowered athletes

shinaOctober 5, 2024

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Riddhi Acharya

Modified Oct 05, 2024 03:13 GMT

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Serena Williams’ husband, Alexis Ohanian, is a successful investor and entrepreneur who has taken a keen interest in the sporting world. Recently, the Reddit co-founder opened up on the ‘Messi effect’ and how the new generation of athletes can capitalize on connections with fans to build a brand.

After marrying Serena Williams in 2017, Ohanian has explored multiple sporting ventures. In 2020, the 41-year-old invested in Angel City FC, a team in the National Women’s Soccer League. He has since then gone on to host a women’s only track meet named Athlos, which was met with overwhelming approval by fans and athletes alike.Recently, in an appearance on the Thanalysisshow, Alexis Ohanian discussed the importance of a player’s connection with fans, using Lionel Messi’s move to Inter Miami in the MLS as an example.

“The Messi effect, he moved from PSG, one of the biggest clubs in the world to one of the worst teams in the MLS in Miami. Literally millions of fans unfollowed PSG and followed this no name club. That’s the power of the individual. The momentum is now really shifted. The most important story a team can tell is actually now about their players. Y’all are the reason people get in the seats. People scream and cry and feel so emotional, it’s not the logo, right? It’s the players.”

He went on to express that in this new era, players would be looking to capitalize on their brand, making the most of their playing career away from the field.

“In this new era we’re going to see a generation of athletes that think this way. They know their job is bigger than just the sport and they know how much power they have. They’re not just thinking about working their asses off to become pros and becoming the best, they’re also thinking about building the media empire, doing the brand deals in much smarter ways, doing investing while they’re still playing, while they’re still active, because they’re building something much bigger.”

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Serena Williams on her brand away from the tennis court

Serena Williams on building her brand (Image Source: Getty)

Serena Williams agrees with her husband when it comes to building her brand as a player. Before the former World No.1 called time on her tennis career, she was serving on the advisory board of companies like Verizon Media, Survey Monkey, and Poshmark.

The tennis star also began her clothing line while she was still playing, and established her venture capital firm ‘Serena Ventures’. Speaking at the Advertising Week panel back in 2019, Williams explained her name was synonymous to a brand, saying,

“Serena Williams is a brand. I think of myself as a mom, a sister and a daughter, but it is a brand.”

Since retirement, Williams has continued to establish a brand as a businesswoman, furthering ‘Serena Ventures’, while exploring projects like Will Perform, a company that creates products for pain relief and muscle care, and multimedia firm Nine Two Six Productions.

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