[Knight Talks opening music] Welcome to Knight Talks, the Universit of Florida College of Journalism and Communications talk show produced by students for you.

I'm Anja Schwarzbauer, a first-year student studying International Studies and Journalism.

And our guest today is Whitney Holtzman, a University of Florida CJC graduate who wrote and reported for ESPN as well as operated for social media for Major League Baseball and all 30 teams.

She's listed on UFs 40 under 40 for 2023 and is currently the CE for Social Victories, advising athletes, sports entities and major brands on the most innovative social media and marketing tactics.

Hi, Whitney, thanks for joining us.

Thank you so much for having me.

I'm so excited and honored to be here because I still feel like the college kid just hoping to get an opportunity to be in the class.

First off, you earned your degree from UF focusing on journalism and sports management.

So how did your time here build the skills you'd go on to use in your career?

So between the time I was accepted and graduated, the Gators won two football and two basketball championships.

So, you know, yeah, I was saying, in the during the panel that I got accepted and our teams were great.

And then I graduate and things went downhill.

So I'm not saying I had anything to do with it, but I don't know how you can ignore the facts.

So I think it did help that we were the center of the sports universe during my time here.

And it wasn't jus what was happening on the field.

We also had Erin Andrews paving the way and Laura Rutledge.

And so it was also a great time for women who wanted to work in sports media.

So I think you have to find the place that will allow for the jobs that you ultimately want to have.

And for me there was no better opportunity to work in sports than coming to UF.

And just the I didn't even know until I got here how fabulou the journalism school was, but just knowing that all eye were on UF during my time here really helped me mak the most of being a student here because people companies came to us before going anywhere else.

Yeah, absolutely.

It's great to hear you excelled under that pressure.

I feel like it's always what, like, brings people to do their best.

Yeah.

For sure.

During your time at UF, you reported with WUFT and ESPNU.

How did seizing differen opportunities like these impact you, including your internships?

I think that, you know, I really, while friends were going out or doing other things, I was very focused on applying for internships, applying for jobs.

I wouldn't stop until I had accomplished my goal.

And I think a lot of times in this day and age, people get defeated really easily.

And like I said, you have to be absolutely relentles and disciplined and determined.

I think a lot of it is, you know, I was saying in the session, like, the doors cracked open, and you have to find a way to swing it open and, you know the worst people can say is no.

And it only takes one yes.

And you want to cast your net wide and go for everything that you're interested in and see what sort of sticks and falls in your lap.

So I think it wasn't just the internships I had.

It was then how can I make the most of m time here after each internship based on the experience I had?

Yeah, absolutely.

That's so inspiring to hear since this is such a competitive field.

In 2010, you began working at ESPN, as you mentioned writing and reporting for ESPNW, ESPN's women initiative.

Right after graduating, what was your mindset at the time and how did you get this opportunity?

I remember tha when I was graduating, all of a lot of my friends knew exactly what they were doing after college and I knew what my passion was.

I knew what I was meant to do, but I graduated with no job.

And I always say that a transition period does not define you because those five months where I didn't have a jo after I graduated, I look back and they don't matter at this moment, but they were everything for my identity, and, you know, I went from being around all the stimulation and people my age and all the opportunities to just like being in a bedroom in a quiet neighborhood, you know it was depressing in some ways.

And I think that, to backtrac the way I got the first job was I was interning for ESP in Bristol, and I had this idea that they should name the Spanish channel Espanol.

I was like why has no one thought of this?

This is genius.

So I emailed this guy who ended up becoming the president of ESPN and told him my idea, and he was like, no, but you should come meet with me.

So I went and I met with him and, you know, I had my W necklace on and you know, I'm like, oh, ESPNW.

He was telling me they were going to launch this new initiative, and I was like I've already got your gear on.

And I thin that was the first moment for me that I realized that you're able to carve out your own path.

I always say sometimes you'r the one you've been waiting for.

And everyone had said to me, if you want to work at ESPN, you have to start at, you know, a small station and, you know, the middle of nowhere, work your way up, and maybe after 20 years you get an opportunity.

But I realized at that moment, wait a minute, ESPNW is sort of a startup within a larger company, so they were willing to take a chance on someone new, someone coming right out of college.

And so that opportunity was perfect for me and just because everyone else did it one way didn't mean that I had to do it that way.

So that was really my “aha” moment that, wait a minute, I don't have to follow someone else's path.

I can create my own.

Yeah, I don't know.

I feel lik it can be really discouraging, especially in a man's world like this one.

I have learned to look at my “disadvantages” as a woman, and I put tha in air quotes, as my superpower.

Yeah.

So, you know, again, when I was becoming an agent and I looked around and, you know, I see that the people representing athletes all looked exactly the same.

They were all white men about in their 50s, and they had a huge roster of clients.

And I thought, I don't look like them.

I'm a lot younger.

Like how am I going to have any shot of breaking in and to build the trust of athletes?

And then I kind of realized, just from conversations with people that I was representing that the things that I brought to the table were things that they were looking for.

So, for example women tend to be more nurturing.

These guys were thrust int adulthood at a very young age, and they missed someone being their day to day, someone who cared about them.

They were looking for that.

And then they, you know, a few of them said, look we were raised by single moms.

Like in our world, women get the job done.

So I started to realize that, wait a minute, there was a group of people who were actually looking for what I brought to the table, not those other guys.

So it benefited me for the clients that I had not to fit in.

Going off of that, what kind of stories did you cover at ESPNW and what was the typical workload like?

Oh goodness.

So I was it was a startup, so I was writing, reporting, editing.

Just to backtrack, when I was at ESPN, the internship program, they give you a role that exists within the company.

So the first day or two you have, you know, they call it like rookie orientation.

And then like by day three, you are given a title that like is a full time job.

So I was a Production Assistant, so I was creating highlights for Sportscenter and Baseball Tonight.

So I would watch the game, kind of tell the editor the story that I wanted to create with the highlight, write the script and run i across the hall to the anchors.

So that was my internship.

And then the rol that in addition to the editing that I was assigned, I had to write a story every day of the week called, Captain's Corner.

So I had to find a high schoo female captain of a sports team.

It was on me to locate them, to reach out to them, to interview them, and then to write the story.

And I had to turn in five of those a week.

And then I was also in charge of a series called, About Last Night, where I was recapping the night in sport for our fans who were following, and so I was working during the day and at nigh burning the candle at all ends.

Wow.

Yeah.

How do you feel like you prepped for a work environment that was so, like, fast paced and demanding?

I think I just had such a drive and passion for what I was doing and what I wanted to do.

Like, I was so career focused, and I just didn't let other factors get in my way.

Ultimately, as time went on you know, I priorities changed.

There was more work-life balance.

But at the time it was the chapter in my career where I had the ability to just focus on creating opportunities for myself and for accomplishing goals.

I didn't have other things at that moment that I had to worry about: family, marriage, kids, all those things, so I was able to pour all of my energy into making it work, and I wanted it badly enough.

And I knew that if it didn't work out, there wasn't necessaril a backup option waiting for me.

So I just, I had to do whatever it took to succeed.

In 2012, you became a social media producer for Major League Baseball.

How did your responsibilities and your content change in that role?

So at the time, and I tell a lot of kids, especially in college, if you don't know what you want to do, it's oka because that job was my second job out of college, and it didn't even exist when I was in college.

I just remember at the time I was tweeting about baseball for fun and I saw an opportunity posted to do social media for Major League Baseball.

And I thought, oh my gosh, this is a job?

So I applied for it.

And when I was in that role, we watch all the games, we work from 6 p.m. to between 2 and 5 in the morning, depending on when the games were over.

We covered all the games across the country, including the West Coast, and in the beginning you were assigned a few different games a night and then you were in charge we had a huge spreadsheet with all the teams and what the teams wanted to do themselves, what they wanted to do for us, and, you know, based on the games we were watching, we helped fulfill those requirements on social media.

And then like Instagra was invented when I was in MLB.

So then it was another platform added.

And then eventually I rose up into the MLB role where I oversaw everyon who was posting about the games, and then I ran the MLB channels myself.

Yeah, a lot more than peanuts and Cracker Jacks.

I mean, you couldn't even go to the bathroom because you missed a home run or a play, like, there was no break in the action.

Wow.

Yeah.

In 2015 you then worked for VaynerMedia.

What led to this transition, and what were the challenges switching from MLB to focusing on the NFL and Fortune 100 brands?

So I think that was a pivotal point in my career because I again, I talked about priorities shifting, and I realized that I just didn't want to keep missing every holiday every wedding, nights, weekends.

I was in my eyes, I'm like, okay, I'm never going to be the CEO of MLB from this position, and so if it's not going to pay off and, you know, to the highest role, like, what am I doing?

Like I, you know, I just have to really decide what's important to me.

And so I was looking for a plac that had a really good culture and that had more traditional hours.

And I was sitting at LaGuardi because I lived in New York at the time, and I ordered a pizza to the gate because I thought it was so cool that you could do that.

And while I was eating my pizza, I was just reading the iPad, and there was a story in the New York Times about VaynerMedia, and it was the first tim that I really saw that there was a company, or as we know it now, an agency that did social media for a bunch of different companies.

I really was drawn to the variety.

When it came to switching from MLB to VaynerMedia, I had to accept that maybe I was leaving my passions behind to prioritize other aspects of my life and my well-being.

And I think the lesson I learne is when you follow your heart, things tend to work out even better.

So, you know, I went from covering MLB in the beginning, and then when I got to VaynerMedia, I was on some of the bigger accounts: Nabisco, PepsiCo.

And it was really cool to go to the headquarters of some of these major companies.

And Nabisco had a big store with all the Oreos, and I would come home with like 50 packs of Oreos.

Like, I could barely carry them all because they were all at wholesale prices.

So that was maybe my favorite part of, you know, working with them.

But I think one thing I learne in some of these bigger clients is that they are larger.

They are more corporate.

Yeah.

There's a lot more there are a lot more decision makers.

And things have to go through a lot of steps of approval.

So they were a lot more slow moving.

We'd come up with the marketing campaign and then maybe a month later it would go live.

And I think I learned about myself and my soul that, like, I just it was too slow for me, you know.

I missed the in the moment feeling and the action aspect of sports.

And so actually, my third day Gary called me into his office and he said, you remind me a lot of me.

You're more entrepreneurial.

You like to be creative.

Like, I would say the larger accounts were just more traditional mindset.

So it happened to work out that Steve Ross, who owns the Miami Dolphins, invested in VaynerMedia, and Steve Ross and Gary created a fund called Vayner RSE where they would invest in incubate startups.

So Gary actually created a new role for me where once a startup had been invested in or, you know, created, incubated, they'd hand it over to me to do the marketing, and I got to steer the shi and be creative and be nimble.

So, I think, and ultimately I had the Miami Dolphins.

And so I left MLB where I was executing different campaigns, and now I was working like for the Dolphins accoun where I was making the decisions and I was steering the ship.

And so that's what I mean by following your heart and having it work out, you sort of realize like what bosses, what accounts, whatever it might be, what fits your personality.

And you are who you are.

So you're better off finding the fit for you than trying to forc something that really isn't you.

You then worked for the Ross Initiative in Sports for equality as Director of Social Media.

What is Rise and how were yo able to make an impact for them?

So Rise is really the first organization where every sports league has come together for one larger cause.

So our goal was to eradicate racism, to get rid of injustices, break down stereotypes and unite neighborhoods.

And I really loved that job because I felt like we were making a huge impact.

So I came up with this sideline racism campaign that a lot of NFL players ended up wearing on their cleats.

So, you know, no matter your age, gender, economic status, education level, everyone looks up to athletes the same way.

And so in a time in times where our country can be so divisive, you know, athlete walks into a room and everyone is looking up to them and following them.

Like, I think sports are the greatest vehicle for change, for positive change and to unify people because of the power that an athlete holds that sort of no other figure can captivate a group in the same way.

We also had an education program where we taught a curriculum to high school coaches, s we called it Train the Trainers.

And then the coaches would spend one day a week, instead of practice, they would teach a chapte of the curriculum, and then wed get all the schools together at the end of the season.

And the goal was to unite neighborhoods.

Like a lot of times you hear people say, oh, that's a bad are or I don't want to go over there because it's scary or whatever.

Well, chances are people ther don't want to be there either.

So the whole goal was, you know, it's harder to change adults.

So our goal was that, you know, we would get these schools together, you know, when kids were younger or more impressionable and they would realize how much they have in common, they would become friends and therefore resources and neighborhood would be going back and forth.

Yeah.

That's powerful.

Next, you worked as Chief Marketing Officer for Brandon Marshall.

Tell us about that experience and how you were able to help with his initiatives.

Sure.

So I think the Rise job and the into the Brandon Marshall job, I really came to realize my passion is in the intersection of sports and making the worl a better place, again, because sports are just suc a powerful vehicle and unifier.

And Brandon Marshall was really the first player in the NFL to talk about mental health.

And so we went around the country hosting youth mental health first aid classes where basically we taught adults who work with kids how to recognize signs of mental health issues, mental distress, and then what to do about them and the stories we heard o people, you know, who ended up saving kids lives just based on those classes was really extraordinary.

But Brandon, back in the day, they, you know, he was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, and everyone, you know, said to him, don't tell anyone about this.

You're not going to get another contract.

And instead he held a press conference.

And, you know, he always says, you know, he was black, he was an athlete and he was a man.

Those are three groups that tend to not speak up about being vulnerabl or talking about their feelings.

And so just having him as an example really helped break down barriers for so many different groups of people to really get the proper help that they need.

And then at the same time, I was doing the endorsement deals for him and running the marketing for his fitness center.

So, I think I learned sort of how to oversee a number of brands under one umbrella.

Yeah a lot of hats to wear, for sure.

Oh, for sure.

In 2018, you then founded Social Victories, serving as CEO.

What is Social Victories an what inspired you to start it?

So, essentially, we help leaders in the sports world find their place in the world to build their brands, help them figure out what their purpose is, and also to reach consumers where their eyes are, and to market in a way that brings value to people instead of so many companies out there which are just all about selling.

We want everything that we do with our clients to feel like a win to their consumers, that people are so excited to participate in it, they don't even realize they'r necessarily being marketed to.

So I really, you know, sit down with them and help them figure out wha their place in the world is so that they're set up for succes the whole rest of their lives.

And I thin ultimately I started it because I was, you know, I was doing well in the jobs I had.

I knew I wanted to be creative.

I knew I wanted to execute the ideas that I had.

I knew tha I wanted to have the flexibility of being my own boss.

And I just felt like, you know, for the criteria that I had in mind that the only way to make this happe was to start a business myself.

And I wanted to be able to focus on those relationship building aspects instead of just making everything about money.

And so again, I just knew that what felt right for me I didn't find existed out there.

And so it was on me to give it a shot and try and start it.

What does it mean to be your own CEO and follow a path that maybe didn't exist yet?

So, I mean, I think you have to constantly put boundaries in place.

I talk a lot about energy vampires and people who detract from your bank account.

You want to find people who add to it.

I mean, even when I was becoming an agent, I didn't know any other female NFL agent, so there was no on I could ask questions to.

Yeah.

Or I mean, you really have to just trust your own gut and do what you think is best because there's no precedent for what you're creating.

So I think, you know, that's definitely the hardest part.

But on the plus side, I can do what I feel is right and most important every day.

And I'm someone I cannot lie to myself.

So I cannot be in an environment that's doing things the wrong way or not really taking care of people or is more transactional.

And so I think to me, it's just such a relief that I can chart out my day and fill it with good things and good people and also just leave a legacy of what I think is right in terms of taking care of my clients every day.

In 2020, you published you book, “You Are the First You.” What inspired you to write it?

And did the timing o the pandemic affect its release?

Well, the timing of the pandemic was huge.

So I jok that all my friends were having babies, and I had a book because it took me nine months from start to finish.

So I poured everything I had into this book, and then it came out March of 2020, which many of you recall was exactly when the pandemic hit.

Right?

So terrible timing to do anything, especially when you need other people around.

So I was supposed to hav all these book signings and my clients were going to d fireside chats where they were going to interview me.

We had all this stuff planned, the invitations were out, and then the pandemic hit and canceled everything.

So writing a book is an investment.

And really the payoff comes when people buy it.

Like that' when you recoup your investment.

And also when, like, I share this part of me that was the most personal project I had ever worked on.

I started either mailing it to people and they would Venmo me or Id drop it off on their patio, and then eventuall it ended up on it's on Amazon.

So that allowed people to then purchase it.

So I just had to find other ways, you know to get it into people's hands.

But I had to work a million times harder than if it would have just worked out the way it was, you know, supposed to.

Inspired me to write the book?

I never thought I was someon who would write a book at all.

I thought that was reserved for celebrities.

And, there was a point in time where the publisher reached out to me on LinkedIn and said, hey, we're looking for more books by female entrepreneurs.

Like we'd love to have conversations.

And I'm like, all right, what do I have to lose?

You know by continuing these phone calls?

And basically they said, okay, the next ste is to put an outline together.

I mentioned in the panel that they sai it should be a one page outline.

Mine was 12.

But the good news was half the book was written, and ultimately that outlin went to the heads of the company and they voted on me, voted on it and called m and said the vote was unanimous.

So I was like, well, no I guess I have to write a book.

And I ended up loving the process.

Im actually almost done writing my second one because, you know, as the same thing, you know, I'll say to my athletes, instead of looking at sports as your purpose, how can it be your platform to your purpose?

Yeah.

And I think for me, my ultimate purpose is helping others and teaching them.

And my book was sort o my platform to help me do that.

It was everything tha I would want to tell one person.

But now I get to tell anyone who reads it.

So it just helps me scale my why.

I also believe a congratulation is in order, as you were named the 2023 list of UFs 40 under 40.

What significance does an accolade of that scale hold for you?

Oh my gosh.

It was like the greatest honor of my lifetime.

I thought I was going to get to campus and they were going to be like just kidding, you're on Pumped!

Because there are just so many talented superstars that graduate from UF, and just the sheer number of graduates that matriculate every year, you know, think of all the different colleges here and the numbers.

And this wasn't just from my class.

It was everyone who's under 40.

So, you know, you'r taking the thousands of people who graduate every year and multiplying that by, you know, everyone who' still under 40 is a huge number.

And you're like, wait, I'm one of 40.

Like, it just I couldn't believe it.

And I loved UF so much and I obviously still do, like, UF fostered the unique person that I was and what my dreams were.

And they created opportunities and had all these outlets like it was just the perfect place for me.

Like, I feel like UF understood me and is the reaso my entire career was possible.

So to get that kind of love and honor back from a place that you revere and appreciate so much, I mean, it was such a gift.

And truly, I'm it's the honor of a lifetime because of the respec that I have for this university.

Yeah, well, it sounds like they picked the right person.

Trying.

Trying.

You try.

You try, and you succeed.

Thank you.

I appreciate that.

Lastly, what advic would you give to young people looking to work in the sports industry, especially women?

So I would say just in general this is for everyone, you know, we talked about be relentless and chasing your dreams and going after what you're meant for.

No FOMO, you know, just have the tunnel vision to tune everyone else and everything else out.

I would say, don't cut corners.

There are often an easy there are often easy way outs of certain situations, but they always come back to bite you.

The only thing that people remember about you is how you made them feel.

So, you know, trea every relationship with respect.

I would say leave things better than you found them, and find the boss who see the world the same way you do.

Kind of treat it like dating, where you work for someone who thinks that, you know, you are that acts like you are the on person that they've been waiting to hire.

Absolutely.

I think that advic really speaks for itself.

Yeah.

Thank you for your insight today, Whitney.

I was really inspired by how you talked about forging your own path as a woman in an industry largely dominated by men, and how you created a career for yourself that honestly didn't even exist 20 years ago.

Thank you to our viewers for joining us.

And until next time, good night.