Independent sports media built around the story behind the moment.
I built UnderdogSprts from zero as a place to make the kind of sports content I wanted to see: fast enough for the timeline, thoughtful enough to actually say something.
Since launching in 2024, the brand has generated 169M+ TikTok views, 25M+ likes and 137M+ cross-platform views over the last 12 months—built independently through organic distribution and a story-first approach to sports media.
The Idea
Between ESPN and the group chat.
UnderdogSprts is built for the fan who pays attention.
The brand looks past the scoreboard to the stories underneath it: overlooked players, shifting narratives, unlikely runs, rivalries, draft conversations and the cultural moments that make sports matter beyond the final score.
The lane is intentionally somewhere between traditional sports media and fan culture: more personality than legacy coverage, more substance than a highlight page.
What We Cover
NBA + College Basketball
Player arcs, draft narratives, rivalries, March Madness and the stories surrounding the game. Basketball was the natural starting point for UnderdogSprts: its players, personalities and constant movement make it especially suited for narrative-driven short-form storytelling.
NFL + College Football
Football brings a different storytelling rhythm. In the NFL, stars and storylines can change by the hour; in college football, programs, rivalries, recruiting and now NIL give individual moments a much larger context.
The goal stays the same: find the story forming underneath the headline before everyone is telling it the same way.
Sports × Culture
Sports rarely exist in isolation.
Music, fashion, entertainment and internet culture constantly bleed into the way fans experience the game. UnderdogSprts uses those intersections when they actually add something to the story, participating in trends without letting the trend become the identity.
How I Build It
Story first.
A great stat line can earn attention. A great story keeps it.
In short-form, every second matters. The difference between someone watching for 25 seconds and staying for 45 can completely change how far a piece travels, so the narrative has to keep giving the viewer a reason to stay.
.Move while the moment matters.
Reactive sports content has a short shelf life.
I’ve built my workflow around identifying the angle, editing quickly and publishing while the conversation is still forming. Some of my biggest posts have gone live within minutes of the moment itself, sometimes before larger sports outlets have published their own treatment of it.
Make it native to the feed.
Hooks, pacing, text treatment, length and framing are built around the platform rather than treating social as a dumping ground for finished creative.
Different platforms create different viewing habits. The job is understanding what the audience expects in each environment without losing the voice that makes the work recognizable.
Build the feedback loop.
I use retention, shares, saves, audience behavior and topic performance to decide what gets repeated, refined or abandoned.
If a new format consistently holds attention, it can become a series. If a storyline is already exhausted by the time everyone else reaches it, I’d rather look for the next angle than add another version to the pile.
Look where everyone else isn’t.
Underdog stories, player arcs, cultural crossovers and overlooked narratives are the backbone of the editorial system.
I’m constantly looking for the detail that changes how a moment is understood : the career history, relationship, rivalry, quote or piece of context that turns a clip into an actual story.
Built Independently
One brand. One operator.
I’ve built UnderdogSprts largely as a one-person operation, developing the editorial strategy while also executing the work.
My role includes:
1. Editorial direction
2. Research & story selection
3. Writing & scripting
4. Short-form video editing
5. Graphic design
6. Copywriting & publishing
7. Platform strategy
8. Performance analysis
9. Audience development
10. Brand positioning
2. Research & story selection
3. Writing & scripting
4. Short-form video editing
5. Graphic design
6. Copywriting & publishing
7. Platform strategy
8. Performance analysis
9. Audience development
10. Brand positioning
Running both sides of the operation has forced me to understand the full loop:
Idea → execution → distribution → performance → iteration.
The Audience
Built for the fan who discovers sports through the feed.
Audience snapshot — Summer 2026
86% male
74% ages 18–34
89% U.S.-based
15%+ engagement rate
74% ages 18–34
89% U.S.-based
15%+ engagement rate
20M monthly views
179K shares/month
~1:05 average content format
179K shares/month
~1:05 average content format
The audience is young, U.S.-heavy and discovery-driven, built less around follower dependency and more around content that travels beyond the existing community.
What Underdog Taught Me
UnderdogSprts became my laboratory for understanding why sports stories travel. Building it from zero taught me that attention usually isn’t won by having more access, more resources or a bigger logo.
It comes from finding the right angle, moving while the moment matters, packaging the story for the platform and giving people a reason to care before asking them to watch.
More importantly, it gave me an experimental proving ground for myself. Allowing me to try new ideas, attempt different angles, conjure fanatic narratives, and ultimately study what earns retention, shares and conversation. Constantly learning from it to make the next piece better.
That philosophy has shaped how I approach every team, campaign and brand I’ve worked on since.