Comeback Story and Golden Decade ahead – Tyson Beattie, Western Force

This transcript has been transcribed by Riverside.fm, no edits (please excuse any errors)

Sean Callanan (00:01.228)
Very happy to welcome Tyson Beattie. He's the general manager of business operations at the Western Force. Tyson, welcome to the podcast.

Tyson (00:09.168)
G'day Sean, thanks for having me.

Sean Callanan (00:11.276)
Not a problem at all. I always start my podcast interviews trying to figure out people's sports business origin story. What about yourself? How did you find yourself in the world of sports?

Tyson (00:22.438)
it's a super long story, Sean. I'll try and condense it, but I guess where I started out…

Sean Callanan (00:26.306)
No, that's all right. We like the journey. So don't condense too much because I will pull you up and we will go back.

Tyson (00:32.55)
Well, I was lucky enough when I was younger to get a college scholarship to play gridiron in America. That's probably where my sporting journey started. I was an okay AFL player playing locally, but wasn't going to make the AFL. So I attempted to follow the footsteps of Darren Bennett, who was the first Australian punter in the NFL, who was doing a of a tryout sort of base situation with young…

Sean Callanan (00:39.843)
Mm-hmm.

Tyson (00:58.628)
punters in the sort of late 90s and I ended up going on the path of going down the college football path and there was a chance to get a scholarship at Indiana University in the States. They flew me over, I got offered one, it was the best five years of my sporting life, it was unbelievable. Played every game in that time.

Sean Callanan (01:16.738)
Yeah.

Tyson (01:20.282)
played in front of crowds of over 100,000 at Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, that sort of thing. And was able to complete a degree in sort of marketing communications studies. And that set me up for my path in media down the track, which then led to sports administration.

Sean Callanan (01:34.754)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So I guess before we get on that, but the college stuff, especially now when we're seeing so many, so many Australians either, you know, some graduating to the, to the big league and playing in the NFL, like Michael Dixon and Cam Johnson and Mitch Wishnowsky and stuff, but there's lots of Australian footballers that are, that are going over and punting. you sort of watch that with interest because that was something that you were, know, you did, and it wasn't as prevalent back when you did it.

Tyson (02:01.956)
Yeah, I think when I went over there, I was probably one of only three or four guys who were in America playing from Australia as punters. And at that time, I was sending VHS tapes over and just begging coaches on email to have a look at them. Now it's massive. There's over 70 punters in college and six in the NFL. There's an academy that's run out of Melbourne that I've done a bit of coaching for and I've had a little bit to do with some of the guys that have gone over into college. And it sort of makes me really proud that

Australians have been able to really master the craft and excel and take it to the highest level like Michael Dickson and Mitch Wyshnofsky and those sort of guys have.

Sean Callanan (02:41.954)
Yeah, absolutely. And again, it's sort of part of our culture is, if you're definitely playing, if you're playing AFL, you're kicking a footy, you know, every single day. So it's more just learning the, the specialized technique of getting it away quickly, learning hang time and those kinds of things. But it's a very transferable skill.

Tyson (03:00.826)
Yeah, and I think that was the interesting thing about going over there was to specialize in one skill is kind of different for Aussies in some ways. But I think the other part was just the coaching element where we really had to be sort of self-sufficient. There wasn't a lot of coaching experts in America, so to speak, when it comes to kicking. So it allowed us to become experts once we finished. And that's created a pipeline of players to go over there and excel. We've got the natural ability of doing it from playing.

Aussie rules at a young age, which the Americans aren't exposed to. So that's there, but I think accelerating that professionalism has really happened in the last few years.

Sean Callanan (03:39.086)
Absolutely. So post college at Indiana University, what did you study and what did you want to do once you finished college?

Tyson (03:48.646)
I was kind of mixed between going down the sports admin path and going down media and broadcasting. So I started doing a little bit of work at the university in the academic environment. I was working with the Big Ten Conference and the NCAA, mentoring athletes and that sort of thing. I eventually came back and did a postgraduate diploma at ECU here in Perth in broadcasting. And that was a one year course. It was just about basically learning how to be a sports reporter.

Sean Callanan (04:11.873)
Okay.

Tyson (04:17.874)
and that landed me a job at Channel 9, which was a sports reporter, presenter role in the Nine Perth newsroom. And that was fantastic because it really got me out of my comfort zone. I wasn't planning to be a journalist or anything like that, but I think what it did was teach me the confidence to ask questions, to be curious, understand things a lot more, particularly in sports business, which interested me.

At the time, the West Coast Eagles were starting to rise again here in Perth.

I sort of looked at that and thought, okay, maybe at some point I want to get into sports administration. I took a local job in the Waffle to start with, the Perth Football Club. was an operations manager. That sort of cut my teeth a little bit. That was good. And then eventually I got a commercial partnerships role with the West Coast Eagles in 2016, which was unbelievable timing, Sean. It was probably the best sort of two to three years in the club's history, sort of that moment in time coming up. So I got to be a part of…

team that was transitioning into a new stadium and also a new headquarters as well at the time.

Sean Callanan (05:25.272)
So Perth, for listeners who don't know, in Western Australia, what's it like as a sports and a sports business city? I mean, I'm guessing being a sports reporter, you obviously get to connect and network and meet everyone and understand the scene, but then you've sort of moved, like you said, to the administration side and the waffle club and then for West Coast Eagles. How do you explain the Perth scene to people who don't know Perth?

Tyson (05:54.702)
Yeah, it's to some people it might seem like the Wild West. It's very traditional in the way that we do business over here. Obviously, we've got the mining background, but also just with media, I think there's a lot of that too. I think what I underestimated is getting into media was really good at actually developing connections with people in the news business, which then actually help advocate for you if you're telling the right story post your career. Sorry, mate, we just had…

I think I've just lost my light here for a second. Sorry about that. Just switched me off. I haven't moved enough for a while. So I think, yeah, that connection allows you to leverage those relationships when you work in sport. And I think a lot of administrators, don't, they're trying to win over the media. But I think if you understand how the media works really well by working in it, then you can actually respect the space that…

Sean Callanan (06:25.592)
That's all right.

Tyson (06:50.564)
media owns and actually work with people in media much better. So that was a big advantage for me when I actually ended up working in partnerships and eventually in a strategy role at the West Coast Eagles.

Sean Callanan (07:03.212)
Yeah, I mean, it is that piece of like, that was the bit I was going to ask to go from reporter presenter to GM of footy ops to commercial partnerships to strategy content and marketing. they're, they're not big leaps, but they're very much, they weren't in the same field. Like, was that a conscious decision for you to expand your skillset or was it, was it opportunistic? Cause that's where the opportunities were. Like how did you, I guess, move into that role with potentially not having the air quotes experience in that space.

Tyson (07:33.222)
I think my driving interest is I've got a passion and curiosity about how the entire sports business works. So I wasn't going to be a guy that became a media manager and that's all I wanted to do and I was just, I was a media and that was it or I was sales and that was it. I wanted to understand how revenue works, how's the relationships with media and broadcasting, which is so important work, understand the whole pie of the income side of things and also the high performance, the critical element around high performance because

The thing about the business of sport is that it's unlike anything else. We're not really here to essentially make money. That's not our number one KPI. And the one KPI is to win games and then connect with our community and grow our brand. So it's different to a lot of other businesses, but that's what fascinates me.

Sean Callanan (08:21.794)
Yep. So, you sort of like touching the bases in a few spots in Perth and now you're at the Western Force. First of all, I guess for people who don't know, tell us a little bit more about Western Force. They've got a, I guess a unique history is my way of putting it, but like tell us about, tell us about the Western Force first.

Tyson (08:41.99)
Yeah, I came across to the Force. I'd been at the Eagles for sort seven and a half years and they approached me a couple of times and I sort of resisted because I suppose sometimes when you don't know another code, you tend to have a view of it that might not necessarily be accurate. But I thought, okay, after seven years at the Eagles, done a lot there, it was probably time for a new challenge and this was a much bigger expanded role. The Force…

were a Super Rugby Club that started in 2006 when Super expanded. They started really strongly, their crowds were strong, their commercial return was big, but they slowly deteriorated and, sorry, I've still got this problem.

They slowly deteriorated the crowds, the income, and the wins didn't happen on the board straight away. So in 2017 when Rugby Australia was in real trouble, the Western Force lost their licence and essentially Super went down to four teams, which really was really tough on the people of WA and the rugby-loving crowd here. It was a massive blow and they're still talking about it in rugby circles here. But eventually they were…

Sean Callanan (09:44.44)
Mm-hmm.

Tyson (09:57.154)
saved by the forests and the…

Forest family, Nicola and Andrew were able to take the license back off Rugby Australia and start a new competition called Global Rapid Rugby in which they played teams from the Pacific Island nations and other places. And eventually after COVID, Rugby Australia needed another team to keep the competition going, a local competition. So the force will readmitted and then once Super expanded again to the Pacific competition that we have now, then the force were full time.

in the game again. So that's where we've been since 2022 and working to build back up the relevance and the brand of rugby here in Western Australia.

Sean Callanan (10:40.64)
And so you I mean, that's a very unique story for it. You know, normally when teams go by the wayside, they stay there. But to come back and much like a lot about is the passion for rugby in WA. And like you talked about there, you know, codes for those international listeners that don't understand that. In Australia, we talk about codes being different football codes. So you went from Aussie rules is one of the main football codes in in WA to

to rugby being another one of the codes. So when you came in in 2023, it's been admitted, was it then to sort of solidify the foundations, get the force being a force again, if I can use it that way, was that sort of what you'll remit when you came in?

Tyson (11:29.734)
Yeah, my remit was around trying to build the relevance of the brand of the Western Force in the community. There's a couple of challenges with it, and that's the relevance of rugby as a code in general had diminished.

since, well, probably going back to sort of the mid 2000s after we hosted the World Cup, lost the final to England. Rugby Australia had quite a healthy bank account at that stage, but a number of things that had happened that led us to the point where a couple of years ago they were reliant on a loan to be able to be…

to be sufficient to keep running. And the force had kind of been consumed as well as a lot of other rugby clubs here in Australia with that story of rugby diminishing over time. But I think we're on the right track again. And I think that there could be another boom in rugby in the next couple of years, particularly

Sean Callanan (12:16.834)
Mm-hmm.

Tyson (12:25.322)
particularly this golden decade that we have sort of lined up for us and the force have a chance to ride that wave in the next few years for sure.

Sean Callanan (12:34.87)
And is it a matter of like that dual piece of everyone's always trying to build new audiences, but you're also connecting with those rugby faithful that you're talking about that, you know, we're super disappointed when, when the Western force went away, sort of welcoming them back, but then also presenting rugby as an option to new fans.

Tyson (12:52.836)
Yeah, I mean, you definitely want you always want to attract new fans. But I think the first step for us is to to wake up the dormant ones because rugby does have a massive following in Western Australia. It has massive following in Australia in general. When you actually look at the overall the figures, you know, the five billion avid fans, you know, where have they gone? You know, what has happened since the other Wallabies were such a global sort of power and a force and that sort of thing in international rugby. And I think that's the the advantage.

And some of the big differences between AFL and NRL and rugby is the global element to the game. And that's the opportunity that the code has over the others.

Sean Callanan (13:34.572)
And then from a, sort of talked about your passion for the overall back of house and the business of sports. And one of the key things is that, yes, you do want to strive for success and wins and those kinds of things, but you also try to smooth that out and sort of be able to do your business, where the results happen and make the experience for your fans, one that they want to keep coming back for. How do you tackle that problem or I guess that…

opportunity at the force.

Tyson (14:07.664)
Yeah, think rugby at its soul is probably a community sport. know, I think where we sort of position the sport is it's a game that connects from community to international. It's probably the only sport that can really do that in Australia, right? Where, you know, you can play for your junior club through to your senior club. You've got connections to super rugby and then you go all the way through to wallabies. And that sort of that pathway is probably the true selling point of the code.

And we always talk about this thing about teams in goal, Wallabies and Wallaroos, our Australian Sevens teams, and connecting them all the way downstream to that junior rugby base. The Forces story is very much a story of community at its heart, despite the fact that the Forests have been so generous in supporting us since 2018. The beginning and really the foundation of the club is in its community and…

The code to me and being an outsider of the code coming in, what I've noticed in particular is, you know, the family, the family passion of passing on love of the game is really, really big. It's not necessarily a sport that, you know, that if you don't have a connection to someone in rugby, you're going to automatically fall in love with. Different to basketball, different to the pop culture elements in other sports like the NFL. So rugby is a game where

If you love the sport, you can pretty much enjoy any level of it in some way. And that's where when we sell the force, actually want to sell the sport of rugby because we know if you're from Christchurch and you're living in Perth or if you're from Dublin and you like rugby, you actually might just come and watch the force and be a fan of the game, not necessarily a fan of the club. And one of our jobs is to get

people, eyeballs on screen and bums on seats at games. And it doesn't actually matter whether or not they actually are a passionate avid fan of your team initially. But if they love the game, then the game can drive them into the stadium and supporting our team long term. So that's actually an interesting marketing exercise too, because you may actually be promoting other elements of the game outside of your own brand and players.

Tyson (16:25.732)
That might be opposition players, might be the feeling of being at a rugby game, what it's like to be with your friends at one. That feeling of community, it's a different experience to being at a football match. Those are the selling points in particular, ones that I've needed to tap into in this job.

Sean Callanan (16:43.82)
And if that's, mean, that's very much the consumer fan facing, you know, the cheeks and the seats type of piece to say, Hey, this is what the clubs like, you know, having that community focus. Do you, do you lean heavily on that too, from a commercial point of view and the, and the partners that are involved to say, you know, you're not, you're not just getting a logo on a, on a shirt or a, you know, something on a stanchion, you're going to be part of our community. Is that sort of tweak the

the, you know, that your commercial pictures out in market to sort of give yourself some differentiation.

Tyson (17:17.038)
Yeah, it is Sean. think like, you know, coming from, you know, powerhouse like the Eagles, we were dealing with big B2C type companies, know, SGIO, Bankwest, Hungry Jacks, and the marketing element, the QI media value and return on that was very, very critical. The reporting was important. And not saying it isn't in rugby, but I think the draw card for a lot of…

a lot of sponsors is connection to community, connection to the grassroots fan base and tapping into that prospect in a lot of different ways. I think that's relationship building is really important in that, but it's actually showing that because if we were going to compete for media value with the NRL and AFL, we'd be way off the mark. mean, there is a reality to what

where your game sits in the market. So how can you best put forward and promote and commercialize the game as it is while trying to build it? And I think, again, you kind of come back to that story of what's the sport that can take you from a ground in a community suburb to Twickenham.

against England and we've got players, we've got a guy, Carlo Tizzano, who has literally come from community rugby and is now the highest scoring tri-scorer in super rugby. He's a Wallaby star, he's playing on the international stage and to show in a commercial sense, not just for sponsors, but also for media and brand, that's a pretty powerful pathway and that's one that the code really has to lean into as much as it can.

Sean Callanan (18:54.572)
And the same thing talking about the golden decade ahead, but also, you know, here's these opportunities locally, here's these opportunities internationally. Like that is a difference, a point of difference. know, the West Coast Eagles can't be offering that. not what the Perth Wildcats can do. They're in the same market. again, is it that trying your best to leverage that international piece, both from a reach and engagement point of view for potential partners?

Tyson (19:22.178)
Yeah, you're spot on Sean, because if you look at it, we just had the British and Irish Lions come into town. It was one of the biggest events in rugby for several years with 50,000 people at Optus Stadium watching the force against the British and Irish Lions. In less than two years time, we'll have the opening ceremony of the World Cup right here at Perth at Optus Stadium. And that'll be a sellout, obviously, but that'll be one of the biggest sports. Well, that will be the biggest watched sporting event in the history of Perth.

And that'll go out to 600, 700 million people around the world. It'll put Perth on the map. We'll have eight matches here, all at Optus Stadium. The eyes of the world will be on Australia for that period of time, October 2027 to November. And it's a chance to really capitalize on the Code's global popularity, which then filters down into Super Rugby, into the Western Force, but also into the community game.

Sean Callanan (19:51.106)
Mm-hmm.

Sean Callanan (20:16.674)
Mm-hmm.

Tyson (20:19.492)
And that's, yeah, that opportunity is massive and we have to maximise that when it comes along. Hopefully the Wallabies will be going well at that time and we get in a good pool and then potentially, you know, make the finals and beyond. But I think there's been a lot of research into, you know, the brand affinity of the Wallabies. And while it's been a big struggle for four or five years, it is undoubtedly one of the most passionate and popular and uniting.

Sean Callanan (20:27.928)
Mm-hmm.

Tyson (20:49.242)
brands in Australian sport. When they're going well, everyone is right behind the Wallabies. There's a sense of all states and all populations being behind that team. And I think that filters down and trickles down to every element of rugby below in Australia.

Sean Callanan (21:08.384)
And I mean, like you said, it is that opportunity, but you can't plan for success. can't, we're to have a successful year and win the comp and those kinds of things. But you can plan for these big opportunities with the World Cup and had similar conversations with MLS teams, with the US FIFA World Cup going to be in US at the time, which is going to raise the interest in the sport. And how can you capture it locally in market is…

Is that what your next 18 months, two years look like in setting up infrastructure and campaigns to make sure, you know, no data is left behind. You're, you're scooping up every bit of interest there is because post that event, you know, they might become members or like you said, they might just start turning up to one or two games and you can start that, getting them on that fan journey. Is that sort of what you're trying to set up your, I guess, back of house to make sure you're making the most of every opportunity that is going to be available in the next 18 months?

Tyson (22:06.298)
Yeah, the data play is huge on actually on this type of event. You'll have access to a lot of that data just through ticketing and CRM. But I think we have to think beyond that and how do we activate in the community? Like what other events, how else can we actually draw out where the rugby passion and followers are? Not just in Perth, but those that might consume it more broadly globally as well.

Because, know, Super Rugby has an opportunity to actually sell itself around the world a bit more than it realizes. We're in 87 countries now. Last year, the Western Force averaged 750,000 viewers per game around the world globally. So some of the distribution rights have really increased to countries. And we also have the ability to sell commercially.

Sean Callanan (22:42.456)
Mm-hmm.

Tyson (23:01.316)
virtual LED, virtual signage into different regions. So I think we need to be really prepared and organized to maximize the interest in rugby as it grows over the next couple of years here in Australia, but also where can we export that around the globe as well?

Sean Callanan (23:18.126)
And then the other part of it, like, you you're talking about the on-field product and, and effectively games distribution and those kinds of things. But the other part of it is you've got your own channels to tell your own story and increase your brand and increase awareness of the, of the force. How much of, uh, is the effort on, on that piece on one engaging your current fan base and still getting people coming to games. And then also, you know, if someone goes, Oh, have I got a super rugby team yet? Oh, actually I really like what the Western force are doing or.

I'm following because a particular player or particular content series, is that something that it's something that you're trying to build upon?

Tyson (23:55.354)
Yeah, absolutely. I think the players are really underestimated in this situation as well because their followings and their willingness to connect with their fans and our fans together is the critical part of it all. I think with rugby,

There's so many followers from around the world in sort of random places. Social media gives you that opportunity to broaden your scope. And sometimes, you we might play a tour match in a place like Japan and just suddenly get all these new followers. And we don't know who they are, where they came from, but they saw our team play in one game and then all of sudden they're on our train. You know, we've got alliances with teams in Japan, in the UK.

we see crossover with following there. So yeah, it's a really important part of it all, is that innovation.

Sean Callanan (24:50.146)
Yeah, absolutely. And then also that, you know, that extension of being an international, international brand, because there's, there's that, that accessibility, both from social, which is available everywhere. But if there's distribution platforms, and people can tune in from Japan or Argentina or South Africa, then you know, they will.

Tyson (25:09.242)
Yeah, and I think like that's actually something we sell to the government as well in a lot of ways, like the West Australian government to explain that we're actually a code that is carrying Western Australia as a brand, you know, internationally. And, you know, the eyeballs in the UK in particular increasing a lot. I think their own competition hasn't been flying as well. And Super Rugby has really been looked at as a game that's sped up a lot.

in terms of a product, on-field product, a few of the changes in refereeing has made the game a lot faster and a lot higher scoring. And I think World Rugby has looked at the success of Super and thinking, is there some things we need to tweak? So we're trying to export the product as a fast, furious, fun game, Super Rugby that is, and attract audiences from other rugby nations that are actually following their…

Sean Callanan (25:37.986)
Mm-hmm.

Sean Callanan (26:00.129)
Mm-hmm.

Tyson (26:07.002)
their league and their competition, but actually think, well, ours is pretty fun and it's probably more exciting to watch.

Sean Callanan (26:14.718)
Absolutely, absolutely. So, I mean, I normally sort of get to the end and sort of ask people what they're excited about. But we've been talking about this, know, bright future ahead. But, you know, what are the things that are exciting you around the Western force for the next couple of years and some of these big projects you want to tackle?

Tyson (26:33.856)
Well, we've probably got the best squad we've ever had, at least in the last 10 years or so. And I think we've got a settled coaching head coach that's been here for a few years. So I think we're in a really good state to actually challenge on field, potentially make finals next year. I think the force are looking for that breakthrough moment that sort of tips them over the edge. It could really catch like fire in terms of…

fan following and that sort of thing. I have no doubt if we made a grand final in Super Rugby that Optus Stadium would be a sold out 60,000 crowd environment. The fandom is there. Success would help. Like you said, you can't strategise for that. But I think that we're in a good position. We're doing everything else right off field.

Sean Callanan (27:16.046)
Mm-hmm. Yep.

Tyson (27:22.63)
So that would be really exciting if we have success next year. We also have the rugby sevens in Perth, which we've announced. The government recently announced a three year deal to keep sevens here. That's a great festival type event. Perth's an interesting market, Sean. We haven't had traditionally the festival events that Adelaide and Melbourne and Sydney really enjoy. We don't have an F1 and Australian Open, that sort of thing.

rugby's positioning itself as an opportunist there because we have the rugby.

rugby sevens. We had the British and Irish Lions. We brought the Bledisloe here last time, 60,000 sold out within three weeks. South Africa the year before, 58,000 at Optus Stadium. And we're continuing to get big international games here. So we're positioning ourselves as a bit of a rugby hub here for the big, big events and the force tie into that really well from an activation point of view. So the next year is really exciting, potentially two test matches in Perth. And then the following year,

Rugby World Cup. The build up to it will be massive. there's a lot to be excited about for sure. Sean, we're gonna have to get you over here and maybe do a podcast in Perth.

Sean Callanan (28:34.094)
I'm more than happy to. Yeah, I'd love to come over to Optus Stadium. It's been on my list and I just haven't been able to Greg Slate keeps pinging me saying when am I coming over. So it is probably on my on my list. Really appreciate you coming on to us. I want to get to the Sportsgeek closing five. Do you remember the first sports event you ever attended?

Tyson (28:44.176)
Hahaha.

Tyson (28:57.19)
Yeah, I do actually. It was the first game the West Coast Eagles ever played. Brown won 1987. They played Richmond. It was a crazy environment. Went with my dad. was seven years old. Ross Glendening was the captain. I ended up working with Ross in the commercial department, which was really weird as he was like my hero when I was seven years old. They came back from 40 points down and won and I was a lifelong fan from there.

Sean Callanan (29:08.29)
Yep. Yep.

Yeah.

Sean Callanan (29:20.654)
Oh, terrific memory. yeah, terrific answer. Food at the footy and food at sports events has changed over the years. Do you have a do you have a favorite food memory or a go to food at a sports event?

Tyson (29:35.118)
Yeah, I reckon, Sean, you're going to try this someday. It's the hot dog at Wrigley Field called the Chicago Dog. It's unbelievable. I don't know if you've been to Wrigley, but it is.

Sean Callanan (29:42.371)
Yep.

I have, I'm a Cubs fan and I have had that dog so…

Tyson (29:49.446)
You've had the peck, a big deal pickle and the mustard, no sauce. Like it's just sensational.

Sean Callanan (29:53.355)
Yep.

Yep. And I'm a left field guy because right field sucks just for anyone, anyone wanting to know in the cubs. What's the what's the first app you open in the morning?

Tyson (29:59.459)
Yeah.

Tyson (30:07.494)
Probably right now it's NFL fantasy because I just absolutely love it Terribly terribly terribly. Yeah, I've been in the same league for 15 years and never won it and I'm the only original left that hasn't won it so I get a lot of stick for that but It's yeah, I mean the fantasy NFL fantasy is is at the peak of any fantasy sporting league in the world I reckon I could vouch for

Sean Callanan (30:11.264)
How's your team going?

Sean Callanan (30:18.691)
Yeah.

Sean Callanan (30:32.096)
Yeah, it can be a massive time sack and it drags you in and some of the best banter in the chat, no doubt. Who do you follow? Do you have a team in the NFL?

Tyson (30:43.814)
I became a Patriots fan before Tom Brady is the story I was saying. But yeah. Yeah, so not bandwagon really. Had a couple of tryouts with them, never got anywhere with them. But yeah, they're still my favorite team.

Sean Callanan (30:47.094)
Okay, you're always putting putting their qualifier on because some people say, yeah.

Sean Callanan (31:00.43)
well, they're back doing well. Drake May is doing a terrific job at the moment. I always ask people if there's someone that you follow, might be someone you follow on social media or an author, that the podcast listeners should give a follow on why.

Tyson (31:03.662)
Yeah. Yeah.

Tyson (31:15.494)
I reckon there's, I thought about this one when I saw the question and I reckon it's one that people could learn something from if you work in sports business. An athlete named Ilona Ma, who plays, she's a American rugby player. She's got about 5 million followers on Instagram, 4 million on TikTok and she has been on Dancing with the Stars recently and that sort of thing. But it's more the way she positions. There's a lot of talk around

Sean Callanan (31:24.12)
Mm-hmm.

Sean Callanan (31:33.624)
Yep.

Tyson (31:43.706)
with women's athletes these days that strong is beautiful. Like strong is a way to actually promote healthy bodies, body positivity, that sort of thing. I think she's one of the best I've ever seen at her content in projecting that. She's a great player, but just, yeah, if you want to see an athlete that's actually nailing social media completely, this one, Olona Ma, is the one to follow.

Sean Callanan (32:08.366)
Absolutely. I mean, she was the star of Paris and both on the field and then off the field and engaging and doing everything since then. So it is absolutely a good list. And then last one I ask, which is what social media platform is your MVP? And so you can put your force hat on and say, what is it for the force? What's the one that's driving results for you? And then you can put your personal hat on and say, what's your social media MVP?

Tyson (32:33.061)
Probably for the force, the one we've been doing well the most of is TikTok. It's an interesting one. have a new content creator, videographer, who's just an absolute gun. He's a Fijian guy who can create some really unique content. And I think he's nailed the cultural element of rugby.

And we've got a lot of young fans that are growing into that TikTok space. So I really, really rate TikTok as a builder with your youth, but also in a cultural sense. And then for me, just Instagram, I'm sort of a boring middle-aged dad who just tries to be cool with Instagram photos and that sort of thing. Which I'm not, but you gotta try, Sean.

Sean Callanan (33:18.862)
That's all right. I mean, still met as most effective platform both from a team's point of view and personally, I think it's the one that's doing the job. Tyson, I really do appreciate you taking the time. I always ask people who are listening to the podcast, if they enjoyed it like I have, to reach out and say thank you. What is the best platform for someone to reach out to you?

Tyson (33:42.086)
Probably just on LinkedIn. You can find me publicly there and I always respond to every message that comes in on LinkedIn. I get a lot of students asking questions. Happy to help out. I had a lot of mentors and people helping out over time. So by all means, if your audience reaches out, I'll respond.

Sean Callanan (33:57.74)
Well, really do appreciate it. We'll put links in the show notes to your LinkedIn. Tyson, thanks for coming on the podcast.

Tyson (34:04.368)
Thanks, everyone. Appreciate it.