The Cheers Pod

On this episode of The Cheers Pod, Drew Cousin and Kyle Whittingham sit down with Charlie Shin, Vice President of Analytics and Digital Innovation for the Indianapolis Colts, to unpack how the team built one of the most advanced membership and rewards programs in sports. Charlie spent 15 years as Vice President of Strategy and Analytics at Major League Soccer before joining the Colts, where he now...

On this episode of The Cheers Pod, Drew sits down with Shripal Shah, Chief Digital Officer at Next League, to explore the future of fandom, loyalty, and the massive revenue upside hiding in plain sight. Shripal’s career spans retail, tech, and sports. He’s led strategy and marketing for the Washington Commanders, served as Chief Digital Officer at Shop Your Way—the Sears and Kmart rewards platform...

On this episode of The Cheers Pod, Drew sits down with Justin Anderson, Head of eCommerce and Marketing at FrostBuddy—the fast-growing drinkware brand redefining a category long dominated by industry giants.  Justin shares how FrostBuddy has doubled revenue year-over-year by pairing a best-in-class product lineup with a relentless content engine that produces dozens of TikTok, Meta, and Snapchat p...

On this episode of The Cheers Pod, Drew sits down with Ross Adrian Yip, Co-Founder and COO of KICKS CREW—a global sneaker marketplace redefining how emerging brands and retailers connect with the modern consumer. Ross shares how KICKS CREW has built a platform with over 400,000 unique styles and a business model that works directly with brands and retailers—setting them apart from peer-to-peer gia...

In Episode 12, we chat with Aliett Buttelman (Co-Founder of Fazit). Fazit is a beauty brand known for its glitter freckles, which are faux-freckle patches that apply like temporary tattoos. The brand went viral in October 2024 when Taylor Swift wore their glitter freckles to a Kansas City Chiefs game, leading to a 2,500% increase in sales and massive demand. Since then, Fazit has expanded into 1,0...

On this episode of The Cheers Pod , Drew sits down with Joe (CEO) and Brett (Co-Founder) of 500 Level , a sports apparel company that has built a merchandise collection licensed by every major sports league or players' association. They dive into how 500 Level grew its impressive licensing portfolio—including the NFLPA, MLBPA, NHLPA, NBA, WNBA, and UFC—and how they’ve mastered the art of capt...

In Episode 10, we chat with Tameka Rish, Senior Vice President of Fan and Associate Experience at Arthur M. Blank Sports and Entertainment (AMB Sports and Entertainment), the parent company of properties including the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United, and Mercedes-Benz Stadium.  Tameka shares her strategies for optimizing fan experience 'driveway to driveway' across multiple properties. S...

In Episode 9, we chat with Brian Fagan, a sports and influencer marketing expert. Brian shares his journey founding Oncoor, a sports marketing agency he built and sold, which pivoted to capitalize on the NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) opportunity in college sports. We explore the evolution of NIL, including the rise of collectives and the potential shift towards a revenue share model for college athl...

In Episode 8, we chat with Kelly Singh, VP of Marketing at TrophySmack, an e-commerce brands selling customized trophies for fantasy sports leagues and other life events.  Kelly shares how Trophy Smack is disrupting the trophy industry with high-quality products and by encouraging their audience to celebrate wins (and losses). We explore Trophy Smack's marketing strategies, including leveragi...

In Episode 7 we chat with Alex Sheinman, Co-Founder of Snapback Agency and Partner at Snapback Sports. We explore both Snapback Sports ascent from a Snapchat account to a full-fledged media company and Snapback Agency's emergence as a force in the industry.  Alex discusses Snapback Sport's unique relationship with it's audience, driven by content centered around showcasing the fan e...

In Episode 6,  we chat with Shane Neman, a serial entrepreneur and investor. Shane shares his journey founding JoonBug a first-of-its kind nightlife events, media, and technology company that he scaled from 0 to $25 million in revenues. We explore how Shane leveraged technology to scale JoonBug and how a commitment to reaching customers with mediums natural to them led to the launch of EZText, an...

In Episode 5, we chat with Mark Ritz, Co-Founder and CEO of Carnivore Snax. Carnivore Snax produces meat snacks sourced from regenerative farms, made with just two ingredients: meat and salt. Mark shares how launching to an owned audience enabled a successful crowdfunding campaign and sparked major sales momentum. We dive into how the brand’s strong mission and community support helped them naviga...

In Episode 4, we chat with Jack Adler, Founder of Out2Win Sports. Out2Win is an Athlete Marketing Intelligence Platform that helps brands identify diamond-in-the-rough athlete creators for NIL marketing campaigns. We talk about the emergence of athlete creators, identifying standouts for marketing campaigns, and how NIL is changing the path for breaking into sports talent. 

In Episode 3 we chat with Nicholas Lemieux, Founder & CEO of Athlete Studio. Athlete Studio is an ecommerce automation platform for pro athletes to grow their IP and sell directly to their fans. We explore the benefits of athletes owning their brands and data, highlighting the unique value superstars like Angel Reese, Jalen Hurts, and Justin Jefferson are creating with the help of the platform...

In Episode 2, we chat with Manny Lubin, Co-Founder of Slate Milk. Manny and Josh Belinsky co-founded Slate with the goal of creating a healthy chocolate milk they could drink every day. After a successful Kickstarter campaign, an appearance on ABC's Shark Tank, and hundreds of iterations of testing, Slate launched in late 2019 with three delicious chocolate milk flavors. Slate has several inv...

In Episode 1, we chat with Abiola Familusi, Associate at Night Ventures & Labs. Abiola splits his time between the VC fund and venture studio at Night, the fast growing digital media agency that reps the most popular people online (folks like MrBeast & Kai Cenat). In this first episode, we’ll explore the history of Night, the rise of creator-led brands like Feastables, and the core thesis...