Episode 216 Snippets: Amie Kiehn of Gondola

Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 216: Amie Kiehn
@njh287; www.dsmsports.net
On episode 216 of the Digital and Social Media Sports Podcast, Neil
chatted with Amie Kiehn, Head of Community for Gondola.
What follows is a collection of snippets from the podcast. To hear the
full interview and more, check out the podcast on all podcast
platforms and at www.dsmsports.net.

Amie’s Career Path
“I grew up with three brothers and they're all older than me and my
mom always took me to all of their sporting events, all their games. I
was really short. My mom's really short. My dad's like 6’3” and all my
brothers are super tall and I just remember my mom — to keep me
occupied, because I was a rambunctious kid — she [told me] after
every practice or game my brothers had, when I was like six or seven
[years old] ‘I want you to give me a report’ after…your own little like
sideline reporting. And I would do that; it was my favorite thing after
games and I loved it.

“So I pretty much knew since 6 or 7 (years old) that I wanted to work in sports.
I was not a gifted athlete. I had the heart of a gifted athlete, I would say — I
loved hustling. I played basketball [and] I was like the sixth man, and I loved it.
But the talent wasn't there, even though I worked really hard. I worked really
hard to be average, I should say.
“So fast forward, I went to the University of Iowa where my brothers had gone
to school and I studied sports journalism. I was one of the football writers for
the college and I was like ‘I think I want to do this.; But I realized I wasn't really
thinking about writing anymore. I was kind of thinking, what are some adjacent
roles that are similar in sports? And that's kind of how I got more [into
learning] the social side. I'd already had a Twitter as one of the beat writers…,
so I had already fallen in love with Twitter.

“It's kind of funny — my first official social gig was when I was going
into my senior year of college and I worked for Ashton Kutcher
actually. He had a production company in LA and I cold emailed them
one day from my university email account — and Ashton is very
famous for dropping out of the University of Iowa after one year,
because he was scouted for being a model — [he is] extremely bright
and was a mechanical engineering major [at Iowa].

“I really feel like they thought I was his cousin, so I think that's why
they accepted me. When I got there, they're like ‘So you don't know
Ashton?’ And I was like, I never met him before. But he was the
nicest. Like he was out shooting movies and then he'd come in and
he'd be like, ‘Hey, do you want to order some pizza?’ And I’d be like,
who is he talking to? He’d [say] ‘You and I'd love to hear your story.’
He's the nicest…I don't keep in touch [with him]; people will be like,
‘Hey, can you get something to Ashton?’ But I do not keep in touch
with him…I was just working for his production company, which was
at the time in 2009…Punk’d was really big and he also was the first
celebrity on Twitter to get a million followers…

“So he was really big on Twitter [and] we'd find interesting things that he might want to
tweet about. Or his production company had a lot of different web shows that we were
involved in. may have to send this to you, but my first —it's so funny, people don't really
believe me [that she worked for Ashton]... I never took a photo with Ashton. So people
don't believe me that I actually had this internship…[Amie tells a story about going to a
party he hosted, where photographs were taken and some industry magazines posted them
and Amie was visible in te background, so there is evidence! :)]...
“I think [to answer your second question] about advice, what I tell a lot of people is that
almost every one of my career opportunities have come from cold emailing people, like,
reaching out to people. And I know that's not everyone's cup of tea and I have sent so many
cold emails; like when I was just starting out and I just got lucky by all I really needed was
a few yes’s. If you think of my volume that I did, I was like, I just want to work in sports or
I want to work in social. I sent so many and, you know, that's how I got the Ashton gig…

“I did have a little break [in my social media career], I was a teacher for four years in Chicago,
through Teach For America. And then I wanted to get back into sports and I cold emailed this
wonderful woman who I know you know of, Kathleen Hessert who had an agency here in Charlotte
that was doing really big things in the space for like athletes influencers before it really became a big
thing. She was handling PR and crisis management, she was great. And I just cold emailed her
because I remembered reading about her in a class in college. And she was like, if you come fly out
to Boston and meet with me and do this gig for me that I have over the weekend, [then] we can talk.
And so I did. I flew out to Boston, met Kathleen at like midnight in the airport, did this weekend gig
that she had. And after she's like, if you would be interested, if you move down to Charlotte, I'd be
open to learning more [about you] and seeing if you got the chops.
“So I did that. I worked for Kathleen and that's how I got connected with the [Carolina] Panthers.
And you know how [during] my time at the Panthers, I got connected to my new gig at Gondola. It
kind of all worked out, but it took a lot of [bravery], to just reach out to people and be like, it’s okay
if they don't reply. So I think that's what I would tell a lot of young people — if they're willing to put
themselves out there, the universe will reward them with hopefully good things.”

On going from teaching back to social with so much change in her four years in the
classroom
“It was rough. I thought I was going to be a teacher forever, so I had not been doing
any side gigs, [had] not been working, I don't even think I posted on any of my own
social media. So that was new; I knew I had to kind of work my way back into the
sports space. When I [talk about] that cold emailing stuff, I sent so many people
messages and no one would give me, a former teacher, even the time of day;
someone who had worked for Ashton Kutcher the time of day — like nothing, I got
zero responses. And it is kind of funny now…Some of the people [that didn’t
respond to her cold emails]...they now reach out to me and it's like ‘Hey, I loved
your career trajectory.’ And I'm like, well little did you know, you actually left me
unread a few times. But you know, as someone who gets a ton of emails, I can
relate, so I don't hold any grudges, it happens, people are very busy.

“But it took a lot to start over. But I think that's one of the biggest
things that I'm really proud of myself [for] is I'm learning to be okay
with starting over…Similar to teaching, I never thought I’d leave; it
was the same with the Panthers; I never really thought I'd leave. I
loved my time at the Panthers, loved what I was doing. But I realized
it wasn't the best situation for my whole family and for what I needed
to be as a person, a mom, a partner to my fiance — I just wasn't doing
it all wel, to be honest, I was struggling with that pull. I needed to take
a jump to do something else. And that was really scary because now
I'm in a space that I know a lot about in the startup tech space, but
have not personally been in.

“I was nervous and I know a lot of people don't always talk about being
nervous and being honest like that, but I really try to remind people —
and this is, I feel like, I don't want to say calling, but this is what I would
love to be more honest with people. I'm someone who's been in the
business. I'm 34, no shame in that, but I’ve been in the business a long
time and I'm still feeling like I'm new at this too. I don't have it all
together. So I like to keep it real because I think when I hear other people
that I really respect in the business being like, yeah, I kind of struggled
being a parent and also working the hours that I worked, it makes me feel
a little bit seen and that my story is not unique. Like, there's not
something wrong with me. Maybe it's the industry that we need to fix and
evolve.”

On starting with the Panthers and honing the many faculties of the social role
“When I started at the Panthers, I don't know how old I was, but I know I was
in my later twenties. So for a lot of people, especially if they've been doing
social and college for a long time, they can start at like 22, 23 as a coordinator
in the NFL. And I think I was in my later twenties, so I was older and I started
as a coordinator and that was my first job at the Panthers. The reason I took it
— my parents and my siblings and my aunts were like are you sure you want
to take something [like that]? Like, you've been working [your way] up, like
you've been getting up there…it felt like they kind of interpreted it as a little
bit of starting over again. And they're like, are you sure you want to do this?

“And I was like, yeah, I really wanted to learn from Dan LaTorraca who I know a lot of
people know on the internet…he was crushing it on social. Hitting tweets that were grand
slams every time. He was so talented that I was like, yeah, I want to learn from him and I'm
going to start over a little bit again. So that's why I started at the Panthers and why I
wanted to work at the Panthers.
“It's kind of funny, I haven't told this story in a while, but I was living in Charlotte working
for Kathleen and I mentioned that I went to high school in the Bay Area in Monterey,
California. And I was like I think I want to go back to the Bay Area. So my fiance and I
moved to San Francisco and I got an email from Dan LaTorraca as soon as I stepped in
SFO. He’s like, ‘Hey, would you be open to hearing about this gig at the Panthers?’ And I
was like, oh my God. And a few months later I did end up taking it and we moved back to
Charlotte. That kind of goes to show you how much I really believed in Dan and…and
wanted to learn and I really wanted o do this…And I felt like Dan was the right teacher.

“And then, a year after I started there, Dan got a new opportunity and the Panthers were like, do we
hire someone? Do we give Amie a shot? Like we don't even really know, she’s only been here a year.
And I was really lucky that a lot of people believed in me; they're like, she's ready. So I took on [the
role] as the manager and was able to help build this new chapter at the Panthers and help start new
careers for a lot of people. And I learned a lot — how to be a better leader, because I will admit I
didn't start off as a good leader. I really had some pitfalls and things I had to learn, and I was really
lucky that I had people point that out in me; difficult conversations to be like, ‘Hey, this is some
advice on how to be a better leader.’ So I felt like towards the end of my time with the Panthers that
things are really humming. I felt like I was creating the environment that a lot of the people on the
content team were thriving in.
“So I was really lucky towards the end, and that's why I like that things at the Panthers I feel like
ended so well, because I was so excited for all these people to have new opportunities to create their
new experience like after Dan left I was able to do. So now I'm cheering them on. I really truly mean
that; there's absolutely no ill will. I'm so excited, the team over there is just absolutely ready for their
moment now.”

On defining success for her role as a social media leader on the team
“Something that I learned when I was a teacher, was [when] a veteran teacher
pulled me aside because I was struggling as a beginning teacher. I did a
program called Teach for America. So my background wasn’t in teaching but
they were like, but you're a smart person, you'll be able to figure it out...It was a
lot of coaching that I needed. And I taught middle school… If you remember
your awkward middle school years — I was super awkward — but a veteran
teacher had told me that when you can sense, especially as a teacher leading a
classroom; if you feel like you need a reset that and have a reset with your class
is to talk to them, tell them honestly what you're feeling and reset and then hold
up to your new bargain. And if you have to do another reset, do another reset.

“So at the Panthers, I think that's what I started establishing. Like I often would be
like, I felt like things were not grooving in the right way, I'd be like, alright cool,
let's all get together, let's talk about it. Is there something that I'm doing? Is there a
process that needs to be rehashed out? If someone just kind of needs a break. Let’s
talk this out so we can fix it and it's not that big of a deal. So I started trying to
make those conversations happen more often. Like, do you feel okay? Let's reset.
Let's figure this out…I think a lot of times people let things keep going on and I
know I've been guilty of that for too long and then it gets way out of hand. You're
like, whoa, we could have fixed this way back over here. So that's a big thing of
[being a leader] for me was like someone willing to call out, like, okay, it seems like
either morale wise, content wise, just the process of how we're managing projects —
do we need to reevaluate something? So I always was fine with re-evaluating
something, even if it was a process that I loved and they're like this isn't working.
Okay, cool. Let's figure out a new way to do this.

“I think that was the big thing. And then learning another thing from
teaching was…As a teacher, I never taught the same way to every
student. I wasn't a homogenous person, like, this is the only way. I
knew some students needed a little bit more attention. Some students
[are] like ‘I'm good. You don't need to help me, let me do my work
and leave me alone.’ [They] didn't want to talk. There's some students
that you really had to reinforce with positive affirmation, pep them up
a little bit.

“So once I realized that and how I led, and where I felt like I was hitting
my stride, was when I was leading where not everyone got the same
Amie. Some people just wanted to be like, ‘Hey, I'm good. Approve my
budget. Let me go.’ And other people needed some nurturing, which
was fine because that's the type of leader I am. I always tell people I'm
a Pisces, I'm an empath, I really care about people deeply. So that was
an easy thing to click once I got it..That's how I felt like I was being my
full self, when I was leading and helping others. So it was a perfect fit
for Gondola when I was like, how do I take what I'm doing here at the
Panthers and magnify it on a larger scale and get to do that with more
people? That to me is the dream. So I'm really living the dream.”

On aligning social media plays with the organization’s brand and strategy
“I really do think it all starts with people. Because you can have the most talented
videographer, you can have the most talented photographer, but if it's not cohesive,
as best as you can on a team level…it's just not gonna work. So I think that's really
how we at the Panthers got in our stride was a few things…
“Not everything was perfect, but we did try to have fun. Like a lot of things we
would make content for, did that make, you know, Brandon Johnson, our
videographer laugh? Did Carson Smucker, our videographer, think this is
funny?...So with a lot of our content we tried to — if we thought it was funny and
cheeky, maybe other people would. So the first thing we did was try to stop being
like, I want to make this bad-ass piece of content, which is also important, but
[instead] just try to have more fun with it.

“I think sometimes we can take things too seriously in the content
space and that's okay. I at the Panthers — I always felt like our voice
was something that you could kind of poke fun at yourself a little bit.
So we often would make content that maybe wasn't super-polished
and didn't always have the most pristine look, like it was a meme that
we saw…We really tried to have fun with it. If we laugh at it, if
someone on our team thought this was funny — like we always try to
send content…to a Slack channel [we had] that was called the Meme
Team where we would just send content all day and make ourselves
laugh…

“I think that was the funnest thing of how we had so many home runs… is
because we tried to have fun ourselves and make our team laugh; then we
had set the precedent that like, okay, we're going to try it. The Panthers
team always would hear me say this. ‘Okay. Let's try it. And let's watch the
comments like hawks, like we would post stuff…like, let's [just] post it. But
let's immediately get feedback from people. And if it's not a hit, let's just
take it off. But if it is a hit, l let's find out what we did there that we can try
to capitalize again on.
“I know a lot of teams like to keep a beautiful IG aesthetic and that's totally
fine; our Panthers brand was not following that. We just wanted to hit you
with the fun content. I think that [we really] created a safe, fun place…”

On being given agency to take chances with content
“I got really lucky with the ownership group that came in when I was there,
which was David and Nicole Tepper. David and Nicole are super
personable…[and] they loved our content. Like they would see stuff and
we'd get a text message being like, ‘Oh my gosh, this was so funny.’...So our
team really felt pretty empowered that like, okay, if the ownership group is
being like, yes, you guys are kind of funny, keep it up, then it really enticed
us to keep momentum. And obviously,when you are organically making fun
content and you're hopping on trends that make sense for the brand, it
shows up in the numbers. And we had [created] such an established voice
on social that people were like, oh, I want to see what the Panthers do...

“We were getting great numbers because we were doing something
that was fun and different, and people really liked that. We got really
lucky…our bosses, they were amazing to be like, ‘Hey, we have this
idea, it’s a little weird, but like let us explain’. And they'd be like, okay,
try it. Similar to what I said, let's try it. Let's view the comments and
get that feedback from people. So we were lucky and that's where I
think the Panthers are a special place where you have an owner that's
like, ‘Oh, I get this. I like funny things on the internet.’”

On getting participation and buy-in from the football team/players side
“It's so funny; a few times — the Panthers currently, the stadium is where the
players work out. That's their facility and also where the internal staff work. And a
lot of times before COVID, when we would have moments and run into each other
into the parking lot. A few times it was really funny like free agents were coming
through, seeing if they wanted to work with you know, come to the Panthers or
come to another team. And Gerald McCoy, who was being recruited by the
Panthers at one point, and he ended up coming here, I saw [him] at the same time
we were coming by and I saw [Greg] Olson and [Luke Kuechly] were trying to get
him to come. And they're like, ‘Oh, this is the best social team you've got to come.’
And that was pretty cool to be like, okay, players know like we're going to have
fun. So maybe it's a little bit of a nudge to be like, we are a good place to come.

“So the players, I think because we often made them look good or
we're funny that they liked doing content with us. We had such a great
group of content creatives, like I mentioned earlier — Carson, Daniel,
Angela, Chanelle currently, and Alex — People want to work with
them because they make them look good and they do good content. So
it's fairly easy nowadays, so we’re lucky.”

On learning from and communicating with social staff at other teams
“I always looked at what other teams are doing, like Meghan Julian at the Chargers, like, oh my
gosh, chef's kiss. What she's been able to do and now she has a whole squad of like an all women
team, which I love. I’d always be like, dang it, the Chargers, this is so good. It's so good, I wish I
thought of it. And Zach Galia at the Cardinals. So a lot of times I one hundred percent always looked
up what other teams did.
“I would say probably early in my career [there] was a lot of jealousy to be like, oh, we gotta top that.
I’m a lot wiser in my years later on, I'd just be excited that someone did something cool on the
internet because I know how much work it takes sometimes even to get things posted nowadays,
you mentioned approval processes, so I’m, like, oh, good for them. And I think because I've been in
business now… almost 10 years now, officially in the sports world. So it's been really fun to also be
friends with people. I'm in a lot of text groups where we talk through things of like, Hey, has this
ever happened to [you] before? Ideas on this. So I like seeing other people have success.”

About the community an platform Gondola is building
“Just in case people don't know, Gondola is a platform for people to
organize, to track and to take credit for the work that they do on the
internet. So, oftentimes, you see something go huge [on social media]...like
that Derek Carr runout [video] for the Raiders this year. I saw that and was
like, holy moly, how did they do that, and also who did that? And Gondola
is taking up a space to answer that where Ricky Witt…he was the person
that was filming and edited that — he is able to take credit for his work on
Gondola. So like, if anyone were to take that link from Twitter or Instagram
and they put it into Gondola, Ricky's name would pop up [and show that]
he was the editor and the videographer for that.

“So, one, we're trying to be like the IMDB of social, which is needed. And
also in hiring too, it's really great, because as much as I love long Vimeo
reels that are beautiful, sometimes they don't know what you actually did
on those pieces of content, as a hiring manager. So that's what's great
now with Gondola, I can know exactly what people did on a specific
project. So that's the first thing about Gondola.
“And the second thing is what really drew me to Gondola andI talk about
like my heart and mission is Jared Kleinstein, who's the founder of
Gondola, who's been very successful [with] his own production company
called Fresh Tape (Media), was at Vine leading sports and
international...He's such a great guy, one of the best.

“[So the company] already has good genes on it. Like, you know, I've had his DNA all
over us. He really cares about the industry and the people. And the same thing for me,
I feel like at this time…because a lot of people are leaving the sports creative industry.
They're burned out, they're tired and people are feeling under-appreciated, under-
valued, and underpaid, let's be real. So what I hope with Gondola is that we can enter
into this space to make people feel seen, valued, and heard;and get paid if they can.
“There are so many more creatives that I’ve gotten to know through Gondola because
I've just seen their work on Gondola and I'm like, oh, okay, this is great. Or a lot of
teams reach out to me [saying] ‘ Hey, I'm looking for a social media coordinator for my
team…Do you know anyone? And I go right to Gondola and I'm like, okay, let me find
out all who has done social work before. That's what I really love…I really want to
make this industry better and feel more vibrant than it has been over the last few
years…”

The most memorable content or campaign from Amie’s time with the Panthers
“I think the one we had the most fun with was our viral dig at the Atlanta Falcons jersey. If you
guys remember [during] peak COVID quarantine is like in March and our boss had given us
[the directive] of ‘Hey, I want to make fun of the [Atlanta] Falcons jerseys that just dropped. It
just drops them. I’m like, I don't know if teams do that. Like, do they roast other people's
stores? He's like, come up with an idea by noon. So I ran to the meme team and I was like,
Hey, we got to do something like this. And Brandon Johnson, our videographer [produced] the
video reply and was kind of saying that the Falcons jerseys reminded him of The
Replacements, the Adam Sandler movie.
“And he filmed kind of a TikTok inspo and he filmed it in his kitchen somewhere in Charlotte
and. As soon as we posted it, it flew; I think in the first minute it was already at 3000 retweets.
So I knew instantly, I was like, okay, this is going to go big. And I think it ended with like
60,000 retweets. So it was big. That was really cool. Just something fun, so random…”

About being a working mom and her son Tripp
“For those that don't know, my son is 3 years-old now and I actually
gave birth to him a little bit early. He came early, and I gave birth
unexpectedly at 27 weeks, the night before the season home opener of
the Panthers in 2018. And it was a shock. I had never really heard of
babies being premature before. So learning our son arrived at one
pounds, three ounces, and he had a long journey ahead of him and
now he's home.

“And I think it put a lot of perspective in life of, like, I just really want
to spend time with him. He's really funny. If anything, I can predict
what he'll be like as he grows up and in the future he's going to be the
class clown, which I'm kind of nervous about, but he loves making
other people laugh. And he's so dramatic; my fiance says he takes
after me. It's so exciting that even though he had a really challenging
start to life, he is seriously one of the most joyful children that I have
ever met. That's probably why I really like working remotely right
now, working at home and I get to see him. He comes busting open
the door all the time when I'm on Zoom meetings and Jared on our
team is so nice…So, I'm really fortunate…”

About work-life balance, or lack thereof, in sports
“Well, I definitely did it for three years, so I was able to make it work; maybe not
the most perfect situation...I honestly I don't believe there can be work-life balance
in how people imagine it…like, I do work 50% and I live my life; I don't think that
works. I think people in this time right now are craving flexibility. So I hope that in
this new workforce that we could have something where you both work and life can
be flexible and that you can finally hopefully maybe have more of an equilibrium. I
always try to remind people that…it’s like a pendulum a little bit; some days with
more heavy work, some days heavier at home, and as long as I think we have
leaders that accept that and we have leaders that also are parents — I always like to
preface that just because you have kids doesn't mean you ship preferential
treatment, I think all people should have even if you don't have kids — have as
much of an equilibrium that works for you as possible.”

The skill Amie has learned in her career that has been the most beneficial
“If my boss is listening to this, he’s gonna laugh. It sounds bad, but making
pitch decks…Pitch decks, I really had to learn how to do them a lot at the
Panthers. So I would say learning how to articulate all of your thoughts and
ideas into a PowerPoint is very valuable.”
The skill Amie wished she could snap her fingers and have mastery of overnight
“Photoshop. I hope Daniel Goldfarb, our designer who I worked with for a long
time at the Panthers, is hearing this because a few times…I didn't want to
bother him, so I would make something and he'd be like, you know what? I'll do
it.”

The most memorable game from Amie’s time with the Panthers
“I would say the one…I wasn't at the game; I was working at the
stadium because [the social team] wasn’t traveling at the time, but
Cam Newton coming back; second time around and playing the first
game at the Arizona Cardinals [who] were really hot; this is this past
year. The Arizona Cardinals were really hot at the time Cam came
back, he had an insane game. It was like a movie. The whole time I
was like, this is like a movie, I can't even believe this is real life. So
that was one of the best games I've ever been a part of. I loved it, even
though I wasn't physically there.”

The Panthers player that was the best when it came to collaborating
with the team for content
“No surprise for people who know me, but Greg Olsen. I am a Greg
Olsen stan through and through. I love Greg. Not only does he know
who he is, so he speaks his mind and says whatever he wants, he's
also extremely funny and he is just an overall [good guy]. He gets it.
He's just someone that's like, ‘Hey Greg, I need you for two minutes.’
He's like, great. I got it. Like selfie, video done. Overall fantastic
person. So yeah, I would say Greg.”

Amie’s #1 piece of advice for people that want to work in sports or social
media and sports
“I would say a lot…when I get LinkedIn messages or Twitter DMs, and people
are like, ‘Hey, I'd love to break into sports’…What I have typically said in the
past is I think it's really valuable for anyone who's looking to do a new career
path, or even starting into sports is say what you want to do. Tell people what
you want to do. Because people like myself want to help you, but if you are
saying ‘Hey, I want to work in sports,’ that's so vast — is that operations? Is
that data analysis? Is that marketing? Is that in athletic training. Social? I
have no idea what that is. So I have found the most people — when they tell
me exactly what they want — I have a better idea of how to help them.

“[For example], a few people that I've been mentoring are like ‘Hey, I want to work in
baseball and I want to be a team photographer.’ Great. I know exactly how I can help you
because now I know I can reach out to baseball teams being like, ‘Hey, do you have an
opportunity? This person's amazing. They'd have a lot of talent to add to your team.’ I
know exactly how I can help them, but I can't help you if I don't know what it is.
“And oftentimes I'm getting messages, like you said, a lot of the time, then it’s like
sometimes you have to stick out. So if you want to work in sports, well, I can't differentiate
you, but if you say I want to work in sports, I want to be a team photographer, I want to
work in baseball. I'm like, great. I know exactly — when things come up, I can be like,’ Hey,
this person would be a great fit for you.’
“So that's what I tell people — and if it's something you want to change, then change…Just
like how you get all nervous when you go to college and you have to be like, I don’t know
what my major is. Okay, just pick something and if you change you change. So that's what
I've had to remind people.”

The best meal to get in Charlotte and
where to get it
“I love Thai food, so I think I would
take you to get Green Curry tofu from
Thai Taste, which is in Charlotte. It's
also backed by Luke Kuechly. If you
go there, you'll see he has a mini
shrine bulletin board. Every time he
had his name or pictures in the paper,
they'd put it out there on the bulletin
board…Yeah, I love Thai Taste.”

Who are some profile(s) on Gondola we should all go check out right now?
“Oh, there are so many that I have found recently. Well, Billy Quach is obviously Billy, so
you should look at his profile. The whole breadth of his work is incredible. But I [also]
found some hidden gems recently that are just coming out of school that I really like out of
Texas Tech. I don't know their names off the top of my head, so I feel really bad that I can't
drop them at this moment, so I'll have to link to them later, but their photography skills are
unreal.
“I'll shout out Ricky, Witt; I didn't know Ricky Witt until that viral Derek Carr moment.
Looking at his work. I think he's just out of school and he had the video capture of the year
in sports so far, in my opinion…I think he was an LCC with the NFL at the time, but I'll
give Ricky a shoutout and also I'll give Lakeyia Brown, she’s a content creator down [with]
the [South Carolina] Gamecocks women's basketball team. She's crushing it on TikTok.”

The pro sports team we should all go check out today
“OG, I would say Allie Raymond [formerly] at the Cleveland Browns.
She was goals. Absolutely I love what she’s been doing. And now she’s
at Gofundme, which is also amazing…I would say I really obviously
love the Chargers because I think we have a very similar style…
“Devin Walker at the Grizzlies (NBA) needs a lot of flowers. Him and
the whole team there are so funny on social…so I would say you
should follow the Memphis Grizzlies.”

Amie’s Social Media All-Star to Follow
“This is an easy answer, it’s Astasia Williams…She is one of the wisest people in
the industry. She worked with me at the Panthers, but I would say that I
learned far more from Astasia than she ever learned from me. She has been the
greatest teacher ever for me. So I give her a lot of kudos; she really changed
everything for me just by being herself…She’s an amazing truth teller,
visionary, all those buzz words — she lives and breathes all that.
“She’s at Nike now. It’s really awesome to see. Her career on Twitter is
something worth noting; she has like 20, 30+ viral tweets…I don’t often think
people give her enough credit for how much strategy she has. She’s a great
strategic thinker. I would say Astasia, she’s my All-Star.”

Where to find Amie and Gondola on social media
Gondola can be found on Twitter and Instagram (@gondola for both)
and on gondola.cc for web
Amie is on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn (@amiekiehn, Amie
Kiehn)

@njh287; www.dsmsports.net
Thanks again to Amie for being so generous with her time to share
her knowledge, experience, and expertise with me!
For more content and episodes, subscribe to the podcast, follow me
on LinkedIn and on Twitter @njh287, and visit www.dsmsports.net.

Episode 216 Snippets: Amie Kiehn of Gondola

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