Athletic Interest, or simply AI, is a German YouTube channel that produces educational video essays about sports. The format generally consists of a voice-over, which is done by Marc Wegrzyk, that explains the topic at hand, as well as animation for visual aid. The subject matter varies widely and covers different sports like football, tennis, athletics or Formula 1 as well as big sporting brands like Nike or Red Bull. Viewers frequently refer to Athletic Interest as "the National Geographic of sports".
History[]
Founded by Fabian Schneider, the Athletic Interest channel appeared on YouTube on November 20, 2019. Before starting the channel, he had worked in the sports marketing industry but quit his job to start his own business.
After he had to let go of his initial business idea because of the Covid-19 pandemic, he started creating videos to share "the stories behind sports"[1] at the beginning of 2020.
The first video, titled “How Nike Signed Liverpool FC”, was uploaded on March 13, 2020. The format has remained largely consistent throughout the channel's existence.
After their first viral video "How Red Bull Makes Money", the channel rapidly grew to more than 200.000 subscribers within the first year. The Athletic Interest team has since collaborated with prominent sports figures like Gerard Piqué or Fabrizio Romano and major sports organizations like the Bundesliga, Onefootball or Amazon Prime Video Sport.
Trivia[]
- Contrary to popular belief, Athletic Interest is not owned or related to The Athletic or The New York Times. AI is still an independent entity owned by the founders[2].
- The founders met at the German Sports University of Cologne, where they had many passionate debates in the cafetaria about the business of sports[3].
Quotes[]
- "In 2019, Red Bull sold one can for almost every person on the planet."
- "Every 28 seconds somebody buys a Liverpool kit."
- "Luckily for all those horny Victorians, someone invented tennis."
References[]
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/post/UgkxBs9Z6SaG4wtAFDWfDm8Sr0Hz8hS3pFKy
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/post/UgkxTU8J5jbkXDBQbHzQbwtIWX2IcbAmAmcg
- ↑ Info about Athletic Interest on Patreon