Tenth International Conference on Sport & Society

Abstract

Entrepreneurs are increasingly utilizing social media to launch, promote, and grow their businesses (Fischer & Reuber, 2014). Prominent among social media personae are “influencers” who have carved out a sport and fitness social media entrepreneurship niche. Yet, with little empirical academic research on sport-based digital entrepreneurship, insights into these forms of self-employment remain scarce (Gustafsson & Khan, 2017). To address this gap, using a phenomenological framework, we explored digital fitness entrepreneurs’ experiences navigating the industry through 21 interviews with individuals (11 women, 13 men) positioned in different areas of “fitness.” We inducted a general “accidental” pattern in terms of entrepreneurial process, with the underlying goal of maintaining their online social capital, lest they be “unfollowed.” Findings included a general “leaning into” entrepreneurial pursuits with a focus on brand distinction through a combination of content conveying the relatability of the entrepreneur, and aesthetically pleasing, often sexualized content. Variations in strategy involving online platform use, content creation, client funneling, and follower engagement were also evident, as well as an overarching anxiety related to the gap between online and offline personas. Although not affiliated with traditional sport organizations, these “everyday entrepreneurs” contribute to a larger area of the sport/fitness industry since Rehman and Frisby studied them as fitness consultants (2000). In a post-modern world with online capabilities, study of these individuals is increasingly important as sport entrepreneurship research continues to grow as an academic field (Hayduk & Walker, 2018; Hemme, Morais, Bowers, & Todd, 2016; Ratten, 2018; Thorpe & Dumont, 2018).