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South Asians in Sports is looking for a new sports content creator to lead our social media efforts. The Social Media Lead will be responsible for all content creation and dissemination, engagement and growth on our Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Youtube accounts.

We are seeking someone highly motivated, extremely professional, creative, knowledgeable about the sports industry, passionate about our mission and focused on a career in sports to join our small team. Our Social Media Lead will have the ability to directly impact the growth, reach and messaging of our ever growing organization. This is an ideal role for someone looking to make a big splash within a short amount of time.

This is a non-paid, remote and volunteer role. This role requires 6-8 hours per week, a 12-month commitment is required (we take breaks throughout the year).

Interested? Email a brief cover letter and resume to our CEO and Cofounder, Neha Uberoi Khangoora nuberoi@sainsports.com.

Looking for the perfect sports internship? We have put together some opportunities that can help our student members get a foot in the door to sports. We will be updating our permanent internships page as and when opportunities become available.

Looking for sports business events to attend this year? Check out our list with discount codes.

Current Location: Seattle, WA

Occupation / Current Title & Organization you represent: CMO + Co.Founder of Super Heroic // www.superheroic.com //

We are a children’s experience company that focuses on footwear and apparel. As parents first, we are driven by our children and their amazing outlook on life,  their sense of adventure, and their creativity.

We don’t ever want our children to question their superpowers or their ability to achieve, so we made it our mission to do something about it.

Why did you choose to have a career in the sports industry?

I don’t know if I chose this career as much as it’s picked me. What drove me was trying to find a career in which I can express my creativity in different ways from ideation to execution and all the steps in-between. I also grew up in a sports household – my dad was an avid cricket player, and we were always around hi-caliber athletes like Sunil Gavaskar and that iconic 80’s Indian cricket team. So I think being around those guys gave me a love for sports. Which then manifested itself into my career path of advertising, which then led to Jordan and Nike. All were preparing me for my own company.

How has being a South Asian impacted your career in sports (positively or negatively)?

It’s in every aspect of who I am.
My culture, my identity is what gives me my perspective on things. From marketing campaigns to creative to having empathy and treating people with respect. So from that aspect, it’s incredibly positive.

From a negative standpoint – I have had to fight racism and stereotypes the entire way because I was the only brown person that I knew of doing what I was doing – so it’s not as if I had a network to lean on or someone to follow. I just had to keep my head down – and grind. I will say also I have faced an equal amount of stereotypes from our own people as well. Which was and still is super disheartening, but I use it as an opportunity to change those stereotypes one person at a time.

My hope is I can share my story for the next generation so they can learn and have the tools to handle it and fight it.

What was your inspiration for designing a shoe just for kids?

For me, it was about getting back to treating our kids like the kids they are and not mini-consumers. Making products that have empathy and thought and passion built-in – not just a profit margin. We see our selves as the guardians of the creative youth – and our entire DNA is getting kids to be more confident and helping them achieve. Lastly, I knew we could deliver on all this because of our team – which also includes the world’s foremost experts in the industry, not to mention my Co.Founder Jason Mayden.

What advice would you give to the next generation of South Asian sports industry professionals or those trying to break into the industry?

Nothing is given. You have to network, but more importantly, be and build authentic relationships. If you’re true to yourself, things will fall in line because people vibe off that authenticity. I would rather have ten folks that I can call at any moment to rock versus 100 that are just mutual relationships.

Second – be respectful of the process and the legacy. From footwear to sports organization – the countless amount of time that has gone into building these things – they won’t change overnight – you have to understand why things were done a certain way so that you can apply the change or expertise you bring to it.

Serena had this excellent quote which I have been vibing with –  “Not because we were welcomed, but because we wouldn’t stop winning.”

Go get it, and as always reach out and ask for help if you need it. We are stronger together.

On Tuesday, August 6, the South Asians in Sports organization presented a panel discussion entitled, “How Social Media is Impacting Sports Culture” at SeatGeek’s headquarters in SoHo, New York. The event offered attendees unique insights into the nexus of social media and sports through  stories and advice from two accomplished professionals, Anmol Malhotra, Head of Sports Partnerships, Snap Inc.(the parent company of Snapchat) and Dev Sethi, Head of Sports, Instagram. The discussion was moderated by Jyoti Agarwal, a Lecturer at Columbia University and a Harvard M.B.A., who is an established strategy and marketing leader with more than fifteen years of experience leading teams to drive success. The event, which lasted from 6-8 p.m. was free and open to the public, drawing approximately sixty attendees from a range of backgrounds and walks of life, including athletes, students, career professionals, and fans.

Agarwal kicked off the event by asking the panelists about their career paths. An enlightening discussion ensued as Malhotra and Sethi narrated their journeys from backgrounds in technology, advertising, and finance to the sports’ social media universe. They explained that their diverse experiences had offered them transferable skill sets and perspectives, which have fostered success in their current roles in sports industry.

Malhotra oversees sports partnerships at Snap Inc., leading relationships with leagues, broadcasters, and rights holders including the NFL, NBA, MLB, UFC, FIFA, Fox, Turner Sports, and NBC. In this role, he also focuses on strategy for several content partnerships and sales initiatives with leagues, teams, and athletes to help them engage new audiences, experiment with innovative forms of distribution and achieve their business objectives. In addition, Malhotra helps manage international growth initiatives with sports partners across Asia, Europe, MENA, and Latin America. Anmol is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business and resides in New York City.

Sethi oversees strategic partnerships at Instagram, across the sports ecosystem, which includes athletes, leagues, teams, and media. Before joining Instagram, Sethi was Complex Networks’ first Chief of Staff reporting to CEO Rich Antoniello. There he was responsible for developing strategic external partnerships as well as aligning internal operations across content, business development, finance and production with the goal of maximizing output and efficiencies across Complex’s portfolio of millennial-focused brands.  Dev is also a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and a native of the D.C. Metro Area.

Both panelists explained that all social platforms are eventually looking to accomplish the same things within the sports industry – to consistently find unique ways to engage fans through their platforms. As a matter of coincidence, they both arrived at their current roles from non-sports positions and offered salient career advice. Malhotra explained, “There is no right or wrong career path in the sports industry. One should be flexible. I started in finance but always knew that I would want to work in sports.” And Sethi added, “Sometimes, it is also helpful to take a break from work to channelize your inner self and reassess what is best for you. Be persistent and patient in pursuit of opportunities and also find ways to make yourself unique.”

Audience members asked the panelists probing questions about each of their day to day responsibilities: “What does the social media space look like in the near future?” “What are some of the resources that they look at to keep up with the latest news within the sports industry?” Sethi and Malhotra listed the Sports Business Journal and Front Office Sports as excellent resources for staying in the loop. They also suggested that those interested in the field consult books written by people about the industry.

After the enriching discussion, the panelists took part in a networking session, interacting personally with the attendees. As gracious hosts, SeatGeek provided an inviting space and ample refreshments. This was a wonderful, enlightening event that offered participants new and helpful insights into the complex integration of social media and sports from two prominent leaders within the space. Through SAIS convening this gathering, those attending, from so many different backgrounds and career stages, were able to meet, share, and learn.

Authored by
Vratik Sharma