UCLA Athletes Launch Influencer Club for Personal Brand and Social Media Development
With social media reach, engagement and content creation at the center of most NIL deals today, UCLA student-athletes are taking it upon themselves to support each other's growth in the every-changing space.
A group of Bruins announced this week the launch of the Athlete Influencer Club (AIC), a peer-led organization for student-athletes looking to advance their personal brand and social media following. Founded by fifth-year swimmer Aislinn Walsh, who currently serves as the club's president, the AIC will meet weekly to participate in specialized workshops, photoshoots and speaker events.
"I started this club to create a community of individuals who share similar interests on social media and to create a judgment-free zone on something I feel like can be easily judged by our peers," Walsh said. "I wanted to have a community where we could create together and share our success outside of athletics."
AIC members include gymnastics' Sydney Barros and football's Deshun Murrell, Ramon Henderson, Zeke Thomas and KJ Wallace, among others.
There is no minimum social media following that athletes need to join, they can simply apply online.
According to UCLA's Assistant Director of NIL and staff liaison to the AIC, Maddie Walsh, the club has already hosted multiple exclusive photoshoots, completed personal branding and sponsorship proposal workshops and planned their first field trip for an off-campus content workshop.
"In a lot of my one-on-one meetings with student-athletes, they tell me they don't know what to post, or they don't have anyone to help them create content," Walsh said,"The AIC offers that much-needed peer support and direction."
