Good morning. John Cena officially retired from the WWE this weekend after becoming a 17-time Wrestlemania champion. Hundreds of āAttitude Adjustmentsā and āyou canāt see mesā later, thank you for your 26 years of service, John. š«”
ā Hannah Doyle & Syd Cohen
Filmmaker Wesley Wang directs the trailer for āSperm Racingā (left), an event created by Eric Zhu (right) / Sperm Racing, Eric Zhu
Yes, you read that correctly, and itās exactly what you think it is. This Friday, two competitors from UCLA and USC will face off in a biometric smackdown, with the main event being an actual sperm race between the competitors' samples. And creatorsāwho can maximize the eventās element of surpriseāare key to its success.
First: Why is this happening? 17-year-old Eric Zhu founded Sperm Racing to destigmatize the male fertility conversation for younger men. āWeāre trying to change the paradigm from this being a very taboo concept to a less taboo concept, and that could open up to a lot of new interesting projects,ā Zhu told us. Heās raised over $1 million from investors, and Fridayās competition will be Sperm Racingās first major event.
Hereās how Sperm Racing partnered with creators to go viral.
Although the race has been covered by TMZ, Vice, and KTLA, the team used its $2,000 marketing budget to reach creatorsā audiences. āGetting in Forbes is nice, but it doesnāt really mean anything if it doesnāt go viral,ā Zhu said.
Instead, they have relied on meme accounts, creators, and artistsālike filmmaker Wesley Wang, who made the event trailerāto push the message to a Gen Z audience.
And it worked. Within 24 hours of Sperm Racing announcing the event, it nearly sold out. āWe only launched 1,000 tickets initially, so we were surprised at how many people were buying tickets to see a sperm race,ā Zhu said. The race will also be livestreamed on Sperm Racingās website.
Zoom out: āIf you abstract on every single sport out there [...] itās actually not that interesting,ā Zhu said. āWhat makes the sport interesting is all the different angles, the storyline that goes along with it.ā Zhu is taking stylistic inspiration from UFC and leveraging memes and creator-first content to attract viral attention to a first-of-its-kind niche. His ultimate goal, though, is to push a menās health message along with those likes and shares.
P.S. Thereās no way weāre missing this. Stay tuned for the Publish teamās POV from the race next week.
Steven Bartlett reveals he turned down a major podcasting deal / Steven Bartlett
Entrepreneurship creator Steven Bartlett launched The Diary of a CEO podcast in 2017. By 2024, the franchise had tallied more than 1 billion streams and generated $20 million in annual revenue. And today? Bartlett shared that heās turned down a nine-figure podcast deal in favor of the independent creator path.
Bartlettās POV:
The deals his team was weighing, which Forbes estimated were valued in the $100 million range, would have added at least 300% more ads to the show, per Bartlettās estimations.
A major deal would also mean less control over where the show appears, Bartlett shared on X over the weekend.
Bartlett said his team ran the mathāand concluded the show monetize more effectively independently than locked into a multi-year deal with payouts tied to performance targets.
So heās betting on himselfāand his team. Bartlett said Flight Story, the media company behind The Diary Of A CEO, now employs nearly 100 people full-time and has āevery capability in-house,ā including strategy, data, production, partnerships, newsletters, and more.
āWe looked at what [larger media companies pursuing a deal] did in terms of testing, experimentation, innovation, and I felt like I was looking at the past,ā Bartlett told Forbes. āWhen I see what happens here, I'm looking at the future.ā
If you were in Bartlettās position, what would you do to build your creator business? |
Jaren āSMii7Yā Smith poses with his Gamer Supps collaboration, GOOD / SMii7Y
Gaming creator Jaren āSMii7Yā Smith, known for his Mario Party and Grand Theft Auto gameplay, recently invested and became part-owner in energy drink brand Gamer Supps. Heāll work with the brand to launch new projects, like its first canned beverage product.
Context: Gamer Supps partners with VTubers, podcasters, and creators like Shylily and Meat Canyon on custom flavors, product drops, and merch. The powdered energy drink currently ranks third on CreatorIQās top brands by earned media value, following Red Bull and Coca-Cola.
And? Smithās previous collabs with Gamer Supps have driven eight figures in revenue, according to the brand.
Travel creator Drew Binsky is looking for a full-time video editor to put finishing touches on story structure, sound design, and music.
Airrack is hiring a thumbnail designer with a strong portfolio of thumbnails and mock-ups.
Ecommerce creator Davie Fogarty is looking for a business scriptwriter to write for 8ā20-minute YouTube videos.
Fiverr, the worldās leading marketplace for digital services, is partnering with creators to showcase the power of freelancing. Join the Creator Program and turn your influence into income.*
*This is sponsored advertising content.
Sidemenās food brand, Sides, is releasing a line of ice cream.
Gaming streamer Kyedae is taking an indefinite break from Twitch.
Cooking creator Olds Cool Kevmo is now cancer-free after being diagnosed with stage four melanoma 18 months ago.
Jacksfilms starts a weekly newsletter for creator discovery called Credit the Creators.
Lifestyle and comedy creator Drew Afualo signs with CAA.