Good morning. Yesterday, NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani held a citywide scavenger hunt, culminating in a meet-and-greet with participants.

At the end of the day, isn’t this what “PokémonGo to the polls” was really all about?

— Hannah Doyle & Syd Cohen

ESPN hiring sports creator Katie Feeney earlier this month seems to be just the start of a groundswell of sports media tapping creators to revamp offerings. Here’s the latest → 

Brazilian creator Casimiro Miguel scored the broadcasting rights to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. He’ll air games on CazéTV, a YouTube channel with over 22 million subscribers that Miguel operates with sports media brand LiveMode. 

While we’re on soccer: The Deutsche Fussball Liga (DFL) will broadcast 20+ live soccer games for free on UK-based YouTube channels. 

Sports creator Deestroying will be a sideline reporter during YouTube’s first platform-exclusive NFL game stream. He will accompany NFL announcer Rich Eisen and analyst Kurt Warner as the Kansas City Chiefs play the Los Angeles Chargers in São Paulo, Brazil, on September 5. 

With 6.3 million subscribers and a history as a player in college and the minor leagues, Deestroying is serving as a bridge between traditional sports media and YouTube talent to facilitate the platform’s bigger and bigger NFL play.

Creator Zack Evans has lived through many internet eras: He was popular on Vine, he was a lead producer at Buzzfeed during its peak, he sold a script to Comedy Central before the show got cut, and he led content at Cameo when it went viral during the pandemic.

So he’s arguably an expert on the highs and lows of the winding creator path—and that’s why he’s publishing his forthcoming book, Create.Repeat: 365 Days of Creativity. 

“I’ve experienced [burnout] multiple times because with the internet, you can never turn off. And we’re now in this ‘For You’ era where many creators are trying to create people-pleasing videos,” Evans, who’s now consulting for creators like SubwayTakes and building his own media brand, told us. “So we’re trying to connect people back with their creativity of why they started, because the fastest way to burnout is to let go of what you want to create and you’re only making stuff for other people.”

Here’s what to expect from the book:

The key to recovering from burnout, according to Evans? Not quitting entirely. But instead, making things that excite you.

“Self doubt never goes away. You just learn how to move through it a little bit more. So I hope people feel seen by this book and inspired to create the stuff they want to see. If you have a business, do like Martin Scorcese and ‘one for me, one for you’—I’d love to see more of that,” Evans said.

What do a tattoo parlor, burger joint, and an Indian restaurant have in common? They’re all partaking in a new trend among local businesses: creating elaborate short-form sketches to showcase their companies.

At the forefront of this trend is Smashers, a Virginia burger restaurant that staged a knife-point robbery as part of its short-form content strategy. 

It worked, raking in over 100X the views of a typical Smashers Reel. Since the initial sketch, Smashers’ engagement has spiked across its Instagram and TikTok—both of which are run by Henry Smith, the restaurant’s 21-year-old owner.

Big picture: Businesses are becoming niche creators to drum up marketing—see: resale creator Owen Gail (aka Shirtzenpantz) using his rock-kicking series to promote his thrift store. The takeaway? Being weird works.

Editor’s note: On Friday, we said Almost Friday partnered with BoulderLight Pictures on their latest series thanks to a connection made by director Zack Cregger. Cregger has no direct involvement with the project. Sorry about that.