Gabby Roe, Maestroe President – Work In Sports podcast The Work in Sports Podcast - Insider Advice for Sports Careers

Hey everybody, I’m Brian Clapp, VP of Content and Engaged Learning at WorkinSports.com and this is the Work In Sports podcast…







When I say cornhole, flag football, spikeball and breakdancing -- it probably sounds like the planning stage for an epic fourth of July party, right?







Add in some axe throwing, a little karate combat and the party starts to get a little intense. 







The reality is, these competitive activities that are well-suited for a decked out summer affair, are taking the sports industry by storm. These aren’t fringe activities, they are high growth sports properties popping up around the globe, invested in by major brands, broadcast in prime slots and making their way into the Olympic Games. 







Yes, you heard that right, Olympic Games. 















We so often focus on the major sports and normalize them as standard. Hitting a little white ball with a club towards a hole 500 yards away seems normal, but tossing a bean bag toward a hole 24 ft apart is “fringe”.







Bouncing a rubber bladder covered in leather, and throwing it into a basket at an arbitrary 10 ft height, is extremely normal... but tossing an axe into a wood block target 15 ft away seems strange. 







As today’s guest, Gabby Roe, President and Founder of Maestroe says “every sports was a crazy ass idea at one point.”







Truer words have never been spoken.







Roe himself is a little on the fringe. A highly competitive lacrosse player, he played professionally for the Philadelphia Wings in the National Lacrosse League, spent several years as a chief executive with the AVP professional Beach Volleyball circuit, and helped launch Major League Lacrosse. 







He’s always gravitated towards sports with upside.  Slightly off the beaten path, but with the potential to be great.







His company, Maestroe, focuses on these high-growth sports properties and assists them in all the various stages of their growth cycle -- sponsorships, venues, business planning, marketing, broadcast deals -- this is a fascinating discussion into a side of the sports industry we don’t often talk about. 







Here he is, Gabby Roe, President and founder of Maestroe...







Questions for Gabby Roe, President and Founder of Maestroe:







1: I’ve read where you’ve described your company Maestro as a “growth engine for high-growth sports in various stages of their development.”







On a podcast you get more time to expand and articulate, so tell us all – what is Maestro?







2: What led you down this path? Where did the intrigue for growing fringe sports come from?







3: Let’s define “growth” a little – are we talking revenue growth, or visibility growth? And even broader, do those require different approaches?







4: You played lacrosse at powerhouse University of Virginia and in the National Lacrosse League for the Philadelphia Wings back in the 80’s– what traits from your playing career have served you well in the business world?







5: For the various sports you work with, you and your team at Maestro have helped them secure sponsors like Uber, Monster Energy Drinks, Chipotle – massive brands. 







To make these deals, is it more important to know someone on the inside of the business and have a powerful network of connections – or is it about having a good story and connection to their brand?