There it was on the side of a phone kiosk in midtown Manhattan this week, a large picture of Olympic swimming star Michael Phelps. Another ad for Speedo or Subway or Under Armour, as we are starting to head into a Summer Olympics cycle again.
Nope.
It was for a medical services company named Talkspace, who have partner with Phelps to talk about his battles with anxiety and depression. Phelps is in no way alone on athletes taking over this personal narrative. In the past few weeks athletes like Missy Franklin and Ibtihaj Muhammad have been the subject of features in the New York Times about their personal battles. Kevin Love’s story in Players Tribune last spring was seen as a landmark step in opening up and talking about the mental strain of athletes and how to deal with it, and steadily scores of athletes, very successful athletes in the public eye, have started to openly discuss their issues.
While there quite honestly is probably some sneering and questioning of such topics by those in the old school, the open dialogue that has been created by the social media space has really been a positive for anyone in the public eye to let people into a narrative of personal issues that they choose. While it is probably cathartic for them, it can be landmark and life saving for the people, especially the young people, they can influence, and it is leading to having schools, teams, and leagues take another more healthy look at the category of health and wellness.
When you look at the athletes who have, very courageously, chosen to speak out, they come from all backgrounds and levels of success, and their messages for the most part are very authentic and sincere. In a time where “look at me” is so dominant, the messages that are being conveyed, and it’s not that easy to tell those stories for fear of some sort of backlash, can serve as great examples in character building and maturity that only a few years ago would have been swept away.
The storytelling narrative for issues like depression and anxiety has totally flipped from a stigmatized one to one of great hope, not just for those telling but for a very wide audience well away from sports; it is a message that can resonate to parents and siblings as well as coaches and teammates and is opening up a new category in health and wellness that brands can positively, if done discreetly and authentically, play into.
Having been around athletes and coaches of all levels for decades, this is certainly not an easy topic, it’s probably the hardest one to deal with on the competitive side because it exposes you to an exploitive on field vulnerability. It is also not one that every athlete who has some issue can or would like to discuss publicly. The preventative, positive side of the story for those who choose to do it can be both powerful and groundbreaking, and the results in quiet, nonpublic spaces may be even greater than those who are speaking in the limelight.
Now the warning, as with every time something becomes a buzzworthy topic, needs to be in its moderation. Exploitation in the pharma space with paid endorsements would not surprise anyone. Also non authentic storytelling by some will also be a worry, as well as the distractions that can be caused in being involved in such a fluid and life changing situation as personal mental health.
However as we look forward and point to areas that will be “hot” in the coming years in the sports and well-being business, mental health, dealing with stress and anxiety and the telling of those stories is going to be a big one, and a positive one for many. True esports and gambling continue to be the rage and rightfully so from a business perspective. But healthcare and its offshoots is also looming as an inclusive issue, and having some big names continue to step from the shadows is great news, and great opportunity at the right time.
Good luck to all with the courage to take on the challenge, and Godspeed to those helping to tell the story.
