This week on Keep the Dream Alive, we're joined by Shelbi Kilcollins, Director of Marketing at Quartexx Management, where she works with some of the biggest names across the CHL, NCAA, PWHL and NHL — including Mitch Marner, Sarah Nurse, Nazem Kadri, Sam Bennett, Jill Saulnier, Lane Hutson and Will Smith.

Shelbi's path started as an unpaid intern with the Peterborough Petes and led her through Wasserman before landing at Quartexx, where she now builds the brand partnerships fans see from some of hockey's most recognizable players.

In this episode, we go behind the curtain on what athlete marketing actually looks like day to day: how a brand partnership comes together from first conversation to final content, how she helps players — some naturally quiet, some larger than life — find and build a personal brand that actually fits them, and the unexpected sides of athletes fans don't usually get to see.

We also talk career: what separates people who break into sports from people who never get the shot, and what she wishes someone had told her as an intern.

Topics covered:

• What a Director of Marketing at an athlete agency actually does
• Turning unpaid internship experience into a career in sports
• How brand partnerships get built, from pitch to final content
• Helping athletes discover and shape their personal brand
• Behind-the-scenes of a content shoot day
• Lifting up young women in hockey

Guest: Shelbi Kilcollins, Director of Marketing, Quartexx Management

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the very first episode of Keep the Dream Alive, the official podcast of LUG Sports Group Inc.

In this debut episode, LUG co-founders Ethan Wright and Ray Abramson sit down with producer Elle MacGregor to pull back the curtain on everything LUG: how it started with a few teams on the ice at Queens and Western, the near-rebrand that got killed by a cease and desist, the accidental birth of the WAG Cup, and how a recreational hockey league quietly grew into an 80+ city sports community across North America.

They get into the stories you never heard: the Team Iceland vs. Team Iceland showdown that neither of them knew was happening, the Bozeman, Montana game that brought hundreds of fans out of nowhere on a Monday night, and why throwing helmets in the air after a championship win is the moment they're always chasing.

Whether you're a LUG player, a sports entrepreneur, or just someone who wants to keep the dream alive, this one's for you.

🎙️ Hosted by Ethan Wright & Ray Abramson

📍 New episodes coming soon

Subscribe and follow along for behind-the-scenes moments, unforgettable memories, and interviews from interesting people with unique perspectives and experiences.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.