Becoming the first American man to win an Olympic medal in luge has opened up a world of possibilities for Chris Mazdzer.
“There are some endorsement deals coming my way,” the silver medalist told Cheddar. “This has completely changed my life. It hasn’t changed who I am, but it changes what I can do.”
Mazdzer points out that Olympic athletes can work long and hard without ever seeing much financial rewards. He, for example, had been training for 21 years, juggling practice with bartending and working weddings just to make ends meet.
He says, “Some athletes work two, three jobs, just to keep doing what they love doing.”
To raise awareness, Mazdzer donated $5,000 -- about a third of his winnings -- to athlete-mentoring organization Classroom Champions. He’s also raised over $35,000 more in matched contributions.
He’s also planning for a future after sports.
“I want to go into financial planning, but I also want to go into...life fulfillment planning,” he said. “If you can manage how you view money and if you can manage how you feel about what you’re trying to do with your life…then you have the chance to be completely at one with yourself.”
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/olympic-luger-chris-mazdzer-makes-history).
Germany's hopes of a second straight World Cup came to an end Wednesday with a shocking loss to South Korea. While Germany is considered a perennial powerhouse, defending champions often get knocked out of the first rounds of the event, says Jeffrey Marcus, publisher of The Banter.
The component derived from cannabis plants offers an effective alternative for pain relief without causing a "high," said former New York Jets player Marvin Washington, who urges the NFL to change its policy on the substance. "If we don't get our hands around this opioid addiction, we are going to lose a generation."
For the first time since 1980, Iranian women this week were allowed to watch their national team take on Spain at the World Cup. For Iran, soccer is "the one secular institution that really unites the country," says Jeffrey Marcus, publisher of World Cup newsletter "The Banter."
The 28-year-old pitcher for the LA Dodgers pitches something else in the off-season: stocks. As a licensed stockbroker, Stripling invests in FANG shares and dabbles in some commodities, he tells Cheddar.
Paul Boyer, a.k.a. sOAZ, the former starting top laner for Team FNATIC, was sidelined with a hand injury during the Spring Split season of the esport League of Legends. But now he's back in action and ready for the Summer Split.
IBM and Fox Sports have teamed up to bring fans an easy way to create their own highlight reels, drawing footage from archives and current matches. "It is a huge opportunity to tap into that fan passion," says Robert Schwartz, Global Leader of Strategy and Design at IBM iX, the company's digital ad agency.
The athletic brand has signed deals with projected number one overall pick in the NBA, Deandre Ayton, and has integrated music and fashion into its marketing. Former ESPN host Bram Weinstein says that could give Puma an edge over competitors.
Video games and esports, which are front and center at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity this week, have caught the attention of the entrepreneur and CEO of VaynerMedia. "I have been lurking in the grass, as they say," he told Cheddar's Jon Steinberg.
Canada was one of the only developed countries in the world that did not have a premier league for soccer. Until now. The Canada Premier League will kick off its inaugural season next year in the hopes of creating a soccer revolution ahead of the 2026 World Cup, co-hosted in the country, says CPL commissioner David Clanachan.
Any professional athlete faces pressure to win, but the stakes are higher at the World Cup, where soccer players carry the added burden of an entire nation's expectations. To rise to the occasion, athletes "have to have a shared vision and a greater purpose," says Jon Gordon, the author of 'The Power of Positive and Leadership.'
