Reclifestyle
By: Eduardo Drapier
Tags: Sports Marketing, Startup, Sports, South Africa

How was your experience at North-West University in South Africa?

I had an incredible experience at the university (NWU) it that provided me with an opportunity to be taught by amazing lecturers that go above and beyond to ensure that students are developed holistically, and not just in the classroom. I university provided us interactive learning environment.

My first coaching job was in my 2nd year at NWU, I was tasked to coach the universities female rugby team. The university and my then coach(Lvd Schyff) entrusted me in the role to increase participation, develop a love of rugby to these ladies and ensure that they will be the best possible rugby players, I also got my first marketing and social media jo

Special thanks to Dr Liandi van den Berg, Dr Anita Lennox and Sean Mchallaghan for the incredible contribution and support they provided me with to explore, grow and bother them with my idea’s to change the students varsity experience through sports.

During your period at the university, you found out the students were facing a lot of challenges to find a place in the sports industry. Can you describe what were those challenges to our audience?

Reclifestyle (RLS) was established while in Varsity after realizing that:

A lot of my friends and people I knew who studied towards a qualification in sports are in careers completely different from what they studied.

- Many students leave varsity without having had the opportunity to practically apply the skills they have learnt.

-The number of students who didn’t/stopped not participating in sports in varsity as they felt that what was provided didn’t not cater for them because of various reasons (Their size ,weight ,limited sporting codes and others not wanting to compete competitively)

Many sporting programs that are provided were not accommodating to many student activities.

-Student were not supporting and attending games/matches of the varsity team due to lack of marketing and the games not appeal to them , so we started incorporating entertainment , fan engagement and added a lifestyle touch to the games , so they would appeal to the modern day sports fan.

The struggles females athletes faced. We took it upon ourselves to market the females games in all sporting codes and ensure they are also get the recognition they deserve

Through the challenges you and your colleagues faced, you start a project called Reclifestyle. What is it all about?

I then approached a friend of mine and classmate Sebabatso Nonodi(Sports science and sports management graduate) about my observation and my plan to set up an organization that will assist students so that they are better prepared for the post varsity and work space and to also provide students with a holistic varsity experience, many students don’t participate in student activities and sports due to a numbers of reasons , one of them being they do not feel that what is being offered is inclusive to their body , goals and some want to take part in sports , yet not competitively . So we created programs that focused more on the recreational side of things and that required team participation

We started RLS as a student organisation that would provide students with a platform to apply their skills they have learnt in the class room and also gain the necessary knowledge and experience they need post there studying days. The gap between varsity and the work market is very big and we wanted to close it through knowledge of the opportunities available , career options , and help students gain practical experience.

Because the University has a sports department, and sports counsels we had to come identify our role which was aimed at bringing inclusive programs that would cater for students and ensure they get a full of varsity experience through sports and this could only be done through innovative programs that would focus more on the recreational and lifestyle aspect than just the sports.

Each year we have a new committee that serves on the RLS exec for the university that facilitate and liaison with all relevant stakeholders to bring in new events and programs aimed at better students varsity experience, bridge the knowledge gap and help graduates be better positioned to go into the market

What’s your game plan for Reclifestyle in 2021 and beyond?

We are very passionate about development and upskilling, and we believe through and injection of innovation, structures and knowledge, we will be able to develop our sports especially in the townships and less developed areas

We will be offering a lot of sports consultancy work which consists of marketing services, sponsorship, event management and activations.

We have a lot of exciting new projects that we will be a part of for the year that we are truly excited about and we are thankful for the opportunity from our partners, clients and all stakeholders linked to us.

Some of this year's projects/events:

-Stadium Management Summit with the African Sports Tourism Week

-Gauteng Women In Sports Awards hosted by Futballing Girls and the GSACR

-Partnering with the USSA for a sports webinar series that is coming soon

-Our annual Sports Industry Career Expo.

From your perspective, what pieces of advice you have for young students looking for a career in the sports industry?

We live in a time where information is at our finger tips therefore we have no excuse to say we didn’t know. Make use of the opportunities you get and connect and expose yourself to information and to people who are coming up in your field and those who are established .

Whenever you have an opportunity volunteer as much as possible and gain as much knowledge and experience

Use platforms such as linkedin to connect, to professionals and the movers and shakers of the industry, ask for help whenever you need it. You will never know who might open and door for you

A final message for our audience?

Establish your WHY your why will help you whenever you feel like giving up, It will remind you of how far you have come and why you need to succeed!

Lastly

Bet on yourself !, and investing in knowledge and building your connections/relationships. You will make mistakes along the way, but pick yourself up and keep moving

A huge thank you to SportIn Global for this incredible opportunity and for the work they do to change lives and help graduates