Influencer Advisory™What makes an athlete partnership work? La Sportiva's athlete manager and Anton Krupicka
Founder · August 12, 2026 · 17 min read
Kelsey Quinn and Anton Krupicka on Long Run Labs, published 6 June 2026. Watch the whole episode
Who is talking
Kelsey Quinn runs sports marketing at La Sportiva. That covers athlete management, events and partnerships with nonprofits.
“I do sports marketing for La Sportiva. So, that's everything from athlete management to events and other partnerships with nonprofits.”
Kelsey Quinn at 1:59
Anton Krupicka is a mountain and ultra runner. He has raced for almost 20 years and has been with La Sportiva for about 12.
“I'm a mountain runner and I've been an athlete ultra runner for almost 20 years. And I've been with Sportiva for 12 years now”
Anton Krupicka at 2:13
What they said
1. Sign people who already use and love the product
Kelsey will not add an athlete to the team unless they already use and love La Sportiva's products. She calls it the number one thing.
“Like I know for me as an athlete manager, that's like the number one thing. If someone doesn't already use and love our products, I'm not going to add them to the team”
Kelsey Quinn at 22:15
2. Anton found La Sportiva by wearing it, left for money, and came back
Anton ran his first ultra, the Leadville 100 in 2006, in La Sportivas he bought at his local running store in Colorado Springs. The team manager, Buzz Burrell, emailed him after the race. In his second year another company offered him four grand a year, and Buzz told him to take the money. He came back in 2015, when he needed shoes with sticky rubber for climbing.
“So, in 2006, I ran the Leadville 100. It was my first ultra, and I ran it in a pair of La Sportivas that I bought off the shelf, just my local running store in Colorado Springs. And after the race, the it was very newly formed mountain running team. The team manager at the time, Buzz Burrell, he just emailed me.”
Anton Krupicka at 14:16
“Buzz to his credit was just like totally get it. Like that's not in our budget. Like you should go for the money, you know.”
Anton Krupicka at 15:35
“So when my contract was up, yeah, Sportiva was a natural choice.”
Anton Krupicka at 16:21
3. The best partnerships start with the athlete's own project
Kelsey says a relationship with an athlete works when the athlete brings ideas and projects and asks La Sportiva to be part of them. Anton has brought La Sportiva many of his mountain projects, and the brand helps turn them into a story or a piece of content.
“we are always super excited when athletes come to us with ideas and projects. To me, I think that's what really makes an athlete brand relationship fruitful is if we have athletes that are super engaged and have projects and bring us ideas of ways that we can be involved in what they're doing.”
Kelsey Quinn at 13:31
“we have athletes that can bring projects to us, and you know, like Anton has brought so many projects to us of things that he wants to do in the mountains, and you know, we can help him create a story or a content piece around that”
Kelsey Quinn at 11:58
4. Get the brand into what the athlete already runs
If an athlete started a run club, Kelsey wants La Sportiva at the group run, with demo shoes to try on or discount codes for the people who come.
““a successful partnership with an athlete really just means they're really engaged with the brand and you know, whatever projects or things that they do, maybe it's you know, like we said earlier, maybe it's runner that started this amazing run club in their local community. You know, we want that person, if we're working with them, to get us involved. Like how can Sportiva be involved in that group run? It's not just about the fact that they have it, but like how can we be a part of it, you know, whether that's, you know, bringing demo shoes for those people to try on or getting discount codes to those people. Like how can we kind of integrate our brand into our athletes' projects?””
Kelsey Quinn at 24:54
5. Race results are no longer enough on their own
Athletes used to get sponsored mostly on race results. La Sportiva still wants them to perform, but Kelsey says it now also looks for stories, run clubs and activists. The host said GU's athlete manager, Yuri Haswell, told him the same thing.
“back in the day it started out as athletes getting in touch with brands mostly based on performance and results at races, etc. And I think now from a brand standpoint, you know, we want our athletes to perform and we're always looking for athletes that are pushing the boundaries of what's possible in each sport, but we're also looking for more than that, too. And I think a lot of that shift is due to social media. We're looking for content pieces or stories or we're looking for people who are, you know, maybe started a run club in their local community or are activists or have something more to bring than maybe just the performance side.”
Kelsey Quinn at 19:15
“performance is interesting, but like I want people who are interesting and are doing something beyond just running.”
The host at 20:14
6. Athletes help make the product
La Sportiva takes athlete feedback on all of its products, because the athletes are the ones using them every day. Anton says the testing that matters means trying something, watching it fail, and making it better.
“we really take athlete feedback on all of our products. And kind of going back to what we were talking about before with like how can athletes really benefit and foster good relationship with the brand? That's another thing is, you know, giving feedback on products and like offering brands ideas for, you know, new products or updating current products. It's really useful cuz our athletes are the people out there using them every day”
Kelsey Quinn at 34:56
“being willing to like try something and have it fail and like iterate and come back and, you know, make it better as a result.”
Anton Krupicka at 35:33
7. Do not over-brand it
La Sportiva asks its athletes not to over-brand their posts and to let the products show up the way they really use them. The host said a line like "use code Tony 30 for 30%" in a climbing video would cheapen it.
“we actively ask our athletes to not, you know, overly brand things. Yeah, like just however our products authentically show up in what you're doing, that's what we want.”
Kelsey Quinn at 41:55
“Like I want to know what's on your foot. I want to know like what is physically enabling you to do that.”
The host at 41:03
8. An athlete team is not a sales channel
Anton thinks it is a mistake to hold an athlete team to sales targets. He says chasing the biggest reach works against pushing what people are capable of, and that nobody does both at a high level.
“I think it's a mistake to try and enforce performance marketing on an athlete team”
Anton Krupicka at 39:59
“it feels kind of gross to like reduce my value as a human to like the number of clicks I'm getting on something”
Anton Krupicka at 40:21
“if you're doing something to have the biggest reach, then that goes counter like what we were just talking about with like high performance or like, you know, like pushing like the edge of like what humans are capable of and cuz I don't think you can do both at the same time. At least not at a high level”
Anton Krupicka at 40:42
9. Race weekends bring the athletes and the runners together
Leadville is one of La Sportiva's biggest event sponsorships. The brand brings Anton there almost every year for an activation, so runners can talk about the race. The host said Leadville has 3,000 residents and close to 9,000 people through the summer because of the race series.
“we've had Anton up in Leadville, you know, almost every year to do some sort of activation around the race.”
Kelsey Quinn at 28:35
“It kind of creates a space where runners can connect with each other on all the things that lead up to race day.”
Kelsey Quinn at 29:04
“Leadville has 3,000 residents and throughout the summer, it's close to 9,000 as a result of the Leadville Race Series.”
The host at 29:33
10. Hands-off deals feel like money changing hands and nothing else
Anton has had sponsors that were hands-off, where money was the only thing happening. He says a brand needs a plan for its athlete program, and that some brands just copy what everyone else does.
“I've been in some athlete brand partnerships where it's pretty hands-off and they're just like, "Well, like what are we even doing here besides like some money exchanging hands?"”
Anton Krupicka at 32:32
“the brand needs to have a vision for what they're trying to do with their athlete program, like what they're trying to do with their marketing”
Anton Krupicka at 32:56
“I think some brands kind of just like, "Look, okay, like what is everyone doing?" And so we'll do the same thing”
Anton Krupicka at 33:04
11. Say what success looks like at the signing meeting
Kelsey tells every new athlete that La Sportiva wants them involved with the brand. She asks for product feedback, event help, project ideas and content ideas.
“In all of my meetings with athletes, when I'm looking to bring on a new athlete, I literally will say that to them. I'll say, you know, we want to see you be involved with the brand”
Kelsey Quinn at 37:18
“communicate and really reach out to your athlete manager and try to get involved in as much as you can, whether that's product feedback, event help, project ideas, content ideas,”
Kelsey Quinn at 36:58
12. A three-month recap made the renewal easy
The host sent one of his brand partners a review of three months together, with the media placements and the impressions. The brand told him it made renewing easy.
“we sent them a review of what we had done the last 3 months, and the media placements, and the number of impressions, and the guy was like, this is incredible. This makes it really easy for us to renew”
The host at 39:18
What did not work
- Hands-off deals where only money changes hands. Anton Krupicka at 32:32
- Copying what every other brand does with athletes. Anton Krupicka at 33:04
- Chasing reach, which Anton says works against performance. Anton Krupicka at 40:42
- Counting on Instagram. Anton says the changes after the pandemic made social media feel almost like a waste of time. Anton Krupicka at 17:32
The guide: launching an athlete sponsorship or an athlete co-created product line
Pick the athlete
1. Start from people who already use your product.
Kelsey will not sign anyone who does not. Anton was found because he raced the Leadville 100 in shoes he bought himself.
From the episode: Kelsey Quinn at 22:15, Anton Krupicka at 14:16
2. Send product with no strings first, and watch who keeps using it.
Seeding means athletes get free product with no obligation to post, so nobody is paid before you know they like it.
Source: NIL Product Seeding: The Complete Brand Playbook, NIL Club Resources, January 2026
3. Look for a project, a community or a story, not only results.
La Sportiva and GU both look past race results now.
From the episode: Kelsey Quinn at 19:15, the host at 20:14
4. Have athletes managed by people who do the sport.
Kelsey says you need a baseline understanding of the sport to talk to athletes and understand what they are doing out there.
From the episode: Kelsey Quinn at 46:49
Write the deal
5. Choose between a royalty on sales and a flat fee. If it is a royalty, get audit rights.
Nike's royalty to Michael Jordan on the Jordan Brand business is widely estimated at around 5%, and some analysts use 4%. A royalty contract needs audit rights and payment timelines, so the payments can be checked against real sales.
Sources: Why Michael Jordan Made $300 Million From Nike Last Year; Athlete Endorsement Contract: Examples, Key Clauses & Legal Tips - RunSensible, June 2025
6. Decide whether you license the athlete's name and image or take the rights.
Under a licensing agreement the athlete keeps ownership of their name, image and likeness, and the brand gets the right to use them on set terms.
Source: Athlete Endorsement Contract: Examples, Key Clauses & Legal Tips - RunSensible, June 2025
7. Set a fixed approval window, and say where the athlete's image can and cannot go.
Athletes often ask to review content within a set time, such as 72 hours. Their lawyers tell them to check whether their image can be tied to products they never endorsed.
Sources: Athlete Endorsement Contract: Examples, Key Clauses & Legal Tips - RunSensible, June 2025; Endorsement Agreements Decoded: What Every Athlete Must Understand Before Signing, Fort Lauderdale Sports, IP & Entertainment Law Attorneys, Heitner Legal
8. Keep exclusivity to the product type unless you can pay for more.
Exclusivity can cover one type of product or everything a rival company makes. The narrower product type version is almost always the better one for the athlete.
Source: Explaining Exclusivity Clauses in Athlete Endorsement Contracts, The CG Sports Company
9. Tie bonuses to something anyone can check.
Giannis Antetokounmpo's Nike contract had a bonus that paid only if he played at least 41 games. Multiple sources said he lost it when the Bucks sat him.
Source: Giannis Reportedly Lost 'Significant Bonus' in Nike Contract from Bucks Not Playing Him
10. Write the morals clause both ways, and split firing for cause from a no-fault exit.
A morals clause lets the sponsor end the deal if the athlete falls into scandal. A reverse morals clause lets the athlete leave if the brand faces action from a regulator such as the FTC. Ending for a breach and ending by choice should carry different notice periods and payouts.
Sources: A Moral Dilemma: Morals Clauses in Endorsement Contracts, Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz; Athlete Sponsorship Contracts: 7 Key Legal Considerations, Osbourne Pinner, March 2026
11. List every kind of footage you keep, and say whether any of it can train AI.
Content terms need to cover behind the scenes footage, outtakes and AI training data, not only the shoot itself.
Source: Athlete Endorsement Contract: Examples, Key Clauses & Legal Tips - RunSensible, June 2025
Make the product together
12. Give a long-time athlete a formal seat in product development.
In 2025 La Sportiva announced that Anton would be part of its product ideation and feedback process. A reviewer of the Prodigio Pro race shoe wrote that it was developed with Anton in Boulder.
Sources: Anton Krupicka and La Sportiva Announce an Elevated Athlete Partnership, March 2025; La Sportiva Prodigio Pro Review: The New King of the Mountain - Believe in the Run
13. Put athletes in touch with the product team from the start.
La Sportiva takes athlete feedback on every product, and Kelsey asks new athletes to give it.
From the episode: Kelsey Quinn at 34:56, Kelsey Quinn at 36:58
14. Build custom versions for athletes years before the shop version.
Kilian Jornet raced in custom Salomon S-Lab Soft Grounds two years before they went on sale. HOKA's shoe technician went through 157 prototypes over two years before the Tecton X 3.
Sources: The Salomon S-Lab: A World of Possibility, iRunFar, November 2011; How Hoka’s Shoe Whisperer Tweaks Models for its Pro Athletes, September 2024
15. Test at the edge, and plan for the first versions to fail.
Anton says the useful testing is trying something, watching it fail and coming back with it better. HOKA had a softer shoe waiting for Jim Walmsley, and he switched into it at the Champex-Lac aid station, eighty miles into the race.
From the episode: Anton Krupicka at 35:33
Source: How Hoka’s Shoe Whisperer Tweaks Models for its Pro Athletes, September 2024
16. Give one person the job of collecting feedback from every athlete.
At Arc'teryx, that person is Adam Campbell, who is also one of its athletes. He passed feedback from climbers and a mountain runner to the team designing the Vertex Alpine. Then two Arc'teryx athletes made a record traverse of the Tantalus range near Squamish in it, before it went on sale.
Source: Inside the Design Studio with Arc'teryx Vertex Alpine, Field Mag, April 2024
17. Put the athlete's name or story on the product.
La Sportiva's TC Pro is named after Tommy Caldwell, and its Ondra Comp was designed, developed and tested with Adam Ondra. Salomon's shorts for Courtney Dauwalter carry a peace sign she says comes from a card her mom gave her before her first 100 mile finish.
Sources: La Sportiva TC Pro: A Comfortable High-Top Shoe Designed For Long Climbs » Explorersweb, October 2022; La Sportiva's Fall 2024 Footwear Collection Includes Signature Shoe from Adam Ondra, SGB Media Online; More opportunities to channel your inner Courtney: Salomon expands Dauwalter-inspired trail running line with new S/Lab Genesis shoes and Shortneys, Advnture, June 2025
Put it to work
18. Say yes to the athlete's own projects and help tell the story.
Kelsey says projects the athlete brings are what make the relationship work.
From the episode: Kelsey Quinn at 13:31, Kelsey Quinn at 11:58
19. Show up at what the athlete already runs, with product to try.
Kelsey's example is demo shoes at an athlete's own run club. The insole brand Fulton works with runners it met through run clubs to make content for social media.
From the episode: Kelsey Quinn at 24:54
Source: As running clubs explode in popularity, brands are tapping these groups for sampling opportunities and sponsorships, January 2024
20. Bring athletes to the race weekends you sponsor.
La Sportiva brings Anton to Leadville almost every year. A Two Circles executive calls run clubs a timeline extension for a big race sponsorship, so the brand is there between races too.
From the episode: Kelsey Quinn at 28:35
Source: As run clubs surge, brands flock to marathon sponsorships
21. Put the activation where runners need it, not only at the finish.
Nike and Heartbreak Hill Running Company put a stop to lift runners at Mile 20 of the Chicago Marathon, where the race gets hard.
Source: Sports Activations: 8 Successful Sponsorship Examples - SponsorCX, May 2026
Measure it without spoiling it
22. Tell each athlete what success looks like when they sign.
Kelsey says it in every signing meeting.
From the episode: Kelsey Quinn at 37:18
23. Keep sales targets off the athletes, and put tracking on the campaign instead.
Anton calls sales targets for athletes a mistake, and La Sportiva asks athletes not to over-brand. The Long Run Labs newsletter looked at the show's own sponsorship campaigns and found that having tracking set up and measuring return on ad spend went together nearly one to one.
From the episode: Anton Krupicka at 39:59, Kelsey Quinn at 41:55
Source: What 25 Sponsorship Campaigns Taught Me About Endurance Athletes and Money
24. Get a recap every three months, and keep it honest.
The host's three-month recap is what made his brand partner's renewal easy. A good recap keeps event numbers apart from sponsor numbers and claims no return the tracking cannot back up. Bigger partners get a quarterly review with marketing, sales and finance in the room.
From the episode: the host at 39:18
Sources: Sponsor Deliverables Checklist and Post-Event Sponsor Report Template, June 2026; The Sponsorship Renewal Playbook: How to Stop Losing Partners You Should Keep - SponsorCX, May 2026
25. Measure brand lift against people who never saw the athlete.
A brand lift study asks an exposed group and a control group the same survey. Nearly half of sponsors pay an independent vendor to measure their sponsorships.
Sources: The guide to brand lift study: how to run & measure campaign impact, September 2025; Sponsorship Accountability Part 5: Measurement - Marketing Accountability Standards Board, MASB, December 2019
26. Make every athlete disclose, even for free product.
The FTC says free or discounted product counts the same as pay. Athletes must disclose even when the brand never asked them to post. In a video, the disclosure goes in the video, not only the description. A personal discount code is not enough if a significant minority of the audience does not know it means payment.
Sources: Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers, Federal Trade Commission, October 2019; FTC's Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking, Federal Trade Commission, September 2017
Keep the athlete
27. Write down what the athlete program is for before you sign anyone.
Anton says the brand needs a plan for its athlete program, and some brands only copy others.
From the episode: Anton Krupicka at 32:56, Anton Krupicka at 33:04
28. Stay on good terms with athletes who leave.
La Sportiva told Anton to take a better offer, and he came back years later.
From the episode: Anton Krupicka at 15:13, Anton Krupicka at 15:35, Anton Krupicka at 16:21
29. Let a good partnership run long when the numbers hold.
Under Armour's extension with Stephen Curry could become a lifetime deal if revenue goals are met.
Source: $75M Under Armour Extension for Curry Could Be Lifetime Deal, April 2023