Local publisher TheSmartLocal (TSL) has taken national marathoner Soh Rui Yong under its wings.
In line with the company’s initiative to support and nurture local talents, TSL has launched a new programme for Singaporean athletes which help budding athletes raise their profile on social media, to help them secure sustainable athletic careers and compete in events while residing in Singapore.
Athletes, like Soh, will be hired full time by TSL and will benefit from a flexible work schedule that includes extra paid-leave for training while being groomed and marketed alongside the company’s roster of KOLs.
According to TSL, this will also include a 5-year roadmap to ensure athletes are able to start a successful second career in the company, after they retire from their athletic careers.
Long distance champion Soh, who is the defending Southeast Asian Games marathon champion, is the first athlete to be groomed under the programme.
He also has four World Championships and four Singapore records under his belt.
As part of the partnership, Rui Yong will feature heavily on TSL’s YouTube channel TheSmartLocalTV, which has over 220,204 subscribers and 82 million views.
In the spirit of shedding light on our local athletes’ journeys, an exclusive series will be created to document his road to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
This will be launched on YouTube initially, with plans for television network distribution.
Commenting on the new programme, TSL’s Managing Director Bryan Choo said, “ We hope to help our athletes and have more brands and fans support our local sportsmen and women.”
Soh added, “TheSmartLocal’s large reach and entertaining content provides athletes the opportunity to showcase their personalities and journeys with Singaporeans. I look forward to further growing my brand with TSL and paving a path for fellow athletes to do the same.”