On the Pitch with Penn State Field Hockey G.O.A.T. Phia Gladieux

[00:16] Speaker Ryan: Welcome to nil undressed. I'm Ryan Schlachner along with the future mayor of Football city USA, also known as Rock Hill, South Carolina. He once through six touchdowns in a single game. Dr. Cheney Robinson.

[00:30] Speaker Cheney: Glad to be here, doc. Fabricated either doc.

[00:37] Speaker Ryan: We're staying in Happy Valley and she's not going to admit it, but one of the goats of Penn State field hockey, the only reason they wouldn't retire her number is because they're running out of numbers to use for everybody else. Sophia or Fiatio. She is a four time All American, two time Big ten offensive player of the year, two time regional player of the year. Yeah. Player of the year, Big ten player of the year, and Penn State female athlete of the year. And that's just what we could fit on this page. So she's been playing field hockey ever since she was in third grade, and she's going to be taking her fifth year coming up here at Penn State and continue her academic and athletic career. She's an early childhood education major and is currently student teaching. So we got her fresh off of student teaching for this podcast. She's doing that full time this semester, postgrad. She hopes to continue her athletic career on the US women's national team and eventually compete on the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Theo, welcome to nil undressed.

[02:00] Speaker Phil: Thank you for having me.

[02:03] Speaker Cheney: Glad to have you. Glad to have you. All right, so let's start off with some rapid fire questions. You ready?

[02:08] Speaker Phil: Yes.

[02:09] Speaker Cheney: Favorite Penn State tradition has to be the whiteout.

[02:14] Speaker Phil: Football whiteout. There's nothing like it. If you haven't been to one, you absolutely have to go. It's insane. It's awesome.

[02:22] Speaker Cheney: Now, is that for all home games or is that for particular games throughout the year?

[02:27] Speaker Phil: So they'll pick one game that they'll dedicate the white out to, and it's a home game, but it's not every game. We'll have like the stripe out. You've seen the blue out, whatever. But white out is just. The energy is literally nothing I've ever seen before. The atmosphere is insane. Whether you're a Penn State fan or not, anyone that's been there can attest to that. So it's definitely something that I'm glad know, been able to be a part of. Know, continue to be part of.

[02:52] Speaker Cheney: Absolutely.

[02:53] Speaker Ryan: Janie. My favorite is the whiteout. When it's.

[02:57] Speaker Phil: Next level, that is.

[02:59] Speaker Cheney: Next level.

[03:00] Speaker Phil: Yeah. It's wild.

[03:02] Speaker Cheney: All right, Ryan and I, we're coming to Happy Valley. We're on campus. What restaurant do we go to. And what should we order?

[03:11] Speaker Phil: This is hard because I am a roots athlete. Speaking of nil, I love roots, but besides that, the one place that is my weakness is condu. It's like japanese food, but the order that I get is the chicken tempanyaki. So there's chicken, like fried rice, and then they have their yum yum sauce, but it's, like, so much. They give you in, like, a container. It lasts you two days. It's literally the best. That or their poke bowls are really good, but it's pricey. But it's definitely. I would send you there for sure.

[03:42] Speaker Ryan: Absolutely.

[03:44] Speaker Cheney: Top three memories of Penn State field hockey. Top three?

[03:50] Speaker Phil: Yeah. There's so many. But the first three that I think of are definitely from 2022 season. So my junior season probably actually, no, I lied my sophomore year. The one I can think of is when we beat Maryland in overtime. At Maryland, we beat them and then got on the bus, drove back here and went to the whiteout game, and they ended up beating Auburn. So that was just, like an incredible day. I scored probably, like, the most insane goal I've ever scored in my career that day, and then scored in overtime. So that was just like, overall, just, like, super good vibes. And beating Maryland is always great. They could probably say the same about us. And then the second one is probably last season, 2022. My junior year, we played Iowa home. We hadn't beaten them in, like, seven years. I think it was. It was always like one nothing, overtime, whatever. So we finally ended that curse under the lights at home. We were tied one one to overtime, and one of my good friends, Anna, dumped me the ball and just shot. It blacked out. It was awesome. It was just so exciting to finally be able to beat them on our home turf, which was just amazing. And then another one is probably that same season against Michigan. It's always a good day to beat Michigan. That was also really awesome one because, again, we tied it up with, like, two minutes left, scored an overtime in the rain, under the lights. It was like out of a movie. So you can't beat that. Those are awesome memories. Yeah.

[05:27] Speaker Cheney: All right, so you just finished senior year, right? And, I mean, you kind of went out kind of big time, right? Offensive player of the year in the Big ten. All american. Right again. So kind of a two parter here. How did it feel when you found out and then what do you attribute your success to this year?

[05:54] Speaker Phil: Yeah, usually just when the awards come out, I don't know. I try to feel a little bit indifferent about it because obviously it's super exciting. Like anyone you ask that wins a big award like that, especially in a conference like the Big Ten in any sport, the pool of talent is just so much higher than a lot of other conferences. So being able to win that, even with the record that we had this season wasn't compared to last year, wasn't the same, wasn't as good. So still, to know that I have the respect of the coaches and the committee that votes and they were able to still recognize that I was able to perform to that level, that they could award me, that means a lot and that's hard. Especially you're up against girls that are on the national team, that are in college. It's just like, yeah, it feels really good. And definitely it's a confidence booster going into the Big Ten tournament, that feels good. I can confidently say that, but I don't know. But also, there's a part of me that a little bit that just kind of expects that for myself, I've always held really high standards since I was a freshman coming into college. I don't expect anything less, really, and then thought that I'm like, oh, I expect to get this award. It's more so like, oh, yeah, that felt good, but I worked hard for it and I should feel good about that. But contributing my success to it, I think just like my work ethic and just working hard, I know what to do with the ball when I get it on the field and I score goals, it's just kind of like what I do. But I also obviously have to contribute a lot of that to my team and being able to support me in those tough games and my coaches for trusting me to be able to do that. And also, I'm going to give a little credit to myself. There are times where I know that I need to get the job done and I'm able to do that. So I think it goes a lot of ways.

[07:33] Speaker Ryan: I'm curious because you come in as a fresh four time all american. That means as a freshman, you made all american, right?

[07:41] Speaker Phil: Yeah.

[07:41] Speaker Ryan: And that takes a certain mindset, right. Because now you're going from senior in high school, you're playing against ladies that are four or five years older than you, right. And stronger and all that type of stuff. Right. So how did you process going from high school, playing your sport to college, playing your sport and hit that level so that you were recognized?

[08:10] Speaker Phil: Yeah, I mean, I think a big part of it is that I've been playing really high level field hockey since I was really young, almost since I started. So in 6th grade I was playing. It was called futures. It's called nexus now, but it's like the pipeline to the Olympic team kind of thing. I don't know what they call it in other sports, but you get the gist of that. And I remember when I was twelve, I was selected for the U 17 junior national camp. And then I was selected for a U 19 thing. So girls literally in college, and I was twelve at the time. So it's like I've been exposed to that type of level since I was really young, just playing up. And not only just the playing field of it with the girls so experienced, but also the coaches I was being coached by college coaches, us coaches getting that kind of taste of what it's like from a really young age. And that's just always been the case. I played club and my high school team was super good. Coached by Mel Brill, who went to UNc. UNC to powerhouse. My head coach Tiffany Capalano went to Iowa, another powerhouse, and then Kelly Williamson went to Delaware. So you're being coached by three d one athletes that weren't just d one, but they also extremely had a big contribution to their teams. So being able having that, they didn't take practices lightly. Like you would think. High school is like, oh, it's just for fun. No, at Oli it wasn't really like that. People found that out quickly. We won a lot of championships there and I think my overall record, I don't even know. I think I lost like maybe five games. My whole high school career, my whole experience and my field hockey career, I've just kind of been exposed to that kind of thing. And I'm so grateful for that because when I did get to college, obviously it's still a jump for sure. And you're balancing school and being on your own, not being at home anymore. So those things definitely make it challenging. But I think field hockey wise, I had just prepared myself a lot. And so when I got there, I was kind of ready for that jump. I was ready to play at that level.

[10:02] Speaker Ryan: Yeah. Very cool. I love that answer. All right, so let's take a trip back, right? You're a freshman, it's 2020 before nil, right? Wasn't even a discussion on campus or anything. And then all of a sudden, your sophomore year, you come know, you come back from summer break and every headline in college sports is name, image and likeness. Right? So what were your initial thoughts about Nil and how did the team, because even at that point, you were a leader on the team. How did the team kind of react?

[10:41] Speaker Phil: Yeah, it's crazy to think that 2020 was already four years ago, because I feel like it was yesterday when I remember so vividly I was sitting down at a restaurant, and the first thing that came out was like, barstool sports. Barstool athlete. And my assistant coach at the time, he's no longer here, but he was like, oh, my gosh, get all over this. I was like, okay, I don't know what I'm doing. And uploading forms. I'm like, I don't even know what this means. What am I getting out of? Barstool athlete? Is it just like the title? And it's just so funny because I think literally every college athlete jumped on that. And Dave Portnoy, he was just like, oh, sure, let's do this. It didn't mean anything. So it's just kind of funny. And I don't even think they ever accepted me because there was like hundreds of thousands of athletes doing that. But that was like my first thing. I think everyone was just so excited about the idea, and I thought it would be so much easier than it was because you see other athletes and other sports that are just automatically at a higher level, like football and basketball, those sports are getting so and so makes one hundred k deal on this. I'm like, okay, whoa, that's actually crazy. That's even possible. And at the time, I was still building my name. I had a pretty big name in the field of hockey world. Yeah, but other than that, no, in the field hockey world is not very big. So I was like, okay, I don't know what I'm going to do. But then I kind of saw other athletes doing smaller things. I'm like, oh, this is definitely attainable. I can do that. And so one of the first things I did was like Longstreth, which is like a field hockey sporting goods store for it's field hockey and lacrosse. So I reached out to them. They were store that I went to since I started playing, and I had connections with them, and we made up a contract. But before we get into that, just the process of Nao, I think, was so difficult for a lot of colleges because every college was different with what they allowed, what they didn't allow, every university policies and conferences even. It was just really confusing, I think. And I think with the NCAA just coming out and being like, you can make profit. I don't think they realize the amount of. Okay, wait, pause. For a no, you can't just do everything. And I think got a lot of people in trouble because you're doing things that are illegal that you didn't know because there's gray area. So that's why I was kind of hands off for a little bit. I was like, I'm going to let them figure it out because they don't even know. So I don't want to jump the gun. So, yeah, it was just really confusing, I think, for everyone, like higher ups and the NCAA. And so I think my teammates felt the same way. They're like, we're just going to hold off on this until we know more. But I was definitely one of the first people to jump on board with nil stuff. I think my other teammates struggled with what they could do because it's hard, right? You're a field hockey player at a football school, so it's like, all right, what can we do?

[13:24] Speaker Ryan: Was, and I think initially everyone thought it was a football basketball thing. And so there was that kind of, they're over here and they have collectives and all that kind of stuff. And then here's all these other sports. And yes, it applies to us, but does it apply to us? That kind of was going on. Was it like you're halfway through your sophomore year or at what point did you say, all right, I'm going all.

[13:53] Speaker Phil: Think I can't even remember exactly. I think it was like fall of my sophomore year is when I started to get more involved with it, mostly because my sister and my dad were like, take advantage of this because this is like, you could really. Because then I started building a name for myself. By sophomore year, I had a lot of TikTok followers and those kinds of things. Even if it's small, you're making money. That's benefit and also doing things that you enjoy doing because I love social media and that kind of thing. So, yeah, it was definitely probably sophomore years when I started getting a little more involved. So the launch thing was first and that's like a sporting good and also partnership with TK, which is my stick brand. So they go hand in hand because they sell tks. And I did this thing called leap hockey, which is this platform where basically you can do like we do in person academies and stuff. But it's like a virtual trying to think of, you know, peloton, how they do like, you can do virtual training sessions. That's what leap is. Except, for example, last night I had a leap live. So it's literally just like this on Zoom. I'm in my locker room. I set up my goPro, or my goPro, my tripod with my phone on it, and I'll film a 45 minutes session of skills and a bunch of people. You have to sign up for it, pay for a membership, and I get, like, a profit of that. And get paid. Yeah. So I think it took me a little bit to figure out. I started wanting to do all these random things, like makeup brands and, like, all this stuff, and I'm like, okay. It actually comes annoying to have to, like, you know, fake ads and, like, those kinds of things. Like, I wanted to do more. So, yes. Like, obviously, roots is great. Like, I, like, I love it here. I love it, eating it, whatever. But I wanted to focus on the feel hockey stuff more, so that's going to benefit me and benefit my following. My following is feel hockey girls. They're younger. Some of the things they're not going to be entertained in. So that was my biggest thing, and I think that's helped me navigate. All right, what do I want to actually create money off of? What do I want to do that's not going to burn me out or bore me? That kind of.

[15:57] Speaker Ryan: Well, that's, that's cool, because Cheney, I think this is the first time that we've heard this side of. Right. Like, let's look at who the followers are, who that community is, and then let's not apply for everything, but let's do things that are relevant and can benefit them versus just stuff. Yes, I could make money on, but it's not really relevant, and it can't really help the crew that's paying attention to me.

[16:31] Speaker Phil: Yeah. And I think it took me a little bit to figure that out, though. That wasn't right away. It was more so when I would post things that were not more sports related, I wouldn't get a good engagement. So I'm like, okay, this is pointless at this point. And then versus when I would post fieldmarkey stuff or, like, penn state type things, they'd be like, oh, they're actually interested in that. So it just took time.

[16:54] Speaker Ryan: Cool. Has it changed any of the team dynamics? Not you and doing your thing, but nil in general, has it kind of shifted and how things were pre versus post?

[17:07] Speaker Phil: 100% personally feel hockey? No, because I'm probably the only one on my team that does. Not only one, but one of the three, maybe. And it's not like we're doing some crazy Caitlin Clark State Farm collab. I mean, as she should. She's absolutely amazing. And get that bag. But no, we're not doing stuff like that. So no one's like, I could see where that could maybe become on a lower sports team. But even here, I've heard kids committing like, you see it in the news. There's kids committing to basketball schools. Like, well, this school said they're going to give me more nal money or whatever. More opportunities to do nal versus you guys. You're not caring about that. Pretty sure Penn State basketball had that issue where they're like, yeah, no, we're not focused on nil here. Yeah, absolutely. Make money off of your success. They support it 100%, but that's not the top priority. So I think that's where things got really sticky, is now you got kids in high school that are probably, you're a little cocky before you come into college, and they're like, oh, well, I want to do this. Is that why you're here? Yes. Profit off of that. Do it on your own time. We'll support you, but also don't make that commitment to a school solely because of that. And I think that's where things are kind of like getting lost in translation. And luckily, that's not been the case for us at all, but it has been. I've seen it in the headlines, ESPN, all those things. So it's just like, or you'll see again, like, Caitlin Carr partners with Gatorade or whatever it is that she's partnering with. And it's like, okay, that school is doing that. It just becomes like a comparison game. And so I'm sure it's a know, but luckily, that's not the case. Over. Yeah.

[18:54] Speaker Ryan: What do you wish you would have done more of as it relates to nil?

[19:00] Speaker Phil: I know, I think about this a, like, I feel like there's definitely more I could have done. I wish I would have taken advantage of TikTok, too. I think I could have done, and I am still trying to figure that out because I feel like TikTok, it can eb and flow, right? Some people can blow up, and then they'll not really get good engagement for a few months. And I've been through that where I was getting every once in a while, like a million something views or a lot, and then I'd be like, oh, now I'm not really getting that much. So it is tricky. But I think when I was peaking, just doing, I don't know, just making more videos and maybe reaching out to other sports related brands that would have benefited me and my followers. And I just didn't. But then I can also say to myself, like, okay, it gets overwhelming, like having to post and doing all that stuff, and I want to keep it natural as possible and not ruin social media for myself and whatnot. But yeah, definitely just taking advantage of the time now that I only have a year left to season. Like, oh, I could have done so many more day in the life or get ready with me or, I don't know, just like interview type things, fun things. And that's why now I'm like, okay, I'm going to try to start doing more of that. But yeah.

[20:12] Speaker Ryan: Well, that leads into this next question. So how do you stay focused? You have all the stuff that when Cheney and I were going through school, all those distractions, plus you're so focused on, I mean, you're trying to get to the 2028 Olympic team, right? So definitely athletics is a high priority for you. But now you're student teaching and all this type of stuff, when you throw nil in, how do you manage all that and how do you figure out how to prioritize everything?

[20:45] Speaker Phil: Yeah, I mean, that was definitely a big issue. Mostly last year I was kind of getting bombarded about just posting stuff and people reaching out, like, oh, should you do this collab with them? Blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, all right, everyone just leave me alone for 3 seconds. I'll post when I want to. Obviously, there's rule, like, if you're going to do deals and stuff, you got to have a structure, which is nice because then it's like, okay, I know I have to reach this limit. For example, leap hockey, I have to post, I don't know, like three story posts and one infeet post. So it's nice having a structure like that and knowing. And with Leap hockey, we've developed so much since it's like start since I joined. Now they've hired a girl that, what's the word? Takes charge of that and keeps track of those things, social text. And like, hey, make sure you get one more story post in or something. So being able to have that. Okay, cool. I have a reminder of someone to tell me. Before it wasn't like that. And that's when it's like, oh, I forgot to do that. I'm going to get in trouble. And it's just like stressful. So now that's nice. But I think for me, the biggest thing, when I'm at school, my time management is really good, versus at home. Home, I'm kind of like, whatever. But here I have such a strict routine, and so I think that helps a lot. Every day is the same, essentially. So I think it became second nature of just, like, what I have to do. But no, it did get to a point where I just didn't feel like posting or something and just like, getting in funks. But, yeah, I think my class schedule, my classes, too, weren't super demanding being an education major. So I definitely had a little bit more free time on my hands. And I just plan it out. Like, this day I'm going to do this. This day I'm going to film this or whatever. So just being organized, that was the biggest thing for me. Got it right.

[22:31] Speaker Cheney: Some athletes we know have participated in Il, right. And it's changed what they do after their athletic. Right. And we know you've talked about being student teaching right now, an education major. Do you see nil helping you once your athletic career is over in the collegiate?

[22:53] Speaker Phil: I think. Yeah, for sure. Because, for example, Longstreth and, like, you don't have to be a college athlete to do that. So there's girls that I know that I'm friends with on the national team that are a part of Lee Pocky that are also sponsored by Longstreth and those types of things. And they provide them, like, they give them money for what they're doing and stuff. So, yeah, that's the great thing about the things that I'm doing. It's not, well, this is going to be good for Nal. But once you're out of college, we don't care for you anymore because I'm sure there's a lot of companies, like, we're using you because you're popular in college, and that's helping us versus the other things that I continue on the national team, they can still continue to support me because it's not about, yes, it's great that I'm on a college team, but it's not just about the college. It's about the fact that I play field hockey. And so being able to do that and also leap hockey, you don't have to be on the national team to do that. The guys that own it, they're not on any national team. They run that because they want to. And they played field hockey, and so it's great. And again, it's like 45 minutes a session a night getting paid for that. So it's like, if I'm done, whenever I'm done field hockey for good, not even just college, but that's something I could continue to do for fun and continue to grow the game. So that, I think, is why I'm so glad I've made those connections with those people on long stress and leap, being able to continue that. And I want to coach eventually, too, so that also helps. And just having that support like gear and products and whatnot. So, yeah, no, it's definitely going to help me when I'm done.

[24:28] Speaker Ryan: So we've heard about some of your nil deals. Right, but tell us about some of your favorites. Part one, part two, I'm curious, the first one that you signed with the equipment, and I forget the name, so forgive me, longstrap.

[24:42] Speaker Phil: Yeah.

[24:44] Speaker Ryan: That was when it all kind of first got going. So, new to you, but also new to them. So tell us about working through some of that initial with them and how your deals have evolved since the beginning.

[24:59] Speaker Phil: Yeah, well, definitely my favorites. I don't even know. I only have a few, but probably, like, longstrap is my top and leap just because I'm so involved with those two. And like I said, it's more field actor related. But longstrap, they were my first nil deal, and it helps that they knew who I was because they're located right near where I live. And so my whole life they've kind of, and my club coach worked for Longstreth, and so I also helped them model for TK stuff when I was in middle school. So it's just like, I've always kind of been part of the family. A part of that. Yeah, exactly. So it was really easy to reach out. Hey, do you want to collab? Just figure something out? And so they made up a contract and all that. And Penn State had this app where you just send in the contract and it'll get approved in like 24 hours. The contract initially didn't get approved. They were like, so that's the thing about Penn State is the licensing with the logos and at the time, what shoes you could wear, like the stick, it was just worded. The Penn State people were a little bit confused about what Longstress was saying. So I'm like, okay, longstress, can you change this? They're like back and forth. I'm like, can they just talk and figure it out? Because I just feel like the middleman right now. I'm confused. But eventually all got sorted out, and I think I was helping Longstreth and helping Penn State kind of figure out, okay, this needs to be worded this way, that kind of thing. So it took some time, obviously, but eventually, now that's sorted out. It's really easy to just update every year and just start it with a salary and you just upload that just so they know how much money you're making. And then with long stress, with my following being increased and me doing more for them, same with the money. They update their program, I guess you could say, for nil stuff. And I have been doing a lot more with them. It's just like, it's just fun because it feels so natural because I literally shopped there my whole life for all my feel hockey stuff. So it's genuine. I'm not just like, get this. No, like genuinely go there. They have such good stuff. So it's just like fun to be able to be authentic about that and like leap. I'm literally just doing drills and it's like little mini private lesson sessions. That's what I do for work anyways over the summer. So it's just like, again, genuine, authentic. It's a way to grow the game. So it's awesome.

[27:27] Speaker Ryan: Absolutely. So what advice now for athletes that are in high school and they're being recruited, right? Nil wasn't part of the equation when you were looking at Penn State, but it is now part of the equation. So what advice would you give them with Nil now being part of that recruiting process?

[27:47] Speaker Phil: I mean, personally, I would just say, don't make that your top priority. That absolutely should not come up in conversation when you're meeting with a coach because I can guarantee you if the coach has any sense of pride for anything, or they're going to be like, absolutely not. That's your priority. We don't want you here. That's how I would be as a coach. If a recruit came in and said, well, nil, I would be like, listen, we're going to support you in that and allow you to do that. But that absolutely should not be the top priority, obviously. But that's just me. So I would tell them that for sure, the priority is your academics, performing on the team and bringing everything you can to the team. And then with that, you'll earn that nil and it'll come to you and the staff will support you, obviously. But that's my biggest advice. Just don't stress about it. But also, when you do have time, for example, offseason is like the biggest time, I think, to be able to. What's the word? I can't even think of it. But to capitalize on opportunities for Nal, because again, you're not in season, you're still training, but you have more time to do that. So that would be your opportunity to start reaching out and you can focus a little bit more on that. So that would be my advice.

[29:02] Speaker Cheney: So you're building your social media resume. What would you tell? And you've got a couple of years that you've been doing this, right? And you even talked about when you first started, you're like, I don't know what to do. And you've kind of felt your way through it and you figured it out and you've come very proficient at it. Right. And you're good. So what would you tell? How would you advise this next group coming up of how to build their brand and how to use social media to benefit them?

[29:35] Speaker Phil: Yeah, I mean, it's just so tough social media nowadays with the younger generations and how early they're getting phones and all these social apps. My biggest thing is figure out from day one what kind of image you want to represent on what social media apps, right. So, like Instagram, I like to, obviously, I'm going to be posting a lot of field hockey stuff, but I also like to keep it more personal, too. Just like, I also have a life outside of field hockey, and I think other people also like to see that stuff. But on TikTok, again, it's more so sports related, I would say, because it's just, like, fun to watch little quick videos and little snippets of goals from a game or whatever like it is. Get ready with me video for a game. So you just have to figure out your image and what you want, also just keeping it appropriate for what you're doing. Right. Obviously, every athlete, every person who's capitalizing on Nal is going to have a different type of image. Right? So you just have to figure that out from the start. And I think if they want to be successful with that, it's just like staying consistent on it, because if you go off the grid for a while, you might not do great when you come back. So it's keeping consistent, keeping it light, fun, easy for yourself. Don't overwhelm yourself. Right. So another that I think is really good is like Anna Camden. She makes really just good, clipped videos. She went to Penn State for basketball, and she just did a really good job of staying consistent. I was like, I don't know how she does that because I'm just too lazy to do that. But you could see her success. She has a lot of followers on Instagram and TikTok way more than I have, and she's just very good at what she does. And so I kind of look at. And that's another tip I guess I could have, is look at other people that are doing well, what are they doing? Why is it so successful? Yeah, that's my advice.

[31:23] Speaker Cheney: And you mentioned this a couple of times, too, is being authentic, right? You're consistently being authentic. Then that's going to come through, and folks are going to want to follow you.

[31:33] Speaker Phil: Oh, 100%. It's annoying when you see fake ads or you can tell it's very staged. It's like, okay, well, maybe you'll get it, but I don't know. I think it's more fun when you personalize it to how you want.

[31:46] Speaker Ryan: Absolutely. All right, so for the businesses that are listening out there, give us kind of a commercial for yourself, right?

[31:54] Speaker Phil: Oh, gosh, that was tough. I saw that. Well, it's funny because if you're from state college area and you're watching tv, Carter Srirachi, the wrestler for whatever time national champion, he's on a commercial for. I think it's like a car dealership. And it's so just. I'm like, wait. I literally. He goes here. It's just like, I don't know what I could do. Probably anything food related. Honestly, I love food. I could totally be so authentic about any type of food. I don't even know, though. That's a tough one. I have to get that one. Some more thoughts.

[32:34] Speaker Ryan: So what do you look for in a brand deal? What are the values that you look for in brands that align with you?

[32:43] Speaker Phil: Communication, authenticity. Yeah. Those two things I think are really big to me because I consider it spam email, because it's like, hi, we saw your social media. You could tell it's like auto generated messages. I'm like, no versus Lee Paki, the owner, Ross, he was at my Maryland game the sophomore year, messaged me personally and was, hey, like, would love to have you part of this. You reach all of our values. I think you'd be really good for us in this program. So I think just, again, the communication style, like being personable, I guess. Yeah, personable is what I'm trying. That's the word I was looking for, being personable. And actually just like, real and authentic and, you know, even roots. I reached out to them. I was, hey, like, see, you're doing this nil deal for athletes here. I was like, I want to be all over that. And the girl who runs the social media and who runs the nil reached back and was like, hey, would love to chat on Zoom a little bit about what we like, those kinds of things. Okay. They actually care about who they're signing. For me that's important because then otherwise it's just not authentic, it's not real. It's just kind of like for show.

[34:03] Speaker Ryan: Yeah, I got one this morning for sports bras and I don't know that I sell too many sports bras.

[34:14] Speaker Phil: They'll literally be like click all and send to. That's too funny. Yeah, that's the kind of thing hey.

[34:23] Speaker Ryan: People that are trying to get a hold of you, what's the best way for them to find you?

[34:28] Speaker Phil: On my social media apps, Instagram at Fiagladio TikTok is also just at FIA Gladio. Basically every social handle is just going to be Fiagladio and you can find me on there.

[34:41] Speaker Ryan: Well, hey, you crushed this four time, about to be five time all american. Good luck in 2028. Thank you everybody for joining us on nil undressed. As always, every like, subscribe and share is greatly appreciated. My.

 

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