Podcasts

In the past 18 months, crypto has crashed, NFTs have gone from rare gold to rarely spoken about, inflation continues to bite hard, and recession fears loom. Despite the adversity, Australian sportstech has continued to power forward, with ASTN’s Australian Sports Innovation Report 2023, showing the industry now generates $4.25 billion annually. ASTN Chair Dr. Martin Schlegel says the tough economic times are actually driving a greater appetite for the kinds of efficiencies that sportstech companies can deliver. Today we delve deep into the undercurrents of the industry, the new areas for growth, how to survive tight capital markets, and the future of AI in sportstech.

Cricket is one of the world’s oldest sports, first played in the 1500s in England. The modern game is equal parts tradition and revolution- first seen with Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket, and now T20. BBL team the Melbourne Renegades, in conjunction with ASTN, selected Spark-Up Studios to digitally revolutionise their fan connection. Today we hear from Spark-Up founder Luke Santamaria and Renegades Fan Engagement Boss, Felicity George on how gamification and personalisation can keep this 16th century sport relevant in the Web-4 era.

Lydia Lassila is one of Australia’s all-time Olympic greats, having won aerials Gold at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, and then become the first ever woman to complete a quad-twisting triple somersault at the 2014 Games in Sochi. Lydia says “playing it safe is not my style”, and she used all of that resilience to get her through the depths of despair in 2006, when she tore her ACL apart, twice, in the space of six months. That time of agony was also the genesis of her creation-BodyICE. Experiencing first-hand the desperate lack of suitable ice and heat therapy products, Lydia created her own. BodyICE is now a global business operating in health, wellness and sports. Lydia uses the latest in tech, and also a deep understanding of mental and emotional wellbeing, to help create a wholistic approach to healing and recovery. Her BodyICE Woman range has been a game changer for women around the time of pregnancy and post-pregnancy, and also those having undergone major surgery. Today, Lydia gives us the inside story on an epic sporting career, and her global sensation- BodyICE.

George Gregan is one of greatest rugby union players of all time: A Wallabies captain, 1999 World Cup winner, 5x Bledisloe Cup winner, and the Australian games record holder. George co-founded PTP Fitness to bring his fitness passion and expertise to the wider community. PTP now work with the Wallabies, Matildas, the Diamonds, Boomers and the Opals. They are also with Richmond, Carlton and Sydney in the AFL, and the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL. George is bringing the latest tech to the grassroots community, and helping to enable older Australians to keep living healthy, active lives. Today, we go inside his extraordinary sporting journey.

NTT is one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies, founded and based in Japan. NTT have become a major player in sports technology, and Aussie Peter Gray is their Global Sportstech & Innovation Boss. Peter heads-up NTT’s Tour De France operation, powering one of the world’s most iconic sports events with revolutionary technology. Today, Pete takes us behind the scenes of the Tour, and we also celebrate the Tour de France Femme, the ground-breaking new women’s cycling event.

Carsten Koerl founded Sportradar in 2001, and the NASDAQ-listed company are the official data partner of FIFA, the ICC, the NBA, MLB, NHL, NASCAR and UEFA. Carsten Koerl is the mastermind who made it happen. With a Masters in Electronic and Microprocessor Engineering, Koerl has always been two steps ahead of the competition. Before the ‘dot-com boom’, he founded sports data company B-WIN, in 1997. Then on a trip through the Australian Outback around the turn of the millennium, Carsten imagined the idea of Sportradar. He’s spent the past two decades making that dream a reality, and making Sportradar the best in the world. Today, we hear how he does it.

Paul Hoon is the CEO of etrainu. He’s been with the Queensland company since day one, 18 years ago, when he started as the Sales Boss. Paul is an Engineer by profession, and was formerly General Manager at SumTotal, and Sales Boss at YomStar. etrainu is an online learning platform now playing on the global stage- working with golf’s PGA and LPGA, Youth Soccer in the USA, as well as Basketball Australia, Surf Life Saving Australia, Gymnastics Australia and Touch Football. Paul shares his passion today about how knowledge and education are key to driving better outcomes for the individual and for the community.

Cameron McKenzie-McHarg is a 2-time Olympic rower, winning Silver in Beijing. He is a 2-time World Champion, and former Australian Captain. The prodigious athlete was also a top-10 AFL Draft Pick, who went on to become Chair of Rowing Australia, forge a successful commerce career, and then found 776BC with wife, Kate. 776BC are now a global leader in performance apparel, as the official outfitter of Team USA Rowing, the Ivy League US Colleges, the Aussie Rowing team, and working with others like Major League Baseball teams and Cricket Australia. 776BC products also allow for unique motion-capture performance analysis through their patented technology. Cam takes us inside his cutting edge tech, global conquest, and we reflect on a magnificent sporting career.

Libby Owens has been a leading figure in Australian sport, business, media and law for more than a decade. Formerly a broadcast rights boss at Cricket Australia and the Indian Cricket Board, the BCCI, Libby was also a pivotal legal figure at Australia’s media watchdog, ACMA. Since April 2016, Libby has been CEO of the company that invented modern sports data in Australia, Champion Data. Champion are now a strong global player, operating out of the United States and Europe. Libby shares how sportstech innovation is driving sports data, and reflects on lessons learned from her prolific career.

Courtney Smith has been a prolific business and tech entrepreneur for the past quarter century. He has now founded the world’s first blockchain volunteering rewards platform, Firefly Initiative. This not-for-profit is on a mission to pump $25 million worth of direct social benefit into local communities, empowering local sport and local business. Most importantly, their goal is to honour the tireless work of Aussies all over the country who volunteer for their communities.

Gen Z (those born after 1996) are the first cohort of true digital natives, and are fast becoming one of the most influential age demographics. Forbes reports Gen Z purchasing power to be US$360 billion, and Brisbane 2032 Olympics Minister Sterling Hinchcliffe says he wants Gen Z advisors to help shape and organise the Games. Winning Gen Z is crucial to the future of any sport. Today we find out how it can be done, with Gen Z’r Justin Moskowitz- who is a US Game Developer and Sports Marketing College student at Syracuse University in New York.

Niall Hendry is an Emmy award-winning sports technologist who has been at the industry’s spear-tip for the past 15 years. Niall became a world-renowned figure during his time at ChyronHego, where he and his team won an Emmy in sports broadcasting for their TRACAB Player Tracker. The Englishman then jumped head-long in to Web3, when he joined MOVE Ai, to become Head of Product & Partnerships. MOVE Ai are a global-leader in AI computer vision and marker-less motion capture, working with Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, Nike, EA Sports and UniSoft. Niall takes us behind the scenes at MOVE, and gives us cutting-edge industry insights.

The Australian Institute of Sport is a national treasure, a source of great Aussie pride, and international success. Stuart Morgan is a world-leading figure in AI and machine learning, and is at the helm of AIS innovation. Stuart’s original background is in psychophysiology, and he is uniquely placed to find the happy medium with technology- both embracing the power of the human mind, and the power of computer science. We go behind the scenes at the AIS, lifting the curtain on some of the world’s foremost tech, like swimming’s Sparta 2.

Brett Nicholas has been a high achiever from day one. His first job out of Uni was running Rip Curl’s ‘No Fear’ marketing campaign at the turn of the millennium. He then became Aussie brand manager for motorsport and board labels Fox and Shift. Brett then decided to backpack Europe, before he was headhunted by Fox, and made marketing boss of Fox Europe. Promotions and a highly successful career in the US followed, before returning home to become CEO of POD Active. POD Active are one of the world’s most revolutionary sports tech companies, designing and developing the use of composites, polymers, and urethane materials, to create joint protection products around natural human motion. ***AND we head live to New York, and catch-up with emerging App & Game Developer Justin Moskowitz, for his review of the new Meta Quest Pro Headset.

James Ellender has worked in health and fitness since he was a 15 year-old kid growing up in Sydney. From personal trainer, to group fitness instructor, then to sales, before becoming a gym manager, and then a state manager. James saw a problem, and is now finding the solution, as CEO of ActiveXchange. ActiveXchange uses tech and data to bridge the knowledge gap, and help all health and fitness stakeholders make informed, efficient decisions that benefit the individual, the community, and the bottom line!

Sam James, co-founder Laurie Malone, and first employee Chris Rowe, were sitting around a Brisbane sharehouse one day in 2015, when the idea of VALD was born. Seven years later, VALD are world-leaders in musculoskeletal technology for performance and allied health. They work with 20 EPL clubs, 25 NBA teams, 27 NFL teams, and are now focused on democratising their cutting edge tech, to enable access across the community. This is their story.

Sarah Cook is a two-time Olympic rower for Australia, and a dual international athlete, having also sailed for her nation, and won an Aussie championship. Sarah is now Chief Operating Officer of Rowing Australia, represents Oceania on the World Rowing Council, is lead commentator for World Rowing, works on the Australian Government’s National Sports Tribunal, and champions the cause of women in sport. Sarah tells us what makes her tick, and gives an insight into the way sportstech can take rowing to a whole new audience.

Jarod Pickering became a software engineer at the turn of the millennium, and built his career as a leading figure in our nation’s digital footprint. The former Digital Product Owner at Medibank, and Digital Boss at Cricket Australia, is now Head of Cricket at global tech titan, Sportradar. Jarod and his Sportradar team are the official data provider for the International Cricket Council, and for the current T20 Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Jarod tells us the cutting edge tech that’s taking cricket to a new generation of fans.

Markus Deutsch is a PHD in Exercise Physiology, and a pioneer in sport and health data science. He worked with New Zealand Rugby as a Sports Scientist at the turn of the Millennium, before becoming an internationally renowned University Professor. In 2003, he started Fusion Sport, which is now a global leader in human performance solutions, used by elite sports all over the world, and now the US Military. This is the story of Markus and his Fusion team!

Felicity George is the Melbourne Renegades Marketing & Brand Boss. Felicity is an elite operator, having worked at FIFA in Zurich, Arsenal Football Club, along with Tennis Australia, St. Kilda and the Western Bulldogs. Craig Hill, a co-founder of ASTN, is a key architect and engineer of Australia’s $3billion sportstech industry. Together, they ran a start-up pitch opportunity, with one successful company ultimately chosen to work with the Renegades. This is the inside story of how you win a pitch, and how you win a big client.