boxing
Tristan Hamm lives by a simple philosophy for his ever-growing list of activities.
An outdoor lifestyle and environmental influencer with over 2 million followers on Instagram, that led him to boxing.
“I'm a jack-of-all-trades,” Hamm, nicknamed “Mr. Mister.” “It's hard to explain to people who I am and what I do. My whole life it's been about doing what I love and figuring out how to get paid to do it. You do what you love first, and then you figure out how to get paid for it. That way you can do more of what you love. It's very hard sometimes, but sometimes it seems easy. Right now is one of those times where it feels easy.”
Hamm, 28, is scheduled to step into the ring for the second time as a pro on Saturday night when he takes on former NFL star Le'Veon Bell in the co-main event of DAZN's Misfits Boxing fight between Paige VanZant and El Brook at Houston's NRG Arena.
Hamm, who already had a large following on social media, catapulted himself into the boxing world's spotlight when he knocked out Rodney Peterson in his boxing debut in January.
The brutal stop went viral and made Ham realize he might be able to seriously consider a future in the sport.
Bell, 32, has a professional record of 1-1, but did knock out fellow former NFL star running back Adrian Peterson in an exhibition bout.
Bell, who had 6,554 yards rushing, 3,289 yards receiving and 51 touchdowns in eight years in the NFL, has since taken his new boxing career seriously.
Ham called out Bell and encouraged his followers to troll him on social media in anticipation of a fight with Peterson.
Bell eventually complied, but Hamm feels seriously ignored.
“He's been here many times before and he's trained well for it,” Hamm said. “That's his big strength. He's a professional athlete, he's an NFL player, he's tough, he's definitely fought against a lot of guys on the field. The question is, he's like where I'm from. I mean, I don't know. On social media, a lot of people try to make themselves look bigger than they really are. But the truth is, I make myself look smaller on social media.
“I think he thinks I'm cute. I'm going to show him there's another side to me, that's for sure.”
Outdoor lifestyle influencer. Jam Press/Tristan Hamm
In recent years, influencers-turned-boxers have been using the interest of their vast followings and fans to test out how well they can actually fight and create lucrative bouts.
Former YouTuber Jake Paul is perhaps the best example of this, as he is set to fight Mike Tyson in a highly anticipated bout on July 20th.
“Unless you're getting paid a huge amount of money, it just doesn't make sense,” Hamm said. “As the world changes with social media, everything is moving to streaming, everything is moving online, the opportunity is bigger than it's ever been, the money is bigger than it's ever been. The ability to get views is greater than it's ever been. The ability to inspire people and bring groups of people together is greater than it's ever been. All of that combines to make this a perfect opportunity.”
Boxing is in the midst of a renaissance in the way it is consumed.
HBO and Showtime, long home to boxing's biggest fights, no longer broadcast or cover the sport.
Traditional media no longer tells the stories of combatants in as much detail or as often as they used to.
But Hamm believes influencers-turned-boxers like himself are at the forefront of how boxing will evolve.
“There's a big shift going on,” Hamm said. “Everybody's saying, 'boxing is declining,' but boxing isn't declining. TV is declining. TV built boxing. TV could decide who the next star was based on who they wanted to be the next star. There was a lot of politics involved. … Networks are going out of business because of TV, not for other reasons. DAZN understands what it's like to not just leverage, but leverage an influencer network to leverage these stories and give them a platform. DAZN is genius at that.”
“[Influencers] They've traditionally had a bad rap. They're just kids yelling at each other in people's idea of what they are. But it's actually people who believe they want to be professional fighters, that they're valuable, that people want to be professional fighters, that they want to watch, that they'll sell tickets, that they'll get views, that it's entertaining, that they're bringing a new audience to boxing… That's what keeps the sport alive as the networks are disappearing.”
The rise of celebrity boxing has brought with it some big headwinds.
Critics think it's ridiculous and a gimmick, and other fighters aren't happy about an influencer cutting the line and hosting bigger events despite a much less accomplished resume. There are many.
Hamm, on the other hand, believes they should get involved or they will be left behind.
“There's a lot of discussion,” Hamm said. “A lot of pro fighters are a little frustrated with the exposure they're getting. Traditionally, pro boxers just have to focus on the fight and the promotion does the rest. Well, that's not how it works. The world is changing. People need to have a real audience, build a name for themselves and get that name across in whatever sport they play.”
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