Beyond the Arena: The Social Media Rise of Figure Skaters as Lifestyle Brand Marketing Magnets
With awe-inspiring feats of athleticism and artistry, figure skaters capture the imagination of audiences around the world. The sport’s magnetic enigma also isn’t confined to the rink anymore, extending with ease into a whole new arena: the business of endorsements. From scroll-stopping on-ice creative content to ongoing partnerships with presence online and in competition, figure skaters are proving it’s not just their physical prowess which captivates - it’s their unique star power.The sports sponsorships market is booming, expected to grow from $63.1 billion in 2021 to $109.1 billion by 2030 (PwC). At the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, LVMH’s premium partnership - with luxury houses including Louis Vuitton and Dior providing uniforms for athletes, high jewellery house Chaumet producing the competition’s medals, and drinks division Moët Hennessey supplying champagne for celebrations - is perhaps the clearest indicator so far for the new importance of sports in fashion and lifestyle marketing, not only for the luxury conglomerate. The authenticity of athletes’ connections with their fanbase provides a cultural arena for brand visibility with a value above the norm.
With two years until the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Games, figure skating is poised for a starring role with a resurgence in its popularity. In the past decade alone, the number of registered figure skaters - individuals who have officially joined a figure skating association or club - has increased by 25%*. There’s vested interest in new international locations, in particular across the MENA region, with fast-developing figure skating federations in countries including the UAE, Kuwait, and Egypt producing competitive athletes-to-watch on the elite circuit. Participation is also widening across age categories; over just the past five years, the number of adults participating in figure skating has surged by 30%*, with developments in training methods and sports sciences facilitating a lifelong love for a sport which has always cultivated a devoted fanbase. (At the 2024 World Figure Skating Championships in Montreal, 40-year-old Deanna Stellato-Dudek took a record-breaking gold with her partner in Pairs.) (*ISU and USFSA combined data.)
In the sport’s most recent heyday, in the 90s and early 00s, household-name elite figure skaters carried multi-million dollar sponsorships for nearly every sector of household brand. Take U.S. figure skater, three-time World Champion, and double Olympic medallist Michelle Kwan, whose sponsorships spanned Coca-Cola, Barbie, Campbell’s, Got Milk?, and many more. (Her compatriate, Kristi Yamaguchi, had her own Barbie doll created two decades later, in April 2024.) Kwan now serves as an ambassador for the United States to Belize.
Powered by social media, more contemporary elite skaters have built their own personal brands and continued to attract big-name sponsors in the process. In the ice dance field, Canadian duo Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir - the most decorated figure skaters in Olympic history with five medals - have represented between them major brands including Adidas, Nivea, Colgate, and MAC. American single skater Adam Rippon’s post-retirement YouTube interview series, “Break the Ice”, was sponsored by Ketel One vodka; and Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan, a fierce fan favourite - the hashtag #YuzuruHanyu has around 205 million posts on TikTok - who retired after the Beijing 2022 Winter Games, was named a Gucci ambassador in March 2024.
For today’s figure skaters, social media’s value proposition as a career-supporting tool has never been more apparent. By offering consumer brands visibility to devoted fans with truly unique content - whether on the ice or integrated into their intriguing day-to-day - figure skaters are cultivating an additional funding stream for their competitive careers, as well as promoting their profiles (and the sport) beyond traditional parameters.
See Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Games hopefuls Loena Hendrickx and Kimmy Repond. Hendrickx, from Belgium, uses her social media real estate not only to share her ambassadorships for figure skating clothing like Chique Sport, but also aligned mainstream brands such as Samsonite; Repond, from Switzerland, has extended her social media presence into broader fashion - both international and local fashion brands - from her figure skating fashion ambassadorships.
The popularity of figure skating content on social media - supported by video content’s continued triumph across platforms - has created super-success stories even outside of the competitive circuit. Under the handle @jetlaggedlovers, Katia Kramble (Instagram: 175k followers; TikTok 1.2m followers, 30.6m likes) - formerly a collegiate figure skater, representing University of Toronto - found her niche and biggest brand opportunities by hybridising her love for fashion and travel with her figure skating background. Kramble’s on-ice collaborations so far have included Fendi, Saint Laurent Beauty, Pandora, and Revolve. Across the pond in Great Britain, former senior-level competitive figure skater-turned-lifestyle influencer Lea Broc (Instagram: 100k followers; TikTok 12.7k followers, 337.2k likes) uses her skating skills and social media savvy to boost brands including Sweaty Betty, Ellesse, Bo&Tee, and Verve supplements.
The #figureskater hashtag on social media has seen growth of 150% in the past year alone, with Instagram being the primary platform for this increase. Similarly, #adultsskatetoo has seen a 200% growth in engagement (Hootsuite).
Adult figure skating’s surge owes some credit to the sport’s social media spread. Many who became skaters later in life choose to journal their progress via Instagram and TikTok, building support from the figure skating community around the world in addition to friends and family. Having taken to the ice in August 2021, American adult figure skater Sophia Lazuli (Instagram: 133k followers, TikTok: 173.1k followers, 9m likes) has built a wide following along her journey’s way - and leverages that following with collaborations for household names including Duolingo, Degree deodorant, and Nature Made vitamins.
An aesthetic sport, figure skating’s increasing offerings in the social media age have been recognised in campaigns by trending names across the fashion and lifestyle industries. From the Autumn/Winter 23/24 season alone, figure skating appeared in campaigns by Jacquemus (with Kendall Jenner styled as a skater), Vivienne Westwood (featuring Team GB junior ice dancers and Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympics medallists, Ashlie Slatter and Atl Ongay-Perez), MC2 Saint Barth, and others.With the continued growth of figure skating and social media’s ever-powerful presence, the endorsements possibilities - whether ongoing or one-off collaborations - are endless, providing one certainty; in these games, everyone’s a winner.