WAG YouTube/instagram fame and NCAA

[txgymfan]

Am I the only one who doesn't know who you guys are taking about?

Probably. I don't follow You Tubers and I know. That said I will pm you. I was totally oblivious to them until the last few months. I cannot believe how much attention they get.

 

[Mish]

Am I the only one who doesn't know who you guys are taking about?

There are so many girls promoting on instagram and you tube. I think most are referring to one family who has 2 gymnast daughters that are very popular. I don't know why we aren't mentioning since they are very public, but I will play along.

 

[MILgymFAM]

Am I the only one who doesn't know who you guys are taking about?

I have never followed any YouTube gymnast and don't have instagram, so I don't know either.. I was taking it on generalities.

 

[SMH]

Am I the only one who doesn't know who you guys are taking about?

I think I might have figured it out but there are so many YouTube families and gymnasts I'm not really sure

 

[triplethreat+1]

I've seen a bunch of the YouTube Gymmies but am not on instagram so I don't know who they are.
But, has any instagymmie been around longer than a couple years? Chances are pretty low they will get to college on gym, they'll burn out and vanish sooner or later.

 

[dmbgymnast]

I've seen a bunch of the YouTube Gymmies but am not on instagram so I don't know who they are.
But, has any instagymmie been around longer than a couple years? Chances are pretty low they will get to college on gym, they'll burn out and vanish sooner or later.

I honestly have no clue who this thread is about, but I have to agree. The instagymmies seem to be super popular for about a year, then their popularity drops dramatically. I wonder why some of them don't take to other social medias while at their peak to extend their fifteen minutes of fame, honestly.

 

[gymgal]

Am I the only one who doesn't know who you guys are taking about?

I don't know who they are talking about either. I was just talking generally

I think it's very different. In your example the parents own a business, in the case of YouTube gymnasts, the kids ARE the business, and their gymnastics specifically. Every video is tantamount to a paid advertisement for that business.

I think the problem is the system. The ability to qualify for a scholarship and the ability to qualify to participate in sport altogether should be entirely separate. Simone Biles, for example, shouldn't be eligible for a scholarship, but she should be no less able to compete than Madison or Kyla. I think the whole system is wrong.

I don't know who the family is and so I was only talking generally, based on the shoes and leos and hosting a meet. Those are all things any parent could do that isn't really using their child to promote (and pay them for it). Now, if the family is making money specifically from the youtube channel, showing off their gymnasts' talents - that's a murky area.

The NCAA really needs to develop policy for this. Currently, the policies primarily focus on cracking down on gifts and money from colleges, scouts, agents, promoters, and obviously endorsements involving an established athlete. They need to clarify scenarios such as where a family business is profiting from a child's sport but the child is not established as a true potential high level athlete yet.

And I agree with your argument about athletes forfeiting their scholarship money but still allowed a spot on the team, it does open a can of worms. The policy helps protect the schools' reputations by not risking the association of possibly shady endorsements.

 

[azara]

Eh this is all going to be so much easier if I just do this:

Family 1 (two gymnast daughters, travel around touring, film basically every day of their lives) is called Bratayley on YouTube. Elder daughter is a level 9, younger daughter not sure, 3 or 4 I think. They do gymnastics for fun, not sure the elder girl would be suited to NCAA-style gymnastics as her technique still needs work. I only watch their meet videos when they come up so I have no idea what most of their content consists of. They have lots of young fans who think these two girls are angels as far as I can tell.

Family 2's (slightly smaller) channel is called Whitney Bjerken, after their eldest daughter. They post meet videos, some random home-video-type things, and lots of actually quite interesting films of Whitney's gym training. Sidenote: if you're a parent looking to see how higher-level optionalst train, take a look at some of her workout videos, it's quite astonishing. Anyway, she's extremely talented and is aiming for elite. She'd be excellent at NCAA assuming no injuries and/or burnout, but she's been struggling with problems on an off for a while now so hope things work out for her! She's the one who's being doing some modelling. Whitney also has many young fans who think she's an angel.

Not providing links as this may count as advertising, though if this info is out of line please let me know and I'll get rid of it. Just thought some clarity for the confused would help

 

[FlippinLilysMom]

Whitney competed at a meet that my DD competed at last weekend (it was a travel meet for us, more of a home meet for her). My DD wanted to watch her compete so we stayed (my DD competed in the session right before Whitney's). We found her about to compete on beam and realized we were not the only ones there "fan girling" over her. It was a cool experience for my DD to see her compete in person but after seeing her on beam she'd had enough and wanted to continue exploring the city. I've also wondered about the whole eligibility thing with a youtube channel.

 

[RTT2]

Thanks for the clarification! We watch some youtube videos and for some reason DD refuses to watch any of the Whitney's World videos. I think the self-promotion irritates her.

 

[tuckfull]

My DD follows both, but she's been watching the first family mentioned since the L9 gymmie was in compulsories - maybe L4 or 5? Back then it was just a funny family vlog with little kids. Its grown into something totally different now but my DD still loves to watch her meet videos. Actually, some of the teammates of the older kid have their own youtube channels and fans now, and I think their gym has one where it features the girls and their training, travel meets, etc.

 

[gymyogimom]

One is on Amazon prime now too... So I'm sure the family is getting money.

 

[dancingimmie]

My dd has zero interest in any of these YouTube channels. When I asked her she said "why would I care what someone else is doing?". She does, however, love My Gym Dad. The thought of her father attempting anything she does cracks her up.

 

[Jenny]

There is another one I wonder about too. They posted a lot of videos and then the little girl signed with Nastia's agency Shine. There were photos of the gifts she got from the agency and from Nastia. Now the family have moved her to train at WOGA and the videos have stopped dead. Also the Shine agency has been disbanded I think . But they definitely signed with them , got gifts and I think might have even done promotions with Nastia on the Shine tours.

Very talented girl , strange to have given up NCAA at 6 though. Can't see how she could keep it after that. Isn't signing with an agent a complete no.

 

[l.c.o]

There is another one I wonder about too. They posted a lot of videos and then the little girl signed with Nastia's agency Shine. There were photos of the gifts she got from the agency and from Nastia. Now the family have moved her to train at WOGA and the videos have stopped dead. Also the Shine agency has been disbanded I think . But they definitely signed with them , got gifts and I think might have even done promotions with Nastia on the Shine tours.

Very talented girl , strange to have given up NCAA at 6 though. Can't see how she could keep it after that. Isn't signing with an agent a complete no.

My DD follows a lot of these kids, and it drives me a little nuts.

I sadly know who you are referring to... is it possible she signed for "modeling"? Or maybe they rigged it to somehow otherwise be "not gymnastics-related"?

Also wonder how it works for all of those little "brand ambassadors". Is that a violation, too, if they're being given free things -ranging from leotards, to workout clothing, to gym equipment (like those inflatable mats), to 'hover' boards- in exchange for promotion on their gymnastics-related Instagram/YouTube/whatever accounts?

 

[amiandjim]

There is another one I wonder about too. They posted a lot of videos and then the little girl signed with Nastia's agency Shine. There were photos of the gifts she got from the agency and from Nastia. Now the family have moved her to train at WOGA and the videos have stopped dead. Also the Shine agency has been disbanded I think . But they definitely signed with them , got gifts and I think might have even done promotions with Nastia on the Shine tours.

Very talented girl , strange to have given up NCAA at 6 though. Can't see how she could keep it after that. Isn't signing with an agent a complete no.

I think her mom stated that she wasn't being paid to do any of the Shine stuff....it's definitely a grey area. I wondered if the videos stopped when she moved to WOGA because it was something the coaches wanted? Pure speculation on my part though. As for the You Tube family, if I have to hear the words "But Annie has one!" Or "Annie did this..." one more time I might lose my mind.

 

[SMH]

I'll be interested to see how these kids feel about their childhood 'fame' as adults. Will they look back and be happy they were filmed and followed throughout their childhood? This is really the first generation that has had the possibility of this level of exposure to the public thanks to social media and the like.

 

[LilAdultTumbler]

About the little 6 year old. WOGA dosen't allow filming during class so her mom can only film during meets now.

I'll be interested to see how these kids feel about their childhood 'fame' as adults. Will they look back and be happy they were filmed and followed throughout their childhood? This is really the first generation that has had the possibility of this level of exposure to the public thanks to social media and the like.

I think it depends on the kid. I tend to be a private person so I wouldn't like it if my mom posted daily videos my life, but other people might enjoy to have their life documented. I think that hard thing is they aren't old enough to really make the decision themselves if this is something they truly want.

 

[duyetanh]

[QUOTE="LilAdultTumbler, post: 500841, member: 19862"I think it depends on the kid. I tend to be a private person so I wouldn't like it if my mom posted daily videos my life, but other people might enjoy to have their life documented. I think that hard thing is they aren't old enough to really make the decision themselves if this is something they truly want.[/QUOTE]
I agree. I have glanced at a few of these with my kid, and there are clearly a few times I can tell that they are not psyched to be video-done, but they go along with it.

 

[Flyaway]

My DD follows a lot of these kids, and it drives me a little nuts.

I sadly know who you are referring to... is it possible she signed for "modeling"? Or maybe they rigged it to somehow otherwise be "not gymnastics-related"?

Also wonder how it works for all of those little "brand ambassadors". Is that a violation, too, if they're being given free things -ranging from leotards, to workout clothing, to gym equipment (like those inflatable mats), to 'hover' boards- in exchange for promotion on their gymnastics-related Instagram/YouTube/whatever accounts?

I started following this same girl briefly (the one that moved to WOGA) on instagram and immediately I was "friend requested" by the brand that sells those inflatable mats. It's a bit nauseating to me honestly, all the life broadcasting. I feel like it can't help but give these kids an inflated sense of self. I mean, this gymnast specifically is competing for WOGA level 4 (at least she did one meet recently at the level) and scored about what my dd scores as a level 4 (below 35). I just can't imagine broadcasting my dd as this incredible gymnast when she's still in compulsories and has so much time ahead of her. But maybe that's just me. I'm not into self-promotion. Like, at all.