Demitra Carter started running in middle school because she won her first race. She ran Division I track at Baylor, then transitioned to road running after college. But her real career began when she picked up a tiny microphone during the early days of NIL and started asking athletes questions around campus.

That tiny microphone has led to hundreds of thousands of followers, partnerships with brands like ON and Hyundai, becoming the youngest certified World Athletics Agent, and now serving as Director of Influence at Popfly. Her journey reveals how athletes and creators can build sustainable businesses at the intersection of sport, content, and brand partnerships.

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Demitra was at Baylor during national championships in basketball with future NFL players on campus. When NIL was about to pass, she recognized the opportunity and became an early adopter with a tiny microphone, asking athletes questions.

The insight was simple: these athletes had incredible personalities fans never saw. Sydney McLaughlin could juggle, but nobody had recorded it. Demitra brought juggling balls, hit record, and it worked. She had to act quickly because ideas have shelf lives. If she pulled out a tiny microphone now, it wouldn't be as impactful as five years ago.

Demitra saw the representation problem in track and field agencies. Many athletes look like her, but agents were predominantly older white men. She knew there was space for people who looked like their clients, talked like them, and ran like them.

Agency work and law school were always the goal. She took her World Athletics Agent exam and became the youngest certified agent, then took a three-year break to pursue content creation while maintaining industry connections. The older agents have been welcoming, offering support and acknowledging the need to diversify the space.

The biggest untapped opportunity for athletes heading into LA 2028 is local dealerships and non-endemic brands. Track agents typically just get athletes into meets. But there's massive opportunity to market athletes beyond running fast, showcasing personalities and reach with engaged audiences.

Demitra secured a Hyundai Palisade for 2026 through Popfly after a team member pitched automotive brands on the outdoor space. The partnership works because Hyundai wants adventurous positioning that fits their brand evolution.

For creators wanting local partnerships, create a one-page pitch using Canva or ChatGPT, tailor it to yourself, and go directly to the dealership. These businesses don't have influencer teams searching for creators. Walk in with a pitch during fiscal year resets in January through April when they can find budget.

Endemic running brands can spend more per engagement but have smaller overall budgets. Non-endemic brands have larger budgets but lower CPMs because they're piloting. The disconnect often comes down to content quality.

Not every runner is a great content creator. Some perform and go home without capturing it. That limits non-endemic appeal. Demitra points to a professional hurdler who complained about not having a watch deal without posting himself wearing watches.

For bigger running brands, you can tell if someone who knows running is in the company. When you have people who understand the audience, they fight for resources. Without internal advocates, budgets don't materialize. Brand representatives embedded in the sport who push internally create conditions for successful partnerships.

Long-form content is rolling over to TikTok beyond just YouTube. Story times with 10-minute parts get millions of views as people multitask while consuming content. Instagram remains confusing as her largest platform. Currently, on-screen text for photo carousels performs exceptionally well.

YouTube long-form works because you can cut, reuse, and clip segments for multiple pieces of content from one recording. The key is not oversaturating your feed. LinkedIn was bottom priority until recently when consistent posting demonstrated clear opportunity for recognition and rewards.

Early in her career, Demitra tried staying neutral. She even signed a contract preventing her from saying anything political on personal social media, which she now regrets.

Alison Felix leaving Nike over pregnancy pay became pivotal. It taught her that standing up for beliefs matters regardless of company size. If you're going down, go down believing your beliefs while paving the way for the next person.

Her advice: never regret how you represented what you believe in. Be respectful and professional, but your values are yours. The lawyer side cautions thinking twice about retweets and reposts when building a creator career young, since opinions might change.

Every brand is thinking about LA 2028. Demitra worked at Team USA in 2022-23 when they were already planning for LA before Paris happened. The market will boom for American athletes with domestic and international attention.

Track traditionally markets athletes only around performance. But heading into LA, there's opportunity to market personalities and lifestyles. Local businesses all have marketing budgets. Athletes who start building content strategies now, establishing authentic brand relationships, and demonstrating value beyond the track will capitalize when Olympic spotlight hits Los Angeles.

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or other podcast platforms.

Jon is a runner, cyclist, and podcast host from Boston, MA, who now lives in Boulder, CO. For The Long Run is aimed at exploring the why behind what keeps runners running long, strong, and motivated.

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