#266: Omer Atesmen, Snow League - The Business of Winter Sports: Global Growth & Athlete-First

Omer Atesmen is a serial entrepreneur and the CEO of Snow League, a professional league reimagining snowboarding and free skiing for a global audience. After successful ventures in robotics and ad tech, Omer partnered with Shaun White to launch the league, combining deep business expertise with a passion for action sports. With equal prize money for men and women, innovative competition formats, and a vision to capture the energy of winter sports on a worldwide scale, Snow League is setting out to become the premier platform for athletes, fans, and brands.

In this episode, Omer dives into the origin story of Snow League, the challenges of building a new sports property, and the strategy behind fundraising, media rights, and global expansion. They also discuss why storytelling, PR, and athlete engagement are critical in driving fan adoption, and how the league is learning from models like Formula 1 to build long-term cultural and commercial impact.

Podcast Chapters:

02:36 Partnering with Shaun White and the League’s Vision

05:12 Building a Sports Property from Scratch

08:47 Fundraising and Market Opportunities in Winter Sports

12:19 Equal Prize Money and Athlete-Centric Innovation

15:08 Media Rights, PR, and Global Fan Engagement

18:34 Learning from Formula 1 and Other Global Leagues

22:11 The Future of Snow League and What’s Next

Omer Atesmen: 🏠 Website: https://thesnowleague.com/💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/omer-a-5291062/Andrew Petcash:🏠 Website: https://profluence.com🐣 Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewpetcash💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpetcash/Thanks for listening! Hit the “follow” button to stay updated on new podcasts.