Meet Jonny Holsten of Capella Sports Management in Downtown Phoenix

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonny Holsten.

Jonny, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My story starts in Northern Colorado where I was born and raised until I graduated high school. I ran Cross Country and Track all throughout high school. As my senior year approached, I began to have a very real desire to run in the NCAA. After a dramatic senior season (where I battled through a scary heart disease in the fall semester), I was able to put together a good enough track season to make the walk-on standard to join the Cross Country and Track Programs at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix.

Fast forward to now, by the time I had graduated from GCU in 2018, I had met my future wife and we planted our roots in Phoenix after getting married in the summer of 2019. Throughout graduation, getting married, and the craziness of 2020, I was starting and my business, Capella Sports Management – a management agency for elite Track & Field athletes who have the ability to make Olympic and World Championship teams and the platform be good ambassadors for brand deals.

Has it been a smooth road?
For me personally, one of the biggest challenges I’ve faced (which all entrepreneurs can appreciate) is finding a way to generate income from my business as well as balancing other jobs while the company is gaining momentum. Finding the right balance between starting a business while continuing to work other jobs is the number one obstacle I faced before the pandemic which brought all sorts of obstacles. Another struggle that is unique to my industry is that a large majority of my clientele are athletes graduating out of the NCAA. This leads to months of building personal relationships with athletes who may or may not sign with my company.

When COVID-19 came, it essentially canceled the entire 2020 Track and Field universe and the NCAA season and Olympics were canceled for this year. The NCAA season is where a vast majority of recruiting happens for an agent. With major uncertainty in the market of professional Track & Field, most athletes who were coming out of the NCAA this year either chose to stay at their University for one more year, or leave as a graduate transfer to another school. For the ones that did go pro, they had to choose whether or not they wanted to sign with an agency that has a long history of representing athletes or my agency which is in its first year. For the ones that did decide to work with me, I am very grateful they made that decision and put their faith in me during this crazy time. Despite the challenges that COVID-19 brought to Capella Sports Management, now that we’ve started to move forward, my primary goal is to prove the athletes who have signed with me right by putting them in the best position as they work to make the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Team.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Capella Sports Management is an agency that specializes in managing the careers of elite athletes, specifically Track & Field athletes. Athletes need to focus on what matters most to them, we remove unnecessary stress so they can maximize their time as a professional. The most common way an agent reduces stress is by connecting their clients to sponsors that provide income so they can train and commit themselves full time to the sport. Based on the strengths and weaknesses of the athlete, I look at areas on and off the field of competition where they can earn endorsements. Since Capella Sports was founded, I have spent a lot of time establishing relationships with practically every major shoe company that sponsors professional track and field athletes. Having personal phone numbers and spending hours on the phone with the men and women who represent these shoe companies is a very important part of being an advocate and representative of my clients.

Something I was repeatedly told as I worked to break into the industry was how hard it is to become a T&F agent. I was told by several people who I respected and looked up to that I wouldn’t be able to start an agency on my own. I’m not saying they weren’t right about the challenges I’ve faced, but I think they underestimated how hard I was willing to work at it. Something that has been very encouraging to me as I’ve built the business is that the whole idea of “six degrees of separation” is probably more like two or three degrees with the technology we have today. Whether it’s LinkedIn, Instagram, guessing an email address, or physically traveling to meet (or casually bump into) someone, we’re all a few messages and/or emails away from one another. Because of this, building relationships has essentially been my full-time focus for almost two years now. As tacky as it sounds, my agency’s primary focus is building relationships with everybody. Brands, coaches, athletes, fans, members of the media, and more. The more relationships I have as an agent help build the trajectory of my clients’ careers.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Phoenix has been an amazing for me to start my business for many reasons. The close proximity to west coast track meets make for easy travel to competitions and because of the beautiful weather in Phoenix, many professional distance runners come to Phoenix during the winter months to train.

Contact Info:

• Website: capellasportsmanagement.com
• Email: capellaathletics@gmail.com
• Instagram: @jonnyholsten
• Twitter: @capellamgt

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