USA Fencing’s scrappy plan to make fencing a hit before the 2028 Olympics

Fencing is one of the oldest sports in Olympic history. It’s also one of the least watched domestically. Phil Andrews, CEO of USA Fencing, is on a mission to change that, and with the 2028 Los Angeles Games on the horizon, he’s running out of time. In a masterclass in scrappy brand building, he shares how he’s building a sports brand with almost no budget and no marketing playbook, cold-calling CMOs, crashing Comic-Con, and convincing Snoop Dogg and Flavor Flav to pick up a sword. This is an abridged transcript of an interview from Rapid Response, hosted by the former editor-in-chief of Fast Company Bob Safian. From the team behind the Masters of Scale podcast, Rapid Response features candid conversations with today’s top business leaders navigating real-time challenges. Subscribe to Rapid Response wherever you get your podcasts to ensure you never miss an episode. In the lead-up to the 2028 Olympics in LA, you’ve been advocating for sports like fencing that get less attention, even though it’s growing, as you say, to band together. You pulled together five sports into what you call the United Sports Collective. That’s fencing, squash, cycling, sailing, and rowing. This sort of co…