Goodbye Athlete CRUSH, Hello SPRTER!

We are extremely excited to announce a rebrand that we have been working on for several months.

So, we introduce to you for the first time:

 

 

SPRTER

Connecting sporters and supporters!

 

 

Why the rebrand?

We want to foster a diverse and inclusive sports community where everyone can participate. We were approached by a number of individuals who signed up for the app, but did not fall into the fan or athlete categories which were previously available on the app. While athletes and fans are at the core of the sport industry, our approach was too narrow. That is why we are now SPRTER and connect Sporters and Supporters!

Sporters are sport influencers including athletes (current, retired and emerging), coaches, agents, media personnel, teams, leagues – basically anyone in the sports industry who helps to create the special moments we all cherish.

Sporters are nothing without Supporters – those who encourage, celebrate, comment, and support no matter what.

SPRTER is built on the six letters that the terms Sporter and Supporter share. Our new brand represents these two groups connecting and working together.

Also, the CRUSH acronym wasn’t as clear as we hoped it would be. We thought we were clever by using the acronym representing reasons why people follow athletes (Character, Role Model, Uniqueness,  Skill, & Humor) and combined it with the focus of athletes “CRUSHing it” on the field.

However, the name had romantic connotations, and some thought Athlete CRUSH was a dating platform (who needs more of those, right?). To avoid confusion, as well as the name change, new features and changes have been made to the app as a result of this rebrand, but the structure and functionality will largely remain the same.

The love for sport unites people around the world – it’s a feeling of empowerment, joy, entertainment, and emotion. At the heart of it all are Sporters and Supporters, and we are passionate about revolutionizing how these two groups connect!

 

What is new in the app?

Sporter or Supporter – As mentioned earlier, we have opened the app up to a wider sporting user base. You can now distinguish yourself as a sporter or a supporter by choosing one or the other during the profile setup.

High fiving – CRUSHing has been replaced by High Fiving. We do not want any users thinking that this app is in any way associated with dating.

Following – Swiping right in the SPRTER Discovery will now result in a follow and not a like or high five. However, clicking on the high five icon below the post will result in a like or high five and not a follow.

Preview as a spectator – We have made this feature more prevalent on the login/register screen. This mode allows you to play around in a limited version of the app to get a feel for it before creating your profile.

Sporter Activity – Due to us opening up the app to sports influencers beyond athletes, or sporters as we like to call them, the Athlete Activity feed is now the Sporter Activity feed. This feed will display content from all sporters, which includes athletes, retired athletes, coaches, media personalities, agents, scouts, executives, organizations, etc. So, everything except for fan content.

Supporter Activity – Due to the name change, fans will henceforth be known as supporters, so the Fan Activity feed will now be known as the Supporter Activity.

SPRTER Discovery – The CRUSH Discovery has been changed to the SPRTER Discovery to remove any associations with dating.

 

A Message From SPRTER

While we are ultimately sad to see the Athlete CRUSH brand replaced, the message and spirit of that era of our company will live on through the continued use of the red runner as our primary logo and our Crush Line legacy merchandise. The 5 main attributes that composed the CRUSH acronym; character, role model, uniqueness, skill, and humor will remain qualities that our company will strive to emulate and expectations for our users to represent.

We are thankful to all the sporters on our platform, our ambassadors, and the supporters for their continued support. We have big plans on the horizon beyond this rebrand and can’t wait to share the details with all our users. Stay tuned! Make sure to check out our new website as well!

Best wishes,

The SPRTER Team