Sports fans can’t get enough of personalised video messages via Swysh

Nothing beats receiving a personalised message from one of your sporting heroes, and with no life event off-limits, stars and their fans are making the most of the chance to connect via Swysh.

Reece Walsh’s reflective sunglasses, painted nails, designer shoes and man bags might be out of fashion in Red Hill under the new Michael Maguire regime.

But if Swysh is anything to go by, then neither Maguire nor a down year can dim the rock star status hanging over Brisbane’s biggest star.

Not when, at $440 a pop, fans can’t get enough of a personal connect with him.

Walsh’s popularity on the video messaging platform skyrocketed in 2023 to coincide with Brisbane’s surge into the grand final.

And the 22-year-old is not alone, with the Matildas also rising in demand despite their glow weakening following a lean 12 months.

The brains behind Swysh, Michael Roth, who was a founding member of Afterpay, told this masthead Walsh was still the most popular NRL star on the platform in 2024 delivering hundreds of videos despite Brisbane’s on-field slump last season.

“Reece is very charismatic on and off the field and that makes him incredibly popular. Fans have flocked to buy videos from him. He puts a lot of thought and time into them,” Roth said.

“He resonates with young fans, he’s really loved by them for how he plays, he’s electric.

“He’s also a young dad and that also resonates with a lot of fans.

Reece Walsh is a big hit on the Swysh platform.

“When you see the reaction of fans getting a video from Reece, you can see how much he’s really loved.”

Since the inception of Swysh in 2020, around 1500 athletes and sporting personalities, including 400 NRL players past and present, have sent out over 100,000 videos to fan.

No life event is off-limits.

Melbourne star Ryan Papenhuyzen once asked a young girl’s guardians to formally adopt her.

Sydney Roosters skipper James Tedesco has helped countless fans through medical battles. Rabbitohs captain Cameron Murray delivered a heartfelt message at the funeral of a lifelong South Sydney fan, and Canterbury star Matt Burton has done his fair share of gender reveals.

Walsh, Papenhuyzen ($330), Tedesco ($275), Murray ($275) and Burton ($220) are among the top athletes on Swysh who are collectively delivering more than 25,000 personalised videos each year.

STARS GET PERSONAL

Tedesco, who has raised more funds for charity from video messages than any other athlete on Swysh, told this masthead the hardest messages to deliver are always the most rewarding.

“You get some real sad ones,” Tedesco said.

“Parents or friends send requests for a young kid or family member that is struggling in hospital with infection or disease.

“For me to give them words of encouragement to stay strong, let them know I’m thinking of them, it’s not much on my part.

“But for them to receive that when they are going through tough times, it’s big for them.

“I run into people on the street that have said, ‘The message you sent really helped out a smile on their face’.

Roosters NRL captain James Tedesco media call for Swysh founder Mike Roth Photo: Swysh / Brett Costello

“When you get that feedback from doing these videos it makes it all worth it.”

Brian To’o ($286), who is the third all-time most popular player on Swysh behind Tom Trbojevic ($132) and Murray, has sent everything from wedding day messages to special messages for Christmas.

But one video for a young fan struggling with mental health issues after a family tragedy, a heartbreak the four-time Penrith premiership winner has endured himself when his 8-year-old sister Danielle died from cancer in 2008, has stuck with To’o through the years.

“I had one request for a fan who was struggling with mental health, his father had just passed away,” To’o said.

“To hear the passing had been really tough for them since they were the oldest of the siblings in their family and had to take their family, it can stick with you.

“Then to get the feedback that hearing from me in the video had helped them get through that struggle was a special moment for me.”

Matildas stars Mackenzie Arnold (left and second right) and Caitlin Foord (second left and right) are in demand on Swysh.

MATILDAS SURGE

Female athletes, in particular the Matildas, are now giving their male counterparts a run for their money, literally, in the popularity stakes on the platform.

Since the Women’s World Cup in 2023 in Australia, the demand for the stars like Caitlin Foord ($275), Steph Catley ($220) and Mackenzie Arnold ($275) has exploded by more than 700 per cent.

“Someone like Mackenzie, who had done less than ten requests prior to the World Cup, then did almost 200 videos in the month after the tournament,” Roth revealed.

“Arnold, Foord and Catley now rival the top NRL and AFL players in how often they are getting booked.

“The videos they make tend to go to young girls between 8-15 years old. It’s obvious they are viewed as amazing role models.

“The demand for videos between male and female athletes is beginning to narrow because of the NRLW and AFLW, but especially the Matildas.

“And it’s giving female athletes a commercial opportunity.”

PLAYER DILEMMA

But turning personalised fan videos into a money-making venture, which provides an avenue for high-profile players to rake in upwards of six-figures, was initially a hard sell for some.

NRL players already routinely take the time to sign autographs and take selfies with fans after games and at opening training sessions.

“We aren’t a replacement for those interactions with fans,” Roth said.

“We are deepening the connection for fans who put so much of their time and emotional energy into their favourite players by creating a way for those players to take part in everything from birthdays, anniversaries, weddings without them needing to physically be there.

“It’s an opportunity for athletes but also a responsibility. It allows athletes to put proper thought and energy into the messages, which are sincere and genuine.”

That responsibility is one that Tedesco takes seriously.

“I try to make the message as special and as personal as possible to show them that I do care about them,” Tedesco said.

“It might be as simple as, ‘Happy birthday’, but I’ll always try to make it as special as possible.

“People are paying money so I want to make sure whoever is receiving the message is really happy.”

TURNING VIEWS INTO DOLLARS

Platforms like Swysh - which is experiencing between 20-50 per cent year on year growth - are helping business savvy NRL players to monetise their brands and the insatiable thirst that fans have for gaining an insight into the lives of their favourite stars.

Tedesco, To’o and Walsh collectively have almost 1.8 million followers on Instagram and TikTok.

The videos Walsh and To’o share, on everything from career advice for aspiring NRL players, behind the scenes on game day to light heartened trends, have amassed tens of millions in views on TikTok.

But the TikTok creator fund, which pays for video content, isn’t available in Australia, so To’o and Walsh don’t cash in on their popularity on the platform.

A new service by Swysh called ‘Fan Pass’ is helping to change that.

For a one-off fee, fans receive 10 videos over the course of the year from their favourite athletes, taking them behind the scenes of their day to day lives both on and off the field.

“We can make a living off our brand by promoting that as much as possible and connecting with different people,” Tedesco said.

“Players are filming everything and there are cameras around … even at the Roosters we are giving fans a deeper insight in what we do every day.

“But these days everyone from the younger to older players are really building their brands on different platforms by working with different companies and trying to elevate that as much as they can.”

GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING

Rabbitohs star Murray had previously revealed to this masthead about battling with the ethics of the paid videos but was won over by the ability to raise money for charity through the requests.

Athletes on the platform have now raised over $1.3 million for causes like Movember and The Royal Hospital for Women with 10 per cent of proceeds going to charity.

This year the charity proceeds in June went to Sporting Chance Cancer Foundation, a charity which includes Tedesco as a Patron, and to a cancer outreach program named after the Roosters star.

“Opening the James Tedesco Outreach Program at the Sydney Children’s Hospital this year was pretty special to me,” he said.

“It funds nurses to go out to rural and country areas where kids are suffering from cancer.

“The outreach nurses allow those kids to stay where they are instead of uprooting their lives to get treatment in the city.”

CHRISTMAS WISH LISTS

December is one of the busiest times for Swysh as athletes turn into Santa, delivering thousands of Christmas videos to their biggest fans.

Walsh will again likely be the busiest.

“He really is a celebrity. Reece is one of the players with almost a bigger following on social media than the Broncos itself. A lot of other players are the same,” Roth said.

“Swysh is only helping players build that presence.

“It also gives the player an opportunity to showcase their personality in their own way.”

Roth has his own Christmas wishlist and that’s to add two more names to 1500 already on the platform – Penrith champion Nathan Cleary and Matildas star Mary Fowler.

The sporting power couple that have captured Australia’s imagination are two of the most requested athletes not on the platform.

“She’s one of the most popular talents in Australia, of course we’d love to get Mary on Swysh and so would a lot of fans,” Roth said.

“We have fans emailing us every day about the talent we don’t offer because they want to be able to connect with them in this personalised way.”

Originally published as Sports fans can’t get enough of personalised video messages via Swysh