The grand plan setting Gout Gout up for world stardom – and the riches await Australia’s fastest 200m runner

Gout Gout’s Year 12 school holidays look a little different than most kids, but Monaco could be closer to what his future looks like if the long-range strategy for Gout Inc. pays off.

The glitz and glamour of the world’s richest municipality couldn’t be a more fitting backdrop for Gout Gout’s first Diamond League experience.

This is the world the 17-year-old Queensland schoolboy is going to be playing in if a long-range strategy to build Gout Inc. pays dividends.

While it might be a long way from Ipswich to Monaco, there is a reason he has popped over to the playground of the rich and famous during his Year 12 school holidays.

Gout has business to attend to, on and off the track.

Gout Gout celebrates after winning the men's 200m final during the Queensland State Championships in Brisbane in March. Picture: Patrick HAMILTON / AFP

Not racing in the open senior 200m against Olympic champion Letsile Tobago and US superstar Noah Lyles – instead going around in the U/23 division – is all part of the grand plan.

There is no need to rush into the deep end – he will face them at the world championships in Tokyo in September – and it’s been the same approach when it comes to Gout’s commercial affairs.

Since he confirmed what everyone suspected in December last year by breaking the 56-year-old Australian 200m record which Peter Norman had set at the Mexico Olympics, the phone hasn’t stopped ringing.

Gout was already a viral sensation thanks to his eye-opening junior performances gaining millions of hits on social media and the comparisons with the great Usain Bolt have flowed ever since his record-breaking feats.

All the biggest brands in Australia, and globally, have reached out to Gout’s manager James Templeton over the past six months. It quickly became more than a one-man job with international experts called in to chart a course through the myriad of offers.

Bjorn Gulden from Adidas with Gout Gout and coach Diane Sheppard Picture: Adidas Instagram

London-based sports marketing firm IPSEM Squared, run by Australian Stuart Snowden, have been given the job to gauge the Gout opportunities on the international market.

There had been murmurings about the lack of movement by Gout on the commercial front given no-one is in doubt about his marketability. Footwear giant Adidas is the only major sponsor on board at the moment.

They won a bidding war before forking out more than $6 million in a deal which goes through to the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games. It is the biggest in Australian athletics since the Cathy Freeman era.

So what’s next?

The focus is blue-chip and the long-range vision is the territory the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, David Beckham, Rafael Nadal and Tiger Woods have operated in over the past couple of decades.

This might be pie-in-the-sky for a teenager from Australia but there is a clear formula when it comes to endorsements at the very top end and Gout’s appeal is only going to grow in the coming years.

A luxury watch deal, a sports drink, financial institution and a major sports apparel company are the go-to sponsors for the world’s biggest stars.

Bolt took endorsements in track and field to another level with his Puma contract snaring him $10 million per year, even in retirement, up to the end of 2025.

Gout Gout celebrates with Cuba's Reynier Mena after the Men's 200m event at the Golden Spike athletics meeting in Czechia. Picture: Michal Cizek / AFP

He also had watch brand Hublot, Virgin Media, Gatorade, Visa and Nissan.

Lyles, the reigning Olympic 100m champion, has a massive Adidas deal through to the 2028 LA Olympics along with Omega, Celsius (energy drink), Visa and Comcast.

These are the type of deals Templeton, who has managed other track stars including Kenyan 800m world record holder David Rudisha, is quietly confident will come Gout’s way, some as early as the end of this year.

“It would be no surprise that there’s been a lot of interest in him these last six or more months,” Templeton said. “A number of Australian companies, big and small, and a number of significant global brands have a good level of interest in Gout.

“I think it fair to say there are discussions taking place behind the scenes. Gout has a long career ahead of him and we are prepared to wait for the right deals but good discussions are occurring.

“The focus has been on the quality of any potential deals rather than the quantity. I linked in with the Europe-based guys from sports marketing agency IPSEM Squared some months ago. It’s going well and they’re adding good value. ”

During his brief stay in Europe, Gout has based himself in Tubingen, Germany, where he shared an apartment with Peter Bol, the Tokyo Olympic 800m finalist who is having a career resurrection this season and is also racing in Monaco.

Gout took time out to visit the Adidas world headquarters in Germany and spent time with CEO Bjorn Gulden who had personally been involved in getting his signature.

There are more meetings planned in Monaco with prospective sponsors before he returns home to school next week.

Keeping a lid on everything has been Templeton’s main job in recent times with endless amounts of bizarre requests ranging from opening a resort in Bali, a shopping centre in Darwin to running against footballers in the AFL Grand Final sprint.

“Of course there have been a lot of media requests and appearances too, I’ve had to say no to most,” Templeton says.

“I’m of course very aware of Gout’s school commitments and the importance of his final year studies. I’m very conscious of keeping him free from distractions this year.”

That might be easier said than done, particularly if the Gout hype train delivers once again in Monaco.

Originally published as The grand plan setting Gout Gout up for world stardom – and the riches await Australia’s fastest 200m runner