January 11, 2024
Locked On Women’s Basketball: Shakira Austin discusses Player Marketing Agreements, fashion and her own story
By The Next
'I just want to be able to tell my story ... to get people to actually know who I am'
On today’s episode of Locked On Women’s Basketball, Mystics center Shakira Austin spoke with host Jackie Powell about the WNBA’s player marketing agreements (PMAs) and how she’s using them to tell her own story.
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As a primer, a PMA represents an opportunity for a player to work with the league and its corporate sponsors during the offseason; many also use it as a chance to further their personal brands as well. Shakira Austin joins the show to discuss how she’s using PMA to do all this and more, while having the time and flexibility to recover from previous injuries and train for the 2024 season.
“Most of us will go overseas and [play] year round,” Austin said. “After having a year of that, I thought this opportunity was great to not only be able to expose myself to new brands, and to help the league, but to honestly just be able to stay home and take care of my body and get prepared for the next season, because this is my priority.”
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Here at The Next, in addition to the 24/7/365 written content our staff provides, we also host the daily Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast. Join us Monday through Saturday each week as we discuss all things WNBA, collegiate basketball, basketball history and much more. Listen wherever you find podcasts or watch on YouTube.
“Right now I feel like I haven’t been able to really dip my toes into anything that I’ve been interested in, it’s really just been basketball,” she continued. “I just want to be able to tell my story a little bit more, to get people to actually know who I am — not just the good athlete who’s on the floor, but the girl who likes to model and is into fashion and is into community, you know, DC is my hometown. I have a lot that I like to represent, and I feel like this opportunity will really give me the chance to showcase that.”
The two also discussed Austin’s passion for modeling and fashion design, including her interest in designing and making her own clothes.
“I’ve always kind of just been into fashion actually. I don’t make a lot of clothes, but I definitely know how to sew,” Austin said. “I’m a tall girl, 6’5, and one of my aspirations has always been to have my own clothing line. It’s really hard for me to get clothes that are [spontaneous] and fit the way I want [them] to fit without looking like a mom or something. So that avenue has always been something I’ve looked into.”
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Tune in to today’s episode to hear from Shakira Austin about how she enjoys giving back to her local communities, what she’s most looking forward to as the offseason continues, and how she balances her PMA work with recovery and training. Listen to Locked On Women’s Basketball every day to learn more about women’s basketball history, the game and its players, and much more!
