The GIST Expands Beyond Sports With Launch Of New Lifestyle Newsletter

Last fall, The GIST – a female-founded sports media brand that provides equal coverage to women’s and men’s sports – celebrated a major milestone: surpassing one million newsletter subscribers. That achievement underscored the brand’s commitment to championing gender equity in sports media and its success in building a loyal, engaged audience. Now, The GIST is poised to broaden its horizons with the launch of its new lifestyle newsletter: The Group Chat.

“The GIST has always been fan-first; we’re constantly asking for information about what [our audience] likes, what they don’t like, and we’re looking at their behavior across our ecosystem,” said Ellen Hyslop, co-founder of The GIST. “Then at the same time, we’re always looking at macro trends, data, and what we’re seeing more broadly in terms of consumption.”

Listening To Fans, Following The Trends

What The GIST has gathered by listening to consumer feedback and following the trends is that content intersecting sports and culture – such as entertainment and fashion – has consistently garnered high engagement and attracted new followers. The Group Chat will dive into entertainment, health & wellness, fashion, beauty, and leisure – all areas that have naturally resonated with The GIST’s audience.

“Leagues, teams, and a lot of niche properties do really well speaking to an avid fan and an existing fan, but the only way that the industry is actually going to grow is if we’re speaking to this next-generation fan and this different type of fan that a lot of people have forgotten,” said Hyslop. “A lot of the ways that they want to consume content is actually through this lifestyle lens.”

Redefining What It Means To Be A Sports Fan

This expansion aligns with The GIST’s mission to redefine sports fandom. At the core of The GIST brand has always been a push to make sports media more inclusive, particularly for women and underrepresented audiences. Hyslop co-founded The GIST with college friends Jacie deHoop and Roslyn McLarty back in 2017 after recognizing that the sports media landscape was male-dominated in almost every facet. At the time, women’s sports and female athletes received less than 4% of sports media coverage, and less than 14% of sports journalists were women. The co-founders set out to create a sports media company that centered women – one built for sports fans who don’t fit the “traditional” avid sports fan mold.

Now, by venturing into lifestyle content, The GIST hopes to continue challenging traditional notions of sports media, offering diverse entry points for fans – especially for women. By examining media consumption trends of Gen Z and Millennial women, Hyslop and her team were particularly surprised to learn that:

• 74% of Gen Z women follow pop culture and entertainment news.
• 89% of Gen Z women actively seek mental and physical health resources.
• 70% of Gen Z and Millennial women follow beauty influencers for advice.
• 65% of Millennial women seek financial advice online.

After learning these insights, Hyslop and the team knew there was an opportunity to meet women where they are when it comes to the types of content they’re actively seeking.

“Women are so multidimensional, and we need to make sure that the content we provide them is also multidimensional and touching on their other hobbies,” said Hyslop. “The next generation is consuming content and wanting sports content in such a different way than we’ve ever seen before.”

Lifestyle Content Focused On Sports x Culture

The inaugural issue of The Group Chat is set to launch this Sunday to coincide with the Boston Marathon, focusing on the rise of run clubs and their significance in female independence. Future editions will cover topics like athletes at The Met Gala and the intersection of sports and fashion.

As The GIST continues to grow, lifestyle content and this redefinition of fandom will remain central to the brand’s strategy.

“Sports drive culture and sports influence culture, whether we even recognize it or not. Whether it’s in an everyday hobby like pickleball or running, or whether it’s in the clothes that we wear,” said Hyslop. “When we celebrate that, I feel like that provides even more space for people to feel like they are a sports fan.”