Flavor Flav is the official hype man for USA Water Polo Women’s and Men’s National Teams. He stepped up in a big way to make sure that the United States can travel to Paris for the Olympics and quickly became the team’s biggest fan.
The founding member of Public Enemy is bankrolling the entire trip!
Flavor Flav’s unique relationship with a sport he knew nothing about began in May. Women’s team captain Maggie Steffens posted on Instagram to ask for financial support. She explained that while USA Water Polo and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee help to fund the team and its travels, they need additional support from donors. Many of the athletes also work multiple jobs.
“As a girl dad and supporter of all women’s sports,” Flavor Flav responded back to Steffens with a promise. He is personally sponsoring Team USA women’s water polo for its trip to France.
Steffens and Mr. Flav have become fast friends!
Not long after Flavor Flav agreed to fund its trip to France, USA Water Polo signed him to a five-year sponsorship as the official Hype Man for the team. The agreement includes multiple annual appearances at USA Water Polo events and an extensive social media collaboration to “leverage Flav’s influential presence to amplify the sport’s reach and engage new audiences.”
Yes, the team is self-aware about its new agreement.
I realize how unexpected this partnership is. Flavor Flav’s star power and passion for supporting athletes will bring a new level of excitement and visibility to water polo.
— Michaela Spector, Director of Marketing, USA Water Polo
Team USA is practicing in California as it prepares for Paris and invited Flavor Flav to join them in the pool. He happily obliged, swim cap and all!
The 65-year-old quickly discovered the difficulty of the sport while speaking his team’s fourth star into existence. However, the athletes were extremely impressed by his performance as a first timer.
U.S. women’s water polo is one of the country’s most dominant teams. It won gold at the Olympics in 2012, 2016 and 2021. Anything short of a fourth-straight gold medal would be a disappointment!