A 23-year-old er has been given full creative control of a 145-year-old sports brand worth hundreds of millions. Alexei Hamblin says he was approached by Slazenger’s CEO after posting videos imagining how he’d turn “boring” Sports Direct pieces into high-end fashion. Now, he’s documenting the entire overhaul of the brand to his 93,000 followers in real time. From sourcing materials in China to testing designs and building a new “off-court” luxury line, his content isn’t just behind-the-scenes - it’s the marketing strategy itself. Slazenger, once a pioneer of British sport that produced everything from the first fluorescent tennis ball to the ball used in England’s 1966 World Cup win, has struggled for relevance in recent decades. Now, instead of traditional ads, it’s betting on something completely different: an influencer-led rebuild, where the audience becomes the customer. With studies showing most users trust creators more than adverts, the gamble is clear - but so is the potential