Hunter Woodhall, a member of the U.S. Paralympic delegation, now holds not only Paralympic medals, but also builds his own business empire.
Woodhall competed in the Tokyo Paralympic Games and won a bronze medal.
At the Tokyo Paralympic Games, Woodhall won the bronze medal in the men's 400m T62 event. At the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games, Woodhall also won silver medals in the 200m and bronze medals in the 400m.
For Woodhall, running not only put him on the bigger stage, but also saved his life.
Woodhall was diagnosed with fibula half-limb deformity at birth and had a leg amputation at 11 months of age. Until the fifth grade, Woodhall attended Utah's home school. By the fifth grade, Woodhall began attending regular schools, his first contact with his peers.
It wasn't a good experience, and for two years at that school, the kids loved to joke about Woodhall. "I'm a new kid and I don't have legs yet. It was a tough time for me, I just tried to digest it myself, and I didn't tell my parents or my family about it. Woodhall said in an interview with Yahoo News.
After entering junior high school, Woodhall met several friends. They treated him like a normal child and recruited him to join the track and field team, which completely changed Woodhall's life. And in the process, Woodhall's parents played an important role in promoting. Although the family was not very well-off at the time, they hired a coach for Woodhall to teach him to run.
Through running, Woodhall gradually became more confident, "I realized that running can be completely controlled by myself, no one can let me sit on the cold bench, and no one can point fingers at me." 」 In the running project, your success depends entirely on how much hard work you put in. ”
Thanks to Woodhall's efforts, he gradually achieved some results in running. In high school, Woodhall represented the United States team in the 2015 IPC World Championships in Athletics, and he made his debut on the international stage, achieving a good result of one silver and one bronze.
Still, at the time of high school graduation, Woodhall did not receive a scholarship invitation from the university. Because the number of scholarships NCAA prepares for athletics programs each year is very limited, universities are very cautious. Later, Woodhall, with the help of former coach Tracy Sundlun, competed in an indoor track and field competition to prove he could adapt to college-level athletics.
Eventually, the University of Arkansas threw an olive branch to Woodhall, and he became the first athlete in history to have his legs amputated but receive an NCAA First-class League Fellowship.
"They said I could never walk, so I learned to run." Woodhall wrote on his instagram profile. Today, Woodhall is not only getting farther and farther away, but also has a layout in the commercial field.
After leaving college, Woodhall and university classmates Jonathan Montgomery and Matt Horner of the University of Arkansas scraped together $1,000 to open a shop in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to sell printed T-shirts. After the business gradually grew, the three of them co-founded giant hoodies and started a sportswear business.
Giant hoodies mainly sells products such as hoodies, sweatshirts and jogging bottoms through online channels, and earns $4 million in 9 months. In an interview with Forbes, Woodhall also revealed that Giant hoodies is expected to generate $10 million in revenue this year and the company's market capitalization is $15 million.
With his previous outstanding performances at the Rio Paralympic Games, Woodhall has become a little famous. As of August 2021, Woodhall has more than 2.7 million followers on Tiktok, received more than 93 million likes, and has more than 295,000 followers on Instagram.
Woodhall's aggressive publicity has brought a lot of business and attention to the giant hoodies. It is worth mentioning that in the list of favorite items in 2020 released by the famous host Oprah Winfrey, giant hoodies are on the list, which also contributes to its $4 million revenue.
In addition, Woodhall owns its own real estate investment firm, Woodhall Estates. He owns five properties in Arkansas and earns nearly $15,000 a month. This income is actually worth the national incentive to win a bronze medal. According to the award programs of the U.S. Olympic Committee and the Paralympic Games, athletes who win bronze medals at the Tokyo Paralympic Games receive exactly $15,000.
In addition to his personal venture, Woodhall has received a number of brand sponsorships after moving into a career, including sports brand Champion, Icelandic prosthetic manufacturer Össur, American fitness equipment manufacturer Nordic Track and homestay platform Airbnb.
Woodhall played for the University of Arkansas for three years before moving on to the profession.
In order to earn the above income, Woodhall had to make a difficult choice — to give up his status as a college athlete. Prior to that, he had played for the University of Arkansas for three years. "I'm fed up with their hypocrisy and endless waiting, I'm trying to chase the national title and they're using my name and story to make money. I've had enough. Woodhall told The New York Times.
According to the New York Times, Woodhall could have signed an endorsement partnership worth $800,000 on the basis of his achievements. But at the time, college athletes couldn't monetize their own images, likenesses and names, and Woodhall couldn't sign with the brand. In preparation for the Tokyo Paralympic Games, Woodhall also had to rely on $20,000 sponsored by Ellen Degeneres, the host of the "Allen Show," to sustain training.
"If I decide to stay at NCAA, I'll have to refund a lot of money I've made through the company and social media, and I'll have to delete all the tweets I've made about running, going to college, and posting as a student-athlete, which is too expensive." Woodhall said.
The good news is that on June 22, the dust settled on the eight-year-old Alston v. NCAA case, and the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the NCAA could not restrict the education-related grants that universities provide to student-athletes, such as computers and paid internships. The ruling also accelerated the pace of NCAA reforms. On July 1, the NCAA Board of Trustees passed new rules allowing college athletes to benefit from their names, images, and likeness rights (NILs).
Woodhall was excited about the reform: "I had hoped that the sacrifices I had made would drive a shift, if only a little, to the status quo. Now that the rules have changed, NCAA's athletes can monetize through their fame and brand. ”
After the reform was announced, Woodhall could also choose to return to the University of Arkansas to complete the remaining studies and compete for the school without having to refund business income.
After losing his legs, doctors had told Woodhall that he might not be able to walk in his lifetime, but he ended up being a great track and field athlete, "Many of the obstacles I encountered in my life stemmed from the reality that I didn't have my legs, which was a huge obstacle, but once I overcame it, that was my biggest advantage." "He did.