The Brand
RipSmack was a social media brand built for the diving community — a place where athletes could showcase their best dives (rips) and laugh together over their worst falls (smacks). But underneath the fun was a deeper mission: to elevate athletes who might not have been seen by college recruiters through traditional channels. Diving is a sport for the brave, fearless, and strong-willed — and RipSmack was built to make sure those athletes didn't go unnoticed.
The Challenge
RipSmack didn't exist before this project. There was no brand, no audience, no platform — just a gap in the diving community where athletes had no centralized place to be seen beyond their local competitions. The challenge was to build something from zero that felt authentic to the culture, attracted a real following, and gave athletes meaningful visibility.
What we Built
Everything. We created the brand name, designed the logo, developed the visual identity, and built out the full social media presence from the ground up — including content strategy, post design, Instagram bio, captions, and DMs. Beyond social, we designed and launched a merchandise line, built the website, and laid the groundwork for a podcast. Every touchpoint was mine from concept through execution.
The Strategy
Growth came from a collaboration-first approach. We leveraged Instagram's co-posting feature (new at the time) to allow athletes to share their content "with" the RipSmack account. This did two things: it gave the athlete credibility by associating them with a growing brand, and it tapped into their follower base to expand RipSmack's reach organically. Every athlete became a distribution channel. Combined with submission-based content and strategic page collaborations, this approach took RipSmack from zero to 16,000 followers in six months.
The Results
In six months, RipSmack grew from a blank page to 16K followers with an engaged community of athletes, coaches, and diving fans. Coaches began taking active interest in the page, and conversations were underway with USA Diving about a potential partnership. The merchandise line generated early sales, and the brand had real momentum.
What I Learned
Looking back, we would have built more clarity around the long-term mission earlier — defining exactly what RipSmack was building toward beyond audience growth. That lesson has shaped how we approach brand strategy now: start with the destination, then build backward.
What I'm Most Proud Of
The structure of the brand itself. RipSmack wasn't built to promote itself — it existed to make other people visible. That's the kind of brand we believe in building, and it's the approach we bring to every project.
