Before founding Next 3, Carolyn Tisch Blodgett helped turn Peloton instructors into household names. Now, she’s applying that same star-powered strategy to her role as owner of Gotham FC, the NWSL team out of the New York City area.
“Early on we made a bet that the best way to grow the Peloton brand was to grow the instructor’s brand and really grow our platform via them,” Tisch Blodgett told Front Office Sports on a recent episode of Portfolio Players.
“I think that’s very much the model in sports right now and one we’ve brought to Gotham, which is, help our players turn into stars and help grow our brand via their brand,” she said.
At Next 3, a sports-focused venture firm, Tisch Blodgett oversees a portfolio of teams, leagues, and sports-tech platforms, including investments in NWSL’s Gotham FC, the indoor golf league TGL and Los Angeles Golf Club, the volleyball startup LOVB, streaming platform Transmit.Live, and more.
But Gotham is where she’s putting that strategy into action, betting that a team’s value grows when its players become part of the city’s cultural fabric. “We need to inject our Gotham stars into New York culture,” Tisch Blodgett said.
Gotham FC forward Midge Purce is an apt example of that vision. She has built a presence that extends beyond the pitch—co-hosting a podcast with Alex Ohanian, co-founding the Black Women’s Players Collective, and launching The Offseason in 2024, a reality-style show starring NSWL players.
Filmed in Miami just before preseason, the series aims to add personality, drama, and lifestyle to women’s soccer coverage–blurring the line between athlete and entertainer in the exact way that Tisch Blodgett describes.
This approach reflects her belief that in today’s landscape, running a team also means knowing how to shape its public presence.
During her time as head of marketing at Peloton, where she worked from 2016 to 2020, Tisch Blodgett helped turn the fitness company into a global phenomenon.
At its height—especially during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns—Peloton’s instructors became celebrities in their own right, with loyal followings and major influence beyond the bike. Tisch led the strategy behind that rise, positioning instructors as faces of the brand.
“As the CEO of the company, as a leader of the company, you have to have the mindset that you are a media company and you are taking that product and turning it into a story that people want to be a part of,” she said. “Otherwise people tune out.”
For Tisch Blodgett, success doesn’t begin with ticket sales or media rights—it’s about staying relevant. Whether it’s a Peloton instructor or a Gotham FC star, she builds brands by making athletes part of the cultural conversation.
