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The rise of Chewkz and personal branding for athletes.
At Indisrupt, we have been involved in a creative project with Social media influencer – Chewkz.
Chewkz rise within the social media and influencer space has been an exciting and unique one. With Jesse gaining a scholarship to play basketball in the US at Lehigh University, he was able to see the differences between British and American culture.
After graduating university in the U.S in 2016, Chewkz firstly decided to embark in a professional basketball career. This took him to play professionally in Greece and Spain before returning to the British Basketball League to play for Leicester Riders during the 2019/2020 season. During his playing career, Jesse also represented Great Britain at U20’s competing in the Division B European Championships back in 2012.
In 2020, Chewkz, also known as Jesse Chucku decided to venture into creating creative videos. The videos showcase his ability as an editor and also his charism on camera. In particular, Chewkz makes videos which are unique as well as show the culture differences between the UK and US in entertaining ways.
In 2021, we had the opportunity to interview Chewkz and also get some footage in Camden which is an area in London he has created for his creativity. This day in the life footage showcased Chewkz ability as a creative storyteller and editor. During the video, you also get an insight into his creative process as well as his funniest fan encounter.
Through his catchy phrases and unique style, he has also launched his own merchandise. Incorporating British slang with Bo’oh’o’wa’er has helped to establish Jesse within the talent and influencer space, helping to grow his audience organically.
By creating a strong personal brand and videos which bridge the gap between UK and US culture, Chewkz has gone from strength to strength. Chewkz now has 4.6 Million followers on Tik Tok, 3.79 Million followers on YouTube and 693K followers on Instagram. Chewkz has successfully been able to use his creative talents and personality to create an exciting personal brand which a lot of people resonate with.
We are also seeing other ex-semi and professional players creating a strong personal brand outside of basketball, such as The Royal Guard aka Joey Henry and Kofi Josephs.
I see this trend continuing to grow in the UK as basketball, culture, fashion and lifestyle submerge.
