In a cluttered sports media content space, the ability to cut through becomes more difficult by the day. Every minute, creators attempt to find an audience that will attach itself and build community. Few in the world of women’s sports have built a digital community like Trysta Krick.
Her no-nonsense approach to discussing collegiate and professional women’s sports is unmatched by many. That’s why a growing list of her peers have come to respect the platform she’s built through her efforts.
“I’m not the same as everyone else. Which is a key reason why mainstream media, at least earlier in my career, hasn’t been that comfortable with platforming me,” says Krick. “Building the audience on my own has become the case study that there’s an ROI (return on investment) to be had. Me building that audience because what led those bigger brands to be attracted to me and therefore platforming me.”
Krick is a hybrid, blending a finance and business background with a love of the game. She grew up with dreams of playing in the WNBA one day, cheering for her favorite team, the Portland Fire. Krick’s love of music also played a key role in her upbringing, as she was writing and recording rap songs by the time she was just eight years old.
When she was 17, Krick received an offer from Sony Records due to her passion for weaving music with performance and wordplay. She attended the University of Oregon, earning a bachelor’s degree in finance in hopes that it would lead to her exit from poverty.
Carving Her Own Path
However, she sought something to fill her soul and found that conversations about sports could serve as that outlet.
“The reason I wasn’t drawn to talking sports to begin with was they tell you there’s no money in it. That’s a concern when you grow up poor like I did,” said Krick. “Also, there’s not a lot of opinionists that are women in this space outside of setting the table or asking questions. That’s never been who I am, so it was hard to find where I fit into this ecosystem.”
Instead of following the path of others, Krick decided to carve out her own lane.
Over the next decade, she found opportunities at both legacy and digital brands. She also continued to build her own platforms and define her persona.
“You have to reach the audience. Every place I worked, when I left it was trying to find a closer connection to the audience. In the beginning, the platforms are what got you close. Everywhere I went, I just found out that isn’t the case,” says Krick. “I learned how to find the people that resonate with what you already do naturally and authentically. That became the thing I leaned into.”
Establishing The Daily W
Leaning on her approach, experience, and business acumen, Krick co-founded The Daily W in March of last year. Alongside Emmy Award-winning producer Sarah Chovnick, the duo sought to create a destination for bold, fierce, and entertaining takes on women’s sports.
The project is Krick’s latest effort to continue building community while providing content to an underserved portion of the sports fandom.
“The community of The Daily W is the strongest of any that I’ve ever built,” said Krick. “I’ve networked well with so many other creators and their audiences over time and learned a lot from them. That’s why we built The Daily W from scratch. Trying to find fans of women’s sports who are underserved… The big businesses talking about women’s sports are curating versus creating for the fans.”
The process of growth is always educational for Krick. She continues to gain lessons and business insight while serving her audience with the content they desire. With growth in mind, she navigates opportunities to collaborate with other creators in the basketball space, hoping to bring audiences from other platforms to The Daily W.
The work does come with its pitfalls, especially when balancing the role of talent with managing a brand.
“I tell everyone that I’m working with that I’m probably not one hundred percent me all the time,” reveals Krick. “Being a talent can be very lonely and vapid. Very self-centered. I struggle with that; it’s just the nature of the business. It’s very competitive and prays on the worst parts of our personality… But building something for the good of women and society, and will eventually be a key part of history. That will be the most gratifying thing that I could ever ask for.”
Krick says she considers herself a better champion for the cause than for herself at times. Her passion lies in the continued growth of The Daily W, as she believes the journey is just getting underway.
Women’s Sports Gold Rush
This comes at a time when women’s sports are becoming one of the fastest-growing segments in all of sports.
“You cannot invest in women’s sports and get the ROI you’re looking for, especially in terms of attendance and viewership, if you don’t invest in women’s sports coverage. That piece is the next piece that’s missing in my opinion,” said Krick.
What Krick hopes The Daily W continues to provide is an outlet for storytelling across digital and social media, meeting an underserved audience where they are. Her goal, particularly with her growing social platforms, is to stop the scroll and swipe left and right by providing access, angles, and opinions that networks and other platforms have yet to invest in.
“Right now, it’s a gold rush. People haven’t strategically deployed how to get the best use of that money,” explained Krick. “We [The Daily W] will smoke every other competitor in this space. We are all working for free for an entire year and gaining more people who want to be a part of this mission. We’re building it off an approach of comedy, integrity, and an edge. It’s Barstool Sports without the toxicity plus great storytelling.”
Krick hopes the continued growth of The Daily W will establish it as a destination, even as networks attempt to serve an audience they have yet to fully capture. She has long believed decision-makers at major outlets often rely on traditional methods instead of taking risks. While that perspective carries weight, Krick is not waiting for executives to evolve their approach to investing in women’s sports.
Instead, she believes platforms like hers are inspiring more women to build their own audiences. It’s a movement centered on sharing compelling content on their own terms rather than relying on networks to provide opportunities.
“How we see analysis and opinion, the bar for that has been really high for women,” explained Krick. “Networks are just catching up and still struggling with it. That’s why they’re hiring internet-first personalities instead of talent who can speak on a long-form and short-form basis, yet have that proven audience as well.”
A year in, Trysta Krick is no longer chasing validation from traditional gatekeepers—she’s building something that may eventually make them irrelevant. In an industry still figuring out how to properly value and present women’s sports, Krick has already placed her bet: authenticity over access, community over scale, and creation over curation.
If the first year of The Daily W was about proving the concept, year two is about proving the ceiling doesn’t exist. If her track record is any indication, she won’t just meet the moment—she’ll redefine it.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
