Paloma

Hi Rebels, I’m Paloma and today we’re talking to journalist and sports commentator Ari Chambers. Hi Ari, welcome to the show.

Ari Chambers

Hey, my mama girl. Thank you so much for having me. I’m excited. And your hair is amazing. Those lips are glossed, honey.

Paloma

Thank you

Paloma

Can you please tell our audience a little bit about yourself?

Ari Chambers

Yeah. i mean, what do you want to know, Paloma? I love women’s sports. I love talking about women’s sports. I’m a serial entrepreneur. I’m an owner. I’m a founder. I’m a journalist and i love getting to know people and sharing their stories.

Ari Chambers

Okay, so I am born and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina. And I don’t know if that means anything to you, but it means so much to me because I was able to be surrounded by women in high spaces in the sports landscape growing up.

Ari Chambers

There was a coach called Kay Yow, and she is legendary in the women’s basketball space. She was the NC State women’s basketball head coach when I was growing up.

Ari Chambers

And then all of my friends, it just so happened, they were really, really great at basketball. So I would tour around with them in the summertime because I was a competitive cheerleader my whole life. And summer was kind of like our downtime. So I fell in love with it because of the women in high places, but I stayed in love with it because my friends did it.

Paloma

When you were working as a cheerleader, you noticed that women’s sports weren’t covered covered as often as men’s. um Why does this exist and how did you see it change over time?

Paloma

While you were working as a professional cheerleader, you noticed that women’s sports weren’t covered as often as men’s. Why does this coverage gap exist and how have you seen it change over time?

Ari Chambers

Well, Paloma, babe, it’s systemic, right? Title IX was signed into law in 1972. And prior to Title IX, we didn’t have access to varsity sports, especially not in the way that we have them today. And the word activity forced the hand to make sure that universities were pouring into the women’s athletic programs. And It honestly wasn’t until 2021 really that people paid full scale notice of the discrepancy. So if we are already… historically behind in receiving resources to excel in sports. The coverage part is even further behind, right? ah But we’ve won despite.

Ari Chambers

We produced an excellent product despite on every single level. And so now, because there is never going to be a generation that doesn’t see women in the pro sports space, that doesn’t have a great athletes to aspire to be, that can make their sport a career. Girls are learning how to do their sport earlier and do it so well. And the interest is there. The quality of the product is going up, but the gap comes but because we, legally weren’t entitled to the same things as men and boys back in the seventies and before.

Paloma

that’s That’s really interesting.

Ari Chambers

Mm-hmm.

Paloma

What’s your favorite thing about being a sports broadcaster and what’s one of the challenging things?

Ari Chambers

I have a natural curiosity for people, Paloma. So I love to hear about the stories. Like it’s, it’s really, it’s really, it’s hard for me to, I have to resist trying to ask you about yourself right now, but I have a curiosity for everybody’s story and I want to be able to help facilitate that.

Paloma

Okay.

Ari Chambers

I’m, ah Again, a cheerleader, even though I did competitive cheer, but I love cheering for people as well. And so like, I love when people win I love when people um reach a level of success that they want to share with the world and and to help facilitate that.

Ari Chambers

And my most, my biggest challenge was back then it wasn’t so easy to sell women’s sports. It wasn’t so obvious as it is now. Like women’s sports right now the is the hot thing. It’s a multi-billion dollar industry now. But like I started a while enough ago that women were just fighting to have anything seen. And so it was a really hard pushback of like, why should we care about this? And because i walk with passion over time, people became passionate about it. And so if you love something, you pour pour your heart into it and then hope it touches people.

Paloma

How do you get in the zone before going on air talking to a large crowd?

Ari Chambers

Oh, we all have such different methods, right? So like not to tell her business, but one of my good friends, Andrea Carter, she likes to meditate. So she always has to take time to herself.

Ari Chambers

Me, on the other hand, I like to be super prepared. So I like to go over notes. I like to meet up with people to get the flow of the conversation, but to lock in with myself, I have to have complete silence, just like Andrea.

Ari Chambers

And make sure that I know what I’m going to say. So like, I don’t like to script myself, but i I need to know the background information in a way that’s locked into my mind. And so locking in for me is isolation after meeting with all my producers and the fellow talent and just saying, hey, self, ah we can kill this. These are the points that I want to make. And I give myself the freedom to elaborate on it.

Paloma

Has that always helped you or did you used to be more nervous in the beginning?

Ari Chambers

Oh, I feel like if you’re not nervous, is your heart even in it? Like I get nervous every single time i do any job because I want to do really, really well.

Paloma

Yeah.

Ari Chambers

And I want to deliver the best information. I want to give the best conversation. And that fluttering, i mean, not to get too deep because it’s not disrupting my nervous system. My nervous system is calm when I do my my job.

Ari Chambers

But I… I really want, I have this strong desire to do well. So the way to calm myself down, to rid myself of anxiety as opposed to nervousness is be overprepared.

Ari Chambers

So for one studio show that’s 21 minutes technically, I will spend hours and hours watching film, right? I want to make sure that I know this player’s traits, know the traits of these teams, what they’re running. If I’m on the analyst um side of things, if I’m on the host side of things, making sure I’m talking to my analysts and how to set them up properly. So as long as I’m prepared, arguably overly prepared, I feel adequate and the anxiety doesn’t set in then.

That’s really interesting.

Paloma

You coined the famous phrase, the WNBA is so important. How did you come up with that? And did you ever imagine that it would spread so far?

Ari Chambers

When you’re talking to your friends, Paloma, you’re like, hey, this is, this is cool. Or I don’t know what y’all say, but like anything that you like, You never think it’s going to blow up until a full blown campaign. I was at a junior WNBA camp in Swin Cash. She’s one of the legends of the game. She’s now retired. But she was leading this camp in a way that was so special to me. So my first reaction was the WNBA is so important. And I recorded it and put it online and said the WNBA is so important. I didn’t think anything of it.

Ari Chambers

Right. But then I saw another athlete give their shoes to some like some super fan that was maybe six years old. i was like, oh, the WNBA is so important. It just it’s the first thing that came to mind every single time one of these acts would be performed. And I’m like, oh, my goodness.

Ari Chambers

As I posted it more and more, more people would find their own moments and say the WNBA is so important. So it it grew a mind of its own and it ended up taking such a large scale because Twitter back then took hold of it and made it the 25th anniversary campaign for the WNBA. So I was lucky And i was lucky enough that they saw it. I was persistent enough that it couldn’t be denied. And the WNBA was on board with it because they saw how much good came from it.

Paloma

um When working with the and NBA, the WNBA, Team USA, and yeah ESPN, was there one interview or moment that you’ll never forget?

Ari Chambers

I will never forget the Paris 2024 Olympics. I spent the entire Olympics over there and just being able to tell the stories, everything from rugby to basketball to water polo. i just, there’s such a wide range to track and field, such a wide range of experiences that I was able to undergo and just be in the trenches with them. Right. I, I went from trials to,

Ari Chambers

competition from literally them making the team to closing ceremony. And so seeing them develop over time was really cool.

Paloma

That’s really nice. um Have you ever had imposter syndrome questioned whether you belonged? And how do you handle those those moments?

Ari Chambers

So I know this is a hot take because I’m prepared and because I have really like paved away for myself. Imposter strength syndrome isn’t something that I necessarily feel because I feel like I belong in the rooms that I create for myself. And I, and I feel like because I’m a woman in sports, especially a woman ah of color in sports.

Ari Chambers

I’ve had to work so much harder to be in those rooms. um So imposter syndrome is not what I feel. What I feel is the the consistent need to prove why my passion matters right now. My passion is women’s sports. And it never and never stops. So the the people might side-eye me and saying, why is she here? Like advocating for women’s sports for what? um Which is becoming an outdated argument.

Ari Chambers

But I know my purpose. I know what I’m passionate about. I know what I stay centered in. So I never question why I’m somewhere because I know that that’s what I have to do. Like that’s what I’m called to do. And when you walk in your calling, I don’t think there’s much room for question.

Paloma

Again, has it always been like that for you or like, was there a point where it wasn’t?

Ari Chambers

I’ve always been really confident. That’s one thing about me.

Paloma

Yeah.

Ari Chambers

And I think that as young girls, especially like your age, you need to know who you are. You need to know you’re that girl, like period. Like you’re already making a career of yourself. I wasn’t interviewing anybody.

Ari Chambers

How old are you, Paloma?

Paloma

I’m 12.

Ari Chambers

I was 12. I was 12. I was learning how to overhand serve a volleyball. Like be so for real. You’re already starting.

Paloma

Me too, i’m learning.

Ari Chambers

yeah Like you’re already, but you’re doing that and interviewing people. Right. So like, if I’m you, I’m looking in the mirror. I’m like, I can do anything because I’ve already got like a lane for myself.

Ari Chambers

That’s not limited to one lane. I can be like a four lane highway. Like I would just tell myself all these things. that make me great. Like I love being tall. I’m six feet tall. I was 5’11 in middle school. probably No, I was like 5’9 in middle school. And I loved towering over people. I was like, oh my God, I’m a Glamazon. And I would just tell myself these things. And so like, if you know that you’re unshakable in who you are, because you can’t change, like you can’t change much about yourself. This is this is you. can You can sharpen your skills. You can learn more. You can be a student of life. You should be a student of life. But the things that were given to you, you got to own them because you’re stuck with them forever, right? So I learned that so young. out That’s what I want you to learn. I want you to learn like and in your peers that this is what you’re given.

Ari Chambers

So why would you approach anything with like, with caution? Like you really, really need to own who you are and what you’re passionate about because,

Ari Chambers

If you do that, great things will happen.

Paloma

what does it mean to you that girls around the world might see you on screen and think that could be me and how does it feel to you that you’re telling them this right now

Ari Chambers

I don’t take it lightly and I want them to know all the girls out there, it can be you and you can do it your way. You don’t have to be like me. Do it your way on TV. Do it your way behind the scenes. There’s so much power in being a director. There’s so much power in being a producer. Like I would be nothing without my researcher. Like there’s so many different jobs that put you in position to, you know, go into your strengths, but We shouldn’t approach anything again with caution because we’ve been told, oh, women don’t belong here or that we’re the anomaly or it’s one in a million chance. like Be that one then.

Ari Chambers

If that’s the stat they want to throw at you, be that be that one. It means a lot to me. And I love that I can be somebody’s example for how the limit doesn’t exist. But I challenge everybody who’s watching me on TV or on social media or wherever you’re watching is Do it your way and don’t wait for permission to do it your way.

Paloma

um If I want to follow in your footsteps, not necessarily career-wise, but like confidence, what’s one thing I can practice?

Ari Chambers

You can practice talking to yourself how you want people to talk to you. You need to make sure that the negative self-talk is minimal to none. Let’s work on having no negative self-talk and know that the more you hear something, the more you’ll believe it. So if you’re like, yes, I can do this. I got this. I’m invincible. You’re going to start believing it. But if you’re doubting yourself, there’s nothing that’s going to stop your mental from being comfortable with other people doubting you too, because your nervous system adjusts to what’s the norm, right? Your body, your brain adjust to what things are um familiar. And what’s familiar is how you talk to yourself. So just make sure you maintain the positive self-talk.

Based on what I’ve been hearing, you were obviously super confident when you were younger. but if you could go back in time, what advice would you give to your younger self?

My advice would be everything is temporary. Everything is constantly moving and you can invent invent and reinvent yourself as many times as you want. So don’t be stuck on people’s opinion of you and just be kinder and be be more patient.

Okay, now it’s time for a very important final question.

Ari Chambers

Oh,

Paloma

now it’s time for a very important final question. What makes you a rebel girl?

Ari Chambers

What makes me a rebel girl? I’m a rebel girl because I walk through life with audacity. i don’t let anybody tell me… how to navigate my life in the way that takes me away from my passion. i really do what I love for a living and actively pursuing what you love so constantly. And so consistency is rebellious in itself, especially in a world that’s not necessarily set up for us to win, but it’s because I walked through life with audacity.

Paloma

Thank you so much for being here. Everything you were saying is super inspiring. um i I love it.

Ari Chambers

Thanks, Kalama, girl. Thank you, Buki.

Paloma

and And thank you for watching, Rebels. Catch you next time, and stay Rebel.