Atipa Mobonga works closely with Travis Kelce. Photo: supplied by Atipa Mabonga
It was an "accident" that Atipa Mabonga got into competing in track at a Southland high school which earned her a scholarship at an American university.
And when she accepted that sports student scholarship for athletics at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, her parents suggested she give it a crack for a year.
Mabonga studied sports management and advertising while at the American uni and took up a social media internship with NFL team, the Kansas City Chiefs.
"If there's any time to really be with the Chiefs, I guess now is the time," Mabonga told Nine to Noon from her current home in Kansas City.
"Talk about pinching myself ... I didn't grow up watching NFL so to be working for an NFL team and actually now know the rules, I am like what is my life? it's definitely a little bit odd sometimes."
Seven years on, Mabonga, now 25, is still in the US, working full-time for the team, and is the recipient of two massive pieces of highly treasured sporting bling - knuckle dusting, bedazzled rings she won working as the talent and culture manager for the reigning back-to-back Super Bowl champions.
Atipa Mabonga celebrates Kansas City winning the Super Bowl. Photo: supplied by Atipa Mabonga
"They terrify me," she says.
"What am I supposed to do with such a thing like this? I sent them to my parents to look after them. I don't think I'm responsible enough to look after them .. I only wear them on special occasions."
Mabonga has been working closely with big-name star player Travis Kelce, supporting his emerging brand as it reaches new heights since publicly proclaiming his love for pop megastar girlfriend Taylor Swift.
"It's been huge, it's been such an interesting time to do my job specifically, when this is all happening, it's changed everything that I do," she explains.
"It's quite interesting to see the cross-pollinating of audiences, because Taylor's audience is younger females … ours is older males.
"Having two such different demographics now have a common interest and now interested in watching the same thing it's amazing to see how much of a ripple effect that has.
"Our Chiefs audience is like 57 percent female fans now.
"We need to change the way we are talking, we need to change the content we are posting to make sure we're connecting with those new female fans. When brands merge well …. it's a great, great impact."
Travis Kelce and his girlfriend, Taylor Swift, are a pop culture force. Photo: EZRA SHAW
Mabonga moved with her family from Zimbabwe to Taranaki when she was four years old. At about nine they relocated to Otautau, in Southland, and bought a farm.
She started of doing a mix of sports and got into high jump, then middle distance running and long jump, eventually landing in a triple jump competition and showing a natural talent for it.
"It never was a competitive push (to get into sports).
"My parents were like 'We're going to do this to meet people and learn the culture' and it became my true love and my passion."
When she picked up the sports scholarship, Mabonga says there was "a big boom and blow up of athletes showcasing they were more than just athletes".
"I became really curious about what an athlete's full brand can look like - them on the court, or on the field or track as well as off the track."
Mabonga's mum is in her ear to return home now after that one year trial in the US carried on: "My mum is like, 'You can come home now, it's okay, you can make it back'."
While in no rush to return to Aotearoa, Mabonga did have a few ideas for building the brand of our biggest national sports team.
"I always think of the All Blacks," she says.
"(I think) about how much non-traditional rugby fans, how are they going to get exposed to it? They are going to get exposed to it through the athletes, through the community, through the fandom.
"So (it's about) being able to showcase that story - a family getting ready, how do they get ready for a game? Are they going to get food prior? There a lot of narratives that I think people can connect with. I think sports is a universal language wherever you are.
"You may not know the rules, but you understand sports, you're passionate about cheering your team and so are we. So being able to channel that fandom."
And, she explains, we need to humanise sports heroes to make them more relatable.
"When you think of people like Richie McCaw he's an icon … he's a legend, and you're like 'Oh my gosh, I could never be like him'.
"But this is just a local bloke like you, he grew up just like you did and he put on his boots the same morning and his mum probably gave him the same instructions."
