Lisa Buckwitz is an Olympic champion but admits she uses a subscription-based platform to fund her career by uploading pictures online
German bobsledder Lisa Buckwitz says her Olympic gold medal-winning career has been funded by sharing pictures of herself online. The 31-year-old will compete at the upcoming Winter Games in Northern Italy.
Buckwitz began her athletic career as a heptathlete but found a passion for bobsledding in 2013 and hasn’t looked back. In two-woman events, she won a handful of European and world medals leading up to the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.
Alongside fellow athlete Mariama Jamanka, Buckwitz won the two-woman gold as a brakewoman, beating out the fancied Stephanie Schneider and Annika Drazek. Though Buckwitz has not only stolen the show on the ice, her popular online content is also how she finances her dreams.
The cost of functioning as a professional bobsledder is enormous. A sledge itself can cost upwards of £20,000 and factoring in equipment and training camps, one could part with nearly £50k per campaign.
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Buckwitz has therefore partnered with an online subscription-based platform, where she uploads some behind-the-scenes snaps and raises money to sustain her ambitions.
The 31-year-old made headlines for appearing nude in a 2022 edition of Playboy magazine but admits she won’t be sharing any X-rated pictures on the platform.
Speaking to German outlet BILD, Buckwitz said: “I will definitely not show myself naked. It’s also a stroke of luck for me, as it allows me to finance my team. It’s the best thing that could have happened to me.
“For me, it’s a real opportunity to show people what it means to compete at the highest level in this sport, beyond the competitive moments.
“This platform allows me to connect with my fans on a personal level and to network with people who are genuinely interested in competitive sport and my path in it.
“Fans get exclusive access to content that I don’t normally share, the daily grind, the dynamics within the team and the personal milestones that often go unseen.
“I will post as often as I can and share everything, from fitness and nutrition tips to competition preparation to the rituals that help me focus on competition day.”
In a documentary about her endeavours, she elaborated: “It’s a bit sad that I can’t just focus on my competitive sport. Sure, I’m an Olympic champion.
“But nobody is really interested in Lisa Buckwitz just because of the gold medal,” she admitted. “That’s just unfortunately the downside.
“For me, it’s a sponsor that, alongside my service in the German Armed Forces, makes the sport possible. So, something completely normal.”