WIT Employee Spotlight: Ryan Brownlow

This is the next feature in a new series of profiles focusing on WIT employees. Today's post features WIT account coordinator Ryan Brownlow. Originally from Nashville, Ryan recently moved to Dallas and is loving how everything is bigger in Texas.

Tell us about your background…

I was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee. I was very much involved in sports, mainly football, baseball and golf. I only played football in high school. I played baseball all the way up to seventh and eighth grade. And I’ve been playing golf ever since I was 12. 

I went to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. I got my degree in sports administration. I worked with the football team (Go Mocs!) in recruiting and operations. 

I was able to get an internship with Nashville SC in the MLS out of school, working with their corporate partnerships team. After my time there, I attended Arizona State for grad school and got my master’s degree in sports law and business. I ended up working with a sports agency out west called The Society. We had a few bigger guys like DeSean Jackson and DeMarcus Lawrence. I then worked with an agency called QC Sports before coming to WIT.

What attracted you to WIT?

I had always had a knack for partnerships and activations and stuff like that. I found out about WIT and really looked at everything they were doing and connected with Vaidhy and eventually joined the service team. 

What was something you’ve done new at WIT that you hadn’t done before?

The biggest new thing for me since joining WIT has been the creative aspect. The creativity and problem solving that you have to have is new. It’s a different type of problem solving than what I used to do. It’s all about figuring out how a partner can best utilize what we’re bringing to them. I really like it.

How do you fit into the vibe of the service team?

I’m the happy medium out of the whole team. I’m pretty chill and cool. If anyone needs help on something, they can come to me. I think I’m able to level-set when things get tense and there’s a lot going on. Like the heartbeat that keeps things steady.

You recently moved from Nashville to Dallas. How has the transition been for you?

The move has been pretty big. Pretty life-changing. I’m in downtown Dallas. Dallas is huge. I really didn’t know it was this big. But I like it because there’s always something going on. It’s really diverse. It’s also very HOT. Which is something I was not prepared for. Like I’m used to the humidity, but the amount of heat itself, then mixed with the humidity is just crazy. Overall, though, Dallas is great. I see myself being here for a while.

What are you looking forward to for the rest of this year?

I’m really looking forward to this year’s WIT summit in December. I’ve never been to New York. This will be my first time going. It’s going to be awesome to see the whole New York Christmas, the tree and all that stuff.