Emily Austin makes career revelation after sliding into NBA players DMs helped her get into jo
IF you want to make it in sports journalism, sometimes you've just got to go straight to the source.
Emily Austin, 21, broke onto the scene during the height of the pandemic when she interviewed NBA stars such as Enes Kanter, Carlos Boozer, and Mitchell Robinson.
But this wasn't a part of some long thought-out plan, but rather a snap decision to get away from heading down the wrong path.
In an interview with The U.S. Sun, Austin explained how she had been studying to become a surgeon, before eventually coming to the realization after her first year in college that "I hate everything right now."
She continued to admit: "I was miserable, I was so miserable, and I was like 'I can't do this until I'm 30 years old being in school."
Looking for a fresh start, Austin decided to focus on her strengths - one of which she felt was "talking to people."
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While the idea of working on TV appealed to her, without any famous relatives or connections, she was left asking "how the hell do I make that happen?"
However, what she did have were a few NBA players following her on Instagram.
This came after she'd previously competed in the Miss New York pageant, and confident that she would win the competition, she said: "I went to a (New York) Knicks game once, and I remember telling somebody courtside that deals with celebrities, and I was like 'Guys, I'm going to be the next Miss New York, so you're going to see me at Knicks games a lot cause I'm the face of New York' - like, a little arrogant.
"[I] ended up losing brutally, but a lot of Knicks people came to know me because I would tell everyone I'm Miss New York.
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"And one of them followed me on Instagram, Mitchell Robinson.
"Now, when the pandemic started, I had never really spoken to him, didn't really think much of interviewing athletes but I would always tune into other people's Instagram Lives.
"And one day, my mom was like 'hey, instead of watching other people talk, why don't you go on and talk?'
"I was like 'no one cares about me mom,' and she was like 'you would be surprised how many people do.'"
At this point, Austin decided to give it a try.
Having previously met Kanter and Robinson, she messaged them, among others, on Instagram
She laughed about how Kanter "tells this story where he's like 'Emily Austin slid into my DMs' [and] I'm like 'Stop! So embarrassing.'"
The Instagram Lives, titled Daily Vibes with Emily Austin, were a hit, providing what she saw as "something light in the middle of the pandemic."
These videos proved the launch pad for her career, with producers watching them live and reaching out about potential gigs.
She explained: "After Ennis and Mitch I remember producers would start watching my Instagram Lives because one day a producer was like 'Hi, I worked with MTV for five years, I worked here for five years, I really want you to audition for this new music series coming out to interview some of the worlds most famous artists. How old are you?'
"I was like '18' - now I'd just turned 18 - and they were like 'never mind you're not going to make it.' And I was like 'No let me audition please,' and they were like 'no you're too young.'
I was like 'then who cares? Let me get rejected.'
"So I auditioned, and I made it."
The "domino effect," as she described it, really picked up its momentum here.
Before long, she had signed a Puma sponsorship and was working for Sports Illustrated, as a host for boxing events including Battle of the Platforms, Social Gloves, and the all-NFL matchup between Adrian Peterson and Le'Veon Bell.
She also covered the NBA Summer League, interviewing players like Josh Giddey, Scottie Pippen Jr., and Shareef O'Neal.
Speaking to these players each comes with their own highlights.
Kanter shared "about all that was going on with Turkey," while O'Neal explained how "when Shareef had open heart surgery himself, Kobe (Bryant) would come visit him every day."
Next in line for Austin is her own show with The Game Day called Hoop Chat with Emily Austin.
She told The U.S. Sun that this will "be my first show where I'm literally sitting down and just talking hoops.
"It's not gonna be a 30-minute interview, maybe a five-minute interview. It's whoever comes on, talking some gossip, or this player was outstanding this week."
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But her career has already gone far beyond just the sports world, as she is also an activist and an advisor to the United Nations' Israeli delegation.
Meanwhile, Austin also recently traveled to New Orleans, Louisiana where she was one of the judges at the 71st Miss Universe pageant.
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