Flavor Flav Is "Honored" to Support the U.S. Women's Water Polo Team For the Next 5 Years (EXCLUSIVE)
"I learned that it's one of the most difficult sports to play in all of the sports," Flav said about the U.S. Water Polo Team.
Published July 31 2024, 9:31 a.m. ET
The Paris Olympic Games began in July 2024, with unexpected celebrity appearances, including Flavor Flav, who is now the official sponsor and hype man for the U.S. Women’s Water Polo Olympic Team.
The proud girl dad knew he had to step up when U.S. polo star Maggie Steffens asked for support ahead of the Olympics. He offered to be the team’s hype man through 2024 and 2028. He is also the team’s official sponsor.
Flav spoke exclusively with Distractify about his Olympics debut while promoting another partnership with 5-Hour ENERGY and the brand’s gold cuff links from Verstolo Jewelry.
The hip-hop icon told us about his new venture and why he stands 10 toes down for the team.
Flavor Flav practiced with the U.S. Women's Water Polo Team ahead of the Olympics.
Flav has been prone to surprise his fans with the products — and people — he endorses. But in May 2024, many were surprised to see him take on an unlikely cause when he decided to join the U.S. Women's Water Polo Team.
Nonetheless, his support for the team, both on social media and at the Olympics in Paris, is something Flav shared with Distractify he's "honored and amazed" to do for "the next five years."
He told us one of the highlights of the partnership was getting to "jump in the water" with the team ahead of the Olympic Games, which began on Friday, July 26.
Flav said seeing what the women endure while preparing their bodies for the sport allowed him to see how intense water polo could be.
"I learned that that is one of the most difficult sports to play in all of the sports," he admitted. "You're just treading water until you get the ball. And you're treading water for a long time."
Flav also said he earned more respect for the athletes after realizing he couldn't last the required 12 minutes needed to complete most water polo competitions.
"I'm ain't going to lie, I did it for seven minutes, and I had to get out," he revealed, adding, "I had to get out, and it was too much for your boy. That seven minutes was like the hardest seven minutes in the water in my life. But it was the most fun seven minutes in the water in my life, too."
Flav says the "bragging rights" he gets from being part of USA's Women's Water Polo team are unmatched.
Flav declared his position to become the USA Women's Water Polo team's sponsor on X in May 2024. The decision came after he saw Maggie's post, in which she reflected that many water polo players are forced to work a second or third job to afford to compete in the Olympics.
His support earned him acclaim from First Lady Jill Biden, his Public Enemy groupmate Chuck D, and Spike Lee. Though the team is grateful for Flav's support, he told Distractify that being involved with the team and seeing their work ethic gave him "bragging rights" after they included him in their practice.
The Long Island, N.Y. native said the honor is another phase in his career he couldn't have predicted.
"I didn't see all of this when I got started way back in the industry," Flav shared of his ongoing success. "I mean, way back, way back in the industry, the only thing I saw was me trying to get into the industry and stay there. As time goes on, as life goes on, life progresses and a lot more good things come through your life."
