As a University of Kentucky swim team member, Riley Gaines never imagined herself as a political activist. She aimed to complete her education and become an endodontist to help those with dental problems, but if you want to hear God laugh, make plans.
OutKick host Riley Gaines was in the spotlight in 2022 while representing Kentucky’s women’s team in the 200-yard NCAA freestyle championship. In that meet, she finished fifth place with biological male Lia Thomas, competing for the University of Pennsylvania. Born William Thomas, Lia became the first transgender person to win a championship title in the NCAA women’s division.
As part of her role with OutKick, Riley Gaines travels across the country to speak at various college campuses, where she discusses the controversial topic of men participating in women’s sports. However, her presentations have been met with resistance from some students who strongly oppose her views.
At Penn State University, two individuals were arrested for disrupting her presentation, while at San Francisco State University, Riley Gaines had to lock herself in a room for her own safety after being met with hostility from students who disagreed with her perspective. Despite the challenges, Riley Gaines has been actively campaigning against transgender athletes competing in women’s sports and has taken her cause to the Texas Senate, NCAA convention, and numerous university campuses.
In her first interview with Barrett News Media, Riley Gaines discusses several topics, including what led her to choose Outkick as her workplace, the advice she has received from Tomi Lahren and Clay Travis, her definition of success, her future goals, her trusted advisors, and her advice for radio/TV executives on recruiting younger talent. Additionally, she shares some tips for growing social media platforms.
Ryan Hedrick: What makes OutKick the right fit for you?
Riley Gaines: OutKick is unique because it mixes sports and politics. It’s an un-woke ESPN while also getting into all our country’s real cultural issues. The things they cover, how they cover it, are right on brand with me, and it’s what people need to hear. It’s actually what the public wants to hear. People are hungry for what OutKick is putting out there. There isn’t a better place for me.
RH: What type of advice did Tomi Lahren and Clay Travis offer you before you started this journey?
RG: They did, and it’s funny because I’ve grown up in Nashville my whole life, born and raised. Of course, that’s where Tomi and Clay spend some time. My uncle is neighbors with Clay Travis, and his sister lives in my neighborhood. It almost feels in a way that we’ve known each other for a long time. Clay is one of the most knowledgeable, genuine, and personable people I have met in this space. I just texted for advice unrelated to anything I normally talk about yesterday.
Clay is someone I trust and someone I look up to. He was so quick to respond and give me advice. They both are role models to me. How they cover, what they cover. I admire them, and I look up to them a lot. Also Charly Arnolt. I look up to all three people who gave me courage and support. This space is new to me, never a position I saw myself in. They all can recognize that and are very quick and willing to help.
RH: What do you consider professional success?
RG: In the space that I have found myself in, defending women’s sports, there are a lot of layers to the onion. You can implement legislation at the state level and look at federal legislation, but there are also specific sports governing bodies. The broader picture of what success looks like to me in the realm of what I have put my foot in is that no girl or woman should have to physically compare themselves to a male or should have to compete or change in a locker room with a male.
And so, all 50 states passing legislation, or course upholding the original intent of Title IX, and all specific sport governing bodies including the NCAA, the IOC, FINA, the governing body of swimming, track, and field, the list goes on and on. No girl should worry about losing out on opportunities to a male. The broader goal of defending women’s sports transcends beyond just allowing men into those spaces and those categories, but that’s ultimately what success means to me.
RH: What are your larger aspirations?
Riley Gaines: Before I competed against Lia Thomas, my goal was to go to dental school. What I wanted to do was specialize in root canals. That was what I had planned for myself. I am not drilling on teeth now. I am trusting God and his direction and where he’s leading me. Every night, I pray for direction, and I pray for strength. I ask myself, ‘What does five years look like?’ It’s really hard for me to pinpoint what that looks like.
I’ve been doing what I’ve been doing selflessly. It’s not about me, it’s not about personal advancement, it’s not about money or anything like that. It’s truly about the mission. Looking at that five years later, who knows where this will be?
Hopefully, this issue will be curbed by then, and I can return to pursuing dentistry. But in the meantime, I am certainly full steam ahead advocating for people like my little sister. Being married for a year and a half, one day, I want to have a daughter of my own fighting for her. That’s certainly what’s on the forefront of my brain right now. Wherever that leads me, I am there.
RH: What advice do you have for radio/TV executives that would help them recruit younger talent?
RG: I think people my age are looking for unity, and right now, I don’t think we are seeing that, even in the Republican party, and of course, the United States in the broader scope as a whole and so I think it turns people off. It turns them away from getting involved in the media. And so, people need to understand, people that are interested in this space, it’s important to understand that no one is perfect.
I went back and watched my first-ever interview with Tucker Carlson, and I will tell you that I was so embarrassed when I watched it. But, of course, I’ve developed; I’ve matured. I am comfortable in front of a camera. Now, I couldn’t care less how I look. I am speaking from the heart. This, of course, takes time, and it’s important for employers to understand that, especially among our generation.
RH: What tips can you give to people for growing their social media platforms?
Riley Gaines: It’s important to be consistent. People are looking for consistency. They are looking for somebody that they can go back to and hear from because they value their perspective. To grow your platform, it’s important that you continue posting even when things seem mundane or silly. In this space, I realize what seems standard because I’ve seen it so much, but it’s not standard to someone else.
For example, in everything that happened at Penn State, where I went to speak, there were multiple people arrested. That’s normal to me at this point, which is kind of crazy, but highlighting that through social media or whatever means that looks like resonates with people.
People must understand what’s happening, especially young people and college-age students. It’s important for the generation that came before us to know the direction colleges are going. It’s nothing short of criminal what colleges are doing regarding silencing people and emotional blackmail to control what people think and say. The way professors indoctrinate people blows my mind that people pay for a degree. Those are the kinds of things that younger people can highlight.
RH: Who do you most disagree with in the media industry, and what can you learn from them?
RG: The Krassenstein brothers. They are on Twitter, and they are on my page all the time. They claim to be independent journalists. If you look at their tweets, it’s clear to see that they are not independent and biased, but they do have some things that they put out there that I agree with regarding Israel and what’s going on there right now. I’ve seen several of their tweets that I agree with, and I find myself not wanting to like the tweet because I don’t agree with a lot of what they say, and I realize that that’s not beneficial to anyone, even when I’m responding that way because we should be able to look past other issues. That’s the sign of a functioning, thriving civil society.
RH: How do you generate revenue from social media? What have you learned about that?
RG: The only platform that I make money on is Twitter. I invested in Twitter Blue, the blue checkmark, but there’s been a return, which is cool. I would have never expected to be paid for posting content. It would be enough to be a full-time gig or anything like that, but to have extra cash in your pocket each month, it pays out every two weeks, and for some clarity, I made about $400-$500 for simply posting.
I am not monetized on other platforms like TikTok because I get my TikToks deleted every time I post something because of the censorship. Instagram is not monetized. That’s due in large part to the people who control the apps that are censoring.
Major props to Elon Musk and what he’s done with Twitter. Referring to the Middle East, if we didn’t have him, a lot of people would be in the dark. A lot of people would have skewed perceptions about what’s going on. What Elon Musk has done with Twitter has been incredible.
RH: Who do you watch or listen to most in this space?
Riley Gaines: There are a lot of people. I love Megyn Kelly. I think she’s wonderful. I think how she has come around; she is unapologetic now. She’s stern, and that’s something that I admire, and that’s something that we need more of. Being unwavering is an admirable quality.
I love Michele Tafoya; she does a phenomenal job. Of course, all the members of OutKick. I think Dan (Dakich) is one of the coolest people ever. I just love it when I am on with him. I have so many people that I’ve grown to be big fans of, but again, I want to be friends with, which is one of the coolest parts about doing what I do is not only do I get to watch these people on the screen but I get to form relationships with them.
