The Public Enemy rapper became America's most unlikely sports sponsor.
His latest partnership proves celebrities are stepping up where corporate America won't.
And now Flavor Flav has just made one surprising move that nobody saw coming.
The rapper who's rewriting Olympic sponsorship rules
Flavor Flav hit 67 m.p.h. barreling down an icy track in Park City, Utah last week.¹
Not bad for a 66-year-old hip-hop legend testing out bobsled for the first time.
The Public Enemy founding member just signed on as official sponsor and hype man for the USA Bobsled and Skeleton teams heading into the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, Italy.²
"The partnership is a blessing. It's cooler than Cool Runnings," Flav said, referencing the beloved 1993 Jamaica bobsled movie. "It's Coolest Runnings."³
Team officials wanted Flav starting from a lower spot on the track for safety reasons.
He wasn't having it.
The rapper insisted on starting higher up the track and hit 67 m.p.h. on his second run.⁴
"Oh my gosh, he's one of the coolest, most adventurous men that I've ever met," U.S. skeleton athlete Dan Barefoot said. "He was upset that he couldn't go from higher up on the track. I was kind of upset at how good he was."⁵
Barefoot added that Flav's energy transformed the team atmosphere.
"Put aside the fact that Flav is one of the greatest hype men of all time, the energy in the room… you had people who often aren't talking to each other high-fiving and hugging because of the experience of being around him," Barefoot explained.⁶
Filling the gap corporate sponsors left behind
This partnership comes at a critical time for Olympic sports.
Major corporate sponsors are fleeing from the International Olympic Committee.
Toyota, Panasonic, and Bridgestone all walked away from their Olympic sponsorships after Paris 2024, citing concerns about how the IOC spends sponsor money and the politicization of the games.⁷
Toyota was reportedly "unhappy with how the IOC has used its sponsorship money, arguing that it is not effectively used to support athletes or promote sport."⁸
That's left athletes in less popular Olympic sports scrambling for financial support.
Most Americans don't realize Olympic athletes in sports like water polo, bobsled, and track and field need second or third jobs just to train.
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee pays for medals, but not for competing or training.⁹
Athletes rely on sponsors for travel, accommodations, nutrition, rent, and basic living expenses while pursuing Olympic dreams.¹⁰
Flav discovered this reality in May when U.S. women's water polo captain Maggie Steffens posted on Instagram about her teammates working as teachers, business owners, coaches, and physicians just to afford Olympic training.¹¹
The rapper immediately commented: "As a girl dad and supporter of all women's sports – imma personally sponsor you my girl… whatever you need. And imma sponsor the whole team."¹²
That turned into a five-year sponsorship deal that carried through Paris 2024, where Flav became a fixture at water polo matches, even jumping in the pool with the team to try the sport himself.¹³
Celebrities stepping up where corporations won't
Flav's Olympic involvement represents something bigger than just one rapper helping out some athletes.
It's a rebuke of corporate America's abandonment of Olympic sports.
While multinational corporations obsess over "stakeholder capitalism" and ESG scores, they're pulling billions from the Olympic movement that actually supports athletes.
Bridgestone and Panasonic each paid $200-250 million for four-year Olympic partnerships before walking away.¹⁴
The joint Coca-Cola and Mengniu deal runs through 2032 at an estimated $3 billion, but other TOP sponsors are reassessing their commitments.¹⁵
Meanwhile, Flav is writing personal checks, giving athletes his cell phone number, and taking them to Maroon 5 concerts in Salt Lake City.¹⁶
He plans to be in Milan-Cortina for the entire Olympics in February to support his teams.¹⁷
USA Bobsled and Skeleton CEO Aron McGuire gets what Flav brings to the table.
"It's clear he has a genuine passion for sports and an authentic love for the USA team," McGuire said. "Flavor Flav embodies the same grit, dedication, and pride that define our athletes."¹⁸
Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian joined Flav in supporting athletes at Paris 2024, helping cover rent for discus thrower Veronica Fraley after she tweeted about struggling to pay bills while preparing for the Olympics.¹⁹
These individual benefactors are filling gaps that billion-dollar corporations used to cover.
The corporate sponsors walking away claim they're concerned about athlete welfare and proper use of funds.
Yet they're making the funding crisis worse by pulling out entirely.
Flav's approach is different.
He's not negotiating marketing rights or demanding ROI metrics.
He's helping American athletes pursue excellence while corporate America counts its ESG points.
The bobsled and skeleton teams gained a financial sponsor, a hype man who brings real energy, and someone who understands what it means to grind toward excellence in your field.
That's something you can't buy with a $250 million TOP sponsorship that goes through IOC bureaucracy.
It's why Flav's partnership matters more than the dollar amounts involved.
American Olympic athletes are learning they can't count on corporate sponsors anymore.
But a 66-year-old rapper who hits 67 m.p.h. on an ice track? That's someone who shows up.
¹ Associated Press, "Flavor Flav joins USA Bobsled/Skeleton as official team hype man," October 27, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ Ibid.
⁶ Ibid.
⁷ ISPO, "Top Olympic sponsors step off the boat," October 6, 2024.
⁸ Ibid.
⁹ Slate, "Paris Olympics: Flavor Flav water polo sponsorship puts spotlight on athlete compensation," August 9, 2024.
¹⁰ Ibid.
¹¹ NBC Olympics, "U.S. women's water polo: Flavor Flav to sponsor team for 2024 Paris Olympics," May 16, 2024.
¹² Ibid.
¹³ NPR, "Rapper Flavor Flav on why he decided to sponsor the U.S. women's water polo team," August 4, 2024.
¹⁴ ISPO, "Olympic Sponsors List: These Are the Sponsors of Paris 2024," July 8, 2025.
¹⁵ Ibid.
¹⁶ NBC Los Angeles, "Flavor Flav tries bobsled and skeleton, joins team as hype man for Olympics," October 27, 2025.
¹⁷ Ibid.
¹⁸ Park Record, "Flavor Flav joins USA Bobsled/Skeleton as official team hype man," October 27, 2025.
¹⁹ Slate, "Paris Olympics: Flavor Flav water polo sponsorship puts spotlight on athlete compensation," August 9, 2024.
