COVER STORY

Religion of Sports

Gotham Chopra’s production company is changing the media landscape

PHOTOS BY CHRIS MORTENSON

By Abigail LaCombe

Gotham Chopra believes that sports can have the same impact as religion. To support his point, he, Tom Brady and Michael Strahan started Religion of Sports, a Santa Monica-based media content company, in 2017. They initially raised $10 million to develop the content across many platforms, and recently announced $50 million in Series B Funding. “It’s not about religion and sports,” said Chopra, who is the son of author and alternative medicine advocate Deepak Chopra. “It’s not about exploring evangelical athletes. It’s about how sports is community. You know, you go on pilgrimages, you believe in mythologies, you become part of something bigger than yourself. That was always the idea.” Religion of Sports tells stories that make believers, held together by a common thread of why sports matter. Their programming has drawn more than 250 million views/listens of its content, which covers athletes like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Serena Williams, Brady, Simone Biles and Steph Curry. In 2021, the company debuted several docuseries including “Man in the Arena” on ESPN+, “Passion Play” on Showtime, and “Simone vs. Herself” on Facebook Watch. They recently premiered the second season of their hit series, “Greatness Code,” on AppleTV+. Last week, they released “The Sessions: Draymond Green” on Prime Video, which was produced by Religion of Sports and directed by Chopra. Chopra said the company puts a new spin on the well-documented athletes’ stories. “Across multiple Olympic arenas, Grand Slam finals, Tom Brady’s 10 Super Bowls, Steph Curry’s five NBA Championships or NBA finals, etc.,” he said. “That type of sustained success comes from work. No one at that level is just gifted. It’s about who is putting in the work.” The trio has put in their own work, as Religion of Sports proves it isn’t just for sports fans. They also plan to expand beyond sports into areas like business, music and entertainment. “There are some upcoming projects that I’d say are tangential,” Chopra said. “Sports is a language of performance. You can see that with people who are

the best at what they do, be it in fashion or music or business or whatever, they actually use the language of sports to articulate their own stories. Ultimately, I am a creator. If someone inspires me that is outside the business plan, too bad for the business plan. I’m going to just go do it. That is kind of where we are heading.” Chopra, a diehard Boston sports fan, is a loving father and husband who lives in Santa Monica with his wife and son. He grew up in Boston with his immigrant parents. Raised in a religious household, Gotham was surrounded by a culture obsessed with sports. He took the language of sports to identify himself and become American. Chopra likens sporting events to a church service. They bring people together. Even if they don’t have anything in common, for those few hours, they become part of something the collective believes in. “Sports are visceral, sports are a religion,” he said. “It’s the absence of time, being the best version of yourself, the human potential. We talk about these things in religious traditions, but we experience them in sports.” Strahan and Brady have firsthand experience, and Chopra is the authority when it comes to finding the greatness in the greatest. Chopra said the three complement each other. “We’re building a great business, and this is a shared passion,” he said. “We don’t aspire to be the Tom Brady or Michael Strahan production company. It’s much bigger than that and they’ve been huge supporters of that vision.” Religion of Sports has won five Sports Emmys with their latest one being for “Man in the Arena,” which is the first-ever win for ESPN+. Chopra called it a “great affirmation.” “Building this company, it’s important to celebrate successes because so many people work so hard,” he said. “But I also think we’re kind of like a sports team, and it’s always about what’s next. Awards come and go, and the satisfaction comes from the impact of the work.”

Religion of Sports religionofsports.com

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