Momentum Fuels Platforms.

Hey, it’s Arlesha! I’m kicking this off with a radom disclaimer: I’ll be honest, I don’t watch Love Island USA. But lately, I’ve found myself intrigued by Olandria. She’s the talk of social media these days. As one of the recent standouts of the Love Island reality show, she’s managed to do something few reality personalities achieve: maintain momentum.

Since the show ended, Olandria’s captured the attention of audiences far beyond the villa, appearing at designer fashion shows and most recently gracing the cover of Harper’s Bazaar Vietnam. She’s stepped seamlessly into the fashion scene “overnight”. And again, while I’m not a Love Island viewer per se, I take inspiration and lessons from anywhere. What she’s done mirrors what we see across sports, entertainment, and business.

Platforms are fueled by Momentum

The “best of the best” talent don’t just build their names off a single breakout moment, they sustain it. And it isn’t always through winning a championship or launching a new brand. That’s almost secondary. Often, their impact & influence comes from the discipline of building and maintaining momentum.

The Currency of the Moment

In every entertainment-adjacent industry, whether it’s sports, fashion, music, or motion picture, the moment is the spark. The viral play. The championship. The breakout role. The cover story. The award. But that’s only the beginning.

The real differentiator is what happens after the moment. How you use attention, performance, or visibility to build something that converts: a platform, a business, your voice.

Successful performance drives momentum, but it’s up to the talent (or YOU) to keep it going.

The Art of Controlling the Narrative

What Olandria did was control the narrative around her. She didn’t let the “reality TV” label limit her. She redirected attention toward fashion and elevated her visibility into credibility, going from a contestant to a “model” and tastemaker in a quickness. It’s controlling the narrative in action.

It’s the same principle I see in the world’s top performers and achievers…those who understand that narrative and momentum is strategy in motion.

Take 3x WNBA Champion and 4x MVP A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces, for example. She’s more than a champion: she’s a case study in how excellence, authenticity, and presence compound over time. Her dominance on the court is undeniable, but her off-court storytelling showcases itself through personality, confidence, and consistency…the elements that keep her platform expanding and momentum going. From her signature shoes with Nike to a newly announced collaboration with Lego.

Or WNBA star Angel Reese, who turned her college stardom into a professional persona. Every move feels intentional, every headline amplifies her identity rather than distorts it. As the first athlete to ever walk a Victoria Secret show, she’s building herself up as a true case study in momentum.

Then there’s others aside from athletes, like actress Zendaya, who has mastered the art of narrative control in Hollywood. Every project, every appearance, and every fashionable red carpet look is part of a long-term arc. She doesn’t even chase momentum; she simply curates it.

And Michael B. Jordan, who’s evolved from actor to producer, director, and now part-owner of a Premier League football club. His platform grows because his narrative evolves…each new chapter of his adds depth without dilution.

Even Emma Grede, who has become one of our favorite podcasters and entrepreneurs in business today with her Aspire podcast represents a different kind of momentum-performance.  She didn’t stop at one brand win. She built an ecosystem of momentum, scaling multiple ventures through discipline, innovation, and identity clarity.

These are just a few names…

The Common Thread: Momentum as Discipline

What all of these individuals share is rhythm. They don’t move reactively, they move rhythmically, strategically building continuity between each success.

They understand that momentum isn’t luck. It’s leverage. It’s knowing how to keep the conversation going long after the applause fades. It’s the action one takes before others speculate on “what’s next”. Entertainer or not, the game of leverage is one to play.

Momentum fuels the work that sustains visibility, the clarity that guides expansion, and the narrative discipline that keeps an audience and brands invested over longer periods of time.

Champion Takeaway

In every field from sport, entertainment, business… momentum fuels platforms.

And those who master it don't chase opportunity. They’re curating it.

Get some momentum. Stay consistent in sharing your narratives on digital channels where an audience looks to engage. Build the start of a living, breathing, sustaining platform (IP) that attracts audiences and brands in a new way. Momentum is the fuel. It’s leverage. It’s currency.

Reach out to Champion Strategies to develop that strategic roadmap to your momentum.

Such a smooth plug I did there…

Email me at [email protected]. (dot)co NOT Com.

And if you liked this read, you might like the Champion Takes newsletter series “Platforms and Personas”. This series covers Talent who build and design Platforms: creating sustainable value for themselves, the audiences they engage and the brands who partner with them. Catch up with the series here. 

Until The Next Champion Take,

Arlesha