Tristan Hamm lives by a simple philosophy for his ever-growing list of endeavors.
An outdoors lifestyle and conservation influencer with more than two million followers on Instagram, it’s brought him to boxing.
“I’m a jack-of-all-trades,” Hamm, nicknamed “Mr. Adventure,” told The Post. “It’s hard to explain to people who I am and what I do. My whole life has been around doing the things I love, and figuring out how to get paid to do it. First I do what I love, then I figure out how to get paid. That allows me to do more things that I love. It can sometimes be really challenging, and other times it seems easy. This is one of those times it feels easy.”
Hamm, 28, will get in the ring for the second time as a pro on Saturday night when he squares off with ex-NFL star Le’Veon Bell as the co-main event on Misfits Boxing’s Paige VanZant-Elle Brooke card on DAZN at NRG Arena in Houston.
Already possessing a large social media following, Hamm burst onto the boxing scene when he knocked out Rodney Peterson during his boxing debut in January.
The savage stoppage went viral, and Hamm realized he might have a serious future in the sport.
Bell, now 32, has a 1-1 professional record as a boxer, though he did knock out fellow ex-NFL star running back Adrian Peterson in an exhibition match.
After racking up 6,554 rushing yards, 3,289 receiving yards and 51 touchdowns across eight years in the NFL, Bell has since taken his new boxing career seriously.
Hamm called out Bell and urged his followers to troll him on social media following his win over Peterson in hopes of a fight between the two.
Finally, Bell obliged. But Hamm believes he’s being woefully overlooked.
“He’s been here before many times, and he’s trained well for it,” Hamm said. “That’s a huge advantage that he has. He’s a professional athlete, he’s an NFL player, he’s tough, I’m sure he’s squared off with many guys on the field. The thing is, he doesn’t know where I come from. A lot of people in social media, they usually make themselves out to be bigger than who they are. But actually on my social media, I strike myself down smaller than what I am.
“I think he thinks I’m cute, and I’m gonna show him that there’s another side to me, that’s for sure.”
outdoors lifestyle influencer. Jam Press/Tristan Hamm
Influencer-turned-boxers have created lucrative fights in recent years, leveraging their massive followings and intrigue from fans into seeing just how well they can actually fight.
Former YouTuber Jake Paul is perhaps the best example, set to fight Mike Tyson in a highly anticipated bout on July 20.
“It doesn’t make sense at all unless you’re getting paid a lot of money,” Hamm said. “With the way the world is changing when it comes to social media, everything is going to streaming, everything is going online, and the opportunities are bigger than ever and the money is bigger than ever. The ability to get views is bigger than ever. The ability to inspire people and get groups of people together is bigger than ever. All of that combined makes it the perfect opportunity.”
Boxing is in the midst of a renaissance in how it is consumed.
HBO and Showtime, long the homes of the biggest boxing bouts, no longer air or cover the sport.
Traditional media outlets don’t tell fighters’ stories nearly as in-depth or as frequently as they once did.
But Hamm believes influencer-turned-boxers like himself are at the forefront of what boxing will evolve into.
“There’s a huge shift,” Hamm said. “Everyone says ‘boxing is dying,’ boxing is not dying. TV is dying. And TV is what was building boxing. They could decide who was gonna be the next star based on who they wanted to be the next star, and there was a lot of politics involved in that. … With these various networks going out of business, that’s because of TV, that’s not because of anything else. With DAZN leveraging, not just leveraging but understanding what it’s like to tap into the influencer network and tap into these narratives and give them a platform, DAZN is a genius for that.
“[Influencers] have traditionally gotten a bad rap. They’re just kids screaming at each other in people’s ideas of what they are. But in reality, it’s people that believe that they want to become a professional fighter, they have value, people want to watch them, they can sell tickets, they can get views, they’re entertaining and they’re bringing new audiences to boxing. Which is keeping the sport alive when the networks are disappearing.”
The rise of celebrity boxing has brought with it ample blowback.
Critics find it silly and a gimmick, and other fighters often aren’t pleased about influencers cutting the line and creating bigger events despite far less accomplished resumés.
To that, Hamm believes they should get on board, or get left behind.
“There’s a lot of arguments,” Hamm said. “A lot of professional fighters are a little bit irritated about the exposure these guys are getting. The traditional professional boxers, all they have to do is focus on fighting, and then the promotion does the rest of the work for them. Well, that’s not the case with the way the world is going. The world is changing. People are going to have to build authentic audiences and build a name for themselves and carry that name to whatever sport they play.”
