The Eccker 10 – Malachi Hill

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The NIL experience for many collegiate athletes revolves around local businesses. For Malachi Hill, that’s a part of his daily life. Many of his deals as a Division 1 track athlete in Asheville, North Carolina, revolve around community outreach and relationships within the community. Malachi shares his experience using NIL to build his brand, facilitate relationships with local businesses, and learn some valuable life skills along the way.

10 Questions

Tyler: What is your greatest memory as an athlete?

Malachi: The beginning of my senior year of high school was great. I was able to go to indoor nationals for the first time because while I had qualified the year before, my high school coach didn’t let us go. This time around, I went by myself with my mom to the Adidas nationals. Although I didn’t win overall, I went in and won my heat and finished around 9th overall with a 22.7. It was exciting because it was on TV, and I’d never run that fast in my life. My form during the race was terrible but it was a great moment. It was one of those moments where you have to just say “Wow” and soak it in.

Tyler: What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced as an athlete and how were you able to work past it?

Malachi: The hardest thing for me is time management. It’s extremely important at the level that I’m at and it’s not easy. I’m a sophomore and coming into college as a freshman, I had no time management skills. It was something I had to get accustomed to. I had to learn how to prioritize various things, but that’s part of growing up. It’s the hardest thing but it’s the most important thing I’ve dealt with.

Tyler: Do you have any unique or hidden talents?

Malachi: I know how to play every percussion instrument. I was in the marching band and when I briefly lived in Mississippi, I was promoted to our high school band because I was so good for a middle schooler. I ended up marching for two or three years. Not many people know that.

Tyler: What was your first NIL deal?

Malachi: My first NIL deal was in the community. I basically got paid for going and making appearances at businesses or places within the community in Asheville. We got paid on the spot and we just went and got to meet and talk to local businesspeople and potential NIL opportunities. I was able to make some good connections and do some community outreach which was great.

Tyler: How has NIL impacted your experience as an athlete?

Malachi: One of my coaches and I have a really great relationship. He’s almost like an agent for me in the fact that he helps me with my deals and partnerships, monetizing social media, and everything else. He’s a great guy and he’s been so helpful. Without him, I’d be lost in NIL, so working with him, I’ve been able to get my NIL out there and while I’m not huge on social media, I get a lot of views on Tik Tok now. NIL has really helped me build my brand to a point that I’m getting recognized at meets now. I want to start my own brand so NIL has really helped me get started with that process. It has been helpful as an athlete and as a person.

Tyler: How do you determine which brands to partner with?

Malachi: The first thing we did was sit down and create a list of companies who might be interested in working with me and who I know I want to work with. We looked at some businesses that might relate to track, and I was able to find a local company that didn’t know what NIL was, but I was able to reach out to them and talk to them about doing a deal. I want to grow the community and promote Asheville and NIL is a good way to do that.

Tyler: How do you educate yourself on NIL?

Malachi: Mostly just going through it with my coach. Prior to that, I was definitely using resources on the internet to find out whatever I could. Watching videos, and looking at templates and documents that were available online was helpful. I also have some good friends at larger D1 schools so I was able to speak to them about what their process for getting deals is like. I just do my best to use all the resources that I can.

Tyler: How has education played a role in your NIL experience?

Malachi: It was all very helpful. The resources I found online were really helpful, even the little things. I tried to take notes on everything and keep track of what I’d learned. I focused on reaching out to companies and treating NIL as a learning experience. If you spend time on it, you’ll be able to learn a ton, and that’s what I did and continue to do. I woke up this morning and was doing research on contract tips because I am dealing with a contract negotiation now so that was helpful.

Tyler: If you could change one thing about NIL and how it’s worked so far, what would it be?

Malachi: One thing I’m struggling with right now is writing out contracts. Dealing with local businesses is great but it can be tough. They might not know much about NIL or have a huge budget to do deals. This means the deals are smaller or are related to getting discounts or events, which is different from a lot of what others do. With deals like that, knowing the terms and obligations is really important and it takes a lot of work. If there was more help for us when it comes to getting those contracts in place, that would be awesome.

Tyler: What piece of advice would you give to high school athletes as they start their NIL journeys?

Malachi: I’d tell them just to learn as much as they can. Take your time but make sure you’re being intentional about sitting down and doing research. You’re probably not going to make a bunch of money the first time you go for a deal, and you’ll get turned down by some people. Just remember that you should not get discouraged because anybody can get a NIL deal. You just have to understand what to do and how to do it. Be patient and persistent.