Hollister today announced the members of its esports effort, Team Hollister. The three members joining the gamer training program were scouted by the company’s recent appointee, Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf.
Hollister is making an effort to enter the world of esports with its latest venture, a training program that includes mentoring and a $10,000 sponsorship from the brand. The new members and Bugha will partake in a Giving Tuesday charity stream that will benefit Hollister’s Confidence Project. The company named Bugha its chief scout earlier this year, alongside the launch of his limited edition branded clothing.
The new members of Team Hollister are Alixxa, a content creator and member of Team Liquid; Sommerset, a streamer with Luminosity Gaming; and EmadGG, a streamer with TSM. All three already have large followings on Twitch, YouTube, Twitter, and other platforms — in fact, combined, they have over 2.5 million Twitch subs, according to information from Hollister.
With regards to Bugha’s part in the whole thing, he told GamesBeat in an interview that he looked for streamers who were enjoying themselves: “Some of the main things I’ve been looking for is their dedication to the game, how good of a person they are, obviously, and overall how much they enjoy streaming and playing the game. When they have that figured out, and they enjoy doing that, it’s a lot easier to mentor them and help them succeed.”
Hollister’s Confidence Project is an initiative started by the brand that’s based on raising mental health awareness in teenagers. Hollister’s youthful demographic is similar to that of many streamers. Kristin Scott, head of global brands at Abercrombie and Fitch Co, said last year that the project was about “the importance of self-care for Gen Z” and added: “Millions of our customers have let us into their lives, giving us millions of opportunities to make meaningful change together. Ultimately, we want to help encourage teens to achieve their goals of living happy, healthy lifestyles, and to be comfortable and confident in their own skin.”