I was asked about the concept of “allyship” – the act of supporting a minority or marginalized group without sharing the demographic trait that defines it – during a recent podcast interview.

I answered with a name: “William Jonathon Drayton, Jr.” A scion of the printing industry? A contemporary of Gutenberg or Ben Franklin? Um, no.

Drayton, Jr. is better known by his rapper name: Flavor Flav. Yes, Flav of Grammy-winning, hip-hop Public Enemy fame. And now, due to his unlikely and enthusiastic support of the USA Women’s Water Polo team, this red, white and blue-wearing, big clock-toting celebrity has become the summer’s most unlikely poster man for allyship.

By now, you’ve likely seen or heard the story. If not, it goes like this: In May, Flav’s manager shared with him a social media post by USA Women’s Water Polo team captain Maggie Steffens, a 3-time Olympic gold medalist.

Steffens wrote, “Some may not know this, but most Olympians need a 2nd (or 3rd) job to support chasing the dream.” She added, “Most teams rely on sponsors for travel, accommodations, nutritional support, rent/lodging, and simply affording to live in this day and age. Especially female sports and female athletes.”

Flav – a self-proclaimed proud “girl dad” – was so moved by the post that he reached out to Steffens and pledged his financial support as an official sponsor to help the women’s team make it to Paris without additional financial strain on the athletes. “I got daughters and I know what it feels like to be competitive but yet not recognized for what you do,” said Flav. “Women’s water polo is not really a big popular sport… That’s why I stepped in to help these girls out.”

Beyond the heartwarming origin story, Flav’s role as official “hype man” of USA Women’s Water Polo got me thinking about what makes a good ally – and how his core actions could be emulated by men in print to foster an expanded industry culture of allyship.

Here are five ways Flavor Flav demonstrated high-level allyship throughout Team USA’s Olympic journey – and suggestions on how men in the printing industry can similarly engage to elevate and celebrate their female colleagues:

1. Provided Critical Resources – It’s truly a baseline of support. By pledging hard dollars, Flav provided a solid foundation that allowed team members to focus intently on preparation for their Olympic competition. His sponsorship provided the team access to best-in-class training while lessening work-life stress for the athletes. Beyond the basic needs funding, Flav even threw in extra morale- and team-building resources: a $1,000 cash bonus for each team member plus the gift of a post-Olympic pleasure cruise for the athletes and their families.

Allies in the printing industry make allocate annual sponsorship or employee training budget resources to fund women in print initiatives, like Women in Print Alliance, that provide professional development education and community-building opportunities. In other words, make a targeted financial investment to support the career growth of female employees, customers, and colleagues. 

2. Increased Public Awareness – By using his celebrity influence, Flav has driven an incredible amount of public awareness to a team – and sport – that has never experienced much of it. His earned media attention was off the charts in the run-up to and during the Olympics, translating to increased opportunities for USA Women’s Water Polo team members to voice their own stories in the media. The New York Times noted Flav’s social media posts in Paris “resembled those of a team booster club,” including selfies with First Lady Jill Biden at the water polo arena. Flav also elevated the public profile of team member Ashleigh Johnson, the only Black woman on the team, allowing greater exposure for her to advance her personal platform calling for more racial and ethnic diversity in the sport.

Allies in the printing industry – particularly male CEOs or high-profile industry leaders – can leverage their high visibility to draw attention to the business benefits of attracting and advancing women in the print industry workforce. This type of public support for women in print can be internal to one’s company (i.e., an article in the company newsletter highlighting the importance of a gender-inclusive workplace) or be voiced more broadly (i.e., use a company’s social media channels to promote women in print initiatives). 

3. Compounded Influence – It just so happened that when the women’s water polo team travelled to Paris for pre-Olympics, on-site practices, megastar Taylor Swift was in the city, too, performing her “Eras” tour. The women’s manager attempted to secure group tickets to the concert, but had no luck. Flav to the rescue! Using his influence to reach fellow influencer Swift, the women were not only gifted concert tickets, but also gained the attention of yet another celebrity influencer to champion their causes. Flav also used the power of compounding influence by personally persuading film director Spike Lee and celebrity chef Guy Fieri to attend the USA Women’s Water Polo matches in Paris, each of whom then publicized his newly found admiration and respect for the team and sport.

Allies in the printing industry who are already supporting women in print initiatives can encourage their peers to do the same, thus creating a multiplier effect and expanding the base of industry support. Allies can also highlight the need for “soft dollar,” in-kind donations that help advance women in print initiatives (i.e., providing company facilities gratis as a venue for women in print networking events). 

4. Physically Showed Up – For Flav, this meant literally jumping in the pool to practice with the team. The 65-year old described treading water for seven minutes as “the hardest seven minutes of my life.” His active participation gave intangible moral support to the women’s team. Goalkeeper Ashleigh Johnson stated, “It touched me to see him get into the water and buy into our sport so hard. I have the story in my head that we belong here, but that just solidified it a little bit more.”

Allies in the printing industry can most definitely “show up” to provide moral support for women working at their companies and in the industry at large. Allies can be physically present to listen, watch, and support women in print who are speaking at industry conferences or roundtables, running product demos at industry expos, or being honored at award recognition ceremonies.

5. Committed Long-Term – It turns out that the Paris Olympics are not just a one-off for the celebrity sponsor. In June, USA Water Polo announced an official, long-term 5-year sponsorship deal with Flavor Flav for BOTH the women and men’s teams. The sporting organization said the “landmark agreement” aims to “elevate the visibility and excitement surrounding water polo in the United States.” The undisclosed financial pledge will provide support for the teams all the way through the next summer Olympic games in Los Angeles.

Allies in the printing industry can pave the way for long-term investment in women in print initiatives, providing the necessary runway for programs to lift off and deliver results that benefit not only women but the entire printing industry. Looking beyond one particular event sponsorship to a more holistic partnership with women in print initiatives is critical to normalizing allyship in the industry.

Why put in all of this focus on and effort toward allyship? According to Flav, the fact that “these girls are out here busting their butts to make the United States look good…” was his prime rationale for supporting of USA Women’s Water Polo in such zealous fashion.

I’m betting big that nearly every male working in our industry knows at least one woman working in print who is similarly busting her butt to make her company and/or the industry look good.

Fieri recently tagged Flavor Flav, “Best hype man in the WORLD!!” Why not take these lessons in allyship from Paris to printing companies back across the pond (or around the globe) and cultivate our own world-class “hype men” for women in print? Let’s go, team!