Livvy Dunne is doing her part to help female student-athletes capitalize on their success while still in school. That’s the reason she created the Livvy Fund at her alma mater, Loiusiana State University, in 2023.
In a question-and-answer session with digital creator Katie Feeney for Nobull, the performance apparel brand in which Dunne is an investor and equity partner, she said: “I think every female athlete in college should capitalize on their NIL while they have all these eyes on them. That’s so important because there’s not a lot of professional places for women’s sports outside after college. So it’s so important to capitalize when you have that fan base.”
Dunne, who was a gymnast at LSU, said her life changed dramatically when the NIL rule went into effect in 2021 and she was able to build her own brand by securing partnerships with companies including Vuori, American Eagle Outfitters, Accelerator Active Energy and others — a strategy that netted her an estimated $4 million, according to ESPN.
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But that wasn’t her initial goal. In fact, Dunne had hoped to make the U.S. gymnastics Olympics team.
“I grew up super competitive,”’ she said. “I wanted to just go to school and win a national championship. That was my main goal at LSU. Everything else that happened during my time there was a cherry on top. The NIL goal changed my life, and I ended up winning a national championship at LSU. So it all worked out.”
So while she did manage to win a championship, she knew the Olympics were not in her future. “I kept getting injured, and honestly, I wasn’t good enough,” Dunne admitted. “So I was like, you know what? Let’s take the best of my time at LSU and capitalize on my name, image and likeness during my time there at meets with 13,000 people watching.”
But her success also led to some issues during her college years, she said. “My whole life changed during my time at LSU, and that was a really hard adjustment [for me] and for my coaches as well. They were a bit flustered. I know having a coach that’s hard on you or you don’t always see eye to eye with is part of sports. But there were times that they were confused by the rule change and just how fast-paced everything was moving for me. I had to take a step back and compartmentalize the different parts of my life — social media, gymnast, daughter, student-athlete — and not get overwhelmed.”
Although her Olympic dreams never became reality, Dunne said she was quick to pivot. “I have other ambitions. I love to do social media. That was something I’ve always been passionate about since I was 10 years old, which is kind of uncommon for somebody that young. I just love the analytics.”
In addition to her social media work — she has more than 5 million followers on Instagram alone — Dunne is embarking on a new career: acting. She’ll be in the “Baywatch” reboot that will begin airing in January.
She said she learned quickly that “you get rejected a lot more than you get accepted. But you’re going to be bad at something before you’re good at it. I definitely think that acting is a learning experience. It’s an art. I’ve always wanted to do it. It’s something that I think is very artsy and fun, but I never got time to touch it. I was always training in gymnastics. I think the athlete in me wants to be great at anything I do, so I think that will help me in the long run.”
Her experience as an athlete will also work in her favor, she believes. “I’ve heard from many people that they enjoy working with athletes because of their discipline. When you’re an athlete, you’re not always going to feel great, and you still have to show up for yourself, for your team. And same goes for acting.”
Dunne isn’t the only athlete involved with Nobull. Tom Brady is a co-owner of the company, which was one reason the former gymnast was attracted to the brand. “He’s obviously disciplined, he’s the GOAT, and I wanted to pick his brain.”
But beyond that, she’s a fan of the Nobull shoes and wears them every day because they’re comfortable and perform for her during her workouts.
The session ended with Feeney asking Dunne what she needed to work on in her life. Her response? “Patience. Being an athlete, I want everything. You’re always looking for the next thing, the next routine, the next turn. But you have to take time for yourself, or else you’re going to be miserable. I’m working on it.”
