Over the years Kevin Harvick went from being just an incredible NASCAR Cup Series driver to owning a management empire juggernaut in the form of Kevin Harvick Incorporated. How did he accomplish all of that while being occupied in a full-time racing career in the top flight of American Motorsports?
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A couple of years back the former Stewart-Haas Racing driver shared details of how the entire KHI scene went into the managerial aspect of things and how they grew it into such a massive brand.
Harvick explained, “Total accident, that’s how it started. Absolutely. So back in about 2011-ish I would say the Tapout folks were on a fight tour, picking up fighters around the country and Donald Cerrone was one of those fighters. We had developed a little bit of a relationship with the guys from Tapout.”
The former SHR driver explained that he interacted with Donald while sharing a beer together. Over time they developed a connection, “And he (Donald) called one day and he said, ‘Hey, what do you think about managing me?’ And I’m like, ‘never really thought about it.’ But let me talk to everybody.”
Speaking further he mentioned that when his KHI NASCAR team was shut down and they had extra staff, they decided to use their resources to manage Cerrone. They plugged him into their system and provided him with the same management services they provided for Harvick.
Later on, Cerrone’s success led to other fighters, such as Miesha Tate, seeking their services. After a discussion, they decided to continue managing fighters and expanded their client base. Gradually, they went into managing golf athletes to other sports figures from across multiple sports.
Kevin Harvick explained why athletes loved his management company
Later on in the conversation, Harvick added that their approach to managing the athletes was taken in a positive light since they were “very unique” and a “small” organization. This in turn helped them to grow and add more and more athletes to their roster.
He added, “We combine all of our sponsors together and interact together and communicate with each other to try to fit into that system.”
The 2014 Cup Series champion added that the athletes signed under KHI appreciate their efforts because the company operates outside the conventional norms of other UFC fighters and golf management. Lastly, Harvick described KHI more as a ’boutique agency’ that started as a conversation and has grown into what it is today.
