There comes a time in any adolescent startup’s life when it realizes it just isn’t the same anymore, and, as with any identity crisis, the solution is—of course—a rebrand. After feeling it had outgrown the title of social sports league, D.C. startup United Social Sports recently rebranded as DC Fray, the lifestyle brand aimed at “making fun possible.”
Traditionally, the company focused primarily on its social sports league offerings—so adult soccer, basketball, dodgeball or the not-so-traditional beer pong and other bar sports. Now, in addition to those offerings, DC Fray is putting increased attention on its standalone social events geared towards 21-to-35 year olds.
The new social event focus makes sense when you look at how the company formerly-known-as United Social Sports ran its social sports leagues. Participants can join the sports leagues alone or with friends, with more than 15 choices of sports. Every league event has an associated bar where participants go after for drinks and to socialize, which founder Robert Kinsler insists is vital to its model.
“For kickball, it’s not about kickball. For skeeball, it’s not about skeeball," Kinsler told DC Inno. "It’s about being social and active."
Kinsler started the startup in his Brookland apartment in 2009, during the recession, when he said people needed some fun. Initially, it was United Social Sports' emphasis on the social that set them apart from other area social sports leagues. As they continued to focus on the social aspect by incorporating more standalone events into the calendar, the name "United Social Sports" felt too limiting and just inaccurate. “Our image didn’t meet our reality,” Kinsler said.
DC Fray hopes the social focus of its rebrand will call attention to its events line-up, which it plans to expand from the roughly 40 percent of its business it currently makes up. Events combine zany activities, socializing (of course), and alcohol in some way, shape or form to help Washingtonians let loose. For example, DC Fray has included events like glow-in-the-dark yoga, a pre-Caps game bar crawl, late-night tubing, and Hungry "Human Hippos" (the literal human version of Hungry, Hungry, Hippos). Inspiration comes from in-house brainstorming and from looking outward for ideas, Kinsler said. First, the team asks themselves, “Does this make fun possible?” and then they keep a record of event outcomes on a success board and failure board.
DC Fray, under the new parent company United Fray that was also founded by Kinsler, is launching satellite branches later this year in Jacksonville, Florida; Phoenix, Arizona; and Philadelphia. In the next few years, the team hopes to expand into a dozen or so markets across the U.S. But for right now, a new partnership with Ted Leonsis' Monumental Sports is one of its primary focuses—as of the end of the 2016, the startup is the official adult sports league of the Wizards, Capitals, Mystics and Valor. That means participants now have access to discounted tickets, pre-game bar crawls and events.
“We want to be the champions for the fun afternoon," Kinsler said. And, of course, Kinsler says spring registration is underway now.
Image courtesy of DC Fray.
