We’ve secured our peanuts and Cracker Jack and taken ourselves out to Westmoreland Park to chat with Easton Henrikson, founder of Changed by the Game. Changed by the Game produces custom wristbands for players, coaches, and fans to keep track of outs during baseball and softball games, and more generally, to help fans rep any sports team with pride. We asked Easton about her company, her motivation, and how building her business in Portland has made a difference.
What inspired Changed by the Game?
Henrikson: I’m a former college athlete, and I work in collegiate recreation. When I moved to Portland, I joined a slow pitch softball team to make friends. Without fail, every inning everybody asked, “How many outs do we have?” At that point, I had been playing for 20 years and thought, “We should not have to ask this every inning”—but we all asked!
So I started developing something to keep my head in the game. I went to Michaels, grabbed some materials, started prototyping, and came up with what’s now called the Know Outs Wristband. That spurred me to start Changed by the Game.
How did you make that happen? It’s a big jump from an idea to an international brand.
Henrikson: Growing up, I always wanted to have my own business, I just didn’t know what it would be. I went to school for business and accounting, and then during my internship I realized that the direction I was heading really wasn’t for me.
I ended up working in collegiate athletics instead. After I got my MBA, I worked at Portland State as an intramural sports and special events coordinator. I love working in sports, using what I’ve learned in business to help college students with their professional development.
When I realized the need for this product, I thought I was just tinkering, making something for myself. Then I had some teammates try it out, and they were like, “This actually helps.” After they tested it out, I created prototypes, which led to the final product. Along the way, I developed skills out of necessity. I barely knew how to use a sewing machine when I started, but I had to learn to sew all the little out loops. Eventually, I had a whole machine built to cut and design the wristbands, but it’s all been learning and figuring it out as I go.
How has Portland influenced your trajectory?
Henrikson: Joining the Rose City Softball Association changed everything for me. That’s what put me onto this path. Within a couple months of moving to Portland, I found the Association, joined the league, and played in a tournament. I was immediately hooked, playing five days a week. I fell in love with the sport again and realized how much softball had given to me, from job opportunities and people I’ve met to traveling, character development, and leadership opportunities. Everything is tied to softball and what that gave to me. That’s why I named my company Changed by the Game.
As production needs grow and change, I’ve found there’s a big advantage to keeping things as local as I can. I work with Saturn Stickers—they do all of my stickers. I work with Amplify Fun—he does all of my UV printing for me. I try to work with other small businesses rather than going overseas or to a larger company that has to ship everything to me. I’m able to have face-to-face interactions with my partners, which is very helpful when something isn’t exactly right. We’ll meet up and talk about what we’re up to and make the adjustments. I don’t want to be outsourcing everything. I like that it’s handmade.
Also I’ve been able to participate in the Jumpstart workshop and other hands-on incubators. I’d been doing Changed by the Game as a side hustle alongside a full-time job, so I hadn’t been able to give a lot of time and effort to my story and the marketing. I was grateful to be getting a ton of orders, but it was also overwhelming. I needed help.
Jumpstart gave me an opportunity to sit down, focus, and have someone guide me through best practices to figure out what I want to highlight and how I want to say things. It was also really helpful to meet other entrepreneurs who were trying to figure it out for themselves. Their feedback was so valuable. I can look at something a million times, but eventually we all need an outside perspective!
And now Changed by the Game is bigger than softball. How did that happen?
Henrikson: In October of 2023, I was going to the ESPNW Women in Sports Summit, and I knew that Candice Parker and Aliyah Boston were going to be there, so of course I made some basketball wristbands for them. Then I did a little pop-up at The Sports Bra. And I brought wristbands to the stadium when Portland hosted the Sweet 16 and Elite 8. Fans were on board. They liked seeing their teams and the team colors.
It’s transformed into a product you can wear to show your love for the game, and people are really attached to it for that reason. Basketball wristbands have done well, even though they don’t keep track of anything. A football edition will be coming out in the fall, and I’m working on some hockey and golf prototypes.
What keeps you motivated?
Henrikson: For me, the mission is to spread joy and have as many young kids be transformed by sports as possible, especially underrepresented youth who don’t always have access to recreation. Sports like softball and baseball can be very expensive. I want to help young kids up through college realize that you don’t have to go pro. You just have to love the game, play it, enjoy all the benefits that come from it, and use those transferable skills later on in life.
One time at the Women’s College World Series, I was walking around with my wristbands, and these little girls asked me about them. I told them how I had started my business. One of the girls said, “I want to be you when I grow up.” There were All-American athletes all around us and she wanted to be like me?
But it’s all about representation. Whether it’s because I’m queer, I’m black, I’m a woman or I’m a business owner, when young athletes see me and think, “Oh, I want to do something like that,” that’s a big deal for me.
And I understand that feeling. When I did a partnership with the Natasha Watley Foundation, I donated a bunch of wristbands to the Foundation and the camps that she hosts for underrepresented youth. Natasha Watley was the first African-American woman to play on the U.S. National Softball team. For me growing up, watching her was huge. She was a shortstop, a lead-off hitter. She was super fast, super talented, and the only Black woman at that time playing for Team USA. She is someone I looked up to, and now we’re working together. To be able to work with Natasha and other organizations like hers is a dream come true.
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