Athlete Ally and Skinz.gg Partner to Stand for Inclusivity in Videogaming and esports

January 14, 2021 (New York, NY) – Today Skinz.gg and Athlete Ally announced that they are partnering to celebrate and support the LGBTQI+ community in the sphere of videogaming and esports. Through the partnership Skinz.gg, the first health and wellness company dedicated to “Powering Your Performance” in gaming, will donate a portion of sales from products sold to Athlete Ally, a nonprofit championing equality in sports for the LGBTQI+ community. Together, Skinz.gg and Athlete Ally will work to promote social justice within the videogaming and esports community.

“We’ve worked with numerous organizations to fight injustice in sports, but this is the first time we have entered the videogaming and esports space,” says Taylor Carr, Chief of Staff at Athlete Ally. “Skinz.gg’s thoughtful approach to health, wellness and inclusion, which includes a focus on mental well being, makes them an ideal partner for our first foray into the gaming and esports community.” 

Skinz.gg and Athlete Ally are uniquely positioned to mutually benefit from the partnership, which brings together two organizations seeking to break down many of the barriers that have existed in the videogaming, esports and athletic industries broadly since their inception. 

“When we look at health, wellness and performance in all aspects of somebody’s life, it’s not just supplements and training we’re focused on; it’s a holistic view of one’s life, from relationships to education, employment and beyond, and their right to be fully accepted in all these areas. For us, being the healthiest version of yourself means being inclusive,” said Gary Kleinman, Co-Founder and President of Skinz.gg.

“Take a look at high school or college-level athletics, and there’s a boys team and a girls team. However, in videogaming and esports we have ‘gamers’ who make no assumptions and come with no restrictions about who they’re supposed to be,” said Natalia Sokolova, Co-Founder and CEO of Skinz.gg. “While gaming’s history comes with its challenges with trolling, the reality is the pendulum is swinging and it’s partnerships like ours and organizations like Athlete Ally, who will bring the gaming and esports industry forward to ensure it’s an inclusive and safe space for individuals to be who they are.” 

Athlete Ally exists to bend the mold, “Historically, sports have not always been a welcoming and accepting space for the LGBTQI+ community; especially with the youth,” Carr pointed out. It is difficult to go against the current in any industry, whether gaming and esports or athletics in general, but it’s a whole lot easier when you bring a friend like Skinz.gg.”

Athlete Ally has partnered with individuals and organizations including sports leagues like the MLS, NFL, NBA, PGA, and WNBA, as well as apparel companies such as Adidas and Under Armour. 


About Athlete Ally:
Athlete Ally believes sport will change the world when it welcomes and empowers all people. As a leading national nonprofit working at the intersection of sport and LGBTQI+ equality, Athlete Ally works to end the structural and systemic oppression that isolates, excludes and endangers LGBTQI+ people in sport. We educate individuals and institutions to understand obstacles to inclusion for LGBTQI+ people and how they can build an inclusive culture within their athletic communities. We work to ensure sport governing bodies, teams and leagues adopt policies that reflect the diversity of their constituents. We incubate athlete activism to advance LGBTQI+ equality in and through sport. For more information, visit https://www.athleteally.org/

About Skinz.gg:
Skinz.gg “Powers Your Performance” by being the first global provider of health and wellness products and services specifically for videogamers. With clinically proven products, best practices, and services that help videogamers play better and longer, Skinz.gg’s ultimate goal is to be the community leader that enables opportunities for videogame players to do what they love: win the game! For more information, visit www.skinz.gg