The concept is great, curious about the execution.
There have been sites where groupies have gotten together to plot on athletes. Balleralert.com and TalkSports.net to be specific. Baller Alert has went as far as posting articles on how to sneak into Athletes Hotel Room, exposing pictures of their members with athletes “Black Cards” and putting in a messaging system so their community can be alerted when an athlete is within 30 miles of their location.
Classy right?
Skkybox claims to be different type of site, not a site for groupies but more of a support style group for the real wives and girlfriends of athletes. I spoke to the owner and creator of the site Kristin Bright to get an idea what she is trying to accomplish with this site.
What was the motivation to start Skkybox?
I’ve been in my relationship for over seven years and we recently (7months ago) had our first child. We decided that it was best for our family, for me to leave my job and move to Europe (where he plays pro-basketball). That transition has brought huge changes in my life and throughout the entire process I kept wishing there was some sort of support system in place for women going through what I was. I know there are tons of women with simular experiences and now with the NBA lockout there are even more women dealing with this kind of change in their homes due to their spouses and their careers. There are sites and networks for Army Wives, so I thought…Why not for Pro-Athlete WAG’s! *
How do you fight the perception that this is just another “groupie” site to catch athletes like Baller Alert or Lipstick Alley?
Those sites are public and open for anyone to post to, join etc.. When you visit Skkybox, your only option is to sign in (for members) or or request membership (for non members). Skkybox members aren’t looking for a man, we know who we are and what we have. **We are just looking to interact with each other in a trusted environment where we can connect socially, network professionally and become resources to each other personally.
Additionally, our private community does not provide a platform for gossip, slander etc. All forums and groups are monitored to ensure proper content and members have agreed to the terms that membership can be revoked at any time at the administrators discretion.
3- You say it is an exclusive membership, what is the procedure to get invited an approved?
Skkybox personally reaches out to women that we know are already married to/seriously dating a Pro-Athlete. We’ve successfully connected with executive members of both the NBA and NFL Wives Associations and have gained membership and some expose through those connections. Women who request membership themselves go through a bit more of a process. At the end of that process they are either approved or denied.
4- Sometimes athletes have a wife, mistress, girlfriend and baby mama, when there are multiple women claiming one athlete how will handle that?
Athletes aren’t the only one’s with all of that going on. How does facebook control the drama that can arise from the relationship statuses that connect it’s members? Or status updates for that matter. They cant and neither can we. I will say that unlike facebook, there is no embedded option for a Skkybox member to publicize who they are dating/married to.
Members can only see another members relationship status (Married, Engaged, In a relationship) and the league affiliation (NBA, NFL, Euroleague etc.). Ultimately, anyone/anything that disrupts the decorum of the site will be removed.
What do you hope to accomplish with this site long term?
Pro-Wives and Girlfriends are about more that looking cute at a game or the glitz and glam. We are homemakers, business women and philanthropists.
We’re also the only ones who know what this lifestyle is like in it’s entirety. So my hopes are that Skkybox serves as the platforms that enables us to be resources to each other. As we continue to connect , so many other things can develop. We can help each other as we transition through many thing that come with “the game”, help build our businesses, service efforts etc.
I met my PR Rep through Skkybox and now we are helping each other build our brands. That is what Skkybox is about!
Sounds good on paper (or I guess online, but you know what I am saying), but I am still a bit of skeptic, not because I don’t believe what Mrs. Bright is saying, to the contrary I believe she is very sincere.
The problem as I see it is there will be some women who will join to just spy or to get info on the wife/girlfriend of the athlete they are currently thirsting over.
Hopefully the fail safes she has in place work because if not I can see it getting messy pretty quickly. I wish her well.
If you are an athlete’s wife or girlfriend and interesting in joining the community email [email protected].
