Alexis Ohanian Breaks Silence on Helping Michael Johnson Save Grand Slam Track

Alexis Ohanian, the founder of Athlos, the women-only event, has offered wise counsel to Michael Johnson as he discussed whether he would bail him out of Grand Slam Trak’s financial crisis.

In an interview on the Ready Set Go podcast, Alexis Ohanian opened up about his years of experience working at Reddit and some of the things he learnt that could help Michael Johnson bounce back.

However, he insisted that if Michael Johnson wants to make a strong comeback, he has to ensure he remains honest and accountable as he went down memory lane on when he first announced to host the women-only event before the four-time Olympic champion clapped back with an announcement that he had secured $ 30 million from investors.

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“I love bringing the receipts. So, we announced this on April 23rd, and this is the Washington Post article from the day Gabby and I announced it,” Alexis Ohanian said.

“Right after, this article was literally the same day, like I remember coming off stage, and I saw this article, and this article says Olympic champion Michael Johnson has secured more than $30 million from investors and strategic partners for a track league he plans to launch next year.

“So again, imagine my surprise, literally coming off this again. I've been talking to people for months about it, and I'm like, damn, this whole time these guys had $30 million building a league and like no one knew about it, but that was a little off…I'm an old-school business guy. It was a little the timing of it was curious.”

Alexis Ohanian added that Michael Johnson has not reached out to him yet, and he will not be the one making the call since he does not need the financial help.

“I think the premise of the question is interesting because if I'm in trouble, I'm usually the one making the call to someone else, right? It's not the person bailing you out who is not the one usually calling up asking for the thing, right? It usually goes the other way,” he added.

Alexis Ohanian further advised Michael Johnson to take a thoughtful approach in addressing Grand Slam Track’s financial challenges, drawing lessons from his own experience at Reddit.

He explained that during Reddit’s rise, there were opportunities to acquire or merge with competitors, but they often chose not to, recognising that acquisitions go far beyond contracts, branding, or assets.

According to Alexis Ohanian, when a company acquires another, it also takes on its culture, team, and way of operating, factors that can make or break long-term success.

He stressed that building a sustainable organisation requires more than just a great product, as it demands a strong internal culture that reflects clear values and direction.

Alexis Ohanian pointed out that every business, much like a sports team, must understand what it stands for and what it does not, since a well-defined culture naturally attracts the right people while filtering out those who may not align with its principles.

He cautioned that for Grand Slam Track, or any business in a similar position, it is not as simple as just ‘buying assets’ to fix problems, because what truly matters is the culture and people being brought in, which ultimately shape the future of the organisation.

“I certainly think I have that kind of influence, at the end of the day, like these people are still CEOs of companies that need to be able to justify a return on investment. And so, look, I got some influence. I got some friends, but like I can't, you know, browbeat someone into 10, 15, $20 million,” Alexis Ohanian added.

“I think it's just like I don't know. Like I said, I have a tremendous amount of respect for him and any of the stuff that we had. Like I said, I handle my stuff in daylight, and I was glad to see them making the changes in response to what I had pointed out. But we're focused on our game.

“We're focused on what we're building, and like I said, I hope those athletes get paid. I hope there is a second act for Grand Slam, especially for those athletes and for all those folks who are working on it. I don't know what's to come.”

Grand Slam Track is currently facing significant financial trouble just after its inaugural season. The league is grappling with an estimated total debt of around $19 million, which includes approximately $11 million owed to athletes in prize money and appearance fees, and $8 million to vendors.

The crisis began when a key investor withdrew an eight-figure commitment shortly after the first meet, leading to severe cash-flow issues and the cancellation of the final event in Los Angeles. Founder Michael Johnson admitted the league was ‘struggling’ to compensate participants.

In a recent development, existing investors provided an emergency, eight-figure funding lifeline to prevent collapse. This capital allowed the league to wire athletes about half of the money they are owed, marking the beginning of a promised ‘reboot.’