"I was not a celebrity but I acted like I was" - Noah Lyles makes honest admission about building his brand through strategic approach

American sprint star Noah Lyles has shared his thoughts on building his brand through a strategic approach. A six-time world champion, Lyles achieved the biggest career accolade at the Paris Olympics by winning gold in the prestigious 100m event.

Competing in his second Olympic Games, Lyles defeated Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson to claim his first-ever gold at the quadrennial event. Although he settled for bronze in the 200m after being diagnosed with COVID-19, his 100m victory further increased his popularity.

In an episode of Beyond The Records podcast, hosted by Noah Lyles and Olympic 400m hurdles gold medalist Rai Benjamin, USA athlete Vernon Norwood reflected on Lyles’ celebrity status, acknowledging his popularity. However, Lyles, 27, highlighted that he acted like a celebrity even when he wasn’t one, to establish his brand, stating:

“I put it like this. There was a point in time where I was not a celebrity, but I acted like I was a celebrity. So, I would put myself in situations where people would either think that I'm somebody big, or I was around a scenario or an environment where they need somebody...If I'm going to track meet, it's like, ‘Hey, you might not think that I'm the headliner, but I want to be at every meet and greet, every interactive thing that you have,’” mentioned Lyles [1:04:00 onwards]

“So, it's like, ‘Oh, I didn't know who Noah Lyles was, but I met him and he was amazing and then I watched him run and I didn't even know he was in the race, but then he won or he got second or I was cheering for him because he was the only person I knew who was in the race,’” he further mentioned.

After a remarkable 2024 season, Lyles has competed in two events in 2025 - RADD Sports College Invitational and Multi-Event on January 25 and New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, just a week later.

Noah Lyles reveals why he won’t be competing in World Athletics Indoor Championships 2025

Noah Lyles at World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 2024 (Photo: Getty Images)

After his campaign at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix on February 2, Noah Lyles revealed that the event might be his last indoor meet of the season. On being asked about his decision to skip the 2025 World Indoor Championships despite competing in the event last year, Lyles explained that his focus is on the outdoor championships in September, adding (via LetsRundotcom):

“I mean World Championships is in September and to be honest, I think there's a lot of things that I can fill my schedule up with later in the middle of the season. And by not going to indoor, which is all the way in China, which I'm not trying to take that long of a trip. It saves me a lot of time to prepare for that moment," Lyles mentioned [1:00 onwards]

He also mentioned during the interaction that his main goal for the indoor meet was to deliver a strong performance and set the tone for the remaining year.

Notably, Lyles stormed to victory in the men’s 60m at the Track at New Balance in Boston, winning the final in just 6.52s.