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Me: For the pod? Or for your account?

KT: Both, but mostly for my account.

Me: Lemme take a look. Hold please.

I navigated to her main account, not that I hadn’t already looked at it first thing this morning. But this time, I was viewing it through a different lens. Her bio could be tightened up and more interesting. She had decent engagement, but it could definitely improve. And her most popular content was of tacos. Tacos she’d made. Taco reviews at restaurants.

I texted her some tips for her bio and in general.

Me: You need to lean into the taco thing.

KT: What taco thing?

Me: Your posts about tacos are your most popular content. Lean into that. Have fun with it.

KT: But I’m a hockey player. I want people to focus on women’s hockey. I want to grow the game and show girls that it’s possible to play professionally.

I totally understood that. It was a big reason why I loved social media. Not only was it fun, but I wanted to show people what it was really like to play professionally. I wanted to give them a behind-the-scenes look like they’d never experienced before. I wanted to educate and inspire.

Me: They do, and they will. But you need a hook to lure them in. That hook is tacos.

KT: This coming from the man who uses thirst traps as a hook.

Oh. So she’d been checking out my socials. I grinned.

I debated teasing her about it, but I was afraid she’d clam up and tell me to fuck off. Knowing Logan, she might still tell me to fuck off.

Me: If it works, it works. Don’t be jelly. You could totally go the thirst trap route. Just didn’t think you’d be interested in that.

KT: You’re right. I already get enough dick pics and lewd comments, despite the fact that most of my content features me in full gear.

I gnashed my teeth, hit by a sudden, overwhelming surge of protectiveness. I was positive Logan could handle herself, but I hated that she was receiving those kinds of messages. If the comments I received were suggestive and inappropriate, I could only imagine how bad it was for a female athlete.

Me: That’s why I never check my DMs.

KT: Right. You probably have a team to handle that kind of stuff.

Me: I have someone who helps take and edit videos from time to time, but I do most of it myself.

KT: Seriously?

Me: Yeah. Seriously. It’s fun.

KT: Fun. Ha! Right.

Me: You’re making it harder than it needs to be. Approach it with a sense of play. It’s a game, just like hockey.

KT: If you say so.

Me: Do you have Snap?

KT: Yeah, but I never use it.

Me: Play around on there. It can be a fun way of creating content without feeling so attached to it. Don’t be precious about it, KT.

KT: Haha. Right. Easy for you to say.

I tried to brainstorm other ways to make social media less daunting for her. It was clear that she wanted to use the tools at her disposal, but she was holding herself back.