CityLegends
conquers America

Developments at CityLegends are progressing rapidly. This matches the dynamic nature of the Dutch platform for urban sports & culture. Over the past years, the community has grown to more than 300,000 users worldwide. With Dutch Sport Tech Fund as lead investor, CityLegends now has additional capital and strategic support to enter the next phase of growth. The investment helps the company to further scale internationally, with conquering the American market as the next logical step.

“We are now the largest street culture platform in Europe,” says CEO and founder Jimmy Hermans. “We have built a strong user base of more than 300,000 users. We see that street athletes share a lot of content through popular socials like TikTok, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Instagram, and YouTube. With our content, we already reach more than 25 million 'Gen-Z' youths through our campaigns. That truly makes CityLegends a gateway for brands to connect with our target audience and our culture in an authentic and interactive way.”

The fact that the platform is ready for the next step is also evident from the numbers. Forty percent of users now come from America. It is expected that this will surpass the user base in Europe within a few months. To accelerate this growth, CityLegends will open an office in Los Angeles early next year, together with DSTF. Not coincidentally, this will be near Venice Beach, the birthplace of street culture. In addition, CityLegends is working with experienced business developers who have previously raised hundreds of millions in funding and deals for other startups. Talks are already underway there with global brands and leading marketing agencies.

Growth has also begun on the athletic front. “We have already signed athletes in America who have millions of followers,” says Jimmy. “We are going to further activate and engage them for our community. In addition, we will collaborate with major brands that sponsor our online competitions. With the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles on the horizon, where more and more urban sports are included, this is a strong combination with a lot of growth potential.”

The investment from Dutch Sport Tech Fund gives CityLegends the space to continue developing and scaling up. Jimmy mentions several pillars that he believes are crucial for success in America. “First of all, we focus on ‘collabs’. Collaborations with local athletes, local clubs, and major brands. The community grows fastest by building together with the culture itself as the foundation. We are going to collaborate with big brands that sponsor our online competitions. But also, towards the Olympic Games, we will increasingly organize pick-up games together with affiliated brands. Small events, called ‘Jams’, where sports, music, and culture come together. There, we create a lot of content on the spot, which we then share online. That ties in with our second focus point. On average, our own social media content generates 6 million views per month. That is growing rapidly. With our app, we actually want to become the Strava of street culture. And at the same time, be the leading news and media platform where you can discover cool spots and videos, follow competitions, and find the latest fashion trends.”

“A third focus point is shareable content. Our users are already sharing a lot of content. We are now going to create extra features for this. When they are in a battle or have created a spot, they will soon be able to share it with additional visuals. With this, we are really investing heavily in enriched content. We will also use the funds to further develop our platform. We are already working on setting up more and more street e-sports competitions. Our goal is to further develop our platform into a serious global competitive network with rankings, wildcards, and qualifications that can lead to participation in major tournaments. Even the Olympic Games!”

With the completed funding and a clear go-to-market strategy, Jimmy looks ahead with great energy. “Within two years, CityLegends wants to grow to 4 million users, allowing the platform to reach more than 100 million Gen Z’ers. This is a realistic ambition that we will be working hard on in the coming period with the support of the Dutch Sport Tech Fund. And, above all, with and through our community.”