Jeff Webb, the Texas businessman who turned cheerleading into a multibillion-dollar industry and served as an early mentor to conservative activist Charlie Kirk, has died at age 76 after suffering a serious head injury in a freak pickleball accident. “Happy Daily” reported.
Who is Jeff Weber?
Jeff Weber Widely known as the “Father of Modern Cheerleading.” In 1974, at the age of 24, he founded a company that would become Varsity Spirit, operating it early on from his apartment. Over time, he transformed cheerleading from a simple school activity into a huge multi-billion dollar industry in the United States.
He created training camps where teams learned routines, plays, and the organization that made the rules. He also sells cheerleading supplies such as pompoms and uniforms.
By 2004, Memphis-based Varsity Spirit had annual revenues of more than $150 million and controlled about 90 percent of the U.S. market for cheerleading equipment and services. According to the New York Times.
In 1984, ESPN began televising cheerleading competitions, helping to grow the sport nationwide. At the university, staff even nicknamed his private jet “Cheer Power One.”
The company was later sold for $1.5 billion in 2014, and Weber left the company in 2020.
charlie kirk’s mentor
Webber is known to have been one of Kirk’s early mentors. He met Kirk when he was 24 and later praised his leadership and potential.
“He has amazing drive. I’m overwhelmed by his maturity and intelligence. He has a lot of incredible leadership qualities,” Weber said in an interview. Yimei News Network The interview recalled their early meetings.
After Kirk’s death, Weber told real american voice He “had it all, charisma, faith, respect for everyone,” Weber said, adding that the country “may have lost a future president.”
his last years
After leaving university, Weber Focus on the International Cheer League organization he founded. In his later years, he worked to make cheerleading an Olympic sport. In 2016, when cheerleading received provisional recognition from the International Olympic Committee, he called it “the pinnacle of my life’s work.”
“How lucky am I?” he said. “How lucky I am to have this idea and build on it, to have great people align their stars with my vision and let’s build this great thing together,” he said in a tribute video shared by Varsity Spirit.
