Rob Riggieri of Athletes, Ink
Scoring Big Sports Names for Big Sports Fans 
By Kimberly Dunbar

Rob Riggieri’s office is like a museum. Wheaties boxes, footballs, jerseys and framed photos are souvenirs of his past, present and future. Rob Riggieri knows sports. Sports are his job.

On the Friday of this interview, Riggieri is preparing for an event at Boston Billiards to promote his company’s public signing with Josh Beckett the next day.

Riggieri is the President and Co-founder of Athletes Ink, a sports marketing and promotions company that specializes in athlete and entertainment promotions as well as charity sports auctions, providing high profile athletes for appearances and signings in and around New England.
“I’ve brought over 250 into Worcester businesses,” said Riggieri, including Rotmans Furniture, ShBooms, Irish Times, The Atrium, Brew City, and Junior’s. “In addition to athlete signings, Athlete’s Ink does 20 charity auctions a month, which benefits many local charities like the Worcester Police Department and Katie’s Cause,” he added.

After 10 yrs. experience in sports marketing and promotions, Riggieri developed Athletes Ink with VP and Co-Founder Jerry Azzarone in 2005. Before starting his own business, Riggieri, a Worcester native, was a Communications major fresh out of Worcester State College ~ and with big dreams. At Paid, Inc., Riggieri applied for a job calling for a “sports enthusiast,” got it, and worked his way up from the mailroom to Vice President. As VP, Riggieri was responsible for the development of the professional athlete website hosting division and signed over 30 pro athletes including Jerry Rice, Richard Seymour, Doug Flutie, Deuce McAllister and many more.

Despite his success there, Riggieri decided to start his own business. “I always wanted to…I can go to sleep at night knowing the decisions that I make on a daily basis, good or bad, they are mine. And that’s a great feeling.”

When Paid seemed to be moving in the Boston direction, Riggieri knew it would leave a void in Worcester, and decided to set up shop in his hometown. “My roots are here,” he said. “I have strong business connections in the city, and working in this familiar territory makes starting up a lot easier.” Riggieri added that being able to meet with his associates in person is important to him.

“To successfully work in this field, being a sports fan isn’t enough,” he said. “You have to understand the business aspect. It takes lots of hard work and involves taking chances.” Riggieri recommends getting involved with an established organization in order to learn the ropes when first starting out.

“You also have to find a way to reinvent the industry, in order to separate yourself from others who are pursuing the same path,” he added. Riggieri’s website hosting and his efforts to make athlete appearances more interactive, like the David Ortiz celebrity bartending nights, and to make public signings a family experience are creative concepts that separate Athletes Ink from the next company. And the effort seems to be paying off: Red Sox pitchers Manny Delcarmen and Jon Lester both recently signed one-year contracts granting Athletes Ink exclusive promotion and marketing privileges for the players (SEE INTERVIEW BELOW!).

When Riggieri isn’t working, he spends time exploring his surroundings ~ Shrewsbury St. “I like the quiet scene these days,” said Riggieri. “Seeing my office is above Brew City, I spend a fair amount of time down there. But around this area, there are endless places to pop into any day of the week.”

To find out more information on Athletes Ink, visit www.athletesink.com.