by Garth Meyer
It was by Eat at Joe’s, going south, last October.
A Nike billboard campaign featuring Redondo Union High School boys basketball player Sj Madison.
Another billboard showed RUHS cross-country runner Mario Montoya. His appeared near the 405 Freeway Rosecrans exit.
“The busiest street in the world,” said Bob Leetch, longtime RUHS cross-country and track head coach. “This was not a billboard across from Jerry’s Tacos. It was like promoting a major movie or a new truck Ford is launching.”
“They were all over Southern California. There was one in downtown LA,” Redondo Union Principal Marvin Brown said. “I think it’s awesome. I love that our high schoolers have a chance to be promoted. When I was in high school and college, everyone was just an amateur, and for what purpose? What’s great about this is it’s community-driven. I’m happy for these kids.”
Other Southern California high school students who were part of the campaign included Long-Beach Poly High freshman Laila Kirk, a two-time USA Track & Field Junior Olympics national champion (800 meters); and Santiago High School (Corona) senior Braelyn Combe, the 2025 CIF girls 1600 meters state winner.
A total of 31 kids were featured on billboards in Southern California and New York.
Marketing with high school students became legal in the wake of the California law permitting “Name, Image and Likeness” in college sports. The NCAA challenged the 2021 statute, but lost at the Supreme Court and NIL quickly went nationwide. Two years later, California was among 30 states to allow high school athletes to receive Name, Image, Likeness payments.
Nike approached Coach Leetch last summer to ask for suggestions of a runner for a billboard. Originally, it was to be for a different Nike endeavor, Leetch explained, an elite athlete program, which then evolved into a marketing campaign.
“We thought the best for that would be Mario,” the coach said. “An elite and up-and-coming kid in our Southern Section.”
Once the campaign launched, Nike gathered the athletes for a double-decker bus tour of greater L.A. to show the postings.
The ads displayed no RUHS insignias or uniforms, by law. Sj Madison was identified on his billboard as being from “Los Angeles, CA,” and Montoya from “Redondo Beach, CA.”
Montoya finished fifth overall at the state championships in November.
Last spring, in track season, he was the number 1 freshman miler in California and number 3 freshman miler in the U.S. Teammate Matteo Sanchez was the number 2 freshman miler in the state and no. 5 nationwide.
In the fall, Montoya broke the all-time sophomore record at the Clovis Invitational (started in 1986, and held at the site of the state meet), and he and Sanchez broke the sophomore record at the Mt. Sac Invitational (Mt. San Antonio College), in the event’s 77th year. Montoya then won the Bay League cross-country championship at Polliwog Park, beating the course record by 14 seconds.
“At this point in their careers, these two are way ahead of anyone we’ve had,” Leetch said. “They are two of the best sophomores in the history of the state. They are already the two best cross-country runners in the history of the South Bay.”
On Jan. 27, Nike awarded special jackets to the RUHS boys’ CIF Division I state champion cross country team – Redondo’s first in school history. The jackets were presented by Rai Benjamin, the 2024 Gold Medalist in the men’s 400-meter hurdles at the Paris Olympics.
“RUHS has a great partnership with Nike, going way back,” Coach Leetch said.
RUHS sophomore cross-country runner Mario Montoya’s team won the state Division 1 Championship last November. A few weeks before, his billboard appeared next to the 405 freeway. Photo courtesy Bob LeetchMontoya received money and gear for the billboard.
“Yes, there is financial compensation for participating in the billboards program,” Leetch said. “But Mario doesn’t see it like that, to him it’s just that it’s really an honor.”
Does it add pressure?
“I thought that, it doesn’t seem like it,” Leetch said. “He’s not wired that way. He’s very involved in social media and … a great kid. Very likeable, great teammate, very disciplined in school, great grades, great family that supports him without pressuring him.”
“It was a ‘Just Do It’ poster – like you’re used to seeing with Kobe, Shaq. This is a grass-roots effort to promote these hardworking high school kids in the same way. Pretty cool.”
Leetch graduated from RUHS in 1980, when Adidas ruled running.
“Nike were the upstarts then. That long-term connection has become more emotional over the years,” he said.
After the state cross-country championships, the RUHS boys were invited to the national “Nike Cross” in Portland, Ore., where Montoya finished 68th.
A total of 22 teams competed, along with a few dozen individual runners. Redondo Union finished 13th as a team.
Sanchez fell during the race, he was tripped in the crowded start and got a concussion, an extreme rarity in cross-country. He finished the race but the incident dropped Redondo from about seventh to 13th, Leetch said.
Nike sponsors the annual Redondo Track Festival every March.
Backdrop
Montoya started running in second grade, his parents both marathoners, living in Boston. The family moved to Redondo Beach before his fifth grade year, his father to work for Northrop Grumman.
Last summer Nike invited Montoya to an elite camp at Mammoth Mountain, but it was canceled at the last minute.
“Later on they asked me to be a part of this advertisement, it would be a billboard…” he said.
The pictures for it were taken in August before the Victory Relay at Los Angeles’ Memorial Coliseum, Montoya and his teammates were there to beat Joan Benoit’s 1984 Olympic marathon record time.
RUHS lapped the field, in the eight-person team event, each running 1.5 mile loops, then handing off the baton. The boys beat the record pretty well.
Why was the Mammoth event canceled?
“It was kind of a mystery,” Montoya said. “It was supposed to have an advertisement created from it, or social media opportunity.”
When he got to the photo session at the Coliseum, Montoya recognized Braelyn Combe, of Santiago High and met Laila Kirk, the Long-Beach Poly freshman.
Montoya went on the bus tour, arranged by Nike L.A., the “City of Athletes Tour,” in which they drove around to see everyone’s ads, though his and a few others’ were not up yet. Instead temporary posters were hung in Culver City.
What was it like when he found out he would be on a billboard?
“I was shocked and super-excited… totally freaking out,” Montoya said.
“They sent contracts to sign, six months’ rights, and disclosed a certain amount of money to be paid to me, which was pretty cool,” he said. “… I knew that some other high school athletes were getting NIL deals. There was actually a big boom this year.”
What did he do with his check from Nike?
“I kind of splurged a little bit,” he said. “About half of it went to the Apple store; headphones…”
New Balance signed five high school runners in 2024, and 13 more last year.
In October, Montoya’s mom picked him up from work on a Sunday – at Helen’s Bicycles in Manhattan Beach – and they took a detour to the 405 and spotted the billboard.
Fellow students also saw it.
“They’d give me a little smile in the hall, and I’d be happy about that,” Montoya said.
One day while carrying his RUHS cross-country backpack with his name on it, he heard, “Hey, are you on a billboard?” It was the Redondo Union head girls basketball coach.
The postings were up from Oct. 6 to Nov. 2. Montoya turned 16 on Sept. 7.
“It gave me a little more confidence. I want to say it contributed to the growth of my social media,” he said. “I use it to document all my running, moreso for fun, really.”
Math is his favorite subject in school. He also surfs, and was in Jr. Lifeguards.
“I hope I can use (the billboard) to help me get into a good college, and run at the Division I level, and get an amazing education along the way…” he said.
What was it like to run at Nike Cross in Portland?
“I was just stunned by the terrain. I got stormed and boxed-in. I went out hard and still wasn’t racing out front,” Montoya said. “I need more practice running against people at this level.”
After a two-week break following cross-country season, it was time to ramp back up to running six days a week, 9 to 10 miles day, in preparation for track. And Montoya added a seventh day.
His goal is to get as close as he can this spring to the national sophomore record in the 3,200 meters.
How close is he?
“Right now, not close at all. I’ve got plenty of ground to gain,” he said.
S.J. Madison in action against Mira Costa in January. Photo by Ray Vidal
Sj Madison
Sj Madison lives outside of the Redondo district, but his father works in the area, so the son was approved for a transfer. Sj has gone to RUHS since his freshman year. He was born at Torrance Memorial Hospital.
“I think the billboards are really cool. Really exciting for the community,” said his mother Nicole Madison. “He’s gotten a lot of text messages. It’s exciting for all of us… I think it was a really smart concept.”
Sj’s billboard appeared in Westchester too.
“To see someone you know, it makes Nike seem more. Just more,” Nicole said. “Nike is huge… It definitely makes it feel local at the same time. More inspirational, more achievable.”
“We take our direction from Nike. Whatever they want, we’re here to support. We’re just very thankful for Nike recognizing our son. It’s already an exciting time, this is just the cherry on top.”
“Normally it’s LeBron. Sj has a LeBron poster on his wall. We’re not comparing him to LeBron.”
Views
The new landscape of college sports in the era of NIL, and now for high school, has drawn differing views.
“We have kids who are mathematicians, actors. We’re not going to restrict their earning potential because of their age,” said RUHS Principal Brown.
In those cases, the kids are not directly or indirectly representing their school in what they’re being paid for.
“Redondo is not the only team these kids play for. So many play for club teams,” Brown said. “Our two volleyball players left our team to go represent our country in USA volleyball. They represent our school when they play for us.”
Brown played Big 10 football at Northwestern University in the early 2000s.
“I have a hard time with it,” said Tonya McKenzie, founder and chief controller of Sand & Shores, a communications and sports media agency in Redondo Beach. She writes the (Substack) newsletter “CTRL the Narrative.”
“These kids getting exposure is great, but I just really have a hard time with the amount of money in amateur sports right now. You’ve got freshmen in college making more than some pros.”
“I don’t like high school kids getting money. In amateur sports, it takes away joy and adds pressure. Because now, you have to deliver. It becomes athlete first, student second. If you are representing a brand, there’s more pressure to hide the bad days. When your high school years should be about learning and discipline, how to manage your schedule, etc… you start to have pressure to keep up whatever the brand requires of you.”
McKenzie also questions Nike’s strategy.
“It’s very performative. Brands discover kids when it’s trendy, not when it’s right,” she said. “It’s relatability. Nike is going through a transition right now. They’re trying to pivot back to the core of the brand, which is sports. Nike is going very community. You don’t have to be a star.”
The company became aware of Madison through his play – at tournaments and being scouted by colleges. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard/small forward has committed to University of Nevada next year.
“I just got seen from playing around,” he said.
The state CIF Division one boys cross country team, from left to right in Fresno Nov. 29; Coach Bob Leetch, Logan Garcia, Michael Billiris, Mateo Figueroa, Gavin Hasson, Desmond Vaughs, Matteo Sanchez and Mario Montoya. Photo courtesy RUHS cross-countryHis billboard next to Eat At Joe’s on Pacific Coast Highway drew a lot of notice.
“It was a big deal. For everybody in my family, for me as well. I’ve always liked Nike, since I was a kid,” he said.
The ad’s picture was taken last summer at the Mamba League Invitational, a Nike showcase game for area talent. The photo was an in-game dunk.
Madison chose Nevada for college because “they met all the criteria,” he said.
He considered UC Santa Barbara, New Mexico, and received interest from Illinois.
“Nevada really wanted me to go there from the jump. (Coaches) there have coached players currently in the NBA,” Madison said.
How has his senior year been at RUHS so far?
“We’re ranked 14th in the nation… We’re proving to everyone we’re not a pushover, trying to win a state championship.”
Did the billboard add any pressure, or was it just business as usual?
“It didn’t really change anything… When the ball goes up, I (just play). It doesn’t make me a player, just shows who I am,” Madison said. “It’s a really cool experience to the youth. Just to show it is possible to do the dreams you do have, or goals.”
The billboards featured kids in 37 neighborhoods in Los Angeles and New York, “with citywide out-of-home campaigns recognizing their influence as competitors and cultural leaders,” according to Nike spokesman Jay Paavonpera, senior director, communications. ER
