The Brands I Work With (and How I Choose Them)

I get asked about brand partnerships a lot — both from people curious about the business side of being a creator and from brands wondering if we’d be a fit. So I want to be transparent about who I work with and, more importantly, how I decide. Because the “how” is the part that actually matters, and it’s the part most people skip.

My rule is simple, and I’ve never broken it: I only partner with products I actually use. If it’s not already in my training, my recovery, or my daily life, it’s not going on my channel. That sounds obvious, but in this industry it’s surprisingly rare. I’d rather turn down a check than tell my audience to trust something I don’t trust myself.

The Partners I Stand Behind

Let me tell you who I work with and why each one earned a spot.

COROS makes the watch on my wrist. As a distance runner, the data I get from training is everything — it’s how I know if the work is paying off, how I pace my workouts, how I track the progress toward my goals. COROS is a brand I’d use whether or not we had a partnership, which is exactly why the partnership makes sense. If you want to check it out, I’ve got a code for you: TRENTON.

The Feed is where I get a lot of my nutrition and fueling products. Running at a high level means dialing in what you put in your body, and having a trusted source for that stuff takes a real variable out of the equation. It’s a brand built for athletes who take fueling seriously, and that’s me.

Liquid IV is part of my hydration routine. Hydration is one of those things that sounds boring until you’ve had a race or a hard session fall apart because you got it wrong. It’s a small, repeatable habit that makes a real difference, and Liquid IV is what I reach for.

Three partners, one common thread: I use all of them. None of these are products I picked up because someone offered me a deal. They’re products that were already part of how I train and recover, and the partnership just made the relationship official.

Beyond Running: Working With Fortune 500 Brands

The other side of what I do is content creation, and that’s opened doors I never expected when I started filming myself running. I’ve created content with some of the biggest brands in the world — Target, Uber, Amazon, Men’s Wearhouse, and Verizon.

That work taught me a different skill set than racing ever could. Making content for a Fortune 500 brand means understanding an audience that isn’t yours, hitting a brief, and still making something that feels authentic instead of like an ad. It’s a craft, and I’ve been lucky to learn it on big stages.

A lot of that growth came from working with Declassified Media, where I learned UGC and content production alongside a team. Being part of a real production operation changed how I think about every video I make. It taught me that good content isn’t an accident — it’s a process, and that process can be learned. Bringing that level of intentionality to my own running content is one of the things I’m most proud of.

Authenticity Over Payday

If there’s one philosophy that ties all of this together, it’s this: authenticity beats a payday every single time.

I’m building something for the long haul. I’m not just a runner and I’m not just a creator — I’m trying to build a real brand and business at the intersection of running and entertainment. And a brand that trades its audience’s trust for a quick check doesn’t last. The whole thing only works if the people following me believe me. So I protect that, even when it costs me in the short term.

That’s why every partnership goes through the same filter: Do I use this? Do I actually believe in it? Would I tell my closest friend to buy it? If the answer to any of those is no, the answer to the partnership is no.

Let’s Work Together

If you’re a brand that makes something I’d genuinely use and stand behind, I’d love to hear from you. The best partnerships are the ones where the fit is obvious, and I’m always open to those conversations.

You can see more about my current partners on my sponsors page, and the best way to start a conversation is through my connect page or by emailing me directly at trentonsandler@gmail.com. If you want a fuller picture of who I am and what I’m building first, my about page is a good place to start.

Let’s build something real.