By Jonty Ralphsmith
Over the Christmas period, the Journal’s sports team will be re-sharing some of the most popular stories from over the course of 2023.
Thank you for supporting our newspapers over the course of the year. We hope you enjoy the selection and have a wonderful holiday period, however you choose to celebrate.
There’s a subtle art to creating clickable socials content that gains organic reach.
Deviate too far from the trends, and the algorithms will distance you from your target audience.
Stay too tightly in your lane and the natural swell will tip you off the wave.
“The best thing is to be yourself,” says Dingley Dingoes player Lachie Lamble, co-creator of the social media conglomerate.
With brother Stefan, the 22-year-old blonde haired university student with lightning pace is looking to pioneer territory clogged by steadfast roadblocks.
There’s a perception that Aussie Rules content creation is reserved for the power elite within AFL clubs who can share the high performance herbs and spices usually concealed to the general public.
Anything outside the inner sanctum is dismissed by the masses as not credible.
Lachie is a high disposal entertainer for a local Southern Football Netball League club, while Stefan coaches the under-19s, before filming Lachie’s in-game shenanigans – directly bucking that criterion.
Yet, combining Aussie Rules comedy skits, impersonations, game day vlogs, Stef’s commercial ambitions and Lachie’s tertiary physiotherapy knowledge, the brothers have created a channel that resonates with many.
“It’s quite unique and we’re very relatable and we both have laid back but hard-working Australian culture sunk deep into our veins, where we have that passion and drive for footy,” Lachie said.
“At the start we sat down and said ’no matter how this goes, whether it gets 10 views or 10 000, if there’s ever a kid who wants a photo or autograph, we will talk to them like they’re one of our family members’.”
With more than 224,000 likes on TikTok and several thousand views on most YouTube videos posted in 2023, the pair is increasingly recognised by ‘Gen Zedders’ in public.
As well as the dozens of weekly messages from fans, the Carlton supporters were recognised several times at the Blues’ win over Collingwood three weeks ago when creating a gameday vlog.
The vlogs, until that point filming Lachie’s games, have been the content that has put them firmly on the map.
Lifting the lid on the charm of local footy, showcasing the banter and providing basic principles and analysis of in-game footage creates a well-rounded target audience.
Lachie outlines a set of goals for each game, shows his pre-game, at-home and at-ground routines and goings-on, before narrating key features of his games.
As much as being well received, the vlogs have provided plenty of ammunition for opponents and trolls, sledges gaining traction almost as quickly as the content.
“We do cop it,” Lachie says.
“My mental resilience has improved enormously but at the same time we try to see it as any attention’s good attention.
“Most of the blokes on the ground who say ‘Lambros you’re a princess’, ‘a PrimeTrain wannabe’, crashing me off the ball, after the game (are) really good blokes, so it’s all left on the field.
“It’s so good hearing different characters say they love our content because that creates more joy for us and inspires us to keep going with this content creation.”
Stefan agrees. “I remember when we both were a bit younger, we would watch Youtubers, which gave us so much genuine happiness, so it’s great to see we’re doing the same to young kids.”
Other popular series for ‘Lambros’ have included comparing footy in the 1980s to the 2000s, things never said in local footy, and tips for kids such as improving your forward craft.
One video on the Lambros channel details the benefits of delayed gratification: the perfect summary of their 2022.
The brothers were spending, by Lachie’s estimates, five to six hours per day for six months creating content for five accounts on the fly, each video maxing out at about 200 views.
“There were months where we were dabbling in so many niches and we just had to believe in ourselves and be relentless,” Lachie said.
Stefan adds: “We were filming one YouTube video a week, but we didn’t know how to edit back then.
”We spent 24 hours each editing the first video because we had never used the editing platforms; now we can get it done in one tenth the amount of time.
“That’s the same with building our website. Although there were (few) views, so many positives came out of that time.”
The videos the brothers create augment their LambrosFit physiotherapy business: Lachie currently spends a full time equivalent duration building the empire, with his brother also heavily involved.
They hope it can eventually become their primary source of income.
“We’re just starting out the journey,” Lachie asserts.
“At the start it felt like there was a ghost in front of us of our potential, and we were always jogging with that ghost getting further and further in front of us, and then we found our niche.
“We are slowly catching up to our potential and finding what we want to do with our lives: inspire, educate, add value to and empower young people to become better footballers and people.”
