Paul-Tyson ring girl Sydney Thomas reflects on newfound fame, career goals
Thomas now boasts nearly 2 million followers on social media
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sydney Thomas has caught her big break.
Thomas, who just turned 21 on Tuesday, went viral on social media after she was selected to be one of the ring girls for the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight.
Thomas had a social media following prior, which is what originally got her the nod for the fight. She actually could not go to the first date, but when it was postponed to November after Tyson's ulcer, Thomas was still top of mind, and she jumped at what she thought was a missed opportunity.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Then all it took was a couple of posts to blow up.
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Sydney Thomas poses in the ring during Paul-Tyson. (Raphaela Milagres)
Thomas posted several TikTok videos from Arlington, Texas, but after 60 million households watched her on Netflix, plug Tyson's viral slap of Paul the night before, her phone began to blow up.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It really hit me more after the fight when I woke up. I had gone up 200,000 followers," Thomas said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital. "I knew a lot of attention was around it when Tyson slapped Paul. Everyone was focused on the ring girls in the background, and I was like, ‘We’re getting so much attention from this.’"
It should go without saying that the Alabama student's Instagram and TikTok DMs are flooded, and one should be willing to bank on some messages not being very pleasant.
But Thomas said she has put herself around a good "circle" to keep herself in the right headspace.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I have a lot of people in my circle that are very trustworthy in that I can lean on with these things," Thomas said. "It’s a lot. A lot of people have come at me, saying a lot of things, giving their two cents, but I am blessed to have fallen in with the right people to be able to trust them and the advice they’re giving me, lead me in the right direction, and ease my mind and just know that I’m on the right path."
Thomas has hundreds of thousands of new followers, and she's going to use them for good. (Raphaela Milagres)
SYDNEY THOMAS, WHO WAS RING GIRL FOR PAUL-TYSON FIGHT, HITS EXTRAORDINARY SOCIAL MEDIA MILESTONE
Over the weekend, Thomas went to Las Vegas for F1 weekend. She humbly bragged that it was her idea to make the trip "while my face is still out there." It's also not a bad place to spend a 21st birthday weekend.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But her face could still be around for a while: One of Thomas' short-term goals is being a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, which seems to be in a promising state.
"There have been a lot of conversations around that. I have a few people that have been in contact. … I would love to do it. I think since it’s been a goal of mine, a small milestone, I would love to do it. Hopefully, that can be a thing. We’ll see," she said.
But Thomas is currently an entrepreneurship major in Tuscaloosa, taking online classes to keep up with her busy schedule.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"My head has always been in the entrepreneurial space," Thomas said. "My end goal was to always build up my social media, my platform, my personal brand and then start something out of that that can last forever and make money in my sleep. I am going to work on continuing to build what I have in the media platforms and build stronger connections with my fan base, and then hopefully can turn that into something I can make a living off of."
That all sounds nice. But there is a deeper meaning for the young Thomas, whose personality is much more mature than it may seem on social media.
"But more long-term, greater goals, I have always been driven to do something that can impact people’s lives in a good way and a positive way, and I think that’s the true meaning of success," Thomas added. "Money is great, but when I die, I want to be able to say that I changed someone’s life in a positive way or left a positive mark on the world. I now have this platform to share things with. I would love to be able to do [some] positive things with it.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jake Paul is shown during weigh-ins ahead of his heavyweight bout with Mike Tyson. Standing beside Paul is ring girl Sydney Thomas. (Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
"I have some ideas on where I want to go with it, but definitely just use it for good, because I think there are so many people that are given platforms and kind of chase the money. That’s a goal, but at the same time, I want to use it in the right way."
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