It’s no secret that LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne has become one of the most recognizable names in the country.
The 21-year-old has racked up a massive following over the past few years, boasting nearly eight million followers on TikTok, and 4.4 million on Instagram. She’s the highest paid female NIL athlete in college sports, setting herself up for a lucrative career outside of gymnastics.
Pretty wild for a college gymnast.
Things started to get real last year when the LSU gymnastics team traveled to Utah for a meet, and the stadium was completely packed out, with tons of fans there to just catch a peak of Livvy.
It got so wild, that LSU was forced to hire a security guard to follow the team wherever they went, due to the crazed fans:
With that being said, Dunne sat down for an interview with People to discuss the security measures LSU is having to take going into this season.
She told the outlet:
“Actually, we’ve got it settled down a bit. We haven’t competed since last season, so we’ll see what this season holds. But after the incident in Utah that happened last year, we now have a security guard that travels with the LSU gymnastics team.”
She also admitted that she’s had a hard time finding a balance between TikTok, college, NIL, and her personal life:
“The past few years, juggling NIL or ever since my sophomore year, since the summer of 2021, I’ve definitely had a hard time finding balance. I finally feel like I got a grasp on it this year. It’s just compartmentalizing things mentally is very important in my everyday routine.
Last year was probably one of the most rewarding and most difficult years of my life. Just having so many eyes on me was such a new feeling, but it was pretty cool at the same time.”
Dunne also discussed her relationship with former LSU and former number one pick in the MLB draft pitcher Paul Skenes, and how she tried her best to keep it a private thing as long as she could:
“I’ve definitely learned over the past few years that, this past year mostly, that keeping certain things private is okay.”
You have to imagine that all of this fame can be pretty overwhelming for a girl in college, but it appears that Dunne is handling it the best she possibly can.
