# Tony Gardea

> Tony Gardea is the founder and CEO of Next Level Sports, a Southern California marketing and public relations agency founded in 2004. His career spans motorsports publicity, athlete representation and work with race promoters and manufacturers, including Kawasaki. He previously worked at Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group and studied communications at Chapman University.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at Next Level Sports
- **Organizations:** Next Level Sports Management, Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group
- **Education:** Communications degree; level not specified in the interview, Chapman University
- **Known for:** Founded Next Level Sports Management in 2004., Built an agency appointed to Kawasaki’s all-product and racing PR brief in 2015., Represented James Stewart and, subsequently, Ryan Dungey, Travis Preston and Dusty Klatt.

## Career timeline

- **1991** — Entered motorsports through a public relations job at Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group.
- **2000** — Hired by Bruce Stjernstrom for Kawasaki PR, as Gardea recalled in his 2008 interview.
- **2004** — Founded Next Level Sports Management; the agency announced James Stewart as a representation client in April.
- **2005** — Next Level was retained for PR and media coordination for the 2005-2006 Amp’d Supercross series.
- **2008** — Described representing Ryan Dungey, Travis Preston and Dusty Klatt while building the agency’s PR work.
- **2015** — World Wake Association enlisted Next Level for PR and marketing; Kawasaki expanded the agency’s role to all product and racing PR in October.

## Achievements

- Founded Next Level Sports Management in 2004.
- Built an agency appointed to Kawasaki’s all-product and racing PR brief in 2015.
- Represented James Stewart and, subsequently, Ryan Dungey, Travis Preston and Dusty Klatt.
- Worked on publicity for a 17-race Supercross series through Next Level’s 2005 appointment.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — As reviewed in October 2026, the company website identifies Gardea as Owner/CEO and presents agency work spanning PR, social media, creative production, media buying, analytics and consulting. This is a website observation, not a dated appointment announcement.

## Links

- Website: https://www.nextlevelsportsinc.com/tonygardea
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tony-gardea-1590945

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/tony-gardea
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-23