Aug. 14, 2023 By Anthony Medina
TikTok followers of the Olympic gold medalist and history-maker Laurie Hernandez may have seen a familiar Queens location on her page earlier this month.
In a paid partnership video on TikTok, Hernandez can be seen showcasing some of her winning dance moves while holding a large department store designer lamp right in front of the Home Goods location at The Shops at Atlas Park at 8000 Cooper Ave. in Glendale.
The video received more than 11,000 views since it was posted and The Shops at Atlas Park specifically shared the video on their Facebook page on Tuesday, Aug. 8.
“We were thrilled to see Laurie, an Olympic gymnast enjoying the shopping experience at The Shops Atlas Park. It brings us great pride as a community to host a member of our US team and provide them with their retail needs,” said Peter DeLucia Jr., general manager of The Shops at Atlas Park, in a statement.
Hernandez is a world-renowned Olympic gold medalist who made history as the youngest member to join the U.S. Women’s Olympic Artistic Gymnastics Team in 2016 at only 16 years old. She also became the first Latina woman to join the team in decades and won over the public with her signature dance moves.
She would later become a winner of the television series “Dancing with the Stars” Season 23. Hernandez is the current UNICEF ambassador, advocating for children’s rights on a global effort.
The partnered ad video showed a slew of comments from users, almost in disbelief of her visit to the Glendale shopping center. QNS confirmed the news with HomeGoods and asked the company what motivated their decision to partner with Hernandez at the Queens location.
“While we appreciate your interest, we are a pretty quiet company and don’t generally get into details about our marketing campaigns. That said, at HomeGoods, we’ve heard from our shoppers that when they find an item that truly speaks to them, the feeling is thrilling,” a spokesperson for the company said in a statement to QNS. “We love Laurie’s interpretation of that feeling with her fun dance moves, inspired by the thrill of finding an amazing item at an amazing price!”