UNOFFICIAL PARTNER
THE SPORTS BUSINESS PODCAST
MARK MIDDLEMAS
CEO & Founder, The Athlete Media Group
Best restaurant:
La Relais de Venise, Marylebone
Best influence on your career:
My hero & late father, Colonel RG Middlemas (Royal Artillery, Parachute Regiment 7RHA, Royal Marine Commando, NATO)
Best dinner companions (min 4, max 6):
Sir Winston Chruchill
Jurgen Klopp
Daley Thompson
Joanna Lumley
My late Gran, Margaret Middlemas
Salma Hayek
Best job in the sports biz:
Marketing @Liverpool Football Club
Best professional regret:
Turning down a business invite to the 2005 Champions League Final!
Best skill you most covet:
Strong leadership
Best trait you admire in others:
Humility
Best overrated virtue:
Working long hours
Best ambition:
Not coming last in a 30-team charity go-kart race as our team did last month!
Best brand ambassador:
Usain Bolt – entertaining, passionate, funny
Best industry event or conference:
The Marketing Society Annual Conference – learning for all, always
Best film containing a scene depicting the sports business:
Katie – Netflix documentary on the awesome female boxing World Champion Katie Taylor
Best holiday resort:
Driftwood Club, Malindi, Kenya
Best box set: 24
Best book recommendation:
Legacy, What the All Blacks Can teach Us About The Business of Life (James Kerr)
Best bar or pub:
The Rock Inn, Chiddingstone Hoath, Kent – the best community pub you are likely to find anywhere in the world!
Best pitch presenter you’ve ever seen:
Rory Sutherland, Ogilvy
Best sports marketing campaign (that wasn’t yours):
Carling Black Label, NoExcuse Soccer Songs of Change, South Africa – the 2018 Cannes Grand Prix Winner, Radio and Audio the most astonishingly powerful, emotional and effective campaign I’ve ever seen!
Best agency (that isn’t yours):
DECEMBER19 – an independent media agency with heart, transparency and a passion for its staff like no other
Best young industry talent:
Harry Adams, my Head of Content at AMG!
Best sporting event attended:
Attended (and participated in) the first ever ForRangers Ultra 2018 – 203km’s through the top 5 game reserves in northern Kenya.
And world record marathon holder, Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge, gave us our medals at the end!
Best sporting event on TV:
Rugby World Cup 2019 – the world in union!
