Best pitch presenter you’ve ever seen:
Priya Narasimhan – the founder of Yinzcam who produce our app is always fantastic value. I’ve not seen anyone energise a room as she does.
Best sports marketing campaign (that wasn’t yours):
From a digital perspective, Roma highlighting missing children in their signing announcements was something completely unique. Using their biggest pieces of content for engagement and combining it with content which could really help those in need at the same time is something to really admire.
Best agency (that isn’t yours):
I’m privileged to have worked with so many! Gibe Digital for web dev and infrastructure, Milton Bayer for digital design, Platform 81 for boutique style microsite design and build and Extreme PR for global communications.
Best young industry talent:
A former colleague of mine down in Bristol is doing some incredible work for the Bristol Flyers basketball team – Joel Osborne. He won’t get the coverage he deserves due to the limited exposure professional basketball gets in the UK. The guy is a media machine: commentator, presenter, social media savant,
communications expert and top-notch video editing/motion graphics. He also came up with the gifs that went viral a couple of years back with Bristol City.
Best sporting event attended:
I might get some stick for this! The best entertainment I’ve had at a ‘sporting’ event was a few years back at Wrestlemania 31 in San Francisco. The show these guys put on is amazing. A full week of events with tonnes of interactive elements inside and outside of the stadium, there’s a lot that traditional sports could learn from the live event elements the WWE puts together.
Best film containing a scene depicting the sports business:
Not the most realistic but for pure emotion and endless optimism you can’t beat Rocky.
Best bar or pub:
The Apple Cider boat in Bristol is great. I don’t think it gets better than a cider in the sunshine by the river in central Bristol. Some of their cider is so deadly it’s only available in half measures.
Best restaurant:
Yauatcha in Soho. Really great dim sum.
Best holiday resort:
Prefer to get out there and experience the real world rather than resorts.
Best box set:
I’m currently watching Breaking Bad for probably the fifth time. The slow build and character development is so nuanced, I don’t think any other tv show has come close to it in the last ten years.
Best sporting event on TV:
Coming at this from a digital perspective, I love the way BT present their coverage through their app for live football games, the interactive timeline and new watch party modes are truly innovative whilst also providing a valuable experience for viewers. For a specific event, watching Euro 96 as an eight-year-old child was something else, I don’t think I’ve had as much enjoyment from any England campaign since (although the 2018 World Cup was great too). That Gazza goal vs Scotland!
Best influence on your career:
I often tell younger colleagues of an experience in my first week of work that shaped my outlook and can also help benefit anyone in the early stages of my career. My first boss tasked me with getting some files added to a web server for a client (in the days before wetransfer and the cloud etc). Having asked around the entire business with no success I returned to explain I was unable to do so. His reaction? To ask me to bring solutions not problems. An hour or two of google searches later I duly found an alternative that would work. That thinking set me up for any future successes I have had in the 15 years since.
Best dinner companions (min 4, max 6):
Roy Keane, Conor McGregor, Vince McMahon, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Dennis Rodman. I enjoy a chaotic evening from time to time.
Best job in the sports biz:
Photographer – having a front row seat at the biggest events.
Best professional regret:
Not getting into the sports industry sooner.
Best skill you most covet:
Being multilingual would open a lot of doors. With the way things are moving with tech we may all be able to converse in multiple languages soon!
Best trait you admire in others:
Honesty
Best ambition:
To constantly improve.