Extra Time Magazine
I write about grassroots football culture for Extra Time Magazine - the stories of identity, community, and connection that shape the game before the mainstream catches on.
Why I Write for Extra Time
There's something special about grassroots football that the big leagues can't replicate. It's the fan-owned club in Scotland running on passion and community ownership. It's the local team getting their first custom kit designed and feeling like they finally belong to something bigger. It's the stories that don't make headlines but matter more to the people living them.
Extra Time Magazine covers that side of football - the culture and communities that make the game what it really is. I write for them because these are the stories worth telling. The ones about identity, belonging, and what happens when people build something together instead of just consuming what's handed to them.
The Stories I Tell
I chase the moments where football culture intersects with real human connection. Over 6 issues, I've written 10+ feature articles covering:
Under Armour Magnetico 4 cover story - boot launch that resonated beyond product specs
Turkish legend Ogün Temizkanoğlu interview - playing across continents and cultural identity
Icarus Football feature - how custom kits transform grassroots club identity
Caledonian Braves fan-ownership model - spotlighting fan ownership against traditional models and their impact on communities
Hospitality Cup feature - spotlighting the incredible work of Jean-Baptiste Dumas and the community that is built around those who serve you on your night out
Every piece is about finding what people genuinely care about before the mainstream narrative takes over and flattens it. I'm looking for the human truth that makes a story matter beyond just reporting facts.
What Football Taught Me About Marketing
Writing about football culture taught me something agencies spend years trying to understand: authenticity isn't a strategy you manufacture, it's what happens when you genuinely understand what people care about and why.
This carries into every marketing project I touch. I learned to spot emerging trends by watching what grassroots communities build. I learned to tell stories that tap into what people actually value instead of what focus groups say they should want. And I learned that the best marketing work comes from genuine curiosity about why people care.
The craft itself matters too. Every article means interviewing people who live these stories, synthesising complex culture into something readable without killing what makes it special, and finding the human truth. Those same instincts drive how I approach campaign strategy, write copy, and figure out how to make people care about things they're ignoring.
Key Learnings From Extra Time Magazine Contributions
Contributing to Extra Time sharpened instincts that marketing degrees can't teach: cultural fluency, narrative instinct, and the ability to spot what resonates before algorithms catch on. Football gave me the insight. Extra Time gave me the platform. Marketing lets me apply it to brands trying to connect with audiences who've learned to ignore everything that doesn't feel real.
