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#361: Building Watch Her Footy while working Full-Time at the Queensland Reds with Neha Kumar
Meet Neha Kumar, Brand and Design Lead at Queensland Rugby Union (Queensland Reds). Neha's career started out in retail and moved into marketing before she landed her first full-time role as social media lead at GIVIT, a Brisbane-based not-for-profit, where she taught herself graphic design, photography and videography on the job and even got to create content for a royal visit from Queen Camilla. Around the same time, she started WATCHHERFOOTY, a passion project covering the NRLW that's now grown to 22,000+ followers and put her on TV, on radio, and on The Female Athlete Project stage. That page changed everything. It sharpened what she wanted, and when a role opened at the Reds, she backed herself despite never formally studying design and getting knocked back in other roles. She's since gone from Design & Communications Coordinator to Brand and Design Lead, run game-day production at Suncorp, MC'd in front of 30,000 people, toured Fiji with the men's team, and been named #12 on Ministry for Sport's Young Guns Under 30. In this episode, Neha shares how she turned a passion project into a role at the Queensland Reds, why backing yourself beats waiting until your CV feels "ready," and the pinch-me Fiji moment she never thought she'd get. We cover: (03:01) - Interview begins (05:13) - Quick Fire Questions (08:59) - Neha's journey to working in sport and how WatchHerFooty came to life (13:21) - How Neha balances time between her full-time role and WatchHerFooty (16:00) - Collaborations Neha has worked on through WatchHerFooty (18:17) - What is WatchHerFooty's most viral video (20:34) - Neha's experience with The Daily Aus x Nike Mentorship program (24:02) - Neha's work with GIVIT (30:44) - Neha's transferable skills helped land her role with the Queensland Reds (32:49) - How Neha's role has evolved since starting at the Reds (38:30) - Neha's experience MCing a game day (40:34) - Neha's experience on the international trip with the Queensland Reds to Fiji (43:57) - Experience at Suncorp Stadium during the British & Irish Lions Tour (45:28) - Neha on making the 'Young Guns under 30' List (46:48) - Challenges in entering the sports industry (48:33) - How Neha decided what career path to take when she felt lost for direction (50:03) - What helped Neha stand out when she landed her role at the Qld Reds (51:38) - Impact of mentors on Neha's career (53:26) - How to land a job in sport media in the next 30 days (57:03) - Biggest Pinch Me moment working in sport (58:08) - What life would look like if not for a career in sport (59:45) - What is a brand and sports partnership you'd like to see in the future (01:00:55) - Neha's question for next guest If you liked this ep, give these a go next: #286: Inside the GWS Giants Social Media strategy with Jacob Gaynor #347: Sport Marketing & Communications - How to work in AFL, NBA and Seven Sport with Anthony Alsop #354: How building Kanga TV led to a PR & Comms job in sport, with Marnie Cohen (TGI Sport) Want a job in sport? Click here. Follow SportsGrad on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok Follow Reuben on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok Thanks for listening, much love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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