For as long as he can remember, Jake Barford has been passionate about two things: soccer and content creation. Growing up in Cincinnati, Ohio, Jake remembers making videos with his friends after getting his first camera in 2008-2009; and that leading him to starting his own YouTube channel during his time in high school. For him, it was all about the endless possibilities to be creative. The chance to tell stories. The opportunity to foster community. Little did he know, but over the following years, what started out as a hobby would turn into a full-time career that would lead him to do just that. Throughout his time in college, at Xavier University, Jake continued to dive into the creative side of sports—interning for FC Cincinnati and the Cincinnati Reds in game day production and media. While strengthening his knowledge in video production and digital media, he continued to create content on YouTube. In 2020 though, Jake decided to go all in. He hasn’t looked back since! From amassing over 2,000,000 total followers across platforms to collaborating with an array of brands including EA Sports, PlayStation, Sony, Google, and Adidas, Jake has established himself as an influential sports content creator who specializes in soccer and gaming. Truly incredible!
Let’s talk about your journey early on! How did you discover your love for content creation? When did you know you were interested in merging your passion for sports and digital media?
Good question! It's been a long journey. For starters, I've always been interested in cameras, photography, filmmaking, and video editing as well. From an early age, my mom sort of got me into all of that. She was a graphic designer and showed me some things early on—showed me iMovie, Photoshop. Since I can remember, to be honest, I was filming videos with my friends around the neighborhood and just really having fun. Then when I was in high school, I learned about this platform called Twitch TV—which is a live streaming service—and it was brand new at the time. No one knew what it was. I started playing video games on that platform and it's really kind of how I got my start. Influencing wasn't really a thing when I started my career. Obviously nowadays everyone knows what influences are, but if you’d try to tell someone in 2013 that (you’re) an influencer, people would be like: “What are you talking about?” (*laughs*). So that was never my goal. My goal was always to play video games. I’m lucky enough to know how to make content out of my hobby, and it kind of spiraled into something a lot bigger.
How was that transition from college into the world of sports media and content creation like for you?
In college, I was still pursuing YouTube as a hobby and as an excuse to play video games (*laughs*). I was making some decent money on the side for a college kid, so that was nice as well with paying the bills. I ended up paying for my tuition, which is very nice and I’m very lucky that that happened. But, when I was in college, I wasn't expecting to go full-time on YouTube. I was actively pursuing a career in video production and in this digital media field. I got some really cool internships while I was in college. I got to work with the Cincinnati Reds—running cameras in their stadium that you'd actually see on the big screen of the stadium. I'd also run the scoreboard which was really cool because I loved sports. I had a passion for it my whole life and grew up playing any sport you can think of. I also worked for FC Cincinnati as well doing some media stuff for them. So I was trying to navigate my way through college—having a good college experience while also doing YouTube, and also trying to figure out what my career was going to be.
Let’s talk branding! How did you get started building your personal brand in the space?
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