Ben Chehebar is building a soccer shoe in a space Nike doesn't even think about.

While the biggest brands treat turf shoes like an afterthought, Ben saw an opportunity. And he went all in.

He spent over a year designing his first prototype from scratch, obsessing over every detail most players never think twice about.

Now, he’s betting everything on Eleven Football.

Ben isn’t new to the grind either. He spent a decade building and selling his previous company, Compology, so he knows exactly what it takes to build something from nothing.

In this episode, we cover:

• Building in public
• The reality of starting from zero (again)
• Designing a shoe from scratch
• Obsessing over craft and quality
• Competing in a world dominated by giants
• The power of creative collaboration

This is the story of Ben Chehebar and what he’s building with Eleven Football.

Let’s chip away.

SUPPORT THIS HERO:

Buy Eleven boots: https://elevenfootball.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elevenfootball

GET IN TOUCH WITH HALFTIME HEROES

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HalftimeHeroesShow

X: https://x.com/TeamHalftime

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@teamhalftimeheroes

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/halftimeheroesshow/

Substack: https://halftimeheroes.substack.com/

ABOUT HALFTIME HEROES:

I’m Ryan. Former Division I soccer captain turned creator.

Halftime Heroes is where sports and creativity collide. I sit down with athletes, creators, and entrepreneurs to understand how they’re channeling their athlete mindset into building their next chapter.

My entire life has revolved around sports. Every hour of every day as a kid was pointed towards one thing… playing college soccer.

Then, it happened. I was living out my dream.

And just as quickly as it started, it ended.

Everything I had ever worked for came to a screeching halt. And I was lost more than you could ever imagine. Chasing new experiments, always trying to find something to fill the void that being an athlete left.

It’s hard to say for sure if I found something here with Halftime Heroes, but I think this one might be different. I think this might be the thing that becomes my life after sports.

If you’re a former athlete or a current athlete looking to unleash their creativity or start a business or launch into life as a creator, this show is for you.

** EDITOR’S NOTE **

I recorded about an hour of footage for this video with a nice fancy microphone. It felt like I finally nailed the script. I had a good cadence. I was calm and delivered on what I wanted to say. Went to check the recording andddddd no audio. Mic glitched out or something. 11 o’clock at night. My wife and baby sleeping in the other room. I dove back in with my Airpods and recorded this whole episode again.

If we’re being honest with ourselves… the audio sucks. And my delivery kind of sucks too.

But at the beginning of the year I promised myself that on the 3rd of every month I would release a long-form video and it’s the 3rd of the month, so I’m releasing a video.

We learn from it and move forward.

Let’s chip away.



GET IN TOUCH WITH HALFTIME HEROES
X: https://x.com/TeamHalftime
TikTok:   / teamhalftimeheroes  
Instagram:   / halftimeheroesshow  
Substack: https://halftimeheroes.substack.com/

ABOUT HALFTIME HEROES:
I'm Ryan. Host of Halftime Heroes. I'm a former Division 1 college soccer captain and serial content creator. I've tried everything from blogs to podcasts to newsletters to very bad TikToks.

With this show I'm hoping to bring together my two favorite things: sports and creativity. My goal is to get to the bottom of how these incredible creators and entrepreneurs are bringing their athlete mindset to the creator economy.

Kendall Baker grew up watching SportsCenter.

He eventually worked there. Running the teleprompter for Scott Van Pelt, cutting highlights, helping to manage the show he watched his whole life.

During his time in Bristol, an idea hit him... "I should rebuild this show I love… in an email."

No highlight reel dunks, no extra sizzle.

Just words.

It took a few years before that idea became a reality in the form of a daily sports newsletter called Sports Internet. Since then, Kendall got Sports Internet acquired by Axios Sports, and has taken his talents to Yahoo Sports where his once little experiment now hits the inboxes of half a million readers every single morning.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Finding the right format
• How consistency becomes a competitive advantage
• The system he uses to “read the internet” without drowning in it
• Why most creators burn out (and how to avoid it)
• The middle ground between independent creators and traditional media
• Why we love sports

This is the story of Kendall Baker and the operation behind the daily sports newsletter that (for whatever reason) no one decided to make... except him.

SUPPORT THIS HERO:
Subscribe to Yahoo Sports AM: https://sports.yahoo.com/newsletters/yahoo-sports-am/
X: https://x.com/kendallbaker

GET IN TOUCH WITH HALFTIME HEROES
X: https://x.com/TeamHalftime
TikTok: / teamhalftimeheroes
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/halftimeheroesshow/
Substack: https://halftimeheroes.substack.com/

ABOUT HALFTIME HEROES:
I'm Ryan. Host of Halftime Heroes. I'm a former Division 1 college soccer captain and serial content creator. I've tried everything from blogs to podcasts to newsletters to very bad TikToks.

With this show I'm hoping to bring together my two favorite things: sports and creativity. My goal is to get to the bottom of how these incredible creators and entrepreneurs are bringing their athlete mindset to the creator economy.

Jared Doerfler was walk-on turned Division 1 golfer at the University of Northern Iowa.

He had grown into a comfortable life with a well-paying job as VP of Sales. He just had his first kid and decided to start writing online based on the advice of his MBA professor. With zero followers and zero writing experience, he grew the Perfect Putt newsletter to 10,000+ subscribers and built a healthy following on X.

Then he took it one step further and quit his job to start making golf putters in his garage. He bought a CDC machine and taught himself how to use it through trial and error and a whole bunch of YouTube videos.

Now, he has sold putters to golfers around the world, put them in the hands of guys on the PGA Tour, and continues to scale up his homegrown operation through sheer grit and hard work.

This is the story of Jared Doerfler and Hanna Golf.

SUPPORT THIS HERO:
Website: https://hannagolf.com/
X: https://x.com/HannaGolfCo
X: https://x.com/DoerflerJared
Instagram:   / hannagolfco  

GET IN TOUCH WITH HALFTIME HEROES
Instagram:   / halftimeheroesshow  
X: https://x.com/TeamHalftime
TikTok:   / teamhalftimeheroes  
Substack: https://halftimeheroes.substack.com/

ABOUT HALFTIME HEROES:
I'm Ryan. Host of Halftime Heroes. I'm a former Division 1 college soccer captain and serial content creator. I've tried everything from blogs to podcasts to newsletters to very bad TikToks.

With this show I'm hoping to bring together my two favorite things: sports and creators. My goal is to get to the bottom of how these incredible creators and entrepreneurs are bringing their athlete mindset to the creator economy.

George Boyd went from the top of the mountain as a BMX rider and video creator, to a top editor for massive brands like Disney, Meta, and the NFL.

Now, he's set off on his own to create Cut The Pod, a full service production studio and brand strategy house helping video podcast creators bring their content to the next level.

We discussed how after years of putting his work first, George is finally building a business that works around his life. If you're an current or former athlete who is looking to get into the content or entrepreneurship game, this one is for you.

SUPPORT THIS HERO:
Website: https://www.cutthepod.com/
X: https://x.com/cutthepod
Set Up A Call: https://cal.com/cutthepod/30min

GET IN TOUCH WITH HALFTIME HEROES
X: https://x.com/TeamHalftime
TikTok:   / teamhalftimeheroes  
Instagram:   / halftimeheroesshow  
Substack: https://halftimeheroes.substack.com/

ABOUT HALFTIME HEROES:
I'm Ryan. Host of Halftime Heroes. I'm a former Division 1 college soccer captain and serial creator. I've tried everything from blogs to newsletters to very bad TikToks.

With this show I'm hoping to bring together my two favorite things: sports and creators. My goal is to get to the bottom of how these incredible creators and entrepreneurs are bringing their athlete mindset to the creator economy.

Everybody loves a good underdog story. If you're Tyler O'Shea, you've built a pretty successful business telling those stories.

He's the founder and creator of Joker Mag, which started as a website and has blossomed into a full-fledged media company. The Underdog Newsletter has exploded to over 20,000 subscribers and the site regularly generates over 50,000 page views a month. And now, most recently, O'Shea launched his first book The Underdog Mentality: Sports Stories That Will Change How You See the Game (And Yourself). In the last year, O'Shea has also blown up his social presence, going from just a couple thousand followers to an audience of 50,000 across platforms.

SUPPORT THIS HERO:
Website: https://jokermag.com/
X: https://x.com/OSheaSEO
Underdog Newsletter: https://newsletter.jokermag.com/subsc...

GET IN TOUCH
X: https://x.com/TeamHalftime
TikTok:   / teamhalftimeheroes  
Substack: https://halftimeheroes.substack.com/

ABOUT HALFTIME HEROES:
I'm Ryan. Host of Halftime Heroes. I'm a former Division 1 college soccer captain and serial creator. I've tried everything from blogs to newsletters to very bad TikToks.

With this show I'm hoping to bring together my two favorite things: sports and creators. My goal is to get to the bottom of how these incredible creators and entrepreneurs are bringing their athlete mindset to the creator economy.