NPLH Studio

Dylan Autran is one third of creative Collective Neighborhood Sports Club.

A childhood desire to carve a career as a player saw him collect a few stamps on his passport via France, Finland and Norway.

It was in the latter where the early seeds of NSC were sewn and a flight home to California, to turn out for hometown club Oakland Roots, would open the doors back to a childhood when football wasn’t about finding the next contract, but a vehicle for creative expression and a gateway to connection and community.

Listen to the way he talks about his Under 10 team and tell me he wasn’t destined to be doing what he’s doing now. 

You’ve got to leave home to come home, right? 

Enjoy! 

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NPLH is more than a podcast.

Once you've hit the follow button, visit nplhmag.com to enjoy online reads, subscribe to our newsletter, and browse our collection of magazines, prints, and apparel.

Your support keeps us playing.

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This was an easy one for me.

I asked Nikita Taparia how one comes to live a dual life as a mechanical engineer and prolific photographer in the NWSL. She did the rest.

From early exposure as a child, taking photos of friends and its role in her studies, Nikita details how the medium, a love of geometry and a helping hand from Geography would open up the game to her in a way she’d never imagined - or anyone else for that matter. 

In time, it would take her across state, the country and, eventually, the world. But more importantly, when she needed it, it got her out of her head as the stresses that came with a PhD weighed upon her.

With a career born out of competitiveness with herself, honed on the touchline in real time and played in tandem with some of the games icons, as they hang up their boots, what’s next? 

Over to Nikita…

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NPLH is more than a podcast.

Once you've hit the follow button, visit nplhmag.com to enjoy online reads, subscribe to our newsletter, and browse our collection of magazines, prints, and apparel.

Your support keeps us playing.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Max Ornstil is a former pro athlete turned entrepreneur and creative from Oakland, California. 

He shares the challenges of transitioning from a life with a very clear path and identity, to one without either as one third of the creative collective Neighborhood Sports Club. 

Falling in love with the game aged five, Max lived out his boyhood dream in exchange for a number of sacrifices along the way only for someone else to tell him when the dream was over. 

Where that door closed, a world of possibilities opened and, as Max tells us, Neighborhood Sports Club has not only given him the opportunity to reconnect with passions cast aside as his career took over, but reminded him why he fell in love with the game in the first place. 

More takeouts than a strip mall in this one. Enjoy! 

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NPLH is more than a podcast.

Once you've hit the follow button, visit nplhmag.com to enjoy online reads, subscribe to our newsletter, and browse our collection of magazines, prints, and apparel.

Your support keeps us playing.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Paul Desbaillets is a Canadian entrepreneur, media personality and founder of the charity GOAL. 

Our first conversation came in the midst of the pandemic, when his podcast, The 1st Half was in its embryonic stages. 

Picking up four years later, the show, his businesses and the charity continue to thrive and it only took about 4 minutes of this call to understand why.

Paul details how life in hospitality lends itself well to building a successful podcast, the karmic origins of the charity, why community is key and his take on what it takes to move forward. 

The conversation came four days before I left the relative safety of full-time employment and I’ll be honest, I saw an opportunity for a bit of free mentoring to help me on this new path.

I took plenty from it and hope you can too.

As he says, "you’ve got to be open, loose and ready to go!"

Enjoy!

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NPLH is more than a podcast.

Once you've hit the follow button, visit nplhmag.com to enjoy online reads, subscribe to our newsletter, and browse our collection of magazines, prints, and apparel.

Your support keeps us playing.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andrea Vílchez is a Florida-based photographer at the beginning of what promises to be an exciting career.

Still four months from graduation at the time of recording, Andrea already boasts a portfolio of work from the NWSL, WNBA and MLS, not to mention the Grand Prize Award of Club Eleven’s North American Soccer Photograph of the Year contest – congratulations! 

She shares her family's journey from Nicaragua to Florida, how the game helped her adapt to life in a new country and how picking up a camera for the first time opened up that same in a way she hadn’t seen before. Looking at her work, it’s hard to believe that was little over three years ago!

Speaking with Andrea reminded me that you don’t always necessarily need to look towards age and experience for inspiration. Her drive and attitude provided me with yet another timely reminder at a crossroads on my own path. 

Enjoy!

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NPLH is more than a podcast.

Once you've hit the follow button, visit nplhmag.com to enjoy online reads, subscribe to our newsletter, and browse our collection of magazines, prints, and apparel.

Your support keeps us playing.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Daniel Sandison is best known in the football space for founding seminal indie magazine MUNDIAL, way back in 2014. 

We spoke at the very beginning this year about the early days of the publication, how it evolved from a spare-time project to an internationally recognised brand over the following decade, and adjusting to life after the mag. 

But there’s plenty more to his story than the successes of MUNDIAL. Dan shares how his creative journey began with a love of film and wanting to make them, before heading to university to study it and quickly realising he didn’t!

A love of writing was discovered in the process and, after knocking on a few doors, they began to open. An assist from his dad in the form of some time off work enabled him to explore an opportunity and the rest is history. Well played, Dad. 

There are some key learnings here on perseverance, perspective, the value of support and, as we’ve heard across many episodes, the importance of backing yourself. 

Enjoying the podcast? Support the show with caffeine here.

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NPLH is more than a podcast.

Once you've hit the follow button, visit nplhmag.com to enjoy online reads, subscribe to our newsletter, and browse our collection of magazines, prints, and apparel.

Your support keeps us playing.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jacqui McAssey is founder of GIRLFANS, the photo zine pushing for increased female fan visibility, as well as a leading voice on female representation through campaigns with Nike, Liverpool and COPA90. 

As well as the progress made during 10 years of GIRLFANS, we discuss the early influence of Liverpool’s victory parades during the 80s, the importance of play in formative years and activism through creative output.

A self-confessed non-academic student with a GCSE in needlework, we learn how she went on to become a senior lecturer in Fashion and communication at Liverpool John Moores University with works archived in the British Library - quite the turnaround! – and why she might be spending a bit more time at the Bingo hall.

Enjoy! 

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NPLH is more than a podcast.

Once you've hit the follow button, visit nplhmag.com to enjoy online reads, subscribe to our newsletter, and browse our collection of magazines, prints, and apparel.

Your support keeps us playing.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nathen McVittie is a Creative Strategist across the sports, gaming, music and entertainment spaces.

In the football landscape his fingerprints can be found on the work of well-known brands such as FIFA, MLS, Nike and Adidas, along with leading clubs such as Chelsea, Liverpool and Man City. He’s also co-founder and Creative Director of Where is Football – one of the most respected independent outlets in the game.

But we don’t really talk about any of that. Instead, we touch on trauma, its impact on life choices, photography as an outlet, the importance of broadening horizons for the creative process and his 1971 Datsun 240z.

A conversation of immense value in many ways with plenty to draw from. But be careful, I was so hyped up, I typed up my resignation the following day.

Enjoy!

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NPLH is more than a podcast.

Once you've hit the follow button, visit nplhmag.com to enjoy online reads, subscribe to our newsletter, and browse our colection of magazines, prints, and apparel.

Your support keeps us playing.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

US artist Geoff Gouveia takes us through his journey from cutting his teeth on the unloved buildings of Riverside, CA to working with leading brands such as FIFA and Adidas.

He recalls how an inspirational trip to Brazil in 2014 during a crossroads in his career planted the seeds for a change in direction and how he set about making that happen on his return home –including cross country flights for coffee!

Geoff’s career shows us how backing yourself publicly and an air of tenacity are often as important as artistic ability, if not more, and how elementary school may have offered some spoilers on how his life would pan out.

Enjoy! 

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NPLH is more than a podcast.

Once you've hit the follow button, visit nplhmag.com to enjoy online reads, subscribe to our newsletter, and browse our colection of magazines, prints, and apparel.

Your support keeps us playing.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Corey Pellatt is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Versus, the media platform championing football and its influence on music and culture. 

Corey shares the influences and inspiration behind his chosen career path, the circumstances and mission behind the creation of the influential platform, and the responsibilities that come with it. 

There’s also sound advice on self-care, the importance of fulfilment in your work and connecting with passions outside of it.  

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A quick reminder that NPLH is more than a podcast.

Once you’ve Hit the follow button! Visit nplhmag.com where you can enjoy online reads, subscribe to our weekly newsletter and browse our collection of magazines, prints, and apparel. NPLH is an independent, ad-free platform and your support, in whatever form, keeps us playing.

Enjoy!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.