Originally from the Philippines, Joe's parents decided to move the family to the U.S. when he was 11 years old. Coming to the states was initially a culture shock because of the differences in physical appearance, athletic ability, and just overall environment. 

Joe didn't actually get into photography after the first time his mom handed him a camera. He recalls she just handed him an old camera during a family gathering and told him to get some shots during the party.

It wasn't until the pandemic hit, that Joe started sneaking out of his house in the early mornings to go to the national mall and take landscape photography. Because everything was closed down, he spent the majority of his time in his house watching YouTube videos and learning all the ins and outs of not only using a camera, but also how to promote his work on Instagram.

Just a few years later, Joe is approaching 20,000 followers on Instagram and shoots for All Pro Reels, a digital media company covering professional sports in the DMV, all the while still working a full-time job.

If you're interested in checking out Joe's work, give him a follow on Instagram or check out his website.

#RepYourStory

If you are an athlete or content creator with an interesting or inspirational story to share, contact us at [email protected] and we'll be in touch!

This show is sponsored by LVLS Sportswear. Purchase your LVLS Sportswear gear at www.lvlssportswear.com.

Born in the Philippines, Paul first arrived in the United States entering 4th grade. His uncle first sparked his interest in football when he took Paul to a Jets vs. Falcons NFL preseason game. Essentially learning how to play the game through Madden and outside with friends around home, Paul soon discovered he had potential.

In high school, Paul's father wanted him to focus on a future working with cars, placing him in a technical school for mechanics. Fortunately for Paul, his talent drew the interest from Ansonia High School coaches right across the street. With the help of his mother, Paul was able to transfer and help the Chargers win state.

In college, Paul had stints at Sacred Heart University, East Carolina University, and Penn State. All were unfortunately cut short and didn't allow him to see the field for a number of reasons. Regardless, Paul has continued to put in work with the goal of being the first full-blood Filipino football player to play professionally in the United States, recently receiving a good amount of media coverage both in the US and back home.

The grit and determination that Paul continues to demonstrate, both in his daily habits and his viral workout videos, is inspiring for athletes all around the world.

#RepYourStory

If you are an athlete or content creator with an interesting or inspirational story to share, contact us at [email protected] and we'll be in touch!

This show is sponsored by LVLS Sportswear. Purchase your LVLS Sportswear gear at www.lvlssportswear.com.

Growing up just outside Gaithersburg, MD, Johnny Hodges started playing sports at the age of 8. Swimming was where he saw early successes, but as he got older and started participating in other sports, the athletes that stuck with swimming year-round began to overtake him. He then decided to make the jump to football, basketball, and lacrosse.

As a naturally fast athlete, he was able to excel in lacrosse and football specifically, earning him interest from a number of NCAA programs. Since lacrosse offers tend to arrive earlier than football, he ended up committing to Navy for lacrosse during his sophomore year.

When COVID-19 ended his season early, he went home and needed something to work towards. It was at that moment he decided to make the transition back to football. Fast forward a few years and his brief, but significant successes at Navy earned him some looks from a TCU scout.

Today, Johnny has one of the more inspiring stories we've heard on this podcast - coming in with minimal knowledge about college football drills, reads, and playbooks to now playing for a 7-0 TCU program.

If you want to follow Johnny's story closer, shoot him a follow @johnnyhodges11 on Instagram!

#RepYourStory

If you are an athlete or content creator with an interesting or inspirational story to share, contact us at [email protected] and we'll be in touch!

This show is sponsored by LVLS Sportswear. Purchase your LVLS Sportswear gear at www.lvlssportswear.com.

Kaili's athletic career, like many others we've had on the show, didn't start out with basketball. She began as a swimmer; her mom would drop her off at swim practice and her brother would head to the outdoor courts to shoot hoops. Once she finished swim practice, she would meet up with her brother and rebound for him before their mom picked them up.

Eventually, he convinced her to pick up basketball and, almost immediately, her career took off. Fast forward to senior year of high school and Kaili's getting recruited by Maryland, Ohio State, UCONN, Virginia, and many more. Initially, she wanted to commit to Maryland, but after experiencing the UCONN vibe at Midnight Madness with the likes of Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi in attendance, it was near impossible to commit anywhere else.

After a college career that most can only dream of - two NCAA titles and both squads finishing with perfect seasons - Kaili began her extensive overseas career. Winning Player of the Year in Greece her first year out, followed by stints in Israel, Switzerland, Turkey, and closing it out with a championship in Australia, Kaili suffered a leg injury that brought her near decade of international pro ball to a close.

Today, she is the Assistant Women's Basketball Coach at UC Santa Barbara and one of the most humble individuals considering her career accolades. It was such a privilege to speak with her about her story and learn a few important tips along the way!

#RepYourStory

If you are an athlete or content creator with an interesting or inspirational story to share, contact us at [email protected] and we'll be in touch!

This show is sponsored by LVLS Sportswear. Purchase your LVLS Sportswear gear at www.lvlssportswear.com.

Lindsey Pulliam's athletic career didn't start off how you might imagine. Her parents actually had her taking karate lessons. But, when she was two belts away from earning her black belt, the coaches of her boys basketball developmental league sat down with her parents and suggested that she start taking basketball seriously and join an AAU program.

As you can probably predict, since making the switch from karate to basketball, Lindsay's career absolutely took off. By the time she graduated from high school, she had dozens of Division I offers and ended up committing to Northwestern University. Within her first two years at NU, she had already surpassed the 1,000 point mark (the fastest in school history to do so) and earned First-Team All Big Ten Honors. Lindsey ended up graduating in 2021, becoming only the third player in Northwestern history to score over 2,000 career points and entered the WNBA draft.

Selected no. 27 overall by the Atlanta Dream, Lindsey is still eager to suit up for her first WNBA game, but stays ready by playing for Elazığ İl Özel İdaresi Spor Kulübü in Turkey and recently signing with a team in Mexico. 

If you're interested in following Lindsey's store more closely, shoot her a follow on Instagram @linzp99.

#RepYourStory

If you are an athlete or content creator with an interesting or inspirational story to share, contact us at [email protected] and we'll be in touch!

This show is sponsored by LVLS Sportswear. Purchase your LVLS Sportswear gear at www.lvlssportswear.com.

With a heavy influence from her father, MaryKate was introduced to photography and content creation as an eighth grader. She remembers him picking up a camera to shoot her siblings and her as they played sports, but that eventually led to his insistence on her learning the trade of photography, regardless if she stuck with it long-term or not.

Entering college, MaryKate was well ahead of her peers when it came to general camera and photography knowledge. On her visit to Belmont University, her father continued to push her, getting her a job with the Sports and Information Director on day one.

Today, MaryKate is the sole photographer and content creator for the Belmont University Men's Basketball Team, but she's also had her experience shooting for the NFL with teams like the Vikings, Bears, and Jaguars. 

If you're interested in checking out MaryKates' work or getting in contact with her, shoot her a follow on Instagram @mkdrewsphoto.

#RepYourStory

If you are an athlete or content creator with an interesting or inspirational story to share, contact us at [email protected] and we'll be in touch!

This show is sponsored by LVLS Sportswear. Purchase your LVLS Sportswear gear at www.lvlssportswear.com.

Growing up in the smallest US state to eventually shooting for one of the biggest sportswear brands in the country, Marquis' story is one we can all learn and take inspiration from.

As a kid growing up in East Providence, Rhode Island, Marquis played a number of sports, but was eventually recruited to play D-I football at Sacred Heart University. Like most content creators who have a previous career as an athlete, Marquis broke his leg during his final season in college, but still wanted to be a big member of the team. He would eventually figure out that this meant supporting his teammates through content.

With a solid year of learning the ins and outs of what it takes to be a content creator, Marquis came across a twitter ad for an internship with the New England Patriots. Luckily, he screenshot the ad and later went back to apply, not thinking he would even get an initial interview.

Fast forward a few weeks, Marquis wasn't just working for the Patriots, he was attending Super Bowls and shooting some of the best athletes in the world.

Eventually, Marquis' hard work, talent, and networking earned him a position at Under Armour, where he remains today. His resume continues to grow, shooting commercials with athletes like Joel Embiid and Jonathan Taylor. More importantly, he remains a prime example of someone who didn't let an injury negatively impact their future.

If you're interested in checking out Marquis' work or getting in contact with him, shoot him a follow on Instagram @quis_harper.

#RepYourStory

If you are an athlete or content creator with an interesting or inspirational story to share, contact us at [email protected] and we'll be in touch!

This show is sponsored by LVLS Sportswear. Purchase your LVLS Sportswear gear at www.lvlssportswear.com.

Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Josh Giardina started off his athletic career as an avid baseball player until his passion for basketball completely took over. 

Getting shots up in the gym before school started, coupled with his determined mindset, Josh went from averaging 8 PPG his Sophomore year to just over 15 PPG his senior year, earning him an roster spot at Marymount University.

Like the majority of college athletes, Josh didn't score over 1,000 points or break any major records, but his role as the 'Glue Guy' on the team didn't go unnoticed.

What's most inspiring about Josh's journey is his hunger for self improvement to help him get where he wants to go. During his senior year at Marymount, COVID-19 put an end to the basketball season, so Josh began teaching himself Adobe Photoshop on school computers with the software preinstalled. He knew he had to separate himself from other GA's all trying to make it in college coaching.

Eventually it paid off in more ways than one...

If you're interested in following Josh or have questions for him, give him a follow in Instagram @joshgiardina11 or check out his edits @editsbyjosh_.

#RepYourStory

If you are an athlete or content creator with an interesting or inspirational story to share, contact us at [email protected] and we'll be in touch!

This show is sponsored by LVLS Sportswear. Purchase your LVLS Sportswear gear at www.lvlssportswear.com.

Before the summer was about to start, Mike told himself he'd give his freelance content career a shot, but if he didn't like it or couldn't make it work, he'd always have his attendance coordinator position to fall back on. That dream quickly escalated when he was soon let go and took it as an opportunity to finally test out his new passion for storytelling.

Growing up in Urbana, Illinois, Mike always enjoyed playing sports and video games, but believe it or not, he didn't watch professional sports until he was 12. He soon got hooked on E60 and 30 for 30 documentaries, which sparked his initial interest in storytelling.

After taking a photography and videography class in college, he soon realized that his passion for content creation and storytelling was something he wanted to pursue a little more seriously. So, he purchased his first camera and began taking photos of the high school teams where he worked in Chicago.

Fast forward a few years and Mike networked his way into an incredible freelance career, shooting athletes and teams like the Chicago Sky, Amari Bailey, Bronny James, Diamond Deshields, Andrew McCutchen, Scottie Pippen, Tasha Cloud, and many many more.

We were fortunate enough to sit down and chat with him about his story and any advice he has for the up and coming content creators out there looking to make an impact. This one's got a lot of useful information for all those out there looking to start in content creation and interested in networking your way through a competitive industry!

We hope you enjoy this episode of the #RepYourStory Podcast and support Mike Hicks by giving him a follow on Instagram @michaelhicksjr.

#RepYourStory

If you are an athlete or content creator with an interesting or inspirational story to share, contact us at [email protected] and we'll be in touch!

This show is sponsored by LVLS Sportswear. Purchase your LVLS Sportswear gear at www.lvlssportswear.com.

Growing up in Kitchener, Ontario, Dhane Smith spent the early years of his life playing both lacrosse and hockey, but would eventually get into football (and a brief stint in volleyball?). After healing from a broken ankle his senior year of high school, Dhane was invited to Canada's Top 100 Camp for both football and lacrosse. We think it's pretty obvious which one he ended up choosing...

Fast forward a few years, Dhane was drafted #5 overall by the Buffalo Bandits in 2012, following in his uncle, Billy Dee Smith's, footsteps.

Not only has Dhane Smith won NLL Rookie of the Year, All-League First Team, and League MVP, he also holds the Bandits single season records for goals and assists. Not to mention earning recent PLL Second Team All-Pro honors and a PLL Championship with the Chaos Lacrosse Club (2021).

As one of the few black lacrosse players, both growing up in Ontario, and now in the NLL and PLL, Dhane has been an advocate for the BLM movement, receiving numerous appreciative messages from fans of the sport and of what he stands for.

The team at LVLS was fortunate enough to gift Dhane his customized 'BLM' pair of black and white tights that he wore for the PLL Playoff run, and continues to sport for the Bandits this season. It was a pleasure getting the chance to sit down with him and learn about how he reps his story each and every day.

We hope you enjoy this episode of the #RepYourStory Podcast and support Dhane Smith by giving him a follow on Instagram @dhanesmith92.

#RepYourStory

If you are an athlete or content creator with an interesting or inspirational story to share, contact us at [email protected] and we'll be in touch!

This show is sponsored by LVLS Sportswear. Purchase your LVLS Sportswear gear at www.lvlssportswear.com.