Time To Rendezvous

It’s back to me this week. My previous personal blog took us up to around 2010/2011 when I decided to move to Australia. I honestly have no idea why I chose there, it was more a case of why not?

My mindset was that I would go to Oz and if I liked it stay forever (forever-ever) 😉 and if it wasn’t my thing I could always move back to England, I was pretty open to what could be.

So, ticket in hand, bags packed, I headed to start my new life in Melbourne. My lovely university mate Cagsy kindly put me up for a month whilst I got my bearings and looked for work. I also tried out for some soccer/football teams to get to know people. The first team I signed for was South Melbourne. We used to train in St Kilda, where you see the Formula 1 race. The squads there were pretty big and it wasn’t quite my vibe so I tried out for another team, Port Melbourne Sharks. I felt instantly welcomed. Both the women’s and men’s teams seemed well integrated and there was a decent social to get involved with too outside of training and matches. I absolutely loved the club and the people and to top it all off we won the league. I even got a little guest appearance on Soccer:am because of it!

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I continued to get to know my way around and got a job within Snowsports Melbourne, to work with Snowsports Australia which I really enjoyed. Up until that point I don’t think I even knew they had snow in Australia! I also managed to find a part-time player liaison role with a U18s state team. The team had a European tour arranged which I ended up travelling with them for to assist with preparations. Of all the places in the world the team could’ve been playing in…we ended up in the UK!! So having flown around the world to escape England I actually ended up coming back for a couple of weeks. We played Celtic, Hibernian, Southampton, Chelsea and Fulham. Then I went back to Australia to continue my new life there…on another 22 hour flight.

I used to hang out in an area of Melbourne called Carlton, well known for it’s Italian community. I would literally sit and have coffee in a couple of places and get to know people. One of the guys I just so happened to meet was a football agent who made arrangement for UK teams (including Liverpool and Manchester United) to play their preseason games in Oz. I managed to get involved with Celtic Football Club the year I was there and had the privilege to get to know Johan Mjallby, Neil Lennon and Mark Bosnich. It was actually from talking to those guys about my aspirations to be more involved in football they suggested a move back to England and into the Premier League would be a better way to progress.

I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to move back to the UK. I can’t rave about the weather in Melbourne as some days it would be truly shit, “four seasons in a day” they’d say and they weren’t lying. Overall I was enjoying the lifestyle of living abroad, running at the beach, working a 4 day week, meeting new people. I did find it tough being on my own at times though.

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Whilst I contemplated moving home I figured I should probably see a bit more of Australia seeing as it would be a shame to literally only be there to work and only have seen Melbourne…so I booked a trip to check it out.

I started up in Queensland at the Whitsunday Island then travelled round to Brisbane and the Gold Coast before ending up in Sydney. Here I got to catch up with another of my Staffordshire University alumni, the ever young Dan Udall who’s carved himself out a fabulously successful business and career in Australia with; Oz Party. 

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I knew I had family in Australia as I recalled when I was a kid my Grandparents had their cousins visit. I reached out to them and they invited me to visit their home in Adelaide. Little did I realise these cousins had a huge family which meant I had an even bigger family once landing in South Australia. It was amazing meeting everyone and it’s been so great to keep in touch almost a decade on. 

After my brief trip to Adelaide I decided I should probably go check out New Zealand whilst on that side of the world. I knew once I got back to England I wouldn’t be heading that way for a while. So I took a flight to Queenstown, a place that is just full of beauty! Before heading up to Christchurch and hopping over to Wellington and up to Auckland. Whilst I can appreciate the wonder of parts of NZ it definitely isn’t my kind of place. I found it too quiet and out of touch. So by mid 2012 my bags were repacked and I flew back to England with my sights on a role in the Premier League and also a chance to check out the Olympics being held in London.

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I got back to England and wrote to every newly promoted football team as well as those already established in the league. Whilst waiting for responses as it was closed season I worked on an event with my ever supportive brother from another mother Dom Rampello. He had teamed up with Radio 1xtra’s Charlie Sloth to deliver an event in Ayia Napa called Fire On The Beach. I took on the responsibility of Artist Liaison so had to meet and greet all the performers get their riders (basically a list of wants) arranged, promote the event and ensure the rappers, MC’s and their crews were all where they were supposed to be. It was here I had the pleasure of meeting DJ Nick Bright who you can also check out on my previous blog and vlog. Event delivered, it was back to England to keep chasing the football dream.

It’s rare to get an instant desired result but I persevered and a role came up with Reading as Player Liaison and Managers PA. After successfully making it through the interview process I was delighted to get the job. A role I had dreamed about doing full time. I was ecstatic. Player Liaison roles vary from club to club and we can go through what’s expected on another occasion, if people would like to know more?

Reading was a pretty amazing twist of fate. The manager at the time was Brian McDermott, who played for Arsenal back in the 80s. My brother had cancer in 1982 and was receiving treatment at Great Ormond Street Hospital when the Arsenal team visited the children on the ward and Brian was one of the players my family met! Then 30 years later I end up working for him. Reading was also where I got to work with Jobi McAnuff again having crossed paths in his Wimbledon days. We had such a great group of lads to work with on and off the field. Stuart Taylor and Nicky Shorey always guaranteeing laughter.

Now I know lots of people think working in football is glamorous, the truth is it isn’t. Working in football is hard god damn work. It’s constant, never ending, ever changing, unpredictable and difficult. However it is also amazing and spectacular. The highs are fucking awesome but the lows are absolute rock bottom. The team element is something I absolutely love and probably the thing I miss most about not being at a club full time.

Unfortunately at the end of the season the club was relegated and therefore my role no longer viewed as necessary so I was released. I went to work for a couple of football agents which was ok but just didn’t have the same buzz, although I did enjoy working with players from clubs all over the country and Europe rather than just one team. It wasn’t where I saw my future. Plus I had started to get pretty downhearted on the whole working in football thing. It felt like all my hard work was for nothing. It felt like no one cared…and they probably didn’t.

I began thinking about setting up my own company offering lifestyle support but didn’t have the confidence to go through with it so it remained a pipe dream. I role came up in cricket which my skill set was transferable to and I was fortunate to land a role in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) once again as a Player Liaison and PA. 

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I had to pinch myself. After a few weeks trying to get up to speed with the expectations of the job at hand I flew out to St Lucia to begin preparations to what’s known as “the biggest party in sport”.

CPL is unlike any other competition on earth. From St Lucia I then flew to Trinidad which is where the games began. Nothing beats the sounds of the Trini Possi – every game was like a carnival. I also got to work in Barbados and St Kitts & Nevis as well as a stint in the USA, Miami where we introduced cricket to the American audiences. It was an unbelievable time.

Players flew in from all over the world to join the teams they’d been drafted for and some brought along their families. Once again the assumption would be one of glamour and relaxation in the Caribbean however the schedule was gruelling. In all honesty as much as I loved it there were elements that really tested me. I am pleased I was able to complete the tournament and make some amazing lifelong friends who I am forever grateful to for giving me positivity and strength – shout out to Ron and Manish who were hugely influential and motivational…and a huge thanks to this dream team photographed Vish, Alison, KOC, Tara, Kev and Ravina.

It was whilst I was working in the Caribbean I was still receiving requests from footballers I had previously worked with for restaurant bookings, concert tickets, personal shopping, vacations….etc. So whilst talking with some players and friends I gained the confidence to take a leap of faith and set up my own company and AC Concierge was born. My aim, to support people with their lifestyle needs, discreetly and honestly. I wanted (and still want to be) someone who can be relied on to assist an individual, a team, a family or event.

I enjoy the varied nature my career entails. As I evolve I have been able to continue working on international events which is a huge passion of mine. In 2017 I worked as Team Liaison in the Women’s Cricket World Cup. My team assigned was the West Indies. The schedule was demanding but the athletes and support staff were a pleasure to work with and get to know.

People often say to me, How can I do what you do? It looks easy to do what you do, can you teach me? You’re so lucky….

I am not sure if I believe in luck. I am still figuring that out. What I do know is it’s hard work.

I have a genuine love of helping people. I have grown up with football and sports all my life. Yes, I am fortunate to know some of the people I know however I have created those friendships and networks myself, personally. For me it’s all about being personal and personable plus trustworthy.

“The good people give you is happiness. The worst people give you are lessons. The best people give you are memories”. 

I am learning every day. Some days I am not even sure I want to do what I do anymore. I am sure lots of people can relate to this. I also struggle with the lack of thanks or appreciation. It’s amazing how a simple “thank you” can actually mean so much and make a difference. Now even more than ever it seems to be a time of reflection, reevaluating and potential reinventing ourselves. 

So here we are. I think that pretty much gets us up to present times (being the crazy year of 2020). I hope to be able to dip into parts you’ve found interesting in more depth as well as developing more blogs on my travels which I absolutely bloody love and miss a lot at the moment!

A heartfelt thank you for taking time to read – please get in touch with any comments via Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.

Be You
AC