We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Erik Hegerty. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Erik below.

Alright, Erik thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?

When thinking about my life and what I want/hope to be my legacy, I think about my two careers, being a pro athlete and also a creative filmmaker. Having two full-time careers is massively tough on my physical and mental well-being but when looking at what I want out of life, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I started my professional athletics career playing futsal in 2019. I dropped out of college to pursue a career in futsal and at the time it was extremely scary not knowing if it would pan out or be worth it. However it did, I signed my first contract in the fall and from there on it has been lots of lows and highs but as an athlete, that’s how it is. During the summer of 2021, I found myself wanting more out of my life than just a career in athletics and I knew that I wanted to be in the creative industry. After a nine (9) month stint playing in Michigan, I moved back to Cincinnati to help start/play for the futsal team here, Ginga FS. During that time I was able to connect with fellow creatives and land a job as a content creator for a creative agency here in the city, Rooted Creative. Within two months I was doing the two things I wanted to do, play futsal and create. From that point on, I feel like I have been living and doing what I should be doing and building my legacy around that. I never wanted to just be seen as an athlete and I never wanted to just be seen as a creative, I wanted everyone to see what I saw about myself. Only being an athlete, living in that space between what people consider to be my achievements or abilities and the reality of who I am and what I am truly capable of wasn’t what I wanted but now I feel as if I have come to find what I want and am doing that now. So now doing what I love, I hope my legacy will reflect what I do but also who I am. I want to continue to push the game of futsal in the US, for the youth players to have someone and something to aim for and everyone involved working to make the sport as great as it is. Also, I want to continue to create meaningful films and push the envelope within the creative industry, connecting with as many people as I can and tell meaningful stories.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a professional futsal player as well as a filmmaker/cinematographer here in Cincinnati, Ohio. My journey as a professional futsal player started in 2019 when I dropped out of college to play the game professionally. I didn’t really know how I was going to do it, I just knew I needed to do it for myself because that is what I wanted to do. All the time, effort and passion I had put towards futsal, I owed it to myself to give it a go at playing professionally and not give up. So from 2019 to now, I have been playing futsal professionally in the National Futsal Premier League (NFPL). Starting in 2021, I started my creative journey to become a filmmaker/cinematographer and since then I have been doing both of these things simultaneously, I am extremely proud that I get to do both of the things I love. Although it is difficult to essentially do two full time jobs at the same time, it feels like a blessing that I am able to do them both.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being a creative is being able to tell different people or businesses’s stories. To be put in a position where I am telling these stories makes me feel like I am doing them the justice they deserve and that I am the one they trust to tell their story.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think my journey in itself is unique because I am doing two careers simultaneously whereas the majority of people only choose one. Doing both of these, I think my approach to both is vastly different. However, a lot of former athletes turn to the creative world so I believe my approach isn’t solely to me.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.erikhegerty.com
• Instagram: @erikhegerty
• Facebook: Erik Hegerty
• Twitter: @erikhegerty
• Youtube: Erik Hegerty

Image Credits
Nathan Peppers; Instagram @natepeps , Drew Horton; instagram: @emeraldborn , Nick Brown; instagram @nc.brown