A North East talented footballer and university graduate is launching a professional career in content creation.
Danny Jackson-Brown, from Sunderland, has already landed a job creating digital content for sports stars after graduating with an MSc Finance and Management at the University of Sunderland.
He is now producing graphic, video, and other types of media across all platforms in professional football, despite never having planned a career in media.
Mr Jackson-Brown said: "To be totally honest, media wasn't ever a professional path I saw myself going down due to my accounting background.
"Creating was just something I enjoyed doing for fun.
"However, sometimes great opportunities take you by surprise and it was one that I knew I had to try regardless of whether it had always been the goal."
Mr Jackson-Brown, 25, built a reputation for creative work while serving on the committee for the university’s football club, where he ran the club's social media.
He said: "My vision was to create a platform that would gain us internal and hopefully external recognition and identity. It was a lot of hard work, but it was a complete success transforming the image of the club online gave us access to some many new avenues and opportunities."
His efforts didn’t go unnoticed and soon led to professional opportunities.
Mr Jackson-Brown said: "In about nine months I had gone from making videos about our 7th team at university to having the opportunities to earn money creating about something I’m truly passionate about, to an enormous audience.
"The work I completed here got me noticed by the company I now work for as well as other clients that I have."
Outside of football and media, Mr Jackson-Brown is also known for his charity work.
As president of Team Sunderland Men’s Football, he helped the club raise almost £13,000 in 12 months through charity matches and sea dips.
One of the beneficiaries was If U Care Share, a Chester-le-Street-based suicide prevention charity, which received £1,335.
Mr Jackson-Brown said: "Charity games are something that hold great intangible value to our club and its members.
"We can bring people together and showcase all the immeasurable positives football brings to our lives."
The team’s fundraising efforts were formally recognised at Team Sunderland’s annual Sports Ball.
Sean Percival, sport performance and activities development manager at Team Sunderland, said: "Danny has been an integral part of our football programme throughout his time at the university, with outstanding contributions both on and off the pitch.
"He’s been a fantastic ambassador for the university’s football club and his work with the social media accounts as well as charity events will be a tough act for anyone to follow.
"Congratulations to Danny on your graduation and good luck for the future."
Looking ahead, Mr Jackson-Brown said he is focused on taking things one step at a time.
He said: "I like to stay focused on what I'm doing and not get carried away thinking too far ahead.
"I’ve developed my skillset and, at the same time, been able to branch out in the media.
"I was recently invited to Sky Sports to talk football, which is huge step from making away day vlogs for university football.
"This opportunity has been great for my media career.
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"I never would have thought anything like this could happen and I’m excited to see what could be after university."
Mr Jackson-Brown previously earned a degree in accounting and finance before his postgraduate MSc.
Team Sunderland manages more than 30 sports clubs and delivers a range of activities including community outreach, elite sport, and performance projects across the university.
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