Hello, welcome to The Ultimate Guide to Jobs in Sport! 👋

Here you’ll find interviews with (almost) every job in the sports industry.
We ask people living the dream:

“How did you get your job?” and “What does it actually involve?”
So that you can land a dream job in sports too.

Enjoy!

​​Meet Uchitha Wijesekara (AKA Cheets), Founder and Content Creator behind TypeMedia.

TypeMedia boasts over 100k followers across Instagram and TikTok, collaborated on posts with Travis Head, and has done brand deals with the AFL, Kayo Sports, Royal Stacks, Toyota and more. But before before Cheets became a full-time creator, he graduated from a criminology degree and began a career in social work, editing videos in his spare time.

Eventually his skills got good enough that SportsBet hired him, where he spent nearly 4 years travelling to events like the FIFA World Cup, the Ashes, Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India… and creating content along the way.

Now, he’s gone full-time with Type and shares everything that goes into the page you see today. If you want to work in social media in sport, or just want to understand the content world better, you’re going to love this chat with Cheets.

I’m a content creator at TYPEMedia, which basically means I wear a lot of hats. My job is to come up with ideas, plan them out, and then bring them to life, whether that’s a sketch, a meme, or a bigger show. A typical day might start with checking what’s trending in footy and figuring out how to spin it into something funny and engaging. From there I’ll script, film, edit, and post, sometimes all within a few hours if it’s reactive. It’s not just about making content though. I also spend a lot of time networking, collaborating with players, brands, and other creators to keep TYPEMedia growing. At the end of the day, the outcomes I’m there to produce are engaging content that fans love, brand partnerships that make sense, and making sure TYPE stays relevant in the sports conversations.

Content planning, strategising, editing, research.

Footy records salesman, cafe barista, action indoor sports ref/manager, Department of Justice case manager, Youth Worker, Sportsbet content producer, full time TYPEMedia content producer/owner.

As a minority or someone who doesn't necessarily reflect someone who you see on tele in the industry, naturally doubt seeps in. There are times where people may not value you or value the work you do but it's important to respect yourself for the work YOU do. If you put in the work and you are able to upskill yourself then you can always get through any hurdles. You need to really stand out to get a job in sports content, don't replicate what other people are doing.

Find a gap in the market and add your own spin. Sometimes doing your own research and finding gaps in the sports content market makes you more desirable especially in an environment that's constantly evolving and relies so much on innovation.

Issues I see is that sports content has this ongoing battle with corporate culture and sometimes you are limited with how creative you can be. Think it's important to understand you will be creatively limited but you'll obtain great skills and experience that can help with future endeavours.

No specific degree. Just through building a portfolio on Instagram. Use Instagram as a portfolio.

I remember before I joined Sportsbet I was adamant to not reply to a DM I received about an opportunity because I was content with my job. Ethically I also had my doubts. I'm glad I replied and went in with an open mind as the job was great, allowed me to grow and excel and learn from the best.

Always be ambitious and have be process driven. My hunger has always been evident, even when I didn't have the adequate skills I would make it known that I would do what I can to learn and develop.

Perseverance is key and always love the process.

Collaborating with the AFL.

I would have found a way to be a youth councillor with a sports focus 😂