JCIP #295 - Andrew Shields - Part 1

In episode 295 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Andrew Shields. Andrew Shields is a journalist, communications and events management professional and published author who has worked in the world of sports media for over 40 years.Andrew graduated from the University of Warwick with a BA in American and English Literature and began climbing the ladder in sports journalism in the mid-1980s.He got his first break as Editorial Assistant on Scouting Magazine, the official magazine of the Scouts before becoming Assistant Editor at George Wimpey in the construction and housebuilding industry. He then landed the role of Editor for Sport England’s magazine, where he spent five years between 1985-1990. He got his ‘big break’ and landed a job at the now iconic Time Out Magazine in January 1990 as their Sport and Fitness Editor, where he spent 19 years.After Time Out, he had the opportunity of a lifetime when he joined the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) in December 2008.Despite being a part of one of the country’s biggest and, some would argue best moments in our entire history, Andrew faced a huge amount of stress and mental health difficulties in this role.When he joined LOCOG, the organisation was around 300 people. By 2012 it had grown to a staggering 9,000.Andrew’s job was naturally incredibly intense, and throughout that period, the job ate into his family life and work-life balance, to the point he was regularly working at weekends, which included being in the office. At its peak, Andrew was managing a team of over 40 people and, in his words, it felt like ‘running a marathon, then running another one immediately afterwards perpetually until the Games finished’. Andrew is also the author of seven published books, including ‘Master of the art of running’, ‘Master the art of working out’ and ‘365 ways to get fit’.In recent years, he is now an elected fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and has taken up a voluntary role as the Director of Communications for the Institute of Events Management.In Part 1 of this episode we discuss his over 40-year career in journalism, public relations and writing. We focus on his role in LOCOG and the rollercoaster 5-year period he worked there, including the reality of that level of media scrutiny and workplace stress which manifested in physical symptoms as well as on his mental health. We then discuss his decision to go freelance and working for a sports agency, which included work on other major tournament sporting bids.As always, #itsokaytoventSupport Us:Patreon: www.patreon.com/venthelpukPayPal: paypal.me/freddiec1994?country.x=GB&locale.x=en_GBMerchandise: www.redbubble.com/people/VentUK/shopMusic: @patawawa - Strange: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d70wfeJSEvkSupport Us:PatreonPayPalMerchandise