The Fencer Who Wrote Our Theme Song: Colin Campbell | Direct Elimination Ep. 33

Colin Campbell wrote the Direct Elimination theme song on sticky notes during construction breaks — and he's a Notre Dame fencing champion.The Fencing Podcast of All Fencing Podcasts.In this episode, you'll discover:• How Colin wrote, performed, and produced the Direct Elimination theme song — including the bossa nova chord progression, fencing-inspired lyrics, and his stacked harmony technique• The concrete parallels between competitive fencing and the arts: adaptability, attack planning, committing fully, and performing under pressure• Colin's journey from age-10 fencer in Washington D.C. through a Senior World Cup appearance, to being on Notre Dame NCAA and ACC championship winning teams, and into Juilliard and professional performance• How his short film 'The Sharp Way Out,' shot at a former Staten Island correctional facility, and his theatrical adaptations are building toward a serious acting and filmmaking careerColin Campbell is a multi-instrumentalist, actor, and filmmaker currently studying at Juilliard. He's also a decorated competitive fencer who won ACC and NCAA championships with Notre Dame — and the person behind the theme song you've been hearing at the top of every episode.Here's our question for you: What's a skill from your sport that showed up somewhere completely unexpected in your creative or professional life? Drop it in the comments.⏱️ CHAPTERS00:00:00 - Intro00:00:36 - Welcoming Colin Campbell00:03:11 - The Story Behind the Direct Elimination Theme Song00:04:15 - Colin's Musical Origins00:09:21 - Fencing Roots: Starting at Age 10 in Washington D.C.00:19:36 - Going All-In on the Arts at Notre Dame00:21:25 - Early Filmmaking with Teammates00:27:46 - Colin's Competitive Fencing Career00:30:55 - Coaching at Sheridan Fencing Academy00:34:04 - How Fencing Parallels Music, Acting, and Artistic Discipline00:47:37 - Flow State, Authenticity, and Performing Under Pressure00:53:26 - The Sharp Way Out01:03:55 - Upcoming Projects and Continuing to Weave Fencing Into Art01:06:47 - One Light Answers01:14:07 - Closing Reflections and Live Performance of the Theme Song💬 BEST QUOTES"I will always know from fencing the ability to just adapt to things being thrown at you and taking accountability for your mistake in just a split second." "Fencing taught me how to understand the way that I moved, my body and my vessel and focusing on carrying through my plan.. and having an attack plan.""When you're an adult all the fun may seem like it's behind you. No it's not. You can find it, and you can create it with people that are your pals.""I wrote these lyrics down because I wanted to implement fencing, and I knew that I could do that because I know the sport"🔗 CONNECT WITH COLIN📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/campbelltunes/?hl=enThank you for listening!🔗 Check out FencR🌐: https://www.fencr.app/📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fencr.app🔗 Connect with Us🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple: https://link.me/directelimination📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/directelimination/🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@directeliminationpodcast📺 Subscribe for more episodes: youtube.com/@DirectElimination🔗 Prieur USA🌐: https://www.prieurusa.com/📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prieur_usa/