Season 2, Episode 13 of The Locker Room Podcast features Brian Pressman who has worked with many notable sports organization including the NFL, WWE, and PFL. He has held multiple high level roles in each of these organizations and is currently the Vice President of Global Sales and Partnerships for the PFL, one of the fastest growing sports leagues in the world. Pressman walks us through his career path in this interview giving helpful advice for anyone who is wanting to work in the sports world one day. He also talks about some of his favorite moments in his career and tells us a little bit about his time here in College Park.
Introduction
0:00-0:28 Podcast Intro
0:29-1:12 Pressman Introduction
Time In College
1:12-1:56 Charting your path in college and finding what you want to do
1:57-3:04 Making connections for eventual career
3:05-3:52 Expanding your horizons past your major
3:53-5:12 Importance of internships, mentors, and being professional
5:13-6:01 Advice for college self and current students
Early Career
6:02-7:35 Finding your fit after college
7:36-8:49 Difficulty of changing companies and second guessing decisions
8:50-9:24 Making the most out of opportunities and growing your network through early jobs
9:25-10:43 Learning from early jobs that helped later in career
NFL
10:44-12:54 Getting promoted in large, successful, and competitive companies
12:55-13:25 Benefits of working with the NFL
13:26-15:33 Day to day tasks working with the NFL
15:34-17:04 There is no offseason
17:05-19:10 Best Gameday Moments
WWE
19:11-22:45 Business similarities between WWE and NFL and working with the WWE fans
22:46-24:05 Reason for moving from NFL to WWE
PFL
24:06-27:41 Going from huge, established sports organizations to one that is still growing
27:42-29:35 Difference in doing business with WWE and PFL both being combat sports
29:36-31:20 Challenging yourself to innovate with a quickly growing league
31:21-33:41 Preparing for the world championship event
Wrapping up
33:42-35:46 Favorite sponsorship landed throughout career
35:47-41:11 Maryland Minute
41:12-41:44 Sign off