How I turned my passions into my career
Isn’t it crazy how in life things can come full circle? So many of the things that you loved when you were young, and the things you wanted to do when you were growing up often come back around to meet you as an adult. This is especially true with the dreams you pushed aside for whatever reason. It may have been because you felt a career in what you loved was too hard, wouldn’t pay the bills or was too difficult to break into the industry. Settling for whatever came easiest is so often the norm, but it comes back to bite you on the butt later on.
For me, I avoided working in the fields of the things I actually loved for that reason and another big reason. However, the universe had other ideas for me.
Here I am on the cusp of 40, and incredibly grateful that I have a career in both entertainment publicity, and in sport and wellness publicity. The things I loved more than anything growing up.
Being told I can’t do what I want to do
When I was at school, there were two things I loved more than anything. Drama and sport. I studied Speech and Drama all through primary and high school, was part of the Rock Eisteddfod team and completed Drama for my HSC. I played cricket, baseball, and touch football and if I wasn’t playing these on the weekend, I was watching rugby league in the winter and cricket in the summer.
I loved these things more than anything. Although I was decent at public speaking, acting and dancing, and could absolutely bowl a cricket ball and hold my own as a catcher behind home plate, a career in these wasn’t on the cards for me.
This was the dilemma I faced. I knew when leaving school that I would love to work in either the entertainment industry or the sports industry, but it didn’t seem like this was a reality for me. We are so conditioned to believe that it is only the people who excel in these areas on the big stage (or the big stadium) that are worthy of jobs in these industries.
I knew I wanted to work in sports management, and because I had grown up around rugby league it seemed like the obvious choice. However, this was also the late 1990s, and the idea of women working in that industry was unheard of. Things are different now, and the rise of the NRLW has been incredible. For someone like me who was told that I wouldn’t be able to work in rugby league because I was both a girl and had never played the game, I wish I had grown up watching the likes of Erin Molan, Yvonne Sampson and Hannah Hollis on my television. These incredible female rugby league journalists and commentators have paved the way and shown that gender is not a barrier when it comes to knowledge about the game.
As I wasn’t going to be acting or playing sports, I decided I would get my bachelor's degree in Commerce and see where it would lead me. As so often happens when we make these types of decisions, I found myself unfulfilled and dreading going to work every day.
Then doing what I was told I couldn’t do
As fate would have it, what goes around comes around. You can’t hide from yourself and what you truly want forever.
I finally did what I really wanted. I went back to uni and studied Film Studies. Movies were my escape in dark times and I loved learning everything about them. So much I started reviewing and writing about every film I saw. My journey took me to Los Angeles, where I studied abroad. I made life-long friends, including my best friend and now work associate, Michelle. She gave me the opportunity to come on board and work for her public relations agency.
It was a fit! My lifelong love of movies and the entertainment industry had taken me to a place I was told I could never go because I wasn’t acting or making movies myself. My knowledge, passion and work ethic had led me to what I was always meant to be doing.
I was living my dream of travelling back and forwards between Sydney and the United States. In the meantime, I became a single mum here at home, so at times it felt as though I was living a double life. I had the best of both worlds
Then....2020 hit. Travel was no longer an option, and the entertainment industry took a hit. I am very fortunate that the large majority of films I did publicity for were direct to streaming or DVD, so I still had a steady stream of work.
However, with more time on my hands because of the inability to travel, I saw new opportunities arise. I had taken up boxing cardio and fallen in love with the sport of boxing. I also met and was mentored by fellow Business Chicks member, Erika Cramer as part of her Sistahood.
I decided it was time to make another dream of mine come true. In March of this year, I opened my own public relations firm, Priceless Media, which specializes in sports, health, and wellness. Within a year, I’ve worked on events including boxing fight nights, and with professional sports people and mental health and wellness advocates including The Queen of Confidence Erika Cramer.
What I’ve learned
ALWAYS follow your passions, and listen to your inner child because she is the one yelling about what she really wants to do. Our sense of fun and wonder is what keeps us moving forward and leads us to the path we are supposed to be on.
If you really love sports, television, movies or anything, you don’t have to actually be the focus on the screen or on the field in it to make your mark in the business. Your knowledge and true love for your passions will get you into rooms you only ever dreamt about.
Nicki Price is a sports and entertainment publicist. With degrees from the University of Wollongong in both Commerce and Communications, she made the transition from film journalism and criticism to entertainment publicity in 2017 with EPEC Media in Los Angeles, California.
She founded Priceless Media in 2022 to help sports, health and wellness professionals elevate their reputation with the media for more favourable press, and create brand awareness. Nicki currently lives in Sydney with her two children, Jackson and Lana.
Photo credit: Neil Wakefield