Today we’d like to introduce you to Sam Fulton.
Hi Sam, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My story begins with the first time I was introduced to the football game. Before you ask, no, I never did play football (I was a competitive swimmer). I grew up watching Steeler games with my dad and brother as a kid. We watched them because the Steelers were my dad’s favorite team, and coincidently, my dad watched the Steelers because it was his dad’s favorite team. It wasn’t until I started playing fantasy football in 2011 in a father-son fantasy football league that I truly fell in love with the game and began to understand it better. Looking at the stats, tracking points, and watching the best of the best play football at its highest level was more than fun. It was addicting! It was an adrenaline rush with heart-stopping action. But it was also dramatic because you experienced the highs and lows of victory and defeat; watching it and playing in the same leagues as my friends kept friendships alive and helped me make new ones. My fanfare with football and fantasy football was why I started blogging too. I had so many opinions to share about my love of the game, but no one to share it with other than my parents, who were probably tired of me talking about it. This is when I started a website called Bullseye Fantasy (BullseyeFantasy1.com). I’d write articles on my fantasy football opinions on this site and share fantasy tips and NFL news. But the more I started writing. I also started expanding Bullseye Fantasy across different mediums. I started a Twitter account (@BullseyeFantasy), an Instagram (@BullseyeFantasy), and even a youtube channel. Watching football and playing fantasy football, started me down this path in the sports world. And while I still use my social platforms and will write blogs now and again, this is not a full-time job. My adventures with the creation of Bullseye Fantasy and my Fantasy Football podcast, Sounds Like Sam, have probably been more of a failure than a success. I’ve spent more money trying to build a brand than I’ve made through it. And it really hasn’t reaped any benefits, including monetary value. However, it has made me a more interesting person and I am better because of it. Not only that, but it was a Kickstarter for me into the sports industry. Even though nothing has come of BullseyeFantasy or my podcast, I learned through this time and effort that I loved football and sports. Loving football pushed me to explore other avenues in the sports world. It made me want to join the sports marketing program at UCSB, be a game day worker at Community College basketball games, and work premium seating with the San Diego Padres. All these experiences also led me to intern in the ticketing department with the LA Rams in 2021, which might be the greatest year of my life, during the year the Rams won the Super Bowl. Now, after everything I’ve been through, I realize more than ever what industry I want to work in, what I want to strive to do in my life, and what gets me up in the morning and I can honestly say it’s all thanks to watching football. I am currently working in the retail industry. However, I am still striving to achieve my future goals in media and football by building my social platforms because I have grown to love the creative process of making videos and social content and reaching more people with my podcast (Sounds Like Sam). Football has certainly left its mark on me, and I’m not done with it yet. I have been most active on Instagram lately, and I’ve seen some of my videos reach heights I never thought possible. I’m still looking for more and can’t wait to see what football will lead me to next.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
My struggle has been building a consistent following across media channels and consistent marketing. Burnout has been an issue. Doing my podcast or posting on Instagram every day for 20 weeks straight, all by myself when it seems like no one engages with your content, can be difficult. So on that end, it has been a bumpy ride. In terms of my career goals, breaking into media is difficult, especially when there is so much talent and few spots to fill. I have to be more creative and bring something new to the table every day to show I can stay afloat and be creative too.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My specialty has been creating short, engaging videos on social media. I’ll find football stats that relate well to fantasy football and that I find intriguing that no one brings up and make a short video about it. That has been boosting my socials at the moment. But I feel like I try to go in-depth and talk about players in my podcast that no one is thinking about.
We love surprises, fun facts, and incredible stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I interned for the Rams this past year. I was blessed to be a part of some amazing experiences revolving around season ticket holders, including inviting and managing our season ticket member experiences, Post Game On-field photo experience, Legends Live experience, and our Pre Game American Flag Ceremony. I went and worked every home game at SoFi, Stadium, including playoffs. I also worked in their business office and training camp, Partnership at the USC tower, and their Super Bowl fan rally. I was also lucky enough to get free tickets to attend the Super Bowl.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bullseyefantasy/?hl=en
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/bullseyefantasy?lang=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpjhFXGBikQaSk5lYyJTQIg
- Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sounds-like-sam/id1474696949
Image Credits
@BullseyeFantasy on Instagram
