Freestyling with Colin Neil

Freestyle football is an artistic subculture of ‘the beautiful game’, slowly developing life and appeal of its own. At the forefront of that is 29-year-old London native and Chelsea FC fan, Colin Nell. He was recently brought to Jamaica by Red Stripe to meet with Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) clubs and players, but took time out to chat with Buzzz Magazine.

“My story isn’t straightforward,” he says. “It’s not as easy as everybody else’s. I am a freestyle footballer by accident.” At age 15, he was picked up by popular brand manufacturers Nike as a standout from an international competition. From there, he has gone on to using it as a sideline gig for his initial playing career. To the present day, his ‘football specialty’ has seen him working with some of the world’s best players and clubs: from Ronaldo and Rooney to Barcelona and Chelsea.

He describes his craft, football freestyle, as something of “your own style, something that is uniquely created for yourself, with your own fluency and attitude.” As it concerns his specialty, he says he’s got huge respect for anybody who is striving for togetherness and betterment for the community. With Red Stripe, he has found the cause of helping to develop football in Jamaica, notably being aware of teams such as Waterhouse FC, Arnett Gardens FC and Rivoli FC even before his sojourn to the Caribbean. “We are encouraging everybody to be unique, to be personal, and most of all to dream big! There are all the opportunities out there with work, but you have to be willing to go out there and recreate yourself in the style that you like, and also create something that is self-sustainable.”

His recreation has seen him develop his football freestyle into a worldwide attraction adapted just as well to live show performances as for media campaigns, advertisements and other promotions. In Jamaica, Nell says he doesn’t want to create a ‘flash in the pan’ but to use the base that he has created to inspire youngsters to go out there and be great, doing something they have always wanted to do.

Regarding Jamaica, the country, he told us, “I love Jamaica. Jamaica’s a very vibrant country, full of culture… it’s a pleasure to be in the Caribbean.” For Brand Manager of Red Stripe, Kamal Powell, this is another instance of Red Stripe’s dedication to community development and investment in Jamaica. According to Powell, “for each club we’ll be working with six players throughout the year, so as to make a significant impact on their lives before we move on to another six for the following year.” They have committed to a further five years with the local premier league, seeking to develop clubs’ and their players’ entrepreneurial spirit, in order to raise the general level of Jamaican competition and football. Bringing in international experts has only begun with Colin Nell, and will continue with yearlong workshops geared towards player development.