We had the good fortune of connecting with Caroline Pearce and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Caroline, what is the most important factor behind your success?
As a sports broadcaster, one of the most important factors behind my success to date has been my willingness to be uncomfortable, to take chances and not be afraid to fail. Putting yourself in front of camera can be a daunting experience and you open yourself up to criticism and failure. However, I feel my growth and biggest learnings have come from this. For example, one of my break out hosting roles was covering a sport I knew very little about. However, I knew the doors it could open and where it could take me in my career. Saying yes and putting myself front and center of the broadcast helped me to grow exponentially. The other important factor for me has been research and over-preparing for every show or interview I do. I can’t stress enough how this has saved me on many occasions, especially during live television. When you are well researched and prepared, you can’t be phased or thrown off course by last minute changes.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
My sports broadcasting career started with The World’s Strongest Man competition series and has seen me host and report at events all over the world. It’s included UFC and boxing in the UK, US, Europe and Asia and anchoring the World Cup of Kabaddi in India! My role includes in depth interviews with the sports biggest stars, post competition reaction interviews, live broadcasts and podcasting.

I believe what sets me apart is a combination of my own sports background, my curiosity and love of conversations. As an elite athlete myself I can build a rapport with the athletes I interview. I know what it takes to push your body and mind to be the best as well as the stresses and pressures that come with. it. I truly love talking to others and finding out what motivates them, their ‘why’ and bigger purpose. Together with my relentless work ethic and passion for what I do, these factors have helped me to get ahead.

The journey has not been easy. Lots of early rejection, unanswered emails and fan criticism in the early days in my career would have put a lot of people off. But I learned to ignore the opinion of others, take just constructive criticism from the people that matter, and continue to work on getting better. Once I got my first break it became easier. I believed more in myself, knew I had the experience and had built a strong network of connections to call upon. The biggest lesson I learned is there are no guarantees in this career, and nobody owes you a job or opportunity. You have to continually strive, improve and put yourself out there and even then a network might choose to ‘go in another direction’. Never stop knocking on the door. But relationships are so important. Building those genuine relationships with producers, directors, or anyone on set will put you in good stead in the future.

I’m proud to now be in a position to coach and help upcoming talent looking to follow a similar path to myself. I regularly receive messages from aspiring presenters asking how I got into broadcasting, and I work one on one with some talent to help get them started with a show reel and coach them through the many different components of broadcasting. It’s so rewarding and makes me better too.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I absolutely love it when friends and family visit me in LA as I get to experience the City I love as a tourist! We’d start each day with a coffee and brunch at Dialog Cafe in West Hollywood. I’ve been eating here since I first moved to LA 7 years ago. It’s family run, so friendly and the food is second to none.

A hike is a must, with Runyon Canyon being great for entertainment and the buzz of lots of people. But for something more challenging and less crowded, we’d head to Malibu to Los Liones trail for the most spectacular views over the ocean.

Whilst in Malibu, I love the Malibu Beach Cafe followed by a walk along the beach seeing all the big beautiful houses along the coastline.

As someone who loves doing brunch (my favorite meal of the day) I’d also stop by The Great White restaurant in Venice or the new one on Melrose Ave, West Hollywood. This Australian restaurant does the best food and coffee.

A drive to Palm Springs for a night is a fun mini get-away. Just a couple of hours outside of LA, but it feels like you’ve truly escaped the City. Avalon or The Arrive Hotel are great spots to stay in the middle of town.

Back in LA, some of my fave restaurant hot spots include Cecconis, Bari or Jones Hollywood for old school Hollywood vibe.

And for shopping, nothing beats Beverly Hills and a walk down Rodeo Drive true ‘Pretty Woman’ style. Though my favorite street is Beverly Drive to shop without bankrupting yourself. Whilst there, pop into the Beverly Wilshire Hotel for a coffee!

Lastly, I love to use the resort pass app to book a pool day from a selection of hotels in town. A great way to feel like you’re on vacation, but return to my own bed at night!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

Professionally I’d like to shout out to the man who gave me my big break at BT Sport – Grant Best. Grant recruited me for the launch of the network and believed in me to be the lead host of a brand new show. He broke the mold of choosing a well known name and instead wanted new, upcoming talent for his show. Trusting me to open this show and guide it through years of broadcast was the biggest opportunity of my career. And on that show, my producer Sally Brown taught me so much and I couldn’t have asked for a better mentor and producer for my first big stage. On a personal level I’ll shout out my parents, Jon and Chris, all day everyday, as they always pushed me to be the best I could be, and believed in me to follow my dreams of athletic competition into sports broadcasting, to moving to America from the UK to follow my dreams. And my fiancé Jason Scott who rides the ups and downs with me of my career choice and is always there to cheer me on whilst always being honest and real with me.

Website: www.carolinepearce.co.uk

Instagram: @carolinepearce

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolinespearce/

Twitter: @carolinepearce

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carolinepearce.tv/

Youtube: youtube.com/@carolinepearce

Image Credits
Ryan Loco PFL BT Sport

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