Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Tommy Liccione has a passion for creating videos to tell stories that connect people to moments in sports they will remember. A cum laude graduate of the University of South Carolina with a degree in visual communications, Tommy Liccione combines his education with hands-on experience as a creative video producer for the sports-marketing and event agency Knight Eady.
There, Tommy Liccione develops content for brands including Nike, Hibbett, the Southeastern Conference, and Huddlbox. The content includes event-based visuals and large-scale video productions. He leads projects from conception to final delivery, blending video production, photography, graphic design, and web support to bring ideas to life. Mr. Liccione further coordinates freelance creatives at live events and supports internal Knight Eady projects.
Before joining the agency full-time, Tommy Liccione worked with Gamecock Athletics, creating video and digital content for the University of South Carolina’s 19 NCAA Division I athletic programs. He further refined his skills as a freelancer, creating content for the Orange and Peach bowls. He works with software such as Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe After Effects as well as with camera systems like the Canon C70, C80, R5, and R5C.
Mr. Liccione’s work is rooted in feeling. Through thoughtful pacing and cinematic storytelling, he creates work that goes beyond highlights to genuinely connect with audiences.
What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?
My typical day is pretty standard. I wake up and either get in a run or walk, then follow that up with an on-the-go breakfast and head to work. I work from 9 to 5 and keep myself productive by using a 30-minute increment calendar and trying to fill the time wisely. After work, I head to the gym to get a lift in. Once that is done I will go home and make dinner. I usually keep it basic when cooking for myself. I spice it up when cooking for friends and family. Then I’ll watch a show and head to bed. Throughout the day I try to stay connected to my friends and family and call them whenever I have a free moment.
How do you bring ideas to life?
I bring ideas to life through writing them out in a notebook. I consume a lot of media whether on social platforms, TV, or music. I am very process-oriented, so if it’s an editing technique of some sort I like to write it out and figure it out step by step. I will pull material from all over and consolidate it into notes, Pinterest boards, anything that helps hone in the direction I want to go to make an idea real.
What’s one trend that excites you?
I like how society has become more fit and more encouraging to be fit. Going to the gym always seemed like a scary thing and like an exclusive community growing up, but now it’s been regarded as such a welcoming family-style community. I like that run clubs have become bigger. Fitness doesn’t have to be scary, and it’s encouraging to do it within a collective where people are truly rooting for one another.
What is one habit that helps you be productive?
One habit that helps me be productive is using a 30-minute calendar throughout my workday. By breaking your day into 30-minute increments, it one gives you a great perspective on the value of your time, and two allows me to use each of the 30 minutes as a competition to accomplish whatever you can in that time. I’ve found this has given me more time back throughout my day, and then I can get ahead in my work.
What advice would you give your younger self?
I think I would tell myself to value the moment more. Growing up I was always looking towards the next big thing. In middle school, I was focused on high school, in high school it was college and I would tell my younger self to dive in fully to each moment and phase of life, to work hard but also to be present for the here and now. I think I honestly robbed myself of getting the full experience of things by having my head focused on the next thing. It’s important to balance striving and preparing for the future and just fully diving into where your feet are.
Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you on?
I am very adamant about saying “we” when referring to my favorite sports team. I think people who talk down on saying “we” in sports are the worst. Sports are the only place where you can feel every emotion, and I root for some pretty dreadful teams. If you’re signing up to ride the wave, suffer through losses, it’s “we.” It wouldn’t be a “we” if you only rooted for the winning teams in each sport. But if you sit through Saturdays of pain and heartbreak, you can fully say “we.”
What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?
I believe in having an alter ego. There are a ton of studies on performance that indicate when you put responsibility onto an alter ego, you are able to rise up to challenges because in a sense your alter ego takes the weight off for you. I don’t know exactly what my alter ego looks like. He’s some combination of Batman, Spiderman, Darth Vader, and Mac Miller. He’s fun and energetic, but he’s also determined for greatness, focused, and working to push ahead. There’s different times in which each side can come out, but each has its purpose, whether it’s the Batman and Darth Vader swift energy to knock out tasks or channel feelings, or to fight fear. Or Mac Miller when being nervous in social situations. The use of an alter ego is helpful in life and work, and I think everyone should have one.
When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?
I think the number one way I start to lock in and focus is with a playlist. I’m a big believer in romanticizing your life, and the key to that is to pick the soundtrack. Once that is taken care of suddenly you’re staring in your own movie or training montage and it’s time to get to work. I then tend to make a list of everything I need to get down and by when. Once I do that, I identify the easiest task and knock that out. Usually that helps me build momentum and by working into it and getting something off the board, I can focus and feel less overwhelmed.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?
I think one strategy that helped me to advance in my career and grow my business was to get comfortable with failure. I refer to myself as a volume thinker, and part of that means getting ideas out that are going to be instantly shot down. Getting comfortable with the idea that you’re going to miss and being public, help makes the hits become so much more clear. Embracing that I could make some pieces that bluntly do not do the job, being okay with having bad ideas and mistakes. All these things have helped me push further along with my career.
What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?
One of the hardest pieces of feedback I have gotten on something I spent a month working on was simply that it was “fine.” It might not sound like much, but as a creative, having something I put a lot into be met with apathy was honestly heartbreaking. I would have almost rather been told it was bad because at least that would have meant it made someone feel something, and bad is fixable, fine isn’t. It pushed me to think differently about the work I was making and what I wanted people to take away from it. Since then, I have tried to make things that I feel deeply and that have a real emotion or purpose behind them. I learned that I would rather take a creative risk trying to make someone feel something than make something that is technically good but ultimately forgettable.
What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?
I have always thought it would be fun to open a bar called Redeyes that is designed specifically for people getting off the graveyard shift. There are so many people whose workday ends when most places are closing or when the rest of the world is just waking up, so Redeyes would give them a place to unwind on their schedule. I picture it as a mix between brunch and nightlife, with breakfast food, drinks, house music, and a dance floor in the morning. Basically, it would treat 8 a.m. like 8 p.m. for the people whose schedules work that way.
What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
One software that helps me be productive is the entire Adobe Creative Suite. Adobe is where I do all of my work, it’s basically like another language I speak. Without it I wouldn’t be able to create, which isn’t just how I do my job, but how I express how I feel and the world around me. Within the software, I find myself able to express things that words cannot. I am forever indebted, despite the headaches, to all the Adobe software.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
Probably a good dinner with people I care about. I have gotten to a point where I would much rather spend $100 on an experience and a few hours with people I enjoy being around than on something I probably do not need. Good food, good conversation, and getting to slow down for a little bit is money I rarely regret spending.
Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?
One of my favorite books is The Alchemist. I really liked the idea of chasing something you believe in even when you do not completely know where it is going to take you. A lot of the book is about trusting the process, learning from the things that happen along the way, and being willing to take risks to get where you want to go. I read it at a point in my life where a lot was changing, so that message really stuck with me.
What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?
I recently enjoyed Spider-Man: Brand: New Day. Tom Holland has really been my generation’s Spider-Man, so I feel like I’ve grown up alongside his version of the character. I connected with where Peter is in life now. He’s getting older, working, trying to figure out what comes next, and finding his place in the world. I’m at a pretty similar stage of life right now, so it was cool to see a character I grew up with dealing with some of those same things.
Key learnings
- Getting comfortable with failure can create better work. Being willing to have bad ideas, make mistakes, and take creative risks creates more opportunities to eventually find something great.
- Work that creates a genuine emotional response can be more valuable than work that is simply technically good. Apathy can be a useful signal that it is time to push an idea further.
- Ambition and presence have to coexist. Constantly preparing for the next stage of life can make it easy to miss the value of the stage happening right now.
- Productivity can become easier when large or overwhelming challenges are broken into smaller ones. Creating structure, starting with an achievable task, and building momentum can make an intimidating workload feel manageable.
- Finding ways to make everyday life more meaningful can change the way challenges are approached. Whether through music, community, exercise, or even an alter ego, creating a sense of purpose and enjoyment around ordinary moments can make it easier to stay motivated.