Charlie spent the first decade of her career producing TV, radio and film for the biggest UK networks and companies, including the very popular radio show Fighting Talk. During this time, she worked closely with talent, where she witnessed their unfiltered, off-duty, human side and started to think about creating a world where fans could gain access to this too.
Disenchanted by the unimaginative, boring, predictable events she attended, where talent was reduced to scripted conversations and stifled interactions, Charlie saw the need for something radically different. She envisioned a space where talent could show up as their authentic selves and connect with fans on a deeper, more meaningful level.
Her passion for creating fresh, immersive, personality-driven experiences has pushed Underground Fan Club to break the mould of traditional fan experiences, attracting some of the biggest talent and brands to join her ‘Underground’ revolution.
Charlie on the fan experience:
“We are for the everyday person, we are for the fan. We are not for the VIP’s, we are not for the influencers. That is massively taken care of and we do not need to compete in that space. That’s not my passion, that’s not my purpose.
I don’t want to create events for influencers who get invited everywhere and get given gifts all the time. There are a whole eave of people out there that are the true fans, that turn up to the games, that buy the merchandise, that buy the tickets and they’re not getting rewarded for this.
So, we really are for the everyday person and I want them to feel special and if one person walks out of an event of ours and says…I will remember this for the rest of my life…then that is absolute magic to me.”
Charlie on persuading brands to try something different:
“The biggest challenge for me was that I had never worked with brands and agencies before. I had been in broadcast my whole life and it is really different and all I ever had to worry about was the content and that connection with the audience. I never had to think about the brand logos and the guidelines.
But, I have to say, I think not being in that industry has really served me. At the beginning, it was a big struggle trying to get my head around it all, but the first thing we say to brands is…this is a collaboration, it is a partnership with Underground fan club, so Adidas Underground Fan Club for example.
We make it clear from the start that we both want amazing results, but we have to know we are on the same mission and know what we want to get out of it. To be quite honest, if a brand isn’t on board with that, then we just wouldn’t work with them.”
Charlie on her distain for mediocrity:
“I think that really does come from my time producing Fighting Talk on BBC Radio Five Live. Fighting Talk was so iconic and so different and it was just legendary. I was working on that from the age of 21 so that is all I have known. I cannot stand just blending in, that’s just not my personality. So if everyone is doing something, I just want to do the absolute opposite! Underground Fan Club is all about making sure that we are really different. It is scary to do that, it is scary to stand for something different and have an opinion and not everyone is going to like you. And you have to be comfortable with that. But if you don’t stand for anything, you kind of stand for nothing and I’m not prepared to do that.”
