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Behind the fascinating rise of the 'goalkeeper influencer' on social media
Three goalkeeper content creators spoke to Goalkeeper.com about their journey and opinions on the burgeoning popularity of goalkeeping on social media.
Content creators and influencers in football have significantly changed the way in which people consume the game.
Short-form video content on platforms such as YouTube and TikTok has created a new media explosion where the likes of Chunkz, Mark Goldbridge and AngryGinge have thrived. The newly-founded Baller League, which was launched in the UK earlier this year, was a clear sign of the growing influence of content creators and influencers in football.
While creators Chunkz has built up a loyal following, thanks to his content with professional players and work with the ‘Beta Squad’, the rise of content creators in football has also helped to accelerate interest with younger audiences in more niche areas like goalkeeping.
The most prominent example is ex-England international Ben Foster, who started his YouTube channel The Cycling GK in November 2020. The former West Brom, Watford, and Wrexham goalkeeper gave fans behind the scenes access to training sessions and matches using a GoPro behind him in the goal, while playing for the latter two clubs.
This was a first in terms of giving viewers a live insight into the challenges of being an elite goalkeeper. Foster’s engaging personality led to a rapid growth in subscribers, which now sit at just under 1.5 million and led to a successful series of podcast spinoffs.
The 42-year-old wasn’t the first to post goalkeeper-specific content on a popular platform like YouTube. Creators like The Modern Day GK and GK Glove Reviews were one of the few channels on YouTube to create content specific to the position in the early to mid-2010s. Michael Bolvin of ‘Modern Goalkeeping’, and the ‘Ideal GK’ Declan McCarthy are only two examples of several creators who have forged full time careers from their social media work.
Foster’s unprecedented access to Premier League training and matchdays helped accelerate the growth of goalkeeper creators and interest into the discipline.
Today, a class of ‘goalkeeper influencers’, for want of a better term, are being hoovered up by glove brands to spearhead a new pillar of modern day goalkeeper glove marketing. One of these is 20 year old Shea Woodsford, whose online presence has grown to over 150,000 followers on Instagram alone.
“To be honest with you I’ve always loved social media,” Woodsford admitted, speaking to Goalkeeper.com.
“I’ve really enjoyed putting myself out there from a young age, and I actually started putting a GoPro in my goal about four years ago, just as Ben Foster was doing it. But I didn’t actually post any of the videos because I was a bit nervous about what people would think of me!
“But nowadays I play for fun. I just really enjoy myself. I still want to make it to the highest level I possibly can, but that’s not the priority at the moment and I just want to have fun while I play.
“I also feel like a lot of people can take a lot of value from my content and I feel like if I was a kid watching what I put out now I’d be very inspired to pursue goalkeeping”, he explained.
Social media has also provided a way for ex-professionals to turn goalkeeping into a longer career. Toby Bull spent most of his youth career at Brighton and Hove Albion and is now one of non-league’s most recognisable players, with a combined social media following of over 300,000 across social platforms. The 23 year old believes social media can be a powerful tool for youngsters looking to make it.
“There’s not many top quality coaches available for sessions all the time. Social media is free and easy to access”, he explained to Goalkeeper.com.
But Bull admitted that that “nothing can beat getting out there and playing, doing the real thing. Just because you have a big audience doesn’t mean you will get a move. Consistent performances on the pitch is what will get you noticed.”
Aaron Steavens, also known as ASGK, believes social media can help from a coach and player perspective. “As a coach it’s good use of CV to showcase what you can do”, he remarked. “It’s also a promotional tool to help your clients find clubs and showcase their talent.
There are downsides - Stevens points to trolls - but as Bull notes, “of course you’re going to get people posting silly comments, but 99% of them have never been in goal so why listen to someone who’s never done it?”
Speaking to Goalkeeper.com in December 2023, Joel Canning, Head of Coaching at GK ICON, the UK’s largest network of goalkeeper academies, explained how popularity of the position has also burgeoned with the help of social media.
“There are a number of social media influencers who share regular content on side volleys which, similar to seeing the likes of Ederson playing a 60-yard pass, looks impressive, looks fun and looks cool”.
“I will now often get goalkeepers as young as six or seven referring to side volleys at their first session with me, which feels quite alien to someone who's been coaching for over 20 years but it’s exciting progress and without doubt playing out from the back is shaping some incredible football playing goalkeepers coming through!”
High-profile goalkeepers like Thibaut Courtois have also leveraged social media channels to give supporters behind the scenes access in the last few years. The Belgian shot-stopper was prominent on Instagram Reels and TikTok, especially in 2022, with short-form videos of training sessions, drills and important saves in La Liga and Champions League matches.
While professional goalkeepers can use social media to inspire the next generation and give insight into their training routines, it is also a way in which they can build their own personal brand and connect with their fans directly to promote their own businesses away from the game.
David de Gea is someone that regularly posts slow-motion clips of saves in training and in matches, while also promoting his esports organisation, Rebels Gaming, which he founded in 2021. This has helped the Spanish shot-stopper promote his forward-thinking business that incorporates creators and streamers, who compete in a League of Legends team, helping him connect with younger audiences.
“I think everyone should build a personal brand”, continued Bull. “However it is very time consuming and I’m not sure professionals will have that time and energy to play full time and do all their own socials.” Authenticity is also key. “There are ways they can outsource it, but then does the content have the same personal feel? It’s hard to tell.”
Perhaps it’s that authenticity which is the key to the exploision in goalkeeper influencers. Woodsford thinks so. “One of the main positives [of social media goalkeeping] is we get to showcase ourselves and obviously try to do it in the best possible light, showing people how entertaining goalkeeping can be, how fun it is, and I feel like it represents goalkeeping in a new way that not many people have seen before”, he said.
“It really shows what life is like as a goalkeeper and maybe makes people appreciate goalkeepers a bit more, because I wholeheartedly believe it is the toughest position on the pitch mentally.”
The rise of goalkeeper content creation is not limited to goalkeepers in the professional game. Alexis André Jr. is a French shot-stopper, who has amassed over five million followers on TikTok. Like Foster, he started to build his online presence during the Coronavirus pandemic when he was at Bristol Rovers.
Since then, he has built up a huge following, mixing behind the scenes content of his matches, including his play-off campaign with Maidstone United in the National League South last season, as well as dance and modelling videos.
John Jancewicz, A. K. A. ‘Big John’ is also someone who has built an online presence through TV appearances and social media content across multiple channels. He was a popular figure on Soccer AM, saving shots from guests and supporters from a featured club, who answered questions before trying to score past him in the “Top Bins”.
Now, Big John plays in goal for Under The Radar FC, founded by Manny Brown AKA ‘Manny’, who has over two million subscribers on YouTube. Despite being a Sunday League team, popular characters like Jancewicz, who describes himself as a Goalkeeping Content Creator, further help to grow interest in goalkeeping.
On his YouTube channel, he collaborated with current Premier League goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale and Foster. The video, which was posted in June 2024, has had 134,000 views.
The goalkeeper influencer scene has become so widespread that even younger goalkeepers in the formative stages of their career are getting traction on social media channels. A perfect example of this @kid_de_gea, a young Under 11’s goalkeeper whose journey is documented by his father, with clips of saves during matches and training exercises showing off his technique. The account has gained 245,000 followers on Instagram and over 310,000 on TikTok.
Social media continues to grow exponentially and so the rise of goalkeeper content creators is a natural consequence. However, what has become evident - particularly over the last five years, is that the likes of Foster, Bolvin and others have filled a gap in the market.
In today’s era of social media proliferation, it is hard to stand out. Although goalkeeping is a niche area, it is genuinely exciting, with reflex saves and one-handed stops easy to edit into engaging clips on short-form platforms, lending itself well to great content.
Is it something everyone should start doing? Well, “I think it depends on the type of person you are”, said Woodsford. “But if I was a professional goalkeeper I think that my priorities would be to be performing on the pitch and I feel you could get some serious backlash as a professional doing that sort of stuff, especially if you had a poor game.
“I think you’ve got to be a very unique type of person to be able to switch it on and off.”
Whether this boom in popularity continues remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain: Goalkeeping is on the radar of football fans like never before.