There is a persistent instinct in brand storytelling to smooth cultural edges in pursuit of global reach. The assumption is that the more specific a story is to its origin, the harder it will travel. Increasingly, the opposite is proving true. The stories that resonate across borders are often the ones most grounded in place, identity, and cultural truth.
Sporty Group’s For Everybody, a cinematic music video created in partnership with Burna Boy and directed by Dave Meyers alongside choreographer Shay Latukolan, operates from that premise. Bringing together elite African athletes, Afrobeats, fashion, and movement, the project does not attempt to generalize its perspective for a global audience. Instead, it leans into the interconnectedness of sport and music across the continent, presenting a culturally specific narrative designed to travel on its own terms. At the time of writing, the video has garnered nearly 7M views on YouTube.
Brand Storytelling caught up with Sporty Group’s VP of Business Development, Marketing and Media Elias Gallego and director Dave Meyers to discuss the strategic thinking, creative decisions, and collaborative dynamics that shaped the film.
What was the strategic insight that convinced you that a cinematic music film with Burna Boy was the right vehicle to introduce Sporty’s brand to a global audience?
Elias Gallego:
Sporty operates at the intersection of sport and entertainment. To introduce that vision globally, we needed a format capable of carrying emotion, scale and identity in a single piece. A cinematic music video does exactly that.
Across Africa, football and music move together. They shape identity, aspiration and community in ways that feel natural rather than constructed. This format allowed us to express this reality with ambition and permanence, beyond the constraints of a conventional brand launch.
Burna Boy was a natural creative partner. His global presence and cultural authority align with the Africa we wanted to portray: confident, influential and forward-looking. The film became a shared narrative rather than a branded message, designed to travel across borders without losing meaning.
How did you go about curating the athlete roster to authentically reflect the interconnectedness of African culture, music and sport, rather than simply assembling star power?
EG:
The casting process focused on cultural truth. Every athlete involved has a genuine connection to African identity, whether through origin, upbringing or lived experience. That connection was essential to the integrity of the film.
We looked for individuals whose careers reflect movement between continents, disciplines and cultures. Footballers and rugby players coexist in the same ecosystem, just as local heroes and global icons do. This mix mirrors how African culture actually circulates in the world today.
The result is a collective presence on screen that feels cohesive and instinctive. Each athlete contributes to a broader story, reinforcing the sense of shared momentum that defines both sport and music across the continent.
As Sporty Group expands from its SportyTV broadcasting roots into entertainment and cultural storytelling, how does For Everybody function as a proof of concept for the kind of brand you’re building? What does success look like beyond streaming numbers?
EG:
For Everybody establishes a clear creative and strategic direction for Sporty. It demonstrates our ability to develop original storytelling that sits comfortably alongside global entertainment standards while remaining culturally grounded.
The project validates our ambition to build long-term intellectual property that strengthens brand meaning, not just brand awareness. It also sets a framework for how we collaborate with artists, athletes and creators going forward.
Success is measured through multiple lenses: the way audiences interpret the brand, the depth of engagement the work generates, the willingness of top-tier talent to participate in future projects, and the internal clarity it brings to our teams about the kind of company Sporty is becoming.
Viewed through that lens, For Everybody is a foundation. It defines how Sporty intends to show up on the global stage for years to come.
What specifically about For Everybody required you to approach the work differently than a conventional music video commission?
Dave Meyers:
This was different because it was for a brand, involved athletes, and had a restricted time on Burna. Creatively, my ideas were subject to review and notes by the brand. Music videos tend to be completely unrestricted but also tighter on the budget. So each medium lends itself to different approaches.
You’ve spoken candidly about the traditional tension between commercial budgets and artistic freedom. In what ways did Sporty’s involvement as a brand partner liberate the creative rather than constrain it?
DM:
Sporty was incredibly trusting with such a large project and investment. There were some initial top-line restrictions creatively and a general mandate to include as many athletes in roles as they could arrange to have show up, but after that, it was pretty much a trusting relationship all the way to the end.
That is unusual for a brand, and even more unusual for an anthemic piece for a brand. In addition to that, they were highly sensitive to the legacy of Burna and allowed him and his team to personally imprint on the project. Most brands tend to control the narrative to speak more specifically to their brand initiatives rather than to the artist’s authenticity.
What was the guiding editorial principle that unified the elements of athletes, choreography, fashion, and Afrobeats around a single, coherent story?
DM:
Generally, we treated the story more loosely. By making it a party, it’s tangible that people would be well dressed, that movement and dance would feel correct, and that cameos from athletes would feel appropriate.
At a moment when audiences value authenticity more than ever, what is the creative and ethical obligation of brands, directors, and artists to ensure that a project like For Everybody becomes a genuine cultural contribution rather than a marketing exercise?
DM:
Guarding the truth of the project is key. To identify that and measure all ideas against that. I’m usually brought in to identify that and see it through as a creative ambassador for all sides, while trying to make my own visual contribution to the culture.
In practical terms, what does bridging the creator economy with the entertainment industry unlock that wasn’t previously possible?
EG:
The entertainment industry is in a moment of recalibration. The ground is shifting because the holders of audience and attention have changed. A new generation does not discover talent through casting announcements. They discover it through feeds, communities, and serialized creator storytelling.
Bridging these two worlds unlocks a more efficient and more culturally aligned path to building IP. Studios gain access to pre-assembled, deeply engaged audiences. Creators gain the infrastructure to scale beyond the limits of platform algorithms. Brands gain entry into stories that already have momentum.
For the first time, you can bring a built-in marketing engine to a piece of entertainment before it ever launches. That was not the case before. Now it is table stakes.
When you talk about building a “media ecosystem” rather than a campaign, what does that actually change for a brand in terms of strategy and long-term value?
EG:
A campaign has a start date and an end date. An ecosystem compounds.
In a world where every channel touches every other channel, the ability to expand quickly from one signal of audience response is everything. When you build a media ecosystem, you are not producing a single output. You are building a universe of content designed for testing, extension, iteration, and long-term audience cultivation.
This changes strategy fundamentally. Instead of asking, “How does this perform this quarter?” you ask, “How does this build an owned narrative over time?” The brand becomes a participant in culture, not a guest.
The long-term value is not just impressions. It is equity. It is recurring engagement. It is the ability to launch the next initiative from an existing base of trust rather than from zero.
Elias Gallego is a Madrid-based sports executive. He serves as VP of Business Development, Marketing and Media at Sporty Group, where he leads global brand, content and commercial strategy. He oversaw the launch of SportyTV across key African markets, the acquisition of Nosso Futebol to build SportyNet in Brazil, and the growth of Sporty’s YouTube channel from 100,000 to 1.6 million subscribers with more than 100 million views. His work includes the ‘For Everybody’ collaboration with Burna Boy, produced by Sporty Studios in Madrid. The project featured legendary African players and became one of the largest productions in Spain in 2025. Elias advises 885 Capital on investments in innovative leagues and teams. These include Professional Fighters League (PFL), Baller League, Blue Crow Sports Group (Club Deportivo Leganés, Le Havre, and Cancún FC). He previously held senior roles at Mediapro and Atresmedia, focused on media rights and production. He holds an MBA in Sports Management from Escuela Universitaria Real Madrid Universidad Europea.
Dave Meyers is one of the most influential directors working today, shaping the visual language of contemporary music, culture, and advertising. His work bridges generations, from early collaborations with era-defining artists to directing today’s most influential global musicians. Known for his bold use of visual effects and world-building, Dave consistently blends fantasy and reality at scale. His recent collaborators include Blackpink, Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Kendrick Lamar, Billie Eilish, SZA, Little Simz, Sabrina Carpenter, Raye, and Lola Young. His advertising work spans global campaigns for Apple, Nike, Adidas, Amazon, Pepsi, Pinterest, Poppi, Toyota, and Budweiser, including multiple Super Bowl spots. Across music and advertising, his work has earned two Grammy Awards for Best Music Video, 17 MTV Video Music Awards, and top honors from Cannes Lions, Clios, and the Art Directors Club.
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