Why should you be a content creator? The answer is clear to me: it can be life-changing. Here, I explain how I transitioned from soccer, built an audience of 1.8 million people with short videos, and pivoted my career from professional soccer player to full-time creator.

My name is Jacopo Viola, and I'm a former professional goalkeeper. I devoted over 20 years to playing soccer, 4 of which I spent on professional teams.

I played with AC Milan's youth sector from age nine, which paved the way into professional clubs early in my career. In 2018, I signed a two-year contract and felt like I was on the path to making it.

But challenges surfaced quickly — the team I played for declared bankruptcy. Suddenly, I wasn't playing and found myself a free agent.

I started to think of possible solutions to sign a new contract and thought, 'What if I start to showcase my talent using social media?'

I hated social media, for real. But I wanted to play. So, in 2018, I started to film every single training session I did.

I now have 1.8 million followers, a social media startup, and a genuine network in the beautiful game. Here's what I learned from transitioning my career while leaning into my passions.