Kuzo or @Kuzoreel is one of the most highly respected and influential figures in UK American football over the last few years. A number of ELF players including Chad Walrond (Stuttgart Surge), Glen Tonga (Rhein Fire) and Jai Jackson (Barcelona Dragons) have put their faith into what Kuzo has been building.
Having worked with Kuzo directly, it has been unique to see his growth in the sphere of American football and further advancement into videography and dimensions like basketball and celebrity culture. During the 2024 British University and College championships, this writer reconnected with Kuzo and organized an interview that had been years in the making.
How long have you worked in photography/videography?
I’ve always been around photography/videography for a long while since a young age! However, 2018/19 if I’m correct is when I actually picked up a camera and tried creating content seriously. I’d have to shout out Jamal (Jdot_Tv_Media) who played a big part in kick starting my videography/photography career. He’s truly one of my good friends but to answer the questions it’s been around 5/6 years.
Kuzo covering basketball
What was the inspiration and how did you extend from football content to basketball and creators?
I didn’t really have the inspiration to shoot sports! I genuinely one day decided to bring my camera to a showcase basketball game at my university and I put a small video together which only required about 20% effort. It ended up getting good receptions and I ended up doing content for the basketball team for a year. From there I ended up meeting a bunch of people who asked to get basketball content done. However, playing American football I met even more people in the game and just ended up networking and creating content for some names within Britball. Thanks to the likes of Chad Walrond, Glen Toonga and Jai Jackson I’ve ended up gaining attention to travel abroad to the ELF and shoot personal content for individuals, so everything has fallen into place luckily.
Glen Toonga’s off season workout
What is a shot you took that encapsulates your identity?
Truthfully speaking, I don’t think I’ve done that yet. I don’t know when it shall be, but I’ll definitely know once it’s out because I’m still trying to achieve the look that actually encapsulates me. However, I feel my work style can easily be identified by a few things such as my colour grading & how I tend to edit but I feel I haven’t exactly achieved what I envision.
What sets you apart from everyone else?
I genuinely can’t think but I’d say what gives me the advantage over most people. I’ve been creative since young, so loads have things have nurtured me. Originally was addicted to Call of Duty and used to be a part of clans so started editing montages from an early age for a few years. Then it progressed into YouTube videos for people and after that, it became shooting and editing music videos and led onto now shooting sports content as well. So, I’d just say being around many different environments & doing it for a while might give me an edge over people. However, I’m not producing the content I envision in my mind, so I feel if I’m able to do that then I’ll be able to separate myself from the majority possibly.
In our continuing series about the photographers who diligently cover our game throughout Europe, we have arrived in Great Britain. We have also posted interviews with Charlotte Murden, Sweden’s, Stefan Akander and Jonas Domfors as well as Germany’s Sarah Philipp, Finland’s Jari Turunen, Italy’s Gioli Busi, Lola Morales from Spain, Denmark’s Mikkel Bo Rasmussen and Michael Freitag also from Germany, Austria’s Peter Kramberger and Hannes Jirgal as well as Sergio Brunetti from Switzerland.