Building the Buffs Brand: John Snelson on Creativity, College Football, and Shooting Your Shot

In this Primetime episode of Career Conversations with Chris, we dive into the fast-paced, content-saturated world of college football media with John Snelson, Director of Creative Services for CU Boulder Football. John’s journey is a testament to the power of showing up, staying curious, and relentlessly pursuing your passion, even when the path doesn’t exist yet.

From walking into the football office as a volunteer with zero creative experience to leading a team of full-time creatives producing content for one of the most followed programs in the country, John’s story captures the essence of building a dream career from scratch. Along the way, he’s crafted highlight reels, launched a Heisman campaign, produced an ESPN 30 for 30, and helped define what college football branding looks like in the era of Coach Prime and TikTok virality.

Key moments from our creative journey include:

• From econ to end zone: How an engineering turned economics student with no formal creative training found his calling through persistence, self-teaching, and a love for the game
• The rise of "The Rise": How John pitched and produced a six-part docuseries for the Pac-12 Network, a project that became a defining moment in his career
• Creating the job before it existed: The origin story of John’s self-invented role in football creative, and how he helped shape an entire niche within college athletics
• Coach Prime and the branding boom: Behind the scenes of working with one of the most media-savvy figures in sports and what it’s like operating in the "Coach Prime content universe"
• The Travis Hunter Heisman campaign: A look into strategy, execution, and social media storytelling on a national stage
• Authenticity over polish: Why capturing real moments beats perfect production, and what John has learned from creators who thrive on being raw and real
• Building a creative machine: How John leads a growing team of professionals and student interns to pump out high-volume, high-quality content
• Lessons from the edge: From UFC documentaries to chaotic recruiting weekends, John shares what fuels his storytelling process, and why he’s never intimidated by something he hasn’t learned yet

Whether you're a content creator, sports fan, or just someone curious about building a meaningful career in a rapidly evolving industry, this episode is filled with insight, inspiration, and a real look at the hustle behind the highlight reel.

Join Chris as he sits down with John to explore the intersection of sports, storytelling, and self-belief, and what it takes to turn a cold call into a creative legacy.

Follow John on Instagram @john_snelson

Check out The Rise on YouTube