SCZ London Cheerleaders

The Look report: We turned our Hobbies Into a Career

Look Magazine, 15th June 2009, p.60

Jessica Rossi, our Club Manager and Company Director was interviewed by Look Magazine for a feature about hobbies being turned into a career. The article is transcripted below.

'I Quit Marketing To Be A Full-Time Cheerleader'

Jessica Rossi, 24, from London, went from desk job to professional pom-pom-shaker

"I've loved cheerleading since I joined a club at university. We cheered at rugby matches and cheerleading competitions - it was a great way to stay in shape and was very sociable.

After graduating, I started working for a web design agency. I was still in a cheerleading group, but I was finding it difficult to commit to training alongside my job.

Then, one day, I was organising a stand for my company at a trade fair and realised cheerleaders would be a great way to grab people's attention. So I created an event on Facebook, and found 12 cheerleaders to make a team. It was such a success, we decided to become the first-ever club for freelance cheerleaders.

Before long, there were 25 of us and we were getting dozens of commissions. We were getting so much work, it was hard to juggle it with my job. I realised it could become a serious business.

Last July, I decided to take a break from my job, get a business plan together and register the company, we're on www.zoodance.co.uk . Since then, business has boomed. I've been teaching at schools, doing events such as shoots for MTV, and running workshops for birthday and hen parties. I've given up my job permanently and have a team of people working for me. It's exciting to make money from something I used to do for free!"

Words: Jo Adnitt

Photos: Kerry Turner, Anastasia Taylor-King