Clark Hazlett is a man of many professions. He splits his time between YouTube, music, and football. His career has taken him to a number of places around the world, and right now, he’s in the Czech Republic. Hazlett is the quarterback for the Vysočina Gladiators, a team in the Czech League of American Football (ČLAF). I had the honor of interviewing him for this article, and it should give readers an idea of his journey up to this point.
Hazlett hails from Whatcom County, Washington. He played collegiate football at Linfield University, a school in McMinnville, Oregon, with a Division III athletics program. Hazlett missed his junior season (2017) at Linfield due to a torn labrum, which gave him the opportunity to start investing more time in social media. Fast forward to 2021, and Hazlett’s YouTube channel, Adventure Athlete, has over 160,000 subscribers. The channel documents Hazlett’s life as a football player, a lot of which has taken place outside of the United States.
Although Hazlett plays quarterback for his Czech team, he also acts as the offensive coordinator, meaning he gets to call his own plays. To many, this is a pretty uncommon scenario, but it’s typical with smaller, international leagues. Unique stories like this have allowed Hazlett’s audience on YouTube to grow.
Not only does he use social media for sports, but he also uses it as an artistic outlet. Hazlett is a country musician, and his first song, Throwback, was released in November 2019. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hazlett spent time in Nashville, Tennessee, trying to learn more about the country music genre and immerse himself with the culture. His second song, Back In My Hometown, was released in May 2021. Music not only gives Hazlett the opportunity to express his feelings, but it also allows him to draw a connection between football and other personal aspects of his life.
To conclude, Clark Hazlett cannot be defined by a single activity. He’s a man who’s not afraid to share his story, and he’s also not afraid to step out of his comfort zone to try new things. When I asked Hazlett what his best piece of advice was, this is what he said:
“Don’t be afraid to leave your hometown or be exposed to other cultures. I wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t take chances and look for opportunities that some wouldn’t even consider.”
