Athletes Who Rock! Stories of Sacrifice, Setbacks and Success in Sports, Music and Life: Award-winning author offers fresh insight into the rigorous paths to stardom in two highly-competitive fields
Motez Bishara’s Athletes Who Rock! showcases conversations with competitive giants – from football heroes to baseball sluggers and tennis champions – about achieving the near impossible: greatness in the cutthroat worlds of sport and music
UNITED KINGDOM – Published on 25th February 2022, this highly original and unputdownable book by award-winning writer Motez Bishara is a collection of personal interviews with 15 extraordinary individuals who have reached the pinnacle of world sport and music.
Whether singing to millions on TV or performing in sold-out arenas, a common theme that permeates among the inspiring interviewees in these emotive conversations is their ability to put aside any fear of ridicule or failure on the way to achieving their immense goals.
With the resolute energy and motivation of these champions jumping off the page, Athletes Who Rock! is a must-read for all those needing an injection of get-up-and-go to kickstart their journeys to success.
Synopsis:
Athletes Who Rock! is a collection of personal interviews with 15 extraordinary individuals who have lived out every kid’s fantasy: becoming a rock star and star athlete at the same time.
Revealing conversations with Damian Lillard, Bernie Williams, Chelcee Grimes, Yannick Noah, Rony Seikaly, Pat Nevin, Ray Barbee, Lyndsay Perry, Kyle Turley, Bronson Arroyo, Mark Butcher, Pat Burgener, Essence Carson, Kevin Walker and Daniela Hantuchova shed light on how to succeed at the highest levels of sports and music, despite nearly impossible odds.
For these champions, the conviction to chase their dreams unhinged by the fear of failure has created an unrivalled assembly of thrills: They’ve dunked on Michael Jordan, and dribbled around Kevin Keegan, then spun records to thousands of revellers in Ibiza and millions on the radio.
They’ve won World Series titles and tennis Grand Slams, an Olympic gold and a WNBA championship, played in the FA Cup Final and NCAA basketball final, been named to NFL Pro Bowls and NBA All Star games, and captained England in The Ashes.
Yet for every tale of playing the Royal Albert Hall or hitting a World Series home run, there is another that involves overcoming one of life’s big challenges – be it a catastrophic injury, a broken family, mental health issues or bigotry. The hurdles they have crossed are at times hard to believe. Now they’re offering exclusive behind-the-scenes access into their worlds.
Beyond the banter in the locker rooms and recording studios, these intense competitors share the impactful backstories of their twin paths to success.
The author says:
“This collection of in-depth interviews provides insider accounts from the dual careers of these remarkable athlete-musicians. They’ve played sold out stadiums, written hit records, collected awards and DJed at the most prestigious nightclubs – all while excelling in the world’s biggest sporting competitions.
“Their experiences are eye-opening. For every tale of playing the Royal Albert Hall, hitting a World Series home run or winning an Olympic gold there is another that involves overcoming one of life’s big challenges. The hurdles they have crossed are often hard to believe. Now their stories are ready to be told.”
Published by Cranthorpe Millner Publishers on 22nd February 2022, Athletes Who Rock! Stories of Sacrifice,
Setbacks and Success in Sports, Music and Life is available in hardback (£27) at https://bit.ly/3m839Pg
It is also available to purchase on the publisher’s website at https://bit.ly/3sa17ls
About the author:
Motez Bishara is an award-winning author, contributing feature writer for CNN, ESPN and The Guardian, and Ph.D. candidate in sports sociology at the University of Leicester.
Motez Bishara grew up obsessing about the New York Yankees and the rocker Tom Petty. But like many teenage hopefuls, his athletic and musical aspirations faded after high school. Though he was never destined to become the next Bernie Williams, Bishara discovered that the legendary Yankees centre fielder and jazz guitarist displayed inherent personality traits common to other celebrated athlete-musicians. Unearthing these rare success stories in music and sports soon turned into an obsession, sparking the ambitious concept for Athletes Who Rock! As a seasoned sportswriter known for his up-close-and-personal interview style, Bishara has been uniquely placed to dig into the minds of these elite talents.
