Dave Carafelli
Partner
I’ll never forget how inspired I felt watching the Lakers when I was 5 yrs. old, hearing Chick Hearn sound like he was having the time of his life while calling their Championship against the Celtics… From that point on, I always knew I wanted to work in TV. I’d stay up late on Sunday nights just to watch George Michael Sports Machine and think to myself, someday, what if I could have a job like that?
After High School I went to UNLV for a Broadcast Journalism degree with thoughts of being on camera talent. From there I landed my first job in TV. It was for Entertainment Tonight in 1995! That’s when I realized that working behind the camera was pretty cool, and suited me better than being in front of it.
I started working red carpet interviews for ET with celebrities like Magic Johnson, Garth Brooks & Paris Hilton. At that point in my life, If I wasn’t busy working for ET, I was working in the Octagon for UFC as a utility behind a handheld camera operator and quickly discovering exactly where my passions belonged within the broader TV industry.
Since then, I’ve been fortunate enough to work as a Stage Manager for the UFC, NBA and even the NHL during the Vegas Golden Knights magical run to the Stanley Cup Finals in their first ever season!
Some of my most recent work comes from an opportunity I was given by Intel Sports in 2020, when they hired me on as an Associate Producer to create video game-like highlights using their True View Technology during games at the freshly minted Allegiant Stadium!
Just like my mentor Don Jacobs said it would, my passion has taken me places where you can’t buy tickets. Even after more than 25 years of being in the industry, I still love everything that I do. For me, it doesn’t actually feel like work.