“I DON’T KNOW WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN HERE BUT LET’S DO IT.”
Football, Furries, Racoons, Gong Baths, and Witchcraft. Welcome to the wonderful world of broadcaster Morf Peyiazis, the founder and CEO of YouTube Channel ‘In Amongst It,’ and Co-Host of Sky Sports’ social-first documentary series ‘SCENES.’
Morf, slide tackles, studs up into any oncoming challenge she faces with an astounding lack of fear. She has substituted traditional broadcasting for a chaotic, exciting and authentic style of presenting which represents the reality of every situation she immerses herself in.
‘In Amongst It’ is a social series which explores different events and communities and has reached an audience of over 1.5 million. Throughout the series, Morf has documented Euro 2020, The Old Firm, and investigated everything from Furries and Witches to Darts and Dance Festivals.
“I grew up down south in Southampton,” Morf tells us. I’ve got two older sisters and Cypriot heritage so you can imagine our household was crazy growing up, with all my cousins on the same road. There was a lot of energy constantly.”
It is this infectious energy that Morf has that fuels and charges others and through her work, she captures the raw and unfiltered emotions of the communities she enters.
“I’m just so drawn to these kinds of communities and I love learning,” explains Morf. “I think we lose that as adults too much. We always say we don’t have enough time and that we’ve got other commitments. But that’s why I love this series so much because I get to learn along the way.”
“It’s not me going in as an expert, and I never want to position myself as that. Investigating the world of Witchcraft was incredible. It’s just a different perspective of looking at life, and they were a super friendly community and super welcoming.
I just appreciated them letting me in because I’ve seen a trend on social media of people going into these environments with the aim of taking the piss. This is their safe space. This is their community. Who are you to come in and do that a disservice?”
I first became aware of Morf’s work when she covered Euro 2020 and went ‘In Amongst It’ with Scotland fans ahead of their encounter with England. It was absolutely everything that documentation on football fans should be and more.
It was unadulterated madness and she embraced all of it. As chants of ‘There’s only one David Marshall’ reverberated across Leicester Square, accompanied by beer flying majestically through the air, and Scotsmen revealing their lack of underwear, Morph simply turned to the camera to say, ‘Who the fuck is David Marshall?’
Morf throws herself into situations where chaos reigns supreme, but she’s always in control. She puts the fans first in everything that she does and lets them take centre stage, orchestrating it all beautifully like a midfield magician.
During her trip to witness the Old Firm, there is a moment when she is lost in a sea of blue as Rangers fans celebrate wildly. She goes with the flow, lets it happen and as a result, you get utterly compulsive viewing.
“I always felt that in broadcasting and documenting football there seemed to be a disconnect, especially with fans. It’s almost like certain fans are cherry-picked because they’re family-friendly, but for what I wanted to do I was like no, no no, I want authentic fans, diehard fans and these can be fans from any sport or any community.”
‘In Amongst It,’ was always something Morf would say at the start of her videos because it perfectly summed up the mood and personality of what she does and what she’s about. The name was never intended to be the brand, but it developed into that and ended up being the umbrella that has allowed her to seek adventure not just in football but wherever she could find it.
“The ideas that I have either start as a passion or come from just seeing or reading about stuff. It could be a news agenda, or seeing something in films, or seeing what they’re up to in America.
“I normally do a sweep every month to see what different events are coming up, or just look at different subject matters, like spirituality or manifesting, which was something I kept seeing everywhere.
“I found this thing called a ‘Gong Bath’, which is like a nine-hour-long experience and managed to track down the founders and did an interview with them. And then I went to the actual nine-hour Gong Bath experience. It was insane. It was really insane. I’ve never witnessed anything like it.”
Her work with ‘In Amongst It,’ brought her to the attention of Channel 4, and later Sky Sports where she is part of the team for the breakthrough series, ‘Scenes,’ which launched at the start of this Premier League season.
The Sky Team have embraced her style of broadcasting and allowed her to offer a different perspective of the matchday experience, blending first-person storytelling with behind-the-scenes access and documenting the Premier League from an angle the audience has never seen.
“Working with Sky has also been incredible. I’d say it’s up there with being one of my proudest moments because it is such a big sports broadcaster.”
From being at University with no real idea of where she was going, to making videos with blow-up beds in the centre of London, to now being part of one of the biggest broadcasters in the world. It’s fair to say it’s been one hell of a journey for Morf, who is helping to change the narrative around women in broadcasting and sports.
Having worked alongside the likes of Puma, Adidas, Copa90, Manchester United and taken on presenting duties for the Lionesses, and somehow finding time to Co-Found her own women’s football team, there isn’t a lot that Morf can’t turn her hand to. And if she can’t, she’ll give it a good bloody try.
It was a pleasure to sit down with her as we looked at her career so far, talked about the impact of women in sports, and discussed her fursona and simmering love of football.
IT’S NOT LIKE I’M TRYING TO TAKE THE PISS
I’d say that the first ‘In Amongst It’ style video was probably the England, and Scotland game at the Euros, where it was chaos. I remember getting down to Central London and thinking, Oh my Lord. I don’t know what’s gonna happen here. But let’s do it.
I think people are like, has it ever been scary? And I’m like, ‘No,’ but obviously there’s been a few moments. After we finished filming the England and Scotland game, we saw these police almost emerge from nowhere and then saw a load of England fans that had come to fight. I mean the police were there, but even at that moment, I was a bit like ‘Oh no’. But you realise that there’s always that small pool of fans, that are always going to be like that.
One thing that I kind of pride myself on, especially when it comes to talking to fans, is that I’m not there to take the piss. I’m not there to embarrass them. The comedy comes from them and nothing’s edited in a way where I’m taking bits from 20 minutes ago, and flipping it. It is all in chronological order. So I think that’s helped me in those environments, where they know that I’m on a level with them, and we’re in this together. It’s not like I’m trying to take the piss.
IF IT GOES TITS UP, THEN DO YOU KNOW WHAT, I’D RATHER KNOW THAT I’VE TRIED
I loved every minute of the Old Firm experience. I went into that off the back of the Euros where the videos did really well.
I had a load of Scotland fans telling me that I needed to come up and that If I thought this was chaos, then I needed to come and do something on the Old Firm rivalry.
Obviously, I had done my research, and I found that Copa 90 and Vice had done a documentary on the Old Firm, but I found that any documentary I saw always focused on one side and they never seemed to do both. But I wanted to do something different and chat with both sets of fans.
I wanted to ask them exactly the same questions, and also to show the fun side of the Derby. l get that much of the rivalry has to do with religion, politics, and all of that stuff, but I had the best day ever.
Don’t get me wrong, when I was on a flight to Scotland, I was like ‘Am I actually doing this?’ But I think it was a kind of defining moment in my career, in the sense that if can hold my own in this environment, then I can do it anywhere.
As a woman in football, I think sometimes people get scared and think that I don’t want to be around that kind of chaos and a load of men, but I was like, no, no, no, no, we’re doing this. straight in there. If it goes tits up, then do you know what, I’d rather know that I’ve tried.
It was an insane experience. We were able to sneak into both sides of the stadium, just because we had a rig with us and I was like ‘Press?’ so I got into the Rangers end first. Then it must have been after an hour of being there, that security came up to us and said, ‘Where’s your accreditation? You need to go.’ So we then tried the Celtic end and managed to get in there as well and were able to watch the rest of the game.
It was just insane experiencing both sides. Because I think you have to pick either one or the other, but it was great being there as a neutral. And don’t get me wrong I had some Scots saying ‘You’re English. Why are you here?’ And I had a couple of people be like ‘Oh, you’re the one that did the England, Scotland game’ and I was like ‘Yep, that’s me. I’m just here to explore and have a good time.’
IF IT’S HELPING SOMEONE THEN WHY NOT?
From an outsider’s point of view going into things like the Gong Bath, I’m always a bit sceptical. But when I dug a little deeper and spoke to the founders, they were saying how music and Gong Bath therapy are used as an alternative to antidepressants. So once you dig a little deeper, you’re like, I get it. It makes sense.
So basically a Gong Bath can be an immersive experience. You have Gong sound therapy, then meditation called Emotional Freedom Technique. And then they have these visuals around breathing techniques, which is to release any kind of emotional trauma.
It was really, really interesting and the founders are incredible people. I guess from an outsider’s point of view, if you’re a bit of a sceptic of this stuff, you’re going to be like, a Gong isn’t going to solve my trauma. But the people I spoke to who were going through the experience of severe trauma, and mental health issues, told me how much it’s helped them. And I think if it’s helping someone then why not?
WHAT’S MY FURSONA?
The videos I had watched before on Furries on YouTube were all very sexualised. That was all they focused on. Don’t get me wrong, that stuff does go on there, but for a majority, the way they describe it is that people go to Comic Con and dress as realistic as they can to a character from Marvel DC. With Furries, you’re basically creating your own character. The suits are expensive as well. They can cost anything from £2,000 up to £50,000.
These people design their fur suits with intricate detail, they are like beautiful art pieces, they see it as an art form and connect with people they wouldn’t normally talk to. Some people have social anxiety issues, and they use this fur suit as their kind of armour to connect with people.
When I asked does it get sexual, they were like, ‘Yes,’ there is that side of it. But the biggest misconception is that it’s the only side of it. They say that only 5% of it is sexual. For most of them, it’s a social occasion. They like to design their outfit, dress up and have a good time. But what was interesting was that when I asked what their nine-to-five jobs were a lot of them were CEOs and owned huge tech companies. I was also told that the pilot for Jeff Bezos’s space rocket is a Furry as well.
For a lot of them being a Furry offers that layer of escapism. That’s why people game online because it is a form of escapism and it’s the same thing, but in a different form. It’s really interesting.
Some people said that being a Furry was private, and kept it to themselves, and others had anxiety about telling people. There have been others who have told their close circle of family and friends, and at first, they thought it was a bit weird but with the more questions they asked about it, they began to understand the fandom of it all.
I think as a society, we make judgments really quickly, without reading between the lines as to why people enjoy the stuff they do.
A lot of people I spoke to found that their interest in the community started during the pandemic and for others they trace it back to Disney and anthropomorphic characters in The Lion King or Robin Hood.
I interviewed one of the designers of fur suits and he was a lovely guy and he donates all the money he makes from the suits to charity. And he said that everybody has a fursona. So I asked him what would be mine. And he said, ‘I think you’d be a racoon.’ I wasn’t sure how to take that.
WE’RE FANS AND WE DIDN’T WANT TO COMPROMISE OUR PERSONALITY FOR THE SAKE OF BEING A TRADITIONAL SPORTS BROADCASTER
With Sky Sports, they’ve taken someone whose style is a bit chaotic, and fun first and put their trust in that. With my stuff it is chaotic, there is no filter and that’s the way I’ve always wanted to do things, that’s why I did the Euro series because I felt there was a lack of authentic documentation of fans.
We’d only ever see family-friendly or racism. There was nothing ever in between. There was nothing with just the fans who liked to drink, have a good time, love the sport and look after each other. That’s what I wanted to show.
Sky has allowed myself and my other host Specs Gonzalez to do what we do. We’re fans and we didn’t want to compromise our personality for the sake of being a traditional sports broadcaster. I’m just not that, and I’m never going to be like that. That’s just not my bag. I’m not a pundit.
A majority of comments and sentiments have been great, and say how it is a refreshing perspective to have the fans first. The whole team is great at looking at the local spots where fans go to pre-match and that’s where I get sent to and I just go on this journey with them every match. So it’s been an incredible experience and I’m so grateful to them for putting their trust in me.
WOMEN ARE PROMINENT IN FOOTBALL AND THEY ARE HERE TO STAY
I think as a woman in football we can get pigeonholed as having to be a really traditional broadcaster, who has to be super analytical. Whereas I want to bring what I call that ‘Novice perspective’ and let the fans do the talking. I’m just the facilitator. Let them be the stars of the show.
I think people like Joey Barton don’t deserve the time of day. It’s one of the reasons I don’t really speak on it. If you don’t speak on it then they’ll just slowly going to die out. Women are prominent in football and they are here to stay.
The people he’s going after, have incredible credentials. You can’t discredit what they have done for women in sport, their journey and their trajectory.
It’s outrage economy, they feed off it. We see it with the likes of the Andrew Tate’s of the world and if you feed into it, they just get bigger.
I run a grassroots team called Sirens FC which I started in 2019 and even seeing the progression of that has been unreal.
When we started, we just wanted to play. I had never actually played football before. I was always a netball, basketball type of girl, but then came the Women’s World Cup or Euro 2019. I can’t remember which one, but after watching that I was hooked. But we found there were no teams in London. So me and my Co-Founder were like ‘Fuck it should we just start a team?’
From then until now in every single league in London and especially East London, there are waiting lists because so many teams have formed off the back of the Lionesses, women pundits, and all of this stuff.
That’s why I refuse to let the opinions of the likes of Joey Barton hinder me or anyone else because stuff is happening, it’s progressing. Seeing Mary Earps’ goalkeeper shirt selling out in under a minute, that’s not a fluke or chance. That is because there are real fans who love women in sports, and football.
I THINK THROUGHOUT MY WHOLE LIFE MY LOVE FOR FOOTBALL HAS BEEN SIMMERING
I grew up in Southampton, but I’m a massive Man Utd fan. Growing up my two older sisters and dad were fanatical fans. Like crazy. My dad would find out when the United coach was coming into Southampton, just so he could see the likes of David Beckham. He had no fear. I think 100% I get my no-fear mentality from my dad.
It’s funny though because my sisters and my dad were super fans. He would take them to every match and I’d go to a couple. Now they always laugh at me and say ‘How the hell are you on Sky Sports.’ and I’m just like ‘Listen, everything happens for a reason.’
I wasn’t a die-hard fan when I was younger, but as I’ve gotten older that’s changed. Before I got involved in presenting I used to work in football doing sports partnerships. That’s also kind of how Sirens started as well, because we were doing a lot of community projects within women’s football and I said to my Co-Founder that the best way for us to understand it, was to be in it.
I think throughout my whole life my love for football has been simmering. When I was younger Southampton played a Greek team in a pre-season friendly at St Mary’s and I don’t know why but the stewards walked us around the whole stadium to show us our seats. I think they knew we were away fans even though we’re from Southampton. I’ll always remember the whole stadium booing us as we walked to our seats, and my dad was just giving it back to them. At that moment I hated it, but in hindsight, if I can get booed by an entire stadium of fans, then I can do anything.
PREVIOUS TO THAT I DIDN’T FEEL SMART ENOUGH TO DO ANYTHING
I’m really dyslexic, so my brain is naturally drawn to arty stuff. I was always doing drama, and performing arts.
I remember at Uni I went to see the Careers Officer and I’ll never forget her saying, ‘You should work in HR.’ And in that moment I remember hearing that and thinking, ‘What am I doing with my life.’
It was then that I had a year in the industry whilst I was at Uni. I had a four-year course, and I was lucky enough to get an internship at Nike for the year in Head Office.
It was in that year that I fell in love with sport, and the people I worked with were so inspiring. I’d never been in that environment before, around people who’d worked in football, running, or sportswear. I was like, this is insane. It was very hands-on and I learned so much and started to think, I can do this. Previous to that I didn’t feel smart enough to do anything.
This whole time was a transition into a world of being good in marketing, digital content and social. I didn’t have that growing up. That wasn’t a career. Then all of a sudden I was working in agencies for three years, and I was making videos on the side but for no purpose at all. Nothing at all. I was doing Voxpop seven years ago. That was before TikTok before YouTube was as big as it is now, but it was all just fun.
My first format was called Pillow Talk, where I set up a bed in the middle of London and asked provocative questions to people. I had this huge blow bed and I had to ask this shop owner if he had anything I could blow the bed up with. So he found an extension cable and blew it up and I set it up in the middle of Leicester Square, and that was my first video and that was my first adrenaline hit. I was like, ‘I enjoy this. There’s a rush that I get with this.’
Then I did another format called Ringtone Rhythms. There was this old Nokia ringtone that everybody used to have at that time and I would get people to freestyle over that. I wish that I kept that going, but at the time I was working in Marketing and PR and it was 9-8 pm every day, and then I’d do some filming and then I’d go edit. So I couldn’t keep the momentum going. In hindsight, if I had kept momentum seven years ago, I could have been a millionaire right now, who knows?
SOMETIMES IT TAKES PEOPLE TIME TO CATCH UP WITH YOUR VISION
I always knew that I liked being in front of a camera and having fun. But I didn’t know how you could make that into like a career, especially in football, because it’s something that’s really hard to crack.
I think when the Euros came around, that was my opportunity to basically build a portfolio. People message me and ask, ‘How did you get into it?’ and I say, ‘If you’ve got a phone, and you can get audio on it as well, make stuff that you think people should be watching.’ That’s what I did with the Euro series.
As I said before, I didn’t think there was anything that authentically documented fans, so I thought, ‘I’m going to do it’ That’s kind of what has led me to do this series with Sky Sports, which is crazy considering I couldn’t get into any stadium with my phone to now working with one of the world’s biggest sports broadcasters.
I remember a good friend of mine saying, ‘Sometimes it takes people time to catch up with your vision.’ I don’t know why but it’s something that has always stuck with me. I had a vision a few years ago for the Euro series, and now 3 or so years later I’m doing similar stuff with Sky. It just took that time for people to catch up with the fan’s first vox pop-style interview.
For the rest of the year, we are continuing with the Sky Sports series, which is amazing. So it’s great to continue and build that with the team.
Obviously, the Euros is slowly approaching. So I’m hoping to be out in Germany for that. I’ve heard that it’s going to be the most travelled Euros yet in theory because Germany’s the centre of everything accessible. So hopefully I’ll be out there for that. I’m also hoping to do some stuff with the Olympics.
It’s going to be a big summer and then there is the festival season as well. So I don’t think I’m going to get much sleep. But it’s going to be fun.
I think the ultimate goal for me is building ‘In Amongst It.’ That is my biggest achievement, even though it’s not huge yet. I just want to continue to build it. And I want it to be bigger than myself. I want to bring other presenters into it and essentially build a network. So that’s kind of the goal and I think this year is just building the blueprint for that. Having momentum and working with brands and publishers that I resonate with and who understand my vision, how I present, and what I bring to the table.
All our thanks to the legend that is Morf Peyiazis.
You can follow Morf on social media here and watch ‘In Amongst It’ here.
You can also follow ‘In Amongst It’ on social media here.