019 Nick Compton: When being world-class is not enough
England cricketer and photographer My guest this week is Nick Compton. One of the top cricketers of his generation, having made centuries for England and played in the ashes, he is sporting royalty and the grandson of Arsenal footballer and legendary cricketer Denis Compton. And yet Nick is no ordinary sportsman. Since retiring from the game in 2016, and taking up photography, he’s done an enormous amount of soul searching, and speaks with remarkable honesty about his experiences in cricket and what these later years of reflection and travelling have taught him. Nick has travelled to places like India, Kenya and deprived parts of the USA, exposing through the lens, the cultures of less privileged society, listening to people’s stories and sharing their lives. “I think I'm looking for a connection that goes beyond the aesthetics, or the superficial quality of just being a good photo - if that makes sense,” he explains. “I think for me it has to have something else. Talking to someone and really understanding where they’ve come from and what their life has been about.” In our conversation, we also discuss success, what it means and how perhaps we need to reframe our expectations of it. We also talk about the fine line between success and failure and the emotional cost of our own expectations. “I think that the line between success and failure for me was incredibly thin, transparent at times...anything that wasn't Brian Lara or Sachin Tendulkar was a failure. It just wasn't good enough, and it didn't matter who told me it was.” It’s a fascinating exploration of the relationship between success and failure, purpose and passion - between the things that drive us, and those things that heal us. He describes photography as a ‘meditation’ and says that even during his career, photography provided an outlet and a way to really express himself. “Sometimes I was sitting there waiting to bat and I was actually thinking about the photos I could be taking of my teammates.” And it’s his description of his journey that I think will really be of value here. He is very open and honest about his post-cricket search for meaning. I’ve never heard a sports person speak so honestly and I really hope it also gives you the strength to follow your passions - even if it means embarking on the harder road less travelled.