7 minute read
CHELCEE GRIMES // 70-71 NEW BALANCE
TESSUTI • M ADE IN LIVERPOOL • TESSUTI •
M A DE IN LIVERPOOL
Advertisement
MO What does the city of Liverpool mean to you?
CG Liverpool means everything to me, it’s home. I've lived away from Liverpool, it was never the same, I always had to come back. I got to travel a lot with songwriting and with football but Liverpool was always home, there's just nowhere like it.
MO What do you think is unique about its culture?
CG I think the people, that's the one thing that separates Liverpool from the rest of the world for me. Like I said, you know, I've been to pretty much all my dream places, all the places I wished to go and visit and you just don't get the people like there are here. There's no one like Scousers anywhere else in the world.
MO How has Liverpool shaped you as a person?
CG I definitely wouldn't be the person I am today if I wasn’t from Liverpool, it's the graft, the hard work. That’s the heritage of the town and the city that we're from. Even supporting Liverpool Football Club, you know, we weren’t winning stuff when I was younger and look at us now, it's been a graft. It's not been straight to the top, that is inspiring for me. We know if you dig deep, it can happen. That was my mentality growing up in this town. Growing up for me was kind of lonely. It was me and my mum, bless her, she used to play football all the time with me, I was terrible at losing. To be honest, I still am (laughs). Now we're in a good place because she actually works with me now. So it turned out alright.
MO So what age did you start to get into football?
CG I think I must've been about eight or nine. There were no girls in my street. So if I wanted to play out, it was just football. So it was either do some homework or play out with the boys. I got really good. The thing about football is literally you just need a wall and a ball, I could spend hours there.
My granddad had seen a soccer school in the paper for Ian Rush. I didn't know who he was at the time, he had a moustache and everyone was asking for his autograph, he was so humble. I was the only girl who turned up and that just so happened to be where Liverpool ladies trained, from there I got scouted. I got asked to go down for a trial and I didn't even own a pair of football boots! That was the day I started taking it seriously. I got in, I got a kit and I just saw a pitch full of young girls like me. Of course it wasn't cool back then but it didn't stop me. I remember my first day of training for Liverpool and seeing all the young girls like me, I felt like that's where I belonged.
People ask me all the time, do I love music or football more? I don't think they realise how hand-in-hand they actually go. You know, both of them require a strong mentality. You're never going to make it in either without believing in yourself. For me, football does come first because that was my first love, it was something that was instilled in me. It doesn’t matter if you’re 3-0 down you can bounce back, and that has had a huge impact on my life.
MO What are some of the challenges you’ve encountered at a young age, and even still playing football now?
CG I think it's challenging just being a woman in sport, a woman playing football especially. I was an easy target. So straight away, if you’ve got a girl in the team you’re met with sniggering and unpleasant comments. That stuff built my character, which, I mean, I'm sure some of them wish they never had done. Now I can walk into any room because I was strong enough to just stick it out, get on the pitch, and not let any of that bother me.
MO How is fashion connected to football for you?
CG Growing up, I used to wear astroturfs with stuff (laughs). I think my style is sporty, it can be casual for me. If I can incorporate one piece of sportswear, it doesn't even have to be a football kit. It could be a cool tennis top, a basketball top, whatever, I’m a sports fan first and foremost. I was wearing kits from Italy, kits from Germany. Now, you can wear a pair of jeans and a jersey and it looks cool and you can rock it anywhere. Going back to music, you would never see music artists wearing football shirts in a music video but now it's acceptable, everything goes hand in hand now. Sport and music fit perfectly.
In terms of personal style, I've worn some things that I would never, ever, ever wear again. But I think for me, it's just I'm not afraid to try anything. And I think that's what sets me apart sometimes on a red carpet, good or bad, I'll go for it.
MO Why is grassroots football so important to you and to the evolution of the game?
CG I wouldn't be here without grassroots football. People think when you play for these big clubs it is easy. Ten years ago you needed funding from other places. Now I have a little sister, she's 13. She wasn't there when I was growing up but she plays football and I sponsor that team and that's so cool. I think, you know, just compared to back when I played, we'd be the token girls team. Now, I watch my sister's team on a Saturday and it's full of girls playing and I'm so proud to still be able to be in and around the game.
I still play now; I play for MerseyRail. We've just gone into the National League, so it was at a grassroots level in the near-past. The National League is now being funded by some big names, it's amazing to see people back in the sport now and really getting behind it because people need to understand the girls aren't going anywhere. It's just beginning!
MO Do you have a hero from Liverpool, either in sport or fashion?
CG It would be Steven Gerrard, of course. There was no one else, he was a god to me growing up. He was from the city, fulfilling his childhood dream. That was inspiring for me just to see that someone from our city could go on to do whatever they dreamed of. More broadly, women who went against the grain, that's what spoke to me. I wasn’t sure why but that is always what I gravitate towards.
MO How much of a watershed moment do you think England winning the Women’s Euros is for the women’s game?
CG I was fortunate to be there. The final at Wembley sold out 87,000 people to watch England lift the trophy. It was historic. It was emotional for me, I know a lot of the girls in the team, I've played with some of them at youth level. Just to see that victory, they've stuck it out, playing at a time when it wasn't cool and wasn’t funded. Those girls have not had it easy whatsoever, it's not been all glory at all. It was so emotional for me to see that, I never thought in my day that I'd be standing there in a packed out stadium watching England lift a trophy.
I think everyone is now looking at girls playing football. It's not just girls playing football. It's football. Yeah, girls will play in it, but it's still football and it's a great standard. A lot of young people, a lot of young girls like my sister, are looking at it and seeing that it is a possible career. I am so proud to be here and watch a team like England, and I can’t wait for the next generation of young girls to keep playing.
I can't wait for the next Euros. I can't wait for the next World Cup and I can't wait for the next generation of young girls to be playing the sport.
