Davis Paul

Davis attended Damien High School where he was recognized as a multi-sport Youth All-American, leading the school to back-to-back CIF Division One Championships while garnering first team All-CIF, Sierra League and San Gabriel Valley Honors. He played club soccer for Arsenal FC of the Premier Coast Soccer League, becoming the first ever 3-Peat US Youth Soccer National Champion and earning Gold Boot honors in 2006 as Player of the Tournament.

Selected to Generation Adidas Elite Soccer Program (ESP) in 2006, Paul earned an All-Star Game selection, scoring the game winning goal. As a member of the US Olympic National Team pool, Paul led Cal South ODP to a National Championship, tied as the top scorer of the tournament and garnering his 2nd Gold Boot Award. He was later selected by College Soccer News to the "100 Freshmen From Coast To Coast To Keep An Eye On" before committing to UC Berkeley his senior year.

Paul played college soccer at the University of California, Berkeley, where he scored 18 goals and 21 assists in 75 appearances for the team. The 2010 Bears set the school's single-season assist record of 49 thanks in large part to Paul, receiving NSCAA All-American as well as All-Pac10 and NSCAA Regional First-Team selections.

The La Verne, California attacking midfielder concluded his senior season as Cal's all-time single-season assist record holder with 15, ranking fourth fourth on Cal's career assist list with 22. With 30 points (13th nationally) in his final season, he tied future Major League Soccer teammate, Calen Carr, for fifth place on the school's single-season points list. Paul led the Bears with career highs in goals (9), assists, points and game-winning goals (6) in 2010.

During the regular season, he led the Pac-10 in points (28), goals (8) assists (13) and game-winners (4). Along with many other accolades including Athlete of the Year at UC Berkeley, he claimed four Pac-10 Player of the Week honors.^[1]

During college, Paul played several summer seasons with the Los Angeles Legends in the USL Premier Development League, scoring 10 goals and notching 5 assists in 12 games.^[2] He graduated a semester early in 2010 to pursue a professional soccer career, being invited to the January 2011 Major League Soccer combine in Florida.

On January 14, 2011, Paul was drafted #51 overall in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft by the Chicago Fire.^[3] He made his professional debut on March 30, 2011, starting in a Lamar Hunt US Open Cup game against the Colorado Rapids,^[4] and made his MLS debut on April 17 against Los Angeles Galaxy.^[5]

Paul was waived by Chicago ^[6] and subsequently re-signed to their U23 team until joining the Seattle Sounders ^[7] until the end of the season. He had a short stint with Sporting Kansas City before moving to Norwegian First Division ^[8] on a temporary visa.

Upon his return, he played in the Lamar Hunt Open Cup with PSA Elite, where he helped the team advance to the round of 16 with two goals over Major League Soccer's Portland Timbers ^[9]

Paul began working with brands at a young age to produce commercial & branded entertainment - shooting with professional athletes such as X-Games legend Travis Pastrana, Shaun White and former World Surf League #1, Bede Durbidge all by the age of 18. His viral lip-sync music video, "For Your Love",^[10] sparked a nation-wide trend amongst sport's teams and led to countless spinoffs including "Shot on iPhone" by Apple Inc.^[11]

Upon athletic retirement, Paul was offered an opportunity to lead X-Games for GoPro Camera, garnering his first-ever Sports Emmy^[12] in the process. In his 4 years as the Creative Director, he oversaw verticals such as Surf, Skate and Team Sports, working with some of the highest profile athletes, teams and sports leagues globally.

From Manchester City^[13] to Real Madrid,^[14] X-Games to NFL, Davis' work amassed billions of views, winning dozens of awards and helped GoPro become the #1 Brand on Youtube.^[15] His viral work with the NHL over two seasons earned him his first 2 Clio Awards ^[16] and his 2nd Sports Emmy for "Outstanding New Approach" for work at the NHL All-Star game, radically changing the way we view and engage with sports today.^[17]

Currently the founder of Lovely Day Studios, a multi-award winning creative studio producing commercial and branded entertainment with some of the highest profile brands, athletes and organizations globally. As a director, his work has amassed dozens of awards^[18] including back-to-back Webby Awards ^[19] with the Atlanta Falcons.

Davis directs from a place of genuine curiosity. His approach is to immerse, observe, and derive story from athletes and subjects rather than script them into one. This approach produces commercial work that carries the texture of documentary filmmaking and the emotional precision of narrative film. His films for brands like Oakley, Adidas, and Dolby are built mood-first, using atmosphere and intimacy to build sentiment before purpose. The brand earns its place inside the story rather than sitting on top of it, making his work feels less like advertising and more human.

• Davis Paul at Major League Soccer
• UCB profile Archived November 15, 2011, at the Wayback Machine