Andy McDermott(I)

Currently based in the Chicago area, Andy leads several projects in the sports, entertainment, and corporate spaces. He is the Founder and CEO of Intentional Sports, a 10-acre sports campus on the West side of Chicago that brings a world-class sports and wellness facility, along with professional coaching, to kids who otherwise would not get the opportunity to PLAY. He is the Executive Director of Palatine Celtic Soccer Club, where he is responsible for almost 2000 student-athletes. He's a Co-Founder and Partner of Nine Eight Partners, which is an umbrella for consulting, speaking, teaching, and writing. In his "spare time," he's still acting, writing, and producing content under his entertainment label, The Dunes Unlimited. Andy graduated from Northwestern in 1998. He was named All Big-Ten 3 years, Team Captain 3 years, all-time assist record holder, and NSCAA All-Midwest Region. While playing seven seasons of professional soccer in Germany, Chicago, Indianapolis, and Charlotte, Andy trained in the martial arts, earning his Third-Degree Black Belt, and was the head instructor of a tae kwon do school. After 9/11, he served on the Tactical Response Unit of the Phoenix Police Department for 9 years. Besides tac ops and pro-active community policing, he also served as a certified translator in Spanish and French, a Peer Counselor for PTSD/Trauma, and a Subject Matter Expert and Physical Training Instructor for all Arizona Law Enforcement Agencies. While there, he competed in the World Police and Fire Games and, in 2012, won the Gold Medal at the National Championships in the event called Toughest Competitor Alive. He became known as a Sports Performance and Fitness Expert- with over 100 published articles and videos for national media, including Men's Fitness, Muscle & Fitness, and USA Today. His training/nutrition content on YouTube has been viewed by 4.5 million people. He was discovered as an actor when he was cast in a movie with Will Ferrell called Everything Must Go. In 2012, he moved to LA and has appeared in over 40 Films and TV shows and many more commercials and photo campaigns. Andy relocated to the San Francisco area in 2017 when he was recruited to create and lead a $50MM Sports Technology and Entertainment startup called COPA Soccer Training Center. Throughout his adventures, he has been coaching soccer at all levels for 30 years, and in 2019/2020 passed a year-long process to earn US Soccer's A License. He and Julie have been married for 25 years; they have four young soccer players and a lazy bulldog named Georgie Best.

Andy's passion in life has always been storytelling, and he's grateful to be a working actor in Chicago on some terrific productions recently.