How a Taxi with Pep Guardiola Changed My Life
How a Taxi with Pep Guardiola Changed My Life - Braydon Bent, Manchester City Sports Business School alumni
When Braydon Bent climbed into a taxi at just seven years old, he had no idea that the man sitting across from him would be Pep Guardiola - and even less idea that the trip would mark the beginning of an extraordinary journey.
“I didn’t even know he was going to be in there,” Braydon recalls, still with a hint of disbelief.
“My dad thought it was a prank when they called and said I’d be filming with Pep on his first day in Manchester. I was just this little kid with hardly any teeth.”
The resulting video - an unscripted, funny, and surprisingly confident interaction between a young boy and one of football’s most respected managers - went viral almost instantly.
“That clip still does the rounds today,” Braydon says with a smile. “It’s mad, really. That was the moment everything changed.”
Braydon’s love for Manchester City runs deep. “If you cut me open, I’d bleed blue,” he laughs. “My dad’s a City fan. His dad’s a City fan. It’s in the blood.”
His breakthrough moment came even before the taxi ride, when he entered and won a competition to meet his hero, Sergio Agüero.
“I re-created that famous moment where Agüero scores and whips his top off. But I adapted it to the current season. I was dancing round my parents’ bedroom pretending to be him.”
His boldness and charisma caught the club’s attention. “I met the players, and I was just so confident - even at that age. They told my parents they’d keep in touch.”
That promise led to the now-iconic taxi ride and a career trajectory that most kids could only dream of.
After the viral video, Manchester City invited Braydon to join them on their pre-season tour of the United States. What followed was Braydon’s Captains America, a documentary-style series in which he travelled cross-country converting Americans into City fans.
“It was just me and my dad in a car going from LA to Nashville, stopping at different states.” Braydon explains. “At the end, I delivered the captain’s armband to Vincent Kompany.”
The series helped solidify Braydon’s on-screen presence, and soon after, major broadcasters took notice. “I started working with Sky. I’ve now presented over 250 episodes of FYI on Sky Kids and Sky News. I even opened Children in Need when I was around 10.”
He’s also had his own TEDx Talk on football and its power to unite, which was shared to TED’s 42 million subscribers.
“I’ve been lucky enough to do some amazing things. I’ve worked with BAFTA, presented at their awards twice, and even done commentary for Formula One.”
Despite all the excitement, it wasn’t until Braydon was about 11 or 12 that he began to see broadcasting as more than just a fun hobby.
“Before that, I was just a little kid having the time of my life with my heroes.” he said. But when I started making documentaries, real ones, that’s when I thought, ‘Okay, this could be something.’”
One documentary took him to South Africa, where he reported on the relocation of endangered animals. Another brought him to the favelas of Brazil, covering gang violence and its impact on children.
Perhaps most poignant was his trip to the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan.
“I was about 12 or 13. The conditions were really tough. But on the last day, we started juggling a football, and soon, all these kids were joining in. We didn’t speak the same language, but football brought us together.”
It’s a theme Braydon returns to often: the power of sport to transcend borders and break down barriers.
“Whether I’m at the United Nations or in a refugee camp, football connects people. That’s been one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned.”
With important academic choices ahead, Braydon is keeping his options open - combining his media experience with a growing curiosity for leadership and strategy in sport.
“It’d be natural to say I want to be a presenter forever, and maybe I do,” he said. “The experiences I’ve had are priceless. But I’m also really interested in the business side of sport, especially football.”
Braydon credits the Next Gen Man City programme with helping him discover that passion.
“Last year’s course showed me what happens behind the scenes in football. It got me thinking - how did someone working at the club get to where they are? What do their jobs involve?”
“I’ve got nine years of experience already, and I’ve seen both the fun and the serious sides of the media. But I’m keeping my options open. Presenting is something I love, but maybe one day I’ll be running the club, not just talking about it.”
Today, Braydon continues to work with Manchester City across the Matchday Live and content teams, while pursuing his education.
