About Linden
One story. One individual. Endless potential for inspiration.
Sports has played a defining role in shaping my career trajectory. Much of my work centres on sharing the stories of sportspeople who often go unrecognised unless you actively seek them out. Why is this important to me? Because I am living proof of what happens when a girl sees what’s possible.
I began interviewing sportspeople because I was once that girl – watching from the sidelines, inspired by the players on the court, relating to their journeys and seeing myself in their experiences. Their stories made me feel like I belonged. Now, I want to help create the same feeling for girls around the world by amplifying stories that can change the way young girls see themselves and the sport.
Sport has been important to me from a young age. Although I was unable to participate in sport due to multiple heart surgeries, my connection to the game never faded. I was especially drawn to players from overseas. Having lived abroad myself, I understood the resilience required to adapt to new cultures, the courage to start again and the magic that comes from forming connections through sport.
I strongly believe that you don’t know what you don’t know – and that inspiration often comes from unexpected places. The first player who I truly connected with is Penina Davidson of New Zealand. I discovered her story by chance, but when I did, something remarkable happened – I saw myself in her. For the first time, I related to a basketball player not just as an athlete, but as a person. She travelled the world in the way I aspired to, yet her story wasn’t told. Meeting Penina changed my perspective and inspired me to tell stories within women’s basketball.
That experience led me to create the Instagram platform Nz_nbl_girl, dedicated to sharing the stories of women’s basketball players in New Zealand. Since then, I have written features on Kiwi women’s basketball players at every level - from high school and American college pathways to national team representatives -with the hope that their stories might reach a girl, somewhere around the world inspire them to try basketball.
My passion for storytelling extends beyond the southern hemisphere. Recently, I have expanded her work internationally in the UK and Europe. I was fortunate to interview Shannon Hatch, a member of the Switzerland EuroBasket team and a long-standing professional across leagues in the UK, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, and Canada. These stories have reached readers in Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Slovakia, United Kingdom, and the United States demonstrating the global appetite for women’s basketball stories when they are given the space to be told.
Though storytelling, I aim to make sport more visible, more human and more accessible – so that one story, one individual, could become the spark that inspires the next generation. Because the focus behind every interview and is bigger than a stat line: it's about connecting fans to stories behind the game.
In addition to telling the stories of sportspeople worldwide, I hold a PhD in Sport Management from Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand. My research areas include women and girls sport, sport marketing, social media, and community sport. I am currently based in England as a sport marketing lecturer based in England.