Good People of vitruta: Nihan Cabbaroğlu

Nihan, welcome! Who is Nihan Cabbaroğlu, how did she start, and how is she progressing?

Thank you! I’m Nihan Cabbaroğlu, a sports announcer and digital content creator, a cheerful and energetic person, originally from Ankara, but now a happy Istanbul resident. I started my career at TRT in Ankara, continued at Bein Sports, and now I’m a Eurosport announcer. I also produce digital content through my own company, Çıta Medya.

How did you get into the sports world? Was it something obvious from a young age, or did life lead you to sports?

Sports have always been a part of my life. I watched sports from a young age, and the first Olympics I watched was Sydney 2000. I did athletics in middle and high school, specifically running in the 400 meters. Athletics holds a special place in my heart, so it’s very dear to me. However, I love both watching and participating in sports. It wasn’t clear from a young age that I’d end up here; I studied Political Science and Public Administration at university. Being a broadcaster was always in me, and here I am. I feel very lucky to be working in sports, giving life to it with my voice and performance, and creating content related to sports.

You’re currently involved in two separate podcasts: Salon Sporu and Kendimiz İçin Yapıyoruz. Would you like to tell us more about them?

Of course. Salon Sporu is a podcast that my husband Buğra Balaban and I have been doing for a year and a half. We both love basketball, and we especially follow Euroleague very closely. As both of us are sports broadcasters, we wanted to share our thoughts and create basketball-related content in this podcast.

Kendimiz İçin Yapıyoruz (KİY) has a completely different story. Since high school, my close-knit group of friends and I have always enjoyed having deep conversations, and they’ve been very healing for us. Since we get along so well, we wanted to share this with others. For over a year now, the four of us have been gathering, discussing topics like work, relationships, careers, and culture, recording and publishing our talks. These conversations have been very well received by our listeners. For me, this podcast became a turning point: it’s content where I share not just my thoughts but also my feelings. With this podcast, we feel like a huge group of friends with all our listeners, and we know we’re not alone.

As someone involved in so many projects, we have to ask: where do you find motivation and inspiration? What inspires you?

I can say I have many sources of inspiration. First and foremost, it comes from my husband and the friends in the KİY team. Creative, intelligent, strong people always inspire me. Additionally, I love visiting art galleries. A good movie or a documentary always brings me new perspectives. Almost every form of art nourishes me.

What have you been watching or listening to recently? Would you like to share with us?

I recently started watching a fascinating documentary on Netflix called Bad Sports. It covers cheating scandals in sports from the past, and it’s incredibly interesting. I just finished watching Downton Abbey, which tells the story of how the British aristocracy couldn’t survive after World War I in the 1920s. It’s a wonderful production with a great story, as well as a great portrayal of the era. I’m also listening to a podcast called 60 Songs That Define The 90’s, which talks about the amazing songs and bands I listened to during my teenage years.

Can you share your top 5 favorite brands on vitruta?

Rains, adidas Originals, WWF Market, PUMA, and of course, Fjällräven.