Charlie Castro, 26, is a young man with a very cool job—a job that has allowed him to travel to the Women’s World Cup 2015, Super Bowl’s 49 and 50, and the NHL Finals (also known as the NHL Family Cup).
He even covered the NBA finals during LeBron’s reign in 2014.
As a digital video producer for NBC Deportes, in Hialeah, Castro shoots, produces, and edits video. In the journalism field, he is known as a predator.
“I have been doing this for a while, and I’ve been with NBC since October 2013,” said Castro. “I love sports and I am doing what I love to do also, so that’s just a plus.”
Castro graduated from Florida Atlantic University, in Boca Raton, in spring 2012. After graduating, he did freelance work, but nothing permanent. He was looking for better.
“NBC Deportes was growing their department in 2013 for the World Cup 2018,” Castro said. “I applied at the right time.”
Although Castro has a cool job now, his path didn’t start out that way.
Born and raised in North Miami, a younger Castro attended W.J. Bryan Elementary, Horace Mann Miami Middle and North Miami Beach High.
“When I was at North Miami Beach High, I was actually in the bio-medical magnet, which has nothing to do with journalism,” said Castro.
But when Castro decided to take classes in the TV department while attending NMB, he was approached by his teacher to help out with WNMB, the school’s television station.
“I would record and edit all the sports stuff and create sports packages for the station,” said Castro. “Eventually, I became the sports director.”
Castro also had some of his work featured on E! Entertainment Television, helped with a Nicki Minaj documentary, and one of his videos made ESPN Sports Center’s number one play of the night.
Normally, in this field, you have to start from a smaller market, which would have meant leaving North Miami. Instead, through his job at NBC Deportes, Castro was able to start with a big market and stay in his beloved city.
“As a child, I would visit Enchanted Forest Park, the athletic stadium, and Arch Creek Park a lot,” said Castro. “These staples, along with MoCA for culture, are beautiful assets we have that help make staying in North Miami a treat.”
Castro also added that the community is a prideful one, especially demographic wise.
“It’s a mostly Haitian community of sorts, and I have always seen that they stick up for each other,” said Castro. “This same pride rubs off on the other ethnicities within the community; it’s a very hard working community.”
While he is well aware of other cities and their growth, he doesn’t plan on leaving North Miami.
“I know there are other growing areas, but North Miami is a good area for me,” said Castro. “It is conveniently based—I consider it to be in the heart of everything.”
“North Miami is a community that sticks together, a prideful community that enjoys their school spirit. It’s a resilient community and it is still evolving. The people of the city stick up for their community, for North Miami.” –Charlie Castro, Digital Video Producer at NBC Deportes
