I now spent almost five years in this place and I am still unable to express what it represents to me. Calling it a ‘city’ takes away all the credit that it deserves. It’s a place where people chase themselves. And their dreams. But also one that can take away everything from you. It can be merciless.

And that’s what makes it so fascinating to me. The fact that some people spend their own life trying to move here, even if it means that they might lose everything.

It’s so daunting, intimidating. But also so incredibly… I don’t know.
I’ll never be able to put together the words that it deserves.

In New York City, sleeping feels like a waste of time.

I MOVED TO NYC!

6 years in the making.

Rejection, uncertainty, ups and downs… it’s been a crazy ride.

It’s also been a dream of mine.

I’m now a NEW YORKER!

Spending a lot of time far away from this one is not easy. She lives in Italy, and I live in the US.

Covid didn’t help us either, but this past month we were able to enter in the US after two amazing weeks in Costa Rica.

I dreamed for her to come here and see NYC with me. Those days have been among the best of my life.

Here we are laying in one of my favorite lawns in NYC. It’s in Dumbo, Brooklyn. And we witnessed a great sunset there while playing UNO cards.

It’s crazy how every spot in NYC holds great memories for me.

I played professionally for one season at New York Cosmos. Worldly recognized soccer team, whose jersey has been worn by Pelé, Beckenbauer, Raúl… and me. Funny!

I was doing what I loved the most for a living. I had just graduated from Caldwell University. Everyday was a gift to me. Quick breakfast, bike to the field, practice, and then back home working on personal projects.

Well, sometimes I threw some MMA in as well to be honest. But better not tell coaches.

I started off with an ankle injury, but slowly got back in the starting eleven, until I was recognized as the most valuable player of the season. Nice hotels, flights, great restaurants, solid professionalism… until New York Cosmos decided not join the league for the upcoming season.

That left me with some time to think, and gave me wonderful months to spend back home in Italy. Any event in life, even the ones that drag your soul down to the bottom, hides positives. The sooner we see those, the better.

So much fun!

For those who don’t know, bouldering NOT the same as rock climbing. In the first one, as you can see, climbers do not have a rope attached to them, and the wall’s are not that high. Each path is marked with colors.

In the picture, I am trying to climb the third level out of about eight. (I fail 😅)

But it’s an awesome spot. It’s called The Cliffs at DUMBO, and i't’s located right below the Manhattan Bridge. Amazing location.

Me and Jason in Manhattan celebrating the launch of the ebook.

Jason is the author. I am the cover designer, plus, as Jason writes: “Mattia deserves a lot of credit for many tactics and strategies explained in this book.”

To me, that’s the symbol of a journey that I decided to take with uncertainty, but enthusiasm at the same time. The ebook is available here if you want to check it out.

(I don’t know what was going on with my hair, but I remember I couldn’t care less. I wouldn’t be surprised if some bird laid eggs in there).

Because it wouldn’t be New York without it.

Did you know that Central Park is bigger than a country? No kidding.

From untappedcities.com:

It is Bigger than the Country of Monaco

Measuring 843 acres, Central Park is larger in land mass than the principality of Monaco which is just under 500 acres large.

From biking in there, playing soccer, or just walking and daydreaming, I had some of my favorite days in Central Park.

We are all lucky.

Me typing these lines now, or you with an iPhone or laptop reading my entry. And as such, we have to give back. And as such, we have to do our best to show others that they are not alone.

Fighting a war, the cold, or hunger.

I found 9MillionReasons, a no profit organization that helps poor people with free food. I signed up, made my way to Queens, and started helping out with packing , carrying, sorting and so on.

As I did so, I was visualizing people enjoying the beans I was unboxing, and I felt good.
So good that I will definitely go back every other week.

It’s kind of weird.

When I walk around in any other city, I at least know where I am going. A monument, park, library, beach… but not in NYC.

No Google Maps, no “Best things to do” Google Search. Yes, I have now been here for five years, but I often still decide to spend mornings or afternoons just walking around. No destination at all.

And it’s so much better, because I see things in a different way. NYC’s every street is now my destination. It’s such a peaceful feeling.

All my days spent like this allowed me to collect lots of memorable spots and hidden gems. And some great shots of complete strangers lost in their everyday.

After a while, one may think that it could get boring. But everyday is so different. It’s incredible. I will never have enough of it.

Studying in NJ means that you don’t get to live in the city. That’s why I spent all my summers in Brooklyn / Manhattan.

But it also means that you can see the skyline from a variety of locations. This one, in particular, is my favorite.

It’s in Montclair. I have great memories in this place, and it deserves a spot in this collection.

Canal Street Market, Manhattan.

I was super anxious. But it got better the more I spoke, and the more nodding I noticed from the attendees. I met Jason in one of his events, where I proposed to work for him for free. “if you need help with anything, let me know.”

“ I have this startup…. but the Instagram account is not active. Want to give it a shot?”

The account now counts more than 110K followers, with a loyal, engaged, diverse and sensational community.
And that’s exactly what I was talking about up there: “How to use Instagram as a Business Owner.” I did not expect actual professionals to show up, and neither their countless questions that I was learning to dodge as I spoke.

The project gave me the chance to do digital marketing for multiple businesses in NYC, taught me how to move forward in the digital space, and to sharpen my creative skills.

Mattia Cella owes Jason a lot.

As an International student, summer is usually when everyone leaves to get back to their homes. All my friends could not wait to go back after months away from home, but it wasn’t the case for me.

Brooklyn Italians, a soccer club founded in Brooklyn by some Italians (duh) in 1949, welcomed me almost as a son.

The coach, Dominic Casciato, is one of the best people I ever met. He gave me a house, food, and amazing memories (both soccer and life-related) that I will never forget. I got to spend my summers in Dumbo, playing soccer in amazing fields, and having the food covered as well.

We traveled a lot, and played all over the US. I was the captain, and felt like I was living a dream I didn’t want to wake up from.

“But don’t you miss the sea in the summer?”

Well, yes. I do. And I’m not implying that NYC’s beaches are even comparable to the Italian ones. But Fire Island offers a great alternative.

It’s far from Manhattan and it takes a while to get there, can’t reach it by car (no bridges or ferries). Maybe that’s part of what makes it so special.

I decided to gave it a shot: I had the opportunity to visit it, relax, have a nice swim, and come back for sunset.

The place is super packed at night. So many young people, clubs, discos… it turns into a tiny Ibiza. Unfortunately, the last ferry was leaving right when streets started to light up.

It’s okay. I’ll definitely be back!

As much as I love walking in the streets in NYC, I have to say that this observation point really struck me.

Me and Chiara took an elevator (its walls were animated, and contained mind blowing animations) up to the top, and spent a good hour in the roof.

It was cold, as you can see, but the sunny day helped. Not sure if you can see it, but at the left of my hat there is a glass. Though there, one can see ALL THE WAY DOWN in the streets.

Chiara didn’t even dare to walk on it.

Me? I even laid down 😂

One can’t talk about NYC without giving the deserved credit to its incredible bagels. Together with PBJ, bagels are the best things that you can find in America food wise. Just my personal opinion.

Here are my two favorite spots + my two favorite bagels you NEED to try:

• Best Bagel and Coffee (225 W 33rd)

• Brooklyn Bagel & Coffee Company (63 E 8th). The one you see in the picture comes from this place.

Favorite bagels:

• Sesame bagel with bacon egg’n cheese.

• Everything bagel with cream cheese and avocado.

<3

Coaching has been a big part of Mattia Cella’s summers as well.

Among internships, practices, games… I threw in some coaching as well. I remember I used to get to the field at night dressed up with a buttoned up shirt and leather shoes, get changed, and starting my sessions.

It was fun. I met so many people, among the which Christian Fuchs, former Premier League winner with Leicester. He created a soccer academy called “Fox Soccer Academy” and needed some coaches. A friend told me, and I randomly showed up to one of his practices.

I eventually joined, just to add some more to my super packed schedule. I learned a lot though. We were all over Manhattan, and there is always a lot one can learn from kids as well.