Interview: Georgia Hegley | Shirt Collector & Kit Community Creative | West Ham Fan.
This is Georgia. Georgia lives and breathes West Ham and creates social media content on her team on both Instagram (@Georgia.hegley) and TikTok (@Georgiahegley), so make sure you check her out! We thought it was about time we had a chat with Georgia to talk all things shirts and her love for the claret and blue.
What do football shirts mean to you?
A lot. They capture an era, the players, the moments, and where West Ham were at that time. I wear my shirts all the time, not just on match days. I’m always proud to wear claret and blue, wherever I am. There’s something so special about spotting someone else in a West Ham shirt, even if you’ve never met, there’s just that instant sense of familiarity. It’s more than just a shirt, it makes you feel part of a community!
📸 Georgia watching West Ham beat Everton 2-1 at The London Stadium in 2026
SHOP OUR WEST HAM COLLECTION HERE
What is it that makes a football shirt so special?
It’s about the memories that are tied to it for me. Take the Europa Conference League shirt for example. It’s not even one I particularly love design-wise, but it’s iconic because of that beautiful night in Prague. Especially with Bowen on the back! That’s what makes it so special, not how it looks, but what it represents.
Do you remember your first shirt?
Yes, it was the home 'Jobserve' shirt from the 2003–05 seasons. I’ve even got a photo of me in it, a proper throwback. It’s a classic!
📸 Georgia wearing her very first shirt
SHOP OUR 2000S COLLECTION HERE
What is your favourite era of shirts?
That’s such a tough one! It has to have the OG badge. It’s got to be between the Dagenham Motors (1992-97) and the Dr. Martens shirts (1998-03). They just don’t make them like that anymore, oversized, classic and just quality. I genuinely think anyone can appreciate those, not just West Ham fans.
📸 Georgia with her dad and brother at The London Stadium for the Boyle Sports Cup in 2025
SHOP OUR 1990S COLLECTION HERE
How many shirts do you have in your collection?
I’ve got way too many shirts, honestly. Most of my money seems to go on them and I keep adding more, we’re definitely into double digits now. My 1997/99 away shirt from Football Finery is up there though. It’s the year I was born, badge in the middle, that classic castle crest, you can’t really beat it! Another favourite is one my dad gave me, the AVCO home shirt from 1984. Means a lot since he used to wear it to games, and now I do the same.
📸 Georgia wearing her gorgeous 1997/99 West Ham away shirt
What got you into supporting West Ham?
My dad, 100%. He’s West Ham mad, so it was always going to rub off on me. I’ve well and truly got the bug! Some of my earliest memories are going to Upton Park with him. Going to The Boleyn pub before the game, being surrounded by claret and blue, then grabbing a hot dog outside the ground. I’d be there in my claret and blue jester hat, singing 'I'm forever blowing bubbles' as loud as I could. I love everything about match days and everything about feeling like you’re part of a community.
📸 Georgia, her dad and THAT iconic hat
Do you remember your very first game?
Only vaguely, but I know it was at home to Watford on the 1st of May 2004 and we won 4-0! It was a birthday present. I was only five!
Do you have a favourite moment from following West Ham?
There are so many, but going to Wembley for the 2012 play off final has to be up there. We won 2-1 against Blackpool and Ricardo Vaz Tê scored the winner! It was unreal. I went with my dad and it’s something I’ll never forget. I really thought we might get back there this year with the FA Cup run… but there’s always next year.
📸 Georgia with her dad at Wembley for the playoff final in 2012
How did you get into making West Ham TikTok and Instagram content?
As an actress, I know it’s important to have an online presence, but I wasn’t sure what would make me stand out at first, and then I realised I already had a niche. I’m a massive West Ham fan, so creating West Ham content on TikTok and Instagram came quite naturally. I also noticed that there weren’t many female creators in that space, even though there are so many female supporters. I wanted to represent that side of the fanbase too.
