Tiggy Valen

Tiggy Valen didn’t set out to revolutionize Formula 1 media—she just wanted to talk about the sport in a way that felt real, sharp, and insightful, without the fluff or the boys’ club gatekeeping.

EARLY YEARS

Born Antigone Valen—yes, like the Greek tragedy heroine—Tiggy grew up anything but stationary. Originally from San Francisco, she spent her childhood zigzagging the globe as the daughter of Foreign Service employees, living in Bangkok, Paris, Vancouver, and Beijing. It was the kind of upbringing that either makes you adaptable or totally unmoored; Tiggy landed firmly in the former camp. Her full name, Antigone “Tiggy” Valen, earned her an AFSA scholarship, reserved for children of American Foreign Service members—a nod to the nomadic, high-achieving world she came from.

She wasn’t just soaking up languages and cultures, though. Tiggy was also building a foundation in education and media literacy that would later become central to her work. Before motorsport ever entered the picture, she spent part of her career at a think tank dedicated to advancing media literacy—an experience that sharpened her eye for narrative, credibility, and what audiences actually want versus what they’re being fed.

OTHER INTERESTS

Outside of F1 podcasting and commentary, Tiggy has a serious thing for early childhood literacy. She’s mentioned running literacy initiatives in her free time, a passion project that sits alongside her main gig. There’s also music: she’s released tracks on Bandcamp under the name Tiggy, including songs like “Dear California,” “Youth’s on Fire,” and “Two Year Stand.” The vibe? Indie, introspective, a little wistful—totally different energy from her razor-sharp F1 takes, but it tracks for someone who’s spent a life moving between worlds.

EARLY SUCCESS

Tiggy’s professional life started far from the paddock. She kicked off her career in tech, media, and telecom investment banking at J.P. Morgan, where she worked from 2019 to 2022. From there, she pivoted into product management, leading digital strategy for the Investment Bank and later heading up Education product and strategy roles at Amplify Education through 2023. She knew how to build things, how to scale them, and how to make a business case—all skills that would prove essential when she launched her own media platform.

The Paddock Project started as a side hustle, a passion play born out of frustration with how Formula 1 was being covered. Tiggy wanted something smarter, something that didn’t talk down to new fans or bore the diehards. She launched the podcast in 2022, and it grew fast—really fast. Within a year, it was pulling in over a million downloads, with a global audience that skewed heavily female, many of them newcomers to the sport who were hungry for content that treated them like adults.

NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS

• 2022: Launched Paddock Project, a Formula 1 podcast offering sharp, accessible race recaps, headlines, and strategy breakdowns[1].
• 2023: Paddock Project surpassed one million downloads, becoming one of the most popular independent F1 podcasts globally[2].
• 2024: Nominated for Creator of the Year at the Autosport Awards in London, one of the biggest honors in motorsport media[3].
• 2024: Built a community of over 200,000 fans, mostly women, through the Paddock Project podcast and Substack newsletter[4].
• 2025: Enrolled as a first-year MBA student at Stanford Graduate School of Business while continuing to run Paddock Project[5].
• 2025: Named a Venture Partner at Contrary, leveraging her experience in tech, media, and the creator economy[6].

INSPIRATIONS

Tiggy’s approach to F1 media is rooted in her belief that fans—especially women and newcomers—deserve better. She’s openly critical of legacy media outlets like Sky Sports for perpetuating outdated, exclusionary coverage. In a 2024 Substack post titled “Do Better, Sky Sports,” she called out the industry for failing to evolve with its audience, writing with the kind of sharp clarity that’s become her trademark. Her work is inspired by a conviction that media should be insightful, inclusive, and—importantly—fun to consume. She respects journalists and the craft of media, but she’s not afraid to demand more from institutions that should know better.

REPUTATION

Tiggy has carved out a reputation as one of the most credible and engaging voices in independent F1 media. She’s not just another podcaster—she’s a strategist, a storyteller, and a businesswoman who understands the mechanics of both motorsport and the creator economy. Her writing on Substack, where she publishes under Paddock Project, is required reading for fans who want depth without pretension. She’s interviewed drivers like Nicholas Latifi, covered major team launches, and dissected the business side of Formula 1 with the kind of rigor you’d expect from someone with an MBA and a background in finance.

The Times of India described her work as a movement, not just a podcast, drawing in fans who crave a deeper look at the sport. She’s been featured in industry roundups alongside other major creators, and her voice carries weight—especially among women and Gen Z audiences, who make up a significant portion of F1’s fastest-growing demographic.

FUTURE GOALS/PLANS

Tiggy is currently balancing her MBA at Stanford GSB with running Paddock Project, a combination that signals she’s thinking big—not just about content, but about infrastructure, scale, and what comes next for independent media in motorsport. As a Venture Partner at Contrary, she’s also exploring the business side of the creator economy, a space she’s written about extensively. In a piece titled “Why Does the Creator Economy Still Feel Like a Joke?” she dissected the industry’s credibility problem, making the case that a $500 billion sector deserves to be taken seriously. It’s a safe bet that whatever she builds next will be grounded in that thesis: smart, strategic, and unapologetically ambitious.

REFERENCES

The Paddock belongs to Tiggy now – Times of India
Do Better, Sky Sports – Paddock Project
Paddock Project | Tiggy Valen | Substack
We Thought We Were Being Scammed! Interview with Tiggy Valen – The Paddock Journal
P1 with Matt and Tommy wins Autosport’s Creator of the Year – Motorsport.com
Class of 2025 – Contrary
Paddock Project: A Formula 1 Podcast – Apple Podcasts
Antigone “Tiggy” Valen – Preface Project
AFSA Scholarships