SASKATOON — Bailey Flint is just your typical ukulele-playing football player who has studied theatre in Moscow, raised money for a daycare, established his own business, married a professional soccer star and, in the space of a year, moved from cornerback to offensive tackle.
Now he doesn’t play either position.
But he can still play the ukulele!
“When I was in Russia, they had us do some music stuff and I was like, ‘Oh, this is fun,’ ” the Australian-born Saskatchewan Roughriders punter recalled following a Coors Light Training Camp workout at Griffiths Stadium.
“I always wanted to learn guitar or something like that, but then I was like, ‘I’ll just get a ukulele because it’s so easy to learn.’ It’s super easy because there are only four strings and it’s super, super small, so it’s easy to hold.
“Every song is, like, four chords. You learn four chords and you know an entire song. But everyone is so impressed and that’s why it’s so funny.
“People keep saying, ‘Oh, you can play the ukulele?!’ And I say, ‘Yeah … and you could, too, in about 10 minutes.’ ”
An interview with Flint easily exceeded 10 minutes, because there is so much to cover.
This is someone, after all, who was a team captain and premier punter at the University of Toledo — from which he earned two bachelor’s degrees (in media communications and theatre) and a master’s degree (liberal arts).
Additionally, Flint volunteered for several years at a Toledo daycare, reading to and spending time with children. When the COVID-19 pandemic was an obstacle to in-person visits, he recorded videos of himself reading and posted them on YouTube so the kids could enjoy them.
He subsequently raised money for My First Days Daycare by selling T-shirts, with proceeds going to facility upgrades.
His tireless, selfless efforts on behalf of the daycare were recognized when the American Red Cross presented him with an Acts of Courage Award.
As well, he received the Findlay Family Athletic Award, which recognizes Toledo student-athletes for exemplary volunteerism, sportsmanship and community service.
He also found time, somehow, to play a primary role in the University of Toledo’s presentation of All Quiet on the Western Front.
He spent the following year studying at the world-renowned Moscow Art Theatre, concentrating on acting and directing.
“It was a super interesting experience,” Flint said. “I loved it a lot. There was so much history and it was absolutely beautiful.
“It was in the heart of Moscow. I would take my lunch to the Red Square or sit out in front of St. Basil’s Cathedral. I’d eat my 30-minute lunch and go back to school.
“We did a professional production of The Little Prince. That was a fun experience, too. I got to be a stagehand in that.
“It was crazy, too, because I went from being in Moscow, Russia to six weeks later being suited up for Toledo in the first game.
“I was living all these lives.”
And none of it was scripted, despite Flint’s acting credentials.
“I was in Australia and a mate of mine said, ‘Hey, do you want to come down and play gridiron?’ ” the 28-year-old punter said. “I didn’t want to do it. I was like, ‘I don’t want to get hurt. I don’t know anything about this.’
“Growing up, I didn’t really play sports. I played computer games and rode my skateboard around to school and stuff like that. I was content.
“I was kind of skinny at the time. I played corner at 170 pounds. I was no good, but I still did it. We had nine-on-nine football and they needed guys so they could suit up a team. I played for the Western Crusaders and we ended up winning a championship that year.
“Then I went and played for the seniors and got an opportunity to play for the Australian team in the Down Under Bowl. They have a couple of teams from Texas come out and you play them.
“So I was just out there as a cornerback, getting absolutely burnt.”
He nonetheless caught the eye of Dan Hawkins.
The former Boise State Broncos, Colorado Buffaloes and Montreal Alouettes head coach was coaching the Australian team with his son, Cody.
“(Dan Hawkins) said, ‘You should go play in the States,’ ” Flint said. “I was 6-4. I had a good frame. Because I didn’t play many sports, I didn’t really have any bad habits or anything. I was willing to learn and I was coachable.
“They were trying to get me over to the States and I ended up getting an opportunity to go to Layton Christian Academy in Utah. I went there and they were like, ‘We need some big guys, so we need you to put some weight on. So I got up to 260 and I played right tackle.”
Let’s do the math.
He went from being a 170-pound cornerback to a 260-pound, 17-year-old offensive lineman, embracing the imperative of beefing up by feeding four scoops of ice cream — among other delectables — into a blender.
“Also,” the now-210-pound Flint hastened to add, “my coach wouldn’t let me punt.
“I was saying, ‘I’m Australian. I can do it. I can kick. He said, ‘No. You’re an O-lineman. You’re not going to punt.’
“We had other Australians on the team but, by the end of the season, they’d all gotten hurt, so I got to punt in one game.
“I’m wearing my O-lineman cleats with my ankles taped. It was ridiculous.”
On top of that — yes, another twist — Flint was ruled academically ineligible because the NCAA reviewed his transcripts and did not give him credit for one class (woodworking) he had taken in Australia.
“It was not an easy class,” he said. “You’re completely designing something from the ground up. You’ve got to do all your drawings and all your measurements and all this sort of stuff. It’s a pretty intense thing.”
Plus, one false move can cost you a finger, right?
“It’s quite dangerous,” Flint concurred, “but the NCAA classified it as an unacademic class or something like that. They didn’t give me credit for it, so I was not a qualifier.
“To become an academic qualifier, I had to go to junior college for two years. I didn’t have enough money to go to ju-co for two years, so I went back to Australia.
“That’s when I called Jordan Berry, who punted for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings, and asked him, ‘Hey, how did you go over (to the States)?’
“By this time, I’d got the bug.”
Flint was promptly steered toward Prokick Australia, a factory for kickers and punters who aspire to play in North American collegiate and/or professional sports.
Prokick was his ticket to the University of Toledo, where — with the issue of academic qualifying having been resolved — he collected university degrees (three) in addition to punting at an elite level.
“I got my double undergrad in communications, and then theatre, and then I got my MLS (Master of Liberal Studies) as well,” he said. “It was super.
“And I was the first person in my family to graduate from high school and then I got a master’s degree as well.
“So I’m like, ‘Do I just go and get a PhD for the fun of it now?’ Eight years later … no thanks. So that got me to punting.”
Flint punted his way to an athletic scholarship, which allowed him to be a trailblazer in his family.
Rachel Perry raised four children, including Bailey, as a single mother. The family’s savings did not allow for expenses such as tuition until the student-athlete designation removed the financial barriers.
At Toledo, Flint was twice on the pre-season watch list for the Ray Guy Award, presented annually to the NCAA’s top punter.
Flint’s punting prowess earned him an invitation to the Steelers’ rookie mini-camp in 2022. Also that year, he was selected second overall by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Global Draft.
He made his CFL debut in 2023, averaging 45.1 yards per punt in eight games with Hamilton.
Last year, he stepped away from football to establish his own business, Luminara Global Consulting.
“We focus on recruitment and best fit,” he said. “I developed a personality test that I have used with pro teams and coaches to help them identify culture and see best fit before making acquisitions.”
Flint did not see himself being an acquisition, as it were, from a pigskin perspective. In fact, he had cancelled his Canadian bank account just two hours before receiving an introductory inquiry from the Roughriders.
Once again bitten by “the bug,” Flint finalized his deal with the Roughriders while at a friend’s bachelor party. He kept ducking out of the revelry to tend to contractual matters.
The Roughriders announced the addition of Flint on April 7th. He is now the only punter in camp, following the release of Australian-born Joe Couch earlier this week.
Flint’s first review of Saskatchewan?
“I’m liking it, mate,” the personable punter said. “I’m excited to check out Regina. I haven’t been there yet.
“It seems like a really cool group of guys and there’s a good energy. The coaches are all super welcoming and super nice and all the guys have helped me acclimatize super easily.
“This has been great.”
The only snag, if it can be so termed, took place during Flint’s flight to Saskatoon.
When the airplane took off, his wife — Taylor Flint (formerly Kornieck) — was playing for Racing Louisville FC in a National Women’s Soccer League match against the visiting Gotham FC side.
“She’s a phenomenal soccer player,” a proud husband said. “I was shattered on Friday of last week when I flew out. I was getting on the plane in Minneapolis to come up here. It was about 10 minutes into the second half and then we’re up in the air, so (the broadcast signal) disconnected.
“We land. My phone connects. I get the ‘Welcome to Canada’ text from the local provider. Then it was ‘Racing Louisville 1, Gotham 0,’ and I had about 30 text messages. I was like, ‘She’s bloody scored, hasn’t she?!’
“She sent an absolute rocket in for her first goal of the season. It was cool, too, because we had been talking about that. She said, ‘I’m scoring one of these games. The ball’s going to spill out and I’m going to get it.’
“It happened in the 56th minute and I watched until about the 50th. That’s when it cut out.”
Taylor, who has experience with the U.S. national women’s team, was based in San Diego and playing for the NWSL’s Wave FC when she met Bailey.
He was then living in Los Angeles and pursuing a career in acting, not too long before the CFL and a return to football became an option.
“She’s awesome,” Bailey said. “We understand each other really well, because we’re both playing sports and both kicking balls.”
Or, in one case, plucking a four-stringed instrument.
A singer and ukulelist, Flint has recorded upwards of 40 songs, five of which appear on a 2021 EP, #TheHeartbreakClub. His music is available on Apple and Spotify.
“I have about 10, 20 listeners,” he joked. “I enjoy doing it for myself and posting up some music here and there.
“It’s all good fun, you know?”
