“I always, also, felt American,” Malik Tillman says with a smile.For followers of the reserved soccer star in the midst of his first campaign with Leverkusen, it’s an answer that may come as a surprise. Enthusiasts of the international game may know that the “also” in Tillman’s case refers to Germany: the birthplace of he and his brother to a German mother, and the country that Malik has called home all of his life. 

But for the son of an American national with a brother playing professional soccer in Los Angeles, ties run deeper than geographical placement. “I always felt like, ‘Yeah, okay, maybe there’s a chance one day for me to play for America,’” Tillman tells me. “And this is what happened. I’m really excited to represent the US.” 

Indeed, Malik Tillman is currently preparing to play for the US Men’s National Team in a World Cup taking place here in North America (surely there’s no added pressure there, right?) And, his first time stateside came during a 2022 training camp. 

Then again, the young midfielder’s story involves many unique facets. It is one filled with equal parts American influences and German discipline—a distinctly American name amongst the Bavarian commonwealth. 

But as it pertains to sport—Tillman appears European through and through. There is no consideration of baseball’s dilatory drama or American football’s brutal elegance. In his meditations on The Game, there is only soccer, and that game that has charted most of his young life: from FC Bayern Munich’s youth system at age 13 and a promotion to their senior club at 19, to playing for Scotland’s famed Rangers F.C. before transferring to PSV Eindhoven (where he won two major titles,) and finally finding his way onto Bayer Leverkusen. 

Perhaps it is only appropriate to first consider Tillman’s sport when thinking about “The Beautiful Game,” a term credited to Brazilian soccer great, Pelé. There is, in soccer, unending movement which sees its cleanest athletic parallels in dance. It is a sport where angles appear and vanish in an instant and athletic glory often boils down to a moment of brilliant improvisation. “I mean, I’m in love with the game,” Tillman says. “[I love] everything about it, and sometimes it’s difficult to explain. But I grew up only playing this sport, more or less.” 

It is not an uncommon trajectory for gifted kids growing up in Europe, Germany or otherwise, where soccer reigns with unchallenged authority. Dreams live on the pitch and careers start young. For the few good enough for high-level youth systems, fewer still find careers in the senior ranks. It goes without saying that very few can lay claim to Young Player of the Season and World Player of the Year accolades, like those Tillman has collected. “Obviously over time,” Tillman says, “you learn how successful you can be. Or how your life might look at the end of it all.” 

If Malik Tillman’s love for his sport began with aesthetic and competitive appreciation, it evolved into a means to something even more worthwhile. “My biggest goal in life is to try and pay my mom back as much as possible,” Tillman says. He is quick to mention his mother and does so often, laughing that she would “probably say yes” when asked if being a famous athlete has changed him in any way. 

“She sacrificed a lot for me and my brother to be where we are right now. She didn’t get to do certain things in her life, and I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her. Everything I get to experience now is because of her.”

Perhaps it is not uncommon for elite athletes, but Tillman sees the beauty of soccer as twofold: there is that which is inherent to the game and that beautiful choreography on the field. It is an appreciation that Tillman openly carries with him.  

Yes, soccer is a creative outlet for Malik Tillman. He speaks of the unique sense of artistry that comes with having the ball at your feet, and the role of coaches who have allotted him the freedom to play his own game on the pitch. For as much as the 24-year-old’s life revolves around his profession, his was a process of coming upon creative endeavors outside of it and finding further beauty beyond the game. Tillman has a keen interest in fashion, and for his participation in that space he feels indebted to his sport.

“Fashion is a big part of how or where I can express my creativity. And I think if you want to dress trendy and be in the fashion game, you do need a certain amount of money,” Tillman says honestly. “So when I got my first professional contract, that’s when I really got into it.” 

For Tillman, the game that was his life is now expanding what his life can be. It is not just fashion that is providing a creative outlet, but more recently Malik has begun to dip his toes into the music world as well. “Just last week,” he tells me, “I started DJing. I’m again just trying to express myself and do something that maybe others wouldn’t, and be as creative as possible with it.”

There is something beautiful about the creative instincts that have allowed for greatness on the field making way for further creative development. Now Tillman is charged with a new task: continuing to advance the game he loves in the world’s third most populous country, set to host the World Cup for just a second time. “I’m really proud and I’m ready,” Tillman says, thinking about the opportunities ahead for growth across the board, and the chance to develop into one of the faces of American soccer.    

The opportunities in front of Malik Tillman at times seem endless. He is still years away from his competitive prime, already playing against the best of the German soccer league system. He is on track for a very successful starting career at the highest levels of his sport, with an opportunity to be a catalyst of an American soccer boom. Maybe it is the disposition that all elite athletes share which makes Tillman seem so calm in the face of it all. But the more one talks to the young German star, the more it seems that, for Tillman, personal acclaim is far from the forefront of his mind. 

It is a more holistic growth that appears to take precedence here. As does continuing to find beauty in and outside of the game. And Malik Tillman is always sure to mention his family before he speaks about himself. No matter how far the game takes him from his roots, those most fundamental of connections are the ones that he carries with him—those which define his authentic self. Perhaps the pressures that would debilitate most become less daunting with some proper perspective?

Photographed by Stephanie Pistel at tempomedia

Styled by Anton Cobb 

Written by Jake Carlisi

Grooming: Nadine Thoma at Nina Klein Agency for Hourglass Cosmetics

Gaffer: Marc Neuhaus

Retouch: Stephan Lesger

Production: Frankie Production

2nd Camera: Raffael Ciric

Flaunt Film Post Production: Endeavour

Flaunt Film Editor and Colorist:  Tim Bleijenberg

Flaunt Film Music: Artlist

Location: Elegant Elephant Dusseldorf