“We wear the Pride. We wear the Passion. We Wear the History, whilst making our own. Wear the Greatness.”
Acting phenomenon and lifelong West Ham United fan Hero Fiennes Tiffin is the face and voice of West Ham United’s 2024/25 Home Kit. The shirt for the new Premier League campaign pays tribute to the Club’s heritage, inspired by the 1960s team which won the FA and European Cup Winners’ Cups; a line-up filled with star-studded legends like Bobby Moore, Martin Peters, and Geoff Hurst.
The cinematic launch film, in which Hero stars, features current players including Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus, Academy prospect George Earthy, fellow actors Tony Way and Harry Collett, as well as Hammers legend Brian Dear and Roberta Moore, daughter of the great Bobby Moore.
Shot in E. Pellici, an old school café in Bethnal Green, east London, indie rock band The Rifles recorded a Swinging Sixties, Rolling Stones style soundtrack, drawing on the kit’s inspiration.
Fiennes Tiffin sat down to spoke about his passion for the Hammers, his pride at being asked to present the new kit, and his favourite moments in Claret and Blue.
“It was wicked. The boys turned up and did their thing. It wasn’t just them; it was a really nice accumulation of people associated with the Club in all different ways," Fiennes Tiffin told whufc.com.
“But for me, just being in the same room as people like Mo [Kudus] and [Jarrod] Bowen and everyone - I was just happy to be in the room with them.”
Hero’s West Ham origin story saw him take a different path to Hammers fandom than most.
“I grew up in the Stockwell/Oval sort of area - West Ham was not my nearest club.
“The neighbours two doors down had a big family and Season Tickets at Upton Park, so every other week they would bring me along. My best friend who lived nearby, his Dad supported West Ham and we were in the same class, so before I knew it, I was in his West Ham tops with my mates’ Season Tickets.
"Your club picks you.”
Ever since, Hero has been West Ham United mad. But like many of us, he's always had an affinity for the goalscorers and headline-grabbers.
“Teddy Sheringham was the first name on the back of my top: number eight for Teddy.
“I’m starting to realise that I had a tendency to pick the strikers - Dean Ashton, Marlon Harewood - if I start I won’t stop.”
It was more difficult to narrow down his favourite moment as a West Ham fan, with recent successes and nostalgic memories all holding a fond place in his heart. But there is one moment, THE moment, that stands tall above the rest.
“That [Dimitri] Payet free kick against Crystal Palace was amazing, and the [Ricardo] Vaz Tê goal which got us promoted again.
“But the truest, best moment in my West Ham career is winning the Europa Conference League - it has to be.”
Having voiced the release of the Third Kit for the 2023/24 season, and played for West Ham’s seven-a-side team at the TST tournament in the United States, Hero is now a regular fixture for the Club.
“There’s nowhere I would rather be. I tell my team that this is the priority. If I can do it for the Club, and it makes sense, then I want to do it.
“It’s like if your mate says they really need your help with something, you just feel honoured that you can help.
“For me, it just feels surreal that I can bring anything to the table. I wake up and I just think my dream’s come true. I could talk for hours about how lucky and proud I am to be involved with the Club and let’s hope it’s just the start.”
Last summer, Fiennes Tiffin travelled to the United States alongside West Ham legends Carlton Cole, Marlon Harewood, and Matt Jarvis, to play in the inaugural TST seven-a-side tournament.
He said: “It was insane. I had just gone on Soccer AM with Jimmy Bullard for their penultimate episode, then the next day I had been chatting to Declan Rice and he invited me to the game with Leeds United and into Captain’s Lounge, so I’m thinking this weekend can’t get any better.
“And then when I was leaving I got a tap on the shoulder from someone who works at the Club, and he told me about the TST tournament, and that a couple of people are bringing high-profile people who aren’t footballers to join. So I went to Rush Green for training on the Monday morning and I didn’t play too badly, so they were all saying to get me on the plane.
“It was seven days of just chilling with your childhood heroes, playing football and having a good time, with the sun out in America. And when I got back home West Ham won the [UEFA Europa] Conference League final!
"I hope my future kids, wife, and whoever, will understand that this will probably be the best week of my life forever and they’re all just gonna have to deal with that.”
According to Hero, our ex-stars have still got it, with a couple in particular standing out. However, it was the way in which they welcomed and embraced him into the group which he appreciated the most, and he suggested this warmness could explain their successes during their playing days.
“Of who impressed me the most, out and out, it would be Anton Ferdinand. In every department, but more so as a leader.
“In terms of playing ability, Matt Jarvis had it. Both the Academy players impressed me the most but seeing what Jarvis could still do - he’s kept himself in shape.
“I was impressed by everyone with the welcome I got and the hospitality.
"Footballers must get good at welcoming new players to their team, but I think specifically West Ham and that group of players, would credit a lot of their success to their camaraderie and ability to keep a tight-knit group of players who really have your back. I felt like that from the first few seconds.”
