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Feeling the London Love – London Youth Games mission for inclusivity is on a positive trajectory

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Summarising the mission, the London Youth Games’ CEO Andy Dalby-Welsh states “Our mission is to use the power of competitive sport to create life changing opportunities for all young Londoners”, and the emphasis is on competitive. Creating opportunities for young people to represent their borough “and take pride in it” allows a sense of importance, which is paramount for the physical and mental wellbeing of today’s youth.

But why is London so special? Andy believes that London is a “unique place” and an “amazing capital city” due to its diversity. In 2020 it was reported that London is ‘one of the most international and multi-ethnic cities in the world’, with over 2 in 5 Londoners coming from an ethnic minority background. The varied population of the city is a major influence for LYG’s mission, as they seek to bring communities together.

Interestingly, YouGov reported that on a global level people believed the pandemic had increased their sense of community, with 37% of Brits reporting a greater sense of social togetherness. However, YouGov also reported that 53% of young Brits aged 16-24 felt that their life had worsened during the pandemic. It is clear that we need ways of combatting the loneliness with social cohesion, and sport is a possible way to do this.

“I think sport can play such a huge part in bringing communities together, [and] bringing people together” Andy tells AMG. The physical and mental health benefits are one advantage, but so is the ability to be viewed on a platform which showcases the talents of young Londoners. This year, the LYG hosted the Virtual Inclusive Games: a virtual tournament for young people between all the London boroughs, which included challenges in football, cricket, basketball, hockey, rugby, athletics, volleyball, and tennis/table tennis. A bit of healthy competition serves as a great way of encouraging involvement as the statistics LYG have collected testify. The Virtual Inclusive Games, and other online activities coordinated and supported by LYG, recorded an amazing 80,000 entries during the third lockdown alone.

Andy’s personal experience in sport heavily shaped the Virtual Inclusive Games, for he greatly benefitted from disability sports when he was younger. Due to his vision deteriorating in his 20s, Andy came across a cricket team in Sussex for the visually impaired. Though he had been sporty throughout his childhood, his involvement in the cricket team was the most significant. Through this club Andy was able to represent England at the Blind Cricket World Cup in India. Drawing on his experience he points out that being disabled is a great enough challenge for a young person, but to be active and disabled in particularly hard because it required extra support; “the pandemic has taken an even greater toll on those young people”, thus a fully inclusive competition was required. Andy wants to make certain that every young person gets the opportunity to benefit from sport as he did.

The LYG are keen to demonstrate that sport is for anyone and everyone, and they strive to guarantee that no matter who you are or your background, that there’s an offer within the London Youth Games that can be for you. The pandemic has shown that inequalities remain in British society, whether this is in a sporting context or not. One way of combatting such inequalities was having disabled young people set the challenges for the Virtual Inclusive Games, raising the profile of youth and disability sports via a sporting platform. Sport needs to be more inclusive says Andy, and the trajectories are looking more and more positive. Nonetheless, we still need to push hard to get more people from a wider variety of backgrounds involved in sport.

LYG is a huge advocate for purposeful, all-inclusive sport, and they are continuing to grow year on year. Pre-pandemic, the organisation was reaching around 120’000 young people across London each year, and they hope that as the country attempts to return to normal, they can continue to make even more of a difference in young Londoners lives. LYG is now hosting a Virtual Spring Run competition to help encourage young Londoners back to sport, and the borough that runs the furthest collective distance at the end of the two-week competition will be crowned Virtual Spring Run champions.

The most engaged boroughs during the Virtual Inclusive Games were Bromley (1st), Kensington and Chelsea (2nd) and Havering and Haringey (joint 3rd). For the full results, visit https://www.londonyouthgames.org/virtual-games/.

 

 

 

YuYu Bottle partners with TAMG for athlete ambassadors

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2016 Olympic Gold medallist Hannah Mills MBE, 2014 Rugby World Cup winner Marlie Packer, Team GB & world #15 triathlete Sophie Coldwell, and 4 x youth world champion windsurfer Saskia Sills and her British Sailing counterpart twin sister Imogen Sills, will benefit from the partnership that will involve acting as brand ambassadors for the YuYu Bottle brand.

The YuYu Bottle is the world’s first wearable, multi-climate and body length water bottle and was first introduced to the world at Harrods in Knightsbridge, London, in 2012. It reached this prestigious department store’s list of 20 best selling products only 14 weeks into its launch. Since then, YuYu has grown from a company being run from a living room in Wimbledon, where friends and family handpacked each and every YuYu Bottle themselves, to becoming the provider of an internationally loved article and symbol of warmth. The 81cm long revolutionary invention by Richard Yu uses biodegradable natural rubber and promotes a more sustainable way of how we can keep our bodies cool or warm in our day to day lives.

The YuYu has managed to build a strong sporting base with former Team GB Olympic runner and British 800m record holder, Jo Fenn (née Mersh) hired in 2018, as their athlete & wellbeing ambassador. They also signed the British athletics champions, Laviai and Lina Nielsen, in 2020 as their first athlete ambassadors.

The Athlete Media Group (TAMG) is the sports agency powered by purpose set up by media industry veteran, Mark Middlemas, in 2019. The agency’s aim is to make more meaningful, purposedriven connections between super hero athletes, their sports & like-minded brands and represents a number of elite athletes who are also catalysts for societal change away from their sports.

Richard Yu, founder of YuYu Bottle, said,

“I’m delighted to be associated with such talented & inspirational athletes who are making our invention even more revolutionary by taking it out of the home and into the sports field.”

Mark Middlemas, CEO & founder of TAMG commented,

“2020 was an incredibly tough year for many UK elite athletes both financially and mentally. To partner with such a warm, welcoming and inspiring brand like YuYu means these world class female athletes can bounce back even better from lockdown. YuYu’s team are right behind their journeys and we’re thrilled to be collaborating on some really exciting product and content projects together.”

“Mental health and well-being are incredibly important to the long term success and health of an athlete” | Kirstie Urwin

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“For me, being an athlete is so much more than striving to win day in, day out” Urwin reflects. “Whilst wanting to win inevitably drives me, the journey that I am taking, the skills I am acquiring and the experiences I have the privilege of encountering are shaping me into a much more diverse and well-rounded individual; all of which will continue to give me satisfaction and value far beyond my retirement from sport. However, this ‘win at all costs’ mentality is a trait that I do not wish to be associated with anymore.”

This epiphany has led Urwin to be a mentor for the True Athlete Project (TAP), a programme which strives to work with athletes who see the value and potential that their sport provides whilst teaching them to use that value in a way that drives compassion and positive social change. The aim of the programme is to support the person behind the young athlete, and prove that when the person flourishes, so does their sporting performance. TAP recognises the power of sport as an influential social movement, yet hopes to raise awareness surrounding the wellbeing of athletes with the promotion of constructive, inclusive cultures.

Photo by Musto

The universality of mental health and the difficulties to speak up about it is what steered Urwin to undertake a mental health first aid course. “When I completed the course there were people from all different areas of the British Sailing Team (athletes, coaches, support staff) also completing the course. Everyone had their own story of struggles they have faced regarding their own mental health or that of someone they were close with….It’s really easy to think you are alone in how you are feeling, when the reality is that we all struggle sometimes” explains Urwin. “Mental health struggles can feel really lonely and the knowledge that most people have or will experience some of what you might be experiencing in their lifetime was really reassuring to me.”

Tackling the stigma is something we can all make an effort towards, and elite athletes have great power in this movement. Looking back, Urwin believes that “[historically] athletes have been revered by the general public as figures of strength, and as result any athlete who revealed any mental health struggles were regarded as weak. There was a misconception that mental health struggles and performance were mutually exclusive, when the reality is that everyone sits on a mental health continuum and many athletes struggle everyday but still perform at the highest level”. Urwin’s opinion is echoed by West Ham United Women’s performance coach , Jenny Coady, who states that mental health “wasn’t on the agenda” when she was an athlete. Investing in mental health, Coady tells the BBC, is a marginal gain which we need to push for.

Photo by Musto

Speaking up and asking for help is vital, and something which needs to be adapted and normalised in sport. Urwin is positive that sport is going in the right direction – “The more athletes that speak up about this issue, high profile or not, the more traction the campaign will gain” – but she is also certain that sport can do more. Instead of winning-at-all costs, Urwin favours the mentality of ‘Excellence in performance’: “The word excellence encompasses the attitudes and values that elite sport should be striving towards more neatly” says Urwin, and this achieves success “without compromising athletic integrity”.

Photo by YUYU BOTTLE

“There is something really powerful about an athlete revealing their mental health struggles and their ability to confront them whilst performing on the world stage” Urwin summarises. “The more we as athletes can build awareness that it is ‘okay to not be okay’ and that even the strongest of us sometimes struggle, the more positive the culture in sport surrounding mental health will become.

Down but not out – boxing heartbreak to wrestling hope

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Anthony Ogogo quickly understood that the sport was his vocation, training regularly and climbing the ranks. A stickler for discipline, it was not long until Ogogo’s hard work paid off. He became national champion for his age category multiple times, and after three years he was selected to represent England at the 2004 Junior Olympics in Texas. It was a huge opportunity for Ogogo, who recalls that it was his first time he had travelled by air. Not only did he claim the gold medal, but Ogogo also clinched the ‘most outstanding boxer’ award at the tournament. For him, this was both a source of inspiration and a major turning point: what could he do if he fully immersed himself in the sport, and how far could he go? “From then I used to pester my coach to open up in the mornings before school, and I’d train after school…I was just obsessed”.

From this point on, Ogogo was keen to reach the top and claim Olympic gold. He hatched a plan to go to the 2011 European Championships to get seeded for the World Championships in October, with qualification for the 2012 Olympics as the eventual goal. His plan of action was scuppered when the opponent from the first round dislocated Ogogo’s shoulder, causing Ogogo to fight literally single-handedly and lose by a single point. He was then presented with a major dilemma.

Ogogo had to choose either immediate surgery and missing Olympic qualification which would risk his spot being taken by another athlete, or rehab the shoulder whilst running the risk that he would not be ready come October. If he failed to qualify in the first competition he would have less than 6 months to have surgery and rehab the shoulder to get back to ‘match fitness’ in time for the next qualifier. By avoiding sparring for many months Ogogo managed to rehab in time for the World Championships, however the injured shoulder re-dislocated in the second round. Although he managed to win some fights without the use of his left arm, his World Championships soon came to an end after losing by a narrow margin in the match which would qualify him for London 2012. His only option now it seemed was shoulder surgery, cutting a 12 month recovery time in half.

Ogogo was hellbent on reaching the Olympics. Despite the gruelling pain, glory was within reaching distance and he returned to the second qualifiers only to face the opponent who dislocated his shoulder in 2011. Having “seen red”, Ogogo came back from a 6 point deficit to win the match and qualify for the Olympics. It seemed as if the hardest part of the journey towards being an Olympian was over.

Whilst training in Sheffield with the GB team, Ogogo received a phone call from his sister who alerted him that his mother had suffered a brain aneurysm – it was touch and go whether she would make it. He quickly made the journey south to find her on life support, where she remained in a coma for months leading up to the Olympics – “For me, the Olympics had gone from the most important thing in the world to the least important thing in the world because my mum was about to die.”

As a result of the emotional turmoil Ogogo’s focus was severely disrupted. He considered skipping the Olympics altogether, fearful that his mother would pass when he wasn’t there. In the face of uncertainty, his sisters pleaded with him to go, reminding him that if his mother recovered she would be heartbroken if he had surrendered his Olympic dream. Knowing that his sisters were right, he returned to Sheffield for a week of training before dancing under the lights at ExCel London.

His first match ended 13-6, beating Dominican boxer Junior Castillo on the first day of competition. Though a strong win for Ogogo, he was still grappling with a broken rib, a badly damaged shoulder, a torn Achilles and the after-effects of a month off training due to spending time by his mother’s bedside. However, because he was not a seeded fighter Ogogo faced an ugly draw, meeting the world number one Ievgen Khytrov from the Ukraine (who could “punch like a horse”) very early on. Though Khytrov had not lost a fight in 2 years, Ogogo pushed through the pain of his shoulder and broken ribs to finish the fight on equal points. Waiting for the judges’ decision only lasted 5 minutes, but “felt like 3 years” for the boxers. The delivered verdict was that Ogogo was the more deserving fighter thus he advanced to the quarter finals, which The Guardian reported as ‘one of the biggest upsets of the Games’.

Beating Germany’s Stefan Härtel in the quarter finals, Ogogo faced Esquiva Falcão Florentino from Brazil in the semi final but lost 16-9, which saw him claim Bronze. Though proud of how far he had come despite the circumstances, Ogogo was disappointed that he could not claim gold at the games – “I should have won the gold medal because I was good enough to win the gold medal.” Reflecting back on his experience of the Olympics causes mixed emotions for Ogogo. He achieved the dream and proved many people wrong, yet it was also a time of turbulence as his mother was still in a comatose state. Thankfully, his mother recovered, and his decision to compete paid off after all.

Following the Olympics Ogogo decided to turn professional, but his career was plagued with injuries to his Achilles and the shoulder he dislocated during his amateur career. He recovered from these injuries slowly, but in 2016 he experienced a “freak punch” which resulted in a broken eye socket. What Ogogo did not know was that this would be his last ever fight, for the punch had shattered the socket into 8 separate fractures. In an attempt to save his career he underwent 9 operations and 2 injections on the eye and the socket over the next 3 years but to no avail. He became blind in his left eye, and had to throw in the towel once and for all.

Ogogo’s retirement in 2019 was filled with grief. Having boxed since the age of 12, he felt that he had lost his identity and felt “crestfallen”. When asked by an interviewer what he would do next he jokingly responded that he was considering becoming a wrestler, having been a fan of the sport. Little did he know that this was to become his next major step in his sports career.

Following the interview he flew to the USA, where he was offered a contract with All Elite Wrestling. Though he still feels that boxing was his true calling, he finds that wrestling scratches the itch, commenting that “It’s mad. [Wrestling] is completely different, but it’s also the same. It’s more entertainment driven, but it’s a unique industry. There’s nothing else like it. It’s the perfect combination of boxing, UFC and theatre. It gives me a chance to show my true showmanship.”

Now, Ogogo plans to take wrestling all the way and become world champion. The memories and training which he experienced in boxing have set him up perfectly to be an incredible fighter in an entirely new sport. “I’ve got loads to learn and loads of room to grow as a person and as a fighter” he says. Ogogo has not had it easy, but he is confident that this was his fate: “Right now, this is where I want to be”.

 

“I’m running five marathons in 50 hours for kids with the world’s rarest disease…”

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Inspired by a 12-year-old schoolgirl named Aggie Candy-Waters, extreme athlete Darren Hardy is planning one of his toughest challenges yet, to run 5 marathons, nonstop, in 50 hours.

During his 5 in 50 challenge Darren will run continuously without sleeping, carrying everything he needs in an Osprey backpack from his nutrition provided by Resilient Nutrition to water, wet kit, warm kit and first aid kit.

The 35-year-old former soldier and father of two who lives in Fleet, will start his challenge from Poole at 8am on Friday 9th April and run south along the coast as far as Abbotsbury, west of Weymouth, before turning back to Poole.

Darren was inspired to take on the challenge when he heard about a British schoolgirl, Aggie Candy-Waters, who was diagnosed with the world’s rarest disease at the age of five. Now 12 years old, Aggie who used to run, play and sing is permanently in a wheelchair and is rapidly losing her fine motor skills – meaning she is fed, dressed and carried by her parents, and is losing her ability to speak.

“My daughters are two and four and enjoying all the things I know Aggie used to. I can’t imagine the absolute heartbreak that Aggie’s parents will have gone through learning their beautiful, happy girl was going to decline in this way,” explained Hardy. “I immediately got in touch and asked how I could help. It was then that I learned that we could race against time to reach their £1m target to get new life-saving gene therapy developed at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for not only Aggie, but for two more young children called Frankie, age five and Sofia, nine. This was when I came up with the idea of running five marathons in 50 hours, with every penny going towards gene therapy treatment for children with H-ABC; 5in50!”

There are 200 children in the world like Aggie and most are diagnosed around the age of three or four, when their parents notice that their development is slower than other children of their age.

Ali Candy-Waters, Aggie’s mum, said: “H-ABC is the world’s rarest brain disease. People simply haven’t heard of it, so in our darkest moments we wonder if we can ever get to our £1m target in time. Then we hear from someone like Darren, and we feel like there could be a chance.”

Darren, a 15 year military veteran who struggled with PTSD to the point of suicide but found a disciplined approach to resilence through sport, is a double gold medallist and Warrior Games record breaker completed numerous extreme sports challenges for charity in 2020, raising £24,000. 5in50 is up there with the toughest. “I’m preparing for the run by getting up at 4:20 every day at home and hitting the hills, as well as strength work in my home gym” explained Darren. “I’m calling on my sleep deprivation training from the military to help me keep awake, and the energy provided from Resilient Nutrition.”

Darren would also like to thank Resilient Nutrition and Osprey for their support in making this challenge possible.

To support Darren and donate to this valuable cause, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/darren-hardy123

For more information contact

Mark Hayward

mark@SwayCommunications.co.uk

07731752096

AMG PARTNERS WITH SUSTAINABLE MARKETING CONSULTANCY, GREEN EYRE

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The partnership will see Green Eyre act as AMG’s official sustainability advisers and in the first instance Green Eyre will run a series of education workshops for AMG athletes and partners whilst also supporting AMG clients and the agency’s new business pitches.  Green Eyre and AMG will also work on new and innovative ways to help promote the sustainability agenda in sport and with athletes.

Green Eyre’s aim is to help companies market a more sustainable future.  CEO 7 Founder, Alexis Eyre,passed the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (an arm of University of Cambridge) certificate in Business Sustainability Management followed by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation‘s Linear to Circular Economy course and is aligning her expertise to find a way to help companies future proof themselves though a sustainability lens.

The Athlete Media Group are the sports agency powered by purpose.  They are on a mission to make more meaningful, performance-driving connections between super hero athletes, sports & brands.

Alexis Eyre, CEO & Founder of Green Eyre, said of the deal,

“I’m delighted to be working with Mark & his team of purpose-driven athletes to share my sustainability mission with the sporting world.  Athletes are on the front line of sustainability in sport so the more I can help educate and inspire them the better the future for them, their sport and the planet.”

Mark Middlemas, CEO & Founder of AMG, commented,

“Sustainability is a critical issue for all of us.  Today’s athletes have a unique platform to educate and inspire the wider world and helping them better understand their sustainability footprints and impact can only be a good thing.  Combining athlete performance with planet performance opens up some very exciting ideas and opportunities for elite athletes which we are excited to be partnering with Alexis on.”

“I’ve got that chance to build something & make a difference.” | Hannah Mills MBE

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Plastic pollution is a major problem which directly affects Mills. Her entry into the sport was a humble beginning – she has sailed since the age of 8, having started at a small club in Llanishen, Cardiff. Her realisation that plastic pollution was having a dire effect on the environment was both gradual and sudden. Though she was fond of geography at school she decided not to pursue it at university. Regardless, the pull to live an impactful and purposeful life beyond sailing continued to quietly bubble away.

Mills’ search for Olympic Gold at Rio built at a steady pace over the years. In 2012 it looked like she would seal the deal, winning gold at the World Championships in Barcelona. At the London Olympics it all came down to a tiebreaker race between the GB crew and New Zealand. Sadly it was not to be Mills’ year and she had to settle for silver at her home games. “The toll of London took us aback” Mills disclosed to the British Sailing team YouTube channel, confessing that her and teammate Saskia Clark considered not competing at Rio and calling it a day after winning silver. The decision to put everything on the line again and go for gold in Rio was not one they took lightly, however they found an extraordinary amount of strength to complete another cycle in pursuit of Olympic victory.

It was not only Olympic victory which Mills found at Rio, but a realisation that she had the power to bring forth great change: “spending a lot of time in Rio really opened my eyes to how bad the pollution problem was getting because we see it everywhere we go – we see it on beaches, in marinas, out at sea…but nowhere was quite like what we saw in Rio”.

In August 2016, the National Geographic website reported that Guanabara Bay, the competition site for water-based sports at the Rio Olympics, was full of rubbish, raw sewage, and waste dumped by pharmaceutical companies, refineries, and oil and gas terminals. National Geographic further reported that multiple athletes were ill after training on the polluted water, including Belgian sailor Evi Van Acker.

Mills’ experience ignited something within, and the light-bulb moment made her realise that she could “do something about this as an athlete and as someone who’s teaching these things, but also if I carry on to Tokyo, I’ve got that chance to build something and hopefully make a difference.”

Fast forward a few months later, Mills began to formulate what is now known as the Big Plastic Pledge – a movement which unifies sporting communities to make a change in their wasteful habits and minimise their impact on the environment. “I think there’s loads we can do as individuals and that’s kind of partly why I set up the Big Plastic Pledge” Mills explains. It is the smaller actions which, if endorsed as a collective, can have the largest effects.

Slowly but surely, we are beginning to see a change in attitudes towards the environment in sport. In the UK there is a developing shift towards greener sport, particularly in football. Forest Green Rovers football club in Gloucestershire have been dubbed by FIFA as “the world’s greenest football club”, introducing multiple sustainability measures by targeting their food sources, energy provisions, a pesticide-free pitch, and electric transportation. Tottenham Hotspur have also made notable changes, and plan to phase out and eventually eliminate the use of ‘plastic straws, stirrers, cutlery and all plastic disposable packaging that accompanies these items’ at their stadium. The Big Plastic Pledge identifies the refusal of single-use plastics and the encouragement of reusable coffee and beverage cups, food containers and cutlery as a great method of reducing plastic pollution.

Mills has now set course for the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, and she plans to stimulate conversation surrounding plastic pollution as she does so. In December 2020 it was announced that she was to become an International Olympic Commission sustainability ambassador, alongside Norwegian rower Martin Helseth. The position will allow Mills to spread the word of collective environmental responsibility in sports, encouraging not only athletes but fans to be more considerate of their actions and inspiring those who are less aware of the European roadmap for a more sustainable future. A sustainable Olympics is a major part of the IOC’s agenda, with Paris 2024 set to be the first ‘climate positive’ Olympics.

For Mills, using the Olympics as a platform for sustainability is critical: “sporting events like the Olympics [are] almost like mini-cities in a way because of how they work, how many people are involved, how much infrastructure is required, all that kind of stuff is a really good testing ground for innovation and new ideas… if we can prove the concept [of plastic pollution reduction] at big sporting events like that, with the sort of platform that those big sporting events have to talk about and promote what they’re doing, the chances of accelerating these new ideas into wider society can be integrated a lot quicker”.

The road to Olympic glory has been testing for Mills, as she hopes to go for gold again in the 470 class with new partner Eilidh McIntyre. Mills was hoping to retire in 2020 post-games, but due to the pandemic she was forced to rethink. With a title to defend she is aware that the racing will be all guns blazing, with rivals hoping to pip one of the most dominant teams this Olympic cycle has seen. “I definitely feel it’s a bit of a target on our backs at times, but that’s cool. It’s a good place to be” says Mills. She is unfazed by the feat ahead and immensely collected. Mills is one of Britain’s athletic titans, and one of the most influential at that.

Visit https://bigplasticpledge.com for more information.

PIPT PARTNER TEAM GB TRIATHLETE SOPHIE COLDWELL FOR 2021

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This partnership will see the Social commerce platform, Pipt, become an official brand partner for leading British triathlete, Sophie Coldwell.

The innovative technology brand will support the Team GB triathlete’s 2021 sporting ambitions.  The brand partnership will allow Coldwell to focus on her training & equipment priorities whilst Pipt will work with her in harnessing content exclusive opportunities for their platform.

Team GB and world number 15 triathlete Coldwell is competing in the 2021 Super League Triathlon (SLT) Championship Series and World Triathlon Series amongst other events in 2021.  SLT’s innovative ‘Arena Games’ format in London this weekend will be Coldwell’s first competitive race for over 12 months against some of the very best female triathletes in the world and will be live on the BBC Red Button in the UK.

Pipt has embraced the latest technologies to develop a highly curated, popular culture focused content platform that features major talent from the worlds of music, sport, entertainment, health and wellbeing.

Sport and athletes are a core pillar of their platform and CEO & Founder of Pipt, Ricky DeLandro, said of the partnership, “I am delighted & enormously proud to be supporting Sophie’s sporting journey.  Sophie is a world class triathlete in her own right across 3 demanding disciplines and I’m excited to bring such talent and the content opportunities Sophie brings to the table in a way only Pipt can.”

Triathlete Coldwell said, “I’m extremely grateful to have the backing and support of Pipt going into my 2021 season. It’s obviously an incredibly uncertain time for everyone and I haven’t raced for 18 months so to have this opportunity from Pipt is amazing and I can’t wait for what’s to come!”

Mark Middlemas, CEO & Founder of AMG, Coldwell’s agency representatives commented, “Pipt & Sophie Coldwell are a perfect match.  An innovative content platform meets a colourful, charismatic world class athlete who wears her heart on her sleeve.  We’re excited to be working with Ricky & his team to support Sophie’s sporting ambitions.”

About Pipt

Pipt is an exclusive newly launched (February 2021) social subscription platform available on both iOS and Android in partnership with IBM. Pipt offers a highly curated popular culture platform, providing quality entertainment and curated shopping by showcasing outstanding talent and content whilst removing the negatives of social media. Using high tech AI and intuitive UX to revolutionise the way people consume digitally and shop.Artificial intelligence with an attentive concierge team Pipt helps creators leverage their brand whilst staying authentic and true to themselves. Pipt’s cutting edge tech adds unrivalled 4K quality live broadcasts, rapid audience polling and super engaging “voice notes” to the standard content toolkit.Why black & white? We provide the frame, the creators add the colour.

www.pipt.com

About AMG

The Athlete Media Group is the sports agency powered by purpose.   They are on a mission to use the power of sport & the influential platforms of purpose-driven, super-hero athletes to help brands grow – inside and out.

ENDURANCE SPORT HAS SAVED MY LIFE | Darren Hardy

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It is not only physical injuries which Hardy is dealing with, either, as he was also discharged due to having Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). According to a report by the Ministry of Defence, rates of PTSD ‘were higher in those who had previously deployed to Iraq and/or Afghanistan than those not deployed there. In 2019/20, there was an increased risk of 90% for PTSD for Service personnel previously deployed to Iraq and/or Afghanistan’.

Despite his mental health, Hardy has found coping mechanisms via sport and has gone on to tackle tremendous feats. His gold-medal winning records at the Warrior Games in the 100m and 200m sprint are still yet to be broken.

More recently, Hardy has turned his attention to ultra-adventure sports which are less about the physical demands but perseverance of the mind. A few accomplishments on his roster include the World’s Highest Duathlon at 12,000ft (a 10km run, 150km cycle, then a 30km run), the Montane Yukon Arctic Ultra, and running the perimeter of the Isle of Wight (113km) in a single outing to name a few. Minus the training, he totalled an excessive distance of 2983km in 11 months at the time of interview.

If you weren’t already blown away by the incredulity of it all, Hardy revealed to AMG that his method for coming up with these challenges were a ‘commit to it now and refine the details later’ sort of approach. “I say what I’m going to do, and then I work out how to do it” he admitted.

Not only are his endeavours charitable – Hardy raised over £8200 for Great Ormond Street Hospital in February and over £16’000 for Help For Heroes in October – they are attempted to prove a point: “It’s to prove that you can go and put your mind to something and do it”. Having been “in a very bad place” with PTSD, Hardy really needed something to channel his focus into. He found that training in the early hours of the morning before most have stirred set him up for the day ahead: “it’s like my medication being dosed into me by my physical training!”

There are other driving factors which keep Hardy motivated, too. Not only do the addictive highs of pushing his body beyond the comprehensible make Hardy tick, but he enjoys the inspiration his workouts give to others. He also want to give back to the charities which helped him at his lowest, inspiring others who are currently struggling and showing them that something can be done, as long as you are willing to pick yourself up. Hardy is hopeful that if people can see an ex-rugby playing war veteran stand up and discuss mental health, others will be encouraged to do so too.

Hardy is also a father to two young daughters, both of which are his biggest fans alongside his wife. His challenges always have them in mind in the hope that he makes them proud. Hardy half joked that “it’s making them proud for when I’m older and in a wheelchair, which might be pretty soon if I keep going the way I’m going!”

Perhaps the most salient motivator for Hardy is his new-found understanding of failure, brought about by his recent attempt at the 10x10x10 challenge: 10 ironman triathlons in 10 days in 10 different locations. Hardy managed to complete the equivalent of 6.8 ironman triathlons over the 10-day period, with hypothermia, weight loss and various painful niggles preventing him from achieving the distance he originally wanted to achieve. Despite this, he smashed his fundraising target by thousands of pounds and raised awareness for the Help for Heroes charity. “I believe there is no such thing as failure” Hardy explains, “it’s merely a stepping stone to success”.

Upon being asked what he has learned from his challenges, Hardy is keen to emphasise how we should not fear failure, and therefore we should take bigger risks –  at the end of the day, failure is the opportunity for “learning and getting better”. It is very much mind over matter for Hardy, as he plans to complete a 48-hour tyre flip at Thruxton circuit in the new year, and hopes to complete both an Arctic Ironman and a double veteran ironman in the near future. He is also keen to reattempt the 10x10x10 challenge, however he now understands why triathlons are more regularly held in summer opposed to the cold and wet month of October. With a bit of training and mental discipline, Hardy is certain that anything is achievable.

Avanti partners with British 400m champion, Laviai Nielsen

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The partnership will see the Team GB athlete supporting a variety of Avanti’s projects that align with her goals and aspirations.

The relationship was inspired by shared values of resilience and a shared journey of transformation. The partnership is the latest in a series of athlete sponsorships by Avanti, as part of a broader mission to connect people, communities and continents to a world of opportunity.

Originally a middle distance runner, Laviai changed her specialism to 400m, transforming her career and leading to her medal-winning performance. She comments: “This partnership is particularly important to me because it celebrates what I love about being an athelete – determination, making an impact and above all, resilience. This assistance will help me fund my coach to both coach me and travel with me to my competitions, allow me to be treated by one of the best physios in the world and generally help me become the athlete I want to be.”

Avanti CEO Kyle Whitehill, “The past year has been a challenge for every one but we’ve emerged stronger than ever before and that’s thanks to the hard work and positivity of every person in our business. We recognised those same qualities in Laviai and are really pleased to be working with her across such a broad range of activities this year. We are honoured that she will be sharing the forumla for her success with us.”

Since Avanti launched in 2002, they have had a vision to design, build and launch pioneering satellite technology that would provide coverage even in the most remote or demanding locations. Today they are a leading partner to the communications industry, connecting over 1.7 billion people across 118 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The partnership was brokered by AMG working closely with Dave Scott, representative at her sports agency Stellar Athletics.

About Avanti Communications

 Avanti Communications is the leading Ka-band high throughput satellite capacity partner to the communications industry in EMEA – extending and guaranteeing coverage for defence missions, enterprise solutions and critical public services.

Through the HYLAS satellite fleet and partners in 118 countries, Avanti provides dedicated fixed and flexible-beam satellite connectivity, with extensive coverage across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The Group has invested $1.2bn in a network that incorporates orbital slots in Ka-band spectrum, satellites, ground stations, datacentres and a fibre ring.

www.avantiplc.com

For Further information:

Avanti Communications: avanti@threesixtycomms.com

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