henry - cookey
taekwondo
What is/was your sport and how did you get into it?
My sport was Olympic Taekwondo. I actually started for the first time when I was 4 years old but only did it for a couple of months, but I was obsessed with all martial arts and kung fu movies etc from then and was dying to do it properly! When I was 14 I had to do a sport for the Duke of Edinburgh award, so that was the perfect excuse to find a club!
Tell us about the highlights of your sporting career?
In 2014 I made the decision to start training full time and had a breakthrough year. I won my first Olympic ranking medals and was selected to represent Team England at the Commonwealth Games where I won a bronze medal.
What were some of the challenges you experienced and how did you overcome them?
When I told my coach that I had ambitions of going to the Olympics he said I wasn't good enough to fight internationally, wouldn't be selected by Team GB and I should just stick to fighting locally in small competitions. This was extremely depressing and made me want to quit the sport all together. But I decided that instead of that I would prove that no matter what anyone thought, I believed that I could do it, so I would work hard and make it happen for myself. I convinced my coach to just let me work hard and try and enter an international competition regardless of what happens, and I went on to win the whole competition. That started my international journey.
What have been your highlights while working at the Trust?
Seeing the massive change in a young person from the start to the finish of every program. I've seen people go from disengaged and not interested to passionate, hopeful, excited and going on to achieve great things just by sticking with the program and getting involved. It's really amazing to see.
What do you do now alongside working for the Trust?
I competed in Ninja Warrior UK and have opened my own Ninja Warrior gym in Liverpool where the public can have a go and see how much fun it is and also what great exercise it is. I'm also a personal trainer and wannabe gymnast.
What life advice would you give a young person?
Believe in yourself and take chances! If you try something there is a possibility of you not succeding, but there is also the possibility of you succeeding and it massively improving your life. Even if you fail it may lead you to something better that you weren't even aware of or you'll learn from the experience and have more chance to succeed at something else in the future. If you don't try at all then there's a 100% chance that you won't succeed.
What experience do you have of working with corporate organisations?
I worked as a chemical engineer for a major multinational company for four years. I have also delivered fitness, motivation, wellbeing and engagement sessions to both large and small groups in corporate organisations.
What does Being Me mean to you?
‘Being me’ means being happy, enthusiastic, loving what I do and having a strong belief in myself and my abilities. Throughout my career there were people and results that told me that I couldn't do the things I wanted to do, that really took away all of that and often left me in a very bad place mentally. Remembering who I am and telling myself that what these people say and the things that happened in the past don't matter, really helped me believe in myself again and start enjoying what I was doing. When that happened I was able to perform to my abilities and achieve great things!
Competitive
Record
2015
Nottingham International Open: GOLD
2014
Commonwealth Championship: BRONZE
British Championship: BRONZE
Austrian Open: BRONZE
Spanish Open: BRONZE
2013
British Championship: GOLD
2012
British Championship: BRONZE
Amsterdam Open: SILVER
Dutch masters: SILVER
2011
International Tag Team GB vs. Rest of the World: GOLD
London International Open: GOLD
British Championship: GOLD
