More Than A Fighter

In the final episode of season 1, we talk to Luke Preston. Luke is head coach at Camberley judo club and was part of the coaching team for the London 2012 Olympic Games, where he coached Camberley's Karina Bryant to a bronze medal. We talk about his time as an athlete competing for Wales and Great Britain and his move into coaching, where he has coached some of Britain's biggest names in the sport.

This week we talk to Samantha Smithson. Sami competed for GBR in judo, was a squadron leader in the RAF and served for 18 years, before being medically discharged with a chronic hip injury. She has since worked in performance lifestyle support and is now leading on British Judo's transition mentoring programme.

Really privileged to have this long and open conversation with 1984 Olympic Judo Bronze Medalist, Neil Eckersley. Neil had a great competitive career and competed in two Olympic Games, but chose to retire at 24 years old. He moved on to work in civil engineering, youth work, coaching, social work and now combines coaching in Norway with a career as an international artist. An interested character with a great perspective towards approaching life's various challenges.

Former Judoka Lewis Keeble joins us for a really enjoyable chat reflecting on his time as an international athlete competing for Great Britain, and as a member of the Royal Air Force. Lewis talks really openly about struggles with identity, confidence and belonging after leaving sport and shares some funny stories along the way. 

This week we are joined by Gemma Burton. Gemma won a silver medal in Judo at the 2012 Olympic Games, along with a host of other medals including a historic Bronze at the Tokyo Grand Slam. She retired from competitive Judo in 2016 to pursue a career in teaching. We talk about the highs and lows of her career and what matters most to her as a person. A really great conversation with lots to reflect on for anyone involved in sport.

We are joined by Judoka / Actor / Film Director Jim Warren. Jim is a real individual who lived bis Judo career exactly the way that he wanted it and takes that approach to everything he does. A fantastic Judoka with some serious wins for GBR at 66kg, he talks about his time training abroad with Kenamju, his two Olympic campaigns that  ended just short of making the team and his move in to fashion, acting and the film industry. A really interesting person and a conversation not to be missed. 

We sit down with undefeated Welsh MMA fighter Ben Ellis, who fights out of the Mat Academy in Pontypridd. We talk about his journey in to MMA and his ambitions for the future, with his record currently standing at 10-0 (2-0 pro). Ben also combines his competitive career with a job in the finance industry and talks about how he manages both simultaneously and offers some sound advice for any up and coming athletes. 

We chat to retired GBR Judoka Andy Burns. Andy trained and studied at the University of Bath and then the Scottish Judo National Centre in Ratho. He won multiple British titles, international medals and a Commonwealth Games Bronze. He reflects on his time as an athlete and talks about his transition in to coaching and his current role as a Pathway Scientist for UK Sport. Andy has a really nice outlook and is able to articulate the Judo experience really well.

We talk to Euan Burton; double Olympian and now the Head Coach for Scottish Judo. Euan won multiple medals at European and World Championships and has a wealth of experience from competing and coaching at all levels. He talks about the crushing lows and the highest highs of a career that signed off with a Gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2014.

Mason Jones..."The Champ Champ", has just signed a contract with the UFC after winning his second Cage Warriors title, making him the first person since Conor McGregor to achieve this feat. Mason has an extensive background in a range of Martial Arts, and speaks highly of the lessons that he has taken from Judo. He also talks about love of the art of fighting and how he avoids being financially dependant on the sport by developing side businesses and long term income streams. At the time of recording Mason had just signed for the UFC but was not allowed to talk about this on air!