00:00.44 Richard Is it because of time? is it is it Has it gone over the time or something like that? Yeah. 00:04.04 nextlevelguypodcast No, it can go for hours. It's strange. It's never happened before. But, um I mean, I know I've i've used up a heap of your time. and I'd love to do and like sort go into like how you know how things have changed you, et cetera. 00:11.73 Richard know. 00:18.06 nextlevelguypodcast But what has this cost you, being this person? daily Do people allow you to be a bad day? 00:23.67 Richard Yeah. Great question. Great question. I think... um people obviously ask about success and they see the success, but they don't understand the impact that that has, obviously mentally, physically, emotionally. 00:44.10 Richard And a lot of professional athletes do struggle with the impact of after success because you're not only catapulted into the public eye, but also you're the best at what you do in the world when you win that gold medal, the best. 01:00.08 Richard And to be the best, you have to have given everything and you have to be selfish. You have to cut people out your life. And say for me, it's, yeah, I'm a different person when I'm an athlete. 01:18.83 Richard different than when I'm a dad, different than when I'm Richard Whitehead that supports the foundation. And I think I have to, have to have those different hats. um'm I'm lucky that I enjoy what I do. 01:31.80 Richard I enjoy... 01:34.76 Richard I enjoy running. I'm better trainer than I am competitor. I've always said I'm not the best athlete, but I am the best at training. 01:45.75 Richard I've always said that I'm. And when people see me train and see the effort that I put in my training, they realise why I've won all the gold medals, why I've been the world champion, world record holder that have. 02:00.13 Richard and even at now because I really value what I do. But yeah, it does take its toll. Definitely mentally, mental health and physical health have took a bit of battering over the years. 02:11.92 Richard And people don't understand that. They just see the success. They just see the gold medals. to just see what next. It's amazing. 02:23.34 Richard I had a conversation with somebody the other day about I just won the London Marathon and it was my sixth marathon of the year. And the first question that I had was, when's your next marathon? 02:34.47 Richard And I was like, I just want to rest. I just want to rest. 02:38.77 nextlevelguypodcast So... 02:39.89 Richard Running three marathons, two of them breaking my world record in 15 days. 02:46.21 Richard took a lot out of me. And that's just the running, not the press, not the travel, not the preparation, everything else that goes into it. Because if my preparation is crap, 02:59.81 Richard If I'm not able to get to the start line in the best shape, I'm going to be nowhere near the best. And as a 49 year old, everything needs to align. 03:11.13 Richard I train harder now than I did when I was 30. And that's because I think I've got a lot more knowledge and wisdom about what it takes to be the best. 03:22.44 nextlevelguypodcast And how much did becoming a father change that situation? Did it open you up to think about longevity? I know you probably don't want to like think about when you when you're gone, your legacies and things like that, but did it kind of put an extra flavor onto this mission that you have in life? 03:35.19 Richard Yeah, no. 03:39.38 Richard Sure, and and you see you see obviously young in young people's eyes some of the trauma that young people have, but you also see the excitement, expectation, you see the opportunity and then obviously being a father of two children, it's great to leave that legacy for them and hopefully they have ambitions through what they see in me. 04:00.49 Richard whether I'd want them to be runner and go down this route, maybe not. And that's an interesting concept as well, because a lot of athletes have young people that go into running or go into the sports that they do, because that's where they've spent a lot their time, where I think I'd rather my children have their own path and have their own legacy, but still be proud of who I am and enjoy some my kind of fruits of my success. 04:30.61 Richard But yeah, obviously I think when you're Again, it's interesting because you have to be so selfish as an athlete to compete. So hence when go to those training camps and go away, I don't take my family because I'm so focused on that end result of competing, especially when I'm going for like a world record time or competing at the Paralympics, you need to be fully focused. 04:54.96 Richard But I know that obviously I've got that support at home and my kids are paramount to that. 05:00.73 nextlevelguypodcast Do you see that kind of that strange dynamic in them that they're born and bred with somebody with a disability in their life, so they understand it, they have that empathy? Do you see the difference between them and their friends when they when you first meet them? 05:19.20 Richard Yeah, I think so. i think, but it's normalising those conversations, isn't it? 05:34.90 Richard still feel that young people need to be more exposed to disability and the benefits of that and shy away from these awkward conversations that still have on a daily basis. 05:49.78 Richard If I was being frank and honest, I would probably say that I have discrimination on a daily basis. I obviously walk around with shorts on, people see me with shorts on, sometimes get people videoing me without knowing, without actually asking a question or like maybe some of the kids having responses that's not too kind. 06:14.74 Richard But I choose that as I do what do because I can... I've got the confidence, I've got the insight, I've got the knowledge to be able address some of those situations and hold people to account, but also educate. 06:28.74 Richard And I think obviously my young children have obviously seen some of the challenges that I've overcome and are more equipped than a lot of young people around life and discrimination. 06:44.84 Richard And one of the things that talk to my black and Asian friends about discrimination because think 06:53.27 Richard We all identify that people of colour suffer from discrimination on a daily basis because of their voice being heard. 07:05.44 Richard But we definitely don't hear enough of the disability community around discrimination. And when we do, it's more about accessibility. Oh, I'm not able to access this building. I'm not able to access the trains or transport systems. 07:18.83 Richard But people with disabilities, the reason why there's so many mental health conditions, the reason why there's so much unemployment, the reason why there's so much isolation is because of discrimination. 07:29.88 Richard And even though we have people in the House of Lords and we have people in government with disabilities, we still don't have a strong enough voice for the disability community that really highlights that. 07:43.10 nextlevelguypodcast And do you think that's down to ignorance on people's part? Is it just lack of education? 07:49.43 Richard Yeah, both. 07:49.46 nextlevelguypodcast i mean, 07:50.71 Richard Yeah, both. 07:52.92 nextlevelguypodcast so when you are sitting there and you know you're thinking, 49, you've done over 100 marathons, you've got gold medals, you inspire millions, you've got a foundation that's changing lives and showcasing and showing people that they can do what they want. you know There's no limit to the potential that you're re- reinstalling the kind of software in people's heads that people with disabilities are not there's nothing different to them they're just people at the end of the day what are you scared of in your head is there a part of you that you think if i stop now 08:27.42 Richard Yeah, have I done enough? That's it. Have I done enough? That's it. That's the answer to your question. And I think it's very personal to me, like I said to before. I think obviously a lot people that know me and have seen I've grown in the last 20 years would say I've done more for Nottingham and the community than probably anybody, especially in the disability area. 08:52.14 Richard but that's from their lens, from their mindset, from myself. I'll always be my biggest critic and maybe I've still got a lot to achieve within life, especially within the disability world. 09:08.92 Richard And I'm willing to do that. I'm willing put myself in that space to, know, know that my life is dedicated to making that social change and just, yeah, have I done enough? 09:24.92 Richard That's, and some people, it's a crazy kind of question because people say that it's, I've done, yeah, a lot. But yeah, I always kind of go back to that one question myself and I'm obviously on the right path. 09:41.26 Richard I've done a lot great things, but still feel it's only the start. 09:46.44 nextlevelguypodcast And is there an answer to that? Do you think you have? Or do you always want to keep going? Because if you do think of stopping, it it's scary that you don't know where it might lead you. You always want to see where you have true potential. 10:02.62 Richard Yeah, and I think when we talk about potential, we talk about young people, don't we? I think as you get older, you lose potential into, you just talk about legacy instead of potential. But there's definitely, I've definitely got more potential. 10:16.34 Richard I want to have more an impact around kind of business with young people. That's a real... kind of purpose at the moment. 10:27.14 Richard So I'm getting into a lot of businesses around talking about representation, leadership, just giving young people opportunities. Education is a real issue for disabled people at the moment. 10:41.72 Richard People with SEN, special educational needs as well, not everybody with a disability is an SEN pupil, but some of those SEN students are really isolated, nothing to do with sport, it's more about excess. 10:58.50 Richard And then also there's a range of people that have maybe left school, that haven't got a role in society, that are apparently unemployable, that really need to have an opportunity. 11:12.15 Richard So I'm actively looking for ways to support those individuals and And hopefully people don't see what I'm doing as a real, as a step too far for them, but they can actually see some, 11:26.91 Richard some kind of part of them in me and understand that I'm continually pushing on because I can see the value of what I do. And again, it's whether it's in my little village of Burton Joyce or Nottingham in the East Midlands or whether I'm in London or internationally talking to an international audience, always value that opportunity for making that change. 11:53.81 Richard But we need to change ourselves. before we change the world. And that's probably underlying thing that I've found over the years, that I tried to change the world without actually changing myself. 12:07.90 Richard And now I've kind of, and I've continually, continually learning, continually embracing new experiences to actually change the world. And thought I'm definitely a different person now. 12:20.57 nextlevelguypodcast And what would you say to somebody then that feels stuck? You know, they are inspired and they want to do these things. They see potential through, know, your stories and what you've been able to do. But what would you say to them to kind of how to how could they start by changing themselves that you needed to? 12:36.12 Richard Yeah. Yeah, expose themselves to new scenarios, situations, expose themselves to new potential opportunities. Like I said before about volunteering, so important. 12:49.56 Richard Meet new people. It's okay to get things wrong, to make mistakes. I've made plenty of them and You learn from them. 13:00.64 Richard Successes are fantastic, but it's a self-gratifying moment that it's not as big unless you share it with big group of people. And that's the thing. It's just about going out there and doing it and be brave. 13:14.92 Richard These words that we all belittle, especially around the disability community, you're brave or you're courageous. I'm definitely brave, I'm definitely courageous and definitely don't belittle anybody for using that word, but use it in the right way, not to pigeonhole me into a group of people that, oh you're brave because you've got disability. 13:38.78 Richard Now brave because I put myself out there and I believe I can make a change. I believe that I'm good at what I do. I'm like, now openly cheerlead my success and my team's success because I believe that we should do that. 13:58.09 Richard And not 14:02.01 Richard because I'm showing off, but because of the impact that hopefully has. 14:06.04 nextlevelguypodcast I mean, that takes me beautifully on to, and i've i brought out this question I used to always ask was what makes somebody at X level person, you know, somebody who goes out and achieves these things compared to those who just dream. 14:18.14 nextlevelguypodcast Is that the this the thing that they're missing is being brave, that kind of berserker confidence? 14:23.83 Richard yeah Yeah, for sure. um I think yeah i think i it be is being brave, it's being courageous and it's being a cheerleader. I think unless you're a cheerleader for yourself, 14:36.49 Richard you're wanting other people to cheerlead for you, that's really tough. And be a pioneer within your community, within your sector, and really just go for it. 14:48.41 Richard Understand that before you have that success, you're going have many failures and you're going to learn from those failures. and just keep striving and if you're motivated solely by the financial benefits of being successful you're not going be successful you're not going to fulfilled um and think those people that are successful have have sat back and looked at their successes and gone actually i've made a change i've made an impact and it's sustainable and um 15:23.77 Richard Yeah, I'm still on that path. I'm still on that path. I still feel that there's a lot of people maybe that haven't heard of me that haven't had the impact, had the opportunity to see me doing what I do best. 15:36.27 Richard And then even that, I was trying to get into my head about, am I... is Richard Whited like a runner or is Richard Whited something else? 15:50.21 Richard Because you talk about that kind of, when you're not here anymore, how do people see you? And I'd like people to know that I'm and was a good person, but also I cared, that cared about what I did. 16:07.78 Richard And you used all these platforms to unlock, and not communication between people. And I've traveled the world and I've been able to hopefully connect with people that don't speak my language through what I do. 16:25.97 Richard And that's a powerful thing. 16:28.37 nextlevelguypodcast mean, you certainly do that. You certainly are changing lives and you will be remembered as somebody who has changed the world, has opened the eyes of people to our potentials and what's holding us back and how society is stupid and focuses on completely pointless things like their Kardashians and the likes where they should be you know should be yourself. I'm not suggesting you put a champagne one on your butt and but do those kind of Kim Kardashian balls. 16:55.35 nextlevelguypodcast But Do you ever stop and think back of what you've done or are you also focused on what you could do that you'd never look back? 17:02.74 Richard Not really. People talk about successes and it's nice. Obviously, 17:14.29 Richard Yes, I've definitely looked back probably 21 years of my running, 20, 30 years of being involved at High Level Sport and you realise that you've done some kind of really incredible things and it's nice look back and even the people that I've met because 17:36.72 Richard We all have these like red string moments. I don't know if you've heard of the term red string moments where you meet somebody and you've had a change or they've been impacted for you. 17:48.48 Richard And then somewhere down the line, you'll come together again. And whether it's 10, 20 years, whether it's social media or see them in person, you always have that opportunity. 17:59.92 Richard to reconnect with somebody. You don't have to look for them on these websites or whatever. It kind of just organically happens and it's like, they call it like a red string moment. 18:11.07 Richard And I think those are just really interesting because I'll meet people now, obviously I'm coming up to my 50th birthday and a lot my friends obviously are 50 or happy 50th birthdays. And they're then reflecting on my time at school and that's a different Richard Whited than Richard Whited now. 18:28.64 Richard And it's also really nice that people still feel that connection, that even though maybe I've had all this success, that they still feel that I'm somebody that they can send a message to or talk to. 18:44.01 Richard And yeah, I think that's a great, it's a great skill to have because people put you on a podium or platform that's like, you're one of these athletes that have done so much and fantastic to meet you but feel really honoured. 19:00.87 Richard I'm like, look, I'm just one person, just very good at what I do I've had some great success but that success is through hard work, through discipline, through resilience, through Really putting yourself in those vulnerable situations. 19:18.96 Richard And I believe anybody can run their own marathon. That's one. I also believe anybody can do anything in their life. It's just about taking that first step, which inevitably is the hardest. 19:31.15 nextlevelguypodcast Yeah, because it's great that you said that because you there's all these people we do look at it and go, oh, they're celebrities, they're this, they're that. But to you to your kids, your dad, to your partner, your husband, yeah you know you're probably like a mate to these. 19:41.69 Richard yes Yeah, that's it. 19:45.35 nextlevelguypodcast but you know And I think we forget sometimes that these are real people and they're so much of their own lives. 19:49.40 Richard yeah yeah 19:52.13 nextlevelguypodcast They're able to make mistakes and try different things and stuff. 19:55.10 Richard it's not 19:56.30 nextlevelguypodcast And it's not always going to go right. But um I mean, I know have so much time. I just I do feel it's an honour to speak to you, but I wanted to get to know the real Richard. And I think that's the the part of sometimes we forget is there's the aches, the pains, the worries and things. But how much of all this goes back to you being the person that that young Richard needed at that point? 20:21.43 Richard Yeah, probably. Again, I'd definitely say that I'm a different person than I was when I was growing up. I think there's The trauma that probably I suffered and suffer from as a disabled person is through probably being a young person and having that discrimination against. 20:45.51 Richard And I think everybody has trauma in their life, accident, illness, tragedy, or through experience. I think probably that shaped me as a person. 21:00.20 Richard But without that, I don't think I'd be the same person today. 21:03.13 nextlevelguypodcast So let's give you um um a magic wand. 21:03.61 Richard uh, 21:05.94 nextlevelguypodcast What would you change right now? How would you make the future better for the next generation of Richards? 21:14.42 Richard oh my goodness yeah a magic one would be around like inclusion policies for 21:36.34 Richard I remember being in education and then teachers talking about that. And it doesn't relate because you just don't feel it. And whether teachers, whether schools, whether government feels that they deliver that, it definitely isn't. 21:56.95 Richard And then just getting more people moving, just kind of supporting, getting people into social groups that are representative and I think there's still a lot of misinformation around disability and even in films like the baddies of a film normally is disfigured or has a disability or has a mental health issue or I work quite a lot in the armed forces and a lot of the vets seem to be baddies in some these films because suffering from PTSD or whatever. 22:31.16 Richard and I think we just need to need to move away from those negative stereotypes we to work with people with good energy yeah I think magic wand moments I think I'd like to continue to have a positive impact in in those areas but I wouldn't really change anything and that's and saying that even though you could ask for some really fantastic things in life, but I think we've got purpose and maybe my purpose is just not being fulfilled at the moment. 23:03.54 Richard And I'm trying to push on and trying bring people more onto my journey and get more people involved in my journey to then have a bigger impact. 23:13.93 nextlevelguypodcast I'm surprised that the government isn't sort of you know sort breaking down your door and saying, you know, you're aspiring so many, you're changing so many lives. How can we then take your teachings in a bigger, wider platform? 23:25.69 Richard Yeah, no, I think people are scared, aren't they? think they're scared of the, because it's such a big community, the disability community, and I think I've done work within the government before, and obviously especially around access to prosthetics, even around physical health, mental health. 23:46.99 Richard I still think there's still some pushback and 23:57.75 nextlevelguypodcast this what 23:59.45 Richard And then again, for me, it's having good people in those positions that make a positive change. um 24:08.02 nextlevelguypodcast what 24:08.95 Richard Would I want to be involved in politics? Probably not. Do I, I got an interest in politics? Yeah, I've got a great interest in politics for sure, because that's how you make those changes for generations. 24:23.82 Richard I just think at the moment we're, 24:42.49 Richard they kind of really navigate towards. So things like mental health or things like... Do you hear that? Do you little girl? ah What time? 24:55.27 Richard Eight o'clock, Baba. 24:58.69 Richard Eight o'clock. 25:02.66 Richard I need to eat, obviously. um And I think for me, it's those pivot points are... are something that we've never had a disability moment. Do you know like with Black Lives Matters and the George Floyd situation where it was really highlighted around that movement. 25:22.44 Richard I don't think we've had a disability pivot point yet. And that's where if we had a disability pivot point that we can make some real change. 25:30.86 nextlevelguypodcast Well, they do call it a leadership race. You know, just say... 25:34.46 Richard Yeah, I know. I know they definitely do. And that I tell you, I see bad leadership. I see the bad leadership. You don't have to be the loudest in the room to be a great leader. 25:47.71 Richard Leadership for me, think I've always been show. 25:57.53 Richard I've always been a driver in my journey, not a passenger, but also think it's an opportunity to create those opportunities for other people to drive and not be the driver all the time. 26:09.66 Richard And that's really powerful. Do you know when you see somebody that's not got the confidence or the outlook to think that they could be a leader and then all of a sudden you give them the wheel and then they take it and that really does kind of catapult them into... 26:23.48 nextlevelguypodcast But 26:25.37 Richard into space it's a great option especially with somebody that's maybe got a physical sensory or learning disability that would never think they've got those opportunities and the messages i get on social media are so powerful like the testimonials that i have on my website and through things like linkedin are things that that i kind of sometimes don't realise and my head of comms, Claire, would then go, actually, have you seen this comment? 26:53.54 Richard It just really shows that you're making a difference and that's nice. 26:58.04 nextlevelguypodcast you're certainly making a difference. You're changing lives. You're inspiring millions. And you're doing it to help the next generation. And that's what we're here to do is to leave the world in a better place and we you know that we arrived. 27:10.97 nextlevelguypodcast I've still got pages of questions. I'd love to do another one. 27:13.30 Richard ah Just picked two good ones. 27:13.57 nextlevelguypodcast But I've used up so i've used up so much your time. 27:15.54 Richard fa 27:17.15 nextlevelguypodcast But what would you want people to take from this? you know What would be the kind of a message that no matter what they listened to in the whole interview, they took as a kind of a tool a guidance, just a reminder. 27:29.46 Richard Yeah. Okay, takeaways are really important. I think hopefully people see me as somebody that's approachable, relatable. and somebody that's identified that we all have a gift in our life and it's about nurturing that gift and sometimes we've not found that gift until we're in the 30s 40s or 50s and when you get it initially i don't think you understand that you've got that gift but then other people then highlight that. 28:00.46 Richard And I think when you have that opportunity and that gift in your life, that then will shape the rest of your life. 28:09.24 Richard So perseverance and resilience are really key in that respect, especially for those that are business leaders, business owners that maybe really passionate about their vision, but have not had this success. 28:22.57 Richard And I think for young people, Empathy is really important. reach out to people are like them, feel like them, look like them, that have been successful or maybe have had those challenges that have the tools, the skills to be able to navigate some of those challenges that they can relate to those young people. 28:43.05 Richard And then think for the wider community, It's so important to be inclusive, but also that everybody has responsibility to be more inclusive and not just those roles within business that are, like me, equality and diversity inclusion officer for like some big brands. 29:05.79 Richard Everybody should be inclusive because when you have equality, diversity, inclusion at the heart of all your thinking, it really does make you a better person. 29:16.69 Richard And then hopefully people see me as a good person, not just a great athlete. 29:23.15 nextlevelguypodcast That's a beautiful way to end up. um How can we follow this journey? How can we, you know, before you get into government and become Prime Minister and take over the world, that you know, before you do all these amazing things, how can we follow this journey? 29:35.90 nextlevelguypodcast How can we... 29:36.18 Richard Yeah, definitely on my website, which is a great tool. I've got So I do this newsletter I do every month, and it just, like, plots my path. And lot of people follow me on social media, but it's a real snapshot. 29:50.40 Richard And that's on, like, those... TikTok, Instagram and my great team around, we kind of support and help manage that and it's very authentic, it's really me. 30:05.41 Richard But the website is a great, going back to those old kind of platforms like a website and a newsletter. And then also I'm starting to develop these things, so a merchandise range which The reason why I wanted to develop a merchandise range is to give some real visibility about the possibility. 30:26.17 Richard And from that, providing opportunity for young people and people that want to get into sport with maybe a bursary that people can apply for to then make that happen. 30:38.15 Richard So not necessarily a bursary for disabled people or young people, So if somebody, for instance, says, look, I really want to go on this camp, but it's £250. 30:50.04 Richard I'm really struggling to get any support or I'm really struggling to get any funding, then hopefully I'll have enough capacity to be able to support that individual. 31:00.60 Richard And I think that's really powerful as well get, obviously, that... give that support to people, that little leg up. And it can be like the smallest thing to the biggest thing. 31:12.77 Richard And again, it's a way of giving back. I remember when people helped me and sometimes it was just literally a helping hand or it was a kind word, but also it's maybe moving some of those financial barriers out the way as well. 31:29.74 Richard So there's lots of opportunities to obviously reach out and to be part of this journey. And that's what I want to do. want to have a bigger community follow me because then we can co-collaborate and we can support everybody in the future. 31:45.69 nextlevelguypodcast and the journey is just getting started for you. Well, I'll hit, 31:48.34 Richard Definitely is. Nice.