A Young Man At Work
"... under the guidance of a master."
Fight-Science indeed. Joey Fowler goes through his training in Guildford Surrey with his brother under the eye of mentor Nick Chapman.
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By Sammy on 15/8/11
Hard As Diamond Nails
Introducing Joey Fowler. British Judo Medalist. SUSOlogist.
At 14 years of age, Joey Fowler is one of the rising stars of the UK Judo scene. A winner in the sport since the age of 5 (when his brother first brought him to this martial art), Joey has collected 9 medals from 11 competitions in the last 12 months alone. At the 'tender' age of 14 his success at the national championships, where he came 3rd, earned him a place in the England Judo Squad.
So what is his winning formula? Hard work, determination and a willingness to take risks. Joey regularly competes in higher age catergories to test himself and to learn quicker than everyone else - Olympic selection the end goal. This approach makes it harder and of course more painful, but according to Joey '...the prize is worth the pain.' His skills are such than even fighting outside his category, he is now more often than not, a genuine contender in every competition he enters.
Alongside his coach of 9 years Andy Ede, Joey also has in Nick Chapman (the Current UK1 MMA Light heavyweight champion) a mentor who knows what it takes to get to the top. Not only does Nick help with Joey's mental approach to the martial art of judo he also helps with Joey's strength and conditioning programme.
Nick Chapman’s skills and qualifications are extensive - he is a fully qualified personal trainer, nutritionist and strength and conditioning coach and his services are much in demand. He founded and developed the successful Guildford based health, fitness, strength and conditioning business’s Exer-Science and Fight Science in 2009 which specialises in personal training and training MMA fighters.
With Andy's coaching, Nick's support, Joey's own determined attitude, and now with some new support from SUSO among others, the Olympics success doesn't feel too far away. Be in no doubt though, this is not a sport for the faint hearted and these fellas, boys and men, are hard as nails. Here's a reminder.
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By Sammy on 15/7/11
The Master & The Apprentice
"...2 Young Men On The Thames At Sunrise..."
Susologist Alfie Horn was recently joined by GB triathlete Mark Threlfall for a mentoring session ahead of his attempt to swim the channel later this summer. This is what the hard hours look like when you have a dream. Be inspired.
... and then maybe pay us a visit here and then drop us a line at standupstandout@suso.co.uk to help you achieve your dream.
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By Sammy on 16/5/11
The Boy From Atlantis
Introducing Alfie Horn. Channel Swimmer. SUSOlogist.
More people have scaled Mount Everest than have successfully swum the English Channel. Fact. The Channel is known as the ultimate test of will power, mental strength and physical endurance.
As the crow flies, the shortest swim distance is about 21 miles. However add to this tides, currents and the fact you can't swim in a straight line and the distance is closer to 25–30 miles. Further challenges include changing conditions from idyllic flat seas to gale force winds; waves of up to 3 metres; water temperatures ranging from 15C to 18C and the fact that part of the swim takes place in the dark.
It's a big challenge, and that is precisely what appeals to young Alfie Horn. But why? These are his words :
"My name is Alfie Horn and ever since I can remember I have wanted to swim the English Channel. It all started when I saw a film about a old man who simply went out and swum the channel. He told no-one, not even his friends. He did it simply to conquer the challenge, because the challenge was there. While I was sitting there watching this documentary I was thinking about what a fantastic achievement it would be and I began to look into it straight away. What it would take, what I needed. I was soon pushed away from my dream when I found out that you had to be sixteen years old to do the solo swim. But the dream didn't go away.
When I was fourteen my dad took on the channel with a group of rowers. They crossed the channel in a quad and a double boat, and on the day of their crossing I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time and got to jump on the support vessel for the row. I had a front row seat to the huge efforst and excitement around the crossing. At this point I decided that before I am eighteen I will have swum the English Channel as a solo swimmer, simply because I don’t ever want to reach a time in my life when I haven’t completed it simply because I haven’t bothered to try.
Now I am almost at the age where I can complete the swim I have started to train for it. I want to complete the swim by the end of the summer of 2012. I know how physically and mentally tough the swim is going to be, but with the correct training, support and motivation I will complete my crossing. 'Dream, Prepare, Succeed.'. I have dreamed and now I am preparing."
SUSO is proud to be supporting Alfie with some funding for his channel attempt but what SUSO has also been able to do is bring some mentoring and coaching to the channel crossing attempt in the form of UK professional triathlete and established open water talent Mark Threlfall. More to come on this as the 2 mermen meet up for their training sessions in the coming weeks!
For now, feel free to contact Alfie with sponsorship donations on alfies.horn@btinternet.com (in aid of ACTIONAID and WATERAID) and maybe just take a moment to reflect on the size of the task ahead and the history Alfie is making himself part of with this inspiring attempt.
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Categories Sport Tags channel swimmer young talent
By Sammy on 5/4/11
