Life Stories

Phil was Team GB’s Lead Physiotherapist at the Rio 2016 Olympics. He is also a visiting professor of the Ulster Sports Academy at the University of Ulster and teaches on a number of postgraduate sports medicine programmes at various UK and European universities. He is now working with Irish Rugby overseeing the integration of the regional and national side. Phil talks about the importance of medic...

Ian is one of the most renowned shoulder physiotherapists in the world, having completed his PhD in examining musculoskeletal causes of shoulder injuries within professional rugby. He is one of the few medical practitioners who has worked with the Football Association, Rugby Football Union and English institute of Sport, all whilst running his private practice, Back In Action. He has worked for EI...

Julian has recently been featured in CSP Frontline magazine in his role for promoting the Leadership Development Program to future leaders, and especially for members from BAME backgrounds. ESP (Extended Scope Practitioner) physiotherapist, Julian gives a really interesting insight as to his issue with the Black Lives Matter slogan, and also talks about how he coped with the cultural differences h...

I have encountered many incredible people in my life, but Polly has one of the most tragic AND inspirational stories I have come across. Having been in the Sari Club regularly myself during a two week holiday the previous year, the Bali bombing was shocking to me. Little did I know that 15 years later I would meet someone whose life it completed devastated in every sense.  As they were enjoyi...

Dave has been working in top level sport in the US for the last 12 years. Having worked in the Premier League for many years, he tells me why he decided to leave Chelsea to work in a new sport and country. Dave gives great insight in to how he worked with some of the most successful managers and coaches in a variety of sports, such as Phil Jackson and Jose Mourinho. We also delve in to how he buil...

Mark is back, and we start with his involvement with Michael Owen's emergence as a teenager. He explains the challenges of managing a player who was so good, but was still developing physically. We go in to the reasons Mark left Liverpool FC, what it was like going to work for the team he supports and designing the Sunderland FC 'Academy of Light.'

Dave was physiotherapist during the glory years of both Wigan Warriors RLFC and Manchester United FC. He talks about how he got started in physio despite it not being his early passion, his 14 weeks away with the British Lions as well as how he really wanted to stay on at Wigan before the move to MUFC. Roy Keane recently spoke about how good Dave was during his ACL rehabilitation and Dave discusse...

Mark is a well known physio in the world of elite sport having worked for various football and rugby league clubs. In part one of our chat, Mark talks about how he got started in physiotherapy and made the transition in to elite sport. Mark and I were part of the team who assessed medical departments in Saudi Arabia in 2010, so I got to hear many stories of his time in sport. I did my best to get...

Sue is a world renowned physical therapist and certified athletic trainer. She holds the distinction of being the first female head athletic trainer in any of the four major sports in the United States and served as Head of Athletic Training and Sport Performance with US Soccer’s Men’s National Team. Sue talks about volunteering her services for 6 months (as the first person in the medical departm...

Nick has worked as a physiotherapist for many football teams, mainly the Premier League and Championship, but also including a stint in Abu Dhabi as head as sports medicine. I first met him at Bolton Wanderers FC, so it was really interesting to hear his perspective on what he came in to when he got the job at the famed 'sports science leader' medical department under Sam Allardyce. Nick also talk...

John Rogers is one of the best known and highly regarded Sport and Exercise Medicine consultants in the UK. He has and continues to work with top elite athletes, numerous private healthcare groups as well as maintaining his NHS clinic. I would have loved to have done this in person, especially as John lives round the corner from me, but it was great to hear more about his career and how he got sta...