parahey magazine Issue 05
January 2016
Middlesbrough Powerchair Football Club in fifth position in MDUK Premiership Samantha Renke from working in a school to becoming a well-known disabled actress
R E V I L O T R E B RO
CONTENTS Matthew Woollias “My Biggest dream is to 4 represent Great Britain in the winter Paralympics”
Matthew Woollias tells Parahey how a below the knee amputation saved his life and his dreams of competing in the Winter Paralympics.
9 Robert Oliver Exclusive Interview
Kizzy Blue Wade interviews Great Britain Canoeist Robert Oliver about representing his country at Rio De Janerio Paralympics and future plans as a GB athlete.
13MPFC are currently sitting pretty in the fifth position on the MDUK Premiership table
15 Samantha Renke: from working in a school to becoming a well-known disabled actress
Samantha Renke tells Rebecca Siddall about how her acting career started and how she hasn’t let disability stop her from achieving her dreams.
18 Emily Davison “Turn each negative into a positive”
Hello and thank you for picking up issue 5 to read. We hope you all had a great christmas and a happy new year. This year we have decided to expand into disability lifestyle, there are so many fantastic people and it has been hard to choose them for issue 5. However, our team have been working very hard getting issue 5 ready. We have had a few changes made to our team with FIVE new writers. In this issue, we have introduced a new feature were Kizzy Wade a talented disability sport athlete interviews our exclusive guest. I won’t give too much away. We have interviewed a well known disabled actress, including a business-woman plus many more. Enjoy reading issue 5. Kai
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Emily Davison tells Fallon Rachelle how her love for fashion and beauty helped her find a way of dealing with her disability.
20 Kelly Perks-Bevington: “I wanted to be
independent and I wanted to find my own client base.” Kelly Perks-Bevington is a businesswoman, blogger and writer who doesn’t let her wheelchair stop her from doing anything.
Editor: Kai Gill Sub-editor: Brendon Smurthwaite Reporters: Kizzy Wade, Rebecca Siddal, Thank you to individuals for supplying Ryan Dack, Becky Windas, Fallon Rachelle photographs. Front Cover Photograph Taken by: Dan Prince
Matt Woolias number 4 Photographs Taken By Kai Gill
Matthew Woollias “My Biggest dream is to represent Great Britain in the winter Paralympics” Matthew Woollias tells Parahey how a below the knee amputation saved his life and his dreams of competing in the Winter Paralympics. I was enjoying a perfectly good life, enjoyed a drink with my friends, didn’t have a care in the world to be honest. I was a keen footballer who always enjoyed a good game of football and socialising with friends at university. But that all changed after picking up an injury in a football match. My first thoughts were I had broken my ankle so I headed to A&E and the doctor had spotted a tumour on the x ray. I had a numerous emotions flowing through me. I was shocked, angry and really scared for the future. I started thinking was I going to survive? How would I cope with chemotherapy? I then decided to be positive and focus on beating cancer. I began a course of chemotherapy to try and kill the cancer cells. The course of chemotherapy was awful. I had a very high dose and a range of side effects such as sickness, hair loss and sore throats, whilst my immune system was next to nothing. However,
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the Teenage Cancer Trust made it bearable as I was treated on one of their wards, which had fantastic facilities and staff. I was told I would need to have my leg amputated from above the knee. Hearing this news was more of a shock to be honest as cancer is one thing but an amputation on top of that was just a bit too much. I didn’t know what to expect and just kept telling myself having an amputation would save my life. I adapted to the prosthetic pretty well. The operation was in October 2009 and I wanted to walk small distances unaided by Xmas Day that year and managed to achieve that. I then walked the Hull 10km the following May, six weeks after finishing chemo. I didn’t want the fact I’d lost my lower leg to affect me. Positivity got me through it all. In 2011 I attended a Paralympic potential day in Surrey to see if I could find a sport to play as it was something I was really missing. I was nervous but excited about trying sledge hockey.
Photograph Courtesy of Matthew Woollias
I loved the buzz I got from the sport and knew it was the perfect sport to start. When I first got into a sledge it was very wobbly but I was hooked on the fast-paced nature of the sport. I started playing sledge hockey at a local club in Hull. Fifteen months later I was invited to a trial day in Telford and gained a place on the Great Britain squad where I scored on my debut against Estonia. It was in Russia where I made my debut and it was an amazing feeling when I scored and even got an assist. From attending a GB open session everything spiralled from there; it was an honour and a privilege and it still is. Unfortunately, the sport I play doesn’t lot of funding from governing bodies or England. We as team GB have to raise to attend world championships and other international tournaments.
get a Sport funds major
assistant helped me with the regular cake sale. My biggest dream is to represent Great Britain in the Winter Paralympics. It will always be my dream and I will never stop believing in that until we achieve that. The sport is a great source of stress relief for me. I’ve travelled the world and made some great friends. If there is anyone who is thinking about trying a new sport my advice is don’t let anything hold you back - go for it and most of all enjoy it. I did and look at where I am now. It is difficult but all the training and hard work all rewards you with something special. You can follow Team GB’s sledge hockey progress in international tournaments by visiting the British Sledge Hockey Facebook page.
I’ve always done some form of fundraising events with friends and work colleagues. We organised a darts fundraiser for myself and team mate Matt Clarkson. I organised a football match and played with my friends. Then my teaching
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KINGSTON KESTRELS SLEDGE HOCKEY CLUB
We train on a Saturday evening @ 10pm in the Hull Ice Arena. The club was formed in 1996 and has had some very successful years, home, away and abroad. The club has developed some of the best players in the country, that have gone on to represent Team GB. In 2004, 2005 & 2006 there was more Kestrel players in the GB team than other team players, this was a great achievement from the club, players and coach Kevin Whiteman. We are always looking for new players, check us our on Facebook and Twitter, email simonjamesberry@live.com.
Photograph Taken By: Dan Prince
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH ROBERT OLIVER Kizzy Wade (KW) interviews Great Britain Canoeist Robert Oliver about representing his country at Rio De Janerio Paralympics and future plans as a GB athlete. KW: Before your accident and subsequent leg amputation, you were incredibly sporty playing football and also weightlifting. How did it feel to realise you could still play and compete in sports after your accident?
that line up behind start buckets and when the gun fires they sink and the race begins. The races last around 39 second. My class is the fastest in the sport and athletes can compete with a minor leg / ankle weakness up to above knee single amputee.
RO: The first time I was able to get into a gym after my accident was actually also the first time I had been into a gym and thought that at least I can build up my strength even if I cant do sport anymore. Then once I discovered disability sport it was like having my old self back again as I always compete to win and being an older brother completion has always been part of my life.
Do you feel that your weightlifting background has helped you with the physical requirements of the kayak sprint? If so, how?
Please could you explain a little about paracanoeing and what your class is within this sport. Paracanoe is a powerful and technical sport raced over 200m in Kayaks that are 5.2m long and about as wide as we are.. A race is between 9 competitors
YES, it has helped in many ways such as body awareness and overloading my body. It also helped as it is a individual sport where my performance isn’t dictated by anyone else. You have achieved so much since you began in 2011, which achievement stands out for you and why? My favorite achievement is winning Silver in the Milan World Championships as it is my only Worlds
Photograph Taken By: Dan Prince Medal (so far!) Who or what inspires you to train harder and push yourself to your limits? I am inspired by a lot of various bodybuilders and strongmen but mostly by my inner belief that if I train harder everyday and stay injury free I am the best athlete in the world but the bar will always move so you have to always work harder. What does your training regime consist of and how much training do you do? I train 6 days a week and the training sessions change depending on the week. A light week will have 9 sessions and a hard week will have 12 sessions. This is a mix of water, gym and bike work working Power, Strength, Aerobic Capacity, Hypertrophy. Are you now a full time athlete or do you still work as an aerospace engineer? I am a full time athlete and have been since December 2014. Paracanoe sport was introduced for the first time at Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, did this spur you on even more to ensure you qualified in order to represent team GB at this sport? Was the Paralympics always your ultimate goal? The Paralympics was always THE GOAL and anything else would have been seen as a failure. I had to compete in the most competitive class no only on the world stage but also in Britain with over 10x the competitors on my class than most of the others. So just reaching the games was amazing especially
as I dislocated my shoulder post Milan 2015. How do you feel that being part of the Paralympics has helped the sport be recognised more? We have had a huge intake of my talent trying our sport post Rio and this can only be good for the sport as the more completion there is in the UK the better we can be as a squad. Do you feel part of the Paralympic legacy? I personally don’t feel part of the legacy even though I have been to numerous schools post games to talk about my experience and have met a student who even came to a Paracanoe open day to try the sport. Do you feel like people’s attitudes have changed towards parasport since London 2012 and Rio 2016? I hope that people see each sport for what it is and that it doesn’t matter if you have a disability or not and that Elite sport is still Elite sport. I have spoken to numerous people and they all seem to get that now and say that they didn’t realise how hard these sports are but the tv coverage is doing a great job. What does the future hold for you? Will you be representing team GB again in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics? I intend to continue to Tokyo and will hopefully be representing GB again in 2020 as I have unfinished business and want to go into a games fully prepared with a full 4 year cycle behind me. You can follow @RobertOliverGB
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Photograph Courtesy of Ryan Dack, MPFC
Middlesbrough Powerchair Football Club in fiFth position in MDUK Premiership Ryan Dack reviews Middlesbrough Powerchair Football Club progress in the first half of the MDUK Premiership
MPFC are currently sitting pretty in the fifth position on the Muscular Dystrophy UK (MDUK) Premiership table.
The final game of the day was a derby against Newcastle based team Northern Thunder, who are currently leading the Premiership.
The newly promoted club started the season on a sour note, losing all but one game on the first weekend of competition.
A fatigued Boro defence was able to hold Thunder off for ten minutes of the first half. The Newcastle team continued to wear the defence down and were able to put three goals away in the first half.
However, since those first few stumbling blocks, the club has really come into its own. Their most recent weekend away for the league was back in November (26 – 27). Middlesbrough started the weekend (November 26) against second position team, Brighton and Hove Albion. Brighton were able to sneak one in with only minutes to spare, handing Boro a loss. The next game saw MPFC face off against another newly promoted team, Manchester United. After a slow start, Middlesbrough were able to open the score sheet at 1-0. The team continued to punish Manchester and tucked another goal away, ending the game with a 2-0 victory and three points.
In the second half of the game, Middlesbrough came out fighting, even having some shots on goal. Nonetheless, Northern Thunder’s constant attack became too much for the defence and another 4 goals were conceded ending the derby at 7-0. The next day’s games (November 27) started off against Kent based team Sevenoaks. Sevenoaks had a pretty solid defence throughout. Vice-captain Owen Swift – with some clever chair control – was able to shepherd the ball into the goal from a defensive corner rebound. The
Photograph Courtesy of Ryan Dack, MPFC
final game of the weekend was against Evergreen, a Watford-based team, and would decide if Middlesbrough remained in fifth position. After a hard fought game Middlesbrough were able to come out on top, ending the game 1-0. After a long winter break the team is ready to get back to the league, and hope to retain their fifth position. The next league fixtures are held on March 4-5 and MPFC will face Villa Rockets, West Bromwich Throstles, Manchester, Aspire and Northern Thunder. It promises to be an eventful weekend. Coach Carolyn Bean said: “The team has come on a great deal since the start of the season and continue to improve. “We’ve been training hard over the break, really only breaking for Christmas and New Year. “The next weekend in March will be a hard one
being against fourth position team Aspire and first position team Northern Thunder. ‘We still have some training sessions between now and then, so will be concentrating on training for these games.’ In the other news Middlesbrough PFC are through to the third round of the WFA Cup after a win over West Bromwich Albion Throstles. The team now waits for the result of Evergreen versus Wessex Warriors, facing the winners in the third round. MPFC continue their training at the Rainbow Leisure Centre, Coulby Newham. For more information, find Middlesbrough Powerchair Football Club on Facebook and Twitter.
Samantha (left) in filming for Scope End The Awkward campaign
Photograph Courtesy of Samantha Renke
Samantha Renke: from working in a school to becoming a well-known disabled actress Samantha Renke tells Rebecca Siddall all about how her acting career started and how she hasn’t let disability stop her from achieving her dreams. Samantha has brittle bone condition but hasn’t let this stop her from achieving her dreams. Actress Samantha, who originates from Lancashire but is currently living in London, is using her electric personality for public speaking and campaigning for disability rights primarily within the media and the acting world. Despite Samantha’s disability she hasn’t let it hold her back, achieving accolades in her career through sheer determination from a very young age. “With regards to career, from a young age I was very determined that I wanted to go into higher education,” she said. She studied French, German and Sociology at The University of Lancaster and after completing her degree Samantha decided she wanted to do a postgraduate degree in teaching. She had spinal surgery half way through that postgraduate degree.
After finishing her education, Samantha worked in a school for two years. Alongside that she became a trustee for the Brittle Bone Charity which is an organisation close to her heart. Samantha is no longer a trustee but worked with the charity for six years. The work Samantha did for the Brittle Bone Charity was on a voluntary basis and she wanted to work more closely in the charity sector but not on a voluntary basis. She decided to move to London to pursue this goal. After making the move, Samantha was invited to a house party where she met some people who were involved in TV and Film. From networking with them she was given the opportunity to appear a feature film where she was the main protagonist. Max Barber (Producer and Director) collaborated with Samantha as they produced a feature film called
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pretty much what she said she would - even with all the limitations she has faced. This is all very positive stuff but just like anyone else, Samantha does have her bad days. “Not to say that I don’t have limitations, it’s not about sugar-coating it,” she said. “I’m not saying ‘oh I’m fine and my disability doesn’t affect me’ because it does!” She recently wrote a piece about how she sufferers from depression for Mental Health awareness day and the headline read “You can’t be depressed, you’re an inspiration”. Samantha spoke about how mental health and depression has affected her from a young age due to losing her dad and her disability. Although Samantha does have a bright personality and a love for life there is a hidden side of anxiety and the fear of letting people down as she is seen as an inspirational person. The concept of being depressed, anxious or down isn’t seen as acceptable if you’re seen as inspirational.
Photograph Courtesy of Samantha Renke Little Devil, and through that role she was approached by her current agent, Louise Dyson. ”I thought this is something I really enjoy and ended up getting my agent and it all kind of spiralled from there,” Samantha added. Little Devil was a huge success and won two awards, one for best film in the arts of diversity and Samantha won best actress for her role of Alice. From this collaboration Samantha is still in touch with Max Barber and they have just launched their own production company, ‘Born This Way Media’. Samantha also works with the charity Scope (the largest disability charity in the UK) on many of their campaigns and describes their attitude to her disability as one of biggest factors in her life. Sadly, she lost her father when she was 10-years-old but he was also a huge support. Her parents weren’t aware that Samantha would be born disabled and when she arrived in the world, the prognosis wasn’t good. They were told she wouldn’t really live much of a life and Samantha described how her father stood his ground and protested: “Don’t tell me what’s going to happen my child.” Samantha thought back to being a child and how she was asked what she wanted to do with her life. She explained how what she has achieved in her life is
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People look at Samantha and read all the great articles and all the positives but she still struggles - she is human! She has written pieces about her depression to show she is just like everyone else. “It’s not all happy and rainbows all the time, I do have bad days as well, but I am committed to what I want to do and I have got faith in myself,” Samantha said. She has been to auditions and people might not like her because she is simply not right for the part - NOT because she is in a wheelchair. “It doesn’t mean I am going to stop acting,” Samantha continued. “Everybody faces set-backs and things will be a challenge at times but don’t let that make you give up your dream if you are really passionate about it because that would be really sad.” Samantha has many plans for the future but says she will have to wait for a big announcement to hear about them. She added: “I always get different bits coming up and I never know day-to-day to be honest - that’s the world of acting. I’m going to be doing a top-secret project that’s coming up.” Samantha is also still promoting her Production company Born This Way Media and says she hopes to go into the production side of things. You can follow Samantha on Twitter: @samrenke
Photograph Courtesy of Emily Davison
Emily Davison “Turn each negative into a positive” Emily Davison tells Fallon Rachelle how her love for fashion and beauty helped her find a way of dealing with her disability. “Taking images and managing the visual side of Emily Davison is a 22-year-old fashion my blog has always been a struggle” Emily said. blogger and YouTuber. Her popular blog ‘Fashioneyesta.com’ is centred around ‘challenging “Even though I am visually impaired I want my people’s perceptions of sight loss through fashion, blog to have the aesthetics of any successful beauty and style’ and has accumulated over 4,000 fashion and lifestyle blog. The way I overcame followers over the years. Emily was born with this was to enlist my mother to support me, a rare condition called Septo Optic Dysplasia, we attended some photography courses and leaving her visually impaired. now work with a DSLR so I am able to produce images of a high quality.” As a way of dealing with her disability Emily developed a love for fashion and beauty. Despite her disability Emily always tries to keep a positive outlook on life, when asked about her “This love for fashion and beauty transpired favourite piece of advice for others that may be when I was in my mid-teens,” she said. “I used struggling she said: fashion as a way to exert some degree of control over my life and give myself the autonomy I so “Turn each negative into a positive. When I desperately craved. Fashion became my way of face a difficult situation with a member of the accepting that I could be my own person despite public regarding my disability or I get a negative my sight loss.” comment online I always strive to use it as an opportunity to educate and create a blog Throughout the four years of working on her blog which is positive and addresses the issue in an and also a YouTube channel to partner, Emily educational way”. encountered some struggles along the way. Follow Emily’s blog on www.fashioneyesta.com
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Photograph Courtesy of Kelly Perks- Bevington
Kelly Perks-Bevington: “I wanted to be independent and I wanted to find my own client base.” Kelly Perks-Bevington is a businesswoman, blogger and writer who doesn’t let her wheelchair stop her from doing anything. She has set up her own successful business, G5 lifestyle, which helps sport professionals manage their day to day life. They also offer different plans depending on what the client wants. When asked what inspired her to set this site up she said: “I wanted to be independent and I wanted to find my own client base. I also wanted the freedom to work on whichever projects I wanted to and not to have my workload decided.” As with any business it isn’t just straight forward. Kelly added: “The concierge industry and the football industry can often be quite image focused and I think it took me a while to get my
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head around that. It certainly takes a level of self-confidence to start any business but when it’s in such a competitive industry you almost need to turn it up a notch.” Kelly has worked with numerous charities, brands and companies with one of her landmark projects being ‘End the Awkward’ by Scope. “Having End The Awkward and our videos featured on UniLad was a really surreal moment for me,” Kelly said. As well as all this charity work and everything else, she has also written a book all about her dating life as a wheelchair user.
Photograph Courtesy of Kelly Perks- Bevington
This book was written as part of the Enhance Undressing Disability campaign. Kelly is also a trustee for Enhance.
Information about G5 Lifestyle
Kelly’s advice for anyone with a disability who wants to do something similar to what she has done is simple.
G5 Lifestyle quote on their website as a professional, reliable lifestyle management solution. G5 offer their members assistance with their planning, organising and managing of their daily lives.
“Go for it!” she added. “Literally that’s all you can do. It’s not easy, and things won’t happen overnight, but as long as you enjoy it and you make it your priority you are bound to be successful. I think if you are your authentic self and are dedicated that’s a great place to start.”
They provide stress free days, enjoyable evenings and weekends with access to G5 Lifestyle list of partner companies. With a teams of highly skilled, dedicated and organised professionals they know how to make their client’s lives easier.
In terms of her own goals Kelly admitted: “My only goals in business and life in general are to enjoy myself and to learn new things!”
A number of cost-effective packages are a vailable from holiday and travel organisation to event planning and organisation plus gigs, tours and sporting events. Visit www.g5lifestyle.co.uk to discover more.
You can visit Kelly’s www.kellyperksbevington.com
blog:
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