Stanmore students inspired by @AnthonyfJoshua Squad

We all know of Anthony Joshua, world heavyweight champion.

Anthony was born in the UK, lived in Nigeria until he was 12 years old after which he returned to England and went to school in Watford and began boxing aged 18.

One of the quotes he really likes is “the body achieves what the mind believes”.  Anthony believes in  maintaining a positive attitude and learning from setbacks.

He believes in breaking something that seems daunting down in to smaller steps so they are easier to tackle and surrounding yourself with positive people.

Speaking of those positive people, Stanmore College welcomed some of the squad behind the British heavyweight to speak to students at the College on Tuesday, 23^rd April.

Jonathan Constant, James Mulley, Kevin Ayodele and Dinos Platides told Stanmore students about the work done behind the scenes in supporting the heavyweight boxer; this work related to events, signing merchandise, personal training, tickets, physiotherapy, promotion, support and so on.

The guests spoke of staying focussed and knowing what your goal is; to quote James…“it is important to be in competition with yourself not others and if you find something you love to do it’s not a chore”.

They advised students to try and find what’s right for them and not to let anyone tell them what they need to do but decide for themselves and then work at it.

Jonathan advised students to wake up early, be active, eat well; nutrition is important and about 80% of success for both mind and body – complex carbs make a difference, and be respectful especially to those who support you.

Having a million likes on social media isn’t all that – they even commented that wearing head phones when teachers, trainers or visitors were speaking would drive anyone mad – showing respect helps people get on.  

The students heard how Anthony trained hard for long hours every day and was very disciplined. Some of the guys said they wished they had worked harder and, if they were back now, they would.

Students heard of the “fight house” where the squad spend time with Anthony before a big fight to help him chill, play cards, games, eat well and de-stress and take Anthony’s mind off the big fight approaching. It’s all about positivity and a healthy mind-set.

In response to questions, they replied “yes, of course we disagree sometimes with a squad of nine opinions but we have a democracy, we will pull each other to the side to discuss things one to one; not in front of people, we will vote and even use ever rock, paper, scissors on occasions to reach an agreement!”

Students were asked about their passions, some said basketball, some said they want to run their own businesses, another replied football. The Joshua team told the students if they can inspire even one of them today this visit would be worth it.

The team mentioned involvement in a charity to help children have better futures and they offered to help students or fund some fight tickets for those among the audience who worked hard and showed they deserved it.

The talk finished with a group photograph; it was great to see so many students keen to be in it and a true sign of how inspirational they had found the talk.

Many thanks to Jonathan, James, Kevin and Dinos and, of course, to the hero himself, Mr Anthony Joshua, for the inspiration they exude.