Sports:Soccer
Episode 54
The power of vulnerability.
Early in the 1990's, Luke Chadwick was plucked from his home in Cambridge, and inducted into the world famous Manchester United academy. His peers in the youth team included Darren Fletcher, John O'Shea, Danny Pugh, and Kieran Richardson. Following a successful loan spell at Royal Antwerp, Luke was brought into the first team picture, eventually making his premiership debut in November 2000 in a 2-1 win against Middlesborough, replacing Dwight Yorke as a substitute.
Luke was a part of the United first team until 2004, when he moved to West Ham United. Over the next 12 years Luke would go on to play over 500 games as a professional, across the top five divisions of English football.
In May of last year, Luke spoke publicly for the first time about the abuse he had received for his appearance as a young footballer, and the impact it had on his mental health. Following the tweet that prompted Luke's admission, Gary Lineker publicly apologised for his role in the abuse Luke suffered, when Gary was part of a programme called 'They think it's all over', alongside Nick Hancock.
We spoke to Luke about his time at Manchester United, the insecurities and anxieties he suffered as a result of the abuse, how he learnt to harness the power of vulnerability, and the work he is now doing with The Football Fun Factory.
To find out more about The Football Fun Factory, head to their website:
https://www.thefootballfunfactory.co.uk/
If you enjoy this episode, or any of our other episodes, please pop over to apple podcasts, and give us a rating and a review.
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/man-marking/id1506661828
You can find us on Twitter @marking_man and don't forget to use the hashtag #WheresTheTalkingLads
If you have been affected by any of the themes discussed in today's episode, we have listed some organisations below who are there if you need to talk:
Samaritans
Call 116 132 for free
https://www.samaritans.org/
Papyrus UK
Call 0800 068 41 41
Papyrus Website
CALM ZONE
0800 58 58 58
https://www.thecalmzone.net/help/helpline/
MIND
0300 123 3393
https://www.mind.org.uk/
The Kaleidoscope Plus Group
0800 059 0123
https://www.kaleidoscopeplus.org.uk/
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