Join Bartholomew Hall as we sit down with Kent Invictus Games gold medallist Kemsley Whittlsea to talk all things snowboarding, tattooing and life after service.
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00:00Hello and welcome to Invictus Sport, the only show on your TV dedicated to Kent's sporting action.
00:19Today we're bringing you an interview with Kemsley Whittlesey, the Maidstone-based army vet
00:23who represented Team UK at this year's Invictus Games in Canada, winning gold in alpine snowboarding.
00:30Well, after 15 years of serving with the Royal Signals, Kemsley was medically discharged after facing a shoulder injury
00:36as well as taking up various sports. He's also opened a tattoo shop and worked closely with Help for Heroes
00:41focusing on suicide prevention. Well, Kemsley joins us in the studio now. Kemsley, thank you very much for being here.
00:47It's great to have you on. Congratulations on the success in Canada and we'll get all onto that shortly.
00:52But I wanted to start in Faversham, it's where you grew up. Tell me what the path was like.
00:57How early on did you know that you were going to be joining the army?
01:01Really young. So my dream when I was little was to be a clown. My mum told me to grow up and get a proper job.
01:08So I've always enjoyed sort of rolling around in the dirt, so I joined the army. That's all I've wanted to do really.
01:15And, you know, as soon as I left school at 17, that was me straight in.
01:20Was there anybody in your family before that had done it?
01:23No, apart from, you know, granddads, but I've, you know, been the first in my sort of family.
01:27And what was that journey like in those first few years? What did you sort of think of?
01:33Yeah, interesting. I mean, it's very different to nowadays, and I think most people will say that.
01:38It was tough, but I absolutely loved it. So it's the only thing I've wanted to do.
01:44And actually getting there and sort of having a purpose and doing the job that I've always wanted to do was amazing.
01:51And growing up as well, I mean, obviously you've taken to sport recently.
01:56Was that ever anything that you dreamt to have thought about?
02:00Yeah, kind of, actually. So, I mean, one of the side reasons I wanted to join the army at the time is that I used to do gymnastics.
02:05Okay.
02:05And it was progressing to a point where the competitions were going a little bit further, and it was just sort of out of my reach.
02:13But I knew that at the time, the military, if you was a PTI, you got to do gymnastics.
02:17Yeah.
02:17So that was my sort of thing to do once I was in the army.
02:22Things changed, but, yeah, so I've always been sporty, but I've never been into sort of use of generic football, rugby type of sports.
02:30No, I think we see that a lot. We see, you know, I've spoken, we've had a few people on here before who have sort of said we had a boxer a few weeks ago, actually,
02:36who said that he always grew up wanting to be a footballer, had his football heroes, and then just decided, oh, no, that's not where I wanted to go.
02:43But for you, it was very different. Was you ever surrounded by that kind of stereotypical sort of footballing, you know, sporting back then?
02:50No, not really. My dad likes football, he watches football, but I've never got into it, because I started gymnastics at such a young age, I'd never really got into it.
02:59But I like to be part of a team, but also act as an individual, which I think I've done quite well in the snowboarding because of that.
03:06So although I had the team, you know, that I was a part of, it was solely down to me, whereas the sitting volleyball, I'd never thought about it before,
03:14why I was sort of struggling so much to sort of call out for things. But I'd never actually done a team sport before.
03:19And I suppose that camaraderie, something that was drilled into you when you spent 15 years in the army, and you had tours in Iraq and Afghanistan until a shoulder injury forced to a medical discharge.
03:32Take me through that story.
03:33Yes, I mean, my shoulder injury was caused on adventure training, so we had to go away, and I was on a climbing course, and I was doing my lead climbers stuff,
03:42and as I pulled one of the holds, it came undone, and I fell, and tried to grab onto the rock, and it dislocated my shoulder.
03:52Had that popped back in, had some surgery, and then multiple traumas caused to it, it just wrecked it, and I've had loads of different surgeries.
04:02And what was that like at the time? How early on did you know that this was going to be it?
04:07So it was frustrating. It actually took about 10 years to get medically discharged, because I was good at my job.
04:12And well-liked, I was kept in, which was brilliant, because that's what I wanted to do, but frustrating as well, because I couldn't do my career courses.
04:21So although I was getting promoted, I couldn't keep getting promoted, because I couldn't do the career courses to actually sustain rank.
04:29So it was frustrating, and when I did get medically discharged in 2018, it came at the right time, and I'd already got into sort of,
04:36I'd been interested in tattooing for years, but I got into that before I left.
04:40So when I did get discharged, it was quite a smooth sort of release into Civvy Street.
04:46I think, because that's something that we hear about a lot, is that transition from serving to, yeah, going back into the civilian life.
04:54For you, it was fairly easy.
04:55Yeah, I mean, obviously, you're going to struggle with, you know, you're sort of centre-purpose a little bit,
05:01but since then, I've worked with different military charities on different campaigns.
05:06I've done disaster response stuff through COVID, and it was all those sort of things where all the military skills,
05:12because when I was in, I didn't really think the military skills had much to do with Civvy Street,
05:16but there's a massive crossover. You just don't really see it until it's needed.
05:21Tell me about the tattooing then, because you said it was something you picked up,
05:26and you've obviously got some tattoos yourself. Where did the love from that come from?
05:31I've always been artistic. My dad's artistic, and I've, yeah, just enjoyed doodling on things.
05:37I was always, it turns out I was dyslexic. At school, I was just being told I was being naughty,
05:41but I was always the one in the corner, sat there, drawing on the tables,
05:44and anything that wouldn't move, I'd tattoo, tattoo, draw them, and then, yeah, now I tattoo on things that move.
05:52Yeah, and something that, you know, you're being told that you're being naughty,
05:55but you managed to make a career out of it.
05:56Yeah, absolutely, and I love it. It just sort of focuses me, and the day goes by so quick,
06:02but I was lucky, say, that I started while I was in the army, done an apprenticeship while I was out in Germany,
06:07and I was lucky that, obviously, people in the army tend to have a lot of tattoos,
06:12so I had a lot of willing volunteers for, you know, at the start of my career when I wasn't so great.
06:17Well, I mean, it's an interesting one. So you've got this shop in Folkestone now.
06:21You mentioned to me earlier that you've worked in various places before.
06:25Obviously, the COVID slump has affected business across the county in different sectors.
06:30What's it been like now down in Folkestone?
06:31It's good. It's a completely different area, different people.
06:35So when I first left the military, I'd love to go, Sam, let me work in a studio in Maystone.
06:41Yeah, unfortunately, through COVID, the shop shut down,
06:45and then I started working in Man Cave in Folkestone.
06:49So it's a chain of barbershops, and the guy that owns them, again, lovely guy,
06:55he had space in the shop that he wasn't using. It was just dead space,
06:58so I turned it into a tattoo studio, and that's my little home now.
07:02And you use your tattooing to actually support veterans as well?
07:07Yeah, so with Help for Heroes, I got involved with a campaign with them,
07:11a suicide awareness campaign for tattoo artists.
07:15And obviously, it doesn't just go for that. It can be barbers.
07:17But we spend so many hours with people.
07:22Just recently, I've had a guy in for three days in a row, six hours straight.
07:26And within an hour or so, people sort of open up about things
07:30that they don't normally open up with other people.
07:32And I've found quite a lot of the times when I've had military people in,
07:35and you're speaking about similar situations that you've been in,
07:38people tend to open up.
07:41And I've had over 13 friends now take their own lives.
07:45So for me, when Help for Heroes asked if I would help, it was a no-brainer.
07:51I love doing the tattooing side of things.
07:53And if I can stop other people from taking their lives,
07:56it's a win-win situation.
07:59But it's still available.
08:01I think it's about an hour-long suicide prevention course
08:07that you just do online,
08:08and you can find that through Help for Heroes Suicide Awareness Campaign.
08:11But I think that's a massive plus point for me
08:16that I've got involved with that one.
08:17And getting people opening up and talking and sharing their experiences
08:22is something that runs through the Invictus Games as well,
08:24getting people from all different backgrounds, different countries as well,
08:27having that shared experience of being in service.
08:31It must be helpful to being able to reconnect and staying within that community.
08:35Yeah, it's really good to, like you said, Invictus Games,
08:36I think there was 23 different countries this year.
08:41And it doesn't matter what country they're from,
08:45you've all got something in similar,
08:48just for your life that you've had while you were in the Army.
08:53And doing the selection course for the Invictus Games for Team UK,
08:57you had hundreds of people whittled down to,
09:00I think we had 63 people.
09:02And it was nice to see people opening up to others from day one,
09:09that everyone's a little bit shy.
09:10And within a week or two, you know, the banter's there,
09:12which is always helpful, I think, with the military.
09:14But it's really good that everyone's sort of opening up.
09:18Just before we go to a break,
09:19I wanted to ask about the Walk for America that you did.
09:23Take me through that,
09:25because you ended up meeting not just Prince Harry,
09:27who was obviously behind the Invictus Games,
09:28but the Bidens as well, Jill Biden, Joe Biden.
09:31Yeah, that was a very surreal time in my life,
09:35and it's still continued.
09:39When I left the Army, I had sort of, you know,
09:41for your resettlement time,
09:42because I was doing the tattoo and I was already set up for that,
09:45I didn't need to do as much of a resettlement as most people do.
09:48And I just happened to see,
09:50or I hadn't got an email through from Help for Heroes,
09:52saying that there was another charity,
09:54Walking with the Wounded,
09:55we're doing the Walk of America,
09:57which is four months,
09:59that was supposed to be a thousand mile walk,
10:01we've done about 1,500 in the end,
10:03all over America,
10:04to raise awareness for veterans' mental health.
10:07And Prince Harry was the UK patron,
10:09Jill Biden was the US patron.
10:12So yeah, while we was out there,
10:13we met with them quite a few times for dinners and lunches,
10:17and we went out with the grandkids,
10:18and it's been really nice,
10:20and the fact that they've kept in touch since has been amazing.
10:26I suppose it is something, politics aside,
10:29but there is something between the US and the UK,
10:32there's always been that sort of special relationship there,
10:34and it is sort of tied together in our armed forces,
10:38and the way that we have that history with the US,
10:40that must have really sort of fostered through.
10:41Yeah, absolutely.
10:43Every time I've been on tour,
10:44I've worked closely with the Americans,
10:45I've got loads of American friends through it,
10:47and what we were trying to do
10:49was start the Transatlantic Partnership,
10:51and that, sort of like you said,
10:53is we work with them so much,
10:55and their charities do something different to what we do.
10:59We were just trying to sort of work out
11:00what we can do together and make things better.
11:02Things like the Invictus Games is a prime example.
11:06Just that's on steroids.
11:07It's just not just the US, obviously.
11:09But so they've been amazing,
11:11and we'll come on to it later,
11:13but when I got my gold medal after,
11:15I saw one of the Biden's aides on the coach,
11:19and that was brilliant,
11:20because she's like,
11:20come here, let's take a selfie,
11:21let's get something over to Jill,
11:23and they've kept in touch.
11:24It's really nice.
11:25So much that you wished happy birthday, right?
11:29Yeah, when I...
11:30In fact, that was probably 2018, 2019-ish.
11:34Yeah, I got a FaceTime from Jill and Joe
11:37singing happy birthday,
11:38which isn't...
11:39It doesn't happen every day, does it?
11:42It doesn't happen every day.
11:43You win the president.
11:44Incredible stuff.
11:44Well, I want to hear plenty more on that,
11:46and, of course,
11:46your gold medal winning journey
11:49in the Invictus Games after this break.
11:51If you or anyone you know is struggling,
11:53the Samaritans are always there to listen,
11:55anytime, any day.
11:58Hello, and welcome back to Invictus Sport
12:09right here on KMTV.
12:11Today, we're speaking with
12:11Maidstone Army veteran,
12:13Kemsley Whittlesey,
12:14off the back of his gold medal winning success
12:16at this year's Invictus Games.
12:19Kemsley, thank you for staying with us.
12:21That's all right.
12:22Right, we're going to start with the Invictus Games.
12:24You went over to Canada earlier this year.
12:26Yeah.
12:26Talk to me about that whole process,
12:29because it goes right back to selection
12:30and being told, right,
12:31you're going to represent the country.
12:33Yeah, I think it was pretty much this time last year.
12:35I applied.
12:37What started off,
12:38I'd done it in a kind of backwards way.
12:40So the Invictus Games
12:40also has the Invictus Games Foundation,
12:43which is, they call it Beyond the Games,
12:45another sort of charity
12:47that sort of threw Prince Harry.
12:48And I was out doing a trek in Borneo.
12:53And the guys that were on there
12:55were a mix of different nations
12:57and they had all done the Invictus Games
12:59and now they'd gone on to sort of the after the Games.
13:02And as they were chatting about it,
13:03they said, oh, you've never done,
13:04you've never applied for it,
13:05you've never tried.
13:07I hadn't.
13:08And when I got back,
13:09they would just open up the applications
13:11for the Games.
13:12I applied
13:13and somehow I managed to get it
13:16because I know people
13:17that have tried to get
13:19all the different Games
13:20and they've never got through.
13:22There is a limit.
13:24So if you get selected for two Games,
13:27that is it.
13:27Your time's up with the Invictus Games,
13:29but that's why they've gone on
13:31to do the Invictus Games Foundation.
13:33So there's so much more from it.
13:36All right.
13:36And obviously went to Canada then this year.
13:40Three sports.
13:41You decided to do it in the end.
13:43Tell me how you decided them.
13:44You had much,
13:45because one of them was snowboarding,
13:46which is obviously the one
13:47that you got your gold medal for.
13:49Take me through that.
13:50Did you have much experience with it?
13:52Absolutely nothing.
13:53No, I'd seen snow.
13:54I'd been skiing years ago.
13:57So you go up to the selection processes
13:59with the British Legions
14:00with the British Legion
14:01look after Team UK.
14:04So it's all thanks to them
14:05that we get to go out there.
14:06And there's different sports for us
14:09to try throughout the selection process.
14:10So we go up to the Battle Back Centre
14:12up near Sheffield.
14:16No, it's not.
14:16Okay.
14:17Somewhere up north.
14:18Yeah.
14:18And then Stafford.
14:20Okay.
14:20And while you're doing the selection process,
14:22you try the different games.
14:24I actually wanted to try
14:25and do wheelchair basketball.
14:26But my shoulder just wouldn't hold out
14:29with the actual wheelchair side of things.
14:30Right.
14:31Yeah.
14:31So I had to look at sports
14:33where I could either give my shoulder
14:35a bit of a rest
14:36or wasn't using it as much.
14:38The sitting volleyball,
14:40I loved.
14:41It does hurt my shoulder.
14:43But you can have a bit more of a rest
14:44and you can have subs on and off
14:46so you can have a better time off.
14:48And luckily,
14:48there wasn't that much interest
14:49for the sitting volleyball.
14:50So I managed to get that one.
14:53The snowboarding,
14:54I wanted to do
14:55because I'd never done it before.
14:56Yeah.
14:56And what a better place
14:57to try to compete
14:59in front of everybody
14:59in Whistler.
15:00Because it hadn't been
15:01in the games before.
15:02It was brand new
15:03to introduce some of these winter sports.
15:05This is it.
15:05So every time it goes
15:07to a different country,
15:07they get to add a couple of sports in.
15:10So the winter games for Whistler.
15:12But what a place to do it.
15:15Yeah.
15:16The scenery was unreal.
15:18Yeah.
15:19It couldn't have been a better place
15:20to try and give it a go.
15:21I mean, give it a go
15:22and then get gold as well.
15:24How did you manage that?
15:25Are you quite used to
15:26trying new things
15:26and just kind of acing it?
15:28Or how did they come from?
15:29I've dabbled with board sports
15:31quite a bit.
15:32So I've skateboarded
15:32when I was younger.
15:33I've had a go at wakeboarding
15:34and things like that.
15:34So they're all similar,
15:36but they're all completely different.
15:37It's sort of to try
15:38and get the feel to it.
15:39But obviously,
15:39we were practicing in the UK
15:41up at Tamworth Snow Dome.
15:43And although it's a real snow,
15:46it's nothing like being out
15:48on the actual snow.
15:49So when we got to Whistler,
15:50we had a few hours
15:51the day before
15:52just to practice
15:53and that completely changed
15:56and I fell in love with the sport.
15:58Do you think it's something
15:59you might try again in the future?
16:00I'd love to, yeah.
16:01Yeah, definitely.
16:02These sort of holidays as well
16:04that people go off
16:04and they do their skiing
16:05and the snowboarding,
16:06you've got to make a full event
16:07out of it, haven't you?
16:07Yeah.
16:08Again, this is why I'm so lucky
16:10to have gone to Whistler
16:11to do this
16:12and have not so much
16:15the slopes closed off for you
16:16but one,
16:17it was quiet there
16:18but where we were competing
16:19that was closed off for us.
16:21So, yeah,
16:22to have that experience
16:23and to have all the crowds there
16:24and all the media
16:26and all that sort of hype
16:27but even going down the slope
16:28I could hear the commentary
16:30just saying that I was going fast
16:31and, yeah.
16:33Because I've got it here,
16:34your time was 15.25 seconds.
16:37You finished ahead of
16:38an American trio.
16:40I mean,
16:40that moment when you realised
16:42you'd got the gold,
16:42what was going through your head?
16:44Well, at first,
16:45not a lot
16:45because I made it to the bottom,
16:47I heard him say that I was going fast
16:49and a couple of people
16:50have sort of come up to me
16:51and said,
16:51I think you're first.
16:52Yeah.
16:52I didn't want to get too excited
16:53because, you know,
16:55for starters,
16:55there was other people to come down
16:56and if they'd been a mess up
16:58I didn't want to
16:59get too excited about it
17:01but my parents and my brother
17:02were watching back in the UK
17:03and the TV channel
17:06just switched over
17:06to go to the Nordic
17:07so they couldn't watch me
17:08actually compete
17:09so they were watching the names
17:10coming up on the screen
17:12and I was FaceTiming them
17:14and, yeah,
17:15my brother just said,
17:16you know,
17:16is everyone finished?
17:17And I was like,
17:17yeah, I think so.
17:18He said,
17:18you're still at the top
17:19and then, yeah,
17:21I got told to get in line
17:22ready for the medal ceremony
17:24and you were in the middle.
17:25All happened so quick
17:26and you've bought the medal here.
17:28It's quite a beautiful thing.
17:30Where are you keeping it?
17:32At the moment,
17:33tucked away.
17:34Okay.
17:34So I want to get it framed
17:36so I've got my race vest on there.
17:37Okay.
17:38I think if I can get a nice frame
17:40to have maybe a picture of me
17:41in the competition,
17:44you know,
17:44that hanging down
17:45would be nice
17:46just to get it up
17:46and maybe put it in the tattoo studio.
17:48Bit of a talking point.
17:50Bit of a talking point,
17:50yeah, definitely.
17:51So you also did,
17:52obviously,
17:53the two other sports.
17:53You mentioned sitting volleyball
17:55and rowing indoors as well.
17:57The volleyball story
17:58is an interesting one.
17:58You just missed out bronze
18:00to Ukraine.
18:01Don't we feel that?
18:02Gutted.
18:02So as a team,
18:05we hadn't practiced together
18:07at all.
18:08Right.
18:09In fact,
18:09we didn't even compete
18:10because one of the guys,
18:10unfortunately, was ill.
18:11Okay.
18:11So we'd never practiced
18:14with all the team members there.
18:16I had another shoulder injury
18:18just before,
18:19so I've now got a frozen shoulder.
18:21So I was recovering from that
18:22and I was just hoping
18:23that I'd be okay to go.
18:25I'd lost quite a bit of movement,
18:27so I wasn't on as much
18:28as I'd like to have been.
18:29But we thought we might win
18:32one of the games.
18:34Somehow we got through
18:35to the semifinals
18:36and then we got through
18:37to the bronze against.
18:40In fact,
18:40we played Canada,
18:41which was nice
18:42because that was a home game
18:43and it was on Canada Day as well.
18:45So, I mean,
18:46not nice for them to lose,
18:47but for us to have
18:48sort of the crowd turn out,
18:49it was really good.
18:51The spectators
18:52really brought the noise.
18:55But yeah,
18:56beat them
18:56and then we got through
18:57to play in Ukraine
18:59and they were awesome.
19:01They were really good.
19:02I don't think it was
19:04that close to be honest,
19:05but they deserved it.
19:07They left everything
19:08out on the floor there.
19:09But just to play on the actual,
19:10the big court
19:11was something different.
19:13I mean,
19:13you've mentioned
19:14your shoulder a few times.
19:15I know it's a big part
19:16of the Invictus Games.
19:17Many ex-servicemen
19:18and women
19:18have mobility issues,
19:21many due to their time serving.
19:23How much was that
19:24sort of spoken about,
19:25people being open
19:26about certain things
19:28they had to deal with?
19:29I mean,
19:30some people,
19:30it's obvious,
19:31they're missing arms and legs
19:32and I think that's
19:33what people think of
19:34when they think of
19:35the Invictus Games
19:35are people that are missing limbs.
19:38I mean,
19:39my injury,
19:40I look fine,
19:41but you see me
19:43trying to get dressed
19:43and do normal things
19:45during the day,
19:46it normally dislocates
19:48three or four times a day
19:49and at the moment,
19:49so with this frozen shoulder,
19:51it's kind of done it
19:51the opposite,
19:52so it's now frozen
19:53and I can't move it.
19:53So swing some roundabouts,
19:56but yeah,
19:57if you're missing a limb,
19:58it's pretty obvious,
19:59but you've got people
20:00there with PTSD
20:01so they may look fine
20:03and they'll be
20:03in the open category
20:04and you do get people
20:05going,
20:05why are you on here?
20:07But they've opened it up
20:09so much more
20:10and the Birmingham Games
20:11in 2027,
20:12they're going to be doing
20:13eSports as well
20:14so it's going to open it up
20:15to another load of people
20:16that can't even compete
20:18in the games for this.
20:19Yeah, definitely.
20:20And was that something
20:21you had to sort of battle with?
20:23I mean,
20:24as a group as well,
20:25the sitting volleyball,
20:26especially one of them
20:27where you do have
20:28that camaraderie,
20:29that spirit of being in a team?
20:31Yeah,
20:31I think I tend to push myself
20:33a little bit too much as well
20:34and again,
20:35never been in a team before
20:36so I didn't want to mess things up
20:38for the rest of the team.
20:39At least,
20:39you know,
20:40the individual sports,
20:41if I mess up,
20:41it's my fault.
20:43But yeah,
20:43so definitely sort of
20:44pushing myself a little bit more
20:45and I think the coach knew that
20:49so we had a sort of a system
20:51so that I would go on,
20:53come straight back off
20:53and then I would play
20:54sort of the front half
20:56and then one of the other guys
20:57would come on
20:57and play the back half
20:58which I didn't get to play
21:00as much as I'd like to
21:00but realistically
21:02with my shoulder at the time
21:03it was the right decision.
21:05Now indoor rowing,
21:06another one where I'm guessing
21:08you probably pushed yourself
21:09in that area
21:10because that is something
21:11that you're using your arms
21:13and your shoulders for.
21:13Why did you push yourself
21:16to do that?
21:17So initially
21:18I was only supposed to be
21:19doing the one minute sprint.
21:21Initially I was supposed
21:22to be doing it with two arms
21:23but because of the frozen shoulder
21:26just happening
21:26just before we went out to Canada
21:28we had to put in
21:30to apply for me
21:31to do it in the one arms category
21:33so I'd never rode one arm before
21:36and I've also got
21:37a replacement elbow
21:39which the implant
21:40goes down the length of bone
21:41and I've always been told
21:42not to pull hard
21:43just push up
21:44and I wanted to give it a go
21:48and I thought
21:48why not do the four minutes
21:49so I think I was about three minutes
21:50into the four minute
21:51and I felt something snap
21:54and my elbow just swelled up
21:55so I was carted off to hospital
21:57for some x-rays
21:58so I never actually finished
21:59the rowing unfortunately
22:00but it's something
22:02that I'd like to give a go again
22:04hopefully with two arms this time.
22:07Where do you think
22:07that spirit comes from
22:09within you
22:09where you're just so resilient
22:10nothing's going to stop you?
22:12it's the military
22:13it is that military mindset
22:15and that's why
22:16when I was saying
22:16about the crossover
22:17between civilian street
22:19and the military
22:20people that go into
22:21different jobs
22:22not all
22:24but you do find
22:24that a lot of guys
22:25at RX military
22:26give it that extra
22:27little bit
22:28and also
22:29it's all about
22:30pushing yourself
22:31and competing
22:32with other people
22:33it's good to have
22:34that competitive nature.
22:35What do you see yourself
22:37doing now?
22:38You've got so much energy
22:39and all your work
22:40obviously the Invictus Games
22:41was a huge success
22:42where do you see it
22:43taking you in the future?
22:45Back onto the snow
22:46definitely
22:46I've been looking recently
22:49at other sports
22:50to try and get into
22:51stuff that doesn't get
22:52involved in my shoulder
22:53too much
22:54but I won't be applying
22:57for the next games
22:57I think I need a bit of
22:59downtime
22:59it's not really the right time
23:00for me to apply again
23:02but I think I'm definitely
23:04going to apply it
23:05in the future
23:05for another games
23:06at some point
23:07and this time
23:09try and keep myself
23:10free from injury
23:10so I can really
23:11push myself
23:12and go a little bit further
23:13and maybe bring back
23:14a few more medals.
23:15Well best of luck
23:16with all that
23:16question we ask
23:17all of our guests
23:18as we wrap up the show
23:19is if you could
23:20speak to your younger self
23:21what would be your
23:22message to them now?
23:25Don't change
23:26what you're doing
23:26you might be getting
23:27into trouble now
23:28you might not think
23:29you're going that far
23:30but for a kid
23:32that grew up
23:32in a small town
23:33you know
23:33Faversham
23:34I've met two presidents
23:36I'd let us off
23:36another president
23:37rubbed shoulders
23:38with royalty
23:39something's gone right
23:41somewhere
23:41so just do the same thing.
23:43Kemsley Whittlesea
23:43thank you very much
23:44for joining us
23:45on Invicta Sport
23:45that is it
23:46we'll see you next time.
23:47Cheers mate.