There are some people who inspire on the rugby field and
some who inspire off of it, Richard Parks is certainly one of those individuals who has managed to do both.
Born in Pontypridd, Wales in 1977 to Jamaican Mother Lee and Welsh Father Derek, Richard, as with any other Welsh lad became involved in Rugby from an early age.In Wales rugby resonates with the passion and heart that any proud Welshman feels and for most the step onto a rugby field, at any level, is as natural as taking your first steps a s a child.
For Richard his first real strides into rugby probably came whilst attending Rougemont School in Newport, where at the age of 11 he turned out for the school side.
A few years later Richard featured
for the Welsh Schools under 18s team and even had the opportunity to join the
Natal Sharks Academy in South Africa whilst studying at the Michaelhouse School
in Durban.
For Richard though there was always one driver in his career
and that was to feature for the Welsh national team. Turning down the
opportunity to join the prestigious Natal Sharks Academy in South Africa, Richard returned
home to Wales and signed his first professional contract with Newport RFC in
1996.
Richard spent 3 seasons with Newport RFC, making 62
appearances and receiving the honour of being given The Arthur Boucher Award for the Most Promising
Player of the Year, by his team. Unfortunately for Richard injury halted his
Newport RFC career and at the end of 1998 - 99 season he was released by his
club.
After a brief stint playing University rugby for the Cardiff
Meds, Richard returned home to Pontypridd to feature for his hometown side. Richard
was part of the 2002 Principality Cup winning side where he lined up alongside
many great Welsh players including Sonny Parker, Neil Jenkins and Michael Owen.
It wasn’t long before Richard received his first
International Cap for Wales and in June 2002 Richard was part of the Wales team
which were defeated 34-19 by South Africa, during the Welsh tour of the
country. Richard’s second cap came during the Autumn Internationals the
following year against Fiji. Richard went on to gain another two International
Caps for Wales and also featured for the illustrious Barbarians during his 13
year career.
Richard’s club career saw him line up alongside some of the greats of the game over the years that followed. Richard had spells with Welsh Regional
side the Celtic Warriors before their disbandment, French side Perpignan and
the Leeds Tykes where he won the Powergen Cup alongside fellow Welshman Alix
Popham.
Richard’s final foray in Rugby came during the 2007 -08
season when he returned to Wales with the Newport Gwent Dragons. Again a number
of injuries impacted on the career of this hard hitting tackler, eventually
culminating with a career ending shoulder injury, which forced retirement on
the then 31 year old.
The reality of any professional sportsman ending their
career is devastating, but when that end is forced upon them due to unforeseen
circumstances that reality is even harder to come to terms with.
After a period of reflection, Richard decided to do some
thing completely selfless, something that would focus his attentions elsewhere
and something for a great cause. The 737 idea was born.
Taking inspiration from Sir Ranulph Fiennes, the
renowned explorer and adventurer. Richard decided to create what would be known
as the 737 Challenge, an epic race to the World’s highest mountains on each Continent, as well as venturing to both the North and South Poles.
The locations tackled were:
The South Pole
Mount Vinson
Aconcagua
Kilimanjaro
Carstensz Pyramid
The North Pole
Mount Everest
Denali
Elbrus
For the greatest explorers this would be a challenge but for Richard this took even more hard work and dedication, 18 months of grueling training begun to prepare for this epic journey. However, it was not just a physical commitment that Richard made but he also invested his life savings into making this journey a reality, tackling some of his greatest fears head on and moving back home with his extremely proud and supportive parents.
The hard work, commitment and perseverance paid off though as on the 12th July 2011 Richard completed his challenge in a hugely impressive 6 Months, 11 Days, 7 Hours and 53 minutes, making him the first person ever to scale all of the World’s highest summits (including Everest) and to reach both the South and North Poles within one calendar year. Even the Frostbite couldn’t hold back this powerhouse!
If this feat wasn’t impressive enough, Richard even managed
to raise over £326’000 for the Marie Curie Cancer Charity. Richard’s
achievements didn’t go unnoticed and upon his return he was named one of the
100 most influential people within Wales and even met the Queen!
But for any Ponty lad there is surely one achievement that
outweighs any others and that is to be Grogged by the fantastic World of
Groggs.
In recognition of Richard’s efforts the shop created a number of miniature
Groggs of Richard complete with 737 Challenge motifs and with all profits going
to the Marie Curie Cancer Charity. As popular as Richard is himself these
Groggs were also hugely popular with collectors, selling out in just 9 days!
Richard himself also received a commemorative Grogg from the
shop, complete with frosty beard and a further unique Grogg was produced in the
2011 Pontypridd kit which went on to be auctioned, raising a fantastic £800 for
Charity in the process.
Mr Parks was also kind enough to donate a little gift to the Groggshop from his expedition which takes pride of place in the shop Museum.
Mr Parks was also kind enough to donate a little gift to the Groggshop from his expedition which takes pride of place in the shop Museum.
Richard has continued his fantastic efforts in taking on new challenges and raising both funds and awareness. Following an Ultra Marathon through the Peruvian Jungle, The Yak Attack – Highest Mountain Bike Race and a double Iron Man triathlon in Snowdonia, Richard then went on to break another record in 2014 becoming the first ever Welsh person to ski solo to the South Pole and the fastest ever British person to reach the South Pole solo and unassisted.
Richard cannot be commended enough for the challenges he has
taken on, through the pain and hurt of losing a career in a sport he loved, he
has battled on to achieve greatness in some fantastic ways. Thanks to this
great man “The Ponty Adventurer”.
To find out more about the 737 Challenge or to make a donation check out the following link
www.737challenge.comTo find out more about the 737 Challenge or to make a donation check out the following link
For all you Groggy fans you can still purchase the original Richard Parks Pontypridd Mini complete with flowing locks from World of Groggs
The Grogg Blog were lucky enough to secure an exclusive Question and Answer piece with Richard. We would like to say a huge thank you to Richard and Tracy who have helped to make this piece possible. We Hope you all enjoy this fantastic insight into this great man, as much as we have enjoyed writing it.
Being a
Ponty lad, the Groggshop must have been something you were familiar with from a
young age. What would you say your earliest memory of the shop was?
My earliest memory was
probably the Price, Windsor and Faulkner front row on my friend’s mantelpiece.
I can’t remember when, but I would've been in school. I never would have even
considered being Grogged myself one day! Even as senior player, I never even
dreamt that John and Rich would have even considered me…until they did!!
For many
being Grogged is a sign that you have made it and deemed as a huge honour and
achievement (although some of your more recent achievements may outweigh this
slightly) how did you find out that you were being Grogged the first time and
how did you feel about it?
Being Grogged was one of
the highlights of my rugby career! Sincerely. The Groggshop were running a
competition on the back of the Ponty match day programs enabling the fans to
vote for the player that they would most like to be Grogged. Over the course of
the season, I won the vote by the fans and had the honour to be Grogged!
That was such an
incredible season - winning the Principality Cup, being capped in South Africa,
but to be recognised that way by the fans and the Groggshop was very special to
me. And since then, through various special Groggs and some incredibly generous
and kind people, we have raised an incredible amount for charity through the
power of Groggs! I am so very proud of my friendship with the Groggshop.
I’m sure
over the years the Groggshop have given you a number of pieces, including of
course the Frosty Beard 737 mini. Aside from these Groggs do you have any
others in your collection?
I have a few man of the
match Groggs from Ponty home games which I am particularly proud of. They're
not of anyone particularly, but I can’t help but think they look like Lloydy
(aka Matthew Lloyd former flanker) Ha! I have given a handful of wedding Groggs
to my friends over the years, although the two wedding sheep that I gave to my
sister still sits pride of place in her lounge in America. !
For a
number of Grogg collectors the great appeal is being able to own a
fantastically
crafted piece of some of your childhood/present day heroes. If you could have a
Grogg made of one of your own personal heroes who would it be and why?
I don't use the word hero
very often, although I do admire lots of people - Nelson Mandela and Muhammad
Ali are just some that jump to my mind. My heroes though, have always been my
mum and dad. So I would have them Grogged! Although I would want Ben the dog
Grogged too! Ha!!
You have
had two different moulds of you in Grogg form made so far, if you could be
Grogged again would there be anything you would like to have done differently
for example maybe a 9” version, different kit or different physical attributes
or pose?!
If I was Grogged again,
it would be awesome to have it made in my expedition gear. I think that it
could look pretty cool too! Although more work for Rich!
As for the other details
- pose etc, that’s for Rich’s creative genius. I’m planning another big project
in the next couple of
years, so you never know! !
You’ve been
on some pretty epic adventures and travelled all over the world, have you ever
taken any of your Groggs on the road with you and if so what has the reaction
to the pieces been? Maybe if you haven’t done so far, mini Richard could go
with you next time!!
I haven't taken any of my
Grogg’s with me on my travels. Obviously weight being crucial when you're
carrying it on an expedition, but more relevantly my Grogg’s have pride of
place in my house. I wouldn’t want to risk them!!
Over the
course of your 13 years Rugby career you received a number of great
accolades
and honours including winning the Arthur Boucher Award, Principality Cup with
Pontypridd and the Powergen Cup with Leeds Tykes. What would you say the
proudest moment was of your rugby playing career and why?
Obviously I’m proud and
grateful for all the honours that I’ve been privileged to receive, however my
fondest memories and proudest moments (in rugby and since) have come from being
part of something bigger as opposed to specific accolades.
In rugby it was being
part of the Principality winning Ponty team and Powergen winning Leeds team.
Not just the cup winning days, but all the blood, sweat, combat and friendships
that went into those days throughout the respective seasons. I’m proud of those
moments in changing room - empty but victorious surrounded by
mates!
Since your
retirement from the game you have gone on to complete some amazing challenges
and raised a great deal of money in the process. What would you say your main
drivers were for taking on such activities and were there any points during the
sometimes life threatening situations that you contemplated backing out?
Forgive this plug, but I
struggled to answer that in 90,000 words writing my book – Beyond The Horizon!
(it’s out 25th Sept! Ha!) I have different drivers for my different
projects.
The 737 Challenge was my
way of dealing with the emotions resulting from being forced to retire from
rugby. My recent speed record in Antarctica was driven by wanting be a part of
Antarctic history and passion for the continent.
In all my expeditions
pushing the boundaries of human performance is common, and I am blessed to be
able to work with amazing teams doing so, even the solo ones are only possible
because of a team. When things get tough out there, as they always do, it’s the
power of my team and not wanting to let them down that is the consistent
driver.
This is a value that
formed the core of the type of rugby player that i was as well. I would never
have backed out on the field, neither would I back out performing in the
world’s most hostile environments. !
Do you have
any further adventures lined up which you could tell your fans about?
Yes I do! I very proud to
have joined the board of Sport Wales, which along with writing and promoting my
book has kept me largely Wales based this year, however I have begun the next 2
year development cycle working towards another pioneering project. I can’t tell
you guys about it yet, sorry.
For now, my adventures
mostly involve Ben the dog and Wales!
_________________________________________________________________
Pictures courtesy of Richard Parks, Ben Winston and The World of Groggs
No comments:
Post a Comment