{"id":6886,"date":"2020-10-10T22:55:36","date_gmt":"2020-10-10T22:55:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/runyourownwebsite.uk\/sorteddev\/?p=6886"},"modified":"2021-01-26T23:00:24","modified_gmt":"2021-01-26T23:00:24","slug":"i-kid-you-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/runyourownwebsite.uk\/sorteddev\/i-kid-you-not\/","title":{"rendered":"I kid you not"},"content":{"rendered":"

From bobsleigh to Blue Peter<\/em> and beyond: Radzi Chinyanganya has kept us entertained on everything from Crufts<\/em> to Songs of Praise<\/em> \u2013 and even Dancing on Ice<\/em>. Here, the TV presenter turned children\u2019s author tells us how God has been the guiding light behind his success\u2026<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How have you been getting through lockdown?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been staying with my mum in Wolverhampton. My mum works in mental health for the NHS, so I\u2019ve known the importance of the NHS since I was four years old, and the only positive for me [about lockdown] is that a light\u2019s been shone on the NHS. Hopefully it will mean it gets funded more effectively for however many years to come.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

With your mum working for the NHS, what did you think about the clapping during lockdown, and the posters etc. thanking NHS workers?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I like the principle of the clapping, because on my street there are three people who work for the NHS and it put a smile on their faces. It\u2019s rare that the country comes together and says a unified thank you for everything you do, especially in a sector that doesn\u2019t necessarily get remunerated that highly.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m proud to have the NHS in our country, but it only works as well as it\u2019s resourced. Hospitals are run on goodwill, because the reality is, the staff are going above and beyond, doing more hours than they\u2019re contracted. It\u2019s lovely that we applauded them, but from a long term standpoint, that can only last for so long. I believe in rewarding people, and funding things, properly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Do you think the money spent on posters and paint thanking NHS workers should have been spent on pay rises?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think it has to be one or the other. If I was in charge of the country, one of my main priorities would be putting money in the NHS. I\u2019d be less concerned about people who are shooting grouse, and more concerned with people on the frontline. If you have Prime Ministers, 75% of whom have all attended the same secondary school, at a price per year that\u2019s greater than the average salary in this country, something\u2019s wrong. I\u2019d love to see somebody who reflects our country, leading our country.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How has COVID affected your work?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It meant a total transformation of what I was doing. I was meant to be working at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, the Invictus Games in the Hague, and the World Indoor Athletics Championships in China \u2013 and it all went down like a stack of dominoes.<\/p>\n

So I went back to what got me into TV \u2013 hustling! I\u2019ve worked on Songs of Praise and a Team GB podcast series called The Moments that Made Me. I\u2019ve done a lot of the online stuff from my bedroom, and when I\u2019ve worked at Broadcasting House for the BBC, there\u2019d be about 16 people on a floor that would normally have at least 500 people on it.<\/p>\n

Working at the World Snooker Championship and the US Open meant filming without a crowd, and working with the same people every day. We were tested daily, with either temperature tests or swab tests and we had bracelets to prove we\u2019d been tested. We had meals brought to our rooms because we couldn\u2019t go out of the hotel to get food. It\u2019s not as much work as I\u2019d normally do, but I\u2019ve been very fortunate in the work I have done.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Did working with COVID restrictions feel strange?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I\u2019d rather we skewed that way, because if you\u2019re run by risk-averse people, nothing will ever get done. I drive on a motorway at 70 miles an hour \u2013 I can crash, I could die. But we don\u2019t ban people from driving. In order for society to continue, for jobs not to be lost, for businesses not to go under, for people to survive, we need to continue in some vein. If that means making adaptations, I\u2019m all for it. As long as it\u2019s safe, I don\u2019t see any problem in getting things moving.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m from Wolverhampton, and three weeks after lockdown started, the units in the town centre were already becoming vacant. That was always going to happen, because it\u2019s not an affluent area and a lot of businesses are only just making ends meet, so if you extricate any demand, they\u2019ll go under.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a question of balance, in terms of avoiding people contracting the virus, and protecting the lives of people who will struggle to survive if they lose their jobs. We can all say, \u2018It\u2019s right to stay safe,\u2019 and it is right, but people sometimes say \u2018You can\u2019t be too safe\u2019 \u2013 and the fact is, you can be too hungry, you can be too poor, and you can be too homeless. I feel strongly about that because people on lower incomes have really suffered and will continue to suffer. I hope they\u2019ll be given help in the months and potentially years to come.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We know you\u2019re massively into fitness and your Instagram shows you\u2019re doing lots of training. How much has exercise helped you cope with lockdown?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Two things that help me cope with life are the gym and being busy. Being busy got taken away from me, and the gym got taken away from me, so I bought a bench press, a power bar, and Olympic dumbbell bars for my mum\u2019s garage \u2013 I\u2019ve had to be inventive! It didn\u2019t really scratch the itch, but it just about kept my needs at bay. I love working out, so possibly my hardest challenge was not being able to do what I like to do in the gym.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A lot of people have struggled with their mental health during lockdown, and this is something men often find difficult to talk about. What do you think we need to do as a society to help men with their mental health, and if you find yourself struggling, what do you do?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The biggest killer of men under 40 is suicide. If we go back 40 years, that\u2019s just after Thatcher came in and caused unemployment, specifically in manual labour. As a man you have testosterone coursing through your system and we operate well when we\u2019re being physical, whether that\u2019s in the mines, the Army, or a factory.  Taking away men\u2019s ability to move and lift stuff is one factor. Another is losing our identity, which is often as the breadwinner. From a societal standpoint, that really hurts. I also think that as men or women, we\u2019re not meant to be locked up. I see a therapist and it\u2019s enormously useful, but if I didn\u2019t have the gym \u2013 or my mum\u2019s garage \u2013 no therapist would be able to help me. I\u2019d spiral, because I need that to cope. A lot of guys do. So if you take away the gym, you take away their ability to cope.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How much of an influence has Christianity had on you?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

God has been my guiding light all my life, whether it\u2019s a small prayer, or a continual prayer I might have about certain things. My granddad from my mum\u2019s side was Catholic \u2013 he was an altar boy. My mum\u2019s Catholic and so am I. I go to church and I was an altar boy myself. Growing up, I was christened, I had my first Holy Communion and I was confirmed.<\/p>\n

I wanted to represent my country in skeleton bobsleigh, in the Winter Olympics of 2014. I spent years training for it, and when it became clear it wasn\u2019t going to happen for me, outside of personal loss, it was the hardest thing I\u2019d ever had to face. That was when I decided to pursue another unicorn \u2013 becoming a presenter.<\/p>\n

I spent three years working for free, being a runner, an intern, even a mascot! But underpinning it all was a belief in God, that whatever I\u2019m doing, it has a purpose. Not that I will get where I want to per se, but that it has a purpose.<\/p>\n

It was difficult because my friends were starting life \u2013 they were getting jobs and going on holiday, or going out, and I had no money. I was staying on at university as a sub-warden, so I had free food and accommodation, and in return I had to be on call for students. I felt like the guy who stayed at the party too long.<\/p>\n

My family were pillars of support but I didn\u2019t know if what I was doing was futile, because it\u2019s not like most things where you see progress.<\/p>\n

I became frustrated with God. I felt as though sometimes you can pray for something, and hope that it happens the way you want it to happen. Or you can try to involve God in everything you do. I felt I was trying to do that, and the result was nothing but personal pain and anguish.<\/p>\n

In the March of 2013, I said a prayer. I said, \u2018God, I believe in you, but I\u2019m not going to bother trying to keep you in my heart in everything I do, because it\u2019s obviously not working.\u2019 I said: \u2018This is my final prayer, over and out.\u2019<\/p>\n

Two weeks later, I was asked to screen test for a new CBBC show called Wild. A week after that, I was offered the role, and at the end of the series I had two meetings on the same day. In the first one, they offered me a job presenting Match of the Day Kickabout. Then in the next one, they said: \u2018We\u2019d like you to become the 37th Blue Peter presenter.\u2019<\/p>\n

As far as best days ever go, that was it. I\u2019m not an emotional guy, but I cried and I cried.<\/p>\n

In the Bible, it talks about how Abraham was going to sacrifice his own son, because that\u2019s what he thought he had to do. He was taken to breaking point, but when it came to the moment of cutting the boy in half, God says he doesn\u2019t have to, because he\u2019s proven himself.<\/p>\n

It says in the Bible that God will only take you to breaking point \u2013 not beyond. I was taken to breaking point, then I had an incredible breakthrough and my life changed. It hasn\u2019t been easy and I don\u2019t have a social life, but I\u2019ve never looked back.<\/p>\n

They say it\u2019s not what you know, but who you know. I kind of agree, but unfortunately, I don\u2019t know the right people, so for me it\u2019s about hustling and working hard. And when you\u2019re given an opportunity, grabbing it with both hands and riding the bull until the wheels fall off! I believe God\u2019s guiding me, but I have to work as hard as it takes because it\u2019s never going to be a handout.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You presented a BBC World Service special on George Floyd, and we\u2019ve seen the strength of support for the Black Lives Matter movement. What do you think we need to do in this country to get us to where we need to be, and what would you say to people who think racism is just an American problem?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

My first experience of racism was when I was six. I remember coming home and saying to my parents, \u2018What\u2019s a black bastard?\u2019 I fell asleep on a bus once, and when I woke up, someone had written \u2018BNP\u2019 on the back of my seat. Three guys tried to jump me, and I\u2019ve had a guy hurling abuse and shouting the \u2018n\u2019 word at me. He was about 5ft 5, and he was with two girls, standing next to a park. A week later, I saw on the news that small guys with women were threatening people from various communities to lure them into the park, where a bunch of 20 guys would smash their faces in.<\/p>\n

So does racism exist in the UK? Sadly, yes it does. It doesn\u2019t affect me on a daily basis, but is there bias? Well, QCs and politicians are seldom black, and none of the BBC\u2019s top-earning presenters are black. There\u2019s often discussion around gender equality, but seldom around race equality. I\u2019d like to see discussions on television and radio, and a young persons\u2019 Question Time.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been given an opportunity to do incredible things, and a chance to communicate to young people, \u2018This is who I am, and I\u2019m not a stereotype.\u2019 For example, there\u2019s a stereotype that black people can\u2019t swim, and it\u2019s true that there\u2019s a higher percentage of black people who can\u2019t swim \u2013 but it\u2019s not a physiological thing, it\u2019s a cultural thing. A lot of black girls, if they have weaved hair and it\u2019s glued or sewn in, they don\u2019t want to get their hair wet. If mothers don\u2019t want to get their hair wet, the chances are, they won\u2019t take their kids swimming. Also, it takes me about half an hour to wash my hair, so if I get my hair wet in chlorine, it\u2019s a bit of a commitment. That\u2019s why on Blue Peter I made a thing about, \u2018I\u2019m going to jump in the water, I\u2019m going to get gunged, I\u2019m going to do all these things,\u2019 just to quietly, subconsciously, communicate to young kids like me growing up, that you can go swimming, and you can do silly things.<\/p>\n

My name is not John Smith \u2013 that\u2019s communicating a message. The way my hair looks \u2013 that communicates a message. I\u2019m proud of both sides of my heritage. At formal events, you\u2019ll see me wearing kilts, because my grandad fought for the Black Watch \u2013 and I\u2019m as proud of my African side as I am of my Scottish side.<\/p>\n

A lot of the issues that affect black people also affect working class white and Asian people. I believe it\u2019s about galvanising communities to find collaborative solutions to problems. This is far-reaching and people do have answers, because it isn\u2019t rocket science. It\u2019s about having a plan and being able to action that plan, with governmental support.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You\u2019ve done so much for young people \u2013 is it important to you to reach young people while they\u2019re still open to being influenced?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t take a lot as a kid to spark an idea, for the lightbulb to go on, to empower a child, subconsciously or otherwise, for it to change the rest of their lives. I could have opted for a life of crime \u2013 I could be waking up now in prison, or I could be excited about what I\u2019m doing next in television. That boils down to decisions you make when you\u2019re young, and the effects they have.<\/p>\n

University has become more transactional than ever. When I was at Uni, people didn\u2019t really choose subjects based on an occupation \u2013 it was often about an interest or a passion. Whereas increasingly, I\u2019m hearing young people say, \u2018I\u2019m going to get my 2:1 and get my grad job.\u2019 I think that\u2019s a shame. Because we\u2019re saying we need the right A-levels, to go to the right university, to get the right grades, to get the right grad job. To do that, you have to go to the right school to get the right GCSEs to get the right A-levels. That\u2019s missing the whole thing, because when we\u2019re six feet under, I don\u2019t think we\u2019ll say, \u2018I wish I\u2019d spent more time in the office.\u2019 It\u2019s about seeing the flowers along the way and learning about who you are. We\u2019re taking all of that, \u2018Who am I?\u2019 out of the equation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Can you tell us about your children\u2019s book that\u2019s coming out in January?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It\u2019s aimed at six to eleven year olds and it\u2019s all about getting kids moving. I\u2019ve loved sport all my life. Growing up, I went to seven different schools, so I\u2019m used to being the new kid. I knew I\u2019d be OK at break time because that\u2019s when you do sport and I could communicate that I had value. But it wasn\u2019t until I worked in kids\u2019 TV and went into schools as an adult, that I realised sport excludes, as much it included for me. When I said the word \u2018sports\u2019 some people cowered away and I could see they hated the thought of it.<\/p>\n

I thought, \u2018How can we make it for everyone?\u2019 That\u2019s when I decided to focus on movement rather than sport. It\u2019s not competitive, and we can all enjoy how we feel, without worrying about how we look \u2013 because if you focus on how you feel, you might want to do it again and again. That may in turn change how you look, but that\u2019s not the point. If you\u2019re sporty, you\u2019ll get something different out of it than if you\u2019re not so sporty.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s about balance, co-ordination, concentration and moving like different animals. I looked at animals that inspired me and thought, how could I replicate that movement? Each page has facts about an animal, as well as showing you how to move like that animal. You don\u2019t need equipment and you don\u2019t need much space \u2013 it\u2019s about using your imagination to move your body, and hopefully it\u2019s fun to read. There are \u2018waking-up routines\u2019 to get you ready for the day, and \u2018settling down routines\u2019 for going to sleep.<\/p>\n

The illustrator has made it everything I wanted it to be and more. It\u2019s important to me that the book is affordable for everybody, so we\u2019ve avoided coloured pages because that adds \u00a310 onto the RRP. This book isn\u2019t just for wealthy kids or sporty kids, or kids who are a certain size \u2013 it\u2019s for every kid. I\u2019m really excited about it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From bobsleigh to Blue Peter and beyond: Radzi Chinyanganya has kept us entertained on everything from Crufts to Songs of Praise \u2013 and even Dancing on Ice. Here, the TV presenter turned children\u2019s author tells us how God has been the guiding light behind his success\u2026   How have you been getting through lockdown?   […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-free-content"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/runyourownwebsite.uk\/sorteddev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/runyourownwebsite.uk\/sorteddev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/runyourownwebsite.uk\/sorteddev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runyourownwebsite.uk\/sorteddev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runyourownwebsite.uk\/sorteddev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6886"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/runyourownwebsite.uk\/sorteddev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6886\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6887,"href":"https:\/\/runyourownwebsite.uk\/sorteddev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6886\/revisions\/6887"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/runyourownwebsite.uk\/sorteddev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runyourownwebsite.uk\/sorteddev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runyourownwebsite.uk\/sorteddev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}