January 12, 2025 • 34 mins
Lachlan Stuart is joined by Raymond Wood, founder of Euro Football Star and a visionary in player development. Raymond shares his journey from coaching in elite leagues like the Premier League and Ligue 1 to creating a global impact through free football academies.
Discover how his experiences shaped his vision to make football accessible for all and his ambitious goal of launching free academies across Australia and beyond. Whether you’re a football enthusiast, a parent of young players, or someone seeking inspiration, this episode is packed with insights into resilience, community impact, and creating opportunities.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
So today I'm very excited to welcome Raymond Wood
on the podcast.
Raymond has been someone that Iwas very fortunate to meet at
the gym a number of years ago,and he actually encouraged me to
attend an event that not onlytransformed the direction that
my business went in, but alsoyours as well, ray.
So, mate, over the last 25years, you've been a seasoned
(00:23):
football professional,experiencing so, with experience
working alongside some of thebiggest names in the game,
including Liverpool, leicesterCity and PSG or Paris
Saint-Germain, and you'verecently got your UEFA coaching
qualifications.
So, mate, I am grateful to haveyou on here.
I know there is so much we canunpack today about your journey,
(00:45):
but just quickly, for theaudience who are stumbling
across you for the first time,can you give us a quick recap on
what led you to this point?
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Yeah, thanks, lachie.
Thanks for having us on.
It's great to chat to you andall your listeners.
Yeah, I originally come fromLiverpool in England.
As most of you will tell withthe accent, I was at the age of
15 and 16 at the realisationthat I was never going to make
it as a professional footballplayer.
So I was very fortunate todiscover one of my future
mentors who said you know,there's other jobs within
(01:15):
football you can have, whetheryou be a coach or a physio or a
sports scientist.
And yeah, I ended up going downthe journey of becoming a coach
.
I was one of the youngestcoaches to complete all my
coaching badges with UEFA.
By the time I was 21-22, I'ddone the majority of them and
then, more recently, I've delvedinto the world of becoming a
player agent, and for the simplereason there's loads of good
(01:39):
agents around, but there's loadsof bad agents as well, and I
thought I've definitely gotsomething to offer coming from
that coaching background, butalso being able to liaise with
players and open up deals due tomy vast network of clubs and
contacts around the world.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
What was it that you feel you offer differently to
really support your players andthe people that work with you,
as opposed to agents that maybearen't doing that as well as
you'd like to see?
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Yeah, one of the big things, lockie, was that in the
90s and early 2000s, the waythey set up football agents was
you needed to be a lawyerbecause you needed to be able to
manage the contract side of it.
So what you ended up with?
You ended up with a spate oflawyers coming into the football
world and from a contract pointof view, yeah, amazing.
But from a football knowledgepoint of view, absolutely zero
(02:30):
zilch.
And this is like for the past20 years.
Some of the biggest superagents have been ex-lawyers and,
I'll be honest, a lot of themare winging it as they go along.
In regards to football terms,the football agents of the
future is changing now and Ithink UEFA have realized that as
well, which is the governingbody of football in europe that
really we need people who'vebeen heavily involved in
(02:51):
football whether you've been acoach or a sport scientist or a
physio but someone's been in andaround the game for 20, 25
years, and that's the uh, thenew direction.
So I think for me, the factthat I've developed some of the
biggest players on the planetI've worked in the Premier
League, I've worked in Ligue 1in France, I've worked at some
of the biggest coaches.
I've seen it from that side asa coach and as a player, and
(03:15):
then now being an agent as well.
I know exactly what a playerneeds and what they're looking
for, and I think it gives me areal leg up on everyone.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
So the future's bright at the moment it gives me
a real leg up on everyone, sothe future's bright at the
moment.
What was it like when you firstgot into the industry, having
the experience on the other sideand now being as an agent and
obviously, if you've got yourplayer pathways and programs
that we'll talk about shortly?
Was there ever any impostersyndrome or self-doubt as you
were sort of making leaps andbounds into the scene?
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Yeah, I mean, I always had an imposter syndrome
because I always, like theindustry is very, you've got to
be an ex-pro to be a coach andto be successful as a coach, and
that's what I went through for15 years and I used to think a
lot of people used to say that,but I think it was perception, I
think it was the way I wasperceivingiving it.
It was only when I got to likemaybe the age of about 34, 35, I
(04:07):
actually started to realizethat only was a very good coach.
I was probably one of the bestdevelopment coaches on the
planet because of I literallybury myself in reading books,
audio books, researching, uh.
And then, yeah, that impostersyndrome was a hard one to come
over.
Now I've gone around the otherend of the scale and it's like I
just lead everything.
(04:28):
Every foot gets led withabsolute super confidence.
And also I don't claim to knoweverything, and if I don't know
something I'll hold my hands upand go.
But you know what?
I'm going to find it out foryou, because one it'd be good
for me to know, but also it'd begood for my players to know as
well.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
How do you get to that point?
Because that is a huge skillthat people could learn and take
across all industries beingable to put your hand up,
especially when you're in theposition you're in.
Ray, I know across the boardand especially across Australia,
you're like one of the go-tomen if people want to get their
players developed.
So with that I would and Idon't want to assume, but if I
(05:06):
was in your position I feelthere would be a fair amount of
pressure that I would take withthat.
So be able to be humble enoughto stand there and put your hand
up and say, hey, I don't havethe answers.
How do you develop that?
How do you learn to getcomfortable with that?
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Yeah, I think it comes down again.
I think more to around becauseI'm 45 now, but I think it was
around 35, 36 when I actuallycome to the understanding that
it's actually okay to not knowsomething or to actually not be
sure on something, to go out andask that question, and I think
it's a.
It's a great thing to show yourplayers and anyone you work
with in life as well, if you canactually you know just hold
(05:45):
their hands up and go.
I don't know, but I'd reallyreally love to know.
But also, I think it comes downto as well actually knowing who
you're asking for theinformation is actually going to
give you the real answer aswell, and they're qualified
enough to give you that answer.
Because, as you know, nowadaysit doesn't matter the industry
you're in with google, everyoneknows everything and it's like
and it's a scary world and it'slike.
(06:06):
That's why you've got to reallyreally challenge yourself as
well.
When you're asking thequestions, make sure you know
you're asking it from the peoplein the know before and you've
got to be careful because youknow as well as me in the
fitness industry and the sportsindustry, you've got to be
careful what you're advisingpeople, because it's a.
It's a physical game.
People could get hurt andyou've got to make sure you
research and you know whatyou're saying, and also we both
(06:28):
cross that border of nutritionand diet and all that.
So you've got to be reallycareful on what you're saying.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
For sure and obviously you know, with your
work in developing players youmentioned you're one of the best
at it on the planet, especiallyfor developing junior players,
and I know you've establishedEuro Football Star.
You are looking across,obviously, player development,
skill development, but then alsoconnecting people, helping them
build their mental resilienceand I guess, even shaping who
(06:56):
they become as young athletes aswell.
How do you go about doing thatfrom such a young age around?
Obviously, when you're a, a kidand I know when I was a kid,
like sport was everything andbecoming professional was all I
wanted, there were things that Ineglected that I know you work
on from developing people'smindset, their relationship with
(07:18):
failure.
So how do you go about, I guess, bringing that into the
athletes that you work with?
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Yeah, I was very lucky when I went down my
coaching journey.
I started off with the realyoung players like six to eight
years of age, that foundation,and then I was very fortunate to
then work through what's calledYouth Foundation where I was in
charge of 12 to 16s anddeveloping them for the senior
game.
So I think over that 10,12-year period in Europe I
(07:45):
really learned from a five orsix-year-old all the way through
and I really thought you knowwhat, if I'm going to do it, I'm
going to go from five and sixyears of age all the way through
the ages slowly and learneverything.
The big thing and I mean itsounds like common sense to most
, but when you're six, seven,eight years of age 100%, you
(08:05):
sense to most, but when you'resix, seven and eight years of
age 100 you've got to have thoseelements of fun.
It's got to be fun for the kidsbecause otherwise they're not
going to do the sport.
It's that simple.
But also as well, I think it'sabout teaching them
responsibility and actually evenat the ages of eight and nine,
how they can actually takeownership for the game and get
more out of the game, andeducating them, like you know if
you're a professional player,this what you need to do, these
are how many hours you need todo, and it's a really, really
(08:28):
good way to go at it.
So I feel very blessed that Isort of took myself on that
journey.
I used to always throw myselfin the deep end Like people used
to laugh at me because when Iwas coaching in the pro game in
England, I was also working inchildcare and daycares.
And people are like why are youdoing that?
For you know you're working atLeicester City and I'm like
because I want to learn, if youcan coach a four or a
five-year-old, you can coach aten-year-old.
(08:49):
And that's what I really done.
I really always intuitivelyknew to chuck myself in the deep
end and have a challenge andthrough that adversity I learned
a lot along the way.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
And it's awesome that you're able to see that from an
early age.
It's one thing that I wish Idid.
Maybe a little bit sooner,probably before jumping into my
own business.
I feel I wish I took almostlike an apprenticeship with
other coaching companies orsales companies, just to learn
how they do it at scale andmaybe with bigger, higher ticket
(09:20):
sales.
I wish I did that and now Ifeel like I definitely could do
it.
But I'm telling myself I'm toofar invested into my own company
and what I've been doing tosort of take a sidestep to
continue developing those skills, even though I still am.
But it's always fun to gothrough those apprenticeship
moments, that's for sure.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Yeah, 100% the advice I would give anyone.
Anything you want to do in life, try and start right at the
bottom and then work your waythrough.
A good example I can give youon this one.
There's a guy at Leicester City.
He's been there for over 25years now and he's now one of
the heads of football and one ofthe head scouts started at the
(10:06):
club 20 years ago.
He was the cleaner in thestadium and he's just a
testament to just like start atthe bottom and work your way up
and you know sometimes when youget to certain jobs in
businesses like you might get tothat level that you thought you
wanted to get and go.
Actually, I don't enjoy that.
I want to go back to moppingthe floors because that was life
was a bit easier, but it's goodto see it from the bottom all
the way through and for somepeople it's a great way to do it
.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
Definitely right.
I think you definitely needthose experiences, Mate.
You've been jetting all aroundthe world like nonstop.
You're on a plane.
Whenever we catch up, you'reflying somewhere or coming back
from somewhere.
You're running seminars.
Can you give us a little bit ofa rundown on what the seminars
you're running, what they're forand, I guess, what the plans
(10:48):
are with that?
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Yeah, so yeah, I think I've got more air miles
than Richard Branson at themoment.
I've done 96 flights this yearand I'm not doing any more.
I'm absolutely done for theyear.
But yeah, back to the questionthe events.
We run something calledFootball Forum.
Back to the question, theevents.
We run something calledFootball Forum.
And what I done was about fouryears ago I decided to look in a
complaints department infootball in Australia, in the
(11:13):
USA and in Canada and once Istarted to look in the
complaints department I realisedthere was a lot of issues and I
picked out one or two that Ithought I could really help.
So the first thing I've donewas wrote a book called the
Professional Player Pathway,where I basically share all of
my knowledge and backgroundsworking in the pro game, and
then I developed a program thatwe run called Football Forum,
(11:34):
which entails the pro playerpathway.
So we travel the globe lookingfor players ages from eight
years of age all the way throughto about 22.
It allows them to come outcompletely free of charge.
They get tested on the fieldobjectively, because one of the
big complaints in football inAustralia and in the USA is that
when players go to trials.
(11:54):
It's the most subjective,opinionated exercise you will
ever see on the planet.
So I thought we need to justlook at, look at doing that and
the next thing is we do anin-house sort of like event that
we run and the in-house eventis like in a hotel room where we
actually share stories, sharestories from the book, and we
(12:17):
actually talk to people abouthow they can get involved in
becoming a professional.
If you you're a mum and dad, ifyou want to help your son and
daughter on the journey, andthen that whole day we then give
them a $1,000 report and accessto a programme and it basically
shows them that, objectively,you're there as a player and to
(12:39):
make it as a pro, you need toget there.
But then we actually build thesteps on how to get there and to
make it as a pro, you need toget there.
But then we actually build thesteps on how to get there and we
actually educate the players onhow we can do that over a
four-year period and to date,since we've done it, we've had
in excess of 25,000 playersthrough the programme.
It takes about four years toget through the programme.
(13:00):
To date we've had about 28, 29go through it in its entirety
and all of them have signedprofessional scholarships or
academy signings in the uk oreurope.
We've actually unearthed 100full proof system if you follow
it from a to z and what doesthat look like from following it
?
Speaker 1 (13:17):
is it more personalized to say I'm a dad,
I've got, you know, a youngchild that is keen to have a
crack at the professional league?
Is that all personalized, orhow does that go about coming
into place with the frameworks,or is it something that anyone
anywhere can follow?
Speaker 2 (13:34):
Yeah, that's one of the complaints that we
discovered when we looked in thecomplaints department was that
everything was very set aroundthe team dynamic and what we
discovered in the premier leaguein 2010, I worked on a super
project and they spent 1.6billion pounds on this project
on how to develop superstarathletes.
So I was very fortunate to haveall this started and what we
(13:56):
discovered personal developmentand one-on-one is the best way
to develop anyone and anythingin life.
So this program is an actualindividual deep dive into that
person.
So whether you're eight yearsof age and you're just starting
as a soccer player or as a rugbyplayer, or you're 16 and you've
been playing at a really elitelevel, it doesn't matter.
(14:17):
It knows because from grabbingthe data, it knows exactly where
you are on the journey.
And then some of the thingsthat we do on our program is we
do things like dna testing,because obviously anyone knows
who's got a card.
If you've got a diesel car andyou put petrol in it, it doesn't
work and it's the same in yourbody.
Also, one of the other thingsall the players are on gps
trackers.
A lot of parents are like wait,damn, I put my eight-year-old.
(14:40):
He's too young to have a gps?
No, he's not, because you'vegot to understand, it's fun and
it's engaging and the kids lovetechnology and you've got to
start to embrace technology.
One of the other big things thatwe do is match analysis.
So one of the things that kidsin Australia and the USA don't
get they don't get access tosome of the best coaches in the
world in football because,admittedly, the game of football
(15:03):
is the best in Europe and inEngland at the Premier League
level.
So what we do is we connect ourplayers to these coaches in the
Premier League to do a matchanalysis for them, so we're
effectively bringing somethingto their front door that they
would never ever be able to getaccess to.
And yeah, I think what we'veunearthed is a game-changing
program and mission is to leavea legacy.
(15:24):
So when I'm not here, no more Ihope someone else picks up the
reins and realizes thatanything's possible if you set
your mind to it where did thatbelief come from, that
anything's possible if you setyour mind to it?
where, where it come from fromme was reading a book about four
to five years ago.
I always sort of knew it but Ididn't know, I didn't have like
the sort of the fuel to drivethat car along properly.
(15:46):
And it comes from our friend,david Goggins, who we've both
met before and seen at events.
And after reading that book andlistening to his audio book, it
made me realize how much we'releaving on the table.
And you know the journey thatyou're going down now.
I started about four years agoand I was, you know, I was, I
was, I was over, I wasoverweight, I was, I was
(16:07):
drinking, I didn't have ahealthy diet.
And one day I just decided toput a pair of runners on because
I'd listened to David Gogginsand I started running.
And before I knew it, you know,if you were to say to me, ray,
you're going to run 90, 100ktraining weeks, you're going to
run half marathons every weekend, you're going to run eight and
nine marathons, you're going torun two ultra marathons, I was a
(16:28):
laughed at.
You know, there's no way Icould run for 80 kilometers like
in a race and roll on.
Two years later I did and Istarted to realize that we are
absolutely leaving so much onthe table.
It's not even funny.
And it then kicked me into gearfor business and for helping my
players.
And again, if you would havesaid to me two years ago in 2024
(16:51):
, right, you're going to do 96flights, you're going to see
25,000 players for your program,I would have just went.
Not a chance, there's no wayyou could do that many.
And it's funny when I tellpeople I think they think I'm
lying when I say I've done 96flights and it's like I've done
it, I've got it all.
I've got all the flight numbers, I've got it all in my diary.
I've kept everything.
It's like it's real and itshows you how much we do leave
(17:13):
on the table.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
How do you juggle that Like?
Travel is obviously veryexciting exciting, I travel a
bit as well but it's also veryinconvenient.
It takes away a lot of routine.
How have you managed to onecontinue?
Obviously you're traveling forwork, but you're a father as
well.
You're continuing to look afteryour health.
You're staying embedded in thecommunity.
How do you manage to juggle allof that while, I guess,
(17:39):
aggressively growing yourbusiness?
Speaker 2 (17:41):
Yeah, what we do is we have sort of like quarterly
meetings every 12 weeks with meand the staff and the team, and
I've got staff in the UK.
Now I've got staff in Australia.
But one of the things I'velearned it's good to forward the
plan and it's really importantto have a plan and you map
everything out.
But the two things that I'velearned is one is trust.
You've got to trust otherpeople around you to do stuff
(18:01):
for you, and for most of my lifeI've always been a little bit
of a control freak, because whenthings go wrong I'm like I
should have just done it myself.
I don't know why I've trustedin that person.
But once you give up a littlebit of that trust and let other
people do it for you, that's thefirst big step.
I think the second big thing isas well is just working one day
(18:23):
at a time and just focus oneday, one week at a time and
don't look any further aheadthan that.
I think if you do look like forthe next 12 months ahead,
you'll get overwhelmed.
I mean, I'm already looking ateight international trips
already for next year, before weeven start the domestic stuff,
and I just can't look at thatand start micromanaging it stuff
(18:44):
, and I just can't look at thatand start micromanaging it.
I've got to just go okay.
Well, that's the plans, but I'mjust only going to look one
week ahead and just work one dayat a time and that's what I
found worked for me.
I'll be honest, I did have a bitof burnout last week.
I got really ill last week.
I was down for about three dayswhen I got back from Europe.
But I've got one of theseamazing devices called the
woooot and it was reallyphenomenal.
It picked me up about 24 hoursbefore I was about to crash and
(19:08):
I could sense because the Wootreadings were awful, and I just
literally put myself to bed fortwo days and, yeah, I woke up
feeling good and I'm back up andrunning again how important is
that, I guess tracking andmanaging your own energy and
wellness to the success in yourbusiness and as a father as well
?
(19:28):
Yeah, it's super important.
I mean, as we met in FunctionWell, in the gym and I'm a big
gym goer I love that wholewellness stuff.
I love ice baths, saunas,meditation.
I think the biggest thing thatI've learned in 2024 is actually
it is so important to loveyourself and look after yourself
, because if you don't, youcan't look after anyone else.
(19:50):
I mean, I've got two daughtersfull-time.
I've got two dogs, I've gotabout 14 staff and it's like I
can't look after all of them ifI can't look after myself.
And I'll be honest with you,some days I literally would just
go right the daddy's off, thephone's off, the kids are in
school, I'm off to the gym forthe morning, I'm literally just
(20:12):
gonna lie in a sauna for two tothree hours and have a swim, and
you've got to do that sometimes.
And that's the biggest lessonif I can go back and teach
myself, anything to my 25 yearold-old self would be to love
yourself a bit more, because,yeah, I definitely didn't love
myself for me to end up likethat.
Speaker 1 (20:30):
What do you feel changed in that relationship?
So, obviously, being at a pointwhere you didn't love yourself
and I know that you've gottenoff the alcohol as well to the
point now where you do loveyourself For anyone listening
out there how did you want toaccept that maybe you weren't in
a position where you had agreat relationship with yourself
?
And what did that process thenlook like to heal and change
that?
Speaker 2 (20:50):
Yeah, I think it was like actually sitting down.
I remember one day writingthings down and writing down
what I thought was reallyaffecting me, and I always knew
deep down that you hear thingslike drinking's not good for you
, bad food's not good for you,but you always just brush it off
and I started to look into it abit more and thought, well, why
is drinking not good for you?
(21:11):
Is it?
Is that subjective opinion, oris that an objective opinion?
And once you actually like wespoke about it 10 minutes ago
like researching and getting theright information.
I've done a bit of research andlike even down to like alcohol,
like I wouldn't say I was a bigdrinker but I would have, like
you know, a few beers on asaturday and I used to tell
myself it was a reward.
And you know, I discovered anamazing book I told you before,
(21:32):
called the alcohol experiment,by annie grace, and it was the
most amazing book ever becauseshe actually educates you that
99 of people don't choose tostart drinking.
It's culturally gets given toyou when you're 15, 16, 17.
You're old enough now, son, youcan have a beer, you're working
.
But what they don't actuallyrealize, like my mum and dad
didn't realize, and I don't havea gripe against them for doing
(21:55):
it.
They didn't have the educationthen.
But by giving someone who'sunder the age of 21 an alcoholic
drink, it actually basicallymakes you dependent on alcohol,
and that's the truth in it.
And basically alcohol, as weknow, it's ethanol and it's what
you put in a car.
So as soon as I understood that, I went wait there, I didn't
choose to drink first, becausedad gave me a beer when I was 16
(22:16):
.
And the second thing was I nowunderstood why I was still
drinking and I was having thisreward mechanism, that of a
weekend I deserve to have six toeight beers, or whatever it may
be.
And then, once I got rid of thathence I stopped drinking about
three years ago and, wow, mylife has changed so much just
from stopping the drink.
And then the next thing kickedin was the fitness.
(22:37):
Then I started to delve intonutrition and it was like and
then you start to see theresults, not just in your
personal life but in your worklife as well, and my advice
would be challenge everythingthat you do in your life and
actually write down and lookwhere it actually come from and
where it stems from, and if youthink it's a good thing and it's
it's productive for you in yourlife, then keep going with it.
(22:58):
But if it's not a good thingfor you in your life, then stop
it.
But actually understand whyit's not a good thing.
And I think once you write itdown, it's not a good thing for
you in your life, then stop it,but actually understand why it's
not a good thing.
And I think once you write itdown, it's an amazing tool to do
a pen and piece of paper.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
That's awesome, and obviously I've watched you and
you over the last number ofyears as well, and you're on
such an incredible journey, avery inspiring journey.
You invest a lot in yourself,your personal development, your
professional development, yourprofessional development and, as
a result, you've become betteracross the board in all areas.
Who have been some, I guess,pivotal role models, not only in
(23:34):
the football space, but in lifeand business in general?
And what does it look like, Iguess, when I say investing in
them in terms of, like, whathave you learned from them?
The lengths that you've gone toto be around those people,
because I think that's often notspoken about enough, and I know
you've done it very well, yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
I've invested in a lot of different people over the
years and one of the thingsthat I've always been really
scared of you always have thisfear base of that's $500, that's
a lot of money.
If I spend that, it means I'mnot going to be able to do x, y
or z for the next couple ofweeks.
And once I removed that fearand started not being scared to
spend money and commit to doingthings like training courses and
(24:11):
investing in yourself and I'llbe honest, I think I've probably
across sports, football andself-development I've probably
spent in the region a half amillion dollars in my lifetime
and I think that's a lot, butfor some people it's it's not
even close to what some peoplespend.
One of the most influentialpeople I've I've met and I've
read a few of his books was theguy called Malcolm Gladwell and
(24:34):
he wrote a book called Outliersand he really kick-started all
this for me about seven or eightyears ago when I started
reading his books and it reallyshowed me the benefits of
self-development and actuallychallenging everything around
you.
And then, you know, further downthe line, as we know, you know
I've met, you know I've been toevents with a guy called Ethan
Donati, I've met one of thebiggest in the industry in
(24:56):
relation to like branding andself-branding was like a guy
called JT Fock, and there's beenso many different people I've
met like a guy called JT Fock,and there's been so many
different people I've met andone of the things that I think
I've realized is that justinvesting in yourself not just
from a health perspective, butactually backing yourself and
also going to do somethingthat's maybe not directly
aligned with your industry, butactually discovering that
(25:19):
everything is intertwined whenyou look into it.
So don't rule out, like you know, if you're not a PT but you're
in the game of rugby union,still go and go to a PT
conference because you stillmeet some of the most amazing
people on the planet, and someof my best contacts have come
from non-football industry andthey've really helped me and
that's one of the things thatI've learned no matter what
(25:39):
business you're in, you need tolearn about business, you need
to learn about money, you needto learn about finance, because
if you don't, you're not goingto have a business, and you need
to make sure you're upskilledbecause you're not only do you
owe it to yourself, you owe itto your staff, but you owe it to
, like your players or yourcustomers or your clients,
whoever they are, to make sureyou look after your business
properly as well.
Otherwise, you're not going tobe able to spread your message
(26:01):
and your legacy.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
Man.
I love that.
I think it's so important tocollaborate and learn lessons
from other industries becausequite often if we're faced with
a problem which life is full ofproblems and then learning how
to solve them, if you have afresh set of eyes, it allows for
innovation or maybe moreefficiency in solving problems.
I look at the support that I'vegot for the 58 marathons and
(26:26):
it's so humbling, and Idefinitely set the bar low in
regards to our sponsorshippackages.
We put together a sponsorshipkit for what we could offer and
we've exceeded that in terms of.
We've literally even still tothis day and we've finished our
sponsorships got brands wantingto be part of it and people and
companies wanting to be part ofit, which has blown my mind.
(26:50):
But then when I sit back and Ithink about my journey over the
last 10 years, I've spent inexcess of $150,000 in my
development and traveling,networking, meeting people.
To me, I'm then like, okay,well, it's no surprise.
I've met all of these peopleand they're now part of my
network and they believe in meand they want to be part of
something as well, which is cool, and I think for me that
(27:13):
wouldn't have happened if muchlike what you were saying, ray.
I've gone to events indifferent industries, I've met
people from all walks of lifeand I've continued to invest in
podcasts, in books, to becomethe best version of myself.
And now that I'm attempting todo something extraordinary,
there's a whole, I guess, teamof Avengers behind me
championing that.
Speaker 2 (27:34):
Yeah, it's so important.
And you realize as well it'snot possible on your own.
You need support.
And that's where I used to gowrong as well in my 20s and
early 30s.
One, you think you can do itall yourself, but two, you don't
realize the pressure you'reputting yourself under.
And once you start engagingwith people and and also being a
, you know, humble enough toaccept things like sponsorships
(27:57):
and support and stuff and thatit's a game change because you
don't realize.
I mean I think you do know, butyou know.
You know the way David Gogginshas influenced so many people
around the planet.
You know you're gonna be thenext David Goggins.
There's gonna be anotherRaymond's words.
Who's gonna pick up your book,who's gonna read your story?
And not only are you gonnachange Raymond's woods life,
lockie, it's the people whoRaymond's would then change his
(28:20):
lives for.
And I look back and think, likepeople say to me, like who's?
Who's that?
One of the greatest peopleyou've ever met and one of the
most inspirational people.
And I always say to DavidGoggins but at the moment as
well, I'll be honest, lockie,it's you, because I know the
ripple and the wave that you'regoing to affect, not for the
next five years, for the next 30, 40, 50 years, because people
(28:43):
are always going to read aboutremember that crazy australian
guy who run 58 marathons in 50days, like and people are going
to speak about it forever andtalk about leaving a legacy.
And if one person picks up yourbook in the future and goes on
that journey and bettersthemselves, then for me it's all
worthwhile.
Speaker 1 (29:01):
I appreciate that, mate.
It does mean a lot andobviously, when you're in the
thick of it, you don'tnecessarily get to view yourself
in that, because I do have abig, big task ahead, but that's
you know, that's the ultimategoal.
And, similar to yourself,goggins, there's so many people
who have.
Because of them and how they'veinspired me, whether they've
gifted me a book or they'vereached out to me when I needed
(29:22):
it or they've done somethingthat I thought was impossible,
and they've taught me andsupported me along the way.
It's allowed me to get to thispoint and to your point.
If I can help, you know,continue to help more people
doing what I love, then that's ajob well done and it's not
going to be easy, but it's partof the journey, and much to
yourself, ray.
You've done that through thevehicle of your business and
(29:44):
what you're achieving.
I get so inspired every time Isee you've given someone a
scholarship, you've run anotherevent and you have hundreds of
people at these events andyou're giving people the
opportunity to turn their dreamsinto reality.
Had you not been bold andcourageous to step out of what
was normal and take the risk todo that and I know there's so
(30:05):
much more we could dive into.
That would not have been easy,but you've gone out on a limb
and you're making people's liveschange as a result of that and,
once again, every time you postthat I'm like I need to go
harder, I need to be bigger.
So I can thank you in the sameway and I hope people that are
(30:27):
listening to this just realizethe power of the people that you
keep in your community.
If you have motivated andinspired people doing cool shit
and big stuff like it's onlygoing to want to make you
elevate, especially when you'relooking at it through the lens
of this person's not taking fromme.
They're adding to me.
Speaker 2 (30:41):
Yeah, yeah, a hundred percent, and it's all about
adding value, and that's one ofthe big things I've learned over
the years.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
And Ray, what's the big goal for 2025?
I know you said you've got anumber of international trips
booked.
Where can we see you going in2025?
Speaker 2 (30:56):
So big thing is we're about to launch, in January,
australia's first free footballacademy.
One of the biggest things inAustralia is that parents pay
$4,000 to $5,000 a year for feesfor football.
We've gone out and built mydream, which was to make an
academy completely free ofcharge, so we've done that for
60 boys and 60 girls.
My next vision is obviously youknow, I've got my book, the Pro
(31:17):
Player Pathway we're trying to.
The book's already a number oneseller globally, but we're
trying to get it to the pointwhere we're selling like maybe a
million dollars of books amonth, because the money that we
raise from the book we'reputting towards the free
academies.
So my vision is I looked in thecomplaints department in
Australia and for 20 years allI've seen is parents, clubs,
(31:41):
federations all complaining andmoaning about the cost of
football.
So I thought you know what?
Rather than waiting for them tofix it, I'm going to fix it.
So what I'm doing is I'msetting up a free academy.
In Sydney, in Melbourne, inAdelaide, in Perth, in every
main city of Australia.
We're going to set up a freeacademy.
So that way, if there'sfamilies and kids who can't do
football because of thefinancial constraint, well, no
(32:03):
more as that happening.
That's my big vision and bigdream.
So my dream for next year is toget $12 million in book sales
and also to fund as many freeacademies, and not just in
Australia.
We're going to be planning togo to the USA, canada and also
into the Middle East as well.
Speaker 1 (32:20):
That's extremely exciting and I'm glad we got to
hear that here, because therewill be a lot of people who have
children who are going to beable to tap into that.
But, mate, that is what I lovebeing surrounded by hearing
people with goals like that andthe conviction that you have
behind it and, obviously, theruns you have on the board for
the last couple of years.
I can't wait to see that cometo reality.
(32:40):
So, ray, for people who arewanting to know how they can get
involved and attend some ofyour workshops or the academy,
where will they be able to findall of that information?
Speaker 2 (32:50):
so you can reach out to me on socials, on tiktok,
instagram, facebook.
It's at the raymonds wood, oryou can go to our website, which
is euro football starcom andeverything's on there, and also,
if they dm you well, I'm happyfor you to share my information.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
Awesome.
I'll do that so for everyonelistening along, if you're
driving or whatever, just makesure you check the show notes
below and it will be all linkedthere.
But, ray mate, you've inspiredme.
You continue to inspire me.
I look forward to followingalong what you achieve in 2025.
It's going to be huge and onceagain, I know that along these
days where I have some roughtrots running on the road, I'll
(33:27):
open my Instagram and you'llhave posted doing a workshop or
giving a scholarship and that'sgoing to make me want to work
harder in those down days.
So I appreciate that.
It's been honestly, truly greatgetting to see your success.
So thank you so much for comingon.
I know you're a busy man.
Speaker 2 (33:42):
Have a incredible new year, an incredible christmas
with the family and enjoy somedowntime yeah, and see you and
your family as well, mate, and Iwill see you in the morning for
your run as well.
Speaker 1 (33:52):
Seven o'clock seven o'clock mate.
So everybody, that's raymondwood from euro football star.
He is doing incredible thingsas an agent and helping develop
young players not only in austAustralia but all around the
world.
So if you want to get incontact, hit the show notes
below.
You'll be able to find him atTheRaymondWood, on all social
platforms and throughEuroFootballStarcom.
(34:14):
Thank you, guys.
My name is Lachlan Stewart.
As always, do something todayto be better for tomorrow.
So today I'm very excited to welcome Raymond Wood
on the podcast.
Raymond has been someone that Iwas very fortunate to meet at
the gym a number of years ago,and he actually encouraged me to
attend an event that not onlytransformed the direction that
my business went in, but alsoyours as well, ray.
So, mate, over the last 25years, you've been a seasoned
(00:23):
football professional,experiencing so, with experience
working alongside some of thebiggest names in the game,
including Liverpool, leicesterCity and PSG or Paris
Saint-Germain, and you'verecently got your UEFA coaching
qualifications.
So, mate, I am grateful to haveyou on here.
I know there is so much we canunpack today about your journey,
(00:45):
but just quickly, for theaudience who are stumbling
across you for the first time,can you give us a quick recap on
what led you to this point?
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Yeah, thanks, lachie.
Thanks for having us on.
It's great to chat to you andall your listeners.
Yeah, I originally come fromLiverpool in England.
As most of you will tell withthe accent, I was at the age of
15 and 16 at the realisationthat I was never going to make
it as a professional footballplayer.
So I was very fortunate todiscover one of my future
mentors who said you know,there's other jobs within
(01:15):
football you can have, whetheryou be a coach or a physio or a
sports scientist.
And yeah, I ended up going downthe journey of becoming a coach
.
I was one of the youngestcoaches to complete all my
coaching badges with UEFA.
By the time I was 21-22, I'ddone the majority of them and
then, more recently, I've delvedinto the world of becoming a
player agent, and for the simplereason there's loads of good
(01:39):
agents around, but there's loadsof bad agents as well, and I
thought I've definitely gotsomething to offer coming from
that coaching background, butalso being able to liaise with
players and open up deals due tomy vast network of clubs and
contacts around the world.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
What was it that you feel you offer differently to
really support your players andthe people that work with you,
as opposed to agents that maybearen't doing that as well as
you'd like to see?
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Yeah, one of the big things, lockie, was that in the
90s and early 2000s, the waythey set up football agents was
you needed to be a lawyerbecause you needed to be able to
manage the contract side of it.
So what you ended up with?
You ended up with a spate oflawyers coming into the football
world and from a contract pointof view, yeah, amazing.
But from a football knowledgepoint of view, absolutely zero
(02:30):
zilch.
And this is like for the past20 years.
Some of the biggest superagents have been ex-lawyers and,
I'll be honest, a lot of themare winging it as they go along.
In regards to football terms,the football agents of the
future is changing now and Ithink UEFA have realized that as
well, which is the governingbody of football in europe that
really we need people who'vebeen heavily involved in
(02:51):
football whether you've been acoach or a sport scientist or a
physio but someone's been in andaround the game for 20, 25
years, and that's the uh, thenew direction.
So I think for me, the factthat I've developed some of the
biggest players on the planetI've worked in the Premier
League, I've worked in Ligue 1in France, I've worked at some
of the biggest coaches.
I've seen it from that side asa coach and as a player, and
(03:15):
then now being an agent as well.
I know exactly what a playerneeds and what they're looking
for, and I think it gives me areal leg up on everyone.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
So the future's bright at the moment it gives me
a real leg up on everyone, sothe future's bright at the
moment.
What was it like when you firstgot into the industry, having
the experience on the other sideand now being as an agent and
obviously, if you've got yourplayer pathways and programs
that we'll talk about shortly?
Was there ever any impostersyndrome or self-doubt as you
were sort of making leaps andbounds into the scene?
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Yeah, I mean, I always had an imposter syndrome
because I always, like theindustry is very, you've got to
be an ex-pro to be a coach andto be successful as a coach, and
that's what I went through for15 years and I used to think a
lot of people used to say that,but I think it was perception, I
think it was the way I wasperceivingiving it.
It was only when I got to likemaybe the age of about 34, 35, I
(04:07):
actually started to realizethat only was a very good coach.
I was probably one of the bestdevelopment coaches on the
planet because of I literallybury myself in reading books,
audio books, researching, uh.
And then, yeah, that impostersyndrome was a hard one to come
over.
Now I've gone around the otherend of the scale and it's like I
just lead everything.
(04:28):
Every foot gets led withabsolute super confidence.
And also I don't claim to knoweverything, and if I don't know
something I'll hold my hands upand go.
But you know what?
I'm going to find it out foryou, because one it'd be good
for me to know, but also it'd begood for my players to know as
well.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
How do you get to that point?
Because that is a huge skillthat people could learn and take
across all industries beingable to put your hand up,
especially when you're in theposition you're in.
Ray, I know across the boardand especially across Australia,
you're like one of the go-tomen if people want to get their
players developed.
So with that I would and Idon't want to assume, but if I
(05:06):
was in your position I feelthere would be a fair amount of
pressure that I would take withthat.
So be able to be humble enoughto stand there and put your hand
up and say, hey, I don't havethe answers.
How do you develop that?
How do you learn to getcomfortable with that?
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Yeah, I think it comes down again.
I think more to around becauseI'm 45 now, but I think it was
around 35, 36 when I actuallycome to the understanding that
it's actually okay to not knowsomething or to actually not be
sure on something, to go out andask that question, and I think
it's a.
It's a great thing to show yourplayers and anyone you work
with in life as well, if you canactually you know just hold
(05:45):
their hands up and go.
I don't know, but I'd reallyreally love to know.
But also, I think it comes downto as well actually knowing who
you're asking for theinformation is actually going to
give you the real answer aswell, and they're qualified
enough to give you that answer.
Because, as you know, nowadaysit doesn't matter the industry
you're in with google, everyoneknows everything and it's like
and it's a scary world and it'slike.
(06:06):
That's why you've got to reallyreally challenge yourself as
well.
When you're asking thequestions, make sure you know
you're asking it from the peoplein the know before and you've
got to be careful because youknow as well as me in the
fitness industry and the sportsindustry, you've got to be
careful what you're advisingpeople, because it's a.
It's a physical game.
People could get hurt andyou've got to make sure you
research and you know whatyou're saying, and also we both
(06:28):
cross that border of nutritionand diet and all that.
So you've got to be reallycareful on what you're saying.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
For sure and obviously you know, with your
work in developing players youmentioned you're one of the best
at it on the planet, especiallyfor developing junior players,
and I know you've establishedEuro Football Star.
You are looking across,obviously, player development,
skill development, but then alsoconnecting people, helping them
build their mental resilienceand I guess, even shaping who
(06:56):
they become as young athletes aswell.
How do you go about doing thatfrom such a young age around?
Obviously, when you're a, a kidand I know when I was a kid,
like sport was everything andbecoming professional was all I
wanted, there were things that Ineglected that I know you work
on from developing people'smindset, their relationship with
(07:18):
failure.
So how do you go about, I guess, bringing that into the
athletes that you work with?
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Yeah, I was very lucky when I went down my
coaching journey.
I started off with the realyoung players like six to eight
years of age, that foundation,and then I was very fortunate to
then work through what's calledYouth Foundation where I was in
charge of 12 to 16s anddeveloping them for the senior
game.
So I think over that 10,12-year period in Europe I
(07:45):
really learned from a five orsix-year-old all the way through
and I really thought you knowwhat, if I'm going to do it, I'm
going to go from five and sixyears of age all the way through
the ages slowly and learneverything.
The big thing and I mean itsounds like common sense to most
, but when you're six, seven,eight years of age 100%, you
(08:05):
sense to most, but when you'resix, seven and eight years of
age 100 you've got to have thoseelements of fun.
It's got to be fun for the kidsbecause otherwise they're not
going to do the sport.
It's that simple.
But also as well, I think it'sabout teaching them
responsibility and actually evenat the ages of eight and nine,
how they can actually takeownership for the game and get
more out of the game, andeducating them, like you know if
you're a professional player,this what you need to do, these
are how many hours you need todo, and it's a really, really
(08:28):
good way to go at it.
So I feel very blessed that Isort of took myself on that
journey.
I used to always throw myselfin the deep end Like people used
to laugh at me because when Iwas coaching in the pro game in
England, I was also working inchildcare and daycares.
And people are like why are youdoing that?
For you know you're working atLeicester City and I'm like
because I want to learn, if youcan coach a four or a
five-year-old, you can coach aten-year-old.
(08:49):
And that's what I really done.
I really always intuitivelyknew to chuck myself in the deep
end and have a challenge andthrough that adversity I learned
a lot along the way.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
And it's awesome that you're able to see that from an
early age.
It's one thing that I wish Idid.
Maybe a little bit sooner,probably before jumping into my
own business.
I feel I wish I took almostlike an apprenticeship with
other coaching companies orsales companies, just to learn
how they do it at scale andmaybe with bigger, higher ticket
(09:20):
sales.
I wish I did that and now Ifeel like I definitely could do
it.
But I'm telling myself I'm toofar invested into my own company
and what I've been doing tosort of take a sidestep to
continue developing those skills, even though I still am.
But it's always fun to gothrough those apprenticeship
moments, that's for sure.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Yeah, 100% the advice I would give anyone.
Anything you want to do in life, try and start right at the
bottom and then work your waythrough.
A good example I can give youon this one.
There's a guy at Leicester City.
He's been there for over 25years now and he's now one of
the heads of football and one ofthe head scouts started at the
(10:06):
club 20 years ago.
He was the cleaner in thestadium and he's just a
testament to just like start atthe bottom and work your way up
and you know sometimes when youget to certain jobs in
businesses like you might get tothat level that you thought you
wanted to get and go.
Actually, I don't enjoy that.
I want to go back to moppingthe floors because that was life
was a bit easier, but it's goodto see it from the bottom all
the way through and for somepeople it's a great way to do it
.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
Definitely right.
I think you definitely needthose experiences, Mate.
You've been jetting all aroundthe world like nonstop.
You're on a plane.
Whenever we catch up, you'reflying somewhere or coming back
from somewhere.
You're running seminars.
Can you give us a little bit ofa rundown on what the seminars
you're running, what they're forand, I guess, what the plans
(10:48):
are with that?
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Yeah, so yeah, I think I've got more air miles
than Richard Branson at themoment.
I've done 96 flights this yearand I'm not doing any more.
I'm absolutely done for theyear.
But yeah, back to the questionthe events.
We run something calledFootball Forum.
Back to the question, theevents.
We run something calledFootball Forum.
And what I done was about fouryears ago I decided to look in a
complaints department infootball in Australia, in the
(11:13):
USA and in Canada and once Istarted to look in the
complaints department I realisedthere was a lot of issues and I
picked out one or two that Ithought I could really help.
So the first thing I've donewas wrote a book called the
Professional Player Pathway,where I basically share all of
my knowledge and backgroundsworking in the pro game, and
then I developed a program thatwe run called Football Forum,
(11:34):
which entails the pro playerpathway.
So we travel the globe lookingfor players ages from eight
years of age all the way throughto about 22.
It allows them to come outcompletely free of charge.
They get tested on the fieldobjectively, because one of the
big complaints in football inAustralia and in the USA is that
when players go to trials.
(11:54):
It's the most subjective,opinionated exercise you will
ever see on the planet.
So I thought we need to justlook at, look at doing that and
the next thing is we do anin-house sort of like event that
we run and the in-house eventis like in a hotel room where we
actually share stories, sharestories from the book, and we
(12:17):
actually talk to people abouthow they can get involved in
becoming a professional.
If you you're a mum and dad, ifyou want to help your son and
daughter on the journey, andthen that whole day we then give
them a $1,000 report and accessto a programme and it basically
shows them that, objectively,you're there as a player and to
(12:39):
make it as a pro, you need toget there.
But then we actually build thesteps on how to get there and to
make it as a pro, you need toget there.
But then we actually build thesteps on how to get there and we
actually educate the players onhow we can do that over a
four-year period and to date,since we've done it, we've had
in excess of 25,000 playersthrough the programme.
It takes about four years toget through the programme.
(13:00):
To date we've had about 28, 29go through it in its entirety
and all of them have signedprofessional scholarships or
academy signings in the uk oreurope.
We've actually unearthed 100full proof system if you follow
it from a to z and what doesthat look like from following it
?
Speaker 1 (13:17):
is it more personalized to say I'm a dad,
I've got, you know, a youngchild that is keen to have a
crack at the professional league?
Is that all personalized, orhow does that go about coming
into place with the frameworks,or is it something that anyone
anywhere can follow?
Speaker 2 (13:34):
Yeah, that's one of the complaints that we
discovered when we looked in thecomplaints department was that
everything was very set aroundthe team dynamic and what we
discovered in the premier leaguein 2010, I worked on a super
project and they spent 1.6billion pounds on this project
on how to develop superstarathletes.
So I was very fortunate to haveall this started and what we
(13:56):
discovered personal developmentand one-on-one is the best way
to develop anyone and anythingin life.
So this program is an actualindividual deep dive into that
person.
So whether you're eight yearsof age and you're just starting
as a soccer player or as a rugbyplayer, or you're 16 and you've
been playing at a really elitelevel, it doesn't matter.
(14:17):
It knows because from grabbingthe data, it knows exactly where
you are on the journey.
And then some of the thingsthat we do on our program is we
do things like dna testing,because obviously anyone knows
who's got a card.
If you've got a diesel car andyou put petrol in it, it doesn't
work and it's the same in yourbody.
Also, one of the other thingsall the players are on gps
trackers.
A lot of parents are like wait,damn, I put my eight-year-old.
(14:40):
He's too young to have a gps?
No, he's not, because you'vegot to understand, it's fun and
it's engaging and the kids lovetechnology and you've got to
start to embrace technology.
One of the other big things thatwe do is match analysis.
So one of the things that kidsin Australia and the USA don't
get they don't get access tosome of the best coaches in the
world in football because,admittedly, the game of football
(15:03):
is the best in Europe and inEngland at the Premier League
level.
So what we do is we connect ourplayers to these coaches in the
Premier League to do a matchanalysis for them, so we're
effectively bringing somethingto their front door that they
would never ever be able to getaccess to.
And yeah, I think what we'veunearthed is a game-changing
program and mission is to leavea legacy.
(15:24):
So when I'm not here, no more Ihope someone else picks up the
reins and realizes thatanything's possible if you set
your mind to it where did thatbelief come from, that
anything's possible if you setyour mind to it?
where, where it come from fromme was reading a book about four
to five years ago.
I always sort of knew it but Ididn't know, I didn't have like
the sort of the fuel to drivethat car along properly.
(15:46):
And it comes from our friend,david Goggins, who we've both
met before and seen at events.
And after reading that book andlistening to his audio book, it
made me realize how much we'releaving on the table.
And you know the journey thatyou're going down now.
I started about four years agoand I was, you know, I was, I
was, I was over, I wasoverweight, I was, I was
(16:07):
drinking, I didn't have ahealthy diet.
And one day I just decided toput a pair of runners on because
I'd listened to David Gogginsand I started running.
And before I knew it, you know,if you were to say to me, ray,
you're going to run 90, 100ktraining weeks, you're going to
run half marathons every weekend, you're going to run eight and
nine marathons, you're going torun two ultra marathons, I was a
(16:28):
laughed at.
You know, there's no way Icould run for 80 kilometers like
in a race and roll on.
Two years later I did and Istarted to realize that we are
absolutely leaving so much onthe table.
It's not even funny.
And it then kicked me into gearfor business and for helping my
players.
And again, if you would havesaid to me two years ago in 2024
(16:51):
, right, you're going to do 96flights, you're going to see
25,000 players for your program,I would have just went.
Not a chance, there's no wayyou could do that many.
And it's funny when I tellpeople I think they think I'm
lying when I say I've done 96flights and it's like I've done
it, I've got it all.
I've got all the flight numbers, I've got it all in my diary.
I've kept everything.
It's like it's real and itshows you how much we do leave
(17:13):
on the table.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
How do you juggle that Like?
Travel is obviously veryexciting exciting, I travel a
bit as well but it's also veryinconvenient.
It takes away a lot of routine.
How have you managed to onecontinue?
Obviously you're traveling forwork, but you're a father as
well.
You're continuing to look afteryour health.
You're staying embedded in thecommunity.
How do you manage to juggle allof that while, I guess,
(17:39):
aggressively growing yourbusiness?
Speaker 2 (17:41):
Yeah, what we do is we have sort of like quarterly
meetings every 12 weeks with meand the staff and the team, and
I've got staff in the UK.
Now I've got staff in Australia.
But one of the things I'velearned it's good to forward the
plan and it's really importantto have a plan and you map
everything out.
But the two things that I'velearned is one is trust.
You've got to trust otherpeople around you to do stuff
(18:01):
for you, and for most of my lifeI've always been a little bit
of a control freak, because whenthings go wrong I'm like I
should have just done it myself.
I don't know why I've trustedin that person.
But once you give up a littlebit of that trust and let other
people do it for you, that's thefirst big step.
I think the second big thing isas well is just working one day
(18:23):
at a time and just focus oneday, one week at a time and
don't look any further aheadthan that.
I think if you do look like forthe next 12 months ahead,
you'll get overwhelmed.
I mean, I'm already looking ateight international trips
already for next year, before weeven start the domestic stuff,
and I just can't look at thatand start micromanaging it stuff
(18:44):
, and I just can't look at thatand start micromanaging it.
I've got to just go okay.
Well, that's the plans, but I'mjust only going to look one
week ahead and just work one dayat a time and that's what I
found worked for me.
I'll be honest, I did have a bitof burnout last week.
I got really ill last week.
I was down for about three dayswhen I got back from Europe.
But I've got one of theseamazing devices called the
woooot and it was reallyphenomenal.
It picked me up about 24 hoursbefore I was about to crash and
(19:08):
I could sense because the Wootreadings were awful, and I just
literally put myself to bed fortwo days and, yeah, I woke up
feeling good and I'm back up andrunning again how important is
that, I guess tracking andmanaging your own energy and
wellness to the success in yourbusiness and as a father as well
?
(19:28):
Yeah, it's super important.
I mean, as we met in FunctionWell, in the gym and I'm a big
gym goer I love that wholewellness stuff.
I love ice baths, saunas,meditation.
I think the biggest thing thatI've learned in 2024 is actually
it is so important to loveyourself and look after yourself
, because if you don't, youcan't look after anyone else.
(19:50):
I mean, I've got two daughtersfull-time.
I've got two dogs, I've gotabout 14 staff and it's like I
can't look after all of them ifI can't look after myself.
And I'll be honest with you,some days I literally would just
go right the daddy's off, thephone's off, the kids are in
school, I'm off to the gym forthe morning, I'm literally just
(20:12):
gonna lie in a sauna for two tothree hours and have a swim, and
you've got to do that sometimes.
And that's the biggest lessonif I can go back and teach
myself, anything to my 25 yearold-old self would be to love
yourself a bit more, because,yeah, I definitely didn't love
myself for me to end up likethat.
Speaker 1 (20:30):
What do you feel changed in that relationship?
So, obviously, being at a pointwhere you didn't love yourself
and I know that you've gottenoff the alcohol as well to the
point now where you do loveyourself For anyone listening
out there how did you want toaccept that maybe you weren't in
a position where you had agreat relationship with yourself
?
And what did that process thenlook like to heal and change
that?
Speaker 2 (20:50):
Yeah, I think it was like actually sitting down.
I remember one day writingthings down and writing down
what I thought was reallyaffecting me, and I always knew
deep down that you hear thingslike drinking's not good for you
, bad food's not good for you,but you always just brush it off
and I started to look into it abit more and thought, well, why
is drinking not good for you?
(21:11):
Is it?
Is that subjective opinion, oris that an objective opinion?
And once you actually like wespoke about it 10 minutes ago
like researching and getting theright information.
I've done a bit of research andlike even down to like alcohol,
like I wouldn't say I was a bigdrinker but I would have, like
you know, a few beers on asaturday and I used to tell
myself it was a reward.
And you know, I discovered anamazing book I told you before,
(21:32):
called the alcohol experiment,by annie grace, and it was the
most amazing book ever becauseshe actually educates you that
99 of people don't choose tostart drinking.
It's culturally gets given toyou when you're 15, 16, 17.
You're old enough now, son, youcan have a beer, you're working
.
But what they don't actuallyrealize, like my mum and dad
didn't realize, and I don't havea gripe against them for doing
(21:55):
it.
They didn't have the educationthen.
But by giving someone who'sunder the age of 21 an alcoholic
drink, it actually basicallymakes you dependent on alcohol,
and that's the truth in it.
And basically alcohol, as weknow, it's ethanol and it's what
you put in a car.
So as soon as I understood that, I went wait there, I didn't
choose to drink first, becausedad gave me a beer when I was 16
(22:16):
.
And the second thing was I nowunderstood why I was still
drinking and I was having thisreward mechanism, that of a
weekend I deserve to have six toeight beers, or whatever it may
be.
And then, once I got rid of thathence I stopped drinking about
three years ago and, wow, mylife has changed so much just
from stopping the drink.
And then the next thing kickedin was the fitness.
(22:37):
Then I started to delve intonutrition and it was like and
then you start to see theresults, not just in your
personal life but in your worklife as well, and my advice
would be challenge everythingthat you do in your life and
actually write down and lookwhere it actually come from and
where it stems from, and if youthink it's a good thing and it's
it's productive for you in yourlife, then keep going with it.
(22:58):
But if it's not a good thingfor you in your life, then stop
it.
But actually understand whyit's not a good thing.
And I think once you write itdown, it's not a good thing for
you in your life, then stop it,but actually understand why it's
not a good thing.
And I think once you write itdown, it's an amazing tool to do
a pen and piece of paper.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
That's awesome, and obviously I've watched you and
you over the last number ofyears as well, and you're on
such an incredible journey, avery inspiring journey.
You invest a lot in yourself,your personal development, your
professional development, yourprofessional development and, as
a result, you've become betteracross the board in all areas.
Who have been some, I guess,pivotal role models, not only in
(23:34):
the football space, but in lifeand business in general?
And what does it look like, Iguess, when I say investing in
them in terms of, like, whathave you learned from them?
The lengths that you've gone toto be around those people,
because I think that's often notspoken about enough, and I know
you've done it very well, yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
I've invested in a lot of different people over the
years and one of the thingsthat I've always been really
scared of you always have thisfear base of that's $500, that's
a lot of money.
If I spend that, it means I'mnot going to be able to do x, y
or z for the next couple ofweeks.
And once I removed that fearand started not being scared to
spend money and commit to doingthings like training courses and
(24:11):
investing in yourself and I'llbe honest, I think I've probably
across sports, football andself-development I've probably
spent in the region a half amillion dollars in my lifetime
and I think that's a lot, butfor some people it's it's not
even close to what some peoplespend.
One of the most influentialpeople I've I've met and I've
read a few of his books was theguy called Malcolm Gladwell and
(24:34):
he wrote a book called Outliersand he really kick-started all
this for me about seven or eightyears ago when I started
reading his books and it reallyshowed me the benefits of
self-development and actuallychallenging everything around
you.
And then, you know, further downthe line, as we know, you know
I've met, you know I've been toevents with a guy called Ethan
Donati, I've met one of thebiggest in the industry in
(24:56):
relation to like branding andself-branding was like a guy
called JT Fock, and there's beenso many different people I've
met like a guy called JT Fock,and there's been so many
different people I've met andone of the things that I think
I've realized is that justinvesting in yourself not just
from a health perspective, butactually backing yourself and
also going to do somethingthat's maybe not directly
aligned with your industry, butactually discovering that
(25:19):
everything is intertwined whenyou look into it.
So don't rule out, like you know, if you're not a PT but you're
in the game of rugby union,still go and go to a PT
conference because you stillmeet some of the most amazing
people on the planet, and someof my best contacts have come
from non-football industry andthey've really helped me and
that's one of the things thatI've learned no matter what
(25:39):
business you're in, you need tolearn about business, you need
to learn about money, you needto learn about finance, because
if you don't, you're not goingto have a business, and you need
to make sure you're upskilledbecause you're not only do you
owe it to yourself, you owe itto your staff, but you owe it to
, like your players or yourcustomers or your clients,
whoever they are, to make sureyou look after your business
properly as well.
Otherwise, you're not going tobe able to spread your message
(26:01):
and your legacy.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
Man.
I love that.
I think it's so important tocollaborate and learn lessons
from other industries becausequite often if we're faced with
a problem which life is full ofproblems and then learning how
to solve them, if you have afresh set of eyes, it allows for
innovation or maybe moreefficiency in solving problems.
I look at the support that I'vegot for the 58 marathons and
(26:26):
it's so humbling, and Idefinitely set the bar low in
regards to our sponsorshippackages.
We put together a sponsorshipkit for what we could offer and
we've exceeded that in terms of.
We've literally even still tothis day and we've finished our
sponsorships got brands wantingto be part of it and people and
companies wanting to be part ofit, which has blown my mind.
(26:50):
But then when I sit back and Ithink about my journey over the
last 10 years, I've spent inexcess of $150,000 in my
development and traveling,networking, meeting people.
To me, I'm then like, okay,well, it's no surprise.
I've met all of these peopleand they're now part of my
network and they believe in meand they want to be part of
something as well, which is cool, and I think for me that
(27:13):
wouldn't have happened if muchlike what you were saying, ray.
I've gone to events indifferent industries, I've met
people from all walks of lifeand I've continued to invest in
podcasts, in books, to becomethe best version of myself.
And now that I'm attempting todo something extraordinary,
there's a whole, I guess, teamof Avengers behind me
championing that.
Speaker 2 (27:34):
Yeah, it's so important.
And you realize as well it'snot possible on your own.
You need support.
And that's where I used to gowrong as well in my 20s and
early 30s.
One, you think you can do itall yourself, but two, you don't
realize the pressure you'reputting yourself under.
And once you start engagingwith people and and also being a
, you know, humble enough toaccept things like sponsorships
(27:57):
and support and stuff and thatit's a game change because you
don't realize.
I mean I think you do know, butyou know.
You know the way David Gogginshas influenced so many people
around the planet.
You know you're gonna be thenext David Goggins.
There's gonna be anotherRaymond's words.
Who's gonna pick up your book,who's gonna read your story?
And not only are you gonnachange Raymond's woods life,
lockie, it's the people whoRaymond's would then change his
(28:20):
lives for.
And I look back and think, likepeople say to me, like who's?
Who's that?
One of the greatest peopleyou've ever met and one of the
most inspirational people.
And I always say to DavidGoggins but at the moment as
well, I'll be honest, lockie,it's you, because I know the
ripple and the wave that you'regoing to affect, not for the
next five years, for the next 30, 40, 50 years, because people
(28:43):
are always going to read aboutremember that crazy australian
guy who run 58 marathons in 50days, like and people are going
to speak about it forever andtalk about leaving a legacy.
And if one person picks up yourbook in the future and goes on
that journey and bettersthemselves, then for me it's all
worthwhile.
Speaker 1 (29:01):
I appreciate that, mate.
It does mean a lot andobviously, when you're in the
thick of it, you don'tnecessarily get to view yourself
in that, because I do have abig, big task ahead, but that's
you know, that's the ultimategoal.
And, similar to yourself,goggins, there's so many people
who have.
Because of them and how they'veinspired me, whether they've
gifted me a book or they'vereached out to me when I needed
(29:22):
it or they've done somethingthat I thought was impossible,
and they've taught me andsupported me along the way.
It's allowed me to get to thispoint and to your point.
If I can help, you know,continue to help more people
doing what I love, then that's ajob well done and it's not
going to be easy, but it's partof the journey, and much to
yourself, ray.
You've done that through thevehicle of your business and
(29:44):
what you're achieving.
I get so inspired every time Isee you've given someone a
scholarship, you've run anotherevent and you have hundreds of
people at these events andyou're giving people the
opportunity to turn their dreamsinto reality.
Had you not been bold andcourageous to step out of what
was normal and take the risk todo that and I know there's so
(30:05):
much more we could dive into.
That would not have been easy,but you've gone out on a limb
and you're making people's liveschange as a result of that and,
once again, every time you postthat I'm like I need to go
harder, I need to be bigger.
So I can thank you in the sameway and I hope people that are
(30:27):
listening to this just realizethe power of the people that you
keep in your community.
If you have motivated andinspired people doing cool shit
and big stuff like it's onlygoing to want to make you
elevate, especially when you'relooking at it through the lens
of this person's not taking fromme.
They're adding to me.
Speaker 2 (30:41):
Yeah, yeah, a hundred percent, and it's all about
adding value, and that's one ofthe big things I've learned over
the years.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
And Ray, what's the big goal for 2025?
I know you said you've got anumber of international trips
booked.
Where can we see you going in2025?
Speaker 2 (30:56):
So big thing is we're about to launch, in January,
australia's first free footballacademy.
One of the biggest things inAustralia is that parents pay
$4,000 to $5,000 a year for feesfor football.
We've gone out and built mydream, which was to make an
academy completely free ofcharge, so we've done that for
60 boys and 60 girls.
My next vision is obviously youknow, I've got my book, the Pro
(31:17):
Player Pathway we're trying to.
The book's already a number oneseller globally, but we're
trying to get it to the pointwhere we're selling like maybe a
million dollars of books amonth, because the money that we
raise from the book we'reputting towards the free
academies.
So my vision is I looked in thecomplaints department in
Australia and for 20 years allI've seen is parents, clubs,
(31:41):
federations all complaining andmoaning about the cost of
football.
So I thought you know what?
Rather than waiting for them tofix it, I'm going to fix it.
So what I'm doing is I'msetting up a free academy.
In Sydney, in Melbourne, inAdelaide, in Perth, in every
main city of Australia.
We're going to set up a freeacademy.
So that way, if there'sfamilies and kids who can't do
football because of thefinancial constraint, well, no
(32:03):
more as that happening.
That's my big vision and bigdream.
So my dream for next year is toget $12 million in book sales
and also to fund as many freeacademies, and not just in
Australia.
We're going to be planning togo to the USA, canada and also
into the Middle East as well.
Speaker 1 (32:20):
That's extremely exciting and I'm glad we got to
hear that here, because therewill be a lot of people who have
children who are going to beable to tap into that.
But, mate, that is what I lovebeing surrounded by hearing
people with goals like that andthe conviction that you have
behind it and, obviously, theruns you have on the board for
the last couple of years.
I can't wait to see that cometo reality.
(32:40):
So, ray, for people who arewanting to know how they can get
involved and attend some ofyour workshops or the academy,
where will they be able to findall of that information?
Speaker 2 (32:50):
so you can reach out to me on socials, on tiktok,
instagram, facebook.
It's at the raymonds wood, oryou can go to our website, which
is euro football starcom andeverything's on there, and also,
if they dm you well, I'm happyfor you to share my information.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
Awesome.
I'll do that so for everyonelistening along, if you're
driving or whatever, just makesure you check the show notes
below and it will be all linkedthere.
But, ray mate, you've inspiredme.
You continue to inspire me.
I look forward to followingalong what you achieve in 2025.
It's going to be huge and onceagain, I know that along these
days where I have some roughtrots running on the road, I'll
(33:27):
open my Instagram and you'llhave posted doing a workshop or
giving a scholarship and that'sgoing to make me want to work
harder in those down days.
So I appreciate that.
It's been honestly, truly greatgetting to see your success.
So thank you so much for comingon.
I know you're a busy man.
Speaker 2 (33:42):
Have a incredible new year, an incredible christmas
with the family and enjoy somedowntime yeah, and see you and
your family as well, mate, and Iwill see you in the morning for
your run as well.
Speaker 1 (33:52):
Seven o'clock seven o'clock mate.
So everybody, that's raymondwood from euro football star.
He is doing incredible thingsas an agent and helping develop
young players not only in austAustralia but all around the
world.
So if you want to get incontact, hit the show notes
below.
You'll be able to find him atTheRaymondWood, on all social
platforms and throughEuroFootballStarcom.
(34:14):
Thank you, guys.
My name is Lachlan Stewart.
As always, do something todayto be better for tomorrow.
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