Journeying #22 with Ger Redmond, from Prisoner to Pro-Triathlete

This week’s chat is a very personal and very real, maybe even surreal story, of one man’s efforts to turn his life around. A series of events led Ger Redmond into a life of criminal activity. It was not his first choice. At the age of 16, he was on a very different life trajectory, forging a professional soccer career in the UK.  However, his father’s actions led Ger to leave his dream behind him, and instead take up the role as head of the household when his father was sent to prison. As so often happens, after years of crime, Ger followed his father’s footsteps and was sent to prison himself, leaving behind his own young family. 

 The intergenerational transmission of crime is well researched with one recent UK report stating that 65% of sons of prisoners end up in the criminal justice system themselves. Ger tells how he became aware, partially through attending counselling, that he was treating his kids and family as he had been treated. And he knew it was down to him, and only him, to break the cycle. This is not easy, and it takes strength of character to break away from old patterns and habits. 

 Not only did Ger go on the straight and narrow, but he found an outlet to channel his energies in a healthier way – he took up triathlon racing and became a pro-triathlete. He was determined to make his family proud of him and give his children a father they could look up to and be proud of. 

 Ger is now a highly regarded coach in Dublin training many athletes to achieve their personal goals. I would highly recommend listeners to take a look at his website, gerredmond.com to check out all his achievements to date. The website also highlights the community talks Ger offers to youth centres, schools, and prisons, sharing his story to show vulnerable young adults that there is another route in life. I think Ger’s story is one that needs to be shared widely to protect another at-risk generation from falling through the cracks. 

Topics discussed include:

• Scouted at 16 years of age to play soccer with Falkirk - living the dream 
• An unfortunate turn of events forced Ger to return home to take care of his family 
• Generational patterns of abuse & neglect
• "Manning up" - what does that mean?
• Embarking on a life of criminal gang activity and recreational drug use
• The stark realities of serving  a 2-year prison sentence 
• Pivotal life moment when his friend overdosed on drugs, leaving his son fatherless 
• Counseling helped him to work through all his weaknesses to make him a stronger person 
• Hurdles to move out of criminal lifestyle into a mainstream job 
• Believes if you change and persist, over time, people's perception of you can change too 
• Becoming a pro-athlete - completing an Iron Man in 9hrs 26mins, in spite of all the doubters!
• Giving back - talks in schools and prisons to show people it is possible to take another path
• Seeking sponsorship to support his community development work, talks and training 

Mentions:

Ger Redmond website: https://gerredmond.com/
RTE Hell Week: https://presspack.rte.ie/2019/04/18/special-forces-ultimate-hell-week-new-series/

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