The True Athlete Project

Mission: To use sport as a transformative tool for personal growth and social change.

From a feeling, to an idea, to a team, to a butterfly in flight…

Originally from England, Sam Parfitt moved to the United States to play NCAA division one tennis. While there, he endured a seemingly endless run of surgeries and poor physical health, resulting in a desperate mental health struggle. Sam was left with a strong sense of the paradox between the liberating joy of sport on the one hand, and the darker side of sport on the other.

But he soon had opportunities to grow in new ways through sport; he worked with at-risk Hispanic immigrant youth, and became the director of athletics at a small independent school where he had the chance to create a novel sports programme, which aimed to shift perceptions about what it means to be an “athlete”, away from the win-at-all-costs approach that pervades both elite and youth sport.

He introduced parkour, mindfulness, sports poetry, tai-ji, studying sport and peace, and learning about heroes like Muhammad Ali. The students loved it, and it made Sam imagine what the world would be like if all children had access to a joyful and meaningful sporting experience…

He presented his work at the Muhammad Ali Athletes & Social Change forum, where he was inspired by those using their passion and platform to create social change through sport. But it was clear to him that there was a gap – between the world of performance sport, and the world of sport for social change. He was left with the question: how can the act of becoming a great athlete change the world?

So, Sam brought together a world-class group of athletes, coaches, youth development specialists, clinical psychologists, meditation teachers, social justice activists and policymakers, to design programmes for athletes and coaches at all levels of sport.

The True Athlete Project was born…

Over the past six years, we have expanded our work, and grown in confidence, as we witness the impact of our programmes. We are so grateful for all of our amazing athletes who give to our project, and wholeheartedly believe in the power of this approach.