Sport Industry Dining: Harry Aikines-Aryeetey
Last night, the latest Sport Industry Dining event took place at Sette in Knightsbridge, London.
Sport Industry Dining is a series of exclusive dinners for Sport Industry Members, meeting four times a year at some of London’s most exclusive venues.
The series provides senior figures from leading brands, rights holders and agencies across the sport industry with the opportunity to network, socialise and hear from some of the most inspiring names in sport.
This time, Founder of Underground Fan Club Charlie Copsey took on the hosting duties, and was joined by British sprinter and Gladiator Harry Aikines-Aryeetey for an exclusive Q&A.
Harry spoke to a group of senior figures from the likes of Arsenal, Netflix, PGA Tour, TikTok, Visa, Coutts, and Manchester United about his career to date, the state of athletics and his transition to a television career.
The 2005 Young Sports Personality of Year spoke about the early success of his career where he became the first athlete to win gold medals at both 100 metres and 200 metres at the World Youth Championships.
“I felt on top of the world but I was kept humble by my family. I was having huge boxes of gear from Nike sent to my house but if I hadn’t done the washing up then those boxes were getting taken straight upstairs and I wasn’t seeing them!”
Harry, who won his first senior individual medal, a bronze, in the 100 metres at the 2014 European Athletics Championships, continued to emphasise how his positive approach to life has helped him grow.
“I always look at the cup as half full. I walk into every day and look for what parts of it I can enjoy. At the end of each of day I ask myself ‘have I laughed enough today?’ And if I haven’t, I’ll do something to make myself laugh!”
Speaking on the current state of athletics in the UK, Harry said, “I’ve made my debut for the GB team in 2006, so I’ve been around for a while. But this current crop of talent is the best I’ve seen. I mean, Keely Hodgkinson, she is probably the most talented teenager we’ve ever had and she is living up to expectation.
“Unfortunately, the sport itself, and the way it presented to the public, and the excitement – none of it is there. Look, our sport is sexy! I wear lycra! There have been times when I’ve gone to the Diamond League and somebody was knitting!
“Track and field have just missed a trick with engaging the audience.”
In May 2023, Aikines-Aryeetey was named as ‘Nitro’, one of the Gladiators in a reboot of the television series of the same name. Speaking about how he got involved, Harry said, “I manifested it when I was five years old!
“It was a bit surreal. But it’s been made in such a way that it allows for the nostalgic fans to sit down and enjoy with their children, and all the generations love it. It is so rare now that people are not just sitting on their own individual screens so this is a great opportunity for families to watch something all together.”
Harry Aikines-Aryeety joins Martin Offiah, Rebecca Adlington, Ugo Monye, Molly Thompson-Smith, Alessia Russo, Hannah Cockcroft, Ellie Simmonds, Jermaine Jenas, Will Buxton, Alex Scott and Aimee Fuller on the list of Sport Industry Dining speakers.
Access to Sport Industry Dining can be gained by purchasing a Sport Industry Membership. In addition, the package offers tickets to Sport Industry Socials, tickets and entries to the FEVO Sport Industry Awards, and a number of other generous discounts and benefits.
