Sport and physical activity is often positioned as ‘open to all’, yet social opportunities, sporting and competitive pathways are shaped by funding cycles and systems that may not have been designed ‘for all’. Systems change is essential to remove barriers to participation, particularly for people from marginalised communities.
We spoke to Andreas Michaelas, Development Manager at British Wrestling, to find out more about his leadership journey and how he’s tackling inequalities within the sector through systems change and community led development.
Andreas' story
Andreas grew up in a deprived community in Manchester. He had a deep passion for sport and a range of physical activity opportunities open to him from a young age.
His early training focused on strongman disciplines before he joined an Olympic weightlifting club where he quickly progressed through youth competitions. At the age of 16, he won a medal at the Youth Games and claimed several European youth and senior medals. He was also on the Team GB passport scheme for Beijing but missed out due to an injury at the Youth Commonwealth Games.
While Andreas’ sporting success was personally significant, the wider impact of sport in his life was equally momentous.
After attending university studying archaeology, Andreas joined the Greater Manchester Police force and spent a short time within the Forensic Services branch, before moving to the Crime Scene Investigator (CSI) department. While this work was valuable, his passion for sport remained. In 2014 he decided to return to sport and secured a role at Olympic Weightlifting as their Development Manager, focusing on club standards and pathway design.
In 2018, Andreas got the opportunity to join British Wrestling as their first Development Manager, supporting national infrastructure and workforce development, as well as safeguarding and anti-doping.
At the time, wrestling in the UK faced enormous challenges - only eight affiliated clubs existed and there was a lack of club investment in the community for people to come and participate.
“My goal is to bring more people into the sport of wrestling.”
The new CEO shared Andreas’ vision for growth, they worked together to build the sport organically through club development and educational pathways. As a result of this work, affiliated clubs are now at 86.
“I’m so proud of the growth we’ve had in wrestling as a sport in the UK. Before I joined British Wrestling, we never had a team larger than two, but now it has grown massively.”
He’s also introduced Level 1 coaching badges, improved safeguarding standards and expanded their focus beyond traditional coaching to create diverse pathways for individuals from underserved communities.
“Wrestling brings all the communities together – once you're on the mat it doesn't matter what community you are from.“
In addition to his work at British Wrestling, Andreas is now on the board for Active Humber, bringing his 15-year career in sport development to the table. He offers a new perspective, to support Active Partnership understanding of National Governing Body challenges. Across Andreas’ roles and outputs he remains driven to evoke systems change, working to develop the right infrastructure and support for everyone to get and stay active.
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Leader wellbeing
Early in his career, Andreas didn’t place much importance on his work-life balance, stretching himself to work beyond his normal hours in the hopes of quick development.
“When I was Development Manager at Olympic weightlifting, I spent 120 hours on the job per week. When you’re working on your sport you can easily get swept up into the work you do.”
Since then, he’s been much more attentive in his approach to managing his wellbeing and has found ways to sustain himself, including:
- Switching off at the end of the day to maintain mental clarity.
- Spending time outdoors and getting fresh air.
- Keeping fit and in shape through Olympic weightlifting.
- Prioritising what’s important and letting go of things that aren’t urgent.
“After working in the police and dealing with life threatening cases, it made me realise that sport is not life or death – you can do what you can, but nothing needs to be 100% urgent."
These practices have allowed Andreas to preserve his energy and focus whilst driving systemic change through British Wrestling.
Facing challenges
Limited capacity
One of the most persistent challenges has been around capacity, particularly in relation to volunteer recruitment and retention. Driving large-scale changes in communities with intersecting barriers and limited resources isn’t a solo task.
“It’s challenging finding those people who will actually come and support you.”
Investing in recruitment, while also building stronger learning and educational pathways for volunteers and coaches, has been a core focus for Andreas to combat this challenge.
Wearing multiple hats
Wearing multiple hats has been challenging for Andreas, particularly when staffing levels are lean. Andreas often needs to manage multiple responsibilities simultaneously, which can make staying focused on his long-term mission difficult. Maintaining a focus on tackling inequalities keeps Andreas anchored and returns him to his primary focus in busier periods.
Experiencing burnout
Tackling inequalities is challenging work, when it’s something you’re so passionate about it can be hard to navigate your time and not get lost in the detail. Early in his professional career, Andreas faced burnout by consistently stretching himself beyond his usual working hours. Over time, he's learnt the importance of managing his wellbeing and the benefits that has on achieving his ambitions.
Top tips
It's a marathon
Creating change takes time. Andreas emphasises the importance of remaining patient and persistent, setting achievable milestones along the way and remaining passionate and not being too disheartened when progress is slow, challenging or you experience setbacks.
“Real meaningful change takes time.”
Bring people with you on the journey
Transformation requires collective effort. Andreas reflects on the importance of taking others on the journey with you, to support you in your mission and ensure you don't carry the weight of progress or community needs alone.
Seek to educate
Education is a powerful tool for breaking down barriers and empowering communities. Andreas advocates that you should seek to educate your community and share your knowledge freely, all while being willing to learn from others and their lived experiences.
Gain feedback from your community
Your community is your greatest asset. Andreas believes you should listen to those you serve and adapt programmes to directly meet their needs - guess work will get you nowhere.
In this segment, we asked the last leader we spoke to to leave a question for the next, they said: What motivates you as a leader?
“The main thing that motivates me is what we can do for the community to improve their experience within sport.”
What's next?
Looking ahead, Andreas’ focus is on deepening community engagement and creating sustainable pathways that empower local leaders to take ownership of their clubs and programmes. By continuing to listen to the community and respond to their needs, he hopes to ensure that sport and physical activity opportunities remain, and become more accessible and inclusive for everyone, regardless of their background or other intersecting factors.
Do you have a leadership story you'd like to share? We'd love to hear from you, email us at leadingthemovement@sportengland.org and we'll be in touch!
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