Supporting the BMX Racing community with Mike Whittaker

In the Season 12 finale of the Meet the Mancunian podcast, host Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe speaks with Mike Whittaker, a BMX volunteer and racer at Bruntwood Park BMX Club in Cheadle. Mike shares how BMX filled the community gap he felt after leaving the police, leading him to volunteer on track repairs and later head up maintenance, while also returning to racing himself. After breaking his T12 vertebrae, he committed to regional and national racing, documenting events on YouTube to encourage adults to start (or return to) the sport and build connection, including a growing dads’ community. He discusses launching Resilient Team Racing to promote positivity and mental health, fundraising through photography for homelessness charity Coffee4Craig, and preparing to represent Great Britain at the 2026 World Championships in Brisbane.Did you know:  ·     BMX stands for Bicycle Moto-X and began as the bicycle equivalent of motocross.·     BMX is an Olympic medal sport since 2008·     There are over 5,000 active BMX racers in the UK and over 60 active BMX clubs.Key resource: You Tube channel Time stamps of key moments in the podcast episode & transcript: (00:57) Meet Mike Whittaker(01:16) From police to purpose(01:49) Joining BMX volunteering(03:45) Injury and racing comeback(05:36) Building Adult BMX community(08:30) Resilient team racing(10:32) Photography fundraising impact(25:56) Signature questions(32:33) Life lessons🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or https://www.meetthemancunian.co.uk#Manchester #SocialImpact #Podcast #BMX #Community