Liv Cooke tells us what she's most proud of in 2024, what she's learnt & what she's looking forward to in 2025
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00:00Obviously, you just spoke about your appearance on Rich House, Porthouse, so can I ask you
00:15later to tell me more about the work stuff that's been going on in your life the past
00:20year?
00:21I have never been so busy with work. I thought I worked a lot in freestyle football, you
00:26know, being in the gym every day, what was it, like six hours a day every day, no days
00:30off until I got into property and we're scaling. We're now doing a minimum five projects every
00:38single month and it's a lot, it's a lot, but you know what, I love it and I'd rather be
00:43doing nothing else.
00:44When we spoke last year, I asked what you were most proud of in 2023 and you said taking
00:50on new challenges that come with property development. So can I ask you to take us through
00:552024, what have you been most proud of?
00:59It's changed. I think all my life, the proudest thing for me was winning the world title.
01:03Like that was unbelievable until obviously last year when we spoke and it had been being
01:10brave enough to step into a new field. It's a hard thing when you get used to being the
01:14best and respected as the best in what you do, which is what I was in freestyle football,
01:19you know, undefeated, youngest champion, still holding seven world records, to then go into
01:24something completely new and be like, Hey, I'm a beginner and go into that. Like I did
01:29in property. I was proud of being able to do that, you know, putting ego aside and starting
01:33something new and taking that risk, if anything, because I had a good career, a good pathway
01:39in freestyle football and social media. So to step into it, uh, into a new field was
01:45scary, but I did that. And now this year, I'd say what I'm most proud of is impact.
01:52And I think that's kind of fitting after Rich House, Poor House just aired and just
01:55seeing like the difference that you can make in somebody's life. Like it might be a small
01:59gesture to you, although to them, for me, it was not, you know, paying off somebody's
02:02debt and taking them on under your wing is quite a big thing, but the impact it has on
02:08other people's life is just phenomenal. So I'm most proud of the impact that I'm now
02:13able to make.
02:14And moving on from what's made you proud, could you tell me something that's been a
02:18learning curve for you perhaps this year?
02:22Yes. Yes. The biggest learn this year is that you can only do so much yourself. I'm one
02:29of them people that's always been like, no, no, I've got it. Like, I'm not going to hire
02:32this person to do it because I can do it better. It'll take me longer to train them up than
02:35I can just get it done in. And I've realised you can only go so far alone. And actually
02:40it's a bit lonely. You can go far alone. Yes. But it's nicer to do it with people around
02:45you. And this year I've really focused on building an amazing team. I took my brother
02:50on. He, up until May, was working as a coder in a soliciting firm. And he was working so
02:57hard and he never got the raise that he deserved. He never got the promotion he deserved. And
03:01he was bloody good at what he did. And it means a lot to him. Like, he'd never let anybody
03:05down. And I said to him, why don't you just quit that? Come with me. Like, I'll train
03:10you up, make the jump, and we'll kill it in property together. I need the help. And there's
03:15nobody I trust more than my own brother. And it was a little bit nervous, but you know
03:19he trusted me. And that was a big thing because he's very focused on stability. And employment
03:23is stability to him. It's knowing I can afford my rent because this is coming in every month.
03:28And he took the jump. He trusted me. And now he can see that he made the right decision.
03:35You know, he's already, by the end of the year, he'll have a half a million pound portfolio,
03:39which is a hell of a lot to him, like he was making a couple of grand a month prior. So
03:44he's doing amazing. And I'm very lucky to have such an amazing team. And he's just one
03:48of many.
03:49Ruth, last time we spoke, I asked you what you were hoping to do again in the future.
03:54And you mentioned that improving accessibility to football is a big thing for you. Have you
03:59been able to make any steps towards that? And if not, is that another goal for the future?
04:05Yeah, like football, as much as I've stepped away from it in the short term, it's a massive
04:11part of me. Like, I'm known as Liv Cook, the freestyler, the girl from football. It's a
04:16huge part of me. And although I'm not active in the field right now, it's not something
04:21that I'll ever lose love for. And obviously, I went on to achieve that dream of making
04:26football more accessible. I built two 3D football pitches with the council and with different
04:32funding partners in Bamber Bridge. I do want to continue to do more, although that took
04:38many years and a lot of work. I think it was three or four years in the making, £2.6 million
04:43development. And we did that. And I already see like the use that it's getting. And that's
04:49beautiful. I want to make more, I want to do more. But for now, I just need to focus
04:54on getting the property business set up and getting more money to be able to do more good
04:58things, you know, then things cost a lot.
05:01Anything else that you want to mention as being on the cards, hopefully for yourself
05:05looking to 2025?
05:09I would love, come the end of 2025, to say that we've got a mini me on the way. I think
05:15that would be, that would be the dream. I'm not saying it's going to happen. And I don't
05:20know if the timeline is mutual, but it's my hope. And who knows, maybe this time next
05:26year, we can have that conversation.