Now Prince Harry uses the Invictus Games to plug his mental health company Better Up as he claims the mind ‘is like a muscle’ that needs to be ‘honed, trained, rehabbed and coached’
Prince Harry today said the mind is ‘like a muscle’ because it needs to be ‘honed, trained, rehabbed and coached’ as he used his position at mental health firm BetterUp to promote the Invictus Games Foundation
The Duke of Sussex was speaking in his role as ‘chief impact officer’ at the coaching company BetterUp, which has announced that it is teaming up with the Invictus Games Foundation where he is a founding patron.
Harry said that the Games are ‘about empowering every single person around the world’, as BetterUp revealed it will offer one-to-one coaching and personalised assessments to support people involved with Invictus.
The Foundation said it will provide access to 500 members at no cost to the individual. The announcement comes ahead of the Games taking place in The Hague from this Saturday until April 22 after being delayed by Covid-19.
Harry founded the games to aid the rehabilitation of injured or sick military personnel and veterans from across the globe, by giving them the challenge of competing in sporting events similar to the Paralympics.
The 37-year-old said: ‘At its heart, the Invictus Games is about empowering every single person around the world. It’s a worldwide display of resilience, determination, and community for which each of us can draw inspiration.
‘I couldn’t think of a better new partner for the Invictus Games Foundation than the mental fitness platform BetterUp. The mind is like a muscle: it needs to be honed, trained, rehabbed, and coached. The men and women I served with understand this, the Invictus community knows this, and now the world is beginning to see it too.
The Duke of Sussex (centre) at the launch of Team UK for the Invictus Games The Hague 2020 in London on October 29, 2019
The Duke of Sussex speaks to Team UK at their final training camp at Brunel University in Uxbridge last week on April 6
‘I’m honoured to bring the work we do at BetterUp to Invictus and look forward to expanding the support systems that service members and veterans depend on to achieve remarkable feats.’
San Francisco-based BetterUp is valued at $4.7billion ($3.6billion) and Harry’s role, which he took on in March last year, includes product strategy, philanthropy, and public advocacy related to mental health.
Prince Harry’s full statement as Invictus Games announces BetterUp partnership
Speaking in his role as Chief Impact Officer at BetterUp, Prince Harry said in a statement: ‘At its heart, the Invictus Games is about empowering every single person around the world.
‘It’s a worldwide display of resilience, determination, and community for which each of us can draw inspiration.
‘I couldn’t think of a better new partner for the Invictus Games Foundation than the mental fitness platform BetterUp.
‘The mind is like a muscle: it needs to be honed, trained, rehabbed, and coached.
‘The men and women I served with understand this, the Invictus community knows this, and now the world is beginning to see it too.
‘I’m honoured to bring the work we do at BetterUp to Invictus and look forward to expanding the support systems that service members and veterans depend on to achieve remarkable feats.’
The Duke is also involved in the firm’s commitment to ‘Pledge 1%’ – a movement which encourages companies to donate 1 per cent of equity, staff time, product or profit to their communities.
Harry has said BetterUp envisioned a ‘world where growth and transformation are possible for everyone, and everyone has access to the support and care they need to thrive’.
It comes after it was revealed yesterday that his wife Meghan Markle will join him at the competition.
Harry founded the games to aid the rehabilitation of injured or sick military personnel and veterans from across the globe, by giving them the challenge of competing in sporting events similar to the Paralympics.
Last night, a spokesman for the duke and duchess confirmed that Meghan will join Harry at the Games in The Hague for the first few days.
The Invictus Games was where the couple chose to make their first public appearance together almost five years ago.
Meghan made her first appearance at an official engagement attended by Harry on September 24 2017 when she attended the Invictus Games opening ceremony in Toronto, Canada, although the pair sat about 18 seats apart.
The following day, the pair emerged hand in hand to make their first official public appearance together at the wheelchair tennis.
Earlier yesterday, Team UK competitors said they would like to see Meghan, and the couple’s children, two-year-old Archie and nine-month-old Lili, at the Games. The children are not expected to be in attendance.
Daniel O’Connor, 31, from Hereford, is competing in archery and indoor rowing, and said Harry is ‘someone who cares a lot’.
Mr O’Connor, who suffers from chronic pain, said: ‘He has in his mind the things he wants to achieve in his life, the things he’d like to see change, and he tries to work towards them.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attend Global Citizen Live in New York City on September 25 last year
Prince Harry and Meghan watch wheelchair tennis at the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto, Canada, on September 25, 2017
‘And if everyone had that attitude you can imagine how different the world would be.’
Asked if he would like to see Meghan at the event, Mr O’Connor said: ‘I think everyone in the Games, all the competitors, are bringing friends and family, and I think if we have the right to bring friends and family then surely Prince Harry does.’
Meghan at Nuku’alofa airport in Tonga on October 25, 2018
He said anyone who wants to support the Invictus Games is welcome with open arms, adding that Meghan has been to previous Invictus events.
‘So she has shown a continued support of the Games. I think she’s doing a great job,’ he said, adding: ‘I would love to see her at the Games. If she is, great, and I hope they bring the kids as well so they’ve got the whole family there.’
Lucy Holt, 29, from Lincoln, said it would be ‘a nice surprise’ if the family turned up. Ms Holt, who is competing in powerlifting, indoor rowing, wheelchair basketball and athletics, said Harry’s family are very supportive of the Invictus Games.
‘I think it’s a great way to kind of highlight to his family what he has achieved and what he is still achieving,’ she said.
Ms Holt said the Games are great for children to see as they showcase what can be achieved with disabilities.
Jason Finlay, 50, who lives in Amesbury, said he found Harry ‘very relaxing’ to talk to on the couple of times they met.
Mr Finlay, who is competing in sitting volleyball and athletics, said: ‘It was great to meet him, to be honest. You can see the military ethos that he has through his military service.’
He said it would be nice to meet Meghan, adding she would be a good ambassador for Invictus.
Harry and Meghan, who live in the US, did not attend the memorial service for the Duke of Edinburgh in London last month.
Harry is bringing a claim against the Home Office after being told he would no longer be given the same degree of personal protective security when visiting from the US, despite offering to pay for it himself.
The duke wants to bring his children to visit from the US, but he and his family are ‘unable to return to his home’ because it is too dangerous, his legal representative has said.
Team UK will compete in nine sports at the Invictus Games: athletics, archery, wheelchair basketball, cycling, powerlifting, indoor rowing, wheelchair rugby, swimming and sitting volleyball.
Harry played an instrumental role in bringing the Games to the UK in 2014 when 300 competitors from 13 countries took part in the inaugural competition in London.
A trip to the Warrior Games in Colorado a year earlier had been the inspiration, as Harry saw first hand how sport helped inspire recovery and support rehabilitation of wounded troops.
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