“I had a lot of confidence in Roberto and the outcome was great. He made me feel really happy with myself and my performing. Through our work together I am now content in life as well as performing and am an Olympian and medal winner!”
Ashley McKenzie
Ashley McKenzie (born 17 July 1989) is an English judoka competing at the men’s 60 kg division. He was a member of the Great Britain Olympic Judo Team at London 2012 but was defeated in the second round by Hiroaki Hiraoka of Japan. He also appeared in, and made it to the final of Celebrity Big Brother 10 in September 2012. In August 2018, he appeared on the first series of Celebs on the Farm. In January 2020, he appeared on Celebrity Ex on the Beach.
He was part of the Great Britain Olympic Judo Team at Rio 2016; he reached the third round where he was defeated by Yeldos Smetov of Kazakhstan.
McKenzie was born in Queen’s Park, London. He is mixed-race. He was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at an early age.[1]
McKenzie was first exposed to judo at the age of 11, when he got into a fight with a boy who stole his Charizard Pokémon card. Determined to get it back, he joined the Moberly Judo Club where he met his assailant by chance. He eventually got his card back after befriending the boy.[2]
McKenzie welcomed his first daughter Lana-Rose McKenzie in July 2017 with his girlfriend – fellow Judo player and 3 time European champion Automne Pavia.
Ashley is also a brand ambassador for The Money Group, who are sponsoring him for Tokyo 2020.