#34: Arshay Cooper — Author, “A Most Beautiful Thing” & Member of 1st All-Black Rowing Team

“Talent is everywhere, the hunger is everywhere, the thirst is everywhere, but the access and opportunity is not.”

No one understands this better than Arshay Cooper, the renowned rower, award-winning author, motivational speaker, activist, and protagonist of the acclaimed documentary “A Most Beautiful Thing.”

To understand how Arshay’s life has become the center of a NAACP Image Award-nominated documentary, you need to know more about his backstory. Arshay grew up on Chicago’s Westside in the ‘90s, and he knows the harder side of life. His mother is a recovering addict, and his three siblings all sleep in a one room apartment, in an area plagued by gang violence and addiction. Growing up, Arshay kept to himself and dreamed of becoming a chef. In high school, Arshay spontaneously took up the sport of crew, and he became the captain of the first all-Black high school rowing team in America. He and his teammates experienced racism and discrimination while playing an almost all-white sport, which ultimately transformed Arshay’s life.

When 1Huddle’s CEO and Founder Sam Caucci sat down with Arshay on this episode of Bring It In, they talked about everything from why the ‘talent shortage’ is really an access shortage, to how people from diverse backgrounds measure success differently. So if you’re ready for one of the most powerful episodes yet, then it’s time to…

Bring it in!