Former Broncos and Cook Islands captain Alex Glenn is using his story of success to give back to the next generation, heading up the new Broncos Multicultural Youth Leadership Programme.

The programme aims to empower young males from culturally diverse backgrounds to set goals and stay motivated to achieve their dreams through a series of workshops delivered by the former NRL star. 

Sharing his personal story of emigrating to Australia and the dedication required to realise his rugby league dream, Glenn aims to inspire the next generation of boys to find their purpose and chase their dreams. 

Having grown up in New Zealand, Glenn says there were barriers that could have stood in his way.

“The neighborhood was tough, and made me appreciate a lot of things I have in my life,” he said.

“I was surrounded by gang violence, drugs and alcohol but that didn’t dictate who I wanted to be when I grew up. If anything, that motivated me to be better.”

Glenn believes his mother’s decision to move the family to the Gold Coast was life changing.

“She’d seen what was back at home and she didn’t want that for any of us, and I’m grateful for that day cause there's no way I'd be standing in the position that I am achieving the things that I did if mum didn’t make that move.” 

In order to honour his mum’s sacrifices, Glenn had to go above and beyond to become who he wanted to be. 

“When I graduated from high school, I literally had no idea what I was going to do,” he said.

“The one thing I loved was always sport, but then another factor I knew was that not everyone makes it to a professional level. Only one percent make it.

“All my mates were going out partying, but I was at home getting my eight hours sleep. I woke up on Saturday and did my own training, I woke up on Sunday and went and did hill sprints because I knew that if only one percent make it, I need to be doing something on top of what everyone else was doing.” 

The former captain credits his success to his continuous drive to go put in the hard yards, and in retirement feels he owes it to young men, particularly those with Pacific Islander heritage like him, to pass on his knowledge and help them understand who they are. 

“I wanted to be standing here in front of the next generation that can be the next best thing,” he said.

“Not just in sport, but in life in general, so this is my purpose now, this is me giving back.

“We’re going to be teaching skills and fundamentals to help you be a great person, and to give you the tools to chase your dreams and learn from my mistakes so that when you are ready to graduate, you’re already taking steps that are implemented from this ten-week program.” 

A proud Cook Islands man, Glenn hopes the program will also allow the students to embrace and grow within their culture.

“Another important thing is understanding who you are first and foremost, because if you don’t understand who you are, you won’t understand where you’ll go.” 

• broncos.com.au