Former Olympic coach works at Birchwood Heights Care Home in Swanley
A former Olympic weightlifting coach who helped change the face of the sport in Africa now works in a care home.
Kayode Balofin is a night carer at Birchwood Heights in Swanley but before he turned his hand to healthcare he was a professional wrestler and "superman" competitor.
The superman shows involved him showcasing his strength by performing a series of tricks and inviting heavy-set men in the audience to participate.
He would lift people and pull cows with his teeth, invite men to ride motorbikes over him and pound his chest with a stick while standing on him and lift multiple men at the same time.
In another show of strength, he also had a tug-of-war like act where he would lock his fingers together and invite around 50 men to stand either side and pull to try and break his grasp – they never could.
Kayode, now 70, was also a national weightlifting champion but started to see the potential and demand for women to participate, so started to train a small group which included his wife, Ruth.
Prior to his efforts, women had never had the opportunity to train in the sport before.
In Istanbul, Turkey, in 1994, Ruth competed in a men and women's world competition while three months' pregnant and won three bronze medals.
"She stormed the world," Kayode said. "There had never been women weightlifting in Africa before that.
"That achievement motivated the African weightlifting federation to develop women's weightlifting. It really made a change.
"It is a great achievement. Going to a world championship and storm the world, that is a great motivation that we could do more."
Ruth, while being trained by Kayode, went on to win a silver medal in the Sydney Olympics in 2000 – the first time women competed in the sport at that level.
The couple then moved to the UK in 2003 where the dad-of-three worked as a fitness instructor before entering the care industry in 2006.
Kayode, who lives in Bromley, now uses his Olympic coaching skills in his role as a senior care assistant in the home in Hilda May Avenue.
"I want to motivate people to be who they want to be and live their lives how they want to," he added. "I believe that goes a very long way.
"Training and caring are the same thing. You have to believe in someone, you have to be able to bring out the best in them, for them to realise their own potential and keep their mind and body strong through self-belief.
"When I began weightlifting in Nigeria I had to improvise. I would lift men and pull cows with my teeth to make me strong. Where there is a will there is a way.
"I have always been driven by my passion to help those with a less privileged position in society. I have coached paraplegic athletes, able-bodied athletes, men and women and no matter what you can achieve your dreams.
"I try to motivate all our residents to be strong and who they want to be. It is fulfilling to use my sporting experience in this setting. I like to do something that has an impact on their lives."
Birchwood Heights offers residential, nursing, memory and respite care for up to 77 people and welcomed its first residents in May.
Manager Harry Garston said: "Having Kayode around is brilliant. We are really lucky to have not only such a great person on the team but also such a distinguished Olympic coach. Although he is past retirement age, his energy belies his years."