Before stepping into the legal world and founding his own law firm, Hayder Shkara led a dramatically different life – competing on the Olympic stage and representing his country in taekwondo.
Speaking on a recent episode of The Protégé Podcast, Hayder Shkara, principal of Justice Family Lawyers, opened up about his journey from discovering a passion for martial arts as a child to representing his country on the global stage at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Often feeling on the fringes as a young boy, Shkara explained that his early sense of isolation led him to martial arts at just seven years old – a decision that would spark a long and remarkable journey.
“I started martial arts when I was seven. It was really a way for me to make friends. I was a little bit lonely in school, a little bit ostracised, just because I come from a bit of a weird mixed background,” he said.
“I’m half Iraqi, half Japanese. Bit hard to fit in when you’re a variety of ethnic groups and you’re seven years old.”
While competing at an elite level hadn’t crossed his mind, Shkara revealed that witnessing the Olympics in his own hometown planted the idea of one day representing his country on the world stage.
“When I was 10, it lined up with the Sydney 2000 Olympics. At that point, I’ve been doing it for a few years. I didn’t really think about doing any competitions. But then Sydney 2000 happened as a 10-year-old child, and that really had a profound impact on me because you’re in the home city of the Olympics [and] you’re seeing all of the hype,” he said.
“Australia actually won a gold medal and a silver medal in taekwondo during that time. Obviously, I was watching, and I was wrapped up in the euphoria … and from that moment a light bulb went on in my head, like, this might be something that I could potentially aspire to do.”
By the age of 13, Shkara explained how his dedication to taekwondo was unwavering, recalling how he would push himself to train “more than once a day”, even “three times a day”, to work towards his Olympic dream he had firmly set his sights on.
“It kind of seems a bit weird. Like you’re 13, you want to go to the Olympics, but because you’re in that environment, you’re with other people as well who are aspiring to go to the Olympics. It kind of just felt normal, where I was like: this is my pathway,” he said.
As the years progressed, Shkara found himself in contention for spots on both the 2008 and 2012 Olympic teams. However, he openly reflected on the disappointment of falling just short on both occasions.
“I thought maybe I could go to Beijing 2008 as an 18-year-old, but I fell short. Then I thought I’ll give it another crack. 2012 was the London Olympics, and I was a lot closer and I was just at the final hurdle, and I fell over, which was heartbreaking for me as a 21-year-old,” he said.
Despite the heartbreak of previous Olympic cycles, Shkara was determined to give it one final shot.
He shared how he approached the 2016 Olympic cycle with renewed focus and determination – a commitment that ultimately paid off when he finished seventh representing Australia.
“I’m going to drop everything that I’m doing and laser focus in, tunnel vision for my next Olympic cycle, which was 2016, which I thought this might be my last one,” he said.
“I’m in my 20s now, and I don’t think I might go all the way to 30. It might be a bit too much, and I did focus in and I managed to qualify and I finished seventh.”
After two decades of relentless training and finally achieving his Olympic dream, Shkara explained how this milestone inspired him to explore an entirely new path, venturing into the legal profession, where he continues to work today.
“It was a long journey. Twenty years of full-time, I would say, as full-time as it gets. Competing and training to get to that point, and I achieved it,” he said.
“After I achieved it, I said what I’ve done for 20 years, there aren’t many people in the world who do one thing for 20 years. I’m 27, and I’ve already done that, so maybe it’s time to try something else and dip my feet into a new venture. So that’s what brought me to my legal career.”
