My biggest lesson was you can only do so much yourself- Liv Cooke on 2024 & the year ahead

25-year-old Liv is a six times world record holding footballer freestyler from Leyland who in recent years has ventured into the world of property development and even reality TV in 2024 with her appearance in Channel 5’s Rich House, Poor House.

As another exciting year drew to an end, the former Woodlea Junior and Balshaw's Church of England High School pupil recently sat down for a chat with our celebrity reporter Aimee Seddon to look at the highs and lows of the year gone by, and her hopes for the year upcoming.

Take a look at what Liv had to say below:

Aside from Rich House Poor Life, what else has been going on in your work life this year?

“I have never been so busy with work. I thought I worked a lot in freestyle football - you know, being in the gym six hours a day every day, no days off- until I got into property and we're scaling. We're now doing a minimum of five projects every single month and it's a lot, it's a lot, but you know what? I love it. I'm not about to be doing nothing else.”

Last year, I asked what you were most proud of in 2023 and you said taking on the new challenges that come with property development but what is your answer for 2024?

“It's changed. I think all my life, the proudest thing for me was winning the world title. That was unbelievable, until, obviously last year, when we spoke and it had been being brave enough to step into a new field. It's a hard thing when you get used to being the best and respected as the best in what you do, which is what I was in freestyle football, you know, undefeated English champion, still holding seven world records. To then go into something completely new and be like ‘hey, I'm a beginner’ like I did in property .I was proud of being able to do that, you know, putting my ego aside and starting something new and taking that risk.

“And now this year, I'd say what I’m most proud of is impact, and I think that's fitting after Rich House, Poor House just aired. Just seeing the difference that you can make in somebody's life like it might be a small gesture to you, although for me, it was not, you know, paying off somebody's debt and taking them under my wing is quite a big thing, but the impact it has on other people's life is just phenomenal so I’m most proud of the impact that I'm now able to make.”

Can you give an example of another way in which your property career helps other people?

“Yeah, so where all of my HMOs go is to social housing. I take rundown properties that nobody wants, and to be honest, nobody could buy if they wanted them, they're completely uninhabitable, maybe they're covered in asbestos or mould, or the roofs caving in. So we take those run down properties that are neglected and put through auction and we completely revamp them. We make it into a nice, homely safe space, and we let it out to vulnerable people so we go through a charity that houses women that are victims of domestic and sexual abuse. It gives them a safe place and gets them out of a very dangerous and toxic environment so I'm very proud of that.

“Don't get me wrong, obviously the business has to be sustainable, I have to make a profit. I have to pay the staff and things like that so we make a nice profit but it's nice that you can make a profit and do a good thing at the same time.”

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Why did you want to go further than just making profit?

“Money is great, but ultimately you get to a point where it's like, okay, cool, what's another £10 pound, what's another 10 grand going to do when you're financially free, and I'm very grateful that since a very young age, I have been financially free. I think only up to a certain level does money motivate you, and then you've got to get the motivation and fulfillment from elsewhere. There's only so many super cars that can make you happy, and it doesn't last very long, I can tell you that. So when you can then change someone's life and make an impact on them, that's the best feeling.”

Could you tell me something that's been a learning curve for you this year?

“Yes. The biggest lesson this year is that you can only do so much yourself. I'm one of them people that's always been like ‘no, I've got it. Like, I'm not going to hire this person today because I can do it better, it'll take me longer to train them up than I can just get it done in’ and I've realized you can only go so far alone, and actually it's a bit lonely. You can go far alone, yes, but it's nicer to do it with people around you and this year I’ve really focused on building an amazing team.

“I took my brother on. He, up until May, was working as a coder in a soliciting firm, and he was working so hard, and he never got the raise that he deserved, never got the promotion he deserved, and he was bloody good at what he did. I said to him, why don't you just quit that, come with me, I'll train you up, make the jump, and we'll kill doing property together, I need the help and there’s nobody I trust more than my brother.

“He was a little bit nervous but you know what? He trusted me, and that was a big thing, because he's very focused on stability and employment is stability to him. It's knowing I can afford my rent because this is coming in every month, and he took the jump, trusted me, and now he can see that he made the right decision. By the end of the year, he ran a half a million pound portfolio, which is a hell of a lot to him, like he was making a couple of grand a month. So he's doing amazing, and I'm very lucky to have such an amazing team, he's just one of them.”

Could you describe the growth of your business in terms of employees or worth?

“Yeah, there's been ups and downs but we're definitely in the double digits of millions in terms of worth. The exact amount I wouldn’t want to quote because, to be honest, I don’t know, we’re always going through acquisitions and re-finances but yeah, it’s

going all right! Especially considering, if you actually look at when all of these development companies were founded, many of them have been around for years but this is only a year old so to be sat with them as a seven figure business, it’s done well.”

Aside from work, you revealed you got married this year, can you tell me a bit about what the wedding was like?

“It wasn't really a wedding. It was very minimal. We didn't want a big extravagant thing, we're both busy. It was just that we fell in love- I actually got married in 2022- but, yeah, one thing about me is I’m very decisive, I knew straight away. On week one, I was like ‘yeah, this is it, forever, you’re stuck with me.’ It was probably like nine months later that I got married and it was the best thing we ever did. I’m so happy and hopefully we can have a family soon.”

If you got married two years ago, why did it only come out this year?

“I’ve never been one to share anything, I'm quite private in that sense. I know a lot of people post their partner everywhere but for me, that's my private life. It sounds crazy to say this, but I'm not a big lover of social media. I use it for work, for promoting businesses but my actual personal life, I don't really feel we need to post that. I don't post for fun, I just post to share what we're doing and give people tips. It's not like we've hidden it, like friends, family, they know, but in terms of going out publicly, it's not something that I was interested in doing.”

So was it just by chance that people outside of your close circle found out about it or did something happen?

“Yeah, Channel Five! In their press announcements and on the TV show, they introduced her as my wife, which we didn't expect. I'm not sure if we would have said yes, but they did it, and it is what it is. It's been nice anyway because it’s the first thing I've ever done publicly where there hasn't been any negative messages. I've had 1000s of messages since the show went out and I’ve not seen one negative one. I've never had that and I've been getting millions of views for a decade, which is crazy, so I think it landed well, which is a relief.

“A lot of the messages have been about how much we've done for the family but then there's a lot of messages also from young girls that are struggling to come out of the closet, and they said that it's so nice to see because they didn't know I felt like that so it’s like they're saying ‘Thank you for being so proud’. I didn't even think of that. It's just beautiful. I hope that it can give them that reassurance that ‘it's okay, you're gonna be all right’.”

As your wife is American, you spend half your time in LA now so what are the biggest similarities and differences between LA and Leyland?

“I can't think of any similarities but me. I'm the common denominator and my life doesn't change, which is interesting, because going back to money, one thing that I've been saying lately is that from what I was earning when I was 18, to what I'm earning now, there's a big difference in the number but in my life, nothing's changed. Like I wake up and I’m working from 5am until I go to sleep. I think that realization is why money is not the driver anymore.

“But yeah, in terms of the places, LA is nicer. I wake up and the sun is shining, it’s a great feeling. But I do miss home. I do miss that Northern English warmth. Everybody knows everybody in Leyland and you go to the shop and you bump into somebody, they’ve got a smile on their face ‘how you doing today’. That kind of thing, I miss that, and I definitely miss property buildings like going around to the sites and annoying the builders but for now I’m enjoying the sunshine.”

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Focusing on Lancashire, have you done anything in the county this year that you want to mention?

“Yeah, we've got about 15 projects going on in Leyland as of this minute, and we've got a lot more incoming. We are just about to list a bungalow that we took quite rundown and out-dated- there was no kitchen floor or anything like that- in Leyland. We spent a lot of money and time - a lot more money and time than I wanted to do on the project- but we've got there, it's looking beautiful.”

Last year you said that improving accessibility to football in your local area is a big thing for you- have you been able to make any steps towards that, and if not, is that still a goal?

“Yeah, like football, as much as I've stepped away from it in the short term, it's a massive part of me, like I am known as Liv Cooke the freestyler, the girl from football. Although I'm not active in the field right now, it's not something I’ll ever lose love for and obviously I went on to achieve that dream of making football more accessible. I built two 3G football pitches with the council and different funding partners in Bamber Bridge. I do want to continue to do more, although that took many years and a lot of work- I think it was three or four years in the making, 2.6 million pound development - we did that and I already see the use that it's getting, and that's beautiful. I want to do more but for now I just need to focus on getting the property business set up and getting more money to be able to do more good things. Them things cost a lot!”

You mentioned that you perhaps want a family, is there anything else on the cards for you in 2025 ?

“I would love to say at the end of 2025 that we've got a mini-me on the way. That would be the dream. I'm not saying it's gonna happen and I don't know if the timeline is mutual, but it's my hope. Who knows? Maybe this time next year we can have that conversation.”

Is there anything else you want to highlight from this year?

“I want to shout out Brian Pilkington Estate Agents. It's Helen Pilkington who runs it now and she is amazing. I don't know if you do any Unsung Hero Pieces in the town, but that woman is one of the best women I've ever met in property. It's a family run business, everyone in Leyland loves her and throughout my journey this year, she has been amazing and supportive. If I ever need any help, she's definitely an agent I'll pick up the phone to.

“Generally different estate agents in different areas of the country are different and in Leyland, they're definitely more friendly, supportive and helpful, especially being a girl from there. Helen’s seen me since I was a kid like my parents bought their first house through her and then they've sold every house through her. She's then seen me come into the property space after freestyle so very full circle.”