Huge growth for Mike Cooper's business Bubble Customised Clothing

Recalled to the England set-up, named as the Super League club’s player of the year and having a play-offs semi final to contest with St Helens tonight, Thursday, this is the 30-year-old’s best season in his hometown colours.

He can also point to a company in which he is a founder and commercial director enjoying 40 percent growth and boasting clients as high profile as Walt Disney.

The wholehearted work he does on the field for The Wire and off it with Bubble Customised Clothing, 1895 Sports and Run Geek complement each other as he focuses on achievement now and in the future.

He believes it has been hugely important and beneficial to have his future beyond playing rugby league mapped out long before he hangs up his boots.

“A lot of Warrington fans will remember the leg break and life-threatening illness I had about 10 years ago. It was a wake-up call for me as a person,” he said.

“I did ok at school, not anywhere near as well as I’d hoped, I didn’t listen, and you believe you’re going to be a rugby league player for the rest of your life.

“But I’m a dad of two, a husband, I’ve got a house, a mortgage, and you’ve got to have a life outside of the game.

“I firmly believe the success of Bubble this year has really helped me on the field because it means I can relax, I can really enjoy sport, there’s not as much pressure on it as there was previously.”

Mike revealed how he and partner Sam Wareing drafted their first business plan while sat in a pub instead of attending class three weeks into a college course.

Mike Cooper and his business partner Sam Wareing

Now the former Bridgewater High School student is throwing what he has learned in sport into helping make their companies flourish.

“I’m commercial director, so as well as running the business day-to-day with Sam and making decisions on what we’re doing and where we’re going next, it’s about planning, marketing and meeting customers.

“There’s a lot of elements we take from playing professional sport into the working environment and I’m trying to instil that with the guys working with me in the fantastic team we have.

“Things like ownership, leading by example, making sure we’re presented correctly, making sure we do everything the best we can, we’re doing training, we review what we’re doing every day and every week, planning for the future, potential targets, opportunities, social media.

“Sam and I have been running a business since we were 21.

“Neither of us have a business qualification between us, we are learning on the job but we’re firmly going in the right direction.

"We’ll keep learning, keep trying, and keep getting as much advice as we can.

“I’m fortunate to have some great people around me at the rugby club who can help me out.

“Simon Moran (Wolves owner, SJM Concerts), Stuart Middleton (Wolves chairman, Card Factory), Mike Lomax (Wolves director, Total Steel Fabrications), Karl Fitzpatrick (Wolves chief executive), there’s loads of leading examples of how to run a business correctly.”

Action pictures by Mike Boden

Mike and Sam started out by launching teamwear firm 1895 Sports, for which they had a retail unit in Time Square, and then added running specialist shop Run Geek to their portfolio.

“Then we got asked to start doing some printing and some t-shirts for a few marathons,” said Mike.

“On the back of that we started working the English Half Marathon, doing more t-shirts and vests. And this ultimately led on to where we are now, which is printing and embroidery through Bubble Customised Clothing."

They have a showroom on Palatine Industrial Estate just off Wilderspool Causeway from which they run all three businesses.

“In this unit we’ve done print embroidery for clients such as Walt Disney, which we’re extremely proud of, 02, John Lewis, Autotrader, Warrington Wolves, along with small gardeners, builders, school uniforms, sport kits – it all comes through these doors.

“It’s great to just finish training and to be able to have something else to focus on outside of rugby league.

“I think it’s so important and it’s certainly helping me with my mindset having this to focus on.”

Having come through junior sporting ranks in the town with Latchford Albion, Mike is proud of the company’s new Pledge initiative.

“Any business that comes through Bubble Customised Clothing and places any order, they will get five percent of their order to donate to a charity, community group or sports club of their choice.

“I came through all the amateur rugby league systems and I know how difficult it is for parents to get money together to afford kits and I know how difficult it is to organise.

“We just feel that it is massively important that we do the right thing as a business to be able to support not only sports teams but community groups and charities.

“To be sustainable for us moving forward we need to continue to do things like this.”

Mike sees a hugely successful future for Bubble, which currently seeks a business development manager as well as a print and embroidery production operative.

“We aim to be the UK’s number one in customised clothing in the next five years,” he said.

“Our growth has been huge from where we were 12 months ago. We’re growing at a rate of 40 percent which is massive for any business.”

Mike is not the only Wire star running a business alongside a full-time playing career.

He highlighted the efforts of his front-row partner and skipper Chris Hill too.

“Chris has Premier Plumbing which is doing very well. He’s busy every night, quoting and working on jobs,” said Mike.

“People can’t believe we’re finding the time to do it, but you have to.

“My advice to any young player is get yourself at college or university or into work and just take a chance and go for it.

“Because as I very nearly found out, it can all be over in a flash and you’ve got to have something else behind you.

“And it’s good for your mind as well to know that you’ve got something to fall back on when you’re playing.

“I’m at Bubble every afternoon at the minute until 6-7pm. Although it’s not good for family life, it’s important.

“I suppose the busier we get the more time I’ll spend there and that natural progression into rugby retirement will flow over the next three to five years, however long it may be.

“It will be nice to be in a position where I can say I’m finished now, rather than the game finishing me.”