The Intermediary – August 2026 - Flipbook - Page 82
Meet The Broker
Gameplan Financial
Marvin Onumonu speaks with Gary Thorpe and Paul Sample, cofounders of Gameplan Financial
Can you tell us a little
bit about Gameplan
Financial?
Paul Sample (PS): Providing topdrawer financial advice to clients
was the core reason we started
Gameplan. Just as important was
creating a route into financial
services for athletes thinking about
life beyond sport.
Our advisers are former athletes,
or people who reached a professional
level in their sport, who we train to
become qualified advisers.
Gary Thorpe (GT): Naturally,
because of who we are, we work with
a lot of sportspeople. But Gameplan
is not a firm that only advises
athletes. Our client base is broad,
and sound financial advice matters
to everyone.
But we do think the sporting
experience within Gameplan brings
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The Intermediary | August 2026
something distinctive. Paul played
ice hockey professionally across the
Atlantic and for Great Britain, while
I played Rugby alongside building a
career in financial services, fitting
games and training around work.
PS: One mentality we both observed
in sport is that professional athletes
are trained to be single-minded. To
reach the top level, you must focus
completely on performing, and any
fallback option is often overlooked
until it’s too late.
A sporting career can end at 40 if
you are lucky. Get the wrong injury
and it could be over at 21. For many
athletes, life after sport doesn’t
come with the luxury of a long
retirement. It’s about working out
what comes next.
GT: That is why we wanted to help in
giving athletes a meaningful career
path, making the transition feel
familiar, and helping people get the
advice they need.
What sets Gameplan
Financial apart?
GT: We think the biggest difference
is culture. In sport, the dressing room
is more than somewhere to get ready
before facing the pitch or ice rink. It
is where trust is built, standards are
set, pressure is shared, and support
is learned. At Gameplan, we have
tried to bring that same camaraderie
and collective purpose into financial
services.
That might sound intangible, but
it matters. Replacing the income is
the obvious hurdle when leaving
professional sport, but replacing the
culture and the types of bond with
teammates built, for example, during
bus journeys or on the training
ground, is just as important.
We try to keep that team
mentality, where people can
support each other through open
conversations. Sport naturally
creates that environment, but the
