Having read Neil Cameron’s profile I’m not sure that I can say anything to remotely compare. I certainly haven’t come close to winning anything.

Whilst I would describe myself as having been enthusiastic, I wasn’t particularly athletic & didn’t achieve anything of note at school. As I am now, I was small framed, so I began weight training principally to bulk up in my mid-teens. I got into sport / fitness more seriously when I went to university in Dundee at 19. In particular I dabbled in martial arts & was also keen on squash. I never have been technically gifted, but tried to overcome this by getting as fit as I could. I got into distance running in Dundee also & eventually did a number of half-marathons all over Scotland (a great way to see a beautiful country).

I moved onto Bristol after five years & I think that, physically, I peaked there. In the five years that I was there I really got into semi-contact kickboxing. Again, I was technically poor, but trained really hard with some very good people, including professional boxers, Olympic wrestlers, athletes & rugby players.

I married in 1995 & in 1996 we had our first child. This forced me to move to London &, for a time, training went on the back burner. We were living in a council flat in Hackney &, after a while, I came across a couple of fitness groups in North London. There was, & still is, a group operating out of Tottenham Community Sports Centre. A great bunch of guys & girls & the trainers included former Ultrafit champion Jenny Russell. In fact they even do a 2-hour session at 7 a.m. on Christmas Day (I mention this because I hadn’t been there for six or seven years but happened to be in London last Christmas & popped down & they were still there). Another group operating in North London was FAB (Fitness at its Best), in which I believe Cassius Frankson had / has an involvement.

I began training at YMCA Central on Great Russell Street around 2001. Here, every year, they held a Xtraining-type event called Powerfit. This was my first introduction to Xtraining. I had a couple of goes at this but was always beaten by my good friend Steve Chissell. It was here, & through this, that I met Steve & we trained together for a number of years until I moved Up North.

After a while Steve & I wondered whether there was anything akin to Powerfit in the world outside the YMCA. A quick internet search found a site run by Will Whitmore, a precursor to the DBmax site. Consequently we entered our first national competition, Boxfit 2003, which was run by Dave Coard in Luton. I think I came last or second-last that day but, with encouragement from the likes of Dave (a great bloke by the way) I decided to stick with it. We next entered the Dragon’s Gauntlet the same year. Then there was a wonderful Netfit event organized by Rosco Nash & then the legendary Superteams event at RAF Cosford. As well as Dave, I am indebted to a number of the guys that I met at these events that gave encouragement & advice, in particular Rosco & Adam Horder. The final event that Steve & I did in 2003 was the Hampshire Fire event. I remember this fondly as Steve, I & another friend of ours from the YMCA, Cornel Grant, entered the team event &, on the day, found that we were the only male team to have done so. However, Hywel Davies was there, albeit not competing, but decided to race us on his own. In the event he whipped us by a country mile, but Ty still granted us first place as technically Hywel was not a team.

Since 2003 I’ve persevered. I’ve never bothered the big boys but still take pleasure in trying to improve. I moved Up North in 2004 & met up with the guys & girls in Gorton, then led by Mickey White. Owing to work & family commitments, I am usually forced to train on my own. However, I invariably have a competition on the horizon, so am driven on to an extent.

I am a member of Fitness First & Virgin Active. I tend to go on the road a fair bit , but pop into whatever gym is local. I recall that I had one week earlier this year when I trained in nine different gyms in a week.

Gorton facilities Xtraining & Xtrainers very well. Few other gyms do so specifically. However, I don’t experience any particular problems wherever I go; I just set up what equipment I need & get on.