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The Public Nuisance Podcast
Host Sean McComb interviews various guests
The Public Nuisance Podcast
The Public Nuisance Podcast #015 “Arm Chair Experts” with Michael J Lennon
Welcome to a new episode of The Public Nuisance Podcast with me, Sean McComb.
This week we welcome Business Owner & BJJ Killa, MJ Lennon to the podcast
We cover Youth Boxing, Eating Frys, Making Weight, Celtic Socks, Slabs and Jimbo, Riots, BJJ and much more.
New episodes every Tuesday.
Sean McComb
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanmccomb/
Killen Studios
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/killenstudio/
Website: https://killenstudios.com/
That Prize Guy
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thatprizeguy/
Website: https://thatprizeguy.co.uk/
JFH Social
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jfh_social/
Website: https://www.jfhsocial.com/
The Public Nuisance. Sean McCullough, welcome to this episode of the Public Nuisance Podcast brought to you from Cairn Studios, right here, where you can get all your content on family photo shoots, podcasts, you name it. It's right here With us today we have entrepreneur, business and fitness coach MJ not Michael Jordan, by the way, mj Lennon, how are you, man, all good?
Speaker 2:I'm good bro. I feel out of place in the public nuisance podcast. I feel like I'm a public servant. You know, I think that's more my place, but sure there'll be a bit of yin and yang here.
Speaker 1:I'm sure, Well, you might just blend in.
Speaker 2:You might just blend in there by the end of this podcast I'll be telling people crazy stories from back in the day. It always happens, I think, people come in here people come in and they're like fuck me.
Speaker 1:And then I think people expect something different. It's okay for you, sure enough, you know me, I've done the course and stuff. Obviously fucking, you know me well, so it's alright for you. Some people I think people expect I know you know I'm a bit of a fucking head case, but people expect me to be a big time head case and they're like they're actually taken back of it and they're like fuck, you're actually not too bad.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you're going from 10 to 10 from 10 to 10. I get an R every week in the studio. I'm laughing like because you're right. You know we we definitely do come from similar backgrounds. You know you grew up in the west, I grew up in Short Strand and you know from a boxing background and stuff as well.
Speaker 1:So yeah, definitely I know where you're coming from bro, you boxed for a couple of hours too, didn't you like I boxed with Dee yeah, me and Dee yeah, we went away together a few times.
Speaker 2:He's a fucking rapper, mate, like he's an absolute lunatic.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, where did we go to? I think we went. I think we boxed in Wales together and we boxed in Liverpool together it was with the Ulster squad, yeah and we got done up like kippers quite a few times. You know, we were going away and I was like, and you'll know yourself, I used to hate making weight and sort of at times. See, when you had to dry out and stuff overnight and we were travelling overnight, you know it wasn't like they were booking us flights, we were all getting through on their bus oh fuck, where you going Overnight on the boat and then driving to the location as well. So see, by that time you're sitting up all night and you're just actually starving. I got up one morning and I was like I'm having a fry, I can't be annoyed with this here and I had turned to fry. We were all supposed to be drying out to make weight and I ended up overweight or whatever, and I ended up fighting a guy who was a weight heavier. But see, because I had basically and he's going down.
Speaker 1:So he's probably coming down from two weights above you, so everyone had to do it.
Speaker 2:Then he's coming right down it was a case of right, nanny. Well, you can't make a weight, so he's going to have to move up. I got everyone fucking cooked.
Speaker 1:I got to move up, and then they move up that happened to me before in Holy Trinity, but only the other way. So I was moving up to 57, the boxing intermediate, and I was 54. In the previous competition I think it was under 18 I won the under 18 to 54, I went to Europeans and all, but I just moved up to 57. Michael Hawkins Jr was boxing 54 because I was moving up to 57 and the intermediate weigh-ins were the day after Halloween. So I drank a bottle of Halloween with black red, severely de-hazured, went to the weigh-in the next day, smelled the drink it was only 17 or 18, stood on the scales wearing 54 on the button and he had to pull out, oh Jesus.
Speaker 1:And he said you had to pull out and he was like you're a fucking rat, you've done that on purpose. But I didn't do it on purpose, I just didn't know. I just knew it was going to make 50 sad and easy, because when I left the club that night, which was Halloween night, I was like 55 and a half, so it was easy going to make it, so I have a wee bit to eat.
Speaker 2:I think I'm going to get a bottle of vodka. I got a carrot. I got a carrot and drank that and just like I didn't eat much.
Speaker 1:I was just trying to carry it with all my mates and then I went in the next day. I was literally 54 on the button and they would let me box 57. And Michael Houghton had to pull out his weight train for a week.
Speaker 2:The fight with a hangover Was there fights on that day.
Speaker 1:I got a straight final in the following week in the DC.
Speaker 2:Ah, so it wasn't too bad. Then you had time to gather yourself, I had time to get over the hangover.
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Speaker 2:I remember one time I went out one night you know it was just a squad of fellas and we were like on pints and everything else. And the next day, like I was still out, so it was like 4am and you know, get up the next day and me and a couple of mates were out again like 10 o'clock in the morning and I had drank a couple of bottles of bud and I got a phone call from Paddy Fitz and I was like fuck, I don't know what to answer and you can't not answer to him. And he was like Lenny, what's happening? I'm like nothing much, paddy, how you, getting on, hadn't trained in weeks. And he's like I need a favour, you to pull me out here. Somebody's pulled their ass fight. And I promised we'd bring someone. So I was like alright, well, fair enough, wayne, as he was tonight, you're fucking joking me, paddy, you serious. And he was like I need your mate.
Speaker 2:It was in East Belfast, it was against some squadie and I mean his entire unit was there. All these guys all going absolutely crazy and I was hanging. So I had to go home and go to bed for a few hours. I was hanging. Now. Luckily he was a wee bald, but he wasn't really technically good, you know what I'm saying. So I just kind of danced around him for a few rounds and got through it. I had a fight with a net and I was like, oh my god, I had boxed in East Belfast.
Speaker 1:It was it's's intimidating. When I was a kid we used to have always have club shoes with Alio and we always done back and forward. They came just, you went to Evans, fuck me. It was intimidating going to. East Belfast. I think we boxed in the Harlem Whiff Wellers.
Speaker 2:Club or something like that. Yeah, I fought in there before.
Speaker 1:Yeah it was fucking chaos, chaos.
Speaker 2:I boxed in Banger one night and Sandy, like fair play to him, but I wore a pair of Celtic socks and I don't even know, like I don't even support Celtic, like I don't even barely watch football, but I think someone just says, here, stick him on, you know, under your boots. So I was running about with Celtic socks under my boots and we were fighting now the whole place quiet and stuff but somebody up in the stand shouted something along the lines of fucking, get that fiend, you bastard, something like that. There. When we were, you know, when we were boxing, and Sandy stopped the fight like middle of the fight, got up into the ring, just shouted up on the thing. Any fighter like that and everyone, you know, you're just kind of standing about going, because that doesn't happen in boxing, you know, it doesn't matter where you're from or whatever.
Speaker 2:It's mutual respect, mutual respect each other, and like, if someone wants to wear whatever they want to wear, there's no fucking harm done, like yeah you see people in, you know, in the stands and stuff and we've spoke about this before and they're shouting things like this here and it's like you're not going to come into the ring and do it. So don't be shouting shit from the city. Alright, cheer your guy on, but don't be thinking that you're going to be tackled, because you've said to me before, after fights and stuff, you've got people coming up to you and they're steaming. I still get it. I mean, it's you guys, barbosa, and you would have stopped him.
Speaker 1:I still get it and I think you could have you definitely won the fight. But I think because you were in the back garden, the fair's backyard, I think you took your foot off the gas a few games and I was like fuck off, I get this all the time. Go away from me, you fucking. It's fucking ridiculous. And then see it happens in everything in life. I swear to God, like I didn't realise it, like I was talking to like a couple of comedians, like even Andrew Ramsey on last week. He was saying like people come up to him and tell him oh, you've like had to tell jokes. Paddy McDonald saying I was funnier than you in school timing was a wee bit off there, man like fucking go into it, then fucking leave me alone.
Speaker 1:I'm on like see now because I'm doing this podcast on my fucking tiktok and stuff and I upload like the wee short clips. People are writing underneath and slapping me going fucking 35. Oh mom wearing a shell track suit, seriously get a life, oh my god fucking loser 35-year-old mom wearing a Shell track suit.
Speaker 1:Seriously get a leaf. Oh my God, fucking loser. I mean like this is brilliant People. Just they're fucking out the kitchen, no matter what. They always want to tell you what to do with your leaf. You know what I mean. Someone wrote yesterday it's a true story On my last TikTok video, someone tagged underneath it saying because I was saying about stealing fucking grenade bars right, oh, I see Not one of them. He run underneath it. Why, what's wrong? Mtk money run out. And then the very next comment he wrote, he tagged PSNI. He tagged PSNI. So he's trying to turn on me. Oh my God, just for telling the fucking story for a laugh on this podcast. Oh my God.
Speaker 2:And like turn on me just for telling the fucking story for a laugh on this podcast. Oh my god, fuck me, people are nuts, see. See, I was. You know what I was thinking about the other day, because whenever you'd say to me about coming on this podcast, I mean, and you were laughing. You know, you grew up in the west, as we were saying, I grew up in the short strand. There's two, there's two guys from a short tram and whenever I heard you saying telling that story, I was like I'm actually going to tell that on this podcast and these two are the biggest reprobates you'll ever come across.
Speaker 2:Right, so slabs and jimbo, and slabs is a builder, so he drives, but you know the two of them. No, no, you probably, you probably know the rooney's. Like, right, you definitely know the Roonies. So the two of them, slabs is a builder and he basically he brings Jimbo with him. Jimbo's never worked a day in his life, right, he has never just a sidekick and he's just there for the crack, right.
Speaker 2:But a load of weeks ago we were sitting in the van and he was like I went to open the door or something, and I got there and just heard this big, massive thud and he was like what the fuck happened there? Some delivery driver was driving up the side of the van, but your mum was in the wrong. Whatever happened? Slabs opened the door and just completely wiped your man out. Right, slabs, and Jimbo got out of the van. He goes, what the fuck happened? And your man was laying on the deck and, you know, his fucking head was busted up and his bike, you know, was laying turned upside down and whatever. And Slabs was like oh Jesus. So he went over and he lifted your man up. He was you alright, mate, you alright.
Speaker 2:And your man was like, oh Jesus, my bike, my bike. And Slabs lifted up the bike, but he didn't realise it was one of them, you know, electric ones, and Slabs let the handle go and it took off. Right, he says it took off and it's just smashed into something and everything went everywhere and he was like oh Jesus Christ. He was like, mate, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry. And then your mum was like, look, it's alright, it's alright, don't worry about it. Your man was like look, I'll tell you what. Just give us 200 quid and I'll forget about it Fuck off.
Speaker 2:And then Slabs was like get that. Who the fuck are you talking to, mate? Don't fucking fuck yourself. You know just this. And so the two of them started arguing, and then your man sped off anyway.
Speaker 1:Fuck me.
Speaker 2:About a half an hour later to Jimbo what's happening? Do you want to stop and get lunch here? And Jimbo was like nah, I'm alright. Slavs was like what do you mean? Have you got anything with you? Here was I, and he just pulled out like four sandwiches that he stole on the door. Your mam was letting him bust it up. Got his hands by the bag stole and while Slavs was fixing him, jimbo dipped into his bag Stole his sandwiches, that's teamwork, that's fucking good teamwork, oh my god.
Speaker 2:Jimbo's then having the time of his life.
Speaker 1:Corned beef, so you can take that to me.
Speaker 2:I was like Teamwork Of all the people that your man could have crashed into. That was the worst ever biggest crooks.
Speaker 1:Oh my god, fuck me pure.
Speaker 2:Probably fucking big track and he's probably been sacked fake, got trashed, delivery stole, head busted open and you don't have the time or the age to eat their sandwiches fuck me imagine sitting in the house waiting for their sandwiches going?
Speaker 1:where the fuck is that delivery? I know I'm like emailing delivery. Where's my sandwiches? And this fucking busted up going? Sorry, I had an accident. Absolute belt aren't? You and he's really going where the fuck are your?
Speaker 2:sandwiches Like trust Jimbo, to even think at in that moment. Do you know what I'm saying? It's just the type of commensity he's going, going on.
Speaker 1:He was like give us something you see people like that.
Speaker 2:They're fucking brilliant because they see an opportunity, they miss nothing they have nothing to learn people like that.
Speaker 1:They just are like fuck.
Speaker 2:This is an opportunity and you know a million people like that from the west. That's the type of people that I grew up with. You said earlier on, obviously. Uh, you know, I kind of see myself as a businessman these days and everything else, and because I got a lot of businesses and everything else going on, um, but you know, I never forget those dudes, like because I swear like see whenever I'm in their company, because a lot of you know what you deal with on a day-to-day basis. You'll know yourself as an entrepreneur. It's just like constantly putting out fires. But see, whenever I meet up with those lads, you just forget about everything and it's just non-stop laughs, like see, whenever he told me that my head was actually busting with laughter just because I knew it was 100%.
Speaker 1:You're just thinking about it and you can't tell. You can't wait to tell other people who know them and you're like fuck me and that's near enough, becomes like the topic of the day.
Speaker 1:You're just going fuck off as a balder, like stuff like that. You need that, like you need it's character. And then there's people you grow up with creates who you are as well, and then that's, it's that same bit of crack. And then, obviously, if you venture off into your business which is fucking high pressure shit all the time, like you say, putting fires out all the time, and then it's refreshing to get that back and in you, yeah, that bit of humour's in you, always in you. You know what I mean.
Speaker 2:I heard Jordan Peterson actually talk about this before, where he's like you know, people from working class backgrounds get that type of humour. You know, I could probably tell that story to someone who's you know and they're like that's a bit bad crack, is it bad? I'm like 300 quid. They walk away fucking up. What are you doing? Stealing grenade bars? I'm so hungry.
Speaker 1:I'm paying 3 quid for it.
Speaker 2:350 grenades loaded, they not miss it you know, I heard Jordan Bredesen say before he's like you can stick a bunch of people you know from a working class background in a kitchen, you know scrubbing dishes all night and you're guaranteed that they'll start torturing each other and they'll have a laugh about that scenario. Or you stick them in jail and they're going to have a laugh no matter where they go, because it's the side of life that sometimes you see. But if you take someone who maybe hasn't grown up in, you know areas like we did, where you see those type of characters, that type of behaviour is a a backpack it's like, obviously on building sites.
Speaker 1:It's just all the stories you hear from people on a building site, like apprentices get tortured, go and get me a fucking glass hammer and people run the. It's just all stories you hear. That's part of the humour being on a building site, but it's all people from working class areas who work on a building site. Do you know what I mean? You wouldn't go into a law firm. People go on here, go and get me a fucking left handed pen you know what I mean.
Speaker 2:You wouldn't get that in a law firm. Does that stuff even happen in buildings these days? I don't know.
Speaker 1:It's kind of changed now, hasn't it? There does be like my mate John, he's fucking forever. John Nugent, he's forever torturing people, but it's almost like a was funny. He's like, well, what did you go up to at the weekend there and I had a ride and all. And they're like oh no, fucking, I'm too old for that. It's alright, you're like a spring chicken on this building. It's more life than you and all. And he's recording and he's latting. He's one of the younger ones. Like Fucking, oh, you wouldn't get that. Like Probably. I think kids now Are probably too switched on. They've probably heard All the stories over the years and were like Go and get me this, go and get me that, and they're going to ask for tools and then they're going Fuck off.
Speaker 2:It doesn't fly anymore. Kids are smarter now.
Speaker 1:Social media and kids don't even work on ball states anymore.
Speaker 2:Better still, don't even work fucking way, everyone's a content creator, everyone's just on their phone 24 7 and they're fucking.
Speaker 1:This is actually interesting, this fuck. There's these kids. They're from Belfast, but they just go. I don't know if you've seen this. They go around I don't know where, like around the UK, just discovering abandoned buildings.
Speaker 2:It's fucking interesting oh yeah, my kids love this. Yeah, all on YouTube. I was hooked. Last night I was up at 6 this morning.
Speaker 1:I was laying in bed still 20 to 12 last night going through all these videos, going what the fuck? This is insane yeah they'll just find anything. It's creative. I think it's class what people do and what people discover on social media like and ways they earn a living. They must be. I don't know what they're doing or how they're earning a living in the office, but that just seems to be all what they do like most likely views on YouTube and getting paid?
Speaker 2:ah yeah, because my kids are all over it, like I mean, they've watched it.
Speaker 1:I'm hooked now, like that's me now. I'd probably go home at night and scroll through their YouTube channel and just see all the shit. An abandoned fucking asylum is that right?
Speaker 2:I seen one I don't know if it was those lads. My kids were showing me that it was like an abandoned car showroom. Seen that and all the cars were still in it fortunes all the cars were still there all classic cars. Was that like in the UK or something?
Speaker 1:they were from here.
Speaker 1:I had kids from here and I went to some like I seen in Stoke like a big, abandoned, like a, like a big I don't even know like an opera house sort of thing, like somewhere there'd be plays and there's like, and they had the head for an hour and a half because when they get in they set their arm off and the police came with sniffer dogs and they got away anyway, but the police left and then they run around recording everything and I was like, fuck them, let's just travel around the UK, get these videos, stick them on YouTube and just reek in the views like it's interesting, because you don't realise what's out there like.
Speaker 1:So I was reading the comments last night. They got this like boutique hotel but it looks modern but it's definitely abandoned because there's like mould and stuff on the carpet, mould bed and all but everything, everything, everything's not tvs and every wall in the rooms bed made it's mad like I just like it just stopped, uh, because like it's just a massive hotel and it and like there's people lying, homeless, and straight, they get to fucking if they were to discover it, just go up there and put the head there.
Speaker 1:Crazy what I mean yeah, but like someone somewhere just left that to go to shit and like it's class Inside it's always class Like modern enough so it can't be abandoned that long. You know what I mean? So it's fucking stuff like that that's interesting.
Speaker 2:At Halloween there my kids. So there was a guy down the street from us and his wee lad would play with my kids and all he brought them to at Halloween. There's this abandoned house that's out by I think it's out by Stoneyford or something like that, and done the same thing. So they were running about, you know, videoing the abandoned house because they they had seen that on there. But I mean, there's places close to you that are just like it. In fact there's a. There's a hotel in Donegal, I think it's. I can't remember the town it's in, but I've seen it loads of times and it looks brand new. So it just looks like you can walk into it. But it's been abandoned for years, like it's just been left there. I can't remember is it. Is it in Lifford?
Speaker 1:there's a hotel in Lifford, like on the corner, or something I don't know, you imagine we thought like we like. I don't know if you know where Macerlane's bakery used to be down in Norfolk, just off Glen Road, where.
Speaker 2:Stack is? It's just up there on the left.
Speaker 1:It used to be Macerlane's bakery, like a big bakery, like a massive factory that just created Macerlane's fucking bakery products they were kicking all on down and we broke in there like years and years ago when we were kids and it was abandoned and like we spent the fall summer in there and we loved it. There was machines massive rats everywhere like but it was machines. It was still buns. You could smell the sugar in the place like it was fucking.
Speaker 1:There was boxes and boxes and boxes of like boxes yeah bomb boxes and like we try big boxes and stuff like that and everywhere. And there was like a big shutter where, like delivery trucks would have come in and stuff. And we opened that up and see all the boxes over it. And then we were jumping off the off the pier and like we had like the best time ever and one of my mates fucking burnt up one day. No one still this day, no one knows which one of our mates it was, but I remember we were on it and we just looked and the place was going like flames were flying and we were and we were like who the fuck was that? No one ever this day admits who it was. So we don't know what one of our mates it was, but someone somewhere fucking done that and ran our whole ran our whole fucking summer because that was our spot to go to see.
Speaker 1:After that we were like we didn't know what to do. We were like, what do you do now? We had no phones back then. We used to just rock down to the we used to call it the bakery and that was us. You knew someone was there. You used to just whistle like the olden days and you walked down and someone was there who you knew. And then when that went away, when that got burnt, we were like fuck's sake, what do you do now? You were just walking around. It was like there was a video or a photo of Pablo Escobar out of on the swing, and that's what it was like for us for days and weeks and we were like what the fuck was it?
Speaker 2:and a lot of mates were trying to find out who, as you were saying that, it actually just reminded me. So there was rats in the short strand or probably. Well, I mean when they're not a rat in the short strand, but this was, I want to say, in and around like 98, something like that, and there was a feed lorry that was hijacked and tipped over in the middle of mount pattinger road and it was like all horse feed or whatever it was, but basically whenever it had tipped over, it created like a you know the. The height of it was like all horse feed or whatever it was, but basically whenever it had tipped over, it created like a you know the height of it and like all the feet, kind of just ended up on the ground so we were basically climbing up for that easy three weeks before the thing got removed.
Speaker 2:We were climbing up onto the thing and then just jumping off into the feed.
Speaker 1:It was the best time ever, you know you occupy yourself in the modest ways, of ways Exactly. You would never see anything like that anymore. In fact, it would probably be cleaned up right away.
Speaker 2:Nah anyway, it was there for two weeks, just in the middle we just one time.
Speaker 1:This is mad. One time we all started. We were like late teenagers, probably someone doing us a disease, but we cut a tree down.
Speaker 2:I was 25. Last week we cut a tree down. It was 25.
Speaker 1:Last week we cut a fuck. We used to stand, according to one of, like we said, where marie lives and some woman we stand with like we just stand like a wee alleyway, but it was. This woman had like big trees at her back and we cut one of her trees down and used it as a roadblock and fucking pulled it right on the middle of the road and I was landing on the trees and every time someone got out to try and move a tree I would have like jumped around and scared them and then I'd run off and that was our way of like making crack.
Speaker 1:For like some period I had a big tree missing. She usually had loads of these big trees and a big space where we cut it down we fucking dragged it on the middle of the road. I was like, fuck me, you'd have found, you'd have found a way to do anything back in the day as I say, we were like 17 or 25 or something.
Speaker 2:I don't know, I'd have a big crack. Even you've done that now.
Speaker 1:Imagine reliving that like getting all your mates from your years ago and going right. I'm going to do this again. Imagine that flying down the road and some fucking four year old jumps out of the train there's a guy in San Francisco that does that.
Speaker 2:You know he just hides behind stuff. But he hides behind like a bush. You know what I'm saying? Oh yeah, yeah, he carries it about with him. He's just like Jumping out of and he'll slow down the reaction of people and all. But see.
Speaker 1:That's what can make Like, if we had phones back then we could have been fucking.
Speaker 2:Recording that we could have made a memory, oh yeah. You'd have been in jail, you'd have been in jail.
Speaker 1:You'd have been fucking the door would have been up a hall We'd have been getting a drop bar fucks you that's hilarious but they're like kids nowadays are well switched on in terms of, but probably like as an entrepreneur. It's fucking smart. It's a smart way of thinking, isn't it?
Speaker 2:you know what's funny like and I was thinking about this a few weeks ago see kids nowadays. They're either like really smart and intelligent and in touch with their feelings, or they're absolute killers. Touch with their feelings or they're absolute killers with cauliflower ears. There's no in between. There's no just normal kids rapping about.
Speaker 1:Just it's not about bitch just ah, yeah, it just doesn't happen these days.
Speaker 2:They're just fucking other people I know they're either like content creators that are in touch with their feelings and their emotions, or they're just absolute killers obviously you do the, the bjj and all that well.
Speaker 1:Just, I feel like in the last two years it just went. I don't even know what BJJ was like. I remember you when I was on a course, when you actually started doing it, yeah, yeah, that's right you just meant I've just fell in love with it. Oh, big time. I remember back then going like what even is it and I know what it is. But I mean back then that was only like it was not long ago so four years ago ah yeah, I was like I don't even know what that is, ah, so good.
Speaker 1:And then I had like kids are doing it flat out, like every I know is doing it, everyone, adults, the amount of adults people wouldn't take the sport at a late age, but so much adults have took this sport. Yeah, I don't mean like.
Speaker 2:I think it's like um, you know, all right, it's complex but it's not overly dynamic. Or you know, alright, it's complex but it's not overly dynamic. Or you can make it not overly dynamic and you know, it's mostly like. It's mostly like isometrics. So you know, you're holding a lot of the time and it's very like, it's very technical, even though it doesn't look at it. It just looks like. Was it your man?
Speaker 1:Theo Vaughan said if you just look at someone doing jiu-jitsu, it looks like they're trying to search for something on each other, but neither of them have it. That's what it's like. It's like, that's it. It's the best way I was watching. I was like that's the best way to describe it 100% trying to get somewhere it's it.
Speaker 2:It looks, it doesn't look complex, but it really is. Uh, and I think that's a big part of it, because you never stop learning. You know, obviously I came from a boxing background and um, for me it's okay. You know you can learn different combinations, but it's always you're throwing hands like you know it and that's it. You know, um and uh, I just wasn't um, knew I wasn't gonna improve anywhere beyond where I had gotten to when I was in my late teens or anything like that. But as as an adult and taking up jiu-jitsu, you know, in my 30s, I was like, oh my god, I can get better at this forever. There's no, there's no end, there's no end. It's just like you go in every single day at that level.
Speaker 1:The belts like, yeah, increase, and you're just. I love it. I like that. I like that element to the sport where it's like you're competing at the best level for you, for your own, yeah, yeah, within your own ability. And then you can push on and then you're restarting over again at a new level and you're trying to.
Speaker 2:It's like yeah, you know yourself although I don't think you've taken many beatings in your time as a fighter there's times you get out as a fighter and you're just like oh my God, that was absolutely horrendous, you just got battered and it's almost demoralizing in a sense. Sort of feelings around Jiu Jitsu is like you know you could. Like you know big Kyle McClurkin, like Kyle's an absolute unit and training with Kyle, like you know you're getting fucked up. Like you know you're not going to do much against him, but even at that you walk off and you go.
Speaker 1:Fuck, I actually learned a lot there, yeah yeah, whereas you know if you get beat up like if you get beat up in a boxing ring, it's just like it's embarrassing firstly, Like you're like I took a hater. And secondly, it's like, like you say, the more ladies and you're just like it's focused.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you don't even know if you learned anything. I've done a sparring like went away with an Irish team.
Speaker 1:I remember when I was the elite sport and like obviously I won the ice seniors but it was my first time understanding like there's a difference between national boxing and international boxing and I was throwing punches and getting hit. I was like, wow, they hit me, like I was going how they hit me. It's impossible, like it's I was throwing a job and getting hit the exact same time and I was like, and then obviously I just took it upon myself to just go and watch any major tournament I could put out of. I just went and watched every best, like the best nations the Uzbeks, kazakhs, cubans and I was just watching to see what the fuck they'd done different. And then over time I just I just was able to implement it yeah and it's obviously fucking half pair hopefully, but uh, it's like it's, it's it.
Speaker 1:Just when I felt Sparrow and I was like fuck me, I don't belong in the side, I really thought a few times on them international trips like this isn't for me, fuck that. Because I was watching Paddy, like Paddy Barnard, just being take guard, just bullying people and just bothering people and you were never going to fight like that.
Speaker 2:I can't fight like that.
Speaker 1:I was watching McClellan and he was like, just making it look so easy, john Joe Navin, just making it look so easy. I was like, what are they doing? I couldn't, I couldn't grasp it because I couldn't see what they were doing. They were just, they just knew what they were, they just knew that the same time punches came, they knew that the counters, like they knew the whole game. I didn't know it. And uh, I was watching him going like if I copy and do what he's doing against this point, it wasn't working for me. Yeah, it wasn't until I just connected all the guy. I realized, like these concerts on, like when I thought, job, they want me to fold you up before the same time right hand or whatever and then I was like, then the fence and all start coming to you and then you get the openings and then over time it'll start to connect all the guy and then obviously you get what you get, but it gets a lot more technical at that stage.
Speaker 2:Does it yeah?
Speaker 1:like there's so much, like, so much fucking like technical and tactical, at that level, because it's like you're you're trying to suss someone out and they say there's feints involved. There's so many feints, there's a fucking thousand feints. You can feint with your feet, you can feint with your eyes, you can feint with your hands, you can feint with your shoulders, you can feint whatever way you want, and then it's getting a reaction and knowing what to do with it.
Speaker 2:It's just at the level, it's just like it takes years and having to adjust. Remember, and again, the level that I boxed out was nowhere near, you know, international senior level, but I don't ever remember adjusting. You know, in fight it was just I get in there and you just throw hands. But you know, from one fight to the next, because I remember losing to a guy and I was like I was just beyond stupid there and I ended up arguing with Paddy Fitzgerald in the corner because it was just like I'm not fucking supposed to be doing what you're telling me to do right now. And there's, you know, there's an argument going on and then fought him the next fight again and actually beat him easy because it didn't do you know. So, okay, really think about going. Ah, fuck, I'm a round down here now. I gotta put this back. I gotta change something there.
Speaker 2:Do you know what I mean? 100%, yeah, I can imagine there's a lot of that, like in the actual fate in real time you'll see rounds like, especially at the top level, there's fucking.
Speaker 1:There's a round you might lose and there's three or four rounds you might win, and then they'll come up. They're changing as well. See what I mean. So like if someone changes because they've lost two rounds, you can't keep doing the same.
Speaker 1:They're changing to beat that but you've just beat them down, so you need to change too. It's like it's back and forward between, as I say see, at that level of like world level, it's tactics. Who gets the tactics right? Because everyone's technically as good as each other at that level. Otherwise we wouldn't be at that level it's about who gets the tactics right on the night. So if you're beating me this round, I need to do something different. I can't go out and do the same thing again, or I'll just have a field day with me.
Speaker 2:Did you box international when it was the point scoring?
Speaker 1:the media ground. I was classed that first year and then it changed and then I was like fuck me back to the rounds, and then you had to start fucking change their style again and then it changed again. They always change in the amateurs, but I think now for the last load of years it's basically just stayed the same now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because the point scoring system I think I came in after Roy Jones got beat in yeah, sold, wasn't it?
Speaker 1:left and then I came back again. They left after sold and I came back again and then I was like that's, when the count back and stuff started coming in, yeah, yeah. And then they changed it to take guard scoring, which was like one nils and two nils, yeah I remember, but it was still points, but you could barely score a point. And then I went back to normal scoring, which was was my first year, isn't it?
Speaker 2:so if you were throwing shots and even if it was hitting the guard, you were still scoring points if it was getting through it wasn't as easy as it used to be like a job wasn't scoring.
Speaker 1:A simple job wasn't scoring. It had to be like a salad job with a hair.
Speaker 2:It was body shots, not scoring as well, yeah but it had to be clean, sworn, it had to be like.
Speaker 1:So it brought technical boxing into things, like we had to, like, throw a shot here rather than here. You know what I mean, because it was a big, big and the referee would warn you for slapping.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they had the white, the top tan gloves and stuff like it was just I had something I would love to do, because I'm seeing loads of people doing it now who I know well, and they can already handle themselves on the street and I'm going fuck me, I've learned how to do this like my mate. Someone says to me like big Victor, I don't even know Victor, he's fucking nuts. Someone says someone who was in the our group chat the other day well, vicar, did you enjoy your first night up at FAA? He went no mate, it was fucking powerful.
Speaker 2:And I went lads don't be letting him up don't let him go up there.
Speaker 1:The last thing we need is big Vicar, and he's only learning how to fucking like grapple and tie people up. Don't do that that's fucking.
Speaker 2:It's just like. I suppose you know the head trauma taken out of it as well is a big thing.
Speaker 2:That's why you know a lot of middle aged men take it up, because they still want to scrap, but they don't just, they don't want to be going home with fucking black eyes and stuff yeah, it's therapeutic and I think it's like you know you're I mean, you're a professional boxer like how many knockouts you got on your eight or something eight knockouts it's even for a professional fighter like it's hard to knock someone out. Yeah, so in like a you know worst case scenario let's say, you do run into trouble in some way, shape or form it's actually easier to pin someone and choke them out, like you can just choke someone out with. If you, if you hold like a you know a rear naked, choke on, they'll be out in 10 seconds and that's the end of it. You know what I'm saying. Whereas if you're reliant on cracking someone and knocking them out, the end of fight it's probably not going to happen, it's probably going to make it way worse. You know what I'm saying. Because you start striking someone, escalate, you're not de-escalating it.
Speaker 2:Whereas you know someone, if you end up the scrap of someone, you take their back and choke them out. They'll wake up 15 seconds later and they're just like all right, I'm not doing that again. Yeah, you know, um, so I think it's like uh, I mean, you know, I've said this loads of times I know a lot of like ex, you know professional boxers and stuff. They'll go and they'll they'll take up door work and stuff, you know, after their career. You know maybe your career ends that that would have happened quite a bit. And of course you know someone's giving them shit. What are they going to do? They're just going to fucking. Yeah, just going to throw hands. They're going to crack someone.
Speaker 2:You know that could probably end up the worst yeah um, whereas, like, if you got someone that knows some sort of grappling, wrestling or jujitsu specifically, because like wrestling it's all pins, but jujitsu it's more forced on pinning then submitting, so there's a step further and then it's like, you know, if you've got someone who is at least a blue belt doing the door, it's probably going to be safer because they're just going to.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean they're just going to hold you there. You're just, you're not going to be fucking, you're not going to be arrested for it no one's, exactly no one's going to be able to press charges because, realistically, you're not allowed to lift your hand on the door unless it's self-defense. Yeah, um, and even at that, like you're allowed to, you're allowed to restrain people if they're out of order, which is part of what security is?
Speaker 1:yeah, just restrain someone, but you can restrain them and put them on a fucking submission if you want, and that's safer. They're going to get up and there's going to be no damage done, and they're probably going to slab her cheers for that mate.
Speaker 2:Like if it was me, say, if somebody chucked me out after me giving them shit when I'm half cut, you would probably just wake up and just I'm an idiot, I deserve that. You know what I?
Speaker 1:mean that's, that's a fucking pair of glasses from Nairnford. There's so many like wee videos of doormen videoing people. I say slapping them and I'm like fuck me if someone just grapples or just pulls him to the ground. He just came over like what the fuck?
Speaker 2:and he's half cut as well, like I mean what's? Oh my God, I actually I got put to sleep once in Jiu Jitsu. So you know there's two different styles of Jiu Jitsu. So you've got, you know, stuff like lapels in the gi, to call it, and you've got no gi.
Speaker 2:And there's a big guy training with us, big Paul Henry, and he's an absolute beast. He's just a unit of a man, you know. He's like he's maybe mid 40s or something like that grip, like a vice. I mean, we just kind of started the round and, uh, I I kind of swept him and took top position, but I actually didn't even realize where his hand was. It was through and he had a hold of my lapel and I didn't even know. And then I took top position, got segment and was turning around into him, you know, just to like pin him and the thing, and without even realizing his, his hand was still there. I just went boom, just straight out and just lay on top of him and see. But I remember just going, oh, it's time to tap. And before I even recognised it I was out cold and everyone was standing around me and I was just looking up going what?
Speaker 1:Did that not scare you at all? Like holy fuck. No, I can't let that happen again.
Speaker 2:Well, it's like I can't let it happen again. Do you know what it was? I was too casual starting it off, yeah, because it's like you know anyone who trains jiu-jitsu. You might even get like a. You kind of do get like a box in. You know the way you start around sometimes and you might even be bothering him with your sparring partner or something like that. It's kind of casual. No one's going out and going crazy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you need to suss out the pace.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you're sussing out the pace, you're matching their energy. It was like that and it didn't really start off, but I think it was a case of me turning into him, coupled with him not letting go. Yeah, and especially, you see, when the pills and stuff are involved, there's just so much going on, yeah, so much going on.
Speaker 1:you need to protect so many areas. Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2:Whereas if someone has you in a headlock here, you know what's going on, whereas with lapels they're just being thrown everywhere, and so yeah, after that it was like a big fucker. You just can't let him you can his grip you just need to use your feet.
Speaker 2:So you need to like let him have his grips but then bring your feet around and use them to kick him off. Yeah, exactly, do you prefer gay or no? Do you know what at the minute? So I go through periods of both. So at the minute I'm doing like loads of training in the gay, but then whenever I roll with um you know some of the some of the mma guys like kyle and uh whenever I roll like shimmy fits and stuff, I always go back to nogi. You know some of the some of the mma guys like kyle and uh whenever I wrote like shimmy fits and stuff, I always go back to nogi.
Speaker 1:You know what I'm saying, because they're just big lads they're just, but if they have a gator, as I say, they have more to grip on to.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, exactly more in their favor to use.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean so so with him at least, you know, like slippage or swatting or you can get out of certain things and you can use athleticism, which suits me if you're a smaller guy, but it just depends. Like I say, it's so technical, I recommend it to everyone. I want my kids to do it and I always say, if you don't want your kids involved in boxing or whatever, because it's an unbelievable sport as well for discipline and just teaching. Teaching you how to carry yourself and you know, just be more confident and whatever. Even if it's not that like get your kids into grappling of some some shape you know, just make sure that they people always ask me like would you ever go into the AMA?
Speaker 1:or go into like I would if I wasn't as good as I am at boxing? Yeah, I believe anyone that went into like, even like McGregor, who was a fucking, like a phenomenal athlete at one stage um, he just wasn't good enough at boxing, yeah just threw him in that direction.
Speaker 2:This is it just fucking brilliant. Some people are just more all-rounders, aren't they?
Speaker 1:and I'm like if I wasn't as good as I am at boxing, would definitely have been in there, because I love sparring. I love the fucking element of like competing, even in my own training. I can't like I know, like I've done the course and I'm coaching myself and I've got my own gym and all, but like I need something to compete for. I need like I can't just go and train like see, marty and Gary will train what their goal is, like they want to look better, want to feel better. What makes none of that makes me feel better. Yeah, competing makes me feel better.
Speaker 1:So like maybe when I retire I'll probably go into like the likes of Jesus, just something that'll keep me competing and keep me like, because I have that in me and that's the only thing that motivates me, and it's probably like not allowing someone to have like, get one over me. It's like no competitive, too competitive, and I know everyone's competitive, but I just can't compete with myself when it comes to like I want to be.
Speaker 2:Yeah you need accountability, you need someone that's exactly it.
Speaker 1:I need to be like he got me on a joke. I, I'm gonna, I'm gonna do this this time and I need to be thinking all the time like I need to like, get one over someone constantly, that's my, that's what.
Speaker 1:That's what keeps me fucking accountable. Yeah you're, you're built back. You just need to like, even like, running. I'm like I'll do the 10k runs, no sweat, I'll just do it, because I want to fucking beat people. I want to like you know what I mean. I want to just run as fast as I can yeah because I just want to run.
Speaker 1:And no, I know I can run, so I'll run as fast as I can for 10k and go fuckers. I'm training behind it. But I just want to know and like, rd runs, so I'm like and I beat him all the time and he's like you fucking, he's like you can't beat me. I don't know if I'm going to do a marathon, because I've never done it. I never do one. Do you know what I mean? I'll just keep doing the 10k's and keep smoking you. You keep fucking running away while you're being run on club and I'll just keep training, but I'll keep beating you in the 10k's and then that's what keeps me accountable.
Speaker 1:So that'll be like obviously after boxing I'll probably go into something like that, or high rocks or something. Yeah, that'll keep me training, do you fucking? High rocks because you obviously a lot of fucking boxers go into, like they just don't train, like Carl Franton doesn't train at all. Yeah, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1:I don't know how anyone could do that, though I don't I love training, I love running, but I can very easily see why because it's so stressful on your body throughout your career. Where we're not training to better ourselves in terms of physicality, we're actually training to be better to beat someone simple as that, and then the motivation in the end is money, pure and simple money.
Speaker 2:I suppose it takes the love out of it as well if you're not.
Speaker 1:I love how I feel after training and every boxer that ever box will tell you they love how you feel after training and every boxer that ever box will tell you they love how you feel after training. There's no doubt about it. But you still can't wait your fights over so you can get a break. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so there's always like something you're thinking of and it's like how do you adjust that way of thinking? Like I have no fights? I've had no fights, like even in the fuck I've had one or two years I can't say in the contract when I fell through and I've just had setback. I've got the setback but I still train every day just because I love it. I don't even have anything fucking planned out. I just go, I just go up in the morning, I ain't going running, I ain't going to wing it in the morning.
Speaker 2:We need to sort this out. So clip this one right. If you're watching this, that means that you know you're listening to the Public Nuisance Podcast and you're getting value from Sean McComb. So make sure you return reciprocate, tag Eddie Hearn in this and tell him to sort this man out. He owes him. Get this man a fight. Barbosa knows he lost to him.
Speaker 1:Who's Barbosa fighting next, jack?
Speaker 2:Catterall, jack Catterall, get this man the winner of those two, let's go tag. Eddie Hearn in this. If you're watching, let's go 100%, let's go, eddie.
Speaker 1:Uncle Ed, let's go. But. I yeah, definitely fucking. It's something I need to like think about because, like return creeps up, a lot of people writing quick but, like wee, paddy Barnes is a wee fuck right he's happy as lie. He's totally straight he's a human bottle.
Speaker 1:He put up a photo yesterday of him at the Commonwealth Games in 2014. He looked like a corpse and I mean he says I'm a fuck wee cunt right now, but I'm a happy fat wee cunt right now, or four now. So like he's happy as lorry, he does fucking high rock classes and he does crossfit flat to the mat.
Speaker 2:He's a strong wee cunt but he's cheating as well get him back, get him back, get him back into combat sports there's nothing beats combat sports, though is there just in terms of like, alright, those high rocks things you can work for time and all, but, as you say, see, when you've got someone there who's pressing you hard, yeah you need it.
Speaker 1:It's different. You need that. You definitely need a bit of. I'll definitely go into combat sport after I retire, the minute. I just I'm afraid. I'm actually afraid of going into combat sport in case I didn't start enjoying it more than boxing and I'm like fuck. If I was to put the time and effort into anything in the world, I would be like a doctor right now, or I could be like a surgeon if I put the same time and effort into being a surgeon, as I did, as a boxer because, like, when I think back of the hours and hours I sat, I sat on my own, even going to the major competitions and just watching, like the Ushchebags and the Cossacks, and just going like learning different styles.
Speaker 1:Learning different styles on my own still is on my own and I was like and then in the gym, all the hours in the gym trying I'm trying to put them into practice. Something not working, getting hit, wondering why they're not working, adjusting stuff all the time did you watch any really old faders?
Speaker 2:when say old fighters, I'm talking about like 70s, 80s, anything like that like Sugar Ray, leonard and all.
Speaker 1:I would have watched a good bit of that, like the four kings, marvin Hagler, robert LeBron, stuff like that. I never, ever really took anything away from them, to be honest, yeah did it seem like just a different style of fighting, do you?
Speaker 2:it always looked that way to me, people always.
Speaker 1:People will always ask this question and I think it's stupid because there are different areas, different, like there's going to be. Like people say Muhammad Ali's the greatest ever, fair enough. People say Mike Tyson's the greatest ever, fair enough. People are asking now would Alexander Usyk beat Tyson, make Tyson an effect, who knows? Like they're just different stages. Mike Tyson was like ferocious for what he could do. Alexander is a complete technical genius. Alexander Usyk, muhammad Ali, was technical. Would Mike Tyson beat Muhammad Ali? Who?
Speaker 2:knows like.
Speaker 1:I mean it's just, they're just. They're just questions that are always never going to be answered because the boxing game changes. Now, if you ask me and you look at the technicality side of things and the all-round boxing Alexander, is your experience with Tilling? It's just always because he's just always evolving, it's always improving, it's always like it's always evolving, it's always improving, it's always like it's always evolving all the time, and it'll evolve again.
Speaker 2:You have to imagine that whoever comes behind him will be 100%. Whoever dominates like he does, like Mayweather.
Speaker 1:People go Mayweather's greatest ever. And then you're looking at Terence Crawford. Now people are going like Terence Crawford beat Mayweather. Just let them just keep advancing the game and just get people getting better and learn a new stage. Like Lomachenko, alexandros, you can name people and then we small circles Take guard. It's crazy, isn't it? Using the feet work as well as a pressure feeder.
Speaker 2:It's like there's so much who was the best you ever seen in person, in person.
Speaker 1:Probably probably Andy Cruz, the guy I fought in the world championships you got to see him legit the first time in the ring he was the reason I turned pro, because I beat.
Speaker 1:I beat the world champion, the Russian world champion, the current world champion beat him, beat him twice in one year and he was in that big bronze medalist. And then I was like, did he beat Cruz in the world? No, no, cruz wasn't my weight at the world. Ah right, okay he. So he was 56 kilos and he moved up to 64 kilos and he just fucking damn near. And I thought when I watched him on YouTube and I was like what the fuck am I doing here? I remember at that first round I was going like what the fuck do I even do?
Speaker 1:here. I didn't even know what to do. It was just like he was. Just I thought he was well out of range. Next thing he was just boom, three small stabs, just boom, just touching my head back. Every time I was like how?
Speaker 2:is. It wasn't even like.
Speaker 1:It wasn't even like an aggressive fight, yeah, and then when you watch clips of him, video clips of him, it's like no one can get him. No one's no one's beat him. No one's ever beat him. You know what I mean? And like, from he moved up to 64. He's just cleaned up world championships and a big gold he's just cleaned up. He's prone eyes number like three in probably going to be.
Speaker 2:I don't know he's lightweight, isn't he? He's lightweight, still lightweight. Yeah, I'm super lightweight.
Speaker 2:Keep that I'm not calling him out, do you think it's going to be different for him in the pro game though, you know, because it's like, alright, you've got all those wee shots as an amateur and you know, you see, those Cubans, they turn pro and they're just not the same as what they were. It's almost like they've had their best years as amateurs. They get a few quid and then it kind of leaves him a little bit. Him, he just seems like an absolute athlete as well. So you don't, I don't know if it would be the same.
Speaker 1:They've matched them hard now, in fairness, they had to to get him his rank, and they get him.
Speaker 1:He fought like he fought a tough match in very tough matching and he was just boom. But he has a sound where he's not gonna do it anymore to look for like not like punches. He's getting in the box for 10 or 12 rounds and he doesn't care if he knocks you out, he's just in there. He's brought now which, like loma chanko donald, he brought this on with your pace, yeah, until pros, the pro game and he's just peppering people. Isaac does it pepper and pepper and peppering people so like it's still enjoyable to watch, even though you're not knocking people out, especially for the boxing purist. He's just going around patting people and that's what Andy Cruz is doing at the minute. And if he can sustain that for 10 or 12 rounds which he can't do because we've seen it he's like who the fuck's gonna beat him? That's what the way they go, because I've been in the ring with him and like it's like you'd imagine Tank or Shakur.
Speaker 2:Like they'll not want any smoke with him, and not at this stage of his career. Like they'll just. They'll probably just. And saying that, like Shakur seems to be up for anything, doesn't he Shakur's class too?
Speaker 1:pure fucking genius at what he does. Like, just he, just he seems like he doesn't train. He controls the tempo very fit. He's walking around. It's just that, just so switched on, so confident in his ability, he can go at the same tempo all the time and just control it. And I mean, like, be good, this would be interesting to see. But like, technically, I still think andy cruz is better. Like I think andy cruz would beat him.
Speaker 2:I've seen rego up close at the world championships in 2001. Yeah, I was working at them so I got to sit rings the whole time I was, so they had like spur headgear and gloves and stuff sitting on the wee table in between the two rings.
Speaker 2:So if there was like a malfunction or anything, I was a kid running up and giving them 15. What was I? 15, 16, something like that. And because it was like it was, it was the Ulster Council were mostly running it. So they said, listen, you can get a job on it, you can work for a few days, whatever. I was like happy, you'll get the what's it fits. But see, sitting backstage in the changing rooms and all because you were walking out and you had to gather the headgear and stuff again just to make sure people weren't stealing them, and I was sitting in the change room with all the Cubans when they were warming up, doing the pads and all, and Felix Avant, he was over but he got sent home for something.
Speaker 2:Don't know what he done.
Speaker 1:He was something dodgy going on.
Speaker 2:It's like all them Cubans, they're drinking all the majors, yeah, yeah, but yeah, so you're just watching them backstage. And then, like Rego I think he was only like 21 at the time, yeah, something like that and in his first fight he fought like the Asian Games champion and he sparked him within like 8 seconds. I remember watching that on YouTube. We had an overhand left. That was insane. It was nuts like. I remember just looking at it and the whole place was just quiet, you know it was a good squad in the Odyssey, but everyone, everywhere, just went quiet.
Speaker 2:It was like what?
Speaker 1:the fuck just happened there. I remember watching a clip with him and Katie Taylor like doing a wee bit of sparring, messing about, and he was just I was watching like he's only messing about, but the speed he was able to move his feet from one side of the ring to the other like boom, boom, boom, boom. Wild time I that's insane.
Speaker 2:What do you do? Marty Lindsay said he sparred them as well when they went to, I think, the Ulster squad before, like the Commonwealth Games years ago. I don't know if you remember this here, but they got brought to Cuba in preparation for the Commonwealth Games because it was a really good squad they had and everything else. But they went out there and were sparring. You know just their absolute, their A players like and obviously they weren't having much success and at the time there was talk of we shouldn't have fucking brought them to Cuba because they were just going out there and getting bothered and then you're sending them to Commonwealth Games and it's like see when you're low on confidence and everything else.
Speaker 2:So I think there was a bit of that. But I remember Marty talking and he was like it wasn't even the fact that it was taken, you know beaten, or anything like that, it was just the fact that you were throwing shots and you were hitting thin air and he was just, as you say, peppering. He was catching your shots out of nowhere and it was just like I don't know what's going on here.
Speaker 1:That's exactly what I felt. I just remember sitting on the bus like having Bernard Dunn was like like go away. There's nothing I can say. Like saw my head coach, like you fucking, watched him on YouTube. I fucking, why are you watching him without me? I was like I watched him with you and I watched him on my own and I thought I could beat him. He's like you, fucking, I know you tell yourself you'll never beat him.
Speaker 1:I said I watched him and thought I was going to beat him, one million percent confident I'd beat him. I too long, too rangy and out of nowhere he was fucking hitting me. So fuck off, leave me alone. Fuck's sake, get my headpiece. And I was like, nah, fuck off, just let me. No one's beating him, I ain't gonna be honest with you now, no one is gonna beat him. And after my fight I said no one's gonna beat him. And he went on one gold. And so I was like you, your boy won gold. I was like, oh, he did win gold. He's good, he's a fucking special boy. Oh, it's your shit. And he's never. He's still never lost.
Speaker 1:So I says that's what I said.
Speaker 1:I ain't going pro like I said what's the point in wanting to win the Olympics just to beat an? And then you go in. He comes out of the world and bothers me and I'm like who's this? I was like I'm going pro. That was my decision to go pro because obviously the ambition of being an Olympic champion was just gone and I just I wasn't being, I was just being real. There's no point in. There's so many people out there who are fucking full of shit and brainwashed, like, oh be world champion. They're not. They're not going to be world champion close by the speed. They're not. And if I was, if I never thought for a while I love the people, think that they're going to be like world champions.
Speaker 1:It's good to see it, but like, be real you can base it off who you spar with and who you ring with and how you perform. I can't understand how people get motivated to go to training when they have absolutely no chance.
Speaker 2:They spend their time and effort when they have no chance and or at least just accepting the fact that you're probably going to be a journeyman for something you know.
Speaker 1:You're probably or when, like, maybe you have a wee goldman, like a Celtic titler or a British titler? Like and that's it. Be happy at that. Don't be like oh, you're not going to be world champion. Like fuck me. I didn't even have. I always wanted to be world champion, but I've competed at the highest level of the game and when I spar, I spar world champions and I'm getting the better of them.
Speaker 1:So I'm being realistic with myself. But see, if I was going to get bothered, I'd go fuck it for long. I'd be in judicia, just go to the large board, you know what I mean like just don't be wasting any more fucking time and effort on taking batons and then going I'm going to be world champion because you're not it's just a fucking simple fact that's the way it is.
Speaker 2:I could never, you know, mid-tier fighters, like and there was guys that like I had beat several times and I was like I ain't fucking good and I don't even good enough to box in the seniors you know what I'm saying like and why would I turn pro? It's like I'm just gonna get the head cleaved off me or you know. Like worse, like you know, take actual trauma, yeah, some of these guys.
Speaker 1:You were smart enough to get out fucking early enough, but you could still take it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I always wanted to, you know, go into business, because I see my dad in business for years as well, like so for the. That was just a a distraction in a way, you know, so I was always I gave you a background, didn't I?
Speaker 1:I gave you a good background.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, oh yeah. Yeah, I considered you did it.
Speaker 1:You're down bars and stuff.
Speaker 2:It's like two opposite of like directions so it gives you, your direction, obviously firstly, so it's good you've done it anyway, and then obviously you looked at working in a bar at the bottom of.
Speaker 1:West Belfast yeah, 100%. So they're actually in the in business. You know what I mean and you're like you were probably one of the first one, you were the first one to know enough go in that direction of like pt and opening the fucking course. It was elite first, wasn't it? Yeah?
Speaker 2:yeah, we were, we were elite, so we were a franchise, for we bought the franchise first of all and then obviously created our own franchise over the last um three years, uh, with eca. But, um, yeah, we, we started out as uh elite um the the head, the headquarters was in dublin, and so I knew the guys and had done courses with sean jay and you know, throughout the years and just knew them and knew what they were doing and everything else and I was like I could bring us here to belfast. You know, because at the time there wasn't really fascinated, it did it did. At the time it the only option that people really had and this was eight years ago was either tech or it was like online courses. You know, so for your listeners it's like personal trainer courses. But yeah, you know, they were very limited in terms of. Because if you look at the popular popularity of the industry now, you know, with a small group pt gyms, there was basically none of that really about.
Speaker 2:Um, the, the first one in belfast was centaur. Realistically, that was kind of coaching people in that way and doing like 12, 12 week transformations and stuff, um, and that kind of sort of started it. But I think, you know, we were fortunate that we started it in that time because it was just about to explode, yeah. And so, you know, I kind of recognized that the gym industry was going mental and that the education, you know, the entry level, was so bad. You know, it was like horrendous, like I could do something about this, because we were getting people that were coming to us, you know other trainers that were coming to us for coaching anyway, yeah, and they were coming to learn kettlebells and stuff, because I was competing in kettlebell sport, because I'm a header and that's just. It's just the type of shit that I like to do. And, yeah, and we were getting people that was coming to us for that and I was like, well, you know, why don't they just turn this into a last eight years?
Speaker 1:because like like techno, like obviously I've done the course years, like there's people at all levels, all the ages yep, no, fucking 40 or 50 was going on. I'm going to tackle upon 17 notes. No, yeah, yeah, of course. Yep, this is like it was perfect, like in the amount of people. I think it was like it was definitely two or three.
Speaker 2:On our one it was over like 40 maybe yeah, yeah, oh yeah, we would get that quite a bit it's good to see that, like just it's, it's an open door to everyone yeah and it gives everyone the opportunity to develop new fucking skills in later life.
Speaker 1:And 100.
Speaker 2:Well, this is it. I mean, like the. The way I say to people is the fitness industry is for everyone, yeah, and I think that a lot of the time it's sort of set up for the people that are already doing it. They're already fit and healthy. You know, you've mentioned high rocks a few times.
Speaker 2:If you were to like go to your aunt who hasn't set foot in the gym and say, here, do you want to do this high rocks thing?
Speaker 2:She's going to look at it and just be like people watching time, all these scurry exercises, all the pressure, it's just not going gonna be. You know it's, it's not realistic and so it's good to do when you get them in through the door. And so I say to people all the time this in the fitness industry is for everyone, not just for the people that are already fit and healthy, because they're already doing it anyway. So you know, if you're in your, you know your 30s or 40s, there's a high probability that you know a whole bunch of people, because 70% of people don't train at all. Yeah, right, so you know a whole lot of people who would never dream of going to the gym, only you, because they know you and so, and they ask you what do you do about nutrition? What do you do about training? You know, they're just generally interested in it because they've maybe thought about doing something and you're their entry into it yeah you know.
Speaker 2:So it's like yeah, I mean, a lot of my messaging would be geared towards people who are maybe in their 30s and 40s who probably just regret not doing it sooner.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's never too late, that's all right. That would be like the avatar for our gym, like yeah, like that's why we had that beginner program and said, just because we were like that's like we need to talk up beginners break time, because I feel like, as you say, there was like probably back when they were in there, like late teens say 18 and all like 18 is 30, there probably was no Jim probably yeah, oh yeah, like people here over 49 when the large center and having the fucking clue what they were at no guidance, no guidance whatsoever, and
Speaker 1:they've probably went a handful of times and went for a swim and now got up and home. That was probably the head of their exercise and the peak of their life. Now they're well like they're not in the peak of their life, no more, and it does feel like they can't go to any gym because it's like fuck, I don't need nothing to do that's the reason why you should go yeah, that's exactly the reason why you should go to any gym.
Speaker 1:Because you're going to. We want you here. We really want you here. You know what I mean to help you and give you all that fucking shit that you've missed out on for the last 10 years.
Speaker 2:I love seeing people you know who have I see at the height of it all, like obviously you know that we have hundreds of students come through our door every year and across different locations and stuff now and it's just some ordinary fella who was, you know, doing nothing, hadn't really trained much, and next thing you know they're competing in high rocks and they're jacked and their lives have turned around Like fuck everything else.
Speaker 1:That's what it's all about at the end of the day, you know what I'm saying. That's what you want to teach.
Speaker 2:I see people coming into your facility and you know people that you've told me about and they're like they were doing nothing with their lives you know what I'm saying like they were actually going down a really bad path. Maybe it was like drink, drugs, all of this stuff and then they found you and next thing you know, they've turned it around and it's like you don't realise, you don't realise until now.
Speaker 1:We have this wee community in our gym and they're just I've seen them 12 months, which I don't like. It's mad because I don't like. When they first went through the door, I was like they're not going to last a crack here. I would like say to them they're not going to last a crack in here and like fast forward 12 months and they are like the biggest personalities in our gym. And when they come through the door something one person left with a panic attack on his consultation his first day he's like I can't do this. I was like, relax, you're sitting. I was like chill out, just relax, I'll go get you water.
Speaker 1:And then fast forward 12 months. He's running the show. He's running the show. Isn't that crazy? And it's like that difference and that change in his personality. I'm like what the fuck? This person has always been this person, but he would never have became it if he hadn't have stepped through the door and through that like that nerve wracking, fucking experience of walking into a gym, which every gym is going to be intimidating, walking into it. But you tell yourself it stay there for a bit.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean my, so see where I live. We the bins is a track you know, so see, bringing out the bins. Like you have to go down this big fucking hill, and especially when it's we have two black bins and a brown bin. So I always nab the kids. I'm like boys, go and get a bin and that's it I'm not doing.
Speaker 2:Four runs up there, this fucking thing. So, like boys, go and grab a bin. And then two all right, you know the huffing all about it, but the two of them are following me down with a bin and just the other day this kind of dawned on me. We got wrecked in the bottom of the lane and we parked the bins and I knew what was going to happen. One of them shouted last one up the house has to do the dishes.
Speaker 2:And then the three of us bombed up the hill, you know, just to have a race. But it was all just, you know, a bit of a laugh anyway. And I got to the top of the hill and then I just stopped and thought to myself like it was so funny because the two of them were laughing and I was running up the top of the hill and I was just like there's some parents out there that can't do that shit. You know I'm saying like I'm, I'm 40 now and I'm sure there's some parents who could maybe run three meters and think they're, you know, I mean their heart's going up a stir, turn through their chest, couldn't do it, and I was like my boys love that. You know, I was running up behind him and I was like I want to catch one of you and they were fucking laughing, they were being nuts off and it actually really dawned on me. I was like that's a sin, the fact that, you know, most parents can't have that interaction with their kids and that experience. It was minor.
Speaker 1:You know, it's not Disneyland, it's not something that gets here, it's small, but it's like it's experience for the kids to go up and be like you know what I mean, that's. That should be enough to make a switch. Go for anyone to go fuck it. I'm like I've seen a video on I don't know if you've seen this before or some girl and she's she's a heavy girl, that's in America or it's in some of these foreign countries or something, but she's pushing a pram and she's taking the stuff out of the pram and putting it in the back of the car.
Speaker 2:I seen this just the other day and she tries to run and falls and she can't get up, she's not fit enough to get herself up off the ground and it was going on the main road.
Speaker 1:It's going on the main road and the pram's going and there's traffic flying up and down and that fella runs across and stops the pram and being like what the fuck? I'm watching that back if she hasn't done something about her life after watching that video.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like, ah, that's it, what's the point? What's the point? And if any parent ever felt if that happened to them and they were not seen as Asian actually being off the track, you'd be like, what the fuck? I need to sort my shit out. Yeah, even I was like fuck. Yeah, even I was like fuck. I would like I can't ever.
Speaker 2:I was freaking out watching. I was running after them.
Speaker 1:I was mentally chasing the problem. I was nearly going like what the fuck? I can't see it no more. I was like, oh, fuck, oh, it's crazy, that was enough.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean it's female in that scenario as well, but I always like kind of picture man, because I, you know, I got you, you have a young son, I got two young boys as well. It's like I think about that all the time. You know what? What sort of influence am I having on them? Because I always say to people you know, you tell your kids you can do anything in life, but what the fuck are?
Speaker 2:you doing, you're not doing the same thing. You know what I'm saying, and habits are caught, not taught. So it's like every day I'm thinking about like what am I influencing him with? You know, and I think I was a big part of the reason why I actually started Jiu Jitsu as well, because I wanted to get him into some sort of combat sport, but I wasn't going to start going through and throwing hands again and like fuck that, I know I'm the same.
Speaker 1:I need a, my real a few times in school.
Speaker 1:But like throwing hands but he's only fucking four and he strangled someone and I'm like you can't do that. I mean you can't do that, but he's not learning that off me. He's like he's fucking watching his iPods because the teacher was able to tell me exactly who he said he was being and the character, and I was like you can't do that, it's just not allowed. And I'm trying to. He's like why about that? I was like just you can't, simple as that. Don't do it ever again. I'm telling you. So I took his iPad home for about fucking two weeks and he hasn't done it again, thankfully. But that's like imagine he was fucking imagine I, I know.
Speaker 1:I know I fucking they'll bring him in. They'll tell me and I have mats and I'm out and I use it in the school and I fucking have some. They're fucking ruining a joke that's inevitable. That's inevitable out in the playground fucking kids, tapping all those things do you want him boxing, do you?
Speaker 1:only for disciplinary reasons, because I do feel like maybe it's down to coaching as well. Like a lot of the coaches that we were talking about earlier are all old school, like Mickey Hawkins, paddy Fitz, like they're all like Jerry Story. They're all old school people with good manners and they teach you good manners.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so true, yeah, mickey was such a good mentor to me.
Speaker 1:Like growing up, andbert, I was a fucking lunatic and Mickie always kept me right, even though my dad and all. I was always afraid of my dad and stuff. But I could hate stuff from my dad. I couldn't really hate stuff from Mickie because he would always fan out off someone and he would have kept me right and the discipline I received from him and bring me places and like threaten me and I'm going, you're not under nothing, I'm fucking and I'm like right, okay, right, you know, a fear of like losing out. Yeah, always kept me right. And then even like going to other islands, like we were there and we got the frown. It was like yo, like teach some manners, you know, like put that back, you know if you're living something like that.
Speaker 2:There's a good new bar.
Speaker 1:There's a good new bar. Put that back.
Speaker 2:None of that I'm going to be back here again you know I'm going to mess it up.
Speaker 1:So you always had that discipline because of like a mentor, senior mentor, like that in your life early. He's around you all the time, especially like, as I say, my dad. We were all hard afraid of our dad but he wasn't with us in them situations when you're with all the lads no, like when I was down in Dublin or fucking, I wasn't with my dad, but he was with me and that's when you're at your fucking, your worst state of being a messer and running around being a racket.
Speaker 1:He seen me and he was able to just cut it out and then over time and you're with him every tournament. It was like you sort of knew you're like, I'm not going to lift that.
Speaker 1:It was time and all I was like and then like people eating. I was always a good eater. I wasn't like. People were like you know, like smacking them, like being like gorbs, like new people who talk about boxing. Later on Mick was like yo, yo, stop beating a gath. And I was like I know like fuck me up because that annoyed me, like but I'm glad Mick he would say it, because I wouldn't say it. But just wee stupid things like that and I just want to have that for my wee lad, just because I'll go in.
Speaker 1:I'll go in to coach him when I retire, like. But I won't coach him, I'll let someone else do it. It's because they don't want to have that pressure of like. But I want you to come and he's shooting and I couldn't because I got the patience for it. I would just be like he's shit. If he's not good enough, I'll just be like you're shit. I would get too competitive. You know what I mean? I'd just go and coach your kids and that young Michael Houghtons or something, coach him.
Speaker 2:Paddy Fitz, like like I don't remember those times, although I'm sure they kind of did happen, but I was like very emotional fighting, you know what I'm saying. Like I can actually remember losing a fight that I thought that I didn't lose, and actually you know, 18 years of age, cram a lampsuit because of training so hard for it, worked so hard for it, and you notice that yourself and then sitting fucking in the club afterwards like actually physically crying. So I used to get emotional. And even I remember like one fight where, like I won and because it was a massive underdog and absolutely annihilated the guy, and then you know, after I had, after the fight was over, we were in like second round or something like that here run over and just went fucking, yeah, kick the ropes and all. And you know, either say Paddy was like one of those ones where say, if you were getting emotional, you know crying, he was like listen, you know, get your chin up, you won the fight, let's move on.
Speaker 2:Or I remember in that scenario where I run over and and fucking kicked the ropes and all he was like fucking calm down, what's wrong with you. It was like you're getting too excited there, in the sense that it's almost like a relief for someone else. Well, there was the respect thing as well, but it was almost like you were jumping for too much joy because you weren't expecting that to happen. It was like we expected that to happen. Will you relax? So I think it was more scenarios like that. That was really good for me, because either I think I've learned to be a wee bit more stoic as I've got older. You know, you've no other choice. Yeah, I was a cry boy like any time I lost.
Speaker 1:I would have went into high stories crying like that time Bernard Dunne was trying to talk to me. I didn't want to talk to him because I was crying.
Speaker 1:I was 25, I was sitting on the bus like that and I don't want to talk, I was just crying. That's me done. I'm done with boxing, I'm just crying. I'm always emotional. I wouldn't have thought that If you, when I lost, I was just so heartbroken Myself. See, when I lost, see any time I lost, when I was carried up, I felt like someone Close to me died. That's the heart, heartache, the heartbreak I felt. I was just sitting going like I just couldn't talk to anyone for ages because it was just a world crime, magic. I used to just cry and get it out of me or just sit and cry and cry and cry, no matter what, right up until I was a senior boxer.
Speaker 2:And then like, obviously now I'm just like yeah, I suppose you get older and you know, I think I lost nine. It was like ah, fuck it, it is what it is.
Speaker 1:Like when I lost to Gavin Gwynne, I was the same. I was sad. I'm going like what the Like? I think it was more crying at the fact that it didn't perform and it didn't even try and perform and it didn't want to be here and the chair was going to be born and I was like what the fuck am I doing here, like an RD, and all was over. It was lockdown. I was trying to talk and I was just like go away. I was getting drug tested and there was fucking two cuts in my eyes had to get stitched and I was like I just want to go away somewhere and just cry, just let me cry. And when I lost the barbosa, it was like it was alright. It was like fucking, I think, because I didn't get beat up and I didn't lose in my eyes. I thought I performed very well, but it was just like fucking. I was heartbroken, but not the same way, not emotionally heartbroken, because I was happy with my performance.
Speaker 1:I was happy that I knew that I was able to perform on a big stage where people will then go fuck you and screw you as you say and it came out the worst because 9-1-1 wants to feed it. So I'm fucked.
Speaker 2:Listen, eddie get it sorted, eddie Hearn tag Eddie Hearn in this.
Speaker 1:Make sure this happens. But yes, we'll call it here and we'll we'll call it there thanks for coming on. Yeah, yeah, pleasure I know you're a busy man, so thanks for coming on, appreciate it. Thank you for having me, mate.