🙋🏼♂️ I hope you enjoyed this weeks episode of The Sam Oldham Podcast and hearing my conversation with Nile Wilson! We release new content every week through social media, audio platforms and on YouTube:
Linktree 🌳 | https://linktr.ee/samoldham
Spotify 🎧 | https://open.spotify.com/episode/0kzWelDGiLpptbDy93MyGS?si=7fb9a2ab5abd40f8
Apple 🍎 | https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-sam-oldham-podcast/id1670206588?i=1000645046088
🎙️ In January 2024 I sat down with former TeamGB Olympic medalist Nile Wilson to talk about his gymnastics career and explore topics outside the world of sport. We have both recently started going to Jiujitsu classes and explore the challenges of starting a new sport. Gymnastics is a bodyweight sport and many athletes can get caught up in trying to control their weight to the detriment of their performance. Myself and Nile try to unpick our own experiences with food and lessons we’ve learned along the way. I ask Nile if he believes vaping is acting as a gateway drug into smoking cigarettes and he opens up about his battles with addiction. We attempt to tackle the men versus women debate in sport and give our perspective of being in a sport where the women take the lions share. And this is our Conversation 📚
This episode of the Sam Olden podcast is sponsored by turn the only brand dedicated solely to men’s gymnastics towards the end of my career I started to work closely with a team at turn to design custom uniforms that expressed who I was and where I came from and they
Were always able to bring my ideas to life for years I wore uncomfortable gymnastics clothing until I started to wear turn whose uniforms are built with their attention to detail and quality in mind go check them out now at turn- gymnastics.com and enjoy the episode
Okay it’s to see you mate um it’s been like 6 months since we last spoke loads have happened in both our lives since then today is going to be a bit different so for people listening this is more of a conversation you were the first returning guest and before
Christmas you messaged me and said I’ve been pretty ill mate I’ve listened to like all the podcast I want to get back on it’s like I resonated with some of the stories just at the beginning before we get into the topics what were some of the stories that you really resonated
With the most that you listened to from old teammates last year I think it was just it was a nostalgic uh experience listening to my once what once were very close friends that we spent I spent a hell of a lot of time with tell their stories you know
Chronologically and that I could I guess I was incredibly proud and inspired by all of their stories but we were stood next to them yeah in on their journey and it just took me back and made me smile made me remember how difficult things were at times but yeah m the the
Podcast is great I recommend it to everybody and um I’m proud of all the lads and it was it was just it kind of made me I remember CU obviously I’ve done the um told my story but we didn’t heavily go into like my gymnastics whole
Story yeah so that’s why I message was like maybe we should do what what were the bits that you felt like we didn’t go into that were missing from that episode that we did last time and maybe the episode we did the first time good question I I couldn’t I couldn’t
Necessarily name multiple topics but I think think we sort of brushed over a period where my neck started to get bad and then retirement and then sort of went into down the mental health road which I think was it was an amazing conversation but it was less gymnastics
It was yeah yeah listening to like keens and um Frank and and Courtney and Christian and Lewis everyone SED tell their story talk about preparations and competitions and like how things played out and stuff like that special you just you just mentioned before we started recording that you’re now doing ju-jitsu
Three times a week I just started so I’ve done three sessions so I’ve only got three hours under my belt and I’m just getting molded that’s why I’ve got like a mark on my face some guy picked me up yesterday and just threw me on my
Face but I love it what’s it like with your neck because I get a stiff neck the day after and I genuinely was slightly con my only concern about doing it is because I have that problem with my neck and since the last time I saw you uh in
A I was doing a training session in football I smashed into someone and it flared my neck up again it really bad and I got really worried and they offered me surgery on my shoulder right so I’ve got two tears one at the front one at the back and I basically said to
The surgeon like would this magically like repair itself and he was like no they need to be put back on um but he said to be honest because you’ve they look like they’re old tears that you’ve just flared up because you handled most of your career with them let’s just see
How they do and if they’re not painful maybe so it was like a decision out had to make and I was like I can’t have a surgery and being a sling while I’m having a baby and I’ve got to work as like it’s not the right time and
Actually my shoulders got back to normal to be honest me it like feels strong again but that neck worried me a lot and that’s my only concern doing Jiu-Jitsu is that like it could that potentially flare my echo because you listen to a lot of people say they get neck and back
Issues yeah I think um it’s I’m something I’m aware of it’s it’s a different sort of stiffness in it of like if you’ve been re nerky choked um if you did it yesterday like it’s on your throat it’s almost a different s of pain but my neck flares up mainly with impact
So you know doing the gymnastics movements like from a handstand it’s not so bad jumping where it’s sort of the force is going from bottom upwards through my spine if I’m doing like a coat for example and I’m bouncing the bar or yesterday I was the other day I
Was trying to do nemov compuls flaw routine for some content and I’m like jumping into handstands and it’s almost that impact way but I’ve woke up after a few sessions and been a bit like oh stiff but yeah I I I’m just aware of it I know
My coach knows that my my story and my journey the good thing about it is you know have no ego involved in it I you tap you know so I I don’t want to I’m not that guy that will go milliseconds before passing out before he Taps it’s
Like I’ve been caught I’m happy with that yeah sound let’s let’s let’s start again you I mean it is so you’ve been doing it so four months of about three times a week and you were doing it before and you’ve not really had any injuries from doing no it’s been good I
Mean like there’s an element I’m one to one so I’m like learning te techniques so I haven’t done as much right okay like intense rolling and only really recently started that the last couple of weeks but it’s I love it man it’s such a humbling experience um it’s like having a
Conversation with your body you know the maybe your coaches might describe it as like a game of chess but right I’ve started to really feel that it’s a puzzle yeah and there’s infinite different ways that you know somebody can get to a position of strength and
And submit someone so I’m loving it mate and it’s not like starting your day by getting beaten up it’s a bit like it’s a bit like learning a new skill in it in that or like learning to drive when you can’t you’re trying to like find biting
Point turn look indicate this too much I’m like try I just can’t do anything so I’m like I’m standing there like I don’t know what I’m doing I just try and grab a leg or just and then there’s and a lot of them are cuz I’m not really doing the
One-on-one thing I’m just doing like turn I turned up the first session I was like is this a beginner’s class and they were like not really but you can join in and I was like okay and then he was like right we’re going to start at 5 12 and
Everybody turns up all these guys and they’ve all got like UFC t-shirts on and stuff and he’s like right start on your back and I’m like bet they all like 85 kilos as well and they massive me and I’m just like what do I do with you but
I think I’m just a bit annoying cuz I just like they’ve they more than anything they’re on top of me and I’m like getting compressed into the floor and I just got my arm trying to stop them from choking me out but last week got choked out like not choked out but
Like strangled basically 10 times and yesterday was only free so I taken that as an improvement yeah for sure keep going out M it’s good it’s good yeah did you see that video that Jay Thompson put out this morning it’s quite good he’s doing a competition in May a Jiu-Jitsu
Comp I thought about it you know that’s sick I think he he had he had dropped me a message about it when it was my birthday so I think I’m going to go do some rolling with it right okay yeah yeah he looks pretty good from the video
Like he’s going to try and do some like Essex open in May or something but uh yeah he drops the video this morning that I watched cuz it it just came up on my feed when I don’t know if you like me but I don’t put the news on I just put
YouTube on and kind of get my news from that and I watched it and I was like whoa that’s we’re probably going to end up like five or cuz Keens was on about as well there might end up being a group of us this you know what it is it’s it’s
Therapeutic and it sounds ridiculous but like the reason I say that is there’s nothing that will make you more present it’s like when you know when you doing gymnastics it felt like you were just you were set free and everything where his life just disappeared yeah like when
Someone is on top of you trying to strangle you your mind it’s impossible for your mind to be elere I mean so like I have ultimate presence for half an hour an hour when you know I’m fighting I I think as well I don’t know whether
You find this so like going to the gym and like lifting weights for me is more about my health but going to do a Jiu-Jitsu class or playing football is more about um so going to to the gym for me more is about looking after my physical health but I think the mental
Side of going to do Jiu-Jitsu or playing football with a load of mates and that Competitive Edge is why I do that a bit more if that makes sense like going to the gym I can get a bit bored after a while I’m like just going through the
Motions like doing the same thing week after week and it’s good and I know that that’s important for me and it makes me feel great afterwards and I get that endorphin release and like I want to be when I feel strong in the gym I feel more confident outside of it absolutely
But I do but the football like the competitiveness of football and seeing a group of lads going to Jiu-Jitsu just doing something where I’m starting at the Bottom Rung of the ladder and everyone there no one knows who each other is you just turn up you do the
Thing and then you go like that is I do that more for the mental side me too same with the golf skill based you’re learning you know like I was addicted to learning gymnastics skills that’s why one of the reasons I was obsessed with gymnastics but Pumping Iron I’m doing it
Now I’m really into it mainly like you say for my head I wanted to talk about I started to take my health a little bit more seriously the last couple of months which I needed to do it’s unusual territory for me the last few years but
Um I’m exactly the same man I I actually say no to I train with Stony and he’s a he loves bodybuilding now bodybuilding is a sport and quite frankly I’m not interested so when you know we we we’re training with these amazing guys and around amazing guys they want to do a
Leg session and the leg sessions an hour and 45 2 hours and by the end of it you feel sick and you can’t walk for a week because of the Doms I’m just like I’m not interested in that yeah do what I mean it’s the to the point where you’ve
Exerted everything they’re still doing another four or five exercises after that it just feels like it’s dead mileage but I’m not a bodybuilder I don’t want to step on stage so like I’ve s of experimenting with that but I realized I like lifting weights I like
Feeling pumped I want to be stronger but it’s it’s um it’s just a secondary addition to my life to to make my head feel better and make me feel respect myself more and make me feel more of a man and strong but jiujitsu golf like like say five side football they my you
Know I’ve got a pool table in my flat and a new roommate and he sick at pool we’re playing pool till 2: in the morning every night like at this tournament it’s just like I need to compete I need to I need I need to be competing and you know maybe we’ll
You’ll take it a little bit further with a jits like Jay’s doing and yeah have a fight it’ be bad what’s your what’s your relationship like mate with like your body now in terms of cuz you said there like you’re not really interested in the um the uh bodybuilding that kind of
Stuff what was what’s your relationship now with your own body and can you remember like back when you were younger can you remember when the idea about body weight ratio and that conversation started to become like come into your world as a gymnast you know what I mean
Well that’s one topic I want to talk about about today is battling being in a body weight Sport and battling that control mhm um because it it’s I remember it being around like 16 17 starting to hear people say you want to be strong but you want to be light as well and
Then like people would like weigh themselves or people would like I could remember people would weigh themselves after the session and be like I lost a kilo and a half but like everyone would do that and it’ be like a competition who lost the most and like things like
That back then you didn’t think anything of it wasn’t that we doing it we didn’t know that that was maybe like it’s definitely unhealthy yeah unhealthy but it was just a normalized thing can you remember when those conversations started happening yeah well first my my relationship with my body um it’s an
Interesting thing and then going back to the bodybuilding thing all of it sort of that sport is about aesthetic like our sport was about well aesthetic but in gymnastics we was creating art with our body but it was never about whether we had a six-pack or whether we had muscles like
The it was a we had all those things as a byproduct of all of our training but I never trained to look good I always trained to be the best gymnast in the world so I’ve I’ve never really gone down that route and after retiring that’s just sort of
Disconnected from my body it’s like I’m not doing that anymore and it’s changed a lot like it it does it changes all the time and like I lost a lot of weight and um and I think now in the last in the last couple of years i’ I’ve been put it
To the back of my mind it’s now coming Forefront like your health is is way up on the value like the priority list in your values and you’re not doing the things that you’re not looking after it you’re not treating it well you know you
Need to be kind to it it’s like given the analogy of um you know it’s a Ferrari yeah like your body is a Ferrari you can do what you want with it it’s it’s have acquired skills and like I’ve done all these things with my body it’s
An asset so I’ve started to recently try and look after it a bit bit more and have a better relationship why are you do why are you doing that now like what’s changed why did you has anything changed in terms of like you said there like the last couple of years I’ve just
Not looked after myself like I haven’t seen the value in it now I am like what’s been that change do you know what I mean good question I think um being brutally honest you know in the in the last three months I’ve I’ve recent had a breakup so they’re real
Intense times where you sort of look inwards and you need something to fill your time in the very difficult times mentally so I think when that was a trigger for me I struggled with my mental health anyway but it like it really focused me to do I know exercise
And I tell everybody exercise is so good for your mind so I was like right well I’m going to do a lot of it and I was active anyway but not like really you know training training um so I just started to train hard again and I just
Felt so much better and it’s like right okay n you’ve done this before and you’ve trained hard before but youve just let it drift so like let’s try and find a a routine now where for the next well for the rest of your life you know
You need to exercise you know you need to compete what are the Avenues that you’re going to do that do that with and and I feel so much clearer and better and it’s like yeah of course so I like really prioritizing that and it’s it’s feeding into other areas of my life
Because I because I’m happy and I feel good um so I think that’s the reason why you know when you because you’ve had you’ve had a decent amount of relationships in the last five six years is your normal response to those relationship ships to not look after
Your body no I don’t think so I just think it’s easy to it’s easy to drift into certain lifestyle um habits um and you know is it easier for you to drift into them when you’re single good question I think you mean bad bad bad decision you
Know like for instance a lot of the time when we were younger and we were competing if you got injured it was like oh this is the perfect time to drink because I can’t normally drink so I’ll go drink now while I can’t train is it
Do you know what I mean has it been like that before in the past where you’ve like a relationship’s ended and you’re like well now I can go out with my mates and like do what I need to do because I need to be single and you know what it’s
Like in that environment everyone says yeah you’re young man just go out like have a good time it doesn’t matter like do you know what I mean yeah sounds like maybe you made the shift in your mind before this happened and you went through the breakup maybe okay maybe
This time I’m not going to react in the same way I’ll try something different and you I turned 28 a few weeks ago a couple of weeks ago I’m surprised that like you Frank Courtney in my head I don’t know when you’re younger than but the age Gap always feels bigger don’t it
And then as you get old I’m like what they’re 28 now I’m sure they were like 5 years younger than me just two years younger than me do you know what I mean for sure I mean I think age is a number but I think I’ve really you change your priorities don’t
You and what you want and and maybe like becoming single is uh in the past for me me has been a green light to to push the party button and you know womanize and you know that’s not in a glamorous way but that’s what I’ve done in the past
And I think this time like I’ve really reflected more and I’m starting to get to a stage in my life where I’m figuring out why these relationships have have not really worked and what I want in the future and I do want a really positive happy relationship and I think that comes from
Myself I know that there maybe the topics wanted to talk about today from the message sent to me but maybe through the last 5 years I’ve not fully been in love with myself and presented my best self to a relationship and um that all boils down to what I’m doing and how I’m
Looking myself maybe you’ve not looked after yourself as well in the past why you would do those things whatever it is those vices cuz you don’t it’s your selfworth yeah it’s num is it it’s it’s um the thing that I’ve just said there it’s pushing it to the back and just
Think oh well I just uh I’ll just party in and pretend that that’s not you know that’s not something I want to change so but yeah going going back to the other question strength to weight ratio I I saw an nutritionist when I for the
First time I think it was VAR when we were when I was like 14 prior to that I’d never really thought about one bit in detail what I was putting in the body I remember actually having the meeting with her for the first time and she was
Asking like what we eat yeah I was like oh yeah I have um like I have like a Mars bar or a y bar every night and some sweets and then she sort of looked at me like I’m like I was an alien cuz you
Know you just you eat and you train we never put on we we was always shredded yeah so it was like I never took my nutrition seriously yeah um so then after that in the in the in the following weeks and months I decided to
And it worked you I mean it I felt I felt Lena I’d lost a couple of kilos like skills was easier I was I could do routines easier and then you know that that translated into results so I think did those results last though or was there like a a point of diminishing
Returns cuz I look back to that picture of you at the junior Euros with Frank and I’m like quite clearly he’s got a problem like in that do you know what I mean but what I don’t understand why there was no medical staff or adults at
That time going Welly we need to maybe look at him look how much weight he’s lost yeah um yeah that was a tough time I think did it work yeah so so yeah like the same with me I think that was the real test of like what highlighted my
Obsessive behaviors that was the real one that really had a negative effect on my life um and I became you know the need to control my nutrition because I could um became this delusional control where actually it it had come like complete control over me and I you know
Didn’t I deprived myself I’d looked at every number that you know the calories what was in it I would never finish a meal but then i’ deprived deprived lose weight and then struggle with binge eating on the weekends or that after a comp and it was just incredibly
Unhealthy but I didn’t really have the tools or techniques to be able to know what what the hell was going on it just sort of all of a sudden I started eating good and I felt great yeah and then I was a stone lighter had no energy became really insul um insulated
And you know spent my time on my own yeah I can remember I can remember that time I was probably a a little bit depressed or like I was I was going through something so yeah looking back I maybe the maybe the medical staff or the
Team or they could have it could have been handled differently but you know it’s all experiment it you I think it was back then we were talking in 2012 yeah I I can remember that time being around that time I was 19 that’s when those conversations first started
Um I always always tell this story is a funny story this is the first time I met Vari we did skin folds right and she took me into a changing rooms right we went into the changing room it was behind where the ice bath was and she’s
Doing skin folds right so she does biceps she’s doing back whatever and I was not that old at this point she does my Cal and I put my Cal up on the step and then she said right we’re going to take your girf now and I swear to God
I’d only ever heard that term used right you didn’t get out I went to pull my shorts down I got them halfway down then got really embarrassing come back up and I was like I want that old and I walked out I was I’m never telling anyone that
Because she just wanted to measure like do the girth of like my leg and like freaked out cuz I didn’t know what to do come on Sam Che them off that’s the first time that’s the genuinely I swear that’s a true story that’s the first time I started like talking with her
What was your skin for by the way it was low on bet it was low but to be honest me I think a bit like we talked before this I think I just had a I’ve got a really fast metabolism and so the food never really became a huge thing for me
Like in terms of not eating enough until right at the end of my career I think when I was like trying to do anything I possibly could to get it back on track it was like a last resort and that was actually the the first thing that came
Out of my therapy like two weeks in was she wanted to know like what my food was and she asked me to do a food diary and I was like I’m not doing a food di I haven’t got a food problem because I’d have family members ex Partners um
Teammates that had all had Eating Disorders so I was like I haven’t got one because they’ve all had one and I know what the and I know about this I didn’t know if I had one so I did this food diary and she was like I need your
Permission to speak to the doctor and I was like okay whatever I was like this is ridiculous so I did this food diary and it came back and I was training 5 to six hours a day and I was on less than 1200 calories a day and I was like
Because what I’d done at the time was I’d started listening to Joe Rogan so I’d got massively into UFC and I went and listened to every MMA podcast he’d done at that point listen to all of them and there’s a guy called GE George St Pierre who um basically one
Of the best uh mixed martial artists ever but he talks about intermit fasting and I went that’s it that’s the secret I’m going to start intermittent fasting that’s going to make all my problems go away and so I started waking up in the morning and having breakfast like dead
Early I’d have a bowl of porridge and I wouldn’t eat till dinner and I wouldn’t eat my dinner till Half 8 9:00 at night but I’d train for 6 hours in the mean time between that and I’d go to the sauna and so I’d sit in the SAA and I’d
When when you’re saying it out loud now you probably think that’s actually really freaking bad idea yeah but I would frame the sauner as oh yeah it’s good for my body I was just trying to sweat weight off yeah and I didn’t real and I lost a lot of weight and I got
Really light I got down to like 63 kilos I think going into the British in 2019 and so I’d done this prep for the British started on highwa was like under pressure I’ve been told I need to 84 to keep my place on Squad started on bar put my hand up jumped up
Onto the bar did my first coat and went [ __ ] cuz I just had nothing in me it was just gone there was just nothing there and from that moment on for those last two years where I like trained again I was like I would much rather be heavier
But have loads of energy than ever turn up and feel like that again so like that switched it mate for me but it was it was really interesting how I was so adamant I’ve not got an eating problem but I think obviously makes sense right like if you’re not eating properly it
Affects your brain so much mental health and like what how you’re eating and sleeping and your exercise it’s they’re so inter entwined aren’t they you know I think the there was such a big focal point on on our compositions though as well and nutrition when you’re in a body
Weight you call it body weight spark could you but we we’re essentially using our body as our craft and if you for the audience if you um you feel your weight I know it sounds ridiculous but when you you’re doing the skills that we do like swinging around a bar for example or
Circling around the pommer horse if you’re two or three kilos heavier you feel it and it’s harder and it hurts um so that fluctuation of weight in gymnastics was sometimes you know I struggled it with it when back in those days and you know I would binge so over
The weekend I could put on as much as 4 kilos in body weight so you imagine coming in on a Monday it’s it was exhausting it was it was tough man and then you’d sort of try figure yourself out by it’s like partying on a weekend but B with food
Yeah and you’d feel sluggish you’d feel heavy then you’d be like right I need to eat less and that cycle of by the time Wednesday Thursday comes I’m probably back to about normal so I’ve had a tough few days at the start of the week had a
Great end to the week and then weekend had come and i’ eat loads again so it just I was in that cycle for when you were doing that for a long time was it predominantly the the binging on the food or were you partying drinking a lot
At the same time as well just the food just the food well I had the I was 16 17 18 so when you were that age really struggled with it but I think as well we we had like say we had testing we did skin folds we had
The Dex of scans numbers it yeah they were cool it’s like analytics it’s like a science project where we’re looking at that and how we can improve and you know and I was similar to you I was was always 8% body fat but did see your
Muscle mass the of fact that you’ve got in your body like and yeah I I I think towards the end I got a really good mix with um I’d stayed away from jumping on the scales never wanted that again cuz that became an obsession and and it
Affected you did you ever get on at the start of the session it’d be like it’d be heavier than what you expected and you think oh God it’s going to be a tough day so it would have mentally affected my session so I I sacked all that I sacked counting calories just
Stopped it all and eventually got to like a happy medium where towards the end of my career I was just a consistent weight yeah cuz you you always to be honest do you think part of that as well was because you were starting to take cuz you were probably the first person
That started to take get getting strong on rings quite seriously and obviously you’re not going to get strong on rings unless you’re putting on more muscle mass and you’re able to do more in the gym and get bigger and get stronger and you were probably having those conversations with Rudy and people like
That like how does this work like how can I get stronger do you think that actually positively helps your relationship with your food then because you were like I need if I want to get stronger I need to eat more I need to do
You know what I mean I think cuz you did end of your career you looked pretty I actually thinkal that was because I’d I’d I’d got lots of help and a therapy I guess and spoke to psychologist about my eating right okay i’ figured that out right which in turn made my gymnastics
And my my strength training and everything better just because I was a consistent weight right I was always 65 kilos 247 365 now when you’re always the weight your brain’s so much more in tunee you’re not having these Peaks and troughs and flors and you’re not really
Having to cut or change a thing or you’re not really bulking or like it’s just I’m 65 kilos that’s a good weight for me and now I’m going to come to the gym every day at this weight and then just just you know slowly gradually get
Stronger um and I I didn’t really have the the bodybuilder diet you know we we start tall we need to eat like that and and I don’t think you do like as long as men you’re getting enough in enough calories in like fill your boots you
Know I tried that 8020 like a lot of the time I’d have chocolate I’d have McDonald’s I’d have takeaways but like it wasn’t a negative experience where usually I’d have the takeaway I’d think I’ve messed up on my my training plan my meal plan so I then I’d go whereas I
Could I could be full and leave some of the McDonald’s do you what I mean like cuz I’m full I just I kind of got into that mindset of of eat when you’re hungry stop when you’re full and like really listen to that and take your time
When you’re eating and that helped me a lot I think one of the things that helped me like at the end get that really right just the balance of everything was I’d listened to a conversation where a guy had said overtraining shows a lack of selfconfidence and I was like it just
Hit me I was like oh yeah that makes so much sense like if I feel like I’ve got to do more I don’t trust in my ability he was like if you can’t go out on a Saturday night and have a Chinese Takeaway and you don’t trust your
Ability enough to perform on a Sunday what are you doing like that isn’t going to make the difference you need to really believe in your own ability and once I started to like once it just really hit me that did and from that moment on I was like look if as long as
I eat well 80% of the time that’s enough like it’s it’s more about how good I am at gymnastics and how good I believe I am at it rather than relying on all these other little things that really don’t probably don’t make a difference do they and and towards the end of my
Career and now in my life I try to like get everything I need from food and nutrition just from life not taking extra stuff there was a day where I was sat with my granddad and this was when he had cancer and so he had his tablets
Every day and it was about 10 and I was taking 10 and I looked at him and I was like what on Earth am I doing this is ridiculous he’s at the end of his life and he’s dying and taking 10 tablets and I bet he would wish he didn’t have to
And I’m taking glucosamine probiotics vitamin D vitamin C like CBD tablets like it was outrageous I was say multivitamins iron I was like what is this even doing but it’s like you get into this thing of going I don’t know if it works but what if it is working I
Don’t want to stop and it’s it’s a tricky road to go down is it mate like yeah I think I think again it’s that element of control it’s like I need to you know if I don’t if I don’t unturn every stone then something bad’s going
To happen it’s like I just try to have develop a more relaxed approach to it all it was like my gymnastics did the speaking enjoy the journey you know you could be a professional Without Really intensely proving yourself and everybody else that you are it was kind of like
Yeah IAT I eat good most of the time great I have enough food um I like to party but I also have the discipline to not when I know I shouldn’t matter just have fun can you remember Max used to have a bar AB every night yeah do you remember that yeah I
Used to I used to think you know Cy he used to eat he used to eat donuts and pizza strongest man in the fing world but his but again he must genetics on it it must be Jean like there’s no way I think it helped him but he he’s he he’ll
Admited you know to his diet was atrocious man and I was watching that and I was thinking I’m I’m listening to this nutritious doing everything and he just gets on rings like does what he wants yeah but it is just genetics you just have to accept what strength you’re
Coming to with coming to the table with don’t you and then kind of like play on them and like the the there’s something I’ve been wrestling with lately mate and and it’s there’s a lot of people at the minute I think are struggling mentally just we just whether it’s just because
It’s highlighted more and people talk about it more or that genuinely more people are struggling than before mentally um and there’s like a there’s like a a thing that people say and I’m guilty of it and it’s I need to to look after myself but I think there’s a
Second part to that phrase that I often miss out but I do mean which is I need to look after myself so I can look after others and it’s something I’ve thinking about a lot lately because I think they’re two different things right I’m not looking after myself cuz I want to
Be selfish and take on no responsibilities I want to look after myself so that when the time comes I can help everyone around me when they need me and if I’m not look I’m useless in those situations last 12 months you know the time when my granddad passed away
And particularly in the last few months with things that have gone on outside of me but in my family wider family I’ve needed to be strong and that’s why I look after myself for how how how do you feel about that and that just even that what I’ve said there
I ad ad you when the planes crashing whose oxygen masks do you put on first or who’s do the tell to I can remember you you told me that a few years ago they say it on the on the tan you you know sort yourself out first so that’s
Something that’s like stuck with me a while um and I think I’ve had an interes in you’re all right mate I think you live with you like you go to bed with yourself every night and you wake up with yourself every morning and it’s um sometimes a difficult journey to
Navigate and I’ve struggled mentally and I know when I’m in those zones and I’m not my best self it’s not even just the fact that I probably couldn’t show strength and and need to deal with or make a difficult decision it’s I’m also like not really a nice person to be
Around MH and that that was is in in truth something that drives me now to you know it’s not about me it’s about my the people I love and I want my family to have a Nile that’s making them laugh and he’s laughing and he’s having good conversations and it looks healthy
And looks happy um so I think that’s that’s been a driving force but you saw right you can get wrapped up in a particularly in sport of like me me me take take take like what do I need I need this and I’ve been through this
Like and I think I’ve I’ve learned over the last couple of years I’m not you know really good at it or perfect at it but actually it’s it’s the complete opposite like what can I give yeah what can I give like how can I help um and in
Turn it makes you happy mate it does like it’s like a a rooll reverse you know like my someone close to me when I was really struggling uh um he was like do you know what I want you to do today mate is just just do something for
Someone it can be anything it can go by your mon flowers go help your your friend doing a job that he’s doing just go work with someone like go to the gym and a gymnastics gym even if you you’re injured and try and Coach a kid or help
A kid it’s sort of like it’s trying to get out of your you know you set cuz you know what it’s like when you’re in there it’s it’s just all isolating in me yeah um but I think yeah you that’s our really our only job in life is to like
Look after oursel or number one job yeah like make sure that we’re okay so that you know we can be our best selves everyone around us is experien in the best Sam and the best NY um but then also if someone needs protecting you know if if [ __ ] goes down
And you need to be strong or you’re also there for that as well do you know those when you talk talk about there was a point in time where you weren’t not a great person to be around and I’m exactly the same and you’ll be able to
Tell me this I looking back now and I could sense it at the time there must have been times where I would like walk in a room and and people be like [ __ ] He’s do you know what I mean well like like he’s he’s intense like he’s he’s
Not like I there’ll be I just isolate myself i’ go off in a corner it be all serious it wouldn’t be do you know what I mean like very negative like the the conversation like oh the system the like [ __ ] hell can we have a break from
Him like yeah do you know what I mean yeah and do you think where does that come from when you’re in that spot is it coming from a place of you being in like a victim type mentality and not taking accountability you know if you were
Looking at me would you say that at that time I was blaming others and other people not really just that does that make sense I’m trying to figure out yeah you were in pain yeah um you depressed yeah hurt people hurt people right yeah like you you were you can’t see the wood
Through the trees though when you’re in it it’s like you’re blinded you you don’t you you don’t really care about how you’re coming across or care what anyone else thinks or what anyone else’s problems are you are just consumed by yourself yeah in in in pain don’t get it
Want to escape it and nothing else matters so yeah you will like that and I will God like I know um and it’s a shame really it’s it’s it’s sad that I get the those periods were real um but I think you you know when
You come out of it you can sort of reflect and go that that was tough be have you been able to get out of that through taking more accountability and responsibility for the things that you do 100% self-awareness like I just it’s the same like I you develop a framework of you know
What triggers are you just become more self-aware of your own mental health and that’s what therapy does don’t it yeah and I know if I do XYZ I I’ll be I’ll be on track and I feel good also if I do XYZ that are not so good I’ll start to drift to that
Person that I don’t like and I really don’t like him he’s he’s he’s not a nice look I’ve always been a nice person but he just don’t want to be that guy yeah I don’t want to be that guy I want to be Nile I want to be like unapologetically
Nil that is just like has peace of mind that’s not stuck up there it’s just like enjoying himself and delivering a more actually there like present you’re doing listening you know what’s you what are your problems can I help what do you need from me like and it feels good it’s
It’s kind of one of the weirdest not the weirdest the good quotes is the the most selfish thing you could do is help others and I like it it takes a while to kind of work out cuz it don’t make sense but the reason that it’s selfish is
Because it makes you feel good it’s like you ever bought your family member a present at Christmas and you can’t wait for them to open it and when they open it they’re freaking buzz it about it that’s euphoric for the for the person that’s giv you know what I mean so I try
And remember that and I don’t always get it right I never will but um yeah do you feel like now you’ve got a real do you feel like you’ve got a solid understanding of who you are now is that still a path that you’re on even from
Like the chats that we had like just before we went we went live and we started recording and even in six months from the last conversation there’s been a lot of times I’d say in the last probably or four years where I’ve left thinking he’s not ready yet yeah
Yeah like he’s saying the right things he’s not ready yet and like I think last time you came on and we had a conversation I was like who he’s different there’s a different like he’s on his way and then even from chatting you chatting to you this morning and
You’re saying right I’m now trying to put my health first and I’m doing things slightly differently and just the way you I think I think it’s just normal you’re just maturing you’re getting older but like I’ll leave today and go hi he’s going to be absolutely fine now
He’s on his way likey do you know what I mean just the fact that you like yeah I don’t I want to put myself first and like you’re looking more to the Future what do I want in the future yeah for sure I want I just want to put myself in
A position to thrive and be be myself like be Nile how have you found it in the last three months then going to America for the NFL stuff at the start of the year and then operating with all the things that you manage like content the businesses all of that how what has
The difference been with you taking trying to look after yourself more you noticed a real difference to how everything’s been playing out just just the last two or 3 months 100% just are you more productive yeah yeah yeah for sure I’m ju I’m I’m there I’m more there
I’m more present I feel good you know um the biggest things are training I I jump in the ice buff every day which is 4 degrees which to me that feels like drug the the natural like I say in Dophin release and um I I stay disciplined with it I I’m just
Disciplined again and doing you know doing the things I’ve got this woot band this is not a brand de by the way but I uh that’s highlighted a few things last month how I say I want to put on weight but my average calories that I burn is
Just under 3,000 and it’s like well of course she’s struggling to put on weight now cuz you don’t eat enough and you need to eat more than 3,000 calories a day that’s quite a tough thing to do so just you know crack on with that and um
I say that I love my sleep and I I’ve always been a beauty sleeper and I want 9 hours my average sleep this month’s been 6 and a half hours it’s like oh so it’s kind of I’m doing the things that are making me feel great and then also
Taking some discipline and seriously of my health to try and change things even more to feel even better it’s kind of like you the but then how do you not take that to the extreme again you know how do you have like things in place to stop yourself going there just with
Yourself you know do you know what I mean do you think you would know if if all of a sudden you were like I didn’t get cuz you’ve said it there I didn’t get n instead of getting on the scales I haven’t got 9 hours sleep how am I going
To do it how I going to feel do you know what I mean yeah I think um I try emotionally remove myself from it it’s just St it’s in enjoyable to see data on and I’ve not looked at that sort of stuff for years so I think I’ll I’ll
Take it off when it gets to that stage I don’t I don’t think it will get to that stage but I think it’s just that self-awareness mate I’m always reflecting like um analyzing myself all the time every day and I think you have to um and it’s it’s uh you’re never out
Of the woods and I’m like I’m not naive to that anymore I respect it it’s like I I um someone asked me the other day what my biggest fear was and I think it’s I actually think it’s myself of what I’m capable of do you
Know what I mean in in in a negative way so I always have myself at arms length and and respect that I’m a couple of bad decisions away from from not being okay so I really just try and hold on to that and protect it and and be honest with
Myself and where I’m at and it’s actually not that difficult to in a moment just make a decision and do it yeah you know like I’m I’m struggling with the the sleep a little bit than me I’ve always been want to just lay in bed
And be on my phone till 3:00 a.m. but it’s like is it that hard to at half 11 just close your eyes because I would go to sleep straight away it’s like just put your phone down and close eyes and the more the more I do that it’s like
It’s empowering and I respect myself more I respect myself for training hard I respect myself for getting in the ice bath I’m just sort of on that um I do feel like I’ve turned a corner I’ve always known it all but like living and breathing it’s been like a completely
Different thing for me for the last three years and then also I’ve written a new book which is about specifically about this right okay um but I had to ask myself a lot of questions before I wrote this and put this out there it’s
Like I’m I why now you know I’m am I ready to do this and I think the last sort of 18 months to two years have been really transformative for me is what is the book um is the book almost talking about how you’ve gone through all of
That stuff and you’re now trying like you’re trying to figure it out and not do it cuz I think if you are doing that then it’s almost like you without maybe knowing that you’ve done it if you are putting a book out there and you’re kind
Of saying this is what I’ve been through and this is what I’ve done and it’s kind of this is how I see it working you’re then almost making a contract with yourself aren’t you I have to stick to it if I’m gonna put that out there and
Say it like for sure and and like a a lot of times of the last few years cuz I was so open about my story online it petrified me when I was living and breathing it you know what I mean I became I yeah I was a complete fraud and
I just strayed away from all the conversations and didn’t want to talk about mental health because I was still battling it and you know what I think the in part of the book and it’s I’ll say it in it I always will be yeah and
I’m I’m aware of that now and I’m okay with that now do I mean it’s it’s never been it’ll never be an on andof switch um I think through our well certainly my life experience um some traumatic episodes I’m probably you know I’m in the the bubble of you need to look after
Your mind for the rest of your life M and that that’s all right with me now and like um I’m like I said I respect it I’m not naive to think that I’m never going to go back there but that sort of has an empowering feeling over you do
Know what I mean but I’ve I’ve learned a hell of a lot and it’s just the digesting it like how people could hopefully you know I’m not telling anyone what they should do but just talking from my experience and I do believe that the things that I’ve
Learned will help other people so 100% they and I think and you might find as well like what you just explained there with like I think I’m going to be dealing with this for the rest of my my life you know I once was in that pocket
And I’m now in a I’m now at a step where I’m like it could come up at times in my life but actually they might there I think there’s a good chance there’s going to be a time where I I probably don’t struggle with this again which is
Interesting cuz initially I was this is never going to go away this pain is here forever and I had Connie saying to me you don’t know that one day you this might go away like you don’t know it’s always to be here and then I’ve I’m moving along this kind of like timeline
Where I’ve got to this spot now where I’m like wow this year there’s been some situations that have been yeah if anything was going to throw me off it would be do and I’m all right and the more times I’m all right the more evidence I’ve got that well that’s from the decisions
You’re making the self- awareness you know I’ll tell you right now bro if you started drinking alcohol every day for the next four weeks again yeah yeah I’m sure I mean do you what I mean so like I think you’re finding your groove with what you know
You need to do um maybe yeah and that’s a really interesting point M because yeah you spot on I guess is if my decision- making change to you know living that life and it just can’t right I’m about to have a son so what you want from Life Changes massively like what
You need to be what’s needed of you changes I think that’s maybe and that is to go back to what we were talking about actually I’m now taking on more responsibility so there’s more accountability of me to live up to being the person I want to be because I’m
Trying to be a partner and I’m want to be a dad and you’re liveing it man so I can’t go out every weekend and get drunk and go back to that do any of that stuff or like I can’t I’ve got to look after myself so I can look so it’s probably
That you’re living it mate so like I I you know Andrew T A guy that’s blown up he’s one of the most famous man man on the planet and don’t necessarily agree with with all the things I he says I think he’s a smart guy and provokes
People to go viral but his message has been really actually useful for me in the last the last few months of you know like masculinity and becoming a a man and you know he says he don’t believe in depression I obviously disagree with that yeah but also you know you can he
Also says you can sit with a therapist and talk about all these negative emotions for a long time you know and and give up a lot of time throughout your week and I don’t know if about you it’s overwhelming when you step out of a therapy room it’s you’ve been through a
Brain workout and like I almost you know for instance if you talk about the time of my neck it brings back certain emotions it’s kind of like yeah that you know there’s definitely a spot for therapy and it’s helped me so much but just let’s just part that now like get
Where your mates have have some competition go to the gym every day yeah like get stronger turn your body that’s why I love Jiu-Jitsu a little bit as well like become competent try and make as much money as you can you know like it’s just like take take action but I
Think it I was just about but I think it’s the action part the therapy worked to me cuz I went I want help tell me what to do I’m going to go and do it whereas I know lots of people that have been for therapy and they don’t want to
Get better yet they want to sit in victim in that victim pocket and they want to stay there and they’re not willing to do the things that the therapist have told them to do and I think I think for me it is that it’s the action and it’s like now you’re doing
The action part you could sit in you could see a therapist for a year two years 5 years 10 years at some point you’ve got to go out and do it like you have to be able to and you can only do that by doing it yourself there’s no way they can’t walk
You through it do you know what I mean I think it’s really interesting that you say that about the action mate next thing I want to talk about okay why does everybody compare men and women in sport why is it a thing I I don’t get it why
Is it always men versus women and why don’t men and women get paid the same and what like we kind of what is it what do you think it is is cuz I think we sit in a really unique position of being in a sport where the women get the LI share
It’s it’s one of the only Sports where yeah we can AR way more popular for women to do gymnastics and that’s what where I always come in and say look it’s just the eyeballs when it comes to the money argument it’s how many people watch it how much are the sponsors
Prepared to put into those competitions for those that’s why the American women go to the Olympics and they become millionaires afterwards like they go to the Olympics get massive brand deals and earn Millions yeah and but male gymnasts don’t and it’s purely the product what’s being sold how many people are watching
Do you know what I mean does that make sense yeah for sure I think the last the last sort of decade or last five years there’s there’s been some huge movements on equality um Prejudice and all this this stuff so I think the the topics of conversation and you know equal
Opportunity in in everything in life but particularly sport I just think it I love equality and opportunity but the outcome’s just never going to be you can’t you can’t have it unfortunately I think it was the the FIFA World Cup men’s generat 6 billion women’s 130 million
So it’s it’s the the argue on the money bit it’s what you’re worth mate you know what I mean and so for instance just because you’ve got a gymnastics club and I’ve got a gymnastics Club it doesn’t mean that you have the right to earn as
Much as I do from my club yeah because my club might be better my club might have better equipment my club’s got more members my club’s got a better experience my club my business spends less money and is smarter with it so you can’t stand there and go yeah well I’ve
Got a club so I should earn say it’s like you know that there’s no argument there and then I guess the yeah I see them is completely different en they’ got it yeah they separ like men and women are different split them apart like we don’t have to and you
Would want to put you would’t want to put a woman um in the ring you know and you know like i’ I’ve rolled I’ve done Jiu-Jitsu with leam mcot she’s a Bellator fighter in black belt jits with Judo and she would kill us in 30 seconds
Like she easily she would but like those that know it’s you would not do that so and it that you know you’ll never have a a world of of men and women sports into locking and I just think it there’s no point comparing them anymore just see
For what it is like I love Sport and I love watching women spot yeah but it’s it’s not the same because biologically physiologically we’re different species really AR we like I think it comes back to what you said before and it’s kind of what I believe in I believe in uh equal
Opportunity but not equal outcome like it can’t just be it can’t be me saying well I put videos on YouTube like na does and I do loads of planning but he earns thousands of pounds in ad revenue and I don’t earn anything well that’s not fair cuz I put the work in as
Well so I should get paid the same as him like that it just doesn’t make any sense to me but it fascinates me that we’re so obsessed you know on in the media social whatever it is with men against women thing and they’re just two very different things and I think
Because we’re in a sport that is dominated by women we sit in a unique position cuz most sports aren’t are they yeah it’s kind of like it’s sh I just been to America and I did some content with Ian Gunther and he was telling me the um the men’s Nationals like are
British it was done in um like a small smaller hockey stadium and there was barely anyone there like no one bought tickets it’s like even in America so like IM men’s gymnastics in in ag could be the biggest sporting country well the biggest country in the world that’s
Sport no one gives a [ __ ] about it and no one watches it and then women but women will will sell out will sell out Madison Square Garden like that so it’s um wear in a spot where the attention and the the worth and value is with with
The women but I’m fine with that yeah me too it’s not it’s not a thing it’s you see it for what it is and and I think it’s a controversial topic you don’t see male gymnast crying out for equal sponsorship and pay with female gymnast do you like even now like I’d imagine
That the there must be what two three four female gymnast in Great Britain that’s sponsored by Nike do you know what I mean none of the men are do you know what I mean but it’s really interesting that we sit in that unique sport where it’s the other way I can’t
Think of many other sports where it’s really the other way around off the top of my head I can’t I’ve just been watching breakpoint it’s like the tennis thing on Netflix it’s really good mate uh watch it to watch Nick curios who’s the Australian guy cuz you find
Entertaining people in sport like good don’t you like you like them mate he is just an animal he just spits at the crowd like swears at umpires smash smashes his rackets and stuff he’s such an interesting guy but his backstory and the context you you understand it it was
Massively bullied when he was a kid but to watch he just sells out tickets like that like it’s really interesting but there’s some they follow the men and the women’s tour and the women some of the competitions the men get paid more than the women but the men are selling out
The stadiums and the women aren’t necessarily doing it it was it just made me think about that again in that conversation but then in tennis I mean and again men’s and women’s tennis five sets fre sets it puts it to bed I’ve seen an interview with Serena Williams
Yeah where arguably the the greatest female athlete to walk the planet um says that Andy Murray was joking with her about having a match and she said we’re not doing it because he would beat me 6 nil 6 nil in 15 minutes yeah so all the all the women jumping on
The you know it’s I think you got I don’t think it’s coming from the athletes I mean I think it just needs to be split they just treat them as different cuz they just are different men and women bring different things to the table for sure different with what
Is it the Book Men Are from Mars women from Venus and Jordan P you know touched upon our all outcome and opportunity and equality like Jordan Peterson I think says it the best that you probably listen to him and I just I just agree
With that it’s not easy to be a man it’s also not easy to be a woman we’re we’re on this planet with we’re sort of yeah separate species I just we should just love each other like we should work together right like that should be kind of like it’s just
Everything at the minute is polarizing is it um and there’s another thing that’s a little bit polarizing I want to talk about particularly with you is vaping and I have this theory that vaping is a gateway drug to cigarettes now so I’ve noticed a few people in the
Last few months never smoked before Vaped and I now see them smoking cigarettes now if I’m a big tobacco company and I’m looking at the numbers of people smoking every year go down I’m going right this is a problem we need to make money what
Can we do I know let’s make some bright colored fruity flavored uh product that’s got nicotine in it yeah Market it to essentially kids same way that Prime is just bright colors and and then that way maybe some of them will get so addicted to nicotine
They move to back to cigarettes what do you think about that it’s a bit of a theory that I’ve got but I I feel like there’s a lot of people that I know person the tobacco companies are own the vehicle they do they bought them they
Bought a lot of them up the big tobacco companies um well like the answer is yes it is have you ever smoked never smoked cigarette i’ve smoked a cigar cuz last year at wedding for some reason it’s a thing now when you go to weddings for like the groomsman to get everyone a
Cigar so like uh Connie was not happy with me but did you like it it was great did you like it I’m not a big cigar cigar fan I did that at two weddings so I had a cig I’ve had a bit of a cigar at two Weddings But I’ve never had a
Cigarette uh like my granddad like passed away from lung cancer when he was dead young and I was just like no I ain’t doing it um and I and I never tried vaping but I noticed loads of young kids and gymnasts and a loads of gymnasts starting to vape and I’ve like
Noticed a lot of those people that started vaping never had a cigarette I’ve seen them now smoke cigarettes I’m like you would have never got to cigarette without the Vape no so my my biggest one of my biggest regrets is ever trying a cigarette mhm um did you
Try a cigarette before you tried a v yeah right I smoke cigarettes first so I I um I think that nicotine is an incredibly powerful drug that is so addictive um and I I I still Vape I still have the colorful fruit Vapes today and I I’m I am ashamed to admit it
I guess don’t be ashamed mate no but it’s no I’m not ashamed I don’t exactly the type of person they’ve gone after ex yeah exactly I’m an addict I’m I’m literally and I this this thing is if you smoke you know but it’s undescribable to explain what the
Feeling is that that when you need a vape or a Sig it’s just like you you you just you do and and I often get and I get times where I forget that I vape and when I remember I’m so buzzing because it’s like it completely
Gets a grip of you mate like and it’s up there on the you know if you put a list of drugs and the the addictiv um addictive scale you know nicotine’s up there with under heroin so like it’s it’s clear that um people are getting hooked on these things and one thing led
To another a drunk cigarette led to a sober cigarette and I was in like a a a really tough spot and you know self-destruct mode um and then all of a sudden I’m smok I got the tomor of smoking 15 cigarettes a day m and then
Stopped and moved on to the Vape however the they’re very different because Vape now it’s it’s something that you you don’t smell it doesn’t smell and I personally do it inside in my own house in bed so like I found personally I don’t we don’t know about the health the
Stuff of course they’re going to be bad for you I’m very aware of that um but I almost feel worse because I V more yeah that’s I was just about to say because you can’t smoke in public places can’t smoke inside you know I would never
Smoke in my car so the fact that you’re doing it inside your bed is almost like secretive in it do you know what I mean it’s not in secret but I just think but it almost is it’s fueling the the addiction like the the you know so I I
Think vape’s worse in a sense that you do it way more from the moment I wake up it’s on my bedside table the moment I got to sleep I’ve just done that and I put it back on my bedside table so like all day in the C driving here um I’m
Vaping and of course young kids are getting into it it became like a bit I remember time on Squad where there was a few Lads got like all got Vapes but it was also I could sort of see it for what it is it was just it became cool and
They wanted to blow the smoke the smoke rings and stuff and it’s like and I felt bad cuz I was sort of influencing that a little bit I was a role model and I was you could see me doing it but I wasn’t doing it because I wanted to blow smoke
Rings it was because I was yeah addicted to nicotine do you know what I mean and I stopped for periods of time and it but is one of the most smokers no it’s one of the most difficult things to do how do you feel about cuz obviously richy
Sunak announced in the last couple of days that they’re banning disposable Vapes um and they’ve brought in some pretty strict laws on like nicotine and cigarettes right recently like it’s going to get banned a year up every I’m torn between the two because I kind of
Feel like as an adult it should be up to you to choose what you want to do with your body MH um and I certainly don’t want kids to be vaping but I I’m worried about taking the choice off people I know it’s bad for you but I that just
Worries me when people in positions of power start to do that I’m like why are they doing that where are they going to take that next that kind of concerns me but one thing I did see on TV back in September was a secondary school teacher
And I just put the news on in the morning and I normally put it on for two minutes and I just turn it off and I put YouTube on I put it on and there was a secondary school teacher and he said I’m getting really concerned about the
Amount of kids like vaping so I put a smoke detector in one of the toilets in the school just to see if they were going into the toilets to do it and in the first day he put it up it went off a hundred times and that was just one of
The toilets and he was like I was just flabbergasted with how many kids are doing it like in year seven yeah just year seven is just addicted to vaping and stuff so you know that isn’t okay I feel pretty strongly about that I can remember talking a little bit about how
Uh you just got like young kids now go and just drink iced coffees you go to co-op and you can just buy a Starbucks iced coffee just get off your tits on Caff and they don’t they don’t really know what they’re doing you’re not allowed to buy a Red
Bull you can buy like an iced coffee cuz someone behind the counter is not going to say coffee’s banned do you know what I mean it’s really so caffine a bit similar with that kind of thing like it is worrying I definitely think it should be banned for
Like under the age of let’s say 16 for sure but definitely 18 but I’m not sure you should ban that for just because it’s a bad thing I don’t I’m not necessarily sure you should think as human beings we want what we can’t have yeah oh it’s always been that way like
As a kid as a kid like if your mom tells you not to play with a toy you want to play with a toy more you know we’re talking about food earlier when you go on a diet all you are is hungry when you’re doing dry January all you’re
Thinking about is a beer um so maybe it’s probably not the the greatest tactic but I but I think I’ll stop when I’m ready to stop stop is the same with everything the reality is I you still smoke a lot now yeah yeah Vape were you’re VAP all morning I don’t
Um I still want I obviously still I don’t want to stop otherwise I would and maybe a trigger like that banning it would actually probably help me um because you you you become friends with it and like you think you you’ve not got a problem until you do and then all of a
Sudden it just becomes the norm the habitual and to like break that cycle sometimes for me just can require waking up in the morning go right I’m done or it needs a big trigger and like I never want to get it to a big trigger to be something that’s like a health problem
You know and I’ve got asthma and as well it’s just it it’s ridiculous me saying it out loud because everybody goes what the [ __ ] are you doing but like I’ve struggled with it you know but so listen though what you described there we just create a generation of addicts and like
The everybody is an addict with their phone yeah so like that’s probably the best way to describe what what smoking’s like um because what’s the first thing you do on a morning you grab your phone off the bedside table and you scroll what’s the last thing you doing before
Know can you even go for a poo on the toilet without taking your phone and looking at it try and do that do you do anything to combat that it’s interesting you say that mate because because I do and for Christmas I asked Connie for and we’ve had this
Conversation probably the past three or four years cuz I told you there’s been times where I delete social media and I don’t like it but I for an alarm clock so I could leave my phone downstairs so my phone gets left downstairs now and my alarm clock wakes me up and the first
Hard not really because for the last probably we the last six months I’ve been um not checking my phone from until 9:00 in the morning and I would leave my phone outside the door with my alarm on it so I have to wake up go pick it up to
Turn it off so I slowly kind of but the reason I bring that up is that do you feel in a way because you’ve had you’ve battled with basically a lot of addictions yeah do you feel you’re on a process of it’s almost like you’re choosing okay this Vice isn’t as bad as
The last one yeah once I kick this one I move down and do you think there’ll be a time where you ever mov down and you don’t really need them and the only VI left are the healthy ones yeah yeah that’s the that’s the journey that’s the
Journey I’m on M and you’re right like me smoking a vape is is a vice for me and it’s an addiction for me the good ones man it’s not as damaging to my life as the the other ones I treat coffee like that I’m like if I have one coffee
A day look one coffee a day is nothing there are people that drink like 10 a day so if the one thing I do in my life that’s maybe not the most perfect is that I’m like that’s fine man do you know what I mean I treat that now like
Having a pint with my mates one pint every couple of weeks fine like that’s do you know what I mean cuz it seems for me from the outside you’re kind of trying to do that whether you’re doing it on purpose or not you’re kind of you’re picking your next viice okay this
One isn’t as bad as okay vaping is not as bad as cigarettes do you know what I mean and then yeah yeah yes 100% mate but I think we are probably creating a generation of addicts and do you you’ve said to me a lot of times and do you
Stand strong on that you just have an addictive personality 100% got the Jee um cuz I’m not sure that I do I think actually that I have because of my diagnosis of ad HD and obsessive compulsive personality disorder yeah because I am it is really
Easy for me to stop things I just stop like that not a problem like if someone says this is bad for you it won’t be healthy I’ll go oh really okay I’ll stop and I’ll just stop it like that so that’s always been my when you cuz you’ve often said we’re very similar
Like we’ve got this addictive personality and I’m like I don’t know if I have like like I don’t I’ll try something for a little bit of time let’s say it’s like I gambled for like 3 months intermittent fasting or intermittent fasting and if someone tells me that’s not good stop I’ll go
Okay stop and I I think actually now I’ve like learned about my ADHD and my obsessive compulsive personality disorder I just go after the dopamine hit but now I know that I know it before I go after it so I know oh I’m going to
Like this cuz it’s going to give me it’s going to bring me up to where everybody else is sitting at and the obsessive compulsive personality disorder means that I have a predisposition to things like alcohol abuse so it’s it’s there it sits dormant within me and there’s a
Chance if I start it I’m going to take it to the extreme um so I’m not necessarily sure which probably means that I do have an addictive sounds like you’re an addict but you know what I mean like but not in the sense as like
I’m you’re it feels like to me you’d be worried to start something new that’s addictive cuz you’d struggle to stop right I wouldn’t be worried about that at all do you know what I mean does that make sense yeah like say my biggest feas as myself what I’m capable of I’ve like
I’ve lost control over a lot of things and it’s quite scary so I’d um yeah I’ve got the obsessive obsessive Gene but like I said to before you know it’s it’s a gift as well it’s a real gift so I just try and treasure it and like know
That that’s the what makes me a a professional athlete and a winner and a champion and a businessman but you know some things aren’t very good for me cuz I will I’ll lose control and you’re right man there’s two sides to the coin is there I found that as well like my
The ADHD and ocpd when I use it in the right way I get some [ __ ] done I can get some stuff done in a day and remember things inside my head and come with ideas I’m like this is a lot but it’s definitely because of that um and it
Suits me the life that I Live Now like having the the coaching at David Lloyd like the podcast going into schools I’m like coaching one day a week at knots coaching the men which I’m loving which is great like all of that stuff it suits me just like having different things cuz
My brain works that way it operates that way do you know what I mean uh yeah it’s cool man and I and it sound I genuinely mate like just from the conversation we had before we went on like we started recording and today like I genuinely
Will go away and be like well he’s on the path I’ve had that with a few mates recently like one of them was like one of my best friends who he’d been in rehab for 6 months with alcoholism and the last time the time I saw him before
He went into rehab I left and went I think it was the first time I’ve ever been like I think he might be able to get better and he came out of rehab and I went to see him last time and I was like W you’re like a different human
Being like you’re going to do this like there might be some speed bumps but you’re definitely going to do it so like it’s just cool to see me last thing I want to ask you because we’ve just recorded a solo episode where I predicted the men’s Olympic team for GB
Okay can you give us a prediction what do you think is going to happen I don’t know whether we spoke to Ash and he was like not interested in watching gim or anything about it you’re so busy that you’re probably not as much but maybe
You take a bit more of an interest I pay I pay attention to the the GB boys for sure are um you don’t even have to give us the five mate you could give six you could give six that you think’s going to be in and around there look I love I
Love them all I want them all to be there look um Maxi Bo is going to he’s going to do another P routine he’s going to put his what seventh Olympic medal around his neck most likely there’s no way this you just can’t you need that experience and I think other things that
People don’t understand as well like the amount of sponsors he’ll have and the fact that he’s the it does play a role that doesn’t mean he earn it he’ll earn it because he’ll go he’s going to go and hit his pommer routines like he’ll have the English British he’ll smash him I
Think he only probably needs to hit two out of three and the third one being the Masters final and that’s it it’s a done deal like he still does have to hit his routines he’s no different to anybody else but like there’s just so much you have to stack that leverage don’t you
It’s a bit like you know this it’s like stacking your chip you got to put him in your corner like and he’s going to go who who else well I think the the team now is it’s a different Dynamic it’s sort of before when we were around it
Was sort of built off all around us so like the the main base of the team was all around us I feel like now you might disagree but it seems like we’ve got a bunch of lads that are Specialists M that their strength is one piece two
Pieces specialist but they can still do other pieces um but I think our our top gu is probably Fraser in the in the all round division so if if if he’s healthy i’ I’d love Jo to be it’s interesting you say that cuz I said that as well and
And he’s obviously had surgery and he’s been injured and um yeah we’ve not seen him for a little while seen him doing stuff I I’ve not seen his training I obviously get to talk sometimes to Lads in the gym like when they’ve been to National camps how’s everyone but I’ve
Only been at the gym since January so I’ve not really had those conversations with them yet uh I think from what I hear it’s like a big mountain he’s got to climb but I always go back to like he’ll climb at yeah 100% just as mentality conversation we had where he
Was on here uh yeah okay so Joe you think which and I I said that he’s a champion said that I really want to see C go you know i’ I said the same thing heart really want to see courney go uh I he’s you know I be one of the closest
Guys I was we we’ve been through a lot together man my first ever GB International was when I was 12 was was with carner and we went to our first world championships together at 18 and we sort of went through all that Journey with best mates and you know he’s always
Just fallen short at the at the Olympics and and he he’s earned it man and he deserves more than what he has I think the Rings judges just I don’t know what it is I I I hate gymnastics Jud commentating at the world last year I commentating I was watching
Did you watch it cuz I watched his rings and thought they were being very harsh I literally screamed I thought he W yeah like I can’t he all agreeing like but no one from the Fig that’s watching this but it’s just complete [ __ ] mate yeah and like and he’s my best mate and
I’m biased but like it’s I can’t watch his him on rings and understand by like them the ring swinging a tiny bit where the from every position he’s got a lot better now at sticking that Dismount as well which is always the issue now he and he lands it a lot more consistent
But on the Rings and it’s most with most rings guys I think look it’s a tough order and it rings it’s you’ve got them guys there that as as well it’s not much impact once they’re strong enough that can just bash out those positions one of those pieces as well where
Because there’s less risk in terms of like high B you can miss pom you can fall off floor you can go out because there’s less risk on rings I feel like the guys that are it’s it’s hardest to knock someone off a perch do you know what I mean the judges have a
Preconception of who’s going to win yeah and that’s real so like I think he’s he’s definitely deserves a lot more success on rings I think it’s hard because now that Harry did so well at that world and made free f and now a similar athlete it might come down to
Are we going to go for as maximum individual medals or we still want to try and get a team result because Russia aren’t there so we’ve got an opportunity to beat America and get a medal in the team that’s what I mean it’s it’s interesting that it’s a team of
Specialist but that can still win a bronze medal at the world championship two years ago you know what I mean so it’s like I’d love to see the team medals I’ve always been like I want to be a part of an Olympic medal winning team you
I was part of the world medal winning team like yeah that was it for me so it’s kind of um it is the way it is and unfortunately medals equals money so they will they will try want to get more medals they’ll try and get as much
Medals as possible Harry is a lead boy also Luke’s you know as a lead’s byy he’s he’s doing incredibly well on floor and and all around and Vault but Harry and Jake Jake har and Jak Jake got to be going short like the guy World gold
Medal he going har Jake’s going like I do want to say I’m like Jake’s freaking Legend man I speak to him often he’s always asking me questions about business and he’s got a little bit of a mind like mine and I’ve asked him I’ve asked him to come on the podcast and he
Said yes so I’d I’d love to get him I’m concerned that Lads on the squad have been told not to come on right yeah I understand that um but look he I I love him a bits he’s he’s doing some great stuff with content but what he’s doing in gymnastics is
It’s like history making man it’s such a cool I always strived as a gymnast to do things that no one else did or like start a Pay Way or um that’s what got me going sort of like swimming against the tide and you know I know Jake will be
Watching this you I’ll tell you a mad story about Jake so just before I left Huntington in 2008 Jake’s coach said to me I found this kid in moms and TTS he’s unbelievable he’s going to be a world champion and I can remember looking at I’m like and it was Jake don’t believe
That’s pretty cool story he’s a world champion man like we’re not like these these guys that are just Jo’s a world champion Johan is a world champion and that’s where that’s where it comes back to the men against the women thing where I’m like these guys in arguably in some
Respects in in certain areas they’ve done a lot better than we have certainly me individually but the women get the majority of they get the L share in our Sport and that’s where it’s different you know you see these guys with World medals and they’ve watched us growing up
And they’re kind of struggling to get that which is which is a shame isn’t it but hopefully the Olympics will do that for them um so we’ve got I’ve got to mention johy and James yeah like those two are just complete you know rocks Rock Solid James the post man Iceman
Wanted to call him Iceman um John’s been through a lot of injuries but he seems to be looking hell feel like I just I think he’s got beautiful gymnastics he was um he was a Pioneer in I guess guess the generation now um in my opinion
Everyone like looked up to Johnny and he um been through a hell of a lot I think they all deserve to be there yeah yeah but what is it five five yeah Max is going this might as well not have a selection meeting after this Max is going Jake’s
Going Joe FZ is going this is all of them being healthy by the way and then two more oh my god did you pick five I did yeah in the end I don’t want to say I don’t want to leave people you don’t have to
You can do six firstly I did five in a reserve and then I said who I think will I do think Harry’s Harry’s going to go CU if he lands those vaults I mean it’s it’s going to be if Harry and Jake land the vaults there one and two in my
Opinion it’s got to be on it do you agree yeah I’m seeing him do that Pike Dragon Pike Dragon triple twist forwards and then JS three and a half and you know he’ll probably be doing P drag by then but like yeah it’s one and two yeah
Like let’s be honest which would be freaking amazing to see so I think he’s going to go and then you got one left basically one spot left you pick quite a lot of you got quite a lot specialist so like yeah only Joe to do all round it
Would make sense obviously as a but I like again I want um I want Carney to be in the team I I said the same thing cuz he was obviously reserved for the last two Olympic Games I want to be in he’s done all the work in in the middle it’ll
Be interesting to see what be interesting to see what they go for three up fre to count if they’re going for individual medals you might just put in who can get the most amount of medals you just go for that I think you got yeah you’ve got too many specialists in
There well we got Jake Jake Jake was all around though yeah Jake does and then you sort of like courney and Max can sort of inter link they and then you’ve got Harry to kind of like sitting Harry’s got a great flaw that could be the winning team yeah
That could be the winning team but also you know James and Johnny cly Anything Can Happen can’t it like in between now and six month like yeah I go back to the to going into London I was injured and not even doing anything in December for London then for Rio I was
Way off and then got into contention so you can do it and there could be a kid that comes out of nowhere but all of a sudden does something so you just just have to see I think because it’s from what I understand the selection’s done by April right really early compared to
Us it’s done by April Euros is in May the Euros team is the Olympic team they’re going that’s it right so I mean it’s and I say the selection they sit down and have that meeting then but the the actual nomination I think is if I remember correctly is like 24th of May
Yeah you’re right a hell of a lot can happen like from the the January of R get injured I was a totally different gymnast to I think I was still in development stages my roues were all different mean a lot happens you just got Chris came on and
Said that he learned his double penko I thought it was before it was after Christmas he like learned it and going into London which is nuts which is great for like young kids like listening to it like you know I only decided to do a like for example a casino in February
And I competed it at the end of February like [ __ ] it and then I Pung off the first time I competed it but mean it was little things like that just you always adding little things in or CH think it just be completely set for like a
Year a lot can happen um but I wish them all the best I know they’ll be watching I love you I love you all boys I’ll be watching I’m actually really excited to watching Olympic games like I can’t wait it’s going to be awesome felt it felt
Tokyo W really really real Olympics for it with a crowd and that it’s going to be classb I do think it’s it’s disappointing from a sport perspective that Russia aren’t competing especially in our sport cuz they have the current Olympic Champions so you’d want to see them go head-to-head with people but I
Think it’s a massive opportunity obviously for like GB and you can only beat who who’s there can’t you so um yeah mate this has been great I’ve really enjoyed it it’s been good to catch up with you thanks for having me yeah hopefully we’ll do it again in
Another six months or a year’s time absolutely whenever you want top man
8 Comments
We need a Nile and Sam podcast. This is good.
Nile is smoking so much, I can hear his chamine voice
Youtube only offers this in 360p?
I’m glad I found this podcast. Great convos and topics discussed even though they may be difficult. Strong work 💪
Cheer from the Midwest in the US
Been following these guys for a long time thru Nile's channel. It's really good to see and hear about all this growth. That vape stuff is no joke, I have a bunch of distant friends who partake and I see so many teens around me smoking as well. I know I'm never going near that shit. Great episode.
It’s interesting how you talk about women gymnastics being a driving force of the sport, especially in terms of revenue. I love watching both men’s and women’s events, but I have to say since 2012 really, I think I perhaps enjoy watching men’s gymnastics more than the women’s now, particularly with the change in style from very strength focused to showing that more artistic side as well (eg. rings having swing included in routines).
Unsubscribing and very disappointed to hear such opinions and deliberate misunderstanding of the point of female athletes / equal pay movements.
Why do you deny the fact that the British are colonizers?