Cultureshock

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Video transcript

I was quite shy at school and hated PE.  In fact I was completely rubbish at sport. 

But I do have a competitive streak.  Before I came to the North East someone I knew told me that they did thai boxing.  And I thought "Anything you can do I can do better".

I started boxing classes at the uni and then I decided to find a real gym once I finished my course.  The closest one was in Byker.

The first time I went there I wandered in and found myself in a room full of scary looking weight-lifting equipment.  Two burly men sat in a broomcupboard in the corner surrounded by a haze of smoke.  But  luckily they sent me upstairs for the classes, a place that was no frills but a lot more friendly!

The changing facilities are minimal and buckets are carefully positioned to catch the drips when it rains, but all important features are there - a real ring and a coach who runs the place like one big family.

After training for a while I was put into my first interclub competition, really my first fight.  I was a bundle of nerves on the day and my opponent turned out to be 10kg heavier.  My hands were wrapped and a thick layer of vaseline slathered all over me.

By the end of round one it seemed like I could win, but after two I was ready to pass out.  "only two minutes to go and it's yours" shouted my corner, so i battled through.

No injuries were sustained apart from exhaustion.  I'm waiting for the next time.  "It gets in your blood" as the coach says.