S2 Ep4 "Bouncers, Gangsters and Wrestlers" Keith Colwill Story Pt1

Pit Yakka: hello everyone. Welcome back to Pit, Yet A Crack. Another episode for you guys today. Today we've got Keith Colwell, aka Ruffneck, aka Manchester Dorman, Welder. Lots of facets to this guy's name here. Keith, should we start by just, who are you? What's your background? Hi. Why? I was 51 now, so I'm not as young as springtime. Born, I was from an art called Pit Yachter crap, but I'm not actually, you know, not actually a pit yachter. I'm a townie really, if it should be told. But I was born in in Redhouse in 74. Lived there till about 1112. About 87, 88. And then I moved to Hettinley Hall. and then from heading I tried to be a footballer but couldn't cut the mustard. It wasn't good enough. It's the same for a lot of You know I know there was a couple of bits of interest from bits and bobs based on what Geordie Walker told us and then well like I said I didn't didn't make the grade so I ended up welding and then from welding it just takes a bit of a bit of a different course like you know going from from Weldon moving to Manchester we're now like literally having now let me pop it then to Manchester and then ended up being a doorman and then doorman pro wrestler as you do as you do it's a standard journey standard career but yeah And since then, I've, you know, I did 20 odd years doing professional wrestling. As a result of that, I was fortunate enough to have done like a couple of films, been in a few movies and stuff. And now I'm just a broken down, old bloke now, you know what mean? I know the feeling. I've got to be honest with you. I know the feeling. I've got a three year old. I try to chase a three-year-old about and it's not the same as when I was in my twenties. I bet you. I'm glad my boy's 25. I'm still chasing that bugger around. So let's go before the wrestling then and all that. How and why did you end up going from Hetting to Manchester? To Manchester. The truth be told at the time once I finished at EMH offshore, which was I was working for, they had a brilliant apprenticeship. It's like one of the best in the world, you know what I mean? I mean, I a coded welder. So I'd swallow weld not to be at the highest standard possible. So I was entertaining, I was gonna stay in it, but then I saw a few bad things happen out there. I was young and daft, and I didn't want to do it anymore. was just like, from a health and safety standpoint, wasn't the job of welding itself that was the problem, it was like... you're young and you say a few things and you're like, put the hell, could be me. Yeah. I mean, I remember one line. I mean, me, me, first year on the job, we've done a we've done like nine months in a training school and you did like X amount of months being a player that X was being a sparky X amount of being well and I just wanted to do well. Yeah, you know, it's what I picked up the best, you know. too many numbers and digits and all the other stuff and marking up and measuring up, I just wasn't very good at it, you know, so I went with the, I went with the welding, you know, because I mean, was, you know, you need a decent amount of dexterity with your hands and that's why I was good with it. And it's quite intricate as well. So I preferred doing the welding. So we went, we've done all that training and then we went. Or did the rest of it was like on the job training? So we went on site which was in a walls in so Imagine how much shite I used to get yeah being from Sunderland Working on working on the other side of the water, you know What the first day on the job? somebody killed yeah and you're like but it was one of them where you know they don't they shut up they shut up shop for the day but then you're back to work the following day and if you've seen what had happened you're like it's you know it wasn't it wasn't it wasn't pleasant viewing you know what I mean I mean you see stuff like that in movies and stuff but you don't expect to see it in in real life but it was like one of those where you didn't get chance to process it was like kicking you back right back on the job the following day you know what I mean you know it like part for the course like what kind what kind of kind of jobs this you know what I mean and like health and safety back then only to talk like the early 90s was nowhere near to what it is today you know we had scaffolders flying up there like monkeys bloody with that didn't have any harnesses on and out just used to pull up like monkeys you know just just with the benefit of hindsight the lack of health and safety compared to where it is today so basically that's where i was with the the welding and as soon as i got paid off like laid off i was right right I'm done like, and then I'm looking at the jobs paper in Sunderland, looking for jobs, thinking, oh, I can do anything I want, you know what I mean? Well, you can't, but you think you can, because you're young and you're daft and you're indestructible, and you're looking through it, and you're like, I'm sitting looking through it. The jobs paper used to be in the Sunderland network on a Thursday, and that was when it was like thick. And when I say thick, it was like two pages, you know? And then you, and then you're like... I remember when I moved to Manchester, like it was like a dictionary was that yellow pages full of jobs. I was unemployed people in Manchester, you know, but yeah, there was just there was just more work about and I was I was like, I'm just gonna I'm just gonna wing it, you know, and I actually don't adore adore sales job. And I was doing really, really good at it. And then this is do you want to move to Manchester? And I was like, And then I went and did it and then I was training in the gym when I was in Manchester and I told me ACL and I couldn't do the job. So I had to find something else and then by the time when I got healed, that's when I ventured into door work. the bottom line was is that I left Sunderland in 90... I haven't lived in Sunderland since 1990. 697 think it is so that's why we act so people say me accents all over the shop and I like does it sound all over the shop I didn't know yours doesn't sound you can tell where you originally yeah from I yeah yeah although it's not as bad as is sort of when we've had people from pit villages all our lives on You know, it's a different accent. Yeah, yeah, yeah. can hear the difference. You can see there's a lot of when I hear Sunderland proper townie speak. yeah, we've got the townie, no? And like you know, in the northeast that was very limited anyway, you back in the day, you either worked down the pit, you either worked on the shipyards. Yeah. And then them then buggered off. Yeah, pretty much by the time I was starting work. I was very fortunate to work at Amic. Yeah, yeah. Sure. It press offshore. Yeah. When I first started, it went from press offshore to Amic offshore. Or you worked at Nissan. You know what mean? Or even lesser so than Caterpillar. A other lads we know went to Caterpillar. Just across the road, NSK. NSK as well, Isn't that shutting down? is, aye. Shooting down in March or April, I think. Because we've got family who work at NSK, we? Shutting down, aye, which is horrendous. And there was talk at one point of Nissan going as well. I think the local authority had to extend their... the cheap rates and stuff to keep them them in the area like uh oh we kill it wouldn't we think about only lads work there like but like it says it's like uh if it's if it's not that now that now it's wasn't so a lot of call centers in yeah in the northeast and i understand why you know because it's a accent of people like you know what i mean Football, obviously professional football, the only jobs available then, early 2000s, were call centres. I at N. Power, worked at EDF at Duxham Park, and they were the only places, and they're not great. You're on the phone and there's a queue, you're looking at the queue, and there's two nodding on the queue, and you think, my whole day is just, hello, how can I help you? And it's just mind-boggling. Yeah, and then you're under pressure with wrap-up times, because you need to get to the next call. So you go down to Manchester then, like doing the job you were doing but then that's kind of gone. How did you end up transitioning out the doors? again it was limited options really. you know, ever when I was in Sunderland, out of all the lads I'm sure that agree with us if the way here is well, if there was ever any bother I was the one who was like pushed to the front. All the lads are like, all good looking lads with long hair, looking all pretty like your Steve. Now he's got a full head of skin there. But yeah, we used to, we always made use to get pushed to the front and I'd never really had my arse handed to us at that point. But so yeah, I was, you know, I was just able to throw down a little bit. you were training then as well? Well, I was in the gym and trained. I was always the bigger, the bigger of all of what, you know, but I was. Yeah, when I I was always the one that was pushed to the front if there was any any bother which yeah I'd I'd I'd had quite a few fights as a as a as a young man. Yeah, um Probably stemming from you know Stuff from home, you know what I mean? Uh So that's a contributing factor. Yeah, it's been able to I'll just what once you've had your ass handed to you. You've had your ass handed to you So how much worse can it get? Do you know what I mean? You just become immune to it. What's the worst that can happen? know what I mean? So that was my mindset. And when I think about it now, it only takes one good punch and you can kill somebody. It does, yeah. But again, you're young, you're daft, you didn't really care. And like it says... I never one for starting fights, never ever. Even to this day I would say that. I wasn't too bad at finishing the buggers. But I wasn't a bully, I wouldn't throw my weight around or anything like that. But I wasn't the kind of person who would casually walk away from out, you know what I mean? If I see someone bully someone, I'd be there. If I saw a man... going near a woman and I I'd be there. I don't like people training on the weak. Yeah. And I think that's because of my childhood as well, you know what I mean? I just, just doesn't, doesn't sit well with us. Yeah. So, so anyway, I was, yeah, I've always been a bit, I suppose you could say a bit handy, like, like I said to you before, like, you know, if you give us a choice between being a, a good at being a fighter or being a rocket scientist and pick rocket scientists every day of the week, you know what I mean? You can't it's not like you put something on your CV, adept at violence, you know what I mean? It doesn't really go down too well does it? You know what I mean? And until the chips are really down and then someone will call for you. then you become needed. Yeah. But to be fair, let's face it, if you're in a corporate environment, I don't think that's gonna sit well with any book at night, you know. So, so yeah, I remember going to a I was like 798 and of all the places to work on the doors it was in Manchester yeah and it was it was an eye-opener yeah it's not like it's I mean don't get us wrong you know there's wrongs everywhere. Were you there when Royals was? Royals yeah yeah well Hacienda as well. But I worked, I worked at my first, first place was a place called Jebes Clegg, which was a student, but it wasn't pretty much a student place. And then I went there and then went back to Prague Five, which was a place in the gay village in Manchester, which was a I won't know like you know of course like obviously back back in the in the in when I lived in the northeast the northeast wasn't as cosmopolitan or as culturally appropriate as what it is now you know like especially somewhere like that with the greatest respect yeah you know I mean like if you were if you were in the closet it was probably because you got shoved in there you know what I mean yeah that's the harsh reality of it And I remember my actually it's my first year coming going at the Manchester bags got like backpack suitcase but a bin liner with some of your stuffing I remember walking walking down and he met us because he'd already been there a couple of weeks and He said we'll go down here for a drink. I was like on a Sunday. We're just coming off Picnidilly and we went went for a pint, saw a man drinking me pint and I see like two blokes kissing and I went, well what the fuck's going on? They went, what do you mean? went, there's two gadgets nicking on over there. Then he went, why I? Cause you're in the game, I went, fuck you wear? I went, they they gave, village, you give the fucker somewhere to drink. No, I went, oh, I can't go up with this, I'm grabbing my pants. I couldn't get my head around it, couldn't understand, I mean, we thought, as terrible as that sounds, we actually thought homosexuality was a myth. You know what I mean? We'd never seen it before. When we were grown up in, in Easington, South Hettin, Hettin, Merton, all of those places there, it's wrong for people to judge the likes of us who just hadn't seen, hadn't they? That's right. At all. And it wasn't, nobody ever came out, you know, so to expect us to just be able to go, oh, that's fine. You just, it was a, it's a shock thing, innit? It is. And now I try to tell people, look where I was from. You couldn't even, not that you could come out and be gay, you couldn't even come out as being soft. Do you know what I mean? Or you could bleed and there weren't easy places to grow up, no? So I think that's, I think we've got to get that out there. That what you're talking about here is you coming from a place where Men were men. Yeah, you know what I mean? At the time, like I don't know what, Hetting's like now. Eason's not really like that anymore. It's rough, but it's not like that. but times were different. weren't they? Yeah. You know? So like for me to be thrust, because the northeast wasn't like, wasn't like exactly a melting pot at the time, neither in, especially not like Hetten or the pit villages. Yeah. Definitely not. So, yeah, was a bit of a going back, like, going back to the door work and stuff. was a bit of a culture shock and stuff. But I had some of the best times ever working on the doors in the gay village, you know, it was brilliant. But then, like, you develop a bit of a name for yourself and... ironically i used to get called jordy keith because everybody and they used to try to do the war because i'm not from newcastle i'm from sullen and why can't you call us matt and keith uh jordy keith sounds better though don't they i'm like no not enough for me it's like it's like it's like someone from manchester and saying oh all right that's scousty of you know what mean what the the the lose the shit yeah but are you all the same You know what mean? That's the mentality. There's not a lot of people like from the North East actually know what a Macam is. Because I think it's the people clasp everybody from the North East as if you're... I mean, there is a reality of it all. mean, up until even probably recently, you know, if people from anyone from, not from the North East... The first football club that used to always think well, we'll be we'll be Newcastle. Yeah for sure. You know, that's that's that's the reality and then you've got you've got them buggers Ant and Dec on the bloody telly. Yeah, you know what mean? Yes and then and then everybody associates anyone from the northeast with Ant and Dec who are Jordies. Yeah, they were Newcastle fans, so it was just it was just getting snowball and one of this thing about Newcastle being the bigger. I like it says I think things are changing a little bit now for sure. But, but yeah, I mean, without changing the subject too much, I go on to Sunderland recently, and how radically it's, it's changed, you know, and it's, and I do genuinely think it's because it's like that age will say and football is not a matter of life and death, it's more important than that. It isn't a northeast. It definitely is. Yeah, you know, and if if nobody's watched it like that watching that Sunland till I die you get a sense of once if the clubs doing well the city does well because that's all people in the northeast like people in Sunland have got me leaving football you know it's it's it's it's it's instilled in them yeah so but you can tell by just going I remember going into Sunland a few years ago and it looked like a ghost town it was just post covid yeah shops were shut and everything it looked it looked hanging honestly it looked like something from the walk and dead yeah and then you go like the keel square now and they that fireworks display i was like this is what this is this is what something should be all about yeah do know what i mean we go on a on a match day now i mean we So we're season ticket holders and we go every home game, and me two sons. And we meet a mate of ours who lives over the other side there and then we meet up with a few lads. You go in there now, you've got the fire station, you've got Keele Square, we've some really nice bars in now. You've got the new bridge. You've got sheep holes. Yeah, I was just there yesterday. And I think you're absolutely right. I think it's like a symbiotic relationship. So when the club's doing well, the town thrives, yeah, when the town thrives, people want to go to the games and it's like this relationship is not definitely. Yeah, I don't I mean, I can't speak for other places, but I don't think Manchester particularly like that, you know, because if it's always been one of those places where if one club's doing well, or the other one's not, or vice versa. So there's always that it's a level of consistency there, where in in the North East, it's quite specifically Sunderland. It just hasn't been there has it? When you're in League One and they were still getting 20,000 in League One but when you're in League One, you're right the area was going down over, there wasn't any good clubs and bars and stuff you know and then all of a sudden the club start to get on a bit of a trajectory and then the good bars weren't to come. The cocktail bars and all that, can't remember the name of them now, but in that Kale Square there's some nice bars. The botanist, that's the one. The same as there is in Newcastle, so these places that are in Newcastle have been for years. They're now, you know, they want to be in something now as well. And the old fire station is a great bar and that's got, it's got an area where you can go and watch shows and stuff as well. Imagine if they've got Chambersley football or they've got a new European football. What would happen then? I mean, the city's definitely on the up and up. Which is good to see because I'll be honest with you I'm gonna be moving back up here. Yeah If it was the way it was I wouldn't come back. don't I don't think I would I Might have entertained the idea, but I would have kept options open. Yeah, whereas now I just wanna I just wanna come back now And like it says that as I've got older Older I've got I've found that it's hard at the leaf. Yeah, so I'm good at about I mean for me I'm gonna be driving down to Norwich I didn't particularly want to go. When you think you're coming back then? Well, again it'll be down to finding work. Yeah, I wouldn't move until I found a job. Yeah, but I'll be coming backwards and forwards for interviews and stuff like that. So for anyone watching or put this on social media I'll... Coded well, yeah. Well, I'm not coded at the moment. I've got me CSCS. Yeah, I've got me SI here. So I can still do a door work, but I prefer not to do a security work. Yeah. And like I said, I've got back in the world and after being out of it for nearly 30 years, know, so previously you were coded, which means you can do all the different types of metals, doesn't it? Yeah. So it's doing various metals. Typically on a I mean most of my more than a honor. I was like a pipe collar 6g So take a pipe on a 45 degree angle. Yeah, and you've got a you've got basically Well weld the pipe together Which sounds easy, but it's it's not yeah And then you do you using different processes like stick which is manual metal art now flux core welding take I used to be That's no water stuff I used to do. I used to do a lot more take, which is a of pipe work. They were like the the rock stars of the world. Well, you wear white overalls on the Monday and it's still white on the Friday, where if you're doing structural work, you know, you wear them overalls, you change in a book is every day because the black, you know, but yeah. But like I said, I'll be honest with you, I would literally take any job that was available just to get back home. We'll see what happens. We'll reach out, I've already reached out to a couple of contacts and stuff. Yeah, Oh, nice one. I appreciate it. So I'll let you know if anything comes of anything. I mean, like I said, I'll shubble as shite as long as the money's right, know what I mean? Makes no difference to me. So... Let's do the doors and so you get a reputation for yourself. That's where you're you ended up there. So you start getting on the different doors after that. Yeah. Yeah. So they put you on more difficult doors and you know, ones that are a little bit more moody and the stuff. And I did, you know, you're forging even more reputation for this because I'll be honest with you. They would come across. I would come across people like was like hard cases and be like. didn't know he was so I'm gonna treat you like any booker else yeah all the other doorman were like it's like you know what the fuck you know and I mean and that's how I got a reputation I remember can you remember a footballer I don't know where you will call Darren Beckford yeah yeah Darren Beckford yeah he was what he I don't know what happened to him but he ended up working on the doors as a doorman right right I think he might have got done over from his missus when got divorced and what have you so he was working on the doors with us and we're working in this place called berlin's and on interpol's list it was one of the worst bars in europe right it was horrible you'd have gucci in one corner from most side doddington from most side and the other you know the pit bull threw in there you'd have the cheater mill gang in there you had paul massie's lot from salford in there it was just a melting pot for disaster you know so i'm i'm working so every 30 minutes if you went on the front of the door and you were inside you'd change stations you know like change positions and we had to keep these stairs clear you know just for you know health and safety. Bedford he's there and people wouldn't shift these lads because he knew that they had reputations and stuff he wasn't much of a deal a nice guy who wasn't much of a dormant he was made of chocolate like you know what mean? bit tin pot but anyway yeah I said, you're not supposed to be, oh yeah, can you shift them for us now? went, ah, have to get away with it. So anywhere they're going off the stairs. I put on the shoulder, went, these are fair enough, can you move down the stairs? No. I ah, I know what it is, the stupid fucking accent of mine. You didn't hear what I said, did you? said, I can't. I said, could you just move down them bastard stairs, please? Anyway, no. And I went. You gotta move down them stairs. He went, do you know who I am? I went, you gotta tell us and I still won't give a shit. I said, cause I didn't. came called the police to me and shook his hand. went, no, you're gonna get down them fucking stairs. And then we're nose to nose now. And I went, it's gonna go, gonna go. And he went, you'll do for me, Geordie. And then he shook me hand and then. he said do you want a drink i went no but i really love you to get down there and he did you know yeah well that's how i that's how i got you know like i got respect so when next time he saw us it was like a fucking nod he he was showing me respect and i'll give it back yeah where if they knew that you were a bit fucking weak they're just gonna exploit it and export you know what i mean so i just stepped up now would have done that i thought i really know who he was Probably yeah, if I'm being honest with you, but I've been a little bit more apprehensive. Like I said, it wasn't a nice pool wasn't a nice but I was I was just at the back of the gay village as well But remember when we knocked back these guys from glodic the Asian brothers from glodic In old and great proper moody like not not pleasant area. They they run show up there and are they used to and we went fuck off you're not getting in you're not having it we're not having it and they come back and it was like swimming out of a fucking i don't know you remember the untouchables where the kids going down the prom and it's like in slow motion and he he gets any but it was like that but the fucking car comes past this range rover comes back the windows come down yeah next thing you know and then they just started spraying bullets and like i remember one of the last gun keith And I'm stood up and where? And there's bullets winging past me lug wall and I went shit So then that's when I that's when I it. Yeah, cuz I know so everybody else on the deck. I I might as join you Yeah, I mean I've been well work, but I've worked on doors I've been shot at about four times and when I say shot at it's not like they were aiming at me. Yeah. Do you know what I mean? Yeah, they were aiming at the venue or anybody just spraying bullets around, you know, I remember what I remember one time. don't know if you don't think you and I'm being in Manchester. I used to have a big place called Sports Bar. They used to be I think was like a franchise. had to one in London Manchester Birmingham and it would be like you go in there had a basketball court and it was like a you know a pool but it like a bar a Formula One car hanging off the roofs and stuff like that. Isn't it big now on this it must mean ahead of its time. So you'll see him in London and stuff but they had one in Manchester and we were working on I was working up the road and we were all in contact with each other on the on the radios and the lads had a lot of the door lads had thrown a lot of guys from Moss Side out and they were like might get a bit hairy and I went okay all right no problem so we hear this says Keith can you come down can you come down so yeah I'm not kidding me and me and this lad right running down the road like belting that so we look like rigs and murtah from buddy you know what i mean the white white lad running literally down the middle of this me and road to get there and then we hear gunshots we went The only man I know who can dodge bullets has got a big SMU chest and a big red cape and I said that's up me. Well I straight back up that road. They tried to ram rate. They tried to ram rate. I put them posts up in the end. tried to ram rate to get back in it. Bloody crappers. But it's like it says Manchester's very territorial. Yeah. Yeah, I don't know do you think I genuinely don't know I mean like uh What happened was uh, I was like I lived in manchester about 20, uh 27 28 and then I moved to las vegas And I was a girl. I was seeing a girl from there uh, and I ended up doing a bit of close protection for people like will. am and um Calvin Harris, Relax, Steve Aoki, so I do a little bit little bits and bobs there you know. But yeah I was doing that. I think Manchester's changed a lot. I mean it changed a lot when I was there. When I first got there was the first bombing at the Arndale. Right yeah. And then obviously I was there right up to the point where the last one was the MEN bombing as well. Was that the Ariana Grande? Yeah yeah. But I was actually in Manchester at the time, in Hard Rock Cafe, I just come back from Cambridge and I just got off the train. So if the train had come a bit later I could have crossed the MEN arenas right next to the train station. Yeah, Victoria station. You know, I mean, yeah, it wasn't it wasn't pleasant. So you will talk about the fact that you'd start to get a reputation you start doing the harder. yeah, so yeah, so I was so you know, I worked I worked for a guy called Chris Began Who? If you ever get the chance just YouTube or Google his name, I mean There's hard cases and then there's hard cases. Yeah, Chris was actually Well, you'll see it in there in there You'll see if you Google him he was a judicola in in the I think was in the Olympics Commonwealth Games the World Games from Australia from Tasmania yeah his brother Tim ran a place called Living Ventures which had places like the living room Australia's yeah the botanists all them them like that and they all over the country yeah and he brought Chris in to basically manage all the security for all of them like you know specifically in Manchester, but I know he did it nationally as well. I was working for, that's who I worked for, to the point where I was actually working in the offices at one point, because it was when SIE was first being implemented. we had like, just in Manchester alone, we had about 150 doorman. So it was my job to arrange the courses. get them through the courses because you know just terrible as it sounds there was a couple of lads who couldn't even read or write you know what i mean so we do have i was doing everything at that end but uh chris was a i was when i started working for chris the quality of the doors were i've worked at the place where you paid your dues you know and i forged a decent name for myself so i was working at more prestigious places like Living room where all the football is used to go. Yeah, you know what I mean? I like I Did Sunderlands Christmas party one year? And they would Be honest with you. I was a bit ashamed to be a solo supporter because the behavior someone was reprehensible. Yeah Lee Cattermole right it was a white party right so I start and I'm excited I couldn't get there quick enough. And I get there and they've all had a doll. They've all had a drink, know what mean? They've all had a swally, but they've rented upstairs, right? And, uh, what you call it, so all of them have got all white gear on. And, uh... was walking around with me top on and I'm like yeah these are for you from here caught top one says when you come upstairs went out my father you read the place yeah I look at you fill your boots you know but why are you down here just let's you know this is where everybody else is drinking just a little bit of respect you know and they sneaked at us but you got a drink so I get it you know and you're a footballer so you You you've got pretty much got a lofty opinion of yourself. It's fine. You know what mean? It's not like I hadn't dealt with egos before So anyway, you guys I get them all up the stairs whether the place where they've rented they get up there Without all most of them a neighbor that I Cameron Jones and all them lads from there all most of them were sound Yeah, the only ones that were causing any bother was badly badly. These mates were a bit of a nightmare. I imagine because I use all food like yeah. And he's a game kitten now. all of everybody else is when I'm on, know, he's made to come and they're all wearing them white hazmat suits with them. I was that way. I come in the white body. So anyway. So then we're a bit Larry, but the worry the word, you know, I'm gonna just have a good night Now I've thrown a couple of lights I've worked doing it by myself and as you can imagine, it's a song Christmas part Everybody's trying to get in. Yeah, and I'm doing it by myself and because I'd rented the place upstairs. I'm having to go downstairs to So people out effectively or push them out so I've thrown these two lights out As I'm walking up the stairs, catmoles absolutely hammered and he's got a black jacket on. know, what happened was there was a cupboard with a man where you could put your jacket in, you know, but nobody was on it. Yeah. So people have just put things on there and just thought, it'll be fine. So he's stumbling around all over the shop. And he's got like halfway down the stairs and I'm so I'm coming. I'm going up the stairs. He's coming down. He's bouncing off the bloody wall. And I there. your quote he went yeah i your shower he went yeah why i went since when's a grown man worn with 60 and he had a lasser's jacket on yeah i wouldn't give it to a bastard so i pulled it off him and he went like and he just gently pushed his ass down the stairs well he what you call it he started He started sliding down now when someone's about to fall but the divans like when you're chipped and you just keep So he's like he's like surfing down the stairs And he gets to the bottom of the step you went who the fuck do you and before you go your voices you are any fucking pellet right and you just you just you pellet he fucking flew and The next thing I know he's fucking filled barge comes out, here are you what the fuck you doing you fucking why are you fucking throw out, I said I fucking throw him out, throw him out, said he stumbled down them bastard stairs and he stole somebody's jacket, I said let me tell you something and I had me what you call me, my uh sullen top on and he went yeah look at that, I'm ashamed to wear that bastard the night, he says you bastards make me fucking sick, these are the ways of carrying on with yourselves, went do us a favour and fuck off inside will you, sure enough they did but I don't know I didn't get any more great that night you know but I'll be honest with you you look tasty you know I don't think you back down he's got that type of face hasn't he? he's a fairly tall lad he must be sort of he must be pushing six film he was tough on the pitch as well I remember that time where he what you call it uh... uh... Rune. He had to fight with Rune. The boxing guy. There was a story with him and Mickey gray Wayne Rooney and Mickey gray have you heard this one no I think what bar and grill in in was either rather bar and grill or like a like a decent eight we stick and Mickey gray drunk so I've had run ins with Mickey gray as well great footballer yeah but of an asshole and he what you call it he he's hammered hammered and he goes into what you call he wins wins he goes how about me and me and you two was up on you on you on your missus and he just turned well bang leveled him did he find him out cold left him left him yeah other two of the two lads on the door just grabbed a leg each and just grabbed He's a game kid book by the reason why I want to mention Wayne Rooney as well Chris unfortunately, I mean it's it's it's public knowledge him and his brother Got Chris Chris's trainer Submit yeah, he's done like mix martial art. He fought like you remember lightning Lee Mary Like Carl Lima you've got under the air security a stroke before he fought him and he fought Dominic Negus beat Dominic Negus I mean he was the stuff that our guys don't know. I mean I was shocked You need to take the mick out of me right because I did professional wrestling, right? I'm gonna put on a bit of a tangent, but he He says a fucking fucking out keep you in the fucking track wrestling. It's so fucking bullshit, right? So bullshit and I was like All right, but like it's pro wrestling everybody's dirty little secret, right? Because the same people who were like congregate around like a gaggle of high and it's good. You know, you do fake shit with the same people when the we're bouncing what happened on the wall last night? should say what was going on? stay blessed at last. can do But then when they were like, ah, you're fucking you're fake shit. So anyway, I remember one one time me and Chris would have a drink. Oh, Keith. Confession. went. what's that? He went, I might have done some professional wrestling. In the meantime, I went fuck off. I went you are? He went yeah, did some wrestling in Japan. went did you fuck up eternity? I went have a fucking deal. He just winded me up. went yeah, I wrestled fucking. What was it there? Oh, Master Fuji in Army. When he said that, no me, he's a tricked up because it's not typically a name that people would know you know what I mean yeah and he wrestled a guy called Tatsumi Fujii Nami who was like in back in the day he was the equivalent of like a Ric Flair or a Hulk Hogan in Japan right he was massive right I went you're not even taking the pieces yeah I wrestled for New Japan pro wrestler which is again the Japanese version of WWE say right I went years you've stood there taking the piss out of us and you've done it yourself I you bet you've made more money in the fucking tours that you did that I ever made full stock in pro wrestling he went yeah yeah he says so basically what happened was back up in Manchester they used to have a place called in Wigan called the Snake Pit Billy Riley Snake Pit and that's like the origin the origin of catch wrestling where catch wrestling is like submission submission style wrestling So obviously like you get one room freestyle wrestling combine with Brazilian jiu-jitsu It's got it's got its own like it's got its own thing like Josh Barnett teachers at Billy Robinson used to It was Billy Billy Riley was one of the originators Remember Dynamite Kid from pro wrestling the bull the British Bulldogs. Yeah, he was one of those guys. He was a snake pit wrestler, but I proper wrestling, you know, yeah and What they used to do was they used to send all the young Japanese boys, the young boys over to learn that style, to learn, because the style and pro wrestling over there is a lot more different than what it is in America. say America is very theatrical, it's very show busy, it's very entertainment based. Where in Japan, back then it was like regarded as a genuine sport. So they tend to lay it in more, know, the growth. you know like if like a pro wrestler is doing 40 50 with the punches them are doing like 80 90 they're not too far away from being legit so they would send all the the japanese guys over to learn that style to toughen them up and then suddenly go back a lot more season a lot more hardened so there's a guy called Roy Wood who was one of Billy Riley's students and what they would do was they would actually send got genuine shooters took the cars like shoot wrestling over to Japan and they would what they would do that would be worked what work means it's not legit so you know you know it's predetermined yeah but they would work a very authentic style so that's how Chris had gone over there and he was doing like six-man matches and tag matches he never done any singles I was like you cheeky rotten basse all them times you stood there around in bloody circles taking the piss out of us and you've done it yourself I said you make me bloody sick but going back while we're saying Chris was remember when Wayne Rooney went to Manchester United well he had he got rid of one agent and he brought in Paul Stretford but I believe that the whole agent was due some money from yeah i think i think what had happened was paul streckford used to work for that agency as well didn't he and he split and he took rooney with him with him yeah right and so they the the guy who was in the ass chris and that need to be like intermediaries to try and figure it all out and streckford trying to claim that he was taking money with menace or trying to extort them which wasn't the case and anyway that's Chris and Anthony got brought up on charges and at one point when I was working that was when I was working in the office as well, it looked like he was gonna have to sell out because it looked like I'll get someone that hadn't take over the reins because it looked like they might end up doing a bit of time as a result. But in the end, Stretford's evidence got thrown out because it just had so many holes in it. Kenny Dalglish was involved with this. was gangsters from London. Apparently there was these these lads from London who were proper heavy that Dalglish brought up. I saw Chris and Anthony at the table and went yeah and then fuck off. so it was a bit like it says what I'm telling you you can't you can read in yeah yeah of course you know what I mean it's in the public domain. But yeah, Chris, Chris is an interesting character. Yeah, see the least. Yeah. I guess I'm his brother Anthony. was in the Australian SES. Yes. Yeah. So Chris is Chris has trained a submit. He's on a different level. Yeah. But they're all honestly the the salt of the great I still keep in touch with I say hello to Chris like once a year like once or twice a year when it's like the dormant Christmas night I even still if you have a Christmas night out I'll still get out with them and stuff but with their but Anthony like I said he lives down there and Chris will always pay for that even if he's not there I mean we all of us have been retired for X amount of years and he always still chips in was it you know what I mean? It's good when people are like that isn't it? before we finish on the doors and stuff? Yeah. Yeah. Have you got any good good stories? For us from from then right? Yes so Paddy Dockery. You know, Paddy Dockery. And this is, He was there, he was there. So basically, we've come on the doors and it's summer. So, you know, we come on about six o'clock, but the sun's still shining and everybody's having a good time. We were working on a place called Life Cafe and all these lads, all out, all these travelling lads, they're I ain't gonna judge you, you know, but all going wearing shorts, you know, because of being a lardier. And we were like, lads, you can't come in dressed like that, like it's like evening now. You can't have you dressed like that because if we see if someone sees you dressed like that and everybody else is dressed up And then another lad comes in with short and we're gonna say well, what's it? Why can't I come in? So we just said it's just a blanket. We can't let you in can get changed We'll let you back in not problem You can go and fuck off. We're not fucking getting changed. We're fucking coming in I don't think you understood where we are. You're not fucking coming in and he says, he says, yeah, we're fucking coming in, we're coming in. Now, you know, and the next thing you know, it just fucking goes banners. You know, when you see cartels and there's a big ball of dust and there's a fist there and a fucking butt there and a kaboom there and honestly, it was just like a fucking, it was just madness. So there's fists flying on it. I swear to God, someone caught us on the jaw of one and I'm, you're bad, but it's one of those where it once you've been hit it's one of those where you'll you'll either the arse drops or you're like well come on then and then then so we're winging people around and they're starting over and Patti Dockley in his in fairness was in the background just kissing the police just watching right anyway okay the latter we've getting we've managed to get them away like They're at the door, but not getting in so all the lads are behind right so it's about eight or nine of us And there's about 12 13 of them, but then one of them Keeps all of the door and he's going like like snarling. Yeah, let me meet he's called harpoon Nick right and call him harpoon because he used to fucking happen people with his fucking head used to head book them like, you know, Yeah, and you knew when he was gonna get off because he'd always give like this little nervous little giggle right anyway And the next thing I know, he went, bang. And because the guy's got a hole in the door, like the frame, you know what mean? He's just fucking eyeing them out and knocked all of his teeth out of his mouth. And he's gone down like a sack of shite. And the, his mates just grabbed him, he went fucking, like, that's it, that's it. And then pulled them, pulled them away. We always thought like they were, you know, like travelling men were like. you know, the one fucking kid that was not going to square one like, like to come back and you know, they tried to try to fucking sue me made. I tried to get a payday out of him. But actually, there was there's another one when we were when I was writing a Jabez Clegg. And this is when I got a bit of a I got a bit of a wake up call. It's funny though. The rugby league World Cup final had been on and they'd been playing at Old Trafford. And there's a lot of Aussies in there and they'd already been causing bother while we were in there. Before we got there. So we had to get them out. So, honestly, it was about ten of them and there was about seven or eight of us. And throw them all out. And they like the edge in forward, edge in forward, and my mum's got them out, they're they're breaking glasses and breaking bottles, and we're like, I'm gonna go now. And then one of them, they're dormant. gentleman and it was round about when that film come out gladiator you went unleash hell i went you fuck and then i was like shit and anyway we started fighting and i saw trust me to get the hard one i'm not kidding i hit him with this straight right i mean i would have put anybody away and he dropped the one there and he went yeah well that was a fucking pretty good shot mate you want to fucking try that again i went for fuck's sake and then he spay a tackle on me into this into this car bonnet right so there's a imprint of this big back on someone and someone the car bonnet and i got but i was like it was was it was it was cold because i had like a beanie hat on next thing i was like beanie's on me here you go back to the end piece honestly and then me and him went at it for about and you know typically fights last 30 seconds you know what mean me and him must have went at it about two or three minutes swinging punching hitting each other duck and diamond and slamming fucking I picked up and chair bummed them out of a fucking car I can't put this bugger away and then the next thing I saw the lads the lads if what you got the ball pulled the coxas out to try and get it to try and go because I keep getting back up right hey and I went I couldn't find us so through stripping the balls and then ran to me car and grab me crook lock. So I said, I'll grab me crook lock. They were starting swinging it around like fucking Thor, you know. And then I went like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. And then it was like, the lads just stopped and went, that was a pretty fucking good fight, man. And then when you want a drink, I went, see you for fucking real, yeah. I went, are all right? Are you weighed up, really? I went, nah, nah, I'm for fair dink, I'm fair dink, I'm fat. I was like crazy and then they shook hands with us and I went off on them very weird I was like... And I was like, did that just happen? My nose is busted, my eyes cut, my back wrecked and then just walked off like nothing could happen, typical of me, you know I mean? unbelievable. The doors and then you just mentioned somewhat like casually there. Yeah, but you then went over to Las Vegas Yeah, well, I guess I was I was with them. I was gonna move over there I was gonna move over there and I was taking me some others as well I got divorced in 2015 I met this we actually separate in 2013 And met this girl in 2014, American girl and You know, why does she come over here? I over there for x amount of months at a time and then I was gonna move to to Las Vegas that's where she was working and Something happened with with when when me boy was there and I'm like I said, I'm not the kind of person to Raise me hands to women. It's just not my thing. Yeah And I don't unfortunately I'm because I'm a big lad that I'm not in a position to really where I could defend myself either because you know Someone looks at a woman and someone looks at me. I'm always gonna unfortunately, yeah, because of me sighs There's gonna be a stereotype that's associated with that. So it's just best for me just to go just take a take you know, I need just take it I won't even at that point. I wouldn't even show restraint. You know what I mean? I wouldn't restrain someone Because any which way you look at it always looks wrong. Yeah, you know what mean? And it's basically that's what happened and my son saw it and he went I want I'm going yeah, I'm going home and he was it I Took him over there. I think with the benefit of hindsight if he'd been a bit older He would have been prepared to stay. Yeah, I was 16 at 17 at the time and he was like And was missing his mates. Yeah, and you know, he was if I wasn't there He had a body. Do you know what I mean? Yeah, and I was at one point I was you know, I was gonna I was gonna say if I could do some close protection with like WWE and stuff like that, you know But I've been on the road a lot and I want to say no, I just wouldn't have been good for yeah so, you know it was just trying to go over there was trying to get him acclimated to it and then he we only took something like that to happen for him to go fuck this I want to go home so I had to bring him back home and he ended up moving back in with his his mam because I had I had I had custody of him yeah I had a parental responsibility of it but it only stopped at 16 yeah so after 16 he can pretty much do whatever the what he wants you know So he moved back in with his mom and I tried to go over there and and I loved it over there. I I'm a gambler, you know, you know if I want to I want to put on a scratch card I'll take the pound back. you know I can't get my head around. I mean I was watching people putting bets on ten grand on real earnings. I felt like being sick, you know what mean? Then they like make just throw it around like it was nobody's business, you know. And yeah, I lived in Henderson, which is just on the outskirts of Vegas. still see the strip and everything. But and I would have stayed over there, but I wasn't meant to be. Yeah. So that's why I moved back. lived in Cambridge for a little bit. Yeah. So let's do. So we did. You ended up in Manchester. huh. After your sales job and then you couldn't do that and you're in it one of doors. Yeah, I want earth. Do you guys that turned into wrestling pro wrestling?