Prime Big Deal Days is coming October 8th and 9th, which can
lead to involuntary deal squeals like the infamous deal on a new
massager squeal. Save big on prime big deal days
October 8th and 9th. Zippers, welcome to this episode
of the Tea With Me podcast with me.
And I've said me too many times there, she and Todd.
I also don't know why I said my own name there like I'm some
sort of news anchor, you know? But the main thing is we're
stepping, OK. We're stepping it up.
I've got this mug that says
Island Arts Centre in Lisburn. That is where I play on my tour
and obviously other venues as well, not just there that made
it sound like my tour is just one venue, which would
absolutely not constitute a tour.
But they have their own mugs. And I love that.
And I love it when I go can I have one?
And I love it when they go, yeah.
And I go, how many can I get? And they say probably just one.
And I go Cal 5, you know, and they say 2 and that's exactly
what happened there. And I, I enjoy that I enjoy
mugs, you know what I mean? Because this podcast it is let
me turn my phone off. This podcast is about is about
T. You know what I mean?
It is about just a chat with AT whether it's me having a chat
with a guest or me having a chat with the listeners or just me
talking to myself with AT but I enjoy mugs.
I collect mugs and I'm building up a wee bit of a collection.
If if you I was just thinking about this there now, if you
have a a mug, if you're like a business or you own a company or
whatever, I don't know, or you're from or you live in some
bizarre part of the world like the Falkland Islands or cushion
doll. What you can do is send us a mug
to teawithmepodcast@gmail.com. I know.
Oh, hello, I've been in quarantine for like, hey, mail
that to me. All right, What's your address
to withmepodcast@gmail.com? Put a stamp on it.
I mean, yes, I'm now you're acutely aware that I've said it,
that you can't send physical things to an e-mail, But also my
asthma is back a bit there as well.
I'm wheezing very heavily. But yeah, what I'm saying is if
you want like your mug to feature on this podcast, one of
the best tea related podcasts in County Down, get in touch with
this teawithmepodcast@gmail.com and we'll give you an address to
send it to because we've we've got like a or we're in the
process of getting a mailing address set up so you can do
that. Yeah.
The Jimmy Dornan episode of the podcast went out on Wednesday
there and what a reaction to it. Thanks very much to everyone who
listened watched it. I mean, it'd be like a lot of
people watching and listening were for him.
And, you know, I've, I've just got to accept that, although I
haven't fully accepted it. But yeah, I mean, the podcast
went from I think the previously that this, our top position in
the iTunes chart for UK had been 130 or something, maybe even
more. And that episode got us into the
Top 40. And that was bittersweet for me.
It was sweet because unreal, you know, it's the podcast hasn't
been going long. And I was really, I was really
happy with that. But it's bitter because I really
mugged myself off. And I know a lot of listeners
that listened to the previous carnation of this podcast, which
was the She and Tog cast loved hearing stories and me getting
mugged off. And I've done it majorly here.
Bear in mind, I full time do comedy and there's no gigs
anymore for the foreseeable. So let's just say the money
towed here isn't, you know what I mean?
His Lily pod has got a bit smaller, OK, His stocks have
depleted a little bit. So bear in mind I'm watching
what I spend at the minute. I make a big call in the Tea
With Me podcast WhatsApp group just before the Jimmy Dornan
episode went out. I said to Big Mike and producer
Dan, I said if this episode gets us into the Top 40.
And again, that was ridiculous. That's like saying, you know, if
I win the lottery because I didn't think that was going to
happen. So I was like, if this this gets
us into the Top 40, I'll take us away.
When lockdown is over and you know, international flights are
back on, I'll take us away to Spain to do an episode of the TV
Me podcast. And those two mother fuckers sat
on Charitable, which is like where you can see where podcasts
are on the charts. They sat refresh, refresh,
refresh. All right, I don't know if these
two guys have left the country because that website crashed
just with them. I'm pretty sure Big Mike ordered
himself an extra laptop from Amazon on Prime just so we could
have two hands. You know, it's like he's playing
the decks. He was just checking those
charts and I think the podcast went to 33 in the UK podcast
chart, something like that anyway.
And the text was very quick. You know what, what shorts do we
need to pack? So fuck those guys.
But but I'll I'll take them away, all right, because they
deserve it because it's class to get a podcast into the Apple
podcast chart like that. I was buzzing and and I was just
happy with the episode as well. You know, the Jimmy Dornan 1 is
a bit nervous doing it. I think it turned out well.
And I might ask him if he wants to do another one.
You know, I mean, lockdown might end next week and he goes
fucking home now for doing the podcast again or lockdown could
keep going. They go, all right, may as well,
you know, who knows? But we're going to go to the
plan anyway is to go to Spain to do an episode of the TV podcast
down the line. Because if if you're not already
following this account, there's a guy called Gerry Flynn on
Twitter who used to play in the Irish League and was an Irish
League manager. This is football obviously we're
talking about. And he's been doing this thing
every day out there. He films it just outside in his
garden where he tells like stories from back in the day of
Irish League football. So it's like real life Keith
Cruz stuff. You know the character I do
Keith Cruz is all these spoof stories about himself and local
football. Jerry's stories are real and
they're fucking hilarious. So he's putting them up every
day. People are really, really into
it. And I sent him a message and
Jerry, when all this lockdown ends, I'd love to come out to
Mercia and do an episode. He calls it Martha.
I've noticed in his videos. I don't love that, but that's
fine. You know, each to their own.
I said I'd love to come out and do an episode of the podcast
just because I know there's going to be a lot of people who
watch and listen to this that aren't into football, and I
wouldn't. The stories he tells are so
funny and niche that you don't need to be into football.
They appreciate them. So I'd love to just go out, chat
to him about his career, you know, living in Spain, all that.
I think you'd find him a real interesting character and he's
very funny as well. So he was straight back to me.
He said like, Yep, come on out and we'll do it.
Then get a few beers. So that's when I text Dan and
Big Mike and I said, look, if we get into the Top 40, I'll fly us
out there. I mean, not literally, like I'm
not, I'm not pilot the plane or charter jet, but if we can get
decent flights and Skyscanner, I'll get us out there.
So that's happening. That's happening.
It's going to be a tea with me episode in Spain and guys, I
have a feeling we'll be drinking tea on that episode, if you know
what I mean. Cider, whatever.
It's been a that was a real slurp there.
I apologise. It's been it's been a big day
for me. It's been a big lockdown day for
me. I'll talk about this more on the
podcast next. I know fuck it I won't because
I'm not doing 1 by myself for another while.
But I painted defence today. There you go, defence in my
garden. Never have I done any sort of
painting before, whether that be Picasso type stuff or DIY.
But I just took a real notion today.
We have some paint that we have had to for like outdoor
painting. Like just a brown.
Like a shit brown. I'm pretty sure it said wrong
seal shape brown. And you know what?
The big man just went at it and he was, I was doubling up on the
coats, 2 coats, not on me, you know what I mean?
Not like a parka and a bomber jacket.
But that's such shit, that banter, isn't it?
I'm not even a dad yet, but yeah, I was.
I was painting away and I've been doing that for the last
couple of hours and you feel class.
You feel class because I'm painting away.
I see the guy that lives over the back of me and of course I
hit him with a bit of Chad. He's like, all right, how's it
going? He didn't want any more
conversation and I said, I don't think I'll be getting any work
as a painter and decorator after this.
Now that's funny because it's off the cuff banter.
There's not much to go when we're in lockdown.
Also, I'm I'm deprecating and making a joke there that like
I'm not very good at this. But he couldn't see the wall
because the wall I was painting phenomenal.
It's unreal. And if I get this intro and
outro to the podcast done in time, I might go back out.
Even though my wife said just just take it easy for them.
I just, you know, just relax, we'll watch a bit of TVI really
want to go back out to it because it's class.
Because back in the day, whenever I was a child, my Uncle
Michael used to amuse me when I went to his house by saying, do
you want to paint my house? No, whenever you're four or
five, that's a lot of responsibility.
But I said yes, I would love to do that.
Like painting a house the outside of a house.
He said, let me get you some magic paint.
No, turned out years later it was water.
All right. The man lied to me.
But I thought because obviously if you've got water in a
paintbrush and paint the wall, it goes a bit darker.
I thought this guy's letting me paint this house.
Turned out it wasn't. So this now years later, like
2530 years later is my what would you say like is my
revenge. I'm finally getting that
actually paint things and it feels good.
So if anybody needs anything painted, get an actual painter
decorator, do it because I'm not cut out for it.
Honestly, I don't even have that big of a fence and my hand like
seized up and a faint little bit.
But but it's been fun. I'm just going to do more DIY.
I'm going to do more stuff outside the house.
I feel like I might do like a mosaic.
I might do a water feature, might do an indoor pool, outdoor
pool at the very least. I know, you know, people don't
really do gnomes anymore, do they?
I find gnomes extremely creepy. Like here's the thing, having
one gnome is really creepy when you just say a gnome by itself
in someone's garden and then having like 30 gnomes is creepy.
But anything in between, sort of like dead on, it's dead on.
I feel like we should get a tea with me gnome.
I mean it, it in no way ties in with the podcast, but I would
just like it. The more merch the better.
Speaking of merch we are going to have, we are going to have
mugs and stuff like that and maybe do T-shirts down the line.
That's something we're we're chatting about in our Tea With
Me WhatsApp group. So keep an eye out for that.
And before I get into this podcast, let me plug the
Patreon, which is patreon.com/tea With Me podcast
on that you can get a load of bonus episodes that only are
available to the Patreon people. Patreon people, we're to call
them that. It sounds like some sort of gang
who aren't very hard, but we just are going to bring it up.
I was going to say drop an episode, but you know, look at
me. We're going to release an
episode on Monday with Kieran Bartlett that was recorded a
couple of months ago. Very funny, very funny.
So you can check that out and loads more.
Also, if you want to read and review the podcast and Apple
podcast, that'd be really sweet. That helps us going up the go up
the chart. This week's episode of Tea with
Me is with Wayne McCulloch. He's my guest.
Wayne McCulloch is a former world champion boxer.
He's been living in between Las Vegas and California now for, I
think he said 20 years when we got chatting.
I chatted to him a couple of weeks ago when lockdown kind of
just started and I was just about to go to LA and I was
maybe going to interview him out there.
But I ended up having to do it while I was in my spare room and
he's in lockdown out in Vegas. So we had a real interesting
chat. Loads of stuff I didn't know
about Wayne. Like whenever I was a kid, I
remember him fighting like Prince Naseem and these
household names. And, and I, I can't say I knew a
lot about him personally. You know, I just knew him as,
as, as this world champion boxer.
But we got to talk about loads of interest and stuff, including
the fact that he was boxing for the Irish Olympic team and he
was a a working class guy from, from the the Shankill, which is
pretty exclusively Protestant. I mean that sounds like a
fragrance, but Javon she exclusively Protestant, but but
that was that was really interesting to chat about that.
And I guess I was I was really keen to know what it was like as
well coming up during the troubles as a boxer, you know,
and the fact that boxing so big now, but it was it was different
back then. And we're chatting about a
couple a few personal things as well and what he's up to now
when as we talk about trains, Brian Callan, who's one of my
favourite comedians. So I think you'll enjoy this
episode. I don't know loads about boxing.
I do really like boxing, but I'm not like an enthusiast about it
or a nano rack or anything. So I don't think if you're, if
you're not into boxing, don't let that put you off because
Wayne's a really interesting guy, very funny, very, very kind
with his time, like everyone that I interview.
So just an absolute gentleman. I had a lot of fun chatting to
him and I think you guys are going to enjoy this.
This is the Wayne McCullough episode of the Tea With Me
podcast. When this this podcast is called
Tea with me. So it's kind of where I have a
cup of tea with the listeners, bring a guest on all that kind
of thing. Yes, that's exactly what I was
going to ask you. Do you drink tea or because
because you live inside now, do you have fancy teas?
Do you drink tea? 20?
I've been here 2027 years, 27 years and I've a drink.
Here we go. I've always had.
I'm not going to give me a brand name, you know what I mean?
I've always had. Yes, well, you just can't go
wrong. You just can't go wrong.
I've got about 400 of the men of my friends from Scotland from
over before Christmas and they brought me over 400 tea bags.
And then I've always drank tea, tea, tea.
Yeah, tea from back home is. It's always way better,
stronger. The American tea.
It's like water and all rain. I anytime I go out there and ask
for a tea they give me an early grey.
When I specify I want a breakfast tea, they still give
me an early grey. Get get the orange orange Peaky
tea over here. It's called orange Peaky.
It sounds like orange but it tastes like back home.
They're all grey and the black, the black or the breakfast one
doesn't taste the same. It's orange.
Peaky is the best one over here. But you've got.
Your own tea bags is the best anyway.
I want to sort of go go back a weave it with you in terms of
career and stuff before do living out there in America now,
do you feel like do you still keep a connection with home in
terms of products and stuff you buy?
Because I feel like if I moved away I would be finding those
shops that have. Belfast.
Belfast is always in my heart, believe me.
Look, here's an example right here.
Oh, look, there's a Las Vegas Slack and a Belfast Slack.
Oh. Class.
Right. And Belfast has always been, you
know, people think you go away, you forget.
And even here, my, my, my daughter made this year, it's
like home 93. We came to Vegas.
There's Northern Ireland, there's Nevada we live in.
And we lived in California for five years as well.
So I was the little. I mean, you always never forget
where you come from. Well of.
Course. For for for that long away, I
think a lot of people's accent just goes just totally goes but
you. Go like you're talking like
this, you're going to talk against.
Tomorrow do you go each? One here.
Look at that Belfast City Hall in the Wall.
Yeah, there's, there's usually golfs on those benches though,
but I think they've got it on the next day when they're not
there, you know? There's there's pitches that are
like Belfast, the coast. No, my, my accent has changed a
little bit, but it's not like I've seen people come over here
for two weeks and they're speaking American.
Yeah, do you know? What?
I mean, people make fun of my accent.
Don't care, doesn't bother me. Do you find that when you're
speaking to people from home, your accent gets way more
stronger? Oh yeah, naturally.
But when you're. It does all.
The time I guess. It does, but you know your
accent. You've got a a more polite
Belfast accent. Yeah.
My wife. This is just for stage though.
And I know my wife was from over in like East Belfast, Woodstock
Road, a Craigie Rd is a reaction was different from mine.
And I was on the Shank Rotary. So mine was like, what about?
What about you kiddo? Were you going to go here?
Bye bye. What about you?
Not under, not understand. For the first couple years I was
here, nobody can understand a word I said.
Yeah. My coaches couldn't even
understand when I had to talk. Then I started talking.
I just slowed my words down a little bit and started talking
to them. And and then when you slow your
words down a bit, you get used to it.
Like the movie, yes. Then when you've seen The
Devil's Own with Brad Pitt, have you seen that?
Yep, Yep. Well he he has a Belfast accent
but he he slowed it way down for people to understand it.
I find out massively with when when I do stand up in the States
that we speak naturally so fast and I was almost moving on to
the next subject. Do you?
Do you say you do stand up like comedian?
Yeah, yeah. So that's my main, that's my
main thing. That's.
Do you know Brian? Do you know Brian Callen?
That is one of the things I was going to ask you so I can.
Fight like Frank can. Fight like a mother humper.
He he can fight. I taught him how to fight for
real. He spars, he goes.
He can really fight, believe me. So, Brian?
And he's so funny, so funny. I went to see him one time live.
Brian Callans, podcast fighter and the kid is.
Yeah, Brendan Shubb. One of the best podcasts and he
is one of my favourite comedians and I saw the I'd actually seen
you in some of his Instagram stuff a couple of years ago and
the. Brent, Brent, Brent's the same
guy off the off the stage and he is on, on the stage.
He's so, he's so humble, so nice.
And I just talked to me the other day, text me the other day
and says I stand in Vegas. You OK?
You've been good. I'm like, I'm good, I'm good.
But he's he's busy shooting his new show school.
He's from the gold. He's brilliant, phenomenal.
How did how did? Because I guess people that like
listen to my podcast. So I, yeah, I do stand up back
home and being here, but but kind of travel over to the
states maybe four or five times a year.
I was actually supposed to be in LA last week and the night
before I supposed to go, I just thought, Nah, I'll not risk it
because it was just the start of all the lockdown kind of thing.
And the flight went, the flight went ahead the night before.
I was like, no, I'll just not chance it.
Well, LA and Vegas is a place to be for a comic, you know what I
mean? Yeah.
Oh yeah. I mean, LA some like I'll go out
to do gigs, but then LA is the place where I'd be happy enough
just watch it as well. Guys like Brian in the Comedy
Store. Did you ever get to the Comedy
Store when you were? Living in LA, been there yeah,
I'm back and forth. I'm done in LA the other week
now so I'm here a week LALA week here a week or a week yes, we
tell so I still train brand down there.
So do. Tell me what you're getting up
to at the minute because I do want to talk to you a bit, a bit
about boxing, but you know, I, I am 31.
Life after boxing. Life after boxing.
Life after boxing because I'm 31 and I, I definitely remember
when you would have been fighting world title fights.
I I just about remember that, but I was maybe would that have
been what when? Well, my my daughter's 21.
So my daughter's 21. She remembers very little.
Yeah, no. She was when she she was six
months old when she came to my first fight or say my when I
fought Nazim Hamid, that was 98. Yes, he was six months old.
Because that was, I mean, we're sort of there's so many boxers
from home now. I mean they're.
So yeah, back in the 90s, it was like me and Dave Boy, and that
was about it, you know? What I mean, I only found out
about him later. I only like in the last few
years did a bit of reason about him.
But but you were kind of the boxing superstar then when there
wasn't, you know, fighters over multiple divisions.
Like it was just kind of, it was just kind of you out there.
Yeah, it was different when I went to American and sort of,
you know, it was like a shock to people into leaving them by the
media was sort of wasn't good good to me, really.
Did did you move to the states for for work?
We are there for training camps. And then you just thought like
it here or what was the what was the call to go over there?
Well, the truth is, I wanted to stay back home, you know?
You know Barney Eastwood, do you?
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, He just.
He just passed away. Great Barney.
I trained the Barney's gym when I was 14/15/16.
My brother was five years older and he's he was a pro and I was
amateur and amateurs weren't allowed to stream the pros back
then. But I went down to his gym
because it was actually warm. We had no heat in our gym.
And I used to spar with DF boy and a guy called Paul Hugginson,
he was a world champion and Fidel Bassett who beat, who beat
DF bar in a world championship fights.
And I was getting experienced by doing that.
And I was thankful that he he let me do that.
But you know, I wanted to stay home.
I was a home bird. And then after the Olympics, I'm
92, you know, I get first silver medal from Ireland, 36 years.
And I was waiting to go to GoPro, but I cracked my
cheekbone in three places here and a busted nerve right here.
Don't I still have no feeling here?
OK, my Olympic, my Olympic semi final.
Right for the for the medal. Yeah, well, I fought the final
with the I had blood come at the corner of my eye from the busted
nerve underneath my cheekbone. And I fought a close fight with
a guy called Joel Casimir, who went on to become a Cuban, who
went on to become a world champion.
He's my friend who lives in Las Vegas.
That's that's why boxers are a different breed, because you
know, you, you hear so many guys like that where you know, you
took, you took a fight with an injury or maybe you got a bad
injury in training camp. Sometimes.
I mean, if I've if I've gone over on my ankle, I won't do
stand up comedy. But boxers, if you go into a
fight as a boxer and there's nothing wrong, you'd think
there's something wrong with you.
Yeah, you know what? I.
Mean but you know, it's like don't make excuses but you know
I fought 5 fights at the Olympics in two weeks and you
know my last fight was against the Cuban for the for the gold
medal and you know that was my last fight so the you know the
doctor looks at you that they that they off and he touched
your hand. He doesn't mean there's no
X-rays or anything they got yeah yeah.
And is he OK? I'm like yeah good.
So I didn't I couldn't feel anything here.
My teeth are all numb here. And you know, I'm not going to
be exclusive of this close fight.
We fought a close fight against the Cuban and as say we went
beyond become good, good, good friends to this day.
And we both got inducted in the Nevada Hall of Fame together
last year as well. So.
OK, he's a. Great guy.
So it after that I was seen at the at the Olympics by promoters
and I say I wanted to stay home but you know, it didn't work out
to stay in Belfast with Barney and then, you know, some English
promoters and we're interested. But there is the really the
truth is I was broke. I was unemployed, sang the dole.
The dole took my money off me going to the Olympics because
they said I wasn't fighting for the country.
You couldn't do that today. You couldn't do that today.
Twice I went to the idiot and then I determined, he said, oh,
you're not fighting for us. I'm like, I'm fighting for the
whole country. Who did who?
Did you fight for at the Olympics?
I. Fought for Ireland.
OK, but so the the. Basically the boxing, boxing is
boxing is no, there was a people remember on this on the dole
office on the Shangle where they I went in, they said three weeks
I was going to be gone. The two for training camp then
went to Seoul, Korea for for four weeks and I went to
Barcelona for four weeks and 92 Olympics and it took all my
money away from me and I was broke and I'm representing the
country North and South and and they couldn't do that to their
discrimination, but I still think.
Think of the press, the tension that would get.
I still think, I still a lot of people don't know this, but the
truth is this discrimination, even 20, that was 3032 years ago
for the Seoul Olympics and 20 years ago for the Barcelona
Olympics. It's discrimination if you ask
me, you know what I mean? And because because anybody who
knew knew sport back then, like rugby can become Ireland, boxing
when it goes to the Olympics, as all Ireland, when you go to the
Commonwealth Games, you go for Northern Ireland.
But as I say, I was a young, my first Olympics, I was 17 year
old and I was broke, didn't have nothing.
And I've gone to Olympics with a broke kid who and then all of a
sudden you're on the Olympic team to give you a new track
suits new this, new that. I'm thinking I get all this new
stuff for free. That's fantastic.
I only I had like a black top with the with the blue bottoms.
It had nothing. Yeah, you get all, you get all
these sweat suits and stuff to try to make weight and I'm like,
this is better. It's easier to make weight like
where you're trying to put on 10 layers of clothes to make
weight. Well, I see the Commonwealth
Games in 1990 and New Zealand was Northern Ireland, I got the
gold and then 92 again. I was going to go pro but I
stayed till in the big 92 and then I after that I turned pro
and I, my manager Matt Tenley, he was my promoter manager was
from here. And then he watched me at the
Olympics and he, he took the time to come over and see me.
He came to Dublin. I was at a like a function that
night in Dublin. He came to lead me and offered
me a big contract and television.
And then he said to me two words that changed my mind forever.
Was a guy called Eddie Fudge and he was my, he was, he trained
Joe Frazier back a day, Ken Norton, Leon Spinks, 3 guys that
beat Muhammad Ali actually. And he was 8082 years old and
he's, he took me on. And for him to take me on was
like going to the Premier League.
And people, they will say I was, I didn't want to leave, I want
to stay in Belfast. And then all of a sudden Eddie
Fudge was here in Vegas and he was training Riddick Ball at the
time. He was a heavyweight champ of
the world. Yeah, remember that?
And a guy called, a guy called Mike McCallum, He was a three
time work champion from Jamaica. So I'm going to come in over
here to train with these guys just by watching these guys.
And they all took me under the wing.
Mike McCallum was one of the greatest guys ever met.
He first since I met him day one.
He's like, oh, you're my brother.
He's Jamaican. Said you're McCullum.
I'm McCulloch. So you're we're brothers.
We're brothers and made me feel at home.
And then Eddie Fudge, the stuff he was teaching me is just out
of this world. And.
And that's the reason why I left and came to Las Vegas.
For Eddie Fudge, that's like somebody going from the like the
Irish League to the Premier League.
Yeah. And.
The big call up, and I guess you do.
You say no. You know, exactly.
I mean, who's going to say no to that?
But I think a lot of the time I hear about amateurs talking
about the right time to make the step up the pros.
And it seems like you that opportunity came around the
right time because I know people can leave it too late or go too
early. I guess you can be a brilliant
amateur, go to the pros and it just doesn't work out.
No, the when I was my first Olympics as I was 17 when I
qualified and just the Olympics were late that year.
They're going to probably going to be later this year as well.
They were like a total over. But you know, I was going to go.
I wanted to GoPro after that. But I was a kid.
I was I was I was just turning a teen.
I wet 7 half stone. I was about 5 foot 35 foot four.
And actually from 18 to 22 I grew like 3 inches or something
and I went I went from 7 half stone to 8 1/2 stone and had to
cut to get down on. I mean, so I thought it, I
thought at 17187 half stone, I was a man.
I was trying to grow this and I couldn't grow it.
Well, I'm 30, I'm 31 and I can get nowhere.
I can get nowhere. Near that, after two or three
days, I wanted one here to take it a lot.
So I want to GoPro then. And my amateur coach Harry
Robinson goes with 14 years. He said When you wait for a
couple, wait till next time you'll be fully grown and blah,
blah, blah. I'm like, I want to go pro, I
want to go pro. I just want to be a pro.
I love the pros. I love spar with them.
I love I love being a pro, but he was right and I just I waited
and I matured and then when I just turned 22, then it became
up again and 92 and I was ready, you know, get the medal was it
was a like the contract for me. You know what I mean?
Of course, without a medal, without a medal, wouldn't want
to get contract, would been like fighting for, you know, you've
been fighting for peanuts and you've been you had to get a day
job as well. Yeah and yeah.
You couldn't. You couldn't really put in 100%
of of you working out like you're doing like a Premier
League guys or full time. You have to.
You'll be a professional fighter to get to the world level.
You got to be a full time pro. In in a way it's the same with
stand up. Like whenever I left, I was
doing stand up at night and sort of nine to five day job.
And the second I got out of that day job and went full time with
this, you just have so much more focus.
It's it's so much, it's so much better.
And you have to be full time and see, Bryan Carroll is an actor,
but he is acting stand up, more or less.
He's always funny in it. And that can relate.
Your stand up can lead the the, you know what I mean?
You can lead to other jobs and then be in the entertainment
being television industry. Of course, like Kevin, like
Kevin Hart, you know what I mean?
He's so funny. I'd take a few of his, I take a
few of his money, you know what I mean, to take a little, a
little, a little bit of that. What?
What was the reaction being from the Shankill?
Living on the Shankill at that time, at the age of like 1718,
the Olympics was it. We, was it everywhere you went?
Were people stopping you for a chat then?
Where was the community very much behind you?
They work because I don't know why I even know this, but it's
one of the first Olympics. I was asked to carry the Irish
flag. Do you know that part?
No, no A. Little bit of politics from the
Shank. I was born and bred on Percy St
actually on the Shanger Rd. I was actually born at home
because we didn't get the hospital time.
So I was actually born about, I think it's about 50 feet from
the peace wall. But I was youngest member of the
team and an idiot. You know, I had the best record
of the Irish, of the Irish boxing team.
I I thought I had 12 knockouts in a row at international level
going up to the Olympics and, and they asked me to carry the
flag and I like the sale, think about it.
And I said no, I'll do it. I'll do it for sport.
Yeah. Yeah, and back an idiot, back an
idiot. Back home was like Beirut.
And I mean, it was, it was pretty.
And I come, I come on a shango politically.
You're not thinking at that point, you're just, you're just
there. As a boxer, I'm a.
Sportsman and my court is always being I'm a sportsman now a
politician. But for them as a come to me, I
know they expected me to say no and I know for a fact back then
they were trying to make a political thing.
Nevada said no imagine Nevada said no but I'll I'm willing to
fight for the country which I'm proud always proud of.
I fought for Ireland about 40 time and I'll stir about 10
times so. But I was proud of it.
But I think they were trying. I think they expected me to say
no because I've heard all these different stories about some of
my coaches over there. Or we shouldn't.
You shouldn't have did that. I've ridiculously carried that.
I'm thinking what, Yeah, one of my coaches said that and like
didn't say it to me, but I heard it in the media, unlike I was.
I'm proud to fight for Ireland. I get to carry the flag into the
open ceremony of the Olympics in front of 2 billion people around
it low to show the Northern Ireland people can come
together, Ireland people can come together.
And I don't think I get the credit for doing it.
Not that I wanted any credit, but I didn't, even as I didn't
even think about it, they said to me, I said to me and I said,
yeah, I'll do it. That's the way.
I just feel like. I think they were stunned that I
was like so quick and reacting to doing it.
And I said, yeah, no problem, I'll do it just for sport.
I'm a sportsman, not a politician, and there's no
problem. At all.
What is the backlash then? None.
Even. I read stories about my parents
get hassle and stuff like that, but that was all lies.
But the truth was it was all lies.
I totally guess I come back from the Olympics media didn't get a
medal. I get I won like 2 fights,
didn't get a medal. I'm high quote quote a high
field where where I lived and the Shankle Rd Defenders flute
band walked me down. I was in like a bus down to the
Shankle Rangers supporters club and had a party for me.
Is that bitterness? No.
Well, no, definitely. Not well, there you go.
That's and I'm the Shagger Rd Defender flute band.
And then Davey Larmery was in RGM.
He was, if he won like their Commonwealth gold back in the
80s and stuff. He was a boxer and he had the
Shagger Rd Supporters Club had a big party for me.
Well, you get support from both sides as as well both sides.
I've always, I've always had, I've always had support from
both sides because you know, would say I carried the flag in
the Olympics and I carried the Commonwealth Games flag in the
closing ceremony in 1990. So I've carried.
Didn't even mention that one. They also by that point they're
like, you have the flag, trust me.
But I've had people come here and said, do you carry the Irish
flag? I'm like, yeah, like I say, why?
I'm like no no just I just read something like.
And also anybody else in that position that would give you
grief for that or ask you why you did that?
If you were like, do do you want to carry the Irish flag of the
Olympics? They would say yes, I'll do it.
You know, you know, nobody would not do it.
No, it's the Olympics. It's the Olympics.
And you know how many people get to go to the Olympics?
Yeah. And then I'm honoured to say
I've heard of their fighter not going to mention their names.
Fighters over there fought for The Who won gold medals for the
Commonwealth Games and didn't stand in the anthem and say it's
not their anthem and their flag. Like, yeah, yeah.
Like seriously, imagine me stand there, you know, representing
Ireland since stuff like that. No, you should be honoured to be
fighting for the country. You should be honoured to be
there and you what? You know, you don't have to like
the flag where you can respect the country.
From Ireland. I'll say to people, I'm from
Ireland, I'm Irish, Northern Irish.
It's called Northern Ireland for a reason.
Yeah, was was at around that time in like the late 80's, the
early 90s when you, when you were sort of when you were
coming up, when you were maybe starting your pro career, was
that closely followed by the press at home?
Because I feel like now there's so much social media.
So, you know, fighters that are still amateur at the very start
of their professional career get a lot of press.
People want to read about it, hear about it, there's podcasts,
there's all that kind of thing. Was it were you kind of always
followed or was it once you started really making a
statement in the pros? No, I was, I was when I was I
was 14 when I'm when my first Irish championship for like 3
years I was getting robbed every year and I kept just kept
getting working hard, working hard every year.
Couldn't he win the county Antrims right?
Had to win the country and you have to win the Ulster thing or
the All Irelands and I couldn't. I get robbed of a year but
didn't put me off. Yeah.
And then the first, the first year I get to the All Irelands
14. I won the Irish Championships
every year until I left, I mean 1415161718192021 and then I came
here and it didn't, it didn't put a damper on me to stop the
stop box. Then I kept on going, kept on
working harder, kept on running up with Lane current up the Bank
of the mountains. And I remember people used to
walk the dogs up there and they're like, they've seen me
like after I made it. And they're like, now we see why
you were doing a lot of hard work.
I'm like, I didn't, I didn't have nothing.
I had no money, had nothing. And you know, I went to went to
YTP scheme for a year, did learning their trainer.
I didn't need a scheme job for a year.
And so I learned some, some stuff if I needed it.
But as 15 years old I said to my myself I want to be the WBC
champion of the world. I'm not disrespecting IBF, WS,
WBS, but I wanted the belt that Muhammad Ali has the WBC belt
and I got it. You know I'm the first Irish
meal ever to one of WC belt. The only person he's did since
as Kitty Taylor from she got a WBC belt and then the 1st and
still the only Irish man ever to win one in the history of the
sport of boxing. Let me interrupt the podcast
very quickly with a very short message.
We have charity sponsors now on the podcast because I guess it's
a bad time for businesses to sponsor podcast.
So we do a charity read. We've been doing that for the
last few podcasts. We're sort of compiling a big
list of everybody that gets in touch and we're going to start
rolling those out from probably Wednesday's podcast, Wednesday,
Friday, all that kind of thing. Normal service will resume with
those. If you have a charity or a
fundraiser or you know, you just want to highlight something you
think's really important, get in touch with this
teawithmepodcast@gmail.com, whatever it is.
We'll we'll get through as many of them as possible.
We'll do the reads if possible. Keep them coming in.
And if I can give you any sort of
platformilldoitsothatsthemepodcast@gmail.com. Back to the podcast with Wayne
McCulloch. Fill in not in between for me,
the the point where you know, you come up, you start your pro
career. What what's a moment where you
go, this is this is going to happen for me.
I mean, long term success, big fights, fighting in big venues.
Was there a particular turning point or a particular win where
you went? Yeah, this is this is me, sort
of. Yeah, well, the truth is I'm
going to get another cup of tea here.
By the way, don't worry, it's like 15.
I remembered my friends back home.
I said to them, I'm going to leave, I'm going to leave.
I'm going to the Olympics. I'm going to go to the Olympics
and get them and get a medal. Maybe.
I said it may not be my first, maybe the second Olympics, but.
And they all looked at me. But then what?
The new I trained hard. Even this 1516 year old and a
couple of my friends are. Would you say they're in the
paramilitaries? In the you know, you might call
them the the the adult scouts. Yeah, but these guys to this day
respect me because some people have a choice.
I mean, well, you go when you go in West Belfast, either
Protestant, Cathy, you don't have a choice.
The choice is let's go out in winter time at 3 O clock in the
afternoon, pitch black almost. And what do you do?
You have something to do. You get into trouble or you do
this or do that and you, you know, you maybe sign up, send
your life away and sign up with an organisation or something.
And, and you know, nobody's ever disrespected me that way.
You know what I did and I've always did it for everybody.
And unfortunately other people don't have a choice.
But I wanted to be a boxer at 15.
I wanted to be champion of Ward. And I stood, I remember, stand
the front door. I'm proud of where I come from.
I used to stand the front door and I used to say to myself,
there's got to be some better than this because I just thought
all the fighting and the shooting and the bombs and and.
I've seen it. I've seen people being shot.
I've seen bombs gone off and her bombs gone off all the time.
And I just thought, I mean, I get on with each other.
Yeah, it was just, it was hard. And I understand it's bitterness
in both sides. I know that there's all,
there'll always be bitterness on both sides and unfortunately
there, but there's, I'd say 90% of people don't mind living
together, you know what I mean? Yeah, and, and it's I mean, you,
you must like it when you hear news like a couple of months
ago, they they, they said they're going to start to lower
the peace walls just by a bit. But things like.
That listen to me, peace Wall, I said to somebody about two years
ago, I come in 89, you took down the Berlin Wall, but they won't
take them down the peace wall. And someone, somebody said to
me, it's a tourist trap. It's a tourist.
Trap Thousand percent, 1000. You know what, I'd be the first
one to stand up and say if there's real peace, take the
wall down. Because the wall, say I was born
in Percy St where the wall was erected, done by on the street.
That street used to be. People used to live in the same
street. So when that wall comes down, if
there's if there's a Catholic on one side close to the wall when
it comes down and a Protestant living the other side of the
wall close to the wall, are they going to kill each other?
They're going to want to live together.
Yeah, yeah. I think they'll want to live
together, I really do. I really think.
About the tourist thing, I mean that's bang on.
Like I did the big bust, you know, like the big red Buster
had a few minutes that were that I'd never seen Belfast for
before. I took them on that and I was
like, I don't know if I'll find this interesting because I
thought I knew everything, but I learned a lot on it.
But whenever it went down, down the Peace Wall, Townsend Street,
is that what that's where the Peace Wall is?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, right down right, actually was they say it
was, It was higher than the Berlin Wall and longer.
It it honestly felt like you were, you were the way people
were watching it. It felt like the way you, you,
you. You look at enclosures in the
zoo, the way people were taking photos for tourists, the way.
They were looking, they closed the learning where they closed
the gates up right and and they closed the gates overnight.
So you're locked up. But this is my problem.
How come rich people always live together and there was no walls
separating? Yeah, yeah.
No, you're right. The working class people, my
friends over here, a guy was called Romolo Fusco.
He's he's that fish and chip restaurants back home.
He's dead. Fusco's.
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, there were all 2
fish and chips. Yeah, his two sons got ice cream
as well. And his two sons, Frank and
Tony, are in their 60s and they've lived here for like 40
years. But you know, he spent Romolo,
He had a, he had a Protestant wife, but he spent more time on
the Shanga Rd because he's a boxer as well.
He spent more time socialising on the Shanga Rd because he said
anybody else got together, working class people, the ones
he always hung out with each other got together.
And you what? I grew up in the 80s and 90s.
I have a good friend from the Falls Rd.
We used to hang out together. So and then all of a sudden, say
in 69 before I was born to put the wall down to separate them,
then working class people who socialise together.
So what do they do? Blame the working class people,
but the rich people can live together up and you know, up in
cultural or up and, you know, wherever the fancy areas.
So how come they live? How come they can live next door
to each other? And we couldn't.
We could. And then when I said the
Americans like, what do you mean the rich people weren't
separate? I'm like, no, they live next to
each other. They put the wall down the
working class neighbourhood and that was it.
Like what I'm like, yes. And the Americans don't
understand. They always say you get the
English out, get the English out.
I said there's no English, Sir. Yeah, I said it's like I say
Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland, part of the
United Kingdom. That's the part of the British
like Britain on 3/4 of the world at one time.
So it can it's it was hard for their market to get in their
head. They just thought get the
British, get the English out, get the British out.
I said no Northern Ireland, British and like, what do you
mean? I'm like it's on the UK rule.
I said it's under United Kingdom.
Do we want it? Probably yes.
Do we want it not want it? No, We don't know.
People do want people don't want it.
But I think it's better off just left the way it was.
Yeah. So it's hard to, it's hard to,
it's hard to explain that to somebody.
And I don't explain to anybody of items.
If I'm only going to see them for 5 minutes, I'm not going to
explain. All that stuff.
But I mean some sometimes I get confused when I'm explaining to
people as well, like you say Americans, you know, they're
like, what is a political situation?
I'm like, good question. I don't know if people.
Good question, but I'd be the first, at least I'd be the first
one to stand and say take the wall down, Take the wall down
and I've been sent it for years, The wall.
If there's real peace in Northern Ireland, take the wall
down. I mean, boxing seems to be
something that totally cuts through religion.
Like anytime you hear, anytime you hear boxers locally talking
about the way they grew up, the, the people they trained with it,
it was always cross community. And a bit like, so I, I, I, I
played football, still do. That's my sport.
And it was never an issue. Any team you played for was
basically cross community, but you wouldn't even have thought
of it as that, you know, technically.
I was football like you 2. I played football well through
secondary school, high school, and I loved it.
I wanted to be a football player.
I did when I was really young. I was good at it, but it wasn't.
I wasn't good enough. Who would, who, who were you
thinking? Who Who would you have played
for if you were like like run the?
Of course up the street where my wife comes from was Jordy Best.
And I mean like, and he was sort of before and he was like 60s
and stuff, but but everybody wanted to be Jordy Best.
And I mean my, of course my team is, is Liverpool.
Right, OK, I'm I'm united so. 30, I know 30 years we have to
get, we have to give it to this year.
So you have to start, even begrudgingly, I think you've got
it. You've got to just give them it.
You got to give them. It and I will.
I think we've played so well. I mean, but but back in the day,
I know I had the Ray Clemens and Bruce and Bruce Galbraf that I
was I love goalkeeper. I was goalkeeper to the school,
primary school believe it or not, 5 foot 6 but I was good
with my hands. Good hands.
Yeah, you know, Kenny Douglation, all that was my the
old school back in the day. And that was my my team.
And I've always supported them. Most of my friends were one week
this next week of that. I was never proud my whole life.
Yeah. 3030 years something one leg so.
They like to. Give it to have to finish it.
No really, finished only a few games to go anyway.
I feel like Liverpool fans will be the number one contributors
to coronavirus, you know, trying to trying to get a vaccination
for it. I feel like Liverpool fans will
fund that just so we can get the Premiership back up and running.
I think, I think Clap has been, he's been outstanding the game.
He's great. Yeah.
Have you? Very jealous, No, But if he, if
he loses, he's very respectful. He's not, you know, and he if he
wins, he's respectful. And that's good to Brendan
Rodgers. Brendan Rodgers and all this, He
wasn't the greatest for us. No, Wayne.
I think Brendan Rodgers was probably still learning.
That was the problem. You know, he's he's a better
manager now, but he was kind of he was still kind of raw when he
was with you see now you. Need to put a team together?
See, when you do get home, when is it like sorry, I know home is
kind of American now, but whenever you get back to
Belfast, do you have like a go to thing?
Like is there a cafe you like to go to?
Is there a place you go for straight away?
Sort of bread. Just sort.
Of relative well it's you can buy this stuff over here and I
like chocolate and biscuits will call them cookies to call them
cookies over here yeah, we call them we call them biscuits, but
biscuits over here are scones. And cookies can be biscuits here
as well, so yeah. Yeah, so it's that's weird, but
you know, any came any vegans over here?
That's like a whole suitcase full of chocolate and and Pot
Noodle. My daughter, my daughter was
born here, but she loves Pot Noodle, right.
And, and potato, teeto cheese, onion, of course, unbelievable.
And of course the tea bags. But that never changed the food,
the chocolate and the candy, the colour candy over here that it's
way better back home. And my American friends who come
over there for my fights and stuff, my, they come over and
they agree with me. They think the chocolate, the
chocolate's way better. The chips are way better so.
The chips. The chips, they think.
It's a no cleaner the food, and not to say the food, there's a
lot of grease in the fish and chip and all that's normal, but
it's normal. Yeah.
That's weird. And they can't believe that you
get like in homeworks hotels, you get your dinner, it's like
you get there with three different types of potatoes with
it. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Well, and also an ulcer fry is just different types of bread,
you know, with a week. Well, they love, they love that.
They love that too. But say, but but say, it took us
years to get used to the American food.
It was different even even like chicken and beef and all, it
just tastes a little bit different and then your taste
bud change, I mean and then you get let's.
Do you have any mates from Northern Ireland out there in
the States? The first it took us away, took
me about three years before I I could settle down.
My wife, she was 19 and I was just turned 22 and we didn't
know one person the whole country.
I come over here for three out of three-year contract, think
I'm going home, I'm going home, I'm going to go back home, get a
gym, you know, get my house. And that's me and done three
years. And then as you're getting
older, you go back and forward. The first two years I spent more
time in Belfast. It was I, I've came here in
February 93. And then by June I was fighting
in Belfast, September fought in Dublin.
But I still, I spent most of my time over there.
Yeah. But about a year I went after I
was here, I was at the gym training and guy walks over to
me and says that guy speaks like you like what?
Rumble, Rumble of Fusco Rumble. The guy told you about Yes, yes.
And he was, he was a boxer. He was in the gym.
And I'm like, oh, and The funny thing is we just bought our
first house about 8 miles from the Las Vegas Strip just to get
away from the Las Vegas Strip. Yeah.
And he lived about a mile around the corner.
Unbelievable. And every Saturday night he made
fish and chips at home. We went for fish and chips and
he passed away when he was 79 years old.
So the two sons are in their 60s.
But he never left the recipe and his his chippy was back in the
day was doing thousands of every month like a lot of money back
in the 50s. 60s famous. Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, but. And he was supposed to leave his
on his way to at least on his way to at 79, fell asleep, never
woke up again, good health, he worked out and stuff.
Yeah, but he was supposed to leave the rescue to my wife.
Oh, no, He wasn't going to leave his two sons, even leave it to
my wife. And he didn't leave it.
It's all the batter, you know what I mean?
I like to think if he had of you, you, you and your wife
would have opened up a we are we Fusco's chippy on the Las Vegas
Strip. The truth is, you Gordon
Ramsay's got one on the strip. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I.
Know, I know Gordon Ramsay really well.
He's a good guy, but he it's like $15 fish and chips.
Yeah. Oh, yeah.
Yeah. I went to Vegas on my honeymoon
last summer. It's great.
I mean, what'd you say? We stayed in the area.
Oh yes, that's all that place is.
Sensational city, that place now.
I guess. Even hope those strips off the
lights with some of the lights, some of the lights on this
morning I was at the airport. Someone dropped off my nephew.
He's been trying to get out for a week.
But the lights, most of the lights are often stripped.
Hotels are closed. Ari was great.
It was great when we were there, like.
Really beautiful. That's called city centre.
It's like a city inside the city.
Yeah, and they want. They.
So go ahead. Oh, it's going to say the when
we were there, when we were there.
We were there in July, last July.
It was just too hot, you know what I mean?
It was. Something over your head?
I know, I know, I know. But a lot of people have to go
in junior live because that's the holidays.
Yeah, that's where we went. My wife's a teacher.
The first year I was here, we were at say I was home.
June, I was mostly home. Always say I was home, it was
too hot. I mean the first year was too
hot and then it was just crazy the heat.
I got the 119° them, yeah. And that was I was.
But now I can go out running like I can go outside and run
100. Degrees.
No problem. Yeah, drop there, but your blood
gets really, really thin when it gets to, when it gets to 60°,
now you're like, what's cold and freezing?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so it's funny.
I just, I just want to ask you finally what what life after
boxing is now? We talked about it like a bit
earlier, but do you, are you just training a range of people
at the minute from people that just do boxing as a hobby to
actual fighters, people that are competing or what's what's?
Going on I've trained a few fighters since like 2006.
My first pro was Alex Arthur from Scotland.
He actually won the Super featherweight double belt.
So with me, so I had him first he came over here and trained
and then I had two Maxine guys, 1 fought for a championship and
lost and the other one did them and then their retired night
too. But I trained the heavyweight up
until last year. Actually he was, it's just let's
just say he wanted to do his own roadshow.
And again, no, he took a fight in his own.
He got knocked out. I wasn't with him.
He got knocked out cold. Right.
And you know, if you if you my coach was the type of guy that
you either listen to me to walk at the front door, you know,
it's like club or Liverpool, you listen to me or go somewhere
else. Yeah, you have to listen.
You have a coach for a reason, of course, you know.
And Eddie Fudge, you say Eddie trained, he trained 20 world
champions told and say that you're talking.
I say back to the day of Joe Frazier and and Ken Norton with
her back in the 60s and 70s who who beat Muhammad Ali.
And then the modern day was me. And he had, I say Mike McCallum,
Montel Gryphon world champions. And I was his last World
champion and his last the only one to give a letter to actually
signed letter to be a quote someday because I was close to
him until he passed away. He was 90 years old when he
passed away. Incredible.
So but he was he was in, it's hard to describe me have to sit
down, talk to you for about 5 hours because he used to sit
down and talk to me about he was born like 1912, back in the 30s
forties when he black guy, you know, struggled to get one
fighter and nobody would come to him and because they wanted to
do their own show, know what I mean?
Yes. And then and then when he
started telling people and get successful, then all of a sudden
he was just swamped and he had to get like four or five
assistants. But so I want to be like him,
know what I mean? I want I don't train people the
way I fought. And Eddie was the same way, the
same Montel Gryphon, the world champion, Mike McCallum ready go
and me rolling in the camp together when I came here.
And we all had different styles, you know, we're all, one was a
boxer, 1 was defensive, I was aggressive, you know.
Yeah, if you train anybody the exact same way, then we're all
different. You know, that's why you have
different players on the on the football team.
I mean the 100 forwards, strikers, goalkeepers.
So that's, you have to be different.
And I do that. And my number one thing, I teach
the defence. Yeah, that's like American way
defence. Defence, Yeah, yeah, I've been
watching a lot of American football documentaries, so I
would also probably say defence at the minute.
That's OK, I'm OK with that. No.
So I teach a lot of defence and say right now I'm I'm trained
about 5 or 6 amateurs. They're going to have their
first fights in May. Well, probably not May now
because of what's going on. Yeah, yeah, it's supposed to be
in LA They're. Fighting over Skype. 44 That's
too funny. Four got four guys and one girl
and and then I don't have any pros a minute, but I say I train
from kids from four years old of any age.
Actually, it's my first kid was four years old, 97 and up till
my oldest client right now is 73 years old.
Who's a pilot who could knock anybody's head off the
shoulders. Well, that answers spars.
That answers that question. I was going to wrap it up by
saying if I next time I make it out to Vegas, I'd love to do a
session with you. I've never really been in the
ring before and I was going. To say it all.
Let let me get along with that 73 year old, but if, if, if
you're if he's got something about him, don't let me find him
because I can't fight. Oh, he can.
He can fight. But even even the girls I have
can. Fight the seven-year old, I'll
fight the seven-year old he. Can fight too.
It's actually. All right, maybe I'll just
watch. No, not any drama.
Do you know Freddie Prince, Junior?
Do you? Yeah, yeah.
Buffet. He was in Buffy development,
Sir. Michelle.
Sir Michelle, I train, I've been training.
Freddie and I trained. Sir and I trained the kids,
Rocky and their and their and their kids.
Their daughter Charlotte, he's 9.
I train him every week. I'm training for Freddie for
five years. Joe like 5 years.
My wife just came in there five years.
So I teach him how to fight too. And I usually train him at their
gym or go to his house. Right, so he has like a gym in
his house. Well, I guess.
Everybody. Yeah, but it comes it comes to
the gym. But he.
But recently I went to his house because the kids were busy at
school. You know what I mean?
Yeah. And I just went in this backyard
and trained them there. But Freddie can Freddie and can
fight too. I want Freddie and Brian
Calendar do an exhibition charity function and they.
They're talking about it. Yes.
Had to get them together but they would because they're about
the same size. We're about to see him as well.
111 stone each. And I think it'll be good to
raise money for charity, especially after happening right
now. I mean, yeah, this could be,
this could be a push to get this done.
We've been talking about comedians boxing locally in
Belfast for years. You know, should we book the
Ulster Hall and do like a charity boxing night?
If we ever get that arranged, you know are going to have to
Skype. But I tell you what, Bryan
Callen can really fight. Oh, yeah, yeah.
I mean, I know that his kind of character is to like, you know,
always make fun of himself. But you can like for his age,
he's in great shape. He's got great defence, He's 52
year old, got great defence. He moves around, he can hit
crack hard and he really is. I'm not just saying him and
Freddie are are both. I would put them in the ring
with the Sparber pros. Everything.
Yeah, that's what it is. The Sparber pros and the pros
didn't take it easy on them, you know, so they're they're, they
know what they're doing. Yeah.
And I teach people to begin to ring in the way they're doing
what I mean, whether you're getting there for fun and
they're never going to fight, you know, I mean, yeah, of
course the charity, the charity match you could do, but they're
never going to fight. But can he fight?
Yeah, yeah. Bryan Callen's a good comedian.
Great comedian. Phenomenon, but.
He can fight like a Mother Hubbard.
Honestly one of my favourites. He's one of my favourites.
So so so funny. That's.
Good. No, he's brilliant.
He's a funny guy. He's brilliant and a dealing for
him. No man dealing for him.
When cheers for doing this doing this podcast, I really
appreciate it taking a bit of sitting.
There having a cup of tea just and still, I guess like I'm
like, I'm smart thinking like this.
There we have it, sippers, the tea with me podcast episode with
William McCulloch. What a what a gentleman, you
know, really, really nice guy. William was just really sound
about doing the podcast as well. Like you can definitely, you can
definitely see in here, whenever I say, you know, I do stand up
and he's like, oh, you stand up. You can definitely hear me go.
He doesn't know who I am. You know, there's definitely
that moment. But it's all good.
You know what I mean? It's all good because I probably
should have explained before the podcast, hey, this is who I am.
But because we went from Northern Ireland that I went,
hell no, you know, and it turns out he didn't.
And experiences like that keep your feet in the ground.
They keep your feet in the ground.
Wayne was Wayne was brilliant, real nice guy to chat to.
And actually when the podcast finished, we just ended up like,
you know, chatting a bit after it.
Then he he's somebody I think I'll I'll keep in touch with
definitely next time I'm in the states doing shows.
Be good to do some sort of some sort of training session with
him. As long as I pointed out as
it's, it's fighting children or, or, or the elderly either or,
I'd be happy. I'd, I'd fancy my chances.
But Wayne was great. Then I, I, I want to get that
sort of diverse line up of guests on the on, on the
podcast, whether whether they're from sport or or TV or, or
honestly, whatever. Like before lockdown, our plan
was to get load of professors on.
You know, and educate me about some stuff that I don't really
know about, like I don't know, space and eggs, you know, exotic
animals. I mean, I've got tiger King for
that. That's a fairpoint.
But but we're going to get more people on and we always want to
hear from the listeners who, who you think would be would be a
good guess. You can leave a comment on if
you're watching this on the YouTube or, or get in touch me
on Twitter or whatever and we'll try because I'm asking people
and pretty much everyone's like, yeah, alright.
One of my favourite comedians, Todd Barry, has agreed to do the
podcast. I'm recording that tomorrow.
All being well, you know, things can change, but I'm really,
really looking forward to that. We've got an episode with JC
Stewart coming out next week. JC is is a singer-songwriter and
a damn good one as well. He's from Macrofelt and he's
he's blowing up at the minute. He's got himself a real good
record deal. He he's he's on pretty much
every list that's out at the minute of like, you know, 10
artists to watch or five people to keep your eye on.
And and that's like worldwide, you know, so he he he's a lovely
guy. I think I think people will will
really, really take to him on the on the podcast, whether you
are just fine know about him or you like his music and and you
know him. He he writes with Lewis Capaldi
nearly Roe for Westlife as as we talk about.
But again, it's just an it's just a nice enjoyable, enjoyable
chat. Then I'm going to do an episode
by myself during the week as well.
Probably the Friday one I'll maybe just do solo and we'll get
into my head and see what's happening because things are
happening DIY mainly, but I'll be doing listeners questions as
well because I want to start interacting again with all you
guys. I, I do want to do listeners
questions when I have a guest on, but it's time management,
you know, I only want to keep people on for like 45 minutes
during an interview. And I don't want to be like 40
minutes in and they're making a great point and I go, I'm going
to have to stop you there. Somebody wants to know, like I
don't want to have the Dalai Lama on, which probably will
happen. And I don't have to stop and go,
mate. Chris and Kalibaki wants to
know, would you rather have a hand prominently stuck in your
forehead or a toe under your nose?
What would you what would you prefer, though, you know, so
I'll, we'll do an episode with just me during the week and
we'll do listen to questions and mentioned early the podcast got
into the Top 40 of the UK podcast charts.
That's that's really incredible. I didn't ever think that would
happen. And I sort of say it every week
at the end of a podcast, but I said because I mean it, I'm
loving doing this podcast. I really, really enjoying it.
I think this lockdown period, while there's obviously so many
terrible aspects to it, it, it personally it, it's really
reconnected me and that that's such a wanker thing to say, but
it's really reconnected me with all the stuff I'm doing, you
know, in terms of making videos, writing podcasts, all that kind
of thing. I'm, I'm, I'm just just like
properly back and everything. And I didn't, I thought it was
massively enthusiastic and driven before and it's just
taking this to kind of make me look at it all and go, yeah, I
could, I could, I could step it up.
We bet I could work harder here. I could do this instead of doing
that. And then the the people that
sent message during the week about the Jimmy Dornan episode
of the podcast and said they they enjoyed it.
That means a lot. So thank you very much.
I'm going to plug a couple of really quick things.
Number one is the Boy Town podcast that I do with Dave
Elliott every Thursday that goes out on SoundCloud and the Boy
Town podcast YouTube channel, me and Dave talking a bit of shit
together. We've been doing this podcast
for years and it continues to like evolve and, and it's
brilliant. And Dave has a podcast called
the Sly guy podcast as well on song employed and Apple
podcasts. You've got the general banter
podcast, you've got dirt civil deck chair and yums.
Rory Woods Woodstock podcast is going as well and, and just
loads of good local podcasts. So if you listen to this, if you
listen to boy town and, and you want some more of that, um,
there's really good podcasts out there, so you can check all
those out. It's a good time for local
podcasts at the minute. I've rambled on for probably too
long, but Apple Podcasts, if you can rate and review this
podcast, if you have time, if you fancy that, that'd be great.
And the Patreon, as always, is patreon.com/tea With Me podcast.
You want to get in touch with us.teawithmepodcast@gmail.com.
Really excited about the episodes we've got coming up.
And yeah, thanks for listening or watching today.
See you later.