The Big Interview – Darren Campbell

Olympic 4x100m gold medallist Darren Campbell speaks to sportindustry.biz about life after competing, and what went wrong for the Team GB relay team at London 2012.

– You’ve gone from Olympian to businessman – you run a sports nutrition company, Pro Athlete Supplementation. How did you identify that area as one you wanted to focus on?

The nutritionist who looked after me throughout my career contacted me prior to my retirement and asked about setting up a sports nutrition company. We discussed how we could compete with the likes of Maximuscle and Lucozade and all of the other companies out there, and decided that our USP would be to set up a range initially targeted at professional sports people. 

We felt there was a niche in the market. At the time there was a problem with cross-contamination in nutritional products, so if we could ensure that all of our products were tested we would be able to target professional sports people, creating nutritional, effective products. 

My nutritionist had given me a lot of help throughout my career so I wanted to back him because I knew he was a good guy and knew that he would make it work because of his passion. At the time my business partner John William was the academy nutritionist for Wales so the first people we sold products to were the Welsh national rugby team, and it’s just developed from there.

– The company works with several clubs across a number of sports. Do the nutrition needs of different sports vary a lot?

When we set up the company we only had a few products 
–  a pre-workout product, recovery product, protein product and a joint support product – but we have evolved since then and now we can manufacture just about whatever the sporting organisation requires. This ability enabled us to work alongside the best nutritionists in the UK across sports such as cycling, tennis, boxing, rugby, football, even golf. So having these groups involved in the company means we got to work alongside people who knew what each sport needed, and now we have over 20 products on our website. 

– Is nutrition a great way for you to stay involved with sport?

Yes 100%. I think the hardest thing for any professional sports person is the day that they admit they have to retire, whether that be because of injury or simply age catching up with them. What you have to remember is that most sports people have given up around 20 years of their life to one particular goal. This means it is going to be very difficult for them to retrain in a different industry, considering the average sports person will retire in their early thirties. However, if you are able to find a niche in the industry you have spent all of your life in, it definitely makes that transition a little easier. 

– You are also a Sky Sports Living for Sport ambassador. How did you get involved, and what has the project got planned post-Olympic Games?

Growing up in Manchester, it was very easy to become involved in gangs and fall in with the wrong crowd, so I was given a mentor to try and get on track, and focus on athletics. It gave me an opportunity to make a difference and to do something positive with my life. 

I met Baroness Sue Campbell when I was about 17 through this mentor; she is one of the few people who know my entire life story and the journey I have been on. The Youth Sport Trust approached me before retiring and asked if I would like to get involved in it and work with them. 

I had always hoped that if I was fortunate enough to win Olympic gold that I might use my story to help young people and give them the belief that a better life was possible. Being involved in Sky Sports Living for Sport has given me that platform to be able to tick that box and try to inspire young people. 

When I got involved with Sky Sports Living for Sport it was initially working with disengaged young people but the programme became so powerful and so good that it was felt that it shouldn’t be a project that is just for disengaged young people – that it could actually be a tool to engage all children who just find life difficult.

Some young people just struggle to communicate their problems, struggle with confidence, and they just needed a way to build that belief and confidence. The scheme has been so successful that over the next 12 months you will see the scheme get bigger and bigger. We have more mentors than ever before who can go on to inspire the young people, and I think the success of the London Olympics is a great platform to build on. What Sky Sports Living for Sport will work on with young children is developing what they have learnt and taking it forward, developing a positive mentality that they can do anything if they put their minds to it. 

– So with motivational speaking, Sky Sports Living for Sport, sprint coaching, and a nutrition company – you must be busier now then when you were competing?

Yes! I guess the reality is that it is different work. My day was structured when I was an athlete – six days of the week I would be at the track twice a day, and I had set eating times, set sleeping times. Everything was very set out for me. Nowadays, there’s a lot of time spent on the road, meeting people all around the country, sleeping in hotels and eating whenever I can! 

– You won gold in the 4x100m relay at Athens 2004. No such luck for our relay teams at 2012 – what went wrong?

I was having a conversation with Jason Gardener early this week, and one of the things that we discussed was the juniors. They need to work in the same way as the seniors as this will make their transition into the full team much easier. The fact that we had two senior sprinters and two youngsters meant the team did not work as well on the day, and having the youngsters running the third and fourth leg put a lot of pressure on their shoulders. It’s easy to say now, but they probably should have been separated. It’s sport and people make mistakes. Unfortunately for the relay team it was the biggest mistake of all. 

– So you think the talent is there?

We definitely have the talent. The time that the team ran in 2012 was close to the European relay record that we still hold so I have full belief in their ability. I believe we have the flat speed to be up there in the top three in the world, but it’s not all about pure pace. You have to get that baton round the track. In 2004, we weren’t necessarily the quickest runners, but we were the quickest team. 

You can find out more about Pro Athlete Supplementation at www.pasonline.co.uk